Write On Wednesday: I Am A Writer

And today I have written. A lot.

And even though most of it was related to work writing - i.e, it was technical and not creative in nature, I’ve recently developed a greater appreciation for the medical writing I do, particularly since I’ve been trying to teach others how to do it. I realize how mindful the writer must be to write these medical reports effectively, a mindfulness I used subconsciously all along.

All the while I thought I was an administrator at work, I was really a writer, masquerading behind Excel worksheets and schedules and meetings. When I was working as an administrator and not a writer, I lost track the skills required to create these reports and make them user friendly for their target reader.

I am a writer, and a writer at heart I remain.

One of the things I wrote was this post on my Write On Wednesday blog, about the 5 w’s of being a writer.

I put the post together in the form of a meme, asking my writer friends to ponder the 5 w’s of their writing life. I wanted time today to think about the answers to these questions for myself. Who am I as a writer? What pulls at my writer’s imagination? Where and when do I ply my craft? And perhaps most importantly, why do I - or any of us - write at all?

But as it turns out,  I never had an opportunity to think about those 5 w’s.

I was too busy writing.

Because I am a writer.

The 5 W’s of Writing

My  one and only journalism class stressed the importance of those vital 5 W’s, the Who, What, Where, When, and Why of every good story. I downloaded Jeff Goins new ebook, You Are A Writer, and reading it made me consider those same “w’s” in terms my identity as a writerly type person. Goins exhorts us to stop beating around the bush of our identity as writers. Part of being able to declare ourselves as a “writer, hear me roar!” involves developing a persona, or a concept of writerly self.

Seems like the answers to the 5 w’s could be an important part of that process.

Ponder these, my writer friends. And if you are so inclined, share your thoughts in the comments, or on your blog.

WHO: How do you identify yourself as a writer? Is it something you do for self-fulfillment, do you have a message to impart, do you write to make a living and is that different from other writing you do?

WHAT: What’s your line? What subjects or themes do you return to again and again? What do you want to explore and impart to others in your writing?

WHERE: Nuts and bolts, here. Do you write at home, in an office cubicle, the library or neighborhood coffee shop? or all of the above!

WHEN: More nuts and bolts. Do you write on a regular schedule? Do you find it necessary or important to sit down at the same time every day? Or does your life dictate that you write whenever and wherever you can find the time and inspiration?

WHY: The real knitty gritty question. Why write? The answer comes from the “who” you are as a writer, but also asks you to consider the importance of the written word in our world today and for the world tomorrow.

weekending

♥  Taking a page from  Bella's book, and linking up to the weekending series hosted by Amanda ♥

Working from home means that weekends can easily become just another work day, and Saturday was that for me.

But it's okay.

I spent the day writing about people who have a lot more problems than I do, and sometimes that perspective is good for the whiny soul.

Sunday we played -literally and figuratively. I played bells at a local Methodist church, filling in for someone who was on vacation in my friend's bell choir.  I feel like a circuit riding church musician - seems I’m always cantering off to some church or other (besides my own!) playing bells or piano.

It’s amusing.

Then we drove to St. Clair, Michigan, a small town about an hour northeast of here, that runs parallel with the St. Clair River. My husband’s choral group was singing in St. Mary’s Catholic Church, and while waiting for him to finish rehearsing I took a walk along the riverfront, sat on a sunny bench, read Web of Angels, and spent some time visiting with Merle and Barbara, an interesting elderly couple who were enjoying the spring sunshine.

The concert was wonderful (as always) and the acoustic in the church was a singers dream with a heavenly natural reverb that put the listener right up with the angels. There was an afterglow at a local restaurant (little meatballs, little crabcakes, big quesadillas, oh my!) and then we drove home in the twilight.

It was sublime.

And I appreciate that after some of the ridiculousness of late :)

How about you? What did you do this weekend? 

Time Passages

Connor's getting his first teeth! Both of his lower central teeth are starting to show, and you can easily feel them with your finger...

