Words Wednesday

All day yesterday we wrestled with a virus attack on my computer. To make it more fun, my resident computer expert was clear across the country on that other job he does...you know, the one where they pay him. I had to do all the techy stuff. Really this virus didn't know whose computer it was messing with. Stand between me and my blog? No way. Get between me and my Facebook friends? I think not.

So, here's a few words of warning.

Update your virus protection.
Go to Avast and download the current version. It's free and effective. Sign up for the free updates. I've gotten sloppy about updates and running regular scans. If you run into a nasty bug, go to a clean computer to download instructions and a fix from the folks at Malwarebytes. They helped me oust the nasty yesterday.

Back up. Back up. Back up.
Back up everything on your computer. As I wrestled with the bug yesterday, I was confident I had all my work backed up elsewhere. If I'd needed to get a new hard drive, I would have still had all the words from all my fiction saved in other places. All our photos are on both The Pilot Guy's laptop, my laptop, our external hard drive, with some on Photobucket. External hard drive. Disks. Stone tablets...whatever. Just back up.

And a few words about computer security....

“I think computer viruses should count as life. I think it says something about human nature that the only form of life we have created so far is purely destructive. We’ve created life in our own image.”– Stephen Hawking

“The only truly secure system is one that is powered off, cast in a block of concrete and sealed in a lead-lined room with armed guards.”– Gene Spafford

“Being able to break security doesn’t make you a hacker anymore than being able to hotwire cars makes you an automotive engineer.”– Eric Raymond

“Passwords are like underwear: you don’t let people see it, you should change it very often, and you shouldn’t share it with strangers.”– Chris Pirillo

Happy and safe computing!

Ten Writing Commandments

A friend gave these to me several years ago. I have no notion who first penned them, but I appreciate the effort.

1. Thou shalt not procrastinate.

2. Thou will honor all thy writing. Even if it is terrible.

3. Thou shalt have faith in your creative ability.

4. Thou shalt keep an open mind.

5. Thou shalt slay negativism.

6. Thou shalt not fear rejection.

7. Thou shalt be kind to thyself.

8. Thou shalt cultivate happy thoughts.

9. Thou shalt place thy posterior in thy chair.

10. Thou shalt finish thy book.

WooHoo!

This morning I earned my first Jamba Juice reward of 2010.

If you remember, I reward myself with a (Peach Pleasure) Jamba Juice for every 10,000 words I write. The year to date total is sitting pretty on 10,010 at the moment. Ten thousand words that weren't born into this story thirteen days ago.

WooHoo! This is getting the year started off right.

How do you reward yourself for a job done?

Fiction Fast Finished

During NaNoWriMo I don't read other people's fiction. By the end of the project, I'm hungry to relax into someone else's creative adventure. Coupled with a Thanksgiving trip, I've been over 30 days without reading a story.

As a reward for writing like a freight train AND for putting up with a six hour one way drive to the relatives, I picked up Nora Roberts new romance, Bed of Roses, about a florist in the wedding biz. At first, I wallowed in the delight of story. By chapter four, with my own turn of phrase and plot line fresh in my head, I was feeling intimidated. Sheesh, Nora Roberts has a way with words.

Then, in chapter five, a minor character, an author, had a few words for me. Maybe they'll encourage you, too.

"How's the book going?" she asked him.
"Crap."
She laughed. "So you always say."
"Because it's always true at this stage." He wrapped an arm around her waist as they walked. 'But family dinners and digging in the dirt help me put the crap aside awhile. Then it's never quite as bad as I thought when I get back to it."

Let the revisions begin. lol

Affirming

It happened again.

Someone put two of my fanfic stories on their Favorite Stories list. These are short pieces I posted three or four years ago on http://www.fanfiction.net/. And, it's not the first time I've gotten this sort of notification.


Do you know what a pleasure it is? To know that some person out there found my little scraps of fiction interesting and entertaining enough to say they are on her 'here, read this one list?'

Humbling.

Affirming.

A little warm glow bringing a smile.

At the moment, I'm caught in the seasonal whirl that is baseball at our house, my son's last season as a high school player. We are over our heads with plans for graduation and his summer activities. There are two significant situations in my life causing me to feel as if I'm wearing my skin inside out, with all the raw nerves exposed. Creatively, I've spent some time with stained glass and with fabric as well as with my hands in the dirt, gardening. But, I haven't put thoughts to paper in fiction form for a while. Just the other day, I was seriously second guessing my desires to make a career from my pen. Maybe, I thought, I just don't have what it takes.

