LUV, LUV, LUV this one! Becoming a Writer was copyrighted in 1934 and proves that universal techniques
withstand the test of time. If I were to list all the best parts of her book here in
this post, I would pretty much have to retype all 186 pages.
Last
night I read through Brande's work in one sitting, after having
copyedited another one hundred pages earlier in the day. I'll be
rereading this favorite over and over.
Dorothea wrote this book to address internal problems authors sometimes have to deal with: lack of self-esteem/self-confidence/self-respect, the one-book-wonder hurdle, the blank page aka writer's block and people who tell you that you shouldn't be a writer.
No wonder I appreciate her writing so; I too feel that self-esteem is a matter to contend with, no matter what your life's career, and have many posts here on my blog that speak to that very topic.
I was grinning, nodding my head throughout my intake of her viewpoint. She confirmed many beliefs I have long held. However, if you are more of a nuts-and-bolts person, needing to see and hold the problem so you can fix it, you may not get as much out of this book as I did.
Per Dorothea, we have all been given levels of genius within, and it is possible to find the writing magic when we need it. Her positivity draws me in, wraps me in its warmth and makes me smile.
[Unlike judgmentalism, criticality, closed-mindedness, each of which repels. Don't hang around people like this!]
Dorothea states each author is really three parts: the unconscious, the conscious and the genius. And we need to learn to work each separately as the gifts are different. Like the creative side should not be mixed with the internal editing side.
She offers homework suggestions that are simple yet sublime. One is morning pages (like Julia Cameron proposed years later). Dorothea has us analyze ours in a later assignment. Yet she proposes this wonderful take on how your morning pages can define whether you are more inclined to be an essayist, a short story creator or a novelist. Amazing.
Take note of her title: Becoming a Writer. Dorothea focuses on the being, not the doing, while shooting down the common stereotypes for writers. So there are no tips about character development or plotting outlines.
However, there is much on training the mind of the author to seek out its genius and magic.
Enjoy!
Denise Barker, author + blogger + copy
editor
Showing posts with label self-confidence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label self-confidence. Show all posts
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Sunday, July 8, 2012
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
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
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/168444
(Good Ole Boys)
http://bit.ly/DownSouthaShortStory
Friday, March 30, 2012
First, Love Yourself
As an author, I'm stirred to create by myriad things: the elevated emotions from a movie, an unknown woman in an open jeep, a one-page color ad photo in a magazine.
Today, it is a quotation.
"The price of hating other human beings is loving oneself less." Eldridge Cleaver, U.S. civil rights leader, writer (Soul on Ice, 1968).
My main purpose with my blog is to share whatever exhorts my fellow authors. I've posted before about self-esteem being our fundamental foundation. The Bible speaks about how we cannot possibly love our neighbor without loving ourselves first. The Good Book goes on to state that the most important commandment is to love. That love defeats evil. That love covers every sin. I could go on. But that should be enough examples.
What I took from the above quote is the confirmation that we must love ourselves, value ourselves, treat ourselves well. This is not about ego, not about selfishness, but about a wholesome acceptance of ourselves as the works of wonder that God made us.
Yesterday I enjoyed watching again one of my favorite movies, The Replacements. It is the story of a pro football team on strike for higher wages and a temporary team is called in for the final four games of the season to try to win a position in the Super Bowl. It's a great flick and full of laugh-out-loud moments. What struck me last night was how optimistic the coach was, finding the silver lining in any black spot. Until . . .
The one time the coach was harsh was with his doubting quarterback. Coach preached a severe sermon to him. In the end, the quarterback finds his self-esteem.
So should we. We are children of God. The Bible says so. We should remind ourselves of that birthright daily.
One final thought. The Bible speaks of anything that is not of faith is sin.
Have faith.
Have faith--in yourself. It leads to success.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
To Ron and Lois
Due to a bout of bronchitis that began at 2:15 a.m. on Christmas Day no less, I missed a meeting the Monday thereafter with my local writers' group. But I missed more than that. I missed seeing the organizers for one last time.
Ron and Lois started this group, local to me, several towns away to them, at least five years ago. We are blessed to be able to meet at our nearby Barnes & Noble in the mall. I was trying to remember when I first started going to the group and think it was February 2007. I was still working for attorneys and yearning to be a full-time author. Other than my sporadic writing over the decades, going to Ron's group was the first step that veered me onto my current path.
