FireflyTree Productions ©mcw2010 ***set me free to be me ***
Friday, June 29, 2012
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Years ago we bought a home, supposedly to retire
in but because of the economy John, my husband, insisted we must let it go, I
was on the fence about it.
When without pressing, the lender, low and behold, gave us a great
deal I said to John, just before he left to do some food shopping, “Think about all the possibilities open
to us”. John came back and said, “We are moving to Hummingbird." That is the
name of the street the house we were walking away from is on. I wondered what had John shopped for.
In less than a month, Hummingbird is the house we
are going to live in, maybe for the rest of our lives, and that is a hard move.
The place is farther away from our families; it already feels lonely. However,
it is a community with so much to do that we hope our family and friends
will love to visit.
What I loved about it when we first bought it still inspires me: the
abundance of nature and trees and wonderful views. There I hope to write a lot
and maybe even learn to paint and one day play an instrument. Is that too
much to ask for in my golden years: I think not.
Thinking about colors schemes
and décor I said to the contractor that will do some renovating, and the
painter, "I wanted a sort of Spanish/Moroccan/Asian style" (well it
goes with my eclectic collection from years of finds and gifts).
Tonight, I could not sleep. Should be writing
an article to submit - I was warned with termination for not submitting copy for over a month - nevertheless, here I am thinking
about the home we are letting go. Looking around, packed boxes that soon will
be taken with everything by a moving company meld in the darkness. In the darkness,
it looks so empty of things but so full of the memories of events that flowed
in and out in years: family gatherings, graduations, weddings, births and
funerals.
To curtail my sadness I decide to give our
Hummingbird home a name, connect with it. I love hummingbirds and started to
look at pictures and files online. In doing a search I came upon a hummingbird from my native Nicaragua, the
beautiful Guardabarranco Colibri. Our house is on a steep hill and
Guardabarranco translates thus: “guarda” guard, save, or keep safe, and “barranco” is ravine. What a
coincidence, the one thing that makes me nervous about the hummingbird house is that it is perched on a steep hill, that could be considered a ravine,
and I find a name of a hummingbird that means keep the ravine safe.
I don't even remember that hummingbird! We will name our new
home "Casa del Guardabarranco Colibri". Of course, most will not be able to
pronounce it and many will make fun of it... until they learn to love it. The
Guardabarranco Colibri is Nicaragua's National bird and is plumed in colors I love.
Curtesy of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_birds_of_Nicaragua
Ser canción en el viento: Guardabarranco - Colibrí (Nicaragua)
Ser canción en el viento: Guardabarranco - Colibrí (Nicaragua): COLIBRÍ En el jardín de Dios creció una flor que un colibrí sintió voló sobre la tierra campos de paz y guerra pero no encontró su ...
Friday, June 15, 2012
Saturday, May 26, 2012
About learning
screenwriting.
The article on Killing
Creativity: Why Kids Draw Pictures of Monsters & Adults Don't meld in my
mind with two interviews, one with Robert McKee and the other with Sid Kali and
a saying by Einstein.
Just finished listening to
10 video interviews with Robert McKee - sure worth listening to, and learning
from. McKee discusses the different methodologies and misguidance on what to do
or not to do when writing a screenplay.
Does tons of how-to-and-not
out there leave the creative mind paralyzed with not doing?
An interview with Sid Kali, on Movie Biz Coach, has the same warnings on movie making that can translate to
writing or publishing-paralysis.
Creativity is the residue of
time wasted. ~ Albert Einstein
The bottom line: so many
contracting theories, techniques and methodologies make for a hugely lucrative
market and one can get ideas, but they can become a maze with no way out, or a
writer can spend so much time trying to find the right mace never braking free.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
7 Tips for Turning Your Blog into a Book
7 Tips for Turning Your Blog into a Book
For active bloggers this article is worth reading.
For active bloggers this article is worth reading.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
THE HUNGER WALL
Prague,1968
After walking to the bridge at Karlova,
we found the river where at dusk the swans
dipped their beaks into the falls for sanctuary.
The trees closed in for shade. We gazed
through willows to the opposite hill, a single
light from a room growing thick with sadness.
