on many different things

The past few days have been absolutely filled with work - and it has been amazing!  I absolutely love it ... even when I am holding retractors and standing in positions I'm not sure are allowed for extended periods of time according to the Geneva Convention.  :)  I am so utterly thrilled and amazed at the fact I even get to be in the OR that I'm willing to stand however I need to for however long I need to, even when it means I can't feel my arms anymore (that is a very exciting moment because it means the pain is gone!).  Yours truly after a 14 hour day ... that's a very happy face!

Sometimes, there are a few moments of free time.  Not free time go and do whatever you want but free time while the resident or attending answers a page or writes a note.  And this relates to the blog because it allows me one or two minutes of thinking time. Sometimes I am thinking about an upcoming surgery or treatment plan ... but when my feet really hurt or I'm really tired or hungry my mind tends to wander a bit.  The following few entries are/will be what I've been pondering.

On Writing ...

It takes practice.  Lots and lots of practice.  More than a few people have asked me about writing ... how to get started, what to write about, etc etc etc.  I have been writing and editing for years.  I can remember sitting at Florence Park Library right before second grade started.  Over the summer, I was supposed to write four book reports.  I respect my mother immensely for forcing (don't kid yourself, I'm pretty sure she held me down to accomplish this, I have been known to have been in need of an attitude adjustment) me to create an excellent series of reports.  We practiced good handwriting and sentence structure way back then and it hasn't stopped since.  

First, I make a concerted effort to free write every day.  I don't edit.  I don't reread.  I just write, simply putting words onto paper in a somewhat coherent fashion.  If I can't think of anything to write about, then I write about how I don't have anything to write about.  I try to say "I have writers block" in new and different ways.  Frequently, when rereading journal entries, these are my favorites.   

Step two, if you're interested in writing for an audience, is to write about things you're passionate about.  Passion comes through words, just like it does in an painting.  Write about what interests you ... not what you think others want to hear about.  Be brave.  Say something you believe in and then explain why.  Be kind.  Don't knock others viewpoints.  Just be passionate ... about what you believe and why ... not about why you disagree with what others believe.

Finally, edit.  EDit.  EDIt.  EDIT.  I'm not sure how to get that across adequately.  Read and reread what you've written.  Read it out loud.  Think about the words you've used and if they are the best words to convey your meaning.  Confirm you have a beginning, a middle, and an end.  Check to see if your sentences are different lengths.  Please, pretty please with sugar on it, make sure your grammar and spelling are correct.  If you aren't sure, make use of google.  Find out how to properly say what you want to say and it will make a difference. 

And that, my friends, is how you start writing.  Later, after you have the basics down, you can learn how to break the rules ... a la creating words like "whens."

PS: You can almost always delete the word that.

PPS: Make sure your verb tenses agree.

PPPS: I'm absolutely terrified this is the most hypocritical post rote with spelling and grammatical errors and verb tense non-agreement and the like.  Feel free to point out my errors.  I deserve it.  Perhaps I've even purposely hid an error to see if anyone can find it.  Or perhaps not.  :)