Tag: Noon and Wilder

  • Zen

    2016-04-30 Pic 1

    End mind, beginner’s mind?  We’re at the end of our challenge for this month, the April A to Z Blog Challenge.  Six of the WZG crew participated this month, and we’ve brought you all sorts of content from, well, A to Zen.  Thank you for coming along on this journey with us.

    Why Zen?  Why Writer Zen Garden?

    zen garden symplicity and harmony form a background for meditation and relaxation, for balance and health

    One of the central ideas of Zen Buddhism is to be in the now.  By being fully in the moment, we let go anger about the past and fears about the future, and truly live as we are meant to live.  The Zen rock gardens, like the one pictured above, are a visual representation of what being in the flow, or the now, looks like.  The rock is seen as a metaphorical obstacle, something we must acknowledge and move around.  It causes eddies in our energy, which is represented by the flowing lines in the sand.  The more we make peace with that, the more smooth our metaphorical sand becomes and we are at peace.

    Writing is a little like that.  When we talk about writing, we aren’t being fully in the moment and writing.  We’re not existing in the now.  By learning to sit down and apply the pen to the page or the fingers to the keyboard, we teach ourselves how to get into the flow and to produce.  It’s a lesson we must consistently relearn, which is reminiscent of the quote, “Zen mind, beginner’s mind.”  Author Natalie Goldberg, who wrote, among other things, Writing Down the Bones, relates a story of speaking with her meditation master.  She lamented that she was spending all her time writing, and not meditating.  He told her to keep writing, that her writing was meditating.

    When I decided to start Writer Zen Garden, I wanted a name that embodied this idea of being in the moment while writing.  It seemed natural to include Garden, because we are all growing, and we are all living beings.  Connecting the three ideas of writing, Zen, and gardening made sense to me.

    However you found us, I hope you’ve enjoyed your stay here.  There are additional resources in the top menu navbar, and we blog regularly.  Hope to see you again!

    Remember, May 9th is the A to Z Reflections Post Day, and the Linky List is open from May 9 to May 13.  Keep an eye on the main A to Z Blog Challenge page for more info and updates, and of course come back here on the 9th for our reflections on our collective experience.  We do regular Writer Wednesday features here and will be coming up with some other regular features, so keep your eyes peeled.  And if you’re a blogger, and interested in contributing, please let us know in the comments.

    Thank you for joining us for the A-Z Blog Challenge.  If you’re blogging in the challenge, please leave us a link so I can come visit you too.  If you have a moment, please check out these other fine blogs:

     

    The theme on my main blog, Explore the Worlds of A. Catherine Noon, is The A To Z of the Zoo.  Join me as I explore Brookfield Zoo and finds animals, birds, and insects from A to Z.

    My theme on my Knoontime Knitting craft blog is Letterforms In Nature and the Built Environment.

    The theme at Noon & Wilder is The A To Z of Chicago.  Since I live here in the city and we have our Chicagoland Shifters based here, I figured I’d share a window into the city, Noon & Wilder style.

    The Nice Girls Writing Naughty have a new home, and we’re blogging in the challenge again this year.  Throughout the month you’ll be hearing from each of the Nice Girls, and during the RT Booklovers Convention from April 12th to the 17th, you’ll be getting live convention reports.  Join the conversation!

    The Writer Zen Garden’s brand new website is up and running, and we’re bringing you posts from me, Noony; my partner in crime, Rachel Wilder (the Wilder half of Noon & Wilder); the talented Darla M. Sands – a blogger in her own right, see below; as well as Grace Kahlo, Evey Brown, and author Tina Holland.  Check it out!

    My friends who are participating in the challenge (and if you’re not on this list, tell me and I’ll add you!):

    Write on, and Happy Blogging!

     

     

  • Y is for Yoga

    YogaSome of the benefits of Yoga are:

    • Increased flexibility.
    • Increased muscle strength and tone.
    • Improved respiration, energy and vitality.
    • Maintaining balance.
    • Weight reduction.
    • Cardio and circulatory health.
    • Improved athletic performance.
    • Protection from injury

    While I love Yoga…I really do, in this instance I’m using it as a metaphor for writing. Now how can you apply these wonderful benefits to your writing.

