Blog Award Time

Excited to announce I've just received a new blog award--and with sincere thanks to LadyD Books. Great to hear from you my friend; truly appreciated! It's fun to add another award to my list, and it's even more fun to pass the award on.

For some background on the award, LadyD has written that Liebster is a German word which means sweetest, kindest, dearest, nicest. . . .  Okay, I'm starting to get embarrassed here! The award is also making me smile for quite another reason: years ago a good friend in California had a German houseguest with a small son stay for the summer. Every day my friend would hear the woman call her son what she thought was, "Liverwurst." One day my friend told me that she didn't think it was very nice of the woman to refer to her son as sandwich filling. Finally she had to speak up, and to her horror she found the woman wasn't saying "liverwurst" at all, she was calling the little boy, "Liebchen," or, "darling, little love." But by now "Liverwurst" was firmly lodged in my vocabulary, hysterically so, so I must say I'm grateful that I didn't receive the Liverwurst Blog Award!

Sandwiches aside, here are the Liebster rules:

1. The selected bloggers must post 11 facts about themselves.
2. They must also answer 11 questions the tagger has asked, and then ask 11 questions of 11 other bloggers with less than 200 followers. Be sure to tell them they've been tagged.
3. Remember, no tag backs.

And because I know it's not always easy to find the time to play along, I suggest we all go slow. In this blog I'm only going to name 4 bloggers, with plans to find the others during the coming months. The bloggers that I choose can either find their 11 now, or sometime in the future, if ever. The main point is to have fun and get to know each other a little better.

I'll start with my questions from LadyD:

1. Q: Where is your favorite place to read and write?  A: Curled up on the couch--any couch!
2. Q: What is the one book you loved and why? A: Lona, by Dare Wright. I felt so much like Lona as a child, that I was living in an enchanted castle, and waiting for the "spell" to break. And I adored the photography. I could look at that book for hours.
3. Q: If you could go anywhere in time, when and where would you go? A: Paris in the 1920s. Just like Midnight in Paris!
4. What are the two things for which you are most grateful that your parents provided for you? A: A good education and the freedom to read whatever I wanted.
5. Q: For one reason or another, you must go away to a deserted island. You can take one item with you. What do you choose? A: The Body Shop Vitamin E Eye Cream. Serious good stuff.
6. Q: If you could only eat one type of food for the rest of your life, what would you eat? A: Salad. I'm a dedicated salad fanatic.
7. Q: What is the one book you hated and can't stand? A: Oh, no--this is difficult--but I really do not like Who Moved My Cheese? I had to read it in grad school and I just wanted to throw it at the professor. I thought it was SO annoying.
8. Q: If you could be any magical creature, which one would you be? A: An elf like the ones in Lord of the Rings or the darker fairy tales. Elves always seemed romantic to me. Don't ask why.
9. Q: Name one book you could re-read over and over again A: This is a bit of a cheat because it's actually four books in one, but my answer is The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell. My copy is a single volume, and I've read it many times already; I just love that book.
10. Q: Which animated character best matches your personality? A: Well, I've always felt a close affinity to Boo-Boo Bear.
11. Q: List one word that describes you the best. A: Eclectic.

11 Facts About Me:

1. I’ve just sold my house and am now renting a condo—a whole new life and experience for me to have my front yard watered and weeded and a pool right outside my front door.

2. I adore Polyvore.com and find it relaxing, intriguing, and one of the best ways to “write” when I’m feeling stuck or uninspired.

3. I love teaching writing almost more than I love writing.
4. I’m a big Natalie Goldberg fan and have a signed copy of her book of art and poetry: Top of My Lungs.
5. I hate to paint “plein air.” Bugs, heat, wind, flapping paper, lost pencils. Ugh! If I sketch outside, I stay in my car!
6. I’m a vegetarian and love inventing gourmet vegetarian recipes.

7. I just went camping in an RV for the first time and loved it.

8. My favorite season is autumn and all that goes with it: sweaters, wood smoke, falling leaves.
9. I’m not an early riser by nature—I’d do anything to stay in bed till noon.
10. Museums and libraries are my favorite places on earth.
11. If I could live anywhere in the whole world I’d live in London.

