Friday, February 28, 2014

Friday Five Minute Exercise - Limits

1. Set your clocks/timers for Five (5) Minutes.

2. Write about Limits. What limits do you set for yourself and others? Are these limits based on the behaviors and beliefs that you have been taught and/or absorbed throughout life? Do you believe that these self-inflicted limits affect your writing and your ability to achieve your inevitable success? Create a written plan to break self-imposed boundaries.

Get into as much detail as you can for the next five minutes.

3. Ready?

4. Go.

5. Finished? Review and be amazed.

I hope you had fun. Come back next Friday for a new writing prompt.

Was this exercise helpful?


Did you succeed with this writing exercise? Was it helpful? Did you identify any limits you've placed on yourself or others? Did you understand that these limits were taught or absorbed through life? Did any of the limits you discover affect your writing? In what way? Were you able to create a plan to break through those self-imposed boundaries? Was this exercise helpful? Did you enjoy it?


Why or Why Not?

Monday, February 24, 2014

There is no Age Limit for Pursuing Your Dreams

I'm turning over my blog to a guest blogger who has caught my eye. She has a unique style that captures the reader with a friendly "hello" and "let's sit and chat" manner. I hope you enjoy this post as much as I did.


Writing is an incredibly unique profession, it is perhaps one of the few careers that really does get better with age.  In today’s extreme youth oriented society, it is shocking to suggest that there is some benefit to getting older, but in terms of being a writer, age has a great many advantages.  After years working in healthcare and education, I decided it was time to do what I had always dreamed of and become a full time writer.  This has not been without some struggles, but I believe that right now is the best time for me to jump into writing with both feet.

Best-selling writer Elizabeth Gilbert is quoted saying “Writing is not like dancing or modelling; it’s not something where if you missed it by age 19 you’re finished.  It’s never too late.  Your writing will only get better as you get older and wiser.”  Using all of your life experience in your writing gives your work a richness and depth that is earned through all of the things you have learned along the way.   I am not suggesting that there are no good young writers, but there are a great many mature writers who had added so much to the literary world. 

The average age for a first published book in this country is 42.  My first book was published when I was 38 years old, so I beat the average just slightly.  After taking a few years off I am ready to jump back into the writing world and at almost 50 years old, I am in good company.  There are quite a few literary late bloomers like me.  One of my favorite authors, Claire Cook, likes to boast that she was writing her first novel at 45 and at 50 she was walking the red carpet as her book was turned in to a highly successful Hollywood movie.  She is living the writing fairy tale that many writers aspire to.  The unifying theme of all of her books is reinvention, an idea that seems to resonate with so many of us as we get older.  At 45 Cook is in good company.  Wildly popular author Janet Evanovich did not publish her first book until age 44.  Helen Dewitt also published the highly successful The Last Samurai at age 44.  These are not even some of the older authors that I discovered.  As a child I loved reading the Little House on the Prairie books.  I would read and share these books with my friends.  I was astonished to learn that Laura Ingalls Wilder did not even begin writing her stories until the age of 44 and she was first published at the age of 64.  My childhood would not have been the same if Ms. Inglls Wilder thought she was too old to try something new.  After leaving the teaching profession, Frank McCourt first published a book in his mid-sixties 


There has never been a better time to write and publish a book.  As the popularity of ebooks continues to grow exponentially, authors have so many choices for publication.  There are unending technology tools and resources available for writers.  No longer do authors have to spend days at the local library, trying to read old microfiche films, now just a few clicks on your lap top can yield the research needed for your latest book setting.  If you don’t want to go the traditional route of an agent and a publishing house, Indie publishing firms abound.  Once a book is written, authors have a plethora of marketing tools at their disposal through a whole host of social media platforms.  The tools for writing have improved so much, anyone with a computer and enough motivation can become a writer – at any age.


BIO:
Laurie Jake is a self-described writer, dreamer and child at heart.  Her unique insights on emotions and behavior come from her many roles as a wife, mother, sister and former middle school teacher.  Laurie wrote her first book in 2001.  Laurie lives in Arizona with her incomparable fiancĂ© and three unruly dogs. http://lookingonthesunnyside.blogspot.com/


Friday, February 21, 2014

Friday Five Minute Exercise: Fear

1. Set your clocks/timers for Five (5) Minutes.

2. Write about Fear. How does the emotion affect  your relationships with others? How does fear affect your writing? How does fear prevent you from accomplishing your goals and dreams? Today, make a plan to conquer a fear.

