Comments on Author Erica Orloff's Blog: That Other Thing

hehe yeah, my beliefs are very much not a specific...

2008-10-10T19:04:00.000-04:00

hehe yeah, my beliefs are very much not a specific religion, but more a mishmash of ideas about what I think might be true, and what speaks to me.

One of my best friends is an atheist...she was my first atheist hahaha!

And I remember now How SHOCKED I was. I was a fundamentalist christian at the time, and our friendship sprouted out of this debate and our morbid fascination with each other.

It eventually developed into a friendship with a much stronger foundation and I came away from the dark side haha!

zoe:When I was 13, I found out my father was an at...

2008-10-09T08:10:00.000-04:00

zoe:
When I was 13, I found out my father was an atheist. I even remember where I was sitting and what we were talking about. It shook me, because my grandparents took me to church (my parents NEVER did) and it never dawned on me, despite my parents, that there were people who didn't believe at all. God was Santa Claus. You said your prayers, and if you were lucky, he heard them and you got your wish. I thought the reason we didn't go to church were my parents partied a lot (!) and liked to sleep in on Sundays. :-)

For 30 years, my father and I have been engaging in discussion on the topic. I know it isn't a choice for him and I totally GET where he is coming from. My own faith is cobbled together from here or there, but it's something I feel as a core part of who I am. I go with the Dalai Lama. My religion is kindness. :-)
E

tena:I still cling to what Stephen says. He's pret...

2008-10-09T08:07:00.000-04:00

tena:
I still cling to what Stephen says. He's pretty spot on, our guy is.

E

hmmm I'm just writing and putting it out there and...

2008-10-09T07:41:00.000-04:00

hmmm I'm just writing and putting it out there and doing what I can. I know some will love it, some will hate it, but I dont' know the numbers. I don't know how or if that will translate to money. I don't put a lot of stock in any of that, I'm just doing my thing.

So I'm not sure I totally relate on the faith issue as it relates to writing. I do have confidence in myself, but I think that's a little different than faith. And maybe it's just nuance, or just in my head that it's different.

I do very much admire though, the fact that you understand someone can't DECIDE to have faith, in the truest sense of that word. My husband is an atheist, though he theoretically accepts there could be afterlife or reincarnation, he just doesn't believe in the big guy in the sky. And his atheism absolutely wasn't a choice. It was despite wanting to believe in God.

I agree that there's no shame in deciding to go in...

2008-10-08T18:30:00.000-04:00

I agree that there's no shame in deciding to go in another direction, but I think if you have the passion, you keep slogging.

Slogging, I am. Passion, I have. At this stage of my life going in another direction is pretty much impossible unless it's backward.

ladonna:I have Heinz 57 faith myself.E

2008-10-08T17:28:00.000-04:00

ladonna:
I have Heinz 57 faith myself.

E

Tena:I agree that there's no shame in deciding to ...

2008-10-08T17:27:00.001-04:00

Tena:
I agree that there's no shame in deciding to go in another direction, but I think if you have the passion, you keep slogging.

E

kath:That's one to post by the computer.E

2008-10-08T17:27:00.000-04:00

kath:
That's one to post by the computer.

E

ewoh:Nice to "see" you. Hope all is well and that ...

2008-10-08T17:26:00.001-04:00

ewoh:
Nice to "see" you. Hope all is well and that you are writing,

E

stephen:Your comment was just awesome--really touc...

2008-10-08T17:26:00.000-04:00

stephen:
Your comment was just awesome--really touched me.

E

richmond:And what a wonderful gift!E

2008-10-08T17:25:00.000-04:00

richmond:
And what a wonderful gift!

E

Hey, E! I write for me, and that makes me happy. I...

2008-10-08T17:00:00.000-04:00

Hey, E! I write for me, and that makes me happy. I smiled when you said if you won the lottery, you'd never write for publication. That's not a bad place to be imo. There's nothing like writing for the pure enjoyment of it. If ya get paid for it, even better as long as it doesn't rob the joy.

And faith to me is the soul-kind. I carry a little of this, and little of that, and mucho discoveries of my own.

Commenter Leonard said: There's no shame in recogn...