    Increased Flexibility – Whether you are trying to finish a book or trying to find a home for a manuscript.  Its important to be flexible.  Life interrupts the writing process.  Sometimes your dream publisher doesn’t accept your manuscript.  It is important to be flexible, remember the important thing is to try again, to be stronger and not break.

    Increased Muscle, strength and tone – Have you heard the phrase “Use it or Lose it”?  Writing frequently, dare I say daily, increases your muscles.  If you type on a keyboard, you will type faster due to muscle memory.  If your write daily in a journal, or on a manuscript, poetry, etc., your process is strengthened,  and the tone of your work improved.

    Improved Respiration, energy and vitality – Just Breathe.  When you are blocked or your just not feeling it, take a break; A breath if you will, and work on another creative project.  Often times when I “scrapbook” or when I’m cooking, I get ideas for my story.  Writing without other creative outlets can drain your energy.  You need to fill your creative mind.  This will give you vitality, and passion for all your creative works.

    Maintaining Balance – As with all things in life, writing is also a balancing act.  When you are an Aspiring Writer, you are balancing work, writing, and whatever life throws at  you.  These same things apply when your are published as well, and then you get to add in promotions, book signings, blog tours, etc.  It’s important to try and balance to the best of your abilities, and what is important to you.  I still work full time so my priorities are Family, Work, Writing.  I know, writing is in there last, but it is where it fits today in my life and I still manage to find balance.

    Weight Reduction – Okay writing won’t make you thinner.   But you may need to think about making your book thinner before sending off for publication. 🙂  Basically, “Cut the Fat”.  You want your book to be a lean, mean, selling machine.   Not to say you should write short stories, but make sure your 155,000 word novel doesn’t have redundancies in it.  Be sure you are using strong vs. passive language, and it is the very best it can be before you publish.

    Cardio and circulatory health – Go with the flow.  When life throws you an obstacle, handle it and then get back on track.  In my opinion – not all writers can deal with life crisis and write.   I’m one of those writers…life’s challenges often derail my writing.  However, some authors excel at it – Using their writing as a tool to deal with life’s issues, or utlizing it as a means of escape.  Whatever writer you are – Go with the flow.  There is no right or wrong answer to how, or when you write.

    Improved athletic performance – Over time all writers seems to innately learn things about craft, genre, editing, publishing, and other business items.   Not all writers will be good at all things, and some writers can zero in on one thing.   We learn to spot passive voice, or what genre a book falls into.  We can craft perfect prose, or create a list of potential publishers with ease.  What we don’t know, we learn from others.  The point is…we improve over time and not just at putting words on a page. We become literary athletes and excel in our performance of specific tasks.

    Protection from Injury – Remember that rejection letter, horrible review or jealous writer who made it personal?    Writing doesn’t protect you from these initial injuries,  but writing groups and fellow authors often support those who fall down.  I belong to three groups, and all are very supportive.  RWA – Romance Writer’s of America Online Chapter, F-M Word Weavers – A local writing group and this group Writer Zen Garden.  For any of my rejection letters, bad reviews or other slight I may have felt, there was a support group for me.  They helped heal my wounds, cherish my soul and free my creative spirit to move past the hurt.

    Yep, I love Yoga, I think I’ll go do some poses to get some of the benefits.

    ~Tina

     

     

     

  • Whoops! R Is For I Gotta wRite Something Quick!

    2016-04-21 R

    So, I have a cold.  I went hunting around in my archives for a funny picture and came across this gem, snapped by my partner in crime, Rachel Wilder.

    With friends like these, …

    Of course, it captures perfectly how I feel right at this moment, even though it was taken some time ago when I’d just gotten out of bed and was trying to do morning pages.  🙂

    Today is my day to post something crunchable having to do with the letter R.  I totally forgot until right now.  I shall endeavor to come up with something through my cold-medicine-induced fog.  Here, then, without further ado is the World According To Noony (on Cold Medicine):