Wow.
Think if I hadn't taken that step. Oh, my. That would have been more than unfortunate. And yet I was actively talking myself out of going as I was questioning whether I was a "real" author, plus the ad in the Barnes & Noble newsletter touting the writing group stated the leaders were "experts."
Let me tell you: Authors are the most generous bunch of people you can meet. Sure, there are some lemons, but they are few in number and just disassociate yourselves from them. So I gained confidence--in myself as an author, for one thing. I gained confidence in my writing, as I read to the group and they offered their critiques, round-robin style. It was a growing experience.
Of course, I changed careers--taking my attention to details and my grasp of the English language over into a more creative realm, where I am so much happier and free from restrictive formulaic corporate rules.
I'm an author, and loving it. Setting my own work schedule--which is eighty-hours-a-week, or more if you add in the research I do every time I find some topic that interests me (which is pretty much always), plus the online writing seminars I enroll in and just reading about my craft--whether an internet article/newsletter or a hardcopy book.
This is what I was meant to do. I am in my element. I am so fortunate to be able to spend these hours and more on my new career. It is fun, exciting, constantly driving me onward, upward.
Who would have thought one physical step toward meeting a bunch of strangers monthly would so impact my life? Who would have thought facing the demons in my head telling me that I don't belong there would entail a spiritual leap which enhanced my self-confidence?
Let me share those limiting thoughts with you, so you'll maybe see them in your life for what they are. I thought since I was not "published" then I was not an author. WRONG. Just because others that make up the "published" set--including agents, editors, publishing houses, even readers--did not yet know about me, DID NOT MAKE ME LESS OF AN AUTHOR.
My definition of an author is this: you completed a polished version of your story, whether short, FF, novella, novel or tome. Just one, ready to go to press, via the traditional route or the Indie-published one.
Even if you say you could write a book, or may have started one, it is completing the process that sets you apart from the wannabes. Action. Isn't that true in any other endeavor? For authors, that means to "The End" and through the clean-up process of editing.
Being an "author" has nothing to do with revenue. Now, having said that, I can say being a "successful full-time author" would entail earning enough so that you don't need a day job. Like actors. If they get signed on for a big-budget movie, they no longer need to bus tables. In fact, they are still actors even while working in a restaurant, as they wait to be recognized and paid for who they truly are--actors.
Think of any famous author you like to read. My all-time favorite is Nora Roberts / J.D. Robb. You cannot read a book that has not been written yet. Had Nora not sat down during those snow days and wrote, we would not be discussing her now. It was a year or two later before her first book sold, if my memory serves me here, and probably a few years thereafter before she was making a comfortable living, not involving a day job.
So we need the confidence to write that first book without an agent, an editor, a publishing house, much less readers. We need internal self-assurance that if we enjoy this, if we are gifted for this, we should plow ahead. It is really no different than working a 9-to-5 job. You show up. You work for two weeks, without pay. After two weeks, you get paid for WORK ALREADY DONE.
It is the same with writing. Except for the two-weeks-later-you-get-paid thing. In writing, it's a lot longer than that. But your innate drive should be enough to sustain the wait, however long. That, plus a McJob as needed.
Another thought I had was that they are "experts" and I am not. Everybody starts out in learning mode. Then they get better. No different for authors. The more I wrote, the more I gained the confidence in my writing. The more I wrote, the more my fellow authors gave me feedback and I improved on my writing. Somewhere, someone said you need one million words under your belt to really make your words sing.
True, practice makes perfect. That works for artists--pianists, guitarists, etc.--and for fingerprint examiners. So just being a "newbie" should never stop us.
The third thought I was having back then, any one of which could have stopped this forward momentum, had to do with my current routine, and what I was contemplating was brand new, something different, altering my staid daily happenings. I think people as a general rule resist the new, the different, anything involving change. Yet, isn't one of the six basic human needs just that--variety? FYI, the six needs are (1) certainty/comfort, (2) variety, (3) significance (meaning to our life, a grand purpose), (4) connection/love (a place where we belong, are accepted), (5) self-growth/improvement and (6) contribution (to the world, to others).
