Tag: Writer Zen Garden

  • Craft Circle and General Hangout Virtual Coffee Date Thingie

    Image of entrance to a sea cave with the words Craft in the time of coronavirus: a virtual craft circle with date and time, also detailed in body of the post

    Do you like to do crafts? Any craft, be it knitting, weaving, sewing, or other textile art; drawing, painting, collage, or other paper or canvas art; puzzles; writing; woodworking; cooking? Do you like to hang out with others who like to do that, too? Then join us for a restorative couple hours while we craft, chat, and have coffee (or what have you). We’ll be meeting on Zoom this time, which accommodates up to a hundred people.

    Granted, if we have a hundred people, it’ll be a little crazy and chaotic, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing as an antidote to the pandemic, eh?

    Join us!

    Zoom details as follows:

    Hi there,

    You are invited to a Zoom meeting.
    When: Mar 28, 2020 12:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

    Register in advance for this meeting:
    https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIkdOmqqD4iFnL9ytlkh3dx0_P1ZyYxpQ

    After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

  • 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.

  • Last Day of FEARS Workshop

    Today is the last day of my FEARS workshop.  Did you miss it?  No worries.  You can still check it out on the Forum.

    You can continue to ask questions and I’ll ask them as they come through.

    Hope to see you there,

    ~Tina

  • Happy New Year! What’s new in the Garden?

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    Happy New Year, Gardeners!  It’s a great time to be in the Writer Zen Garden.

    Inside this blog:

    1. Prompt Circles are back – next one is Jan 21st from 2-4 at Open Books
    2. Walking In This World online workshop, Jan 22nd through April 22nd
    3. F.E.A.R.S. Workshop – Finish, Edit, Analyze, Research and Submit, Feb 5th to Mar 4th
    4. Dialog – Who Says What To Whom, March 12th to March 25th
    5. A to Z Blog Challenge is coming in April
    6. Camp NaNoWriMo is coming in April

    Check it out:

    The Prompt Circles are back!  After a longer than expected hiatus, we’re excited to report that we are ready to start these up again.  Our venue is Open Books, an awesome place centrally located downtown near parking, transit, Metra, and those blue bicycle things.  Not that you’d want to bike in the dead of winter, but hey.  They’re there if you want ’em.  It’s on Saturday, January 21st from 2-4.

    We have several online offerings, all of which are free but require a membership on the forum.  How do you get to the forum, you ask?  Visit here!

    Did you know that the Writer Zen Garden has a calendar?  If you prefer getting your information visually, click over to Our Calendar and check it out.

    On the Artist’s Way track: Walking In This World.  This is a 13-week workshop running from Sunday, Jan 22nd, through Saturday, April 22nd.  You will need a copy of the book by Julia Cameron, Walking In This World, which is available from your favorite bookseller or public library.  This is a participant-led workshop facilitated by A. Catherine Noon; if you’d like to lead a week’s discussion, please let me know.

    The workshop will be conducted online through thewww.writerzengarden.com/forums website; you will need a user account to participate. There is no cost to join.

    On the Author track: F.E.A.R.S. Online Workshop – Finish, Edit, Analyze, Research, and Submit.  Join author Tina Holland for her popular F.E.A.R.S. workshop, where she will help you Finish your manuscript, Edit it, Analyze it for its best fit in the marketplace, Research homes for it – traditional publishing? digital-first/small press? indie? blog?, and Submit.

    It will run for four weeks starting Sunday, February 5th and concluding Saturday, March 4th.

    Tina is past President of RWA Online Chapter #136 and author of ten romance novels. She is a sought-after speaker at regional writing conferences and a founding Board Member of Writer Zen Garden. We are super stoked to have her present for us and for her to offer her popular workshop for free to WZG members.

    You need to be a member of the Writer Zen Garden online forum.  Membership is free.

    For more information about Tina Holland, please visit her website. While you’re there, check out her popular author interview series (and authors, sign up to be interviewed!).

    On the Writer track:  Online workshop – Dialog, Who Says What to Whom, March 12th through March 25th.

    Join A. Catherine Noon and Tina Holland for a free online two-week workshop on dialog. We will have examples, discuss proper punctuation, (where DOES that pesky comma go? or is it a period?), and have lots and lots of practice exercises. Think of it as the March boot camp to get in shape for April’s Camp NaNoWriMo and the A to Z Blog Challenge.

