Comments on Nathan Bransford, Author: Guest Blog Week: One, Two, Three, Five, Four

I have nothing ... no painful story(at least none ...

2010-02-04T05:05:46.758-08:00

I have nothing ... no painful story(at least none connected to writing) to talk of. Nothing came between me and my life-long dream of writing for kids apart from those that will, you know, when you've ("voluntarily") spent 5 years in the pursuit of a degree of law and suddenly one day announce to all and sundry that you want to become a "writer" of kids books (I still get funny looks when I tell people that) but I have, after a lot of circumlocution, arrived here. Don't know if I'll ever get to No. 4 but life ... yeah, we're ready for that! Now if only I could move beyond the "dream" stage ... sigh ...
Oh, by the way, almost forgot ... beautiful post! You have my vote for Canada's Prime Minister too! :) At least the government resolutions will be fun to read! :D

I have nothing ... no painful story(at least none ...

2010-02-04T05:04:13.046-08:00

I have nothing ... no painful story(at least none connected to writing) to talk of. Nothing came between me and my life-long dream of writing kids apart from those that will, you know, when you've ("voluntarily") spent 5 years in the pursuit of a degree of law and suddenly one day announce to all and sundry that you want to become a "writer" of kids books (I still get funny looks when I tell people that) but I have, after a lot of circumlocution, arrived here. Don't know if I'll ever get to No. 4 but life ... yeah, we're ready for that! Now if only I could move beyond the "dream" stage ... sigh ...
Oh, by the way, almost forgot ... beautiful post! You have my vote for Canada's Prime Minister too! :) At least the government resolutions will be fun to read! :D

Thank you for your post. As cheesy as it sounds, y...

2010-02-03T11:07:51.046-08:00

Thank you for your post. As cheesy as it sounds, you really moved me.

I, too, had a plan. It was neat and precise and I was ready and raring to go with it. Let's just say that plan is currently in cinders somewhere and Life has moved me in other directions.

The only constant (other than my family) has been my love of writing. You post reminded me that it's okay to get side-tracked, plans don't always work. In fact, your post reminded me of a saying I've heard, "If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans." Guess I'm God's favorite stand-up comic.

I think I have witnessed the birth of an immortal ...

2010-01-24T11:07:27.067-08:00

I think I have witnessed the birth of an immortal quote:

I see clean light on snow. I see it and know there’s something yet to share, to say, to write. To live.

That perfectly expresses "the yearning" that comes with those moments of perfect and painful clarity. For me, they are always associated with a certain slant and quality of light which leaves me feeling as if I have just seen truth touch down in that very spot.

Thank you.
rose

So many meaningful stories. Here is mine: Spirit...

2010-01-24T09:14:43.206-08:00

So many meaningful stories. Here is mine:

Spirit all but destroyed at a very young age...I hoped, prayed, and I wrote.

Larger than life, homophobic, alcoholic, violent father who cherished me...I loved him as we all did, I recognized my creativity came through him, I dreamed of a better life, and I wrote.

Immature, frustrated mum who was cruel and funny...I laughed and cried, and I wrote.

Intense jobs. 14-year marriage that wasn't meant to be with a man who was abusive...I dreamed of time to write, time to pray, time to BE...and I wrote.

Finding the love I had always longed for only to find she had a terminal illness...I prayed for healing, I hoped, I prayed for time to love my beloved, and I wrote.

Loss of my beloved life-partner...I wrote.

Out in gay in L.A., not even knowing how to BE gay...I prayed, I hoped, and I wrote.

Finding the love of my life...the dream is not a dream anymore, time to write, time to pray, and time to love my beloved one. I continue to write from years and years of stories. Little publications along the way are now turning into real collections. Oh, yes, I am writing away.

Thank you for posting. Creative "Art Spirits," do not give up. Stay compassionate, stay strong, keep writing. Peace and all good things for you in creativity and in life.

Sincerely,
Diane

Ah - to have such a clear plan. For me, Live was ...

2010-01-20T23:13:06.447-08:00

Ah - to have such a clear plan. For me, Live was first. All my plans fell through and yet life carried on. Marriage, two boys, moving to the bush. Never ever planned any of it. Suddenly, I had a computer (no internet and none in sight). Could I type? What do you know, I remembered how. Now what? Like an avalanche, suddenly (over 10 years) one story after another poured out. And now for the rest of the story.....

My list, started when I was 11, has disintegrated ...

2010-01-20T19:41:58.545-08:00

My list, started when I was 11, has disintegrated from being reread, revised and re-folded over the many years since that decision.

Life got in the way as did many health issues which, while giving me the opportunity to write full-time, has also dulled my enthusiasm for the craft. Now that I'm staring my mortality in the face (nose to nose with it, in fact), I don't seem to be able to conjur up the joy I once took in creating tales, crafting stories and committing them to posterity.

If there is one thing I encourage in my stepkids, it's to follow your dreams when you're young. Do wnat you really want to do before life's roadblocks leave you looking back at the derailments along your path and you no longer have the time to explore those branching paths.

Wow. This is so beautifully written you should ha...

2010-01-20T18:57:51.894-08:00

Wow. This is so beautifully written you should have had a link so we could buy more of your work.

thanks for making that crazy variable called Life so poetic!

Dear Ink, Your post is beautiful, in terms of poe...

