Showing posts with label The Blogging from A-Z Challenge April 2012. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Blogging from A-Z Challenge April 2012. Show all posts
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Story A Day in May: Progress Report
I learned about Story A Day from new blogging buddy, Elizabeth Twist. (For The Blogging A-Z Challenge April 2012, Elizabeth posted bits of research she planned on using for stories written for Story A Day in May.)
Knowing my creativity needed a boost, I signed up. Two days before it started. Two days. I had no plan, no prompts, no list, no nothing. While my husband wondered what had happened to his real wife, I banged my head on my desk a few times, hoping to shake some sense loose.
And, as usual, I worried for nothing. I am loving this challenge! I modified it a bit - as The Rules say you're free to do - and that helped me feel less, um, stressed. Instead of writing a story every day, I write one story every weekday. So, by the end of May, I'll have 23 new stories, some of which I'll revise and sub, some of which I won't. (As of today, I have seven stories written and I plan on going back to three of them.)
For me, it's become about focused creativity. My muse knows that Monday thru Friday we need to come up with . . . something. It needs a beginning, a middle, and end. It can be based on the prompts from Story A Day or not. It can be long or short or micro.
It's become more about the craft, more about story itself. And isn't that really what it's all about anyway?
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Whew!
I don't know about all of you other Blogging A-Z Challenge April 2012 participants but I am tired . . . and grateful.
Tired - because I had no idea blogging daily was so much work. Plus, since I am not a naturally positive person (oh, do I work on it!) it took a lot of effort to write interesting, encouraging, motivating posts. I so hoped it worked - at least most of the time! - and that you found support and inspiration and some like-minded souls and a new friend (or three - me and the tortoises.)
Grateful - because I was once again reminded of how many creative, amazing, talented, funny, sincere people live and breathe and make art out there in the world beyond the palm trees and beaches that border my little corner of the universe.
Thank you to Arlee Bird and the rest of the A-Z Challenge co-hosts for running this blog hop, and thank you to all the wonderful bloggers who commented and "followed" us here at The Shellshank Redemption. We hope you'll come back soon!
Monday, April 30, 2012
Give Me a Z! ZEST
Welcome to The Blogging A-Z Challenge April 2012! Some of the most popular posts here at The Shellshank Redemption are the Motivational Mondays. So, after consulting the tortoises, we decided to make April our Motivational Month! Please join us for this (almost!) daily dose of alphabetical inspiration. We hope you enjoy it!
* ZEST. GUSTO. HOW RARELY ONE HEARS THESE WORDS USED. HOW RARELY DO WE SEE PEOPLE LIVING, OR FOR THAT MATTER, CREATING, BY THEM. YET IF I WERE ASKED TO NAME THE MOST IMPORTANT ITEMS IN A WRITER'S MAKE-UP, THE THINGS THAT SHAPE HIS MATERIAL AND RUSH HIM ALONG THE ROAD HE WANTS TO GO, I WOULD ONLY WARN HIM TO LOOK TO HIS ZEST, SEE TO HIS GUSTO. (RAY BRADBURY) *
If you looked up the words “zest” or “gusto” in the dictionary . . . you would not see my picture. I am quiet and tend to hover on the edges, in the background. I am more likely to be part of the team than to be its leader. And yet…
My verve, my oomph, my zest is there - it’s just on the inside. It emerges in these blog posts and in my stories and novels. I am not quick with the witty comeback or the snappy retort but oh! my characters are. If you ask me about a book I read, my eyes will light up. I can talk about writing and imagination and creativity the way people talk about their children - with love and awe and gratitude.
On this last post for The Blogging A-Z Challenge April 2012, I give you these wonderful words by Ray Bradbury and I wish you zest and gusto in all your future endeavors.
* ZEST. GUSTO. HOW RARELY ONE HEARS THESE WORDS USED. HOW RARELY DO WE SEE PEOPLE LIVING, OR FOR THAT MATTER, CREATING, BY THEM. YET IF I WERE ASKED TO NAME THE MOST IMPORTANT ITEMS IN A WRITER'S MAKE-UP, THE THINGS THAT SHAPE HIS MATERIAL AND RUSH HIM ALONG THE ROAD HE WANTS TO GO, I WOULD ONLY WARN HIM TO LOOK TO HIS ZEST, SEE TO HIS GUSTO. (RAY BRADBURY) *
If you looked up the words “zest” or “gusto” in the dictionary . . . you would not see my picture. I am quiet and tend to hover on the edges, in the background. I am more likely to be part of the team than to be its leader. And yet…
My verve, my oomph, my zest is there - it’s just on the inside. It emerges in these blog posts and in my stories and novels. I am not quick with the witty comeback or the snappy retort but oh! my characters are. If you ask me about a book I read, my eyes will light up. I can talk about writing and imagination and creativity the way people talk about their children - with love and awe and gratitude.
