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short stories

A Writer’s life within

     Only a writer knows what he/she will put down on paper. Whether it is fact or fiction, the writer must enter the pages before a word is even spelled out. To live in a writer’s mind would be unnerving to most. To take all the threads of thought and be able to string them together for the reader to understand, is a miracle in itself. How do these people function in the outside world with so much yet to be written? How do we put aside our writer’s thoughts to function outside the pages of his/her next great work spelled out for you, the reader.

Man typing on old typewriter
Trying to put emotions into words

      The paragraph above has truly been in my thoughts, as I to live in a writer’s world now. Before the accident that sidelined my career, I myself could never string two sentences together to help someone understand what I was thinking. I would’ve never been able to allow someone to look into my thoughts on any given subject, whether fact or fiction. Why now then am I able to do so? Why can I now paint a picture in someone’s mind using nothing but the words I put into print? I have a lot to learn to write a book and keep my audience engaged, but I can write short stories and keep my readers’ attention throughout.

     I have always been a good talker, (some would suggest, I am way too good at it) I can tell a story in casual conversation and make you feel as though you are living it as I speak. But, to write something and get the same reaction, now that’s a lot harder to accomplish. For you see, when I write, I have to imagine your expressions while you read. I cannot see how you are taking my stories while you are engaging in them. Face to face, I can adjust my emotions to help you get more from the story. But, when I write the story down, I can only use the words, without facial expression and imagine how you are taking my words in. How you are understanding what I am trying to explain is different and difficult.

     Everyone has their own imagination and without the help of the writers emotions being seen, how can I decide what words to use. Is there a universal set of words that all will understand? So what changed for me to be able to get through to you using only my thoughts and written words? I have found my answer to these questions, that satisfy my own mind, but I can’t speak for other writers and their thoughts on this subject.

Man studying papers at a desk, deep in thought
Finding the right words to use

     My adaptability to using the words on a page comes from speaking to myself within myself. I use my inner thoughts as an audience to my writing. I do ask a couple of family members to read some of my post before I publish them, so I can see their emotions as they read. This usually gives me confidence, however, I do get a feeling sometimes, they are just being kind. It takes the person I don’t know to give me a review before my confidence really goes up. I have also learned a lot from my wife with how to write down an idea and to explain it. (I am very thankful for her help) I have since moved on to using my own ways, whether they are correct or not.

      I began to have a lot of time within my own mind after my accident. I have gone through a bout of self pity, but have used that to help others. Depression has been a great part of dealing with myself, and I have been able to turn that into a positive through my written words. As I write, I feel a power of positivity flow through me and into my hands. This flow is what you are reading in my post. Depression is completely gone as long as I am writing.

     All in all, I have decided, the reason I have been able to write the way I do is simple. I have learned to spend more time inside my own thoughts and less time outside my own head. We all talk to ourselves from time to time, but I spend hours in deep conversations with myself, although not showing it on the outside. If I were to have my conversations with myself out loud, I would be writing with crayons inside a sanatorium. Best to keep my conversations quite, I think.

     I would like to hear how other writers are able to do what they do, or if they even know. Does it just come natural to some, most or all of them? Am I the freak amongst the crowd, or am I on the normal side of things with how I write? Of course, if this is normal, I worry about the great “Stephen King“. I would be afraid to discuss with myself in terms of the things he writes. I believe that would drive me insane. Furthermore, I know I will never be a great writer like Mr. King, but the thought that he discusses things with himself, the way I do, would be intriguing to know.

      I’m being selfish with this post because, it has been written as much for me as for my readers. I have been reading many post from many authors about anything and everything. As I read other post, it came to me about how they are able to write as they do. Are we the same, or am I a loose cannon? I would love to hear thoughts from other authors on this subject. Do you also talk to yourself and read to yourself to figure out how your audience will respond? Are the things you write about already a part of you, or do you have to go outside your mind to get your stories? Give me some answers here, so that I can better understand how I came about this ability to connect with others using printed words.

Bearded man in straight jacket yelling
Crazy to have conversations with one’s self?

     I suppose, if some guys with white suits show up at my door offering me a jacket with sleeves that tie in the back, I will have my answer of going crazy or not. Just in case, I won’t give you my address for now. Well, that’s it for now. I look forward to reading your thoughts. If you are an author, let me know if you write fiction or non-fiction and how you come up with your writing abilities. Take care, my friends. Until next time, remember, we are all in this together.

Your words are important to you and your health

     I have demonstrated in a couple of posts before, trying to come up with the best way to show how important our words are. In these before posts, I don’t believe I have gotten my point completely across to the satisfaction of my readers. In this post, I will attempt to explain how important your words are to you and your health differently. As I have been known to teach others in various ways, I refuse to quit until my students have received the full benefit of knowledge I have gained through years of study and a life filled with learning the hard way. I now am committed to pass along as much knowledge as possible before my time here on earth ceases to exist. For everything I teach someone else, I learn double the amount. So I’m not trying to show how smart I am but to not only pass something onto you, but gain knowledge for myself.

