For Writers Only - Julie Cameron

 
 Julia Cameron who wrote The Artist's Way, begins each day with 'Morning Pages' -- three pages written as fast as possible without lifting the pen from the pad (yes, by hand) and in those Morning Pages she puts down whatever is on her mind or in her heart....She tosses them unread into a knee high pile and what matter if they never are seen by mortal eyes?
Now she begins to write. 

 

 ~ For Writers Only, Sophie Burnham



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Procrastination or Inspiration?

As a writer the easiest thing in the universe to do is procrastinate.  

You can find any reason to not write.
Too tired, laundry is piling up, the bathroom needs to be cleaned, you need to go to the store, weeds need to be pulled, the fly buzzing around the room is too distracting, kids need me, too loud, too quiet, no inspiration. I have used them all.

Fortunately, I've broken out of the sticky web of procrastination. Not saying that I don’t fall back every now and again. However I have realized that my procrastination will actually stall my creative flow. I am in essence putting my muse on mute. I have learned that if you keep it silent for too long, when you do turn the volume back up you will find nothing but silence.

I love people that tell you they are ‘working up to’ something. I have learned it is code for ‘I have no freaking idea what I am going to do’. But that’s okay. We've all been there, when the ideas and the flow seem just out of reach, so why waste time staring a blank screen? Why spend precious hours writing useless prattle? If the inspiration isn’t there, it just isn’t there…right?

See, here’s the thing…staring at the blank screen, believe it or not, is not a waste of time. Writing gibberish does more than give you sore shoulders. These seemingly useless exercises can in fact amount to brilliance. How? Because you are doing it! You are focused on your task. You are allowing your mind to wander to all of those wonderful places where the kernels of inspiration collect. Given enough time and patience they will pop and you were soar!

I have said it a million times and I cannot stress it enough. The reason I do is because I don’t want anyone to miss out on the chance of brilliance! If you are going to write, than write! If you are going to write a song, write it! If you are going to conquer the world, get to work!

Someone once said that ‘Procrastination is the ruin of the brilliant man’. And while I'm not going to go to that degree, I will say it is a slippery slope. So mind your balance and open the door for brilliance, it's waiting!

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My Intellectual Crush

If you Google Intellectual Crush Definition, a whole bunch of stuff comes up. The only actual definition I found is in the Urban Dictionary:

A crush on someone that developed because of admiration for the person's skill/talent/intellectual abilities etc... Often used to clarify that crushes of the same gender are more or less platonic and not sexual in nature.

I have a few of these crushes, and I have mentioned them in previous blogs. 

These people inspire me, and make me sigh with the brilliance of their minds!

JJ Abrahms

Seth McFarlane

Joss Wheadon

George Clooney (although this one could go either way)

I am adding someone to the list. This is not done without serious consideration as it is very few who reach this status in my world but Oh Nelly I am in love…

His name is Bob Mayer, and if you have an eye on my activities you know I have been gobbling up his media like Christmas candy! Those who do not know who Bob Mayer is, let me introduce you. His bio on Goodreads: A West Point graduate, former Green Beret and NY Times best-selling author and motivational speaker/consultant. He is the Co-Creator of Who Dares Wins Publishing. He has written over 45 titles under his name and his several pen names, including Robert Doherty He has co-authored several books with Jennifer Crusie.

He is also the owner of a wonderful blog titled after a remarkable novel, Write it Forward, Who Dares Wins!

So what is the attraction? He is a teacher, and a real author. Not one of those people who says they are an author and puts out a bunch of books to help other authors just to make money. 

His books, his theory, his thought process makes sense to me. It isn’t bunch of hooey to fill pages, it is black and white.  I have been meaning to read several of his books for almost a year now. I recently discovered the text to speech feature on my Kindle and holy hell I am an idiot! I am kicking myself for waiting as long as I have to read the man’s books! I could go into a long explanation as to what his books say and suggest but honestly, just go read them. I am being sincere about this, if you hate them I will refund your money!! LOL!

I am going to branch off for a second to try and explain why this is such an impactful moment for me. I was published in 2010 and since then I have released eleven novels.  I have learned so much about myself, the business, the web and the world. I have been gathering all of this information (and there is a lot to process) to try and plan for the future, what it is I want, what I need, and what is possible. 

I discovered I am a writer (go figure) and I want to be the BEST writer I can be. I want to learn, expand, grow, hone, define, and perfect my abilities.  Knowing this and doing something about it are two different things. I am 42, not a spring chicken, but I have the hunger of a 23 year old eyeing the world to conquer.

Mr. Mayer has written 45 novels (more now I think), he has been writing for 20 years, he has been on the best seller list, and he literally (not exaggeration here) sells about 1500 books a day.  So now my interest is peaked, right? Wow, who doesn’t want to be like him? Thus the reasons I initially bought his books. Let me make a clarification, I bought his non-fiction books – 102 Solutions to Common Writing Mistakes, and the Novel Writer’s Toolkit—both looked promising. 

I just finished them and I went a step further and put Mr. Mayer to the ultimate test. I bought and read one of his fiction books, ‘Don’t Look Down’ co-authored by Jennifer Cruise. 

Hell he may look good on paper but can he deliver the pros?

Uh, yeah, he can.

Seriously, he can. 

Wow, so not only does the man speak my language, as in he was able to penetrate my concrete noggin to enable me to ‘get it’ as far as my writing, he is also really good at the craft. This sounds like an oxymoron, but it is all too often people who write how to books cannot actually write fiction to save their lives.

