Lovely Monday

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Boria

It’s Monday at four o’clock in the morning, almost five.  I couldn’t sleep so I got up to write a bit.  I figured I’d use the time to share some thoughts on writing and life, at least according to Noony.

First, a digression: the picture above made me laugh this morning when I wandered my archive looking for something to illustrate today’s post.  Boria is an odd cat.  Raised by our dog, he thinks he is a dog.  This is a look he gets on his face when I do things he doesn’t expect – like get out of bed at an unholy hour.

I talked about blocks last time I had a regular bimonthly post, and I’m still in a similar situation vis a vis my story.  But this isn’t all bad, at least in my opinion.  Why?

Fallow periods are necessary in any artist’s life.  Sometimes they arrise because we fish our pond too aggressively and don’t take the time to restock the fish.  Other times they arrise because of outside stressors.  This latter one is the case for me as I extricate myself from an organization I’ve been actively building for the last three and a half years.

On the other hand, as I sit back and reflect on all I’ve done and learned, I realize I am wealthy indeed.  I’ve made friendships that I’ll keep for a lifetime, and, like Thomas Edison is quoted as saying relative to his failed attempts to invent a working light bulb, I’ve learned things that don’t work in running a business.  While I haven’t been writing as much in the last two months in terms of story output, I have been blogging quite a lot and working on my social media tasks.  I think it’s important to remember that even if we aren’t working on a particular project, it does not mean that we are not working – even if there’s no action apparent to the outside eye.

Fallow periods are necessary and deserve our respect.

One hopes that after this one, I won’t freak out my cat anymore, as well.

Boria

Writer Wednesday: Why Blogs Are Good For Writers

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In thinking about a topic for today’s post, I am reminded why blogging is good for writers.  Of all the forms of social media available to us, blogging is the most flexible and the most adaptable to an individual writer’s style.  Not to diss Facebook, by any means, I merely want to point out that if you’re a writer, you ought to be blogging.  Why?

Here, then, are Aunt Noony’s Five Reasons Why Blogs Are Good For Writers:

1.  Blogging allows you to explore your voice.  What is voice?  It is, quite simply, the thing you use to talk with.  It’s a Zen concept and, for that reason, tough to pin down.  But what is definite is that voice is as individual as the writer.  The better we can get in touch with our own voice, the better writers we become.  We get in touch with our voice by writing.  A lot.  Blogging lets you do that in a low-pressure, supportive environment.

2.  Blogging gives you a platform.  Do anything long enough and you begin to develop a set of topics and opinions upon which you can feel qualified to write.  If you love coffee, for example, pretty soon you’ll get tired of writing “I love coffee” and start to come up with some interesting coffee facts.  Collect enough of those kinds of articles and poof: instand coffee platform, just add water.

3.  Topics for blogs are unlimited.  Do you enjoy talking about underwater basketweaving?  Go for it! Cosplay?  Have at it!  Knitting?  Do it!  Any and all topics, both tame and adult-oriented, lend themselves well to blogging.

4.  You can expand your skills by blogging.  You will, over time, learn a bit of HTML (Hyper-Text Markup Language), the language in which websites are written.  You will begin to understand how search engines find topics when users are looking for things.  You will make friends and influence people though your blog, and one day, maybe help others into the world of blogging.

5.  You don’t have to limit yourself to arbitrary character limits.  If you only feel like posting a sentence or two and a bunch of pictures, you can.  If you feel like writing and writing and writing on a topic that makes you passionate, you can.  The sky’s the limit!  You can adapt your writing to your moods and, in the process, collect a set of clips that you can leverage later to other blogging opportunities.

Still on the fence?  Why not ask your favorite blogger if they’d be willing to let you do a guest post on a particular topic?  No one says you have to dive in head-first your first time.  You can ease into the blogosphere gently.

I’ll warn you, though.  It can quickly become addictive.  Enjoy!

Write on!

Rest in Peace, Tony Scott

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While this is no longer fresh news to the internet world, the undisputed suicide of British-born film director and producer Tony Scott has left a distinct sadness in my household.  And yet I find inspiration from him still, even as I wish his family and friends all the best in their time of grief.

According to website IMDB.com, Mr. Scott said about “Days of Thunder”, which  failed to reach the critical acclaim or financial success attributed to many other of his works, “… you always have to get a story and you’ve got to get character first, and we hadn’t.“

Wow.  So simple, and yet so important.

According to Mr. Scott’s tell, putting 1990’s era Tom Cruise behind the wheel of a race car was all creators thought it would take to sell “Days of Thunder” to moviegoers, and that vein struck fool’s gold.  I believe all writers kind enough to read this know better, but I still felt the point worth sharing.

Whatever you create, though, enjoy the process first and foremost.  That’s a lesson we can all take to heart.  I can only hope that Anthony D. L. Scott is at peace now and enjoyed his success while he had it.

On Blocks and Other Frustrations

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Have you ever set a goal for yourself, like, “I’ll finish this story by X date,” and then realized your mind’s gone blank?

Yeah, me too.

I wanted to have the next chapter of The Night Is a Harsh Mistress today, and set that as my goal.  Then, when I sat down to write, my mind went blank because I worried about whether it will be any good.  Rather than fight the goal, I figured I’d chat about what works for me for getting around it.

