Monday Morning Motivators to Slay Your Writing Dragons

The ABC’s of Writing from CJ:

People will often ask me if I’m a seat of the pants writer or if I outline or plot ahead of time. They want to know everything about how I write–do I have a schedule, a certain daily page count, do I write everyday…..

It’s always interesting to hear how someone else accomplishes their goals–and after all, we have the same goal, finishing a book, just different paths. But I worry that others will take what works for me (which varies from day to day as much as the weather) and think that’s the Only way or even worse, the Right Way.

There’s only one way I know to accomplish your writing goals. I call it the ABC method of writing. Want in on the secret?

Apply Butt to Chair and write the damn book.

Just that simple and just that hard.

When I’m struggling, procrastinating (trying to tell myself that watching TV is really research–yeah, right!), or avoiding, I remember the ABC’s of writing. I sit back down and write.

Maybe only fifty words, maybe only ten–maybe more but it’s total crap. Doesn’t matter, in the long run it all adds up to a finished book, one baby step at a time. But funny thing. When I’m honest with myself in facing that for some reason I’m avoiding writing, when I do Apply my Butt to the Chair and just write the damn book, an amazing thing often happens.

That damn book gets written.

So there you go, my one and only writing secret revealed! Try it!

Thanks for reading,
CJ
As a pediatric ER doctor, CJ Lyons has lived the life she writes about in her cutting edge suspense novels. Her debut, LIFELINES (Berkley, March 2008), became a national bestseller and Publishers Weekly proclaimed it a "breathtakingly fast-paced medical thriller." The second in the series, WARNING SIGNS, is due out January, 2009. Contact her at http://www.cjlyons.net

Margie Lawson -- presenter, psychotherapist, writer -- lives at the top of a Colorado mountain west of Denver. Margie merged her two worlds, psychology and writing, to develop psychologically anchored editing systems and techniques that teach writers how to write page turners. A former college professor, Margie works as a psychotherapist, writes fiction and nonfiction, and presents full day master classes for writers internationally. Go to http://www.margielawson.com for more information. Read more!

Wild Woman of Queens: Notes on Urban Creativity from across the East River.

At the beach @Sandra Lee Schubert

Is This Summer?

You spend all day writing. The writing can be all consuming. A day turns into a week and then you pick up your head and realize the summer is gone. About now you may be wondering if all this work is worth it. I don't know. The creative life offers no guarantee of success, fame or fortune. You can't be sure you will enjoy the process. A pot of gold may not exist at the end of the rainbow. Who knows if anyone will read your work or if there will be any money to be made.

Even though you can hear the kids playing outside on a fabulous gorgeous day you are still inside reworking the dialogue to your story. Life cannot be enjoyed until that line is perfect. Your family knows it. Your friends know the distracted look in your eyes. They are drinking beer and you are mulling over what the protagonist said in the last scene.

Steven Pressfield, author of The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles, keeps to a rigorous schedule. He is fully engaged. Then he is done. That is not to say he doesn't think about his work after the fact. He knows when to work and when to play. That is the big difference.

Each of us decides the value placed on our lives. You must decide what is important and how to achieve the life you want. The trick is that you must live this life with no assurances it will turn out the way you planned. There is no magic mirror to let you know.

Keep writing. Take time to play. Give it the best you got.

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Sandra's e-course leads people to be their creative best through telling their stories and talking to interesting people on her online radio show- Wild Woman Network: Radio for Creative Vagabonds, Thinkers and Innovators.. She is a creative vagabond, a poet, and a writer who co-facilitates the Wild Angels Poets and Writers Group at the historic Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine.Writing for Life: Creating a Story of Your Own. Visit her blog: Email her sandraleeschubert(at)gmail.com or @writing4life via twitter.

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Sculpting a Life:
Susan Gallacher-Turner’s turn in the Pacific Northwest.

Sometimes, art is about making an impression. Even if the piece comes deeply from your heart, your art still has to get out there and be seen. Getting it out there, takes determination, perseverance and patience as well as having a grasp on good marketing skills. I’ve been lucky to have a background in communications and that’s helped me tremendously to put together my resume, artist statement, as well as a portfolio of professional photographs.

Not all artists and soul-centered business people have those skills but luckily there are people out there who can help. This last week, I interviewed Erin Donley about her business, Marketing Your Truth. Her passion is helping others make their messages clear, effective and tailored to their specific clients.

Her marketing approach comes from her heart just as my new blog and website, Voices of Living Creatively comes from mine. My quest is to find and tell the stories of people who are bravely living sustainable and creative lives everyday. I want to pass on the stories of people like Erin Donley, so we can all be inspired to live the life we want by hearing these voices of living creatively.

You can listen to Erin Donley’s podcast interview at Voices of Living Creatively website and read an article on her on my new blog Voices of Living Creatively.

And you can read more about my sculpture at Susan’s Art & Words and my website Susan Gallacher-Turner Sculpture. Read more!

Don't Quit Your Day Job

Creating and the Quiet Weekend

So here I am, it’s Sunday and I’m plugging away. My husband is away on business and the kids are on summer break, so there’s not much action at my house right now. I want to take advantage and get a lot of writing done. I’m doing okay. I can never do as much as I want to. Why are my expectations always so unrealistic? If I was to get done as much writing as I plan, I would have to skip sleeping! Sundays are always difficult for me. By Sunday, I feel like I’m finally in a groove. Then SMACK, it’s back to the office grind. As much as I hate to admit it, if I didn’t have my office gig anymore, would I really get more writing done? I like to use my job as a crutch and working forty hours a week does consume quite a bit of time. However, I’ve noticed when I have a day off; the hours seem to fly by. Before I know it, it’s early evening and I have only begun to scratch the surface of my intentions.

I guess I really need to keep working on writing within the current confines of life and situation. Writing has definitely come to the forefront for me over the last few years. I do write more than I talk about writing, that’s a step in the right direction.

Still, I can’t stop dreaming of days when I can write full-time. We all know there’s so much more than just writing. Often, I can’t write as much as I like because I’m researching or I’m trying to learn some technical aspect of posting on the internet. I have to read up on promoting my blog. Then of course I have to read, watch TV and movies in order to have material to review on my blog. If I’m lucky enough to complete an essay, I have to decide where to send it and write inquiries and follow-ups. Don’t even get me started on the amount of hours I’d have to spend if I ever did finish my book. Proposals, platforms, it makes me dizzy thinking about it! Sometimes, it seems impossible that there’s hours left to actually write!