But, today, someone thought enough of my stories to put them on her Favorites list.

That's gotta be worth something.




Get your Spring Theme Challenge entries to me ASAP! I'm looking forward to seeing your work and affirming your creative gifts!

Ta-Da Friday

My little wall hanging is finished. What a fun feeling to tie off the last stitch last night. It is way cuter than I thought it would be when I first laid out the pieces. In fact, about the time I ironed on the appliques, I decided I didn't like it at all. Since it was a kit, I didn't get to choose the fabrics. It just seemed bland and uninteresting, but I didn't want to waste it either.

On I sewed.

Thankfully, too, because the more detail I added, the more life the quilt took on. By the time I added the embroidery and ladybug buttons I rather liked it. Quilting only added more depth.

I'm finding I have the same sticking points when it comes to a story. About a third of the way into the script I realize I thoroughly dislike the characters I've created. Bland, uninteresting, and one dimensional. They certainly aren't doing anything of interest. At that point, my MO has been to put the mess aside and do something else. Usually create new characters, who like someone on a first date, seem enchanting and intriguing.

I'm learning my characters and story are a bit like my wall hanging. Boring until added details give depth and interest. What I've learned is that I can't quit on a story. I have to push on through, keeping the characters moving until they finally *do* somthing worth reading.

Here's to pushing through and adding details.

Unwritten Rules

In the land of writing, there are a few unwritten rules an author dare not break. (Cue spooky music here.) A couple of them came to mind while writing this afternoon.

Rule of woe #1. Do not introduce your character's physical features by way of a mirror. Need I tell you that one of my characters is looking in a mirror?

Rule of woe #2. Do not start a book with the main characters traveling in a car. I can think of a couple of well known authors who've smashed this rule effectively. However, a New York editor told me that she would put down a manuscript with this as an opening scene. She would also put down one containing--

Rule of woe #3. Don't start a book with a dream scene.

From what I understand, each of the above scenarios tells an agent or editor that the author is new to the business. Which brings me to another rule...

Rule of woe #4. Editors and agents look for authors who've written at least three manuscripts. Even if they haven't sold one of them, the very act of writing three complete novels tells the agent/editor a lot. That an author has persistance. That an author has more than one story in him or her. That an author is able to finish a project. An editor once told me that by the time an author gets to the third manuscript he or she has begun to learn to write. Nora Roberts had six manuscripts written before she sold her first one, so it may take a few people a bit longer.

Professional photography is full of rules of woe...Homeschooling has its share, too. I imagine there are lots of unwritten rules in whatever we do. Are there unwritten rules in what you do? And what do you do with those rules? Abide by them? Break them?

One of my favorite quotes is 'learn the rules, then break them. But learn them first, so you can break them with authority.'

Off to begin figuring out another way to let my readers know what my character looks like....

Create

Jean, in a comment to a recent post, said that reading many books on writing didn't make her a writer. It made her a reader.

Ouch.

A clean shot right through the heart.

I've often joked that reading about writing was as good as writing. (Isn't it? Are you sure?) But, Jean has it right. If we continue to read..... And read some more.......And read again, then we are spending our time not creating.

My photography mentor often told me that I had everything I needed within me to succeed. Still do. I need only to limit my reading about writing (quilting, gardening, photography, etc.), settle down and create. I know enough.

Frankly, actually doing something can be scary, whether it's writing a story, picking out fabrics for a quilt project or breaking ground on a new garden bed. It's anteing up and saying you want to play the game. Sometimes the game is filled with hard knocks, losses, and disappointments. On the other hand, you can't win anything if you don't play.

To that end....I started on a non-fiction book proposal today for an idea I've turned over in my mind for about six months. I plan to have the proposal complete before Valentine's Day.

It's time to ante up and get in the game.

My Short Story Has an Ending

I've been working on a spooky, Twilight Zone-ish, short story for a while. I kinda knew where the ending was going, but I was having a difficult time getting there. Today, I forced it to end.

Yay! I love bringing a story together. This one is in no way finished, but it does have an ending. I suppose if you compare it to quilting, I've completed the top. Now, I just have to layer, back, bind, and quilt this story into a finished form.

For today, I'm celebrating a small success and hoping it leads to bigger ones in the future.

The Wild Ride

Things I've learned from a week of NaNo writing.

1. Deadlines and goals are good things.

2. I can set aside time to write. The key is DOING it.

3. First drafts can be wonky. In fact, they should be.

4. Having friends along for the journey is the best part.

5. I'm ravenous after a writing session. Having healthy snacks available is imperative. Leftover Halloween candy is dangerous.

