Blog – Page 3

Better Them Than Me

March 7, 2016 By Tracy Snyder

I have a friend who insists that the Eleventh Commandment is, “Thou Shalt Not Be Boring.” It’s true when he preaches a sermon, as well as when I write.

Growing up my favorite stories had conflict and battles and lots of derring-do. It’s what I enjoy writing, as well. It lends speed and impact and movement to the words.

I find it interesting that circumstances that would be devastating if they were to happen in my own life, become entertaining when I read about them happening to a character in a book.

Better them than me.

My everyday life is the antithesis of adventure. I get up, go to work, cook dinner. But when I read a well written scene I experience being on a spaceship, or risking my life to save those I love. I give my brain a rest from the plodding cares that numb me, and get to live someone else’s life for an hour or two.

And when I close the book on some terror the main character is facing, I find that my life doesn’t look so bad after all.

Seed Catalogues

February 29, 2016 By Tracy Snyder

Seed Catalogues According to Chinese medicine, there are five general types of people. When an acupuncturist took my medical history, he said, “I assume you grow a garden.” I am, apparently, an Earth type, tied to the soil and the change of seasons.

So in the dead of winter I get two gifts. First is the winter solstice, when we acknowledge that we have made it a half-way through the dark. The second gift is the seed catalogues in the mail; the promise of spring, and sunshine, and growth. No weeds in the pretty pictures, unless you count the tame little things being uprooted by a proffered hoe. Perfect anticipation, when I can imagine ripe vegies, free of weeds, and insects, and drought.

The reality is that come August I will wade out in the garden, waist deep in unwanted weeds, and and do a treasure hunt to find our dinner.

That’s ok. Imperfection tastes great.

Laughter as Defense Against the Dark

February 26, 2016 By Tracy Snyder

Laughter as Defense Against the Dark I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but life can be hard. There are challenges with health and relationships and basic survival that can bring you to your knees.

But I’ve found that an ability to stand back and grin at the absurdity of it all can help maintain sanity. The messier it is, the hard I look to find the joke in the midst.

It’s even better if I can tell the joke in a way to get someone to laugh with me.

Connection

February 22, 2016 By Tracy Snyder

Connection Does anyone feel as if they fit in? Anyone?

Certainly not me. I spent most of my life feeling as if I was on the outside, looking in. It’s one of the reasons I paddle on a dragon boat. I know there’s always a bench on the boat, and people waiting for me to fill it.

I do find that the more I venture out and become involved in activities, the more I find places to belong. Dragon boaters are an odd group, but one that welcomes me. And if you want weird, try hanging out with authors who write science fiction and fantasy. Delightfully, astonishingly peculiar.

My kind of people. The places where I am learning to fit in.

Take The Leap

January 21, 2016 By Tracy Snyder

take the leap I grew up with the thought that shadows were safe. If no one can see you, then no one can hurt you.

The prospect of having my first short story published triggered this belief. My words and thoughts will be so public, I whispered to myself. So dangerous.

But I had won awards for short stories and a few professionals expressed interest in my science fiction novel. Friends shook me by the shoulders and insisted that I was past due to get a website and start a blog.

Time to take the risk, I thought. Then I did a mental adjustment. Not a risk, an adventure.

Adventure has an element of risk to it, but it includes so much more. There’s the excitement of stepping out into something new without knowing where it will lead, the wonder as you learn new things, the comradery of finding other people with this compulsion to write strange stories of imaginary people.

There is also the sting of rejection, or that uncomfortable squirm in your stomach when you realize you screwed up.

But it all combines into this breathless swoop of excitement and surprise that makes life so much fun.

Bring on the adventure, risk and all.

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