Thursday, September 22, 2011

From Pupa to Imago

The Second Campaign Challenge is to use four obscure words in a 200 word blog post.

I swear this Challenge is personal :) Asking a dyslexic person to re-type unfamiliar words is like searching blind through a miasma of letters that usually results in a killer migraine. Thank goodness for spellcheck ;)
I told someone recently that I don’t want others to expect less of me because of my disability. There is no reason to accept this disability as a lacuna, a gap in ability where I simply shrug my shoulders and say, ‘well, I can’t do better, so that’s good enough...’
My goal as a writer is not to be satisfied with the pupa stage, but rather to become that imago, that adult stage. I want to write so well that readers fall in love with my characters and are impressed by my writing style. Reaching that point where people would be shocked enough to oscitate (and I don’t mean ‘yawn’) when they later find out that I am dyslexic. That kind of staggering synchronicity.
What are the hurdles in your own writing? Do you get depressed or frustrated? Do you accept your limits, or do you fight against them?

62 comments:

  1. Hi 1000th Monkey! *waves*
    I like how you made this campaign challenge *personal* It works. As I was reading your entry, I am thinking of Fannie Flagg (author of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe.)

    She suffered from dyslexia and was trying to hide it. To hide her dyslexia, she had the idea to write a novel from the POV of a 12 year old girl. That book went on to become published as "Daisy Fae and the Miracle Man."

    May that encourage you as you reach your own Imago! Well done! :-)

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  2. Oh, fantastic! (Not that I'm surprised. This is 1000th monkey writing, after all.)

    A *real* blog post, using all those words. Unique and well-written.

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  3. You have nothing to fear. People love your words, your characters your style

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  4. You did a wonderful job of using the challenge words and making them personal. Your post is very easy to understand and I probably wouldn't need a dictionary to look them up (even though I already had for my own post!) Good luck :)

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  5. Ha, what you don't know is that I've already edited this post 4 times for *errors* ;)

    Thank you for your comments :) Being *real* and being *honest* is what it's all about... as well, I genuinely want to know the answers to the questions... what do you guys struggle with?

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  6. This is a fine piece of creative nonfiction that you wrote. Hope you win. By getting it in early you have a good chance of more people reading it. Good for you. Thanks for the example. :)

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  7. Awesome! Weren't those words a beast? You did a marvelous job and so sincere. I loved it.

    I'm a new follower and #14

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  8. I love this idea. It's a good read and comes across as a real blog post.

    So, in answer to your question. I struggle with a very short attention span. I see shiny things everywhere. Staying focused for longer than an hour is extremely difficult for me. But I'm learning to deal with it in a better way than giving into the shiny!

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  9. that was amazing! excellent job!
    and i made my whole post 200 words too =)

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  10. I really enjoyed this post. I'm sending it to my teenaged daughter who is dyslexic.

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  11. My biggest struggle is self doubt. I'm think I'm my own enemy when it comes to writing...

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  12. Great job :)

    In answer to your question, I think I struggle with my own, internal voices. That voice that tells me "This isn't finished yet" and "It's not good enough, don't let anyone see that." I was happy to finally overcome it enough to start up a blog that I update on a regular basis.

    Oh, there's also that pesky brain of mine that wants sleep - working full time and trying to write full time is more than difficult, as I'm sure a LOT of us struggle with. But I just wish that ball of cells in my head wouldn't keep trying to put me to sleep so quickly ;)

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  13. Have no fear. You're fantastic! That was really well done.

    I get depressed and frustrated, especially when I experience a lot of rejections or can't push past a certain spot in a story. I don't like abandoning stories, but sometimes it has to be done to move on. I always fight against my limits. I strive to better myself every day.

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  15. Hey! I suffer from slight dyslexia, too. I enjoyed how you made a post and not a story. You're a shake-things-up master! :)

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  16. Well now...you would have to go and be all brilliant now wouldn't you? :-)

    I really enjoyed this. In answer to your question, I get frustrated. I get frustrated because some people think I should follow a trend when I just want to follow my heart. They oscitate when I tell them I'm writing about vampires and demigods in the same book and that the lacuna can be overcome. I have no illusions of being, in real life, the imago I see of my writing life...better yet, I see the synchronicity. I refuse to give in to the miasma of doubt that swirls beneath the tightrope I walk, it's noxious fumes occasionally wobbling my step but determination keeping me forward.

    You go 1000th.monkey!

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  17. Really nice entry. Your personal struggles/goals/achievements/hopes/and fears shine through in your post in a positive way. ~Nadja

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  18. Very clever--and touching response to a tricky prompt!

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  19. Nice! I love how you made it into an actual blog entry. It felt smooth and natural, almost effortless. (Which means it must have taken a lot of effort, given the prompt!) Great work! :)

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  20. Nice work, monkey! My biggest challenge is finding the right voice to tell a particular story. Sometimes it comes and babbles away in my head, other times I really have to keep calling for it. But when the voice clicks, it's magic.

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  21. This was a great incorporation of the challenge words into a blog post, and it's definitely relatable =)

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  22. Great twist on this. I have the same issue that you do, I'm incredibly dyslexic. So much so that I won't drive. I will however write. Mine is #29

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  23. Loved how you incorporated it all into what we're all feeling! Lol! One of my daughter's struggles with dyslexia also. Good job! ; )

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  24. Wow. I had to begin twice before I figured out the trick you started with. How great!