Teacher in front of classroom, using whiteboard

      A teacher, who cannot learn, should no longer attempt to teach. I must explain here that I have never taught in a school atmosphere other than a time I was a trainer for a truck driving school in Tucson, Arizona. I have however taught multiple people in every career that I have ever been a part of. Furthermore, I know you have heard the old adage “those that can’t, teach”. I personally have always been against this saying! Additionally, I believe a teacher should not teach a subject that they themselves cannot do. The main reason for this is obvious, how can you teach what you don’t know? And yet there are so many that break this rule every day. So it is up to you and me to pass on knowledge as we have learned to those that need to know. So let’s dig in deep and try this lesson one more time. If need be, I will find another way to teach this lesson if this one doesn’t get the rest of you on board that may have missed it the first couple of times we discussed this.

      There is a way to say things in a way that will make you feel a certain way, and hard to change that feeling. For example, if you were to say, “I am sad”. You have just painted yourself in a corner of being sad. Now, if you change that a bit and say, “I am experiencing sadness”. You have now given yourself a way out. You can now go from sadness to happy right away if you so choose to. Instead of locking the door on an emotion, leave it cracked a little, just in case you would want to allow another emotion to enter the room. Without allowing yourself some form of change, you will lock yourself into the room with no way out! Of course, this works both ways. Even though most find it is easier to become sad than it is to become happy, we need both of these emotions. For full disclosure, I and people that try to stay with the positive side, have learned it is easier to become happy than it is to become sad. The last sentence was just food for thought!

How would one mourn the death of a family member or close friend without sadness? How would we be able to move on from this loss without mourning? Without the use of all of our feelings, we would become less than human. Furthermore, we must have a way to change emotions as needed depending upon what is needed at the time. So if we lock ourselves into one emotion when another is needed, we won’t be able to change as needed. And how do we lock ourselves in? That’s right, by locking the door on the emotion we are in. Now, what is the fastest way to lock that door? By convincing ourselves to stay in one emotion. And how can we convince ourselves of this? Yes, with our words. When we voice what we feel, we tell ourselves, that’s it. Why and how do words accomplish locking that door? Here is where it gets interesting. Who on this earth do you believe more than you? Nobody right? So you spoke the words, you believe you and you even heard the words by the one you trust the most, you! Boom! There it is, your words are more powerful than anything you possess.

      Here is another example that most of us can see very clearly in our day-to-day life. I can’t lose the weight. I have to eat that chocolate  cake. My body needs that soda. I can’t do it! Well, you are absolutely right, you have just told yourself what you can and can’t do. You have just received the best intelligence that you can get on this earth. You have not only closed the door, but you pad locked it, took off the door knob and plastered over it!

Why do people look to and get excited by motivational speakers? The answer is because, they convince us to change our minds about something. And what is the #1 thing they ask us to do? They tell us to speak the words, shout the words, write down the words and repeat this saying every day! Why? Because, you have to convince you! The speaker is just giving you the tools to use. The person on the stage cannot convince you if you decide not to believe it. You have to not only believe it, you have to convince your mind, this is the way. The only way for this to work is to speak it. The more you say it, the more you will believe it.

Two ladies talking in sign language

There is always someone out there that ask me, “What about people that can’t speak or those that can’t hear?” I answer the same way all the time, “Is sign language, not, a form of speech?” “Are vibrations through touch not a form of hearing?” We may not hear or speak the same way as others, but as humans, we find a way! I hope this puts an end to questions about people that have a different way of speech for good!

I hope this post has taught you how important your words are. I can’t express how important and how much this lesson weighs heavily on my heart. This is so important to understand. I am constantly fighting myself to follow what I am trying to teach here. This is not a natural thing for us to do, especially in this day and age. You must continue to work with using your words carefully every day. If you want to accomplish anything worthwhile in your life, you must get this process right. If you don’t, you will find yourself falling back into the same thing you have fought so hard to get away from. This can include losing weight, getting out of debt, or even creating a new lifestyle. Trust me when I say, “It is a constant battle, but one that is worth fighting“. I believe in you, now you need to believe in you and change whatever it is to achieve what you will. Until next time, take care and God bless. Remember, we are all in this together.

Words are powerful

Think of your words as a drop of water and the world around you as a lake. One single drop will cause ripples for a long way. Many drops can cause a disturbance throughout the lake. The power of our words is absolutely amazing. Our actions also speak loudly but are secondary to our words. There is only positive or negative thought. There are no gray areas to cling to. Which side of the line do you want to work with, positive or negative? One will bring you and others joy. The other will keep others away from you and joy will be but a dream.

