Tag: future

Creative Self-Care

A creative life brings much joy and excitement where it’s easy to forget that it is work. And as with all work, the mind and body tire when passion pushes on in a hedonistic surge, and more so when creating new worlds peopled with exciting characters doing extraordinary things or making the ordinary quite exciting.

Putting the foot on the brake when exhaustion sets in does not send the creative muse into permanent banishment—quite the opposite. A brief pause, a day or perhaps two, refuels the creative well with the elixir needed to push to the next level of creative intentions. It is only the physical act of doing that is on a temporary hiatus to clear the mind to absorb new inspiration, the sights, sounds, movements, to see the everyday and old with refreshed eyes.

The pause could be time spent to catch up on much needed relaxed reading, beach walks, feeling the outdoors, meandering in a museum, taking in a movie, going to the theatre, or out to breakfast or dinner with yourself. Me time invigorates the creative mind and spirit. Although most creatives work in solitude and might crave company, it is elected carefree time alone, whether in a crowd or on a private beach, that eases mental exhaustion generated by passionate overwork.

 

 

 

It is the creative’s passion that invests extensive time, and intense hard work to produce a work of art, be it a manuscript, painting, a sculpture, or music. The ultimate piece, the artwork outside the physical form has its own story to tell as one of sheer commitment for the love and euphoria generated by creating—early mornings before the world wakes, late nights, and oftentimes all night, fobbing off distractions and knowing when to say no to external demands irrespective of who makes the demand.

Only the creative knows what matters most.   

Allow the self to enjoy one’s own company away from the work to fine tune the energy and inner wellness of the mind and body without the noise of mental chatter. The creative soul needs that one-on-one with the self.  Decide if this one-on-one with the self should be a weekly, fortnightly or monthly date. Go out for coffee with yourself. Take a walk on the beach alone. Human gregariousness is always there to pick up when the time is right.

 

 

Work and life…life and work are indistinguishable for the dedicated creative

 

Have you ever set a date with yourself? Go to your favourite place once a week, alone, for a month and journal your thoughts and feelings. Something that might surprise you is that you will return after each date teeming with ideas for a new project. Time out is beneficial for productivity—the energy and freshness ignite thinking outside the four walls of a writing/creative/workplace space.

 

Fill the creative well with some time out.

 

Never be afraid, or think it selfish to enjoy your own company—you are your own best friend, number one in your tribe.

 

 

Just as we free-write in our journals every day, that private time with intimate words on a page—quite a different energy to drafting a manuscript—in the same vein, getting out of a regular creative space be it in an office at home, or elsewhere, is a self-made retreat for the creative spirit. Going AWOL for a day is liberating for creative energy, for all energy! Try it!

 

Make a date with number one. Enjoy your own company and return blessed and refreshed.

 

 Happy Creative Rest!

 

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On Writing a Trilogy

Writing a trilogy is not how I began writing, Souls of Her Daughters. The ending brought on an extension to the lives of Grace and Patience, and as the muse requested two more tales were born ending in the grand finale of, What Change May Come. The second book, Chosen Lives, picks up from Patience’s mission shrouded in mystery, and suspense when the aircraft she travels in disappears, followed by time tense revelations and heart-stopping fulfilling thriller magic!

 

 

 

 

Souls Collection (Trilogy)

 

enthrals with mystery and suspense  ~        engaging and addictive ~     exhilarating… oozes with deep passion ~ 

~ Goodreads

 

The present trilogy in the making was planned. Book 1 of The Bardo Trilogy, Aurora Days, was released in April 2020 and Book 2 is scheduled for an October/November release. Book 3 will follow in the first quarter of 2021. And poetry beckons, egging me on with each publication. Hence Viola is also a closet poet!  Stories crafted will always borrow some aspects from the writer’s world.

 

 

 

entrances and entertains… epic tale of courage, love and peril  ~ Goodreads

 

 

 

Lessons learned in writing a trilogy are keeping a tight track on characters, places, time, and events. While for the most part, I am a panster, I do plan on Scrivener and shift and rearrange as each idea emerges. The glory of Scrivener is a necessary asset in a writer’s toolkit! 

Sometimes the protagonist’s trajectory takes on a different path than originally envisioned. This is the power of independent creative choices — a freedom to chop or sustain at will.

 

Creative freedom is the stuff dreams are made of!

 

The Bardo Trilogy revolves around a family mystery in the life of PI Viola Bardo, schoolteacher extraordinaire with music in her heart and justice in her soul. Family relationships are a keen part of both my trilogies as are hidden secrets that connect to my thriller edge.

Changing locations is a wonderful way to revisit places I’ve been to in grounding the story.

