Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Let it be... so there will be


The garden chores are still ON, and I don't mind them. Not that I minded them over the summer, but now it's different. More relaxed somehow.
.
Re: the title of this post.
I have written a small story as a homework for our writers' group.
The task was to use ten special words, but I'm not the dadaistic type, you know, I seek meaning.
So my story is about a middle aged woman who is meeting her former friend only to realize that said friend and she have parted ways, drifted apart...since who knows when... but now they have nothing in common.
She is not really happy with her finding, but not really sad, either, because this is just how things are.
.
I wrote this story and read it aloud among my mates in the writers' group. They said this and that and I edited the text and then edited some more. And then I stopped editing.
.
I realized that one single short story can (may) not tell all the aspects of this phenomenon in one go.
I wrote what I did because that is how I felt at the time of the writing.
Now I have changed and my focus has probably shifted.
The subject (drifting apart) still bugs me, so I guess I will have a second attempt and a third, and all will (or may) be different from each other.
But if I keep editing the first one, there will be none.
.
So I decided to allow my writing to have its faults and hiccups and whatnot.
 .
Cheers,
SzF

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Summer

I apologize for my readers for not being around here really much, uhm, like, at all.
Summer is so full of garden chores, we are in the middle of a renovation of one room, it's been going on for a month now, since we hardly find time to move onto the next step, and also we at times just get into the suv and drive to get away from it all.
Huh.
I'll be back.
Sometime.

Cheers,
SzF.

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Reflect the feelings

Last time we had a meeting with our writers' group we were given a short task. We had to write a couple of sentences about a place.
The description of the place had to reflect the emotions you felt when you were there at that specific place.
A really interesting and useful exercise, indeed.
Have you tried it?
Did you like it?
Do you use this intentionally or unintentionally in your writing?
I think this method is like salt.
If you don't use it, your writing may become dull. A much needed one indeed, but one that should not be overused.:)
.
I wrote about 6 to 8 sentences and the leader of our group said she needed this particular piece for the upcoming anthology. Only that I have to expand it into at least one page. Geez.
I am good at cutting out material. Expanding is a pain :) 
But I have not given up.
:)
 

Monday, February 15, 2016

normal

I guess there is a saying out there about rejection letters. It goes along that the only person who doesn't get any rejection letters is the one who never submits any material to anywhere.
Well, I did submit two of my poems for a contest.
The contest is held by an off and online magazine that publishes a collection of writings two or three times a year. Each issue is preceeded by a contest, where the editors announce words to create an atmosphere, a call to the writings.
The winners get a small~ish,but fair amount of money and publication in the paper. This is how I got published my short story in the spring of 2014. The words were 'Voices in the dark'.
.
Now my poems were not good enough, but hey, I gave it a try.
.
This time the words the magazine used translate to 'Someone might enter' (the room).
.
I guess this is just the way. More contest, more writing... and sometimes, success :)
 

Saturday, January 16, 2016

A video about the opening

There is a video HERE, please follow the link.
.
(for those of you only wish to see me, check at 1:13. I am standing in the far left with an orange scarf. And also at 1:20 again and at 1:33, too. I guess it is not much of a pain to watch between 1:13 and 1:37)
.
The paintings are cool and some of my favourites are shown from 2:10.
.
As for the recital.
I had three poems to read and I almost learned them by heart. At the peace of my empty home, when no one was around I was able to recite them almost completely. Like... I had to check one or two times.
I learned to play with the words in order to convey the message or let the words shine more. Or more obviously.
At the event however, I was a bit nervous.
There were so many people around. There was a microphone.
I looked more than two times into my papers, but the feedbacks and congratulations indicate that I was able to recite loudly, clearly and to the audience (not onto my paper). My husband said that I seemed to have immersed myself into the poems somehow and that my reading was lively.
.
I really tried to do my best :)





Sunday, January 10, 2016

An update on the paintings

For details, see the post just below this one.
But it turned out that I will not read my poem only, but two other small poems as well.
.
Oh my.
It seems that the leader of our writers' group was so impressed by my reading at the "Garage Sale" event (see some posts below) that she wanted me to read aloud my poem and two others as well.
.
These two poems, written by a fellow member in the writers' group are kind of simple at first sight and funny in a certain way. They contain some play on the words, but all in one, they are a bit depressive
They have words like 'nuclear apocalipse' and 'Geiger Mueller meter' and 'scafander' and 'irreversible'.
.
In a sense I am lucky, though. The event will take in the Community House of Arts of our town and I am familiar with that building. This is where I go to every week for our choir rehearsal. The opening ceremony will take place in the big hall and this is where the photos will be on display, too.
Last time we finished our choir session I stayed a bit longer in the building until no one was there in the hall and tried to say some of the complicated words aloud.
It felt weird, yet I knew I was doing the right thing.
.
I never would have guessed I would be thrilled with this kind of acting. If anyone asked me like 10 years ago like hey, how about reciting three poems at a public event, I would have freaked out at the very idea. Now I see it as if I had another tool at my hands to explore the world.
.
I have no idea how it will turn out.

Saturday, January 2, 2016

A poem for a painting

My writers' group has met a young artist, a painter. She is going to have an exhibition on 14 January 2016, and we, member of the group were asked to contribute with small poems.
During the opening ceremony our poems will be read and I suppose all poems will be printed out and positioned beside the paintings on the wall.
This young lady has a special talent and this is the painting that inspired me the most. (Please follow the link.)
She has many other interesting works like this and this, but the deadline for submitting the poems is 4th, so I am happy to have come up with one. :)
I will be reading it on the 14th :)