So, here's the deal: I haven't told anyone I'm slicing.
Well, that's not totally true -- I've read one post to my husband, and he knows I'm doing something with a blog. And I also told a random person visiting a school (in from NYC) who asked me "if I was a writer" and I replied "Well, not really, but there is this crazy slicing thing I'm doing this month!"
And it IS crazy because:
* I love sleep. I love it so much. I'm 51 and I'm OLD! I've gone from needing 6, then 7 and now 8 beautiful hours of sleep a night, and when you slice, YOU GET LESS SLEEP! You're not only creating your post, but drawn into others', too -- not just 3 comments (that's the bare minimum), but I'm always finding a teacher-writer who has a voice that I admire, a story I want to learn from, a blog that draws me in. So if you're slicing, be ready to give up those zzzzz's.
* I'm not a writer! But wait -- 27 days of posting. Twenty-seven new ideas, and at least two comments/day means 54 READERS (albeit strangers). So, maybe that's not crazy, because if you write every day, and people read what you write, then you may be, by definition, a writer. So I. May. Be. A. Writer.
* This is hard work! And not just the time commitment (see "less sleep", above), but the work of drawing out ideas. Of writing drafts and rejecting them; crafting ideas then abandoning them as they lack substance; even scribbling notes and struggling to find those elusive post-its at the bottom of your backpack. But just like working out, if you plank every day for 10 seconds, eventually you can add 2 seconds. Then 2 more. And your new muscles make you proud (but not proud enough to share -- I'm still a secret slicer!), because your daily hard work is paying off, even if only you and 54 strangers can see it.
* Your heart gets involved. How many of you wrote about loved ones? About the heartache of Amy Krouse Rosenthal's death? About losses and sadnesses and terrible, horrible, no good very bad days? Yep, I see your hands going up. When we write, those emotions race to our finger tips and tap onto our screens and before we know it, our words & our heart are tangled on the page. Sometimes, that makes us feel better. Other times, less so. But that is part of our task, if we are to truly become writers -- to share/show our emotions, and to invite our reader into our hearts.
So maybe I will tuck this blog away until it's time for slicing in 2018 and be oh-so embarrassed when I see how green my writing is; how I lack muscle and how tired I sound. Or maybe, just maybe, I will find a way to share it.
Well, that's not totally true -- I've read one post to my husband, and he knows I'm doing something with a blog. And I also told a random person visiting a school (in from NYC) who asked me "if I was a writer" and I replied "Well, not really, but there is this crazy slicing thing I'm doing this month!"
And it IS crazy because:
* I love sleep. I love it so much. I'm 51 and I'm OLD! I've gone from needing 6, then 7 and now 8 beautiful hours of sleep a night, and when you slice, YOU GET LESS SLEEP! You're not only creating your post, but drawn into others', too -- not just 3 comments (that's the bare minimum), but I'm always finding a teacher-writer who has a voice that I admire, a story I want to learn from, a blog that draws me in. So if you're slicing, be ready to give up those zzzzz's.
* I'm not a writer! But wait -- 27 days of posting. Twenty-seven new ideas, and at least two comments/day means 54 READERS (albeit strangers). So, maybe that's not crazy, because if you write every day, and people read what you write, then you may be, by definition, a writer. So I. May. Be. A. Writer.
* This is hard work! And not just the time commitment (see "less sleep", above), but the work of drawing out ideas. Of writing drafts and rejecting them; crafting ideas then abandoning them as they lack substance; even scribbling notes and struggling to find those elusive post-its at the bottom of your backpack. But just like working out, if you plank every day for 10 seconds, eventually you can add 2 seconds. Then 2 more. And your new muscles make you proud (but not proud enough to share -- I'm still a secret slicer!), because your daily hard work is paying off, even if only you and 54 strangers can see it.
* Your heart gets involved. How many of you wrote about loved ones? About the heartache of Amy Krouse Rosenthal's death? About losses and sadnesses and terrible, horrible, no good very bad days? Yep, I see your hands going up. When we write, those emotions race to our finger tips and tap onto our screens and before we know it, our words & our heart are tangled on the page. Sometimes, that makes us feel better. Other times, less so. But that is part of our task, if we are to truly become writers -- to share/show our emotions, and to invite our reader into our hearts.
So maybe I will tuck this blog away until it's time for slicing in 2018 and be oh-so embarrassed when I see how green my writing is; how I lack muscle and how tired I sound. Or maybe, just maybe, I will find a way to share it.
You totally get less sleep when slicing! I learned that really quickly. And here I am at 10pm, reading slices and commenting!
ReplyDeleteLove the last one - my heart definitely has been involved! I smiled when I wrote about my sister and cried as I wrote about putting my dog down. It's cathartic for sure! This has been my first year and I've loved the challenge!
ReplyDeleteIf you've never considered yourself a writer before (and especially during this challenge), you should! You're such a great one and you should share your talent! I found myself nodding my head to everything you were writing, agreeing with it all! Yes to less sleep! Yes to getting sucked in (in a great way) to other writers' stories and lives! Yes to my heart being strewn across my writing and that I had no idea would show so brightly across the page! You are a writer and an excellent one so thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYep, definitely less sleep in March. My friends and family think I'm a bit crazy about this blogging thing. But I show up every day of March and every week on Tuesdays the rest of the year. Hope you'll join us for weekly slicing. And I totally agree with getting drawn into the writing of others. Sometimes I find a new blog and then I keep reading and commenting on previous posts. And you are a writer! I've enjoyed showing up most days to follow your journey.
ReplyDeleteYou've definitely nailed it! I'm glad you joined the SOLSC this year. Hope you decide to come out of the closet and tell people. :)
ReplyDeleteI hate to break it to you, but you ARE a writer. If you've been showing up, putting your words down on the page (electronic as it may be), and doing it day after day, then you need to own your title: WRITER!
ReplyDelete