Just Another Life Transition...

My life is a series of transitions. Times where things shift in such a way that it requires a period of adjustment. I'm in one of those times now. As usual it requires a willingness to let go of the familiar and embrace the confusion of this moment. I'd like to say I know where I'll come out, but the reality is, I don't. 

It's been my experience that the less I attach myself to the familiar the easier the transition is. With transition comes confusion. I struggle to come to terms with what's changed and what will stay the same. Letting go of old patterns of thinking and embracing the new ones isn't easy. There's an anxiousness. A burning need to see what's on the other side. The unknown. 

One of the things I'm going to have to let go of for the time being is my blog and, sadly, my reviews. A sabbatical of sorts. While I don't know many specifics of the change, there are a few things I do know.

+ I've begun a new area of study. I'm currently completing course work through the Celebrant Foundation and Institute.

+ Ritual has always been important to me.

+I've struggled to create a sense of spirit in my life after choosing to leave 
  organized religion behind.

+ This new work will engage my writing, and creativity to provide meaningful
   ritual and personal ceremony during important life transitions we all 
   experience over and over again in our lives.  

As I enter this labyrinth of change, unsteady and anxious, I am confident, that like the many transitions that have gone before,  I will emerge a better person. My desire to serve others in meaningful ways and connect with others on a deeper level will be improved and I'll become truer to the person that I am, the person I want to be. 

There are a couple of loose ends that I will need to tie-up. 

On July 24th, Project Madison's 2nd birthday, I will be releasing the second edition of the first book, under a new title, If Dogs Could Blog. 

Next week I will release the new cover design, with chances to win copies. This new edition features illustrations by both the original artist the same creative gals that did It's NOT Just A Dog! 

I have a few more Author to Author interviews that I will be posting down the road.

When I will return to a more regular blogging schedule and what that will look like still remains a mystery. But, rest assured...I will be back...

In the meantime, I'll be lurking around my favorite blogs, finding new ones and periodically, when I have something worth saying I may pop on for some dialogue.

Thank you for your understanding. 

I hope this resonates with some of you. If so, let me know, it would be nice to hear from others that have or are going through a life transition. 

I'm Younging Not Aging

Have I found the fountain of youth? No. What I have discovered is our age has more to do with your frame of mind than the year on the calendar. So lets explore how "the young" think?

1)Embrace The New Day: Children hit the ground running, they can't wait to see what is going to happen. When was the last time you met the day with that much enthusiasm? When you see each day as a new beginning you can't possibly feel anything but renewed.

2) Learn Something New: Children intuitively know that there is so much that they don't know which gives them a hunger to learn. Did you learn something new today? Yesterday? The minute you think you know everything you are OLD.

3)Look Forward Not Backward: When a child is first learning to walk they inevitably fall. Do they obsess about why? Do they stop trying? Dwelling on the past and obsessing on what we perceive as mistakes freezes us from moving forward. Stagnation is the stuff of aging.

4) Find Joy In Simple Things: Have you ever seen a child with bubble wrap? How about the endless giggles that bubble from an infant when you make the same noise over and over again. Each time it's as if it was the first. Take a moment to enjoy the sound of the rain on your porch. Stretch out on some grass and enjoy the tickle on your back. Better yet roll down a hill or go buy some bubble wrap.

5) Do Things Differently: Shake It Up: Children are never caught up in ritual. We work very hard to teach them routine and order. It's not a bad thing except when you are controlled by it, unable to break free. Try driving a different way to work. Eat something different. What about starting on the other side of the supermarket? It will feel uncomfortable, but in a good way. Getting old is being set in our ways. Find balance in mixing things up. 

Are you younging or aging? 

The choice is yours!

C-Words of Fiction

The following are a list of important C-words that should be in any piece of fiction. If they're not there the story is flat and without tension. 

Crisis 
The crisis may be a recognition, a decision, or a resolution. The character understands what hasn’t been seen before, or realizes what must be done, or finally decides to do it. It’s when the worm turns. Timing is crucial. If the crisis occurs too early, readers will expect still another turning point. If it occurs too late, readers will get impatient–the character will seem rather thick. -Jerome Stern

Conflict

"If characters do not have internal or external conflict to meet, deal with, and overcome (or fail to overcome), then readers may find the story uninteresting."  -Kenny Tanemura

 

Change

"This may be the most important element that plot delivers to the longer narratives story. Change is the test of every action or event--and also every character who is perceived to be alive."  -Anne Lamott

Climax

"No matter what form it takes—a battle to the death or a quiet decision to do the right thing—the climax must be the culmination of the main story problem your character should have been pursuing from chapter one."  -Hilari Bell

