HiberSONsation - Linda Aleta Tame

Why is it that the 19th of the month sneaks up on me?  I remember other days, like the 1st when mortgages are due and the 10th when the bills get paid.  I easily remember to check Facebook and email every day.  The Hershey chocolates in the cupboard are never forgotten.  Well they aren't there long enough I guess, but still you'd think I'd remember such an important date as the 19th when my contribution to this blog is due.

Other months have been so busy.  I have a big family,  five grown children and 12 grandchildren, and last month was Christmas, so understandably some things get forgotten.  I operate a small rental property business, and I take university classes.  I have to give myself a little grace when I forget an errand, when an appointment is missed, or when we eat Kraft Dinner because I forgot to pick up the groceries.  But, how many times can I forget the 19th of the month?  Come on, this is crazy!

I was certain this month would be different.  All the busyness has settled down.  It's January, my time to hibernate.  Things are usually so quiet during this first month of the year.  It's extremely cold in my part of the country, so I decided years ago that the only way I could enjoy January would be to snuggle inside and catch up on my writing, something I love to do.

This year, as it turns out, my husband and I had the privilege to escape the freezing Canadian temperatures and come to warm Arizona!  It's perfect.  My plan was to enjoy the sun and write.   I visualized myself sitting on the patio, sipping a tall iced-tea and tapping away on my laptop.  I could see myself by the pool with my journal, jotting down the most incredibly inspiring, maybe even profound thoughts.  So, what happend?

It's January 19th, and it's now 8:00 p.m.  This is my day to blog here.  I just remembered about half an hour ago.  Maybe the fabulous shopping, the exciting Mexican food and the cacti on the hills have overwhelmed me.  It could be that I've been distracted by the flea markets, the galleries or the AMC Ahwatukee 24 Movie Theater.  My husband is a movie buff.  Regardless, there are four hours left for this contribution to appear on the blog, so I'm doing my best to put it up. 

Hibernation is a good thing.  It helps me rest up, regroup and move forward into the year ahead.  It's supposed to help me be more mindful about the important things, to be more attentive to the Lord and His plans for me.  I'm so grateful for this blog.  It was the reminder today to soak up more of the SON, and to get writing!  I think I've had a "hiberSONsation!"

Image from naturespicwallpaper.com

Any Excuse to Un-Publish My Blog by Dayna E. Mazzura

To do more, sometimes you need to do less. To clear the decks. To purge.

So, this past month I took the drastic step of “un-publishing” my own blog. It was hard. I worried it might be professional suicide. But nothing stressed me out more than writing my own blog. I love to guest blog. Love to write just about anything else. But my blog just sapped my writing energy—and left me paranoid about the ratio of Page Views (high!) versus Comments (low!).

Social Media should buzz, connect, springboard and enlighten. My blog seemed to leave me high and dry on my own perch, preaching into the wilderness… or so it felt. I realized I do not have the energy or inclination to make it all happen online (despite taking many classes on the subject). I found myself longing for the tangible, published page… for context into which to offer meaningful content… Sigh.

This dismal dawning meant one of three things:

Either I had failed to promote my blog. To read other blogs (enough). To cross-connect through my LinkedIn account, or to sign up for Twitter and learn the popular hashtags. Etc.

Or I had not learned “how to blog” properly – to strike a conversational tone; to adopt a topic I was passionate about; to set up a weekly schedule—what I would write about when; or to tap into what was important to my readers. Etc.

Or I would forever be a “digital immigrant” rather than a digital native. At sea in a foreign environment, unable to master the new language and customs, or even follow the examples set for me by so many capable bloggers.

In truth, all three are true. I failed to self-promote. I failed to strike a conversational note. And I failed to navigate the blogosphere.

Here are my three excuses to match my three fail points:

RE Self-Promotion:

I love to promote books, authors, writing circles, poetry, readings, conferences, speakers, publishing, anything to do with the written word! But because writing is so close to my heart, I find it difficult to blog without a focus, or clear understanding of who I am writing for, or even why—other than to promote my blog/writing. I find it very hard to get excited about my own blog. Larger ones (like Inscribe’s!) are great, but personal ones are tricky unless you have a passion, a plan and an ability to promote for promotion’s sake. A lot of writers do it well. I just find it drains my energy for other writings… that follow more traditional paths (and pay). Count me a Luddite.

RE Striking a Conversational Note:

I have a long-standing prejudice towards face-to-face conversation that involves pauses, nods, even hugs and tears. And prayerful responses. Holding or joining an online conversation puts me off my game. Leaves me wanting.

RE Navigating the Blogosphere:

My own reading of how pervasive Social Media is, including its most recent migration from Web 2.0 (the online social world we now know) to Web 3.0 (picture that social data deeply mined and manipulated through locator technology that can predict – and direct – what you might be doing next, where and when!), makes me nervous. Every time I learn something new about Social Media (and there’s lots to learn), it just reminds me of all that high school reading… about Jeremy Bentham’s glass inspection house, Huxley’s Brave New World, and Orwell’s 1984. If Surveillance and Privacy are at war (and they are!), I choose Privacy.