My 11 Questions for my Blogger Friends:

1. Where was the last place you went on vacation?
2. What is your favorite board game?
3. If you could travel anywhere in the world—money no object—where would it be?
4. Which three literary characters would you like to invite for dinner?
5. What would the menu be?
6. What’s the next book to read in your TBR pile?
7. What’s your favorite piece of clothing and why?
8. What made you start blogging?
9. Do you have a ritual before you start writing or creating? If so, what is it?

10. Who is your favorite artist, and why?

11. What’s your guilty pleasure TV show?

And my selection of blogs to receive the Liebster Award are:

Diane Grolnick at Abbakiss and the Artist

Virginia Lee, author of Dagon's Blood

Suzanne Blazier, author of Family Reunion Keepsake Book
Charlotte Fairchild author of Murder on the Silver Comet Trail

,

Tip of the Day: Read the fine blogs mentioned here! And thanks for visiting.

Stay Creative Every Day Tip #12: Stay Focused With the Basics

It's been a long journey, but we're finally here at Tip #12: Whenever you feel scattered with too much going on in your life, or you're working on too many projects at once, go back to the basics.

I love staying busy, and I often work on several different pieces of writing or art during any given day. Not only is this a great way to get a lot done, but it keeps me from becoming bored or burnt-out on any one thing. The downside of this, however, is that it can also become overwhelming at times, making me feel I'm going in too many directions without any real sense of purpose. The best way I've found to counter this feeling is to remember how I got to this point in the first place, followed by a session of starting all over again with beginner's mind and simple tools. For example:

• Read one how-to book as if it's the only book in the world. Do the exercises. Take the advice to heart.
• Morning pages--just three handwritten "whatevers" every morning. I find writing on a legal pad with a stiff backing is an excellent way to plow through the noise, dreams, and endless lists of unfinished projects and plans in my mind. It's also a good way to find the answers to what's keeping me scattered and how I can focus in on what's really important to me.
• Write only by hand. The act of simply holding a pen or pencil, listening to the sound it makes working across the page, and letting the words (or pictures!) flow upon the surface can be very healing, and very real.
• Try limiting yourself to just one medium or aspect of writing for an entire week, e.g., just use charcoal for drawings, or paint with a limited watercolor palette of 3 colors. Write only character biographies for a week, or simply block out your scenes on index cards--and nothing else.
• Along the same lines, choose just 1 subject for writing, painting, or collage. Sometimes there are too many choices in life. By selecting a single topic, e.g., apples, you can more easily zoom in and get to the heart of the subject. A good way to tackle this would be to find pictures of apples, buy apples, draw them, write poems, use the imagery to trigger a personal essay. You could even add some of your efforts to your current WIP if you think it will fit.
• De-clutter one area of your house or office: a single drawer, shelf, or magazine rack. Keep this up until you feel you've got more breathing space and working room.
• Go through your TBR pile and pick the one title that seems the most appealing to you right now. Store the rest out of sight in a box or on a specific area of your bookcase. Any books that you've been resisting reading, sell or give them away.
• Plan a week's worth of meals and go to the grocery store to buy only the ingredients that you need to use.
• Stay home. Take a break from meetings and other social activities (including online browsing and networking if necessary!). Rest up until you feel re-energized and ready to face the world again.
• Go to bed early. Read rather than watch TV or movies. If you listen to the radio, try to avoid news programs.
• Meditate with simple visualization techniques for 5-minute sessions. Doing this 3-4 times a day can give you a much-needed rest with a huge boost in energy and productivity.
• Evening pages. List what you did accomplish during the day--you might want to write another three pages just like you did in the morning, but I find a list of 12 can be equally helpful. Another approach could be to write down 12 things you noticed during your day that made it special.

Tip of the Day: Keep a notebook that is solely for jotting down ideas for future projects, or for those perfect plot points or lines of dialogue that pop into your mind at all the wrong times. Label them clearly as where you think they should go, and then ignore them until you've finished your current project.

Stay Creative Every Day Tip #11: Don't Worry

The Big Move is over: (most) boxes are unpacked; old furniture has been gifted to new owners; the to-do lists shrink on a daily basis--and I'm doing my best to follow Stay Creative Every Day Tip #11: Don't worry. Easier said than done, of course--especially when there's so little time left each day for my writing, not to mention blogging, tweeting, e-mailing.... 

