Journaling | Perle Champion

Who Do You Write For?

08 Nov 2014 Leave a comment

by Perle Champion in Blogher NaBlo, Journaling, Memoir, Poetry Tags: Blogher NaBlo, Journaling, Memoir, Poetry

Laying Life on the Line

she sat pen in hand
journal open before her
her life paced the lines

glory inglory
marching cadence cross the page
bare and unadorned

“Never mind the misses and the stumbles…” “The habit of writing for my eyes only is good practice, it loosens the ligaments.” – Virginia Woolf

Virginia Woolf’s quote hits home for me, and if you would write, I hope for you. There is something so freeing about writing just for yourself with no deadlines. It doesn’t need to be perfect; it’s a conversation with and exploration of yourself for yours eyes only now or forever unless you decide to share it.

Saying you want to write is not enough, you must write it. The truth is so much writing is just mental gymnastics. A skater skates, a harpist harps, a writer writes. It is the practice that perfects.

Day after day, with no one to see, no one to hear, and no one to applaud, I rise and go to my practice. I write in my journal.

You Can Publish What You Journal.

07 Nov 2014 1 Comment

by Perle Champion in Blogher NaBlo, Journaling, Poetry Tags: Blogher NaBlo, Journaling, Poetry

Filling the white space

white space taunts my pen
my épée etching each word
slowly on the page

words marching cadence
along pale blue journal lines
and then there is light
© Perle Champion 2009

William Wordsworth wrote: “Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart”

I’ve filled the pages of my journal since I was a child: daily observations, traumas & dramas, poetry, essays, stories and more since I was a child. I didn’t realize how much publishable material languished there in my own journal until one day.

One day I was rereading an old journal when I realized that one story was practically complete, so why not type it up and send it out. That story was “Rain” back in 2004. What a thrill it was to see that story so dear me, not only published but resonating with so many readers.

That day I started paying attention to what I wrote in my journal and noting in the margin whether it would make a good poem or essay or story or a character in a book. That decision has since stood me in good stead. Most of what I’ve published originated inthe pages of my journal.

Do You Use the Excuse of Writer’s Block?

06 Nov 2014 Leave a comment

by Perle Champion in Blogher NaBlo, e-book, Get Published, Journaling, NaNoWriMo, Poetry Tags: Blogher NaBlo, Journaling, Nanowrimo, Poetry

I’ve often wondered about those folks who use the excuse of writer’s block for not writing. Yes, I think it is an excuse akin to a certain in-law of mine who opines, I can’t cook. My response to her is if you can read and follow instructions, you can cook. My response to writers or wanna be writers. If you can put pen to page, fingers to keys, have a thought in your head, you can write.

I write everyday in my journal – that’s a start, and then there’s the Blog challenges, NanoWriMo, and poetry contests, etc. They all have deadlines, so I make the commitment and on top of my daily journal, I write.

It’s day 6 of the BlogHer Blog-a-Day for November (note: they throw that gauntlet down every month), and I’m on track.

And

I’m still plodding away on my NanoNovel and have 17,545 words to-date, so I’m on track to get my 50,000 words done by and hopefully before November 30. I plan to do heavy edit by/before December 15, so I can take advantage of Amazon’s offer to NanoWriMo winners (anyone who reaches 50,000 words) to publish 2 free hard copies of their novels. I planned on uploading my finished novel to their Kindle platform anyway, but oh, to see the actual book in print (every author’s dream).

I’m encouraged by the sales of my non-fiction e-book published on Amazon in late 2012 – How to Journal and How to Publish from Your Journal. While not a best seller it is selling and yay! It’s making money. I opened my P.O. box this morning and amid the bills, 1 rejected manuscript and the detritus called junk mail, was the check – a royalty check from Amazon.com on my book. It was not large, but oh it’s such a nice feeling to get paid for doing something you enjoy. As I have not promoted the book except for a few Blog posts and an Amazon affiliate link on my Blogs, I’m rather amazed and more than a little pleased.

I like the Amazon affiliate link, as it allows me to link all to the books I review and even those I just like and think everyone should read, and in return I make a few cents commission for having done so. It adds up over time.

