ABCs for New Writers – “H” is for Harness Creativity

It’s funny, when someone uses the term “harness” in my brain it conjures up the image of a cowboy lassoing a mighty stallion. I must have been a cow poke in a former life. I also envision “harness” as something you do to energy or atoms; capturing it in little glass jars like fireflies.


But, when I speak in terms of harnessing creativity, I am telling you to liberate it. I know it’s an antonym. Are you wondering how to do it? Well, in my case and that of a number of other writers I know, you get the opposite of BICHOK (butt in chair hands on keys) and do a little hard labor. There’s nothing like some back-breaking hard work to clear your head and get the creative juices flowing again.

Oh, so that’s too much to ask? Okay, hit a road block or writer’s block and see if you don’t change your mind. Dolly Parton has been known to fast - yes, I mean stop eating - in order to get her creativity revved up and has written entire albums full of heartfelt songs while consuming nothing but fruit juice. Who wouldn't with the promise of a cheeseburger once finished?



My friend and critique partner came for our weekly check-in on Friday and we talked about how good it was to step away from our respective WIPs and do a little physical work. Pam tore her house apart and painted both her son’s room and her piano studio while on spring break, and emerged with new direction and ready to get back to work on a project that had been threatening to go into the recycle bin. I have taken on a very intense gardening project that involves five raised beds, two sections of patio and surrounding flower beds. It is an undertaking but one I needed to pull me away from my recent lack of enthusiasm over my WIP.



An unstoppable garden under construction.
If I stop now I have a mosh pit.



Talk about getting derailed (March 16, 2011). It happens sometimes – life – and it takes away from everything a writer holds sacred – time, passion, fervor – all gone replaced by the burdensome weight of sadness, anger and frustration. It takes time to get creativity back on track, so liberate it in other ways and keep feeding your soul. Go fishing if you have to. Take on a new workout routine. Get physical. I promise it will make slipping off track much easier to deal with emotionally.

Tell us something about you. What kind of heavy lifting gets your mind off your troubles? Do you ever find yourself lacking enthusiasm over your WIP (whatever it may be)? How do you liberate creativity?

Until Wednesday I remain back-broken and dirty but Unstoppable.

Around of Words in 80 Days - My first Wednesday Update

Yes, it's sad but true, I signed on for a challenge at a time in my life that there is no time. Pamela Mason, your comments about a challenge for those of us with a life, to you I say, "Ha!" Waking up = No TIME! Not even for a challenge for which you set your own goals.

So, here I am to tell you that for the first two days of ROW80 I have done nothing but brainstorm. Ideas and research have been running rampant through my head. Now, if someone could take dictation, they might actually make it to the page.

Happy challenge to all of you ROW80ers. Maybe I'll find the minimal 45 minutes I require of myself tomorrow.

Lindy
aka The Unstoppable (currently reconsidering her name) Ms. Start

ABCs for New Writers – “D” is for Determine, Devise, Design

As a new writer there is nothing more important than getting started. Believe me, if you do nothing else today - get going. Two years ago when I left my career to be a full-time mom and writer I had to get started right away. So, I took a class at Emory and thought, Wow! Now I’ve got it! I’m ready! What was I ready for? Ha! I thought after that one class that I was ready to take the publishing world by storm. What I was really prepared for was…wait for it…getting started.

Let’s stop here at the first “D” word for today – Determine. Before I could take even the tiniest step into my journey as a writer I had to determine that writing was what I really, with all of my heart and soul, wanted to do. Yes, you really have to decide if this is it otherwise you’re going to go through the birthing process only to find you aren’t Dickens, Tolkien, or Ephron, face the rejection of a lifetime and quit or self publish and fail miserably. Did I just burst your bubble? Good! Somebody needed to. Writing is for everyone but becoming a published author takes guts, gumption, fearlessness, commitment. It is not easy nor is it without pain. Still want to proceed? I had a feeling you might. Let’s move on to our second “D” word for today – Devise.

So I put on my project management hat and had, in order to be successful, to devise a plan. My plan for 2011 is called: My Writing and Career Goals. It consists of weekly and monthly goals for this blog, my website, WIPs, the blog I am launching with critique partners Pam Asberry and Pamela Mason, working on my career plan and goals for 2012, and last but certainly not least a job I can actually bill hours for. Take something as simple as this blog (you only think it’s an information dump) - I have an editorial calendar mapped out through the end of the year with topics to write about three times each week, and so it goes for every one of my goals. But making a plan is only part of it because in all of this you must live. Which leads us to our final “D” word – Design.

