Writing Practice

Wellness Always a Concern

2007-02-02T20:12:00.000-08:00

I'm really ticked that I don't seem to get my blood pressure under control. I became concerned about High Blood Pressure when my husband started having problems with his. I nagged him about what he was eating, his exercise routine and getting enough fresh air and rest. My mom even had a problem until l started tending to her.

Now, the only one in the house with High blood pressure (HBP) is ME! And I'm really ticked. I take joy in my health. I've always known that you can do nothing without good health. So I'm getting serious now. Too much sitting and not enough exercise that gets the heart rate up is one problem. I don't have any excuses with a certification in nutrition and wellness as well as a fitness certification. So you're going to start seeing a lot about the wellness aspects of writing and living on this blog. It might even transition to recipes and healthier wellness tips. But we can still write about that too.

Any suggestions for healthier HBP that you want to share?

New Year

2007-01-01T13:42:00.000-08:00

Time moves so quickly sometimes. Christmas took forever to arrive when we were young. The older people used to complain about how fast it came around but that didn't make sense --- until now.

Christmas seems to arrive every few weeks now. Then the next thing you know, it's a new year. Thank God for a new year. When situations get bad it seems like the new year may not arrive at times. And 2006 truly presented some hairy times. The world situation, the loss of 3000 lives (that we hear about) for a war, natural disasters that don't even get a mention anymore.

Yet, the good times help to smooth over the bad. Writing about emotions is a good way to face and heal them. This would be a good time to put your emotions on paper, look at them, then decide if you should hang on to them or throw them out with the past year and bring in new hopes for the new year.

Write how you felt about 2006 and what you hope for 2007.

Way to Keep Focused

2006-12-09T22:05:00.000-08:00

What is your color story? Have you ever written a story about a color and how it affected you? I wrote about yellow in my memoir writing time. I used to get sick from the color of yellow when I was young. It sounded strange but when I posted my essay on a memoir writing site, others chimed in about how a color used to affect them. It was nice to know I wasn't the only one with this odd reaction to a color.

Write about a color and it's affect on your life? Jot notes to write about other memories on your favorite colors, colors you don't like, or colors you can't live without.

By the way, now I enjoy the color yellow in my life. Perhaps I outgrew my negative reaction to it or the reaction served it's purpose.

Already December

2006-12-05T11:55:00.000-08:00

Do you remember the Y2K phenomenon when so many people thought the world would end? Now we are one month away from being seven years into the new Millennium. It's not the technology that we have to worry about so much anymore as major areas of unrest in the world like Iraq, Iran, North Korea. Situations can change fast, that's for sure.

As the end of the year approaches, reflect on how your year changed? Is your situation different from what you expected at the beginning of the year? Is it better or worse? How are you going to use what you learned this year to make next year better?

Why Danny DeVito's Mouth was Trouble

2006-11-30T17:53:00.000-08:00

Did you hear about the segment on the television show "The View" with Danny DeVito? It's all the buzz in the news today. Guess Danny D. had a little too much to drink with his pal, Actor George Clooney the night before and was drunk when he was on the show as a guest in the morning. Seems he talked, and talked, and talked. Now he's in the apologizing phase. The "talk too much now apologize" cycle is getting to be old hat with celebrities, elected officials and other public figures.

Why did Danny DeVito's mouth get him into trouble? Well, simply, he talked too much. A great thing about being a writer is that you don't have to talk so much. You can use your time putting your thoughts on paper. Then you have an opportunity to look at your writing and think about it before you let it go public. You even have the chance to erase (tear up, delete) all of the writing without letting anyone ever see it.

You can write anything you want in private as you practice your writing. Write about your thoughts on the President and the Iraq war. Write about why you're angry with Congress or another politician. It's all up to you.

I think you'll find that you feel so much better afterwards. You get your opinion off your chest. Putting it on paper makes it real and alive so it doesn't bother you as much anymore. Yet, after venting in written words, you probably won't have to vent in spoken words.

Don't do what Danny D. did. Instead of talking out loud, write in silence. Take 20 minutes and write about something you feel strongly about in the news today.

When Tom and Kat Got Married

2006-11-20T22:37:00.000-08:00

Did you watch the hoopla about the wedding of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes? I tried to watch but couldn't learn anything. To much secrecy made the coverage boring. How many times can you hear that they wore Armani without seeing the pictures? Overall, I love weddings. I often think that if I had started a type of retail store, it would have been to sell wedding dresses. Nothing is as beautiful as a wedding dress. I even look at wedding magazines just to see the new weddings styles. Another fun show on wedding are the ones like Bridezilla and Whose Wedding is it Anyway? Do you enjoy these types of shows? Don't you just love to see the finished show at the end?

