off to a rocky start

Last night, my computer was still quite wonky. I decided to reboot the modem since I’d done the virus scanning and defragging. But I had to wait until today because my eyelids were too heavy to press through the short steps. This morning, things were still bad online, so I called in and the recording said the same thing I thought they would, Try disconnecting the modem and the other related steps before I connect you with a human being. I knew that so I can’t tell you why I called first. It might be related to another issue of not trusting what I think I know—a separate issue.

Anyway, I did the technical stuff, it worked and I didn’t have to call back because the recording wasn’t expecting me to, unless I needed assistance. With my IT concerns squared away, I was able to get on with surfing the web reading and networking.

plans for a hard charging 2011

I’ve been giving myself scary goals for 2011 related to two of my blogs‐not including this one. This one is still just for me to air out my brain and write through things that are on my mind.

For my working blog and my creative writing blog, I’ve decided to write more frequently. It should be interesting. Hopefully, it will be productive too, by getting me into the habit of posting more fluidly. Ideally the blogging will become second nature, (by next year if not this), instead of feeling like this great extra effort I have to make.

my guideline for  current postings

I read in several blogs, most recently from a writer at She Writes, that I should lighten up on the blog posts. Not that I should post less, but that the posts don’t need to be long. The key is to make posts short, focused, and useful. That works in my head, but I wrote for a company that insisted on 1000 to 1500 words for each post.

So now, I fall back into that habit from time to time. Then I get to thinking about how it falls short of being the definitive draft on the topic it covers. Do you see the problem here? I can’t fit the definitive copy on any topic into a blog post and expect people read it. The solution, get light and useful. When I come across the draft topics that seem to keep me writing on and on, then I can break them up into a collection of posts. Something I’ve done rarely.

Blogs that are written to a theme should contain posts related to that theme. I’ve decided that I can go off on a tangent, but not to far off. I don’t want to blog about nuclear physics without tying it in to writing, when I’m working on my freelance copywriting blog. When I do tangent (and I will tangent), I hope to have one of those really sweet tie-ins that will leave people saying a hearty NICE! I’d be alright with that.

musings for the rest

Telling Stories, my creative writing blog, is also a focused blog. My focus there is exploring and sharing my creative interests covering poetry, fiction and whatever else comes to mind…related to creative writing.

You’re likely saying, Well, what about creative non-fiction? And that’s a really good question, but it doesn’t stump me. It can go on that site as well—because it’s creative. See? There is room for creative non-fiction on all my blogs, since all writing is creative even if you do it halfway right. For example, my last post here, could have gone on the Telling Stories site, easily. I was on this blog when I started writing it and just stuck with it.

Really, for that post, I would say the determining factor was that it was just my musing over the events of last Saturday. Had I planned to write it, I might have put it on the other blog. The lines do blur between the blogs, from time to time. It has become the place I put random thoughts, ideas, and experiences that often times relate to life writing.

My purpose was just to write through what happened on January 8th and find my footing after I sat reeling from the news. There’s more that came to mind, but that post was enough to get me clearer on where I wanted to go with that topic. As a result of just writing through what was on my mind, I have come up with several writing topics I can cover tangentially.

Now I have this guide to get through the next few weeks of writing on my other two blogs. When I take a step back to review how it’s coming along, in 111 days from 1.1.11, I’ll let you know. That many days because, while the copywriting blog challenge ends this month, the creative writing blog challenge is for 111 days. And I decided to wait until then to review both.

This is only the tip of my iceberg, and more than enough to chip away at this evening, what with more writing to do and all.

From time to time, I get overwhelmed with all that I’ve got going on. I need to have things in perspective to function at my best. Writing in my journal helps me to pull things out of my brain and place them where I can review them. It’s like pushing something very close away so that it comes into focus again. When I think about it, it reminds me of Dumbledore emptying his brain of thoughts as he searched and reviewed.

I’m grateful that I know the benefit of keeping a journal. It helps me to keep my thoughts to a quiet, manageable roar. And this helps me to move forward, even after I stall for a bit.

I’m cherishing. Writing my experiences is a review. It lets me reflect, and that often feels like a cherishing experience. Even the bad times have a measure of good that is amplified by reviewing them. I get to look at them closely and can see the positive that came out of them, although they may have made me feel like total crap at the time they occurred.

