Reflections

Stephen Tremp's site

This Reflections Post leaves me in a quandary.  

Something profound and meaningful is what I wanted to write.  Today, after a trip to Chicago to visit our son and my brother, exhaustion is taking my words away, or at least, hiding them.  So, now I will be all over the page with random words and scattered thinking.

Some bloggers wrote beautifully and simply.  No theses or tomes. No elaborate displays.  Just well-connected thoughts with well-chosen words. When the words kept rambling down the page with little content, my eyes glazed over and I left. 

But if those bloggers kept my interest with excellent writing, I smiled and followed them to their conclusion.

Some bloggers dropped off the face of the earth.  Very disappointing and, frankly, wasting time that could be better spent at another site.

Even while rolling through the numbers (10 a day? Maybe more), it was important to me to read blogs of those whom I regularly enjoy, who may or may not be participating in the A to Z.  Blogger friends have to remain loyal to them and theirs.

Basically, 

writers should succinctly express 

realizations, 

observations, revelations, 

relations, participations,

anticipations, 

inspirations, expectations, exultations, 

interpretations….

and all the other variations 

in the many 

wide, wonderful, 

and wild fields of writing.

In conclusion...writing is joy for me; I had fun.  I had fun in the planning, preparing, and posting of each Letter.  

It is impossible for me to single out favorite bloggers from a wide range of strong and dedicated bloggers. There are some creative writers out there, and they brought their personalities to the screen. 

Source

After sighing with relief when Z for Zimbalist made its appearance, I decided I had a dang good time.

Reflections on the A to Z 2014 Challenge--Huzzah!

The Parade

Well, it’s not really over.  For a blogger, the parade never really ends.  It just changes directions.

I have developed some reflections about this year’s A to Z 2014 Challenge.

This year I vowed that I would:

 Keep track of the sites I visited, write the numbers down, note sites which were ones I would follow.

Curse a bit when finding ones that were inactive.

Say “Really??” upon finding sites that were trying to sell a product.

Hit the keys with disgust, after reading ones that were downright vulgar and thoughtless.

Doze off with ones that were like reading small tomes.

Shake my head at ones that were hoping for beta readers and editing help right then and there.

Sigh with pleasure and delight when finding ones who truly expressed a cohesive thought with simplicity and well-chosen words.

With all that said, I would like to appreciate: 

the bloggers who kept their posts brief and interesting.

  

The writers who focused on the message to be conveyed.

  

The writers who knew that run-on paragraphs would put the reader to sleep.

  

The writers who understood and understand the craft of writing.

Just a few of "My newly-acquired: boy-I-want-to-follow-these" are:  

The Shellshank Redemption

D.G. Hudson

Jilda Watson

Writer's Storm: Brandon Ax

Melanie Schulz

Loverofwords

Not enough words can appreciate gratitude for the organizers and on-call super bloggers who either designed, oversaw, and/or monitored the 2,000+ participants.  These people are (with hopes that none were excluded, but pretty sure there are...so sorry):

Arlee Bird

Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh

Stephen Tremp, Author

Tina  

Amyanti 

Jeremy @ Being Retro

Heather M. Gardner

M.J. Joachim's Writing's Tips

Heather M. Gardner

See you 'round the corner!  

Huzzah!

Some may wonder why I use color for words.  Teacher trick.  Helps students track sentences.  Also I love color.

Why "huzzah"?  I like the word.  My apologies for the length of this post.

Good ol' high school band on parade

Reflections of the A-to-Z Challenge 2012

I love this badge!

Of all the thoughts and emotions garnered from this year’s Challenge, some strike me in their simplicity. 

It is about writing with fervor and belief.  If the writer does not really get behind what has been written, it turns into a pot of over-cooked goulash.

It is about sharing your passions with your audience.  Laying one’s talent out on a cutting board for all to see means the writer has to have an emotional bond with the writing and the topic.

It is about structure and discipline.  A writer who stares blankly at a blinking cursor and does nothing?  A writer will write no matter what spills out on the ‘page’.

It is about supporting other writers.  ‘The loneliness of the long-distance writer’ is what a writer lives with all the time.  BUT with this blogger community, support is one http://.... away.

It is about growth.  A writer must grow in the writing.  Ever read some of the old stuff packed away in a box or file or disc?  The writer evolves and improves.  Hopefully.

