Becca left this writing questionnaire prompt for her Write on Wednesday writing group, on her way off to a vacation and somehow I never took up the challenge and it’s never too late,  so here I go:

What’s your favourite genre of writing?

I love writing  movie reviews and posts about my thoughts on my work, my life. Is that a genre? I’d say non-fiction.

How often do you get writer’s block?

I would say never.  I’m not blocked  but I drive myself crazy procrastinating.

Do you type or write by hand?

As I moved to Mac and began blogging, I retired my notebooks and never looked back and that’s made a big difference.  Left-handed writers had their own set of writing challenges, one being writing stamina.  On a keyboard the playing field in leveled.

Do you save everything you write?

I don’t save what I write on my blogs and some of them have disappeared, but I have been assured by the edublog creators that that issue has been solved. Everything on my hard drive is backed up.  Important pieces are saved.

Do you ever go back to an old idea long after you abandoned it?

Good question.  Yes, I get a chance for that during our Summer Institute when the writing really flows.

Do you have a  constructive critic?

I do. Thanks to my  National Writing Project and Hudson Valley Writing Project communities, I have a great network of writers to ask for deeper feedback when I need it.  I have my online writing communities as well.  Wow, am I a blessed writer.

Did you ever write a novel?

No, I am better with short stories, digital pieces.  I did take up the NANOWRMO challenge in November, but I enjoyed it, but I had too much going on and after two weeks I had to pull out. It was fun though.

What genre would you love to write but haven’t?

Hmmm, I’m thinking about this one…

What’s one genre you have never written, and probably never will?

Horror stories!

How many writing projects are you working on right now?

Many!

Do you write for a living? Do you want to?

I do write for a living.  I have published pieces on the NWP website, but all my work is done with writing.  I couldn’t hold my position with the HVWP without the writing I do.

Have you ever written something for a magazine or newspaper?

Yes, and now online projects.

Have you ever won an award for your writing?

hmmm…

What are your five favourite words?

Obama…I have to keep thinking about this one…

Do you ever write based on your dreams?

Indirectly, dreams often motivate me to wake up and write.

Do you favour happy endings, sad endings, or cliff-hangers?

Depends on what feels logical.

Have you ever written based on an artwork you’ve seen?

Yes, and my most creative writing coming from its connection with images and music: digital storytelling, now there’s a genre I didn’t list above.  Wow, that’s dumb. I’ve returned full circle to the start of this exploration.  Nice!

Thanks Becca, I wonder if there’s a new prompt for this week.

Bonnie

Welcome back, Write on Wednesday and Greetings to Cafe Writing, a monthly writing group I just found on Becca’s blog.  One keyboard click often leads to another treasure.

So here’s our WOW Fresh Start

In a mood of faith and hope my work goes on. A ream of fresh paper lies on my desk waiting for the next book. I am a writer and I take up my pen to write..
~Pearl S. Buck

It’s invigorating to think about fresh new things to do with my writing.  After all, the new year is the perfect time for a fresh start.

How about you?  What fresh new ideas do you have for your writing?

Welcome back Becca and Write on Wednesday.  I’ve missed your great Wednesday writing prompts but I totally understand the need to take a break, so welcome to 2009! Let’s hope we can all enjoy it.

At first, when I read your prompt considering new writing resolutions, I couldn’t think of any and I was ready to just jump into the Cafe Writing prompt, but wait, I always need a bit of time to remember and yes, I do have a new writing challenge.  Inspired by Bud Hunt and D’Arcy Norman and his 2009/365 Photos Flickr group.

I am using my photo blog to house my commitment to sharing a new photo each day with some writing that comes from the photo.  I’m very interested in the image and its words.  I am part of a wonderful image/text community, Photo Fridays, but I feel I need to kick up the anty for myself.

So far, so good.   I even purchased a new, pocket-sized  digital camera perfect for grabbing a shot from my bag.

A photo a day!