This was on my son’s Facebook page last night, and I when I read it aloud to my husband we both made the appropriate “awww...” sound followed by a deep sigh.

“The next post will read 'Connor’s getting his driver’s license,'” I said wryly, “and then ‘Connor’s graduating from college,’ and then ‘Connor’s getting married...’”.

Yep, time does fly, and although it never seems like it when you’re knee deep in diapers it really is only an eyeblink before children are no longer children, but adults and off living in some ridiculous place like Dallas, Texas. (Or Burlington, Vermont, or Los Angeles, California, or Seattle, Washington - parents of these, you know who you are.)

I have to admit, I’m not enjoying this long-distance grandparenting thing. Whenever we’re lucky enough to get a new video, I watch it over and over until the iPad battery runs dry. When new photos pop up on Facebook, you’re liable to see me carrying the iPad around the house, clutching the image to my heart.

And yes, I have been known to kiss the screen.

As much as I love watching this adorable little guy growing up, it makes my heart ache that I’m not able to see it up close and personal. I imagine when I look back on it years from now, when Connor has in fact graduated from college and gotten married, I will count it as one of the biggest mistakes regrets of my life - that somehow I didn’t find a way to be closer to him.

People tell me you can’t follow your children all over the place, and experience has proven this to be true. (Case in point - our lovely little plan for a Florida retirement with our family just down the road.) I suppose we could pick up and move to Texas, that maybe my husband and I could find work there to sustain us for the next few years until pensions and 401k’s kick in. But our son is young and life is unpredictable - he could very well find other opportunities elsewhere, in any part of the world, and there we would be once again.

Psychologist Eric Erikson talks about developmental stages we must successfully pass through in order to live a fulfilled and happy life. During middle adulthood (ages 35-65) he believes we must be concerned with “generativity,” which comes through caring for others and producing something for the betterment of society. Family and work, then, in somewhat equal measure, are the tasks to navigate in these years.

But as we get closer to the end of this stage, our relationships and activities change - children leave home, careers wind down, and it becomes more difficult to find meaning and purpose. Failure to successfully navigate this stage leads to “self-absorption and stagnation."

That sure doesn’t sound pretty to me, but I can see how it could happen.

Most of the women in my family have spent the waning years of their middle adulthood helping to raise their grandchildren. My mother, my grandmother, my great-grandmother and many of my aunts, have all been lucky enough to have a least some of their children nearby. I know that’s not the norm, especially in the 21st century, but I wish it were.

Being around children is one of the most “generative” activities I know of - what else is more reflective of "caring for others and producing something for the betterment of society”? It’s a sure and certain remedy for self-absorption and stagnation, and one of the best ways I can imagine to navigate this passage of life.

I only wish it were available to me.

Now We Return to Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

When I was a young SAHM (an acronym you rarely see on this blog, so I will define it for you: Stay At Home Mom), I was hooked on the the ABC afternoon soap operas. The ongoing stories and family dilemmas provided a respite from the isolation I sometimes felt being the only new mother in the neighborhood as well as the first of my friends to have children. But occasionally the show was interrupted by “breaking news” or a speech from the President or election results, interruptions that were extremely vexing. After what seemed like an interminably long time, the station logo would flash across the screen and announcer’s voice brought the good news.

Now we return to our regularly scheduled programming.

The events of my life during the past month remind me of those obnoxious interruptions. A pile of nasty stuff kept coming my way, one vile thing after another. But I’ve turned the calendar on April (a cruel month indeed) and happily moved on to May.

Now we can return to our regularly scheduled programming.

And what is on the program schedule for Becca?

Some fun concerts to attend and participate in.

Social events with friends.

A wedding anniversary (our 36th).

An interesting work project.

Shopping for a new house.

And, best of all,  a trip in June to see Mr. Connor, whose very existence is the one true thing that makes life - with all its obnoxious interruptions - worth living.

How about you? Has your life been on a regular schedule, or have you been bothered with nasty interruptions?