There’s not much I can do to change my circumstances. I can’t waste a quiet weekend like this one. Once this posts is finished, I can cross it off my weekend ‘to do” list. After that all I can do is keep chipping at the boulder. I will try to spend a moment to reflect on what I did accomplish instead of what’s still waiting in the wings. It’s tough to pat yourself on the back when there’s so much more to do. Deep breath. It’s a process, I know.

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Wild Woman of Queens: Notes on Urban Creativity from across the East River.

Sun. By Sandra Lee Schubert @2009


Independence

This is a short post. I have been thinking about independence. Creative independence. Artistic freedom. Operating off the grid of the traditional and paving your own way. I what ways are you independent? What do you need to do to free yourself from artistic bondage?

Take a look at your creative life. Explore what works, what has become stale and how can you break out of your box and do something new.

Over the summer try some new things. View new art. Write new books. Take a dance class. Stir it up a bit. See what you can come up with that is different, fun and adventurous in your creative life.

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Sandra's e-course leads people to be their creative best through telling their stories and talking to interesting people on her online radio show-
Wild Woman Network: Radio for Creative Vagabonds, Thinkers and Innovators..

She is a creative vagabond, a poet, and a writer who co-facilitates the Wild Angels Poets and Writers Group at the historic Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine.Writing for Life: Creating a Story of Your Own. Visit her blog: Email her sandraleeschubert(at)gmail.com or @writing4life via twitter.

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Don't Quit Your Day Job

Creating and the Full Plate

For months I’ve been dreaming about summer vacation. Once my children are out of school, I have a lot more time to myself. I only have myself to wake up each morning. There are no drop-offs on the way into the office and it’s a straight drive home. No homework, no school volunteer hours, no meetings and game days. It’s like a solider on leave. I may not be basking on a sun-drenched beach, but for me, the next two and half months are paradise!Now being an aspiring writer, my paradise is more time to write. However, I’ve been faced with many challenges lately that have kept me from my summer writing goals. Some of these are out of my control. Personal issues have arisen that need to dealt with, but some are of my own choosing.

My promise was to write one hour before work each morning, yet I’ve enjoyed sleeping in instead of keeping to my commitment. It’s so easy to break the promises we make to ourselves. I would never dream of letting down my family or co-workers, (on the contrary, I brought home three hours of office work this weekend) or my friends. Why is it then, that we can be so flaky when it comes to ourselves?

The advice I always hear is to make an appointment with yourself and stick to it. This is great advice, but hard to execute. No one is looking over your shoulder and you’re not in trouble if you bail. I keeping trying this one, but more often than not, I fail to make that appointment and then I feel bad about myself.

This week I decided to “pretend” I’m a high energy person. I get wiped out fairly easily. I’m the type that goes gangbusters one day and then the next day, I’m lying around trying to recover. I always envy people that seem to always be doing something and they appear to accomplish so much. “Why can’t I be like that?” Yesterday, I tried to talk myself out of several tasks. I thought, “You’re a person who keeps going,” and although I still didn’t finish everything, I got a lot more done than usual.

I’ve been using this technique in social situations too. I’m not a shy person, but when I have to go to a class, meeting or gathering I tend to clam up when there’s a room full of strangers. Lately, I’ve told myself that I’m not nervous about talking to new people and when I do I have a good time. This has really helped me relax and network.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to trick myself into thinking I can reach all of my summer goals. I still didn’t make my one hour mark this morning but I got in a good 30 minutes. I’m getting there!

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Monday Morning Motivators to Slay Your Creative Dragons

By CJ Lyons and Margie Lawson

Double Negatives from CJ:


Ever have one of those days?

You know what I mean, the ones where the computer acts all fritzy, the light bulb in your favorite reading lamp dies and you don’t have one the right size, the cat barfs on your manuscript pages, your editor loses your cover copy and needs you to re-write, your best-friend (or worse, your mother!) calls to chat, because she knows you don’t have a “real” job and have plenty of time….and, to top everything off, you are totally out of chocolate!!!

Just like opportunity seems to come knocking, so does negativity. I’ve learned not to fight it. Instead, I embrace it–so what if everything goes wrong today? I’ll take today off, make a holiday of it. Instead of fretting about the time I spend on any of the above, I consider it all “free” time. An unscheduled vacation.

Funny thing is, once I readjust my attitude, I suddenly find myself enjoying my day again and becoming even more productive that evening or the next day when I get back to work.

Give it a try–just think of it as yoga for your mind, learning to become more flexible and stretch yourself!

Thanks for reading,
CJ

About CJ:
As a pediatric ER doctor, CJ Lyons has lived the life she writes about in her cutting edge suspense novels. Her debut, LIFELINES (Berkley, March 2008), became a National Bestseller and Publishers Weekly proclaimed it a "breathtakingly fast-paced medical thriller."

The second in the series, WARNING SIGNS, was released January, 2009 and the third, URGENT CARE, is due out October, 2009. Contact her at http://www.cjlyons.net



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Sculpting a Life:
Susan Gallacher-Turner’s turn in the Pacific Northwest.

Sculpting a living in spite of fear.

(Concrete garden sculpture by Patrick Gracewood)

A few weeks ago, I wrote about fear and creating. I asked you to share your stories about how you deal with fear. I’m going to collect the comments and stories in another blog, so keep those comments coming. I know I learn so much by talking with other creative people out there.

This week, I’d like to share what I learned talking with Portland, Oregon sculptor, Patrick Gracewood for a podcast on Voices of Living Creatively. One thing I learned is that fear goes with the territory in a creative life and it doesn’t mean you stop or give up. “Art has saved my life many times; I give my life to art,” says Patrick. “It takes a big commitment.”

This dedication comes from a simple philosophy: if it’s sculpture, he’ll do it.

Patrick is living a creative life and making a living combining his own studio work with commercial sculpture work. His studio work ranges from large concrete garden sculptures to small, hand-carved wooden figures. The commercial sculpture work has included working for such diverse businesses as a mannequin company, a wax works, landscape and architectural design firms, and film companies. He’s worked on fountains, facades and column capitals for casinos, a portrait of guitarist, Jimmy Hendrix for a Seattle high school and an enormous dragon for Wynn Casino in China.

As with all kinds of freelance work, the jobs come and go. Patrick agrees that’s scary but he’s found a way to deal with the fear and keep creating. You can hear more by listening to the podcast at http://www.voicesoflivingcreatively.com/

Listen and let us all know how your art saves your life in spite of your fears. If you or anyone you know is living a creative life, let your voice be heard. Set up an interview and podcast for your website or blog by contacting me through the http://www.voicesoflivingcreatively.com/ website.

