Two Random Thoughts Which Motivated Me (and Hopefully Will Motivate You Too)

Here they are:

• Fear and Anger: Both are normally touted as "bad" emotions. But I propose that each have a good side as well. I know, for me, anger motivates me to plunge ahead with a goal, regardless of any perceived fears. Granted, if it pushed me to resort to violence, that would be bad anger at work. Just make sure of your motivation, your goal. And some fears need to be faced to find the silver lining inside. Same with procrastination. What are the top three things you are putting off? Those are the very things that should be the top three items on your To Do list. Once you accomplish them, you'll feel so rewarded, so free, so productive, so happy. Try it. I dare you to spend fifteen minutes on your biggest procrastination, whether decluttering, exercising again, taking a hard look at your finances, whatever. So, like carbs of late, look for the good fears. Look for the good anger. Both should urge you on to success, to finding your purpose in life, to living a fuller life, to experiencing true joy daily.
• Baby Steps; You Can Do Anything for Fifteen Minutes: These are both sayings oft repeated by FlyLady.net and others. While easily applied to reinstate daily exercise routines, I applied it to my big nonfiction project of assembling a cookbook from the paper copies of recipes in my home. I've got three banker's boxes full, unless I've forgotten/misplaced other such boxes (which is totally possible), with an estimated 2,500 individual recipes in each box x 3 boxes = 7,500 recipes. Not counting those I've saved on individual recipe sites online, like Pioneer Woman and Delish and Yummly and others. Not counting those in my email folder labeled Recipes. Yes, this is a growing addiction of mine, collecting recipes. But last night's insomnia from 1:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. yielded me twenty pages of the start of my favorite recipes book, ones I use often, limited to 100 max. Baby steps in motion here. Now I'm making some traction on this beloved work-in-progress project. Wish me luck.

Welcome to My World, Where Every Day Is a Saturday

Denise Barker, Author, Blogger, Copy Editor
Books that Build Character(s)

amazon.com/author/denisebarker

https://deniseannbarker.com

Take Time for Your Life by Cheryl Richardson

The full title of this book is Take Time for Your Life: A Personal Coach's Seven-Step Program for Creating the Life You Want. It's a good one for your self-improvement shelf of your home library.

Cheryl's book was published in 1998, and I've read it twice so far—September 2002 and September 2010. Don't know why it was September both times, but I'm gonna break that streak and reread it this month. Watching an old VHS tape of a short interview of Cheryl reminded me of this great book.

There are two things that stuck with me, from the two readings, from the interview and from a longer PBS program on Cheryl that I remember watching long ago.

First, in line with the Law of Vacuum, Cheryl states, if you want new clients/more business, go empty a drawer in your office. This law also works when you donate clothing and electronics to Goodwill, too, by blessing you in various areas of your life.

Second, deal with procrastination. Like FLYLady.net reminds us, clutter can be in the mind as well. The Bible tells us to get rid of anger before going to bed at night. It also tells us to share our sins with others (such as a minister or doctor or simply in a letter that you burn afterward). We aren't meant to hold stuff in. Like that great line in the movie French Kiss, it festers inside us. I believe it causes all manner of diseases.

But, back on track here, Cheryl tells us to make a list of all the stuff that needs to be done, that's been nagging at us, over and over. Then we mark it Delegate (good for lawn care that your teenagers can tend to), Do It (for dentist appointments where only you can handle it) or Hire Someone (maybe to prepare income taxes). Then comes the kicker. She wants us to complete that list over the next thirty days. Gasp! I think I remember her saying to pick the top ten worrywarts from our list.

So I'm taking baby steps here and made a list of my top three. Got the bush transplanted in my front yard. (Hope it lives.) Gathered the nonworking electronics stuff on one side of the garage, awaiting a drop-off at Best Buy to scavenge for parts (unless those practices have changed—need to check online). Haven't gotten this errand accomplished as it entails my son's truck and, since I need his help loading, his time too. Haven't found the right opening in his schedule yet.

Plus it's been raining here, so not a good time to cart stuff in the open bed of a pickup. But I'm getting there. Just knowing it could be done in weeks (instead of years) is freeing.