    You will need a free account on the Writer Zen Garden Forum.

    April is a busy month in the Garden: We have not one but TWO web-based events for you.

    April is the month for the international A to Z Blog Challenge! Find out more, and sign up on the main website.

    We’re looking for Writer Zen Gardeners to participate on our blog this year, so if you’re interested, please contact your organizers A. Catherine Noon or Tina Holland.

    Also, April is Camp NaNoWriMo!  From the folks that bring you National Novel Writing Month in November comes a fun event called Camp NaNoWriMo. You can set your own word count goal; it doesn’t have to be the full 50,000 like in November. Participants are arranged in cabins for mutual support and encouragement.

    Find out more, and sign up, at the website.

    If you haven’t joined the discussion on Facebook, you’re missing out.  Click over to the Writer Zen Garden Facebook Group and check it out.

  • 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

     

     

     

  • An Alternative to Xanax

    2016-04-28 Pic 1

    Writing can serve as a path to the self.  In troubled or stressful times, we need this more than anything, but our society’s advice is to avoid the problem – take a pill, a powder, and do anything but face it head on.  As news of Prince’s death trickles out, and his possible addiction to prescription medication, it’s become even more apparent to me that we are a nation addicted to drugs – legal and prescription drugs are just as bad, in some cases, as the street variety.  There were over 25,000 deaths from prescription medications in 2014 alone, according to Drug Abuse.gov (1).

    I am not a doctor.  I’m aware that if someone requires medication for their life, then by all means, take it.  But there are alternatives that we can use to supplement medications and, in some cases, supplant them.  For me, writing has provided some of the best psychological assistance in dealing with childhood trauma that I have found in my arsenal.  So, too, has qualified psychological care by a licensed provider; exercise; and a steady, healthy diet.  But it’s writing that I wanted to talk about today.

    When we write, we begin a dialog with ourselves in a way that we cannot in other mediums.  And by “write,” I mean literally putting pen to paper.  Studies have shown we access different parts of the brain when we handwrite vs. use a keyboard, and some theorize that using a keyboard is “cross-hemispheric,” meaning using both sides of the brain simultaneously, and therefore is fundamentally different than using just one side of the brain by using the right or left hand to write.

    I have kept up a pretty constant journal since about 1986, and in bits and pieces before that.  It’s safe to say I’ve written all my life.  I wrote my first story at the age of nine.  But I didn’t truly encounter my own story, for myself and by myself, until after forty.  This is not uncommon, I’m told, for child abuse survivors, because our stories are coopted by our abusers.  In my case, family complicity and tolerance compounded the problem, because if I tried to speak about what was happening, I was punished for being “mean,” or told that I didn’t understand how much my parents loved me and how hard they worked for me.  And when it came time to talk about me and the family, the narrative was always the same.

    In journaling, though, I gradually began to hear glimmers of truth from myself.  I’d seen them my whole life, but was scared of them.  This, too, is common to trauma survivors.  Sometimes the truth is too terrifying to admit, too terrifying to even speak much less write.  But as I began to tell my own story, and to realize the official story was a lie, an interesting thing started to happen:  my PTSD symptoms lessened.  PTSD doesn’t go away entirely, not ever; it fundamentally changes the person who has it.  But we can learn to cope with it, and to develop mechanisms that help us to minimize stress and normalize our daily round.  For me, writing served as a gateway to that new self.

    What startled me was the fact I was terrified of this new self.  I’m told this, too, is normal among trauma survivors.  We’re taught that our selves are scary, bad, or any of a number of other things; none of which are accurate but to a child’s mind, they take on the weight of Truth.  We learn to internalize this abuse and become self-abusers as we become adults, perpetuating what was done to us as children.  Journaling serves as a kind of mirror for this behavior, allowing us to peel away those layers and to reveal the self within.  In my case, that process has taken forty years.  I’m not done yet.  But what I’ve learned is this:

    Keep writing.  Trust the words.  Trust time.  Tell your truth, if to no one else than yourself.  Write what you See.  Story is God.

    Write on.

     

    Resources

    “Overdose Death Rates,” National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse; December 2015, from the following link, accessed 04/28/2016.

    Your Life As Story, Tristine Rainer

    The New Diary, Tristine Rainer

    Life’s Companion:  Journal Writing as a Spiritual Quest, Christina Baldwin

    What It Is, Lynda Barry

  • 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.