Connections is the only one that I have success on, and even that one stumps me a couple times a week. Spelling Bee is fun but it hurts my brain to need to always use the middle letter. Wordle basically seems like magic--I can't get the hang of it, but my sixteen year old is a master at it. It's impressive.
I really like your thoughts on delusion/drive. My delusions were strong from a young age about writing movies/poems/books and publishing them all early on in life. But I definitely lacked drive (and may still? I'm thinking about that). I was able to get into grad school right after college because my drive then was probably the highest it had ever been. If I were trying to get into a program today, I probably would get too tired of the process and give up. As it is, I am still lacking drive to try and get published. I see my Substack peers publishing in journals, entering contests, and getting traditional publishing gigs or self-publishing...and I'm in awe of all that, while also feeling too tired to try for myself. And maybe that's okay? I mean, I know it's okay. [Thank you for coming to my therapy session with myself 🫠.]
Margaret, as an outside viewer, I think you have quite a bit of drive! Parenting six kids is proof enough! Then add in a poem a day...that's a lot of focus and drive. And, your poems are beautiful. ✨
If you ever decide to add in publishing of any kind I'll be here to cheer you on! ✨✨✨
Also, I love Connections! I like the way it sort of acrobats around my brain. 😀
Thank you, Petra! I guess I wasn't factoring in parenting?! (which is weird 😁). I will happily take that cheering section if I get the courage to start submitting. I did submit to Rattle recent contest after Tara posted about it, but I know that's a pie in the sky kind of goal (though my delusional side has all sorts of arrogant dreams going on about it). I know what you mean about the acrobatic side of Connections. It makes my brain happy.
I agree with Petra. You are most definitely not lacking drive! I'm in total awe of the number of poems you publish and the astonishing quality of them. It took me until my kids were both away at college to start sharing poems publicly here. Part of the reason I submit to journals and contests is the structure of it. It forces me to write, review and edit again and again. But I don't still have young kids at home. If and when you decide to submit for publication, let it be when it will add something to your life, not be a burden.
Thank you, Tara, I love that perspective (addition v burden). As I just commented to Petra, I submitted to Rattle's recent contest after you posted about it. Even though I know it's a craaaaazy long shot, I did find the process soothing (partly because I was bed-bound with covid and had nothing else to do 🫠). My posts on Substack are for a similar reason to you--the structure. But I like the idea of extending that eventually to submissions (if it feels right).
I believe I'm writing a book that will save a life. I've been told it's a story the world needs to hear, and I believe that too. And when I allow myself to dream big, I finish it, and it does, the invisible thread between myself and the reader forever changed shines bright enough for us to see each other.
My delusional dream is that somebody will want to publish a collection of my poetry someday. Maybe even more than one collection. I keep submitting to contest and journals with the (perhaps misguided) hope that enough credits mike make me more appealing to a publisher.
Re the NYTimes Games - Love them! My husband and I actually print the crossword daily and work on it over lunch. After years of practice we pretty much always finish it, but the trick is when I take a copy to work with me and he tackles it at home. We compare notes at the end of the day. Sometimes we both finish it, but other times it demonstrates just how much of a team effort it is. The kids say we share a brain, which sounds about right. We usually work on Connections, Spelling Bee and Strands at the end of the day. Wordle is the only one we always do separately.
I love how mindful and intentional you are about your work. It really is an inspiration for me going into this new season with a bit more mental space.
I love your delusional dream and I'm here to cheer you on, Tara! ✨ And I applaud your grit in submitting them. Keep going! (If it brings you joy, that is. 😉) Your poems are lovely and worthy of being read and published.
Also, I love the teamwork approach to the word puzzles! Adam and I work on Saturdays' and Sundays' puzzles together now. It's a really fun, calm way to spend a weekend afternoon. :)
Thank you for the kind comment, Tara, and for sharing your dream. 😊
My delusional dream is that I write a book, but I definitely lack the drive (and the ability) to do it, at least it feels that way, I don't even know where to start!! I love that you've stopped scrolling for word games, that sounds fun and definitely something I need to try, oh and reading more, the urge to switch off my brain means I scroll and binge far more than is healthy, and definitely a whole lot more than I read!!
I'm cheering you on, Lisa! ✨ And I get it. Writing a book feels daunting. (I was going to say 'writing a book for the first time', but it feels daunting each time. Like, 'how did I do this before?'. 😂) I'm a big believer that ability is gained in the doing. So you've got this! :)
I've slowed on my reading as well. But now that we're in September, I feel a soft call back to it. I always think scrolling is going to turn off my brain, but it kind of buzzes it instead. And I forget that reading and writing, for me, silence the scary stuff a lot more. But I'm still here for a good tv binge session. 😀 No one can convince me those aren't good for me.
I use auto check a lot as well. I also really love the Connections game. Spelling Bee is definitely a good challenge, too, but sometimes I stare at it for so long trying to see what I'm missing that words begin to lose all meaning. 😂
My delusion is that I will finish my memoir in-progress, it will be picked up and published and present even more opportunities that would allow me to quit my day-job and work full-time as a writer. The battle/conundrum I face: not enough time to write to finish the thing that might give me more time to write more things. I won't let it stop me. I still believe in my delusions, my daydreams, and will work harder on my drive.
Connections is the only one that I have success on, and even that one stumps me a couple times a week. Spelling Bee is fun but it hurts my brain to need to always use the middle letter. Wordle basically seems like magic--I can't get the hang of it, but my sixteen year old is a master at it. It's impressive.
