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Taking Writing to New Heights


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I love to write. I like writing about things I have actual knowledge about, things I’ve done or gone through. My last few blog posts have been really heavy. And although writing is a release for me, it can get demanding of my time, just like any other thing I undertake. Sometimes my mind goes into overload. I think about putting my fibromyalgia book together, writing on my side project book, and how although I have enough content right now for a successful poetry book, it has been neglected.

I’ve gotten a chance to do so much since my year began. I’ve celebrated a year as a blogger, gained great exposure writing for BIZCATALYST 360°, decided I drop Vocal.media, improved my editing skills considerably, and most of all, witnessed words come to life as part of the cast of two plays with Mor-Shy Productions. My new venture, tentatively titled New Heights, has taken over my life. The ideas and words have flowed beautifully for the last few months. I still have a few ideas where my first two books are concerned.

Even though I’m busy, I can feel myself trying to become complacent. I believe the first step to avoiding a pitfall is recognizing it. I’ve had a few setbacks with my health including a hamstring injury, but I’m trying to remain productive. Some days I write non-stop for 8 hours, some days I write for a few hours with breaks in between, and others I don’t write at all. My problems come when I take several days to rest my mind and two days turn into a week of no work.

I can’t be afraid of taking a break from slugging it out in the trenches of my mind. With Chronic Fatigue, I need a full day or two to get out of my thoughts and just breath. I started a new project, a book entitled, “New Heights”, in July and I’m almost seven chapters in. I don’t know how long it’s supposed to take to write your first novel but I think I’m either excelling or right on schedule.

This post is my way of venting. It’s ok for us all, even writers, to vent once in a while. It loosens the grip our overly active minds have on us.

When people come to me with problems or they’ve been hurt by a significant other, I suggest that they get a journal. Writing things down, believe it or not, can get the issues out of your head and/or heart, and onto paper where, for me, I’m able to see them clearer and may even find a solution quicker.

You never know. Try it and see if it works for you. I know I feel a lot better and my heart is a bit lighter since writing this post. I feel like I can exhale. In fact, I did. I hope you do too. Thanks for being part of my therapy just by reading my thoughts. My hope is that can my words positively touch someone and impact their life. I can only speak for me, not every writer. That’s my whole goal for putting my thoughts out there for the world to see. Be blessed everybody…

Valerie Collins
Valerie Collinshttps://mypoeticlifebook.wordpress.com/
Valerie Collins was born in Tucson, Az, the last of six children. She has loved writing since a child but decided to pursue a career in Orthopedic nursing. Shortly after her marriage and birth of her first child at the age of 22, she was diagnosed with the chronic pain disease, Fibromyalgia, its subsequent conditions, illnesses, and syndromes. Once the disease disabled her in 2001, she revisited her passion for writing poetry and short stories and has accumulated over 100 poems and spoken word pieces over the years. She became a member of the International Society of poets in 2002 and The International Who's Who in Poetry in 2006. She currently is a member of Realistic Poetry International, Who's Who Among American Business Women, and Women of Facebook Create. Her accolades include 2005 Poet of the Year. She was awarded both the Outstanding Achievement Award in Poetry and the Official Commemorative Poetry Ambassador Medal while serving as a Poetry Ambassador associate in 2007. She wrote a play entitled “Fix Me Jesus” in 2012 for Alabama 1st COGIC State AIM Youth Convention Competition drama category which was awarded second place. Currently, she is in rehearsals for her second stage play for the local playwright, Shawna D. Moore which will be on stage in August 2019. She is in the process of compiling a two-volume poetry book entitled My Poetic Life: A Memoir of Love and a book detailing her life with Fibromyalgia, entitled Behind the Walls of Silence. In July 2018, she created her first blog site My Poetic Life (The Book) as @vfurrmstheblogger to act as a launch for both books and it has taken on a life of its own. She also owns a small crochet business, Val's Gifts of Warmth, where she sells her handmade crochet items.

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