Tag: Writing

Residing In Freedom

Published on by Susi Bocks11 Comments

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A peaceful and quiet place, all noise removed, has been my retreat for not only my writing but my sanity as well. The feeling of being in a calm, safe space translates into a much happier me. This human-made structure (my home), devoid of people with only the bare minimum house noises, is where I also feel the most productive. I would imagine this rings true for many of us here on WordPress.

Once intruded upon, my surroundings become less appealing. There goes my peace of mind as well. It’s as if the boundaries weren’t respected, and chaos ensues. I always wonder how others react to or cope with intrusions. For me, my space becomes a complicated atmosphere, and I become tense and charged. Does that sound about right for you too?

Even music was considered an intrusion. Never before have I been able to write with music playing until I started listening to LP.  It’s like she’s a friend holding me through the process. It’s an escape to warmth and caring. I happened to discover this when I wasn’t in my usual quiet space and still needed to get some work done. The distractions around me needed to be drowned out. It was not sufficient only putting the earbuds in, so I also turned on her music. Yay, no more external noises pushing against my boundaries, but then I realized I could also write with her streaming in my ear. Wow!

Her music takes me to a zone I can lean into comfortably. It’s a rhythm like none other. My being and my body begin to move and sway with it. I feel like I’m in my bubble again, but it’s enhanced. LP does this to me every time. Her voice, along with the music, makes me want to glide and fluidly command the space. She taps into a part of my nervous system that responds with relaxation every time, without fail. It’s like it all becomes one with the core of who I am. She becomes a part of me, living inside of me. And I can write because she doesn’t feel like an interloper. LP helps the process.

But I digress with this tribute to my all-time favorite artist. I do highly recommend you search her out, though. She’s phenomenal. Shutting up now. I’ll get back on track as this piece started about the peace and harmony I find in my little world.

After a 50+ year existence, I’ve had a lot of trials and errors to determine what does happen to work for me. Right here, right now – having a feeling of peace and experiencing a quietness like this has done wonders for my life. Not saying that life doesn’t still throw curveballs, it does! But even those are mitigated as I feel so much more rational than I’ve ever felt. That must be part of what the aging process does to a person, or? The mind knows what it wants and grasps it. Or is that just me?

The kids have moved on to the lives of their choosing. I sit at my computer and type to my heart’s content – books all around me whose words I get to devour whenever I want to. My head allowed to roam freely, contemplating everything and nothing. Because of all this, I’m experiencing freedom in a way I’d not previously experienced. I’m exquisitely fortunate to have this space called home to express my thoughts, and for that, I’m grateful.

May it last until I close my eyes for the last time.

Good News!!

Published on by Susi Bocks26 Comments

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Yay! I can finally let the cat out of the bag! The Fictional Cafe has asked (and I’ve enthusiastically accepted!) the position of Associate Editor and Barista!! 🙂

It’s been a pleasure to work closely with Jack Rochester, founding Barista of FC, and I’m glad to be a part of its future! My responsibilities include reading the poetry submissions, approving them and ensuring all the types of submissions which are accepted are ready for publication. Jack and I also work to streamline the operations, making our day-to-day functions smoother. In addition, I also engage with our readership in conversations since this is a virtual coffee shop! It’s been wonderful to talk with the audience about the top-notch work we showcase at Fictional Cafe!

Fellow bloggers! I encourage you to submit your work to The Fictional Cafe, as they have a large audience to showcase your work. Take a moment to review the contributions which have been published. This will help you to get a feel for what we’re looking to promote. For information, please go the Submissions Page. I look forward to possibly working with you in the future!!

 

 

My Other Babies

Published on by Susi Bocks21 Comments

Writing pieces for publication is like having children.

Each one I give birth to (write) will be nurtured (reviewed & edited) until it is grown-up (complete). Then I reluctantly let it go out into the world (publish it). My hope is that it is written well enough to have an impact on the world in a positive way.

My descendants (inspired audience) will continue the good that was started with just an idea or brief thought to hopefully make this world a better place.

May my legacy (my other babies) be remembered well.

Originally posted at Susi’s Soap Box 6/5/2013

The Un-plan

Published on by Susi Bocks16 Comments

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Creativity isn’t planned.

Sometimes we intend to create something but then it takes us in all these different directions usually ending up with a piece which is so much different than how it started out. I love when that happens.

It’s what needed to be expressed. This creation was waiting for the right moment to be exposed. Almost like a message that needed to resonate, usually for the artist but sometimes an expression of a lesson to be learned by someone else.

It’s wonderful how art works.

