We writers use words to capture life. No secret there; but it is not an easy job.
Woman As Art
Earlier today, I walked to Armand’s in Little Italy. It was sunny and mild (70s). Life was all around me: people walking, jogging, traffic, workmen at work on a roof; I’ve noticed that young women and not so young women have taken to wearing pants that seem to be tights. Maybe they are tights. The shape, bounce and wiggle of the female butt is on full display in Pittsburgh. I wonder if this fashion is popular in other cities too or is it just something particular to Pittsburgh.
I sat at the bar in Armand’s, drank beer and talked to Joe the bartender. Several other people sat at the bar.
Beyond the big window, Liberty Avenue was alive with people and sunshine. I got one last mug of beer and then a six-pack of beer to go.
Portrait of two young women (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I should do a column on beer for this blog. I should subscribe to a magazine for beer drinkers.
I had not eaten anything. So, I was looking forward to a bowl of hot ham and lima beans that I recently cooked in my crock pot.
This writer walked back home, eager to get back to work.
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The Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette is a blog of creative writing and brazen sexuality. It is published near the University of Pittsburgh.
Related articles
- A Writer Hangs Out At Armands Bar In Little Italy (pittsburghflashfictiongazette.com)
- The Monday Blues (pittsburghflashfictiongazette.com)
Filed under: This Writing Life | Tagged: blog, creative writer, female butt, ham and lima beans, Little Italy, Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette, sexuality, University of Pittsburgh, woman as art, words | 2 Comments »
Poverty And The Creative Writer
Image via Wikipedia
This is a subject that I can speak to with some authority. Hello, my brother and sister readers and writers. Yes, the Old Soldier lives in poverty according to the income guidelines established for a single adult by the federal government.
Living in poverty is not pretty. Let me be absolutely honest. You expect honesty from the Old Soldier and you are going to get it. The reason I live in poverty can be attributed to a lot of bad decisions that I made in life. I was stupid about a lot of things. The one thing I am not stupid about is writing flash fiction. I won a fellowship and got an MFA in 2006 because of my flash fiction.
Well, a lot of the bad decisions that I made were bad decisions for making money. I was unconcerned about making money. I wanted to learn how to write well. And I did.
Now that I’m 64 years old, would I do things differently? You bet I would! But that would mean I would be a different person. And that would mean I would be a different kind of writer. Or maybe I wouldn’t be a writer at all.
I’m old, poor and alone. And I’m a writer. I’m exactly the kind of writer I want to be.
Accept your flaws. Just keep writing.
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Filed under: Commentaries | Tagged: blog, creative writer, flash fiction stories, life, MFA, money, poverty, writing | 1 Comment »