In order of appearance:

1. RECEive. I remember spelling that word wrong on a paper I wrote for class in grammar school.  When the teacher gave it back to me after she graded it, she bent down over me as I was sitting at my desk until we were face to face and said, really loudly, “R-E-C-E. R-E-C-E.  R-E-C-E.  R-E-C-E.” To this day, every time I write the word “receive,” I say to myself,  “R-E-C-E.” I doubt that I’ll ever spell that word wrong again.

2. -er I try to make sure that when I say something is bigger, for instance, I also mention what it is bigger than. My high school teacher, who gave me quite a few lessons in writing and life, reinforced in me that when you use a comparative word, it begs the question of what is being compared. So it’s not enough to say “I have a better understanding now,” but rather “I have a better understanding now than I did before.”

3. Reveal yourself. When I took a creative writing class in college, I wrote several short stories. (I didn’t consider myself to be a poet at that time.) One story in particular had mostly dialogue, which prompted the professor to suggest maybe I look into being a playwright. It wasn’t until the end of the semester I wrote a character study that was introspective, had a sensitive subject matter, and quite emotional. The prof told me that this is the kind of writing I should do, that the style seemed authentic to who I am, and that to be a writer is to reveal yourself.

4. The basics are keys to innovation. After college, I continued to write diligently and was a subscriber to Writer’s Digest magazine.  Although I didn’t consider myself to be a poet, the first article I would turn to when I got my monthly issue was the poetry column, which at that time was written by the great Judson Jerome. I ended up buying his book, The Poet and the Poem. I feel so blessed to have the original hardcover. I’ve seen it being offered for less than a dollar on Amazon, but it is the one book no one could ever pay me to give away. For me, there is my poetry before reading that book and the poetry after.

While I was well acquainted with meter before reading The Poet and the Poem, I really understood how essential meter is after reading it. I spent countless hours applying it to my own work. I began to broaden my experimentation with  poetic forms, learning that each one demands that the writer flex different muscles. Most importantly, I came to understand that each poem must tell a story in some way–linearly or otherwise–or simply be about something. Yes, it is possible write a poem about nothing in particular. I’ve done it: it’s not ideal.

These lessons learned have given me everything I need to be creative. It’s possible to think outside of the box when you have a firm grasp of what belongs inside of it.

What lessons have you learned over time?

© Sweepy Jean and Sweepy Jean Explores the (Webby) World, 2012.

Last night, I dreamed that I had overprocessed my hair in an attempt to straighten it.  I had so many chemicals in it, my hair was falling out. I didn’t even notice it at first, I thought everything was ok. But I was playing with my son, who wasa baby in my dream; he had his hand in my hair and came away with clumps of it between his little fingers. When I looked into the mirror, it was not just that one spot but an elaborate pattern of bald spots all over my head.

On a side note, in my dream, as I was playing with my son (somehow there was a tire swing set up at my mother’s apartment), I was extremely concerned about accidentally crashing into the glass doors of my mother’s china cabinet.

Playing the game, trying to keep up appearances, and feeling  not up to par definitely are themes in my life right now on several different fronts. Am I over processing? Am I full of holes? Am I unpretty?

© Sweepy Jean and Sweepy Jean Explores the (Webby) World, 2012

I’m a Typhoid Mary type of blogger.

To be fair, some of my family members read the blog when I first started it but have long since tapered off. They and others will read it if I ask them to look at a particular post. Others will promise to read it but never do.

Of course, I don’t badger anyone about reading my blog and for that reason I hadn’t asked them why they don’t read it–until recently. What I heard from two people I know extremely well was interesting.

One person said that they were happy knowing what they knew about me (which is a lot) and they didn’t felt uncomfortable delving any further than that. The other said that reading the blog is disorienting because of the difference between their perception of me and my thoughts as they are expressed here.

I probably imagine myself to be more transparent than I really am, though I’m positive I have improved in that area over the years. Is there something about writing out your feelings that is different from talking about them?

Assuming we are trying to be true to ourselves, is there any way to reconcile what we think, what we say, and how we behave? Do we need to observe all of these aspects in a person to form a complete picture?

Can we ever be who we think we are?

Do we ever really know each other?

© Sweepy Jean and Sweepy Jean Explores the (Webby) World, 2012.

She's smiling with her eyes! A natural!

Do you ever have moments when you just can’t seem to get it in gear to do the things you usually do or intend to do? Sometimes a weird feeling comes over me that freezes me in my tracks.