Do You Journal?

05 Nov 2014 Leave a comment

by Perle Champion in Blogher NaBlo, Journaling, Poetry Tags: Blogher NaBlo, journal, Poetry

In the midst of all things on my November ToDo’s list, I’m still writing my morning pages in my journal – at least 3 handwritten pages. Why?

It’s my creative net to:

Capture Ideas of the moment to pursue later. The pen is my best memory.
Give form to my dreams and ponder how to give them wings
Brainstorm solutions to problems
Write a poem, or essay or capture a character for later extemporization.

It’s my friend to:

Give voice to things best kept to myself knowing the confidence will go no further.
Give thanks for what I have without sounding maudlin.
Cry over losses, and rejoice of triumphs
And so much more.

Do you keep a journal?

Women’s History Told

03 Nov 2014 Leave a comment

by Perle Champion in Blogher NaBlo, Journaling, NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, Poetry, women's history Tags: Blogher NaBlo, Nanowrimo, Poetry, Women's History

“I prefer the pen. There is something elemental about the glide and flow of nib and ink on paper.”
― James Robertson, The Testament of Gideon Mack

Paean*

praise for the paeans
flowing from a woman’s pen
that told their story

quietly they rail
assail anonymity
filling silent pages

pen in hand they stand
long lines of women through time
countless pages writ

journals letters more
words telling the history
men tend to omit
© Perle Champion

*Paean: It comes from the Greek παιάν (also παιήων or παιών), “song of triumph…

So much of history is about men by men, but there is a rich history of women if one is willing to look. It exists in journals, letters, and more. So much has been lost or tossed as of no consequence. And, some has been preserved for us if we know where to look.

Southern History Room of Birmingham and the microfiche archives of the Linn Henley Library are rich with such histories. To pluck any journal from a shelve and begin reading is like stepping back in time and experiencing a life lived.

I’ll be spending some more time there in the next few weeks as I have some research to do. Birmingham has one of the best library systems I’ve encountered and I’ve known many.

Note:
Day 3 of NanoWriMo – Novel Wordcount is 8,449
BlogHer Blog-a-Day challenge 3 for 3

Do You Name Your Journal?

28 Feb 2014 Leave a comment

by Perle Champion in Haiku times 2, Journaling, Poetry, Writing

Dear Kitty was how Anne Frank began her journal née diary entries. Our journal is our confidant – giving it a name elevates it’s status from that of an inanimate object to that of a friend. A friend with a willing ear that we can tell our most intimate secrets, fears and idle thoughts and know the confidence will be kept.

Naming Things

diarists address

entries by name pleading for

someone’s attention

however abstract

it matters that an ear hears

else trees fall unheard

© Perle Champion

Sixty-Five and Asking – Now What?

24 Feb 2014 Leave a comment

by Perle Champion in Journaling, Memoir, Perle Champion

I started my cozy on the 14th and wrote 2-3 chapters and then I got sidetracked. The following week lead up to my 65th birthday of February 23. I found myself celebrating the whole week with various friends over long breakfasts, lunches, happy hours at favorite places all culminating with a great Sunday afternoon at my friends’ Daniel Day Gallery-Dream Mecca Studio. Daniel Day and Melody Musik truly are a renaissance couple.

The Gallery is a unique venue of live music (blues); art; sculpture; photography; handcrafted jewelry, clothing, and accessories; vintage clothing; and more than I have space to tell. Every Sunday afternoon from 2-6 there’s a party that overflows in beautiful weather onto the large patio out back. It’s byob and a cover charge of $12 covers the food hot from the grill, and pays the band. This Sunday, the sun came out to shine on all of us and the Jeff Jensen Band from Memphis rocked the house. Melody Musik who plays Clarinet in her band (yes, she’s a musician, too) played a Happy Birthday solo just for me.

My week-long celebration did include a lot of writing just not on my Cozy. I’ve been journaling as if my life depended on it. My journal is the running memoir of my life, and good or bad there is always something to write at any given moment. I remember reading Alice Koller’s 1991 book An Unknown Woman, which is basically her journal during a period of self-examination.