My third project is a final edit on the third tale and then uploading my first short story collection to my three main venues. Hope to get to this any time that I am in between copyediting projects.

All this positive, productive activity is lending itself to other acts of organization. It's wonderful when that happens.

So start small and repeat daily and watch for miracles.

Denise Barker, author + blogger + copy editor

http://bit.ly/DeniseBarkerBlog

http://bit.ly/AMAZONDeniseBarkerEbooks

http://bit.ly/BNDeniseBarkerEBooks

http://bit.ly/SMASHWORDSDeniseBarkerEBooks

http://bit.ly/KOBODeniseBarkerEBooks

NaNoWriMo Tips: Mind-set

Here are a couple more tips. First, more for us women:

I believe it was Barbara Cartland who had a daily beauty regimen scheduled as a break in her writing, which obviously didn't slow her down one bit as she penned 723 books. I remember her having a facial one day, a mani-pedi the next, a mask another, a hair treatment to follow, all-over moisturizing, and so on. Pick your favorite.

Water does a body good, so drink up, too. Indulge in your own at-home spa treatments now or each day of November or both. I have a small clear plastic container filled with manicure items on my desk. It reminds me to make time to pamper myself even just five minutes daily.

Second, for any NaNo author:

Is there something bugging you that you have been procrastinating about? Like me, do you have a truckload of nonworking electronics that needs to be carted off to Best Buy and/or the city dump? Before writing this post, I wiped down seven sides to six doors just here in my office, kitchen, entryway and laundry room area. It took all of fifteen minutes and I'm still smiling at their shining surfaces.

You don't want worry or guilt interrupting your creative process, so if your mind seems to be nagging you about something, just go do it.

Denise Barker, author + blogger + copy editor

http://bit.ly/DeniseBarkerBlog

http://bit.ly/AMAZONDeniseBarkerEbooks

http://bit.ly/BNDeniseBarkerEBooks

http://bit.ly/SMASHWORDSDeniseBarkerEBooks

http://bit.ly/KOBODeniseBarkerEBooks

Accountability

My newest CP group is strictly romance--my main genre among the labels most often used to identify books and group them within a physical bookstore.

But this practice integrated in that CP group works no matter what kind of book you write, even nonfiction.

It is called accountability.

Basically, we share our writing To Do list with each other via e-mail daily. In theory, we end our day showing what is done and not done. While I may not consistently share my results recap with them, I know in my heart and my mind where I fell short, where I excelled. That is what is important.

I propose that this would work if you just send e-mails to yourself. Try it and see.

This simple tool astounds me. If you choose wisely--items that most deeply affect your biggest goals--you will be amazed at how much more you get done.

Shortly after implementing this eye-opener, I saw where I was asking too much from each day. Life gets in the way, my projects inevitably take longer, perfectionism kicks in, maybe a little procrastination too.

Plus you need to listen to your body. After the Aurora event, my mind was too polluted and distracted to be effectively applied to my future goals. It shut down. And I personally knew none of the victims yet was moved in a profound way.

In the Bible, God allowed his people to mourn the passing of Moses for thirty days (Deut. 34:8). Give yourself time.

My daily routine seeks to encourage mind, soul and body health which can only help me in reaching my goals. Like eating well, sleeping fully, being inspired.

So, if you just put two key items on your daily action list, think what you could accomplish in a week, a month, a year.

I maintain even fifteen minutes well spent will yield maximum results when repeatedly acted upon.

Can you spare a quarter of an hour for each square on a calendar to make your life better, more aligned with your dreams?

What if you carved out three-quarters of one single sixty-minute period in your daily allotment of time?

One for health (fifteen minutes of weight lifting or a walk or yoga).

One for organizing your residence (start with your home office and declutter--think about how you can transform your own place into that of a five-star hotel, with no guilt-inducing reminders of things to be done and a streamlined proficiency of function).

One for baby steps toward your highest, biggest, maybe scariest goal. I find whatever fear (doubt, worry, anxiety) is trying to hinder me will actually dissipate once I step closer, take action, no matter how small.

