Tag: Writer Zen Garden

  • For the Love of a Library

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    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!

  • K Is For Using Krav Maga To Kick the Inner Evil Critique Away

    Before you’d go into this post thinking I’m some kind of Krav Maga expert about to enlighten you on martial arts, let me assure you that I’m no expert. At all. At any kind of sport…I’m more of a couch potato, really.  ~grin~

    What I’d like to do is utilize Krav Maga’s basic principles to dealing with the evil inner critique. Julia Cameron calls the evil critique we have in our head The Censor, and in her book Finding Water, she recommends naming it something silly in order to lessen its power. So, if I’m talking about Cruella Von Poopy, know that I’m referring to my infernal inner evil critique.

    A little about inner critiques:

    Each one of us is born into a certain culture, a certain environment that have rules and etiquettes. We’re taught not to cross the road before looking both ways, we’re taught that walking around naked is a big no-no, that we need to shower every day and take care of our cleanliness, that it’s impolite to stare at strangers, that we must respect our elders, etc. There are rules for everything and they vary from society to society. And these rules often create conflict when they don’t align with our personal wants and needs.

    That’s when some people go to therapy in order to first untangle the voices that create the conflicts, then find a way to solve them.  For example, it could be that a man raised in a religious environment might have been taught from a young age that homosexuality is wrong, thus creating an imprint on his personality and a conflict between his needs and who he’s supposed to be. He might feel shame, he might feel disgust, he might feel not entitled to his own feelings…all because there are voices in his head, voices that have names and faces of the people from his circle, messing with his life.

     

    And there might be a woman who grew up in an achievement-focused family. Doctors, and lawyers, and business wo/men who only want what’s best for the woman. They want her to study hard, to get a high education, to advance in the world and make something bright and shiny of herself, something worthy, something…else than what she wants for herself. What she really wants is to live in the country and grow her own organic ranch. She isn’t interested in a fancy degree and title, she isn’t interested in a career in science or law. She wants to live in peace with her animals and plots. But she has all of these voices in her head, voices that have good intentions but they’re messing with her life, with her ability to live the kind of life she always dreamed of.

    So, rather than submitting to these voices, we might choose to fight them. And fight dirty, because there’s nothing as confusing as the pull of a river of people trying to carry you somewhere you don’t want to go. You need to hold on to every branch, every floating object, and kick against the stream like you’re life depends on it. Because it does.

    Why Krav Maga:

    In my humble opinion, we all have a Censor of one kind or another, and we all employ different methods to deal with it. Today, I chose Krav Maga’s principles because it’s a street fight martial art that realizes some fights are too messy to be handled with rules and etiquette and has one simple goal—keeping us safe, no matter what attacker we find ourselves facing. And the truth is, sometimes we’re our own worst enemy, and that’s when our fight, while inside our head, is no less real and dangerous then on the street facing a muggier. We don’t want to get in our own way. Sometimes that means digging deep and locating the source of our inner conflict, and sometimes it means employing a swift counter-attack by any means possible. That’s when the Krav Maga principles come into play.

    I originally chose kissing for this letter in the a-z challenge, but after 4 drafts of posts at which Cruella Von Poopy sneered, I despaired and dumped the subject. Recognizing my inability to finish this post as the work of Von Poopy as opposed to me being a boring individual with nothing to innovate on the subject of kissing, I decided to try another word and see if I could squeeze out a few words. So, I went on a Google search, and after reading about the principles of Krav Maga, I decided I’ll embrace them to fight Von Poopy, because something had to give. I HAD to write something for this post. I gave my word. And I’m tired of letting Von Poopy win.

    How to use the principles of Krav Maga to fight The Censor:

    Counterattacking as soon as possible

    There are three primal reactions when facing danger: freeze, flight, and fight. Freeze would be that first moment we recognize the threat, and then we usually choose between fight or flight. Now, assuming flight is not an option at the moment, because our attacker has us crowded in a corner with a gun aimed at our head, we need to find a way to defend ourselves. Some of us might opt to raise our hands and surrender—and that could be a viable, life-saving option. But if we’re talking about The Censor, a voice whispering mean things in our head, then we might opt to fight back. We could first raise our hands to block the worded low blow, but in Krav Maga the principle say we must change from defending ourselves to attacking as soon as possible.