On this last post for The Blogging A-Z Challenge April 2012, I give you these wonderful words by Ray Bradbury and I wish you zest and gusto in all your future endeavors.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Give Me a Y! YES
Welcome to The Blogging A-Z Challenge April 2012! Some of the most popular posts here at The Shellshank Redemption are the Motivational Mondays. So, after consulting the tortoises, we decided to make April our Motivational Month! Please join us for this (almost!) daily dose of alphabetical inspiration. We hope you enjoy it!
* YOU HAVE TO DECIDE WHAT YOUR HIGHEST PRIORITIES ARE AND HAVE THE COURAGE - PLEASANTLY, SMILINGLY, NON-APOLOGETICALLY - TO SAY ‘NO’ TO OTHER THINGS. AND THE WAY YOU DO THAT IS BY HAVING A BIGGER ‘YES’ BURNING INSIDE… (Stephen Covey) *
I know that to some people I - and my husband - have made some odd or, at least different, choices. We moved to a place where we didn’t know anyone. We don’t have children. My husband created his own business. I don’t have a higher degree or a “regular” job or a “real” career. We have tortoises instead of a dog or a cat.
And even though I was doing the right thing for me, I often felt guilty, like I had to half-apologize to people because I wasn’t doing things the “normal” way, the way most of the people I knew did things. And, from what I could tell, my thoughts and my feelings were also “off” from the norm. I kept coming back to the idea that maybe it was me, that I was wrong, or that there was something wrong with me.
But then a wise and witty friend of mine told me, “Normal? Who wants to be normal? Normal means average, and who wants to be average?”
Not me.
How about you?
* YOU HAVE TO DECIDE WHAT YOUR HIGHEST PRIORITIES ARE AND HAVE THE COURAGE - PLEASANTLY, SMILINGLY, NON-APOLOGETICALLY - TO SAY ‘NO’ TO OTHER THINGS. AND THE WAY YOU DO THAT IS BY HAVING A BIGGER ‘YES’ BURNING INSIDE… (Stephen Covey) *
I know that to some people I - and my husband - have made some odd or, at least different, choices. We moved to a place where we didn’t know anyone. We don’t have children. My husband created his own business. I don’t have a higher degree or a “regular” job or a “real” career. We have tortoises instead of a dog or a cat.
And even though I was doing the right thing for me, I often felt guilty, like I had to half-apologize to people because I wasn’t doing things the “normal” way, the way most of the people I knew did things. And, from what I could tell, my thoughts and my feelings were also “off” from the norm. I kept coming back to the idea that maybe it was me, that I was wrong, or that there was something wrong with me.
But then a wise and witty friend of mine told me, “Normal? Who wants to be normal? Normal means average, and who wants to be average?”
Not me.
How about you?
Friday, April 27, 2012
Give Me an X! X-RAYS
Welcome to The Blogging A-Z Challenge April 2012! Some of the most popular posts here at The Shellshank Redemption are the Motivational Mondays. So, after consulting the tortoises, we decided to make April our Motivational Month! Please join us for this (almost!) daily dose of alphabetical inspiration. We hope you enjoy it!
* WORDS CAN BE LIKE X-RAYS IF YOU USE THEM PROPERLY - THEY’LL GO THROUGH ANYTHING. YOU READ AND YOU’RE PIERCED. (Aldous Huxley, Brave New World) *
This makes me think of Cupid’s arrow - you’re struck and you’re in love. I was pierced by words - and fell in love with them - at a very early age. The idea that letters grow into words, and words into sentences, and sentences into paragraphs until a story - a story! - is born is still one of the most amazing concepts to me. And the fact that I could make that happen - that some quiet, introverted, unpopular girl could create worlds on a page, that she could grow up (still quiet and introverted and maybe not quite so unpopular) and be able to do that all the time? It’s something I am eternally grateful for. Every. Single. Day.
* WORDS CAN BE LIKE X-RAYS IF YOU USE THEM PROPERLY - THEY’LL GO THROUGH ANYTHING. YOU READ AND YOU’RE PIERCED. (Aldous Huxley, Brave New World) *
This makes me think of Cupid’s arrow - you’re struck and you’re in love. I was pierced by words - and fell in love with them - at a very early age. The idea that letters grow into words, and words into sentences, and sentences into paragraphs until a story - a story! - is born is still one of the most amazing concepts to me. And the fact that I could make that happen - that some quiet, introverted, unpopular girl could create worlds on a page, that she could grow up (still quiet and introverted and maybe not quite so unpopular) and be able to do that all the time? It’s something I am eternally grateful for. Every. Single. Day.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Give Me a W! WHO
Welcome to The Blogging A-Z Challenge April 2012! Some of the most popular posts here at The Shellshank Redemption are the Motivational Mondays. So, after consulting the tortoises, we decided to make April our Motivational Month! Please join us for this (almost!) daily dose of alphabetical inspiration. We hope you enjoy it!
