A Writing Journey

As an English teacher one of my very favorite concepts to teach was that of connotation and denotation.  It is, after all, the magic behind words.  As a student myself, learning about connotation and denotation was the key that unlocked the power of words for me.  I longed to share that unlocking with others.

While some use a palette of colors, mixing them just so to create mood or depth and others mold clay and meld metals to represent an idea, my media is words.  Selecting the right word is like finding the right combination or proportion of two colors to create just the right shade.  It isn’t the pink of the inside of a dog’s ear.  It isn’t the mauve of the walls in my childhood home. Instead it’s the shade created when clouds and the edge of the mountain meet at sunset.  

As a writer the perfect word has the power to transform the art.  Fairly subjective, like determining which shade of pink accurately conveys a sense of serenity, finding the right word relies on the readers experience and understanding. The task before me is to convey an idea in a way that speaks not just of my experience and vision, but that will draw upon that of my readers. 

It is not a responsibility.  It is a privilege and passion.  Like any good passion, I often find myself day dreaming.   Fixated on a simple word like journey.  It finds its way into my brain, bouncing like a pinball on the bumpers, paddles, and targets.  I hold it up.  I examine it.  I dig back in the file cabinet of my memories and search for experiences that create meaning around the word.  I file away what I discover, savoring it.  Saving it for just the right moment.  It’s magical.

For those who may not unlocked this magic… The denotation, or dictionary definition, (notice the matching Ds? – memory trick) of journey is “an act or instance of traveling from one place to another; trip.”  The connotation, however, is layered.  The connotation includes layers of the memories, experiences and associations of the word that word and can be deeply personal.  

A journey, yes, is traveling, but it is more than a trip or vacation.  Rarely do I associate journey with an actual location.  Instead it is associated with the act of moving, usually figuratively, to a new place.  It requires time.  It requires effort.  It entails several steps forward and lots of slips backward.  In most cases, the arrival is illusive.  I don’t envision a journey as ending, but instead morphing.  Always there is growth.

Writing – This is a journey for me.   

It is long.  At times it is arduous like a trek up a mountain with a forty pound pack wearing not quite the right shoes.  At times it is joyful and surprising like discovering an unexpected coffee shop while on vacation that serves a latte with lemon peel called Sunshine in a Cup. Still other times it is never ending and monotonous like a road trip through Nebraska nothing but corn for miles – not even a Dairy Queen.

Regardless of the experience, it is a passage through space and time that changes both me and those that I come into contact with.  I change.  It changes.  My relationships change as a result.  

I was reminded recently that when Rylie was in the hospital we took people on that journey with us.  Ziggy and I sat down each night to write updates.  To process what we’d heard and makes sense of what we were feeling.  

Many days the updates were mundane – full of hurry up and waits.  Sometimes, they contained moments of profound reflection or growth.  They often were filled with layers of emotion, but sometimes just medical jargon.  

People joined us on that journey partially because of the enormity of the situation- like a wreck on the side of the road – and partially because it was a journey they could not fathom.  They didn’t mind the mundane or medical jargon filled posts.  They connected with the profound and emotional.  They followed along sometimes silently, sometimes boisterously.  They were simply along for the ride, changing and growing with us through each of the moments.

Each of us has pieces of our own journeys that are unfathomable to others.  We should share them more.  The challenge is that most of us can’t see that our journey is remarkable to others.  We can’t grasp that it is worthy of sharing. 

Encouraged by this friend who pointed me back to our journey in the hospital, where my words found an audience and a rekindled purpose, I’m changing trajectories.  I’m using this platform to share my journey in writing.  

I love that social media can be interactive and can be, but is not always, a place to build relationship.  I love that part of becoming an author is that you also build a business, I am an entrepreneur at heart, after all.  But I’ve found myself distracted.  Swept into the “best practices” of social media instead of just sharing my journey.  Turning at every shiny thing that may lead to growth of the business, rather than staying true to the craft.  While these each have a place in the ultimate journey, they are another section of the path.  The goal of the journey is the same, but I’m choosing a different route for now.  

It is my sincere hope that you’ll follow along this journey. Of writing. Of discovery.  Of success and failure.  That you’ll be along for the emotional, the profound and even the mundane.  

That you’ll join me on this section of the path where I shift away from posting every single day simply because it may garner more engagement.  That you’ll join me as a I shift towards the reality of writing.  

Sometimes there will be posts like this – long and thought out.  Sometimes there will be celebrations that I actually got to sit down and edit my manuscript.  Sometimes there will be nothing because life has caused me to go quiet or simply not have time to put words out coherently. 

I hope that by sharing all aspects of the journey, you’ll feel welcome to comment or message me if something hits home.  That you’ll feel comfortable just getting a peek into the journey I’m on.  That you’ll be alongside both quietly and boisterously.  But most of all, that you might be inspired to go on a journey of your own and welcome others alongside.