    Some Defense Methods against The Censor:

    Stop whatever you’re doing and don’t engage. Take a walk to clear your head. Go on a Wikipedia binge and enjoy hopping from one listing to another. Play with the cat or dog. Fold the laundry and cross it of your tasks list. Take a few moments to procrastinate before you get back to the fight. It doesn’t have to be a long pause, especially if you have a deadline, but if you can walk away from the fight for a little while, that might mean the difference between a ruined project and a quick detour before reaching a milestone. That’s the benefit of having a fight in your own head, after all.

    Fight Dirty—all bets are off and all clichéd allowed!

    Make use of anything you have in your arsenal, rather than focusing on what’s not currently available. If you’re in a street fight, you use whatever object around you. A fist full of sand can blind the attacker. A branch turns into a club aimed to the head. A knee aimed at the solar plexus can bring a man down, and then a kick to the head can knock him out.

    Cruella Von Poopy might say I have no grasp of plot arcs, even though I can show her the recipes I have from all the workshops I took on plots. She’s a mean attacker, and she fights dirty, catching me at the most annoying situations. So I’ve gotta be ready to use whichever scrap around me and turn it into an attacking machine. Like choosing a different word to defend myself from the attack on my post drafts, then writing a madcap post about Krav Maga, my take on how Censors are created, and how it’s healthy, and normal, and there are so many methods to prevent it from taking over….

    Some Ready Tools to grasp at when fighting the censor:

    Affirmations—Turn the Censor’s criticism into an affirmation. Julia Cameron advises to turn blurts (criticism) into affirmations. Take a moment and listen to the blurts, then turn the words around. If The Censor calls your work silly, write down an affirmative line stating that there’s no such thing as a perfect draft.

    Go on a Pinterest binge—If The Censor says you’ll never finish a project, tell it you’re already half-way through! If you can’t manage to affirm yourself, try looking for inspiration on Pinterest. I have Pinterest boards that I feel with inspiring, motivational and funny quotes that make me smile and help me battle Von Poopy.

    Freestyle writing—if I feel stuck because my brain is clogged with blurts and worries, I take my notebook and write whatever comes to mind. It can be a rant. It can be a stream of unconnected words. It can be an unintelligible poem that means absolutely nothing. The point is to clear my head, puke it all on the page until I feel clearer.

    Do as much damage in as little time as possible –Go for the jugular

    Do not engage in a fancy battle with your chest puffing up like a peacock showing off his skills. We want this fight to end fast. We want to be swift, economic, go in for the knockout punch and get the hell out of the scene of encounter. Because you can never know if the attackers have backup nearby, or how long it’ll take them to wake up from their temporary swoon. So, you knock ‘em out, then run like hell.

    Some Swift Attack Weapons against The Censor

    Artist dates—another one of Julia Cameron’a tools, and a very helpful one. The idea is to take your inner child artist out for a date. It doesn’t have to be something grand and time consuming. It can be 10 minutes of doodling, taking a moment to color in an adult (or children) coloring book, taking a trip to the nearby flower shop and gifting yourself with a colorful bouquets, or putting on an upbeat song and dancing for the sheer joy of it.

    Call for back up—reach out a friend who’s good at seeing the silver lining, who’ll encourage you and fill you with a sense of optimism.

    Laugh—watch a funny movie or a standup comedy show, read a joke, make use of the ample funny cats/dogs video circling around Facebook, or whatever appeals to your sense of humor.

    Use your talent—we all have one. If you’re a writer, write a silly scene about The Censor and lessen its power. If you’re an illustrator, turn The Censor into a caricature. If you’re a song writer, write a song about it. Use your talent to make fun of The Censor.