I feel I am at that place in my life now. I’ve toyed with writing my own ‘unknown woman’ memoir tentatively titled A Not-Yet Famous Woman – A Memoir, or considering the content maybe A Not-Yet Infamous Woman – A Memoir.

Being a Pisces, I am two fish. One goes with the flow wherever it goes; one fights its way upstream. I’ve no doubt that for some years now, I’ve taken the easy float with the current style of getting by. But now, I see my mother in her 80’s, and know I may have 20 or more years left to me. It’s not enough to go with the flow anymore. In rereading my old journals and journaling anew I’m exploring that fish that knew when to fight the current – not every day, but when it mattered.

At 65 I’m saying out loud what I’ve always known. It’s not enough to exist. I’ve become a woman of a certain age and I ask myself – Now What?

I Once Thought 65 Was Really Old.

19 Dec 2013 Leave a comment

by Perle Champion in Journaling, Perle Champion, Retirement

At 5, I remember thinking 65 was really old. Now, at 64, my jet black hair a memory, and my 65^th birthday just around the corner – not so much.

I am sometimes utterly amazed that I’ve been on this planet so long, as I’ve always been one of those people others say ‘burns the candle at both ends.’

Lately, I’ve been pondering the next 3rd of my life. Yes, I think I’ll make it to ninety-something, but not as some doughy old lady.

I can’t prevent getting old, but I can certainly prevent being a fat, infirm, old person. A very real danger if I don’t begin doing something about it now.

Somewhere around 58, I started slipping, and I can’t really put my finger on any one reason. I’ve been 128 pounds/size 7 with an occasional foray into 5’s (stress) as long as I can remember.

I think it was a combination – a not-so-perfect storm: A sedentary job at Saks I knew would end in lay-offs, as the company was slowly divesting itself of all its properties; menopause that although symptomless in my case, slowed my metabolism; eight months on unemployment followed 6 months later by another year on unemployment; and finally, meniscus knee surgery that kept me from walking my morning 5 miles.

I’ve been looking at the scale for a while now and I don’t like what it says. I look in the mirror and it confirms the numbers – 50 pounds in 6 years.

I’ve never dieted. Not sure I know how. In truth, I don’t think it’s about food. I kept a diary and I eat about 1200 calories a day. I think it’s the happy hours with friends – all those gratuitous calories in beer, wine, etc.

What Now?

Yes, You Can Publish from Your Journal

02 Dec 2013 Leave a comment

by Perle Champion in Freelance Writing, Get Published, How to Journal, Journaling, Perle Champion

For me, my journal is the running memoir of my life, my confidant, Wailing Wall, canvas for creative thoughts, and so much more. Most of the essays, remembrances and poems that I’ve published sprang almost full blown from the pages of my daily journal.

I belong to a few writers’ groups; have many writer friends and acquaintances; and whenever I say, “Oh that piece. It’s from my journal.” I’ve been answering the questions for years and recently a friend encouraged to put it in a e-book. Publishing has changed and anyone (for good or ill) can publish to Amazon’s Kindle platform for free.

Writing How to Journal and How to Publish from your Journal was the easy part. I’ve been journaling more and more with an eye toward publishing.

Formatting the book to upload to Amazon was the stumbling block for me. Fortunately, I found an easy and inexpensive software with great tutorials and I was off, and I found a great tutorial by a published author on how to create great book covers using PowerPoint.

Here it is:
Amazon is running a 7-day promo on it starting at 99¢ for the next 15 hours and rising in $1 increments back to the original sale price of $9.99. I’m hoping at 99¢, some more folks will check it out and give me some feedback.

Grateful for small things. What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?

27 Nov 2013 1 Comment

by Perle Champion in Blogging, Gratitude, Journaling, Perle Champion, Trees

This morning I am grateful for the trees that determinedly grow in spite of humanity’s pavements, roadways, pollution and harvesting.

Although my neighborhood is urban, there are so many trees, and this day I am doubly grateful for the change of seasons that lets me run childlike through all the golden leaves strewn along the sidewalk just kicking leaves.