While all this is in the making, a new venture beckons as an epic once-off or standalone novel on a family saga. The title came to mind first and pieces are emerging on that idea. Currently, I run two journals, something I have not done with my backlist publications. It has been largely one book at a time.

I am allowing the creative spirit to bite whichever way it wants so while the second book in The Bardo Trilogy is given priority, I am jotting down ideas as they appear on a new vision. I have taken on board Elizabeth Gilbert’s advice in ‘Big Magic’ — if you don’t pick up the stories coming to you, someone else will.

 

The muse will nudge the writer with her private messages when a story must be told.

 

The new venture beckoning will shift and change with time and no deadline is on the horizon for that yet. But it will be created as it comes.

I don’t intend on leaving Viola Bardo in the wings because she has many more revelations for the reader.

Keeping track of all that the divine muse dispenses is the best way forward.

 

May the Muse be With you!

 

Happy Writing! Happy Reading!

 

What’s your favourite trilogy read?

 

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2020 and Beyond – Voices in Literature

 

Diverse voices exist in literature but are under-represented in traditional publishing

The tragedy of George Floyd’s death in the United States has sparked a resurgence for the recognition of black writers. Read the rumble in the UK here on what the newly found Black Writer’s Guild has initiated.

It is shocking to note that black writers are offered a lower advance to that of their white contemporaries, and editors ask for white characters to be added to books. At some universities, students are asked to write for a maninstream audience denying  rich cultural voices that confirm that we are indeed, …one under the sky of humanity.

As an author of colour, in Australia, I faced the dilemma of whether I should create a neutral ‘non-black’ pen name to get publishing recognition. But my writing mission is, In our angst and joy, we are ONE under the sky of humanity, which does not support using a pen name and so authenticity prevailed.

My apartheid past in South Africa had stolen the right to feel comfortable in my skin or to dare to speak out against racism. Hence my debut novel Across Time and Space and the sequel Vindication Across Time, present the bald face of racism as a universal disease through my eyes. My third novel, Souls of Her Daughters exposes injustice on multiple levels.

 

Fear makes one believe that a name that hints at race would be bypassed by publishers and readers. Listen to the words of author Michael La Ronn who articulates the issues black writer’s face in writing and publishing. Note what he says about gaslighting 

 

Racism – Inequality – Injustice – Prejudice – by any name must be caught and called in the books we read, movies we watch and conversations we have

 

The Zulu word Ubuntu refers to the human spirit as it should be:

 

  • I am because we are
  • humanity towards others
  • the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity

 

In my writing of multicultural stories – the spirit of Ubuntu prevails.

 

 

 

What will you be reading and watching in the renaissance of Black Lives Matter in literature?

The movies, In My Country poignantly depicts the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in South Africa, and Rabbit-Proof Fence, a gut-wrenching  revelation on Australia’s Stolen Generation are reminders of human atrocities that should never be allowed to recur…

From  Uncle Tom’s Cabin and beyond, voices have raised the alarm but sadly the call to end racism fell on deaf ears. Now it must be made history, an unforgotten one to remind us that prejudice is heinous and should be obliterated from the stage of life. Diverse voices that are in the main ignored, share why the human condition needs a radical shake-up.

 

Feel the angst, walk a mile in the shoes of the racially downtrodden – only then will you know the corrosive impact of racism.

 

The wound of prejudice cuts deep to the soul leaving indelible scars.

 

But you pick your head up, as you do, to face another day no longer silent especially to subtle bias…

 

 

In the wake of the change in 2020 and beyond, walk a mile through these suggestions to know and feel that in our diversity the common factor is that we are emotional beings with the capacity to rectify prejudice by the stories we tell and read.

 

 

Here are ten suggestions where diverse voices rip out your heart to sensitise your soul.

 

  1. Long Walk to Freedom – Nelson Mandela
  2. . My Place -Sally Morgan
  3. Talking to My Country – Stan Grant
  4. To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
  5. The Underground Railroad – Colson Whitehead
  6. Between the World and Me – Ta-Nehisi Coates
  7. Cry the Beloved Country – Alan Paton
  8. The Power of One – Bryce Courtney
  9. The Bluest Eye – Toni Morrison
  10. Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence – Derald Wing Sue

 

May you write and read stories that share histories to sensitise our souls to dismantle racial bias.

 

 

 

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Writing For Success

In my first post on the prolific and inspirational Trinidadian author and poet Brenda Mohammed, we got a glimpse into her writing journey.  Brenda has written twenty-five publications — her passion and dedication to literature is phenomenal.

Today we chat to Brenda Mohammed to catch up on her rapidly growing and expanding writing life and the scoop on her latest writing venture!

 

Tell us a little bit about yourself?

