Temporarily Moving My Interests...

Hi folks -- I'm embarking on the end of a project I began the day after my mother died in June, 2014. I'm writing a memoir about my eighteen months as her primary caregiver. Since I'm passionate about this project, I'm putting poetry and a few other writing gigs on hold until I get the first draft of this book finalized. My goal is to finish that draft to be ready for editing by March, 2015.

Want to learn more? Follow me at my blog about this project at Cancer, Caregiving, and Contentious Love.

Thanks.

Janeson Keeley Steps Up on the Blog Tour

I asked Janeson to be one of the writers to follow me on the blog tour from heaven. She writes, "I'm an expressive extroverted introvert. I'm also a storyteller, and I have a lot of stories."

Trust me, she does! I'm excited that she's spelled out her writing style on her blog. 

Lessons Learned from Death

Here's a pithy lesson I've learned since my mother's death:

• If I own something of sentimental value, I need to remember that item doesn't retain its story after I'm gone. That item becomes just a "thing" without its story, regardless of its monetary value. If I want someone to value that item for a specific reason other than money, I need to tell someone the story behind that item. Even then, I must remember that the person who's listening may not care about that story. The story is mine, really. The thing is just a thing.

Do you want to know my story? May I hear your story? Will we value each other more because of that sharing?

Virtual Blog Tour -- A New Chapter

Daniel Ari

I was excited when Daniel Ari asked me to be part of this blog tour. Daniel's blog, Fights With Poems, includes an incredible array of journal entries, word games, and -- the most amazing part, in my opinion -- some sneak preview pages of poetry and illustrations that comprise his forthcoming book One Way to Ask. This book is a very exciting project, and I'm anxious to see the final product.

I don't remember when I met Daniel, but I know it had to be online -- Facebook, perhaps? Or did I meet him through the Poem-A-Day (PAD) challenges at Poetic Asides, the Writer's Digest poetry blog and forum that Robert Lee Brewer hosts? I don't know about our first meeting, but I have learned, over time, that Daniel is a funny, creative, poetic, literate, and intelligent person who makes me laugh and who inspires me.

I was honored when he asked me to join other poets at IMUNURI as a contributing author in 2013. I'm not always faithful with my contributions, but I try. Life has been brutal lately. Even more reason why I'm grateful that Daniel is in my (virtual) life.

Another reason I'm glad Daniel asked me to join this tour is because I have to answer four questions about my writing process. Since that process has changed immensely for me over the past year, I needed those questions to define where I am right now in my writing life. So, thank you, Daniel, for providing me with a chance to share my new beginnings.

The Questions

1. What am I working on?

My mother in 1951.

My mother died from a rare bile duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma) on June 7 this year. The day after she died, I became part of Mara Eve Robbins' six-week memoir-writing workshop. It wasn't easy for me to attend that class, but I had made a commitment. Now, I'm very glad I did attend that online/phone class faithfully, because I used those six weeks to compile information about the 18 months I spent as a caregiver to my mother from the time when she was diagnosed in March, 2013, until the moment she took her last breath.

Now, I'm writing the memoir. Within the past two weeks, I've been a "good writer." In other words, I've been writing away without re-reading or editing. I'm now on chapter 11, and I've written over 12,000 words. I think I can finish the rough draft by the end of August if I can keep up this pace.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I don't know that my work differs all that much from other memoirs about caregiving. That said, the book is tentatively titled, Rare Journey, because my mother's cancer is rare in the U.S. Plus, because of my situation as a web content development writer who works from home, I was able to bring my computers to my parents' home and continue to work while caretaking. That situation also is rare. I have to chuckle a bit at the rareness of everything, because I hope this rarity doesn't mean that the market for this book also is rare.

3) Why do I write what I do?

I write content for my clients' websites (ghostwriting), because it pays the bills. I write poetry, because I enjoy learning that genre, and because poetry gives me great pleasure. I'm writing the memoir because I can. I know I can, because I'm brave. I just learned how brave I can be.

4) How does my writing process work?

For content development, I write for several hours straight. I have to work myself into that mode, because this work is not creative. Across the board, I'm working in prescribed formats, and I need to be accurate (so I need to be awake). I use my desktop for this writing, as it's faster and the larger screen helps when I have to have multiple windows open.