No, I’m not talking about designing a platform, a website, or even a plot. I’m talking about designing your life. If you were sitting here at my desk right now looking up at My Writing and Career Goals you might find it easy to fold under the pressure. I often do. Some days I sit here paralyzed wishing that I didn’t put so much into achieving my dreams. Some days being immobile is the best thing for me. Some days I have to, as my friend Pam calls it, refill the well. But that’s the thing about designing your life. You must recharge your batteries every single day. You must eat, sleep, play and work. Not just WORK. Yes, work is a four letter word. W.O.R.K. See. Anyway, design time to not only grow yourself and your career, but to live. Go to the gym, take a walk, go to the nearest bouncy play place with your kids and jump like you're a five year old, read, journal, cook, paint – do what makes you happy. And when the responsibilities wear you down, well, forgiveness is another topic for another day (a couple of weeks from now) but be ready to love yourself for letting go of what you can. Do what’s important; forget and forgive the rest.

It’s officially time for you to join the conversation. I want to hear from someone who has been stalking this blog. I dare you to come out of the shadows and tell us about your plans as a new writer or even as a human. You could even win a t-shirt. All of today’s commentators will be entered to win the Unstoppable t-shirt.

Until Wisdom Wednesday, I remain Unstoppable.

Wisdom (from chocolate) Wednesday - Celebrate Life!

Sometimes I feel like such a fraud sharing tidbits of wisdom with you, especially when it comes to things like celebrating your own life. But I realized this morning that in my attempt to reach you, I am really reaching out to me. Sounds crazy, yes, but does it make sense? How often have you offered advice knowing full well that you don’t practice what you preach (but you want to)?

Well, here I am on another Wednesday, my heart in my hand, telling you what I need to hear. Are you ready?

The more you praise and celebrate your life the more there is in life to celebrate. – Love, Dove

Yes, you read it right. Insight from a piece of chocolate. Dark chocolate with almonds in this case.
The marketers at Dove are pure genius just like the folks who decided to put stuffed animals on the lowest shelves in the store to attract little ones. Who wouldn’t keep buying bags of chocolates when shown the path to enlightenment, individuality, joy? I certainly do. Every time I visit the grocery store I shyly make my way to the candy isle knowing I can’t afford another calorie, but longing for a tiny bit of something to keep me inspired, moving through life with hope instead of desperation. Off soap box, back on ground.

Think about who you are, really. I publicize myself as a writer. Have I been published? Yes, in many ways, but I have yet to sell a novel. Does that stop me from reveling in the fact that I’m a writer? Heck no! It’s on my business cards. I’m a writer. A PRO. No longer a hobbyist in my field, but someone willing to go the extra distance it takes to finish, revise, develop a platform, build an audience, and market, market, market. I’m happy to celebrate that little piece of me and in doing so hope that one day I can celebrate publishing a novel. Put it out there so it comes back tenfold. That’s the message.

My good friend and critique partner, Pam Asberry shared a smart little video in her blog this week that made me realize how necessary it is to look at life differently (from the opposite). Little ways to get inspired and celebrate who we are and the lives we live.

Back on soap box…As humans I think it’s easy to forget how to celebrate, as Americans I believe we’re cursed with believing we’ll never achieve to our highest ability so there’s nothing to celebrate. The American Dream has morphed from a two bedroom one bath house, with a car in the driveway, two kids and a pet into McMansions, cars for each member of the family and sixteen hour workdays to support it all. With all of this, who has time to party? And, when did we lose sight of the little things that need celebrating?

My Aunt’s brother Don has been suffering the ills of cancer for what seems like forever and yesterday after a long wait he endured the surgery to replace all of his organs. Yep, you heard me right – ALL. Don’t you think when Don wakes up he’s going to rejoice in his life? Why should we wait for such dire circumstances when we have minutes and hours each day to revel in the little things?

So, here’s your challenge for today – be your curse heartache, a huge mortgage, illness, addiction, six kids in college, or a job that works your fingers to the bone – take the afternoon off from your brand of crazy and enjoy yourself! See things from another direction. Take in this gorgeous spring day! See what you can learn from the triumphs and the tragedies! Laugh with your kids and family! Celebrate you!

