tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-133132309124375119.post1289763723177942009..comments2024-03-26T07:33:18.502-04:00Comments on WordWranglers: The waiting roomMargiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03843006118151762550noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-133132309124375119.post-71472534342725676332016-02-17T07:08:45.946-05:002016-02-17T07:08:45.946-05:00I remember that! It was such a beautiful post and,...I remember that! It was such a beautiful post and, truthfully, I wish I'd remembered it when I was writing mine. I think there's just so much pain around right now it's hard to process things.Liz Flahertyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794565644883272260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-133132309124375119.post-6724044145778405882016-02-16T15:10:22.012-05:002016-02-16T15:10:22.012-05:00I think that's how writer's deal--I just c...I think that's how writer's deal--I just came across the email that I sent you girls after a family friend's husband committed suicide. The only way I could begin to make sense of the tragedy was to write the story down. Not that it made sense, but it did help me to sort through the emotions that were rambling around in my head. <br /><br />Margiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03843006118151762550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-133132309124375119.post-75136566783369866912016-02-16T08:46:54.091-05:002016-02-16T08:46:54.091-05:00Thanks, Joanne. I used to love visiting my aunt at...Thanks, Joanne. I used to love visiting my aunt at the assisted living facility where she lived. The stories those people had to share!Liz Flahertyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794565644883272260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-133132309124375119.post-66445196295003759032016-02-16T08:28:44.208-05:002016-02-16T08:28:44.208-05:00Hi Liz, This post brought back many memories of th...Hi Liz, This post brought back many memories of the years I spent visiting my father at a nursing home and my mother at a retirement home. So many vivacious personalities (in spite of their health challenges). Thanks for sharing. :)Joanne Guidocciohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01549891566216750230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-133132309124375119.post-29111434183793676922016-02-16T07:20:53.633-05:002016-02-16T07:20:53.633-05:00I think that's a good thing to do, Vicki. The ...I think that's a good thing to do, Vicki. The emotions will still be there in the journal when the scars heal over a bit.Liz Flahertyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794565644883272260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-133132309124375119.post-23031261832743579032016-02-16T07:19:57.679-05:002016-02-16T07:19:57.679-05:00I'm sure that's true, Cheryl. I guess it&#...I'm sure that's true, Cheryl. I guess it's all so very personal and right now I feel like more of a voyeur than an observer. We always laugh about our voyeuristic tendencies--or at least I do--but this week I guess I just can't. Brighter days ahead!Liz Flahertyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794565644883272260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-133132309124375119.post-47952552515596024992016-02-15T17:26:56.845-05:002016-02-15T17:26:56.845-05:00Hi, Liz! I went through this four times last year ...Hi, Liz! I went through this four times last year and it is incredibly hard. I often journal about poignant events to capture the emotions because they will help me down the road. Happy or sad. Vicki Batman, sassy writerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13846704675542248648noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-133132309124375119.post-67818233587793126802016-02-15T17:14:59.738-05:002016-02-15T17:14:59.738-05:00As a writer and a former nurse, I gathered all sor...As a writer and a former nurse, I gathered all sorts of story ideas from my experiences at the hospital, some from my co-workers and some from my patients and their families. There are ups and downs in everyone's life. As nurses, we mostly see the downs, and sometimes our sense of humor is the only thing that saves us. While making your observations, you got a taste of that. It's all about perspective. Cheryl Brookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11464377381132807409noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-133132309124375119.post-8892971045451564482016-02-15T17:00:42.366-05:002016-02-15T17:00:42.366-05:00Thank you, Carolyn. I have so appreciated the resp...Thank you, Carolyn. I have so appreciated the responses, too. Liz Flahertyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794565644883272260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-133132309124375119.post-26655430916103464562016-02-15T13:16:19.717-05:002016-02-15T13:16:19.717-05:00Wow, I don't know which is more eloquent or to...Wow, I don't know which is more eloquent or touching your initial post or the responses. You may feel as if you are taking other people's stories and using them but in telling those stories you touch others. As a college professor I often tell stories to my classes about my experiences or experiences of others that are painful and heart breaking. I am trying to illustrate a point yet I have students come up to me in private and tell me that they have struggled with the same things in silence or alone. They tell me that knowing someone else has the same struggles helps them to see there is hope. So