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

Taste and See by Sandra Lee Schubert 2009

End of Summer Prompts

Not the senses I have but what I do with them is my kingdom. Helen Keller (1880 - 1968)

BONUS- TAKE ACTION PROMPT:

1. The Box - Fill a box with different small items that have different textures and weight to them. As example you can include a couple pieces of fabric such as burlap, silk or velvet. Put shells, rocks, marbles, keys, etc into the box. Explore it with eyes closed. Are you afraid of what you are touching? How do things feel with your eyes closed? Bring them to your face; sniff them. See if you can identify the items without looking at them.

2. Taste exercise - You can choose to do this with eyes closed or opened. Take some different fruit or food items preferably items that have different textures. Some examples would be an orange, avocado and piece of bread. Spend time looking at the items as if seeing them for the first time. Notice the shape of the avocado. Feel the texture of the orange. Sniff the bread. Take time with each one tasting, exploring and learning about these new things you have discovered.

3. Create some of your own sensory explorations. Listen to new music. Walk barefoot. Run one block really fast.

4. Write about the above as if you were an alien. What did you discover? How would you describe this new planet? How do you feel about the people you have met? How did if feel to be blindfolded in a new planet?

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

Watch People by Sandra Lee Schubert 2009

End of Summer Prompts

Art is born of the observation and investigation of nature. Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC)

WEEK FOUR- TAKE ACTION PROMPT:

Observe: Become a people watcher. Look at how people move. Notice the color of their hair. Imagine them as children. Do you think they were happy? Do they look sad now? Pay attention to how people interact with each other. Look for the small movements. The way a man touches a woman's face. How children talk to each other. Do they snuggle against each other? Are they competitive or shy? In your daily routine, notice one new thing. Maybe it is the color of the marble in your building lobby, or the way a street curves.

Listen: Eavesdrop on some conversations. Write down a sentence or two that appeals to you. Take copious notes. Write down all the sounds and smells you encounter. Make up new names for all the colors. Take in your environment in a new way. Sit down and begin to write based on your notes or discoveries. Make some simple observation or create a full-blown story. Try one page and then two. Discover one new thing each day.

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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.

Hildegarde by Sandra Lee Schubert

End of Summer Prompts

You know criticism when you get into this business. You accept the bad with the good, the tabloids and the positive side of it. Carmen Electra (1972 - )

WEEK THREE- TAKE ACTION PROMPT:

In her essay Bad Writing, Julia Cameron gives us writers the task of going out and buying the tabloids we usually read secretively on the supermarket line. Julia suggests looking over some of favorite titles and creating your own "tabloid" story. "Alien baby is my love child", "8,000 year old man found buried alive in desert", "Writer's fear stepping out of the ordinary", you get the idea. Have fun with it. Create outrageous tales. If you do it with abandon and a sense of fun you should find you are energized and want to return to your work.

Look for ways to expand how you create. If you paint, try coloring with regular crayons or making collages out of found pictures. Create poetry by cutting words out of magazines. Create poetry with found pictures. Creating should be deep, fun, joyous, exciting, and enlivening. Create with your arms wide open and allow inspiration to meet you in all places.

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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!

Don't Quit Your Day Job

Creating and Creating a Schedule

Well now that both of my kids are back to school, my writing time will severely dwindle down.

I didn’t reach my writing goals over the summer, but once again, I can say I wrote more than I ever had before. For awhile now, I’ve decided that increasing my writing input should be my only goal. It’s easy to get in a rut and as long as I can say I’m increasing my input, I can stay motivated.

However, the more I entrench myself in my writing, the more I see that constant production is vital. I’m writing for three blogs right now and in the world of blogging, constant and timely content are crucial. As much as I hate to admit it, I think I need a schedule. I’ve tried to stay away from scheduling my writing time. As the mother of two teenagers, and working a full-time office job, I have enough my time scheduled for me. Writing is joy for me and I certainly don’t want it to feel like a chore. Still, if I’m going to take my writing seriously, it’s probably time to start treating it more like a part-time job.

