Brainstorm!

I woke up this morning to a brainstorm.

Actually I have been pondering this blog page since I opened it up last week. I have been inspired by others who have amazing blogs and I wanted to feel like I could do something that said something about me, as well. Mind you, this is an uncomfortable task, as I have a dual personality. Part of me is social, outgoing, aggressive, a showoff who wants to make her mark on the world. But the other part of me is a recluse, shy, timid, and very much inclined to keep her private thoughts to herself. A bit of a conflict.

I've always wanted to be a writer. As a child I enjoyed reading so much that it only seemed natural to want what to do what others had done; to bring my thoughts, ideas and imagination to life. I remember hearing the theme music from Star Wars for the first time as a pre-teen and writing what appeared in my imagination in response to that exhilarating music. Never mind that it didn't have anything to do with Space or Wars or anything similar to the movie. Of course, once I saw the movie, the whole picture changed, but until I did see it, I was writing a story about a rare white stag that is befriended and tamed by a boy who lives near the forest. Funny to think of it now. But my older sister Julia discovered the story and commented. It was a vague, positive comment, but still the attention embarrassed me and I threw the story away.

As a teen, I took a writing class in High School. My teacher, Ms Van was a good friend and mentor. We had an a huge assignment to read books based on a certain philosophy and write a paper on it. I don't remember the details, but the books I read were most of Ayn Rand's works, "1984" by George Orwell and a few others that I can't remember. Just reading "Atlas Shrugged" was a monumental accomplishment, but I devoured it and the others as well. I got an A on the paper and a life long appreciation of my teacher who encouraged me all through the process.

I've written in my journal ever since I was 14 years old. Sometimes regularly, sometimes not. But once on a flight to Utah from Connecticut, where I worked as a nanny at age 19, I wrote for several hours straight. The man sitting next to me commented that I should be a writer, since I obviously had the persistence and desire to do so. That has always stayed with me. Yet, like many people with dreams, I lacked the extra dedication to make my dream a reality.

I took writing classes in college. I took a persuasive writing class my second year, and on the first day we were given an essay to write during class. We were told that if we scored high enough, we would get an A in the class and not have to attend the rest of the semester. Pretty good incentive to do your best, eh? The subject was: If a child is failing in school, should that child be held back to repeat that year, or be allowed to move on to the next grade? I worked like mad and handed it in at the end of the class. At the next class, I arrived late. The teacher was handing out the essays and as he saw me walk in, he said, "Ahhh, this is a perfect opportunity to embarrass those who walk in late. I will read their scores aloud." But then when I told him my name and he found my paper, he said, "But I guess I won't get to embarrass you. You got an A. We won't see you later. Have a nice life." Probably the smart thing to do would have been to stay and continue to attend the class, but I left and never went back. I was 21, with funner things to do. What would you expect?

Later, when I was married, I began attending the writers guild meetings in Delta, UT. We had a diverse group in age, style and ability. I liked going and it challenged me to write lots of different things, but we weren't very good at critiquing each others work. We were all too nice. I would come home and read what I had written to my husband, Adam and he would always praise and encourage me. He was my biggest fan. He would say, "you should write and get published and then I wouldn't have to work so hard." And I would be embarrassed but pleased that he had such confidence in me.

And now, in this stage of my life I don't write creatively much. I still write in my journal but I haven't written a poem or story in ages. Oh, I take that back. I wrote a poem to my now ex-husband Lane. Back in the beginning of our courtship, I got a little notebook and filled it with love letters, songs, pictures and a poem I wrote just for him. He never appreciated any of it. I should have known our relationship wouldn't last.....lol!

So, I know this has been a long explanation in getting to my brainstorm, but bear with me. I have always wanted to start a book club, but not the normal kind where they pick a book, everyone reads it and then they discuss it at the end of the month. I went to the library's book club for a while, but after reading two of the most depressing books ever, two months in a row, I quit. I want to pick my own reading material. Anyway, the book club I would start would be where everyone picks their own book and then when everyone meets, everyone gives a short report and synopsis of the book they read. Seems like a useful idea. There is no way anyone has time to read all the books they want to, or think they want to. After hearing about it, they can decide if that is a book they want to invest their time on. After all there are millions of books out there these days, and we still have the same 24 hours a day.

The second part of the brainstorm was inspired by seeing the movie "Julia and Julia." If you haven't seen it, it is about a woman who decides to cook a recipe from Julia Child's french cookbook every day for a year and blog about it. I quite liked it. 

So this is my idea....One of my goals for this year was to read a book a week. Not fiction, (or maybe just a few) but non-fiction; autobiographies, history, self-help, relationships, parenting, etc. There is so much to learn about in the world. And then I got the idea that I could blog about what I read. That way I can read and improve my mind, write about it and improve my writing skills, and share the information in the book with anyone else who cares to read my blog. What a plan, huh? 

So its the 16th of January and I am obviously behind. But not as bad as you might think. I've read one book already and am halfway through another. I've just got to get a move on. Wish me success!