* BE WHO YOU ARE AND SAY WHAT YOU FEEL, BECAUSE THOSE WHO MIND DON’T MATTER AND THOSE WHO MATTER DON’T MIND. (Dr. Seuss) *
I’ve learned the hard way that there are people in this world who only like you when you do what they want you to, the way they want you to. I read somewhere that if you can’t say “no” to someone, then you can’t really say “yes” to them either. (Really think about that a minute. It blew me away.)
The people who truly care about the real you will accept the “no.” They probably won’t like it. You might have to agree to disagree. Everyone might have to compromise a bit to come up with a solution everyone can live with. The people who matter understand that.
It’s about respect, on all sides.
* BE WHO YOU ARE AND SAY WHAT YOU FEEL, BECAUSE THOSE WHO MIND DON’T MATTER AND THOSE WHO MATTER DON’T MIND. (Dr. Seuss) *
I’ve learned the hard way that there are people in this world who only like you when you do what they want you to, the way they want you to. I read somewhere that if you can’t say “no” to someone, then you can’t really say “yes” to them either. (Really think about that a minute. It blew me away.)
The people who truly care about the real you will accept the “no.” They probably won’t like it. You might have to agree to disagree. Everyone might have to compromise a bit to come up with a solution everyone can live with. The people who matter understand that.
It’s about respect, on all sides.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Give Me a V! VICTORIES
Welcome to The Blogging A-Z Challenge April 2012! Some of the most popular posts here at The Shellshank Redemption are the Motivational Mondays. So, after consulting the tortoises, we decided to make April our Motivational Month! Please join us for this (almost!) daily dose of alphabetical inspiration. We hope you enjoy it!
* WE IMPROVE OURSELVES BY VICTORIES OVER OURSELVES. THERE MUST BE CONTESTS, AND WE MUST WIN. (Edward Gibbon) *
I’ve mentioned before on this blog about how I enjoy bike riding. My husband and I have done a few organized bike rides, usually around a 15 mile route. We “train” in two ways. The first is by riding around our neighborhood. I look around at the trees and the water, notice how people decorate their courtyards, etc. Before I know it, we’ve gone five miles. Whoo hoo!
The second way we ride is by going on the nice long stretch of road outside the development. Yeah, us and everybody else. This includes not only the “real” bicyclists, clad in their spandex, perched on their sleek bikes, but also the folks in their eighties with tennis rackets strapped to their backs.
Do you know what happens? Everyone passes me. Every. One. The bicyclists go by in a polite blur and the others give me a smile and a wave as they toodle on past. Yeah, toodle.
The first few times this happened, it bothered me. A lot. But then I figured out that it didn’t matter so much what they did; it mattered more what I did. So, I learned to set my own goals - whether for bike riding or writing or anything else I want to learn or accomplish - and to compete for, with, and against myself.
We are our own, our best, competition.
* WE IMPROVE OURSELVES BY VICTORIES OVER OURSELVES. THERE MUST BE CONTESTS, AND WE MUST WIN. (Edward Gibbon) *
I’ve mentioned before on this blog about how I enjoy bike riding. My husband and I have done a few organized bike rides, usually around a 15 mile route. We “train” in two ways. The first is by riding around our neighborhood. I look around at the trees and the water, notice how people decorate their courtyards, etc. Before I know it, we’ve gone five miles. Whoo hoo!
The second way we ride is by going on the nice long stretch of road outside the development. Yeah, us and everybody else. This includes not only the “real” bicyclists, clad in their spandex, perched on their sleek bikes, but also the folks in their eighties with tennis rackets strapped to their backs.
Do you know what happens? Everyone passes me. Every. One. The bicyclists go by in a polite blur and the others give me a smile and a wave as they toodle on past. Yeah, toodle.
The first few times this happened, it bothered me. A lot. But then I figured out that it didn’t matter so much what they did; it mattered more what I did. So, I learned to set my own goals - whether for bike riding or writing or anything else I want to learn or accomplish - and to compete for, with, and against myself.
We are our own, our best, competition.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Give Me a U! UNSPECTACULAR
Welcome to The Blogging A-Z Challenge April 2012! Some of the most popular posts here at The Shellshank Redemption are the Motivational Mondays. So, after consulting the tortoises, we decided to make April our Motivational Month! Please join us for this (almost!) daily dose of alphabetical inspiration. We hope you enjoy it!
* SPECTACULAR ACHIEVEMENT IS ALWAYS PRECEDED BY UNSPECTACULAR PREPARATION. (Robert Schuller) *
For every elite athlete, there were hours and hours of training. There was sweat. There was pain. There was doubt. There was failure.
For every award-winning actor/actress, there were hours and hours of memorizing lines and taking acting classes and going to auditions. There were bad roles and bad scripts. There was pain. There was doubt. There was failure.
For every bestselling or famous author, there were hours and hours of words and lines and pages. There were arguments with characters and with spouses. There were rejections and critique groups and draft after draft of that essay or story or novel. There were index cards all over the floor and storyboards leaning against every wall in the room. There was pain. There was doubt. There was failure.
