A Room of My Own - Photos

I always laugh at those home design shows where they redesign "small" spaces. Their idea of small and mine are entirely different. This room belonged to my youngest son. It's on the second story of our home and when my daughter graduated and moved out, he moved to her room. It has sat virtually unused for a couple of years. And now I wonder why! What a wonderful writing room this is. Our home was built in 1907 and in those days there was no air conditioning so they had sleeping porches. You would open up all the windows and enjoy a cross breeze that ensured you would be able to sleep (most nights) The temperature here in the summer gets up above 100 degrees so it was a necessity. Contrary to what you may believe about the Pacific Northwest, we enjoy about 300 days of sunshine a year and not a lot of rainfall. Anyway- I so enjoyed the sunshine as I wrote yesterday.

The photos above and below were taken from each end of the room. The bookshelf was made by my dad, who is almost 87. I bought the chair when my, now 13-year-old was a baby...it's seen better days! There are windows on all four sides! How is that possible? Three face the outside and then one side has a window that looks into the hallway and the other looks into, well...the bathroom...don't worry, there's a curtain. I'm guessing the original sunroom was an addition, though not too long after the house was built...so the windows that face into the hallway and bathroom, probably looked out onto our back yard at one time. Anyway- this is so much fun. I highly recommend it! ~Karen

A Room of My Own

There is a book called, "A Room of Her own." Each chapter of the book is a different woman who has made one room in her home her very own. Some are famous people and some are not. Some have extravagent spaces and some have a converted closet. I am most inspired by the small spaces that with love and care become something new. Though I read the book years ago, it put a little seed in my little brain. My sister just moved back town after many years so today I called her. She came over and we transformed a small "bedroom" into a writing space for me. I put the word bedroom in quotes because that is what we have used it for even though it is really too small for that.

My sister helped me clean it out and then we gathered things from around the house that represent me and my hopes and dreams and placed them about the room. It was great fun! I gathered all of my writing books and brought them up (it's on the second story). And right now, I am writing from the mostly-finished space. What fun it is to be writing to you from my little room. I'll post some photos later this week. But in the meantime, tell me something...where do you write? ~Karen

The Rejection Dog

"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." -Thomas Edison

Wow! If that's not inspiring, I don't know what is. Writing can be so difficult, especially on the emotions. If you're writing for publication, you know what I mean. There is something about rejection that makes you want to quit. Go figure! But as writers we must go against logic and continue to go back again and again to that dog that bit us. We'll learn new approaches along the way and eventually, it just may lick our hand and send us a check. Until then, we must persist, because success is just around the corner. ~Karen

Pet Stories

Quick; Tell me about your family pet. If you're like me, you instantly saw your beloved childhood pet, or maybe it is your current one that jumped to the forefront of your imagination. Perhaps it was a white cat named Snowball. Or maybe it was a dog named Rover (though hopefully you were more creative than that). Telling about your family dog, current or past reveals a lot about you and the dynamics of your family.

Asking about family pets is also a great way to get someone to talk. It's a safe subject, but one that is undoubtedly filled with emotion and use of the senses. Animals follow us through good times and bad, through triumphs and tragedies. For many, they are the thread that is woven thoughout our lives.

A simple open-ended question is all you need to get started.

"Can you tell me about your childhood pet?"

Photo: The Cutest Dog in the World (TCDITW)- Mine!

~Karen

Boxes in the Attic

I think we've all heard the stories and maybe even in our own family. Great Aunt Mildred (I don't know why I always use that name) passes away and as the family is cleaning out her home, they find a box, a chest or a pile of old "stuff." As they go through the correspondence, photos, and other momentos, they realize that Aunt Mildred had a story to tell. But she never told it, or she told it but there are details in the now-treasured box that are a surprise to those she left behind. Though that chest of special items is truly a treasure, how much more would it have been if she'd gone through it with you while she was alive. And what a shame that time has passed. Lets you and me vow not to let that happen in our families.

Below are some suggestions on how to encourage your loved one to share now;

1. Think History. In a town a few miles away, where my aunt was raised, there was a terrible flood. I believe it was in the 40's but I'm not sure. I do know that my aunt, even at her young age, knew it was a terribly important event. She saved newspaper clippings and took photographs. She still has a notebook full of them. Think about the history around your loved ones and ask questions based on it.

2. Think Events. Have you heard the story of your grandparents wedding? Have you heard the story of your parents wedding? Now, I'm not talking about just the wedding itself. I'm talking about the WHOLE story. For example, if I were to tell my story, and if I were questioned the right way, I might share some funny things I remember. My husband and I forgot to pick up our marriage license from the court house. And it didn't occur to us until a few hours before the wedding. By then the courthouse was closed, so we had to make phone calls and talk someone into meeting us there to open up the marriage records office for us. Another vivid memory for me was sitting on a stool with my dress fluffed around it, so as not to wrinkle my dress. I hadn't eaten all day, so one of my bridesmaids handed me a yogurt to eat as I sat on my "throne." Also think about births, birthdays, graduations, anniversaries, and even funerals and deaths.

3. Think Correspondence. We are such an instant nation. We email, text message, and use our cell phones without a second thought; it's a part of our culture. But it wasn't always that way. Ask your loved one about how mail was received when they were young, and ask if they saved any of the letters. Looking at the correspondence of yester-year is like peeking through the key hole to a time you only dreamed about. Letters and postcards not only tell the story of the sender and receiver, but also tell about that time in history.

After listening to the stories, after looking at photographs, and after reading letters and postcards, don't forget the cardinal rule; write it down. Don't assume you'll remember everything that Great Aunt Mabel said. And don't assume that you will be around forever to pass on the stories. Write down everything you remember now.

Write Now-Because it is later than you think. ~Karen

Finding Your Path

Each month for the past 10 months I've posted monthly goals on the Absolute Write website. There is something about knowing I'll have to post them at the beginning of each month, that makes me think hard.

My writing has been all over the place in the last ten months. I have often read that you should figure out what you're good at, what you know a lot about, and specialize. The problem is that if I look at my professional life, and go solely by that, I would go one direction. And sometimes that's not enough.

I taught special needs children for 15 years. That would be the most obvious choice. And it is an area of specialty for me. It's an area that I am absolutely passionate about. But as I have sent out queries and articles, I have found some unusual specialties. I've found that I love writing travel articles. For an example, go to the Mid-Columbian website http://www.mid-columbian.com/ where my article is on page 17 and beyond. I found that I love photography, as in taking my own photographs. Now, I can tell you, I am not an expert at either of these things. There is nothing in my past that presents itself as a foundation for this kind of writing, except maybe curiosity.

I am forever curious. When a new bird visited my bird feeder recently, I didn't just say, "Oh how nice." No. I asked everyone I knew what kind of bird it was (nobody knew). I went online and did searches, often getting distracted by learning about birds that have not visited me yet. I am an information seeker. I've often said that if I could figure out a way to be paid to go to school, I'd be a professional student. What fun that would be. Now ten months ago when I read that you need to specialize, figure out what you know a lot about and focus all of your writing there, travel writing and photography wouldn't have even been on the list. But here it is. So I guess what I'm saying is that it is good to read, research and follow advice, but not at the exclusion of listening to yourself and following the path that appears before you pebble by pebble.

I didn't find the kind of writing I love, or the kind of writing I'm good at by following a formula. I found it by putting one foot in front of the other, sometimes taking a path that lead nowhere, and sometimes twisting my ankle and sitting it out for a while. But find it I did. What kind of path are you on? Does it feel right to you? ~Karen