It's All Good!

This statement is so true! When I first started writing full time, I was too concerned with what others would think of my work. What changed that was for me to grow some thick skin, let go of ego, and join a writer's critique group. No judgement, just awesome feedback and free editing each week by several other writers who tend to have their own "specialty" when it comes to edits...LIFE IS GOOD! 

        I ♥ my critique group!

HAHAHAHA!

Here's a Thought For Ya!

Let's start a new cultural revolution! HAHAHA!

Have Dreams of Being a Writer?

Do you have dreams of someday being a writer? There have been many times that I've heard others tell me that they wish they could write like me, or that they don't have time to write, they don't know where to begin, etc..  When I got divorced and moved away, I knew that I wanted to live the life of a writer, so I immersed myself into the life of one! I attend local writer's groups, meetings, workshops and I joined a weekly critique group. I'm up most mornings between 3-5 a.m. and I really focus on my craft. It takes lots of discipline and a love of writing in order to succeed.

Writing has always been in my blood -- from that first creative writing class that I took in the 6th grade until now... I live and breathe it. I taught Pre-K for twenty years and still managed to write my first book and do freelance work for teacher's and children's magazines at the same time. I think the biggest complaint I hear is, "I don't have time to write." My answer to that is, "If you REALLY want to write, you will MAKE the time to do it." 

So, here's some tips from me to you:

• Start out small. Set aside a 15 minute time slot each day. Maybe it's before the husband and kids get up in the morning, or at night when the kids go to bed...just do it! Set a timer if you have to at first just to force yourself into it. There may be days when you are first starting out where you may sit and stare at the pen and paper or your keyboard, but I promise you that you will soon exceed that 15 minute limit and continue on. 
• Start little "Me Time" rituals to coincide with your writing time. I make myself a big mug of tea, light some candles and nag champa incense and, when the weather is cold, I swaddle myself in a comfy chenille throw while I write.
• Get into the habit of carrying a notebook with you (or several - I have one in my car, one in my purse and one in my nightstand!) That's because as you get those creative juices flowing, you'll discover that ideas, dialogue, settings, character names will come to you more freely...this way you will always have something handy to document things. The notebook that I carry in my purse is more detailed. I have it sectioned off with tabs that are labeled DIALOGUE, CHARACTERS, and SETTINGS. This way, if I am out at a diner one morning having breakfast and happen to hear some rich dialogue coming from a little Southern spitfire of a waitress, I can write it down for possible future use in a book. Or, if you notice someone who you think you may want to use as a future character, start jotting down a description of what he or she looks like, their mannerisms, their personality...ya never know what will come of your careful notes someday!

So, in closing, no more excuses! If you have a story to tell, then go ahead and make things happen! WRITE! WRITE! WRITE!

Living La Vida (Lymphoma): Thank you. Thank you. THANK YOU!

Living La Vida (Lymphoma): Thank you. Thank you. THANK YOU!: Living La Vida (Lymphoma) now has over  20,000 hits thanks to YOU!!! Thank you so much and  please keep helping me to spread the wo...

Get Lost....!

OMG! Check out these settings and try to decide which one you'd most rather be in right now....I'm having a hard time choosing my favorite!

CLICK:

10-literary-restaurants-for-hungry-book-nerds-around-the-world/1

Want to write? Start TODAY!

“The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being there, 

written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible” 

-Vladimir Nabokov 

Soooo true!

When I decided to devote myself to writing full-time, I had this vision in my head that I would wear my PJ's while I wrote. And guess what? I DO!

I am up every morning between 3-5 A.M., take Rose out to pee, make myself a big mug of tea and get to writing and marketing and whatever else comes with it! I am living the dream ... kinda like the female version of Hugh Hefner, minus the smoking jacket and the harem of hunks! Can someone please arrange that for me?! HAHAHA!

HAHAHA!

A Writer's Brain...

This map of a writer's brain says it all! Cue in the theme song from, A Love Story...Where do I begin, to tell the story....blah, blah, blah!

My mind is ALWAYS sloshing around ideas, random thoughts, and everything else in between. Being a writer can almost make one feel schizophrenic at times -- so  many character's voices talking to you, scenes and  dialogue that has no sense of time or privacy. Most of my best writings have come from ideas that were whispered to me in the early hours before dawn. It used to torment me -- I'd fight these inner voices, and then I'd forget what they told me after I awoke the next morning. It took quite a few episodes of this creative amnesia for me to realize that I needed to take heed, and, that even though most times I was roused from a peaceful sleep, it was Spirit telling reminding me of these precious gifts! 

Now I keep a notepad and pen in my nightstand and, when these moments occur, I turn on the light and jot them down. I have to admit, when I started this ritual, I was reluctant to flip the switch for fear of insomnia taking over so I'd write in the dark. This proved to be a mess of jumbled letter-like-crapola that I'd have to try to decipher in the morning. I decided to turn on the light instead. 

Today, this is exactly what I'm facing as I sit at the keyboard. My fourth book is on the run-way waiting for take-off and I am in a writer's limbo of sorts, trying to decide which project to start next. Guess I'll just have to refer to the notebook in my nightstand to unwrap the next present from the voices in my head...cross your fingers for me!

Happy Saturday!!!

For most of my adult life, I was a Pre-K Teacher, a job that I LOVED! Those four and five year olds were like little sponges, soaking up anything they could get their hands on! One of the things that bothered me over those decades was this...every year on the first day of school when I had them gather to the carpet for story time, I'd ask them the same question, "How many of you have a story read to you every day or night at your house?" 99.9% of the time, five hands would shoot up in the air out of a class of twenty five! REALLY? It saddened me to think that these children were missing out on so much, so early in their lives by something that I assumed every American household did with their children...to read to them, or introduce them to books. So, every year, it was my mission to change that. 

Each week, during playtime, I'd take 3-5 children to go with me to the school's library to show them what a wealth of knowledge awaited them among those shelves...they each were allowed to choose three books to bring back to our class and place in our Library corner to share with the rest of the class. Not only did I read to them, they'd "read" to each other. We journalled weekly - they'd draw a picture in their blank journals and then dictate their stories to me to write. I collaborated with a fourth grade teacher who had students who needed an extra "boost' with their reading skills by having them make weekly visits to my classroom...we'd divide my class into small groups around the room and these "big kids" would read to the "littles" -- it helped build their self confidence by helping my class. I started a lending library where parents could sign out books each week and then return them. When the hot Florida weather would cool down in the fall and winter, we'd carry out crates of books to sit outside on quilts in the sunshine and read. I'd like to think that I helped the hundreds of kids that came in through my classroom doors each year to develop and maintain a love of reading.

Are there any fond memories that you have from your childhood that involves reading and a love of books?

The Conjuring - Deja Vu!

Just got back from seeing The Conjouring AGAIN! My neighbor wanted to go but no one would go with her...I have to say, even though I knew what was coming, I STILL got the s_ _t scared outta me! HAHAHA! Between the 1970's nostalgia and deja vus to similar things that I experienced as a child, The Conjuring will freak you out! AWESOME movie!

Meet Brooke Williams!

Here's an awesome interview with Brooke Williams, indie writer...
enjoy and help to spread the word about her books!

CLICK:

Brooke Williams interview

Tell Your Story!

“There is no greater agony than bearing 

an untold story inside you.”

~Maya Angelou

I WISH!

I wish this could be invented! 

For now, I just keep pen and a pad on my nightstand!

(And in my purse, and in the car....!)

The Olden Days!

Call me old fashioned, 

but I kinda miss the old 

Dewey Decimal system!