And as much as I'm trying to "stay calm and carry on," I know it's natural to worry about things like getting to the post office on time to mail packages, or keeping the refrigerator stocked with more than toaster strudels. What isn't acceptable is getting equally worked up about the times I can't get to my art and writing, thanks to things like moving. I've also discovered that the #1 reason I worry is because I've neglected following my previously-posted 10 tips on how to stay creative every day. For instance, the times I've managed to not have pen and paper handy while waiting for the cable installer to show up, or then trying to write with a faulty pen I found in the trash.

During more settled times, my other "creative" worries can stem from not feeling "good or smart enough" to be a writer or an artist at all. (Tip #8, "Don't compare yourself to others" is the true root of this problem.) Or worrying about not having enough time to accomplish all the amazing goals swirling through my mind, especially in the middle of the night. I'm sure we've all been there, and I'm sure we've all done as much as we can to avoid the worry track, but if you're still feeling stuck and can't see a wait out, here are some ways to approach the anxiety:

1. Worrying wastes energy--energy that can be used for creative work. A good trick is to simply write out or express your worries through any art form: clay, collage, even dancing.
2. Some people are fuelled by worry--and that's okay if it helps get the work done. What isn't okay is wasting other people's time by incessantly voicing those worries, being the kind of worrywart Julia Cameron has referred to as a "toxic friend," someone who wants to stop your work while they complain about their own. Avoid at all costs!
3. Take action! Do one small task toward your goal every day, no matter how small. For instance, because I've had zero time to write, I've been collecting visual bits and pieces for a collage about this current time in my life. It only takes a few minutes, but it does help me feel that I'm doing something.
4. Procrastinating is a form of worry that is self-perpetuating and can only add to your worries. That's why schedules and routines are so important to keep. Even if you only designate 15 minutes a day as the bare minimum where you MUST work on your project, do it.
5. Feeling like your work isn't matching the picture in your head? This is a big one for me. Yet no one else can possibly imagine what I'm envisioning as the perfect story or perfect painting. The same for you, so just be proud of the work you have accomplished and keep going forward. And never, ever point out to others what you think are your work's flaws, or apologize for what you think is "wrong."
6. The sense of being overwhelmed by all that's required to finish any major piece can be pretty worry-making. So while it's admirable to be able to see the whole picture while you're creating, it can also seem like such a huge job to complete it can keep you from ever finishing the darn thing. To counter this, concentrate on a small portion of the work: for instance, just blocking in the hands on a portrait, or just outlining Chapter 7, or looking for new ways to build and increase tension and conflict scene-by-scene.
7. "What if?" is a great question when you're writing a novel or short story, but it's a lousy way to try to get some sleep: What if I can't meet my deadline? What if I get a bad review? What if my manuscript is rejected? Stop! Listen to music, meditate, stop and smell the roses.
8. And have a contingency plan in place: During your down times make a list of positive reviewers who read your book's genre; write up a new daily schedule that will allow you to meet your deadline; prepare manuscript submission packages in advance so that you can send out your work to as many readers as possible.

Tip of the Day:  Every now and then, give yourself time and space to do nothing. Yes, that's right--take a break! Sometimes deliberate and luxurious idleness can be the very cure for all those "must" and "should" monkeys floating through your head. It's also amazing how the very act of refusing to write or draw can drive you right back to your work-in-progress. Typical contrary artistic temperament, wouldn't you say?

Stay Creative Every Day Tip #10: Don't Leave Home Without Your Journal

“I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.”

- Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest  

It's been a long time since I've traveled by train, and I don't know if my journals can qualify as "sensational," but Wilde certainly had it right in my opinion. Which is why I believe so strongly in Stay Creative Every Day Tip #10, Always carry a journal, sketchbook, pens, etc. with you wherever you go.

Now that my Big Move to apartment living is in full pack-up-and-go mode, having a notebook of some sort close by has never been more important to me. Not only can I jot down immediate "to do" notes (transfer the power bill; buy more boxes), I can also be working on a WIP or sketching the last views of my backyard while I'm waiting for things to happen (this current move seems to involve a lot of waiting-for-things-to-happen for some inexplicable reason).

