Posted by Clarissa Yip on Aug 27, 2010 in
Bragging Rights,
Goals,
Life,
Writing
When I was a little girl, I used to bury my head in books all the time, from Babysitter's Club Series to R.L. Stine horrors, but my favorites were still romances. With an older sister, who read as fast as she could buy them, I was always hiding and waiting for her to come home with the big bag of books. Once she had her back turned, her books would miraculously disappear, but I learned to return them to her closet before she'd notice.
My mind would always run off and hide in these magical worlds–worlds of these amazing characters, relationships, whether family ties or emotional conflicts, I had a smile for each page I turned and would fall in love all over. Immersed in my own creative wonderland, my dreams blossomed. With each word I put on paper, I grew. With each vision I saw, I foresaw something bigger.
I'm not a writer born overnight. Writing since I was a child, I forged forward. The journey is open and fate is what you make of it.
Like anything in life, perseverance and determination fuels your goals in life. If you want something, go for it. Learn from it. Everything that happens only makes a person stronger.
As a writer, I've been through my ups and downs. My bazillion rejections and I'm still going. Results will reign in as long as you have faith.
My first release, Love by Auction, comes out Monday, August 30th, by Decadent Publishing. This is one of my many milestones and I'm very excited to share it with you.
That little girl with big dreams is still a part of me. This is only the beginning.
What are your dreams? Whether writing or life in general. Sometimes when you share, it's like making a wish.
Related Posts:
Tags: Book Release, Dreams, Inspiration, Writing
Posted by Bethanne Strasser on Aug 14, 2010 in
Goals,
Life,
Our Members Our group of authors is comprised of writers who also maintain obligations outside of their computer screen. Whether it be family or jobs or a social life, summer seems to be the season that creates balance. …or is it the other way around? And fall creates the balance? 
Whichever, my life is about to become balanced. Summer was full of life, full of family, full of outdoors, travel and excitement.
Next week I pass through the doorway to a different kind of life full of family and excitement. This variety comes with coffee, jeans and sweaters, and solitude. [I'm ignoring the homework hassle that I know will commence, the early evening bickering and the early morning grouching, the absence-of-video-game whining...]
I like my glasses the way they are. You don't have to be naive to allow joy in your life.
So tell me, what are you looking forward to this fall? 
Mother of FIVE smarty-pants and married to her Love for twelve years, Bethanne spends her time writing stories that always--without a doubt--end happy.
More Posts - Website - Facebook
Related Posts:
Posted by Harper on Jan 18, 2010 in
Goals,
Life,
Our Members,
Writing Oh, the freeing, nagging glory of rituals.
Some of the best writers had them. Some of the rest of us still do.
Junot Diaz writes in the bathroom, perched on the edge of the bathtub to find enough solitude to finish a chapter. Janet Evanovich writes strictly from a visual storyboard. Stephen King writes ten pages a day, no matter what. Walker Papers author C.E. Murphy has a computer she writes from named Nook. Nook has no access to the internet, therefore saving the author from the temptation of checking the latest weather forecast in Dubai or looking up a recipe for Bangers and Mash. Agatha Christie once claimed she got her best ideas while standing at the sink doing dishes—she’s also claimed that eating apples in the bathtub helped her creativity.
.jpg)
Rituals and habits serve a variety of purposes for us, besides giving us an excuse to wear that shabby “Cosby” sweater we love so much. (“But it’s my lucky sweater! I have to wear it to finish my book!”) They can be broken down into two camps, for the most part: Environment (nesting, lighting a candle, brewing a pot of coffee) or Behavior (each morning at 5 a.m., 10 pages no matter what).
These habits reduce some of the anxiety that inherently follows when we see the blinking cursor and the blank page…we know we’re safe because we have our lucky mug with us, it’s 9 p.m., and this is what we always do when we write.
Rituals increase our own power and control, and can’t we all use a little more of that in our lives? It’s a sense of ownership…this is our writing. Our world. Our time. Being in our little writerly nest makes us the empress, queen, and lordy mighty dictator for the few sparse moments we have before our kindergartner is attacked by the preschooler. Or before the “other half” needs to check the scores on last night’s game. Our rules. Our time. Nice…
Writers who live by their rituals suffer from less writer’s block, it’s true. Though it may seem like we’re living up to Natalie Goldberg’s “shi**y first draft” mantra, and writing pure junk, writing with a ritual tends to not place so much pressure on the time we are in the chair, keyboard at hand. We don’t have to be brilliant, we just have to be there with our favorite pencil and our Jimmy Eat World (or Bach, or Burt Bacharach) CD playing in our headphones.
