Prompting Yourself To Write 40
Back in December I did a couple of exercises, in The Artist's Way Workbook, involving describing oneself, and writing to oneself.
1. Describe myself at age 80:
Bold, healthy, mentally and physically, though the ankle had a 2nd surgery, to finally remove pins and screws, when I was 65. Living in Texas, 5 years retired from my last job and living off income earned as an award-winning writer of cat themed books of fiction, poetry and short stories and an award-winning online jornalist as a blogger and its successor platform, under the personas of Nikita and Elvira and her 2 proteges.
Married to a woman 30 years my junior, the father of 2. In my early 50's I moved to Texas, and my career as a writer began to evolve and take off and i became more confident in so many ways.
2. Write a letter to my current, 51 yr old self, from my 80 yr old self:
Now hear this, Mad Macedonian!
I know times are tough as 2012 is nearing and you don't know what the future holds for you and America, not to mention the rest of the world. It's against the rules for me to be too specific, but I can at least tell you this much...
Your ankle will get better, you will trade in Ca. for Texas and get a good paying job. Just as important your creative life will will begin to take off in new, profitable, directions. You will, finally, be sent that photo of you on the Red Carpet at that charity event in LA, in 2011, your skills as a writer, storyteller, poet, humorist and online journalist, will finally be seriously noticed and you, Nikita and Elvira will gain new readers and critter blogging connections.
As you gain confidence books will be possible.
Oh, and you WILL meet the woman of your dreams...trust me. :-D
Nikita may be gone by the end of the decade, but Elvira will live just as long as he did and she will raise and nurture and mentor, her own young proteges, rest assured, even as technologies and online platforms, change and evolve.
So, stay strong and keep the faith! America will rise in glory once again and the rest of the world can and does, got to hell. :-D
3. What was I like at age 8? What did I like to do? What were my favorite things?
Good questions, all of them, hee, hee! :-D
I was a hyper kid who loved to play at school so much I would fail to remember to go to the bathroom and often wet my pants.
I know, too much information! :-D
I was creative and imaginative, having written my first little stories by then.I loved to read, bike ride and skateboard, though the skateboarding interest soon ended.I don't remember much else except that I used to like walking through the college campus to and from school, when not taking a school bus and one of dad's co-workers, as a college groundsman, a Mexican, would howl like a wolf if he saw me. :-D
4. Write a letter from my 8 yr old self to my future self:
Dear me:
I have a lot of hopes that I pray come true.
I hope to stop peeing in my pants!
I hope kids stop picking on me and calling me Queerial!
I hope that I continue to read books!
I hope that I continue to write stories and do book reports and research, as I like to do all of that.
I hope Mom and Dad are still alive, but if not I hope you tell them I/you loved them before they died.
I don't know what I want to be when I grow up, yet, but whatever it is I hope it's fun and interesting!
That's all I can think to say, good-bye.
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