Solemn smoke now cooked the evening meal.
we found the river where at dusk the swans
dipped their beaks into the falls for sanctuary.
The trees closed in for shade. We gazed
through willows to the opposite hill, a single
light from a room growing thick with sadness.
Solemn smoke now cooked the evening meal.
We were just about to treat our hunger well
when, out of sunlight, undeclared,
a shaded mass of stone began to stretch
its neck along the slope.
It would scan the water for a quarter hour
before the foliage rubbed its throat,
some internal hunger now assuaged
for only moments, then again, the impulse
thumbed like whalebone on a drum.
The poplars began to rustle. A hawk
spiraling, like an aspen deep in chatter,
betrayed its nest to block the sun.
The dam below rose up to boulder water
as if to show how easily wars are won.
when, out of sunlight, undeclared,
a shaded mass of stone began to stretch
its neck along the slope.
It would scan the water for a quarter hour
before the foliage rubbed its throat,
some internal hunger now assuaged
for only moments, then again, the impulse
thumbed like whalebone on a drum.
The poplars began to rustle. A hawk
spiraling, like an aspen deep in chatter,
betrayed its nest to block the sun.
The dam below rose up to boulder water
as if to show how easily wars are won.
They feed the hunger wall, the waitress points,
the fingers in her skirt rubbing coins
her hands are shoring up to feed the past.
I don’t want the poor to endure me, she says
King Charles said to those he paid, as he watched
their faces, building borders, hunger for a wall,
as she faced the smoldering Vltava, watching hunger well.
the fingers in her skirt rubbing coins
her hands are shoring up to feed the past.
I don’t want the poor to endure me, she says
King Charles said to those he paid, as he watched
their faces, building borders, hunger for a wall,
as she faced the smoldering Vltava, watching hunger well.
(from THE HUNGER WALL, Grove/Atlantic)
Could not sleep so I researched some contests sites and found that MOST are not reliable... surprise, surprise... not really. On Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America I found this article, CONTESTS AND AWARDS that is worth looking at: http://www.sfwa.org/for-authors/writer-beware/contests/
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
HOW TO SELL YOUR MANUSCRIPT WITHOUT AN AGENT
In this article one of the ways the writer suggest for getting published is to enter contests where agents and editors are the judges. She also talks about revising work given the feedback and recommendations received from the contest. I used to think that entering contests was a waste of time and what if they stole my work, that is all out of my mind but I make sure the contest is valuable in that the judges are reputable and part of the contest prize is that they offer feedback, most do not.
Writer’s Craft #72 – Wasting Time in a Writer’s Colony
My comment: Enjoyed the honesty in your article, most
reports on conferences, colonies and writing classes, are "it was so
worth..." and then I go... and then I’m amongst the ones that wonders
"what the heck?" Yet, once in awhile one meets an incredible teacher
and author, as when I met the late Leonard Bishop at an Asilomar Conference. I
also witness a once struggling author meet his beginnings at a conference. I
was not able to attend the San Francisco Writers Conference - even though I
wanted to very much – I am so grateful they nominated me a finalist in poetry
and gave me new hope about my poetry. My take on all the tons of stuff
out-there for writers: I investigate it as an investment in time and finances,
but most of all I continue to write.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Should You Ever (ever) Pay to Have Your Work Read?
Should You Ever (ever) Pay to Have Your Work Read?
I remember when I was so arrogant about my poetry that I felt it demeaning to enter contests, oh how those times have taken a leap into reality. Nowadays it is very hard to publish and or find an agent. There millions of submissions and the slush piles are for every author not already published and or "a perfect writer". Publishers and agents seem to want already-made writers, with a ton of experience in marketing. This article is good advice however; it would be a lot better if contests actually made comments on work submitted and not just accepted it or turned it down.
I remember when I was so arrogant about my poetry that I felt it demeaning to enter contests, oh how those times have taken a leap into reality. Nowadays it is very hard to publish and or find an agent. There millions of submissions and the slush piles are for every author not already published and or "a perfect writer". Publishers and agents seem to want already-made writers, with a ton of experience in marketing. This article is good advice however; it would be a lot better if contests actually made comments on work submitted and not just accepted it or turned it down.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Saturday, April 14, 2012
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