Wacky Wednesday September 09 2015

Train Wreck

It was an interesting weekend over the Labor Day holiday. One of high drama, collapsing railroad tracks, and the obsessions of a toddler. Thomas the Train Adventures reality show staring my 22 month old.

I had a dream not too long ago about alien visitation. In the dream, my son’s toy was producing a frequency that attracted alien spacecraft. Basically, a phone home ET type message, except the message was to my house. The real culprit of the dream was Thomas the train, the motorized version. It’s not really a loud toy, but after hearing the scratching of the wheels all weekend long and the clack clack clack when it gets stuck, it’s not surprising to me aliens are visiting us because of that noise.

We’ve had Thomas for a while and one train was enough to inspire some pretty creative dreams which involved Men in Black and a super sized Tonka truck being placed in the backyard by a toddler from another solar system. This weekend Thomas was joined by his good friend Percy. There were lots of races and crashes. Perfect entertainment for a toddler in any galaxy. Well... until they get stuck somewhere. Mom and Dad to the rescue. I wonder what I’ll dream about tonight. 

Photo Credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_the_Tank_Engine

September 08 2015 Romance Weekly

#LoveChatWrite

Do you like to read romance novels? Wouldn't you like to know more about your favorite authors? Well you came to the right place! Join the writers of Romance Weekly as we go behind the scenes of our books and tell all..... About our writing of course! Every week we'll answer questions and after you've enjoyed the blog on this site we'll direct you to another. So come back often for a thrilling ride! Tell your friends and feel free to ask us questions in the comment box.

Welcome back to Romance Weekly. Eden Ashe is on the hop today. Make sure to check out her blog post later on.

Susan Scott Shelley asks, given the choice of any author in the world (living or deceased), whom would you want as a dinner guest? 

I would love to have dinner with L. M. (Lucy Maud) Montgomery. Anne of Green Gables was an all time favorite when I was a kid. I probably have more reliable memories of the movie than the books. I watched them every chance I could get. I probably watched the movies thousands of times. 

Given that L.M. Montgomery is a Canadian author, and I am from the US I was met with a lot of blank stares from friends and family alike when I would go on and on about this author and the movies that were made, about how funny and sweet and just scrumptious Anne with an e’s story was. 

I’d love to ask the author if she wrote Anne based on some of her experiences as a teacher. There were some pretty hilarious scenes and perhaps some revenge scenes against mean girls. I always wondered if any of them were based on a real person. 

I’d also just love to find out what the author was like. What it was like to live when she did and how difficult it was for her to become a writer during that time in history.  

Yes, it would be a very nice dinner. 

I’m going to dig out my old copy of Anne of Green Gables. 

Thanks for stopping by today. I’m curious who J.J. Devine is having for dinner. Hop on over and find out. 

See you next week!

Picture credits, L. M. Montgomery: http://pe2.samondeo.com/lucy-maud-montgomery.php, Anne of Green Gables: http://www.amazon.com/Anne-Green-Gables-Complete-8-Book/dp/0553609416/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1441679210&sr=8-4&keywords=anne+of+green+gables&pebp=1441679229861&perid=121HP00Q7KPKRGYCFA29

Labor Day Create

Depending on which creative craft I want to focus on, there are techniques that can be taught and therefore learned. Yet, just because I take a class, read a book or watch a video doesn’t necessarily mean the creative vibe will strike. 

Most of the time creativity is disguised as work. Pretty appropriate considering today is Labor Day.  A creative piece could start out as a fun practice. I just want to see what will happen or see if I even like this method. When I come back to a particular practice piece again and again, that's when the work turns into something more. Something someone could call creative. Or when I do a lot of practices and each time it gets somewhat easier and more fluid each time I try it, I would consider thinking creativity had illuminated me somehow by magic.

I won’t say it’s typical that the practice, the work, I put in will always turns into to something cool. Most of the time it doesn’t turn into anything. Like the idea box I have for stories (or the file of unfinished stories on my computer), the collection of half finished art journals on the shelf, or the knitting projects in progress that I no longer know what they were supposed to be. These all contribute to my learning.

I can learn a techniques, but not fully grasp the concept until several months later, sometimes years later. Some creatives don’t like to hear this. I’m one of them. Years! I don’t have time to wait around like that. I want to be doing and making and creating with abandon everyday. 

So I practice and practice some more. It’s just fun. After the years have gone by, I really am amazed at how the work I've put in really lets my creativity soar. The labor is what really counts.

Photo from depositphotos.com