I really like your thoughts on delusion/drive. My delusions were strong from a young age about writing movies/poems/books and publishing them all early on in life. But I definitely lacked drive (and may still? I'm thinking about that). I was able to get into grad school right after college because my drive then was probably the highest it had ever been. If I were trying to get into a program today, I probably would get too tired of the process and give up. As it is, I am still lacking drive to try and get published. I see my Substack peers publishing in journals, entering contests, and getting traditional publishing gigs or self-publishing...and I'm in awe of all that, while also feeling too tired to try for myself. And maybe that's okay? I mean, I know it's okay. [Thank you for coming to my therapy session with myself 🫠.]
Margaret, as an outside viewer, I think you have quite a bit of drive! Parenting six kids is proof enough! Then add in a poem a day...that's a lot of focus and drive. And, your poems are beautiful. ✨
If you ever decide to add in publishing of any kind I'll be here to cheer you on! ✨✨✨
Also, I love Connections! I like the way it sort of acrobats around my brain. 😀
Thank you, Petra! I guess I wasn't factoring in parenting?! (which is weird 😁). I will happily take that cheering section if I get the courage to start submitting. I did submit to Rattle recent contest after Tara posted about it, but I know that's a pie in the sky kind of goal (though my delusional side has all sorts of arrogant dreams going on about it). I know what you mean about the acrobatic side of Connections. It makes my brain happy.
Hooray for submitting! That’s awesome! :)
I agree with Petra. You are most definitely not lacking drive! I'm in total awe of the number of poems you publish and the astonishing quality of them. It took me until my kids were both away at college to start sharing poems publicly here. Part of the reason I submit to journals and contests is the structure of it. It forces me to write, review and edit again and again. But I don't still have young kids at home. If and when you decide to submit for publication, let it be when it will add something to your life, not be a burden.
Thank you, Tara, I love that perspective (addition v burden). As I just commented to Petra, I submitted to Rattle's recent contest after you posted about it. Even though I know it's a craaaaazy long shot, I did find the process soothing (partly because I was bed-bound with covid and had nothing else to do 🫠). My posts on Substack are for a similar reason to you--the structure. But I like the idea of extending that eventually to submissions (if it feels right).
I believe I'm writing a book that will save a life. I've been told it's a story the world needs to hear, and I believe that too. And when I allow myself to dream big, I finish it, and it does, the invisible thread between myself and the reader forever changed shines bright enough for us to see each other.
Yes! Here's to sharing our stories, connecting with readers, and letting our stories find those who need them.
My delusional dream is that somebody will want to publish a collection of my poetry someday. Maybe even more than one collection. I keep submitting to contest and journals with the (perhaps misguided) hope that enough credits mike make me more appealing to a publisher.
Re the NYTimes Games - Love them! My husband and I actually print the crossword daily and work on it over lunch. After years of practice we pretty much always finish it, but the trick is when I take a copy to work with me and he tackles it at home. We compare notes at the end of the day. Sometimes we both finish it, but other times it demonstrates just how much of a team effort it is. The kids say we share a brain, which sounds about right. We usually work on Connections, Spelling Bee and Strands at the end of the day. Wordle is the only one we always do separately.
I love how mindful and intentional you are about your work. It really is an inspiration for me going into this new season with a bit more mental space.
I love your delusional dream and I'm here to cheer you on, Tara! ✨ And I applaud your grit in submitting them. Keep going! (If it brings you joy, that is. 😉) Your poems are lovely and worthy of being read and published.
Also, I love the teamwork approach to the word puzzles! Adam and I work on Saturdays' and Sundays' puzzles together now. It's a really fun, calm way to spend a weekend afternoon. :)
Thank you for the kind comment, Tara, and for sharing your dream. 😊
My delusional dream is that I write a book, but I definitely lack the drive (and the ability) to do it, at least it feels that way, I don't even know where to start!! I love that you've stopped scrolling for word games, that sounds fun and definitely something I need to try, oh and reading more, the urge to switch off my brain means I scroll and binge far more than is healthy, and definitely a whole lot more than I read!!
I'm cheering you on, Lisa! ✨ And I get it. Writing a book feels daunting. (I was going to say 'writing a book for the first time', but it feels daunting each time. Like, 'how did I do this before?'. 😂) I'm a big believer that ability is gained in the doing. So you've got this! :)
I've slowed on my reading as well. But now that we're in September, I feel a soft call back to it. I always think scrolling is going to turn off my brain, but it kind of buzzes it instead. And I forget that reading and writing, for me, silence the scary stuff a lot more. But I'm still here for a good tv binge session. 😀 No one can convince me those aren't good for me.
I’ll keep reading. I too decompress with the NYT games. I use the auto check more than I’d like to admit. We devoted to spelling bee too.
Thanks, LeeAnn! 😊
I use auto check a lot as well. I also really love the Connections game. Spelling Bee is definitely a good challenge, too, but sometimes I stare at it for so long trying to see what I'm missing that words begin to lose all meaning. 😂
My delusion is that I will finish my memoir in-progress, it will be picked up and published and present even more opportunities that would allow me to quit my day-job and work full-time as a writer. The battle/conundrum I face: not enough time to write to finish the thing that might give me more time to write more things. I won't let it stop me. I still believe in my delusions, my daydreams, and will work harder on my drive.
Yes! You've got this, Michele! ✨
I’m with you on the NYT puzzle, Petra! I like to wind down with the Mini crossword and the Easy Sudoku.
Stay driven and delusional! 🥰
Hooray! Another puzzler. :) And thanks for the support, Mandy! :)