If you’re interested in seeing my sculpture work, visit my website at www.susangt.com

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Television Musings - Rants and Raves from a Romance Writer

BFF

By Kathy Carpenter

It’s so hard to be creative this days. Or I should say to find me time for creativity. Not so for Paris Hilton. Last year or awhile back anyway, Paris decided to create a Reality show where she chooses someone to be her new best friend. The Simple Life, and enjoyed those. Of course Nicole is no longer her friend thus the new show. Anyway I did not have the opportunity to catch the show.

To my surprise a few weeks ago I see the my BFF advertising again. Apparently things did not work out with the friend Paris chose. The person was just using Paris to on their way to fame and fortune. Which put Paris in the position of no BFF again. Thus another season of the show.

This time I’m watching. Paris is just a sweet talking girl and seems like any other girl her age. But this is a power trip and she puts the contestants through some weird stuff. But she has her reasons I guess.span>

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Wild Woman of Queens: Notes on Urban Creativity from across the East River.

Charlie by Sandra Lee Schubert 2009

Charlie

My father was tall, slim, a red head with a gift for creating. I know that he smoked a pipe and used Old Spice. He liked to drink. My sister and I would spend warm summer afternoons in the neighborhood bar drinking soda and eating Slim Jims. I know he was a gifted artist. But, I have no record of his art work, except, for a copper printing plate for the Schubert oven. My patent check shows no such oven.

He would take us on adventures in the neighborhood. We would go down to the Sunnyside Yards and watch the freight trains coming in to deliver merchandise to the various factories in Long Island City. I have the faintest memory of going down to the dumps, which were islands of stuff, dumped on dirt, in the middle of the urban landscapes. Occasionally we would come back with things that my mother never seemed to like.

When he came home from work he would bring salty french fries in oily brown paper bags. My love for french fries has not been quenched by dire diet warnings. My mother worked at night, leaving us with my dad. He would give my sister and I tiny mugs of beer and then tuck us in. He would tell elaborate stories to lull us to sleep. I remember his story telling the most and sitting at the kitchen table drawing pictures for us at request.

He died when I was five years old.

My great sorrow is that I never got to have an adult conversation with him. We never shared stories together. I don't know what he thought about politics, love or life in general.

Even though I don't know these things about him I know his DNA runs through me. My father had a decidedly Asian look to him. I carry his cleft chin, high cheekbones, and a distinguished forehead. The red hair missed me but his poor eyesight, bad teeth and fair freckled skin is some thing we share.

Since my mother has been gone for 29 years I have to make my own decisions about what I inherited from my parents and what is uniquely my own. I don't drink, yet, still love the faint beer smell of a bar in the afternoon. My talent lies in storytelling, photography and spontaneous acts of creativity.

Today I honor my father. My memories of him are fleeting and too few. Yet what I have is sweet. I remember a man who had a strong physical presence, a sense of humor and a gift for creating. His legacy is in his daughters. Each day I hope I can express a bit more of the talent he gave me.

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Sandra's e-course leads people to be their creative best through telling their stories and talking to interesting people on her online radio show-
Wild Woman Network: Radio for Creative Vagabonds, Thinkers and Innovators..

She is a creative vagabond, a poet, and a writer who co-facilitates the Wild Angels Poets and Writers Group at the historic Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine.Writing for Life: Creating a Story of Your Own. Visit her blog: Email her sandraleeschubert(at)gmail.com or @writing4life via twitter. Read more!

Wild Woman of Queens: Notes on Urban Creativity from across the East River.

book promotion- BEA style Sandra Lee Schubert 2009


New Possibilities

Yesterday I watched a Les Brown talk on Youtube. Les Brown is a motivational speaker who came from hard times to become a success. He reminded me again of taking chances, going for it in a big way.

Hungry. Be hungry. When you are hungry you find a way to get food. I hear this again and again from successful people. Find yourself a damn big goal and go for it. Do you want to be the next JK Rowlings? Better start writing. Win an Oscar? Take classes.

The Book America Expo reminded me of that too. There were lots of hungry people there. You could see it in their eyes. They scanned the expo for the next opportunity. No grass was growing under their feet.

I know times are tough. Believe me I am in the muck and mire of toughness. I bob and weave. I fall into despair and I rise back up. This is the ebb and flow of life. Sometimes living just plain sucks and other times it is great big ball of fun.

Feed your hunger with good stuff and leave the junk alone. Take a chance. Then take another. Have fun. Remember you have more control then you think.

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Sandra's e-course leads people to be their creative best through telling their stories and talking to interesting people on her online radio show-
Wild Woman Network: Radio for Creative Vagabonds, Thinkers and Innovators.

She is a creative vagabond, a poet, and a writer who co-facilitates the Wild Angels Poets and Writers Group at the historic Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine.Writing for Life: Creating a Story of Your Own. Visit her blog: Email her sandraleeschubert(at)gmail.com or @writing4life via twitter.

Read more!

Sculpting a Life:
Susan Gallacher-Turner’s turn in the Pacific Northwest.


Fear and Art: How to be fearful and creative.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes, fear swoops into my mind, my studio, my life and knocks me off my feet. I don’t like it. Not one bit.

What do I do? I get out my boxing gloves and try to beat it into submission. The only problem with that is, I wind up beating myself up and I’m tired of the bruises. Or I run, as fast as I can, trying to get away. I get busy, busy, busy with email, chores around the house, running errands. The problem with that is, the fear follows me anyway.

What I’ve come to find out is that fear and creativity seem to go hand in hand. I’m not the only one who feels the terror of the creative life and what’s even weirder is that it doesn’t seem to matter if you’ve just had a success or a failure with your art. The fear is there anyway. Add this ridiculous economic roller coaster ride we’ve all been on lately and no wonder many of us feel the need to put our heads between our knees.

Ok, so what can I do about it? I know I don’t want to feel this way anymore…maybe I can’t eliminate fear entirely, but surely, there’s a better way. So I went in search of answers although there are many out there, I wanted to ask the people in the trenches, artists and writers how they deal with the fear. This is what I found out.

My friend, Patrick, says when the terror gets him, he goes out into his garden and sits for a while. When his heart rate slows down, he goes back into the studio and works. My writer friend, Susan, uses acceptance to pull her through the fear and back onto the page. Laurel takes a walk in the park. Janice goes out and works in her garden. Michael feels the fear and moves on.

