Welcome to the online diary of a Central Oregon Grandmother (me) who is busy celebrating the positive portions of her everyday life ... along with her best friend husband (Cary). It is quite an eclectic diary and I try to do my best to incorporate a little bit of history into many of my posts. Your visit to our piece of American Pie is greatly appreciated. This chatty Kathy posts frequently, so coming back to visit often is highly encouraged.
Showing you Oregon,one post at a time. Did you know that I post the links of many of my stories and articles on the sidebar? When you have extra time, please scroll down to see more. At the bottom of this page there are links to many other blogs that I enjoy.
Hello, friends, thank you so much for stopping by. I really hope that you will enjoy your visit to Oregon Gifts. Due to spam, I am not accepting comments from anonymous people. Please email me at: oregongiftsofcomfortandjoy@hotmail.com if you are unable to leave a comment on here. I write back through email when I can.
My words and photographs are copyrighted, and may not be used without permission, even on Pinterest.
~ Kathy M.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
She Writes
I recently became a member of She Writes, a free online community for women who write. All aspects of writing are covered on there, from getting published to webinars, blogging, and everything in between. I am still learning about the site, which is huge and has a lot to offer. I have to admit that it kind of confusing to me, though valuable.
Being a member of She Writes has kind of effected my writing self-confidence, and not for the better. Before I joined, I was just going along happily posting on my blog, planning on writing a novel, a resource book, and my husband's memoir. Then I saw how many people out there were doing the very same thing! Now, somehow, I am all of a sudden up against humongous competition. I guess. Because I am so new to this, I didn't even know enough to know that.
And then there are discussions of how hard it is to get into the mood to write. About getting stuck. About how to get re-inspired when you get writers block. I hadn't even thought about having nothing to say. I am usually a very chatty Kathy unless I am sick. Plus, everybody else is busy entering contests, feeling the pain of rejection slips (maybe nowadays they are rejection emails), and being discouraged overall. Or, sometimes they are elated because they have gotten a book deal or some of their other work published.
I am following Stephen King's suggestions of writing every single day, and reading, reading, reading. Lucky for me, I was already doing those two things anyway. I didn't have to build that into my schedule by carving out time. Yesterday I began reading a new book, and I had to put it down. The writing was irritating. Though it did get published, and it was book #5 for that author. Steve says to read the badly written books, because they can teach you even more than the really good ones can. I'll keep that in mind, and get back to it someday when I am very bored.
Instead, I picked up an old favorite, Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver. That book is way too good; and I think, well, I know that I will never be able to write like her. I am no Barbara Kingslover. Then again, neither are most writers. Barbara is so observant and remembers all the feelings and details that go along with her characters. She packs more into one sentence than others do into a whole paragraph. I am Kathy Matthews, though I am not sure yet what that means in fiction writing yet. In the 1000 words on my novel that I have written so far, I don't think I did that bad though. I got inside that little 13 year old good girl's head pretty well, at least for a couple of pages.
One of the women on She Writes did write to me and said that she wrote her novel, and she was a newbie, and that it is getting published. She told me that, "If I can do it, you can do it too!" That was nice of her, to be encouraging to somebody she doesn't even know. I guess that is what She Writes is really about, when you get down to it. Sharing ideas and learning from other people's experiences. I'll keep trying!
I LOVE THE STATE OF OREGON.
Posts About Oregon:
- 2013 Cemetery Tour
- A Drive Along The Oregon Outback: Summer Lake Hot Springs
- Ashland, Oregon's Lodging Options
- Ashland, Oregon: Lithia Park in the Fall
- Beautiful Oregon Pictures
- Belknap Host Springs Resort: Upper Level
- Belknap Hot Springs Resort, McKenzie River Valley OR
- Belknap Springs Resort - "The Not So Secret Gardens"
- Belknap Springs Resort and Gardens: The Loge Area
- Belknap Springs Resort: "The Secret Garden"
- Blue River, McKenzie River Valley OR
- Clear Lake Resort, McKenzie River Valley OR
- Clearwater Falls, Hwy 138
- Colliding Rivers Viewpoint
- Collier Logging Museum
- Collier Logging Museum: Pioneer Village
- Coos Bay Trip #1: The Mill Casino
- Coos Bay Trip #2: Sea Gulls and Pier
- Coos Bay Trip #3: Fisherman's Wharf
- Coos Bay Trip #4: Cape Arago Area
- Cougar (Terwilliger) Hot Springs Lagoon
- Cougar Dam, Blue River OR
- Cougar Logoon and Old Growth Hiking Trail in The McKenzie River Valley of Oregon
- Cougar Reservoir Old Growth HIke, McKenzie River Valley
- Devil's Punch Bowl State Park
- Devil's Punch Bowl State Park Photos #2
- Drain, Oregon: The Drain Castle
- Drain, Oregon: The Hassard House
- Fish Lake #1, McKenzie River Valley OR
- Fish Lake Revisited (July 2009)
- God's Country Part 2: The Beaver Trail at Holiday Farms in Rainbow, Oregon
- God's Country Part I: The Park at Holiday Farms RV Park in Rainbow, Oregon
- Grass Valley, Oregon
- Green Waters Park, Oakridge OR
- Herbert Hoover Visits The McKenzie River Valley of Oregon
- Holiday Farms RV Resort in Rainbow, OR
- I Dream of Eugene "Eugene in the Spring"
- I Dream of Eugene: "J.W. Quackenbush's Hardware Store"
- I Dream of Eugene: "Just where was that Skinner Cabin?"