    1. No, Boria, you do NOT need to sing me the song of your people at six in the morning.  Nor at seven.  Nor at seven-twenty.  I’ll get up at the last possible moment – meow – to – meowow – go to work – meeoooowwowowow – so I don’t need Felini in the Morning!
    2. Dogs take up entirely too much room on the bed when there’s only the two of you and it’s a queen-sized mattress.
    3. Cold medicine tastes yucky, but it keeps me from coughing.
    4. I cough the more I talk.
    5. I had THREE client phone calls – hack – scheduled – cough – for – wheeze – today.
    6. Tea is my friend.
    7. Don’t make a whole pot of caffeinated tea because you like the “hibiscus” part but forgotyoualreadyhadyourcoffeefortheday.
    8. The bus is late when I’m in a hurry.
    9. The bus is packed with people when I want to sit down because my head is pounding.
    10. It’s getting warm outside.  WEAR DEODORANT!

    (No, really, #10.  Please.  Yes, Mister Big Fat Dude, I’m looking at you.  And holding my nose.)

    And remember:  Zen mind, beginner’s mind.  Except when on cold medication.

    Thank you for joining us for the A-Z Blog Challenge.  If you’re blogging in the challenge, please leave us a link so I can come visit you too.  If you have a moment, please check out these other fine blogs:

     

    The theme on my main blog, Explore the Worlds of A. Catherine Noon, is The A To Z of the Zoo.  Join me as I explore Brookfield Zoo and finds animals, birds, and insects from A to Z.

    My theme on my Knoontime Knitting craft blog is Letterforms In Nature and the Built Environment.

    The theme at Noon & Wilder is The A To Z of Chicago.  Since I live here in the city and we have our Chicagoland Shifters based here, I figured I’d share a window into the city, Noon & Wilder style.

    The Nice Girls Writing Naughty have a new home, and we’re blogging in the challenge again this year.  Throughout the month you’ll be hearing from each of the Nice Girls, and during the RT Booklovers Convention from April 12th to the 17th, you’ll be getting live convention reports.  Join the conversation!

    The Writer Zen Garden’s brand new website is up and running, and we’re bringing you posts from me, Noony; my partner in crime, Rachel Wilder (the Wilder half of Noon & Wilder); the talented Darla M. Sands – a blogger in her own right, see below; as well as Grace Kahlo, Evey Brown, and author Tina Holland.  Check it out!

    My friends who are participating in the challenge (and if you’re not on this list, tell me and I’ll add you!):

    Write on, and Happy Blogging!

  • N is for Nice Girls Writing Naughty

     

    Since I am not affiliated personally with the blog Nice Girls Writing Naughty, I feel it’s not inappropriate to promote the group. On the other hand our own very dear and talented team of A. Catherine Noon and Rachel Wilder are very justifiably represented. I can personally vouch that these two are both extremely nice. And they write some extremely delicious naughtiness.

    In case you had not guessed the novel content of these authors is erotica in various, glorious forms. To give fair warning, you may not want to open their home page at work. But I urge you to check them out if you like steamy romance.  Here’s the link.

     

    They even have a reading club in which various titles are discussed on a regular basis. I hope you’ll check it out!

    So, dear reader, what’s on your novel wish list? Personally, I’m looking forward to the next Noon and Wilder publication.

     

  • For the Love of a Library

    20150101_0009

    I didn’t like books at first.  I liked it when my dad read to me, but I didn’t read myself.  I learned how to read interesting books around age six, graduating from the boring “See Jane Run” types.  My mother had a set from when she was a child that were graded by year, and I read those.  But something was still missing.

    Then my father took me to the library and showed me how to find good books.  The first couple times, he picked for me and I couldn’t figure out how to do it for myself.  When I picked out books, they didn’t have the same “fun” that the ones he picked did – like the one about the cat who lived in a firehouse and was a hero.

    One day, I got determined and marched into the library at school.  I found Phyllis A. Whitney’s mysteries and that’s when it happened:  the inner worlds opened and I glimpsed the power and glory of books.  I’ve never looked back.

    Recently, two friends on an online writing forums shared how they pared down their book collection because their books were mostly ebooks now.  It unsettled me, deeply, because I adore my library.  I love the look and feel of the books, and I love coming home to the dining room/library.  In January of 2015 I went through on a massive project to re-classify and organize all my books (of which the above picture is only a fraction).  My husband and I have a lot of books.  While there may come a time where I cull the physical library, it will not be this day.  (Thank you, Peter Jackson, for that syntax [from The Return of the King, Aragorn’s speech to the Men of the West and the Riders of Rohan].)