Every time we read about another “overnight success,” let’s do our best to not get frustrated or depressed. We know the truth. Let’s just smile and nod knowingly, and then get back on that treadmill or head off to that audition or revise that manuscript for the eighth…or ninth…time.
We’ll be “overnight successes” in no time!
* SPECTACULAR ACHIEVEMENT IS ALWAYS PRECEDED BY UNSPECTACULAR PREPARATION. (Robert Schuller) *
For every elite athlete, there were hours and hours of training. There was sweat. There was pain. There was doubt. There was failure.
For every award-winning actor/actress, there were hours and hours of memorizing lines and taking acting classes and going to auditions. There were bad roles and bad scripts. There was pain. There was doubt. There was failure.
For every bestselling or famous author, there were hours and hours of words and lines and pages. There were arguments with characters and with spouses. There were rejections and critique groups and draft after draft of that essay or story or novel. There were index cards all over the floor and storyboards leaning against every wall in the room. There was pain. There was doubt. There was failure.
Every time we read about another “overnight success,” let’s do our best to not get frustrated or depressed. We know the truth. Let’s just smile and nod knowingly, and then get back on that treadmill or head off to that audition or revise that manuscript for the eighth…or ninth…time.
We’ll be “overnight successes” in no time!
Monday, April 23, 2012
Give Me a T! TALENT
Welcome to The Blogging A-Z Challenge April 2012! Some of the most popular posts here at The Shellshank Redemption are the Motivational Mondays. So, after consulting the tortoises, we decided to make April our Motivational Month! Please join us for this (almost!) daily dose of alphabetical inspiration. We hope you enjoy it!
* WHEN I STAND BEFORE GOD AT THE END OF MY LIFE, I WOULD HOPE THAT I WOULD NOT HAVE A SINGLE BIT OF TALENT LEFT, AND COULD SAY, “I USED EVERYTHING YOU GAVE ME.” (Erma Bombeck) *
I believe that everyone has a gift or two. It can be anything and everything - writing, photography, cooking, being a wonderful parent or nurse or teacher or volunteer, playing an instrument, having a great sense of humor, being that shoulder to cry on, being incredibly organized, being a leader or a team player, dancing, swimming, doing magic tricks… You get the idea.
Our job, our purpose, is to open that present, that box, hold up the gift inside and say, “Yes, this is perfect, thank you!” and then use it, use it up, until it’s as shabby and worn and well-loved as a favorite teddy bear or stuffed hippo.
That beats a Thank You card any day.
* WHEN I STAND BEFORE GOD AT THE END OF MY LIFE, I WOULD HOPE THAT I WOULD NOT HAVE A SINGLE BIT OF TALENT LEFT, AND COULD SAY, “I USED EVERYTHING YOU GAVE ME.” (Erma Bombeck) *
I believe that everyone has a gift or two. It can be anything and everything - writing, photography, cooking, being a wonderful parent or nurse or teacher or volunteer, playing an instrument, having a great sense of humor, being that shoulder to cry on, being incredibly organized, being a leader or a team player, dancing, swimming, doing magic tricks… You get the idea.
Our job, our purpose, is to open that present, that box, hold up the gift inside and say, “Yes, this is perfect, thank you!” and then use it, use it up, until it’s as shabby and worn and well-loved as a favorite teddy bear or stuffed hippo.
That beats a Thank You card any day.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Give Me an S! SINGLE
Welcome to The Blogging A-Z Challenge April 2012! Some of the most popular posts here at The Shellshank Redemption are the Motivational Mondays. So, after consulting the tortoises, we decided to make April our Motivational Month! Please join us for this (almost!) daily dose of alphabetical inspiration. We hope you enjoy it!
* NEVER CONFUSE A SINGLE DEFEAT WITH A FINAL DEFEAT. (F. Scott Fitzgerald) *
A negative review. A critique covered in red marks. A rejection. A project that doesn’t work the first time around…or even the second. People who don’t think we can do it…and tell us so. Not getting the promotion or the award.
The only way to not be defeated is to not even try something, anything. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather suffer some of those single defeats and then get my butt back up and in the ring. It’s only final if we let it be final. Get knocked down but get back up. Again. And again…and again…
* NEVER CONFUSE A SINGLE DEFEAT WITH A FINAL DEFEAT. (F. Scott Fitzgerald) *
A negative review. A critique covered in red marks. A rejection. A project that doesn’t work the first time around…or even the second. People who don’t think we can do it…and tell us so. Not getting the promotion or the award.
The only way to not be defeated is to not even try something, anything. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather suffer some of those single defeats and then get my butt back up and in the ring. It’s only final if we let it be final. Get knocked down but get back up. Again. And again…and again…
Friday, April 20, 2012
Give Me an R! REMEMBERING
Welcome to The Blogging A-Z Challenge April 2012! Some of the most popular posts here at The Shellshank Redemption are the Motivational Mondays. So, after consulting the tortoises, we decided to make April our Motivational Month! Please join us for this (almost!) daily dose of alphabetical inspiration. We hope you enjoy it!