- I Dream of Eugene: A History Lesson on the Sidewalk
- I Dream of Eugene: The 5th Street Market
- I Dream of Eugene: The 5th Street Market Mural
- Link to my Central Oregon Blog
- Link to my McKenzie River Valley of Oregon Blog
- Living at Camp Christian, Walterville OR
- Lookout Point and Dexter Lakes
- McCreadie Hot Springs Photos
- McCredie Day Use Site
- McKenzie River Valley: Delta Campground
- McKenzie Station Espresso and Inn at McKenzie Bridge
- Naked in Nature: McCredie Hot Springs
- Newport, Oregon #1
- Newport, Oregon: Historic Bay Front and Fisherman's Wharf
- Newport, Oregon: Historic Nye Beach
- Newport, Oregon: The Oregon Coast Aquarium
- Newport, Oregon: The Oregon Coast Aquarium 2009
- Newport, Oregon: Views of Yaquina Bay State Park
- North Fork of the Willamette River Near Oakridge
- North Santiam River State Park
- Odell Lake
- Olallie Campground: Upper McKenzie River
- Pringle Falls Experimental Forest in La Pine
- Rainbow, Oregon Area: Feb. 2009
- Sahalie Falls, McKenzie River OR
- Salt Creek Falls, Highway 58 at Willamette Pass
- Seaside, Oregon: A Weekend of 6th Grade Basketball
- Seaside, Oregon: On the Beach
- Seaside, Oregon: The Carousel
- Seaside, Oregon: Window Shopping
- Shadow Shots from Around Oregon
- Shahalie Falls
- Shelter Cover Resort at Odell Lake, Oregon
- Silverton, Oregon Video
- South Santiam River: Fernview Campground
- Taking the Long Way Home Part I: Unity, Fall Creek, Lowell
- Taking the Long Way Home Part II: Westfir, Oakridge, Highway 58
- The Astoria Column in Astoria, Oregon
- The Columbus Day Storm
- The Dreaded Scotch Broom
- The Hassard House Becomes Sweet Thang Chocolates
- The Hassard House Becomes Sweet Thang Chocolates
- The Hotel Elliott in Astoria, Oregon
- The Hotel McCredie and McCredie Hot Springs
- The Lightship Columbia
- The McKenzie River Valley #1
- The Oregon (Portland) Zoo
- The Rustic Skillet in Rainbow, OR
- Train Mountain in Chiloquin, OR
- Trapper Creek at Odell Lake
- Unity Bridge at Fall Creek
- Warm Springs Photos 2008
- Wicopee Fields and The Frazier Slide
- Winter on the North Fork and Willamette: Oakridge Rest Area
"More Blog Friends"
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HAPPY NEW YEAR!11 years ago
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"Oregon Bloggers"
"Sepia Saturday, Postcard and Stamp Blogs"
"Writing and Poetry Blogs":
- Backtracking
- Cathy C.'s Hall of Fame
- Claudia's Page
- Donna's Book Pub
- Elizabeth Mueller
- Emma's LLM Calling
- Fireside Park - Tony Benson
- Gumbo Justice
- Katie O'Sullivan
- Laura Howard's Finding Bliss
- Margo Benson
- Musings From The Moment
- Napple Notes
- Rinkly Rimes
- She Writes Members Blogs
- So You Want to be a Writer
- The Art of Being Broken
- The Publishing Virgin
- Womens Memoirs
- Write From the Heart
"Spiritual and Inspirational Blogs"
"My Blog List"
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Earrings7 years ago
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Bolzano Daily Photo is TWELVE2 years ago
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The Bhutan I saw3 weeks ago
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Oktoberdagar i Rössjötrakten2 years ago
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Random Photos3 years ago
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Coastal Pandanus5 years ago
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Roses are red!1 year ago
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"Photography Blogs"
- A Southern Daydreamer
- Coloring Outside the Lines
- Dusty Us Diaries
- Faith, Hope and a Whole Lotta Love
- Heart's Content
- In Amazing Graceland
- Martha's Musings
- Meditations of My Heart
- Miranda
- My Arts Desire
- My Garden Haven
- My Heart's Content
- My Photography in Focus
- Old Forest
- Patina Moon
- Photographers of Esty
- Photographers of Esty Blog
- Pioneer Woman
- Smiling Sally's Blue Monday
- Snapshots of Bombay
- Stamp Mouse
- The Feathered Nest
- Tina's Pic Story
- Watery Wednesday
"Book Clubs and Book Blogs":
"Food and Cooking Blogs"
"Decorating and Homemaking Blogs":
"Art/Craft and Sewing/Quilting Blogs":
"M.E., Vintage, Cherry and Shabby Chic Blogs":
"Marriage and Family Blogs"
"Humor Blogs":
Frugal Living and Coupon Sites:
More neat blogs and websites to check out!