What do you think about weddings? Do you get excited about celebrity weddings and make them your focus of attention? Do you find wedding exciting or boring? Write about that for a while. If you're married and loving it, write about that too.

Some Can Be Seen, Some Cannot

2006-11-20T22:17:00.000-08:00

How many times do you sit with a friend or family member and say “do you remember when ---?” Remembering what has occurred in your life is an important thing to do. When you write or verbally recall the past, it preserve a foundation for the future. Memoirs are important to build a legacy, pass wisdom to others, and let others know you as a person.

As a writer, which you are, you have to find that memory that matters to you. Writing about your life helps to form the habit of writing more. You learn to write deeper when you remember the past in detailed ways. Writing a memoir gives you great flexibility. A memoir can be short. A phrase can comprise the memoir piece. Write the phrase and the thought can be over. You may not have anything else to say about that memory.

On the other hand, you might write a lengthy multiple page essay. A memory might come up that keeps you writing on and on. Words just keep flowing out of your mind, through your hand, and onto the paper or keyboard.

As with every memoir, some pieces of writing are so personal that you have to decide if they will go further than your personal journal. Writing is therapeutic. Some of what you write in an autobiography or memoir will never see the light of day. Will you want your favorite aunt to know that you hated her perfume that seemed to cling to you when she gave you a hug? Do you want to put in writing the actions you did when you were a teenager that until now, no one else knew about but you?

Take the responsibility of putting those memoirs in sections of your journal or computer file that are for you alone. When you do this, you can let the wings of your mind take off.

Working on Overload

2006-11-14T21:56:00.000-08:00

How often do you feel that you're working on overload? That is, you can't get through your daily "to do" list because you keep adding stuff to it? The projects on the list take longer than expected by hours instead of minutes; interuptions are endless. That's my life right now.

The first thing that wants to go by the wayside is my writing. But writing can't go by the wayside. Writing has to be the first thing to stay in the forefront of life. When you write you release some of the pent up frustrations that want to claim your body and mind. Writing reaches down and pulls up emotions that would otherwise keep you preoccupied and unable to concentrate.

Are you feeling overloaded right now? What's making you feel that way. Today, make your writing practice your "to do" list and write out the steps that you'll take to get through realistic goals just for today. That way you'll write, release some frustrations, and provide a goals guide for the rest of your day.

2006-11-13T21:31:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to see if I can really get you to writing tonight. So I'm posting another prompt. What is the favorite memory of Thanksgiving? How do you keep that memory alive during the holidays?

are delightful memoirs, writing, legacy, autobiography

Draw and Write

2006-11-13T20:58:00.000-08:00

I saw the cutest family cookbook memoir today. A friend showed me her family keepsake. Not only did she have family recipes from the 1800's, the cookbook included hand drawings of seating arrangments for the holidays. Apparently, her family was really into the etiquette thing and wanted to establish how the table was set and everything.

Family memoirs can include anything of importance in your family. Even if it wasn't important to everyone else, you can record that memory too. Baby boomers have many memories that are unique so get them down as they come back to you.

What type of food memories do you have? Can you remember where everyone sat at the table during the holidays? This is a great time of the year to write a bit on food memories. Go for it!

Going to Technorati

2006-11-13T20:18:00.000-08:00

Technorati Profile

Is it Stuff or Meaning Making?

2006-11-12T12:39:00.000-08:00

So I'm writing this piece, right? I put myself in the chair and just start typing away. The words are flowing and they sound great. I hit save and yes, I've done my writing for the day. But I wonder, have I made meaning in my life with this or did I just write stuff?

Writing is such a powerful medium. The emotions it brings out in the writer go unnoticed most of the time. Yet writing is a medium that can be used for healing because of the ability to put on paper things that won't come out in verbal words. Some couples find their primary way to communicate is through writing notes to each other. If that works, let it work.

Making meaning can just happen with the writing. At times, I ask myself, "Did I really do anything except put stuff on the paper this morning?" Maybe the anwer is , "No, that's all you wrote -- stuff."

But still, words flowed. Everyday is not a day to be profound. But everday when you write your feelings to paper, you do something to help the words know that they don' have to be stuck inside. They matter and have a life.

Get the words out. When the sufff is out, you can get to other wriitng. You can make everything count for meaning. Just keep writing and keep seeking to get to what counts for your writing goal.

Write stuff today. That is, deliberately write stuff that has been holed up inside for too long. Put on the timer and let the stuff flow. Then sit back and let the meaning making come out that was hiding behind the stuff you denied writing for so long.