In the end, I believe to live a spiritual life is to live without excuses, not even professional ones. So I do not hide behind my excuses, I merely offer them to you as part of the larger picture, because I do think blogs play an important role in a writer’s life. I wonder (the name of my blog is/was “iwonder”) what kind of hole it will leave in me, not being able to blog whenever I like, about whatever strikes my fancy. I wonder…

PS – I guess the best place to “find me online” is now my old-fashioned webpage – daynawrites.com or feel free to email 2dayna@telus.net if you’d like to “talk more” about the pro’s and con’s of blogging and un-blogging.

HIBERNATION by Bryan Norford

Hmmm. If salting oneself away at a computer is hibernation, then I guess I hibernate all year! Mind you, I’m glad just to look at the weather this winter.

My desk faces a picture window looking over university lands, and I relish the thought that weather doesn’t interfere with the delightful task of writing. My sympathies to Glynis and others who have not been so fortunate.

But hibernation is selfish, isn’t it? Although against my isolationist tendency, we continue our writer’s group, Write Clique through the winter. So much for hibernation!

So below is my New Year letter to our group for others of you that participate in writing groups. Obviously, our schedule and practice will not suit everyone, but I trust there are some ideas that will encourage and spark interest.

Happy New Year to all you Write Cliquers:

Reviewing the past, I note that Write Clique has been going for just over two years, our first meeting on Thursday September 22, 2011.

All those who joined us during the following months are still with us, if not always able to attend—all except Chloe Collin who absconded with a man of her choice to Medicine Hat. Congratulations Chloe: keep on writing!

We are now about fourteen, and we expect our attendance to vary between eight and a dozen, depending on other commitments and priorities. This is particularly true as we will now meet twice a month to allow extra opportunities for those who cannot attend regularly.

We measure our success, not by numbers, but by the enjoyment and encouragement many of you have expressed. Not only that, books have been written by our members during that time, while others of you have issued other writings as the Lord has directed you.

Our main aim is to encourage new writers—as most of us are—against the discouragement of other priorities, people’s attitudes, and setbacks we all experience. As we are gifted and led by the Lord into writing, it’s essential we receive the fellowship and support of other writers like ourselves.

As we discussed at our 2013 wind up last November, we will meet on the second and fourth Thursdays each month. Winter dates are as follows: January 9 and 23, February and March 13 and 27. Please make a note of the dates, even if you can’t attend.

Our time will be 7.00 to 9.00 p.m. sharp!! We want to make the most of the time we have. Our schedule will be as follows, timing somewhat flexible:

7.00 Opening prayer, two minute devotional, and sharing. Sharing is not compulsory, but gives opportunity for discussing plans, dreams, progress, setbacks or difficulties for prayer and assistance if needed.

7.45 Instruction. This will be fairly basic, aimed at our general level of writing. I will give some and have others more experienced to share their knowledge in this slot also.

8.30 Fellowship. A time for one on one conversation and encouragement over coffee—decaf, tea, or other sleepy beverage.

For our first meeting, January 9, following our sharing time, I will share with you some resources I found helpful in ensuring work aims at a professional quality—essential if we desire to publish our work.

For other Thursdays, Craig Funston will talk about common grammar and word use mistakes, and Ruby Cleroux will discuss the basics for fiction writing. I’m open to suggestions for other ideas you’d find helpful.

So, we look forward to seeing you next Thursday

May God bless you all richly in 2014,
Bryan

Recommendations and Inspirations - Tracy Krauss

I always find January to be a very inspiring month for me in terms of my writing stamina. Maybe its all the talk of 'goal setting' and 'resolutions'. Or maybe my batteries are recharged after Christmas break. In any case, I look forward to January each year and the sense of excitement I feel about what the year holds.

Last year, I told you about an excellent book called Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love  by Rachel Aaron. I read a lot of other good books on writing and marketing, but this one still stands out. One of the things I discovered after reading the book was Scrivener, a software to help you organize your manuscript. I used the trial version and subsequently bought it for $40. The best forty bucks I spent last year, I'm sure.

Another wonderful 'find' was the Emotion Thesaurus by Ackerman and Puglisi. It is basically a list of emotions with various physical and psychological manifestations for each. (Like a thesaurus, as the name implies.) What a wonderful tool. I currently have an e-version, but I think I may invest in a hardcopy as well, so it can be right at my fingertips!

I had a very productive year last year in terms of writing, but I didn't actually get a lot published. One play called HOOK'S NEMESIS released just under the wire on Christmas day, as well as an anthology that I contributed to called TASTE AND SEE Volume 2. 

However, that means I can look forward to multiple releases in 2014. (I hope!) I have a devotional and a children's book waiting on US tax documents; two finished novels with my agent; and it looks like I will be writing several serials under contract - one contemporary stand alone series and one as a contributing author to a Sci-fi series. (I'm a huge Sci-fi nerd so I am especially excited about this one!)

It is all a bit scary but also quite exciting. Good thing I work well under pressure. *smile* With everything I have on the table at the moment, I think I really will be hibernating this winter...

Tracy Krauss is a teacher, artist, author and playwright living in Tumbler Ridge, BC. She currently has four novels and six plays in print. For more, visit her website at tracykrauss.com , her blog at tracykraussexpressionexpress.com , or sign up for her monthly newsletter.