I subscribe to a number of blogs, but my favorite delivers a list of five things that the author is grateful for on a daily basis (click here to check it out). I just love it. Short, sweet, and all things positive. It never fails to bring a smile to my face.

This blog also directed me to the website, Grace In Small Things, that has been “waging a battle against embitterment since 2008.” Brilliant! An actual bandwagon that I found myself jumping onto without hesitation. Who knew?

It may not be all that obvious by the content of my posts, but I do have a tendency to play the role of skeptic. Often times, when I’m writing my blogs full of positive reinforcement and encouragement, it’s because I need to hear the words myself. I’m one of the “Rant, rant – mutter, mutter – grumble, grumble” variety, who eventually kicks themselves in the ass while screaming, “Wait just a minute. Things aren’t that bad. Smarten up!” Therefore, this process of finding grace in small things is right up my alley. Wonderful, inspiring reminders. Grumblers beware.

And what am I grateful for today?

• Breathtaking 66 F/19 C degree weather
• A happy little dog
• A night full of mind boggling dreams
• A day full of soul tingling creativity
• Websites that remind me how important it is to make lists like this one as often as I possibly can

As some of you are aware, I recently tweaked the look of my blog page, and, while doing so, I got digging around in the “Stats” section of my WordPress tool bar. In there is a summary of blog dates, hits, and comments left by others. I found the following response left by my friend, Larry Wayne Clark, after I made my first entry in 2011:

“Few people have the courage and rebelliousness to abandon an excellent, secure job to chase butterflies through the ether…which is how I perceive writing. If you aren’t bound to it like a monk to his calling, it’s probably not going to happen for you. Congratulations on your choice.”

LOVE that!

Now, I have yet to fully abandon a “secure job,” but Larry’s response refers to my leaving a previous six figure/60-hour workweek position to better pursue my monkish calling. Larry got it, which is why he added, “Congratulations on your choice.” He understood.

Larry lost his battle with cancer recently, and the man chased his own butterflies through the ether right up to the very end. He did it well and without regret. I intend to do the same.

Oops, gotta run and grab the net. I believe I see one – a big, bright yellow one just over . . .

 

 

Well, a fresh new look, and a fresh new approach. Hard to believe I’ve been writing a blog now for a year and a half. Amazing. Over that period of time, a lot of cool things have happened in my life, including the following:

• A move to a great apartment
• A dog (who wishes I’d spend more time in my great apartment)
• First novel completed and published
• A great guy (who wishes the great apartment was geographically closer)
• Numerous television interviews, including one on KASA FOX 2s “New Mexico Style”
• Bestseller status achieved on Amazon.ca in two categories: Canadian Women Writers and Women’s Fiction

To say that my head’s reeling would be an understatement, but only when I actually take the time to think about it. It’s easy to lose sight of it all when you’re doing the actual work (I prefer to call it full-time, all-encompassing play).

So, where to now? I’m going to branch out to feature some guest bloggers and do a few interviews with some of the people who inspire me to keep trekking down this intriguing path. I’ll also be re-blogging some inspiring posts by fellow creatives.

Of course, I’ll continue to keep busy working on my second novel. It’s such a joy to spend time doing what I really love to do, and even more of a joy to share that process with others.

Let’s keep fanning the flames of inspiration!

 

Three days from now marks the sixth anniversary of my friend Jenesse’s passing. She’s the girl who made me promise to write a book one day; the one responsible for starting me on this amazing journey.

For those of you who have lost a loved one, you know that the anniversary of their death exacerbates our underlying sorrow. We tend to live it all again – the loss – and either swallow hard or shed the buckets of tears that have been storing up since the last pang hit us. We also tend to play over in our minds all of the moments that defined our relationship and everything that made that person special.

I lost another friend to cancer recently – damned f%#@ing disease – who also lived his passion and left a legacy of inspiration. Larry Wayne Clark, songwriter extraordinaire.

A strong man with a gentle spirit, Larry continued to follow his dream even in the face of a grim prognosis. He maintained his numerous friendships across the miles and continued to create some of the finest goosebump inducing songs I’ve ever heard. He is missed.

Amidst the sorrow, however, I am making an effort to remind myself to show gratitude. Gratitude for having known these two fine individuals and gratitude for the ability to continue my dream and live my passion without the imminent threat of it all coming to an end. If Jenesse and Larry could continue following their passions in the face of illness, there’s no excuse for me not following mine in perfect health.