    Keep your eyes open—and watch out:

    When engaging in a street fight, it’s paramount to be aware of everything that happens around us. You’re crowded in a corner. The attacker flashed out a knife. You froze. They used that moment to jump at you, but you moved in time and avoided being stabbed. Locating a sturdy-looking branch, you snatch it and club the attacker over the head. The attacker falls. Focused on trying to figure out if you knocked him out for good, you miss noticing another attacker coming from behind you. That’s why you need to keep watching your surroundings. You don’t want to be caught off guard.

    So, I found another letter for this post. That stemmed Von Poopy for a few moments while I researched, but she came at me again the moment I started writing. It didn’t stop me from writing this time, because I kept watch for her. I scrambled for a weapon, remembered Julia Cameron’s advice about The Censor, and wrote. When Von Poopy called my post silly, I punched her by reasoning that we all have a Censor, and that brought on a sense that I’m not alone in this, and that maybe, by writing this strange post I might connect with someone else out there battling their own Censor.

    In this sense, keeping my eyes open means acknowledging the Censor so I’d be able to fight it, then reaching out to others. Because we’re never alone in our fights, even if the Censor might swear that we are. The Censor lies. And if these voices in our head come from an outer source, then we could employ other voices to resolve the conflict. The kind and encouraging voices that push us forward and help us defend ourselves.

    What about you? What are your methods to fight The Censor?

  • Is It Inspiration, Invention or Insight? or, Where Do You Get Your Story Ideas?

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    When people ask me where I get my ideas for stories and I have no answer for them except; I keep my eyes open and “it comes to me.”

    It’s true, there is nothing new under the sun, no unimagined ideas, no unshared topics.  There is however an unnumbered ways of viewing those experiences.

    Take Romeo and Juliet for example – of course Shakespeare penned it back in Elizabethan times but it was re-imagined in New York City’s gritty neighborhoods with street gangs instead of feuding families and ‘voila,’ West Side Story.  I’ve seen other versions, one set against the backdrop of World War II where an American girl falls in love with a Japanese boy and the Disney entry that showcases Pocahontas’ and John Smith’s love as their people fight openly in the background.  In fact, isn’t every romance story ever written about two people that fall in love and must struggle to find a way to become one despite their differences, their worlds, their friends and family?

    The basic idea of love resonates as a ‘universal truth’ that most humans face at least once in their lives and each new author reflects that story onto the page through the filter of their own individual reality.

    In “It,” Stephen King brings two now grown teenagers back together as adults and forces them to confront an evil they fought in their youth.  As they battle this monster, they remember their love for each other and come together in the end.  Yes, I said it; Stephen King rewrote Romeo and Juliet as a horror story.  That is his own view of the world, or at least the one he uses as he writes.

    So, back to me.  I write what I know, what I see, what I’ve experienced; and that means I need to keep my eyes open for that element that will bring me to the page.  I may be outside looking at the stars above me or watching a preview for a new show on CBS but both of those acts have brought memories or emotions to my mind and inspired stories.

    So, it’s important I keep my mind open; that I observe and not just exist.  In the Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron calls this idea ‘filling the well.’  Do something fun, something new, or something you love.  And keep your mind open as you do.  Fill your consciousness with the world around you.  There are so many beautiful, and yes ugly and painful things around you.  These are the things inspiration is made of.

    Take that ‘inspiration’ and find its meaning inside you, this is where the ‘insight’ part comes in.  Then invent something with it; something very individual, something your very own.  The universal truth is there as your inspiration, but the other two ‘I’ words have turned it into something new.

    I believe all three must be present to create.  Why don’t you give it a try?

  • 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~

  • A is for Artist’s Way…

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    Image Copyright 2016 by Darla M. Sands. All Rights Reserved. Used with Permission.

    By all accounts I’m a newbie to Julia Cameron’s the Artist’s Way and my status is “currently reading” on Goodreads. 🙂

    That being said, I can at times be a bit of a zealot when I find something new and “shiny”. When I read a book that sparks my passion, or uncovers hidden truths about writing, craft, publishing or any non-fiction books sparking a “Right on…” sort of response.

