Passion

Passion... and I don't mean hot, under the covers (or not), lust-filled desire. I'm talking about that compelling interest that occupies your thoughts first thing in the morning and last thing at night. It's the thing that perhaps you dream about and spend an inordinate amount of time during waking hours either engaged in or wanting to.

So what happens when you have more than one of these compelling interests and one day you wake up and one is becoming more of a "love interest" than the other?

That's what's happening to me. For six years, I've devoted time, energy and money to a particular passion that initially drew me to it, rewarded me by fueling my creative juices, gave me lots of positive feedback and allowed me to meet incredible people. Since the first of the year, my heart has been captured by another and I'm finding the siren song irresistible.

The only way I could cope with this push/pull was to set aside passion number one, photography, for at least a month, perhaps longer. And for every resolution, there's always an exception which I've already made. There are certain clients to whom I just can't say "no." These are the folks I can't wait to see and for whom I truly want to capture memorable moments. I'm sure I'll continue to make those exceptions, but I'm not out beating the bushes for new clients.

In the meantime, I've become compulsive about writing - not this blog which is obvious since this is my first in 2015 and it's the last day of January! I've decided this is the year to pull my father's stories out of the file cabinet and weave them into a memoir about his life. For some reason, it's much easier to write about someone else, even though a family member, than it is to write about myself. Now that I've committed to my father's project, lots of wonderful things are happening. I've been a member of a writer's group that meets monthly for almost a year, but this month two other memoirists are joining the group, both published authors who will be such an inspiration, along with the already talented women in the group.

I also found a company that is converting VHS tapes of my father and his stories into a CD that I'll actually be able to use. But most importantly, I've been able to spend time with my 80 year old sister, Lore, learning more about her mother, my dad's first wife. She had in her possession letters written by her mother, Dorothy, to my dad, Webb, over a period of four years from 1936 to 1939. Those letters are now on loan to me.

I find I'm also more enthused about teaching my memoir writing class at the Puyallup Senior Activity Center. I'm experiencing the discipline of writing that I talk to my students about every Friday. It's a good idea to be able to do what you teach!

Will I tire of this passion too? Perhaps. Will I be able to pick up photography again where I left off? I don't know. But the beauty of it all is that I am blessed to be able to have these kind of choices, these kind of interests. I have something positive to look forward to each day. Who knows - perhaps there are still other undiscovered passions in my future, other sirens that will call my name.

Writing Memoir

How did it get to be the 24th of July already? And a beautiful Sunday it was, although I observed most of it via peripheral vision. I sat (and am still sitting) at my computer, perpendicular to my office door which was open to the warmth, sunlight, and splashing sound of two fountains in my little pocket garden. Oh, and the door was also open to a few flies who managed to annoy me as I worked on a flyer for a class I'll be teaching in September on Writing Memoir.

Last night, I finished reading the Pulitzer Prize winning memoir, Angela's Ashes, by Frank McCourt. (As I write this, the words in my head have an Irish lilt). This memoir recalls McCourt's childhood and teenage years in Limerick, Ireland, a childhood so daunting in terms of survival, it's a wonder he and his three brothers lived through it at all. Three other children in his family did not. This book was the first of four memoirs I have lined up to read in the next few weeks. I'm also in the process of gathering sorting and  scanning every picture I can find of me, my family, my husband, and our children.

When my parents passed away, they had boxes of pictures. I've also been a photo album creator (not just online) for quite some time, so those albums will need to be taken apart and catalogued. While sorting through boxes, bibles, journals and diaries, I'm also finding written treasures. My father copied a beautiful Indian prayer he saw at the Sioux Indian School in South Dakota. I found all the letters I wrote home when I spent 18 months living and working in Australia. Since I'm not done with the exploration, I'm expecting to unearth more.

All of this is in preparation for teaching the class on Memoir Writing. This is a class on the benefits of memoir, how to get started, how to keep going, and what to do with it when you're finished - if one ever does! I've been wanting to write stories about my life experiences for quite some time. Now, I'll be able to share my experience with others, which will be wonderful motivation to keep going. The primary memory jogger for me will be photos (surprise!). I'll also be able to help others scan and restore their photos. As I sorted through mine, I was able to relive those moments once again. I'm able "to taste life twice", as described by famous diarist, Anais Nin - and will be helping others do the same.

