You’re probably thinking, “Resolutions! Let’s get through Christmas first.” Well this is another kind of resolution. If you’re in the Baltimore area, the Creative Alliance is offering “Writing Resolution,” a workshop of writing exercises given by author Jessica Anya Blau on January 7, go to their site for tickets and have a look around while you’re there. In an ideal world of affordable college educations, I would go back for a masters in Creative Writing but in light of reality I’m constantly on alert for any type of writer educational opportunities. Ironically when I was working on my masters in HR Development, I had two friends majoring in Creative Writing and helped both with assignments, if I knew then what I know now…yes, hindsight is 20/20. On other fronts, I haven’t blogged recently over on Barnabas Blessings and I feel some kind of way about it, not sure. I think the Lord is trying to teach me something about writing as writing and writing as ministry. I strongly believe when you’re putting your writing (or any gift) out there as a kind of ministry or spiritual encouragement, you should be hearing from God, if not then it’s just your own glory show. Not to say that everything you do shouldn’t give glory to God …thinking…thinking…just thinking.
I’m proud to say that I finally completed a long term goal yesterday…to de-clutter my son’s room. Who knew a 5 year old could accumulate so much stuff! Stuff he lost interest in ages ago and stuff he probably didn’t remember he had. Two little tidbits I took away from that 4 hour job: 1) Need to cut down on the fast food kid meals, those little toys just create more stuff and 2) I can no longer give, in good conscience, those little cheap birthday goodie bag toys b/c they too just create more stuff. He seemed happy, almost relieved when he walked into his new room. I’d like to think that in some sense he’s like his mommy in that he felt better without all of the clutter. So here’s to hoping that we’ve made progress in our quest to teach him it’s better to give than to receive and that life is not about “stuff.”
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Introducing…
Yesterday’s writing exercise sparked a trip down memory lane. I began going through my files and came across some writing I’d totally forgotten about. One piece was an introduction letter I had to write to my ICL writing instructor during my almost microscopically brief enrollment. It was written almost two years ago but I think it’s a pretty good summary of me:
Dear Heather,
Hello from “Charm City” -Baltimore, MD. I’m a wife and a mommy, an Air Force brat with southern sensibilities, a bookworm, a blogger and an aspiring writer.
I was born in South Carolina where my parents’ families are rooted. My dad enlisted when I was nine months old and the adventures of military life began. Aside from a three year tour in England, my parents, younger brother and I were mostly stationed in the south; Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. I have so many fond memories of being a military kid. My favorite and most vivid memories are from the ages of about ten to fifteen when we were stationed in Charleston, SC and Upper Heyford, England. These memories include Girl Scouts, summers with my grandparents, riding the tube in London, and my first kiss. One of my favorite gifts as a child was the Little House on the Prairie book set. Judy Blume was one of my favorite authors; I loved the character Ramona and read the book Are You There God? It’s Me, Maragaret at least four times. I was bitten by the writing bug after receiving an essay award in the fifth grade and began filling notebooks with short stories and poems. One of my first stories was titled “The Junk Food Junkie” a cautionary tale of what happened to a boy who ate too much junk food.
