Don't be Silly, Toto, Scarecrows Don't Talk

Don't be silly, Toto, scarecrows don't talk - The Wizard of Oz

So it’s not one of the most quoted lines from The Wizard of Oz, but even if I didn’t tell you where that was from, I think most would figure it out. It’s the anniversary of L. Frank Baum’s birthday today, so I thought it would be fitting to use this quote to inspire my blog post today.

When Dorothy speaks these words to Toto in the movie that we all know and love, she is about to meet the scarecrow for the first time. In Dorothy’s world, scarecrows didn’t talk; they were simply devices used to keep away the crows in Kansas where she was from. What Dorothy has to do is free herself of the constraints she’s used to dealing with to get along in the land of Oz. Once she gets beyond a talking scarecrow, nothing surprises her: a man made of tin, a talking lion, flying monkeys, and a old man behind a curtain pretending to be a great and powerful wizard.

In our success journeys, we also have to deal with boundaries, real and imagined, in realizing our goals and dreams. Some very real boundaries are time constraints when you already work a forty-hour plus job a week, children’s activities, resource constraints (issues with your internet provider, computer issues). In addition to the real boundaries, there are the boundaries that we put in front of ourselves. We make excuses for ourselves that we can’t make the time to follow our dreams. We make excuses for our selves if our computers conk out, when we might be able to go the public library to use a computer to get the work done we need to realize our dreams and goals.

To be successful and become the person I am today, I've had to think outside the box and beyond what I've ever told about following my dreams. Thankfully, I have very supportive family and friends. And I'm far from perfect; I went five days without a blog post this week. All I can do is pick myself up, remind myself, like Dorothy, that I’m not in Kansas anymore (because I live in Missouri), and move forward with dream and goal of finishing my first novel this year.

I’d love to hear how you've had to remove some barriers in your thinking to move forward with your goals and dreams…have a great day everyone!.

Faithful Gardeners of the Spirit

Help us to become faithful gardeners of the spirit, who know that without darkness nothing comes to birth, and without light nothing flowers. - May Sarton

What purpose does your writing serve?

I have to admit, when I first started I just wanted to tell a story. I wanted to combine my love of history and my love of reading to write a story I wanted to read. Of course, I wanted to share the story with others. Along the way, I have found my vision:  to educate and inpsire readers through my writing.

How about you? What's your vision for your writing career or other journey you are on? I'd love to hear your comment!

Fitting it All In...It's not Hard to Do...

I just wanted to share that I feel like I've had a productive weekend. It's the first one in many weeks.

I did have to work on Friday afternoon, and when I got home, we had a great dinner. My sleep pattern was messed up, so I ended up wide awake at one in the morning. Instead of lamenting in my insomnia (on the weekends I don't think it's insomnia, I'm just used to being up at those hours), I pounded out 718 words on my novel.

I was able to go back to sleep, and when I got up it was time for church practice. After church, we went for a walk which helped inspire yesterday and today's blog post. I watched three movies and took a nap and made dinner. I accomplished all of that and oI still feel rested and ready to start another work week in about sixteen hours.

I have been up since 3:30 am, but I have caught up on my Glee episodes I've missed and this blog post. My plan is to continue working on future blog posts until it's light enough to do some work on the patio outside.

Today's blog post is about making choices to fit in all the things you want to do. If I can do it, so can you...go for it!

What do you consider a productive weekend?  I'd love your comments!

Here's to an Abundance of Art One Finds in Nature

Here's to an abundance of art one finds in nature. - The Awe-Manac by Jill Badonsky

What a wonderful toast and how appropriate. I'm tired of being frustrated with my bouts of insomnia, either at night or during the day, so I've been claiming those times for productivity. This morning, I pounded out 718 words from 2:00 am to 3:00 am. I have to tell you it felt pretty good.

This toast of the day grabbed my attention because I wrote about a particularly pastoral scene and thought about the beauty of the scene and the survival aspect. Yes, the whole humankind against nature theme. Then, I was able to write great paragraph where one of the main characters reflects the events as they've happened thus far and build some foreshadowing of events to come. I pick up a great example this while reading Motion to Kill by Joel Goldman. I love taking devices that work well in crime and mystery and using them to make my historical fiction piece even better.

