Motivational Monday

IF YOU ARE WRITING

WITHOUT ZEST,

WITHOUT GUSTO,

WITHOUT LOVE,

WITHOUT FUN,

YOU ARE ONLY HALF A WRITER.

(Ray Bradbury)

How about you? 

Are you only half a writer? Are you half the writer you could be? 

What would it look like, feel like to be that "whole" writer? What would it take? And are you ready, willing and able to do it? 

Let's give ourselves permission to be the amazing writers and artists and creative souls we are. Let's go for it!

Motivational Monday

AS A TEENAGER YOU ARE 

IN THE LAST STAGE 

OF YOUR LIFE

WHEN YOU WILL BE HAPPY

THAT THE PHONE IS FOR YOU.

(Fran Lebowitz)

I am not much of a phone person so it surprised me when, a few years back, a sense of nostalgia swept through me when my husband and I got rid of our home phone, keeping only our cell phones. 

I thought about the toy phone my sister and I played with. 

I remember giggling with my aunt as we'd pretend we could see each other through the phone. 

I can still feel the way the cord curled around my fingers as I tried to stretch it into my teenaged bedroom for some privacy. 

I recall coming in from college classes, seeing the flashing light on my answering machine, and feeling connected, wanted, part of a group of friends.

Today, I would rather send smoke signals or put a message in a bottle than use the phone. I will email or text. I'll write a letter. But when it comes to phone conversations, I am more awkward than ever. I'll do it, but it's not pretty.

At first, I worried - was I turning into a hermit? Was I losing the few social skills I had? But now I just go with it, embrace who I am, focus on ways to socialize that suit me and my personality. After all, times change. And so do people. 

Hmm, anyone know if Muggles are allowed to use Owl Post...? 

Motivational Monday

THERE ARE NO TRAFFIC JAMS

ALONG THE EXTRA MILE.

(Roger Staubach)

The other day, my husband ran into Barnes and Noble to pick up a book while I waited in the car. (If I went in, we'd be there until closing.) He was gone longer than usual, so when he returned to the car, I asked him about it. Turns out, he'd noticed a homeless man nearby, so my husband went to the store's cafe and bought a sandwich and a bottle of water for the man. 

(Now, this does not surprise me at all. This is just the kind of guy my husband is. I'd actually be more surprised if he didn't do this. I'd be checking him for a fever.) 

But here's what makes me smile even more. When my husband went to give the man the food, a woman and her young daughter were doing the same thing. They'd gotten him a salad from the cafe. The man was so appreciative, said he'd eat the salad then save the sandwich for later. 

None of this was caught on YouTube. No one Tweeted it. No one applauded. It was doing good purely for the sake of doing good.

It might seem like no one was paying attention, but I bet one person was. That young girl watched her mother and a stranger be kind, be generous. That will have wonderful, powerful repercussions someday. And we will all be the better for it.

Motivational Monday

JUST SPILLED COFFEE ON THE LAPTOP.

I DIDN'T FREAK OUT.

INSTEAD, I AM HOPEFUL THAT IT

WILL MAKE IT WRITE FASTER.

(Mindy McGinnis)

If only!

Wishing us all a week of few spills and lots of wonderful words!

Motivational Monday

STOP MAKING EXCUSES

AND

START TODAY.

(Fiona Barton)

Do you want to write a novel? A collection of poetry? A memoir? 

Do you want to start a blog? Join Instagram or Tumblr or Twitter?

Do you want to learn how to cook, draw, dance, play Ultimate Frisbee?

Do you want to lose weight? Eat less meat? Watch less TV? Read more?

Well, what are you waiting for?

Start! 

Somehow. Someway. Somewhere. 

Just. Start.

Motivational Monday

DON'T THINK ABOUT MAKING ART.

JUST GET IT DONE.

LET EVERYONE ELSE DECIDE IF IT'S GOOD 

OR BAD. WHETHER THEY LOVE IT OR HATE IT.

WHILE THEY ARE DECIDING,

MAKE MORE ART.

(Andy Warhol)

The art class I signed up for waaaay back in January (2016! The Year of Living Creatively!) is due to start soon, and I am so looking forward to it! I'm old enough - and have taken enough art classes - to know not to expect perfection. The only things I'm expecting: to have fun and to learn. 

