{"id":342,"date":"2014-02-14T06:46:48","date_gmt":"2014-02-14T06:46:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/writingcenter\/?p=342"},"modified":"2014-02-14T06:46:48","modified_gmt":"2014-02-14T06:46:48","slug":"commonground","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/writingcenter\/2014\/02\/14\/commonground\/","title":{"rendered":"Common Ground"},"content":{"rendered":"

Act One<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

I adore literature.\u00a0 My mom used to say that she only recognized me by the top of my head because of the time spent engrossed in a book.\u00a0 If you ask me what book is my favorite, I will have a hard time choosing.\u00a0 There\u2019s the one that makes me cry with each read.\u00a0 But then there\u2019s the one that makes me laugh out loud every time.\u00a0 My gauge depends on how the writing engaged my heart.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

James Michener<\/p>\n

What about you?<\/p>\n

How many times have you sung along with a love song, wondering how they knew just how you felt?\u00a0 Found a poem that spoke your heart?\u00a0 Composed a letter that captured your thoughts in just the right way?\u00a0 Devoured a book, marveling that the writer described your experience precisely? \u00a0Writing that moves us reflects what it really means to be human in this world.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cThe idea is to write it so that people hear it and it slides through the brain<\/b><\/p>\n

and goes straight to the heart.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b>Maya Angelou<\/p>\n

\u00a0But have you tried to write that poignant poem?\u00a0 Attempted to capture your experience so readers will understand?\u00a0 Watched the words fall into place?\u00a0 Know that phrase is just right?<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cThe difficulty of literature is not to write, but to write what you mean;<\/b><\/p>\n

not to affect your reader, but to affect him precisely as you wish.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/b><\/p>\n

Robert Louis Stevenson<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0Yet, the beauty of writing is that it is possible<\/span> to capture that common ground.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Act Two<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

A true love story that haunts me…<\/b><\/p>\n

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b>The doctor slowly entered the office, reserved and solemn.\u00a0 \u201cYour wife will not be getting better,\u201d he said.\u00a0 The young husband sat still, taking in the news.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019ll be able to walk around, but she\u2019ll never be independent again.\u00a0 She won\u2019t regain her speech\u2026or her personality\u2026or her memories.\u201d<\/p>\n

Only ten years into their marriage, this woman developed a sudden medical condition that robbed her of herself.\u00a0 She would require constant care for the rest of her life but remain inert, unresponsive, a mere shadow of the person he loved dearly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

His family said, \u201cInstitutionalize her.\u00a0 You won\u2019t have a life otherwise.\u201d\u00a0 He did not.<\/p>\n

His friends said, \u201cDivorce her.\u00a0 You\u2019ll be financially devastated otherwise.\u201d\u00a0 He would not.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Thirty-five years later, he still is married to her, shouldering the burden of her care.\u00a0 She cannot speak\u2026has not regained her personality\u2026and does not remember him.<\/p>\n

His friends say, \u201cWhy do you continue to do this?\u00a0 She doesn\u2019t know you.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He quietly replies, full of tenderness, \u201cBut\u2026I know her.\u201d<\/p>\n

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<\/p>\n

Happy Valentine\u2019s Day<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

( all quotes from\u00a0http:\/\/www.brainyquote.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Act One I adore literature.\u00a0 My mom used to say that she only recognized me by the top of my head because of the time spent engrossed in a book.\u00a0 If you ask me what book is my favorite, I will have a hard time choosing.\u00a0 There\u2019s the one that makes me cry with each […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=342"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}