Tag: creative writing

Social Media

social_media-wide

Social media has completely taken over the internet. Today there is pretty much nothing you can do that does not involve some kind of media outlet, or does not at least benefit in some way from its usage. Social media can be defined as any computer-mediated tool that allows people to create, share or exchange information, ideas, and pictures/videos in virtual communities. If social media was a real live place, where would you want to live and why?

 

What Inspires You?

Sunlight spilling over the edge of clouds

flowers clothed in fine silk

an assembly of family and friends

a kind word playing joy against the backdrop of your heart strings

or maybe just the way that words are sculpted by other writers, ever so elegantly contextualized

what in particular insists that you MUST write?

The Best and Worst of Times

Tale-of-Two-Cities

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season for Light, it was the season for Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us…”

I am sure Charles Dickens’s “A Tale of Two Cities” didn’t have my thoughts in mind when it opened with this paragraph. Yet, as I read it, I cannot help but to stop and to ponder how it closely describes today. Not today as it is personal to the individual. Not today as in going to work, going to school or other miscellaneous routines to which we have sculpted our clocks to mimic. Not even today in the sense of any hint of parallel or extreme depth. I’m not even talking about the constructs of the book at all really. I’m not a fan of Dickens, but I love imagery in writing. I love being able to read a description that is so tasteful that it can be compared to something completely outside of its own identity and still make sense. This excerpt is that description, while the synopsis of the book has nothing to do with it. I’m sure any writer can take something insignificant and make use of it in other situations. And as such this small piece stood out to me, making me stop to ponder and to meditate on its relation to today. Not even the entire paragraph captured me but this part did, separating itself as a reminiscence of the world surrounding us. A mixture of light and darkness. Of hope and despair. Of truth and deception. Of redemption and condemnation. It is a wonderful time but a terrible time at the same time. Indeed, we are somewhere between movement and stillness.

This Moment

“Tomorrow has its own worries, wrapped up in its own time. For that, this moment is what you make of it.” – Yecheilyah

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In the world wind of routine and 24 hour clocks, we forget about the power we have to control this very moment. We spend 95% of our lives worrying about what the next day, the next week, or the next year will produce. In fact, we spend so much time thinking about the future that our present is cloaked with uncertainty, and we give birth to idleness. Idleness in turn leads to a loss of direction and diminishes our satisfaction for life itself. For some, it even leads to depression, for he or she has lost track of the vision. The performance of right now and the endless possibilities utterly escape us as we lay the blueprint for the next day. Always remember that we always have the power to choose and nothing is really a distraction (it is only a distraction if you’re not paying attention). Even when there are circumstances that appear so out of our control, such as emotions, there is still a choice. If I’m sad today it is because I choose to be sad. If I’m angry today it is because I choose to be angry. If my reaction to disrespect is a loss of self-control I have chosen to lose control. As such there is no one to blame for missing the opportunities each day holds because we are the ones who decide to make the decisions that lead to the outcome of every single moment. The funny thing is that this can also help with blogging. I know there are a lot of you participating in National Blog Posts and Novel Writing Months and whatnot, and you’re scratching the surface of your brains for something to write to complete the days post. But just relax, and earnestly think about what you have in this moment, and it’ll be a lot easier than just trying to put something out there. You will instead put something out that not only fulfills the challenge, but also something that will be of substance to the reader.

While planning ahead has its blessings, let us make sure that we’re also nourishing this very moment; for tomorrow has its own worries, wrapped up in its own time. And for that, this moment is what you make of it.

Stella

poster

“Raised under the protection of her mother and the field hands, Stella is unaware that she is a slave. Not being accustomed to hard labor, things change when Mama dies and she falls into the cruel hands of Marse Saddler. Years later, when The Louisiana Constitutional Convention of 1864 allegedly abolishes slavery in the state, Stella learns of Saddler’s plan to keep her on the plantation. She then agrees to accompany Saddler’s daughter Miss Carla and her husband John, to The Windy City {Chicago} and learns the hard way the difference between slavery and freedom.” 

(This short story will be published to The PBS blog and is free to the public. Anybody who follows The PBS Blog can take part in the reading of the series every Friday beginning January 23, 2015).

 

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