Whatever NaBloPoMo is...I'm Doing It!

Just found a cool site called BlogHer that has a NaBloPoMo Challenge...and the weird thing is nowhere did they say "This is what NaBloPoMo means..." I try to figure it out, but it's not happening. I get my brain stuck on a phrase in Dominican Spanish 'Na pa ri' (they cut out end, beginning, middle of words willy nilly). Turns out THAT mean 'nariz para arriba' or nose up in the air, or stuck up...which has absolutely NOTHING to do with this challenge. But it is like having Twinkle Twinkle Little Star stuck in your head. Ain't no other thought can break in!

But basically I signed up based on this headline because I've wanted to do more regular blogging and I like the concept of accountability: Sign Up to Blog Every Day in November: You Could Win a Pass to #BlogHer17

Only now do I go back and fairly easily find the following paragraph on that very page, and not even hidden. First up it says: "Every November, thousands of bloggers pledge to post every single day (yep, weekends; yep, Thanksgiving too) for National Blog Posting Month. It's about creatively challenging yourself. It's about growing your readership. And it's also about joining in, discovering other blogs, connecting with one another."

And since I am really in need of an imagr, I'll try this cute little Badge right here!
 

So, are you ready to read through this ride with me? Or take the National Blog Post Month Challenge with me? Sign up by November 5th here is you have every intention of being a daily blogger this month.

They'll give you some Blogging Prompts even (which right off the bat I'm not following, though I think some kind of explanation of my new habits was in order.) I'll let you get acquainted with their site in order to find their Daily Blogging Prompt page. Or you can go to The Daily Post blog to get daily one word ideas! Other qutie creatively presented writing prompts can be found on The Writing Prompts Tumblr page 

Happy Tuesday, November

Heather J. Kirk's VIDA Wearable Art Collection: http://shopvida.com/collections/heather-j-kirk 
Art by Heather J. Kirk www.heather-kirk.artistwebsites.com and AEC.pixels.com
Literature by Heather J. Kirk http://www.photographicartistry.citymax.com/Books.html

The missing blog…

I stayed up late last night and wrote a fun, fantastic blog, then dreamed about a blogging seminar, woke up in a panic and rushed to take it down.

Blog Rule Number 1: Keep them short: 250 – 300 words.
My personal opinion is that it’s difficult to develop an interesting article, and make an educational, philosophical, spiritual or humorous point in so few words – but I’m a writer. I like to start with a theme, go what appears to be wildly off course, and then bring my reader back to where we started making a purposeful point.
Two phrases pop into my head when I tell stories – although the source is only one person and I should get over it. But maybe they apply in the blogging world.

A) Your stories are too long. B) You are too hard to follow. And from others: “Your humor is a bit dark” or the “I don’t get it” look.

Yet writing classes say “Don’t spell everything out. Trust your reader to be intelligent!”

As I write I find this to be a bit dull. So why write it? Because there may be a lesson in it for other business owners.

Ultimately the decision came down to the fact that what I say personally can affect me professionally.

Rule #2: Once something gets on the web it is difficult to impossible to pull it back.

Rule #3: Humor does not always translate well in the written form or across cultures (in the widest sense of the word).

So what I thought was hilarious at 3 am before going to bed was potentially not as funny to those reading it at 8 am at work. (Nah! It was really good and the five of you who got to read it are lucky.)

I’ll cut the missing blog into manageable sizes in future posts – with backdating - including the meat of the story, but leaving out the ‘random acts of thinking’. (329 words – not bad…for me)

by Heather J. Kirk

More outside my "window"

More outside my "window"...discoveries every day.
1) Beyond my little house with the patio garden, is a tower that captures my attention.

It's simplistic I suppose. A white building, with some nice curves, a patio fronting every unit, and gorgeous blue lights. I'll take the Penthouse.

2) Another not so great thing about "windows" without glass...Karaoke Night on Friday Night just down the street. On their first night, very few people had the guts to sing, so it was the pro's that sang, and it was pretty nice. But now...well, people are not shy anymore and they sing really, really badly. I guess that's pretty true most any country in the world...

Heather J. Kirk, Photographer, Author, Graphic Designer
"We...a spirit seeking harmony for a world that's out of sync" - purchase an e-book at: photographicartistry.citymax.com/Books

A Mirror of our Inner Worlds

In writing about my experiences in the Dominican Republic I can’t help but write about the people I meet. Some are willing participants in my life, others play roles they have no choice over (like neighbors) or I have no choice about (like “tst-tst-ers” calling for my attention as I walk or sit anywhere at all). But none chose to be a part of an open diary or blog.

And I have decided not to tell them either, because it would change the way they interact with me; and they may check the blog and either be very happy or not so very happy regarding my interpretations.

Anyway, since this is really about me encountering a culture and a place, names are not used. I hope to provide clarity and continuity by creating “titles” for them (like Mom, which is not very anonymous) or by using 1st initials only, followed by ‘m’ or ‘f’ indicating male or female. For example, Heather would be H(f). If there were another Heather in the story, she would be H(f)2.

A blog, journal or personal narrative contains my thoughts, feelings and experiences, one person’s interpretation of what is going on in each situation or context; perhaps even more accurately, the experiences and therefore these writings, provide a mirror of what is going on inside of me. My goal is to, in return, be a mirror for your own inner worlds.

Let’s learn and grow together!


Heather J. Kirk, Photographer, Author, Graphic Designer
"We...a spirit seeking harmony for a world that's out of sync" - purchase an e-book at: photographicartistry.citymax.com/Books