I moved on, too. This week, when my life felt like a ride on Space Mountain, I went into the studio anyway. I got out the clay and pushed it around for awhile. Then I cut out a piece of screening and pushed it around, too. I layered yellow, ochre, white and black on my owl and lion masks. Today, I cut and rolled aluminum into lilies and leaves. Even though there was music playing, it was quiet and peaceful in my mind. The ‘fear’ roller coaster stopped. Finally.

I didn’t have to fight or flee. I just had to show up, get out my clay, metal and paint. How simple is that? The way out of my fear is to create.

How do you deal with your fear? Leave a comment, so we can all help each other.

I saw this on TED talks. Author, Elizabeth Gilbert, talks about anxiety and “A different way to think about creative genius.” It helped me. Give it a listen and let me know if it helps you. http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

To see more of my art visit my website at http://www.susangt.com/ or my other blog, Susan’s Art & Words at http://sculpturepdx.blogspot.com/ and my new Voices of Living Creatively at http://www.voicesoflivingcreatively.com/

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Television Musings- Rants and Raves of a Romance Writer

By Kathy Carpenter

New Shows

My life has been so out of control lately. Busy in so many ways with little time for creativity or thinking for that matter. It feels so good just to be able to sit here and write a blog. Creative enough it the aspect I need to come up with something to write.

A lot of shows just ended their seasons. Especially a lot of reality shows, Some with endings you wanted, like JT winning Survivor, a man who deserved to win. And dome with bad endings like Prison Break, which ended with our favorite hero dead. I thought this was the final end to Prison Break but was shocked if that was the final episode and if not it still sucked.Along with old shows ending of course we have many new shows starting. One new show I enjoyed was Surviving Suburbia., a new situation comedy. Very funny. I love situation comedies. If they strike you as funny, they cause you to laugh out loud and just plain enjoy yourself. However in t his day and age of so many reality shows and everything else it’s rare I sit and enjoy them. I should make time to watch them more. Everyone needs more laughter in their day especially now.

Also new we have So you think you can Dance our summer dance show. Fashion Show a take off on Project Runway. Harper’s Island kind of a Ten little Indians story I’m a Celebrity Get me out of here, a reality show on four nights a week ( a little much), The New Newlywed Game, The Bachelorette with Jillian, one of the Bachelor Jason’s rejects. Food Network Star, and Top Chef Masters, both cooking competitions starting this week. The Royal Pains, a new usa show. Burn Notice, The Closer, and Raising the Bar with new seasons. Enough to chew on for awhile but I’m sure new stuff will be starting next week.

Happy watching,

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Don't Quit Your Day Job

Creating and Blogging Away

I’m on vacation right now. Maybe I shouldn’t be writing or blogging. Should I take a break from everything? It was so difficult to get to the end of the school year; I almost feel I should spend the week doing as little as possible.

There’s another side that’s gnawing at my brain though. If I write while I’m on vacation, and even more, if I find a coffee shop with Wi-Fi access so I can post my blog entries…well then I’m a real writer! It’s not like I’m cooped up in a dinky motel room somewhere. On the contrary, I’m in a house in Carmel, California that’s bigger than my main residence. This house, the best perk of my otherwise mundane office job, has been an oasis for my family and I for over ten years now.

This beautiful house, purchased by the company I work for, is shared by all the employees. We all get to take turns staying here and since my family is always on a budget, it’s allowed us a vacation where there otherwise have been none.

Since we are in a house, we do have a lot of downtime here. Not being crammed into a tiny motel room means that we’re never rushing out the door. We make breakfast, everyone leisurely showers, I have about three giant mugs of coffee and I usually read for a bit.

This morning I find myself finishing the last sip of my third cup of joe, already reading a couple chapters of my book and already showered and ready to go. Why not get some writing done too?

I mentioned late last year, my guilt in purchasing this mini laptop that I’m writing this post on. What better way to legitimize my purchase then to bring it on vacation! In all honesty, I usually do write when I’m on vacation, however, it usually consists of scribbling nonsense in a random notebook and it gets quickly discarded upon our return home.

This time I want to feel I’m producing. Technology allows us to never be far from connecting to others, and that’s good and bad. Sometimes, I think it’s important to disconnect completely. It’s not healthy to always be checking e-mail keeping track of this and that. Now that it’s easier for us to work away from home we tend to forget to stop working.

So I’m looking only to create. I don’t want to pay bills online, check my bank account, e-mail the office or anything that will stress me out. Balance is important. I definitely need this vacation and I want to come back refreshed and ready to tackle the second part of 2009.

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Wild Woman of Queens: Notes on Urban Creativity from across the East River.

Author, Gary Vaynerchuk BEA 09 by Sandra Lee Schubert 2009

Book Expo America '09

My first excursion to BEA was exhausting, exciting and enlightening. If you love books, and I do, then being in a space with thousands of books, publishers, authors is having a serious case of sugar overload.

Saturday, I was better rested, and prepared. I ate a big breakfast, brought my own cheaper lunch and kept my breath mints handy. My goal was to pick up books, engage some publishers, and meet some authors I would like to interview.

Most people have heard of elevator pitches The idea is you have to tell somebody, who you are, what you do, and why they would be interested in you or your product as you ride in the elevator with them. You have anywhere from 15 seconds to a minute (at most) to engage the person. The fun thing at the BEA expo was to create my pitch on the go. I modified it as I visited the hundreds of exhibits. By the end of the day I saw someone I wanted to meet and I was able to go right up to them and in 10 seconds they had my business card and a handshake agreement to be a guest on my show.

I met Kim Dushinski on Saturday when she signed her book, The Mobile Marketing Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Dynamic Mobile Marketing Campaigns. My learn list included mobile marketing. The book fell into my hands like a gift from above. OK, I was happy. I picked up a dozen different types of books.

The thing about expo’s or conventions is that nothing you want to see next is on the same floor. Kim’s book signing was in the back and lower level and I had to meet someone upstairs on the other end of the Javits Center. I think I made my 10,000 steps that day. I had ten minutes with my friend then one minute to take a photo with David Mathison of Be The Media (a must read for artists and writers) and then I had to run all the way to the opposite side of the convention center on the lower level to hear another lecture.

I heard from the Frankfurt Book Expo people that China was entering into the book publishing field in a big way. The Asian market is a untapped one. I saw lots of self-publishing options and many electronic readers.