* REMEMBERING THAT YOU ARE GOING TO DIE IS THE BEST WAY I KNOW TO AVOID THE TRAP OF THINKING YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO LOSE. (Steve Jobs) *
Let’s think of this quote when…
…there’s a class we want to take but it’s in an area outside of our comfort zone.
…there’s a chance to start something new - a new job, a new business, a new life in another state or country, but everyone says we’re crazy to try.
…there’s a person we want to talk to - for our career or otherwise - but we’re shy, afraid of making ourselves vulnerable to rejection or hurt.
…there’s a chance to have some fun - travel, try a new restaurant, go to a show, tour an art gallery, get your hands dirty in the garden or in pottery class, make a mess with finger paints or paint a mural on the wall, bake a wedding cake or make homemade pasta, make fools of ourselves, play with Legos - but the laundry needs to be done and the dishes need to be washed and…
Let’s think of this quote when we’re in danger of just existing. I don’t want to just get by, to kill time. I want to live and create and imagine and play. I’ve got a box of Legos downstairs with my name on it.
Who’s with me?
* REMEMBERING THAT YOU ARE GOING TO DIE IS THE BEST WAY I KNOW TO AVOID THE TRAP OF THINKING YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO LOSE. (Steve Jobs) *
Let’s think of this quote when…
…there’s a class we want to take but it’s in an area outside of our comfort zone.
…there’s a chance to start something new - a new job, a new business, a new life in another state or country, but everyone says we’re crazy to try.
…there’s a person we want to talk to - for our career or otherwise - but we’re shy, afraid of making ourselves vulnerable to rejection or hurt.
…there’s a chance to have some fun - travel, try a new restaurant, go to a show, tour an art gallery, get your hands dirty in the garden or in pottery class, make a mess with finger paints or paint a mural on the wall, bake a wedding cake or make homemade pasta, make fools of ourselves, play with Legos - but the laundry needs to be done and the dishes need to be washed and…
Let’s think of this quote when we’re in danger of just existing. I don’t want to just get by, to kill time. I want to live and create and imagine and play. I’ve got a box of Legos downstairs with my name on it.
Who’s with me?
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Give Me a Q! QUIT
Welcome to The Blogging A-Z Challenge April 2012! Some of the most popular posts here at The Shellshank Redemption are the Motivational Mondays. So, after consulting the tortoises, we decided to make April our Motivational Month! Please join us for this (almost!) daily dose of alphabetical inspiration. We hope you enjoy it!
* PAIN IS TEMPORARY. IT MAY LAST A MINUTE, OR AN HOUR, OR A DAY, OR A YEAR, BUT EVENTUALLY IT WILL SUBSIDE AND SOMETHING ELSE WILL TAKE ITS PLACE. IF I QUIT, HOWEVER, IT LASTS FOREVER. (Lance Armstrong) *
Rejection letter after rejection letter. Tears and more tears. Magazine and ezine and book editors, literary agents, all saying no, thank you but no, not this time, not interested. Self-doubt and more self-doubt. Another class. Another critique group. Explaining again and again why we write to people who don’t understand, who don’t care to understand. Another book about writing. Another agent’s blog. Ignoring the frustration and hurt when family and friends can’t be bothered to read our blog or check out our story or buy the anthology our story is in. Another conference. Another pitch appointment.
All of that? It comes and goes. Some anxieties and hurts stay around longer than others but they do go away. Trust that. It’s hard to see it when we’re smack in the middle of it but believe me, if we can just hang on for one more minute…and then another one…and then another…
Don’t. Give. Up.
I won’t…if you won’t.
* PAIN IS TEMPORARY. IT MAY LAST A MINUTE, OR AN HOUR, OR A DAY, OR A YEAR, BUT EVENTUALLY IT WILL SUBSIDE AND SOMETHING ELSE WILL TAKE ITS PLACE. IF I QUIT, HOWEVER, IT LASTS FOREVER. (Lance Armstrong) *
Rejection letter after rejection letter. Tears and more tears. Magazine and ezine and book editors, literary agents, all saying no, thank you but no, not this time, not interested. Self-doubt and more self-doubt. Another class. Another critique group. Explaining again and again why we write to people who don’t understand, who don’t care to understand. Another book about writing. Another agent’s blog. Ignoring the frustration and hurt when family and friends can’t be bothered to read our blog or check out our story or buy the anthology our story is in. Another conference. Another pitch appointment.
All of that? It comes and goes. Some anxieties and hurts stay around longer than others but they do go away. Trust that. It’s hard to see it when we’re smack in the middle of it but believe me, if we can just hang on for one more minute…and then another one…and then another…
Don’t. Give. Up.
