New Year, New Ideas

I have written professionally since the 1980’s. During that time I’ve taken many writing courses. There’s always something new to learn.

One new thing I learned, beginning last year, 2022, was how to paint on canvas.

I made a new friend that year who is an artist. I enjoyed sitting outside with him listening to the birds chirp and seeing the blue sky . . . feeling the soft summer breeze blowing . . . having small conversations about his craft. . .

One day I said I’d like to try painting. I didn’t know if I’d be any good at it . . . He got a canvas he had sketched a picture on and asked me what color I’d like to begin with? He said to paint the sketch he’d done. He gave me a brush and glanced from time to time and always said encouraging, kind comments. I enjoyed the painting. It is like nothing else! It takes me away and I found I loved it.

He said he could tell by the way I held the brush that it wasn’t the first time I’d ever painted. All I could remember painting was walls in my home . . .

I asked my children if I’d ever mentioned to them about painting a picture? They all said YES! They said I’d told them about a man on TV that had a show teaching painting when I was five or six years old, and how I’d gotten one of his painting sets for Christmas back then, and had spent mornings painting with him. I sort of remembered his name and googled what I thought it was. I found him! It was Jon Gnagy and I recognized his picture when it popped up beside his name. How many very, very fun mornings I had trying to imitate and learn what he was teaching on TV! THAT’S where I’d learned to hold a paint brush and use one! Isn’t it funny how things learned so many decades ago can now help me?

So I told my friend about Jon Gnagy and he just nodded. I finished that painting and framed it and my friend took me to an art and craft store to buy more canvases.

I’ve painted various paintings since and most are on the walls of my home. I was thrilled last month when my oldest visited for Thanksgiving (and her birthday) and said yes, she’d like to have my painting of Wind in the Sunflowers for one of her birthday presents. She had said she loved the dynamics in it when I showed it to her.

What has all this got to do with writing?

In 2015 I wrote a children’s book about a bully bird. It was based on an actual event I viewed at my bird feeder. It needed illustrations. (I worked as a Reading Teacher for years and illustrations help children decode unknown words.) I could not find anyone willing to illustrate the book. So now, guess who’s doing it!

I have the first three pages sketched out and one of them painted. The other two are partially painted.

This morning I copied the sentences for each page from the written story. I had bought canvas boards to use for the illustrations. I taped each page’s sentence to the back of the canvas board. I need two more boards, but I’m sure I have plenty of time before I really need them. The painting takes time and I just hope to have this finished by the spring. There are twelve pages in the book. I need twelve paintings and something to illustrate the cover.

I self-publish on Amazon. I have a few books already published, but plan to edit most of them. The one I am satisfied with is the first one. It’s called Bow Wow! Meow! and is a short book of my poems about pets and wildlife. Some have been published in magazines. I keep the rights to my work and it reverts to me after a magazine’s publication. I believe it’s called North American First Serial Rights? It’s been a long time since I typed up and sent off manuscripts and entered that info.

The cover of the pet poetry book has my oldest, Jordan, as a baby, and our (at that time) dog, Atlas. There is at least one poem that was published about Atlas in the book. I listed the publications and which poems were published where in the back of the book.

I am at the end of my lifetime. I have retired and now have time to write and paint and explore this writing gift (talent?) I think I have. I’m delighted to have discovered I also have – however well I do it – a talent for painting.

As a writer, you really don’t know what in your life will provide inspiration . . . become your muse . . . move your writing career forward. Keep learning every day. Keep writing, and if so inclined, try your hand at sketching / and or painting. You never know what you can do, until you try.

Bow Wow! Meow!: Poems about Pets Stories – Cats Dogs and Others

by Constance Barr Corbett 

Above is how my poetry book about pets and wildlife is listed on Amazon.com

Blindman

I just added 1,192 words to the Blindman book. I continue to work on it almost daily. I wrote these words in September 2012. Do you date what you write? I put my initials and the date and the number of words. It helps when you are trying to sell something. I wrote these words 9 17 12.
This was 17 years after the incident with the blindman. It read as if it had happened yesterday. Clear as a bell. A bell I never want to hear ring again.

