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 So playing the trombone wasn't getting me in enough trouble? |
| I need someplace to write down the often confusing thoughts that enter my mind, while my stories give voice to the characters that wander through periodically, this is the place for my voice. Join me if you wish, comment if you wish, all are welcomed and appreciated. |
| So after some very inciteful and helpful reviews I decided that I am not yet competition worthy. Well rather, what I've decided is that right now I shouldn't attempt to produce under pressure, constrained by either time or word counts. It would seem in doing so I short changed my characters, my stories and my readers. I rushed through proof reading my stories, missing OBVIOUS errors. Worse though, I rushed without developing the stories or characters to their full potential. That to me is the greater of the sins, something I would have harped on to the Nth. degree had one of my music students done it. Leaving material on the table is unforgivable. Mechanical errors are correctable, easily correctable, but not bringing an idea to it's full fruition, just for the sake of a deadline? Nope, not ready for competition yet, too much to learn and explore. I have to equate this more to my music background, in writing I'm still that forth grader, struggling to make a sound, not yet ready for public consumption. Still dependent on my teacher(s) for guidance. Who are my teachers her on WdC? The people who take the time to read my efforts. The people who gave their time to review and criticize my stuff. Truly I appreciate everything everyone wrote and in my revisions I have tried to take your helpful words into account. One "side affect", now I feel my stories are not "done", what were intended as very short stand alone stories may have become mere chapters. I re-read those chapters and think I might see a way to make improvements. BUT! Is that a bad thing? Again I harken back to my musical education, in his glorious 5th. Symphony, you know DA DA DA Duuum Beethoven devoted several pages in his "notebook" to developing that simple 4 note motif, perfecting it before putting final pen to paper, working it over and over into the fabric of his opus. So, Yeah, tweaking until I get it right isn't a bad thing. Enjoy a bit of Beethoven! https://youtu.be/fOk8Tm815lE |
| As I pointed out elsewhere I am one of the world's wurst (sic) spellers. So much so that as my days in High School dwindled to a close, my favorite English (now "Language Arts") teacher, Mrs. Foley, gave me a special gift to mark my graduation. A Webster's Pocket Dictionary, which she admonished in a not on the fly leaf, "should never leave my side". That dictionary accompanied me through four years of undergrad school, two years of post grad and even made it to my desk at work. Until finally, tape upon tape I was forced to purchase a replacement, not before I removed and saved Mrs. Foley's note reminding me to always have it handy. There have been many theories advanced over the years as to WHY I am a poor speller, some of them by academics and others by good old plain simple friends. First, Mrs. Foleys ~ During elementary school I was placed in a special non-remedial reading program, Speed Reading was all the rage and schools jumped on that band wagon. Basically students were taught to read only the text needed to gain insight, skipping words and not really seeing what they read. Fortunately, or not I excelled at it. So unlike other students I never really had time to learn spellings, recognizing patterns rather then words. For example whether you write it ceiling or ceiling I see the part of the house you hope stays over your head. She based her theory on the fact that given something to proof read, I could Identify misspellings but still couldn't provide the correct spelling. Next, my own theory, ~ Spelling, like many other subjects was taught by what I call "Brute Force Rote Learning". I hated rote learning, whether it was times tables, cursive writing or even the scales I needed to learn as a musician, I hated the repetitive nature by which they were taught. So spelling at least for me might have been a victim of me being bored with, "write out this weeks spelling words ten times each". The last? This one was put forward by a college Education Professor. The whole left brain, right brain thing. Because as a musician my "creative side" is dominant, there are times when my creative side outraces my analytical side. In short it's a race to get things down on paper, spelling is the least of the considerations. This might hold more water with me if I were Mozart and not just a journeymen trombonist. Bottom line? my Dictionary stays at my side, Still! I don't trust spell checks or auto-corrects and I do quite a bit of proof reading. Yet, that occasional misspelling still sneaks past. So if you see one, drop me a note, I will be very thankful! |
| What's the point (my goals) in being on WdC? From my point of view there are several; First (D'OH  ) to write of course and have a convenient way to share that my writing.  Second, to learn to be a better writer, knowing I'll never be as good as I'd like to be. How? Being a musician, I learned there are several paths to "betterment";  Practice! Practice! Practice! Listen to other great players and not just in the genres that make you comfortable Invite, Accept and Learn form criticism, not all of it's pleasant to hear, but it's all a learning tool. Keep Practicing!How do I translate that to writing?  Write! Write! Write! Read others writing of all types, seek out writers that you want to be when you grow up!This one didn't change - Invite, Accept and Learn form criticism, not all of it's pleasant to hear, but it's all a learning tool Keep WritingLastly, to give voice to the characters who visit me late at night, hopefully once I tell their tales they'll let me sleep. That's why I'm here. |
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Credit is delaying the pain unless one pays it off every month. I don't buy what I can't afford. I don't go into debt. I live well by living well within my means. 