The consistent and persistent practice of doing something EACH DAY is magical--like compound interest.

This is what The Daffodil Principle teaches (my previous post), what FLYlady teaches (FLYlady.net), what Margie Lawson teaches (MargieLawson.com) and what John Assaraf spoke of in a short video on procrastination (see his link in my post of http://livingthedreampublishing.blogspot.com/2012/07/great-two-and-half-minute-video-re.html).

Experiment with accountability in your life and watch for the results.

Denise Barker, author + blogger +

Freelance Copy Editor, http://bit.ly/freelanceCE

Good Ole Boys, a love story at http://amzn.to/GoodOleBoys

http://bit.ly/BNGoodOleBoys

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/168444 (Good Ole Boys)

http://amzn.to/CopyeditingChecklist

http://amzn.to/WordsRuleTheWorldQuotes

http://amzn.to/BeforeYouIndiePublish

http://amzn.to/QuitYourCurrentDayJob
http://amzn.to/HowToIndiePublish

http://bit.ly/DownSouthaShortStory

DOWN SOUTH, a short story of romance and suspense

My short story, Down South, its tagline "Home is a feeling, not a place," is alive and well on Amazon, B&N and Smashwords--soon to be at Kobo. At about fifty pages long, my little $0.99 tale will amuse you for sixty minutes or so--whereas most movies nowadays are only ninety minutes long and the early-bird moviegoer's fare is $5.00--five times more than the cost of my e-book and lasts almost as long.  Plus you can read in the comfort of your home at your timing. And reread, if you so desire.

Don't get me wrong. I love watching movies in theaters. And one day, hopefully soon, I'll reward myself for all my hard work paying off by resuming that weekly treat. Just not yet.

This week I'm celebrating a great big thumbs-up to overcoming procrastination.  This short story, under various working titles, was birthed on paper eleven or so years ago.

ELEVEN years it nagged me to spend some time with it, finesse it, groom it.

Which I did, some hours being more fruitful than others.  Still, on the Fourth of July, this year, magic hit.  In the same eight hours some people would spend in a cubicle, I smoothed my short story--at home--into its presentable online version. On a national holiday even.

Yes, timing counts.  But I think my prior efforts were still much-needed stepping stones to lead me to that perfect timing on the Fourth.

Lately various events have motivated me.  Nora Ephron's death. The John Assaraf Procrastination video (see post below). The stark realization that I left my short story in limbo for over a decade.

So, now I have two other "finished" novels--one category, one mainstream.  The first 23 chapters and 285 pages.  The second 35 chapters and 392 pages.

But averaging basically short chapters of around ten pages each.

After today (it is sort of a day off), I plan to spend an hour or two Final Editing one chapter a day.  With no glitches, both books would be finished in fifty-eight days.  But then there are covers to consider and create.  Formatting, uploading. And life. And glitches.  So I'll be happy to have these two projects live online in three months. Or four.

Granted, with my short story, I needed the Internet and Amazon/B&N/Smashwords etc. and Indie publishing to all meet. And there is nothing wrong with having a backlist of already written fiction.  But I did need to tweak my ratio of "finished" to "published."

I'm happy to report I am handling that better now.

As always, take what resonates, toss the rest and keep on writing!

Denise Barker, author + blogger +

Freelance Copy Editor, http://bit.ly/freelanceCE

Good Ole Boys, a love story at http://amzn.to/GoodOleBoys

http://bit.ly/BNGoodOleBoys

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/168444 (Good Ole Boys)

http://amzn.to/CopyeditingChecklist

http://amzn.to/WordsRuleTheWorldQuotes

http://amzn.to/BeforeYouIndiePublish

http://amzn.to/QuitYourCurrentDayJob
http://amzn.to/HowToIndiePublish

http://bit.ly/DownSouthaShortStory

Great Two-and-a-half-Minute Video re Reaching Highest Goals

This video is courtesy of John Assaraf where he speaks on procrastinating less, giving our self-confidence a boost and instilling this daily habit:

Choose the high-income, high-impact, high-value activities toward our number one goal for today.  Select three. Commit to having them done by noon each day.

It hit home for me.  Enjoy!

