Failing at @WritersBootcamp

I should know better by now, than to hop on a post-a-day initiative - I barely manage my Month of Gratitude in November each year - and only pull that off because it's on Facebook, and doesn't require too much writing.

That's rich, coming from a writer, no?

But one of the reasons that this is not an exactly frequently-posted-on blog, is that I write for a living, and by the time I'm done at the end of the day, I've frequently run out of words.

And time - and my precious family takes priority for the free time that I do have.

I also firmly believe that unless I have something specific of value to say, I'm not going to put it out there on the Internet, where it will remain for ever and ever.

So.

To the folks at Writer's Bootcamp, and to the legendary bloggers (many of whom also write for a living - you're far more prolific than I) - congratulations on an awesome initiative, it has so much value in unblocking creativity, and getting people to think, and to put fingertips to keyboard.

I will read all the entries with much interest and pleasure, but for now, I won't be participating :-(

Writer's Bootcamp - catching up on the first three days...

I've seen a few posts from friends taking part in the Writer's Bootcamp - and thought it might be a good way to get my own creative juices flowing again... the ones that get a little neglected by my writing day job.
So... here goes.

Day 1: Even if you know me well, you don't know this
I dated a boy (well, a man) for 14 months, just to prove that everybody deserved somebody. It didn't matter that he was completely wrong for me, that our backgrounds were as different as they could possibly be, or that everyone who loved me thought I was mad. I had a point to prove. Being 21 and all... I'm glad to say that the moment he raised his hand to me was the moment I realised that making the point was stupid. I'm also glad to say that even though he raised his hand, I took that decision before he let it fall to hit me.

Day 2: My five favourite words in English
They would have to be...

• Serendipity - just because it trips so delightfully off the tongue
• Malevolence - because it really does sound that bad
• Mom - because it's something I'm most proud of being, and a person (my mom) I'm most honoured to know.
• Angel - because it's my term of endearment for my husband, and because I'm lucky enough to have had guardian angels watching over me, pretty much all my life.
• Jurisprudence, delightful, thunderous, magnificent, troll, excitement - all because of how they sound, and very little to do with what they mean.

Day 3: My biggest fear
My biggest fear is that my boys will be taken from me, or that I will be taken from them when they are too young. I suppose you're never old enough to lose a parent, but I want to be with them for as long as possible - I want to see them grow up and grow old, I want to share in the magical moments that I'm so very sure are in their future.

I could not imagine anything worse than losing a child. It's one of the most striking things for me, that in the English language there is no word for a parent who has lost a child. You can be a widow/er or an orphan, but what are you if you lose a child? There are no words. Just none. And my heart breaks for those parents who have lost children.


Here's hoping I can keep up with the daily challenge for the rest of July!