I'm going to keep this as brief as I can since I've been very sick over the past few days and still not up to staying in front of the computer for very long. Picked up this nasty bug somewhere--maybe from the pneumonia shot I got last Wednesday or maybe from just being at the doctor's office. Whatever the case might be, I feel lousy right now and I'm ready to crawl back into bed. Tomorrow will be another--and hopefully a healthier day.
The results from my Battle of the Bands post are on down the page, but first my post for The Insecure Writer's Support Group...
Join us on the first Wednesday of each month in Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Support Group--a forum of writers who gather to talk about writing and the writer's life. For a complete list of participants visit Alex's Blog.
The co-hosts for the February 7 posting of the IWSG are Stephen Tremp, Pat Garcia, Angela Wooldridge, Victoria Marie Lees, and Madeline Mora-Summonte!
February 7 question - What do you love about the genre you write in most often?
Well, sad to say, aside from blogging I haven't been writing anything for quite a while. Nada! Zilch! I've been thinking a lot about writing, but I think about a lot of things and thinking doesn't amount to doing. Oh, I've been doing lots of other things so all of that might add up to life experience which in turn makes for good fodder for future writing. But I've been in a sort of a slump--a burn out phase so to speak. And I've been doing other things that take away from writing time.
However, when I am writing non-blog stuff then I tend to like to write memoir. What I love about memoir is that it is real and something that I can readily connect with. It's something that I enjoy sharing. It's like when my mother used to tell me stories about her younger days or I used to tell my own kids stories about when I was a lad. To me, history is important. I didn't always understand that when I was a high school student plodding through what I thought was useless information. Now I'd rather learn about history to see how events and people in the past brought us to where we are now and to recognize the mistakes that are being repeated repeatedly.
I hope my own personal history doesn't include a me who didn't record enough of my own life and got too busy to write. But then on the larger scale it probably doesn't matter that much. Still it should matter to me now. That's why I need to write. Again. More than blog posts.
Battle of the Bands
My most recent Battle of the Bands (found here) featured three different band "theme songs." I had a difficult time coming up with three actual bands so I did have to resort to using two themes from cartoon shows where the characters played in bands.
This battle did not turn out in any way as I expected. In fact I was somewhat shocked! As some of you might have guessed my pick was for the theme of the one real band The Good Rats. After all I did say they were "one of my favorite rock bands of all time." And the Rats made a decent showing with voters. I figured The Archies would win this Battle and the Pussycats wouldn't capture a single vote. Boy, was I wrong!
Final Vote Tally
Archies 2
Josie and the Pussycats 8
The Good Rats 7
Next Battle on Thursday February 15th
I will surely be better by then. Might or might not post anything before that time. Or I might go back to doing some actual writing.
Have you evaded sickness this year? What is your biggest distraction from doing things you want (or need) to do? Do you enjoy reading memoir?
Lee, sorry to hear you're ill and having had to remain in bed. Here in the UK there is a nasy type of flu going around called Austrailian Flu.
ReplyDeleteI wish you a speddy recovery.
Had the winner of BOTB this month.
Take care.
Yvonne.
Yvonne, I think I'm getting better. Hopefully by tomorrow I'll be back to normal--or something of that nature.
DeleteLee
Dealing with sickness drains you. I know because every time it hits me, I am worthless and can't do one single thing but lie in bed and I hate that like I hate the pest. What I've learned to do though recently is lie in bed with my iPad and read the Craft books and novels and that I keep purchasing from Amazon and iBooks. So, I've actually started catching up on my reading. It is amazing because when I start doing that, my health starts improving.
ReplyDeleteAs for reading memoirs, I am a memoir fan. I have learned so much from the memoirs I have read so far. Especially those that depict struggles that they have had to overcome. I have a couple of memoirs that I read over and over again. For example, Catherine Marshall's first three books Beyond Ourselves, Something More, and To Live Again are three books in the memoir category that give me so much encouragement and energy. So, I hope you do start writing that memoir soon. You never know how many people need to hear what you have to say. They will miss hearing it if you don't write it so start writing. I'm pulling for you.
Get well soon and all the best.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat G @ EverythingMustChange
Pat, thanks for your encouragement. I need to take your words to heart.
DeleteLee
Sorry you've been sick.
ReplyDeleteThe stories passed from one generation to the next need to be kept alive by someone.
Alex, if we'd listen more to the stories of the past and try to better understand them I think the world would be far better off.
DeleteLee
Oof, I hope you feel better soon (and find a way out of your slump soon). I caught a nasty cold in January and it was no fun. I've been reading that the flu has been relentless this year. Take care of yourself!
ReplyDeleteMegan, actually I'm back on the keyboard at 7:35 PM PST on Wednesday night and feeling 90% better. We'll see how tonight goes, but I may have beaten this bug. I've heard some bad flu stories especially in my part of the country.