Simple Days

2006-11-11T12:34:00.000-08:00

Somedays I want simple food

*a grilled cheese sandwich
*tomato soup
*grilled cheese and tomato soup together.

just nuts,

just grapes,

simple foods.

Someday I need only simple pleasures.

The sun on my face,
breeze in my nose,
a walk--a long walk
quiet
a drive to just look at scenery

Simple things don't require complications

They let me rest my brain, my body, my expectations.

Then I can begin to feel creative again.

Write about the simple things you enjoy. How do simple things let you feel your creativity?

Off Line Benefits

2006-11-11T12:20:00.000-08:00

The Internet in my area was down for three days. I haven't been able to post to my blog. I haven't been able to respond to my coaching clients. I haven't been able to surf the net --- my nervous habit "fix." It's awful to be dependent on technology when it has control of you. When technology goes down, panic set in.

I get up in the morning, turn on the computer and go to my email. I waste a lot of time reading and responding to email, as if that's my work. So in a way, the outage made me rethink how I start my day. Instead of going to email, I actually had to go to the wordprocessing system instead. The only thing I could do there was write. So I ended up writing more than I would have if I was surfing the net or doing other projects.

Sometimes drastic measures force you to make changes in the habits of your life. What seems like a bad thing and very frustrating actually turns out to be a good thing. A Biblical verse says "All things work together for the good ---." Having a three day outage turned out to be a good thing. I think I'm backed up now and need to catch up. But in reality, I know I need to streamline my activities. I even came up with new ideas for doing my work while I had to sit away from the computer and THINK instead of look at ideas of other people.

What is your morning habit? What do you do automatically when you get to the computer? Do you write first or find a way to be distracted? The first step to changing any type of habit is to identify the habit. Tomorrow morning, be totally conscious of your steps. What exactly do you do upon awakening? Do you go first to make coffee? Do you pray or meditate and plan your day with care? Do you jump right into reading stuff, surfing the net, looking at email?

Write about this. Be detailed and specific so you can see where you time is going and what you could do to make writing more important in your life.

A Political Day

2006-11-07T17:21:00.000-08:00

Today is mid-term voting day in America. It's a day to express your freedom by casting a vote. Voting was always important in our home. My mother marched wtih Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma, Alabama back in the 60's when the freedom to vote was not taken for granted. She risked her life to help gain a freedom that deserves full honor.

As I grew up, it was mandatory to show your voting stub in order to get dinner in our home on any voting day. Even the family dog growled at you if you didn't have your stub (not really, but he probably would have --- that's how serious it was to us).

I remember taking my grandmother to the polls the last time she was able to vote. She could barely walk. But she wouldn't rest until she got to the polls. I had to help her into the booth and even to press the hole into the ballot. She knew who she wanted to vote for and the issues she wanted to see passed. Then she sat up until late to her the results. I could go on and on about voting stories.

Did you vote today if you are in an area that's voting?

What are you memories of voting through the years? Write about them so you will get excited about being able to freely go to the polls to vote.

Writer's Butt

2006-11-06T19:10:00.000-08:00

Most people worry about writer's block. I don't believe in writer's block. Doing writing practice knocked that out of me long ago. I've learned to sit down and just start writing. It took some time because I couldn't write at the keyboard at first. I had to put the words on paper to make them make sense. I still do that at times when the words just won't mush correctly. But practicing my writing on a daily basis makes it so I can usually always come up with something to write.

That brings up another issue.

Like today. I've been writing since around 8 a.m. this morning. It's 7 p.m. at night. I got a lot done, even caught up on old projects. But now I'm not worried about writer's block, I'm more concerned about getting a bad case of Writer's Butt.

If I don't start getting out to exercise instead sitting typing all day --- well you get the visual.

Imagine that you spent the last 20 days writing for 10 hours a day. You forgot to get up and exercise. What are you worried about now? Writer's block or writer's butt? Sorry, you have another 20 mintues to practice then you can go for that walk!

Little Duck

2006-11-05T23:26:00.000-08:00

Little Duck
Originally uploaded by greenlikeglass.

We didn't get any trick-or-treaters this year. But if this little cutey had shown up, I would have given her all of the candy!

Guess Halloween has changed and families are getting together at events instead of going door to door. I missed seeing the babies all dressed up in elaborate costumes.

What was the cutest costume you got to see this year?

It's Really Tough

2006-11-05T23:20:00.000-08:00

Know what's really tough? Having people you love grow old and sick. That's part of life, I know. I'm a mortician's daughter. Life and death have been a regular part of my life since birth. That doesn't take the sting out of witnessing the process of people you love getting closer to the end of their life.

