Writing With Randomness

15 Aug

003Welcome back and Happy Thursday!

I love this time of year; the days are noticeably shorter and there is a slight chill in the air in the evening, and quite frankly I find it much easier to write when the temperature is comfortable.

I’m all over the place today trying to decide what to write about, and yes, that is the topic for today…randomness.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

I have never started a poem yet whose end I knew. Writing a poem is discovering.
Robert Frost

Thank you Robert Frost.  I thought I was the only one who wrote like that.

Here’s a look inside my writing process.  I see something….here something….think of something….and I’ll think huh, that would make a good article.  I then write a working title down and save it.  Eventually I go back to that working title and the article starts writing itself.  I have no clue how it is going to end, and it always manages to come to some point without too much of my help.

I love that process.  As Frost points out, it is a process of discovery and I find it exciting as hell.

PASSAGE OF THE DAY

“Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”

Yep, Frost again, and that, my friends, is writing at its finest.  If I even approach that kind of writing….if I ever get within a sniff of that quality of writing…I will be a very satisfied writer indeed!

PROMPT OF THE DAY

July drive in Olympia 033

You don’t need me to tell you what to do with this….the road less traveled.

CONTEST OF THE DAY

The Miami University Press Novella Contest is back and the deadline for a previously unpublished novella is October 14th.   You can find the submission guidelines here.

TIP OF THE DAY

Throw nothing away.  Delete nothing.  Every single piece of writing you have done is valuable and who knows when you will find inspiration and need that short story you wrote ten years ago.

When I was a teen, records used to come out and the singles would have an A side and a B side. The A side was the big “hit,” the one the radio stations would be pushing, and the B side was supposed to be a nice tune but not of the quality of the A side tune.

I can’t tell you the number of times the B side tune became a huge hit while the A side tune sank into obscurity.

Throw nothing away!

SITE OF THE DAY

Bubblews is the talk of the writing community right now, supposedly a site where passive income is made much faster than on sites like HubPages.  Give it a look here and see for yourself.

THAT’S IT FOR TODAY

So much to do and so little time…welcome to my world, and your world, and yours, and yours…..

May you find all the time you need to chase your dreams.

Bill

“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”

26 Responses to “Writing With Randomness”

  1. Janine Huldie August 15, 2013 at 3:17 pm #

    I love your randomness, especially when Robert Frost somehow gets included in there!! Seriously, I admit I would like summer to hang on now for a bit longer, because I feel like it has just flown by me, but the more comfortable evenings definitely a plus. Hoping you are having a wonderful Thursday now!! 🙂

    • Billybuc August 15, 2013 at 3:28 pm #

      I get it, Janine….most people in their right minds would want some more summer. LOL That says a lot about me, doesn’t it? 🙂 Thanks my loyal friend.

  2. Eyes Straight Ahead August 15, 2013 at 3:39 pm #

    Huge fan of saving EVERYTHING! Frost and Billy in the same post – that is bliss! 🙂 Have a beautiful Thursday! ~Shell

    • Billybuc August 15, 2013 at 3:41 pm #

      Aww, thanks Shell, and I hope your day is everything it can be. 🙂

  3. Stephanie August 15, 2013 at 4:18 pm #

    Thanks again billybuc for a bit of morning motivation for this writer. You triggered a smile here when you brought back memories of the A and B side of the 45rpm records. Pleasant memories…As a recovering pack rat, I shudder at the idea of never throwing anything away. Thank goodness for a hard drive and Carbonite. I’ve been able to reuse and renovate several articles that had been relegated to hard drive heaven. Mahalo for the binding power of your writing. Aloha, Stephanie

    • Billybuc August 15, 2013 at 4:34 pm #

      Stephanie, you gave me a smile as well….a recovering pack rat….LOL…great line and it perfectly describes me as well. Thank you for your kind words and friendship. They mean a lot to me.

      Aloha my friend

      bill

  4. Liz August 15, 2013 at 4:34 pm #

    Are you trying to hurt me, Bill? All of this talk about a chill in the air and comfortable temperatures makes me want to cry. My air conditioner couldn’t keep up with the heat yesterday, so it was 82 degrees in here all day long. I’ll just imagine I’m sitting on the porch, breathing in crisp air with the faint scent of surrounding evergreens.

    In the meantime: 😛

    LOL Love ya.

    • Billybuc August 15, 2013 at 4:46 pm #

      We have an extra bedroom just waiting for your family…we’ll give you the entire garage/apartment until you find your own place. The cooler temps and front porch await you. All you have to do is get in the car and drive northwest until you run out of land. 🙂

  5. ruchira August 15, 2013 at 5:50 pm #

    I agree on your tips, Bill.

    If one publishing house does not agree with your points…publish it someplace else 🙂 And surprisingly it has worked for me.

    Happy Thursday Bill 🙂 We are almost knocking the weekend, the time to let our brains rejuvenate for another creative week.

    • Billybuc August 15, 2013 at 5:55 pm #

      Hi Ruchira! Busiest day of the week for me but I think I’m finally making a dent in the work load. Sure looking forward to the weekend.

      Thank you my friend. I will read your book this weekend for sure.

  6. DJ. Anderson August 15, 2013 at 6:31 pm #

    OK, Bill, get the coffee going because I brought the cookies. LOL

    I mentioned on HP about the growing discontent of myself, and others who have said much the same. I know you are so busy that you meet yourself, coming and going.
    And for that reason, I have postponed proposing this idea. But, the time has come for me
    to follow up on some questions. There is no hurry for your reply. Just please answer when
    you can.

