Writing Dismay

Why do we let stuff get in our way of productive writing? I had a teacher tell me that it's all has to do with one simple word-FEAR- False Evidence Appearing Real. Think about that for a moment. How many of us out there have had great ideas for something to write about, and we drop it in the waste can. Is it the fear of rejection, maybe we think we aren't good enough, the detailed work, or maybe it's the fear of success. We want to write something great whether it's fiction or non-fiction, but the first thing that pops in our head is- it"s not as good as Harry Potter and it"s no Strunk and White. We need to get rid of those thoughts that stunt the creative flow. Your passion is real let everyone else see it. I found a way to rid myself of this dismay-one day I took a trip to Barnes and Noble. I went to the bargain section, the part that has 3/$10 and skimmed about 15 books, by the time I was done I was convinced that I could write better then that. It was a beginning of ridding myself of this evil hindrence that kept magnifing it's self louder and larger everytime I wanted to create a prose. I had to put an end to it, well at least I tried. I still get the gitters-does it ever go away? Have any of you found ways to rid the FEARs that come with writing?

Light A Candle

Many lives have perished this week...3 Rescue workers died trying to save 6 trapped miners in Huntington Utah. Three miners are still in the hospital and three others sent home with injuries.

Pisco, Peru-A quake of 8.0 magnitude has taken the lives of hundreds and has injures just as many. People were left homeless because their homes feel with the trembling of the earth.

~Light a candle and let the flame shed hope

for a brighter tomorrow, for the families.

Leave your name if you light a candle-

I will be sending this forward to those families.

Can You See Me Now?

One of my passions in life is NASCAR, yes, I said NASCAR. Every sunday you can bet that the sounds of roaring engines and driver interviews will be in my living room. But today I'm not talking about the race, drivers, or the cars, I'm going to talk about that little "SUNOCO" sticker on the front of Tony Stewarts car. There's this commercial that comes on only during the race and it talks about if you have this sticker on your car and one of the Sunoco reps. see it you can get gas free for a year. With gas prices always going up and down, one gentleman thought he would get noticed and try to get free gas for a year. Now I bet your wondering how I know this. Yup, your right-I saw the sticker. He had not just one or two stickers on his car, but every inch of his car was plasterd with a sticker. There was not one spot of paint that could be seen on his car. And wouldn't you know it, the one day I don't have my camera with me. You can bet I'll get a picture and an interview with in the week.

~I'd like to know if you've ever done anything crazy~

Leave me a post and tell me about it.

I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours.

Today I decided to take the jump out of my own comfort zone into the world of the unknown. I started to research the prerequisites of working as a photojournalist for CNN. The opportunities are plentiful and the qualifications actually are minimal. So with my history of education and experience in this field, no bragging intended, I figure this would be a walk in the park, but… something stopped me. There were many positions to be filled, from internships to employment, and the positions are all over the country, let alone all over the world. As I looked through the listings I could feel the swelling of my chest and the shaking of my hands become a reality. My thoughts where getting louder then the words I had been reading. I stopped to regain my thoughts as to why I wanted to do this in the first place and you know what I came up with? I’m not ready…point blank! As much as I want to do this, it would interrupt the plan I had set out to do in the first place. I graduate in May with my BA, and then I have two years left for my Masters, so I can teach Journalism/Communications when I’m ready to retire from freelance writing and reporting. The sound of my heart beat and the shaking of my finger when I went to submit the resume was a reminder of the plan that I had already set in action. I spent my younger years raising my children, and caring for my families needs and put my life on the back burner. I wanted to stop my education because I didn’t want my boys to have a part time mother, as I’m sure some have experienced. Now its time for me to finish what I started, not for my family, but for me. In a sense, it sounds selfish a bit, but this lifetime is not a prelude to the life I am supposed to live. I was meant to have my sons, I knew their names long before they where born. I was meant to have the order of events in my life that all has come my way. My going back to college has been a testament to them “that it’s never too late to learn, or start again” The Divine only knows the number of days in ones life, so I had better make everyday count for something. One day, hopefully soon, I can hit that submit button and know that it’s time and I am ready. The order of operations has been done correctly and the equation is complete. ~Ve

"The Writers Affirmation"

"The Writer's Affirmation" By Ve MacKay

I am creative, formidable, and forever studious.

I value effort and decry the waste of time.

I write with passion and desire

in hopes to one-day master my craft.

I trust my instincts, my visions, and my guides.

I honor my muse, creative queens three.

I give voice to the voiceless,

face to the faceless and a safe-haven

to those who seek refuge.

I give voice to state the purpose

and to reveal all that need be told.

I believe I am a writer, so a writer I am.

I give those who cry-relief,

and those that care-support.

I hold a dream, a story, a creed,

with in my manuscript.

I am safe writing on the page.

I make my home, my life, my world,

a place to write. I will grow, I will learn,

I will make mistakes.

I fear not the critic,

for the criticwill judge without understanding.

Someday the critic will know me.

~Ve © August 1, 2007 12:49 PM

Today carried the essence of deprivation and ill harmonic gestures. The girls came in the house screaming because they were tired and hungry and well face it 6:30 am is nothing to be laughing about for them. I got them some breakfast and we ate redneck style curled up on the couch. We turned on the cartoons and the three little piggies’s where crying because the big bad wolf was blowing down their house. A while later I turned the news on- the six miners are still trapped, the families are trying to stay positive, yet shed tears of the possible realities. Fires on the west coast are spreading rapidly and families have to evacuate their homes. Then I see the Government wants to tax bottled water. A life-sustaining product, and now they want to make it all the more expensive. The average American family is getting to the point that Wal-Mart is even to expensive because the cost of living goes up more then the paycheck allots for. Gas is starting to go up, meat is on the increase, dairy is going up and guess what? Yes, taxes are next. My youngest son came in and said Mom, with tears in his eyes, I think I have to go in the Army. I looked at him and asked him why? He told me, I couldn’t find a job that pays more than minimum wage. For him to take a job say in Rochester or Buffalo at that wage would take his whole paycheck just in gas. Later on there was a late breaking story three suicide bombings in Iraq, 175 dead and 200+ injured. Then Altemio Sanchez was getting his sentence today as he sits crying in the courtroom, not because he killed and raped all those women, but because he was caught. My point to all this is, I felt this urge to want to do something to change all the hardship and yet at the same time all I could do was feel invisible and helpless. America is having a hard time trusting our leaders and those that are coming forth to take on the challenge are being scrutinized and with just cause, I might add. There’s a driving force within me somewhere, I’m not sure as to what it’s about, but I will trust the divine to lead me and help me understand why this is so important to me. ~Ve