keep telling your (or other people's) stories. You never know when you touch someone who needs that connection you bring them. Carolyn McCutcheonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04505732730959271307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-133132309124375119.post-31723520567245684322016-02-15T11:59:01.240-05:002016-02-15T11:59:01.240-05:00Thanks, Kristi. In time, it will probably feel les...Thanks, Kristi. In time, it will probably feel less raw. A lot of waiting room hours the past few days.Liz Flahertyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794565644883272260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-133132309124375119.post-43966802259076465572016-02-15T11:57:56.620-05:002016-02-15T11:57:56.620-05:00Thanks, A.D. I don't know that I've ever t...Thanks, A.D. I don't know that I've ever thought of my words coming from the place of someone else's hurt before and it's a little difficult, a little achy. It's another one of the lucky things, though, I guess--there's always a new discovery right around the corner.<br />Liz Flahertyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794565644883272260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-133132309124375119.post-82161327540880666592016-02-15T11:57:29.509-05:002016-02-15T11:57:29.509-05:00Ava and Judith and AD are right on the money - it&...Ava and Judith and AD are right on the money - it's because your observing all of this now that your books will have more power later...and that isn't capitalizing, it's giving a voice to the pain you're seeing...so that someone else can realize they aren't alone, no matter what they are going through. Hang in there, Liz...Kristina Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13674920511835640874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-133132309124375119.post-44032467004872097612016-02-15T11:33:27.661-05:002016-02-15T11:33:27.661-05:00I understand your feelings on some level. Taking s...I understand your feelings on some level. Taking someone else's pain and creating it in your head and even writing it down CAN seem like capitalizing on their pain. But I wonder how many readers out there are longing for a story they can relate to? Because for every one if those people you seen and hear today, there's a reader out there wondering if they are the only one hurting in this way. The stories you see today may be the stories a reader needs. And I know you'd never write another person's pain any other way but eloquently. <br />But, yes, sometimes our writer voice needs to hush and give us a break now and then :)Anonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01766749119770640457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-133132309124375119.post-61340910690329044062016-02-15T10:58:59.883-05:002016-02-15T10:58:59.883-05:00I imagine I'll get there, but right now I just...I imagine I'll get there, but right now I just want myself to hush. :-)Liz Flahertyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794565644883272260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-133132309124375119.post-31646816913390281852016-02-15T10:58:13.022-05:002016-02-15T10:58:13.022-05:00I've just never felt quite like this before, a...I've just never felt quite like this before, as though I were--in a stretched out manner of speaking--capitalizing on others' pain.Liz Flahertyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794565644883272260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-133132309124375119.post-24279839662950232212016-02-15T10:50:04.385-05:002016-02-15T10:50:04.385-05:00I wish I could be eloquent as Ava and Judith this ...I wish I could be eloquent as Ava and Judith this morning, but all I can say is Ditto! I know how you feel because I've been where you are and yes, the writer doesn't shut off no matter what the situation is. And even if you wish she would, do hold onto the gift of it. Nanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08809913527142033733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-133132309124375119.post-12754170037183305752016-02-15T10:28:44.293-05:002016-02-15T10:28:44.293-05:00Writing other people's stories is what we do. ...Writing other people's stories is what we do. Many times they can't tell their own stories--they haven't the faintest notion how to start. But they recognize their own stories in what we write--we express for them what they feel and experience. Writing is our gift to the world.Judith Palmerhttp://www.jrjerints-palmer.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-133132309124375119.post-78956596784681234792016-02-15T10:25:13.547-05:002016-02-15T10:25:13.547-05:00Thank you, Ava. I've been trying to put it int...Thank you, Ava. I've been trying to put it into perspective (and failing).Liz Flahertyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794565644883272260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-133132309124375119.post-10917070029594346382016-02-15T10:19:07.989-05:002016-02-15T10:19:07.989-05:00If you were at a wedding, would you feel the same ...If you were at a wedding, would you feel the same way? Don't ever begrudge the writer/observer in you. We write the stories of people -- real and imagined -- and we mentally record the range of human experience (the good and the bad) to this end. By observing, and maybe even including one of these scenes if a book, you are immortalizing that moment in time. It is a beautiful thing, and a gift. Ava Cuvayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06312693483840366091noreply@blogger.com