Tag: Rachel Wilder

  • Let’s Get This Party (re)Started! April Is the A to Z Blog Challenge AND Camp Nano!

    Image of A to Z Blog Challenge Participation Badge for April, 2020

    It’s almost April. And we’re in the midst of a global pandemic, causing unprecedented societal change. Our hearts go out to all those who have lost family members and loved ones, and all of us at Writer Zen Garden HQ send out a sincere and heartfelt wish that we come through this more together than ever before, build solid friendships, and take our writing to the next level. Writing can be a solace in dark times and, we believe, it will help us through this.

    For that reason, we are re-launching our website to coincide with two global events: the A to Z Blog Challenge and April’s Camp NaNoWriMo (note that the format for camp is now as “groups” on the main NaNo website).

    We’ll have more about both in the coming days, and watch this space for our first post come April 1. If you haven’t joined the discussion over in our Facebook group, please join us. All are welcome and there is no cost to join.

    Stay well, friends. Best wishes, and good health to you and yours.

    Namaste.

  • Writer Wednesday – The Dangers of the Echo Chamber and Why Handwriting Is Important

    2016-09-07-pic-1

    We are surrounded more and more by media – social media, augmented reality games, television commercials at gas stations; the list goes on.  I’m the first to admit that the internet can bring people together – I am, after all, writing this on  blog I started with some friends, all of whom are geographically scattered.

    But I have noticed the echo chamber can have an unhealthy effect.  Psychologists call behavior that pushes against another person “impinging,” and it’s my belief that, if we’re not careful about our inflow, that can happen.  I noticed, for example, that when I had Facebook on my phone, the constant dings or buzzes of incoming alerts would break my train of thought.  As I checked in, I would get drawn into whatever was trending:  racist politics, cop shootings, and cats.  Lots of cats.

    I don’t mind cats.  I like them, as it happiness.  But I’m a novelist, and the first casualty in the war for attention is sustained train of thought.

    As a social experiment, I took Facebook off my phone.  My daily round got calmer.  I stopped drinking as much coffee and focused more on my journal.  I noticed a couple of things:

    1. Writing by hand disciplines my mind to hold a train of thought, since I don’t write as fast as I think.
    2. It felt like I woke up from a collective hallucination.  I don’t need strangers’ opinions in my daily round.
    3. I started writing more – always good news for a novelist.
    4. I started thinking more deeply about issues like politics, body image, feminism, and philosophy.

    This Writer Wednesday, I invite you to try it:  turn off the inflow and let your own thoughts loose on the page.  Nanowrimo’s coming.  Let’s be ready.

    Write on!

  • The Writer Zen Garden – Tools From A to Zen: Reflections on the A-Z Challenge

    2016-05-09 A-to-Z Reflection [2016]

    Wow.  It’s hard to believe it’s already well into the second week of May already.  It feels like it should still be April.  Or, if I’m being honest, January.

    Of 2010.

    But I digress.

    We all know that time seems to whizz by.  No sooner do we put away the holiday decorations and it’s time to take them out again.  So, too, for writing groups.  I’ve noticed small groups tend to wax and wane, some succeeding and thriving, others burning brightly for a short time and then fizzling.  There’s an old adage about groups, that they have several phases:  “Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing.”  It’s an idea that a guy by the name of Bruce Tuckman proposed way back in 1965 and it’s still true today.  Some folks add “Adjourning” at the end, to signify that not all groups survive through the performing state to continue.

    That’s why I’m so pleased about Writer Zen Garden.  The group as it is today is the merging of two different groups; the original Writer’s Retreat that started in March of 2008, and the local Meetup group and international online forum of Writer Zen Garden.  We’re still going, and we launched this new website, where you’re reading this post, in March of 2016.

    One reason I keep coming back to the A to Z Blog Challenge, is that I find it pulls the team together.  Even if we’ve slacked off from posting on the blog, by doing the challenge, we come together as a group and gather ideas and write.  Since on of the central missions of the Writer Zen Garden is to Help Writers Get On the Page, this is all to the good, as far as I’m concerned.  Next year, we might even come up with a joint theme ahead of time – we’re still noodling ideas for what to post for this year, so it’s definitely a work in progress.

    I want to thank you, Dear Reader, for visiting us and leaving comments for the various authors of the Garden.  We sure appreciate your interaction.  We invite you to join the discussion in other ways, if you’ve a mind; we have a Facebook group; a live in-person Meetup group in Chicago, if you’re in the area;  a Twitter stream; and an international writers forum.  We’re glad you’re here!

    Write on!

    The Writer Zen Garden Facebook Group

    The Chicago Area Meetup

    @writerzengarden

    Forum*

    *Note: if you’re interested in joining the forum, please let me know in the comments or PM me on Facebook, and I’ll reach out to you by email.

