Hoppin’ in the Heat Part II

Tags

blog hop, helpful advice, Peter Mallett, writing, Writing in Color

I’m really enjoying the Blog Hops that I’ve been invited to participate in! Too often, I get stuck in routines without even knowing it, and that includes the online websites I visit. From time to time, this gets a little yawn-inducing, so I was excited to be invited by Peter Mallett to a blog hop. I’ve admired his work for quite a while, and he’s always willing to help other writers however he’s able – from advice on his blog Writing in Color to helpful suggestions, he’s got us writers covered! Meet Peter below, and please take a minute to check out his blog – it’s encouraging, fun to read, and always interesting. Here’s the bio he shared with me:

Peter Mallett

Peter lives in Virginia not far from the ocean, but he can’t quite hear the waves from his home. He’s been writing since childhood. He also enjoys drawing, photography, and helping others with their goals.

He sold his first short story in 2002 to Kid’s Ark Magazine. Later, he sold two short stories to Tyndale Kids for “The Young Believer’s Case Files,” published in 2003. He’s been blogging since September 2012 and has written articles, short stories, greeting cards, and inspirational pieces. An article he wrote for his blog in January was later included in the Southwest Writers’ Newsletter (May 2013).

On his blog, Writing in Color, Peter expresses his thoughts on writing and encouraging people who want to write better for their profession or their pleasure. Many have encouraged him, and he wants to give back. He trusts in the power of words, but more importantly he believes in people. His writing style is lighthearted and encouraging. In fact, motivation and creativity are themes he revisits often. Some posts are short (300-600 words) and some are longer (600-1200 words), but he tries to make sure none of them are longer than they need to be. He says, “I take pleasure in shooting unnecessary words.”

Here are a few of his posts:

Writing: For the Love of Words

A Tribute to People

What to Do on Dark Days When Words Do Not Come

Find out more about Peter at Writing in Color. You can also find him on Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.

 

Is This Really What Success Feels Like?

Tags

Arianna Huffington, career, elderly, giving, Huffington Post, John Burroughs, joy, naturalist, news, success

Huffington Post

I just finished reading Thrive by Arianna Huffington. You might recognize her as the cofounder of The Huffington Post, the online news aggregator, but I was curious to see how Huffington would come across as an author. In Thrive, Huffington says “more and more people are coming to realize (that) there is far more to living a truly successful life than just earning a bigger salary and capturing a corner office.”

She sets out a new definition of success, guided by four “legs,” including well-being, wisdom, wonder and giving. On page 232 of the “Giving” section, Huffington urges us not to miss the small opportunities that abound every day:

“Because however successful we are,” she writes, “when we go out into the world to ‘get things,’ when we strive to achieve a goal, we are operating from a perceived deficit, focused on what we don’t have and are trying to obtain – until the next goal is achieved. And then we go after the next goal. But when we give however little or much we have, we are tapping into our sense of abundance and overflow.”

Intriguing, isn’t it? We want “abundance and overflow,” but pursuing them in the traditional sense isn’t working. Goals are important, but if the goal is only to complete it and move on to the next one, how fulfilled can we become? Life then becomes a lengthy to-do list, rolled up tightly, to be unwound at a frantic pace that leaves us worn and unsatisfied.

Huffington urges us to give, not from a sense of obligation, but because giving “is the only way to counteract the excessive greed and narcissism that surrounds us.”

John Burroughs

She quotes the 19th-century naturalist John Burroughs, who said “The great opportunity is where you are. Do not despise your own place and hour. Every place is under the stars, every place is the center of the world.”

For the last few weeks, I’ve had the privilege of helping an elderly neighbor. I stop by in the morning and again in the evening to prepare meals, keep her company and do light housework. Her pace has slowed mine. At 92 years old, she’s not concerned with amassing money or furthering her career; rather, her joys come from the beauty of our summer days and the visits, every evening, of a wild turkey to her country yard. Blessings are abundant in her life, and she never fails to rejoice whenever they appear.

How has giving helped you? How can you find joy in small, simple things?

Hoppin’ in the Heat

Twice now I’ve been asked to participate in a Blog Hop. They’re fun, because not only do I get to share what motivates me as a writer, but I get to hear the same from other writers. Peter Mallett over at Writing in Color asked me and two other writers to participate. Peter shared our answers on his blog, but I’d like to include Cate McCabe and Jillian Lisa Pearl here, simply because the nature of blog hops means you share and promote other writers. I’ll start with Cate, and in a few days’ time, I’ll share Lisa’s answers.

Enjoy!!

Cate Macabe:

Cate developed a love of reading early on – it was the perfect escape for a shy and introverted child. Reading led naturally to writing and creating her own worlds, but she never thought to pursue a writing career until mid-life. During those intervening years, she served in the military, raised four children, and studied computer programming and accounting. Then a story about a family marooned on a desert planet formed in her mind and brought her back to her first love.

Fantasy and science fiction are the genres she enjoys writing the most (as KL Wagoner). There is something exciting about having a strange world spill out of one’s brain and onto paper, and then grow into a very real place with a history of its own. Some of these tales fit perfectly into short stories or novellas, and others stretch out to fill novels or a whole series of them.