Links and Resources:
- "Getting the Hang of the Business End of Things" for Writers
- 1859 Oregon Magazine
- 20 Search.com
- ABDPBT.com
- Art-e-zine: Vintage Resources
- Bend Blogs.com
- Bend Bulleitn: Bend Events for the Week
- Bend: Survival Common Sense Blog
- Big Huge Labs.com
- Bing/Windows Live Pictures
- Book Blogger Directory
- Book Catcher.com
- Chickens in the Road.com
- Cottage Hill's Linky List
- Deb Gould
- Dictionary.com
- Earth Files.com
- Easy Bread Recipe
- El.com - Oregon Links
- Eugene Police Reports
- Explore Central Oregon
- Family Old Photos.com
- Fracture Me Photo Frames Website
- Free Genealogy Websites
- Free Photo Effects
- Free Photo Sources
- Free University Writing Classes
- Geneabloggers.com
- Google Books
- Hack Bend: What's Going On In Bend OR
- Historic Photo Archive.com
- Hiveword
- How to make your own postcards.
- Indie Fixx's Feed Your Soul: Free Art!
- Is Somebody Stealing Your Blog Content?
- Link to Curtis Irish's Collection on Flicker
- List of 5106 Oregon Landmarks
- Lost Oregon Links
- MLB - Home Page
- MLB - Mariners
- MLB - Rays
- MLB - Red Sox
- MLB - Yankees
- Make Your Own Slide Show
- Malibu Recovery Center Blog
- Meme-Aholoics List of Meme Parties
- NaNoWriMo Forums
- Nan's Cottage Design Studio
- Nature Photography Blog
- ODOT Webcam and Trip Checks for Central Oregon
- Old Oregon Photos.com
- Oregon Hiking.com
- Oregon Hot Springs Map
- Oregon Wildfire Info
- Pacific Crest Stock Photos.com
- ParaPublishing.com
- Patch.com
- Photo Friday.com
- Photo Secrets.com
- Plumrose Lane
- Project Gutenberg: Free Books!
- Publication Studio: Books on Demand
- Publishing Syndicate.com
- RV Parks.com
- Salem History - Old Oregon Photos
- Skool Days Nostalgia Blog
- Southern Oregon History Website
- Surnames in Douglas County, Oregon - Linkpendium
- Survival Center.com
- The Oregon Encyclopedia and The Willamette River
- The Publicity Primer (From Shannon at The Warrior Muse)
- Thesaurus.com
- Tom's Book Publishing Blog
- TomFolio.com
- Visit USA.com
- Western Americana
- Word Hippo
- Writer Beware!
4 comments:
Hi Kathy - I joined She Writes also (not long ago...maybe two weeks) although I haven't had a chance to really sink into the site and see what it is all about. All my big plans went out the window this week when my temperature went up! Starting to feel better now, so I'm back online. I'll get back to that site and learn some more. Thanks!
Hi Lisa, I am happy to hear that you are feeling better!
I think that She Writes is a wonderful thing, but maybe I should just concentrate on doing my work and then when I actually have something done or am well on the way with a project revisit their site.
I like the group of writing bloggers that you and Becky are in, and I learn more about how to do things by visiting your blogs. It is not overwhelming like the huge group of She Writes.
Thanks!
She Writes can be great, but I agree that it can also be overwhelming. I think you're wise to continue what you're doing: reading and writing everyday. No one else is you, so no one else has the same thing to say (though I admit you and I are pretty similar in our approach to life and blogging!).
I love Barbara Kingsolver--my favorite of her books is Prodigal Summer. She is such a "poetic" writer. And Stephen King is absolutely phenomenal. Something to work towards for us less experienced writers!
Kathy, I love Prodigal Summer too. I love how she intertwines so many threads and teaches us about coyotes, pheromones, family and raising goats!
The only book I had a hard time with was The Poisonwood Bible. It was heavy.
I love Stephen King too, though for years I stopped reading him because of the scary stories. I have started up again this year after reading The Green Mile. A few weeks ago I read his book on writing, which encouraged me a lot.
:>)
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