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When You Must Take Platform 9 3/4

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Platform 9 3/4, King's Cross - London

If you are familiar with the Harry Potter books you know what Platform 9 3/4 is.  It is the platform that you take to get to Hogwarts.  It is not visible, marked, but it is there, and you must find it to get through.  Sometimes, you must take Platform 9 3/4 to be able to get to where you want to be, even when you think there is no entrance or when it feels as there is nothing there.  In life’s creative path, this is true for most artists.  Heading to our own Hogwarts without knowning how it will turn out, or if we will reach it.  For many, it takes abandoning the traditional route or clearly numbered platform and leaping into faith.  However, it is not a blind leap.  You know that Hogwarts is on the other side, if you dare to take the leap.

I too, have taken Platform 9 3/4 and I am headed straight to my own Hogwarts.  Dare to jump?

Working Through Transition Stinks!

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Rural area outside of Paeroa, New Zealand

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I have started my second novel.  It is hard to work and plan your work when you are in the midst of change.  I will be moving to another state in the next few months – or at least, those are the plans – and I feel disconnected in some areas; one of them work.  My husband and I are moving south, to a simpler lifestyle, and to a rural area, where I will have to slow down to the pace of slow internet, among many other things.

Once we arrive, our efforts will be on restoring (just the two of us) an old farmhouse that will be our home.  That will take all our time.  Most likely, I will be offline for sometime, and will blog very sporadically.  We will hope for a wi-fi signal, mostly in the evening, as we will be staying with my sister and brother-in-law, for a short time.  We will change our pace and lifestyle totally – this is a big change we are in for, one that will require a lot of focus and effort, as well as patience.

This upcoming change has tied my hands a bit with my writing.  I have several projects that I cannot evolve due to this, and in a way, I am in some kind of limbo now, and very limited as to the work projects that I can take on.  This has left me feeling stuck for a while; however, it is making room for finishing my second novel.  It gives me some time to plan, but I cannot start much now.  This is as working against my grain, since I am one to dislike sitting for long with projects or decisions.  According to my personality type, working like this truly sucks – it stinks.

My writing has come to a halt in certain aspects.  Not due to lack of work, but to the limits to advancing my writing career, as during that time, I will not be able to commit to long-term or big projects, or maybe any writing projects at all.  Now, I cannot commit to long-term projects that will require my availability during that time.  So this is my dilemma.  For now, I can only dedicate this transition time to some short-term projects and to  finishing my second novel, maybe start my third one.  If anything, once I am in a position of stability again, I will have two, maybe three, ready to publish novels, and I will be able to resume my long-term writing projects.  It drives me nuts to not be able to go all the way with something, to feel restrained.

Have you gone thru a big change or transition? Please, feel free to share any coping tips and techniques that relate to handling your work during transition.

 

Shakespeare a Day 11

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Frederick Richard Pickersgill painting of Orsi...

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“If music be the food of love, play on; give me excess of it, that, surfeiting, the appetite may sicken, and so die.” – Twelfth Night or What You Will

The affairs of the heart –  Love.  Our actions – good or bad – revolve around it.  We die for love, do good deeds for love, suffer for love, live for love, and kill in the name of love.  Whether the concept of Love we have is right or wrong, or even a sick perception of it, many times, the result is a denial of the true essence of Love (as in the case of crimes of passion).

This month we are celebrating Love.  One of my favorite definitions of Love can be found at 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. 

It goes like this – Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.

Shakespeare a Day 2

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Ludwig Devrient as King Lear, probably made fo...

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“Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow!” – King Lear

This is the perfect quotation to illustrate the power of words, descriptive and emotional.  It lets you feel the type of rage and anger; you can picture the face turning red, ready to blow up in all kinds of verbal display, steamed up!

I love writing that brings up emotion.  Hope you enjoy today’s quotation.

Inspiration by Image

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Ever felt uninspired to write?  I am sure you have; I have too.  Sometimes, all it takes is a little visual stimulation.  Look at an image or picture in front of you and think of a story, or a poem, relating it to the image.  Let your imagination run free and see where it lands you.  Here is an image to start.  However, the world around you is an image, and if you do not have the visual sense and are blind, then your ears become your eyes – sound becomes a story.

Today’s inspirational picture is

Writer’s Wisdom 28

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Being True to Your Writing Style

Your writing style reflects who you are.  It is a picture of _____ (your name here), the writer.  When you write with heart, with passion, your true style resurfaces.  You can try to force someone else’s style in your writing, but ultimately, you will end up writing without heart.

A good example of an author who writes with passion is Kate DiCamillo.  Although her books are for children (I happen to love some), the way she writes, appeals to adults too.  Her books are magical.  In an interview with Borders, she said that her book just shows up, and she knows she has to write it.  If you read one of Kate DiCamillo’s stories, you will soon capture her style in the book.  It is like she is there, with you, but she really isn’t.

Even that the story is told through the characters, an author’s style permeates the book, maybe because it is the deepest truth that lies within the pages.  So, when you write with heart and passion, inevitably, your truth saturates the essence of the story, you become true to your style.

Writer’s Wisdom 14

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“Self publishing”

I think it would be safe to say that most writers want to be published, although many will write for themselves and the love of writing.  Writing a book, editing, finding an agent, editing again … is a lot of hard work and takes great commitment.  However, there is another way of going about it – self publishing.  Despite, the arguments about if self publishing is a taboo or not, it is a practical method (budget permitting) to make your book known to the public.  Some known authors have taken this road, before becoming known.  Brunania Barry self published 2,000 copies, ( as told in a Borders interview) then hired a public relations company.  She did things a bit different from others; she took a leap of faith, quit her job, and wrote.  She knew she wanted to be a novelist, this book started as a dream.

So, we have a succesful story of a self published author (in the beginning); but this jumpstarted her dream, and now her career – her book, The lace reader.  Self publishing may not be for every writer, but it certainly presents a possibility to jumpstart a writer’s career –  when accompanied with a good PR firm.  It is up to you to decide which road to take, but most important, for the love of writing.