Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Sondra Sneed on July 5, 2012 at 12:20pm

Sometimes the daemon is so loud and fantastic, it is imposible not to record the message.  ( I mean this in the ancient Greek way, not the new age way.)

I have drawers filled with loose pages, moments of internal bliss so insightful that when I rediscover them I cannot believe I wrote them.

Permalink Reply by Cindy A. Brown on July 5, 2012 at 12:27pm

Positive feedback is fantastic. When someone responds to your work with a personal reaction or tells you how your work affected them, made them think or act differently, or change something about themselves, you then know that you are not only appreciated, but validated in knowing your work is worthy of that praise. When it happens consistently, it helps you gain confidence to keep doing what you are doing and take more risks with content, contests, etc.

It's an amazing feeling, receiving positive feedback for your writing work. I began my writing career for me alone - for the love of it. However, as it has grown, I find that I now do it as much for my audience as I do it for myself. They become my friends (if only virtually) and my writing family and I have a commitment to provide good and entertaining content. It keeps me accountable and makes me push harder.

Permalink Reply by Sangay Glass on July 5, 2012 at 4:30pm

I ditto that. Especially, when it comes from teens...who are hard to reach anyway. I love hearing that an article has helped them, but it's also sad when they tell me they wished they heard the message before they got into a jam.

On the fiction side, I think my characters beg to become instruments for lessons to be learned and they're relentless until I give them a voice.

Permalink Reply by Barbara McDowell Whitt on July 5, 2012 at 1:28pm

In 1954 when I was eleven I began writing a nightly entry in diaries. My mother had done the same. In January 2010, I began a blog, WCHS, MPHS and Park College...Diary Writing 1960-1965 - http://parkcollege1961-1965.blogspot.com, recording on a nightly basis the diary entries I wrote 50 years ago.

While the blog is simplistic in nature, it has become my retirement project. What I enjoy most is finding other people's websites and blogs. I have discovered that commenting on what others have written is an at-my-fingertips way to practice my writing abilities.

The evolvement of the Internet fills me with gratitude. No longer do I sit in our dark paneled basement erasing onion skin and second copies made with carbon paper. Instead I sit on the seventh floor of the condominium building we now live in overlooking waterfalls. I move a sentence with three finger strokes.

When I took my last writing class in the 1990s the instructor was helpful and my fellow class members were engaged. We talked about finding our voices but did not talk about our platforms. I kept thinking there had to be something more if I was going to become a writer.

Then it happened. Dreams do come true. Wishes do get fulfilled. Prayers do get answered. The Internet is my dream, my wish and my prayer.

Permalink Reply by Ronald R. Hanna on July 5, 2012 at 2:00pm

Continued and expansive access to the public mind.  Nothing greater than knowing that something of your very own creation is presently impacting others, and will do so long after you've physically left the planet.

Permalink Reply by Katherine E. Hinkson on July 5, 2012 at 10:01pm

I started writing as child. I was a captured student for my older sibs and could read before I entered kindergarten. But I was so shy I couldn't talk in school if more than a few kids or teachers were around. I used my stories to communicate with others and to keep my sibs out of trouble. It also helped me to sleep, it quieted the voices (characters) in my head. Writing is something I have to do. I like beading, knitting and photography, but none of those make me feel lost if I don't do them at least once day.