How you can get out of your way and write already.

The Shanameh,the world's longest epic poem by a single author.

I meet many people who want to write. They yearn to express their thoughts, feelings, knowledge, and opinions. Yet, something holds them back. Here's a few ways to get out of your own way and write already.

1.  Keep it secret, keep it safe.  Too many of us show our work to the wrong people, too soon. When your work is in a beginning place, it is like a delicate seedling. It needs encouragement (sunshine), kindness (water), and the proper nutrition (feedback). Your first draft is not the right time to show it to that certain someone whose respect you have been wishing for.  At first, treat your writing and dreaming like a precious, radical secret. Later on, when you become a sturdy tree, you can open it up for more critical input.
2. Tell the truth. If someone had wanted you to write nice
   things about them, they would have behaved better. Naturally, change their details, change their names, change the planet, if you want, but those evil teachers, horrible bullies, and nasty parents are your characters. Use them.
3. Lower the stakes. Don't try to write a book that people will study for the ages (for some reason, men get caught up in this trap more than women). Focus on getting words on paper by any means you need, like hand writing, keyboarding, or by making something up on your Facebook page during your break time. Make it fun, make it whimsical, make it crude, if that is your personality type.
4. Fake yourself out. You don't need hours of uninterrupted time to write well. Set a timer for 9 or 13 or 20 minutes and write stuff down, even if it's, "I don't know what to say, I don't know what to say, I don't know what to say." 
5. Surround yourself with other writers, especially fun, generous, and enthusiastic ones. Look for people who believe that a rising tide lifts all boats, who care about your success, and believe in celebrating all milestones, especially rejections. Do I even need to say that you need to be one of these people, too?

And when you are ready, edit the hell out of that manuscript and publish it!

***

Come read my books!

Women Entrepreneurs: Natasha Lakos

Natasha Lakos

I don't spend much time talking about being an entrepreneur. It's time to turn that around!

Last year, I was honored to meet Natasha Lakos of Natasha Lakos Creative. 

She graciously allowed me to interview her! Thank you, Natasha!

1.Name of Business: Natasha Lakos Creative

What I do: I'm a Creative Director and Graphic Designer. I craft couture identities for exceptional clients - working 1:1 with heart-based entrepreneurs who are changing the world.

2. Aspects of my job that people don't see:

The very left-brained wrangling of ideas, details and deadlines that brings creativity and good design into reality. At times it can feel like herding cats! It's a good thing love is in the details.

3. Who inspires me on rough days:

If I'm having a rough day I honestly don't look to anyone else. I take it as a sign that I need a

pattern interrupt...I need to focus my attention elsewhere - on getting inspired creatively, on moving my body, on being in nature, on my friends / family. I usually take it as a cue to rest or focus elsewhere for a while. And when things have gotten really rough in the past I've learned that it's a sign I'm on the wrong track. Which means it's time to re-evaluate what I'm doing and implement a plan to get me through the rough patch and back in alignment. A talk with my coach, the lovely Sherold Barr, always does the trick.

4. Current projects:
I just had 3 clients launch new websites (yay!), I'm tying up a couple of other VIP design projects, and coming off of a major online launch with a retainer client of mine.
New in the works is a redo of my own site natashalakos.com, and content development for IDENTITY, a playbook I'm creating that will help passionate business owners identify what makes them unique, and help them express that online (you can learn more here).

You can also get my 5 Secrets to Uncovering Your Visual Identity, for free, here!

Here is some praise for Natasha's work:

“Working with Natasha has been dreamy. She’s creative, elegant, timely, professional, and perceptive. Not only do I adore the final visual product, the process has been wonderful, as well. Natasha is deeply nurturing of her clients while remaining sophisticated and on task. This is quite a rare combination and I’m grateful for it.”

Kate Northrup
ENTREPRENEUR, SPEAKER, AUTHOR, KATENORTHRUP.COM

 

Blast from the Past: Playing with the Tarot

Back on December 12 of 2013, I did a cool blog post about creating my mission statement. And I liked this post so much, I thought I'd re-run it!

*****

 There is something about the winter season that makes me want to hermit up. I decided I might as well roll with it, so this morning, I did a  Tarot spread.

 My deck is the Visconti-Sforza deck, a 15th century deck, and one that I find the most beautiful.

I'm not a big Tarot chick - I find it a fun way to play with brainstorming, dream up psychological insights, and of course, work on archetypes. 

I found a spread called Create a Vision Statement in Barbara Moore's book, Tarot Spreads.
Super fun!

The spread looks like this: 

2     3

   1

4     5

Position One is who you are, Two is what you do, Three is how you do it, Four is who you do it for, and Five is the benefits to your clients/audience. 