That being said, I am hoping not to glue my fingers together or get paint in my eyes. But hey, I made it through all those cooking classes intact, this should be a breeze.... Right?

Let's all stretch our creative muscles this week! Reach, stretch, bend, twist - work it!

Motivational Monday

REMEMBER THAT TRUE SUCCESS 

DOESN'T COME EASY FOR ANYONE. 

IT CAN BE AN ELUSIVE RECIPE OF 

WHO YOU KNOW AND WHAT YOU KNOW.

BUT IF YOU CONTINUE TO NETWORK 

AND TO HONE YOUR CRAFT,

YOU'LL BE ON THE RIGHT COURSE.

AFTER ALL, SOME OF THE MOST 

IMPORTANT QUALITIES FOR A WRITER ARE

PERSISTENCE AND RESILIENCE.

BEST OF ALL, WHEN YOU DO TRIUMPH,

IT WILL BE YOUR SUCCESS,

BASED SOLELY ON

YOUR DILIGENCE,

YOUR WRITING.

THERE WILL BE NO NEED TO COMPARE

WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO ANYONE ELSE.

FOCUS ON WHAT YOU HAVE,

WHAT YOU WANT

AND WHY.

(Liz Lazzara)

Be persistent.

Be resilient.

Focus.

We can do it.

We will do it.

Motivational Monday

NEVER WRESTLE WITH PIGS.

YOU BOTH GET DIRTY

AND THE PIG LIKES IT.

(George Bernard Shaw)

Sigh. I wish I'd heard this quote when I was younger. Maybe I wouldn't have lowered myself to someone else's level as often as I did back then. Petty, petty, petty. Well, the good news is, I'm older and "wiser" now. I take deep breaths before blurting something I'll regret. I wait awhile before hitting Reply/Send on potentially scathing emails. I think about what's truly important, where I want to put my energy, what my priorities are. 

Then I curse and name call behind closed doors. (Well, I did use the word wiser not perfect....)   

Let's all try to stay "clean" this week!

Motivational Monday

SO WHATEVER THE BOOK OF YOUR HEART IS

FIND A WAY TO PUT IT 

IN YOUR LINE OF SIGHT

EVERY DAY,

AS A REMINDER 

THAT THERE'S SOMETHING

MORE YOU ASPIRE TO.

THEN MAKE TIME FOR IT.

(Mindy McGinnis)

These words found me at a point where I was waffling about whether to try writing novels again. I felt old and defeated. I missed the hope, desire, certainty of publication that ruled my youth. I missed the way I'd throw myself into a project with total abandon. 

Here's what I think happened: I lost sight of those ideas, those books. I let them get pushed aside by all the changes in publishing. I buried them under grocery lists and to-do lists and life in general. 

So, what I'm going to do now, is find a symbol of my current WiP - yep, back to novels! - and put it where I see it Every. Damn. Day. It will be better than any mirror; it will show me who I really am, and who I really want to be.   

Motivational Monday

YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO MUSTER

PASSION ALL THE TIME.

HUMAN BEINGS ARE NOT BUILT TO BE

PERPETUAL VOLCANOES.

YOU MAY GO FOR DAYS JUST FORCING YOURSELF

TO SHOW UP AT YOUR CREATIVE WORK.

THAT FORCING AND THAT SHOWING UP

ARE HONORABLE AND NECESSARY.

AT THE SAME TIME, 

DO TRY TO LOCATE AND KINDLE

YOUR PASSION.

YOU DON'T NEED IT, 

AND YOU CAN'T HAVE IT, 

EVERY DAY,  

BUT YOU DO NEED IT AS YOUR

CORE ORIENTATION.

SOMETHING IN YOU MUST IGNITE 

AT LEAST SOME OF THE TIME 

IF YOUR WORK IS

TO FEEL ALIVE AND 

IF YOU ARE TO FEEL ALIVE.

(Eric Maisel)

At the very core of it, does your work feel alive?

At the very core of you, do you?

Motivational Monday

IF YOU EVER FIND YOURSELF

IN THE WRONG STORY,

LEAVE.

(Mo Willems)

I love this quote because it can refer to writing/art and to life. 

