"Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead." ~ Gene Fowler
Several years ago, I was prescribed an anti-inflammatory for an injury. One pill almost cost me my life, and most of what little mind I ever had. I was allergic to the medication. Among the consequences was cognitive impairment on top of my existing dyslexia. I suddenly had trouble making sense of sentences that I had known by heart. I had just enough mind left to realize that if the brain is a muscle, it was use it or lose it time.
A friend gave me a computer, and patiently taught me how to use it. (John, I will forever be grateful.) I spent months relearning how to play Solitaire before being able to go online. Since I have always liked the Romance genre (I needed a Happily Ever After very badly.), I quickly found a wonderful group of Romance readers, RBL Romantica. They were racy, funny, kind, and very supportive. The wallpaper on their board is enough to raise the dead. At that time the dead was me! A large percentage of the group are published writers. They immediately encouraged me to use posting as a mental exercise. That first post, of one short paragraph, cost me more than three hours of sweat, but it started me on a path of disciplining my thoughts into coherent written form.
Thank you, Ladies of RBL Romantica.
Frances
Writing Science Fiction Romance
Real Love in a Real Future
Saturday, May 10, 2008
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4 comments:
Honey you are most definitely a valued member of RBL and I totally love your wicked sense of humour.
Solitaire huh! Actually I think the person who put bloomin Spider Solitaire on the computer and that Mahjong thing should be tortured with one of those ghastly songs that become a complete earworm and do not leave for DAYS. The hours I have lost playing those bloody things *lesigh*.
LOL, Chez, thank you. I have to totally agree with you about time wasters. However, logic games have been a blessing to me. I had to rebuild the logic pathways in my brain. Even now, when I hit a snag writing, I play a game of Solitaire, Spider, Freecell, Minesweeper, or Mahjong, and it is like pushing a reset button. When I come back the problem has magically resolved itself, in most instances. The levels that the mind can work on, without our conscious input is amazing.
Not quite the same thing, but there was once a movie called HALLS OF ANGER, starring Calvin Lockhart as a black teacher at a troubled inner city school who has to deal with teen boys who still can't read, So he tries hard-core porn, THAT arouses their interest!!! The movie didn't go into how to get teen girls to read, as best I can remember.
Hi Brantley. I never heard of that film. I was more of a TO SIR WITH LOVE type. Seems to be a similar set up, except Sidney Poitier did his magic by building the students' self respect. It was a really good movie. :-)
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