So, how did it get to be the 24th of July? Time is fleeting and now I'm on a quest to rewind the clock, take a trip down memory lane, and help others do the same. Here's to the adventure of it all!  BonnieKingPhotography.com

Janelle Meraz Hooper

I'm reading Bears in the Hibiscus, which is just one of five (soon to be six) great reads from author Janelle Meraz Hooper. She gave me an autographed copy of this light, humorous romance last Saturday.

I met Janelle through Mary Beth, a mutual friend, who let me know that Janelle needed a new photo for her upcoming book, Boogie, Boots, and Cherry Pie. How could I pass up an assignment like this! Janelle was truly engaging and personable on the phone, and even more so in person.

Last Thursday, I packed up my equipment and drove to her home, only a hop, skip, and a jump from where I live in Puyallup. Janelle had worried about the condition of her home, since her main passion is writing, not housekeeping. Good grief! If my home was as orderly as hers, it wouldn't mean that I have a husband who collects things, a dog who brings things in, and a yellow cat who sheds all the time. And I'm in the business of turning our upstairs into a romper room for infant grandsons. I loved the openness of her home which mirrors Janelle's personality. After the photo shoot, we spent probably another hour just chatting, eating cheese and crackers, and drinking - cranberry juice. (I did have to drive home).

We took photos on her back deck with the backdrop of a grand old cherry tree, and another with a true Northwest backdrop - evergreen trees.  I couldn't help but shoot a few in her office, the place where all the creative juices flow. But my favorites are those we set up in her living room - her glamour shots! Her husband commented, when I brought her the DVD of all her photos, they were the best pictures she'd ever had taken. Thanks, Dick!

Janelle is a self-published award winning writer; her favorite genre is women's fiction. You can find sample chapters and stories from all her books on her own website, http://www.janellemerazhooper.com/. Janelle's books are available on Amazon and more recently downloadable to Kindle. You can also see more pictures of Janelle on my website, BonnieKingPhotography.com

Punctuation and Pandas

In my twenties, I taught English to sixth graders in Seattle, along with other subjects. Once I started traveling, I taught English as a second language in an Australian girls' school located in a Greek community. During the latter experience, I had students who couldn't speak English at all and I couldn't speak Greek! I had to use students as interpreters - not the best way to teach, but we had fun and who knew if they were learning English or some strange hybrid.

Over the years, my writing has become pretty casual. Okay, truth be known - it's downright sloppy sometimes, particularly my punctuation. To comma or not to comma - that is the question. How about using italics instead of quotes? And starting sentences with "And".  Dashes - oh, how I love dashes!

Because of this blog, I decided it was time to clean up my act and take some writing courses. I signed up for a continuing education class at Pierce College called, Freelance Writing for Magazines. Do I fancy myself as a freelance writer? No, but I thought the course looked interesting, I had time on Wednesday evenings, and I'd taken another class from the instructor.

Diane Mettler is a freelance editor, story editor, and writer. She is also a screenwriter with a Hallmark movie, Growing the Big One, to her credit. Click on http://biznik.com/members/diane-mettler to learn more about her. I took a blogging class from Diane and her husband last fall and here I am, blogging along.

This class is small - four of us - and Diane is customizing to our individual goals. I'm not sure what my goal is yet, except that I love to tell stories - mine and others. And I take photographs to help the story along. Ideas are germinating with encouragement from class members and I'll share what's sprouting in my brain at a later date, but one of the nicest gifts of any new learning experience, is the resources brought to our attention. Diane recommends a couple books for would-be writers: The Renegade Writer and Query Letters that Rock. Both are written by Linda Formichelli and Diana Burrell. (I had to order from Amazon because Borders Books didn't have them).

Because of this class, I also bought Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss. On the back cover is a story that is sure to make all of us much more cautious about our use of punctuation.
     A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air. "Why?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder. "I'm a panda," he says at the door. "Look it up." The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation. "Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."
     So, punctuation really does matter, even it if is only occasionally a matter of life and death.

I don't know that this class or another one I'll start next week called, The Art of the Story, will help me join the punctuation stickler's club, but I will forever know what a panda eats! BonnieKingPhotography.com