I also continue to gather blogs for my “Most Liked Blogs” book that is moving along very slowly. When someone likes or comments on a blog, I add it to my list of blogs that have been liked. I saw I could go in and look through the blogs and see how many likes each has gotten. That would be a good way to sort them too.

I have three blogs. One is called Ms. Playful and is about things that were funny to me. Another is this blog for writers in hopes things I learn as I go helps others. I’ve had many writing courses and if you haven’t taken one, most are worth your while. The last one I took was James Patterson’s online class. He told me nothing that I hadn’t already learned, so I decided I had taken enough courses. His course was very good, by the way.

Still I’m self-publishing, so I’m learning how to do that. I started with a 27 page book of poems called Pet Poetry. Then I published what was to be a teacher’s guide to Black History Month, but titled it Black History Raps, which it really isn’t. It’s rhymes. Lots of rhymes to help you remember who is famous for what. I plan to revise it, but haven’t done so yet. I then published another book of Poems. It’s titled Tell It In Poetry: Short, Short Stories. My last book I published was my memoir of short stories from years of teaching school. It’s called More Than I Bargained For.

I have several books I’m working on, but my Blindman book is the one I try to work on daily. It’s not easy. I have written most of it, if not all, and am inserting the scenes where they go. It’s hard to read through my writing. I feel many of the same emotions I felt when the scenes took place.

Should Have Been Evident All Along

The Blindman Book. I had to stop it for awhile. I believe it is mostly written, but saved by topic and event and not in chronological order. I wrote feverently as memories came back. The writing is good, in my opinion, but the chapters are not in order. Reading each chapter to insert it in the proper place in the kdp format is difficult.

I figured out another way. Chapters are saved by topic or event. Sometimes I wrote about the same event more than one time. Shall I read, read, read about the same thing to decide which one sounds best? Do I want to go crazy? No. I’ll just put them all in the format and when I get what I think is the whole book together in chronological order, I’ll go back and read a chapter a day. I’ll tell myself this is the LAST time I read about this stuff. I’ll choose the best written description of each event and that will be the chapter for that.

How long have I written this book? What is 1995 taken away from 2022. Twenty-Seven years. I have quit writing about it. I’ve tried to quit thinking about it. Sometimes a trigger will set me off, but mostly I am ok. Doctors say I have PTSD. Shall I go to the post office and try to find a friend? (Remember the “going postal” era?) Trying to joke to deflect the emotions.

Ok. So if this book isn’t completely written by now (you should see the folder of chapters/events I’ve written. So many saved chapters.) I will have to write whatever is lacking. I doubt there is anything.

So I am looking at the kdp format and what I’ve put in the book so far. I don’t have to set it up perfectly. I can look at what’s there and remember what went in between or after or before and look under that topic and read the first line of the first paragraph and the last line of the last paragraph and find where it goes. I can do it that way. If I’m fast and don’t linger and don’t read everything at once.

Ok. Then what? Then when it is all together, I will read one chapter a day. Edit. Revise. Done. Never to see again.

My kids have asked me to publish this book. They know what it’s about, although I don’t know if they have read any of it. I cannot be a Prince in my own country. My kids probably read less of things I write than anyone else does. I guess they already know? Who knows? I will order, inscribe and leave behind each of my books for them and maybe when I’m gone, because I do have a “voice’. Authors have a voice, and mine, I’ve been told, is developed. Maybe they will want to read them then.

I wrote a book to each child when I was pregnant with him/her. Recently one of them said his book meant more to me than to him because he didn’t share the memories. “But look at this”, I told him as I held up the Palm Sunday cross that I had taped into his book. This was from the day you were baptized. (Ok, so I wrote while I was pregnant and after the child was born until I ran out of pages.) The frond seemed to be no big deal to him. It may be in the future. Who knows? The book will go into the container I am making for each child. Maybe it will mean something when I’m gone? Who knows? I would have enjoyed reading a book my mother wrote to me when I was still in the womb. I guess I’m sentimental.