Consequence

"An action along the line of the story is united to other events in the causal manner that says an act has consequence. This means that every action, speech, event, person, place or thing that lies along the narrative arc will eventually be shown to be in active relationship, in time and setting, to every other action, speech, event , person, place, or thing."  -Anne Lamott

Conclusion

"Don't leave your readers hanging in the dark at the end of your story. Be sure that your conclusion is satisfying, but not too predictable. Readers need to be left with a feeling of resonance, a feeling that they long to know what happened to the characters after you wrote that last word."  -Lee Masterson

Chance

A novel uses a web carefully woven of narrative coincidence, using events and incidents that must occur, according to the Gods of Plot, but still have the casual texture of everyday accident. Everything mus, in fact, feel accidental, spontaneous, as if it is happening because of the element of luck. -Anne Lamott

How do these play a role in the fiction you write? 

Oh, and the winner of the "Anyone Can Be A Teacher Contest" is..... Annie Crawford. Congratulations! You've won a $25 gift card to office depot for the teacher of your choice. Thanks for making your voice heard on behalf of teachers!!

My Favorite B Words

      I love words as does any writer. However, I have some words that are my absolute favorites, either because of how they sound when I say them, the feeling or picture they produce, or what they intuitively mean to me. 

     Today I thought I would share my three most favorite B words. These three words pretty much govern my philosophy of life. They provide a paradigm that I live by. Interestingly, I think they also apply to the writing life.

      Believe  A belief in yourself, a belief in the benevolence of others, and a belief that there is something larger than all of us. I'm not sure the specifics of what that is is as important as the belief that we are part of something greater, part of a power that governs the universe in which all living things play a vital role.

      Balance  Living and growing is a chaotic process. When we are in balance we see things clearer and make better choices. Our daily choices of how we spend our time are rarely between good and bad. They are about balancing our precious time between our families, our work and ourselves.

     Be     This is the hardest of the three. This is the word that tells us to slow down, stop and listen. To be is about learning to accept ourselves. Being allows us to stop the treadmill in order to hear our better self and appreciate who we are. It is about enjoying the moment. Being present in our lives.  

What are your favorite words?

Un-Goals For The Rebellious

Tweet

It's the first Monday of 2011 and like everyone else I'm wondering what this new year will bring. The pressure is on to set some lofty goals and hit the road running. We get out that fresh new sheet of paper, open that blank document and...*loud break squeal*...     What can I say, I'm a rebel. For years, I religiously set goals and created huge lists of stuff that I thought I should be learning, habits I should break and things that I should complete that year. By about February I had modified my goals and somewhere around May I would finally flush it all down the crapper.
    If this sounds foreign to you or you're scratching your head in confusion then stop reading and check out these great sites for inspirational goal setting:  Goal Setting For Writers, Setting Effective Writing Goals, Five Steps to Goal Setting, Writer Goals For 2011, Freelance Writers Goals, Meet Your Writing Goals, to name a few.
      If, on the other hand,  you're feeling comfortable and among friends then stick around for some instructions on setting UN-goals.
    Step One: Don't call them goals. Yeah, it's only semantics but for the organizationally challenged it can be a sure-fire end to success. These are target coordinates or directional focus points.
    Step Two: Honestly evaluate where you are. This is often a painful exercise but for any real progress, a vital exercise. For example: If you hate the smell and atmosphere of a gym, setting a goal to hit the gym 3-4 times a week is just plain stupid!
     Step Three:Reflect on your successes of 2010, not your failures. So many of us head into our new year with huge failure medals weighing us down before we even start the new year. What worked is what we want to focus on.  Do more of that.
    Step Four: Break it down to small palatable bites. The biggest mistake most of us make when contemplating "goals" is focusing on the beginning and the end. As any writer knows it's the middle of the story that causes the lull, that treading-water-in-army-boots craziness.  So... what one thing can you do everyday that will keep you going and pointed in the right direction.
    Step Five: Push reset often! The rebellious are easily bored. People like us tend to be random, spontaneous and need to shake things up to keep it interesting. Each month, each week and each day is brand new and can become whatever you decide you want it to be. Sometimes it even requires an hour to hour mentality. 
     Step Six:  Reward often. Celebrate every accomplishment. Create incentives for even the small steps along the way. 1500 word=latte. Five blog posts=chocolate bar. Completed rewrite=new book. You get the idea.
    Step Seven: Find a share-the-joy buddy. This isn't just any friend. This is the one that cheers with you, one that gets excited when you're excited and totally gets you.

There are probably more but I think you get the idea... don't set yourself up to fail before you even get out of the gate. We are way too hard on ourselves. Life and writing can be stressful enough without putting the added pressure of arbitrary goals. Any real accomplishments come from lifestyle changes, being a writer is a lifestyle. So...be the writer. How will you "be the writer" today?