Interview with Sarah Mian, First Place Winner of the Summer 2008 Flash Fiction Contest!

Sarah Mian has been a writing junkie since childhood. To support her habit she has worked, among other jobs, as a film extra, waitress, substitute teacher, and currently as an exhibit custodian who ships and receives evidence in a crime lab. She has been published in numerous journals and anthologies, including The Vagrant Revue of New Fiction and The New Quarterly. Her co-written play, 'Creatures of the Moment' was produced by Metamorphic Theatre.

Sarah has written her way across Canada, living on Vancouver Island in the west, Toronto in the middle and Newfoundland in the east. She also spent nine months abroad to see how the other half lives before returning home to Nova Scotia where the waves break on all sides and everyone says 'thank you'. She lives with her boyfriend, Leo, who can't sing but is a damn fine kisser.

You can read Sarah's winning contest entry, "English as a Second Language," then come back to our interview with her below.

***

WOW: Congratulations on winning first place in WOW!'s Summer 2008 writing contest! How do you feel?

Sarah: It's elating to have my work read and considered, let alone recognized as exceptional. I'm grateful I saw the contest listing and took a chance. In November, I kept checking the web site to see who had won and all of a sudden my own face appeared on the screen!

WOW: That must have been fun to see yourself there as the winner! Could you tell us a little about your story and what encouraged the idea behind "English as a Second Language?"

Sarah: Now that I am back home and stationary, I'm doing a lot of exotic travel in my head, sucking on all the juices of my past adventures or those of people I know who lived in foreign countries. I imagined this piece as a visual post card, a haiku, a love letter and a very long story all in one.

WOW: Your story is artistic and poetic, and does seem to have all of those elements. Have you written other flash fiction? What type of writing do you most prefer?

Sarah: Short fiction has become my medium of choice in recent years, but I am always experimenting with length and form. Writing poetry and flash fiction disciplines me to cut away the fat, which carries over into longer works. I'm learning how to paint whole scenes with just a few brush strokes and how to leave some edges in shadow. I believe this is the secret to great writing; when the story is mutable enough to allow recreation with each reader. It's like magic.

WOW: I love the image of painting whole scenes with just a few brush strokes. Aspiring authors would probably love to know more about your writing routines. For example, where do you write? How many hours (or words) a day do you write?

Sarah: I have to write. It's not about squeezing it in; it's as much a necessity as brushing my teeth. If I don't write for a week, I feel completely out of sync. Therefore, I have chosen a career that does not rob me of my creative energy. During my breaks at work I brainstorm on whatever I'm working on in my "real" job as a writer. The amount of time I spend writing a day depends on what demands to be freed from my mind; sometimes I unleash fifteen pages at my desk after work, sometimes just two sentences. I tend to back and forth between wholeheartedly living life and rehashing/analyzing it on paper.

WOW: You're obviously a very dedicated writer. Have you ever faced writer's block or burnout? If so, how do you deal with it?

Sarah: If anything, my problem is that I have too many ideas and have a hard time honing and ordering (or ditching!) them. The ability to recognize what isn't working is a crucial writing skill. On the first draft I let it all out, then the hard work really begins.

WOW: We can relate to that! What other projects are you working on? Anything we should look out for this year?

Sarah: I am perpetually sending out short stories to literary journals and I've recently completed a comedy screenplay. In the next three years, I expect to start a novel.

WOW: We wish you luck with all of those endeavors. Do you have any final words of wisdom for our women readers/writers?

Sarah: My best two pieces of advice:

#1-When you think a piece is finally finished, put it away for at least a month. Guaranteed, when you read it back you'll see room for improvement. It's tricky to get things out of our head and make them lie down on paper in a way that others can make sense of them. You need distance in order to recognize if you've achieved clarity with every line.

#2 -Ignore the rule that you can't submit a piece to more than one publisher at once. Having one editor agree to publish your work is like capturing a unicorn; what are the odds of capturing two? I say, send your work everywhere and anywhere, and if a piece you really believe in has been rejected more than once, keep trying. 'English as a Second Language' was rejected three times in slightly different drafts before winning this contest.

WOW: Great advice, Sarah. Congratulations again on your first place win!


***

Every Tuesday we're featuring an interview with a top 10 winner from the Summer 2008 Flash Fiction contest. Be sure to check back and see who's next!

There's still time to enter our current writing contest, too! The deadline for entries is February 28, 2009.