There are clear benefits for the upcoming author at the Book Expo. First, you can seen the up and coming trends for publishing. Are dogs out and farmers in? As a non-fiction writer you have more opportunity to spot these trends and layout your book plans. As a author you can have your own exhibit and promote your book and related products. You can meet many people in a short amount of time. You meet publishers first hand. It is an exhausting weekend but well worth the time and effort.

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Sandra's e-course leads people to be their creative best through telling their stories and talking to interesting people on her online radio show-
Wild Woman Network: Radio for Creative Vagabonds, Thinkers and Innovators.

She is a creative vagabond, a poet, and a writer who co-facilitates the Wild Angels Poets and Writers Group at the historic Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine.Writing for Life: Creating a Story of Your Own. Visit her blog: Email her sandraleeschubert(at)gmail.com or @writing4life via twitter.

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Monday Morning Motivators to Slay Your Creative Dragons

By CJ Lyons and Margie Lawson

Cleaning Housefrom CJ


I’m writing this from a new computer…..and in the middle of transferring all the stuff I need from my old one.

Do I really need those articles on Civil War physician Mary Sharrat (the first woman Army physician)??? I don’t write historicals, so why did I keep those? Hmm, there must have been a reason, so guess they should stay….




Yikes! Ever notice how sometimes we get into a scarcity mentality? We live in fear that if we ever do need something in the future, it won’t be there for us. But lets face it, what are the odds that I will ever need information on Mary Sharrat and if I do, that I won’t be able to find it online faster than I could find it in the labyrinth of my files???

Why do we live with all this clutter just because we’re afraid of what-if’s? Take control of our life. Purge your workspace, including your computer, and enjoy–no relish!–the freedom!

I guarantee, there’s plenty of information out there–no need to live in fear any longer!

Thanks for reading!
CJ

As a pediatric ER doctor, CJ Lyons has lived the life she writes about in her cutting edge suspense novels. Her debut, LIFELINES (Berkley, March 2008), became a national bestseller and Publishers Weekly proclaimed it a "breathtakingly fast-paced medical thriller." The second in the series, WARNING SIGNS, is due out January, 2009. Contact her at http://www.cjlyons.net

Margie Lawson -- presenter, psychotherapist, writer -- lives at the top of a Colorado mountain west of Denver. Margie merged her two worlds, psychology and writing, to develop psychologically anchored editing systems and techniques that teach writers how to write page turners. A former college professor, Margie works as a psychotherapist, writes fiction and nonfiction, and presents full day master classes for writers internationally. Go to http://www.margielawson.com for more information.


Read more!

Don't Quit Your Day Job

Creating and Summer Countdown Part 2

Well here it goes. I’m now entering the final week of school. This time next week I’ll be relaxing in Carmel, California, but more about that next time.

Right now I need to gear myself up for that final push. On the surface, this week appears easy. My son has limited days and my daughter is out at 12:30 due to finals. However, I’ve learned not to be fooled.

This coming week will be so crazy. My husband and I will both take vacation time to accommodate the school schedules. I’m sure I’ll have to stay late at work some nights to make up for my upcoming time off. Isn’t it funny how you have to work so many extra hours just to go on vacation? Usually, we go on vacation in July, but I’m happy to start early. The last few months have been brutal for me. I think it’ll be great to start off with relaxation and then dive head first into my “writing summer.”

Although it would be nice to scour exotic location, there’s something to be said for the same annual vacation. Once you’ve seen the sights, you really can just relax, and that’s definitely what I need.

It’s funny though, we seem to bust our asses like crazy just to take some time off. I feel like the house should be spotless. All my work duties should be complete. I should even try to anticipate what might happen at the office while I’m away and take care of that too.

So bring it on crazy week! I can take it. This time next week I’ll be relaxing in hard earned vacation glory and then it’s a couple of months of no school, forms, homework, drop-offs, pick-ups, meetings, bagged lunches, rushing out the door and overall stress overload. I hope dealing with home and work stress will be enough to keep me going until the first day of school in late August. I’m looking forward to a productive summer.

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Sculpting
a Life:
Susan Gallacher-Turner’s turn
in the Pacific Northwest.






Can you live a creative life and make a living? Yes. You can.

“Developing your lifestyle as an art form puts an element of fun and style into living your life,” says Dave. “For us the internal goals of being happy and healthy and having good family life have been our primary drivers.”

Dave and Janice Weitzer have made a living and lived a creative life for over 40 years. They’ve raised 3 children and run several successful businesses: a bamboo farm, a massage therapy practice, yoga school and a custom woodworking shop.

“If you love something, keep studying it, there’s always more to learn. It keeps you inspired and happy,” says Dave. “So, don’t wait, start some small cottage business, something you like doing, you work when you want to. When you’re your own boss, you can’t get fired.”

As an artist, writer and teacher, I’ve been working at making a living for over a decade, now. But during this difficult economic time, Dave and Janice have been an inspiration for me. They showed me that it’s possible to do what you love, what makes you happy and be successful. As I began to see my life in a new light, with new possibilities, I wanted to share this idea with as many people as possible.

Now you can hear interviews with artists and entrepreneurs like the Weitzers on ‘Voices of Living Creatively’ on the new website at http://voicesoflivingcreatively.web.officelive.com
And it's available on iTunes as well at http://ax.itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/browserRedirect?url=itms%253A%252F%252Fax.itunes.apple.com%252FWebObjects%252FMZStore.woa%252Fwa%252FviewPodcast%253Fid%253D319569665


If you’d like more information about me and my sculptural artwork, visit my website at http://www.susangt.com/ or read my other blog, Susan’s Art & Words at http://sculpturepdx.blogspot.com/ Read more!

Wild Woman of Queens: Notes on Urban Creativity from across the East River.

Steven Tyler @ BEA Sandra Lee Schubert 2009

No Books

Today is a short post. I will be spending the day at the Book Expo America (BEA) in NYC. It is my first expo and I could really have used a friend, who knows the convention, to be my guide. People are collecting dozens of books and I only got one. I just can't figure out the trick to it.

Here I am in book hog heaven. There are HUNDREDS of books, there are publishers, authors and editors just swarming the Jacob Javits Center like flies to honey. But I just don't know what to do with this embarrassment of riches. I am both intoxicated and exhausted by the experience.

What would you do if the candy shop door was thrown open and you could take any candy you wanted? Today I have another chance at figuring it out. Next week I will let you know how it goes. By the way the book I got is in galley stage. It is by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith. It is called Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust. His talk was fun and easy going and very helpful. The line was really long to get the galley signed by Chris and Julien so I just snagged a book and went on my way. Here's hoping I can get another book today. Wish me luck.

