"Hallowed Eve"

As another fall season progresses, the time change is in place, and the costumed characters will be marching up to your door begging for a trick or treat. How it's changed over the years where the innocence of knocking on doors and receiving that pure chocolate bar was to be coveted. I'm not talking about the mini bites that have replaced the full sized ones.......I remember pouring out so many regular size candy bars that I knew I had quite the stash for at least two months......
I still enjoy the holiday as an adult even though I'm not available to participate in the candy giving event. Of course, my classes are always treated to some candy or chocolate. In my french class ce soir, we had our own little party. We made cards in french, and shared some candy. In order to receive a piece my students had to ask, Je voudrais..........some candy or chocolate. One student baked chocolate ontop of fortune cookies, complete with a fortune inside.....It was a pleasant surprise...
For my creative writing class, I will bring more candy, my light up pumpkins, and perhaps some poetry by Edgar A. Poe........I have to see if my taperecorder works........Some of my materials are still on tapes, and I won't part with them. It's interesting hauling around cd players and taperecorders for class.........I figure for those who come to class I'll make it a fun experience.....
Perhaps we'll write some scary Haiku, or a frightening story to read later on. I wish I had the classroom with all the dummies..........That was one heck of a class on Halloween!
It shall be an interesting evening............
Happy Halloween.............

Chilly October Days

The cold we have experienced lately is a little too chilly for me. I expect this type of weather in December or January......I'd like for the warmer weather to appear once again before we are swept into the arctic air. The gradual transition would be helpful as I'd like to wait a bit longer before writing about the cool crisp winter days.......Ugh............I don't want to go there yet........Thinking about the unthinkable..........Maybe my destiny is to live on a warm beach year round so I could be motivated at all times to compose excellent prose.
This evening I taught another creative writing and poetry class and I found the words of others truly inspiring. It's nice to see that other writers are crafting the stories and poems that they want to. There never seems to be enough time to actually write and teach, and I think that designing some classes that are a tad bit longer might be effective. I may consider doing this for upcoming workshop classes.....
Well, this past weekend I picked up my artwork and poetry from the "Innerscapes Exhibit" in Lowell, Michigan. It's quite a drive from Canton, but the colorful trees en route passed the time. I figured I capture some of those bright hues on film. I did get some nice shots that I can use...
The buildings are fascinating to look at on Main Street, as they are over a century old and those pastel colors brighten the antiquated scene in downtown Lowell, Michigan.

"Editing"

Editing one's own work is hard work, editing the work of another, is even more difficult. How can you say to a fledgling writer that her work needs polishing, or a complete rewrite? It's like the bathwater is too hot, and you don't want to "burn" while taking a relaxing soak.......Most non-writers take offense to any criticism of their words, and those who understand the craft realize that it's a necessary step towards a well written piece.
If any of you understand what it's like to edit, well, then, it's something that must be done to catch any errors, whether they are big or small. Like most editors, I sometimes will miss one, and boy, oh boy, do I dislike that! Mistakes are not suppose to happen, yet, we are all human, and blunders are a part of our natural habitat!
Why am I writing about editing tonight? Well, I've been editing for a while today, and it is a ton of work..........I want to write something different.................I want my words to be encompassing the page, or, the computer screen............
Earlier today I wrote a one sentence introduction to a novel that I probably won't write......The exercise was fun, and it may net me a writing prize..........Actually, the sentence is pretty good, so I'll find a home for it in one of my writings.
Well, back to the editing for now............

Cold Weather in October

How do you like the winter chill in October? It feels like January and that's a bit much for me......Yesterday when the thick snowflakes, or shall I say, minature snowballs flew furiously in the middle of the day I had to reach out and grab a few of them!
They resembled little bits of sugar clumped together. I don't think I've seen a flake that big in a while. Perhaps I'll use them in a story somewhere........
All I know is the temperature is suppose to be in the middle 60's, and it's going to freeze tonight. I can probably kiss my lettuce plants goodbye....
I've been thinking about nature quite a bit this week, and feel that I should write something about that subject fairly soon..........
I've completed my new course descriptions for Winter 2007 and hope that all of my new classes will fill up in a heartbeat!
I find that the more I teach, the more I write........

October Musings

Yesterday I was in Lowell, Michigan to absorb the "Innerscapes Exhibit", as I wanted some time to reflect upon the art that is in the show. I like the placement of my work at the beginning of the exhibit as you get a glimpse of my words and the portrait I took. My piece is the second one you see as you walk into the room on the left hand side. When I was there in September for the artists reception, I didn't get to see all of the pieces. For me, it's important to see what other artists and writers create as it inspires me to work even harder on my own stuff. I hope that my work helps others in the same way.
It's amazing how different a gallery looks and the way it feels when there is only a handful of people, versus 50 plus individuals in attendance. I didn't take too many pictures yesterday, as I didn't feel that it was necessary.
Some of my photos turned out okay, and others, I didn't like as much. I guess that's what you'd call a perfectionist artist!
The brillance of the fall folliage gave me some ideas to write about, and hopefully this week, I'll find a few moments to pen my thoughts........