And this is my very cool mission statement!

I discover and bring to life bold stories of adventure and passion for lovers and dreamers so we can create options for a better world. 

 *happy dances*

What is *your* mission statement?

(I drew the Eight of Wands, the Knight of Wands, the King of Wands, Two of Cups, and the Nine of Cups, if you are curious)l

Playing with the Tarot

*blows dust off of blog* *cough choke*

Sorry it's been so long, everyone. There is something about the winter season that makes me want to hermit up. I decided I might as well roll with it, so this morning, I did a cool Tarot spread.

 My deck is the Visconti-Sforza deck, a 15th century deck, and one that I find the most beautiful.

I'm not a big Tarot chick - I find it a fun way to play with brainstorming, dream up psychological insights, and of course, work on archetypes. 

I found a spread called Create a Vision Statement in Barbara Moore's book, Tarot Spreads.
Super fun!

The spread looks like this: 

2     3

   1

4     5

Position One is who you are, Two is what you do, Three is how you do it, Four is who you do it for, and Five is the benefits to your clients/audience. 

And this is my very cool mission statement!

I discover and bring to life bold stories of adventure and passion for lovers and dreamers so we can create options for a better world. 

 *happy dances*

What is *your* mission statement?

(I drew the Eight of Wands, the Knight of Wands, the King of Wands, Two of Cups, and the Nine of Cups, if you are curious)l

Greatest Hits

Jane with Heather Locklear.

Once again, it is time to get into the Way Back Machine and discover what exactly is hidden in my blog's archives.


Published January 7, 2010, here is a writing game courtesy of Jane Porter.

***

Several years ago, Jane Porter spoke at my local RWA chapter, the Rose City Romance Writers.

I'll be honest. Jane's blonde, gorgeous, petite, skinny, and looks about sixteen. I was consumed by envy. Then she gave a brilliantly inspirational speech about where your writing fits in the market.

I was expecting something very business-like, maybe a breakdown of the different publishers and what they tended towards.

Instead, she talked about the roots of your writing- the fables, myths, and fairy tales that consumed you as a child. What could you listen to over and over? What were those themes? What keeps coming up over and over for you?

The fairy tales didn't reveal that much about me, I thought. I picked.

1. The Seven Swans: I chose discipline, faithfulness, and sewing shirts out of flowers (transformation) as the themes I loved about this story.


2. Aladdin : Flying, courage, and risk.


3. Sleeping Beauty: Disguises, awakening to a new reality, and (what the hell) fairies with personalities.

I really flailed with these. No common themes seemed to emerge. Then we went to mythology. I chose:

1. Medea: Revenge, justifiable wrath, a woman who controls her life, a woman who kills, escape



2. The Golden Fleece: Powerful allies, justifiable wrath, travel



3. The Aenead: Rising from the ashes, travel, new starts

I suddenly realized why my attempts at light-hearted romantic comedy failed miserably. I had much darker stories inside of me.

I focused on the story that began, "She swam in an ocean of blood" instead of "Lola blinked." I'm pretty sure we can all tell which first sentence is far more attention grabbing. :)
(That's not the first sentence anymore, by the way ;).

Myths, fables, legends, and fairy tales are our playground. They provide the archetypes, the symbols, and the language for our lives.

Play the game with me. What are the stories that have haunted you? What themes do you carry inside of yourself?

Cheap reads!

So perhaps you have been short of funds. Or perhaps you are the cautious sort and would rather not buy a book from a new author without a test drive first.

Either way, you can sample my writing with my short short horror story  - yes, straightforward horror, no sex -

Predator and Prey!

Normal, Illinois was the perfect place for Stuart to live. A college town surrounded by corn fields was the perfect hunting ground. And he has found the perfect victim right next door.

 For a mere .99, you can sample a taste of my writing!

 Buy HERE!

Also, my first book, Dracula's Secret, is currently on sale for $1.99 over at Amazon, right HERE!

Dracula's Secret, Blood Wings #1
Dracula's Desires, Blood Wings #2
Dracula Unleashed, Blood Wings #3, to be released March 21, 2013

Working for a living: Women in the Arts, II

Today's guest is Grace Constantine, dancer, author, landscape architect, and all around amazing person. Please welcome Grace!

1.What is the name of your business and what do you tell other people you do? 
(such as author, teacher, designer)

I'm Grace Constantine, belly dance performer and teacher, and director of 
theatrical fusion troupe Deviant Dance Company.

2.When did you know it was time to stop treating your art as a hobby and start 
it as a career?

