Note to self:
“A year from now you will wish you had started today.”
— Karen Lamb, author
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Posts Tagged ‘Thoughts’
Start Today
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, creativity, genre fiction, inspiration, Motivation, Thoughts, Writers, writing on January 29, 2024| Leave a Comment »
A Wonderful Thing
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, art, community, creativity, persistence, Thoughts, Writers, writing on January 28, 2024| Leave a Comment »
I recently had an article featured in the Winter 2024 edition of Review Tales. (I’d share the essay but unfortunately it’s not freely available.) If you click through the magazine links, you’ll see my article highlighted in the bottom right-hand corner of the cover. I’m writing about something with which I am all too familiar! “When the Muse Takes a Holiday.”
* Find Review Tales at Amazon and B&N.
I will say that the promotional elements of creative work can be a little challenging. I’ve never been that comfortable talking about myself.
It’s not about me, I want to say. Art is about us, and the world we create together.
“It can seem like it’s about, Look at me! Like me! Approve of me!’, but I think it’s really about finding your people. It’s about connections, especially when you grow up feeling different and like you don’t have a community. Through art, you’re able to find that community, which is a wonderful thing.”
— Maya Erskine, on why she’s drawn to acting despite “a childhood in which she desperately wanted to blend in”
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Please Yourself
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, quotes, success, Thoughts, Writers, writing on January 26, 2024| Leave a Comment »
“I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure, which is: Try to please everybody.”
— Herbert Swope, American editor and journalist
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Forest and Chill
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, forest-bathing, mindfulness, mini-break, nature, relaxation, shinrin-yoku, Thoughts, Writers on January 25, 2024| Leave a Comment »
After a number of technical issues, overlapping assignments, and a mashup of meetings, I’ve finished a big day-job project. I’ve got to say, it feels good.
Not “go out and party” good, more like “take a deep breath and shake off all that accumulated stress” good. Forest bathing good.
What’s that, you may ask?
Essentially, forest bathing (or shinrin-yoku in Japanese) is a walk in the woods designed to reconnect you with nature in ways that are beneficial for your health.
Healing in the forest: a guide to forest bathing
Spending time in nature and experiencing reduced stress levels allows you to think more clearly and creatively. It can also increase your mood, focus, and energy.
Sounds good, right? Except that there’s a coating of ice on everything thanks to last night’s storm and I still have work to do and (let’s be honest) it’s freezing out there!
So instead, I will find another way to spend a few moments in the forest.
How, you may ask? Meet Tree.fm: Tune Into Forests From Around The World.
Want a map of global forest sounds? Check out Sounds of the Forest.
Want even more chill? Do you have ten minutes or eight hours?
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New Interview Out Today
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, creativity, genre fiction, inspiration, interviews, Thoughts, Writers, Writers of the Future, writing on January 24, 2024| Leave a Comment »
My interview with the lovely Kim Lengling of the Let Fear Bounce podcast is live today!
We had a great time discussing writing, creativity, my experience with Writers of the Future and many other topics, and I hope you enjoy it too.
Check out the interview on YouTube or Spotify, and enjoy!
Pen to Paper: Navigating a Writer’s Reality – Author J.R. Johnson
Let Fear Bounce – Tossing out nuggets of hope | Podcast on Spotify
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Cherish the Oddities
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, creativity, quotes, Thoughts, Writers, writing on January 21, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Who wants to become a writer? And why? Because it’s the answer to everything. To “Why am I here?” To uselessness. It’s the streaming reason for living. To note, to pin down, to build up, to create, to be astonished at nothing, to cherish the oddities, to let nothing go down the drain, to make something, to make a great flower out of life, even if it’s a cactus.
— Enid Bagnold (1889–1981), British novelist, playwright
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You Don’t Give Up
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, Anne Lamott, creativity, genre fiction, hope, inspiration, persistence, Thoughts, Writers, writing on January 19, 2024| Leave a Comment »
“Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don‘t give up.”
— Anne Lamott
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Bright Colors, Happy Tone
Posted in Funny, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, #notwriting, AI, genre fiction, Thoughts, writing on January 17, 2024| 1 Comment »
I’d hoped to carve out some writing time today but instead I’m dealing with a lot of weird tech issues, some of which are concrete problems and some just disappointments.
Here’s an example of the latter. Note the prompt.
No, AI. Just… no.
L Marks the Spot
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, libraries, Thoughts on January 16, 2024| Leave a Comment »
I’ve often talked about the general excellence of libraries. Today I’d like to make a specific comment, and it’s not even about books.
Sad news: Mr Man is still not feeling great.
Good news: He was able to get a same-day appointment with our doctor.
But.
Our doctor will only see symptomatic patients if you have a negative Covid test in hand. Ok, fine, I guess. Our health care providers and system have been under massive pressure for years.
Except.
The holidays cooked up a stew of respiratory illnesses and a significant portion of Ottawa’s Capital Region is down for the count. Our wastewater numbers are right up there with the highest levels since tracking started in 2020. Finding cough medicine has become the equivalent of a treasure hunt. And finding a Covid rapid test? That’s more like the Holy Grail.
None of the pharmacies I called had any tests in stock. They’d be happy to schedule us for Covid boosters, but we already have those. Our local health unit should have tests but is halfway across the city.
Where to find a rapid test? The library came through for us. Not just a home for books and music, maker spaces and digital resources, the library is also bringing this now necessary resource into our neighborhoods.
I walked into our local branch to find a stack of rapid tests on a table by the door. The librarian couldn’t see my grin under my mask, but it was there.
And good news! Mr Man’s test is negative and now he can get the healthcare he needs.
Thanks, library. You saved the day.
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So Glad
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, academia, identity, Small Wonders, Thoughts on January 15, 2024| Leave a Comment »
It’s Monday and I’m back at work, thinking about work things. My day job isn’t perfect but it’s got a lot going for it, and I will say that I don’t miss the academic career track. Why? Check out this story by Courtney Floyd at Small Wonders for one reason.
CoverLetter_Version5: Small Wonders
Four other versions of me crowd around the kitchen table, waiting for version five to get done with the bathroom. Or for breakfast. Or for me to say something. Or for anything, really. All they do is wait, wait, wait.
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