If You Have An Amazon Kindle,

You can read my books for free using it. I have now self-published four books on Amazon.com. Two are poetry books and one is a Black History Guide for Teachers, but the title may be misleading I also have a memoir short stories book about my experiences as a public schoolteacher.

I will list the books that are already in print and available on Kindle . . . they are free if you view them on an Amazon Kindle.

Poems about Pets Stories – Cats Dogs and Others

Memories of a Public School Teacher

Rhymes and Activities For Black History Month

Book Below, Tell It In Poetry contains rhyming quickly read stories

On A Roll

I got up this morning and the first thing I did was to proofread Chapter 3. As I read it, I wondered how I could have been so blind? Maybe I should retitle my story “The Blind Woman”?
No. I will not continue to accept blame for other people’s mistakes. I was too trustful. I was gaslighted. It’s like I was in an alternate universe where nothing made any damned sense.
Well, I’ve gone back and taken a look at more chapters and have proofread through Chapter 5. Chapter 6 will need heavy editing, so I stopped there.

All this sounds very self-involved to me as I write it. This blog is for giving tips or help to other writers. I am showing how The Blindman, if the book ever gets published, came to be.

When I’m “on a roll”, I continue to work past what I intended. I had intended to edit one chapter a day. I had problems after Chapter One and took three days to return to the manuscript. I had some bad dreams last night after editing Chapter Two. This morning I thought I’d do Chapter Three first thing, even before breakfast, so maybe I could forget the words by bedtime. I’ll see how that works out. BUT, I was doing so well with the editing that I continued and got through Chapter Five.

Chapter Six is written in various colored fonts which tells me it’s piecemeal and I’ll have to work on it awhile. Breakfast sounds more appealing right now and besides, I did three more chapters than I’d intended. And it’s Sunday and I shouldn’t be working anyway, but my “ass is in a ditch” so to speak, so I did. Christians will know what I am talking about.

I work at my own pace. I work at various times of day. When I was working fulltime and sometimes brought work home to do, I wrote whenever I had a few minutes here and there. Sometimes it was the middle of the night; other times it was early morning. But now I’m retired and I try to figure out the best time to write for the project I’m working on and when I’m “on a roll”, I don’t stop.

Now I’ve beaten this dead horse to death, so I’ll go fix some breakfast for my dog and me .

Chapter Two of The Blindman Book

I see it took about three days for me to come back and proofread chapter two. This may not be my best proofread book, because I may publish it as soon as I finish this first run through. So far it’s reading well to me. I can see the action. I can remember it all too well . . .

Chapter Three appears completed and when I get over what I just read in Chapter Two, I will return to proof Chapter Three. Let’s hope I am alert and catching all the mistakes. Maybe if anyone reads it, they will let me know if they find any grammatical mistakes and I’ll send them a bookmark or something?

My best friend sent me the sweetest bookmark a couple months ago. I don’t know how I would have gotten through the Pandemic without her. We haven’t seen each other during this whole time, but we communicate by email daily. I have moved away from the area where she lives now, but if this Pandemic ever loosens its clutches on the world, I hope to go see her as soon as it does. Meanwhile I have her bookmark and it is perfect and the sentiment written on it warms my heart.

But even she doesn’t know about the Blindman. Unless she purchases a book, she never will. I can’t talk about it. I can write about it. I guess in therapy I talked about it.

They say “talk is cheap”, or seems like I heard that somewhere. I wonder where? My talk is expensive. I can tell you jokes all day long and that is cheap for me to do, but to tell you this story? I can write it down and you can read it while I’m not looking and maybe some day something can be done to change situations like this one.

Oh, well, if I continue, I won’t sleep tonight and I need my beauty rest, ha, ha. That’s for sure!

I haven’t lived in this location for a year yet. I wonder what the spring will be like? I keep telling the beautiful plants I had on my porch last summer to keep living! Just keep living so I can put you outside and let you dazzle the neighbors with your blooms. They’re getting weary being inside.

Flowers are beautiful. The Blindman was the ugliest beast I ever saw in my life, and I’ve seen more than my fair share.

