Free Your Mind Friday

Okay, I understand that technically, we are free everyday. But today I've decided to give my brain a break from all the stress and worries of everything around me, and give it the freedom to just CREATE.

And I think you should do it too.

Here is a little something to get you started:

What do you think is happening in that grove? (If you feel like sharing, I'd love to hear about it!)


Also, if you haven't noticed, I'm starting an author newsletter, and I'd love for you to sign up (see the sidebar to your right). Next week, I expect to be sharing epic news. Hope to see you back here!

Because We All Come Close

So, I would like to reword this a little bit because I'm just neurotic like this so I really want this to say: Many of life's failures happen because people did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

(No offense, Thomas Edison. I just don't think failures in life = failures as people, and I'm pretty sure that's not what you meant either.)

I believe this happens all the time. People give up, or almost give up, right before they're about to succeed. But I also believe that there are people who refuse to quit, and who make it through that last stretch and cross over the bar. Now I have a question. Who do you know that kept at something, regardless of how many times they fell or how hard they fell, and eventually succeeded?

In Which J. Scott Savage Points Out I’m Growing Wings

Last weekend, while at LTUE (the science fiction / fantasy symposium in Utah) there was a moment when I stopped in the hall to chat with some friends and eat a snack. While I was there, Jeff Savage (aka J. Scott Savage) stopped to socialize with us.

Me: Dude, you’ve had so much success recently. Word on the street is that you’ll be publishing six books in 2013.

Him: Yes, it’s a lot in one year. That’s why I’m taking 2012 to sleep and see my family.

Me: And yet, you’re here, teaching the rest of us how it’s done.

Him: I figure I need to grow an extra set of wings to help me get to heaven. *looks at me* By now, you’re probably growing wings, too.

Me: So that’s what those knots are in my back! *moment of realization*

What Jeff didn’t know: for the past two months, I’ve been seeing a chiropractor and a massage therapist because of two annoyingly painful knots between my shoulder blades. (True story.)

In a moment of absolute clarity, I realized that Jeff was right. I AM growing wings. (Wonder why my chiropractor didn’t notice?) They’re coming in fast. And by dang, it won’t be too much longer before I learn how to fly.

Watch out writing world. I’m not just planning to break through the wall. I’m going to knock it down.

Thanks, LTUE peeps, for a fantabulous, inspiring weekend. That is all.

One Day Closer

I subscribe to the Writer’s Digest online Ezine / newsletter, wherein they send a shortened version of the magazine—sans ads—to my inbox where I can read the articles that interest me at my leisure. With the exception of a distinct lack of pictures, it’s a pretty sweet set up. I mean, yes, I miss the pictures (especially when my friends are featured). But I always have the option of picking up a copy at a bookstore.

The other day, the newsletter arrived in my inbox with this headline:

6 Signs You’re Getting Closer to Publication

It’s articles like this that make me glad I subscribed. When I read the list, a realization hit home—this is me. Not just wanting to believe a similar something could happen, but actually where-I-am-in-the-process ME.

If you’re not a writer, this is likely not a concept you will understand, so I’m very sorry, you can feel free to ignore my rambling and move on with your life. But if you are a writer, you probably understand the significance of what I’m saying.

This is huge.

Granted, I’m not packing my bag to go on a world-wide tour yet. But I am preparing myself in other ways. My day is coming. And whether it happens tomorrow, or in six months, or six years or ten—I’m making progress. And that, my friends, is all that matters.

I. Am. Getting. Closer.

And so are you. Get ready.

What Inspires You?

Last Friday we talked about fleeting moments of inspiration. Waking on the beach at sunrise, driving past a cemetery, watching raindrops cascade down a frosted window, listening to snow falling. These moments usually happen at random, without warning. And they’re priceless. An absolute gift.

But what about the times when you need a little extra inspiration? Those times when you don’t want to wait for it to come to you, but you need it so badly you grab a weapon and chase after it. Whether it’s to help get you through tough times, or to help unblock your creativity, or boost your spirituality, we all have those moments when we need something to pull us out of a funk.

Generally when I can’t visit the ocean (the nearest one is two states away, after all) I crank my stereo and go for a drive. And I need fresh air, even if it’s cold, so I’ll sit or walk outside if I can. In the spring, planting flowers can also help.

What do you do when you need inspiration?

A Fleeting Moment

The other day I was driving past a cemetery and a song came on. It had this really amazing piano refrain, and the singer had a soft, rugged voice as he sang about starting over—or something like that. Since we were between rainstorms (like, literally in the twenty minutes between), I had the convertible top down, and little bits of cottonwood tree fluff swirled around in the air.

I slowed the car, gazing over the headstones and multi-colored flowers, and realized that a cemetery is not really the scary, zombie-ridden place we thought it was as kids. Actually, it’s beautiful and sacred because it is the one common place where an entire community lays loved ones to rest. And I was inspired. Scenes in two different books will probably come out of that inspiration.

It wasn’t the kind of feeling that can be forced, but one that comes unbidden, in that perfect moment that embeds itself in your memory and changes you, even though you weren’t doing anything to deserve it.

Sometimes inspiration is like that. Momentary. Fleeting. A throbbing ache that reaches up and grabs you by the throat and squeezes. (Feel free to change my description to one that fits you more accurately. Perhaps you prefer something more like: A 200lb boulder that slams into your chest and steals your breath, your very soul…) And in that moment, you just know you have the power to change the world, or at least the thinking of one person in the world.

That moment, my friends, is a gift. When you find one of those, be very careful and please don’t waste it.

What moments have inspired you lately? And what will you do with that inspiration?

*Don't forget to enter to win a hard cover copy of The Forgotten Locket.*

America The Beautiful

Yep, still gone. So how about a little more visual stimulation?

 The mighty Mississippi

Song of the day: America the Beautiful.

While I'm Gone: Something to Ponder

I know I said I wasn't posting this week, and really, I'm not. But I am going to share with you a few things that have inspired me. I hope they can somehow inspire you too.

Today's song: Anything by the Beach Boys. Happy day!