Get into as much detail as you can for the next five minutes.

3. Ready?

4. Go.

5. Finished? Review and be amazed.

I hope you had fun. Come back next Friday for a new writing prompt.

Was this exercise helpful?


Did you succeed with this writing exercise? Was it helpful? Did you identify your fears? How did you realize that your fear affected your writing? Did you figure out how fear prevented you from accomplishing your goals and dreams? Did you make a plan to conquer a fear? Do you want to share? Was this exercise helpful? Did you enjoy it?


Why or Why Not?

Monday, February 17, 2014

Writing Tip: Going MAD

After I wrote the title, I thought that readers could interpret it in many ways. As a writer, there have been many times I thought I would go mad before I would finish a writing project. Maybe you have thought the same thing, or are going through it right now.

But, in this sense, "Going MAD" means something entirely different. And, hopefully something that will help you jumpstart that writing project you've been putting off because of the plethora of things that must be done first.

This method of "Going MAD" is taken from the book, Your Writing Coach by Jurgen Wolfe. It's been a great help with other tips I've used to help you with your writing.

MAD = Massive Action Day

Some days you may feel that you are making little or no progress at all on your writing projects. Using the MAD technique can help.

Going MAD gives you permission to devote yourself to taking massive action toward a writing goal in order to jump-start or restart your progress.

Jurgen Wolfe outlines the ways to prepare for and conduct a MAD:

Focus on one goal at a time. What Wolfe means is to make major progress toward one specific writing goal. If you have lots of goals that might benefit from the MAD technique, schedule them as separate events.

Put the day into your schedule well in advance. Treat this MAD as you would any other extremely important appointment. - not as something that can be forgotten or set aside if something else comes up. Wolfe has also come up with the MAHD technique. Massive Action Half Day. This is for those who feel that assigning a whole day will be too difficult.

Be sure you have all the necessary materials, tools, and supplies ready at the beginning of the day. This is not the time to start wandering around looking for whatever you need to complete your writing project. Make sure you have it before the day arrives.

Insulate yourself from interruptions. This is extremely important, especially in a social media world. Don't take any calls. Don't check your e-mail, tweets, or pins. Explain your plan to anybody who might interrupt you and put a "do not disturb" sign on your door your near your desk to remind them. For some people, avoiding interruptions might work if you went to a totally different location.

At the beginning of the day, note down everything you plan to accomplish. Then prioritize the tasks and put them in the order in which you need to do them. It's a good strategy to break your tasks by time and make sure to add breaks so you can get up and stretch. Have some healthy snacks available and drink plenty of water.

When the time you've set for yourself to quit arrives, stop. Take a few minutes to look back at the plan you set out and see how much you achieved. There were obstacles, consider how you can prevent or overcome them on your next MAD. Recognize whether you underestimated or overestimated the amount of writing you could achieve, and take that into account next time.

Reward yourself for what you've accomplished. Take some time to do something enjoyable that you haven't done for a while -- see a movie, visit the spa, listen to a new CD, or whatever works for you.

Consider whether another MAD session would be useful, and, if so, pick a date and make the appointment.

IMPORTANT: Don't overdo this MAD technique. Don't schedule more than one MAD a week, otherwise they impact will be diluted.

You should notice a new energy in general after your MAD session. You'll find that it speeds up your progress and you might notice that you're enjoying writing again.

Writing will feel less like a struggle and more like all writers like to be --"in the flow" experience.

So, when are you scheduling your first MAD?



Image credit: ferli / 123RF Stock Photo

Friday, February 14, 2014

Friday Five Minute Exercise - Recurring Frustrations

1. Set your clocks/timers for Five (5) Minutes.

2. Write about Recurring Frustrations. Write about the stresses in your life. What decisions can you make to eliminate recurring stress?

Get into as much detail as you can for the next five minutes.

3. Ready?

4. Go.

5. Finished? Review and be amazed.

I hope you had fun. Come back next Friday for a new writing prompt.

Was this exercise helpful?


Did you succeed with this writing exercise? Was it helpful? Were you able to write about a recurring frustration in your life? Was it helpful to write about it and find a solution to eliminating it from your life? Was this exercise helpful? Did you enjoy it?


Why or Why Not?


Monday, February 10, 2014

Looking for Story Ideas in the Strangest Places

Where do you find your story ideas? Do you listen to other people's conversations? Do you take a walk in the park and get the spark of an idea from the wind in the trees, the waves of flowers as the wind rustles through?