--Marcia Peterson

Read More »

Leave a Comment flash fiction contest winner, Marcia Peterson, sarah mian, WOW Summer 2008 Flash Fiction Contest

Writing, Reading and Publishing in the Virtual Media Age

With the state of the economy having some newspaper companies tightening their reigns as well as the transition to more and more of us being online, what do you think will happen with print format publishing? What do you think will be the near future? Amazon.com has its Kindle and there are other formats with which readers can download chapters or books much like has happened with MP3 files of music and audio clips. Do you think these still-expensive e-books will force the phasing out of books? If so, how long will it take and will this happen worldwide or only in the areas where global markets support the technology?

Likewise, one could consider these same questions with newspapers, journals, and magazines. Do you think in the near future we will only be able to read these in online format? If so, will they be exclusively by subscription or will texts be free for us to access? These latter questions come from the talk online about how even the large newspapers like the NY Times are losing circulation (for some additional commentary: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/09/inew-york-timesi-demise-r_n_156608.html).

Would you as a reader support these possible changes or cling for the maintenance of the hybrid approach we have currently? As a writer, which would you prefer? Would you want your articles transcending national or regional boundaries by being online, or would you rather have more exclusivity to your published work?

Personally, I am on the fence. I have written in support of keeping professional newsletters and journals in dual format so non-U.S. readers or Americans doing research abroad still had access to a "virtual library," but also, have hardcopies too. However, I'm really reluctant to read longer works beyond a few newspapers or doctoral dissertations on my computer screen, much less something as small as a Kindle type screen. Then again, I took years before phasing into the hybrid world of film-loading and digital cameras, and portable CD players and MP3 players, and will likely eventually adjust or be forced to adjust to the 21st century way of business. What do you all have opinion-wise to say? What do you picture the libraries and publishing realms of the future being?

Read More »

2 comments

Looking to Uncle Wiggily for Inspiration

By Jill Earl

Every so often, I like to turn to children’s and young adult books for a break from adult reading material. In reviewing 2008’s reading plan, I included a section specifically for this type of reading, but I ended up bypassing it for other sections. That won't happen this year.

Why? I find writing inspiration and ideas in the pages. I get to do some serious stretching of the imagination. It’s an opportunity to examine the writing styles of the various authors. And finally, it’s fun!

Top choice for my reading plan will be Howard R. Garis’ Uncle Wiggily’s Story Book, about the ‘bunny rabbit gentleman’ and the adventures he and his animal friends shared as they helped children through day-to-day experiences, such as toothaches, cleaning up after falling into mud puddles, and having safe, homemade fun for the Fourth of July. Even more fun, the edition I have comes with the original black-and-white illustrations from the 1920’s.

Joining Uncle Wiggily will be From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg. Reading about Claudia and Jamie’s adventures living in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art helped prepare me for my first visit there as a child. It also awakened in me a deep love for art.

What about you? Do you have a favorite children’s or young adult book (or several) that you return to for inspiration, education or fun? I’d love to here about it!

Read More »

3 comments Jill Earl, writing, writing inspiration

Finding a Recipe for Successful Food Writing

by LuAnn Schindler

A friend of mine from New York writes about the NYC food scene for several local newspapers and online sites. This past week, she introduced me to a social networking site for foodies: Foodbuzz. Granted, I've only been on the site a few times, but if you are interested in foodwriting of all kinds, including restaurant reviews, recipes, and product news, Foodbuzz appears to be a gold mine of information.

Today, I learned about Sake (Japanese rice wine) and then I found a recipe for waffles that I plan to try in the morning. It's a good reason to use the new waffle ironmy oldest daughter gave me for Christmas! (And yes, the waffle iron was on my wish list.)

Read More »

3 comments food writing, Foodbuzz

Jennifer DeChiara Launches Meet the Editor Evenings

Meet the Editor Evening: January 22, 2009

The Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency is pleased to announce that it will be sponsoring a series of Meet The Editor Evenings in their NYC offices. The workshops are kept small, with usually no more than six writers in each group, to ensure that everyone gets personal attention, and each writer submits work (five pages from two manuscripts or ten pages from one) that is given to that editor and critiqued aloud in the workshop. There are a few openings for the Meet The Editor Evening on January 22, 2009 with Wendy Loggia, Executive Editor at Delacorte Press, Random House. The focus at Delacorte is almost exclusively on novels for ages 8-12 and 12 & up. Some of the novels Ms. Loggia has edited include THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS novels by Ann Brashares and her latest, 3 Willows; THE GEMMA DOYLE TRILOGY by Libba Bray; and the MAGIC IN MANHATTAN books by Sarah
Mlynowski. She's looking for literary fiction, quirky romance/paranormal, and humor, and always strong voices, great stories, and characters to care about. For more information on this workshop and upcoming Meet The Editor Evenings, writers should call the Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency at 212-481-8484 x362.

