I’m a practical person.
I don’t like to waste anything. I recycle. I nag my kids to turn off the lights and the TV. I go food shopping frequently, rather than buy in bulk to avoid throwing away perishables. And when I do waste time, I feel as if I’ve squandered an opportunity.
My practical compulsion can be problematic at times, especially if I go on vacation.
I must be productive in some way, even when I’m supposed to be relaxing. Sometimes that’s as simple as observing people, or absorbing the atmosphere of new surroundings.
Being practical has also carried over into my writing poetry and picture books. I think you have to practice an economy of words in both genres. Here’s where my compulsion to avoid waste is an asset. No matter what I’m writing, poetry has taught me to make every word count. Each word is selected for:
A feeling it evokes
Adding dimension to the setting
Shading emotions
Coloring my characters
Every Thursday morning I visit Laura Purdie Salas’s blog called “15 Words or less”
http://www.laurasalas.com/blog/. She posts a photo and invites others to write poems in 15 words or less about it. It’s fun. It’s challenging. And it makes me think. Of course, it appeals to my practical side too! I always come away with something …and nothing goes to waste.
I don’t like to waste anything. I recycle. I nag my kids to turn off the lights and the TV. I go food shopping frequently, rather than buy in bulk to avoid throwing away perishables. And when I do waste time, I feel as if I’ve squandered an opportunity.
My practical compulsion can be problematic at times, especially if I go on vacation.
I must be productive in some way, even when I’m supposed to be relaxing. Sometimes that’s as simple as observing people, or absorbing the atmosphere of new surroundings.
Being practical has also carried over into my writing poetry and picture books. I think you have to practice an economy of words in both genres. Here’s where my compulsion to avoid waste is an asset. No matter what I’m writing, poetry has taught me to make every word count. Each word is selected for:
A feeling it evokes
Adding dimension to the setting
Shading emotions
Coloring my characters
Every Thursday morning I visit Laura Purdie Salas’s blog called “15 Words or less”
http://www.laurasalas.com/blog/. She posts a photo and invites others to write poems in 15 words or less about it. It’s fun. It’s challenging. And it makes me think. Of course, it appeals to my practical side too! I always come away with something …and nothing goes to waste.