Tag: Motivation

  • Darla’s NaNoWriMo Update


    Now that National Novel Writing Month has begun, I’m really finding my stride.
    No, I’m not a horse.  ~rolls eyes~  But I am writing.  My word count is in a range I haven’t produced since last November.  Quite frankly, NaNo inspires me.
    And inspiration is what I’d like to spread today.  I read a terrific pep talk on the NaNoWriMo website.  Author Chuck Wendig shared ideas very much like Julia Cameron with her creative workshops.  He essentially encourages writers to let loose their creative inner child.  Here is his amusing and perceptive insight garnered from observing his own toddler:
    “…He’ll grab a Transformers toy and half-transform it into some lumbering robot-car monstrosity—and when an adult might say, “No, no, it’s like this or it’s like that; it’s a robot or it’s a car,” he’s like, “Uh, yeah, no. Go back to your tax forms and your HGTV, stupid adult, I’ve just created a Frankencarbot and you can go hide your head in the sand-swept banality of grown-up life, sucker.”
    I’m all for creating a Frankencarbot.  What about you?  Has the NaNo bug bitten this fall?

    –

  • Darla’s Writer Wednesday – Dreams of Writing


    There was a magical time when I’d wake from dreams that left me anxious to write.  That is, arguably, a fairly common story source.  Then, for some reason, the urge dried up despite the constant REM flow.
    I really want that to change.  And if last night’s plethora of images cannot instigate this, then I don’t know what will.  Scenarios were mostly good, many lacking any frustration or embarrassment that often plague my intermittent nightmares.
    There was one in which I could not find a free stall in a crowded bathroom overflowing with wedding party attendants, but I’ll just stop that tell right here.  ~shudder~  I don’t know where my mind comes up with this stuff.
    Alternatively, I dreamed of having been born with too many vertebrae, a virtual tail which my surgeon father removed early.  Other details remain cloudy, but I was proud of this dream dad much like the real father blessing my life.
    (Dad, you can stick with mechanical things and being a great listener.)
    Another dream entailed a fantastical loom.  I have written a post for September 2nd further detailing this brief plot, but the writing fodder is undeniable.  Hopefully, I’ll have a short story ready for Friday.

    It’s time I get started, come to think of it.  Happy writing, all.

    ~

  • Writer Wednesday – Why We Write


    These days I’m enjoying a friend’s gift, a creative writing book called “Rip the Page”.  Geared for the young and young-at-heart, exercises range from the lighthearted (zany word associations) to those darker (like writing about a huge hurt in our lives – powerful mojo there, let me tell you).  Doing them helped me get through Julia Cameron’s prescribed reading deprivation during “The Artist’s Way” workshop.
    Published authors provided encouraging notes, as well.  Young-adult historical writer Karen Cushman inspired this post.  Her final line superbly sums up why we write.
    “The best reason to write is just to find out what happens.”
    That simple truth staggered me.  I think I’ll go write now (right now, in fact), though I don’t see using so much alliteration as in my title.  ~grin~  Happy Wednesday!
    –

  • My Quote of the Day, by Darla M Sands


    A lucky accident today led me to a documentary about English writer Alan Moore.  I’d been trying to find an airing of a movie called “Mindscape” when “The Mindscape of Alan Moore” popped up in my search.  Intrigued, I began to watch.  His 1980’s contributions to the British comic “2000 AD” amazed me well before Hollywood got its claws into his art.
    As much as his story drew me in I suddenly stopped, compelled to share a quote.  I love this:
    “Quitting my day job and starting my life as a writer was a tremendous risk.  It was a fool’s leap; a shot in the dark.  But anything of any value in our lives – whether that be a career, a work of art, a relationship – will always start with such a leap.  And in order to be able to make it you have to put aside the fear of failing and the desire of succeeding.”
    This reiterates my personal beliefs and aligns well with Julia Cameron’s teachings.  Of course we can’t all achieve world renown, but I would choose a modest existence and creative contentment over Wall Street riches any day.
    Alan Moore goes on to say, “You have to do these things completely purely – without fear, without desire – because things that we do without lust of result are the purest actions that we shall ever take.”
    I shall take these words to heart.  I hope you will, as well.