Acknowledging this always brings back the fact that life is short. Even if you live 100 years, that's a short time in the whole scheme of things. Deciding to make life count should happen everyday.

How can you make life count today?
What do you take for granted that you will honor as special and wonderful in your life as you move through each minute of it today?

Write for 20 minutes. Practice writing and being grateful for life all at the same time!

Too tired to sleep

2006-11-02T01:56:00.000-08:00

UGGGGH! One great thing about being a writer is that you can write anytime of the day or night. Hurrah for the Blog that stands ready to receive the midnight posts from an insomniac writer.

Are you ever up late at night wondering why you are the only one in the house that's NOT snoring? When you have insomonia

What do you do?
Do you get up and write?
Do you toss and turn?

Write about that for the next 20 minutes.

If you are too tired to sleep, writing about this might be the sleeping pill you need to turn over and drift off to dreamland.

Daylight Savings Time

2006-11-01T07:35:00.000-08:00

I'm still sleepy from the time change. I can never adjust to daylight savings time. The switch gets to me all week. I was up at 6 a.m. (PST) this morning trying to do my writing practice. My intention was to get my writing work done early today but I'm falling asleep at the keyboard. Why do we switch times like this anymore? It's dark in the morning and dark when you get home.

I guess the different perspectives on this have to be noted. I talked to a young person Sunday; a high school student. He loves daylight savings time. Guess being in the dark is more fun than being in the bright light all day ---for some high school students. He did have an interesting point that football games just seemed more "right" in the dark stadium with the big lights glaring.

What do you think? Write about the switch to daylight savings time if you experience it. Do you like it? Is the adjustment quick and smooth or are you sleepy for a week like me?

If you live where you don't have to switch the clocks, what do you think about this? Would you prefer to be forced to switch the time on your clock due to some antiquated rule on the government books?

Meanwhile, I'm going to catch a quick nap before my first teleclass at 9 a.m. this morning.

Collect Family Stories

2006-10-24T22:31:00.000-07:00

The holiday season is here. Can you believe it? This year, make it extra special. Collect family stories.

Holiday times create a combination of good times, good food, and good stories. How many times have you heard a relative tell the same story? You know exactly how the punch line goes and you're sure you'll never forget it. Well, wait a few years. When that storyteller is no longer around and the story starts to fade you will be surprised how quickly the familiar story is forgotten.

How many wonderful family stories have gone undocumented over the years? Do you take your family history for granted not realizing that the "things" of your family can be wiped out very quickly? When Hurricane Katrina wiped out most of New Orleans, many of my family members fell victim to that hard truth. Family artifacts were wiped out in a 24 hour period. Several family members are still displaced and material things that were expected to pass from generation to generation are long gone.

But, we still have stories. Now the stories include tragedy and triumph over a natural disaster. The family history has changed. But the ability to engage in the sharing of legacy can't be erased as long as the stories are shared and recorded.

Have you started writing your family memoirs? Do you record those stories that you think will be with you forever? What is that one story that you hear every holiday gathering? Write it out. Then be sure to have it with you during the holidays to see if you got all of the details correct.

What? I'm having a little brother??

2006-10-22T17:39:00.000-07:00

What? I'm having a little brother??
Originally uploaded by Erik van der Neut.

Okay, is this cute enough? I was looking through Flickr and just had to share this adorable little one with you. Not only is she precious, she makes me think of the five grandkids we have that are waiting on the arrival of their triplet brothers in a few months.

Yes, you heard correctly. My step-son and his wife already have five children and they are expecting triplets! That's enough to get anyone practicing their writing.

When have you had a look like this on your face? What were you told or what did you find out that made you just drop your mouth, open you're eyes and shout "WHAT?" Bet writing for 20 minutes on that one will be easy!

Trying a New Thing

2006-10-21T21:44:00.000-07:00

How Spiffy Can I Get?

I want to experiment today with doing an HTML post on my blog. I'm doing this for a class that I'm taking on blogs and how to make them look spiffy. If you want, you can visit the blog of my dynamic instructor by clicking this link http://julieanne.powerfulintentions.com.

Do you still take classes to learn how to do things you love to do in a better way? I continually take classes to upgrade my skills and to stay up with the latest, especially when it comes to technology. Today, write about your attitude towards life-long learning.

Do you continue to take classes to upgrade you skills?
If not, why not?
Are you tired of studying because you've done it for so many years?
Did you just not think about it or do you think you don't have enough time?