Maybe you see a child playing on the swings and it reminds you of a long lost childhood.

Here's an exercise for you to get more story ideas from strange places.

Do you remember the five and ten store from your youth? Ours was a Ben Franklin store. I loved getting a chance to wander the many aisles and see all the items for sale. Ben Franklin had everything from bolts of fabrics to nuts and bolts of every size.

What we have now in our lives are Dollar Stores. Or Family Dollar Stores. Or Deals. Or Dollar Tree. Or whatever they are calling it in your area. It's a dollar store. Where everything is not a dollar. It's basically a place to sell overstocked items at a lower price.

If you strolled through one you, first you'll find items you never thought you needed, but you are sure you can find a use for, and second, you'll find a plethora of story writing ideas.

Here's a recent visit to a dollar store that had a refrigerated and frozen food section. I'll list some of the story ideas and you choose one to write:

1. Write the story of a nun buying twelve cans of Silly String and a pair of ear buds.

2. Play out the life story of a little boy crying at the top of his lungs because his mother won't buy him a plastic fireman's hat.

3. Write the rest of the dialogue that begins with an elderly woman yelling to her husband, "George, you gotta start eatin' better, like the doctor said. Do you wanna get these frozen fish sticks?"

Wait for a moment.

If you go to your local dollar store, stand still and listen. You'll find story ideas galore.

What was the strangest place you ever found a story idea?


Thursday, February 6, 2014

Friday Five Minute Exercise - Touch

1. Set your clocks/timers for Five (5) Minutes.

2. Write about Touch. Thing about life in relation to touch -- from birth until death. Write about the aspect that all living things must be touched and nurtured in some way to survive.

Get into as much detail as you can for the next five minutes.

3. Ready?

4. Go.

5. Finished? Review and be amazed.

I hope you had fun. Come back next Friday for a new writing prompt.

Was this exercise helpful?


Did you succeed with this writing exercise? Was it helpful? Were you able to write about touch? Did you make the connection from birth to death and how something -- any living thing -- must be touched and nurtured? Was it overwhelming? Was this exercise helpful? Did you enjoy it?

Why or Why Not?



Monday, February 3, 2014

The Blank Page

Nothing is ever so daunting to a writer than a blank page. First you need an idea. Some writers are overcome with ideas. Other writers grasp for ideas like a child catching wayward butterflies. I remember when I was manic with Bipolar Disorder. The ideas came so fast and furious I couldn’t keep up with them all. I built four 4-inch binders crammed with ideas. It really helped during the stable and down side of my illness when the ideas were drier than tumbleweeds blowing in a desert wind.

Once you have the idea, what are you going to do with it? You have to figure out a way to expand upon it and then decide what direction you want to take it in.

Fish is an idea.

Okay, saltwater or freshwater?

We’ll decide saltwater.  Now, are we going to talk about saltwater aquariums or saltwater fishing?

How much do you know about either? How much research are you planning on doing? Who or what are going to be your expert references?

Oh, wait. My husband had saltwater aquariums for almost fifteen years. I could go to him and ask him information about saltwater fish.

His advice, “Start small. Small aquarium and small fish.”

Sounds like solid reputable information. As I turn around to ask a follow up question, my husband is ahead of me. Hands me the business card of the our friend’s local aquarium store down the street and strolls into the garage to work on his RC airplanes and helicopters.

He’ll be useless to get any answers for the next few hours so I gather notebook and pen and head to our friend’s aquarium store. Eager to get my information about how to put together a saltwater aquarium and what fish to use, I drive with ease to the store.

The familiar bell tinkles as I make my entrance into the store. I look all around at abundance of underwater sea life. There are fish, invertebrates, rock, eels, (yuck), and shrimp.

My friend recognizes me and nods hello as customers surround him.  It’s always the same in his store. He works long hours and rarely has any time to himself. Whenever I’ve been in here with my husband, there’s three to four people deep around him, all shooting questions at him. Saltwater aquariums are a popular hobby.

So, do you know where I’m going with this information about how to get ideas instead of staring at a blank page? Start with an idea. Decide where to take the idea. Look for reputable resources to help you with it and voila you’re on your way to a great blog post or article.

Now, what do I do with his darn aquarium my friend talked me into buying? My husband is going to throw a fit when I bring it into the house. But, I couldn’t resist those cute little orange clown fish as they dart in and out of their homey anemone.