    My family is usually the first to witness this phenomenon when I buy them the books for Christmas. And then my friends.

    My children received Sewing Books for Christmas, because I thought the knowledge was so wonderful.

    My sister and best friend received calendars which held quotes from an author, whom I find enlightening.

    In spite of my conversion tendencies, I tend to not follow my own convictions. Which brings me back to the Artist’s Way…and my lack of completion of the book. It seems a bit hypocritical for me to tout the wisdom of the book, without actually completing the work myself, doesn’t it. I like to think Ms. Cameron will forgive my error, and hopefully appreciates my “word-of-mouth,” recommendations.

    This isn’t to say that I don’t finish things, I absolutely do. It seems to when it comes to taking on things that I perceive as “learning” I procrastinate. Much like a student writing a paper. Hmm, this seems to be a theme in my writing as well…but that’s a letter for another day.

    Perhaps I should’ve said, “A is for Accountability”. ~Tina

  • 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.

  • 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?

  • L Is For… Location! – with Guest, Grace Kahlo!

    Please help me welcome Grace Kahlo, one of the newest members of the Writer’s Retreat.  Grace, take it away! 

    No matter which genre you write, location is a fundamental base to your story. The setting complies of more than time and place. It goes along with culture, architecture, vegetation, dialect, and everything that makes your story world complete and unique.
    The fun thing about location is that how you go about it depends on you. Some writers choose to write about a location they know, some travel especially for research purposes, some writers enjoy couch traveling, and some invent everything from scratch.
    Personally, I prefer to spend less time researching, and more time writing. I’m currently writing and editing a romantic high fantasy, and planning a contemporary romantic suspense. 
    For the fantasy, I pretty much invented every aspect of the setting, and even drew a map of the world. I decided I wanted a mountain ridge, with each mountain belonging to a different type of magical being. On the lower grounds, I have a city for wizards, city for witches, and basically there are different beings on every piece of land. 
    Why?
    Because, in my story, the land chooses its caretaker.
    Now what would happen when different beings want to live on other lands? It’s gonna get messy, and that’s part of the fun. 🙂
    That’s just scratching the surface. Because every caste of magical beings have their culture, their dialect, their approach to the land. And the weather is different on a mountain’s peak—colder, fresh and biting—than the warm, moist weather of the lower grounds.
    So, setting is an integral part of every story.
    For the contemporary, I need to research. My starting point is that I need a woodsy area with wild animals to heighten the stakes and make the scenes heart-thumping with worry and danger. I decided to go with Florida. Now I need to set a trail, because there’re going to be lots of running away and chases in the book. 

    How about you? How do you go about deciding the location and all of the details of your setting?

  • J Is For… Just – and Other Garbage Words

    We all use them.  They’re the little words that don’t really need to be there, like “really.”  They come from colloquial conversation and pepper our writing because it’s how we talk, but not necessarily how we write.

    Here are some examples of “garbage words” that I look for when I’m editing a manuscript:

    • So
    • That
    • Then
    • And then
    • Just
    • Really
    I literally use the “find” function in my word processing software to look for these words.  This helps me tighten up the writing.  So, you really just have to find the words that make your writing slow down, then remove them, and then you’ll really have something that’s just worth reading.
    See?  Easy as pie.
    What about you, Dear Reader?
    What is your favorite editing tip?

  • I Is For… Initiation

    When I attend prompt circles and other writerly groups, one question that keeps cropping up is, “How do I get started?”  It’s usually asked by someone that, to my eye, is quite ready to get onto the page, they just don’t know where the page is.  My answer is always the same:  open your journal and start writing.  Set a timer for ten minutes.  Write whatever’s in your mind.  If you totally can’t think of anything to write, then tell me how you got here, to this moment, today – start from the minute you woke up this morning.

    That’s it.  Start with where you are.  Right here.

    Now.

    What about you, Dear Reader?
    What’s the best advice you have for getting started (in anything, not just writing)?