Did you notice the yin and yang to the list of six? Certainty vs. variety. Or the butterfly effect of internal confidence (as small as a decision) influencing outer circumstances? Love/acceptance (assuring our inner self of our worth) vs. Significance (having the confidence to step out of our element and help the world on some level). Plus the Self-growth (again, inner work) vs. Contribution (outward evidence).
That subject could be its own blog(s), but the quick review above will suffice for now.
Anyway, thank God, I took that new road offered to me. [Actually I saw a sign in B&N's window about the writers' group meetings to be held there, on my way to see my weekly movie in the mall. Talk about serendipity!] And here, almost five years later, I have four e-books offered on both Amazon and Barnes & Noble, with my fifth, my debut e-novel, exclusive to Amazon. I have two more e-books in the works and slated for uploads while it is still December (hopefully). All accomplished in 2011. Beginning in March of this year.
What can I say? Thank you, Ron and Lois, for being the impetus, the stepping stone that led me here in my life. There have been other mentors along the way thereafter as I traversed this new career called "author." And my son was always in my corner, believed in me long before I took a tentative step, away from what I knew, toward where I needed to be.
All from one writers' group, meeting monthly, attendees varying, moderated by two loving souls who so enjoyed writing that they freely gave of their time to travel an hour away to another town to instill confidence in budding authors.
Ron and Lois, you will be missed here in my neck of the woods, but you will be a blessing to the new folks you will be mentoring. Thanks for being there for me.
Ron and Lois started this group, local to me, several towns away to them, at least five years ago. We are blessed to be able to meet at our nearby Barnes & Noble in the mall. I was trying to remember when I first started going to the group and think it was February 2007. I was still working for attorneys and yearning to be a full-time author. Other than my sporadic writing over the decades, going to Ron's group was the first step that veered me onto my current path.
Wow.
Think if I hadn't taken that step. Oh, my. That would have been more than unfortunate. And yet I was actively talking myself out of going as I was questioning whether I was a "real" author, plus the ad in the Barnes & Noble newsletter touting the writing group stated the leaders were "experts."
Let me tell you: Authors are the most generous bunch of people you can meet. Sure, there are some lemons, but they are few in number and just disassociate yourselves from them. So I gained confidence--in myself as an author, for one thing. I gained confidence in my writing, as I read to the group and they offered their critiques, round-robin style. It was a growing experience.
Of course, I changed careers--taking my attention to details and my grasp of the English language over into a more creative realm, where I am so much happier and free from restrictive formulaic corporate rules.
I'm an author, and loving it. Setting my own work schedule--which is eighty-hours-a-week, or more if you add in the research I do every time I find some topic that interests me (which is pretty much always), plus the online writing seminars I enroll in and just reading about my craft--whether an internet article/newsletter or a hardcopy book.
This is what I was meant to do. I am in my element. I am so fortunate to be able to spend these hours and more on my new career. It is fun, exciting, constantly driving me onward, upward.
Who would have thought one physical step toward meeting a bunch of strangers monthly would so impact my life? Who would have thought facing the demons in my head telling me that I don't belong there would entail a spiritual leap which enhanced my self-confidence?
Let me share those limiting thoughts with you, so you'll maybe see them in your life for what they are. I thought since I was not "published" then I was not an author. WRONG. Just because others that make up the "published" set--including agents, editors, publishing houses, even readers--did not yet know about me, DID NOT MAKE ME LESS OF AN AUTHOR.
My definition of an author is this: you completed a polished version of your story, whether short, FF, novella, novel or tome. Just one, ready to go to press, via the traditional route or the Indie-published one.
Even if you say you could write a book, or may have started one, it is completing the process that sets you apart from the wannabes. Action. Isn't that true in any other endeavor? For authors, that means to "The End" and through the clean-up process of editing.
Being an "author" has nothing to do with revenue. Now, having said that, I can say being a "successful full-time author" would entail earning enough so that you don't need a day job. Like actors. If they get signed on for a big-budget movie, they no longer need to bus tables. In fact, they are still actors even while working in a restaurant, as they wait to be recognized and paid for who they truly are--actors.
