Category: writing

I Have No Words

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“Dogs do speak, but only to those who know how to listen.” – Orhan Pamuk

When I first started this blog, it was mostly a place for the pictures I took of my dear dog, Biscuit, and the signs he’d pose with. And even though I wrote them, I swear I was channeling his sweet and funny messages, referee calls, and commentary on life. Every once in a while the cat would get to pose with a sign as well. Here’s a slideshow of some of his best signs:

So I felt wordless when Biscuit died six years ago at almost 14-years-old. The day after he passed, all I had was a sign for the cat who seemed equally as lost:

That space and time we need to find our words again after something monumental has happened in our lives is the subject of my Wise & Shine post for today: Writing From The Heart

The Flip Side of Writing

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“You think your pains and your heartbreaks are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who have ever been alive.” – James Baldwin

I think I’ve been ruminating for the past week or so about the idea of reading ever since I saw Davy D’s post What Kind of Reader Are You? Because when I woke up yesterday morning with no idea what I’d write about for my Wise & Shine post today, it popped in my head that what we all have in common on this platform is that we are readers.

Given the descriptions Davy provides, I relate to being a Skim Reader. When I was talking about this with my dear friend, she told me her husband who reads so thoroughly that the Kindle estimates about how much time is left to read a book actually go UP the longer he reads. They joke that the author must still be writing when her husband reads.

But whatever kind of reader we are, we create a space that we inhabit, even if briefly, with the author. My post today for Wise & Shine reflects on what a gift that is: The Ultimate Reader.

The Way I See It

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“Be sure to taste your words before you spit them out.” – unknown

I’m fascinated by the different ways our brains work. Most recently, I’ve had the chance to watch my kids as they approach the world with their “lantern awareness.” That’s a phrase from Dr. Alison Gopnik, the cognitive psychologist from UC Berkley, who talks about young brains being rewarded for what teaches them the most so they see the world as if they are holding a lantern high and they see everything in their vicinity. Whereas our adult brains have spotlight awareness, which most of the time is like tunnel vision towards our objectives.

In addition to that, it’s things like my friend, Doug, who can remember every route we’ve ever climbed in like a 360 degree view. “Remember that tree when we turn to head up the ridge?” he ‘ll ask. And I shake my head no.

Or my brother who has such great spacial awareness that to work with him to assemble the 300 bars of a jungle gym into a dome is a marvel.

When I was young, I used to memorize license plates which earned me the nickname Rain Man (do you remember that movie?). Fortunately my brain has given that up and now it hangs memories onto my favorite words. So when I hear the word luminous, it reminds me of Julia Preston because of her ability to bring light.

These word associations are the topic of my Wise & Shine post: My Love Affair with Words.

(featured photo from Pexels)

Democratizing the Theater

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“Gotta move different when you want different.” – unknown

My friend, award winning playwright, Jack Canfora has been working with his theater company, New Normal Rep to democratize theater. That is to say, they are trying to bring a dramatic theater experience to everyone, no matter where we live and at a cost that isn’t a whole paycheck.

So recently New Normal Rep produced a theatrical podcast of Jack’s play, Step 9 and released it on all podcast platforms for free. Doing it this way means a completely different marketing paradigm than brick and mortar theaters and they are relying on social media and word of mouth to spread the word about this really great play.

I was lucky enough to be able to interview Jack about Step 9, apologies and healing on the latest Wise and Shine podcast. For anyone who does podcasts and is interested in a great conversation, you can listen to the podcast on Spotify or via this link: Wise and Shine Podcast Episode 10: Jack Canfora on Step 9

And if you’d like to see the podcast show notes, I’ve posted them on Wise & Shine: Episode 10: On Step 9, Apologies and Healing

Finally, I highly recommend checking out the audio drama, Step 9. You can find it by searching New Normal Rep Step 9 wherever you podcast or going to: https://tinyurl.com/Step-9-NNR

Step 9: Five Stars

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“The idea is to write it so that people hear it and it slides through the brain and goes directly to the heart.” – Maya Angelou

I just finished listening to Step 9, a theatrical podcast based on a play written by Jack Canfora and produced by New Normal Rep. The description of the play includes these details,

“STEP 9 tells the story of Emily, a woman wrestling with the implications of prosecuting the man who raped her in college 30 years ago. Is she willing to relive the horror of that night in the pursuit of justice?”

I don’t think I’d normally select a drama where the description includes rape and prosecution but Step 9 is written by my friend Jack and I know from his other work that he deftly handles any topic with humor and insight.

And that is true with this theatrical drama, performed by an incredible group of actors. I’d say the two words I’d pick for this play (other than terrific and worthwhile) are resonant and healing. It speaks to our woundedness and with amazing dialogue walks us towards wholeness. A must listen.

 You can find Step 9 by searching New Normal Rep Step 9 wherever you podcast or go to: https://tinyurl.com/Step-9-NNR

Editing the Page

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“All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Looking at the stats for my blog, I can see that the most visited page is the About page. Which makes sense because I don’t have a lot of other pages. However, it makes me want to go back and re-do that page of information about me because I think I’ve changed since I’ve written it. I also often leave out the background info so as not to repeat myself so I think some links are in order. I took at stab at a rewrite and published it as my Wise & Shine post this week: About Me.

Podcasting

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“Your first podcast will be awful. Your first video will be awful. Your first article will be awful. Your first art will be awful. Your first photo will be awful. But you can’t make your 50th without making your first. So get it over with and make it.” – unknown

I was recently interviewed by Troy Headrick on the Wise and Shine podcast about my creative process. It was my first time and if I haven’t set your expectations too low with the quote above 🙂 and you are interested in listening, here’s a link to the podcast: Wynne Leon On Writing and the Creative Process Or you can search on Spotify for Wise and Shine and find it there (and subscribe).

After we were done, Troy asked why podcasts are so popular since there are at least 2 million out there (more if you could episodes). So I’m throwing that out as a question. Anyone have any theories?

List of Lists

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“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always, hopes, always perseveres.” – 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

My engineering brain like lists to create order. But I think that lists can also be used in the creative process as a powerful writing tool. The quote for this post is 1 Corinthians 13 which must be one of the most often quoted verses and lists of what love is and is not.

Lists are the topic of my Wise & Shine post today: Give Me a List

More Lists

And as a bonus, here’s a list of some of my favorite WordPress lists:

Endless Weekend’s Top 5 Halloween Theme Comedy Shows:

Staying with the Halloween theme, Todd Fulginiti has a list of his Halloween Hall o’ Fame

One of my all time favorite lists is one Jack Canfora did when he turned 53 maybe because it made me feel more prepared to turn 53 in two months hence: Things I Think I’ve Learned so Far

And my last list is one I published from Miss O from her first grade journal on this blog with her permission:


And to bring the list full-circle to a conclusion, there are more links to lists in my post today on Wise & Shine: Give Me a List

The Story of Life

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“Just because they are a story doesn’t mean they’re not real.” – H. M. Bouwman

I was listening to Brené Brown’s podcast, Dare to Lead last night and the first question she asked her guest was, “Tell us your story.”

It is probably an offshoot of my dad – who loved parables more than directives and could tell a great story – but I love stories. Hearing them, telling them and the way they stick with you. Like yesterday, I read Ally Bean’s story of the self-scan mishap and then when I went to the grocery store, I chuckled all the way through check out.

So stories are the topic of my post this week for Wise & Shine: The Power of Story.

(featured photo from Pexels)