Back then I aspired to be a teacher or a librarian so I could read to children all day. We returned from England to be stationed in Goldsboro, North Carolina where my parents eventually settled. It was in Goldsboro that I graduated from high school and went on to East Carolina University to graduate with a bachelors in Accounting. After seven years in NC (the longest I’d ever been in one place up until that point) I was eager for new surroundings, so upon graduation I accepted an auditing position with the Dept. of Defense in Springfield, VA in the DC metro area. This is when, as my husband likes to say, the country mouse became a city mouse. I fell in love with the hustle and bustle, the culture and feel of the city. I had a few adventures as a single transplant learning the ways of the big city (including meeting my future husband online). I encountered what I would describe as a “quarter life” crisis about four years into my career. I realized I could not fathom the thought of even five more years of the same routine. I decided to take advantage of my relatively carefree young adulthood and enroll in graduate school full time. I moved to Baltimore to study Human Resource Development at Towson University and graduated with a masters in May 2005. Within six months of graduation I started a new job, married my best friend of five years, and discovered we were expecting. As an expectant mom I experienced a seismic shift in my perspective and priorities, making the decision to quit my job and stay at home with our son. It was during this time that my childhood passion of writing resurfaced. Until that time I had journaled sporadically but, preoccupied with other pursuits, I’d pretty much given up creative writing. So as a new mom I continued to journal and ventured into blogging about my experiences as well as my opinions on current events. I also began writing stories and rhymes for my son. During this time I submitted a short story to Highlights for Children that did not meet their need at the time. I also submitted two short stories for a Writer’s Digest competition which I had no delusions of winning but appreciated the practice. Economic and family realities ushered my return to work shortly after my son’s second birthday but I was determined not to give up writing again.
So these days life revolves around my husband Ronaldo and my soon to be four year old son Judah. We enjoy just being together, whether it’s swimming at the Y, a movie night at home, a festival in the city or our nightly reading and bedtime prayer. We’re very involved with our church. I volunteer one Sunday a month with the preschoolers, assist with community outreach projects, and participate in small group studies. As a Health Insurance Analyst for almost two years, I review health insurance forms and contracts to ensure they comply with state law as well as ensure they provide a clear and accurate explanation of the insured’s benefits. I guess you can say I write letters for a living as I note any deficiencies in an objection letter to the insurance company and recommend revisions. While I’m not doing cartwheels out of my door each morning, I do enjoy the work and like to think that because of what I do some individual or family will be a bit more informed about their health benefits. I’m an avid reader. I feel an euphoric rush whenever I walk into a library or book store. My two favorite genres are Christian/inspirational fiction and memoirs. I like stories of redemption and forgiveness, as well as stories that deal with the dynamics of family and race relations. I also love humor. When I finish a book or story I like to feel as if I’ve been enlightened, challenged or inspired in some way. I’ve become a huge fan of blogging as I now have three blogs. The first is a personal family blog where we share pictures, stories and our little family happenings as a way to keep in touch with our expansive family. The second blog “Barnabas Blessings: Thoughts for Encouragement” is my platform to share personal thoughts and scripture. The last blog, “The Published Journey” is fairly new, and chronicles my thoughts and experiences as an aspiring writer.
My goal and interest in this course is to develop my skill for writing short stories and articles for children. I write for adults as well and believe the foundational guidance will help me to sharpen basic skills and develop my potential. One day I hope to be able to make a modest living doing something I love. I look forward to working and corresponding with you.
Have a great day,
LaShona Sellers
On the first day of Christmas…
Here’s another take on the 12 days of Christmas. Writer’s Digest offers a 12 day writing plan to keep your creative juices flowing this holiday season. I think I will definitely try this one. And just to give myself a little pat on the back, for the past week I have been making time to write everyday. It hasn’t been a huge chunk of time maybe fifteen minutes here and there in between baby time, errands, chores and whatever else needs my attention. I did finally submit my devotional assignments for our church devotional, Join the Journey. They were due last Wednesday and I finally submitted them this morning. Next year’s devotional will focus on the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John). My scripture passages were pretty familiar, stories I’ve heard since I was a kid in Sunday school but for some reason I had writer’s block. I’d start, then stop, then go in a different direction. It makes me wonder, when the time comes, how I will handle writing with deadlines versus just whenever the mood strikes but it also reminds that I must always dedicate my writing to the One who gave me the passion and the gift. Prayer really does change things! And on another last subject but in the same spirit of prayer, my little kindergartener goes on his first field trip today. The permission slip specifically stated no additional chaperones were needed but I’m a mom, a sometimes anxious mom, a now stay at home mom and I figured why shouldn’t I go. Well I tried, emailed the trip coordinator, even found where the school purchased the tickets (it’s a musical being performed by a theatre company solely focused on schools), but to no avail. So as I write this my big boy is preparing to board a bus to travel across town to see what I think will be a pretty cool show. So I pray, know that he will be okay and of course I know, I know, I have to learn to let go!