---

Sandra's e-course leads people to be their creative best through telling their stories and talking to interesting people on her online radio show-
Wild Woman Network: Radio for Creative Vagabonds, Thinkers and Innovators..

She is a creative vagabond, a poet, and a writer who co-facilitates the Wild Angels Poets and Writers Group at the historic Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine.Writing for Life: Creating a Story of Your Own. Visit her blog: Email her sandraleeschubert(at)gmail.com or @writing4life via twitter.

Read more!

Don't Quit Your Day Job

Creating and Summer Countdown

Summer equates to a lot more free time for me. Once my kids are out of school, I’m released from homework duty and the constant tirade of meetings, forms and errands that seem to go hand in hand with the cyclical school year.

My plans for summer accomplishments usually lean toward unrealistic, but I can’t help it. I’m so excited to have my evenings and weekends free I think it’s important to hope I can cram as much writing as possible in the two and half months that lay before me.

So what’s on tap for this summer? Well, last summer I was a newbie to this whole blog thing. I became a regular contributor to this blog and launched my own blog entitled Colleenie’s Couch. I recently started a third blog called the Urban Suburban. I have found that I love being a blogster. The brief, time-oriented writing has proven to be a good fit for my already hectic life. I feel I’ve had enough time to get my feet wet and now this summer will be a full BOLGGING EXTRAVAGANZA!” I want to try to incorporate my own videos, maybe podcasting and promote my sites on a grander scale. Then there’s my book. Man, this book has been on the back burner forever. Last year I finally started to make some head-way, but now, it’s been months such I’ve worked on it. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the daily grind. That seems to be the constant challenge. How do I keep up with all my commitments and add writing to the mix? More importantly, how do I write regularly? I’m still working on it. Instead of beating myself up for not accomplishing my unrealistic goals, I’ve tried to reward myself for writing more than I did last year, last month or last year.

Summertime means I don’t have to drive to two different schools before arriving at the office. The plan is to write for one hour every morning before I leave. I’m not a morning person so this will take some willpower on my part. I even have some writing rules in place. No e-mail, no blogging and no internet. One hour strictly working on my book should allow me to really make progress. It is possible to have that rough draft before the first day of school in late August.

Evenings are for blogging, reading, visiting the never-ending tutorials to aid the techo-challenged and my trial and click method for attempting all new wigets and programming updates.

I’ll be happily busy. Hurry up and ring that last day of school bell. I have things to do! Read more!

Wild Woman of Queens: Notes on Urban Creativity from across the East River.

Flags by Sandra Lee Schubert @2009

The Right To Create

The other day I posted a poem I had on a very unused blog to Twitter. The post had a footer to sign up for a defunct newsletter. I got five sign up notices within a couple of hours. Who knew that poetry could be popular? Now I am debating resurrecting the blog.

It just takes just a little interest to wake me back up from a creative dark hole. It feels like that sometimes. My inspired ideas seem to disappear into a void. The ideas become ethereal and hard to hold.

Yesterday, I worked with a coach on getting past some serious blocks. I was a clogged drain of impossibility. Really, there was some old rotting stuff blocking me from EVERYTHING. There are artists who suck it up and create. And, then are artists who need. Part of becoming a healthy creator is getting past the neediness. The landscape is littered with failed artistic potential.

My mantra is now, "Today holds new possibilities." Are you a healthy creator? What do you need to do to get there? I work all the time on attaining good artistic vibes . And, I must balance that with creating. Otherwise I am a writer who perpetually researches a book that is never written.

I believe we all have the right to create. Some of us create art, some create happy families, while others create boatloads of money. Get help if you need it. Then go create something.

---

Sandra's e-course leads people to be their creative best through telling their stories and talking to interesting people on her online radio show-
Wild Woman Network: Radio for Creative Vagabonds, Thinkers and Innovators..

She is a creative vagabond, a poet, and a writer who co-facilitates the Wild Angels Poets and Writers Group at the historic Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine.Writing for Life: Creating a Story of Your Own. Visit her blog: Email her sandraleeschubert(at)gmail.com or @writing4life via twitter.

Read more!

Sculpting a Life:
Susan Gallacher-Turner’s turn in the Pacific Northwest.

(Shapeshifter-Bear)

Life & The Art of Collaboration.

If you’d asked me last week if I did much collaborating, I’d say no. As a studio artist, I work alone in my studio and I wouldn’t call the clay, metal or paint collaborators. As a writer, I write alone on my laptop and even though I do interviews and articles, I would say it was more like collecting information than collaborating. As a teacher, although I’m working with students, I wouldn’t have called it collaborating. But I’d be wrong.

This week, I went to the Oregon Arts Summit, a gathering of businesses, artists, educators and arts organizations. The theme of the meeting was, ‘The Art of Collaboration’.

After the summit, I realize I collaborate all the time. I just didn’t know it. I can see that I had a very narrow view of collaborating. In my view, collaborating would involve two or more people sitting down and working on a single project.

According to jazz saxophone player and speaker, Mike Phillips, “Collaboration begins with a relationship between you and your gift.”

Although my studio work looks like a solitary activity, I realize now, that isn’t true. When I sit outside, watch the birds fly, see faces in the leaves on the trees and use the spirit of nature in my copper repousse’, clay or metal mesh, I’ve collaborated from within myself and with my environment.

Of course, teaching a group of students is, indeed, an act of collaboration. I may come in with a basic idea for the class, but the way the class flows and grows is all about getting over fear, learning to trust and working toward an art piece together.


My writing is, also, a collaboration. In an interview situation, especially, the person and I have to trust each other enough to share information. I may be asking the questions, but the depth of the answers depend on the person’s willingness to open up about their life, work and process.

According to writer, Barry Lopez, “We gave up community in order to get the individual. We need to rediscover what it means to be community oriented.”

For many years, I longed to belong to a community of artists. Joining Portland Open Studios has given me that opportunity. But collaborating can be tricky. A few weeks ago, another artist asked me to collaborate with her and although I could see the benefit for both of us, I was concerned. I worried that she just wanted to find out my process, so she could use it to her advantage. So I tiptoed around it and she stopped asking. I can see, now, I was wrong.

Because life is all about collaborating, from the air we breathe, food we eat, work we do and, yes, the art we make. Of course, there’s fear. Especially right now, with the state of the economy but maybe that focus needs to change.

Lopez says, “It’s not about the money. It’s about love. It can be done and the money will turn up.”

