My husband offered to write a guest post for my blog. We enjoyed the travel writing workshop and will continue to travel and write together. And at the end of his post, you will see why I admire him. So glad he is my husband!
Sherida and I just returned from our WORDHARVEST workshop, Travel Writing and Blogging for Fun and Profit, presented by Lesley S. King.
Sherida and I enjoy traveling and writing. We have always wanted to explore the options related to “writing up” our travels and to see if we could get them published. We have enjoyed Lesley’s work in New Mexico Magazine and have attended and enjoyed various WORDHARVEST activities in the past so this workshop seemed a natural fit. It was a fun class and very informative.
The class was well organized and covered the material very well. Lesley started us with a bit of writing. Then she described the need for and processes involved with using social media as an aspiring or active author. Being a non-participant in the wild world of social media, I none-the-less found those parts of the class interesting. I now can appreciate how valuable these tools are to an active author looking to sell into the market place. Now I’m trying to figure out how to “monetize” my various hobbies via the Internet.
The venue at the La Tienda in Eldorado was comfortable and convenient. Our class had a total of five students. All seemed to have a fun time and to enjoy the class. Lesley kept things moving along but provided adequate breaks.
I am a mining engineer and my writing tends to be of the technical variety. So I was looking to experience a bit of creative writing in the class. There was a lot of good writing stuff developed by the participants and some really interesting insights provide by my class mates.
I kind of went off on my own tangent, writing-wise, but the class was great and humored my somewhat different sense of direction.
Now, because you are a bit of a captive audience, here are a couple of things I worked on in the class. No, not travel writing, just creative contemplations on nature themes.
lying under a juniper tree
round blue-gray berries snuggled against gray twigs between green needles
brilliant blue sky
warm sun
cool breeze, drying sweat
rough rocks massage my achy back
tired muscles relaxing
eyelids closing
pink, glowing color fills my vision as my mind drifts, unencumbered
crackle of the radio telling me it was time to move to the next survey point
A haiku grew out of a few comments about Ponderosa pines……
Tall Ponderosa
red, brown, grey, black bark, rough feel
smells of vanilla
One writing exercise asked us to set up a sense of tension–two of my examples…..
The radio hissed quietly, “Okay, I’ve got the target sighted. Just hold there back in the shadows for a few while I make the shot.”
I moved quietly into the junipers, hidden from the direct sunshine, merging with the shadows. I sat, rough sandstone against my butt, my back slumped against the bark of a juniper. Beads of sweat dried quickly in the light breeze. I shivered, waiting for my partner to make the shot. Then I could move on.
Or……
I remember the doctor’s words, “We may not be able to save the leg. I want you to know that before you go into surgery.”
I felt it was in God’s hands. I would trust in the Lord.
I woke in the ICU. They had saved the leg. But nerves were dead, muscles damaged and starting to atrophy . But she had saved the leg. Now into the recovery phase. Adapting. Mitigating impact on family. Going back to work. Trusting in the Lord. Dealing / battling with Workers Comp.
I love his haiku!
The first of Collin’s examples is from the perspective of a survey helper…not a hunter as I first was thinking…and I know he doesn’t hunt.
The second example is from an incident that changed our lives. Six years ago, Collin was trapped in an underground coal mine for 22 hours–alone, with his right ankle broken and his left leg pinned by a heavy steel door. It took a few hours to get him out of the mine and to the emergency room where he was in intensive care for two days and in the hospital for six weeks after several surgeries. Various setbacks during that time tested his strength. He returned to work in a wheel chair a week after being released from the hospital. His disability is not obvious, but he has faced many challenges adapting to the leg orthotic, to the pain and to his physical limitations. He has met these uphill trials and trails with great courage—always trusting in God.
“I lift up my eyes to the hills–where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip–he who watches over you will not slumber;…The Lord will keep you from all harm–he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” Psalm 121
Since my November calendar is filled this year, I didn’t think I would sign up this year for National Novel Writing Month. It seems I don’t have as much on my “To Do” list in the summers, so I have enjoyed Camp Nano the last two years. S’mores, hiking and campfires, what’s not to like? My Camp Nano project from 2011 became a short story which won a contest and was published, so I do believe good things can happen from concentrated writing time. But, November? Thanksgiving, travel, Christmas shopping, putting the garden to sleep…..However, the call of “word count” and the thoughts of other writers with cramped fingers hovering over their keyboards…well, I just have to be a part of this. We are writers, and by November 30, my novel and many others will be closer to the finish line. Blessings to all those writing this month! Together we succeed!
Sherida Stewart 