Read More »

2 comments

Some Writing Advice IS NOT Worth Listening To. . .

When I did my survey of writers for my last post on Dec. 31, I also asked them, "What is the worst writing advice you have ever heard?" I thought this question's results were important enough to share with The Muffin readers by themselves (and not with the rest of my best of/worst of list)! I know you have heard some of these lines before--I had, and I have even listened to them. I just pray that I never told anyone these "words of advice." Of if I did, they were smart enough NOT to follow my tips. I racked my brain trying to remember if when I taught a community writing class at the YMCA on writing for children, did I say, "Write what you know?" I hope not. I've blocked it from my memory. :)

So, here we go. . .

Worst Writing Advice:

• The old standard “write what you know.” If I followed that advice, I would never need to research, and it would severely limit the scope of what I write (4 writers) (Many people added GOOD ADVICE to this one: Write what you are interested in or you can research!)
• Put page stops on all pages in your manuscript. HUH?
• Make changes to a manuscript that changed my voice.
• For me, the worst writing advice I heard is from a successful (with very narrow, limited vision) genre writer trying to hammer a promising literary or mainstream writer into a genre slot "because genre is easier to sell." That hat is not one size fits all.
• Write a Book in 14 Days or Less Guaranteed: Use a timer that goes off every 5 minutes and then you're done with that section of the book. It totally shatters the flow of the story and eliminates all spontaneity.
• I have the right way that you should write. Follow my plan, and you will be a successful writer.
• Forget being published, big houses are only interested in big names. Be happy with writing letters.
• There is only one way to write a book.

So, do you have any more? Please share with us because NONE of us want to follow bad writing advice this year, and we need to start early in January on the right path!

Happy Writing!
Margo Dill

http://www.margodill.com/

Read These Books and Use Them (blog)

photo by nyki_m on www.flickr.com

Read More »

5 comments Margo Dill, set writing goals, write what you know, writing advice

A Little Dab Will Do Ya

I'm pretty sure I'm not alone on this one, but sometimes I need a creative kick in the pants for me to keep getting my pen to paper or for my little digits to continue pounding out words on my MacBook. I know some people are just naturally inspired and have a muse sitting on their shoulder (I'd find that a little spooky in all honesty), but honey, that just isn't me.

So what's a gal to do when she needs that boost? I turn to those who do creativity (IMHO) best! I take a break and journey over to Planet SARK for all the fun, color, and community her site offers as well as to bask in her juicy works and encouragement of creative dreams. There is always a breath of luscious air when I visit so I do so often.


Over the holidays, I was able to get into a few bookstores and uncover a new little gem of inspiration called The Awe-manac: A Daily Dose of Wonder by Jill Bandosky and I have to say, this truly IS a daily dose of wonder! Each day there are new exciting ideas to ponder such as themes for the day, trivia (did you know that just the other day we celebrated Get Out of Your Boxer Shorts Day?), what Jill calls Soul Vitamins, and my personal favorite, the Journal Juju that gets my pen moving with refreshingly original ideas! I've already had so much fun with this find and know that when I need a pick me up all I have to do is flip to the page of the day.


Lastly, this is my fool proof suggestion for getting inspired and losing yourself in a land of words and art; I'm referring to the one and only Artella. Here you will find hours of new creative motivation including enrolling in e-courses, savoring all the articles in the Artella Daily Muse (the only daily online creative newspaper), engaging with their lively online community, participating in art swaps, browsing member blogs and just soaking up the view from the deck of any of their "member ships." I have been visiting Artella for over a year now and still am uncovering new sources of fun and creativity to get my pen into action.

So how about you? What gives you that little extra boost of inspiration?

Read More »

1 comment

Writing for Academic-Related Publication

Just as there are numerous genres of professional writing when it comes to literature, there are many ways to go when it comes to academic professional writing. Today, I thought I would provide a list for those who may have educational or professional experiences and background where these types of writing markets may be some avenues to pursue.