  • Writer Wednesday – A Blogger Challenge from A to Z


    On her own ever-interesting blog, A. Catherine Noon recently posted information regarding an April blog challenge.  Throughout the month, participants are to post on every day except Sunday with topics following the alphabet A to Z.
    I like it!  What an interesting way to stoke the imagination.
    Thank you, Ms. Noon, for passing along word of this.  I couldn’t resist copying you by sharing here.
    So far, it has been fun just compiling a list of subjects.  My thesaurus came in handy, though some inspirations are decidedly more personal.  At any rate, I need to consider seven more.
    Then they need to be written, of course.  Guess I’d better get busy.  I hope to create some fun reads.
    You can find A. Catherine Noon’s original post here:

    A to Z Challenge: Do You Haz It?

    I plan to post both on my Darla M. Sands family friendly blog and the sometimes X-rated Sand Castles, depending on the subject matter.  I hope you’ll check us out!

    –

  • Writer Wednesday – Finding Balance


    I just finished reading an interview featuring a very gifted artist.  Amongst his other comments, he underlined the importance of mental and physical balance.  One colleague, upon seeing the man’s most private project, asked how he could possibly be sane and produce such work.
    The answer?  Martial arts.  In this artist’s case, that translated to thirty years practicing Kung Fu and several also instructing.  His peer replied in the manner of “Ah!  Of course.”  They both understood that physical discipline grounded him to the real world.
    While the most remedial martial arts routine would probably put me in agony the next day, walking is an activity most of us can quite easily undertake.  The key lies in making time.
    On a scale I find achievable, Julia Cameron’s “Walking in This World” teachings promote weekly walks.  She advocates thirty minutes or more, and doing it more than once if we feel so motivated.  I find the activity lets me enjoy my surroundings and/or muse over blessings.  When I suffer impotent anger, it helps clear away obsession over little injustices.
    For nearly a month, I’ve reincorporated regular workouts on my ski machine alongside walking.  Feeling a bit more fit, I want to keep the momentum going.  I have never obtained the enviable endorphin high such as I’ve heard marathon runners extol, but my small accomplishments give me a definite mental boost.
    What type of exercise are you getting or might consider undertaking?  I hope you can make the effort and reap the rewards.  Just be safe if you’re walking an icy path or attempting something physically advanced.  Equally important, enjoy yourself.
    –

  • Twittering Our Time Away


    It’s about that time of year again.  And I’m not referring to Christmas.  My annual subscriptions need renewed for the British comic weekly “2000 AD” and the monthly “Judge Dredd Megazine”.
    Both have provided enjoyment for many years, though the exchange rate against the United States dollar did interrupt my reading a few years back.  I’m glad to have these futuristic, often dystopian tales back in my life, especially when we got the joy of seeing talented actor Karl Urban bring Ol’ Stoney Face to the big screen.  Dredd’s U.S. popularity is soaring, too.  Hurray!
    Besides the graphic stories, features I appreciate in the “Megazine” are artists’ interviews.  They provide interesting insight.  The last issue was no exception.  One particular thing the illustrator mentioned stood out to me, too, prompting this essay.
    During this so-called interrogation titled “The Anarch-Tist”, artist Warwick Cadwell lauds the internet for allowing him to connect with fans as well as other artists.  The man even credits others’ blogs with aiding his career.
    But he also warns us.  In his own words, “If you’re not careful, you can spend all your time on Twitter talking about what pen you should be using rather than getting on with any actual drawing!”
    These are words we should all take to heart.  Whatever our preferred medium, we cannot produce art if we spend all our time discussing it.  And we have all know the infinite number of internet distractions, whether they parade as research or networking or we’re just fattening up Sushi Cat (thanks, Armor Games, for swallowing so many afternoons).
    Having noted Mr. Cadwell’s wisdom, I’d best post this now and get back to my novel.  Cheers!