First, be careful about what goals you do accept.  If you know that setting your expectations can tend to block you, then be selective about what goals you do try to struggle for.

Second, set small goals for doing the work.  For example, try using a timer and set it for 30 minutes.  Even if you just stare at your computer for that 30 minutes, (and no cheating on Facebook or garbage surfing), see what happens.

Third, if that doesn’t work, try sitting with your journal for a while.  Write about why you don’t want to work on your goal.  Write all the nasty, petty, complaining little putsy comments that you can think of.  Sometimes, just getting them out there can help.

Fourth, try something else.  If you have another craft, like knitting, do that for a bit just to get moving creatively.  Or, try a blog post, like this, for example.

Fifth, give yourself permission to fail.  By the time it got to be dinnertime, I realized I wasn’t going to get the chapter done today.  Instead, I decided to be honest and write about my block, and in the process, came up with some ideas for how to get around them.  It doesn’t make my goal happen, but it does keep me moving in the right direction – and that, in and of itself, can help you.

Above all, remember we are all imperfect beings.  It’s not about the goals you accomplish, but the journey you take along the way.  As they say, you win some, you lose some.  Just keep moving forward and you might be startled by how many you start finishing.

Happy creating!

Writer Wednesday – More on Establishing Routines

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Yesterday I brought up the value of establishing routine.  A. Catherine Noon commented with a good idea, too.  She recommends weekly planning, which makes sense; looking at matters within a larger block of time would cut down on the minutia of daily scheduling.

I do intend to resume spending time each day at my desk, regardless of whether it be a Wednesday or a Sunday.  That kind of discipline can only be good for me.  Many writers have a set goal for their office time, such as producing a certain word count.  I used to be that way, with a hope of reaching a thousand words every day.

Now, however, I’m not going to be that strict upon myself.  It’s enough to take baby steps in the right direction.

In fact, whenever the weather cools back down I might count sitting on my porch with a laptop or notebook as office time.  I’ve enjoyed much creativity there.  And the creative process deserves flexibility to flourish.  At least I find that is true for me.

So, here’s a proverbial toast to routines without restrictions.  I hope that any endeavor upon which you embark gives you more a sense of freedom than burden.

Routine Matters

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Looking upon the clock a short while ago, I found myself appalled that no ideas had surfaced for my blog post today.  The concern led me to wonder why this is so, to ponder many of the tips I’ve read on writing, and ultimately to come to a topic.

As stated in the title, this is all about the value of routine, though my use of the word “matters” is meant in the description of a thing’s importance rather than the usual “matters at hand” insinuated by the saying.  Dear colleagues on this blog are a great source of inspiration and ideas in this area, too.

Yet despite acknowledging this value of routine, I’ve been really slack at following any such thing since returning from a visit to my parents’ home.  In my own house, I find it all too easy just to pick up my Kindle Fire and flop across the bed.  Mealtimes (cooking to feed my partner or pulling out the cat food) seem to be the only timely activities accomplished.  Other than that, I barely manage one meager daily goal to keep up on housework.

My desk, where I currently sit, has been completely neglected.  It’s nice, too, an office piece from my husband’s uncle.  It’s set up with a digital photo frame filled with favorite images, beloved art on the walls, and even a freshwater aquarium.

So why have I lost interest in sitting here?  I currently find myself feeling quite comfortable and productive.  And I think that’s just the reason for avoiding the space.

I’ve feared failing at getting into the swing of writing.  Of late, the act of opening a document on my laptop or pulling out pen and paper for more than casual journal keeping intimidate me somehow.

In retrospect, I think making this once-joyous activity a routine part of my day will prompt my blogging and fiction writing to flourish once again.  I need to set up some sort of daily plan, which should certainly include physical exercise, but surely can involve some time for pleasurable reading.  After all, I need to know what’s selling if I really want to earn any sort of living in the publishing industry, right?

What routines help you achieve your goals?  I’d really appreciate the moral support.  Best wishes in whatever you endeavor.  Now I’m going to go feed my fish.

Writer Wednesday – Noonorial on Permalinks in Blogger

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I’m having so much fun learning to do multi-media presentations that I figured I’d inflict my enjoyment on all of you.  ðŸ™‚  (Aren’t you lucky?)

This is a brief, three-and-a-half minute presentation on how to get a permalink to a forward-dated post in Blogger.  I hope it’s useful to you.

Enjoy!

Being Thankful

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Fortunate to have the free time, I’ve been taking care of my mother around the clock for the last week.  She has multiple health issues, among them being nearly unable to walk and suffering cognitive degradation.  As if that isn’t enough, her eyes don’t seem to be communicating their message properly to her brain.

Despite it all, her spirits are higher than one would expect.  Through these past days we have smiled and laughed over all sorts of things, both past and present.  The whole experience is really making me grateful for my physical and mental abilities.

Simple tasks like caring for hearth and home are beyond the reach of Mom.  Reading, let alone writing, are joys I will cherish more than ever before.  Gratitude for my father’s good health, his care and patience, go beyond what I can express.

I hope to return home with a renewed sense of what is important.  Little setbacks should be taken for what they are and not be allowed to ruin a good mood.

We shall see how Mom does in the future.  There is hope for improvement.

Please find a source of joy in your daily life, and best wishes to you and yours!