Meanwhile, I'm making this post extra spiffy with my HTML converter stuff. What do you think?

Out with the Old!

2006-10-20T13:51:00.000-07:00

Do you hang onto writing pieces that no longer have a use in your life? When writing on paper, it’s fairly easy to throw out what doesn’t work. But online it’s a different matter. It is easy to hit the save button and put half finished writings with no direction into a file designed specifically for unfinished work. Hundreds or even thousands of words could be sitting in your online files, clogging your writing files, and clogging your mind. You tend to focus on old titles you feel you “should” finish instead of getting to the fresh ideas that want to come out.

Guess what!

It’s alright to erase or delete stuff that is just not working. It’s alright to get focused on your writing and to start over.

Today could be the time to go through your files of unfinished projects and delete those that just don’t work. Delete

*The ones that will never get finished.
*The ones that make you angry for starting them because you don’t like the direction they’re taking you in.
*The writing that gives you excuses not to get finished with your real projects

If you’re not sure if you want the writing or not, make a printed copy and put it in your writing folder, binder or where ever you keep your printed copies. Download it to a CD for “works in progress” and file the disc away. If the writings want to be reborn later to fit into a piece that is working, or you fall in love with the topic again, you will have the pieces. If not, you can discard them all over again later.

After clearing some files, put your timer on and get ready to write for 20 minutes.

“If you had $50,000 to go off and write about anything, what would be the topic and where would you go to write about it?”

Tell us about it in the comments.

Writing Practice Prompt

2006-10-19T19:03:00.000-07:00

Write to this prompt:

"The smell made me remember ..." Write for 20 minutes.

Want to share? Post and comment on what it was like to write to this prompt.

Write with a Purpose

2006-10-19T15:16:00.000-07:00

Practice can make perfect but practice should also lead to progress. If not, it doesn’t “make perfect.” Too many times, you want the writing to be perfect but forget that writing must also lead to something. It must also have a purpose in order to make you a writer.

It is great to know that you can quickly whip out many words. You can let the muse flow and fill page after page with words that can be eliminated or not go anywhere except into writing practice. But never forget to also have a project going that also has a purpose.

If you don’t have a writing project, select something today that you can write with a purpose; something that has an ending to it. Write with a purpose and a focus so you know that your writing matters, that it has a reason to exist. What writing project will harbor your writing purpose? When will it start, where will it end?

Morning Irritations

2006-10-18T09:11:00.000-07:00

Every night I want to get things organized so I can get right to writing in the morning. I'm irritated this morning because I can't find a pen. Does that ever happen to you? Here you are a writer and can't find your primary tool? What a time waster.

Right on my desk, I have a black, mesh pen holder that I really like. I try to keep it filled with pens but it's so convenient that I tend to grab a pen, carry it with me, and inevitably, end up with an empty holder. Periodically I have to go through the house, gather my pens and put them back in. So this morning is a gathering morning and I'm irritated because I want to get to my writing. Tonight, I will be sure the pen holder has pens in it so tomorrow morning I can get right to the work.

Do you have something that really irritates you in the morning related to your writing? Write about what you can do to control that.

Learning to Focus

2006-10-17T16:41:00.000-07:00

By committing to write each day I become conscious of how I focus my writing or not. I realize that a lot of my writing is not focused on a particular project. I like to respond to emails, write notes concerning creativity clients, and engage in other distractions. I’ve committed to finishing a book over the next few months which means I must open the file to write on that book for an hour per day. I’ve decided to use my kitchen timer to make sure I stay put for an hour of writing. It doesn’t always work. The timer does; it’s on. But staying focused on the project doesn’t always work.

I’ve become more aware of the ways I allow myself to be distracted. It’s so much more fun to just jot down information and notes, start new projects, and let my “Monkey mind” hop all over the place than to focus. Focusing and writing takes real discipline. Disciplined writing is something the writer must practice.

Have you stopped to think about the focus of your writing? Do you stay focused long enough to reach your writing goals for each day?

Start Writing

2006-10-17T13:36:00.000-07:00

Writers write is a saying most writers recognize. "Doing" writing is the part that takes discipline. Writers need to write everyday in order to hone their craft. Daily writing also helps to crack through writers block.

You don't have to have writer's block. You WILL have writer's block if you don't write everyday. This is the coaching blog for creative baby boomers who write. It is for those of you that follow my creativity coaching.

What You'll Find Here
You will find writing prompts, exercises, and my responses to my daily writings. Follow my thoughts as creativity coach as I blog my writing experiences. I am commited to writing daily. Write along with me in your own forum and create your legacy in words.