1) There are the academic journals in your discipline. Some of these are particularly well-known, overloaded with proposals and are prestigious yet exclusive. It takes tenacity to break into these journals as a writer, especially if you lack a PhD or a cushy tenured position somewhere. There are also, just like with the nation's colleges and universities, level B, C, D etc. journals. These are where many of us get are first in, whether it's a full-article, a book review, or just as a peer reviewer for a couple of articles. In time, with a lot of these on your resume as well as some more oomph to your proposals, you can still get into those higher tier journals. It might only be a book or film review at first, but keep trying!

2) In addition to journals, there are professional newsletters produced by the professional organizations in your discipline. Many of these take volunteers on an on-going basis, so get your resume/CV out there and see who picks you up. First, get to know the expected style guide and restrictions on topic and length, as well as what several issues of the newsletter look like first. I have personally put my name out there for groups in anthropology and the sciences. You never know - you could get a job offer from it down the road, or make contacts with someone who can further your research!

3) You may also want to research non-profit organizations related to your academic interests. Areas of focus like sociology or social work might correlate well with the likes of Habitat. You may find other small publications to write for that while not adding much to your research and publications history still help you gain some experience and learn about what it takes to be a persuasive writer.

4) Blogging on your topic is a huge way to get into writing about your favorite subjects and gaining a little bit of a reputation for knowing your stuff. In fact, I am just finding some in my discipline run by professors who are quite tech-savvy. It's literally a virtual library out there. A lot of my friends got their credentials in politics etc. enhanced by the fact they were running blogs in college, establishing themselves as current on news, insightful in commentary, and highly intelligent and gifted writers.

5) As I recently found, some sites like suite101.com actually are on the lookout for contributing writers and you get to pick what subjects you write about... The idea of teaching others about archaeology etc. is more why I am willing to go and try this out, although it never hurts to get a little cash for your time either!

6) Another way to get into writing in academic type industries is by interning. Check out listserves in your subject areas of interest and get on mailing lists. I currently have one in writing and one in history, and I am getting to keep afloat on trends in my areas of interest.

That said, what types of ways have some of you broken into academic or professional writing?

Read More »

1 comment

Someday is today

"I think in terms of the day's resolutions, not the year's."
-Henry Moore

Perhaps you've made some New Year's resolutions—big goals like writing a book, losing 20 pounds, or finally getting organized. So how do these goals come to pass? By daily attention.

The choices we make each day are what add up to a year-end result. Think: What could you give up in the next 12 hours to fit in some writing? How could you eat lighter just for this day? What if you set a timer for 15 minutes and cleaned up one space?

When you realize that your days are the building blocks of a year's dream, you won’t let them slip by. Doing something now, even a small change or a baby step, will add up. Over the course of twelve months—almost imperceptibly—real progress will be made.

What could you resolve to do today?

--MP

Read More »

1 comment goals, Inspiration, Marcia Peterson, time management

National Clean Up Your Computer Month

By Jill Earl

I found out about it while reviewing last year’s and working on 2009’s writing goals.

It’s National Clean Up Your Computer Month. I had no idea, but I’m glad I know now. I didn’t keep on top of this important task in the past, and paid the price when my laptop went blank a couple of months ago. In the midst of a major freak-out, I managed to get past the “shoulda, woulda, coulda’s” and choice curses, and dialed up the help desk. With their assistance, I was back in business within a few days.

Lesson learned, folks. This observance will become a mainstay from now on.

Need a little guidance with getting your own computer up to speed? Here are a couple of websites to get you started:

The League of Professional System Administrators (LOPSA) is geared more towards those in system administration, but it still offers tips that anyone can use, such as installing current software updates and security tools. Their tips are for PC users.

You’ll find some of the same tips at Learn to Write Fiction, along with links for Mac users. There's also a link that can take you step-by-step through each procedure.

League of Professional System Administrators
http://lopsa.org/node/1725

Learn to Write Fiction
http://www.learntowritefiction.com/clean-up-your-computer/

Schedule some time to clean up your computer this month. Perhaps you can combine this time with Clean Off Your Desk Day on January 12.

Shouldn't your fresh start for 2009 include your computer too?

Read More »

2 comments Computer Tips, Jill Earl, National Clean Up Your Computer Month

Oops, I Did It Again!

by LuAnn Schindler

So...imagine my surprise when I check Google calendar this evening at 7-something and see that I am The Muffin's blogger today. Oops! When I checked Google calendar last week, it wouldn't load in my browser, and I figured I would check it later. Combine that with the hectic holidays and guess what, the surprise is on me. It happens. I'm only human.

