TELLING IT LIKE IT IS

Who knew I was a writer and who knew I'd be an author, not me, I didn't have a clue.

Although, from the time I could hold a pencil and scribble on a piece of paper, I was one happy kid.

(Kid? Oh the memories that brings back!)

It wasn't long after I retired and after I got my first computer that I set out to really write. The world can only blame my son Jerry for this fact. He gave me the computer. And my sons, Tom and Dave, only abetted this act, by upgrading me to a new one, some years later.

I actually do my writing with a black felt-tipped pen on a yellow pad. (Lately I've graduated to several other colors.) There does seem to be magic in the coupling of pen and paper, the words flow like a babbling brook.

If I try to type my thoughts directly into the computer, nothing happens. The words don't connect, they do not flow, the mind wanders off somewhere else, all is a total loss.

But just let me sit down with my pad and set my pen to paper and the flow begins. Thoughts, one after the other, flowing faster than Niagara Falls. They tumble over each other in the rush to anchor themselves to paper. So fast that I can hear myself saying "Wait, wait, I can't write that fast." But there isn't any stopping, so as I'm writing one thought, I find myself scribbling in the margins with another thought that wants anchoring.

Once the thoughts have been penned, they are then transferred into the computer. I try not to edit as I type, it hinders the typing process.  (Hah, who said I could type, anyway?) Once I have a chapter completed and keyed in, I do a read it through. I correct the obvious errors but try not to change the wording, as yet. This part is saved until all the chapters have been entered. Only then do I begin again at the beginning and as I read I make my changes. Words, sentences, structure, arranged, re-arranged, deletions made, the spell-checkers wisdom challenged by a peek into the dictionary. Every writer knows the drill, ever reader thinks a book is born, as is, overnight.

But what has all this to do with the author? Just the fact that, as with any work in progress, it's the application of the self to a project that encourages thought to flow. The birth of a baby takes nine months, give or take a week or two, the birth of a book may take a month, a year and then again it may never see the light of day. If the muse blocks that mysterious flow of thought, all is a struggle,

At one time, the author's writing was done between paintings, then after a hundred or so paintings, the muse of writing took over completely. The canvases, the brushes, were stored away and the days were devoted to filling blank pages, instead of blank canvases.

As has been mentioned, the author came to her writing quite late in life. It was a gift out of the blue. Much had been said about journalizing, writing ones thoughts down. To me that seemed more like keeping a diary, which I never cared to do. But the sitting down and just letting the thoughts come at will was akin to a dam bursting. They came fast and furiously, the pen couldn't keep up, writer's cramp was a daily occurrence. Forced breaks were a necessity.

So maybe journalizing was taking place...

The writing does go on, the result could be called the stream of consciousness essays, as received from the universe itself.

Although I have slowed down, I no longer pen something every day. But that isn't a drawback as I have boxes of material written from those times when the muse was really flowing and I need to take the time to put all that into book format.

But when will I have the time? I am totally addicted to my web sites and who knows where I'll go from here.

UPDATE:

Keeping up with what happens in the world of writing is a challenge.

In the forefront today is what is called blogging. Well, I don't really believe that is something entirely new since my stream of writing could be called blogging, as well as journalizing.

Reading so much about the blogging of today I decided to create a couple of my own sites. Why not? I can yak about anything.

One of my blogs is named "Talk by Tessa"  and the URL to it is:

http://talkbytessa.tripod.com/

Okay, now let me clarify this... I said this site is a blog, but it it is more than that, it is a newsletter as well. This being the case I really am at a loss as what to call it... I've kind of settled on a blog letter, but then again maybe I can call it a letter blog. See what I mean? A blog, a letter, a journal, whatever!