However, even when I'm in my new home, settled and back to my normal routine, I'll be sure to follow some of my favorite creativity-starters:

• Always have a dedicated "art and writing" tote ready to go at all times. For me this is a small canvas bag with a journal, a sketchbook, and a pouch with pens, pencils (graphite and watercolor), X-acto knife, eraser, and a waterbrush or two. Lately I've started carrying around a small watercolor set, too. 
• Waterbrushes! Wow, I love waterbrushes so much I have to mention them again. They have all the ease and versatility of a pen and can fit into your purse if necessary. I only discovered these tools about a year ago; now I can't imagine how I coped without them.
• I like to have various sizes and styles of journals, etc. going at the same time, but when I'm out of the house I stick to 9"x12" or smaller.
• It's also fun to have themed journals and sketchbooks just for on-the-go. For instance, in the past I've carried around a journal that was just for freewriting at bookstores, and a sketchbook that was just for trees, leaves, and flowers.
• Sometimes I paste pictures and writing prompts on my blank pages before I leave home. It's amazing how well these "random thoughts" can match the mood of wherever I am, starting a new stream of creativity I wasn't expecting.
• Which gives me a full "idea book" without even trying.
• Drawing or writing out of your usual office or studio space can give you an entirely new appreciation of your surroundings, and a whole new way to approach your work. Whether it's the muzak playing in a crowded shopping mall or the eerie peacefulness of an empty parking lot, the altered atmosphere can't help but change your perspective.
• Artist Date! I've always been a big fan of Julia Cameron and her books, especially The Artist's Way, but too often I couldn't figure out how to keep up with her advice on having an artist's date once a week. Taking my "creativity bag" out for the morning or afternoon is an excellent way to follow this exercise.
• Vacations. We all need them, and recording your experiences with more than just your camera is a super way to make travel anywhere special. I recently purchased a wonderful book, The Art of Travel With a Sketchbook by Marie LeGlatin Keis, that I can't wait to use this summer while I go on (yes!) vacation.

Tip of the Day: If you're anything like me, you probably spend an awful lot of time waiting. Whether it's waiting in line at the post office; waiting for a hair, doctor, or dental appointment; waiting in the car while my husband shops at the auto supply store. . .  Honestly, if I didn't have my journal or sketchbook I'd be bored to tears with all that waiting. I'd also be wasting some very valuable time. One trick I've found to utilize that time to the best advantage is to go to appointments or meetings just a little bit early, even by just an extra 15 minutes. (I've heard this works really well for parents who need to pick up their children from school every day.) So next time you're out on the road, don't forget to take your journal!

Stay Creative Every Day Tip #9: Finish What You Start

Big news: I'm moving! I'll still be in Albuquerque, but I'm trading home ownership for apartment living with more time for writing and art, not to mention a swimming pool. It's a major change, for sure, and as much as I will be glad to leave yardwork behind, the one thing I know I'm going to miss is my little at-home studio. However, in its place I'm getting industrial space with lots of room to go wild with clay, paint, and all the glue I can spill. Watch out Etsy!

In preparation for packing, I've taken stock of my works-in-progress shelf and files and realized that besides my bulging "idea file" I have no less than 22 manuscripts in various states of completion. For some people this may seem an excessive (and frightening) amount, but to me it signifies productivity and never having to say I'm bored. It also means I'm going to be extremely busy for the next few years if I want to get these works into print and/or up for sale. So if my math skills are correct, here's the line-up:

• 5 screenplays. 1 at 3rd/final draft stage; 2 have reached the full first draft stage; 1 is halfway finished; 1 is still incubating.
• 9 novels. 1 is finished and ready for submission; 3 are full first drafts; the other 5 are pretty well outlined considering I'm a dedicated "pantster."
• 4 books of poetry. All complete first drafts.
• 2 short story collections. All complete first drafts.
• 2 non-fiction manuscripts: 1 is a complete first draft, 1 is approximately 200 pages of notes. (Does that qualify as a draft?)

Which brings me to Stay Creative Tip Every Day #9: Finish What You Start. Do your best to not leave any piece of work unfinished. Unfinished work is usually about not knowing what to do next. To find the solution, try being playful: add a new character; paint red squiggly lines down the middle; paste on some text cut from a magazine. If you really dislike a piece and don't want to finish it, stop and consciously throw it away and don't think about it again.