Well, there you have it.  It is impossible to say “Thank YOU!” in any other creative form to the founders, organizers, and supervisors of the A-to-Z 2012 Challenge.  I am certain that great sighs are heaved, champagne flutes clinked together, and well-deserved vacations are taken.  Thank you.

Now, is he talking about this year?  2013?  When?  Okay, I'll be there.

Reflections

Today is December 16^th! 

My Reflection of the A-Z 2011 Challenge is being posted on the following site  A-to-Z Challenge 2012

(Click on the purple letters!)

I encourage you to go there to see my thoughts and feelings about that tremendous Challenge.  It forced me to grow as a writer, think outside my comfort zone, and meet new people.

Many thanks for Arlee Bird and his dedicated team for creating this new site!

Go!  There!  Now!  Susan

Remembering Danny Kaye

I am re-posting my "K" from the 2011 A-Z Challenge.  Why?  Why not?

As a child, the first color TV I had ever seen was at a friend of my father's, Ed House.  He and his wife had no children.  A few days before Christmas, our parents would take us to the Five-and-Dime store (Ben Franklin's) and give us each $5!! We each headed off to shop for our family of seven and grandparents.

Afterwards, we stopped by Ed's house where the adults sat in the kitchen drinking coffee.  We were parked in front of the color TV!  That first year I was amazed and delighted by "White Christmas" in color.  In color!

So I post this tribute to Danny Kaye, and his comrades, who made this memory possible.

K is for…Danny Kaye

Danny Kaye was an amazing actor, dancer, singer, comedian, and a self-less humanitarian.  Born in the 1913 of immigrant Jewish parents, Danny Kaye was a truly self-made man, who happened on entertainment as a career, purely by accident, and of necessity.  That said, learned from Wikipedia, I have to say that Danny Kaye was someone who influenced my life.

I was all of ten years old when I saw “White Christmas” in color at a friend’s house.  Danny Kaye was supposed to be the comic relief to the somber Bing Crosby, but in my view.  Danny Kaye took off with his part and dominated the screen.  At my young age, I didn’t see the sizzling desire between Bing and Rosemary Clooney.  What I saw?  Danny Kaye, with his rubbery face, funny voices, danced without the demands of gravity.  Danny Kaye made me laugh.

Year later, I saw much more of Danny Kaye in different movies.  He was Hans Christian Anderson in one film, then he was a court jester in another.  He had a successful television variety show, which always began with one of his famous tongue twisters:

“git gat gittle-giddle-di-ap, giddle-de-tommy, riddle de biddle-de-roop, da-reep, fa-san, skeedle-de woo-da, fiddle de wada, reep”

Danny Kaye was so versatile as a performer, and even more so in his personal life.  He was involved and interested in learning.  He was an accomplished pilot, an internationally recognized Chinese chef, a regular USO performer, an ambassador for UNICEF, and even an honorary member of the American Medical Board of Surgeons.

The thing I will always remember about Danny Kaye is that at the end of each TV episode, Danny would dance freely around a white sound stage, with each step displaying his joy in life.  He died at the age of 71 following complications of heart surgery and heart attack.  

This post is part of the tribute to the A-Z 2011 Challenge.  My own reflection will be posted on Dec. 16, 2011.  Please be a part of this reflection time, as we gear up for the next Challenge!

A-Z Challenge 2012

Reflections of the A-Z Blogfest

Mirror, mirror (courtesy of Bing.com)

A reflection typically is what one sees when looking into a mirror, or a shiny surface.  Looking at this past month, I have observed:

*  Discipline—creating and planning, then writing on an almost daily basis required me to adhere to a deadline. Forethought and having a notepad & pen was necessary at all times.

*  Introspection—looking into myself, and pondering how to approach an assignment differently each day.  Questioning myself about what I wanted the reader to experience was always in front of me.

*  Variety—I like humor, I can be dark, I like to turn ideas over and relate them to something else totally opposite.  I like narrative, I like dialogue.  I like to see God in all the events I observe. This allowed me to explore all those ‘likes’.

Summarizing, this was a great experience, demanding and gritty at times.  I grew as a writer.
This was a daunting task for the A-Z team.  Thank you for your diligence, craziness, and encouragement.  Go to the following link for more reflections:  tossingitout.blogspot.com