Think of any famous author you like to read. My all-time favorite is Nora Roberts / J.D. Robb. You cannot read a book that has not been written yet. Had Nora not sat down during those snow days and wrote, we would not be discussing her now. It was a year or two later before her first book sold, if my memory serves me here, and probably a few years thereafter before she was making a comfortable living, not involving a day job.
So we need the confidence to write that first book without an agent, an editor, a publishing house, much less readers. We need internal self-assurance that if we enjoy this, if we are gifted for this, we should plow ahead. It is really no different than working a 9-to-5 job. You show up. You work for two weeks, without pay. After two weeks, you get paid for WORK ALREADY DONE.
It is the same with writing. Except for the two-weeks-later-you-get-paid thing. In writing, it's a lot longer than that. But your innate drive should be enough to sustain the wait, however long. That, plus a McJob as needed.
Another thought I had was that they are "experts" and I am not. Everybody starts out in learning mode. Then they get better. No different for authors. The more I wrote, the more I gained the confidence in my writing. The more I wrote, the more my fellow authors gave me feedback and I improved on my writing. Somewhere, someone said you need one million words under your belt to really make your words sing.
True, practice makes perfect. That works for artists--pianists, guitarists, etc.--and for fingerprint examiners. So just being a "newbie" should never stop us.
The third thought I was having back then, any one of which could have stopped this forward momentum, had to do with my current routine, and what I was contemplating was brand new, something different, altering my staid daily happenings. I think people as a general rule resist the new, the different, anything involving change. Yet, isn't one of the six basic human needs just that--variety? FYI, the six needs are (1) certainty/comfort, (2) variety, (3) significance (meaning to our life, a grand purpose), (4) connection/love (a place where we belong, are accepted), (5) self-growth/improvement and (6) contribution (to the world, to others).
Did you notice the yin and yang to the list of six? Certainty vs. variety. Or the butterfly effect of internal confidence (as small as a decision) influencing outer circumstances? Love/acceptance (assuring our inner self of our worth) vs. Significance (having the confidence to step out of our element and help the world on some level). Plus the Self-growth (again, inner work) vs. Contribution (outward evidence).
That subject could be its own blog(s), but the quick review above will suffice for now.
Anyway, thank God, I took that new road offered to me. [Actually I saw a sign in B&N's window about the writers' group meetings to be held there, on my way to see my weekly movie in the mall. Talk about serendipity!] And here, almost five years later, I have four e-books offered on both Amazon and Barnes & Noble, with my fifth, my debut e-novel, exclusive to Amazon. I have two more e-books in the works and slated for uploads while it is still December (hopefully). All accomplished in 2011. Beginning in March of this year.
What can I say? Thank you, Ron and Lois, for being the impetus, the stepping stone that led me here in my life. There have been other mentors along the way thereafter as I traversed this new career called "author." And my son was always in my corner, believed in me long before I took a tentative step, away from what I knew, toward where I needed to be.
All from one writers' group, meeting monthly, attendees varying, moderated by two loving souls who so enjoyed writing that they freely gave of their time to travel an hour away to another town to instill confidence in budding authors.
Ron and Lois, you will be missed here in my neck of the woods, but you will be a blessing to the new folks you will be mentoring. Thanks for being there for me.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
At the Heart of It All
I'm an author of both fiction and nonfiction, but I started out as a lover of books, a voracious reader from a very young age. I still consume hundreds a year. And whether I'm reading about self-improvement or studying the Bible or cruising through Bios of my favorite celebrities or pleasure reading detective stories or romances where I fall in love with or want to be one of the main characters, I see a single continuous red thread that traverses through all my assorted readings.
There is an underlying psychological component to success.
Self-confidence. An awareness of self.
Not to be confused with ego or an out-of-control Id, but a grounding sense of self, of where we come from--whether you are looking at your family tree or the Word of God. There is something about confidence that stirs us to greatness. Plus it does not seem to matter which area of our life spurs on this self-satisfied waterfall of good emotions.
Life can be broken down into various categories and here is just one sample: Family/Friends, Career, Hobbies, Health/Fitness, Money/Finances, Personal Improvement, Community/Contribution. Since success begets more success, pick one slice of life in which you excel and focus on your accomplishments in that area. It fuels more motivation to act in a way that you continue to excel in that and/or other areas.
