Woman to Woman

Lei has organized a writing exercise for women bloggers. She is calling it Woman to Woman. Basically she and another blogger friend have put their heads together to set up a schedule to introduce a new topic to write about every other Tuesday to prompt other interested women writers to share their various points of view.

The topics planned for so far include:

3/13 Aging

3/27-Handling children under age 5 at funerals, weddings, concerts, theatre, church and such

4/10-Parenting/grandparenting difficult personalities

4/24-Enduring health problems, either your own or a child's

5/8-TIPS AND TRICKS Getting the family together

5/22-Getting advice from your peers rather than your parents

6/12-Pressure to have the "latest" baby everything

6/26-Share an important quote and what it means to you

7/10-TIPS AND TRICKS Keeping your marriage alive

7/24-Trying to be something/someone you are not

8/14-Dealing with aging parents8/28-Learning to say "no"

9/11-Overcoming the "people pleaser" syndrome

9/25-TIPS AND TRICKS facing your parenting fears

10/9-A book review TBA

10/23-Dealing with grief

11/13-Being single again

11/27-Infertility

12/11-addictions

I doubt I'll write on them all - but it seems like a valid way to explore some interesting topics and get to know some other writers in the process.

Besides the essay I've started on Aging, it's also prompted the beginnings of a fiction short story that I'm enjoying discovering. Don't know how far I'll take this piece, but working out the words for now is a soothing, rejuvenating process.

I may never be a great writer, but that is of little matter to me right now. I don't have to be profound or eloquent ...I just appreciate the chance to explore my own voice. Writing is something I've done for as long as I can remember as a means of sorting out my thoughts and feelings. Just in the last year or two I've thought about taking it more seriously. I have a framed picture in my office that says: "Use whatever talents you posses. The woods would be very silent if the only birds to sing were those who could sing best."

So I will keep writing, poking away at words. I have no illusions about their merit. I'm more concerned with learning to be satisfied with the PROCESS than picking apart the product at this point. I will learn as I go. Who knows? If I write stuff for most, if not all, of the woman-to-woman projects a lot of it may sound like crap. But a piece or two may come through to shine. That would be a nice thing.

The thing I've discovered about mastery in most any area is I can only get there by tolerating my own mediocrity along the way. Not every effort is going to sparkle. But if I just keep at it, open to feedback, taking it's measure from time to time, I WILL get better. So I'll give it a shot.