Monthly Archives: February 2011

Monday Motivator: Dr. Seuss

Posted on February 28, 2011 | 1 Comment

Image reblogged from IM NOT TRYING TO IMPRESS YOU BUT I’M THE DOCTOR at Tumblr

 

Dr. Seuss, whose birthday is Wednesday (March 2, 1904), was the author of 44 children’s books, including “Green Eggs and Ham,” “The Cat in the Hat,” and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”

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The Monday Motivator is a quote posted each week to encourage, inspire, and motivate writers of all skill levels and across genres.  If you have a favorite quote to share, let me know and I’ll post it here.  Click here to see past Monday Motivators.

Resources: Dr. Seuss, The Daily Post

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Posted in Authors, Books, The Silent Writers Collective, The Writer's Devotional

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A Thousand Words: Daddy’s Home!

Posted on February 27, 2011 | 1 Comment

Image courtesy of  “The US Army (no real name given)” on Flickr. Some rights reserved.

A Thousand Words is a photo prompt posted every Sunday.  Maybe the image will inspire you to write a journal entry, a short story, a poem, or a blog post.  Maybe you’ll just sit back and enjoy the photo.   Whatever your response, I hope  the picture inspires you to some sort of creative zen.

If you write something based on the image, feel free to share a link in the comments section.   Also feel free to use the photo on your blog, just be sure to give proper credit, which I will always include in the post or the caption.

Resources: Creative Commons, Flickr, The Daily Post

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Posted in Photos, The Silent Writers Collective, The Writer's Devotional, Writing

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Old Hardcover Finds New Life Protecting E-Books

Posted on February 26, 2011 | 2 Comments

This Once A Book project feels sacrilegious.  Desecrating an old hardcover to protect a new e-reader feels irreverent, disrespectful.  So very “Et tu, Brute.”

But it’s a great project, and any self-respecting old hardcover would be honored to be put to such creative use.

How To Make a Kindle Cover from a Hollowed Out Hardback Book comes from WonderHowTo.com, the giant user-generated, free how-to video directory.

Resources:  Once A Book, WonderHowTo.com, Et tu, Brute, The Daily Post

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Posted in Books

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On The Road, Just Me and Mom

Posted on February 25, 2011 | 6 Comments

My mother was here last week.  Her plan was to visit my brother and his family in San Francisco, then she was coming to see me in Arizona.  She was supposed to be here for two weeks, but I live in a quiet part of Arizona, and I know my mom … two weeks here and she’d be crawling the walls.

The solution?  Road trip!  (Honestly, I think a road trip is the solution to most problems.)

I drove to San Francisco to meet her, and the two of us took a week to wander along the Pacific Coast, up into Vegas and back down to Phoenix.  It was a great trip and we saw some fantastic sites.  Once again, I was awed by the diverse beauty of this part of the world, from the immense views of the ocean from the Pacific Coast Highway to Arizona’s stunning red rocks in Sedona.

Here are a few highlights (click on a photo to see it full size):

Photos © Olivia Tejeda.  All rights reserved.

Resources: The Daily Post

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Posted in Photos, Travel

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Organizing the Bookcase (Like Never Before!)

Posted on February 24, 2011 | 4 Comments

The Book Bench posted a link to this video yesterday with the comment, “Finally, a music video starring your bookcase.” Music videos and bookcases?  How could I resist?  I dare you to watch it and not marvel at the creativity (and the snappy tune).

Click on the photo to watch the video on YouTube.

Resources: Rodrigo y Gabriela, You Tube, The Book Bench, The Daily Post

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Posted in Books

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Does Your Writing Day Look Like This?

Posted on February 23, 2011 | 4 Comments

Elspeth Antonelli from the It’s a Mystery blog put together the hilarious list, 10 Signs of a Typical Writing Day, about the myriad interruptions she faces as a writer.

It’s funny because it’s true.  It’s funny because it’s infuriating. And it’s funny because sometimes if I didn’t laugh about this, I’d cry.