Drop of water hitting a puddle of water

You may have heard a child say “sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me.” This is a nice thought but so untrue. You can do more damage with your words then you could ever do with sticks and stones! Our words can hurt ourselves as well as others because our words show who we are and what we want. We may also help others as well as ourselves with the proper words. Words are as magnets, held one way and the magnets attract, the other way and they repel. We need to take charge of our words. The first part of this process is to change our mindset. A negative person will always show their anger, grief, and disappointment with their words. On the other hand, a positive person will show joy, accomplishment and leadership with their words.

Why is it that a negative person can never accomplish anything worthwhile and are jealous of the positive person? A positive person has the world by the throat and can accomplish anything they set their minds to. This all starts with a mindset and is shown with the words that are used daily. If you want to be happy and a successful person, you need to learn what it takes. The first step is learning how to express yourself in a positive way and your words are key for this to work.

Stacks of scrabble pieces that spell out "words"

Here is an example of what I am talking about. If you use alot of curse words, (these words are a very negative type of speech) you will feel dragged down, angry and unsure of yourself. If you use positive words, (these are upbeat words) even when things are troublesome, you will feel a power of accomplishment and the secrets of how to fix said troubles with ease.

The second part to this is your actions.  Do you carry yourself in a positive way or are you slumping around looking like the definition of despair? Your body actions tell alot about you. Words and actions work together. It is extremely hard to speak positive and slump around at the same time. It is also very difficult to speak negative and walk with a positive stance. Pay attention to how your body automatically shows whether you are using positive or negative words. It will enlighten you, I promise.

Open Bible

So how do we change the way we speak and make sure we are on the positive side? Firstly, you must think before you speak. There’s a saying that goes, “It is better to be thought of as a fool then to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt”. One translation of this is, if you can’t say something positive, keep quiet. Another translation is, don’t speak of things and other people you know nothing about. Either way, this shows positive and negative thought. This has been a problem that I have fought for many years but if you can put your mind to it, it is very possible and probable you will succeed. We also need something to believe in that helps us stay positive. Most of the time this falls under religious beliefs.  If you are following a religion that preaches a positive message about the one you follow, then this is a very good thing to grasp upon. It will help when you have that time where nothing seems to be going right. I believe I have this with being a Christian. You must answer your own questions about your faith.

I wish the best for you and hope you find this useful. Stay positive, hold on to your beliefs and dreams. Remember, we are all in this together.

Use words carefully

four women by the bridge

The strongest power you have is your words. Be careful how you use them. Words can make or break you. Worse yet, your words can help or hurt others.

I know you have heard the old adage, “Sticks and stones can break my bones but words (names) can never hurt me.” The first part is correct, however, words can hurt. Words can destroy! Not only do we need to watch our words for our own sake, we need to be mindful of them for others too. A wise man once said to listen is our greatest gift. What exactly did he mean by this?

Does it mean that we are never to talk and only listen? Of course not. We were given a mouth for a reason. But we were given only one mouth and two ears! We need to listen twice as much as we talk and we will learn a whole lot more. When we are talking, it is hard to listen and we will miss alot that is going on around us. Not only are we affecting our own hearing by talking too much, we are also affecting those around us. Case in point, how can we have a truly meaningful conversation with someone if we are doing all the talking? I have a real bad habit of this that I am trying to fix myself.

Four teenage girls talking and laughing

Have you ever tried to have a thought of your own while listening to three or more teenage girls talking? If you can, then you are an exception to the human race. If you want to know if these young ladies are really listening try this. Ask a question of them that is off subject and watch their responses. Make sure you have your camera ready because you will get some really strange looks. Everyone of them will tell you they know what the other is saying, but if you  really pay attention, you will notice some very distinct differences of what they are saying to each other. Now I will admit that girls are much better at this than boys but they aren’t as good as they think they are. Actually if you dare to record their conversation and play it back to them, there may even be some hurt feelings between at least two of them.

As far as your words hurting yourself, try this and see what happens. Take one day and do nothing but call yourself stupid, moron or what ever bad thing you can come up with. Then take another day and praise yourself. Tell yourself how you are doing such a great job, how good you look and how nice of a person you are. After this little experiment, ask yourself which day you felt good at the end of the day and which day you felt terrible. Be careful not to overdue the bad things you say because this is very powerful stuff you’re dealing with.

What about your words hurting others? Well after you tried your little experiment on yourself, imagine how it feels coming from someone else. There is a real truth to this that you will have to test for yourself. But if you really try it, you will learn to choose your words a little more carefully. Try to change words like “hate” to “dislike” and see if you yourself don’t feel better about yourself after talking to your neighbor about the old grumpy man down the street.

If you will take my advice and start monitoring the words you use and how many words you use, I will guarantee, you will feel better and so will those around you. Take care my friends and Remember, we are all in this together.