Do you find yourself doing the same thing when it comes time to write? Do daily tasks and life's hurdles stand between you and scheduled writing time? It happens to me all the time, but I schedule office hours and for the 99 percent of the time, I stick to it. It isn't always easy, especially since my husband works on his family's dairy farm, I substitute teach (I start a six-week stint on January 5), I coach competitive speech (at the high school I taught at for five years before I got married...and it is 60 miles from our house), and we strive to find "our" time.

The important thing is that no matter how busy you find yourself, you must make time to write. This is especially true if you depend on writing to help pay the bills! Five minute spurts will become my normal routine in just a few days, but with careful planning and a supportive husband, I will still meet my deadlines.

And now, I'm off to open presents with my grandson and two of my daughters. They just arrived for our holiday celebration, and tomorrow brings the final festivities for this holiday season.

I need the break! And then, back to writing.

Read More »

2 comments LuAnn Schindler, time, time management, writing time

A Writer's List--Best of and Worst of 2008

Since the New Year is upon us, I thought it would be fun to poll some writers and ask them for their opinions on some of the best and worst parts of being a writer. Luckily, I received several responses from all different sorts of writers, male and female. Many answers made me nod in agreement and laugh out loud. Here are the lists:

Best of. . .

BEST PLACE TO BE PUBLISHED:
*Good Old Days magazine
*Woman's World - ($1000 for 800 words for a romance short story.)
*Short story anthologies and literary journals that nominate for the Pushcart Prize
*WOW! Women On Writing
*Skirt! books because "they got Kris Carr on Oprah...that says it all. :)"
*Crickhollow Books (doing all kinds of promotion for book -- even developed its own Web site.)
*AARP Magazine

BEST CONFERENCE:
*Annual November MO-SCBWI conference at St. Charles Community College, St. Charles, MO
*Maumelle, Arkansas "They really went all out."
*Annual Missouri Writers' Guild Conference in April
*Book Expo America *SCBWI Annual Conference in LA (2 writers mentioned this)
*Surrey International Writers' Conference *Oklahoma Writers' Federation, Inc. annual conference (2 writers)
*San Francisco SCBWI's Asilomar Conference in the Monterey area of California on the beach. *Maui Writers' Conference, "a life changing experience" *Kindling Words, "by a large margin."

BEST WRITER'S TOOL
*A free(downloadable) gadget called Cool Timer. *A good writing friend who is supportive, honest, encouraging, and patient
*A brain that has absorbed all the books you read and people you have observed with a vivid imagination and good form, branded in the underside of your skull
*Comfortable chair and a large computer screen--22" wide flat screen monitor. (2 writers)
*I think the Internet is the best writer's tool. (3 writers)
*The question "What if?"
*The Wordpress blog platform--easy to use, versatile, and great for author promotion
*Chocolate -- dark chocolate, and plenty of it.
*A critique group
*Library
*A computer (2 writers, especially for those old time writers who started on the typewriter)
*Bylines 2009 Writer's Desk Calendar.
*Bum glue
*Uninterrupted time *A Writer's Market

Worst of. . .

WORST TIME WASTER
*Cleaning the house. As soon as it’s clean, it gets dirty again.
*Computer games. (2 writers)
*Letting the critic come in and tell me to quit, that I can't write, that I should be doing something else, that I'm not good enough, blah blah blah.
*My email (6 writers)
*Telephone or forwarded email. (2 writers)
*MySpace and Facebook (2 writers)
*Surfing the Internet (3 writers)
*Windows Vista!
*Worry

WORST REJECTION
*“The worst rejection I ever received said that my humor essay, which I had submitted as a humor essay, read too much like a humor essay. Duh!”
*“The worst rejection I received was from distant relatives after I read a children's story to their child, and they wanted to listen was to 'Burn it!' (even though his child smiled and said she really liked it)."
“It was the judge who said I absolutely knew nothing about fiction writing and should do something else.” (from an author who has over 5o fiction novels published!)
"Those who don't bother to reply."
"The first." "Any rejection after the last step in the process, because you were so close."

I have so many more great responses that I will share more, especially worst writing advice, in the New Year. Happy New Year and happy writing!