DeleteLee
Sorry to hear you've been ill! Back in NY, I got sick at least once every few weeks, but since I've temporarily been in SC, I've only had one real cold. I wonder if my health will return to its normal poor state after I've moved back North.
ReplyDeleteI've always enjoyed memoirs, particularly ones set against a historical backdrop. They're such priceless treasures, the kind of testimonies one can't get just from reading a textbook or regular non-fiction book on the subject.
Carrie-Anne, I don't get sick very often, but sometimes it just hits me and seems like it's often after I've come home from my Christmas trips back east. Maybe a seasonal thing--I don't know. I've avoided this sickness for the past few years so I'll consider myself fortunate.
DeleteI know you're a personal history buff from so many of your posts on the subject. The past is worth remembering though many these days don't seem to think so.
Lee
Wishing you a speedy recovery, Lee. As a fan of your Wrote by Rote blogs, I can attest that your memoir would be a fantastic read! I look forward as much as I bet your family does ;-)
ReplyDeleteDiedre, I should maybe try to get back to posting on Wrote By Rote as I loved doing those posts. Thanks for the encouragement.
DeleteLee
Sorry about your not feeling well. We've had one terrible flu season where I live, so I've seen a lot of people under the covers and down for the count. Love memoir, so congratulations on writing yours.
ReplyDeleteC.Lee, I've been hearing about a lot of sickness especially in San Diego county. I don't recall how many, but several people did die with flu listed as a cause.
DeleteLee
I had what is probably your same flu a few weeks ago. It didn't go away easily. Hopefully, you have a light case.
ReplyDeleteJack, I don't know what crept up on me, but the sickness took me by surprise. Might have had something to do with my state of mind as well. Seems like my illness is going pretty quickly with a bit of a lingering cough.
DeleteLee
You've had an interesting life. You should record it.
ReplyDeleteEveryone has been so sick! Knocking on wood that we continue to avoid it.
L.Diane, I should--yes, I should.
DeleteLee
I hope you get better soon! The nice thing about memoirs is that you can pass them down to your kids and grand kids and they get to peek into your life.
ReplyDeleteLoni, pass them on and hope they are interested. A lot of young people today don't seem to care much about the past.
DeleteLee
Get well soon <3
ReplyDeleteJemima, thanks.
DeleteLee
I'm so sorry to hear you've got the latest ebola going around. With a life like yours has been, I'd be doing a memoir, too. I could do a tract...
ReplyDeleteCW, I'm getting better, but now my wife might be getting it. A tract might be okay--I've known some people who wrote tracts about their lives and passed them out for promotional purposes. Got anything to promote?
DeleteLee
So far I haven't been sick but it's only a matter of time. With all the stress in my life I'm surprised I'm still standing. And I do enjoy reading memoirs.
ReplyDeleteJoJo, hope you stay well and read my memoir if I ever get it done and published.
DeleteLee
Take care of yourself first. I like old family stories. My grandparents told me a few that made me look at Laura Ingles a whole new way. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnna from elements of emaginette
Anna, I wish I'd asked my grandparents and other relatives to tell more stories about their early days. Now they're gone and I can't ask.
DeleteLee
Hi Lee. Yes, you do need o write more than blog posts. Even if it's a series of 6 - 8 short stories and publish it on Amazon for $2.99.
ReplyDeleteYou have an entire blogging community for support and help you get the good word out.
Hello Lee! I agree that you do need to write more than blog posts. I also love that you enjoy writing in the "memoir" mode, when you do write! My entire blog is fattened up on my idiot stories of when I was homeless, a musician, a kid, a computer engineer, daily life now and witnessing my parents' antics, when I was young. I have enough material to edit into an e-book of my life, which I've been planning to do. There's a lot of stuff about James Thurber and other authors I grew up reading, too.
ReplyDeleteI DO enjoy reading memoirs and had a great time reading about Peter Ustinov, David Niven and several other actors and actresses from that era!
We both know how sick I got and I think I got the flu in the hospital; luckily, I slept through a lot of it, and I did have a flu shot, so I think that kept me out of the graveyard. I'm back on my feet and rarin' to go! Thanks, Lee! You're a gracious host, as always! <3
So sorry to hear you've been under the weather. There sure seems to be a lot of that going around. I SO totally agree about writing memoir. I've often wondered if that makes me self-centered!
ReplyDeleteBtw, hope you feel 100% VERY soon!!! (And that you start feeling more creative!)
ReplyDeleteI rarely get sick. Mostly a sore throat or cough. I don't get the flu shots cuz I don't want to ruin my good health, lol.
ReplyDeleteI was in a writing slump for a couple years too. Did some "writerly stuff" and flash fiction, not sure that counted as real writing though. Sometimes famous authors take breaks; why can't we :)
Bad luck Lee. I think yr bug hopped over here to SA. Fine yesterday dreadful today. Get better soon. Rest up. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you're on the mend, LEE.