I’m fueled by seeing all the good that comes from the good things in my life. And I’m propelled forward when I see the benefit of the hard times and the mistakes I’ve made. It’s not to say I won’t make those mistakes again, but that I will make a calculated decision to try it again, likely in a different setting.

I’m appreciative of the opportunities that are present around every corner. When I take advantage of anything, I draw on my life experiences to be the best that I can at it. As can be said of us all, I am the sum total of my life experiences including the people I’ve known. The good and the not so good shape me into the person I am, and inform the choices I make. And I continue…

These are all parts of gratitude that keep me moving forward. When things are good, when things are bad, I have learned there is truth and reason in the practice of counting your blessings, naming them one by one. If you don’t know the power in it, I suggest you try it and see if it doesn’t catapult you up out of your doldrums and into powerful forward motion.

Try gratitude to shake of a tough day, and to appreciate a great one. Write about it in your journal, or blog about it and share!

Heading into the 2nd Quarter of 2010

I’ve been on this blog in quite a while. It occurred to me that I need to put this blog away, retire it and continue with my writing work blog, The Word ‘Mage Blog. While I was away, I worked on other projects and on my other blogs.

Some interesting things have occurred in my life recently. Hurt feelings, choices, soul searching and prayer have brought me along the way to a positive observation. What helps me is keeping my journal. I write for review and for keeping track of my journey.

On the Right Track

I battle with fear and feelings of inadequacy as I know many people do. And, sometimes those thoughts lead to useful self-evaluating, soul-searching review of what is for me in this world. I’ve asked these questions again early this year for two reasons.

1. I have been reviewing what makes me happy and what makes me money. I want to be sure they blend seamlessly. And that leads me to number two.
2. I want to be fairly certain that I’m putting my full forces behind the best possible choices for my future. Time is constantly running down and I feel renewed and inspired continually to be sure I’m making all of it that I can.

I’ve been working on my blogs, web design projects and traveling. I find that I like what I’m doing and want to step it up a bit. Even increasing my workload is not going to do everything. It’s time to get certifications in areas that have them. So, that will be my focus for now. And it gives me another reason to continue this blog.

Blogging Focus

Sometimes I feel like I’m the last person to do everything. Then I remember that there are people newer than I, and for them and me, I want to record my mini journeys along the way. These stories that I read from others help me a lot, and I want to try to pay it forward.

I’ve written about journaling from time to time because I think it’s really helpful for many reasons. And interestingly, it’s longer just about talking about journaling here. This blog has become an online journal for me and I want to let it continue in that line for now.  Since writing is the common thread through all that I do, nothing has to change on the face of things.

Still, to celebrate the decision and focus, I think I will change the face of this blog. I’ve really enjoyed this theme. But really it does feel a little—clinical. I want it to be a warmer setting. So, that will be the big change for this site. And the fact that I will be keeping it a while longer is a great thing for me. I hope you ultimately think so too.

So, I close out the first quarter with a clearer purpose for this blog. And, I have the validation that other avenues I’m pursuing are important and correct for me, as I work to have multiple streams of income.

As you may have noticed, making a fortune is not the main purpose for blogging. It’s just so that any who walk my way through writing and life, may benefit from where I’ve placed my feet, whether to follow or not. What benefit do you find in personal blogging?

Sometimes I just have to write. I gain perspective on the thoughts that sometimes assail me. This is my morning routine but I sometimes let it get away from me. When it seems like there’s no time to relax and everything with a deadline was due yesterday, it’s time to write.

It’s not always grammatically correct or complete sentences, sometimes I write lists, phrases or draw pictures and diagrams. It just has to get out through my hand(s). Sometimes I type in a computer journal, but for maximum effect, for me, I find that writing long-hand grants me deeper connection with things going on in my world and how I’m ultimately relating to them.

Random thoughts fly into my head when I’m tired and sometimes I just try to capture them in a shorthand version of what they tell me. Often there are several things at once, phrases and images floating around my mind, or whirring through. When I am in a real hurry, and deadlines and dreams overwhelm me, that’s when I’m forced to take a deep breath or miss something critical—that’s happened too. I find that free writing helps me regain my clarity and focus.

I forget the history of the term “free writing,” or where I first heard of it. I came to fully understand it in a book, The Right to Write, by Julia Cameron. It may even have come from her book. All I know is that’s where I understood the good that comes from just writing what comes up, just for the sake of catching it. The whole process makes everything clearer.