2008-10-08T16:45:00.000-04:00

Commenter Leonard said: There's no shame in recognizing that some of life's dreams will never be fulfilled.

I'm still at the dreaming stage. There's always arsenic for later.

Faith is heart. Writing backs it up.

2008-10-08T16:28:00.000-04:00

Faith is heart. Writing backs it up.

If faith is choosing, despite circumstances, logic...

2008-10-08T16:15:00.000-04:00

If faith is choosing, despite circumstances, logic or anything else other than just choosing freely, then I could say I have faith.

I choose writing because I choose writing. Not for any other reason.

Faith? Or stubbornness.What's running through my ...

2008-10-08T12:05:00.000-04:00

Faith? Or stubbornness.

What's running through my mind right now is a scene from the movie "An Officer and a Gentleman." Louis Gossett Jr. is urging Richard Gere to DOR---drop on request. Richard Gere breaks down and says, "I got nowhere else to go."

I got nowhere else to go.

Anyone within the sound of my voice who does have somewhere else to go might probably ought to go there.

My grandmother wrote and never was published. We h...

2008-10-08T11:57:00.000-04:00

My grandmother wrote and never was published. We have a glimpse into who she was.

Amy:If we had no dreams, wouldn't we be robots? Al...

2008-10-08T11:26:00.000-04:00

Amy:
If we had no dreams, wouldn't we be robots? All lives MUSt have dreams, I am convinced. When dreams die, the soul follows.

E

I question myself as well, and my faith in ploddin...

2008-10-08T10:54:00.000-04:00

I question myself as well, and my faith in plodding forward with no assurances. It goes back to what adds value to my life...and the belief that there is a chance of publication makes me happy, not anxious or sad. There is a possibility I'll author a book that people can buy -- it might be unlikely -- but it's still something to strive for.

Striving and dreaming adds value to my life...being hopeful makes me happy.

And you know, if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!

Hi Realmcovet:Sometimes, I think, many a writer st...

2008-10-08T10:50:00.000-04:00

Hi Realmcovet:
Sometimes, I think, many a writer starts with memoir. Then they start mining the life in the memoir for fictional pieces. You never know.

But yes, a blog, for me, is freedom,

E

I've never known what it's like to write for "publ...

2008-10-08T10:29:00.000-04:00

I've never known what it's like to write for "publication".

I wrote an autobiography a year or so ago, with no real intentions on trying to get any recognition, but whenever I shared it with people they encouraged me to do so. So I toy with the idea, but am very much ignorant to the world of "publication". It scares the dog shit outta me, truth be told. Intimidates me to no end. I type all my shit out on Wordpad fer Christ's sake. I suck and I know it.

But I blog like I won the lottery and don't ever have to write for "publication" ever again, whatever that means to you, and I think it quite possibly means the same thing that it means to me....-FREEEEEEDOM-!!!!.

Sometimes I feel like people think I suck and other days I'm on top of the frakkin world.

Faith wavers like that. But it's what makes life worth living.

I love how often you write in your "blob". And your topics. They challenge me and give me a lot to think about.

edie:Well . . . we won't let you leave. And the Si...

2008-10-08T10:22:00.001-04:00

edie:
Well . . . we won't let you leave. And the Single Title competition . . . you're in the game!

E

Jude:Good luck with your craptastic dreams.E

2008-10-08T10:22:00.000-04:00

Jude:
Good luck with your craptastic dreams.

E

I have to go with what Mark's single mother friend...

2008-10-08T10:16:00.000-04:00

I have to go with what Mark's single mother friend said to him. With all its frustrations, I enjoy writing. It satisfies something within me.

I quit once, and found other creative things I enjoyed doing. But nothing was as satisfying as writing fiction. So I came back, and this time I'm not leaving.

I have an idea, just a title really, that stems fr...

2008-10-08T10:11:00.000-04:00

I have an idea, just a title really, that stems from some of the clowning around I've done here, and I've decided to use it for NaNoWriMo this year. I'm going to give myself permission to write tripe for thirty days. 50K words, just for fun.

Sounds craptastic, doesn't it?

Keepin' the faith here, babe.