So now I have joined the cult, I am an avid reader, follower, and supporter of Bob Mayer and all he does. The man is a freakin’ genius, and I can only hope to be half the writer and or business person he is. 

If you are a writer, READ his books, if you are a READER, read his books, I love romantic suspense and I started with ‘Don’t Look Down’ and I loved it. As a writer I started with 102 Solutions. I have posted reviews on all, and I highly recommend them to anyone who wants to learn and grow in their craft.

So THAT my friends is an intellectual crush!

Ba-Zinga!! --Oh did I tell you Sheldon Cooper is on the list as well—hahaha!

Live, Love, Learn--Everyday

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The Reader in Me

Barbie is hanging precariously from the hardware of my mother's drapes, while Ken runs to her rescue. Neighborhood war is declared. Ammunition and walkie-talkies are dispersed after a lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches and kool-aide milkshakes. Charlie has a new assignment for his Angels. They will be teaming with Bo & Luke Duke to secure the micro-chip hidden in the barn via bikes. Even when the small town of Macungie, PA is quiet, it is necessary for a girl to keep a fake gun her purse. You never know when Archangel may arrive in his helicopter with a crisis.

My childhood was a mix of television, books, and pure imagination. There was and is always some adventure brewing in my head. A constant stream of images of what if's about the world, my favorite characters, and everything in between.

 As a child these images were acted out in play, and then later on the stage and on paper. To be honest, not much has changed. I started writing as an addition to imaginary playtime. It was a catalog of events, and when we would do what. When Barbie would finally kiss Ken, or how Chris Monroe would find out her partner Kelly was captured by the villain. My muse developed a taste for adventure, and I explored it through acting, theater, screenwriting, and then finally the almighty novel.

My books start as a song lyric, a single line of dialog, or an image.  There is also a magical time of day (or night) my Muse loves, specifically, the time when you are laying in that place halfway between an awake mind and slumber. It is a magical realm, and many a scene and a lot of dialog have spawned from that place of peace.

Romantic Suspense is a natural flow of energy for me. It fits my personality. I have attempted other genres, and I have always ended up with the 38 Special in my hand bag.  For me, love is no fun without some treachery, and a few life and death moments. One of the challenges I put forth on myself in writing any novel is first, I have to love it, and second, there must be a balance. Too many times I will read romantic suspense and it is more romance than suspense or visa-versa. I want a good chunk of both. I want them to drive each other.  I love reading romantic suspense, and frankly I was unable to find a book that fulfilled the above need, so I wrote my own. 

The inspiration for my first published novel started small. I became intrigued by the relationship of two brothers on a popular television show, and I started watching a little closer. Then the lyrics of a song developed the plot and angst, and I went with it--Two people, breathless and desperate to kiss each other but unable to act on their feelings. I focused on the single image, rolling all of the possibilities in my head. Why wouldn’t they be able to fulfill their desires? What was holding them back, and what would make them so desperate to act? Where did the need to be in the others embrace stem from? What were the consequences if they acted on their desires?

The answers to each of these questions are of course endless, but in the end Trust Me was born. The two people became Rebecca Gailen and Eric Stiles. The scene wound up in a very different place than I imagined. It, and its consequences, were shattering to both characters. The Trust Me Trilogy is my all time favorite series of books. As a reader, they have everything I want in a romantic suspense! There is action, suspense, romance, chemistry, passion, angst, ranting, crying, fighting, deception... you name it, it's in there. As a reader I think I succeeded in my efforts, creating tales you can immerse yourself in and experience the adventure from the comfort of your favorite chair. 

They tell every writer to write what they love. I am a writer because I love to read. I can only hope readers love what I write.

Procrastination or Inspiration?

As a writer the easiest thing in the universe to do is procrastinate. 
You can find a billion reasons to not write.
Too tired, laundry is piling up, the bathroom needs to be cleaned, you need to go to the store, weeds need to be pulled, the fly buzzing around the room is too distracting, kids need me, too loud, too quiet, no inspiration. I have used them all.
Fortunately, I have broken out of the sticky web of procrastination. Not saying that I don’t fall back every now and again. However, I have realized that my procrastination will actually stall my creative flow. I am in essence putting my muse on mute. I have learned that if you keep it silent for too long, when you do turn the volume back up you will find nothing but silence.
I love people that tell you they are ‘working up to’ something. I have learned it is code for ‘I have no freaking idea what I am going to do’. But that’s okay. We have all been there, when the ideas and the flow seem just out of reach, so why waste time staring a blank screen? Why spend precious hours writing useless prattle? If the inspiration isn’t there, it just isn’t there…right?
See, here’s the thing… Staring at the blank screen, believe it or not, is not a waste of time. Writing gibberish does more than give you sore shoulders. These seemingly useless exercises can in fact amount to brilliance. How? Because you are doing it! You are focused on your task. You are allowing your mind to wander to all of those wonderful places where the kernels of inspiration collect. Given enough time and patience they will pop and you were soar!
I have said it a million times and I cannot stress it enough. The reason I do is because I don’t want anyone to miss out on the chance of brilliance! If you are going to write, than write! If you are going to write a song, write it! If you are going to conquer the world, get to work!
Someone once said that ‘Procrastination is the ruin of the brilliant man’. And while I am not going to go to that degree I will say that it is a slippery slope. So mind your balance and open the door for brilliance, it is waiting!