The Blindman

Goal for 2022 is to publish the Blindman book that I have worked on for over 20 years.

I was pleasantly surprised to see I had already started uploading chapters into the kdp/createspace format. I proofread the first chapter and made a few changes. I have no idea how many chapters are already uploaded, but most are probably written.

This is an emotionally draining book for me and I will need to take a break from it once in awhile. I have written a children’s book titled Bully Bird and it just needs illustrations. Long story to explain, but I’m going to try to illustrate it myself. That will be my “take a break” work.

That book is only 16 pages long and is written for children who are learning to read. I am a Reading Specialist and worked with many children over the years helping them learn skills that led to better reading abilities.

I also have an interest in the hi/lo market and plan to publish some books for them, if I live long enough.

If my ex-husband is reading this, the Blindman book is NOT about you. Chill.

For the rest of you, I hope I get it published this year and I hope I can endure the work preparing it for publication will take. It’s a story important to many and I want to tell it.

Stories of a Public School Teacher

Did I tell you I’d finished the book that contains stories of a public school teacher? I know schoolteacher is all one word, but I wanted to emphasize public school, which is not one word.

Even then, that is not the true title of the book. I titled it “More Than I Bargained For”, which is what teaching became over the years.

It’s a book of memories about students, principals, schools, work requirements . . . I titled each chapter after letters of the alphabet. A is for Alphabet, B is for Buses, C is for Concussion, D is for Diabetes, E is for Education, F is for Funeral, G is for Gun, H is for Hurting, I is for Inexperienced, J is for Journal Writing, K is for Kindergarten, L is for Lunch Duty, M is for Missing Medication, N is for Nicest Thing Said, O is for One Thanksgiving Holiday, P is for Pear Tree, Q is for Quit With Cause, R is for Roller Skates, S is for Social Services, T is for Tropical Storm, U is for Unorthodox, V is for Victims, W is for Water, X is for Xerox, Y is for Yesterday and Z is for Zoo. Some of the chapters have more than one memory written. For example, R is also for Retention and also for Report Not Done.

I’ll put the link below to the LOOK INSIDE feature on Amazon.com The kindle version is free, if you have an Amazon Kindle. It’s also available for other kindles and in paperback.

The poet in me came out and S is also for Spitballs and it’s a poem I wrote.

I didn’t use names and I’ve worked at several different public schools and think any of the chapters could have happened in many of them.

Teaching is a tough occupation. I’ve had wonderful days, but I’ve also had terrible ones. I was over-worked and spent many hours at home working “off the clock”. Teachers do not get paid for PTA meetings, or staying late for Parent Teacher Conferences. It’s a time consuming, life consuming job.

Link to New Poetry Book on Amazon.com

Someone suggested I put the link to my new book, Tell It In Poetry. I got a notice yesterday that it’s up and ready for purchase on Amazon.com. If you have the Amazon Kindle, you can read it for free on that.

I’m going to put the link. When I clicked on “Look Inside”, it took me to the Kindle link and the cover isn’t showing as large as it does on the paperback copy, BUT if you scroll down after that small cover page, you can look inside at a few poems for free. I hope you enjoy them.

Well, now it says below “Free Preview” . . . I’m going to post this and come back and click on that. Maybe that’s how you see what’s inside? (YES, it is. I also posted the link to it on Amazon below as well.)

https://www.amazon.com/Tell-Poetry-Stories-Constance-Corbett-ebook/dp/B09MDVX15H/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=tell+it+in+poetry+by+corbett&qid=1637762266&s=books&sr=1-2

My New Poetry Book, Tell It, In Poetry

My new poetry book, titled “Tell It, In Poetry” is now available for sale in paperback version on Amazon.com

I uploaded it yesterday. I am so happy!

It’s also available for sale in Kindle Version and is available for free for any Amazon Kindle owners.

The book is 110 pages long. It has to be 100 pages long to have the title on the spine, and that was my goal as bookstores usually don’t pick up books to sell that don’t have the title on the spine.

Just sharing because I am so happy this morning!