tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post1536336967332065117..comments2024-03-25T09:56:16.164+00:00Comments on An Awfully Big Blog Adventure: What are you writing for? By Jenny AlexanderUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-30956873295075659872017-11-14T11:05:34.616+00:002017-11-14T11:05:34.616+00:00Thank you, Lydia! I hope you'll enjoy it.Thank you, Lydia! I hope you'll enjoy it.Jenny Alexanderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01115994921406734938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-528156544767801222017-11-14T11:04:04.554+00:002017-11-14T11:04:04.554+00:00Have just bought it! Have just bought it! Lydia Sysonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04613876235125755967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-6207984468067220502017-11-13T10:23:49.997+00:002017-11-13T10:23:49.997+00:00Thank-you, Lynne!Thank-you, Lynne!Jenny Alexanderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01115994921406734938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-59816413595375080002017-11-12T22:32:40.176+00:002017-11-12T22:32:40.176+00:00Thanks, Jen, for this great post. Very thought-pr...Thanks, Jen, for this great post. Very thought-provoking! (And as you know, I love your books!)Lynne Bentonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14412874594191347503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-1362053406842079942017-11-12T22:14:26.337+00:002017-11-12T22:14:26.337+00:00Hi Sue - I've definitely written stories that ...Hi Sue - I've definitely written stories that have turned out to foreshadow major events in my life, although at the time I didn't anticipate them. Another quote: 'What is now real was once imagined' - that's Albert Einstein, maestro of the imagination!Jenny Alexanderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01115994921406734938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-55196223651562459262017-11-12T22:08:20.520+00:002017-11-12T22:08:20.520+00:00Jen, Steve - coming late to this but yes, I have c...Jen, Steve - coming late to this but yes, I have certainly found that my writing 'foretells' my life. As do my dreams, sometimes, albeit in rather small, inconsequential ways. In fact, my writing has 'foretold' the future in much more significant ways - though, as Jenny says, that's probably because there are 'tentative plans' being made in the writing even though I was unconscious of it.Susan Pricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07738737493756183909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-28639284872758203142017-11-12T18:48:53.190+00:002017-11-12T18:48:53.190+00:00Thank you for commenting, Rowena - writing really ...Thank you for commenting, Rowena - writing really is a wonderful community. Steve - I've checked and I don't seem to have received your email - what a shame. I think dreams and writing are all part of the same process - it's imagination, and fantastic fuel for living!Jenny Alexanderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01115994921406734938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-68591602159901139732017-11-12T18:40:54.329+00:002017-11-12T18:40:54.329+00:00Jen, I did send you a fulsome e mail about how muc...Jen, I did send you a fulsome e mail about how much the book meant to us at the time so I'm sorry if you didn't get it. But I love that Gwynneth Lewis quote - (one of Rosie's favouite poets as well. Perhaps it's because me own dreams are so boring that it's left to my imagination to fuel the future.Steve Gladwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01809330248051701869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-68003111219031005952017-11-12T18:23:43.204+00:002017-11-12T18:23:43.204+00:00A lovely post and very interesting discussion. Hav...A lovely post and very interesting discussion. Having embarked on fiction writing seriously just over 10 years ago, the community I've found along the way is certainly one of the things I now treasure most. Wither my words, I don't know, but your PoV is true food for thought. Thank you.Rowena Househttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11548957772863528477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-62671125977120101062017-11-12T15:25:16.699+00:002017-11-12T15:25:16.699+00:00Hi Steve - I'm so glad you enjoyed Writing in ...Hi Steve - I'm so glad you enjoyed Writing in the House of Dreams - thank-you for telling me. Your comment reminded me of something I read: ‘Sometimes it’s said that art follows life but I’ve found the opposite to be true. Where else but in imagination do the first stirrings of desire form a tentative plan of action, for what might, much later, become one’s autobiography? In writing, we’re dealing with the prequels of decision when the forms of our transformation have not yet solidified into fact, when there’s still time to play with possibilities. Small variations here can make all the difference later on. Be careful what you write, because you may have to live it’ ~ Gwynneth Lewis. You definitely find this with dreams too - that weird feeling of deja vu when waking life seems to echo a previous dream, rather than our normal assumption, that it's the other way round. Fascinating, isn't it?!Jenny Alexanderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01115994921406734938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-35482242164460029152017-11-12T15:06:37.203+00:002017-11-12T15:06:37.203+00:00Hi all. Thanks for the post Jen and both my partne...Hi all. Thanks for the post Jen and both my partner and I really enjoyed and responded to the 'House of Dreams.' One thing I find with my writing is somewhat odd and I wonder if others had also encountered it. Several times with several books and stories, I've found myself anticipating life events not just with themes, but even a whole scenario. Sort of very like but not quite and enough for me to say, ''blimey, life really is imitating art.'Steve Gladwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01809330248051701869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-81155726212837405262017-11-12T14:40:52.902+00:002017-11-12T14:40:52.902+00:00Good for the soul - yes absolutely that! And alway...Good for the soul - yes absolutely that! And always laughter too. Jenny Alexanderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01115994921406734938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-25234986370654633592017-11-12T14:35:45.844+00:002017-11-12T14:35:45.844+00:00Absolutely agree that a writing group can be about...Absolutely agree that a writing group can be about much more than writing. It’s good for the soul, and it enables people to talk about what matters to them - and to laugh, too!Sue Purkisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09084528571944803477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-2215226947831406992017-11-12T14:02:09.584+00:002017-11-12T14:02:09.584+00:00Hello Hilary and Ann - thank you for commenting. Y...Hello Hilary and Ann - thank you for commenting. Your two comments put into sharp focus for me how I felt when this unifying thread in my writing was first revealed to me. I didn't want to be a rescuer! I wanted to be an author who wrote for the pure pleasure, and purely to give pleasure to my readers. But it's been incredibly helpful for me to notice and acknowledge the kind of writer I actually am - the kind of person I am, too. A lot of people who come to my workshops say I'm an 'enabler' - I can hear it now, and not dismiss it - and I find, surprisingly, that that's all right by me.Jenny Alexanderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01115994921406734938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-9217741087356334912017-11-12T13:17:06.610+00:002017-11-12T13:17:06.610+00:00I think I write in the hope of re-creating for oth...I think I write in the hope of re-creating for others the intense pleasure and solace I gained from reading stories as a child.<br /><br />Thanks for this interesting post, Jenny. I bought Writing Magazine yesterday but hadn't opened it yet, so I just went and found your article and will look forward to reading it later! Ann Turnbullhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06484265041343702129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-45043404810411802017-11-12T13:12:59.485+00:002017-11-12T13:12:59.485+00:00I understand your motivation for writing as mine i...I understand your motivation for writing as mine is similar.For me childhood and adolescent experiences that left me feeling our family was "different" and that there is too much sadness, loneliness, unfairness and prejudice in the world. It drove me to "helping" or "rescuing" types of careers/jobs - and the same need to help or rescue or show people (especially children) that they have an inner strength and how to find it motivates my writing too. Hilary Hawkeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12573780178193323715noreply@blogger.com