So, while it’s still January, maybe it’s a good time to consider our own rituals—both the ones we keep and the ones we’d like to keep this year.
From our own group, here’s a sampling of how members of Passionate Critters create ritual when they write:
Vanessa keeps different playlists for the different 
books she’s working on. She has a single notebook she carries with her everywhere that houses her ideas, notes, scribbles, etc. Oh, and a complete tea service set up is a must when she writes. Complete with teapot, cozy, sugar cubes, milk, and a cup and saucer.
.jpg)
Silke has a “trusty moleskin—with me always,” she says. And coffee. Coffee is a definite must for her. Oh, and her partner can’t look over her shoulder as she writes. (I can relate. I’ll actually toggle away from my writing to whatever Internet page I happen to have open. No peeking!)
For Jenn, when it comes to naming her characters, she has a ritual she follows every time. She’ll write out each letter of the alphabet and give each character a name that starts with a different letter.
When it’s lights out for the kids, it’s “brilliance on” for Bethanne…who runs a house full of adorable kids and still manages to put awesome stories on to paper. (I think she ought to host a mini-workshop on that alone. I have two and I want to pull my hair out some days.)
A night owl, Joyce finds the good times roll in the p.m. hours. She’s also working on a new one for 2010: 1,000 words a day (you’re in great company…that’s exactly what Stephen King recommends in “On Writing”).
If you’re looking to get chummy with our little green 
friend, envy, you should take a peek into Rachel’s uber-structured, uber-productive system. She’s up at 5.a.m and whether its having the laptop with her while warming the house with the wood stove, she’s always working. Always, it seems! Up until 1 or 2 a.m., she squeezes the most out of her days and has the productivity to prove it.
Nina doesn’t start writing a new project until she hears distinct conversations between her characters in her head—a great trick. How many times have we had a “great idea” and rush into the writing, only to have no clue what our characters sound like?
.jpg)
And as for me , well, I have a goofy sort of ritual. I have a red pashmina scarf/wrap thing that I started wearing around the office a while back while I edited. It was a joke, really. It was meant to keep people at bay while I was working on deadline and it seemed to work. It also earned me the nickname “The Red Baron” because I must have looked a little like Snoopy when he’s fighting on his dog house. So I took the scarf home with me and now I either have it on, or with me when I write. (I fiddle a lot when I’m thinking, so sometimes I just play with or chew on the ends. Eww. Gross. I know.)
My goal for 2010 grew out of my first few weeks here at Passionate Critters. Instead of a daily goal, there’s a “weekly goal” board and I’m finding it much, much easier to accomplish a weekly goal. I beat myself up when I fail at stringent daily quotas…but this weekly method? It seems perfect for a writer like me who can have slow days (500 long, arduous words) or Rachel-esque productive days (1,500+).
So revel in your rituals. Notice them. Appreciate the uniqueness of them. And use them. And if you don’t have any yet, create some. It’s a great month to get started.
Related Posts:
Posted by admin on Jan 7, 2009 in
Goals,
Life Since many of my crit partners are discussing goals and 2009, I thought this a good time to jump in and add mine!
While I worked on my goals prior to Jan 1st, I just wasn’t ready to start them on that day.
Mondays, for me are good starting days. I get a full week in of starting a new routine or two.
I thought I’d post my goals here, so I can look back on them at the end of the year.
CAREER ROAD MAP
–Daily –
- Write 1000 words a day/4 pages.
- Revise 2 pages a day.
- Diet. 10 lbs a month, end of May reach goal.
- Exercise.
- Promo daily
- FlyLady
–Weekly –
- Update my goal on PC for accountability.
- Read one craft book a week.
- Blog weekly on my blog – Friday
- Blog weekly on Passionate Critters – Wednesdays
- Blog weekly on a Once Upon a Crime blog – Mondays
- Make menu for following week
I have a notebook that I like to keep a daily journal of what I’ve accomplished. What will you do to keep yourself accountable and stay on track to reach your goals?
Related Posts:
When I was a little girl, I used to bury my head in books all the time, from Babysitter's Club Series to R.L. Stine horrors, but my favorites were still romances. With an older sister, who read as fast as she could buy them, I was always hiding and waiting for her to come home with the big bag of books. Once she had her back turned, her books would miraculously disappear, but I learned to return them to her closet before she'd notice.