Here is the link:

http://www.praxisnow.com/blog/why-do-we-procrastinate#utm_source=prospect-newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=money2

Denise Barker, author + blogger +

Freelance Copy Editor, http://bit.ly/freelanceCE

Good Ole Boys, a love story at http://amzn.to/GoodOleBoys

http://bit.ly/BNGoodOleBoys

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/168444 (Good Ole Boys)

http://amzn.to/CopyeditingChecklist

http://amzn.to/WordsRuleTheWorldQuotes

http://amzn.to/BeforeYouIndiePublish

http://amzn.to/QuitYourCurrentDayJob
http://amzn.to/HowToIndiePublish

http://bit.ly/DownSouthaShortStory

Where My Book Ideas Come From

After David Farland's guest post yesterday which opened up vast new ways to enhance our e-books, I've been thinking of how I get my book ideas and wanted to share them here.  Following Dave's lead, this post may be an added feature at the back of my e-novels to come.

In an earlier blog, I noted that I start with characters for my fiction.  For my nonfiction, I start with what I know, what I love.  I'm a freelance (corporate) copy editor, thus my e-book on copyediting.  I saw that as a much needed resource for this flux of Indie authors.  That segued into my second e-book on the more practical aspects of being your own publishing company, a business entity.  As a legal assistant for decades, I pulled some details learned in that career and joined it with the common sense applications I had developed over the years.  My third e-book was on how to quit your current day job.  My life experience gained from changing careers, first a legal assistant, next an author, led to sharing my way of accomplishing this diversion from a focus on money earned to one of fulfillment gained.

So, I guess my first three were How-To e-books on what I had learned throughout my professions.

The next two e-books were based on love.  What I love.  What I do with my free time.  What I do daily.  What I collect without being paid to do so.  Which is:  favorite quotes, Bible verses and recipes.  So it seemed very natural to organize my massive (and extremely messy, unorganized) collection of quotes into an e-book.  Mine is a specific collection designed to help the person and the business seeking self-improvement.  They are geared to setting goals, working resolutions into habits, developing a lifestyle founded on principles.

For the last several years, I have been the Bible Verse Editor for a small Texas newspaper, gathering fifty-two verses annually for many years for their subsequent weekly publication.  I went through those seven (or so) years' worth of verses and culled out the repeats and, voila, I had my Bible verses section of my proposed e-book done.  Oh yeah, after I changed them from Revised Standard Version (1952) to American Standard Version (1901) of the Bible to avoid copyright issues.  That took some time with approximately 364 quotes I was working with.

Another hard part was finding all the great quotes I had saved for most of my life--as some were on scraps of paper only God knew where; I bet a lot were lost when my older computers crashed.  I've learned now to make a Word document as I find them, and back it up regularly.

All those books began as a whisper of an idea with a minute lifespan passing through my thoughts.  I captured them, began to make them physical and, what is so cool, have four of the five accomplished and uploaded.  All within 2011.  Aa-mazing.  [weird spelling done to add a more verbal emphasis]

I am still working on my cookbook.  It was supposed to be available with the quotes collection but . . . life got in the way.  Like my Final Edit of my debut e-novel, "Good Ole Boys," still in progress, but nearing its November 18, 2011 deadline.  Like exchanging emails with my artist I had to have for my fiction covers since there is no way I can do that.  Like playing around with the cover for my quotes book.  Like the time it takes to upload and preview a book.  Like NaNoWriMo.  Like copyediting projects.  Like updating my email signature to include my newest e-book.  Like posting to the Kindle Boards my newest e-book.  Like awaiting Moderator approval to then update the Kindle Boards Master List to show my newest e-book.  Like revising the Book Profile for all four of my e-books.

And that doesn't begin to include non-writing activities, i.e., washing clothes, cooking/eating, doing some housecleaning, some yardwork, buying groceries, etc., etc., etc.

But I'm proud of my accomplishments--as we should all be.  So get started on one of yours.  You'll never know true happiness until you do two things:  (1)  begin your dream, just one tiny step, and (2) tackle a job you have been procrastinating on, just one tiny step.

Best wishes!