For example, think of falling in love. What euphoric sensations THAT does to our body and our feelings and emotions. It amps up the senses. And it draws people and things to us as well as our attention on things unseen before. Just think of how many more people seem to be interested in you when you already have someone special in your life. Don't you attract more people in that highly charged state? Think of applying that force to your career--the one you were meant to enjoy, where you are rewarded for your natural gifts. Or any of the other facets of your life.
The Bible speaks of thinking only on good thoughts and I reiterate that promise here. Of course, the Good Book does not always tell us why we should or should not do certain things. I personally contend that such negative thoughts or memories lead us to be consumed by unpleasant emotions and that all such actions lead to disease, an unhealthy physical state. Cell memory is alive and well and can influence the whole body.
This study could be and has been for me a lifelong research project. So necessarily this short blog spot can only hint at all this subject entails. Suffice it to say, knowledge is awareness. Notice the negative self-talk and stop, halt the derogatory words, replace them with a positive reinforcing thought of a past success, even if you have to go back to age five or revert to a generic prayer of thanksgiving and gratefulness to our Creator.
I am not preaching or intending to preach here, yet I will give scripture to support my hypotheses as needed. However, my current point is not a debate over spiritual values or religions, but to encourage us, me included, to promote a healthy love of self. It helps us to be better individuals which contributes indirectly and directly to our neighbors and beyond.
Final take-away thought: The Bible speaks of God as being "I AM." Watch what you say about yourself when you start any sentence with "I am" for those two words, coupled with any that follow, contain the power to create.
What do you want to create in your life?
So here's my toast to Self: May you ever grow in universal knowledge and wisdom and awareness with a specific focus on those gifts that inhabit each and every one of you and were given to you to be shared with the whole world. May you enjoy your many successes!
There is an underlying psychological component to success.
Self-confidence. An awareness of self.
Not to be confused with ego or an out-of-control Id, but a grounding sense of self, of where we come from--whether you are looking at your family tree or the Word of God. There is something about confidence that stirs us to greatness. Plus it does not seem to matter which area of our life spurs on this self-satisfied waterfall of good emotions.
Life can be broken down into various categories and here is just one sample: Family/Friends, Career, Hobbies, Health/Fitness, Money/Finances, Personal Improvement, Community/Contribution. Since success begets more success, pick one slice of life in which you excel and focus on your accomplishments in that area. It fuels more motivation to act in a way that you continue to excel in that and/or other areas.
For example, think of falling in love. What euphoric sensations THAT does to our body and our feelings and emotions. It amps up the senses. And it draws people and things to us as well as our attention on things unseen before. Just think of how many more people seem to be interested in you when you already have someone special in your life. Don't you attract more people in that highly charged state? Think of applying that force to your career--the one you were meant to enjoy, where you are rewarded for your natural gifts. Or any of the other facets of your life.
The Bible speaks of thinking only on good thoughts and I reiterate that promise here. Of course, the Good Book does not always tell us why we should or should not do certain things. I personally contend that such negative thoughts or memories lead us to be consumed by unpleasant emotions and that all such actions lead to disease, an unhealthy physical state. Cell memory is alive and well and can influence the whole body.
This study could be and has been for me a lifelong research project. So necessarily this short blog spot can only hint at all this subject entails. Suffice it to say, knowledge is awareness. Notice the negative self-talk and stop, halt the derogatory words, replace them with a positive reinforcing thought of a past success, even if you have to go back to age five or revert to a generic prayer of thanksgiving and gratefulness to our Creator.
I am not preaching or intending to preach here, yet I will give scripture to support my hypotheses as needed. However, my current point is not a debate over spiritual values or religions, but to encourage us, me included, to promote a healthy love of self. It helps us to be better individuals which contributes indirectly and directly to our neighbors and beyond.
Final take-away thought: The Bible speaks of God as being "I AM." Watch what you say about yourself when you start any sentence with "I am" for those two words, coupled with any that follow, contain the power to create.
What do you want to create in your life?
So here's my toast to Self: May you ever grow in universal knowledge and wisdom and awareness with a specific focus on those gifts that inhabit each and every one of you and were given to you to be shared with the whole world. May you enjoy your many successes!
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