    Can you implement a web site for creative writers to “spread their wings”? Or, does it cost to build a website? I am totally computer illiterate and am seemingly missing the gene for
    learning ‘computer’, or I would attempt this feat myself.

    The other writing sites all have a catch of some sort. And, it has become most discouraging.

    Do not be mistaken. I am writing. I generally write several hours a day, because I enjoy it.
    I am not looking for a pay check from HP or any other site.
    But, I do not want to put my hard work on HP, and be given a score that would embarrass a
    pro basketball team. HP does not know how to score poetry or creative writing.

    There is little need for a score, at all. If the readers/members like the work, they will express it. If the work never improves, the readers will disengage.

    Back to my original thought—Can you implement a web site for (members only) creative
    writers and poets to show their work and encourage each others to become better writers?
    There is a vast need for this kind of ‘share and encourage” web site.

    Thank you for your consideration,
    DJ.

    • Billybuc August 15, 2013 at 6:57 pm #

      Sheez, DJ, what do you think I am, Superman? LOL You think you are computer illiterate…what about me?

      To answer your question, yes it is possible and yes, it costs money to do that, money I don’t have…plus it takes some serious computer savvy which I am sorely lacking to make such a website.

      Everything you said about HP is true. If I didn’t love you guys so much I would have left a long time ago, so I blame you and others like you for my low scores. LOL

      I don’t know what to tell you my friend. What you seek does not exist, and I don’t have the money or know how to make it happen.

      We can always hope for a miracle I guess.

      Thanks for the cookies, although I don’t feel I deserve them after this answer.

      bill

      • DJ. Anderson August 15, 2013 at 10:45 pm #

        Thank you for your response, Bill. You did answer several questions that I frequently wondered about.

        Isn’t it interesting that we writers think of one another like we are friends. We get to know people, who we will never have an opportunity to meet, and we form a bond over the miles and even on to other countries. It is the bond that keeps us coming back, day after day.

        My day just would not be complete without an article from you and a couple of poems from Martin. I don’t know how you guys continue to
        crank out quality writes day after day.

        Many thanks for answering my questions.
        And, again, thank you for all your efforts to make us productive writers, and for all your encouragement.

        You are welcome for the cookies! 🙂
        DJ.

      • Billybuc August 15, 2013 at 10:48 pm #

        DJ, it is an odd phenomenon, the friendships we make as writers. I am convinced that if I took a cross-country roadtrip I would find friends from HubPages in every state I visited…it would be a 3000 mile love fest and I would adore making that trip. Maybe some day Bev and I will be able to do it so I can finally meet many of my friends. 🙂

  7. Audrey Howitt August 15, 2013 at 7:43 pm #

    I love to see where I end up in my writing–often in the most unexpected places!

    • Billybuc August 15, 2013 at 7:46 pm #

      Audrey, that is one of the best things about writing for me…I love the destination even though I don’t know where it is. LOL

  8. suziehq August 16, 2013 at 8:32 am #

    Hi Bill,
    Shorter evenings, cooler temps? Nah . . . . . sounds like our “normal” days all year round apart from this year when July and part of August have been glorious! LOL
    Yesterday you may have loved to get the creative juices flowing, it was dark, raining and a bit cool!! All it inspired me to do was snuggle up and write followed by the movie classic “Donovan’s Reef” with John Wayne!
    Random I know and do love not knowing where it is going, quite a few of my works have started in that fashion. I agree with you to never throw out or delete your work no matter what they are as they are learning tools in themselves.
    Thanks for another great dose of titbits and info, have a great Friday and weekend my friend!

    • Billybuc August 16, 2013 at 1:59 pm #

      Good choice in movies, Suzie, but that comes as no surprise. You are a class act any old way you look at you.

      Thank you my dear and I hope your weekend is all that you want it to be.

  9. Kelly Umphenour August 16, 2013 at 7:49 pm #

    Oh gosh Bill…I throw stuff I’ve written away all the time! In fact I burn some of it:) lol

    • Billybuc August 16, 2013 at 8:55 pm #

      Kelly, if you are burning it then it must be bad. LMAO

  10. phoenix2327 August 17, 2013 at 8:03 am #

    I’ve already had a try of Bubblews. I got the impression it’s not ready for prime time. As I have yet to find a way to delete my account, I suppose I could try again next year when they’ve sorted out the bugs in the system.

    • Billybuc August 17, 2013 at 3:07 pm #

      Phoenix, what I have seen of it so far has not impressed me; like you, I may wait for the sequel. LOL

  11. phoenix2327 August 18, 2013 at 8:07 am #

    Found this on StumbleUpon. Thought you might like it.

    ‘The Ultimate Guide to Writing Better Than You Do’
    http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the-ultimate-guide-to-writing-better-than-you-normally-do

    Enjoy.

    • Billybuc August 18, 2013 at 3:09 pm #

      Very cool Phoenix; thanks for sharing it.

  12. Melanie Chisnall August 20, 2013 at 1:10 pm #

    Oh yes, I can relate to this one. A lot of the time when I have an idea in mind of what I want to write about, it takes on a life of its own. Happens quite a lot, but I kind of like it. It’s almost like my fingers take on a mind of their own, lol!

    • Billybuc August 20, 2013 at 2:02 pm #

      Exactly Mel; the hub I did for today wrote itself and it was kind of cool to sit back and let it. Thanks for dropping by my busy friend.

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