Sage Woman Chronicles

Thanks Pam Grout

“Show up, show up, show up and after a while, the muse shows up, too.” ~ Isabel Allende

This week I’ve been doing the week 6 exercises from Pam Grout’s Art & Soul Reloaded. We were supposed to write seven blog posts, which was a bit of stretch for me. I’ve been posting once a week since spring or summer of 2013, yet as I put my mind each day to what I was going to write for the next post, ideas came to me. Now I won’t say that they were fantastic ideas, but since I’m in the habit of doing lots of self-reflection, I was able to come up with enough ideas to complete my assignment.

The amazing thing is that this week my in-laws have been visiting and we’ve been doing some galavanting. So, I’ve had to fit my writing in where I could. And that’s the real advantage of doing this exercise, making writing my priority. Doing that is what Steven Pressfield calls being a professional. In his book The War of Art, he explains the difference between being an amateur and a professional: Don’t fit your creative endeavors around the rest of your life, make your art a priority and do it every day no matter what.

I have to say that I write almost every day, but I’m not sure I’ve got that professional attitude quite yet when writing my novels. I am always thinking about my novel, but I’m not always sitting in the chair writing new scenes, rearranging, or revising everyday.

After doing these exercises, however, I’m going to commit to two things, I’m going to add a blog post on Saturdays so that I’m posting twice a week, and I’m going to sit down and do some work on my novel every day.

That’s all for today. We’re going on an outing again today, the last day or my in-law’s visit, so see you Wednesday.

Thanks for reading, commenting and liking my posts. I appreciate it.

Lucinda is the author of The Space Between Time, a historical, time-travel, magical realism, women’s novel. It’s available in all ebook formats at Smashwords, and print-on-demand at Amazon and other fine book sellers. To join her email list, click here. She will never sell the names on her list

Routines and Ruts

“As long as habit and routine dictate the pattern of living, new dimensions of the soul will not emerge.” ~ Henry Van Dyke

“I saw my mother in a different light. We all need to do that. You have to be displaced from what’s comfortable and routine, and then you get to see things with fresh eyes, with new eyes.” ~ Amy Tan

Sometimes it’s good to have my regular routine shaken up a bit. My in-laws are visiting and we’ve been having so much fun doing things Barry and I wouldn’t normally do. That’s why vacations are so important. We get a chance to vacate our lives, to explore, or experiment, which in turn help us discover new things about ourselves.

I don’t know about you, but I get stuck in ruts and it’s sometimes hard to pry myself out of them. On the one hand, I’m attached to my daily routine, on the other I feel like I’ve become uninteresting because I’m bored but don’t want to admit it.

I know people who go to the same vacation spot every summer, or who eat at the same restaurants. I’ve never understood that. I know that there are multiple layers to be discovered about a place. If it’s true about people, it can also be true about places. But I also want to explore new places and see and feel the beauty and wonder they offer.

I’ve been reading Winter’s Tale, by Mark Helprin. At first I didn’t get what he was trying to do by describing New York City in such detail as the nineteenth century turned to the twentieth. I’m not a big fan of large cities, which has more to do with being a highly sensitive person than with the merits or downfalls of cities. But as I continued reading, I felt that Helprin was doing something I had tried to do in my book, he was giving the city and surrounding countryside different personality traits and he describes them in such interesting ways that I began to feel that I had misjudged them, especially New York City.

As I’ve traveled to various places around the world, I’ve felt subtle differences that a place embodies. When Barry and I took our trip around the world in 1996, we did have a stop for a few days in New York City. It was difficult for me to be in all that energy. It was the same at most of the large cities we visited in various countries around the world, but after reading Helprin’s book, I’m beginning to feel differently about cities.

Reading is much like visiting a new place. It’s a way to shake up our ideas about the world and the way it works. We get a chance to hear a character’s thoughts, and understand what motivates them. I’m looking forward to finishing reading Winter’s Tale. It’s a book one could read over and over and get something new from every time through.

Thanks for reading. I appreciate your comments and likes.

What I’ve Learned From Theater

“I regard theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.” ~ Oscar Wilde

I don’t write about this very often, but I teach theater classes at my local community college. It’s a part-time job and for the most part I love it. I mean what can be more fun than watching student actors develop skills in listening, communication, and confidence? Or watching plays and movies and discussing them, or putting together a play production. It can be a lot of work, but doing theater is extremely satisfying as well.

Of course there are times when there is a little too much drama, but since I’m home alone and quiet most of the week, I can’t really complain.

In acting class, which is what I’m teaching this semester, I don’t go into great detail about different acting methods because I’m a firm believer that, when it comes to acting, you learn best by doing. (I think that’s true of other artistic endeavors as well, like writing.)

To get my students started, I tell them that they need to read the lines and listen to what each character is saying. I want them to listen not just to the words but the emotions and motivations of the characters as well. I suggest that they listen to each other and react or respond as if their partner were talking directly to them. Once I started using this method, I found that not only did my students relax, they also did better on their scenes. I think they were relieved that I wasn’t requiring them to do Oscar winning performances to get a good grade in the class.

I also tell them that acting is one of those disciplines in which you can always learn something new. I have heard older actors and directors say that they keep working because they are still learning and they have more stories to tell. Artists in other disciplines often say the same thing. Learning and working on their art feeds their soul.