I have no idea, I just woke up one day and I was a belly dancer! For me there 
has not been much of a difference between hobby and career. Dance has always 
been more than a hobby to me, it has been a deeply important part of my spirit 
since I was a child, and even as a hobbyist I approached my projects with a 
professional level of care. Early on, I made the conscious decision not to 
pursue a living with this artform. I did not want my creative process to be 
affected by the need to support myself on a daily basis--essentially, I wanted 
my life in dance to be pure joy, to remain unsullied by monetary concern. 
However, my interest and passion has only grown as years have gone by; 
eventually I spent so much time and energy that I suppose a career became 
inevitable, and so here I am.

3.What are some of the aspects of your job that people don’t see? For example, 
most people don’t understand how much marketing is done by the authors 
themselves instead of a publisher, and most audience members don’t see how 
costumes and props are designed/chosen.

Probably most folks have no understanding of how much time in the weeks or 
months before an event goes into working out logistics with event promoters, 
venues, musicians, lighting, staging, etc. to make sure that everything comes 
together for the audience. I spend a good deal of time every day communicating 
about these things. Every event is unique, and many have very different needs. I 
often work with live musicians, and this adds another needed element of 
communication. Many events have a theme, or a specific audience that requires a 
certain type of performance. Behind-the-scenes concerns also include marketing, 
rehearsal scheduling and arrangements, travel plans for out-of-town events, and 
negotiating contracts. This is all before I get to create lesson plans and 
workshop content; train in the studio; teach classes; and finally design 
performances. Phew!

4.Who inspired/inspires you on those inevitable rough days?

My brilliant students: every time they encounter something new and pick it up as 
if they've always known it, it inspires and re-ignites me! My endlessly talented 
troupemates: they always say 'yes' to my crazy schemes, and then build on them! 
My darling husband: he is always ready with a hug, and makes sure that I eat 
good food, even when I am obsessed with a project!

5.Name a few of your current projects. For example, conferences, publicity, 
design process, what you have for sale.

This month I taught and performed at Columbia University's Middle Eastern Dance Conference--talk about inspiring! My troupe Deviant Dance Company recently added a new member, and we are creating a new piece called 'Song of the Tentacle' to be released in February. Also in February I will be sharing the stage with the Bellydance Superstars when they come to Seattle. I am writing a regular column on the creative process for the new belly dance magazine 'From the Hip', and I am enjoying writing very much. As always, I am teaching a full complement of one-on-one lessons, and planning workshops for the new year.

6. (OPTIONAL)This question is a chance to meander or talk in greater depth if 
you’d like. Here you can talk about what hobbies you pursue, how you refresh 
your well of ideas, what you would recommend to other women interested in a 
career in the arts, or just anything you'd like other people to know.

Advice to women interested in a career in the arts: don't do what everybody else 
is doing. Play! Experiment to find out what you are good at and what you enjoy, 
and explore those things deeply. This is how you will find your strength.

Grace Constantine
www.graceconstantine.com 
www.facebook.com/constantine.grace 

NEWS:
--Latest performance video--Grace at Salon L'Orient 2012:
http://youtu.be/uORzw7QUi58 


--Grace is a staff writer for the brand new 'From the Hip' Magazine!
www.newsfromthehip.com 

Working for a living: Women in the Arts.

Last month, several of my Muses and inspirations kindly agreed to be interviewed. These women have made names for themselves in their chosen field, as well as actually making a career out of their creations.

Please welcome my first interviewee, Kim Sakkara!

1.       What is the name of your business and what do you tell other people you do? (such as author, teacher, designer)

My name is Kim Sakkara and I am an apparel designer. I’m the owner of Sakkara Clothing & Costume, LLC.

 

2.       When did you know it was time to stop treating your art as a hobby and start it as a career?

I’d always considered the idea but wasn’t quite ready to make that leap. I was still in my 20’s and so my main concern was being free to go wherever my creativity took me. I was doing a lot of custom sewing and alterations back then, which I enjoyed. When the economy took that nosedive in 2008, I took a big break and went back to school. Many months later, I woke up one day and really, really missed having that creative outlet. I realized that it was the strongest source of my passion and that I would feel unfilled working for another company.

3.       What are some of the aspects of your job that people don’t see? For example, most people don’t understand how much marketing is done by the authors themselves instead of a publisher, and most audience members don’t see how costumes and props are designed/chosen.

We are part of a very rich and plentiful society that has become accustomed to paying dirt cheap prices for mass produced goods. A lot of people are unaware of the incredible amount of time and labor that goes into creating a single garment for the marketplace, or why Made in the USA goods are more expensive than goods from overseas. They question why that higher cost is on the price tag.