In my how-to book, The Essential Guide for New Writers, one of the most important points I teach is that the only manuscripts that sell are finished manuscripts. Even if you're lucky enough to pitch and sell a 10-book series to an editor by sharing a few ideas scribbled on a dinner napkin, at some stage you will have to write and finish those books to get your full advance and avoid a law suit.

So how to stay motivated and on track even when you've added all the red squiggly lines you can? The top 4 ways I know for completing any work-in-progress are:

1. Be organized. Keep well-labeled, clean, orderly, and attractive WIP files and binders for everything from character wardrobe sketches to marketing plans and multiple drafts. Personalized binders that are easily accessible and a pleasure to work with can help you to stay focused and able to switch between projects if necessary.
2. Make a priority list. What is your most important project and why? For instance, do you have a contest you want to enter? Did you meet an editor or agent at a conference who asked for a partial? Is one of your manuscripts more timely than the others? Or maybe you just want to give books as Christmas gifts, or have them to sell at a book festival. Whatever the reason, it's helpful to have self-imposed deadlines and reasons for completing your work.
3. Keep a log to know where you are with each piece. Give yourself the equivalent of a gold star for every day you achieve your daily or weekly writing goals and quotas.
4. Know you endings in advance. A fun trick is to write your last page or scene first (which is precisely what I did for Overtaken. The last page was written in an intensive workshop taught by author Emily Hanlon, and I've never been more grateful.). I've mentioned this tip before, but it's one of the most helpful ways I know for getting a book sealed, signed, and delivered.

Tip of the Day. I heard a good piece of advice on NPR regarding creative goal-setting: instead of using the words "I hope," try replacing them with "I intend." For instance, instead of saying "I hope I can finish my novel by Thanksgiving," try, "I intend to finish my novel the day before Thanksgiving." Or, instead of "I hope my book finds a publisher," try, "I intend for my book to be published by June 2014." It's an important distinction, and one that I've found keeps me working toward my goals in a more professional and meaningful way.

Stay Creative Every Day Tip #8: Give up Comparisons

I have a friend who hates pink. I adore it. My friend is, I think, a much better artist than I am, maybe because of her palette choices! But I don’t want to give up pink, and I don’t want to berate myself just because someone else doesn’t like roses and kitten paws. Which leads me to Stay Creative Every Day Tip #8: Never compare yourself to others.

The day I learned to stop competing, stop comparing, and truly enjoy the creative life I’ve chosen was a few years ago when I wanted to try using a high-fire glaze on a small vase in my very small kiln. The kiln is capable of reaching a high setting, but that’s more of a theory than a reality. Anyway, I carefully glazed what I thought was one of my best vases in the required 3 coats, let them dry for the appropriate amount of time, and then proceeded to fire up the kiln. After hours and hours of extreme heat, followed by hours and hours of cooling, I opened the kiln. And the vase was absolutely hideous. Not only had the glaze virtually disappeared (what was meant to be a lovely peacock blue was a dull puce) but the clay surface had a weird, bumpy feel similar to ostrich skin. I was miserable. I was a loser. I couldn’t even fire a 4-inch vase. The potters featured in Ceramics Monthly were so much BETTER than me. I would never even make it to my first show. I set the thing aside on a side shelf and tried to find something else to do. 

A few days later the afternoon sun pierced through the blinds in my studio and hit the vase in such a way that made it suddenly glow, forcing me to pick it up for a second look. Miraculously, it was beautiful, as in seriously fine. Sure, the glaze wasn’t at all what I had planned, but it had personality. The “weird” texture was, dare I say, interesting. I found myself oddly moved; I felt that if there had been any failure on my part it was that I had failed to appreciate this little vase that was just trying to be itself rather than the image I had wanted to impose upon it. Now it’s one of my prized pieces and takes pride of place on my bookcase. Lesson learned: Everyone and everything has an innate timing, integrity, and direction. My job is to just let that emerge naturally, and always do the best I can without worrying, and without the need to compare. The best ways I found to do that are to:

• Find what you love to do. 
• Find what you do well—and raise the bar only when you think you’re ready to go there. 
• Don’t give up because someone else is supposedly “better” at your chosen craft. 
• And be honest. Don’t go in the other direction and disparage the “bad work” of others when you might be a teensy bit, um, envious. (Yes, I’ve done that too.)

