one down, two to go

Tags

editing, masters, novel, publishing, short stories, to much to do, words, work, writing

After two long weeks of typing, deleting and editing I handed in my novel writing final, 12.500 words of my novel plus 3.00 words of reflection, in all nearly 50 pages of words. Hard won and energy sapping words.

But once I handed the printed out pages in for my professor to collect, a burden was lifted from my shoulders and I decided to take a day. So on Saturday I spent time reading and in the afternoon my neighbour sat in the warm(ish) spring sun enjoying a chat and a cup of tea.

Sadly one day was all I could allow for as I now still have my short stories final and  publishing final to hand in. So with one down, and two still left to go my time is still filled with words.And of course there are still all of my corrections and grading left to do, and I still have to cycle in to do my contract work.

With that in mind I think it is safe to say that I won’t be bored or wondering what to do in quite a while. However as the temperature rises and the sun seems to be spending a little more time in the sky everything does come a little easier.

The biggest issue I am left with however is whether I should on my novel or on my short stories for my thesis. After all I’ll be spend  most f my summer with it and I wonder which one will be the better option.

So as I contemplate my options and try and concentrate on the job(s) at hand I think it’s time for another cup of tea and maybe a cookie, after all a cookie makes nearly everything better.

 

day filled with words

Tags

creative, Dublin, Irish Wheelchair Association, Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA), magic, OFFSET, photography, printing, quotes, words

Yesterday morning I gave a talk about local journalism to a lovely bunch of women at the Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA). This group of bubbly, lively personalities were chatty and interested, all had something to say and wanted to learn how.

After two hours of talking, leading a lively debate and sharing what I know it was time to head back home and get ready for an afternoon filled with listening.

Once a year OFFSET hosts a ‘creative festival’ to which they invite a variety of creative people to talk about their work in the field of graphic design, animation, illustration, advertising, film, fashion and more.

As I didn’t hear about the conference in time I was only able to attend the talks that took place yesterday afternoon, but it was worth it. I sat through an in-depth discussion about magazines and where they are going. It was wonderful to hear people from the top of the industry give such insight and confirm what I believe – magazines have  a future, and print isn’t going anywhere.

Soon my head was filled with words, thoughts, ideas and facts and it was time for me to make my way back home. As I walked along the river Liffey the sun was setting behind the city, bathing the rooftops in a reddish-golden glow, a beautiful ending to a wonderful word-filled day.

Words are our most inexhaustible source of magic

Albus Dumbledore

lost post

Tags

blogging, lost, lost post, words

I just lost a post … I spent a while typing, reworking and editing a post about inspirational books  … I have no idea what happened … WORDPRESS where did it go?

So if anyone see’s a lone post wandering the fields of blogs please let me know … it could be mine … point in in my direction and maybe tomorrow it will appear!

words spent – friendly chats and interviews

Tags

chats, friends, friendship, job interviews, quotes, spoken words, words

This week my writing time has been cut down considerably. It’s not that I don’t want to write, nor that I don’t know what to write but other things have been getting in the way. I have spent the best part of the week, so far, by preparing for and going to job interviews and catching up with friends.

We spend so much of our time talking: either explaining things to people, selling our skills to potential employers, describing things we need or even just to share information. And we probably spend nearly as much time wondering whether or not we were understood, or what we could/should have said instead.

When it comes to job interviews, we try to speak clearly, chose our words extra carefully and way what we say. When we sit on that hot seat, trying to sell our skills, and us, with every word we say we can’t help but relive every conversation and ineloquent phrasing.

It’s a bit like those first few conversations with the guy you have a crush on. Every word you stutter, each syllable he utters, is dissected, deconstructed and twisted into a shape we can make sense of – be it it good or not.

But time spent with friends – chatting, laughing, teasing, sharing – is relived not based on the words we shared but on the emotions we felt. In our minds we may recall the conversations and even remember certain phrasings, but it is what we felt that makes us smile, feel nostalgic or warms us from within.

Friendly chats are the best way to spend  – not only our time – but also our words. And only with friends do we know that even the unspoken word can be heard when needed.

One measure of friendship consists not in the number of things friends can discuss, but in the number of things they need no longer mention.

Author Clifton Fadman

cat lady or catwomam

Tags

cat lady, catwoman, quotes, relationships, thoughts, words, writing

It’s odd how one word can change an entire meaning of something. How a  few letters can create an image, paint a picture in our minds and influence how we think about something or someone. This thought occurred to me when I stumbled across the word cat lady in an article I was reading.

Interestingly enough being a lady is normally considered  being  a little bit better than just a woman. It implies you are sophisticated, have a certain flair and worldliness about you. You have taste, a sense of culture and style. But if you pop the word cat in front of it, the whole image changes.

Now if you are a cat lady you probably haven’t brushed your hair in a week, wear baggy jumpers with unicorns, hearts or teddies on them, live a lonely life surrounded by cats that you call your babies, no man in sight. However if you simply swap the word ‘lady’ to ‘woman’ a whole new image forms again.