I can find more ways to interrupt a writing day than I can for just about any other kind of day, except maybe bill-paying day.  The question is why?  I don’t dislike writing.  I love it!  I love getting so deeply involved in the process that I forget the concept of time and exist only in the made up world of my story.

Fighting distraction, beating writer’s block, putting aside our fears … these are some of the challenges we face every time we sit down to write, so reading  Elspeth’s post on a typical writing day is not only funny, it’s comforting.

Philip Roth once said:
Joyce Carol Oates says somewhere that when writers ask each other what time they start working and when they finish and how much time they take for lunch, they’re actually trying to find out, ‘Is he as crazy as I am?’ I don’t need that question answered.

Mr. Roth may not need that question answered.  I suppose I don’t need it answered either, but it’s encouraging to know I’m not the only crazy one.

Read more …

Resources: It’s a Mystery, The Daily Post

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Posted in The Writer's Devotional, Writing

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Beating Writer’s Block and Six New Prompts

Posted on February 22, 2011 | 2 Comments

The Silent Writers’ online writing retreat is held every Tuesday at 9 pm EST and PST.  The writing prompts below will help you get started if you don’t have a project to work on.  If you do have something you want/need to write, but the words aren’t coming, check out How to Beat Writer’s Block on the aptly named, Writer’s Blog.  The post features tips on dealing with writer’s block that are easy to use, and more importantly, they’re an effective way to get past obstacles that keep us from reaching our writing goals.

Now for tonight’s writing prompts:

  1. From PW.org: Fiction and Poetry prompts
  2. From Writerly Life: A photo prompt, “Untitled”
  3. From Verbal Verbosity:  The 100 Words Challenge Prompt
  4. From me: A photo prompt, “New Treats”
  5. From @Selorian on Twitter: #storystarters
  6. From Plinky: Quickie questions to ponder

The Silent Writers online writing retreat is open to all writers who want to commit a minimum of one hour to writing.  If you’re interested in participating, join us tonight at 9 EST and PST on Twitter or Facebook.

For more information, visit the Silent Writers Collective.

Resources: Writer’s Blog,  The Daily Post.

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Posted in The Silent Writers Collective, The Writer's Devotional, Writing

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Monday Motivator: Frank McCourt

Posted on February 21, 2011 | 1 Comment

The Monday Motivator is a quote posted each week to encourage, inspire, and motivate writers of all skill levels and across genres.  Let me know if you have a favorite quote you’d like to share.  Click here to see past Monday Motivators.

Resources: Frank McCourt The Daily Post

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Posted in Authors, The Silent Writers Collective, The Writer's Devotional, Writing

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A Thousand Words: New Treats

Posted on February 20, 2011 | 2 Comments

Image courtesy of Alison Scarpulla on Flickr. Some rights reserved.

A Thousand Words is a photo prompt posted every Sunday.  Maybe the image will inspire you to write a journal entry, a poem, a blog post.  Maybe it will inspire you to go exploring, or maybe you’ll just sit back and enjoy the photo.   Whatever your response, I hope you enjoy the picture and that it inspires you to some sort of creative zen.

If you write something based on the image, feel free to share a link in the comments section.   Also feel free to use the photo on your blog, just be sure to give proper credit, which I will always include in the post or the caption.

Resources: Creative Commons, Flickr, The Daily Post

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Posted in Photos, The Silent Writers Collective, The Writer's Devotional, Writing

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Once a Book, Now a Gorgeous Wreath

Posted on February 19, 2011 | 4 Comments

If you’re the type who can’t bear to do anything with a book besides read it, this project isn’t for you.   If, on the other hand, you’re a crafty type just itching to do something with the stack of old romance novels stashed in the corner of the living room, this could be your next project …

Book Page Wreaths

If you can’t resist this craft, but hate the thought of hurting a book, try it with magazine pages.

Resources:  Living with Lindsay, The Daily Post

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Posted in Books

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