Tip of the Day: If you find yourself constantly comparing your work to that of others, the best way to stop is to start a daily gratitude and appreciation list. Every evening, list 12 things that you did well that day. They don’t have to be acts of great heroism or award-winning works of art; in fact, the minute you stop judging your accomplishments for NOT being as amazing or fantastic as you think they’re supposed to be, you'll be safely out of the “compare and despair” zone.

Stay Creative Every Day: Tip #7, Use Technology

Hi Everyone! As you may have noticed, I've been on blog-hiatus for the last few weeks. Publishing Overtaken (now with Amazon's "Look Inside the Book" feature!) was a bigger hill climb than I thought it would be, and I needed some serious down time. But it's great to be back and blogging again. I especially want to thank everyone who left comments on my last post, always great to hear from you.

Today I thought I'd continue with my "12 Tips to Stay Creative Every Day, Tip #7:  Take Advantage of Technology." The computer is a wonderful thing—and at least for me, way too attractive when I should be working outdoors or in my studio. Which is why I seem to have a constant battle running through my head about how much time I should spend online. But as much as I sometimes dream about pulling the plug, I have to say the Internet has been a marvelous boost to my productivity. For instance, I can: 

Watch videos. From book trailers to art journal “how-to” demonstrations, some of the absolute best information I've uncovered has come to me via Youtube.com. I’ve learned how to make acrylic gel transfers, draw a frog, and how to use a watercolor travel brush. And that's just for starters. 

Read blogs. I enjoy reading blogs on art and writing, but by simply pushing the “Next Blog” button at the top of many sites, I can go to all kinds of new topics: travel stories, life changing incidents, business advice. I consider my time reading blogs to be the equivalent of the time I used to spend reading print magazines, except the blogs have a much richer and more personal content. 

Prompt Blogs. Word-a-day, picture-a-day, a painting a month, poem starters; the Internet abounds with blogs to help you get started when inspiration flags. Best of all, the sites are mainly about forming and maintaining creative community around individual and group work. Perfect when you can't find a writer's or artist's group locally. 

Online Dictionary and Thesaurus. No more hunting through the pages! My print versions of both my dictionary and thesaurus were so dog-eared and well-worn I had to throw them out years ago. They weren’t even good enough to recycle. Dictionary.com is my lifeline. What would I do without it? 

General How-to. Just ask! I’m still amazed when friends ask me things like, “Where’s a good website about falconry?” Or, “What did children wear to play in during the middle ages?” I don’t know why I give the impression I can answer these questions off the top of my head, but I do know where the answers are online. I just type in my question exactly as I would ask it, and presto—instant answers. (Come on, people, you can do this too!) 

Search engines. I rarely stop at page 1 and the top 10 sites. Instead, I prefer to keep going through interesting tidbits in the same way I used to enjoy perusing the card catalogs at the library. Happy accidents, stray referrals, and odd references can all be good material for inspiration and plot development. 

Alphasmart. I love my Alphasmart. Especially the way you CAN’T go online (at least with the basic model). My Alphasmart saves me oodles of time and I can type as easily on it as I can write longhand, with the same "freewriting" sensation and flow. 

Coupons! Available online and very necessary for art supplies and books in particular. 

Shopping. Bricks-and-mortar stores often don’t have what I want and are usually not interested in ordering products for me. Thank goodness for Paypal.com is all I can say. 

Play with Photos and Other Images. Using sites such as Polyvore.com can help me stay creative during lunch without getting mayonnaise on my sketchbook. Before I know it I have the idea for a story to go with my image composition. It's dreamy and focused and fun. 

Amazingly Helpful Programs. Just to name a few: Book Publishing Wizard, Movie Magic, Photoshop in various versions… Once you have the tools, you can do anything. Anything! 

Tip of the Day: The manual typewriter and treadle sewing machine were once the high technology of their day. Sometimes it nice to go back to basics and re-discover these wonderful old tools and re-envision how to use them. For instance, a manual typewriter could be just the ticket for giving your collaged poems the correct “old world” look. A quilt made on a 1920 Singer sewing machine might have a much more “hand-made” feel that changes the look entirely. Experiment with technology from any era to stay creative every day.