Being  catwoman implies that you are clad in black leather or Lycra with luscious locks, a sexy stroll, a provocative purr and men groveling at your high-heeled boots.  You have your pick of the litter so to speak and seemingly lead a charmed life.

As a single woman of a certain age I seem to hover somewhere between cat lady and catwoman. I don’t own a pair of thigh-high black patent leather boots, but my allergy against cats means I don’t own a kitten either. Skintight Lycra really isn’t a good look for me, but jumpers with prints aren’t my cup of tea either. My hair isn’t long and luscious but my locks are brushed and tamed as much as I can get my curls to be. And while yes I don’t have men salivating on my toes, I do believe I am better looking and more interesting then a scarecrow.

So maybe I should just cross out ‘cat’ and try and decide whether I want to be a ‘lady’ or if being a ‘woman’ is enough for me. Or maybe I should wait until I find that man who make me feel like catwoman when I look like a cat lady and loves me even when I act like a little girl.

Be a girl with mind,a woman with attitude and a lady with class.

wrong words

Tags

first word, literature, Mark Twain, samuel langhorne clemens, words, writing, wrong words

Writing is easy. All you have to o is cross out the wrong words.

This quote by Mark Twain hangs over my desk and every time my eyes flit over it I can’t help but smile. If only it were as simple as Mr Twain claims in these two little sentences.

Over the last few days I have been thinking more than typing, trying to figure out what it is I actually want to write. After all there are so many different forms, from fiction over fact. And with all the ideas in my head turning somersaults and competing for attention it is hard to figure out where to start.

So instead of crossing out wrong words my time is spent trying to figure out the first word, how to start, where to begin. But thankfully I still have few weeks left and hopefully some time in between class preparations and typing up module guides to try and figure out what the right words are.

And even if I don’t end up being as successful and revered as Mark Twain, or Samuel Langhorne Clemens as his mama called him, I may, at the very least, be happy with what I write, if I’m very lucky maybe others may enjoy it too. And if the stars align and I get the timing write, who knows I may still be published yet.

But for now I will be satisfied when I find a beginning and know which wrong words to cross out., not those of my students but the one my fingers find on my keyboard.

d-day of words

Tags

drugs, miscellaneous, random, thoughts, words, writing

As I sat on the bus the other day I watched as a doddering old gentleman boarded and made his way painfully slowly to a seat.  A stop later a gentleman of similar age got on and as he strode with long steps and in a neatly pressed trench-coat down the aisle, his grey hair slicked backed and shining in the sun the word that came to mind was ‘dapper’.

As I watched them, demurely peaking from behind my book, I couldn’t help but wonder about how a single word can change an image in our heads. If a place is  ‘dusky’ or ‘dusty’ may not only affect my hay-fever but the time I had there. If a date is ‘dreamy’ or ‘dreary’ changes not only the outcome but the story I tell about it. If a  person is described as ‘deviant’ or ‘devote’ will decide how I approach them when being introduced. Being called ‘darling’ or ‘dreadful’ may affect how I see myself and present who I am afterwards.

Words and their meaning create a filter through which we see the world and the people within it. But even though words are so powerful, very often we don’t take the time to consider which one we choose, we forget that we have thousands at our disposal. In the full Oxford English Dictionary there are more than 175,000 words, most we use, some we don’t and many have more than just one meaning. Interestingly enough while only a seventh of these words are verbs, a quarter are adjectives, this shows that we tend to describe more than we do.

As I debated  and deliberated over words and what they mean and I decided to indulge, deviate from the words I always use and consider using ones that lie dormant in my vocabulary.  As  Rudyard Kipling so eloquently said:

Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind

 

words

Tags

miscellaneous, random. thoughts, russ rymer, slang, words, writing

Words make thoughts reality especially when we say them out loud, form sentences that structure our ideas into plans, goals and strategies. But sometimes we just don’t have the words to describe what we feel, think or see. We struggle to communicate what is going on inside us and we are forced to create new words, invent terminology to describe what is happening.

Not only do we influence language, change it let it evolve, but language influences us. How we speak, what words we use and even what mother-tongue we grew up in makes us who we are and effects how we see the world. Words seem to be not only descriptions of the world around us but a vital part of our identities and culture.

In the latest National Geographic (July 2012) a feature titled: Vanishing Voices looks at remote languages that are vanishing from the world and what that means to society.  Sadly the loss of each word, each phrase and every story means humanity losses an insight into a world most of us do not know.

Accompanied by gorgeous photos by Lynn Johnson lecturer and author Russ Rymer gives a personal insight into meeting the last few remaining speakers of some native American tongues.

But even our everyday language loses words as people stop using them in everyday life, they become old fashioned, or their meanings get distorted, changed. For example gay means something entirely different now then it did in Jane Austins times.

So here are a few  words I found, loved and would enjoy seeing used more often again, maybe if we all use one or two today they may come back!

skimble-scamble : rambling; confused; nonsensical

Homerkin: an old liquid measure for beer.

Nameling:  persons bearing the same name

dekko: to take a quick look or glance

jalopy: a battered old motor vehicle

deevy, devey: delightful, charming

mondo: very much, extremly, huge, considerable

funk-hole: a place of safety into which one can retreat