Margo Dill

http://www.margodill.com/

http://margodill.com/blog/

Read More »

5 comments

A Day's Dose of Real World Musing

When I dabbled as a writer when I had a few minutes to get away from studying, I never thought my non-academic writing was any good; now, as I write more as a hobby and a way to foster my competitive nature with contests, I see a lot of growth in a relatively short amount of time. I thought, for today, I would share some of my “musings” and see what your experiences have been with this transition in your own work.

My procrastinating-mode end products were flat and boring poems and short stories, even when they did have some really amazing lines or ideas loosely defined behind what I will crudely define as “verbal vomit” as clichéd as that phrase likely is. When the short stories were required in grade school, forget it; I'd write the first idea coming into my head that I thought no one else would, didn't provide enough of a sketch or development, and threw on hackneyed conclusions! I seriously don't know what any of my teachers saw in them. Academically, a lot of my grades were stellar, the longer and more technical writing, the better, but I could never break out of the notion of writing in my free time, because English classes were so boring growing up!

How things have changed. As I mature, experience life and its obstacles, I have somehow opened that element my writing lacked. In one of my first posts on this blog in the fall, I wrote about how we all can be someone else's muse, but now, I realize, it's more than a person, or even, a situation...

It is both the plot development in real time and the emotion encapsulated in the free sequence of thought or theme, no matter how unique (or how universal) it is in our lives. We live life, so then in turn, we can use it. As a pragmatist, I was never really in tune with my emotions or cognizant of how they could make art; I could appreciate it in literary critiques I wrote, but I couldn’t apply or follow through.

While all of this additional material requires more editing and revising (i.e., having to go back and add a paragraph, or go through line editing when I realize a better arrangement), it is finally allowing my short story or poem to thoroughly unfurl itself, not come out as too brief or lacking development. I'm already hearing on FanStory and Fieldreport the pros and cons to this art form in my novice attempts, along with a lot of praise and reflection from others. Adding the dimensions I now see in life rectifies the flaw my writing had outside of academia before. I never gave the artistic exposure and emotional development to my creative writing assignments growing up what they really needed: a foundation. This is to be a little less hard on myself, a foundation life needed to twist and turn and grow up a bit for me (the writer), and now, my audiences to see, especially in recent times.

Maybe I'm slow to grasp this. How have you noticed a change in your writing over time? Or, was all of this something already serving you well as a writer before?

Read More »

Leave a Comment

Re-Inventing the Wheel

Did you ever feel like you were on this huge wheel and didn't know how to get off of it? Well, life keeps turning us in different directions and sometimes we have to just go with it.

I have to admit that for a while now, I have been feeling overwhelmed with everything that I have been doing over the course of the last year. First our big move to Texas, then trying to get our business going. Of course that has filled up a huge portion of my life.

Renovations set it and it was, eat, sleep, scrape, paint, sand, clean, dust, go to part time job, go back to shop, start working on renovations again. That took us four months to accomplish.

Next the exciting world of opening our doors. At first I wasn't sure what to expect, not knowing how our new clientele would accept us and bring us into their lives as a new place for them to meet friends and hang out. As many of you probably know by now, my husband and I own our own tea and coffee house called "The Sweet Stop" you are more than welcome to look at our website it is http://www.txsweetstop.com, but I'm not hear to boast about that. It is doing okay, we see new customers each day and our hopes build up more and more that it will be a success.

No, what I am writing about today actually is about everything that goes on in general in our lives. So many of us writers get carried away with other things that we do forget about adding in our appointment to write or when we get started we have to stop because something else has come up. I have faced this so many times I can't even count.

Lately, I grab every free minute I possibly can to write. First thing in the morning, when I have down time here at the shop, which is where I have been writing 90% of my time, even in the car at a stop light, in a small note book if I come up with an idea, I write.

Next, I started wanting to add in some of my crafts and trying to figure out a good balance for it all. Which I have to admit, hasn't been easy until 6 days ago, believe it or not. I got to thinking about everything I wanted to do. I also thought about the number of personas that I am, a mother, business owner, writer, artist, crafter. How could I do it all the way I want to?

So I looked at the time that I had available to me during the day, I wondered where could I squeeze everything in. Was it possible to do everything that I have been wanting to each day? The answer of course was yes and no. I needed to sleep to give my body a chance to recoop after each day so there was at least eight hours that I couldn't use. It was already taken. Then I looked at when I was going to bed and the time I was getting up. Typically that was 8pm and up by 5:30am. giving me a good nine and a half hours. A bit longer than I truly needed. I wasn't sure if I could handle getting up a couple hours earlier and then attempting to still continue with a normal day at the shop. So what do we do if we want to be scientific, we experiment.