In the past, my efforts to schedule my writing time have fallen flat. So many other commitments constantly come into play. One of the tips I read in all the writing books is to stick to the time you set aside like any other appointment you may have. This is easier said than done.

If you already work full-time, the rest of your day is somewhat limited. It can also be difficult to know from day to day what’s going to completely come out of left field and suck up your whole evening. Sometimes my son doesn’t need any help with his homework, other times we’re up way past everyone’s bedtime trying to get it done. The mail could yield an incorrect or confusing bill that causes me to be on the phone with a customer service rep for hours, (this actually happens to me quite often) or I’m a taxi service for my children for the evening.

As much as I would like to say my writing time is sacred, truth be told, I can’t take care of my personal affairs at the job they pay me to do, so it does have to come off my writing time, like it or not.

So I will have to ponder this one in the coming weeks. I’m going to closely observe my non work hours and see what I can reasonably expect of myself. I’m open to any tips or suggestions!

Read more!

Sculpting a Life: Susan Gallacher-Turner's Turn in the Pacific Northwest

('The Red Fairy' Mask)

Masks: Why do I love them?

I love making masks. I’ve made masks out of paper, plaster, felt, clay, copper, brass, aluminum and screening. I’ve made masks of cats, dogs and frogs, wolves and polar bears, birds and bugs. The sun and the moon. A dragon, phoenix, and thunderbird. It doesn’t matter to me what kind of mask I make, it’s always a fascinating process.

Why do I love masks? I’m not sure. All I know is that making a mask is like searching for an answer to a question I don’t even know I have. It’s relaxing. It’s playful and joyful, mysterious and magical. Its peaceful solitude and energizing connection all at the same time.

Maybe I don’t have to know why. I can just love making masks. Period.

You can see my other masks on my website at www.susangt.com and visit 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.

Heart by Sandra Lee Schubert 2009

End of Summer Prompts

I love being a writer. What I can't stand is the paperwork. Peter De Vrie

WEEK TWO- TAKE ACTION PROMPT:

Remember the first person or thing you loved. Was it a parent, toy, character, pizza? Take five minutes and write about that first love.

Take five minutes and write about the love that got away.

List 25 things you associate with the word heart. As an example - Valentine's Day, weddings, surgery, chocolate, babies, exercise. Looking over the list choose a couple to explore. Write the word on the top of the page and begin to free associate. Let the words flow without editing for at least 15 minutes. Look over what you wrote. Were you surprised by what you wrote? Disappointed? See if you can expand on it or pull a line or paragraph and create something entirely different. Try this with several of the words on your list. You may find new thoughts and ideas emerge from your list.

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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.

Sandra Lee Schubert

End of Summer Prompts

You can approach the act of writing with nervousness, excitement, hopefulness, or even despair “the sense that you can never completely put on the page what’s in your mind and heart. You can come to the act with your fists clenched and your eyes narrowed, ready to kick ass and take down names. You can come to it because you want a girl to marry you or because you want to change the world. Come to it any way but lightly. Let me say it again: you must not come lightly to the blank page.

Stephen King (1947 - ), On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, 2000

WEEK ONE- TAKE ACTION PROMPT:

Write. Write again. Write one more time. Each day write 50 words. Pick a topic or not. Observe - what do you see? Touch - what are the sensations? Listen - hear a piece of conversation and then write a story about it. You can write more but not less. Write with a friend. Go to the park and write for ten minutes and then go play. Write waiting on line. Just write. Don't think about it too much and don't worry about editing it. This is not your great novel. You are laying tracks, building the foundation, and developing the sense that writing is something you can do.

Read books like King's; pick up Ray Bradbury's book, Zen in the Art of Writing, or One Writer's Beginnings, by Eudora Welty. These books are great sources for observing how a writer takes from life and recreates stories.

Wherever you are in life; honor your journey. Create your environment to support your creative self. Surround yourself with people and things that feed your muse. Share your work with others and you may find that you are a happier and more satisfied person. Discover the brilliant, talented and wonderful person you are.

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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!

