Friday's Show and Tell, posted on a Tuesday

A day or two ago DD1 (dear daughter number 1) pointed out to me that I had neglected to post my Friday Show and Tell this past Friday.  I was actually a bit surprised that she had noticed, even though I had been stewing about my failure to do so.  I know that if I say I’m going to do something (like post a weekly Friday Show and Tell Post) I should have the integrity to carry out my promise, even if I don’t think that anyone will notice if I do it or not.  (apparently someone did notice.)

So, now that I have DD4 safely delivered to school, I have taken a couple of hours of me time to reflect and rejuvenate myself, and I have followed the Flylady's admonition to reboot the laundry and empty out and shine the kitchen sink, I am left with approximately one hour to devote to writing something productive before I need to leave for work.  So here’s my Friday's Show and Tell, posted on a Tuesday:

1.    I don’t want to play this game anymore!  But I will!

Has anyone else been feeling overwhelmed lately?  I know that some people out there have been, because I’ve been reading about it as I have been trying to keep up with Rachel’s Campaign.  After two weeks of trying to meet fellow campaigners, follow all of their blogs, read and comment on all of their posts and flash fiction challenges,  plus think of original material to post, I started to think that I don’t want to play this game anymore!  It’s too hard.   I’m not as good as everyone else.  I don’t have enough time to do it all and still put effort into my own projects, and care for my family, and do my job, and find time to sleep.

This morning while I was reflecting about my current responsibilities and goals, I thought of one of 71 Toes recent posts  entitled We Do Hard Things.   She talks about encouraging her children to stretch and do things that they aren’t particularly comfortable doing, and the joy and satisfaction that she and her husband and her children earn by stretching themselves.   So, even though I know I have not yet written and published a book, this blog and the projects that I am trying to work on right now are important and good for me, even though they are making me stretch.   I haven’t been able to meet everyone in my campaign groups nor read every blog  nor accept every challenge, but I’ll keep on playing and doing my best.   I will do better at organizing my time so that I will have the  time and energy to write, and to work, and to care for my family, and to sleep, and still have time to blog.

2.   I like to look for the good in life:

I know that one basic element of a good story is conflict.  I know that life is full of conflict, much of it dark, edgy, and even downright evil.   Nevertheless, I do not like to dwell on the darkness of life, not in the things that I read, nor in the things that I write.  I try to look for the good things in life and for the good in other people.  I am a true believer that goodness conquers evil, and I will always love a happy ending. 


3.  I need to read this book:


Last spring I was able to attend a local writer’s conference where the keynote speaker was Larry Brooks,  author of the book Story Engineering: Mastering the 6 Core Competencies of Successful Writing.  I was intrigued by his approach to writing, and  I decided I would like to read the book, but I have not been able to get a copy of it to read.   This past week Ava Aurora wrote an enthusiastic post about the book right here, so I am determined to renew my efforts to obtain a copy.  Perhaps I will need to add it to my birthday list or to my letter to Santa.   That’s the advice I always give to my children when they mention something that they want or need .  :)

 Friday Q&A: 

One suggestion....the background and text are so close to the same color, it's a little difficult to see.


I know.  The template I originally chose for this blog had white type on a darker green background.  I personally don't enjoy the white type, so I changed it to a darker color, but that made the blog even more difficult to read.  I have lightened the background and chosen an even darker text color, so hopefully it's better now.  I should probably watch the font size of my posts too.  Thanks for your suggestion!