Poetry? I usually write poetry only during April and November, when Robert holds his PAD challenges. There's something about a daily deadline that inspires me when it comes to writing poetry. I've been honored twice this year so far to be listed in a "top ten" list at Poetic Asides. That honor is a first for me, so my poetry may be improving. When the poems aren't recognized, I recapture them, rework them, and submit them sometimes to magazines.

My most recent acceptance for print was in Mojave River Press & Review's initial publication for spring 2014. That's a hot journal, too -- very classy. I'm proud about that acceptance. If you search for "Linda Goin poetry," you might find a few more of my poems that other publications have presented online. Since I write my poems for these challenges before I begin work (and sometimes during my first cup of coffee), I use my desktop.

I'm working on the memoir at night, after I finish working and also after wrapping up details with my father regarding my mother's death. I've been looking forward to my nights working on the memoir, because I've never felt this experience before. I'm itchy...I need to scratch that itch by writing about this journey with my mother. I use my laptop for this venture, because it's great for just writing in Word, using notepad, and for opening a window or two to conduct some research or to throw thoughts out on Facebook to see if they stick.

In all cases, I back up my work -- I copy my writing to my desktop, my laptop, and to an external hard drive. I also have print copies of most of my poems, and when I return home (next week), I'll print out the current rough draft of the memoir. All for good safekeeping.

Who's Next?

Finding a writer who can take time out of his or her life to write about writing is like finding a contact lens in a shag rug (do shag rugs still exist?). But, I fortunately know a wide range of writers, and I found a few who are involved in some exciting projects. Enjoy!

Jennifer Johnson

I don't write romance novels, but I love romance writers. They're some of the craziest, funniest, and most creative people in the world. I met Jennifer Johnson at a romance writers' conference in 2010. The only reason I was at that conference was because a friend also was opening her romance publishing business, Turquoise Morning Press, at the French Link casino in Indiana (romance writers know where to party!). Jennifer and I became friends, and I've watched her blossom into one of the hottest and most business-savvy romance writers around. Her most recent project is a book, Double Dog Dare, in the Turquoise Morning Press' boxed set Sweet, but Sexy. She writes, "I'm really proud of Double Dog Dare, because the story came about when I wondered how I could write a sweet romance which begins with a woman waking up in a hotel room next to a man she doesn't know." Jennifer rocks. Oh -- and she's also a hospital chaplain. Enjoy her blog, This is the Life!

Janeson Tyrol Keeley

Then there's Janeson Tyrol Keeley (JAN-a son, pronounced like Allison but different, TEAR-ull, KEE-ley), a woman I met last year through a friend. For two years she wrote "netFRONT," a column on the use of the Internet in business, for Valley Business FRONT magazine. She now provides website copywriting services to her clients but much prefers blogging about "Life, the Universe, and Everything" on her blog, @janeson59. She also owns her own business at JTKWeb, where she specializes in website development, search engine optimization, pay-per-click campaign management (Google AdWords, Bing Ads), social media integration, and website updating. She works for her cats, really. Seriously. The cats have their own Facebook pages. They're SO demanding.

Some small achievements...

On June 8, I became part of a memoir writing class with Mara Eve Robbins. It was an inspiring workshop, and I met two new women writers who also inspire me. When they get their blogs up and running, I'll let you know.

I also made two "top ten" lists at Robert Lee Brewer's Poetic Asides poetry challenges this past month. I think this acknowledgement means that I'm writing better poetry. I don't know whether I need to climb my way from the #10 spot to the #1 or #2 spot. I'm pondering that desire for competition.

Recent Efforts

This past week, outside work, I've attempted to write more poetry than usual. To date, I have three "bref double" poems up at Writers Digest, and a new poem at IMUNURI. But, I'm tired. I'm making stupid mistakes, like not closing a BOLD tag on a title, and including a comma AND a period at the end of a line. I can fix those mistakes at IMUNURI, but not at Writers Digest.

That's ok -- I'm past the point in my life where those minor irritations make me lose sleep. Well past that point.

Another poem up at IMUNURI

A "Pantone" poem about color -- without naming the actual color. My take -- From the Crisper...