Earlier today we went for a walk and found a beautiful memorial garden in the heart of our city. We've only lived in Kansas City for a little over the year so we're still discovering what our new city has to offer. Just taking a few minutes away from the house and getting outside has energized me enough to want to get home and get some productive writing done this afternoon. I would like to get some future blog posts started and I need to return to A Place to Call Their Own this weekend as well. 

What about you? If you're a fellow writer, how has nature inspired you? For my other followers, how has nature inspired you on your success journey?

Here's to Getting a Hairstyle You Really Like!

Here’s to getting a hairstyle you really like and here’s to good hair days! - The Awe-Manac by Jill Badonsky

I love getting my hair cut, approximately once a month. After a haircut, at least for a few days, I look a little different: most of the time (I hope) that’s fresh and renewed. And isn’t it nice when someone notices that change about you?

Over the weekend, I took a fresh look at my manuscript. I was back on track writing and in the middle of writing a great new action scene, I had remembered something about the setting in which I was writing. It was like setting down a book and then picking it back up again. Sometimes, I have to go back re-read sections to remember character’s names, relationships, settings, etc. That happened to me while writing on Friday morning: I suddenly remembered something to make the story so much more interesting at the time and it was burst of creativity that I was able to pour into that section of writing.

Now there are thousands of coaches out there that can teach you how to get your manuscript written in shorter amounts of time. I’m going on three years with A Place to Call Their Own and not even half way through it. There have been some pretty sizable breaks in my writing process, so it’s not been consistent. I’ll be the first to admit that. But I do tend to think, I had I not taken this time to savor this writing process, I don’t know if I would found the creativity to write some of the plot lines and characters into the story.

I do take breaks if I get a burst of creative energy for another project. Whenever that burst comes, I take the time to outline or even write out the scene that pops into my head. This has helped me return to my original novel, usually with fresh eyes and a fresh direction to continue.

It really is my goal to make A Place to Call Their Own my debut novel. In addition to this, I have two other WIP’s that are outlined and have about two thousands words each written.

What about you? Do you think that taking too long to accomplish your dream/goal helps you or do you think that it hinders the process? I’d love to hear your comments!

Reflections After Reading Spinning Forward

Spinning Forward, by Terri DuLong, is the story of Sydney Webster who finds herself, at the age of fifty-two, widowed and in a financial situation. Her story is absolutely inspiring: she turns her love of knitting into a business and moves forward with her life. Along the way she learns more about the inhabitants of her the little resort town that she's moved to and more about her past.

Throughout the story, we are presented with Sydney's challenges to get her business off the ground. She struggles with her own demons, wondering what she will do at this point in her life (she hadn't worked in over twenty years). Then there are the naysayers in town who don't think a yarn/ knitting shop will work. Worse yet is the reaction from own daughter. Does any of this sound familiar to anyone pursuing their dreams? Including (hopefully) the happy ending?

As a writer, I really learned about plot development while reading Spinning Forward. Terri DuLong does a great job of setting things in place and in motion for everything to be resolved appropriately by the end. I've picked this up by reading mystery and crime novels. It was easier to understand in a novel that A Place to Call Their Own resembles.

Whether you're a reader or writer, I'm sure you will enjoy Spinning Forward.

Have you read any inspiring fiction lately? I'd love to hear your comments!

Reflections After Reading The First Rule

The First Rule is a great thriller from crime writer Robert Crais. His recurring character, Joe Pike, works to figure out the real story behind the murder of an old mercenary comrade. The murder scene appears to be a burglary gone bad, but based on their past, Joe knows different and works tirelessly to figure it out.

The Sun Sentinel described this book as "A high octane thriller as well as insightful look at loyalty , friendship, and unconditional love."

This makes me think about the importance of finding writing friends and building a community for support. I thought I had a good handle on that, and then I got on Twitter. My world has been opened up to thousands of answering writers like myself, all supporting one another. I just found a new Twitter friend who told me that she was working on her first novel as well. How excited I was to meet her on Twitter!

No matter what journey you're on, it's important to find a friend to share your journey. After all, most great journeys include ore than one person. Two that immediately come to mind are The Wizard of Oz and as the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Friends can help us along the way, provide support and encouragement, and keep us going.

How do your writer friends help you? I'd love to hear your comments!