How many time have we started a story, a novel, a song, an art project, etc. only to end up stuck, confused and miserable? How often do we keep on pushing and shoving our way through no matter what our gut, our heart, is telling us? We started it, damn it, so we must finish it! Sometimes yes, but not always.

How many times do we start down a life path, thinking we know what we're doing, only to come upon an obstacle or two or seven that forces us to turn right when we want to go left, to turn back, to off-road for a bit? How often do we end up somewhere we don't recognize at all, as a person we don't recognize at all? 

Of course we can't - or shouldn't - always just "leave" a current project or "leave" our everyday lives. But we can stop. We can re-evaluate. We can make changes, small ones and big ones. 

When I was younger, I read books all the way through to the end, even if I didn't like them, even if I was reading the "wrong" story. Somewhere along the line, though, I said enough. Now, that not only goes for books I'm not enjoying, but also for the plot lines of my life that no longer work for me, the ones that no longer tell the story of who I am and who I want to be. 

Motivational Monday

A PARTY WITHOUT CAKE

IS JUST A MEETING.

(Julia Child)

I was never really the most conventional person, but when I was younger, I tended to cling to more of society's "rules" than I do now. I wanted to be the "adult" I thought I should be, the one other people thought I should be.

So, when my husband and I were invited to dinner at an acquaintance's home, I did what I was taught to do. I brought something, in this case a nice store-bought cake. The hostess thanked me, put it on the counter . . . where it sat for the rest of the night. We had a nice dinner, pleasant conversation. We helped clean up. Then . . . nothing. No coffee. No cake. No ice cream. No fruit and cheese. Nothing. Just a goodnight, see you soon, we should do this again . . . . 

I was flabbergasted. This was against the "rules"! This is not how "adults" behave! (The ride home was like the "Marble Rye" episode of Seinfeld. Who doesn't serve cake? How can you not serve cake? And no coffee? How can you not serve coffee after dinner?)  

But you know what? If that same thing happened today, to the person I am now, I'd either ask directly, "Are we having dessert?" or I'd just shrug and have my own cake when I got home. 

And I am a much happier person for it.

Motivational Monday

WHEN I WAS A YOUNG MAN,

I WAS TOLD SUCCESS HAD TO

COME IN MY YOUTH.

I FOUND THIS TO BE A MYTH.

MY EXPERIENCES HAVE TAUGHT ME

THAT IF YOU DEEPLY BELIEVE

IN WHAT YOU ARE DOING,

SUCCESS CAN COME AT ANY AGE.

(Abe Vigoda, 1921-2016

age 94 at time of death)

I deeply believe.

Do you?

Motivational Monday

I WATCHED OLD #XFILES 

EPISODES LAST NIGHT AND

ATE CHIPS AHOY.

I AM A PERSON THAT

ACCOMPLISHES THINGS

(Mindy McGinnis)

I pretty much snorted coffee all over myself when I first read this. Partly because it's hilarious, and partly because, if you replace XFiles and Chips Ahoy with Project Runway and Reese's Chocolate Peanut Butter candies, you would have . . . me. Even the tortoises have accomplished more than I have this past month.

So, if you're feeling something similar, join me in shutting off the TV, putting down the sweets and making this a better, more productive week - and month! - all around. Like Tim Gunn says, "Make it work!" (See, too much TV. Sigh.)

Motivational Monday

YOU WON'T ACHIEVE ANYTHING

IN THIS LIFE

IF THE ONLY THING YOU CAN SEE

ARE REASONS YOU SHOULDN'T

TRY SOMETHING. 

(Janet Reid)

I am guilty - shamefully so - of doing exactly this. 

The reasons why I shouldn't do something race to mind with the speed and the fierceness of a tortoise to banana. (Trust me. You don't want to stand between Larry and banana.) 

I wish those first thoughts were encouraging and positive. But they're not. 

I would love to approach ideas with openness, new experiences with excitement. But I don't.

This just means I have to work harder. I need to elbow my way through the doubt and the naysaying (the way Mrs. Larry shoves Larry aside to get the banana.) I need to push past the reasons why I shouldn't so I can embrace the reasons why I should. 

And I will. 

Motivational Monday

IT ISN'T NECESSARY TO KNOW

EXACTLY HOW YOUR IDEAL LIFE

WILL LOOK;

YOU ONLY HAVE TO KNOW

WHAT FEELS BETTER AND

WHAT FEELS WORSE.