6. Two thousand words a day no longer seems like a lot.

I don't know how these lessons will translate into my other creative pursuits, but I'm anxious to find out.

Write Your Own Epitaph Day

Yesterday, November 2nd was Write Your Own Epitaph day.

Did that one slip past you?
Why wait for your heirs to inscribe your stone? You can save them the hassle and get exactly what you want.

Take examples of from John Yeast, who said on his tombstone...Pardon me for not rising.

What quirky, fun, serious, or creative phrase would you put on your stone?

When I was a professional photographer, I used to tell folks I would have "Just One More" put on my tombstone because I was always saying that to my clients.

A young Ben Franklin once penned a proposed epitaph for himself. It is lyrical and amusing, but never actually used. That's too bad because I like it a lot.

The body of B. Franklin, Printer

(Like the Cover of an Old Book

Its Contents torn Out

And Stript of its Lettering and Gilding)

Lies Here, Food for Worms.

But, the Work shall not be Lost;

For it will (as he Believ'd)

Appear once More

In a New and More Elegant Edition

Revised and Corrected By the Author.

The Creative Flow

A few days ago in an over-the-fence talk, my neighbor and I were discussing our water wells. Each home in our once country sub-division has a private well. Drought plagues our area these days as it has in years past. One of my worries in the extended and severe drought of two years ago was our well going dry. Through out the dry summer that year, I happily watered my gardens. Until, in late August, we began hearing about wells in nearby communities or bordering counties going dry. That gave me pause and caused me fear. Without a well, our house would be worthless, since all of our watering needs, from drinking water to car wash water, comes from underground.

My neighbor assured me that our wells were deep enough. Not only are they in the aquifer, but they are deep enough to actually be in the Trinity flowing beneath us. Where the Trinity breaks out above land, it is a mighty beast, especially by Texas standards, where we are tempted to name and honor the trickle from a garden hose. The banks of the wide, deep Trinity were the first settlements in this area.

As I went about the rest of my gardening tasks that morning, I loved thinking about the abundance of water under my feet. It was like having money in the bank, a rich and endless savings account.

My creativity is often like that. Buried beneath the surface, waiting only for me to tap into it. But like the Trinity beneath my feet, my creativity can be difficult to get to. In this part of Texas, there’s a thick layer of hard, white limestone just a few feet below the black clay. Recently when our neighbors to the west put in a pool, a back hoe spent two days pounded that layer of stone in order to break it up so it could be scooped up. The pounding noise was incredible. The hunks of stone lifted from the pit, immense. In the end, my neighbors have a sparkling pool for their entertainment.

My own doubts layer over my creative flow hindering my access. Add to that layers of ‘scar tissue’ from past hurts and disappointments, or even layers of fears and the well of creativity can be very inaccessible.

How to access the fresh sweetness within?

Well, my neighbors with the new pool will tell you it takes hard work. In either my writing or photography or gardening, it takes showing up, thinking, and doing. Sitting down at the computer is the first step to sinking a well so the flow of words can be pumped to the surface.

Stephen King says in his book, ‘On Writing’ to show up in the same place at the same time every single day. Pretty soon, he says, your muse will learn the schedule and show up, too. The words and images will flow then.

Early in my writing career, I compared writing to water. Some days, the words gush out of you onto the page like water flowing, clear and sweet, from a pitcher. Other days, before the words can pour from the pitcher, the writer has to go out and dig the well. With a spoon.

What’s challenging in your creative life these days? Are you working through a hard layer? Is your creative well producing a strong sweet flow?

This is my 100th post in my year long blogging adventure. Thanks for reading.

Show and Tell

I loved show and tell when I was a kid, didn't you? A chance to share something special from home was always fun. Even more fun was helping my sons with their choices during their show and tell times. The best was when the kindergarten aged son took his six weeks old baby brother dressed in blue to represent the letter "B". No, we didn't allow either of them on the bus that day.

I'd love to do a little bit of the same here on Creative Soul. Tomorrow starts the beginning of 'Ta-Da Fridays."

I'll post something I've accomplished. You can post your creations in comments with a link to your own blog or photobucket account with a photo. (Still working on the fine points of all this.)

Words written, chapters edited, poetry composed, quilts sewn, gardens weeded, canvas's painted, jewelry beaded, rooms decorated, photographs exposed, pottery thrown, crafts crafted. You get the idea. Creative life in motion.

