What Was YOUR Best Piece of Writing in 2009?
By Mary Jaksch
If we’re to improve as writers, we need to catch a glimpse of our writing at its best. I suggest that you look through what you wrote in 2009 and pick out the best piece. It might not be a complete post, article, or chapter. It might only be one paragraph, or even just one sentence.
Read it as if it was written by someone else.
Are you surprised?
Did you know you could write so well?
Here is your chance to celebrate with everyone at WTD: please give us a link to your best stuff, or just cut and paste your best sentence or paragraph into the comments. Let’s cheer each other on!
I can’t wait to see what you come up with…
Mary Jaksch is a Zen Master and the Chief Editor of Write to Done. Read more on her blog Goodlife Zen and book a place on her upcoming FREE Virtual Zen Retreat The Miracle of Kindness
67 Responses to “What Was YOUR Best Piece of Writing in 2009?”
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The writing of which I am most proud was written for Memorial Day and is entitled “I am a Soldier”. It begins:
“I am a soldier.
Long ago, I raised my right hand and swore to protect and defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, to bear true faith and allegiance to the same, and to obey the orders of the President of the United States and the officers appointed over me.
Nothing has released me from my oath even though it’s over a quarter century since I last wore a uniform. Nothing ever will.
For better or for worse, I am a soldier.”
You can read it in its entirety at http://flashesoftheobvious.blogspot.com/2009/05/i-am-soldier.html
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Thanks for this self-test. It was good to review my writing over the past year.
I write Bible-based posts each day, and I chose this one as a favorite:
Another Thought on Desk-Building
http://www.mandevillechurch.org/?p=4
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Thank you for this generous opportunity to share our writing. I have enjoyed reading through all of the posted blogs and writings- things I might otherwise have never known to read.
I’d like to share a post from my blog about my work as a music therapist:http://mindfulmusictherapist.blogspot.com/2009/04/after-youve-gone-and-left-me-crying.html
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Thank you for suggesting that we look at our 2009 writing. By doing so I found some good, some bad, and a couple of pieces that I really liked. Among the best was this article I wrote about hope.
http://www.womenslifelink.com/fortunate-friday-hope/
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What a wonderful idea, Mary. Here we are, sharing our writing and thoughts from different conors of the world. It will be nice to do it once a year.
My favorite piece from 2009 is a note inspired by a phone message between me and a friend about “time”. I’m posting here in both English and Chinese.
—————————————————————————————————–
You once said “In competition with time, it always celebrates it’s victory proudly.”
I said “My dear friend, time does not compete and it is not proud. It is human who haven’t learned to be humble.”
When we are bored, we try to kill time.
When we are rushed, we try to chase time.
When we are aged, we try to fight time…
Time walks in it’s own pace, from chaos through eternity.
It doesn’t get beyond, it doesn’t get behind,
it does not compete, how can it be proud?
It is a constant phenomenon that
can not change, and can not be changed.
Once we learn to coexist peacefully with time,
then we will see,
it moves on with us,
takes us away from where we don’t want to be,
send us to where we want to reach.
Time, is a conforting constant in life.
你曾說”時間總是在競逐中驕傲地慶祝她的勝利”
我說”親愛的朋友，時間它不競逐，也不驕傲；而是人們尚未學會謙卑”
無聊的時候，我們殺時間，
匆忙的時候，我們趕時間，
年老的時候，我們抵抗時間…
從渾沌到永恆，時間以自己的步調行進著，
從不超前，亦不落後，
既不競逐，怎能驕傲?
它是恆常的現象，
不會改變，也不被改變。
當我們學會與時間平和共處時，
我們將會了解，
它與我們一起前進，
帶我們遠離不悅的境地
送我們抵達想望的地方
時間，是令人安心的恆常。
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This is a great idea. I hardly ever take the time to go back and re-read what I wrote earlier. But after your post I will try decide what I would consider my best…and why! Thanks for your great blog. You have helped me. Cheers.
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My best post for 2009: Viewing Life and Society at 75
http://social-fix.blogspot.com/2009/11/viewing-life-and-society-at-75.html
My best for 2060: 2059 What a Wonderful Year
http://social-fix.blogspot.com/2010/01/2059-what-wonderful-year.html
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Thanks for getting me thinking about this. The best post I wrote this year talked about what it is like to have untreated sleep apnea. It can be found at http://www.thedifferentdrummer.net/the-different-drummer-journal/2009/2/8/miles-to-go-before-i-sleep-part-2.html.
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i just started posting on my blog but i think i still have what i can call my best post.it is titled:
2 great blogging tips from a music legend,Wyclef
http://mkakan.com/2-great-blogging-tips-from-a-music-legendwyclef/
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Writing movie reviews makes it a bit hard to chose what was my favourite piece because often my feelings towards a movie will reflect in the writing. The piece which I found easiest to write and for me flowed most naturaly was a review I did on Under the Tuscan Sun. It’s a review which I still enjoy reading from time to time and use to motivate myself when I am struggling for words.
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I liked this little ending of a post:
Loving suspension points today…
just like my practice, very …
(http://earthyogi.blogspot.com/2009/07/aparently-i-am-soooo-predictable.html)
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My best piece of writing in 2009 is undoubtedly one or two passages in the novel – the first of a new series “Hunters of Men”. I have hopes of publishing them one of these days so I cannot share on the Internet at the moment. I can only say that when I get out of my own way, sometimes I astound myself.
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My best piece of writing this year, or at least my favorite, was a fictional piece about a raccoon’s search for meaning, “Bad Boy Brook”. http://a1audiovideo.wordpress.com/2009/10/31/bad-boy-brook
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“If you want to write a publishable piece of fiction, you need to write lots of unpublishable rubbish first. Things you would never admit you wrote.”
I had the idea of looking for my best blog post of 2009 yesterday and when I found this post today I just had to comment. Didn’t take me long to find a blog post that still resonates strongly with me because I didn’t write much last year. Turns out I wrote more after I penned these sentences in June, though.
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There is a treasure trove in the comments to my post. I’m delighted to see good writers honing their skills!
Here’s a challenge to you all:
I’m interested in a guest post about these comments – along the lines of ‘What WTD Readers Write’. Anyone want to tackle that?
If you are, email me here: writetodone[at]gmail[dot]com
PS Please don’t be nervous about approaching me about a guest post. I’m always happy to train new guest posters.
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As I eyeball the things I wrote in 2009, I conclude two things: I did not write as much as I expected to write, and I wallowed in memories of the past.
The one retrospective piece that I’m most happy with is at http://www.tomsalzer.net/2009/01/what-value-intuition.html
But I wouldn’t say I’m happy with, just more happy than my other posts!
The good news? I have plenty of room for improvement :-)
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Don’t know if it’s my best piece, but that one really touched me. It’s about meditating with my ginger cat, Crosby. Hope you like it.
http://www.thedailytail.com/nonfiction/purr-purr/
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