tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28204779424653038982024-03-14T00:58:30.471-07:00arcade nihilistThe writerly ramblings of Christina Delia. Did you know that "arcade nihilist" is an anagram for "Christina Delia"?? It's true!
I am a published writer, but in my estimation, not nearly enough as I should be. Here you can read about my writers block, writing triumphs, and how I really should be writing more.Christina Deliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05595029373141608997noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820477942465303898.post-21415759209051790072020-06-28T13:04:00.000-07:002020-06-28T13:04:52.558-07:00Back from Outer Space Because I Want You to Read ThisI always thought I'd quote that Gloria Gaynor "I Will Survive" line if I ever met a martian. That song comes to mind, given the times we're living in (Social Distancing/ and in that society becoming more distanced than I thought imaginable.) I feel like a martian on some level now...do we all? We're removed and we're isolated from one another like never before in our lifetimes. Or maybe a better comparison would be David Bowie's "Space Oddity" or David Bowie (always Bowie!) in "The Man Who Fell to Earth".<br />
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Just like in my beloved "Twilight Zone" reruns, on some level we as humans are the martians so alienated from each other, yet we never fell to Earth, so why are we so removed and distant from one another? Why can't we comprehend that others go through pain that some of us have the privilege not to have experienced, and shouldn't this be a wake up call for all of us to try to live differently, more thoughtfully and considerately and mindfully? We all are works in progress, and there is something I can learn from older generations, younger generations, people of different races, religions, backgrounds. I am a student of the Universe and so are you, and that gives me comfort, that I can still learn and do better. Learning is not a threat. Awareness is not a threat.<br />
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It's important to operate with our emotional intelligence. Even when the world is so fragmented and removed; and I think brilliant pieces of writing such as this one, that made me cry and feel...I think this is just so powerful and important and earnest and honest.<br />
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I would read books written by Jarrett Paul, and I hope he writes future books, and I hope he continues to contribute through the impact of his writing to a future where we learn to consider and reconsider.<br />
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If I came here from outer space, and read this eloquent, powerful piece of writing, I would have hope for human connectivity and the future of humankind, truly. Where so many commentators and media representatives are just screaming blaring talking heads, opinion pieces like this one are necessary, maybe more than ever. We need rational thinkers. We need love and kindness. We need hope. We need to be aware that in life there are gaps to be bridged, not walls to be built. And in an era of political correctness, if I am so terrified of saying the wrong thing that I say nothing, is that better? How do you connect, then?:<br />
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<a href="https://www.nj.com/opinion/2020/06/it-hurts-opinion.html">https://www.nj.com/opinion/2020/06/it-hurts-opinion.html</a><br />
<br />Christina Deliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05595029373141608997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820477942465303898.post-23899691413658330122018-01-10T06:35:00.001-08:002018-01-10T06:35:34.216-08:00"Back to the Gypsy that I Was"Something about Stevie Nicks...her music has always guided me at different points in my life. Usually at times where I must face myself in clearest light: who I am, what I want.<br />
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So yes, Fleetwood Mac. "Landslide", "Gypsy", I suppose, theme songs. For now, for always.<br />
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The correlation between music and writing is so deep. Music fuels my writing, inspires me.<br />
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"I have no fear<br />
I have only love."<br />
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"Goodness strikes<br />
Maybe once, maybe twice<br />
And it all comes down to you."<br />
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-Fleetwood Mac- "Gypsy"<br />
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<br />Christina Deliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05595029373141608997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820477942465303898.post-12247258869607108752017-10-26T13:31:00.000-07:002017-10-26T13:31:12.739-07:00Time travelerSo I started this blog years ago, and here we are again. I find that the greatest people, places and ideas of my life are worth revisiting. It's absolutely true what Alan Lightman wrote in <i>Einstein's Dreams</i>:<div>
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<i>"Time is a circle."</i></div>
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Which brings to mind lines from a beloved Tori Amos song:</div>
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<i>"Circles and circles and circles again</i></div>
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<i>The girl's in circles got to stop spinning"</i></div>
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-Tori Amos- "Cloud on My Tongue-</div>
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Well, here's the truth: writers never stop spinning. Spinning tales, spinning around in circles. When I was a kid, I did that endlessly...spinning around as fast as I could was the best.</div>
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It's good to spin around. It's also good to get somewhere. Move with the wind, but at your own pace. </div>
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I talk fast, I move fast. But I take my time with what's truly important. Writing is essential. Lifeblood. It's carried me through. It's saved me time and again, brought me back to myself, to who and what I love and need. </div>
