Tweet I can’t claim the title, “author,” yet, but there are books out there that feature my writing. I’ve assisted Dr. Bradley Willcox of The Okinawa Diet Plan, my Psych Central was mentioned in Living with Eating Disorders, one of my Tweets was in Tiny Buddha and now in Untangle Your Mind: A Pathway to Love, author Marty Avary draws an inspiring picture to go with my quote on forgiveness. I’m really excited and grateful that authors have found my words online. I hope you get a chance to pick up the book. All the quotes in there are inspiring.
-
-
Tweet If you’re suffering through a field of rejections, keep reading… It took awhile, but eventually I found a pace, my zone, an ability to actually push through my anxiety and create articles I was proud of. But more importantly, got paid for. That was a great feeling, but I didn’t sit in my laurels for long before I had a desire to venture outside my comfort zone and towards the writing I dreamed of creating. Writing for children. Writing personal essays. But in the slog of writing green, I’m gaining a ton of rejections, which can be demoralizing to say the…
-
Tweet It’s pretty cool when your article gets Instagrammed. #Monday morning emails be like… | Story: “An Unconventional Guide to Wellness” by Brandi-Ann Uyemura” | Illustration by @cbphilpot | #HIBiz A post shared by Hawaii Business Magazine (@hawaiibusinessmagazine) on May 8, 2017 at 11:55am PDT
-
Tweet Initially, I struggled with this powerhouse of a word. I was apt, for example, to bark at a customer service representative or get teed off if someone cut me off in traffic. But age and children can soften one’s heart. I developed compassion. This has helped me be a better daughter, friend, mother, partner and a writer. How does compassion affect your writing? This has been key in my ability to raise my writing to the next level. In the nonfiction arena, it’s given me a new perspective. Instead of how best do I write this piece, it’s made me…
-
Tweet Hi fellow writers! So far 2017 started with a lot of hustle and bustle, and recovery from illness, which has left me nil time to write. I still have hope for the new year, however. The end of 2016 was filled with a lot of exciting things. One of my stories on Ikea in Hawaii for Hawaii Business magazine, for example, made it to the top 10 stories in 2016! You can read it here. On a completely separate note, I ended up being in the magazine with a mom friend. It was an exciting day for this non-glamorous mom…
-
Tweet I used to struggle with what came out of me onto a fresh page. It was never as beautiful or brilliant as it was in my mind. In my mind, I was an eccentric, quirky, and stunning writer. One the world had yet to seen. In reality, my words were mediocre at best. It kind of depressed me. Thus, began the slog of my writing career. Every time I wrote, I suffered a little on the inside. Why was I doing it? Why was I torturing myself when my writing sucked? I would never be an award winning writer.…
-
Tweet If you ask me what the difference between fiction and nonfiction is, I’d say, “apples and oranges.” And to most writers, that’s a given. For people who don’t write professionally, however, words are words whether they’re made up or based on fact. There’s an art about each. And both have their challenges. For me though, using my imagination, and letting go into it are difficult. There is no way of controlling what will happen to my characters. There is no specific date or fact that can completely direct my story. That’s why writing a children’s book has been a…
-
Tweet {by guest blogger: Marcia Zina Mager, The Write Coach} One of my all time favorite quotes about the writing process comes from one of the world’s greatest painters, Vincent Van Gogh. “Mediocre I do not despise at all. And one does not rise above that mark by despising what is mediocre. In my opinion one must begin by at least having some respect for the mediocre and know that it already means something and that it is only reached through great difficulty.” Whether you’ve written for decades or are just beginning, Van Gogh’s insightful wisdom can take you far…
-
Tweet {by: guest blogger} My freelance lifestyle wasn’t born out of a dream to forge my own path, pursue my innate sense of creativity at all costs or even break free from the corporate grind. Nope, my motivations weren’t as lofty as all that. The way it really went was something like this: My husband was given a career-boosting opportunity that involved nine months of schooling in the Washington, D.C. area, with no idea where we would be moving next. We talked it over and decided together that he should take the opportunity, and before we knew it, we…
-
Tweet Going to the SCBWI Hawaii Chapter Conference was well-worth the Benjamin this weekend. I learned a ton about fiction-a topic I rarely write about. It was an eye-opening experience teaching me all the mistakes I’m making and probably will make in my fiction future. I thought I’d save you the expense by sharing all the secrets I learned this weekend. So close your wallets and pull up your laptop. It’s going to get good right now. 1) Showing off. It’s tempting to be like a peacock and show off your feathers. But puffing up your ego with superfluous verbiage…