Writing, Editing, and Print On-line Fall 2010

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

The Unmasking of Writer Woman!

The Recipe for ME

They say, "little girls are mad of sugar and spice and everything nice." Well the recipe for ME is slightly more complected. In fact there are many variations based upon the occasion and the audience. Let's focus on the ingrediants that combine to create my persona as a composer, writer, and editor.

For Megan the Composer

One part explorer
One and a half parts researcher
Two parts dreamer
One part artist
A pinch of inspiration

For Megan the Writer

Take the recipe above and add:

One part reporter
One part matador
One part interpreter
A dash skeptic
Two parts juggling act
A splash of intuition

For Megan the Editor
Take the recipes above and add:

One part critic
One part cheerleader
One part analyst
Two parts teacher

Notice that all the recipes must build upon the ones before. That's because the three are connected and at times while writing I will need to draw upon the skills of my composing or editing self.

Mariposa

I used to live in the dark.

My days were nights, and my nights were all day,

Everyday.

For a prolonged period of time

And then I caught a glimpse of Change

Change was all I had

And it was all I needed

Wrapped tightly in the dimness of my past

I had to escape, and Change knew the way

So I became one with this Change.

And in the dark is where I saw it all.

Change illuminated my flaws, my vices, my faults

Throughout every stage in my lifetime

Change was present, but I’d never spotted it

It was the key I needed to unlock the next and final stage

And knowledge helped me retrieve this treasure

I was ready.

As I unfolded my exquisitely patterned wings

It broke through pieces of my once harboring shell

I peeked out at the world anew

All I wanted to do was dive into its inviting atmosphere

With Change still by my side,

We broke free and took flight,

Gliding through the world we planned to enlighten.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Brownie sundaes and spring cleaning

My identity as a composer, writer, and editor is a product of many ideas and habits. It's like a recipe.

I think of past ideas or projects (reflection, much?), what I liked and didn’t like, what I think would work for the new composition. It’s like repurposing clothes.

From those ideas, new ones form and develop, and some fail while others prevail. Both old and recent ideas fuel new ideas. Brand new ideas.

I start out organized: a list of ideas, a plan for a paper, a checklist for a project. Things are in order.

And then they are not. Sometimes the plans fail, the lists get thrown away, and I end up starting all over.

But after a lot of work, things end up looking better than I could have imagined.

The Unveiling of Sammi in Haiku

Truth with a Capital “T”

Samantha Erin

is her name, composing what’s

meaningful, her aim.

Purposeful, pointed,

frank, sincere… Honest always.

Her heart’s in the print.

She shares what she knows…

What she has learned from the Book,

the love of her life.

Lucado, Lewis,

Spurgeon, Piper, and Edwards,

inspire and spur her.

She is determined

to leave a lasting mark upon

this world; life is fast.

Prizes and success,

nice, but all loss compared to

knowing, sharing, Truth.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Alphabet Soup

is for distractions!

Let's face it. All of my work starts with a distraction or twenty. I mean, all of my finished products would be deserving of immortality if they came from a clean, untainted slate. The purest of my ideas are always tarnished by the time they emerge from stumbleupon or facebook. Even at this very moment my mind battles with ignoring the roleplaying chats on which my geek side flies free and finishing a lovely and final blog post for this class.

is for inspiration and ideas!

I think we can all agree that I am pretty awesome. If not, then at least I can believe it. In that case, my ideas that come from my ranging forms of inspiration are also awesome. Syllogism rules. I enjoy a multitude of things that can get me in the right frame of mind when it comes to work. Sleeping is the best, but always the least available. Other things like meditating, swimming, and listening to music are extremely helpful as well.

is for the finished product!

Finally, when I've sloughed off the residual distractions and I have my ideas in check, the finished project emerges like, as Jane Lynch's SNL monologue put it, a god birthed between two storm clouds. Of course the entire visualization would also be claymation. The finished product is always the most satisfying part and also includes reflection. Huzzah!