Free Flow Thanks
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and survived Black Friday! There were some insane stories out there–is a 42in flat screen really worth criminal assault charges-wow! Well with school out of session I spent the last four days with a five year old too smart for his own good. My son and I have been bumping heads for the past month or so and it’s been the most exasperating thing ever! Trying to match wits with a five year old is not cool. So in light of the holiday and in keeping with the Thanksgiving theme, Free Flow Friday is being brought to you a few days late as Free Flow Thanks. And for what am I thankful? I’m giving thanks for my spirited little boy…
When his chatter is excessive and he’s asked more than twenty questions, I’m thankful for his ability to speak, his mastery of vocabulary and a curious mind.
When he quickly jumps at Daddy’s request but seems almost deaf to mine, I’m thankful for his ability to hear (as selective as it may be) and the presence of a husband and father worthy of respect.
When his attitude far outweighs his five years, I’m thankful for God’s sufficient grace and that this too shall pass.
Great ideas
I’m impressed and inspired by the work of many authors. I’ve listed a few to the left of my posts but that list could go on indefinitely. I recently began following the blog and FB page of one of those authors Mary DeMuth. I was first introduced to her through her novel Daisy Chain. I was gripped by the raw emotion of the characters and the richness of the plot. I’ve since read a number of her books but I’ve yet to lay eyes on her latest offering The Muir House. I can’t wait to read it but in the meantime I have subscribed to a blog tour she is doing for the book. Every day a different blogger shares their thoughts and reactions to the book. This is such a great idea and what a cool way to build buzz. Somewhere along the journey it seems every writer must put on their marketing hat.
Get to know Mary at http://www.marydemuth.com/
It’s been six months, two weeks…
and a few hours since my last post and well, a lot has happened. Let’s see… I rekindled a love for poetry, penned a few pieces and gave a few as gifts -to see and hear someone moved by the words I’ve written is amazing. I now have a “sister in writing,” a friend who shares the same passion for the written word. One thing I’ve learned so far on this journey is that the solitary work of a writer has to be balanced with the critique, motivation, encouragement ie. the reality check of another person. It’s such a hard thing to expose the inner workings of our brains, to subject our written musings to the logic of another but it’s necessary for growth and sometimes sanity;-) I’m thankful for my sister writer as we hold each other accountable for our writing dreams and goals. Lastly I resigned from my job!! Resigned to be a full time writer you ask? Not really, more of a God is trying to tell you something, my family needs me leap of faith (see my Barnabas Blessings post about Letting Go). Soooo it’s been three weeks and five days since I gave up my desk with a cityscape view and it has been….exciting, tiring, frustrating, peaceful, stressful, prayerful, surprising and probably a few other descriptors I can’t think of right now. I looove my children and I stayed at home with my son his first two years so I’m no stranger to the stay at home mom (SAHM) thing but coming back to it after three years has been something. So as I continue to blog about my journey as a writer, my journey as a SAHM the second time around will be inevitably intertwined. Let’s just say Barnabas Blessings posts will continue to be those nuggets of encouragement I receive during my devotional time and Published Journey will be the sometimes not so encouraging real deal details of the day to day i.e.. my venting:-)
Low Battery
This Energizer Bunny needs a jump, my juices are running way low. It’s so frustrating, I’m excited, busting out of the gates, ideas coming like rapid fire then somewhere between the starting gate and the quarter mark, I’m walking, and not speed walking but like a slow dragging walk. My mind is fogged (and a little sleep deprived) and putting words to paper in any coherent fashion feels like pulling teeth. I’m told I’m way too hard on myself (but aren’t we always our own harshest critic) considering I’m juggling two little ones and a job. But I’m superwoman I should be able to handle it all right? I know I know the answer is a resounding NO! I was so pumped about the Examiner gig, have about four articles under my belt (it really should be more like eight articles if I’m really serious about maximizing the opportunity), here’s my link http://www.examiner.com/extracurricular-activities-in-baltimore/lashona-sellers. Have to admit I was disappointed after hearing a story on NPR about content mills. And guess who was specifically mentioned (and not in the most positive light) Examiner.com. So I’ve bought into this hype of great opportunity and writing exposure only to hear that most of the writing community doesn’t even rate what I’m doing as legitimate writing. Ok. My husband says I should just plunge ahead, implementing my ideas b/c if I believe in what I’m doing and put out quality work then someone will take notice. Really? I don’t know. And let’s not even begin to discuss the “paid” in paid gig. Wasn’t until I got to the fine print that I realized that paid is like pennies on the dollar unless you do some mega marketing and refer family and friends to be writers as well. I could kick myself for being so naive. But you live and you learn, you win some, you lose some and I’m sure some other choice cliches would apply.