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Full circle. </div>
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Christina Deliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05595029373141608997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820477942465303898.post-79888968564746608662013-05-30T19:14:00.000-07:002013-05-30T19:14:58.631-07:00Try to achieve that balanceIn life and in art, I believe it all comes down to one word BALANCE. Sometimes it gets a little overwhelming...a writer's vertigo. I know one thing: I am the least wobbly when I am writing. When things are going well, it's all little leaps and pirouettes.Christina Deliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05595029373141608997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820477942465303898.post-60542394274220553032013-03-17T19:52:00.001-07:002013-03-17T19:59:09.271-07:00Philadelphia Stories InterviewRecently my story "Rainy Day" was published in the <i>Forgotten Philadelphia</i> anthology by PS Books. I was very pleased to be interviewed for the PS Books blog by Chara Kramer.<br />
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Here is a link to the interview:<br />
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<a href="http://psbooks.wordpress.com/2013/02/18/interview-with-author-christina-delia/">http://psbooks.wordpress.com/2013/02/18/interview-with-author-christina-delia/</a><br />
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<br />Christina Deliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05595029373141608997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820477942465303898.post-37028858970798995162012-04-04T16:46:00.003-07:002012-04-04T17:10:23.160-07:00Uncle John's Bathroom Reader presents...Me! That is, my story "Prince Charming" is included in the new anthology Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Presents Flush Fiction! <div><br /></div><div>I am honored and excited!</div>Christina Deliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05595029373141608997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820477942465303898.post-82615547710273535472011-09-23T12:39:00.000-07:002011-09-23T13:22:33.310-07:00I was thinking......about when I wrote these words: "<em>I am a published writer, but in my estimation, not nearly enough as I should be"</em>. Well, today they seem arrogant. It is not that I think I'm such a wonderful gift to humanity that I deserve it all. NO! I am self-conscious about my work, myself. In truth, what I was trying to say to myself is "Get off your duff, Christina, and WRITE MORE!" I was thinking about missed opportunities. I was trying to motivate myself to become more, because I am not where I am supposed to be yet. Seems I need a mantra.<br /><br />There is this innate feeling, calmly guiding me. I've always felt like Life is pulling me slowly in a certain direction. I think I will instinctively know when I have reached the point. I am not there yet. I must keep going, keep it together, keep WRITING. <br /><br />I used to think everyone felt pulled by a life's path electricity, but I get blank looks when I try to explain myself. It's a winding road; not yellow brick, but invisible. It's just life, no need to panic, people. But I've always believed in energy, mysticism, signs. How could I stop now?<br /><br />If you feel this way, too, then I hope you get to your Someday soon.<br /><br />Look, I just feel this pull to create. I will not use perfect punctuation, nor school you or myself in grammar. When I try the hardest, it comes out all wrong. Sometimes I glide, often I sink, but one day, I hope to rise above. I don't float. I panic. Snap your fingers. Pull that black turtleneck over your head. I'm not going to make any sense today.<br /><br />I was invited to read at The Kelly Writers House this upcoming Monday. Do you know how many amazing writers have read their work at The Kelly Writers House? People like Joyce Carol Oates, for example! I am honored, happy and very excited to be included in this event. Here is the link, if you are curious: <a href="http://writing.upenn.edu/wh/calendar/0911.php">http://writing.upenn.edu/wh/calendar/0911.php</a><br />Since it is both a live show and a radio show, it will air the following Monday night on WXPN 88.5 FM at 8 pm.<br /><br />So think happy thoughts for me & clap your hands loudly so I don't fade away ("Peter Pan" was always my favorite, fyi).Christina Deliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05595029373141608997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820477942465303898.post-10846852153957283902011-03-22T14:30:00.000-07:002011-03-22T14:42:23.158-07:00writers block will getcha every time!!Some people think that writers block is a myth, but I assure you, it is the very real second cousin once removed of the brain fart. Symptoms (in my experience, anyway) include:<br /><br />-Mild Depression<br />-Cluttered thoughts (can I Feng Shui my head?)<br />-Sleeplessness<br />-Anxiety<br />-The feeling like I forgot/am missing something<br /><br />Will they invent a pill for writers block? Will they advertise it incessently on television, then quickly list all of its potentially fatal side effects at the end of said advertisement?<br /><br />The thing I hate most is when you have no clue what you are going to attempt to write next. Then you go to a dinner party or something, and have people say: <strong>SOO what are you writing?</strong> And <strong>What are you gonna write next? </strong>And they're not really listening, anyhow. They just want to see me squirm a little, right? Because that's what writers do at dinner parties. We squirm. A little. And that's when I generally get my idea of what to write next, only I'm seemingly miles from a pad, or a pen, so I can't write anything even on my arm.<br /><br />And wouldn't you know, by then I've forgotten my great idea! But the little quiches were just delicious! Thanks so much for having me!<br /><br />I don't know anybody who is artistically inclined and does not have their bouts of frustration; of depression. Born this way, right? And then I just need to be alone, to refresh my mind. Something like hibernation. I come out the other side of the tunnel, eventually, with something to write about.