A couple weeks ago, I taught a class in motivation and also wrote a post about it. The genesis for class and post was multiple discussions of motivation and how difficult it is to deal when there’s a lack of it during my time in France. Since then, I’ve had my eye out for motivation […]
Sitting in church yesterday, one word kept popping out at me, even though the message wasn’t really focused on it. And that word was joy. I kept thinking about it in terms of writing. I wondered: where’s the joy in it? Lord knows, writing is a tough business full of rejection and low-paid work. So, […]
Wherein I talk about what it takes to be a writer, in my humble opinion, anyway. To finish a book project, or even an article or short story. To get the book out in the world, either into the hands of an agent and editor, or publish it yourself, which is a whole other enterprise. […]
Every morning on my calendar I note how many words I’ve written (my main fiction writing time is early in the morning). My goal is 1500-2000 words a day, which is a nice pace for me. If I’m on, I can hit 2K easily, but on off days, 500 words is a stretch. Counting words […]
So, you have a book…or an article…or a story that you’d like to write. (Right? Because otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this.) And you need to get that book finished, that story done. How to accomplish such a thing? How to make room in your schedule to get it written? To my mind, there are […]
Are you an adulterer when it comes to creativity? I am. Here’s a brief list of some of the creative arenas I sometimes dabble in (dabble being the key word): knitting, stitching, painting, art journaling, collage, weaving, mosaic. Okay, nix on the mosaic. Somewhere in this house I have a bunch of ceramic shards but […]
So, we've got two days until the new year, and I don't know about you, but I've been busy thinking about 2014. I have so many writing goals I want to accomplish–novels and stories to get out in the world, and classes and products to offer here on the blog. So this year I'm trying […]
Did you choose three words (or one word) to live by this year? Have you checked back to see how you're doing with these words? Last December, in a post titled Three Powerful Words for An Amazing New Year, I announced my words and the thought behind them. Since we're halfway (gasp) through the year, […]
One of the recent phrases of wisdom I've been attempting to follow is this: Expect nothing, accept everything. To which I add: and show up. I'm not sure where the original quote came from. I heard it at church. It resonates with me because it has taken me a long time to grasp the "expect […]
There was an article in the Sunday Oregonian yesterday about all the crises we face in the world–the oil spill, war, the economy–and how they are getting people down. No, duh. Usually I am immune to the tyranny of news stories. Aware, but immune. Lately, though, I've let it all get me down. Yesterday, as […]