Diane Ackerman once said, “I don’t want to be a passenger in my own life.” I think, just for today, I will follow her lead and direct my head strong locomotive right where I want it to go, to a party just for me, just because.

Until tomorrow, I will party and work myself crazy in order to remain Unstoppable.

Wisdom Wednesday - Get Derailed, But Only For A Minute

There’s nothing like the pain and frustration that accompany getting derailed in life. Whether you are following your dream of becoming a writer, pursuing a new career path, or finding comfort in staying home to raise a child, when “life happens” and your speeding locomotive jumps the track, what do you do?

As someone who has experienced this phenomenon this week, I must say I’ve been given some of the best advice. One dear friend told me, “Wallow. Take the time you need to wallow today, but tomorrow, get your butt back to work, dig your toes in and be stubborn about it.”

So I did. But, instead of wallowing alone I invited friends to join me. I had lunch with a handful of wonderful people including a man I recently completed book edits for, followed by a visit from two besties. Once the visits were over and I had found some peace, I got some sleep. This morning brought a visit by my two critique partners, Pam Asberry and Pamela Mason, and some sense of digging my toes in. And this afternoon the fog cleared from my brain and I moved on a bit, my bitterness quelled by a nice dinner out with an old friend.

I guess the point is it doesn’t matter what comes out of life’s tunnels to throw you off track, take a break if you need to but get back on track as quickly as you can. Hold onto the dreams you have built for yourself. Don’t give in completely to the derailment. In the end you have only yourself to be accountable to. I don’t know about you, but I really don’t want to have to face disappointing myself.

Mary Tyler Moore once said, “You can’t be brave if you’ve only had wonderful things happen to you.” So, take firm grasp of the bull in the middle of your life’s track, wrestle with it, and then move it out of your way. You have much more important things to focus on.

Until tomorrow’s Truth or Fiction, I remain Unstoppable.

Powerful Friendship

Recently, I've discovered a lot of new things about myself. I don't really know if it's because I'm breeching that BIG 4-0 in the next couple of years (as we all know wisdom comes with age, at least for some); or if my life has taken on new meaning; or, maybe I have finally reached a point so close to blissful perfection (for this minute) that I can stand back and look at myself. But what I have seen is nothing short of outstanding.

Listen, I've spent years putting aside my needs and desires to make sure everyone else in my life had what they needed. It's only fair that, at the ripe old age of 38, I can change that and take care of myself and even give myself a little credit. Life's hard enough without putting off today what you can do tomorrow. Right?

So, I started writing again. Proudly, I just finished my second novel, Releasing Saint Angel. For me that means the draft was finished a month ago, the first revision is complete, the prologue and the epilogue are written to my satisfaction and my critique partners and close friends/editors have it in hand to read and give me a thumbs up or down. Either way: it's done. I've finished what I started. My first toot your own horn discovery about my new and improved self.

Believe it or not, I was once a very lonely, isolated person. My only friends were those that I worked with, so whenever I changed jobs, I got to leave those friends behind (for the most part) and start anew. Guess what? I really enjoy having friends, girlfriends, boyfriends, furry friends - it doesn't matter the make or the model, it’s just really nice to have someone to call when you are ironing and watching the toddler play naked in the backyard with the neighbor's dog and the water hose. You know? To the old friends that I decided were keepers, I've added a host of new friends. Friends that I met in places I love like the Georgia Romance Writers meeting I attend each month. This month I met two wonderful new writers/girlfriends and we formed an instant critique group. I'm honored to have them in my life. You know who you are. Pam and Pam! So, my second toot your own horn discovery about my new self is Wow! It’s really cool to have friends and feel like you are part of something.

My final lesson about my new and improved self, and one that warrants the loudest toot is that staying grounded while doing what you love gives you the inspiration, heart and soul to keep going, letting go of fears that might hold you back, to produce your very best work. Not the work of writing, but the work of life. Karen White spoke at our Georgia Romance Writers meeting last Saturday and told just such a story. It was a powerful lesson in humility for anyone, not just writers. One minute you are up, with the next rejection letter you are down, but in between is the stuff that really matters: like the toddler playing naked in the backyard with the neighbor's dog and the garden hose.

Until next time, dear friends, I remain Unstoppable.