Then there’s the amount of time one spends feeding the social media outlets. But I suppose that is true for all artists and businesses. :)

4.       Who inspired/inspires you on those inevitable rough days?

Sometimes a good album goes a long way. I’ve got my iPod filled with artists like Goldfrapp, Front 242, Massive Attack, Metric, Hossam Ramzy and Natacha Atlas. You know, so I can pretend I live and create in a sexy, futuristic Goth-y belly dance club. :D

5.       Name a few of your current projects. For example, conferences, publicity, design process, what you have for sale.

I’m excited to be working on the next collection, some of which will be available for Spring/Summer 2013, and some of which will be geared for Fall 2013. I’m also looking forward to festival season starting. The Reigning Down on Oregon event in February is the first for 2013. It’s going to be a ton of fun.

Your author proudly wearing her Kim Sakkara custom skirt and gauntlets!

2006 Copyright/velvet skirt & gauntlets: Kim Sakkara.  Photo: Lenny Gotter. Model: Linda

 

Kim Sakkara can be found on Twitter as well as her blog and shop.

Another growth opportunity.

"What is the hardest lesson you've learned on your writing journey?"

Oh, ouch. I so didn't want to think on that.

Fortunately, I learned how to deal with rejection early (pro-tip: read Making a Literary Life by Carolyn See).

What should I talk about? The difficulty in believing in yourself? The need to Dare to be Average?

No, the hardest part was learning to talk about my work.

(I just now completely stalled out on writing this, thinking about what I was going to say about talking about my work.)

When you have a dream, you might have to keep it under wraps for a little while - protect it from those who would, in a completely innocent way (of course), say or do things that discourage you.

I got stuck there. When it came time to pitch my book or to ask for help, I would either stall or simply not answer.

I do not recommend this course of action. Once your dream is sturdy, share it.

What is your dream? What are you working on?

Check out a sample!

You can check out a sample of Dracula's Secret over at E Kensington Books!

Story Basics Part IV: The Herald Archetype

I've written about big penises, Turkey, Muses, and International Woman's Day.  I figure now is a good time to get back on my subject of Archetypes and how they are used in literature.

When I think of the Herald, I think of the character Mountjoy in Henry V. Mountjoy is the carrier of news and challenges. His appearance means things are about to change, that a new energy is going to shake up the Hero's life. This archetype is so important that the God Mercury (Hermes in Greek mythology) was the Deity of messengers.

(I obviously have a weakness for the Herald archetype ;).

The Herald announces the need for change (also known as The Call to Adventure) and provides motivation. This role is not always filled by a person, but can be a wonderful character when it is, especially if the Herald is mixed in with another archetype. Often, the Herald is filled by inanimate objects; hurricanes and storms, a telegram, phone call, or television broadcast, perhaps a letter. Sometimes a Herald is negative, a message from the antagonist. The Herald can be also be positive or neutral.

Whew.

I'm taking the rest of the day off! I've been Butt In Chair, Fingers On Keyboard for the last several days working on the synopsis for a brand new book. The working title is Sister of God. I'm calling it the DaVinci Code meets The Mists of Avalon story.

I hope my agent likes it. :)

Examples

Here's a quick example of how the nine sentence synopsis works.

1. The trouble starts when.....  Linda wants ice cream.
2. The protagonist makes a plan to cope by... going to the freezer.
3. The trouble gets worse when...there is no ice cream there!
4. The protagonist regroups and presses on harder by...checking her purse for money
5. The protagonist reaches the point of no return when...she gets in her car to go to the store.
6. The protagonist is pushed to the brink when...all the lights are red on the way to the store.
7. She appears to have lost when...there is no Coconut Bliss!
8. She fights on by...looking behind all the other ice cream containers.
9. Everything is on the line and only one will win when...she stands up on tiptoe, drags the last container out by the tips of her fingers, and barely avoids pulling over the display!

Even this little silly story about ice cream has rising and falling action. It also describes my GMC and how it changes. For example:

Goal: Get ice cream (what I want)
Motivation: Hungry (because)
Conflict: None in the freezer (but)

My goal and motivation remain the same, but the conflict changes as the story goes on. In a more complicated story, the protagonist examines if her goal is worth what she thought it was. In a tragedy, the story would go like this:

1. The trouble starts when.....Linda wants ice cream
2. The protagonist makes a plan to cope by...going to the freezer
3. The trouble gets worse when...there is no ice cream !
4. The protagonist regroups and presses on harder by...looking her purse for change
5. The protagonist reaches the point of no return when...she is out of money!
6. The protagonist is pushed to the brink when...she ransacks the sofa cushions for change
7. She appears to have lost when...there is nothing there either.
8. She fights on by...checking her bank account
9. Everything is on the line and only one will win when...she can't afford the ice cream.