In a departure from speculative fiction, she wrote the memoir This New Mountain for private investigator and grandmother, AJ Jackson. Cate first met AJ when they both worked for the same attorney. The stories she told as she paused in her rush through the office were so remarkable, it wasn’t long before Cate offered to write her memoir – and so began a twelve-year journey culminating in the publication of This New Mountain(Casa de Snapdragon Publishing, 2012).

When Cate isn’t reading or writing, she goes on Lego adventures with her nine-year-old granddaughter, takes long hikes in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains of New Mexico, and enjoys spending time with her newly-retired husband.

You can connect with Cate at her blog for memoir: http://thisnewmountain.com/blog/ and her blog for speculative fiction: http://klwagoner.wordpress.com/.

These are the four questions I was asked to answer.

4 writing Questions

What are you currently working on?

My most recent accomplishments is a devotional published with Upper Room (July/August). A scan of the printed copy is here. I was also asked to contribute a corresponding blog post which you can access here.

I’ve written devotions, short stories, articles, blog posts and even sold an idea for a greeting card. I recently submitted a story to Glimmer Train, which is a great resource for anyone writing short stories. I go through cycles of writing and researching writer markets. I have set a goal for submissions by the end of the year, but I’m saving this for a later post.

How does my work differ from other genres?

Unlike many others on the writing process blog hop, I’m not working on a book. There may be a point in the future when I compile stories, or even write something instructional. My writing often makes unusual connections or looks at common concepts in a surprising way. So, it shouldn’t shock you that Alfred Hitchcock, Rod Serling and Ray Bradbury were some of my early influences.

Why do I write what I do?

That’s simple. I believe in people and in the power of words. I think all people can benefit from the process of writing, whether or not they consider themselves a writer. Writing helps creativity, relaxation and problem solving. Writing helps you express gratefulness in good times and assists you in navigating dark times.

How does your writing process work?

First, my process requires coffee and something chocolate. OK, neither one is a requirement, but they do help it along. I’m usually a planner. For articles, I outline at least the basic points I want to cover. I then flesh them out and work on the openings, and theclosings.

With stories, it is usually a similar process. There are times that I simply sit down and write. I make a mess on the page and then go back, clean up, and organize after I have it out of my system; but I’d rather organize and edit some as I go along. This usually ends up being less work. And although I can write just for pleasure or practice, I usually like to know what I am going to do with the work before I start doing it.

Real Men Wear Pom-Poms

Tags

cameras, Greece, honeymoon, humor, pom-poms, soldiers, tour guide, vacation

A couple weeks ago, Jess Witkins over at The Happiness Project asked me to guest blog for her while she’s on her honeymoon in Greece. We went there three years ago, and I thought this was a good opportunity to give her a heads-up about some of the…ahem…unusual footwear she might see over there. She featured my post here, and I’ve pasted it below, just in case you’re going to Greece anytime soon…

 

Now that Jess is gone, it’s a good time to talk about pom-poms. Specifically the kind worn on the ends of shoes. If your grandma knitted her own slippers, she may have stuck pom-poms on the toes just for a sassy affectation, happy about the way they bobbled around as she did her housework. For those of you who don’t know, Joe and Jess are on their honeymoon in Greece, and if they hit the right part of Athens, they’ll see men wearing pom-poms on their shoes. These guys goose-step around, too, which only adds to their allure. Thankfully there’s no ouzo involved. When we were in Athens a few years ago, we spotted these guys at Syntagma Square. Our tour guide told us that they were Evzones, members of an elite force that guarded the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. And man, were they serious about their duty. They marched back and forth with such ramrod precision that I felt slouchy and undignified in their presence. When they met at the top of the stairs and executed an abrupt turn and marched down, a lady in our group grabbed her camera and started snapping away. Woe be unto her, because the Evzones kept goose-stepping rigidly forward, plowing right past Camera Lady, who almost bit the dust in her zeal to get a good shot. I imagined her, limp and bloodied on the sidewalk, a fuzzy pom-pom sticking out of her nose. Really, what was the deal with those things? They seemed frivolous and unnecessary, almost humorous when compared with the semi-automatics the Evzones carried. Now those babies I took seriously. They elevated the goose-stepping to a don’t-mess-with-me meanness that made me gulp. And when I found out that the Evzones’ shoes weigh seven pounds and have nails under their soles? Boy, Camera Lady was just lucky to be alive, is what I thought. Our tour guide told us that in the 1800s, when the Evzones prepared for combat, they would hide knives under the pom-poms. If they were captured in battle – fwip! – out came the knife, ready for action. Cool, I thought, mentally elevating the status of the lowly pom-pom to Fuzzy Defender of the Faith. Someone else in our group, a Mr. Historical Know-It-All, challenged our tour guide, saying he heard the pom-poms were used to keep water from leaking in the seams of the shoes. Sorry, buddy, I thought. Water leaking in?? What a yawner. Knives were much more interesting, and gave the soldiers a sinister presence. Water leaking in made them sound like practical gardeners. So, Jess and Joe, if you’re reading this, head on over to Syntagma Square and check out the Evzones. Hoist an ouzo in their honor, and if you’re secure in your manhood, stick some pom-poms on your shoes when you get home. Just don’t goose-step around the front yard!