Volumes

Published on by Susi Bocks12 Comments
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Feeling full
of stuff to do
things to read
thoughts to write
and falling behind

Pressured and agitated
need to step back
and organize
my normal life cycle
trying to prioritize

I hope my friends
will understand
it’s not you but me
Took on a big chunk
and catching up

Busy and isolated
stuck more in my head
than is necessary
for my health
and recognizing it

Seems I’m not the only one

Interviewed by Megan O’Keeffe

Published on by Susi Bocks5 Comments
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On Amazon

And yet another very positive thing to happen today!

I must tell you, it’s been a really good day for me!

If you have not read her work yet, feel free to visit her blog – Debatably Dateable – filled with poetry, romance, and love as well as poet interviews! I thank Megan for including me amongst the other poets.

To view the interview, click here. 

 

~Party like it’s 2019~

Published on by Susi Bocks25 Comments

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For most of the world, it feels to me that people treat New Year’s like it’s about starting over; for me, it’s another day in the timeline. It doesn’t hold a fascination for me to celebrate or even get nostalgic about. I either continue in the same direction or travel down a new path. When I look back and reflect on the previous years, it’s more about what I have learned, what I’ve done, have I felt good or bad, and what would I like to accomplish in my future. Mostly, it’s something I do every day, not just at the end of the year. I guess they call that “what drives me.” For the most part, I knew which direction was I heading before the end of the last year.

This post today is my way of sharing what I’ve accomplished of my previous goals set but what I think are the answers to these questions – where do I want to go, what do I want to achieve and who do I look like in the future. It’s something I do for my continued existence for not only this year but beyond.

For my followers who were with me last year, you know that I fulfilled my goal of posting every day. I primarily did this to challenge myself, but it was also a way to learn more about poetry. And boy, was it! But oh what fun I had! Because I was so diligent, I learned so much about poetry, other writers, other styles and managed to work through a lot of emotional stuff too. Imagine a rubber band ball – thousands of bands representing new ideas, discoveries, tales, emotions, and more, and you’ll get the gist of what I was wrapped up in all year long. It was lovely!

Writing every day also led to the idea of publishing my second book – Every Day I Pause. Look for announcements soon about the release date! The goal was to have it available at the end of last year, but then I got sick shortly before Christmas. Don’t you love it when life hands you a detour? I don’t. Unfortunately, I did not recover until right before New Year’s. But I am excited to share this with you in 2019!

You’ve probably noticed that I updated the I Write Her banner photo. My mission is still the same – presenting written forms of my humanity – but I’m feeling a lot more fluid rather than square and rigid at the moment. Hence the shapeless feel of the image I chose. The previous one was intentionally more rigid to showcase my goal of being very deliberate and intentional about my writing during 2018. The banner will presumably change should my mood or purpose take on another shift.

I also made the decision to stop all WordPress ads on my site by upgrading with a paid plan they offer. The goal is so you won’t be distracted. I want you to enjoy the subscription. I’m committed to ensuring that everyone, be they occasional readers, followers or fans, have a rich experience here.

Now let me share where my initial intentions on I Write Her took me this past year. My goal was at the very least to have the readers from previous blogs join me here and hopefully grow it beyond the six followers I had with an average of 10 views per day. The WordPress community surprised me, and I mean surprised me big! At the end of 2018, I Write Her had 739 followers and over 14,100 views. The comments, the support, the love and generosity of the readership humbles me but also has given me more confidence than I ever thought possible. I struggled for a long time even calling myself a writer. But the support given me here has cemented it for me now. For that, I thank you all so very much!

Something that I’m tossing around in my braincase is the idea of collaborating with other authors/writers. Having participated in many challenges this past year, I enjoyed the creativity flowing out of me but also seeing the imaginations and skill levels of others excel when they were prompted to accept the challenges of other writers. My gut is telling me Let’s do this! I’ve not quite figured it all out yet, but I will be creating a challenge called “Interpretations.” I’ll explain more as I’ve worked out the kinks for my vision on it. Watch for a future post detailing how to participate! I’m looking forward to seeing writers rise to the challenge. 🙂

This year and beyond, my focus will continue to be on those posts which have a burning desire to get out of me. I do not think this will occur every day though, so you’ll probably see a little less of me. And I think I may actually take a short break as of today. Not sure how long yet but enough to let me feel like I can catch my breath. Rest assured, I will continue to read all my favorite blogs during this hiatus! But know that when I return, the content of my posts will be relevant. I’m feeling like there will be more intentional, immediate subjects that need to be addressed rather than just being creative. But I’ve also decided to contribute more to other venues as a means to expose myself to different platforms and their audiences. Writing outside of IWH will take me away from posting every day. But the hope is stepping into other areas of writing will continue to grow the readership here. Quite possibly it will also draw some fans to Patreon helping to support me financially. In other words, help me to keep living out my dream! Thank you in advance, should you choose to go down that path with me.

So let’s do what the title of this post says and Party like it’s 2019!!! WOOT WOOT