What I’m Blogging

Getting ready for the NaNoWriMo requires getting my mindset back into a place where I’m actually thinking about writing again. One of the things that is helping me out is an encore reading of this book;

Pickard, Nancy and, Lott, Lynn. 2003. Seven Steps on the Writer’s Path: The Journey from Frustration to Fulfillment. Ballantine Books. ISBN 0345451104.

This book has been a kind of epiphany for me. It is not so much a book about writing, it is a book about being in the mindset to write. The author’s trace the various stages that writers go through which they number as seven (hence the title). Those stages are; Unhappiness, Wanting, Commitment, Wavering, Letting Go, and Fulfillment. Each stage is explained with examples from the lives and experiences of authors great and lesser known. This book could well be about any topic as it’s great strength is in helping the reader visualize the goal and removing the self-imposed barriers. I may never write anything for publication, but I’ve gleaned a great many nuggets of wisdom for dealing with plain old life.

Available from Amazon Canada, UK and US

Humans have rituals. Celebreations of various sorts to mark the passing of time, accomplishment of goals and a host of other reasons to numerous to mention. One of my rituals is the reading of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.

I admit freely that I am addicted to the the work. I love each and every part of it. I read it first when I was in highschool and have been captivated by it ever since. My first copy was a set of three dog eared paperbacks that had disintigrated from over use. In my twenties I bought the red leather bound collectors edition. It was quite a feat too, as I bought it when I was a novice in the Franciscan Order. We were only given a stipend of $30 a month and had to, as an act of holy obedience, return whatever amount we didn’t use. As I recall, the book cost $50 , so for two months I lived in sin in order to get the version that I so love now. It was worth it, and my confessor was merciful.

So I am taking this opportunity while sick, to meet up with some old friends on the way to Mordor and back.

Further Middle Earth reading available at Amazon Canada, US and UK

(Also available from Amazon Canada, and UK)

I picked up this book in the Winnipeg airport 2 weeks ago. It was there on the shelf as I cleared the security check. I have always been a student of philosophy and religion. Between the beers, philosophy is something I actually got a degree in. In any event, there it was and there I was, so I picked it up and decided on a little “enlightened” reading on the plane ride home.

The book has a lengthy introduction that I thought was quite dry. In fact it can be dry and technical about different schools of Buddhist thought in places. The book assumes you have some knowledge of Buddhism. The chapters of the book are a series of lectures given by the Dali Lama and so use of Buddhist terms is understandable. For the untrained I would recommend the same strategy for reading Russian novels like the Brothers Karamazov; rename the main characters with short English names like Fred and Bob.

The best part of each chapter for me is the recorded questions from and answers to the Dali Lama. In these passages we see his personality. His grace, wisdom, honesty and humour all blend together in a unique and interesting man that the reader cannot help but be more interested in finding out about.

A good read if you are in the state of mind to enjoy it.