<br /><br />I listen to Tom Waits, because I feel like he would understand this.Christina Deliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05595029373141608997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820477942465303898.post-77181470824361686042011-03-10T11:58:00.003-08:002011-03-10T12:08:55.077-08:00hello againWould you believe I wrote a lengthy post that did not go through?? Curse technology, but it's probably for the best. Too revealing, maybe.<br /><br />Oh wait, I see its still saved as a draft! The big reveal below!Christina Deliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05595029373141608997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820477942465303898.post-60825391254292859602011-03-10T11:32:00.000-08:002011-03-10T12:05:06.005-08:00Greetings & SalutationsWould you believe I stopped blogging because I forgot my password?? Or was it more than that...but really, did I think I could make it in my Written World without this type of therapy? That's what it is...the best type of therapy, the inward turned outward.<br /><br /><br /><br />Did I ever share my favorite writing quote?<br /><br /><br /><br /><em>"If I do not write to empty my mind, I go mad"</em><br /><br /><br /><br />-<strong>George Gordon Byron</strong>-<br /><br /><br /><br />So true, and no one wants that!<br /><br /><br /><br />This is the best possible elixer, isn't it? Typing whatever ails you away. I remember my college roommate said she loved to hear me typing at night. She said it sounded like rain tapping at the window. It's strange what you recollect all these years later...but I'm still the Same Me, right? The one who tapped at the window with her raindrops? This one is older, though...she's lost some people in her life. She doesn't get too close to friends, anymore, and that's both good and bad for her writing. She's more of an observer now. People don't hurt her the way they used to...but can she still feel pain like she used to? Actually feel her heart shatter into clay bits? Terrible, terrible.<br /><br /><br /><br />Writing is the only true friend, though. I learned it in third grade, on my own, and it stayed with me. And the well-intentioned say, "Keep with it." And I say this to people, too. To mean what you say, with the best possible intentions. Truly this is the way to be. Kind.<br /><br /><br /><br />I don't miss people much, anymore. It's a robotic struggle, because I know I'm supposed to. I'm a bit removed, but I started out with too much heart, anyway.<br /><br /><br /><br />My other favorite quote?<br /><br /><br /><br /><em>"I get it now; I didn't get it then. That life is about losing and about doing it as gracefully as possible...and enjoying everything inbetween".</em><br /><br /><em></em><br /><br /><em>-</em><strong>Mia Farrow</strong><em>-</em><br /><br /><em></em><br /><br />So a bit late on New Years Resolutions, but I do hope to write more. I would like to focus my efforts on something big. Dare I say the "B" word (Book!), the "N" word (Novel!) I won't tell you what I might write, then I will have gone ahead and ruined it for myself. Too ambitious...I've made that mistake before...talked myself right out of the writing!<br /><br /><br /><br />Maybe that's the way for an artist to miss people. To reinvent and reimagine lives through the work. To gloss over what should have been glossed. To face what you couldn't properly face back then. But I am blessed for my experiences and I do know this. And I haven't changed so much, just time traveled. I'm still the same, typing and listening to Placebo while the rain makes contact with my window.<br /><br /><br /><br />I think I'll stop in again sometime real soon.Christina Deliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05595029373141608997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820477942465303898.post-76990734010608387792009-06-01T05:50:00.001-07:002009-06-01T06:11:45.497-07:00How's My Blogging? Call 555-2323, Just Like In The Movies.I don't know if this is how a writing blog is supposed to look. I am trying, though. If it looks funky to you (and not in a Parliament Funkadelic- George Clinton- headdressy kinda way) lemme know.<br /><br />So I was looking around our bedroom at my writing guides. You know, the how-to trying to help kind of texts that advise/confuse aspiring writers? I liken these books to Great Aunts, oh, of course they MEAN well...<br /><br /><div align="center"><strong>Some Facts About The Writing Books Currently Sharing A Residence With My Husband & I (And These Books Are NOT Paying Rent):</strong></div><ul><li><div align="center"><strong>Number of Writing Books in My Collection= 29</strong></div></li><li><div align="center"><strong>Number of Writing Books with Orange or Yellow Covers=3</strong></div></li><li><div align="center"><strong>Number of Writing Books by Roald Dahl=2</strong></div></li><li><div align="center"><strong>Number of Writing Books by Celebrity Writers=2</strong></div></li><li><div align="center"><strong>Number of Writing Books with the word "Television" in the Title=2</strong></div></li><li><div align="center"><strong>Number of Writing Books with the words "Fiction" or "Short Stories" in the Title=5</strong></div></li><li><div align="center"><strong>Number of Writing Books with the words "Playwright" in the TItle=2</strong></div></li><li><div align="center"><strong>Number of Books That Flat-Out Say "Write","Writing" or "Writer(s)"=18</strong></div></li><li><div align="center"><strong>Number of Writing Books Involving Snoopy=1</strong></div></li></ul><strong></strong>Christina Deliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05595029373141608997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820477942465303898.post-29044398103959103722009-05-31T19:16:00.001-07:002009-06-01T05:21:55.548-07:00My friends are artists & quite convincing. Me? I write.My artist friends, the very talented Dahlia Broul and Jarrod Gecek thought it appropriate for a writer to have a showcase for her writing. I hope in this blog to do just that. If I do not stick to topics pertaining to writing and my personal writing experience, feel free to scold me.<br /><br />About me: I am a published writer! Yes! I am married! It's true! I really like exclamation points, and I always overuse the elipsis...<br /><br />What do you think of my first post?Christina Deliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05595029373141608997noreply@blogger.com0