New Book

My new book, "From Trash to Treasure: God's Redemptive Power for Restoration and Transformation", is now available on Amazon Kindle at the following link:

http://www.amazon.com/Trash-Treasure-Redemptive-Restoration-Transformation-ebook/dp/B016X8B10U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1445469243&sr=8-1&keywords=Avril+VanderMerwe

Upon My Word: Publications and Awards

Upon My Word: Publications and Awards: The following is a list of my fiction, non-fiction, poetry, children's fiction, and inspirational writing that has been published and pr...

Flowers Are Red, Young Man!

Do we facilitate or squelch creativity and creative expression in ourselves or others? How many have been discouraged by messages that our creativity is frowned upon because it does not fit a given mold? The following is taken from a song by Harry Chapin. The words speak for themselves:

The little boy went first day of school
He got some crayons and he started to draw
He put colors all over the paper
For colors was what he saw

And the teacher said, "What you doin' young man?"
"I'm paintin' flowers" he said
She said, "It's not the time for art young man
And anyway flowers are green and red"

"There's a time for everything young man
And a way it should be done
You've got to show concern for everyone else
For you're not the only one"

And she said, "Flowers are red young man
And green leaves are green
There's no need to see flowers any other way
Than they way they always have been seen"

But the little boy said
"There are so many colors in the rainbow
So many colors in the morning sun
So many colors in the flower and I see every one"

Well the teacher said, "You're sassy
There's ways that things should be
And you'll paint flowers the way they are
So repeat after me"

And she said, "Flowers are red, young man
And green leaves are green
There's no need to see flowers any other way
Than they way they always have been seen"

But the little boy said
"There are so many colors in the rainbow
So many colors in the morning sun
So many colors in the flower and I see every one"

The teacher put him in a corner
She said, "It's for your own good
And you won't come out 'til you get it right
And are responding like you should"

Well finally he got lonely
Frightened thoughts filled his head
And he went up to the teacher
And this is what he said

And he said
"Flowers are red, and green leaves are green
There's no need to see flowers any other way
Than the way they always have been seen"

Time went by like it always does
And they moved to another town
And the little boy went to another school
And this is what he found

The teacher there was smilin'
She said, "Painting should be fun
And there are so many colors in a flower
So let's use every one"

But that little boy painted flowers
In neat rows of green and red
And when the teacher asked him why
This is what he said

And he said
"Flowers are red, and green leaves are green
There's no need to see flowers any other way
Than the way they always have been seen"

What's Not To Like?

     

Do you like the way the word “like” has become like an essential component of every conversation? Like do you like, like like? Or does like, like irritate you sometimes, like a little brother like constantly pestering you?

     I propose that we, like, eliminate like a whole bunch of words from the dictionary, and replace them with this ubiquitous (which is like an example of one of the words we could eliminate) word that has like proved itself so useful. You know?

     If you like this idea, then I would like it if you would like, like this post, because the more likes it gets, the more we could like, spread this idea around. That would be like, totally awesome!

     Or perhaps you are of the opinion that “like” has become a form of conversational stuttering, disrupting the flow of thought and impoverishing vocabulary in the general population. In that case, I would propose that we eliminate this ubiquitous word from the English dictionary, and ban its use in all public forums.

     To fill the vacuum such a drastic action would leave, we could implement public vocabulary enrichment programs. I would be the first to jump on board such a movement. The reason? Because I find this idea agreeable, congenial and appealing, and would subscribe to it with delight, since I am partial to its potentially enhancing effects on human discourse.

     And there’s no “button” for that!

What Energizes Your Creative Thinking?

     For me it’s water: A cascading waterfall; the ceaseless susurration of the waves of the sea; wind-whipped whitecaps; a burbling stream; ripple of sunlight reflecting off a lake, a pond, a pool…

     Being around water not only soothes and relaxes me, but also sets my imagination free to float and flow, as if buoyed by an ever-strengthening current and carried on an in-coming tide.

     While I love to get near water as often as possible, and also delight in swimming in it if it is warm enough, I experience the same unleashing of creativity by simply standing in the shower! I wish someone would invent some kind of white-board for the shower with a pen that is both waterproof and washable! I often linger in the shower, relishing the confluence of relaxation and released imagination. The only problem is, by the time I get out and towel off, I can’t write all the resulting ideas down fast enough, before at least one or two have flapped their wings and taken flight through the nearest hole in my brain!

     However, it does help to know this about myself – that being around water stimulates my creative thinking. Whenever I feel stale or stagnant, I know it is time to escape to the most accessible body of water and allow myself to just “be”.

     All of which bring me to the question I began with: What stimulates your creative thinking? Identifying this may be one of several steps towards getting “unstuck” in your own writing. If you don’t yet know the answer to this question, it may take some self-observation and self-awareness, along with asking those nearest and dearest to you whether they have noticed the specific circumstances that seem to trigger your most creative ideas.

     Learning to maximize the kind of environment, activity, or circumstances that energize your own creative thinking, and to capture and harness the resultant thoughts and ideas, may help you on the way to breakthrough in your writing.

Photo-Essay

 These pictures were taken at Seaside OR, during the first week of February 2015. 

© Avril van der Merwe. All Rights Reserved.

Some Are Born Writers...

     

     Some are born writers, some achieve writing, and some have writing thrust upon them (with apologies to Mr. William Shakespeare!).

     I was born a writer. By this I do not mean that I was somehow born with a latently superior talent for writing. Rather, writing was a passion from early on. As a young child, I chose to spend my pocket money on writing materials. My favorite stores were book stores (reading, of course, was my other passion) and stores that sold a rich selection of writing tablets, pens, and pencils. These were the days before laptops and other electronic devices, and I developed a love affair with the kinetic, organic feel of pencil skipping, scrolling and strolling across paper, filling the lines with word images. Later, even after I acquired my first typewriter, I continued to create my first drafts longhand for many years.

     My paternal grandmother, who was a far more discerning woman than many gave her credit for, and who I adored, frequently augmented my writing supplies through birthday and Christmas presents. Her death three months after my sixteenth birthday was a loss I still feel today.

     I was blessed to have parents and teachers who encouraged my writing efforts, and was eight years old when I began to engage in writing in a conscious, deliberate way. I was fifteen when my first poems were published. One way or another, I have been writing ever since.

     Not everyone comes to writing this way, however. For some the desire to write gathers fuel over time, like the building of a campfire, until at last a spark is ignited that catches and continues to burn brighter and higher as the flames continue to be fed.

     Still others are more or less propelled into writing as a necessary part of their chosen careers. They may come to it reluctantly at first, and then as skill and confidence grow, begin to develop an affinity for the craft.

     Each of these paths is a valid avenue to becoming a writer. To each individual who writes, the designation of “writer” is legitimately attached, no matter by what means she or he came there. To each of us falls the task of honing and practicing our craft, nurturing, stewarding and releasing the lyricism of the words we share with readers and fellow writers everywhere.