Here’s one:

Isn’t that a wonderful idea? Incorporating the disciplines of mind and body -  writing, music, yoga – to enrich the experience of all?  I’m beginning to realize the importance of working in harmony with all aspects of the self, and keeping my physical body in a state of healthy mobility is an integral part of maintaining that essential balance.

So, how about you?  Do you find that physical activity inspires your creativity?  What’s works best for you – walking, running, dancing, kickboxing?  How do you get in touch with your body, and use that awareness to inform your writing?  How do you keep your body and mind in balance?

As usual, Becca at Write on Wednesday, offers a great prompt to motivate a writing post to share with her writing community on Wednesdays, and I’m happy to be home and up for the challenge. So here goes:

Mind and Body, is there a more perfect union?  I remember, as high school drama director trying to explain and encourage kids to get their bodies moving, especially the kids who were “in their heads” as I had been at their age.  Without movement, without a comfort with their bodies, they couldn’t let themselves “go” on stage.

It was a hard concept to explain to the kids who just couldn’t see what they were missing, because in their heads they understood the character they wanted to create.  I understood their frustration and often tried to offer them opportunities to let go in my drama classes.  Good thing I was rewarded with a classroom at the end of the hallway, where I could shut the door and crank up the boombox for some dancing.

It was still hard for some kids to let go in class.  Again, I remembered how hard it was for me to let go at their age.  As long I could still remember myself at their age, I felt connected as a teacher.

Mind and body, I am there right now, but not without support from my personal trainer Anthony, at my gym, who pushes me each week with more weight as we move around the gym stations.  We talk about my diet and plans for the coming week of movement, a routine alternating cardio and weight training, so that most days I am sweating for a solid 30+ minutes.

And then at the other end, eating with self-control so that my clothes feel loose, now that’s an even tougher challenge, but combined with exercise, it leads to mental well-being, leads here…

Bonnie

Write On Wednesdays with Becca

Writing is one of the most difficult and frightening things anyone chooses to do,” Johnson concludes. “Exercises make the work a little easier and a little less terrifying.”

As I read Becca’s entry for this prompt;

Here’s an excerpt:

In my musical life, I developed a method to see me through the long weeks leading up to concert time. Early on in my “performing” career, I learned that I needed to feel extremely well prepared to forestall those performance anxiety attacks that lead to jittery failures on stage. So I made sure I practiced a lot, practiced so much that my body could do the work required even if my mind went into nervous overdrive. I worked hard so that I felt confident, and so that my “muscle memory” could take over onstage if my nerve should momentarily fail me.

In my writing life, things are a bit different. I find it easier to “slip off course” because (1) there are no deadlines looming; and (2) no one is depending on me to deliver a finished project. So my writing dreams get put on the back burner in deference to other responsibilities which take priority.

The conclusions here are quite obvious, aren’t they? In order to “stay the course” and complete tasks to my satisfaction, I need the impetus of deadlines and personal accountability to others. So how do I find those in my writing life?

Blogging provides a certain amount of accountability – many times I’ve been tempted to throw in the towel on this writing habit, but my blogs and the people I’ve come to consider my friends in this arena hold me accountable. This week’s Write On Wednesday was a good example. In the crush of election excitement, work deadlines, and preparing for a trip out of town, Wednesday was gone before I knew it. So skip it, I told myself…who cares?

How about you? Do you do writing exercises or warm ups? Do you think they could be valuable? Have you found warm up exercises helpful in some other area of your life, e.g. art, music, athletics?

Funny, I’ve been thinking about what keeps me “on course”. It’s my guilty conscience. I have this list in my head: Write-into-the-day, create blog posts for Memoir Mondays, Slice of Life Tuesday,Write on Wednesday, Photo Fridays, Boil down your week, read blogs, keep the word count growing on your November novel (NaNoWriMo), exercise at home, at the gym, practice guitar for your Tuesday lesson, prepare for you workshops coming next week, offer something new for your inservice at Dover, plan dinner for Tuvia, get to Karen’s wedding DS, Amanda’s photo book, get back to reading with your book club buddies, pack for Tuvia’s, unpack from Tuvia’s  on and on…

I’m exhausted just creating that list.