ReplyDeleteHokey-Smoke, that was a great Battle, even if it turned out nothing like you expected. It didn't turn out like I thought it would, either. I mean, I figured 'The Good Rats' would win easily, it being the only "real" song, IMO.
I never, ever get a flu shot. Like Wild Thing said above: "I don't want to ruin my good health."
Seriously, any time something gets pushed on us as hard as the flu shots are, I immediately get suspicious. I know way too much about government and pharmaceutical company corruption to ever take my chances on being injected with... GOD ONLY KNOWS WHAT! No, thanks!!
Knock on wood, and thanks be to God, I can't even remember the last time I had a flu. I was probably just a kid. Colds I'll get, but not the flu.
See ya again on the 15th!
~ D-FensDogG
Would You Like To See... 'It's A Wonderful Life' Come To Life?
STMcC, don't know if what I had was really "the flu" but that's what my wife always calls it and she's gotten me in the habit.
DeleteI don't need a flu shot to ruin my health. I'm doing a pretty good job of that on my own.
Lee
I hope you can get some non-blog writing in. Have you tried writing memoir vignettes or flash fiction to jump back in?
ReplyDeleteLee,
ReplyDeleteAhh, I should've known something was up when I didn't get a reply to my email. I'm sorry you're not well. I'll say a prayer for you to make a complete and quick recovery from whatever ails you. This is the sick season. The flu is rampant and some thing else floating in the air making people deathly ill. Oh the fun NOT, right? I've been fortunate so far *knock on wood* to dodge these health cripplers. I hope I didn't jinx myself. I have never had the flu or pneumonia shots. I've heard these can make you sick. Why borrow trouble, huh? Anyhow, I hope you feel better this morning or later today when you read my comment.
It looks like I went with the winning song this round. "Josie and the Pussy Cats" theme is really upbeat and fun. :)
I have allowed daily hops over the years to pull me away from writing but this year I'm making an honest stab at changing this on my blog by answering questions weekly. This still isn't "writing" but I'm hoping it will nudge me toward more creative posts in coming weeks. We'll see. I guess like you the only writing I do much of is memories. I wish I had stuff to write about my parents or grandparents. I don't recollect them talking about their lives much growing up and I didn't ask. What a shame!
Stay in bed as long as you need. That's your body trying heal itself, so don't fight it. Be well, my friend. You're in my thoughts & prayers.
I'm sorry to hear you've been unwell. Feel better soon.
ReplyDeleteFamily stories are important - it's a legacy and builds into an element of our identity. Memoirs do the story-telling better and with greater accuracy than the oral traditions. Though I'm not in any way implying the oral isn't important too.
Good post--now go back to bed and get better!
ReplyDeleteI hope that you feel better soon, Lee - and you have many positive days ahead to add to the memoir. (I've forgotten too much so life is becoming fiction.).
ReplyDeleteWe got flu and pneumonia snots this year. We live in an elderly community, where the sick never leave their house.
ReplyDeleteSorry you are still fighting the bug.
Hi, Lee, old friend. So nice to see you're still blogging. I've been away from it for quite some time. Thought I'd never return, but the lure of seeing some old friends again, and being homebound still as a caregiver of my disabled daughter, connecting with this world again, even if this kind of face to face isn't the real world, excites me. As for your questions ... memoir of course if my favorite too, and history has become second; but at my age details don't stick very well he he. My daughter Jen and I didn't get the flu. We did have flu shots but that doesn't cover everything. However, we can choose to stay home, from church and other public places, so like Susan (above) we're in a good place. Sorry you got it; hope you'll soon feel better.
ReplyDeleteAnn, feeling better for the most part. It's a good idea to write down our lives before we forget everything.
DeleteLee
Hi Lee - sincerely hope you're feeling better now .. take care and just relax to improve and heal - cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteI certainly hope you'll come out of your slump in time to get ready for A-Z 2018?
ReplyDeleteIn answering your question "What do you love about the genre you write in most often?" I'm like WHAT IS MY GENRE..? My blog is a huge Potpourri: a mix of a lot of things, hoping it does make people feel good.
I think the posts that I thrive most at are the fictional stories. My characters experience the most amazing things!
Tamara, you seem to have eclectic tastes like I do. I don't like being confined to any one genre or subject matter.
DeleteI'm getting geared up for A to Z.
Lee
Hope you're feeling better. Those MD offices are dangerous places!
ReplyDeleteYou work so hard on the blog and all the stuff that supports the rest of us, I'm not surprised you don't have energy left to write! I really appreciate what you do, though.
Rebecca, thank you--it's nice to be appreciated. I don't work on my blogging as much as I used to. Especially of late when I've been a bit under the weather.
DeleteLee