The Trendsetter

You have been blogging for several months or perhaps even years now. And you examine your posts to see how far you’ve been able to stick with your original purpose when first starting. Do you blog according to what you have planned beforehand? Or did you find yourself straying-off topic and blogging about something else – perhaps even on an unrelated topic? Are you inline online? I find myself asking the same questions. Do I serve the purpose I stated earlier when I decided to blog?

Bloggers usually blog with many purposes. The majority of them blog for money by placing advertising in the blog. Some bloggers do so to express their creativity. Others blog because they want to rant about something they can’t say face-to-face or seek feedback and acknowledgment.
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Did you have someone you looked-up to when you decided to become a writer? Someone who understood your desire to write and nurtured you along the way to become the writer who you are today? I believe all writers had some type of mentoring when they first started to write. Be it their teachers, editors or how-to books written by long gone writers.

This is exactly what the best seller writer, Susan Shapiro wrote in her latest memoir titled, Only as Good as Your Word.
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So, are you planning to write your first fictional piece? Whether it is a short story or novel creating characters for your story is one of the most important requirements. For the new writer, this task is challenging yet it is the most interesting part of creating a believable story. Where do you find your characters and how do you fit them into the story you are creating?
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Other than visiting sites of writers online, I am also checking out other bloggers’ sites to read their tips about blogging as well as to seek advice on how to maintain and take care of the technical side of blogging. Since I am using the wordpress.org green widgetize template, I seek blogs that explain how to customize the template to suit my purpose as well as for plugins to simplify the task. I’m also seeking other blog tips in general.

So far I’ve found the following sites to help with the technical side of blogging:
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Do you have any other interests besides your hobby or hobbies and your 9 to 5 job? What are they - scrapbooking, crafts or photography, etc.? I am sure you have several hobbies or interests you often pursue when you have free time. I am into digital photography and I find flowers are my primary subjects.

I take most of the pictures of flowers at places like the Boston Public Garden. Spring is the best time to take photos of flowers. Oftentimes though, I also find myself crouching on people’s front yards to take close-ups of very pretty flowers. My husband keeps telling me the owner’s will come out in a rage and will charge me to take pictures if they catch me! I hope it will never happens.

I find myself everywhere during the spring season taking pictures of flowers and when there is nothing else I don’t mind taking pictures of crab apples flowers as well!

Once I found myself at the food store, like the Stop & Shop (one of the largest ones in New England), taking pictures of the potted plants arranged outside for sale! Oftentimes, the problem when sneaking photos is when I aim the camera lens the wind starts to blow and the plants shake furiously. The images always come out somewhat less than satisfying. My husband says “the spirit of the flower doesn’t like you.” I’ve started to believe him.

When I am done with flower picture taking I will often move to the scenery. My current favorite is the Boston skyline.

I do take pictures of buildings with steeples. I find old church buildings with fierce gargoyles are one of my favorite subjects.

Flowers in general bring a therapeutic feeling. It feels very refreshing to look at the blooms close-up and marvel at how wonderful it is when the images are transferred into print.

I find it is fascinating that the photograph you took actually is a window to the soul. It is supposed to be the eyes are windows to the soul, but the photograph is taken based on how you perceive the objects and take the pictures. I think it is the way your eyes see the object and capture it through the lens of your camera that makes it a window to the soul.

I also like to learn the meaning behind each flower. I would say I love roses of all colors and the meaning behind it. Here is the meaning of roses from the language of flowers:

• Rose (red) - Love ; I love you
• Rose (white) - Eternal Love; innocence; heavenly; secrecy and silence
• Rose (pink) - Perfect happiness; please believe me
• Rose (yellow) - Friendship; jealousy; try to care
• Rose (black) - Death
• Rose (red and white) - Together; unity
• Rose (thorn less) - Love at first sight
• Rose (single, full bloom) - I love you; I still love you
• Rose bud - Beauty and youth; a heart innocent of love
• Rose bud (red) - Pure and lovely
• Rose bud (white) - Girlhood
• Rosebud (moss) - Confessions of love
• Roses (bouquet of full bloom) - Gratitude
• Roses (garland or crown of) - Beware of virtue; reward of merit; crown ; symbol of superior merit
• Roses (musk cluster) - Charming
• Rose (tea) - I’ll always remember
• Rose (cabbage) - Ambassador of love
• Rose (Christmas) - Tranquilize my anxiety; anxiety
• Rose (damask) - Brilliant complexion
• Rose (dark crimson) - Mourning
• Rose (hibiscus) - Delicate beauty
• Rose leaf - You may hope

I always incorporate roses into my fiction writing as a way to express the character’s feelings. As it well known, flowers bring happiness and also bring good health. It is one of the reasons why flowers become the most chosen and a wonderful gift.

I can conclude that flowers are the language of love.