I know it’s cliché to say, “Live each day as though it may be your last,” but . . . Really? We can. I’ve seen it done.

Embrace the ones you love, encourage their wildest dreams, and ask, in return, that they encourage yours. To quote one of my favorite songs of Larry’s, “I want to live like that.”

Travel, in any form, brings me great joy. One of my previous jobs required me to fly almost weekly, and my favorite part of that? Airports. Yes, I’m one of those few people who actually enjoy these hubs of activity. I even enjoy delays if they’re not of the 10 hour variety. I simply park myself with my laptop and watch the movement.

I recently traveled to Albuquerque, NM where I appeared on KASA FOX 2’s “New Mexico Style” to promote my book, “Control Switch.” On the way, I had a connecting flight in Chicago. Five of my all time favorite words: “A connecting flight in Chicago.” For a girl who loves airports, O’Hare serves up a smorgasbord of sensory stimulation.

There’s movement everywhere. Other than the folks who are employed behind counters or between tables, everyone’s making their way toward a destination, and I love that.

Movement is fluid; it’s life. It stimulates the imagination and creates endless possibilities. While sitting in my corner of the airport last week, I imagined what it might feel like if the movement suddenly stopped. How empty the place would feel without that electrifying pulse of motion. Some would prefer the quiet and an end to maneuvering through a seemingly oblivious crowd, but not this girl. Every day in that airport, that crowd is on a journey and each person in it has a unique story to tell.

It’s basically a microcosm of the big picture, don’t you think? They all are: O’Hare, DFW, Pearson, Charles De Gaulle. A snapshot of what’s going on in the grand scheme of things. All of us on our way to some scheduled destination and picking up stories along the way.

At this stage in my own journey, I’m starting to see the importance of savoring delays in the macrocosm as well. I’m trying to actually revel in them and absorb the flow of life around me. Maybe stepping back from the energy of movement gives us a much needed reminder that it exists. Maybe the shore provides the best view of a river with a constant flow – a river that has a bend in the distance leading to potential opportunity.

“Someday, when I have (fill in the blank), I will (fill in another).”

Here’s the thing about perfect circumstances: they rarely occur. Not without a lot of effort anyway. To wait for them to present themselves is a complete waste of time. I hear a lot, however, about that fill in the blank version of living a passionate life.

“Someday, when the kids are out of the house, I’ll start painting again.”

“Someday, when my mortgage is paid off, I’ll take that trip to Paris.”

How about, “Someday, when I retire, I’ll wish I hadn’t waited so damned long to do what my heart desires.”

One of the biggest misconceptions about following a dream is that the planets have to line up before it’s a good time to begin. Nonsense. The only good time is now. What it comes down to – planets aside – is priorities and effort.

There are plenty of days when I don’t exactly feel like writing. There are plenty of days when anyone who’s accomplished anything has to push themselves to get out from under a ticking clock and into a groove.

Circumstances are created; they are not something to be anticipated. Waiting brings nothing but frustration and regret. Make the extra effort now. Be the catalyst of your own creativity.

My dog is learning how to climb the stairs in our building, and yes . . . it’s adorable. He’d mastered stairs long before coming to live here but not the kind that have spaces between them. Ours allow you to see straight through to the bottom floor, and from his perspective, that’s pretty scary stuff. Each day, however, he becomes just a little braver and a little faster at reaching the top. The echoing chorus of “Good boy” that bounces through the stairwell after each flight is no doubt helping, as are the hugs he receives when there’s no further to climb.

I smiled a little broader at Toby’s accomplishment this morning, because we almost reached a sprinting pace climbing those big scary stairs, and because he reminded me of the challenges we humans face that can start with just one hesitant step.

New adventures – whether chosen or thrust upon us – come with a certain degree of apprehension. For some, that apprehension is minor. For others, it’s overwhelming. At times we’re able to keep our heads high and think only of our destination. More frequently, it seems, we maintain a clear vision of where we started from and are fearful of landing right smack back down there with nothing but wounds to show for our efforts.

