Writing

How midlife writing differs:

Here's my advice to all you youngsters who want to write (I'm including anyone 40 or younger in this category)...write it all down! Write what happens to you in your life, because at my age, it's hard as hell to remember what happened. However, this produces the umbrella effect of "artistic license" which holds so much promise for me. I can just make the shit up. My life history does speak volumes about bizarre choices I've made which makes for good stories that are true. Then I can just "elaborate.'

I'm writing my first novel, "A Texan Goes to Nirvana." It's a comic mystery based 'loosely' on a very strange, month-long experience I had at an ashram to acquire a yoga teaching certificate. I'm having to change all names and locations to protect the 'guilty,' and both artistic license and memory loss are my excuses for embellishment and 'the creative process.' Those ashramites were ODD, so I don't have to change much about those descriptions, and since I've discovered the very same ashram that I went to on a website called, Cultbusters.com, I feel fully justified in all the personal cynicism I held while at the place.

Since I'm single, I have had fun with the male protagonist in my novel. But, because I'm single, haven't had sex with anyone but myself for over a year and I'm a writer, I've created a character with whom I have fallen deeply in love. I made him just the way I wanted him, and when writers talk about how their characters come to life, I'm having a ball with my new 'boyfriend!' You'll love him too. He's witty, tall, handsome, in law enforcement, and he's mad for me too!

I don't want any male HUMAN readers of my blog to be intimidated by my imaginary beau, however. Just know that he's a hard act to follow.

Next I'll write about a perfect life with lots of money and friends and a big-ass mansion and first-class travel and fame and fortune. Apparently, my imagination is strong enough to fulfill expectations in all those areas, so I can't complain!
kk

PS-Speaking of writing, you can now view my essay on 'Shoes' on the International Museum of Women's website at
http://imaginingourselves.imow.org/pb/Story.aspx?G=1&C=0&id=1402&lang=1&g=0
Just click on my photo (Kelly Jackson/United States) in the right-hand column. Enjoy...or re-enjoy! They did edit my profanity and changed "fuck-me pumps" to "sex-me pumps" which loses a bit in translation, but I get their 'international' point.

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Well, that might be a little too much information about you having sex with yourself in a post about writing and I'm sure all the youngsters really wanted to hear about that. I haven't had sex with anybody in so long I don't think I would know how anymore but maybe it's like riding a bicycle and I would remember if I should get another chance at it. But back to writing....I think I'm having a writer's block right now. Maybe the key to writer's block is writing about having writer's block. Yeah, that's it. Let's see...writer's block, writer's block...