If I can do it, so can you. Yes, it takes trust, patience and heart to live a good life in an artful collaboration. But isn’t that what it’s all about?

I think Barry Lopez said it best when he ended the day with this, “Let’s make something beautiful. Whatever you do, try to make it helpful. Show us what we fear and give us the reason to believe we do not need to be afraid.”

If you’d like to view my sculptures visit my blog at http://www.susangt.com/ or read my other blog, Susan’s Art & Words at http://sculpturepdx.blogspot.com/

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moon, light in the darkness by Sandra Lee Schubert @2009

Sandra Lee Schubert

blah, blah, blah

My head is spinning. Really, I am a little dizzy. I am trying to create a life here and the world keeps intruding on it with banality. OK, people want to be paid. The landlord would like the rent. The phone company tells me, if you want to talk, cough up the bucks lady.

I am searching for some good information on how to have a good life and make enough money to pay bills. I mean I don't want a job that just gives me money. I want my good life to provide me the money. I could work at Starbucks. Or, some other fast food joint and eat. Again, I am trying to create a life here.

Don't you feel hungry for good conversation? I am. I know people are afraid right now. There is massive belt tightening going on. McMansions are being traded in for simple cottages. Oh aren't we sorry for our excesses? Nope not me. I have not had enough excess yet. I am not interested in the nickel and dime kind life. What makes for a good life? My idea is doing things that I love to do. I would like the kind of financial freedom that allows me to take chances and do even bigger things.

Let me tell you a story. My friend and I were at dinner talking about the idea of creating bigger lives. He is in the stone business. Apparently most people in the industry knew it was beginning to decline almost five years ago. His friend Joe was receiving the same number of spam emails from China that my friend was getting. Joe looked at these emails and said, "hey, something is going on over there." While my friend was deleting them, Joe bought a ticket to China and discovered a profit center for himself. The difference between Joe and my friend? Where my friend didn't even bother to look at what might be an opportunity, Joe saw possibility.

Joe had no guarantee his trip to China would amount to anything. It didn't matter. He had a curious nature and followed its lead. Dr. Richard Wiseman, of The Luck Factor, says one of the differences between lucky and unlucky people is the ability to find opportunity everywhere.

So where does this leave me? My friend and I have both decided full time jobs, unless they were really fabulous, were not for us. We agreed that we need to get our mojo back. We also both agreed that we would no longer belittle ourselves in conversations. We are in a rough patch right now. There is no need to hurt ourselves further in the process.

Create your life. Ignore the people who want you to become smaller. Find successful people and let their radiant light shine on you a bit until you have your own to shine.

I will look for you in the darkness. You will see me. I'll leave my light on for you.

---

Sandra's e-course leads people to be their creative best through telling their stories and talking to interesting people on her online radios show-
Wild Woman Network: Radio for Creative Vagabonds, Thinkers and Innovators..

She is a creative vagabond, a poet, and a writer who co-facilitates the Wild Angels Poets and Writers Group at the historic Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine. Her course is Writing for Life: Creating a Story of Your Own. Visit her blog.
Email her sandraleeschubert(at)gmail.com or @writing4life via twitter.

Read more!

Wild Woman of Queens: Notes on Urban Creativity from across the East River.

Blurry Angels by Sandra Lee Schubert 2009

Sandra Lee Schubert

Wild Angels

Here is a short tribute to the Wild Angels. On May 7 we held our ninth reading of our collective works. I have facilitated the group for the whole nine years. Next year will be the last for the group. It will be a perfect ten year run. The group has hard core members who come back year after year.

We first met on Sunday after Church service. It was more free flowing back then. It has evolved to a series of classes led by an instructor with a yearly theme. There is a focus, lessons to learn and homework to do. A couple of the writers chafe at the structure, while others revel in it. The structure helps. The best part is watching writers who have not written before blossom. Or, writers taking up their pens again after a hiatus. The work is authentic. It comes from the heart and that transcends style and technique.

This past season our instructor, Kathleen Cromwell, had us begin each session with fifteen minutes of proprioceptive writing with Baroque music playing. The technique both infuriated and inspired the Wild Angels. We ventured into monologues, plays, prose, political writing and poetry.

At the end we were gifters of words. We shared our work with each other and our corner of the world.

Some people our prolific writers without the support of other writers. But some of us love the community of sharing our work. A good group will keep you focused and inspired. Most of all write and share your work. I look forward to reading it.

---

Sandra's e-course leads people to be their creative best through telling their stories. She is a creative vagabond, a poet, writer who co-facilitates the Wild Angels Poets and Writers Group at the historic Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine.Writing for Life: Creating a Story of Your Own. Visit her blog: Email her sandraleeschubert(at)gmail.com or @writing4life via twitter.

Read more!

Monday Morning Motivators to Slay Your Creative Dragons

PASSION by CJ Lyons

I'm one of the many people who are spending a month with Eric talking about our Obsessions--and making those obsessions productive.

To me, a productive obsession is a passion. I've long believed that the keys to any successful creative endeavor are three ingrediants: Passion, Vision, and Commitment.

Passion--it's what gets you out of bed in the morning, what excites you, what gives you the energy to push through the hard parts, it keeps you alive….


Vision--gives you direction, a star to steer by, guides you into tomorrow, gives you a glimpse of the big picture, of what your simple words on the page could mean to someone else, how what we struggle with inside ourselves can help us connect with others, help them to find their own passion and vision, by sharing ours….Without either a writer fails.

It takes passion to endure, to provide the strength and stamina to finish a book, to give you the courage to share it with others.

Vision guides you through the book and beyond, helps you see the "more" that most people miss, too immersed in their own lives and problems, never bothering to look up.

Where's your passion? What's your vision? Why are you writing this piece, right here and now?

And, for the final piece of the puzzle: commitment.

Commitment is how you get the job done. Finish this page, this scene, this chapter, this book. Find the courage to submit it and go on to the next.

If you're lacking any one of the three--from yourself or the team you're working with--then you're going to have to struggle so much harder to achieve any kind of success. You may still fulfill your creative vision, but it will be much more difficult.

But, combine all three ingredients--Passion, Vision, and Commitment--and it's a perfect storm!

Think what you could accomplish if everyone on your team had the Passion, Vision, and Commitment to make your project a success! How could you fail?

