Tweet I got the idea for this post while “meditating” so it might sound a tad overzealous. But it came out of a recent laborious task of finding work in Hawaii. Every corner like an inkling of opportunity seemed to land not at an open door, but another wall. How do you keep your cool in a desert of opportunities? Here’s what you don’t do: Don’t show your cards. Don’t react from a place of emptiness. The desperation has a tendency to attract more desperation and less opportunities. Don’t confide in the cynics and the pessimists. They’ll give you more…
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Tweet I don’t know if you’re a big Something’s Gotta Give fan like me. But if you are, you know every single line, every heartbreaking sentence and LOL phrase that made Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson sing on-screen together. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways (the writing, the setting, the fact that Diane played a screenwriter). One of my favorites, however is her genuine vulnerability reflected when she’s with Jack’s character Harry. There’s one scene that does it for me every time. Harry and Erica are in New York when she catches having dinner with a younger…
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Tweet A few weekends ago, I headed out to my first ever writing retreat class. It was great to gab with writers and nosh on good eats while taking in the view of the breathtaking mountains on the Windward side of Oahu. Besides all of that, I got a lot of practical tips to get the writing flowing. I thought I’d share a few things I’ve learned with you. Inspiration from Music The first one’s pretty fun. Just turn on something instrumental, grab a notebook and a writing utensil, close your eyes and let the music direct your pen. The…
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Tweet That’s the questions I have been asking myself these last 6 weeks since I officially and finally moved back to Hawaii. Why? I know that’s the question most of the world would be asking. Why would a writer have a difficult time writing amongst turquoise hued skies, pearly white sand and a “you could get lost in it” ocean. Lots of room for inspiration right? Yes. It’s true. I’ve been writing more for my fiction piece than I did when I lived in California. But on the other hand, finding new writing gigs have turned out to be…
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Tweet Some authors claim certain writing instruments do it. Others insist on a severely quiet room. Then there are those that require the opposite. Equipment and environment, however, does not ensure writing success. Each writer has to find what works for them. Yet, aren’t we chomping at the bit to know what it is that works for J.K. Rowling, for example? Or what it took for Julia Cameron to consistently pump out book after book? That’s why we attend author’s talks and listen to webinars because we’re all desperate to discover the secret recipe to writing success. It’s what drew…
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Tweet Fabulous careers in creative fields (like you writers) deserve a little more attention, motivation and flexibility than other fields. You need to roll with the punches, get your tough going (when the going gets rough) and be willing to go for the ride. [Definitely met my “trite phrases quota” for the day.] Part of that is getting used to the up and down roller coaster ride of both inspiration and writing gigs. That means sometimes there will be lulls, sometimes there will be speed bumps. And when I’m on a high, I need to remember to stop myself from…
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Tweet What do you do when fear and procrastination threaten to derail your writing? Writer and coach Cynthia Morris has been writing since 1994, coaching writers since 1999 and published several articles and two books: a historical novel called Chasing Sylvia Beach and Create Your Writer’s Life: A Guide to Writing with Joy and Ease. What has helped her persist is a unique combination of yoga and what she calls, “juju.” Read on to find out how they may be able to help you jump start your own writing: “I think both my writing practice and my yoga practice made me this…
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Tweet I just read Careerbuilder’s article, ‘If I knew then what I know now’: Advice for college graduates and found myself nodding my head in agreement. I wish I had, for example, thought long-term about my career, realized my passion sooner and pursued it with the kind of ambition and energy only someone in their twenties has. And then I realized the same thing could be said of my writing career. I can’t go back in time and redo my college experience nor my writing one, but I can share with you what I learned thus far in my career as…
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Tweet I have a lot of writer friends who started out all gung ho and then let their mojo slide when the going got tough. My ego would like to say it’s the way we weed out the true writers from the pack. But I know the truth. The truth is that writing is scary. We all have moments where we doubt whether we’re really that good or even good enough. And this could change moment to moment, day to day. Sometimes I think I wrote the best piece ever at night, only to wake up the next morning and…
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Tweet Fellow writer Daylin Van Zandt sent me a message over Facebook today that inspired me. He decided to quit his full-time job to fulfill a dream. I’m so excited for him! One of his dreams is to start a community magazine. While he has the networks and the know-how to get started, he wanted some tips, advice, suggestions on what steps to take to get cracking on this latest endeavor. I asked Daylin if I could post his question on my blog in the hopes that you generous and wise readers could help out. His message is below. Please leave a…