Pondering this writing thing that is part of who I am <3

A couple of weekends ago, following a rain drenched, early morning soccer game at one of our local fields, Rachel invited some families back to our house to dry out and launder uniforms. We were beyond thrilled to have these young parents and children feel comfortable in our home. 

That morning our house had been abuzz getting the soccer players fed and out the door, while Caroline and I hung back in a better climate inside. I dressed quickly and pulled on some joggers and the t-shirt I am wearing in the photo above. It says:

I am a Writer…

anything you say or do

may be used in a story.

My writer friend, Shelley, https://www.shellydtemplin.com, sent me a pic of her wearing this a few years ago and said I needed a matching shirt. I ordered it immediately. I think it is funny and so true, because I do identify as a writer, and a walk through any day on planet earth is full of stories to be retold. 

But when one of the dads., who was helping his son butter another pancake, looked across our kitchen counter and asked about the shirt and if I really am a writer, I felt kind of embarrassed to be claiming such a thing.

I have attended writer’s conferences and one of the mantras at each one is to learn to say, “I am a writer.” Because if I don’t believe I am, no one else will either. 

Still it is hard. Writers publish books and articles. Writers get paid for what they do. Writers have readers and…wait a minute…I do have readers. And I do publish, just not for profit. 

Ironically, shortly after I stammered out that I do a lot of writing and then Russ piped in with that I write a blog, I found something I had jotted down in one of my journals. I was doing a Hope Writer’s challenge in 2019 on Instagram. 

Each day they gave you a topic and here is what I wrote for Day 2…I am quite certain I didn’t post it on Instagram…but I want to share it with you today. 

Day 2: Angle (as in “What angle forms your writing?”)

This one is more difficult because at first it seems calculated and my writing thus far has been anything but that. I don’t have an angle. I don’t think in terms of an angle to my writing. It’s not something I do to convince or persuade. 

But then I think perhaps the angle is the perspective; and if this is so, then yes, I work from an angle. 

Viewing an idea, pondering a thought; my mind works through and adds experiences I have had and stories that can be tailored to aid in making a picture with my words. 

Seeking the right word means going through all the file cabinets of stored data that clutter up the inside of my mind.

I grab a dictionary to trace the etymology of a word that has popped into my thinking.

I google more about a rabbit trail of an expression that seems to fit, but I don’t know why for certain.

I look back through books stacked on the shelves to try and locate the quote or fact I need to finish the details of the point I want to make. 

And then I search for the right photographs from the thousands I have taken.

The pictures that tell stories plus the words that paint pictures make up my writing.

And this is my angle.