Thanks for reading,
CJ

As a pediatric ER doctor, CJ Lyons has lived the life she writes about in her cutting edge suspense novels. Her debut, LIFELINES (Berkley, March 2008), became a national bestseller and Publishers Weekly proclaimed it a "breathtakingly fast-paced medical thriller." The second in the series, WARNING SIGNS, is due out January, 2009. Contact her at http://www.cjlyons.net

Margie Lawson -- presenter, psychotherapist, writer -- lives at the top of a Colorado mountain west of Denver. Margie merged her two worlds, psychology and writing, to develop psychologically anchored editing systems and techniques that teach writers how to write page turners. A former college professor, Margie works as a psychotherapist, writes fiction and nonfiction, and presents full day master classes for writers internationally. Go to http://www.margielawson.com for more information.


Read more!

Don't Quit Your Day Job

Creating and the Scary Calendar

April was a tough month for me. I had to work overtime at my day job and I had some personal stress that made working, writing and everything in-between a bit of a challenge.

What kept me going was that I could see an end in sight. My kids’ school year is almost over, which opens up a lot of extra time and things at work should begin to ease up soon. Also, I have a vacation scheduled for early June. It was all looking up until I ripped off my April calendar page and exposed May.
Already, I see ten days with appointments or events inked in. The end of the school year also means cramming in many last minute engagements and large projects. I have several days for writing related matters. While these events do not involve writing, they are some of the social things you should do to nurture future endeavors.

Add in Mother’s Day, my 20th Wedding Anniversary and a concert I won tickets to, and I’m exhausted just thinking about the month that lies in front of me. I’m also anticipating some unexpected things to challenge my time this month. Can you really expect the unexpected? Believe me, a busy Mom can smell it a mile away!

Since this was the only “open” weekend in May, I had a battle between my practical side and my ever exhausted Mom side. The one side of me faced the perfect opportunity to get a jump on the month: clean the house from top to bottom, have all the laundry and ironing done, grocery shop and most importantly, get some writing done now before it’s too late.

The Mom side felt differently. Maybe I should take it easy and rest up. No sense burning the candle from both ends, right? What good will I be for anyone if I wear myself down before the month even starts? Yes, I should stay on the sofa and veg out! Oh, I can even take a nap! I haven’t done that in awhile. I could read my library book and stay in my pajamas.

Which side do you think won? Well, as usual it was a bit of a hybrid. I stayed home most of the day. You could call it “Sloth Saturday,” and I’m not apologizing for it. I woke up with the intention of going into the office for a few hours. Then I looked at the rain coming down outside and I said “no.” Instead, I made a second cup of joe and sat my butt down. As the day unfolded, however, I did my grocery shopping and four loads of laundry! For the most part, though, I just sat around watching bad TV and chatting up my family.

Now it’s Sunday and I have to pay the price for my slothly ways. I still need to go into my office and the house is a mess. The laundry is done for the most part, but it still needs to be folded and put away. Today, I really can’t waste any time. However, I don’t want to regret yesterday. Why do we feel it’s important to be productive all the time? Sometimes it should okay to kick back and ruminate the day away. Days of relaxation help us to recharge and give our brains a chance to let new things soak in. When everything is work, even creating, doesn’t the imagination begin to stifle itself? I know the brain needs regular exercise, but in weight training you have to give your muscles a break. I did not waste my weekend. On the contrary, I provided my brain and body with much needed rest and re-fueling. I can now conquer the challenges for the month ahead with a clear head and healthy body. Anyway, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

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Wild Woman of Queens: Notes on Urban Creativity from across the East River.

Spring flowers by Sandra Lee Schubert

An Artist Date

I have been a spring maniac. The season has not made my mood better; but I have taken advantage of the photo opportunities. Every where I look there are flowers, trees and even people blooming. Finally we can shed our winter garments, come out of our caves and see what the world is offering up. What can I do?

I have been thinking about Julia Cameron's suggestion for artists dates. The idea is to take yourself out on adventure. You could visit a museum, see a play or meet a friend for a writing date. The dates should stimulate your creative juices. After such a date you can hit your project with renewed vigor.

Take at least an hour each week for your date. Try something you wouldn't normally do, as well as, the things you do enjoy. While the flowers are blooming; go see what you can discover.

---

Sandra's e-course leads people to be their creative best through telling their stories. She is a creative vagabond, a poet, writer who co-facilitates the Wild Angels Poets and Writers Group at the historic Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine.Writing for Life: Creating a Story of Your Own. Visit her blog: Email her sandraleeschubert(at)gmail.com or @writing4life via twitter.

Read more!

Sculpting a Life:
Susan Gallacher-Turner’s turn in the Pacific Northwest.

(Thunderbird -copper mask)

Why do I get in my own way?

I want to say that I’ve had a peaceful, productive week in the studio. But I’d be lying.

My three screening sculptures are still sitting where they were last week. My two copper pieces are still waiting for patina solutions. My two clay pieces are covered with plastic, untouched.

Truth be told, it’s been a week of copy editing, emailing, classes to schedule and reschedule, a meeting and a funeral. Midweek, I got a sore throat, headache and that fuzzy feeling that comes with a cold.

I managed to squeeze in some nap time. Ok, I’ll admit it, I tried to nap, unsuccessfully. I drank many, many cups of tea. Sitting in bed with my laptop, I kept up my emailing. I read blogs. I watched one movie while glancing through a magazine and chatting with my husband. Looking at this list, it doesn’t feel like I was really resting, does it? Nope.

If I were looking at someone else’s life, I’d say, this person has a hard time relaxing. And that’s probably why they’ve got a cold. I’d suggest that the solution is to allow themselves to rest more and work less. Easy to say. Hard to do.

Which brings me to the question above: Why do I get in my own way? Why am I running from the very thing I crave? Peaceful, productive days in the studio with the music playing, my fingers moving happily from clay to paint to metal. Or sitting on the couch with my feet on a pillow writing away as I am now? Then after days of creative solitude, I come out of my cocoon to teach workshops and show my work. Sigh. The perfect life.

Maybe that’s the problem. No life is perfect. I’m not perfect. But maybe that’s the answer, too. I get in my own way so I won’t feel the pressure to be perfect. So I won’t have to face my own limitations. Or the guilt that I’m not good enough for such a good life.

If someone else said that, I’d say, “Of course, you’re good enough. Nobody’s perfect. You just have to be who you are and do what you love, everyday in your own way.”

Maybe the best way to get out of my own way, is to listen to what I’ve got to say.

To see some of my sculptures that I have gotten done, visit my website at http://www.susangt.com/ or read my other blog, Susan's Art & Words at http://sculpturepdx.blogspot.com/

Read more!