2010-01-20T14:33:45.188-08:00

Dear Ink,
Your post is beautiful, in terms of poetic writing skill and 5)Life. How do I keep going? Life tosses slings and arrows of outrageous fortune at everyone, interspersed with Kodachrome colours. I need a crutch, all the time, to run & celebrate or weep. I know Him as the Eternal Word.
He's a writer, too.

Ink, you're one of my favorite writers. Nathan...

2010-01-20T10:52:41.615-08:00

Ink, you're one of my favorite writers. Nathan, represent this man and solve #3 for him already!

I didn't know you'd been through all this... how awful.

Wow. Great post. I think I somehow got my hands on...

2010-01-20T08:01:52.104-08:00

Wow. Great post. I think I somehow got my hands on that same list when I was a kid. While getting my degree, I told people that I would need a day job until my writing career took off, but I held on to the secret wish that I would get published before graduating and never have to get a real job. Then, I graduated. No published books. No employable skills. Life is looming over me and now I'm in the process of climbing it.

I thought your post was lovely too.

2010-01-20T06:53:37.176-08:00

I thought your post was lovely too.

my list went something like this: 1. art/ study ar...

2010-01-20T06:53:07.795-08:00

my list went something like this:
1. art/ study art /make art/ share it / make sense of life
2. fall in love / marry / have children/ a dog / a house
3. write a novel / write another novel / write write write /
4. dance and travel
5. laugh and be merry
6. dream / dream out loud

whoops, I forgot money. yikes.

7. money!!!! too! fitting in with all of the above.

This is lovely lovely lovely . . . I could talk ...

2010-01-20T06:34:53.252-08:00

This is lovely lovely lovely . . .

I could talk about how life gets in the way, how the dark sludges over the light thick and old and nasty, until . . . well until it doesn't because sometimes you just get lucky or maybe you just take some action, or both. And you think: never too late, never too late...and you alter your plans just a little bit - maybe not exactly as you thought, but kind of cool and great all the same....so, I'm smiling as I write this and that's good.

Just what I needed to remind me what I need to do....

2010-01-20T06:06:37.000-08:00

Just what I needed to remind me what I need to do. I just had a swift kick in pants from life. But this helped me focus. Thanks Nathan, whoever you are!

The perfect blog post, Ink.

2010-01-20T04:50:18.602-08:00

The perfect blog post, Ink.

A mobving and thought provoking post. Thanks for ...

2010-01-20T04:50:07.875-08:00

A mobving and thought provoking post.

Thanks for sharing :)

Really nice post, Ink. Whatever path gets you to y...

2010-01-20T04:42:39.362-08:00

Really nice post, Ink. Whatever path gets you to your dream is the right path, because it's your path. You're right about Life and writing being intricately connected. To consider them mutually exclusive deprives both the writing and yourself. Best of luck to you!

I spent three years of my twenties taking care of ...

2010-01-20T04:23:20.261-08:00

I spent three years of my twenties taking care of my elderly father while he died of cancer. Somehow I also managed to start a wonderful career and marriage during that same time. Whenever things get dark, I remember holding his hands during his last hours of life, and I realize that nothing could ever be as terrible or as wonderful as that moment.

Thank you for a great post.

What a beautiful post. You should be a writer... :...

2010-01-20T02:33:58.571-08:00

What a beautiful post. You should be a writer... : )
It would possibly be better than Prime Minister of Canada, with a 'voice' like yours. I LOVE the orderly, with capitalization. I just had dreams, as young (but I now at age 9 that I was definitely going to be a writer). I am finding my way back there now, slowly. I hate for the dream to die!

What a beautiful image, that halo of light on the ...

2010-01-20T01:53:13.073-08:00

What a beautiful image, that halo of light on the snow...so full of promise...It echoes with another image I love - a famous song too - which calls for walking on the "sunny side" of the street...

Yes, writing is all about LIFE!

And congratulations for a wonderful piece of writing as I'm sure you know by now, having read all those comments! And all best luck to find a good agent (because that is what it is: a question of LUCK!)

Thank you for the beautiful, affecting post. Life...

2010-01-19T23:32:20.279-08:00

Thank you for the beautiful, affecting post.

Life gets in the way, in both good and bad ways, but living life is what informs the writing and makes us better at communicating to others.

Great Post, INK. It happened to me too. Life get...

2010-01-19T22:54:59.514-08:00

Great Post, INK. It happened to me too. Life gets in the way, but we find our way back if we want it bad enough.

Ink, I had the Same Damn List! Including the sa...

2010-01-19T21:11:15.849-08:00

Ink,

I had the Same Damn List!

Including the same 1b and the teaching degree. And number 5 snuck in there just like your number 5...not colitis, but LIFE issues including a sick child and soon after, a freakin' fire.
But now I'm retreating all the way back to just plain old writing again. Some things for purpose, but many things for none at all. Just telling stories.

I'm 40 which is apparently older than a first time publisher's age, but life is good now and so I feel much younger and fresh and new.

Maybe we'll both get through our list on our own terms this time, eh?

Way to go Bryan. I'm glad this one won, it wa...

2010-01-19T20:43:58.582-08:00

Way to go Bryan. I'm glad this one won, it was one of my favorites.

.......dhole

word verif: mushi. Well, it wasn't that mooshi, but heartwarming all the same.