The idea, of course, is to share our fun and keep us on track. Accountability, ya know? When I first joined a weekly writer's group, I wasn't writing consistently. Every week, someone in that room would ask, 'how's your writing going?' Some weeks I'd have to answer, 'what writing?' because I hadn't written a word that week. Accountability helped me move closer to my dreams. I hated saying I haven't written all week. Still do.

Whatever moves your creative soul is what I want to hear about.

Permission to be Bad

Snip.....
From The Writer, March, 2008.....

San Jose State University's Bulwer-Lytton Fiction contest is a literary parody competition in which participants compete for the dubious honor of writing the worst first sentence of a nonexistent novel. The contest is named for novelist Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, famous for the opener, "It was a dark and stormy night."
Here is last year's winning entry, form Jim Gleeson of Madison, Wis.: "Gerald began-- but was interrupted by a piercing whistle which cost him ten percent of his hearing permanently, as it did everyone else in a ten-mile radius of the eruption, not that it mattered much because for them 'permanently' meant the next ten minutes or so until buried by searing lava or suffocated by choking ash--to pee."
To submit an entry for this year's contest, see http://www.bulwer-lytton.com/.
...Snip

Doesn't reading something that bad make you feel good?

There are times when giving yourself permission to be bad is the best thing you can do for your creativity. Fear of failure is one of the top reasons people never pick up a pen, a paintbrush, or a camera. Rather than not do something well, they choose not to do it at all.

Sad.

What if, instead, you give your self the assignment to be really bad?
Really bad.
Terrible.
Awful.
Could you possibly do that?
Of course you can.
Who couldn't?

When I first sit down to write a rough of a chapter, I have to remind myself that it is okay for what I write to be awful. It is just the rough draft. Really just a few thoughts. Nothing serious at all. Maybe I'll toss it whenever I'm done. In fact, I'm sure of it.

Then, I start writing and find my inner critic is hampered by the la-de-da attitude. She can't criticise when I've promised myself to be terrible. I'm clearly doing what I've told myself to do. She generally stomps off and leaves me alone.

I did something similar when I couldn't get started on a quilt project a few weeks ago. It's okay, I told myself, if it looks awful. If the corners don't match. If the colors aren't right. This is just practice for me. Finally, I was able to start and, I'm happy to report, the quilt is coming along nicely.

Don't worry about what others may think of your work.

Create first to please yourself.

If you write something worthy of the Bulwer-Lytton contest (or whatever the equivalent is in your artistic endeavor), send it in. If not, at least you know there is something out there worse than what you've created.

Happy National Punctuation Day!

According to the paper, today is National Punctuation Day! Take an exclamation point out for a spin!!!!!!!!! Over-use commas. Be definite with periods. Celebrate all things punctual.

Try reading some older books. I find it challenging to read aloud books from the 1800's or even the early 1900's. Too many semi-colons and loooooonnnnnnnggg sentences and not enough periods. I don't know when to breathe!

The very earliest manuscripts of the Bible have no punctuation, from what I understand. No paragraph or chapter breaks. No periods, commas, or semi-colons. Imagine reading with no stop or yield signs on the page. Different.

One of my all time favorite traffic signs in Europe is the exclamation point. Designed to be multi-lingual, the exclamation point sign gets across its message of 'Pay ATTENTION' without using words at all.

Write poetry without punctuation today. Or prose for that matter. Put an exclamation mark on the refrigerator as a reminder to pay attention or create a bit of excitement in your life. Pretend there's a comma in front of you and pause for a creative moment. Quote someone and make little quote marks in the air with your fingers. Have fun.

Speaking of fun and punctuation (and believe me, Mrs. K, my high school English teacher wouldn't believe *I* would put such words together...) a terrific book about punctuation is 'Eats, Shoots, and Leaves.' While I live by 'Shrunk and White's Elements of Style,' Eats, Shoots, and Leaves is funny. Lots of British wit involved.

Have fun today.

Period.

What's a Creative Soul?

A creative soul is one who loves to experience the world in a fresh way. They see the beauty and potential in everyday objects or scenes. Whether you paint, cook, scrapbook, write, craft, dance, photograph, garden, quilt, dream or any of a thousand different pursuits, you are creating joy in your own life and in the lives of others.



A creative life is not always an easy one. A creative soul is often more sensitive to stimuli than other souls. We feel hurts more deeply, but, thankfully, we also experience joy to the fullest. Our greatest pleasure in life comes from our desire to bring life to our dreams. Our greatest frustrations happen when we can't quite make our dreams reality.



Welcome to my blog. Walk with me as we explore the challenges and joys of living creatively.