I’m not afraid to slip off course here, for me it’s the opposite. It’s hard to move away from here, from my Macbook. I can multi-task with ease, but what about everything else?

Ahh, the guilt, the guilt…that’s what pushes me from one activity to the next, but am I letting myself enjoy each challenge in the moment?

It’s like being at the gym and moving from my station to the next. I’m on the balance ball and glancing over my shoulder to the waiting machine I’m planning to use next, worried that someone might get there before me. I need to just chill and savor each experience.

CHILL Bonnie, CHILL!

In answer to the prompt finally:

I warm up each morning that I can get online, with writing, just a freewrite on my Word Count Journal that I began two years ago on January 1, 2007 on the suggestion of my NWP tech buddy Karen, who reads my daily prompts religiously.

I played by the rules that first first year: Day one: one word, Day 2, two words….on and on…until one day I wanted to write more and that’s when I took control of the word count but I pledged to write there to start my day and I’ve been almost perfect. It was hard in China where the site was blocked and sometimes I begin writing into the day with a post on my blog for Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays,or  Fridays. But I always get to my Word Count Journal.

That’s where I let it all run wild, everything that’s been simmering, of course there’s a public audience to consider. I’ve long ago given up my pen and real journal for the computer keyboard the world of the web. It s a wonderful exercise to get my fingers working in sync with my mind. I never return to reread a day or revise anything.

I wonder though if it would have the same power for me if I were writing on my hard drive without a potential audience. I wonder? But I can say, I don’t fall off. The potential of a public audience keeps me motivated and I love it. I worry about its end. Do I need back up? Would any blog work for this daily exercise? Probably. I never thought about that, but for now I’m a Word Counter all the way. Year 3 is almost beginning.

And now it’s on to the next challenge…I think I’m ready to get moving on my Nordic Track. I’ve been sitting here long enough.

I’m going to hold off with extra credit below for now.

Bonnie

Extra Credit: Try one of Johnson’s exercises above, and post about your experiences. Or create an exercise of your own and share it.

1. Spend five minutes listing every word you can think of that starts with the letter “a”; tomorrow, use “b”; and so on…
2. Spend five minutes listing everything you can think of that’s the color blue; tomorrow, green, and so on…
3. Open your dictionary and blindly point to an entry. Do this until you land on a noun, then spend 10 minutes writing a scene in which that noun figures significantly.

I am ready for this event. I heard about it from you, Becca and from Stacey on Two Writing Teachers.

This is my first time!

I don’t know why, but I assumed we would be writing this online.  I even created a new blogsite for it, but now I’m thinking I might just keep it private, although I have become a public writer and love it, but I think this exercise is to keep your fingers moving on the keyboard without stopping for spell check, etc. So I might just use the old fashioned Word or maybe my Apple Pages program.  I’m thinking…

I love the idea.  Funny it’s been going on for 10 years and I never heard about it. Ten years ago, I was already out as a writer but I wonder if I would have been ready to take up the challenge.

Of course I won’t be writing for this day and night.  There’s the election next week, there’s the National Writing Project Conference in San Antonio, there’s some work, the Thankgiving.  There’s life, but I will find time to return to two of my favorite ladies, Jessie and Molly and their adventures.  I began episodes into their lives a few summers ago for during our Summer Institute and the group urged me on to keep the story going.

That was a few years ago, before I became a public, daily writer.  I’m different and they are different.  Jessie and Molly will reconnect on Friday.  I will keep you posted.

I’m as excited about this challenge as I am about a new president coming our way. That’s almost!

I am practicing right now.  But time for a break.  I am moving to my guitar.  My fingers need another challenge.

Bonnie