(Martha Beck)

You know those self help books that tell you to picture your perfect life? To imagine the end result then work backwards so you know where to start? I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to do any of it. I'd get frustrated and discouraged, trying to picture this, imagine that. It was like watching a badly edited montage of film clips.  

After awhile, I realized I struggled with cementing an image in my mind because my happiness and peace and success could be achieved in more than one way. It's more about what feels right for me, and every time I follow that lead, every time I move in that direction, I live my ideal life. 

Let's follow our hearts and go with our guts. That's how we become our best selves. 

Motivational Monday

WHEN IT COMES TO WRITING FICTION, 

LONG OR SHORT, 

THE LEARNING CURVE NEVER ENDS. 

I MAY BE A PROFESSIONAL WRITER TO THE IRS 

WHEN I FILE MY TAX RETURN,

BUT IN CREATIVE TERMS,

I'M STILL AN AMATEUR,

STILL LEARNING MY CRAFT.

WE ALL ARE.

EVERY DAY SPENT WRITING IS 

A LEARNING EXPERIENCE,

AND A BATTLE TO DO SOMETHING NEW.

PHONING IT IN IS NOT ALLOWED.

ONE CANNOT INCREASE ONE'S TALENT - 

THAT COMES WITH THE PACKAGE - BUT IT IS

POSSIBLE TO KEEP TALENT FROM SHRINKING.

AT LEAST, I LIKE TO THINK SO.

AND HEY! I STILL LOVE IT.

(Stephen King)

Yes! Just...yes!

Do you still love what you do? I hope so! Let's make sure we keep learning, growing, challenging ourselves in our craft, in our art, in our lives.

Motivational Monday

IF YOU REALLY WANT TO

DO SOMETHING, 

YOU'LL FIND A WAY.

IF YOU DON'T,

YOU'LL FIND AN EXCUSE.

(Jim Rohn)

I admit it - 2015 was a year full of excuses for me. 

I'm not talking about the big, real-life events that shook me up. I will no longer drown in those repercussions, but will instead float on the ripples of those effects until I find calmer waters. 

I'm referring to the feelings, the thoughts that kept me from creating, from taking more chances, from believing in myself, from truly living. For me, 2015 was a tsunami of fear and sadness, of doubt and anxiety. I am so ready to find my footing again, to stand on solid ground, or as solid as the shifting sands of life can ever be. 

We all know we're going to get pushed around and knocked down by life once in awhile. Let's just make sure we're not the ones doing it to ourselves. 

Motivational Monday . . . and a Break

REST

AND

BE THANKFUL.

(William Wordsworth)

During last week's IWSG post, I talked about feeling lost and burned out. Many of you recommended taking a break, recharging the batteries, refilling the creative well. Since you are a smart, creative bunch of folks, I decided to follow your advice (after checking with the tortoises, of course, since they do kind of run things around here. I am nothing but a shell-less minion to them.)

I'll still be popping in and out and visiting your blogs, but I won't be posting anything new until the end of December or the beginning of 2016. So, I want to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support and encouragement. My words would just be out there flailing around in the world without wonderful readers like you. 

All of us here at The Shellshank Redemption wish you a wonderful holiday season! Enjoy!

Motivational Monday

THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVELIST ROBERT STONE

ONCE JOKED THAT HE POSSESSED THE TWO

WORST QUALITIES IMAGINABLE IN A WRITER:

HE WAS LAZY, AND HE WAS A PERFECTIONIST.

INDEED, THOSE ARE THE ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS

FOR TORPOR AND MISERY, RIGHT THERE.

IF YOU WANT TO LIVE A CONTENTED CREATIVE LIFE,

YOU DO NOT WANT TO CULTIVATE

 EITHER ONE OF THOSE TRAITS, TRUST ME. 

WHAT YOU WANT 

IS TO CULTIVATE QUITE THE OPPOSITE:

YOU MUST LEARN HOW TO BECOME A

DEEPLY DISCIPLINED HALF-ASS.

(Elizabeth Gilbert)

That is what I did all through November during NaNo. 

And you know what? 

It. Was. Great.

You know what else?

I'm going to keep doing it, in my writing, in all my creative endeavors, and in my life. 

Care to join me?