Blog – Top of JC’s Mind

This is a comment that I just posted to a lovely blog posting here:  http://suchpoeticjustice.wordpress.com/2014/11/23/it-seems-i-am-a-writer/ which ends with the invitation to answer “What do you write? Why do you write it? How does it get from your heart to the page?” Please feel free to respond to these questions, too, if you are so moved, either here at Top of JC’s Mind, at her blog Such Poetic Justice, by posting a link to your own blog entry, or some combination thereof!

***************
I am so excited to read your post! In the way that the blogging world seems to unfold, my path here was from Jason Cushman, who blogs as Opinionated Man, to his mom Susan Cushman to her writer/friend/Memphis-resident Ellen to you! I will try to answer your questions and enter the conversation without going on too long….

I do several types of writing – none of which I actually get paid to do. I blog at https://topofjcsmind.wordpress.com, an eclectic mix of commentary on current events, personal reflections, poetry, and whatever else is at the top of my mind.

I write a lot of comments on news articles about shale oil/gas, renewable energy, climate change, and other environmental issues. I am part of the fracktivist community in NY, where I live along the PA border with a front row seat to the problems our PA neighbors are having. Some of this writing shows up in my blog, too.

In recent years, I have returned to my childhood love of writing poetry. I am just beginning to publish a bit, mostly in local venues, although my first appearance in an anthology in Great Britain is upcoming. Some of my poetry goes up on my blog, too, although I have to be careful not to put too much out there if I intend to submit it to journals, who generally won’t accept anything that has been published in any form, including on my tiny blog.

I was very interested to read in your post about writing sermons, which I do not do, but I have written various prayers over the years for use by my local Roman Catholic parishes. I also sometimes write on spiritual topics on my blog.

The question of how my writing gets from my heart to the page is an interesting one. Although we tend to think of writing as coming from our heads, it is really the heart source that gives writing its passion and meaning. I realized from your question that most of the things about which I write are really energized by my heart, however much all those words need to get processed through my brain. I generally reflect, mull, and, especially with poetry, draft my writing in my head before I write or type it. I do then usually go back and re-read and edit. With poetry, the writing process tends to take days/weeks/months and I am pleased to have recently been able to join a group of local poets for feedback on our work.

Now that I have been going on about this here in your comments, I think I will copy to my blog with a pingback here and see if we can get some more people sharing about their writing. Thanks so much for the opportunity!