Tag Archives: sounds

Fast Track to Being a Writer

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Fast Track to Being a Writer

By Rory C. Keel

Does the sound of being a writer intrigue you? Have you ever expressed the desire to write, only to be told, “You can’t write.”

Perhaps deep down inside you have a gnawing interest, an unquenchable desire, but you keep telling yourself, “I could never be a writer.”

The first definition of a writer is “n. One who writes,” American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

The way to be a writer is to write. Start by writing about yourself or describe an object on your desk. What senses such as taste, touch, sight and sounds describe your perfect vacation getaway destination?

When you write, you become a writer. What are you waiting for? Grab a pen and sheet of paper or start typing on the computer keyboard. Be a WRITER!

www.roryckeel.com

Drawing Sounds

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POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE

 

Drawing Sounds

By Nandy Ekle

 

Several years ago (ten? fifteen?) We watched a movie called The 13th Warrior. Made from a book by Michael Crichton, it’s the story of an Arabian man who was exiled for having an affair with the wife of an influential noble. He is sentenced to be an ambassador to Northern Barbarians and through a series of events, he is banded with a tribe of Norse Warriors.

In the beginning of the story language is a curious barrier. He wants to understand the culture, but without understanding the language he cannot learn about their way of life.

He tells of traveling with these strangers and paying close attention to the sounds they make until their language begins to make sense to him. Today we call that immersion learning. As he begins to learn their tongue, they are also learning about him. Finally all the fog is cleared and they can then understand each other.

The main character is an educated man, while the Norsemen, one of them a king in waiting, are not. So once they are able to cross the language barrier, they all become friends and the young king in waiting asks a very interesting question.

“Can you draw sounds?”

Of course, he is asking if the ambassador can write. The Norseman wants to learn to read and write.

All these years later I still remember that question. Can you draw sounds.

If you think about it deeply enough you realize that all a spoken language is is sounds that we have assigned ideas to. Each sound is part of a bigger sound we call a word. When we write words we are writing symbols assigned to those sounds. Learning a new language is simply reassigning those symbols to different sounds.

As a student of court reporting and shorthand, I had to learn, in a sense, a different language. Well, it was the same sounds representing the same ideas, but the written symbols were different. And actually, the type of shorthand I learned was the same symbols, just in different orders.

Then I make myself even dizzier by wondering who decided which symbol would represent which sound? This line of thinking can go on and on and on . . .

This is one of the things I love about words.

Congratulations. You have just received a post card from the muse.

Fast Track to Being a Writer

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Fast Track to Being a Writer

Does the sound of being a writer intrigue you? Have you ever expressed the desire to write, only to be told, “You can’t write.”

Perhaps deep down inside you have a gnawing interest, an unquenchable desire, but you keep telling yourself, “I could never be a writer.”

The first definition of a writer is “n. One who writes,” American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

The way to be a writer is to write. Start by writing about yourself or describe an object on your desk. What senses such as taste, touch, sight and sounds describe your perfect vacation getaway destination?

When you write, you become a writer. What are you waiting for? Grab a pen and sheet of paper or start typing on the computer keyboard. Be a WRITER!

Rory C. Keel

Noisy House

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POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE

Noisy House

Have you ever played the game where you listen to a sound and then try to guess what the sound is and where it comes from?

Sometimes late at night, right before I drift away to sleep, a loud noise bursts in on my slumber. It usually is nothing more than the air conditioner or heater coming on, or the dog snoring like an old man. Sometimes the phantom noise is a creak as the house settles down for the night or a drip in the shower. Sometimes a dog barks at the moon or a car rushes down the road. Or maybe there’s a noise I recognize, such as a mouse trap snapping, but makes me wonder about what I will find if I go to investigate.

Then there are times when a noise peeps from somewhere in the house, or outside the window that is mysterious. These are times to allow my imagination to open up and grab clues and build a story.

Congratulations. You have just received a post card from the muse.

Nandy Ekle

 

Fast Track to Being a Writer

Posted on by
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Fast Track to Being a Writer

Does the sound of being a writer intrigue you? Have you ever expressed the desire to write, only to be told, “You can’t write.”

Perhaps deep down inside you have a gnawing interest, an unquenchable desire, but you keep telling yourself, “I could never be a writer.”

The first definition of a writer is “n. One who writes,” American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

The way to be a writer is to write. Start by writing about yourself or describe an object on your desk. What senses such as taste, touch, sight and sounds describe your perfect vacation getaway destination?

When you write, you become a writer. What are you waiting for? Grab a pen and sheet of paper or start typing on the computer keyboard. Be a WRITER!

Rory C. Keel

GONE NEVER FORGOTTEN

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By Natalie Bright

During the holidays, time can be bittersweet as we remember the loved ones who have passed on. For grieving parents, the time can be devastating. Laughing toddlers and loving family; the sights, sounds, smells of Christmas can weigh heavy on a grieving heart. The daily struggle seems endless and the loss is something you may never get over, but I made it through and you can too.

If you know of anyone suffering from the loss of a baby, I invite you to share with them my latest eBook:

GONE NEVER FORGOTTEN offers healing words through verse and text for grieving parents. I didn’t begin where most books do on this topic; instead, I started at what happens when you get home. With empty arms, parents have to return to their life without the much anticipated new addition to their family. In addition to several of my favorite Bible verses, two very special ladies have contributed poetry on grief and hope.

Marianne McNeil Logan is an award winning rhyming poet. I’ve admired Marianne’s work for many years, and I enjoy rereading her chapbooks as inspiration for words and the writing craft. She continues to be a strong voice of encouragement for our local writing community.

Nell Lindenmeyer is a long-time friend through our day jobs and through our work in an organization which educates its members about the energy industry. When I discovered she wrote poetry, I asked if she might have some pieces on grief and the free-verse samples she sent absolutely blew me away. I hope you find inspiration and peace through them as much as I did.

From my heart to yours, GONE NEVER FORGOTTEN, is a book of hope and healing after the loss of a baby.

For excerpts and reviews, GONE NEVER FORGOTTEN is available at http://www.smashwords.com in a variety of eBook formats for only $4.99.

Read two of the poems now, below:

This Isn’t Me

by Marianne McNeil Logan

I say the strangest, weirdest things,

Not what I feel, at all—

Yet words that have been blurted out

Aren’t subject to recall.

 

What’s happened to my attitude,

My personality?

It seems all feeling has withdrawn

And left a shell of me. 

Will spirit and faith ever return?

Last One

by Nell Lindenmeyer

I will not cry for your being gone

But for the life left to be lived that will go on ahead of you

All the laughter that was meant to be heard

And all the tears we’ll never learn to share together

Your dying reminds me of drinking fine champagne from a crystal glass

I appreciate the beauty of the finely etched glass as I swirl it in my hand

But my thirst isn’t quenched by the smooth, rich liquid gold

All I think about is that last drop that I can’t have as it swirls off the rim

And settles into the small hollow

Last one to hold onto love has to say it

I love you.

***

Natalie Bright