SG Cordray Pondering the Universe

I pulled http://www.writingwise.com out of mothballs… Finally! To give you some background about it, I had started the site when I started writing again. For months I had searched for good resource sites and couldn’t find any. I had joined a number of forums but the information was sketchy at best. I was getting quite a collection of articles and tips on my hard drive and thought perhaps others were having the same problems as I; not being able to find a good site that has it all.

Not long after I started the site, I happened upon a link that solved most of my wants and hung my hat there. I neglected my site in favor of this other site and wasn’t really unhappy with the decision. I did feel guilty about keeping the domain name for so long and not doing anything with the site.

After discussing it with a friend, we decided to open the site back up and try to offer some things that aren’t offered as a general rule on any writing sites we’ve come across. We wanted to give back to the writing community which has supported us for so long. My friend is a published writer; I’m not… except for my small contribution to “Stories of Strength.”

One of the features already installed is eWriting. eWriting allows you to post stories, books, articles, or whatever pulls your chain. Whole books can be posted in chapter format. I have a use guide for using it that I have to upload sometime today. This component is open to all registered members right now but later will become specialized with specialized access… for copyright and publishing rights protection. We thought this would be a neat thing to have, especially for new writers who need critques and encouragement. Writing is such an isolated activity that it’s often difficult to find the right kinds of people to help you stay on track and provide the necessary feedback to make your work shine.

Of course, there’s a forum, but don’t expect me to run it. I’m a hermit and I can hermitize very well. I hate running forums and I hate modding them. I’m also the quiet sort and don’t often have a lot to say on very many topics. I’m a listener more than a talker. That will be other people’s baby.

As for the rest… well… I invite you to go to the site, look around, see what you like, and provide feedback and wishlists if you have a mind to do so.

eat a popsicle.

The last couple of days have been rough. A week’s worth of work was done in those two days. Afterwards I felt wrung out and very much unappreciated. By yesterday evening, I was feeling very blue indeed. Hubby was at a meeting. Having no children in the house there was no one here to perk me up.

I have grandchildren so I keep some assorted treats for kids here, one of which are popsicles. There are some sugar free ones that don’t taste too bad. I didn’t want coffee or any of the normal adult drinks so I grabbed a popsicle from the fridge. It was not only cold and refreshing, it was uplifting.

I sat down in my chair in the living room with my chosen flavor. I wondered how I was going to get used to the silence of the house on Monday nights. There was a movie on TV that I have seen dozens of times already. I didn’t have the energy to look for something different on the shelves. I thought it was just as good as any other choice considering I didn’t really care.

My popsicle was the kind with the sticks. I opened the wrapper on my popsicle, took out half, and began to savor the cool icy flavor. I closed my eyes and let the cool liquid hit the back of my throat before swallowing and was transported back to my own childhood filled with days of laughter, of running in the grass kicking up dandlelions that had gone to seed, and running faster to catch the seeds flittering through the air. I remembered the days of making mud cakes and using popsicle sticks for birthday candles. I remembered climbing up trees, skinning my knees along the way, then sitting as high up as I could climb surveying the world around me. I remember saving the sticks to make houses, complete with multicolored stains reflecting the flavors that had once graced them.

The clearer the memories, the longer it took me to eat the popsicle. The last half was dripping down the stick by the time I finished which reminded me of countless times when it had happened as a child and scrambling to catch that last bite before it slides off the stick onto the ground.

I felt better.