Introducing a New Era of Blogging

I am happy to be starting fresh on a new blog. Blue Space, Green Space, River Flow served its purpose for a very long time. Now on to a revitalization of myself as a writer. Well, that's the hope, anyway.

Welcome to To Howl Noiselessly.

Why this title? Well, I've been making my way through a beautiful book called When Women Were Birds: Fifty-Four Variations on Voice by Terry Tempest Williams. On page 56, there were words that stuck like glue to me and would not let go. 

To write is also not to speak. It is to be silent. It is to howl noiselessly. -- Marguerite Duras

This is my place to howl noiselessly. To check in on life in all its forms and zig-zag pathways and creative change. 

Once I had the title and set up the blog, I was stymied a bit. How can this set of writings differ in some way from my usual fare? How can I make it different, yet make it something that I could easily maintain.

And it came to me this morning: Write Long. This is an idea that stemmed from a book on writing. I didn't use it enough as a teacher, and I'm really sorry about that because when I did, it produced great results.

Basically, here is the format:

Read something: a page from a novel, a poem, even something nonfiction.

Choose a line from it.

Write long. Take the line and expound on it specifically. Not necessarily how it relates to the text it is from. Just how it stands on its own in your eyes.

Draw a little picture to go with it.

Write a final short piece, probably a poem of some sort, that encapsulates what you have discovered.

I realize this is what I do with my Lectio Divina group, and we usually end up writing a prayer for the final piece. So in some cases, that will be my choice.

I have started collecting lines I like into a notebook so I have plenty to choose from at any time I want to get a posting here. 

Now it's time to get that first official blog together. I appreciate you reading and any feedback you can provide. Oh, and may I add...I am not well-versed in art, but I have a small goal to get better. I see a dual purpose for me -- this exercise will enable me to practice anything I'm learning from my online course from the Pencil Room! I feel it will keep me on track with it better, because so far I haven't been practicing much, as I had intended.

😊