A Step in the Right Direction
I mentioned in my last post that I was going to apply for a couple of part time writing gigs to put my skills to use and get some exposure. Well, I applied to be an Examiner for Examiner.com and today I recieved my invitation! I’ve been offered the title of Baltimore Children’s Entertainment Examiner. I”m so excited and my brain is exploding with ideas right now, have to get my thoughts organized!!!!
I’m Baaaack!
Wow, I can’t believe it’s been almost a year since I last posted. So, what, you may ask, had me otherwise occupied? Is being pregnant and having a baby a good excuse?. Yes I am now a mommy times two, with a little prince and princess. Pregnancy was not as nice to me the second time around. Morning (and afternoon) sickness and fatigue were constant companions and between rotations of my many hats, one of which was mommy to a sprinting 4 year old, I could muster just enough energy to close my eyes to sleep.
I’m still on the journey, although you can say I’ve been hanging out at a rest stop for the past 11 months. Just like this blog, my stories have been untouched. As for ICL, a few weeks after receiving my course materials and working on my 1st assignment, I figured out that writing for children was not really what I wanted to do nor was it my strong suit. I had to acknowledge that being a parent and being a children’s writer were not synonomous. And I honestly had to admit that I was often at a loss for imaginative tales to tell my own child( thank God for a wildly creative husband). To ICL’s credit, withdrawing from the program was painless and pleasant. So where am I now? I’m ready to get the creative juices flowing again and merge back into the travel lane towards my dream–maybe that’s a little cliche’ or corny but you get my point. I would love to attend the MD Writers Conference again but the timing just wasn’t right this year. I’m thinking about applying for a couple of part time (non-paid) writing gigs to exercise my skills and put myself out there. I figure if I keep waiting until I take this class or do that writing program, I’ll never move forward. Sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith and trust that God is in control.
Inspired
I had a jam-packed, over scheduled weekend. My mind and body are recovering from sensory overload and yes almost a week and the next weekend later, I finally have a moment (and the clarity of mind) to reflect on, one of the many but most poignant events, the MD Writer’s Conference. The workshops were wonderful, the presenters personable and helpful and there was such a comraderie among the other writers in attendance. I was personally greeted by the president of the MD Writer’s Association which spoke volumes about the organization and how they value writers, whether aspiring or published. So needless to say my membership app and dues will be in the mail. It was a day long event (from 8am to 6pm) and there was not a dull moment. Even operating on little sleep, I was so energized through the day (ok except maybe the brief moment I battled to keep my eyes open right after lunch ). During the workshop on Developing the Habit of Writing with Elizabeth Henley, I remember this feeling of overwhelming peace/contentment and thinking to myself ‘This is where I belong’ , ‘This is what I really want to do.’ I was inspired by everyone’s stories, their failures and their successes. I was cheered to know that as a fledgling writer, I had the company of more established veterans in trying to make the time to write. I’m now hip to Natalie Goldberg and The Artist’s Way. There was just so much to digest and I’m still processing it all. My goal is still in sight but I’m so enjoying the journey!
Barnabas Blessings 