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Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Sharing Writing with Others - Slice of Life Tuesday

Two Sundays ago, after 31 days of posting some type of writing daily for the Slice of Life Challenge, I went back and reread what I wrote.  I especially focused on all the comments people in my writing community left for me.  How blessed I felt to have all of them be part of my writing life, enriching and encouraging me. 

It made me realize how much I appreciate writing for an audience.  I write for myself, but I really appreciate the feedback of others.  But, on further reflection, I also realized that some of the posts I wrote during the month of March never reached the audience that inspired them, so I decided it was time to share.  I wrote many emails in the past two weeks, sending links of certain posts to people who motivated me to write those pieces, or to people who knew the topics about which I wrote. 
  •  I sent several posts to my parents, about my grandmother and how my mom was both my reading and knitting mentor.  
  • I sent an email to both of my daughters, sharing with them the posts about side view mirrors, drip castles, side by side conversations, and how our reading lives are so incredibly intertwined.
  • I dedicated my book club poem to both of my book clubs and sent them the link to let them know how much they mean to me.
  • My post on how what I have learned in yoga has been translating into my own life was sent to my close friend, who is also my yoga instructor.  Her wise words brought that piece to life.
  • I shared my post about Monday Share with both of my language arts classes.  They got a big kick out of being featured in my writing.
The list goes on and on.  I hope that all these people enjoyed knowing how important they are in my life, and that these posts were just one way of paying it forward from me to them.  I know I appreciated the opportunity to share specific posts with specific audiences.  How fortunate I feel to have words as a medium for expressing my innermost thoughts and feelings.

The slices continue each and every Tuesday with Ruth and Stacey at Two Writing Teachers.  Please check it out for more great writers and their writing.

7 comments:

  1. What a lovely idea to share your posts with family and friends that are so particularly written about or for them. I liked hearing the details, too, Karen because I too kind of 'link' to some when I write certain things. As you wrote, it reminded me of some of your writing too. Funny how one sentence can connect back. Thanks!

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  2. What a great way to let people of your life know the impact they have on your life. I'm sure they were in awe of the way you wrote about each one.

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  3. As Elsie and Linda have noted, this is such a wonderful way to remind yourself of both the people in your life and the power of writing. Keep at it!

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  4. Karen, we have all benefited from all you have shared here at Literate Lives. Today you bring up another smart point --- the importance of getting our writing out into the world. I don't know if you've had the opportunity to hear Sharon Esswein from our district speak, but she is so good about this. She always talks about the real reasons we write and the importance of giving stories, letters, poems, to the people who make a difference in our lives. I am always struck by how authentic this is. You remind us again here of this very thing, those authentic reasons we write. I will bet your brought a lot of smiles to the faces of those who inspired your writing.

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  5. Linda, Elsie, Tara, and Cathy -
    Thank you for your kind words. My hope is that my words will find a home in the hearts of the people who inspired me.
    I know all of your words inspire me on a regular basis!! Thanks so much for your support.

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  6. Great idea!

    And I've been thinking about this almost enough to make it into a whole post: Something about how the community of READERS who also are WRITERS is feeding me this month. It's about audience, but it's also about people who read critically and let you know in the comments that they didn't just hear you, they noticed what you were trying to do with the craft of your writing.

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  7. Fabulous. I'm sure they appreciated hearing your words.

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