Like little Toby, the trick is to keep repeating the required action until it becomes effortless. Don’t give up at the outset; don’t stop half way. If you can’t help but look downward, do so while your feet keep moving up. And for God sake, find someone who will cheer you on during your ascension and hug you at the top. Support is the greatest motivator, and your greatest gift. Receive it, give it, and wag your tail. Everything becomes less scary if you don’t give up.

Click here to order Control Switch

Is writing scary? Everything has potential to be scary, but it doesn’t have to be. For those of you who do feel fear, I’m betting it manifests itself something like . . .

‘What if they hate it?’

‘What if my work actually sucks?’

‘What if I can’t stop staring at this blank screen and spend the rest of my life resenting everyone who’s ever gotten published?’

Writing itself isn’t as scary as NOT writing. Not writing sends you into a dark dungeon full of tormented, frustrated artists and leaves you feeling like your throat is closing off. Do I exaggerate?

I think we’ve all been there at some point, but my best advice is simply to write – something. Maybe not a chapter in your novel, but something.

Journaling helps me. It’s one of the best conduits for creative energy. The act of putting pen to paper takes me out of the mechanical act of it all and puts me in a more cerebral state. I connect better to a physical page, and even if I’m writing about the frustration of not writing, I’m writing. Make sense?

To quote Charles Bukowski, “Writing about a writer’s block is better than not writing at all.”

Journaling can unravel that string of chatter in your mind by spitting it onto the page and leaving your mind with more freedom to create outside of the confines of frustration.

Try it. You can get yourself unstuck and stop berating yourself. You can simply write.

Click here to order Control Switch

I was reminded of the value of perspective recently. A few weeks ago I went snowshoeing with a friend, and during our little adventure I snapped the above photograph. The vision left me pondering as the branches only formed the shape of a heart from one particular angle. If I moved even one inch in either direction, it completely disappeared. I’d actually snowshoed passed this spot three previous times before seeing the familiar shape in the branches.

Photo credit: Helene Anne Fortin

I think of this heart in the same way I think of character development. While preparing to write my second novel, I’m forming a visual of the key players knowing that each one will need to be as elusive as the vision in the snow. Average people that you’d likely walk past several times without noticing. People for whom, if we shifted our perspective, could display a vision of beauty and complexity. Real people. People with heart.

Of course, we could stand to take the same approach to real life characters as well. We all have hidden visions of beauty in our branches. Shifting our focus can prove to enlighten and inspire.

Click here to order Control Switch

It may be a while before I start the actual writing of my second book, but it’s coming – I can promise you that. The entire story exists from start to finish in my head, and prep work is under way.

I can’t just sit down and start a novel. Instead I meander down a twisty road of catharsis before landing at the doorstep of chapter one, and I do that by performing a few practical exercises (and one or two quirky ones as well):

Step one: Purge! I just donated four large garbage bags of clothes to Goodwill. Why my closet still looks stuffed to capacity is anyone’s guess, but the task is complete, and I’ll now move on to digging through drawers. The act of discarding clears a path to creativity.

Step two: Scrapbooking. I make scrapbook pages of images that I see in my mind’s eye. That means tearing out magazine pics of streets, houses, trees, cars, and anything else that may define my character’s environment. It gives me clarity.

Step three: I create a spreadsheet of characteristics for each person in the story. Where they grew up, what their belief systems are, where they went to school (if they went to school), even their favorite colors. Regardless of whether or not the material makes it into the book, it creates solid histories for my key players. I can keep them consistent if I know their backgrounds.

Step four: The cast. You’re damned right I do. I choose the actors who’d I’d like to see play my characters, and I stick their pictures in the back of my scrapbook for easy reference. A girl can dream. This exercise is just plain fun. And, by the way, Anne Hathaway has been my choice all along to play Candace Bradford in “CONTROL SWITCH – The Movie.”

Step five: Build a soundtrack. I compile a playlist on my iPad that relates to the story, and I listen to it when I’m not writing. When I’m writing I need silence. When I’m not, the music keeps me in touch with the process and the characters.

I’ve garnered my list of preparation tips from various writers, mentors, and magazine articles along the way, but every writer has their own unique style when getting ready to dive into a new manuscript. It may seem time consuming to do so much work ahead of time, but you can’t jump into the deep end if you don’t know how to swim. Be open to suggestions and find what works best for you.

Oh, and the most important thing I do before beginning? I come up with the title.

Stay tuned for updates on “Seasoned With Pepper.”