Comments for Writing Companion http://writingcompanion.wordpress.com ABOUT WRITING & FICTION Thu, 17 Dec 2009 05:14:44 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 Comment on Who’s Marsha? by Marsha http://writingcompanion.wordpress.com/marsha-durham-writing-companion/comment-page-3/#comment-620 Marsha Thu, 17 Dec 2009 05:14:44 +0000 #comment-620 Hi Susie, I heard via Carol that you had been discovered in Colorado. Will email you with more information. Hi Susie, I heard via Carol that you had been discovered in Colorado. Will email you with more information.

]]> Comment on Who’s Marsha? by Susan Elder aka Susie White http://writingcompanion.wordpress.com/marsha-durham-writing-companion/comment-page-3/#comment-619 Susan Elder aka Susie White Thu, 17 Dec 2009 04:16:15 +0000 #comment-619 Marsha, I'd known you were in Australia for years but have never had a method to connect. You can't take the Kansas out no matter how hard you try or how far you wander. I didn't wander as far as you but Colorado has much better weather than Kansas. I'd love to catch up. You're so lucky you didn't have to shed a childhood name! Susie Marsha,

I’d known you were in Australia for years but have never had a method to connect. You can’t take the Kansas out no matter how hard you try or how far you wander. I didn’t wander as far as you but Colorado has much better weather than Kansas. I’d love to catch up.

You’re so lucky you didn’t have to shed a childhood name!

Susie

]]> Comment on Writing goals: What and why? by Is Your Goal Vivid Enough? http://writingcompanion.wordpress.com/2009/12/02/writing-goals-setting/comment-page-1/#comment-618 Is Your Goal Vivid Enough? Wed, 09 Dec 2009 06:54:26 +0000 http://writingcompanion.wordpress.com/?p=1606#comment-618 [...] importance of writing your goals down cannot be stressed enough. Keeping a dedicated journal for goal setting purposes will constantly [...] [...] importance of writing your goals down cannot be stressed enough. Keeping a dedicated journal for goal setting purposes will constantly [...]

]]> Comment on Writing goals: What and why? by Marsha http://writingcompanion.wordpress.com/2009/12/02/writing-goals-setting/comment-page-1/#comment-617 Marsha Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:33:53 +0000 http://writingcompanion.wordpress.com/?p=1606#comment-617 Reaching the summit is a good analogy for writing goals. Before tackling a mountain, you need to prepare physically and mentally, have proper equipment, take enough food with the right nutritional value, plus water, maps, etc. And it doesn't hurt to have a bit of luck and some good weather! When a goal is more complex and long-term--as many writing goals are--it may be hard to work out which elements to pursue in order to gain a success. This confusion and complexity may be what causes 'the halfhearted and the unqualified' to turn away from the challenge. The writers who persevere and reach their chosen summit--even if it is only a small hill--then have a better idea of what is needed to tackle the next, bigger hill and how to go about it. I liked the line from Roethke and applied it to writing goals. The goals we set identify a path that we feel we 'have to go', that we feel somehow called to follow. Part of our work needs to be removing any obstacles that threaten to sidetrack or delay us. If we can stay on our path, we will learn something by making this journey, whether or not we achieve our goal, our destination. Reaching the summit is a good analogy for writing goals. Before tackling a mountain, you need to prepare physically and mentally, have proper equipment, take enough food with the right nutritional value, plus water, maps, etc. And it doesn’t hurt to have a bit of luck and some good weather!
When a goal is more complex and long-term–as many writing goals are–it may be hard to work out which elements to pursue in order to gain a success. This confusion and complexity may be what causes ‘the halfhearted and the unqualified’ to turn away from the challenge.
The writers who persevere and reach their chosen summit–even if it is only a small hill–then have a better idea of what is needed to tackle the next, bigger hill and how to go about it.

I liked the line from Roethke and applied it to writing goals. The goals we set identify a path that we feel we ‘have to go’, that we feel somehow called to follow. Part of our work needs to be removing any obstacles that threaten to sidetrack or delay us. If we can stay on our path, we will learn something by making this journey, whether or not we achieve our goal, our destination.

]]> Comment on Writing goals: What and why? by Marsha http://writingcompanion.wordpress.com/2009/12/02/writing-goals-setting/comment-page-1/#comment-616 Marsha Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:32:19 +0000 http://writingcompanion.wordpress.com/?p=1606#comment-616 The 'sneaking up/cat' approach seems workable and simple. Sometimes when goal planning is made too complex--multiple charts, timelines, etc.--people find the goals hard to implement in the context of real life, which is messy and contradictory at times. I like your idea of exchanging weekly writing goals with a friend. It's an example of a cybernetic approach, with its flexibility that allows you to make small changes week by week but still keep on a path to achieving the long-term goals. 'Turtle steps'--sounds good. The ’sneaking up/cat’ approach seems workable and simple. Sometimes when goal planning is made too complex–multiple charts, timelines, etc.–people find the goals hard to implement in the context of real life, which is messy and contradictory at times.
I like your idea of exchanging weekly writing goals with a friend. It’s an example of a cybernetic approach, with its flexibility that allows you to make small changes week by week but still keep on a path to achieving the long-term goals.
‘Turtle steps’–sounds good.

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