    I even have a theme on this very blog called “A Writer In Her Library,” where I explore and ruminate on books, my books in particular, and share a little bit of my love for them.  In preparing for today’s post, I tried to think of something “Zen” to share, and thought of Lao Tzu, one of the Zen Masters.  Then I came across a small blue volume that I picked up at a used book sale for three dollars:  Simple Things:  Some Appreciations of the Small Joys in Daily Life from HOUSE & GARDEN.  It includes such essays as, “Salt,” by Aldous Huxley, and “The Coat Hanger,” by Aubrey Menen.  That’s why I like a physical library – one can wander in and, at random, pull something off the shelf that speaks to one.  I highly recommend you try it – if not in your own library, then at your local public one.  You’ll be glad you did.

     

    Thank you for joining us for the A-Z Blog Challenge.  If you’re blogging in the challenge, please leave us a link so I can come visit you too.  If you have a moment, please check out these other fine blogs:

     

    The theme on my main blog, Explore the Worlds of A. Catherine Noon, is The A To Z of the Zoo.  Join me as I explore Brookfield Zoo and finds animals, birds, and insects from A to Z.

    My theme on my Knoontime Knitting craft blog is Letterforms In Nature and the Built Environment.

    The theme at Noon & Wilder is The A To Z of Chicago.  Since I live here in the city and we have our Chicagoland Shifters based here, I figured I’d share a window into the city, Noon & Wilder style.

    The Nice Girls Writing Naughty have a new home, and we’re blogging in the challenge again this year.  Throughout the month you’ll be hearing from each of the Nice Girls, and during the RT Booklovers Convention from April 12th to the 17th, you’ll be getting live convention reports.  Join the conversation!

    The Writer Zen Garden’s brand new website is up and running, and we’re bringing you posts from me, Noony; my partner in crime, Rachel Wilder (the Wilder half of Noon & Wilder); the talented Darla M. Sands – a blogger in her own right, see below; as well as Grace Kahlo, Evey Brown, and author Tina Holland.  Check it out!

    My friends who are participating in the challenge (and if you’re not on this list, tell me and I’ll add you!):

    Write on, and Happy Blogging!

  • The F Word

    I bet you thought I mean that eff word, eh?

    Uh-huh.  Busted.

    F Is For Friendship!

    I have been blessed by the internet.  No, not because I sent a hundred thousand spams requesting money because I’m a Nigerian prince, or because I offered to provide an enlargement product, and not even to act as a marriage broker for offshore women.  No, I’ve been blessed by the internet with some of the best friendships I’ve ever had.

    The amazing thing about the world of the internet is how small it is.  One of my friends lives in Israel, another in Plymouth, another in Hawaii, and even a couple in Toronto.  This doesn’t even count the circle of friends here in the States that is the backbone of this very website, and who have built it with me from a tiny little blog on Blogger to what it is becoming.  I’d say that “I can’t imagine life without the internet,” but that’s not true: I can, and I’d be very lonely.  My friendships aren’t virtual, they’re very real and very precious.

    What about you, Dear Reader?  How has the internet changed your life?

    And about that eff word:  it was my first swear word.

    When I was about two years old.

    I used it in a telephone conversation with my very gentlemanly maternal grandfather.  “How was the ocean?”

    “Oh, Grandpa.  It was wonderful.  We collected sea glass, and shells, and played in the sand.  But Grandpa.  That water was so effing cold.”

    Dead silence reigned for at least a whole minute.  Tick.  Tock.

    And to the day she died, my mother never forgave my father for using that word in front of me.  He, on the other hand, maintained it was the neighbor’s children.

    Since it’s his favorite word too, I think I’m my father’s daughter, at least in this sense.

    ~grin~

  • Writer Wednesday – The Sagging Middle

    Sunrise Over Evanston or, What’s the “O” For?  Oh, my God, it’s early! (Thank you Robin Williams!)
    Image Copyright 2015 A. Catherine Noon; All Rights Reserved

    So, those of you who are paying attention will notice that it’s actually Thursday.  Yup.  This may give you some indication of my state of the state, compounded to the fact that someone seems to have ripped May out of my calendar completely and it feels like it still should be early April.  Maybe March.