I won’t…if you won’t.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Give Me a P! PRAISE
Welcome to The Blogging A-Z Challenge April 2012! Some of the most popular posts here at The Shellshank Redemption are the Motivational Mondays. So, after consulting the tortoises, we decided to make April our Motivational Month! Please join us for this (almost!) daily dose of alphabetical inspiration. We hope you enjoy it!
* IF YOU NEED ENCOURAGEMENT, PRAISE, PATS ON THE BACK FROM EVERYBODY, THEN YOU MAKE EVERYBODY YOUR JUDGE. (Fritz Perls) *
I used to want people to like me, to like what I wrote, what I did or said or thought. I would still like that (of course!) but I don’t need it the way I once did.
If we’re not careful, it becomes all about them. We start - maybe on purpose, maybe subconsciously - to tailor what we’re doing or writing or saying for their approval. Who doesn’t like a good pat on the back or an affirming nod? We all do. The danger is when that approval becomes the goal instead of the creating, the writing, the art, the journey.
* IF YOU NEED ENCOURAGEMENT, PRAISE, PATS ON THE BACK FROM EVERYBODY, THEN YOU MAKE EVERYBODY YOUR JUDGE. (Fritz Perls) *
I used to want people to like me, to like what I wrote, what I did or said or thought. I would still like that (of course!) but I don’t need it the way I once did.
If we’re not careful, it becomes all about them. We start - maybe on purpose, maybe subconsciously - to tailor what we’re doing or writing or saying for their approval. Who doesn’t like a good pat on the back or an affirming nod? We all do. The danger is when that approval becomes the goal instead of the creating, the writing, the art, the journey.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Give Me an O! ODD
Welcome to The Blogging A-Z Challenge April 2012! Some of the most popular posts here at The Shellshank Redemption are the Motivational Mondays. So, after consulting the tortoises, we decided to make April our Motivational Month! Please join us for this (almost!) daily dose of alphabetical inspiration. We hope you enjoy it!
* WHEN I SAY WORK I ONLY MEAN WRITING. EVERYTHING ELSE IS JUST ODD JOBS. (Margaret Laurence) *
I purposely did not go out and get myself a “career.” I wanted a “job” - something I could leave behind at the end of the day, something that didn’t suck the life out of me, something I could do and do well but then take myself on home and get on with what I was meant to do.
Sure, sometimes I wonder if I should’ve done it differently. I’d probably have more money, maybe live in a bigger house, maybe have the respect and interest of family and friends, maybe do some good for others (depending on the career.) But would I have been happy? Maybe. Maybe not.
One thing I know for sure, though, is that I would much rather wonder if I should’ve had another career than wonder if I should’ve pursued my writing the way I always wanted.
* WHEN I SAY WORK I ONLY MEAN WRITING. EVERYTHING ELSE IS JUST ODD JOBS. (Margaret Laurence) *
I purposely did not go out and get myself a “career.” I wanted a “job” - something I could leave behind at the end of the day, something that didn’t suck the life out of me, something I could do and do well but then take myself on home and get on with what I was meant to do.
Sure, sometimes I wonder if I should’ve done it differently. I’d probably have more money, maybe live in a bigger house, maybe have the respect and interest of family and friends, maybe do some good for others (depending on the career.) But would I have been happy? Maybe. Maybe not.
One thing I know for sure, though, is that I would much rather wonder if I should’ve had another career than wonder if I should’ve pursued my writing the way I always wanted.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Give Me an N! NEVER
Welcome to The Blogging A-Z Challenge April 2012! Some of the most popular posts here at The Shellshank Redemption are the Motivational Mondays. So, after consulting the tortoises, we decided to make April our Motivational Month! Please join us for this (almost!) daily dose of alphabetical inspiration. We hope you enjoy it!
* EACH MOMENT IS A PLACE YOU’VE NEVER BEEN. (Mark Strand) *
Once, when my nephew was younger, we were all out walking and my husband and I kept saying. “Do you know what we’re going to see now, B?” And then we’d point out this or that. After a while, we ran out of interesting things to show him so we stopped and just continued our walk.
But, apparently, B wasn’t done - “What are we going to see now, Aunt Maddie?” - and he looked up at me, expectantly, waiting, sure something interesting was just around the corner, sure something amazing was about to show itself in that next moment.
Not a bad way to look at the world, is it?
* EACH MOMENT IS A PLACE YOU’VE NEVER BEEN. (Mark Strand) *
Once, when my nephew was younger, we were all out walking and my husband and I kept saying. “Do you know what we’re going to see now, B?” And then we’d point out this or that. After a while, we ran out of interesting things to show him so we stopped and just continued our walk.
But, apparently, B wasn’t done - “What are we going to see now, Aunt Maddie?” - and he looked up at me, expectantly, waiting, sure something interesting was just around the corner, sure something amazing was about to show itself in that next moment.
Not a bad way to look at the world, is it?