Don't Quit Your Day Job

Creating and Gearing Up

Well that’s it. My daughter goes back to school mid-week and then my son officially starts next week. I can’t believe summer is over. In a lot of ways I feel like I was just starting to get into a groove and hone down a writing schedule.

One of my biggest hurdles is that I’m not a morning person. I’m dreading the fact that I’ll have to wake up an hour earlier each morning. Also, having a more hectic morning and commute isn’t too appealing either. I have two children that are also not morning people, so they are very difficult to wake up. We’re always rushing out the door and dropping off at two schools, by the time I get to my job, I’m often exhausted and frustrated.

It’s already a challenge to write while having a full-time job, but once school starts, I fear that my computer will sit here collecting dust. Even over the summer, I didn’t accomplish nearly as much writing as I had planned. I didn’t work on my novel at all, but I did manage to maintain my other two blogs and work towards creating an on-line presence.

We all know how tough the writing world is today. It’s not just about writing. We have to Twitter and Facebook. I’m constantly trying to figure out how to best utilize Google Blogger and I’m trying to promote my blogs, so that I may eventually get an audience.
Sometimes, I wonder how I’m supposed to do all this and have a job too, but since my writing is currently paying zero, I have to figure out a way to do both.

Each school year I hope my kids will pick up the slack and handle their own work load and schedules. For the most part my daughter, beginning her junior year of high school, takes care of her own work and projects with minimal help. My son, who’s starting the 7th grade, often needs continuous follow-up and checking in to make sure he stays on task. This can be very difficult to keep up with. Trying to keep up with my own responsibilities and his, really wipes me out. Each school year, I hope this is the one where he’ll take the ball and run with it.

So today will be spent running around town to get school supplies, clothes and shoes. This is my last week to clean and get the house organized. I guess this is also my last week to reassess what work for me with my writing this season. What can I incorporate into my day and what we’re my pitfalls that still need work? It’s a continuous process and challenge. I know that even if I quit my job and suddenly had my whole day laid out before me, it would still take skill and planning to find a writing schedule that keeps me challenged and productive.

I’ll try to go into this with a positive attitude. I continue to work hard and seek out solutions to my time-challenged dilemma. Since I keep working at it, this school year has to be better than last year, right?

Read more!

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

Election Day c 2008 Sandra Lee Schubert

Big, Bigger, Biggest

The summer is almost over. I suck at summer. One step out into the heat and humidity of a New York City summer and I'm back in the house faster then you can say air conditioning. There is so much to do here in NYC and I am absolutely stopped in my tracks by its heat.

My resistance can be epic. The tortured artist model has nothing on me. The personal development books have picked my pockets, stuffed my bookcases and my brain, but have done nothing for my life. Is it their fault or the fault of my own psyche? I'm thinking the only one at fault here is me. Let me tell you what I learned this week.

My biggest advantage, and greatest pleasure, is interviewing wonderful guests each week on my radio show. I get to speak to interesting people doing great things. This past week I spoke to Greg S. Reid who was recruited by the Napoleon Hill Foundation to recreate the original concept of Hill's great book, Think and Grow Rich.

Greg took this on as an incredible adventure; selling his home and car to fund the project. He was talking about hanging out with the people who are doing big things. When he wanted to learn how to write a best selling book he spoke to the people who had best sellers. Greg did not play small- he went for it a large way. At some point I revealed my own limiting belief system when I revealed it on my show to him. My thought was to make the idea of dumping all your dead ending friends in one swoop more palatable was to work your way up the success ladder by a slow dump along the way. You could add a friend who was slightly ahead of you and comfortably build your path to success. Oh, boy don't ever play small with someone who plays big. Greg told the audience he would not support my limited thinking. Thank goodness you can't see a red face on radio.

The thing is I got the message to play big several times in the past week. The universe was knocking my brain really hard. And the truth is I have been playing/living/acting in a small way. I act like I am in learning mode all the time. Of course I am always learning but there comes a time to break from the comfort of it and apply it in the world. We all have to let the world see what we are doing. The big reveal comes with the possibility that what you have learned and done just plain sucks. So you work on it more. I work on it more.

My lesson(s) for the week: Playing it small will keep you small. Hang out with people doing great things. Be brave, be bold and step out into the world.