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  25. Love the personal aspect. You learn in a different way - no big deal! You were more than up to the challenge! I'm #34:)

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  26. What a fantastic post, and a brilliant way to approach the challenge! Great job! I'm # 3.

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  27. Great take on the words! It's a pretty good idea for a blog post. I can't spell either so I am grateful for spell-check. lol

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  28. Nicely done. I think this is the first non-fiction one I've come across, which made it extra interesting.

    If you'd like to check mine out, I'm #42.

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  29. Nice use of the words and a great post, too!

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  30. I love that it's a post. So clever.

    And very encouraging, too. Good job!

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  31. Excellent use of the words! I'm not dyslexic but I have a grown-up son who faces that challenge every day. I shall show him this.

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  32. I, too, am dyslexic. It can be hard, but with technology today I find it much easier to write than when I was in high school (20 years ago). I really enjoyed the personal nature of your post/challenge entry and wish you the best. Mine is #18 if you'd like to check it out.

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  33. just perfect! So personal and baring! :D

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  34. I think its part of our human responsibility to fight against our limits, something that many people do not do nowadays.
    Perfectionism has plagued me since the days of young, a la High school, where I couldn't write a story unless I had foresight of its absolute greatness...
    It was a great hurdle to overcome, and I'm only now finding out how to enjoy writing first and foremost.

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  35. Good job! If you're like this dyslexic, you just do your best and get someone to proof. ; )

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  36. I love reading the fiction challenge posts, but it was very refreshing to read a true story.

    The challenge our family deals with is our daughter's Type 1 Diabetes. Every day is a balancing act to adjust insulin.

    Thank you for sharing your challenge.

    The Write Soil

    My entry is #50.

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  37. Writing is definitely my "out." My biggest frustration with writing is that I never know if something is good enough or ready. Even when I think it is, I always find there's something else I missed even though I've read over it what feels like a billion times!

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  38. Love the way you told the truth. My how well you laid it out there. Good job.

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  39. That was a rather seamless integration of the words. Wow. Good job

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  40. This is a super clever, personal and pertinent blog post. I love it! Having worked with many dyslexics one of the strongest things that has impressed me is how creative the vast majority are!

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  41. Hello, a blog post instead of a story makes a nice change. My personal hurdles are autism, dyslexia and dyspraxia. I have written a stroy for this challenge and *did* find it challenging!

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  42. I really thought it was a blog post at first! Great job and I loved the insight. I am #92

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  43. A brilliantly fresh take on the challenge. I love your style! There are no limits...

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  44. The first blog post I've seen with the challenge, well done. I also have to work through writing in English even though it is my second language.

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  45. Wow this is wonderful! I love how you made this passage 'personal'. Great job! (I'm entry #113)

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  46. Very personal; I love it! I started writing very young and took my talent for granted. I wrote for newspapers for years. 2 years ago I suffered a closed head injury and brain damage. I already had a contract for my first book when I had the accident. Lets just say editing was eye opening. I will never take writing for granted again. Honestly sometimes the words just come and other times I struggle to remember the letters on the keyboard. Great post..I said more than I wanted too..

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  47. Very clever, personal and like a regular blog post. Well done!

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  48. Love it and the personal spin (I went that route too). Excellent post and kudos for working with -- to overcome? -- the dyslexia.

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  49. I also really like that you chose to do a regular blog post.

    I think my biggest problem is worrying too much. Will people like this character? Will they gasp during this scene? Are they thinking the way I want them to be thinking? When really I just need to relax and let the writing go where it will.

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  50. Hey, Monkey, yours is a creative solution to the challenge! Wow, my hurdles? Which one? I seem to like writing outside of formulas, to often morph two genres, which can make my work hard to categorize.

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  51. I liked the way the words relate to you at a personal level...

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  52. I really liked the way you used the words for a personal post! I have been surprised by how many amazing blogger (writers) are dyslexic. Although I shouldn't be.

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  53. Glad to see you chose a personal slant on this one. I went the non-fiction route this time too (#146). Your writing never hints at the hurdles you face. I struggle with fibromyalgia, so I'm fighting pain in order to write. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, right?

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  54. That was a great post! Am oscitating now (not the yawn). Dropped by to tell you that I 'liked' your post on the linky list, and I love spell check but UBER HATE autocorrect, especially on the iPad!

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  55. This was great! You made me laugh and nod my head at the same time!

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  56. Wow! Great job! It sounded so conversational and you used the words so naturally in context. I enjoyed this!

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  57. I loved this post and thought you did really well using the words without appearing to shoe-horn them in! :)

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  58. Enjoyed your blog post. My biggest hurdles? I hate comma's with a passion. I struggle with not feeling good enough...it always shocks me when people like my writing.lol

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  59. You used the words, you told us about yourself, you asked about our writing life. I'd say you covered quite a bit of ground with limits.

    Great job.

    #188

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  60. It was great that you could use the words in your regular post. Awesome!
    Yes I have many writing frustrations. I try to overcome them but some days they get the better of me. great entry!

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  61. I love how you used the words and it's great to read about how you've met the challenges of being dyslexic. Some of my students are as well, and I tell them everyday not to give up just because things are too hard.

    Mine is 176.

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Type me out a line of Shakespeare or a line of nonsense. Dumb-blonde-jokes & Irish jokes will make me laugh myself silly :)