  • Writer Wednesday – A Genius Viewpoint

    Along with talented friends on an artist’s forum, I am reading Julia Cameron’s book “Walking in This World”.  It follows the same thread as her “Artist’s Way” guide, both aimed at helping people unlock and explore their creative potential.  One continuing theme of Ms. Cameron’s program includes inspirational quotes in the books’ margins.  Proceeding through each weekly chapter I tend to find at least one that stands out.
    Week nine gave me the following:
    “There are only two ways to live your life.  One is as though nothing is a miracle.  The other is as though everything is a miracle.” – Albert Einstein
    This rousing, seemingly unscientific outlook led me to look up the genius on Wikipedia.  There I found something nuclear physicist Robert Oppenheimer said at Mr. Einstein’s memorial.  The following words reinforce the lauded theoretical physicist’s opinion.
    “There was always with him a wonderful purity at once childlike and profoundly stubborn.”
    What better way to describe someone who sees miracles?  Of course this is a visionary approach not only toward scientific achievement, but also artistic.  Julia Cameron encourages both a childlike idealism and a strong (one might say stubborn) work ethic.
    Whether theorizing on relativity or plotting a novel, human beings must see beyond the scope of reality.  Yes, our storyline and characterizations may stay within a real world context.  Our minds, however, are creating fiction.  We are inventors.
    I may be no Einstein, but I’m going to go now and invent something the world has never seen.  Happy writing!
    –

  • NaNoWriMo Inspiration

    Today I’m striving on this fifth day of the National Novel Writing Month to create a word count worthy of the challenge – 50 thousand words in thirty days.  I’m grateful gracious A. Catherine Noon introduced me to the concept and encouraged me to throw down the gauntlet in 2011.  November has never been boring since.

    During this, my third year, I find NaNoWriMo website pep talks very moving as well as motivating.  That gifted, successful folks take time to bolster upcoming newbies warms my heart.  Today’s inspiring words by Catherynne M. Valente, author of twenty poetry and fiction books, are an excellent case in point.

    Here is my favorite line:

    To show up to play, puff out your chest like a damn proud toucan, and get s**t done.

    I can’t argue with that logic.  Now I need to post this tidbit and go follow her advice.  Happy writing!

    – 

  • Writer Wednesday – A Change in the Air


    Minutes ago I viewed lovely images of spring as captured by talented photography Eaton Bennett.  The delicate blooms are beautiful reminders of nature’s power of regeneration, as she aptly titled the series, and make me look forward to planting my spring flowering bulbs.  For here, in my little corner of the world, autumn takes a turn.

    Morning mists hang over the fields as trees unburden their branches for a welcome winter rest.  Having suffered lean summer months until this bountiful nut harvest, squirrels leap and bound, making drivers beware.  Crisp air beckons me out of the house to savor dazzling skies.
    If I seem to glorify fall, it’s because I adore this time of year.  Each season displays different delights, but October holds a special place in my heart.  Halloween fills me with a sense of whimsy.  Colorful foliage, the smells of bonfires and burning leaves, and birds flocking to migrate all enchant me.  I even look forward to plants going dormant after sweating over garden chores.
    Every year I enjoy these changes.  This month, having finished a small group workshop of Julia Cameron’s “Finding Water”, my inner artist awoke.  I walk the local riverbank, camera ready, enjoying a renewed creative flow.  With no idea what to write and choosing to ignore the resulting butterflies in my stomach, I look forward to November’s National Novel Writing Month.
    One large hurdle to writing fifty thousand new words next month lies in curbing my inherent perfectionism.  I’m notperfect; I simply strive for the impossible.  Already, this short post has taken a ridiculous amount of time while I seek improved grammar and more laconic phrasing.  On that note, I shall upload this little message forthwith.
    Whatever season sculpts your landscape, I hope you can take a deep breath of fresh air and delve into whatever art calls you.  As I hear repeatedly from gentle mentors, take small steps.  Set reasonable goals.  Be easy on yourself.  Mother Nature acts harsh at times but she generally prepares her charges with steady, gradual progress.
    Let me know which is your favorite season, and why.  Does weather affect your creative soul?  After you comment, please enjoy Ms. Bennett’s vision of spring:
    ~