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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

Making art: Where does it come from?

Sometimes I don’t have a clue. Strike that…many times I now realize, I don’t have a clue. I pull out the clay or copper or aluminum mesh. I push. I pull. I paint. I write. Then it goes out into the world in some form or another, a gallery show, a commission, or a play. Sometimes it sells and sometimes it might be displayed in my home or stored in a closet.

One piece I created about 9 years ago features a copper mask/face on the front layered with oil paint mounted in a black wooden box. The box opens to reveal a copper repoussé of a woman in a cloak, her arms raised with a sun on her right and a moon on her left, waves indicating water are below her and the tree of life forms a border around her. On the left side of the box is a copper piece inscribed with the words, “From fire to water to life.”

I was compelled to create this piece, but always had a deep discomfort with it. The mask/face on the front scared me, but I loved the goddess repoussé on the inside. The kite shaped black wooden box, made by my husband, was beautiful. But after I showed it, I was happy to put it in the closet. There it stayed for many years.

Last year, as I was setting up for Portland Open Studios, my husband pulled it out of the closet. I didn’t really want to put it out but he insisted. So I reluctantly hung it up on a wall for display intending to take it down when the tour was over. But something funny happened along the way, I realized what this piece was all about and made my peace with it. This piece is about my Dad.

My Dad had glaucoma and was forced to retire, when the large automobile corporation discovered his disability. His anger and grief led him in a downward health spiral. After he died, I created this piece. The ‘kite’ shape is actually a coffin, it even opens up like a coffin with hinges on the side and inside, the poem I wrote and the repoussé are all about freeing him from his pain and letting go.

Seems obvious, doesn’t it? But I didn’t get it. And if my husband hadn’t insisted that I take it out of the closet and hang it up where I had to look at it for two weeks, I’d never have figured it out. As artists, writers, musicians or anyone who creates, the why is always a big question. Sometimes, we know. Sometimes, we don’t.

For the past year, I’ve been doing interviews and podcasts with artists and writers. What I’ve learned is that the drive to create is fueled in many different ways and that some artists do know where that fuel comes from, and some don’t. But sometimes, if we’re lucky, like I was, you get to figure it out. Patrick carves wooden sculptures based on his desire for stillness. Kelly paints her memories of landscapes. Nicky sculpts and welds her way back from cancer to health.

You can hear these podcasts at www.voicesoflivngcreatively.com or read the articles on my other blog at http://voicesoflivingcreatively.blogspot.com

These podcasts will give you the opportunity to hear these artists personally explain their work. Their stories are unique and inspiring and these interviews give you chance to understand where their art comes from.


Read more!

Television Musings - Rants and Raves from a Romance Writer

New Stuff
By Kathy Carpenter


Just back from the National Romance Writers of America conference a week ago. Talk about motivation. If you write fiction of any kind and need help try checking into joining a local RWA chapter. The will lend you support, teach you to write, show you the market, and be ther for you in general.

New shows - Let’s see we have The Listener kind of a toss up of Medium and Ghost Whisperer both of which I watch and love. However, The Listener, although I can go with him seeing events and not telling anyone. I could not get into his profession. The stories involved too much medical stuff for my taste,

The Great American Roadtrip - I could get into another reality show. This one had several families competing against each other as they travel across country, Although I feel the experience they have traveling together and bonding together with other families from across America, it’s a little more touching with the kids involved to compete and lose and to know they are going home. Heartwarming.

Dating in the Dark - Interesting. Three guys and three gals live on different sides of a house, The meet in the middle in a special dark room for dates. The first time they meet all together, Then they chose someone they connected with. The third date is who they have been matched up with. Then they have a final date. After that they each see each other and can either chose to meet up with the person or walk away. Two of the three met up. One guy wanted to meet but the gal walked away. The show also had a couple other ways of allowing them to getting to know the other people without seeing each other. Interesting.

One more note - you may notice my new picture - this was taken at the conference to be my book jacket picture - What do you think does this picture work for a book cover? Read more!

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.

Read more!

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.

Read more!

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.

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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.


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