    This actually gave me my idea for today’s post:  the “dreaded middle,” or the “sagging middle,” take your pick.  Where I am in my life, the “sagging” is more apt on many levels, some of which I’m not prepared to discuss.  ~grin~ So.  Middles.

    Writers talk of the middles as being the hardest part of writing a novel.  Sure, crafting an opening that snares the reader, and finishing off with a bang, are all to be desired.  But once we have them, there’s still the problem of the journey.  Do we add layers?  Do we have too many characters?  Too few?  What about that plot twist that you weren’t a hundred percent sure of – now that you’re at the other side of the mountain, does it provide shade, or block the light?

    One of my buddies on Romance Divas, author Amity Lassiter, shared some motivation with the board that I think applies to how I’m feeling today.  I’ll share it with you, but first, a warning:  it’s loud, and rather startling, but very worth it – especially if you, like me, get stuck in the middle.

    We can do this.

  • R Is For… Research

    Of the team of Noon & Wilder, I am the ‘Research Queen’ and how I adore my job. Even topics that I originally thought wouldn’t be interesting, often turn out to be the opposite. I think it’s important to get the details right so the reader believes in your writing.

    On the other hand, a writer needs to be careful that it doesn’t turn out to be a distraction or overwhelming. You want to make sure it still flows with the story and doesn’t come across as an info dump.

    Though, allowing some distraction, keeps your own interest. An example is the Bear Creek Brewery that Noony and I created for the sequel of Sealed By Fire (yet to be published). We had a great afternoon at the Goose Island Brewery in Chicago.

    Took a tour:

    And a beer tasting seminar:

    All, of course, in the name of research. So make sure you’re having fun. Oh, and it helps to bring a pen or favorite pencil, notebook and camera.

  • O Is For… Opening!

    Openings.  They’re hard.  “You have to grab the reader in the first sentence.”  “If you haven’t gotten the reader’s attention in the first three pages, you’ve lost them.”  “The first three chapters are all you’ve got.  If you can’t take the reader by storm in the beginning, the you aren’t going to keep them reading.”

    No pressure, hah!  That’s heaps of pressure!

    Many times when I sit down to open a book my brain will go blank, because I’m trying to come up with a knock-their-socks-off opening.  Here’s how I get around it:

    I don’t try to start at the beginning.  Another piece of advice is, “get into the action as late as possible, and get out as early as possible.”  So when writing, if I see a scene but not the opening, I don’t worry about the setup.  I get into the scene and write what I do see.  In the process, I usually come up with an opening – or I worry about it during edits.

    What about you, Dear Reader?
    What advice do you like about starting new projects?

  • M Is For… Maps! – by Rachel Wilder!

    My partner in crime, Rachel Wilder, has some thoughts about maps for you. Rachel, take it away!

    This turned out to tie in with the previous post. I guess great minds think alike!

    Maps are great in preventing you from getting lost and are also useful in that respect, when an author is writing. Engaging characters and a well thought out plot are huge factors for a successful good story. Setting is right up there in importance and maps can help in that regard.

    I love road maps for many different things when I write. From telling me how long that car trip is going to take, to where a side street is for our hero to rush out and rescue our main character. Another useful tool is a simple, pencil drawn home-made map for a setting.

    This is from Burning Bright, a male/male romance penned by A. Catherine Noon and yours truly.

    Sasha approached the street corner. This side of the brick building housing the Factory lay quiet and unoccupied, its exterior lights out. On the other side of the narrower street, empty windows stared at him. Too rattled to read the name of the business on the placard, he turned right and glanced back after discovering no parking lot with his Chevy waiting.

    “Hi.”

    The voice startled him and he stopped short of running into the muscular chest of a man, who stepped out from a doorway. He wore a leather trench coat over jeans, Russian gang tattoos visible on the naked skin of his upper torso.

    “Fuck,” Sasha blurted.

    The sketch above was invaluable in keeping us- and the action – right where we needed it to be. Don’t worry about the level of your ability, just have fun and grab a pencil.

    So, have you ever gotten lost?