In my opinion, if we’re going to embark on a creative endeavor, it’s best to just jump in and begin. As we do the acting, or painting, or writing, we might need to take some classes, but really being creative is an inside job. My creative expression is not going to be the same as yours because we each have a unique perspective on life.

So, if you have time, take some kind of art class, because it’s a great way to learn more about yourself. I’ve seen it happen so many times: My students gain confidence in themselves, and develop deeper empathy just by being creative.

That’s all for today. I hope you don’t mind if there are mistakes, we’ve been out and about with my in-laws. Oh, and we have water again. I’m very grateful for that.

Thanks for reading, commenting and liking. I appreciate that very much.

Bad Days

“You have to remember that the hard days are what make you stronger. The bad days make you realize what a good day is. If you never had any bad days, you would never have that sense of accomplishment!” ~ Aly Raisman

“I actually had someone say to me, ‘Lynn, you’re going to have very good days, and you’re going to have very bad days. But it’s rare that things are as good as they look, and it’s rare that things are as bad as they seem.’ So having perspective, and challenging perspective, is important to making good decisions.” ~ Lynn Good

“I still have my bad days when I think I’m not getting everything I deserve. But those pass quickly once my Mother gets on the phone and says, ‘listen, we used to eat rocks and walk 80 miles a day to school.” ~ Bonnie Hunt

Well, living in the country can be so idyllic, until your septic overflows, or you have car problems 21 miles from the nearest town, or when the well pump stops working. The latter happened to us this morning. Granted the advantages of living with glorious vistas, and lots of wonderful wildlife out weigh the disadvantages thousands to one, or two or three. But it isn’t until we lose some of the things we take for granted that we get a chance to appreciate all the wonderful amenities of our Western life.

It was the middle of the night that I realized we didn’t have running water, and, of course, it happened while my mother and father-in-law are visiting. When one thing goes wrong, it seems like dominoes tumbling down. First the well company was so busy they can’t come until tomorrow, then my sister called. Okay, that was a good call, and then my friend called with a serious issue, and while I was talking to her trying to help her work her stuff out, I got another call from a neighbor, just as my husband was trying to tell me that he and his dad were going to get water. Whew! That kind of thing can make me feel extremely stressed. But the conversation with my friend put all that was happening to us into perspective.

We all have days when things don’t go the way we planned. And whether it’s a bad day, or an opportunity to have a spontaneous adventure, is all a matter of our attitude. Okay, so we temporarily have no running water, but that can and will be fixed. My sister gave me exciting news, I was able to help my friend, and our neighbor wanted to give us tomatoes. I love tomatoes!

When I sat down to write this post and began looking for quotes to begin it, I laughed out loud at the quote by Bonnie Hunt. Moms can almost always put what’s happening to us into perspective. (My mother-in-law said, “This is like camping!”) It’s true, we get spoiled and need a reminder that those who came before us, or those who live in a different part of the world have a much more difficult life than we do. I don’t ever want to forget that. I want to be grateful for all the blessings of my life, as well as do what I can for those who don’t have many blessings at all.

But, hopefully, the well will be fixed tomorrow.

Thanks for reading, sharing, liking and commenting. I appreciate it.

Help Your Favorite Author

“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

“Reading is a conversation. All books talk. But a good book listens well.” ~ Mark Haddon

“You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” ~ Ray Bradbury

My husband’s parents are visiting, so I have been busy doing all the domestic chores I let slip because I’m too busy writing to vacuum and dust. Since that is the case, this post is going to be a little bit of a repeat of one I posted earlier in the year.

The Space Between Time is published in both ebook and print-on-demand formats. I hope you will consider doing some or all of the things on this list so you can help me and your favorite author sell more books. An author can’t make any money if no one knows the book exists.

Word of mouth is still the best advertising tool. How many of you discuss your favorite TV show’s latest episode with friends, family and coworkers? See what I mean? You are creating a buzz. You can do that for your favorite authors as well. Here are some ways you can help them.

Write a review of the books you read and leave it on Amazon, Goodreads, in your blog, or any social media site you choose.

If you are a member of Goodreads, just putting books on your “want to read” shelf will get the book noticed by the Goodreads staff and they may even promote them on their site.

If you like a book, let your local bookstore and library know what you thought of it, and ask them to carry and promote it.

Share your thoughts about the book with your friends and book club groups that you might belong to.

Consider asking the author to have a Skype session with your book club group so they can ask questions, or suggest that your local bookstore invite your favorite author to have a book reading/signing.

Give the book to your friends and family as gifts.

You may think these tips are rather easy and trivial, but if you help your favorite author sell more books, you will be helping them pay for all the time they spent working on it. Writing a book is not an easy thing to do, you know.

If you are so inclined to buy my book, and promote it. I will greatly appreciate it, and so will your favorite authors when you do the same for them.

The Space Between Time description: When Jenna’s life is shattered, she finds journals linking her to Morgan, a distant ancestress. As she enters Morgan’s consciousness, the two women embark on life changing parallel journeys that may help them find self-knowledge, healing, and love.

Thanks so much for reading. I appreciate your comments and likes.

Lucinda is the author of The Space Between Time, a historical, time-travel, magical realism women’s novel. It’s available in all ebook formats at Smashwords, and print-on-demand at Amazon and other fine book sellers. To join her email list, click here. She will never sell the names on her list.