This little tool tells you how you want to run your story, and what needs to happen between each section. The writer can add the setting by talking about how blisteringly hot it is out, by what her house looks like, what kind of ice cream is haunting her.

Why I like writing more than anything.

In what other career can one research the rise of Safavid Persia, the intricacies of the Sophia archetype, and the appeal of extreme SM - all in one day?

Rejections and all that.

Dracula's Secret got rejected by Berkley yesterday.

In order to keep myself optimistic and encouraged, I frequently read this quote to myself:

 ###

Here's what I tell my students on the first day when I teach one of my creative writing courses:

You will be published if you possess three qualities- talent, passion, and discipline.

You will probably be published if you possess two of the three qualities in either combination - either talent and discipline, or passion and discipline.

You will likely be published if you possess neither talent nor passion but still have discipline. Just go to the bookstore and pick up a few "notable" titles and you'll see what I mean.

But if all you possess is talent or passion, if all you possess is talent and passion, you will not be published. The likelihood is you will never be published. And if by some miracle you are published, it will probably never happen again.

Quote from Write Away: One Novelist's Approach to Fiction and the Writing Life by Elizabeth George

Since I have both passion and discipline, I feel most optimistic. :) Talent? Time will tell that. :)

Primary source research and other wacky hijinks.

Over the holiday weekend (and I hoped yours rocked, too), I got sidetracked by some research. I was figuring out how modern Berlin differed in layout from World War II Berlin, especially what happened to the land where the final bunker was.

(It's an apartment block and playground now. How very cool!)

In the course of looking that up, I found a book called In the Bunker with Hitler by Bernd Freytag von  Loringhoven.

Von L, as I started to call him, was a Captain in the regular Army, and was aide-de-camp to the Army chiefs of staff- Guderian and Krebs. He describes his experiences in the Bunker from July 23, 1944 to April 29, 1945.

It's a fast,  fascinating read, and I suddenly wanted to do a paper on Group Think and the Third Reich. Groupthink: Psychological Studies of Policy Decisions and Fiascoes, by Irving L. Janis is one of my favorite books. This would be an amazing study, full of footnotes and quotes (and parenthetical statements).


But alas, there is only so much time in the world. So instead, I'm going to use In the Bunker... as a primary source on Hitler's behavior and personality in the last days of World War II. Some of my notes:

1. Never underestimate the power of charismatic, motivated, deluded idiot.
2. As much as it sucks, it really does help to listen to people who disagree with you.
3. As nice as it is in your own little world where your soldiers are at full strength with plenty of food, ammunition, fuel, and not being killed by your enemy, you might want to maybe, just maybe try playing make-believe.
4. The regular Army really didn't know about the war atrocities. I never understood that before, but after hearing how Hitler ran things, I see how he did it, and why. (Secret meetings with the Nazi party because he didn't trust or like the regular Army men).

This is why primary source research is the most fun of all.

The places I work.

I like variety. I work best when I feel permitted to work wherever I want. I could be at my desk, at a library, a coffee shop, or even the sofa with my computer on my lap. This week, I'm going to showcase a few places I like to work.

Yesterday, I went to the Hillsboro Public Library.  I particularly like this location because it is in a beautiful building with great staff. It overlooks a complex of ponds and walking paths and has abundant natural light. I also used to work for this library system, and several of the librarians still know me. They are always interested and encouraging of my new career.

The view from the window.

 I like being places where I am inspired by other people working. Also, it's encouraging to see all these books that have been published. They tell me that even though writing is hard, it is worth it.

I usually take off all my jewelery when I write. I'm not sure why.

More groovy places coming up!

Branching out a little.

I'm the Wednesday blogger over at the Cascade Literary Agency blog. This week is everyone's introductions.

Not my strength, but I did get to indulge my love of parenthetical statements.

My very first give-away.

I hand-painted this fan for express purpose of giving it away to some awesome person. :)  It's the first in what I hope will be a long stretch in regular contests/giveaways/fun. It's signed and numbered (#1).

It's perfect for hot days, putting up on your wall, or giving it to someone you love. If you want to be my first fan (ahahahhahhhaaa!), be the first person to tell me what nickname I use for my handsome husband here on my blog. :)

The upside. :)

Writing makes me happier than any other job I've ever had. Being self employed has lots of challenges, but the end, it's the best.

Here is one of the upsides. :)

Some days, I can work from my hammock. :)