“If you listen, they will tell you” -some observant human

Since I’ve been writing for the Boulevard Sentinel people approach me with many stories they think should be told. Too many to print! But what I’ve realized is that it is truly a need. It’s not just news stories though.

When I listen I hear everything. The sink drain backed up, in the middle of a party. There was the time the dog barked and barked and barked, when someone finally listened they realized the hillside was on fire. The great price on the lovely earrings, and where they came from. How many years it took to finish the remodeling on the house, including the setbacks, the design process, and the perfect stairwell. How Mom is doing, what the kids are up to, a mutual friend got an award… People have a need to share.

For some it is philosophy or world affairs, for others it’s local news. There are those who just need to be heard, with no matter to the subject, just to hear their own voice and know someone is listening.

Your life has been an adventure, or one adventure after another. You want to share it with your friends and family, or future generations.

There are long stories and short stories. I hear about lifetimes packed with adventures, multiple careers, great old families, and especially the way it was “back then.” We’ve got to admit there have been major changes in the world in the past 50 years!

I’m convinced it is a human need, the need to be heard. That’s why I write, to help you tell your stories, and to take your stories to your audience.

“You never say you love me”

How many of us know we love our partner, and think we are “telling” them we do in so many ways? Yet, there is that age-old complaint, “you never say you love me.”
But… I bought you a bracelet…
But… I washed the car and mowed the lawn…
But… I brought you flowers….
And it can go the other way as well, “But I spent all that time with you…” “Well the garage is a mess!”

Then we finally realize, maybe too late, that what our partner wants is to hear, in words, the appreciation, the love, or the admiration we feel for them. Or we learn that what they want more than a clean car, is a walk in the evening, just meandering along having a good conversation.

We even find this disconnect between parents and children, “You don’t love me!” “But I put a roof over your head, food on your plate!” “But you never tell me you’re proud of me.”

The short of it is, there is a theory about love languages*, that there are five basic languages, quality time, affection, words of encouragement, acts of service and gifts. “We each hear and feel love in different combinations of these languages.” It turns out that you can yell at the top of your lungs in your language, and your partner or friend, or kid, is looking heartbroken, because they cannot hear or feel your love. It’s not their language. In fact, you may also feel less appreciated than your family is communicating to you.

Now comes the day of love; chocolate and flowers. For some, it’s a brief truce, hoping to get through a romantic day without blowing it. And for many, it’s a guessing game. Are the flowers what she really wants? Are those heart-bedecked boxers really going to tell him what you feel when you look at him?

Does your partner say, “You never say you love me”? Is your partner’s love language “words of encouragement?” The last time you really thought about what this person means to you? Were you able to put it into words? Did you write a letter or a note, or a postcard, or sit them down and tell them what is in your heart?

Maybe words are not your forte, but you want them to know how you feel….  let me say it for you!

*A great read, and an eye opener: The Five Love Languages, by Gary Chapman

If only they’d SAY IT!

For starters, I have to confess, I am a sufferer of FPRS*.  In addition to a general state of agitation, my most common symptoms include; pacing, cussing at the television/radio/internet, and flipping off billboards. So, I am opinionated and vocal.

Some of my downtime includes watching “episodes” with my partner; Deadwood, Sons of Anarchy, The Wire…. oh yes, the list goes on. I don’t pace during these lifelike fictions, I cuss occasionally. More often what I exclaim impatiently, is “TELL HER!” “TELL HIM!” or “JUST SAY IT!”

My partner patiently explains that if they did “just say it” most of the rest of the episode would be over. The little communications I beg of my characters would eliminate much of the conflict, the confusion, and most of the mistakes, which lead to anguish, anger, shattered lives, and unnecessary deaths.

And that  is why I love writing personal communication between folks: greeting cards, letters, apologies, wedding vows, birth announcement, eulogies… In a world with high technology literally at our finger tips, where folks walk around “communicating,” we are still woefully unable to convey the messages which are most important: “what you mean to me,” “what I want for us,” “how it feels to wake up next to you,” “why I was upset,” and the ever mis-communicated “I’m sorry.”

Which is why I invite you to “… let me say it for you”

* False Propaganda Reactive Syndrome: pretty much self explanatory, has been reported to manifest with the following symptoms: pacing, cussing, throwing of electronic devices (formerly paper devices) – usually through windows; drawing additional features on screens; throwing hard heavy objects into electronic devices, or through windows . . . the list grows daily . . .

Writing for you…

We live in a complicated world.  The demands upon our time, our energy, our minds, our emotions, can be overwhelming.   And with good reason, it’s complicated!

Is there is something you need to say, been meaning to tell someone, but haven’t found the time or the words to express it?  You need a writer!  Maybe me.

If you committed to a newsletter or report, but find yourself overwhelmed with other tasks, or just can’t get going, I can draft it.

Are your marketing materials out of date?  Or not yet produced? Lets get them ready and out to build your business!

If you need a second set of eyes on your writing, I love to collaborate and edit.

Let’s sit down and talk about it!

I love sculpting with words, but I need a reason, your needs can be my reason.