Has your life been interesting enough to write a book?
4 years ago
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Should I start writing a book? feedback requested
Comments (46)To recapitulate what I was writing: I thank you all for your comments, all of which reflect much thought and feeling; Rick, I particularly appreciate the warmth of what you wrote and your information about legal protections of intellectual property; Cynthia, thanks for the observations on books and preservation of the written word, an interesting topic; catsrose, thanks for a realistic survey of the obstacles involved; and, really, THANKS to you all for the encouragement, literary quotes (Odinthor), book mentions, factual information, discussions about the value of illustrations in books, and everything else that you all have put in your answers. Concerning myself and my book project, I came up a few days ago with a provisional answer to the question I asked in the title of this thread. There's nothing in the way of my starting to write--unless it's my own fear or sloth. I don't know whether I have the discipline it takes to write a book; I don't know whether I'm a good enough writer to write a good book. I do have one quality needed to tackle this task, and that's a healthily stubborn faith in my own ideas about gardening and writing. Many of you make the point that such a book as I'm talking about needs to come from passion, and you're absolutely right. I already have a lot of practice working long and hard on a task for purely personal satisfaction, as opposed to applause or money: it's called my garden. Should I write a book, then if some people like it, and if I even make a bit of money from it, that will be great. But that's not why I'm thinking about such a project, and these considerations wouldn't be enough to make me undertake it. So, all I need to do now is sit down at the computer and begin writing..... Melissa...See MoreHow has Composting changed your life?
Comments (32)This sounds crazy, but I think composting taught me about the difference between our built environment and the natural environment, and it also made me realize how plastic infests so much of our society. I feel like everything should be biodegradable, in one time span or another, and when stuff persists I now think twice about why that is, for better or worse. What is quality, what is trash? If something is going to exist for a long, long time, it better be something worthwhile. And then there's just the plastic/styrofoam grossness. I think my first lesson with this was from shredding paper and composting it and having hundreds of little pieces of plastic envelope windows remain in what is otherwise gorgeous black soil. It just really made me realize what biodegradable means, and why plastic can be such an environmental pest. Long story short, because of composting, I am a great deal more conscious about our household waste stream--recycling is second-most-fun after composting--and I have made a concerted effort to change my purchasing habits. I'd rather spend a lot of money once and purchase a high quality, long-lasting, sustainably produced whatever than to continue buying easily breakable disposable junk and eventually replacing it with more of the same. ("buy cheap, buy twice") Thank you compost!...See MoreWriting Our Life Stories: Assignment One
Comments (16)Greetings again, all, As I said in the earlier post, my (I like that "my"!) librarian said that they have that book in that small rural library, and I don't know whether she meant in the system as a whole - that involves over 15 libraries, I think, in our county. I remember that an older sister of a girl that I used to go with in high school told me after she'd left home and I'd written her that she liked getting a letter from me - that it was like talking to me. I think that you'll find that, once you start the memory tap flowing ... that other memories will come crowding in, and it'll rather surprise you: I guess that memory banks produce some interest. Jannie ... don't sell yourself short, please ... see, even a short message from you piqued the interest of a couple of other readers among the rather small number who have posted. jodi ... and others ... how about a tape recorder? gayle marie ... don't bother with a shrink - come here. And ... we're free! Kidding aside, many have found that ideas that they've brought foward have produced some interesting and useful responses, including things that they hadn't thought of, and on occasion a different slant on a subject about which they'd done some thinking. When we get our books written ... ... they all get passed around here, via email, right? As they'd be too thick to post here. (Or would some of us be too thick to understand 'em?). ole joyful...See MoreBook: 'Your Money or Your Life'
Comments (11)I haven't read the book, so I can't comment on whether it's good overall, but all I was thinking when reading this post is that the budget in question wasn't drawn very well. Insurance and routine vet bills (yearly exams, shots, and a sick visit or two) are predictable expenses that should be included in one's budget. People often make budgets that are based almost solely on their regular monthly expenses (mortgage/rent, utilities, food, etc.) and don't go any further. They don't include entirely predictable but non-monthly expenses like insurance and property taxes, and they don't include items that are inevitable but not predictable as to timing and exact amount, such as home and car maintenance, home decorating, gifts, dining, medical deductibles and co-payments, entertainment, vacation, clothing, and so on. I think that's where the expense tracking comes in. After tracking expenses for several years (hopefully using a computer program like Quicken, which makes this *so* much easier!), you can make a budget that's actually realistic. You'll know that if you're not setting aside $XXX per month, you won't have enough to cover it if, for example, the water heater bursts or the front stairs collapse. I do agree that it's important to examine purchases to see whether they're worth their weight, but if you only track expenses and never have a comprehensive budget, you'll never know it when you inadvertently let your expenses slide too high....See More- 4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
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Zalco/bring back Sophie!