For instance, this pic of my beautiful grandniece was intended to be posted yesterday as part of a Friday meme called “This Moment.” Today, I realize that the outfit my sweetie is wearing has a statute of limitations that runs out in less than seven hours, and it would be a shame to waste the shot. She’s a future America’s Next Top Model, assuming the t.v. program is around long enough.

A long time ago, I used to daydream about one day being a guest on the Phil Donahue talk show.

Somebody close to me recently told me that they like it when I blog about random thoughts, such as the one about shame, embarrassment, and guilt. When I hit the “publish” button after writing such a post, I feel exposed, but I never regret it.

I went out with the “ladies who breakfast” this morning. That was fun and always a pleasure to see you all! Once again, may all our dreams come true in 2012! <3

People compliment me on all the projects I juggle and how much I’m able to accomplish, though I never seem to think I’m doing enough.

The enigmatic “they” say that whatever activity you’re doing at the turn of the year is what you’ll be doing during the year. I’ll be writing as the clock strikes midnight–or more likely flipping channels between the Twilight Zone and Honeymooners marathons. Don’t cry for me; I’ll be happy as a pig in slop.

It’s been six years since I quit but today I wish I had a cigarette.

Doing things you’re afraid to do is a rush. Use that knowledge for good, not evil.

Happy New Year!

© Sweepy Jean and Sweepy Jean Explores the (Webby) World, 2011

“This Moment” is a ritual found on Life inspired by the Wee Man adopted from SouleMama. which was introduced to me by many, many bloggers, including Living With Food Allergies and Celiac Disease.

If you have a {this moment} post, please leave your link in the comment section so I can stop by and take a look!

© Sweepy Jean and Sweepy Jean Explores the (Webby) World, 2011.

In short, a blog carnival functions very much like an online magazine, with links to blog posts from various contributors. The theme of the Third Sunday Blog Carnival is poetry, fiction, and essays about writing.

Why would I start such a project? Would it surprise you to hear that I love discovering and curating? To be able to combine that activity with my passion for all things literary is just plain fun for me.

Beyond my personal geekiness, I believe that interest in the printed word is alive and that readers are looking for more than what is commercially available in the mainstream markets. I truly hope that as the news spreads, readers will come to the Third Sunday Blog Carnival to sample the abundance of great writing available on the internet. By the same token, I hope that this will grow into a community where writers are supportive of each other.

I know I speak for a great many writers when I say that all we want is a chance for our work to be read. How many great blog posts out there have had a limited number of reads? Perhaps with some concentrated effort, more of our work will see the light of day.

When I conducted my research on blog carnivals, I noticed a void in the area of writing that I hope the Third Sunday Blog Carnival can fill. In addition, there was a general lack of focus. For instance, I saw blog carnivals about spirituality with links from SEO experts, auto mechanics, and anyone else who happened to apply, I suppose.

From that, I was determined to see to it that any blog carnival I ran would adhere strictly to guidelines established from the outset. With the Third Sunday Blog Carnival, I think I have come up with guidelines that greatly increase the chance for quality submissions–and I’m not afraid to enforce them (I think this where my real-life experience as an editor on my day job comes into play). Readers will be confident about what to expect when they come to the Third Sunday Blog Carnival.

It has been just a week since I issued the call for submissions and so far the reaction has been favorable. Submissions are coming in steadily and indeed, they are good. There’s no shortage of talent in the blogiverse.

© Sweepy Jean and Sweepy Jean Explores the (Webby) World, 2011.

“This Moment” is a ritual found on Life inspired by the Wee Man adopted from SouleMama. which was introduced to me by many, many bloggers, including Living With Food Allergies and Celiac Disease.

If you have a {this moment} post, please leave your link in the comment section so I can stop by and take a look!

© Sweepy Jean and Sweepy Jean Explores the (Webby) World, 2011.

It’s nice that my blogiversaries are in December because they coincide with the time of the year when many of us become particularly introspective and self assessing. ‘Round these parts, it’s a dark time of year in a literal sense with the short winter days and long nights. I thrive in the darkness. The darkness is where I go when I write no matter what my physical surroundings are or what I’m writing about. I’m not afraid of the dark. It’s quiet and beautiful.

If 2010 was the year in which I allowed myself to express exactly what I was feeling, 2011 was the year of running around naked experimenting with the flexibility of language. My weekly 1 + 1 Wednesday, which I started a year ago almost to the day, was the beginning of that exploration. With the help of everyone who participated in that group activity, I gained a better understanding of the relationship between words and communication between people. Another foray was a spin in the Daisy Lemmas Riff, a fun group exercise in short story writing.