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Give Me an M! MIRROR
Welcome to The Blogging A-Z Challenge April 2012! Some of the most popular posts here at The Shellshank Redemption are the Motivational Mondays. So, after consulting the tortoises, we decided to make April our Motivational Month! Please join us for this (almost!) daily dose of alphabetical inspiration. We hope you enjoy it!
* EVERY TIME A WOMAN PASSES A MIRROR AND CRITICIZES HERSELF, THERE’S A GIRL WATCHING. (Gloria Steinem) *
What if every time a woman passes a mirror…she smiles at herself? She cheers for the width of that smile, the light in her eyes? She accepts the wrinkles and dark circles? She loves the sound of her voice, the joy in her laugh?
What if…she gives herself a round of applause? She congratulates herself on a job - inside the home, outside the home, whatever it is - well done? She encourages herself to try something new, take a chance, challenge herself in some way? What if she does a victory fist pump or a few steps of a happy dance…just because she is who she is?
What if…we do that now, we start that today? Maybe, just maybe, the next time our nieces and daughters and granddaughters pass a mirror, they’ll see themselves…and smile.
* EVERY TIME A WOMAN PASSES A MIRROR AND CRITICIZES HERSELF, THERE’S A GIRL WATCHING. (Gloria Steinem) *
What if every time a woman passes a mirror…she smiles at herself? She cheers for the width of that smile, the light in her eyes? She accepts the wrinkles and dark circles? She loves the sound of her voice, the joy in her laugh?
What if…she gives herself a round of applause? She congratulates herself on a job - inside the home, outside the home, whatever it is - well done? She encourages herself to try something new, take a chance, challenge herself in some way? What if she does a victory fist pump or a few steps of a happy dance…just because she is who she is?
What if…we do that now, we start that today? Maybe, just maybe, the next time our nieces and daughters and granddaughters pass a mirror, they’ll see themselves…and smile.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Give Me an L! LIFE
Welcome to The Blogging A-Z Challenge April 2012! Some of the most popular posts here at The Shellshank Redemption are the Motivational Mondays. So, after consulting the tortoises, we decided to make April our Motivational Month! Please join us for this (almost!) daily dose of alphabetical inspiration. We hope you enjoy it!
* WE MUST BE WILLING TO GET RID OF THE LIFE WE’VE PLANNED, SO AS TO HAVE THE LIFE THAT IS WAITING FOR US. (Joseph Campbell) *
If you’d told me I would live in Florida one day, I would’ve laughed. I grew up in New York. Most of my family and friends lived in the tri-state area (and still do.) Yet, one day, when I was about fifteen, I was taking the bus to my friend’s house and I looked out the window and thought, I am going to live somewhere else. That’s it. I had no idea where or when but I just knew it deep down.
Then my family moved to New Jersey (see, tri-state area.) But that wasn’t what my gut meant. It meant for me to go somewhere else, somewhere different, because I was meant to be different.
When I visited my then-boyfriend/now-husband in Florida where he was going to school, he picked me up at the airport and then we drove over this huge expanse of blue-green water - the sun blasting a warm welcome, the sky shimmering, the breeze whipping through the open windows and I felt…alive.
Now, I don’t know whether it was the place, or my best friend in the seat next to me, or a combination of the two, but that same voice that spoke to me back when I was teenager spoke up once again and said, Yes.
* WE MUST BE WILLING TO GET RID OF THE LIFE WE’VE PLANNED, SO AS TO HAVE THE LIFE THAT IS WAITING FOR US. (Joseph Campbell) *
If you’d told me I would live in Florida one day, I would’ve laughed. I grew up in New York. Most of my family and friends lived in the tri-state area (and still do.) Yet, one day, when I was about fifteen, I was taking the bus to my friend’s house and I looked out the window and thought, I am going to live somewhere else. That’s it. I had no idea where or when but I just knew it deep down.
Then my family moved to New Jersey (see, tri-state area.) But that wasn’t what my gut meant. It meant for me to go somewhere else, somewhere different, because I was meant to be different.
When I visited my then-boyfriend/now-husband in Florida where he was going to school, he picked me up at the airport and then we drove over this huge expanse of blue-green water - the sun blasting a warm welcome, the sky shimmering, the breeze whipping through the open windows and I felt…alive.
Now, I don’t know whether it was the place, or my best friend in the seat next to me, or a combination of the two, but that same voice that spoke to me back when I was teenager spoke up once again and said, Yes.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Give Me a K! KEEPING BUSY
Welcome to The Blogging A-Z Challenge April 2012! Some of the most popular posts here at The Shellshank Redemption are the Motivational Mondays. So, after consulting the tortoises, we decided to make April our Motivational Month! Please join us for this (almost!) daily dose of alphabetical inspiration. We hope you enjoy it!
* ONE OF THE THINGS I LEARNED THE HARD WAY WAS THAT IT DOESN’T PAY TO GET DISCOURAGED. KEEPING BUSY AND MAKING OPTIMISM A WAY OF LIFE CAN RESTORE YOUR FAITH IN YOURSELF. (Lucille Ball) *
If I had a dollar for every rejection letter I have ever gotten - and I’m just talking novels here, not even short stories or poems or essays, etc. - I would probably be richer than if I had actually sold any of those novels.
