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October was full of cookie baking, 5K walking, visiting grandgirls and celebrating birthdays, journeying to the north Georgia mountains in search of apples and the last of the season's tomatoes, speaking at the Keystone State Reading Association, and visiting friends along the way.
This week I'll can tomatoes and make applesauce. I'll order firewood. I'll get the car repaired. I'll make headway on the copyedited manuscript for Revolution. I'll work on a revision of a book about Bobby Kennedy that I've sold to Scholastic.
Then I'll travel to Keene, New Hampshire to speak at the children's literature festival there.
I do okay on facebook and twitter for a while, but I feel so naked. Why is that? Maybe because, as much as I like seeing what's happening with everyone else, it's just. so. noisy. And I like being quiet. I need the quiet. It feeds me (until it doesn't).
So I'll let go of facebook and twitter and I'll keep blogging, where it's nice and quiet (ha!), and I'll keep hanging around on pinterest, where I archive my research and keep track of what interests me. When I get a smartphone I'll probably check out instagram. I think I have it figured out, finally.
I'm curating my life through these various online sources, I see that now. I'm investigating ways to remember, ways of seeing, ways to archive, and ways to hold on to the days that slip from my hands so quickly. That's my purpose in having an online presence. I try to be clear with myself, so I can be honest about what I do and why I do it.
I can't hold on to the days, of course. It's all an illusion. But I like the illusion. I like it as much as I like quietly walking through the days, with a sense of wonder and gratitude, trying to be present. I look at these photos and realize how lucky I am, and how full is my life, and how essential it is to have good work to do.
No matter what, though, I always return to the center of things. I like being still. I like listening to the birds begin their chatter in the morning as the sun rises. I like the wind through the pines. I like the lacy curtain of leaves that drifts through the day. I like walking out into my day or cozying up to the fire with a blanket and a book. I like to work hard.
I like to come tell you these things and I'm not sure why. I don't even know who you are, but this kind of communicating feels quiet and authentic and okay to me. Not naked-making. It's my space, and I'm happy to have it. Happy to share it, too.
I always enjoyed seeing your name run through my Twitter and Facebook streams as it reminded me of the joy I feel reading your books. Perhaps it's selfish, but I enjoy seeing you pop through. However, I follow your blog, so I can think about you and your books here as well.
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice thing to say, TJ. Thank you so much for loving my books, and for looking forward to a word now and then. I'll keep at it, over here at blogger. It feels like a good fit. xo
DeleteI'd love to hear about your Pinterest experience. I don't have an account and see how helpful it would be to organize thoughts through images there, but I feel it would add to the "exposed" aspect -- somehow making the writing ideas public before I'm ready. Anyway to have a "my eyes only" acct?
ReplyDeleteCaroline, what I like about Pinterest is that there is really no conversation there (hence no noise to follow or make), there is just a pinning of what interests me. The repins are largely from people I don't know, but I don't follow the repins (meaning I don't keep track of them, just like I don't keep track of stats here). You can have three private boards on Pinterest, and I do have those as well. I like that Pinterest tells a story visually, as I am such a visual learner. I love that I have my research filed here for easy access... I used to send myself emails full of links, but now I have them categorized where I can see them in one place. It's not a perfect system, but there isn't a perfect system. Now that I have this smartphone, I'm going to investigate Instagram a well and see where that leads me. Also... there are people with anonymous handles on Pinterest, if that interests you... hope this helps.
DeleteI like quiet too. And as Elf said, "I like to whisper." I even miss the days when libraries were quiet places and if you and your friends got too loud, the librarian would say, "Shusssss."
ReplyDeleteThanks, April. We've become so noisy, as a society, and it's nerve-jangling. I'm loud, too, sometimes. I just need the quiet to refill... xo
Deletewell, I went back to fb and twitter today -- one day later -- to ask about cases for the iPhone I just bought (my first smartphone). I dunno... maybe I can not participate (does that sound awful?) in the "noise" and just use it occasionally... I'm totally schizophrenic around this issue, and I realize that, and so... to be continued. xo Debbie
ReplyDelete