So I decided that the next morning, I would get up an hour and a half earlier to see if I could be productive and acomplish things that I wanted to or needed to. I have to admit I dreaded this experiment. I thought about how I would feel, what I was going to do to start my day, if I was going to set up a normal routine. Many people of course have to have a normal routine where the same things are performed at the same time every day, if not, it throws them off some how. Well, not me. I'm weird that way I guess, not sure if it is a curse or a gift but, heck I'm gonna use it while I can.

There was a little recruitment on my part of the kids, they need to be a little more active in things around the house, of course this is still work in progress. I know that once I get them going, it will work out a lot better for all of us.

Let me tell you re-inventing the wheel isn't easy but it has been entertaining. Since hubby gets up at 3am to head to the shop and start the baking process I figured that 3:30am when he was getting dressed was a good time to get moving a little bit. You know the initial I don't wannas and stick at least one toe out of the covers to see how cold it is. I do that at around 3:30 now. Which helps to get me moving a bit and well, gives me a chance to be a little lazy. By 4am, hubby left our home to begin his journey to our shop, I proceeded to sit up in bed, turn on a light, grab my lap top and start my day by writing my first of at least 2 articles for the day. First I did a bit of research on each of the topics, then wrote my articles. I figured that later on in the day, I could get them edited before submitting them. Once my articles were written, I hopped out of the covers and started my "normal" routine of getting ready for work. I realized that I still had plenty of time before I needed to be to the shop, so I added in some things that I wanted to get done around our home and figured from there I would be motivated to try another project and see where I could fit it into my schedule. The project painting. I had been wanting to finish a painting that I had been working on for over a month, so what better way than to take it to work with me and have it loom back at me screaming at me to add to it. This worked. After getting the shop opened tending to our first rush of customers, I added to the painting. In between customers coming to visit us, I added a little bit every couple of hours. When I got to the point where I didn't know what else I wanted to add, it was time to move on to other things that needed to be accomplished, this of course was straightening up the store, cleaning and of course editing the 2 articles that I had written. Feeling the "I don't wannas" starting to set in, I kept telling myself; "Live for the NOW." I wondered why I thought that, but then shrugged it off and went on about the things I needed to accomplish. Mind you it only took me a few minutes to accomplish the necessary cleaning and straightening and then it was time to edit my articles. This of course always takes time. But, I managed to get it done and get the articles submitted.

I felt so accomplished. I couldn't believe the relief that I felt, it was like a huge weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. I felt that I could now set forth to conquer the world.

I have realized that we spend so much time doing things that we don't want to do, that we forget about what we truly want to do and feel guilty about doing the things we want to do. Well, we shouldn't. We each need to re-evaluate our days, find ways of well not only doing more but, making sure we take time for ourselves as well.

Which, I am happy to say I have managed to fit into my day as well, this of course takes place in the evening. My time to relax takes place after dinner, we spend time with our sons, finding out how their days have been, helping them with any projects, then it is our time. I will either read a book, watch a movie (typically don't finish because I fall to sleep) or take a nice warm bath to help me relax more. Works great I must admit.

There are still plenty of tweeks that still have to be worked out and in, but I must say that I am enjoying this experiment and finding new ways of making sure that I can live each day to the fullest and fullfill my dreams. Plus keeping everyone else in the family happy.

Today, I have written one article, plus my BLOG, I have managed to clean my bedroom, bathroom, do the laundry and start on my kitchen all before 7am. I also managed to work on my book a bit and now I am off to work on my second painting. And don't be shocked but, its not even 9am yet.

If you are wondering where I have found the energy for all of this, I have to admit that along the way in this experiment, I have lost over 30 pounds. Because I am up on my feet moving more not only at work, but also around our home, this has helped signifcantly, I don't sit still for long and when I do, it is because I am on a roll with my writing. No, I didn't change my diet much, I have added more fresh fruit and veggies into it and well, heck I enjoy food, so I eat what I want. Mind you this has gotten me into trouble with the doctors, but, hey, I'm happy.

I hope that if you are trying to make changes in your life and re-inventing your wheel, you are able to find ways to relax as well, it is very important that you do take time out to do NOTHING, if possible. You will benefit more than you realize.

Happy Writing everyone!

Read More »

Leave a Comment