This also was the year during which I participated for the first time in National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo)–a challenge of producing a poem a day for the month of April. I posted the poems here and as each day went by felt more and more raw and exposed.  Oddly enough, it was a good feeling. I came to understand more clearly how my poetry relates to my everyday life. I also realized that over the years, the language of poetry has become second nature to me. Like many writers, there are times when I doubt myself but after NaPoWriMo–and my compiling an ebook of the poems I wrote that month, along with a running commentary–those same doubts don’t exist.

My favorite post this year? By far it was Like Love Hate. On the surface it is simply a chart of words that show what I like, love, and hate, in that order. However, by design, the reader had to figure everything out intuitively as nothing is spelled out explicitly. While some of the word groups have literal meanings with no ambiguity, others are more emotionally charged or have associations that are not immediately obvious. I spent weeks thinking about the concept before I wrote a single word, then days writing and editing it. In my heart of hearts, I consider it to be an experimental poem.

I’m really excited about my online life for the coming year, particularly a blog carnival I’m hosting caledl Third Sunday. I’ll talk more about it in another post: Suffice it to say that it’s an unexpected turn of events but it is also something that feels like a natural thing for me to do. I’m looking forward to seeing how it grows and evolves.

Thank you so much for reading my blog. Peace and love to you for the new year and always.

“This Moment” is a ritual found on Life inspired by the Wee Man adopted from SouleMama which was introduced to me by many, many bloggers. Mary at Living With Food Allergies and Celiac Disease finally got me to give it a try! Do visit her wonderful blog to read about family, life, and health.

If you have a {this moment} post, please leave your link in the comment section so I can stop by and take a look!

© Sweepy Jean and Sweepy Jean Explores the (Webby) World, 2011.

There are three rules for writing. Unfortunately, no one can agree what they are.

- Somerset Maugham

When I tweeted this quote some weeks ago, a friend suggested I use it as a starting point for a blog post. I thought it was a great idea because it would be my opportunity to spin this concept on its head a little.

The Pre-Rule

It may be cheating, but my rules assume that you have a good grasp on grammar. You are well read, especially in the type of writing you are interested in. When you read, you read with the mindset of a writer. You analyze what works and what doesn’t.

Every writer has a reason why she or he writes, whether it is self expression, art, education, money, attention, or some combination. You have a good idea of what being a writer means to you.

With that out of the way, the first and foremost thing to know is …

Rule #1 : There are no rules that can’t be broken: Just write.

This is especially important when approaching the first few drafts. Depending on what you’re writing, it may be quite acceptable to boldly go where others wouldn’t dare and buck a principle of grammar, or to twist a convention of storytelling. If your experimental and innovative ideas don’t work as well as you wanted them to, it’s ok. Rarely is a piece of writing  perfect on the first try. Some pieces are good just for the practice. Most, though, can benefit from treatment with Rule #2.

Rule #2: Edit, edit, edit.

After a first draft, put your piece away for a while. When you pick it up to work on it again, read it with the eye of a writer. It may take some practice, but you have to apply the same objectivity to your own writing as you would to someone else’s work. Are you really achieving the affect you are going for? Does a particular phrase work? Does the overall arc make sense?

Editing your own work requires humility. You can’t be so in love with your words that you can’t bear to change something if it doesn’t serve the greater good. It helps to show your work to trusted family members, friends, or writing colleagues for feedback. Hopefully, they can be specific and honest about what works for them and what doesn’t. Seek advice from a professional, if you need to.

Don’t take feedback personally but rather as a tool to rework your piece–not necessarily to change it in the way someone else would like it, but to make your intention clearer, whatever that may be.

I believe that a first draft is a broad sketch that only starts to show its true colors as a result of editing–rounds and rounds of editing that can take hours or days, let’s say for a  blog post, or weeks, months, or years for other types of writing.

At a certain point, though, it’s time for rule #3.

Rule #3: Trust yourself to let it go.

This could be the hardest rule to follow. How do you know when your piece is finished? A feeling very much like relief washes over me, and my head feels like a weight has been lifted from it. There’s nothing more to add or subtract and I’m not tripping over awkward phrases. This is not a very scientific answer, to be sure. Everybody has their own way of determining when enough is enough. But at some point, it’s time to let it go and move on to the next project.

An even harder task, psychologically,  is to trust that your work is good enough to release into the world. Logistically, it’s easy to blog it, submit it for publication, self published it, and take advantage of the many ways to share your craft with the rest of us.

So, there are my rules, for what they’re worth.

What are your rules?

© Sweepy Jean and Sweepy Jean Explores the (Webby) World, 2011