Yes, I know that sounds rather pessimistic but my point is that even with all that rejection and negativity, I am still writing. I am still imagining and creating and sending those words and those characters and those stories out into the universe. Sometimes they find a home and sometimes they don’t. But either way, I turn back to the page, I listen to a new character introduce herself, I watch a scene play out on my imagination’s movie screen.
If you don’t have faith in yourself, no one will. So go ahead and do it. Believe.
* ONE OF THE THINGS I LEARNED THE HARD WAY WAS THAT IT DOESN’T PAY TO GET DISCOURAGED. KEEPING BUSY AND MAKING OPTIMISM A WAY OF LIFE CAN RESTORE YOUR FAITH IN YOURSELF. (Lucille Ball) *
If I had a dollar for every rejection letter I have ever gotten - and I’m just talking novels here, not even short stories or poems or essays, etc. - I would probably be richer than if I had actually sold any of those novels.
Yes, I know that sounds rather pessimistic but my point is that even with all that rejection and negativity, I am still writing. I am still imagining and creating and sending those words and those characters and those stories out into the universe. Sometimes they find a home and sometimes they don’t. But either way, I turn back to the page, I listen to a new character introduce herself, I watch a scene play out on my imagination’s movie screen.
If you don’t have faith in yourself, no one will. So go ahead and do it. Believe.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Give Me a J! JOURNEY
Welcome to The Blogging A-Z Challenge April 2012! Some of the most popular posts here at The Shellshank Redemption are the Motivational Mondays. So, after consulting the tortoises, we decided to make April our Motivational Month! Please join us for this (almost!) daily dose of alphabetical inspiration. We hope you enjoy it!
* IT IS GOOD TO HAVE AN END TO JOURNEY TOWARDS; BUT IT IS THE JOURNEY THAT MATTERS IN THE END. (Ursula K. LeGuin) *
This is so true but so hard to see when we’re in the middle of, oh, I don’t know, rejection and discouragement and despair. When we’re watching everyone we know succeed and achieve and accomplish. When our goals and dreams are tiny pinpricks of light on a horizon millions of miles away.
But let’s take a minute and stop - wherever we are in the process - and look back. Look how far we’ve come! Look what we’ve learned! Look what we’ve done! Sure, we’re still struggling but what matters is that we’re moving forward.
Look at it this way - at least we’re doing, striving, aiming for something. I don’t know about you all but I’d rather be moving toward a goal, no matter how far away it is, than to not have a goal to move toward in the first place.
* IT IS GOOD TO HAVE AN END TO JOURNEY TOWARDS; BUT IT IS THE JOURNEY THAT MATTERS IN THE END. (Ursula K. LeGuin) *
This is so true but so hard to see when we’re in the middle of, oh, I don’t know, rejection and discouragement and despair. When we’re watching everyone we know succeed and achieve and accomplish. When our goals and dreams are tiny pinpricks of light on a horizon millions of miles away.
But let’s take a minute and stop - wherever we are in the process - and look back. Look how far we’ve come! Look what we’ve learned! Look what we’ve done! Sure, we’re still struggling but what matters is that we’re moving forward.
Look at it this way - at least we’re doing, striving, aiming for something. I don’t know about you all but I’d rather be moving toward a goal, no matter how far away it is, than to not have a goal to move toward in the first place.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Give Me an I! IF
Welcome to The Blogging A-Z Challenge April 2012! Some of the most popular posts here at The Shellshank Redemption are the Motivational Mondays. So, after consulting the tortoises, we decided to make April our Motivational Month! Please join us for this (almost!) daily dose of alphabetical inspiration. We hope you enjoy it!
* YOU CAN, YOU SHOULD, AND IF YOU’RE BRAVE ENOUGH TO START, YOU WILL. (Stephen King) *
If. How can such a small word hold so much potential, so much power? If you’re brave enough. If you’re strong enough. If you’re willing to take a chance.
On the other side of that word, on the other side of those phrases and others like them, are passions and goals and dreams and successes.
We just have to take that first step - put pen to paper or paint brush to canvas, belt out that song or Zumba with everything we’ve got, sign up for that class, book those tickets.
If I can do it…so can you. If you can do it…so can I.
* YOU CAN, YOU SHOULD, AND IF YOU’RE BRAVE ENOUGH TO START, YOU WILL. (Stephen King) *
If. How can such a small word hold so much potential, so much power? If you’re brave enough. If you’re strong enough. If you’re willing to take a chance.
On the other side of that word, on the other side of those phrases and others like them, are passions and goals and dreams and successes.
We just have to take that first step - put pen to paper or paint brush to canvas, belt out that song or Zumba with everything we’ve got, sign up for that class, book those tickets.
If I can do it…so can you. If you can do it…so can I.
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