    For your reading pleasure, here are the posts for the challenge:

    The Writer Zen Garden, From A To Zen

    A:  A is for Artist’s Way…, by Tina Holland

    B:  B is for Blogging!, by Darla Sands

    C:  “C” is for Crayon, by Evey Brown

    D: D is for Day Dreaming, by Grace Kahlo

    E:  E is for Emergency, by Rachel Wilder

    F:  The F Word, by A. Catherine Noon

    G:  G is for Goals, by Tina Holland

    H:  H is for Hens, by Darla Sands

    I:  Is It Inspiration, Invention or Insight? or, Where Do You Get Your Story Ideas?, by Evey Brown

    J:  J Is For Just in Case, by Rachel Wilder

    K:  K Is For Using Krav Maga To Kick the Inner Evil Critique Away, by Grace Kahlo

    L:  For the Love of a Library, by A. Catherine Noon

    M:  M is for Man-titty, by Tina Holland

    N:  N is for Nice Girls Writing Naughty, by Darla Sands

    O:  Things My Grandpa Taught Me – O for Orion, by Evey Brown

    P:  P Is For Prepper, by Rachel Wilder

    Q:  Q is for Writing Quotes, by Grace Kahlo

    R:  Whoops! R Is For I Gotta wRite Something Quick!, by A. Catherine Noon

    S:  S is for Sex Scenes and Story, by Tina Holland

    T:  T is for Tastiness, by Darla Sands

    U:  How to Create an Oral History for your Family; or Unforgettable and Unfortunate Things my Kids have Done, by Evey Brown

    V:  V is for Viking Swords & Fantasy World-Building, by Grace Kahlo

    W:  W is for Why Do I Prep?, by Rachel Wilder

    X:  An Alternative to Xanax, by A. Catherine Noon

    Y:  Y is for Yoga, by Tina Holland

    Z:  Zen, by A. Catherine Noon

    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!

  • 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!

     

     

  • W is for Why Do I Prep?

    I grew up in Florida. On the coastline. Not sure If I really need to say more. I loved storms, watching the clouds roll over the waves and the lighting dance and crack in the sky. But then, I was a kid. I also remember my parents being a lot more worried about tropical storms. Especially ones that grew into Hurricanes and got to be named.

    2016-04-27 W pic 1

    Now I grew up in the years before we had males names and I know that dates me, but boy were those hurricanes real bitches. I would sit on the floor in front of the television and watch the weather forecast with my siblings on each side of me.

    2016-04-27 W pic 2

    I distinctly remember at least three times we had to evacuate further inland. We would have to get our backpacks that we used for camping. It was always half full, some camping supplies wrapped in a drysack sitting in the bottom. I thought my parent didn’t want to empty it and lose anything. Now I realize that probably held stuff more important than my polka dotted pajamas and favorite teddy. Mom had a big blue Rubbermaid tote with food that she’d take with us. Dad would have a tan plastic file box he’d carry as well. We never had to go to a public shelter, but a friend’s ranch so it was always an adventure.

    We were lucky and never got caught in one or lost our home. Many couldn’t claim the same. So yes I prep and watch the weather and worry a bit like my parents did. I guess that’s all part of growing up.

    2016-04-27 W pic 3

  • 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!

  • P Is For Prepper

    P Is For Prepper – by Rachel Wilder

    All right world I can say it – I’m a Prepper!

    So many people give me the reaction that I’m crazy. That I’m actually hoping something horrible will happen so I can break out my canned goods and emergency radio. That people should suffer around me so I can test to see if my batteries are really good for ten years.

    2016-04-19 P pic 1

    That is the last thing on my mind.

    But I watch the news. And it wasn’t always showing far away places and strangers like the tsunami and resulting nuclear meltdown in Japan during 2011. I remember seeing the aftermath of Katrina 2005, of talking to my brother while he weathered Superstorm Sandy 2012. Of my best friend telling me she almost got trapped in her car during  Snowapocalypse 2014.

    So awful things seem to always happen to strangers….until suddenly it doesn’t.

    It’s now you or one of your loved ones. A family member or good friend. Heck, even a beloved pet. Anyone can suddenly end up cold, or hungry or lost and homeless. The question is- are you going to look back and discover that you could have helped them or yourself with a little forethought and planning,

    You don’t have spend your life savings on things hopefully you’ll never need. Like this family.

    2016-04-19 P pic 2

    Though, if you look closely, they don’t look too worried about anything. But just get the most basic of extra supplies that will give you peace of mind. Is that three days or three weeks? That’s something you and your family need to think about and discuss.

    So in reality, preppers look more like this…

    2016-04-19 P pic 3

  • 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!

  • J Is For Just in Case

    My friends joke with me that I’d look forward to a zombie apocalypse.  I’d almost rather deal with a few shuffling rotters than a natural disaster that actually can happen. You don’t have to be on an episode of  Doomsday Prepper to need a three day supply of food and water.   Just think back to Hurricane Katrina or Superstorm Sandy.  I honestly don’t think I could live in the tornado alley of the Midwest or along the flood zone of the Mississippi.

    2016-04-12 J Pic 1

    But then there’s no place that’s truly ‘safe’. So the best you can do is have a bit of common sense and planning. It doesn’t take much time or money but it can give you loads of peace of mind.  You don’t have to worry about outrageous scenarios, just be practical about the possibility of a bad winter storm or the possibility of loosing your electricity and plumbing due to construction.

    2016-04-12 J Pic 2

    But, on the million and one chance zombies do come….

    Having a bit of a plan and some extra supplies can’t hurt. That way you can sit back and relax while you’re waiting until Daryl shows up.

    2016-04-12 J Pic 3