I am a former Bank Manager of a leading bank in Trinidad and Tobago. Later in life, I moved into the Insurance field and excelled there also. I always loved dealing with finance, and never dreamed that I would fall in love with Literature.

 

When did you start writing?

Actually, I was always a very good writer in my school days and won the top English Language prize when I graduated from High school at sixteen years of age.

When I joined the bank my superiors at the bank were always impressed with my ability to learn quickly, my efficiency in every department I was assigned, and also my writing skills.

When I was promoted to the job of Assistant Manager Credit I had to prepare detailed financial proposals for the Manager’s signature to be sent to the bank’s Head Office for approval. The Manager rarely changed a word, and the Bank’s Head Office always approved the proposals without any questions.

The Banking term for that was “clean sanctions,” something other Managers wished they could achieve. Later on, when I was appointed as Manager I continued with that skill and moved on to Senior Managerial positions. Yet, writing books never crossed my mind and I moved into Insurance where I also excelled, qualifying for membership in the Million Dollar Round Table, The Premier Association for Financial Professionals, {the name pertains to sales achieved and not earnings}, until I was struck by cancer and told by my doctor in Trinidad that she could do nothing for me.

To make a long story short, I survived and wrote the book, I am Cancer Free, which became a bestseller, and gave me the encouragement to write twenty-four more books.

 

You wrote twenty-five books. Can you tell us the genre of those books?

I write both fiction and non-fiction. The genres include Memoirs, Romance, Mystery, Poetry, Children, Science Fiction and Self Help.

 

 

Tell us something about your multi-award-winning book Zeeka Chronicles.

 

Zeeka Chronicles is about a vengeful man who misuses science in the year 2036 to create havoc in a small exotic island named Gosh. He is angry for two reasons. After his former lover jilted him, he married another on the rebound. His wife contracted the zika virus when she was pregnant. His child was born deformed as a result, and she died. He blamed the hospital for her death and his deformed child. This vengeful man kidnapped the son of his former lover and the story evolves thereafter.

The story is set in the year 2036 when there is great advancement in medical and information technology. It is a high-tech world.

Skillful robots are used as home helpers, and police use high tech weaponry, electric cars, and smartphones. The hospitals are well equipped with state of the art equipment and doctors and scientists are making significant breakthroughs and inventing cures for patients with critical illnesses.

Yet, in this high-tech world, the minds of some human beings remain evil.

Can Mankind ever achieve a sinless state? Will human beings forever continue to foster greed, malice, anger, jealousy, and the desire to control and take revenge?

I wrote this book to highlight the fact that material things can never improve the minds of some individuals.

Today, in spite of all the new and advanced developments, crime has increased to unstoppable levels. What will change humanity?

The benefits to readers are the underlying lessons to be learnt from the content, especially in light of the situation the world is experiencing today with COVID 19.

 

Who are the primary readers of your books?

My books are for both mature audiences and young adults and the children books are, of course for children.

 

What are you working on now?

I am working on the third story in a Mystery series – Barry Holmes Mysteries

What happened to Mary Loo has elements of romance, mystery and suspense. It will be a short story and should be ready for publishing by the end of May.

The book cover was designed by Mary L Schmidt.

 

 

Can you leave us with a valuable quote on Writing?

Writing is a mysterious journey of thoughts that can unravel the strangest imaginary plots.

Writing for me was exploring a new milestone.

 

What are your social accounts if people want to connect with you?

I am on Linked In, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook, where I have nine author pages for each genre in which I write, and a personal page.

They are – Poetry to Enlighten, Zeeka Stories, Banker turns Writer, Romance Stories, Children’s Corner, Barry Holmes Mysteries, Brenda’s Video trailers, Fascinating Memoirs and Brenda’s Publications.

I am also available as the Founder of How to Write for Success Literary Forum.

 

 

Brenda Mohammed a former Bank Manager from Trinidad is a multi-award-winning author of 25 books, and Founder of the Literary Forums How to Write for Success, Poems for Suicide Prevention, Library of How to Write for Success, and Poems against Domestic Violence. Her award-winning book HOW TO WRITE FOR SUCCESS is popular amongst writers and University students.

 

She recently published three best-selling Anthologies – A Spark of Hope Volumes I and II, co-authored by 49 and 64 authors respectively, and Break the Silence: An Anthology against Domestic Violence by 87 authors. All three topped the charts on Amazon as Bestsellers No 1.

In November 2018 Brenda received two awards from Readers Favorite International at an award ceremony at the Regency Hotel in Miami for two of her books, ZEEKA CHRONICLES and I AM CANCER FREE.

She was inducted into the Indie Author’s Wall of Fame in January 2020.

Brenda was also honoured on 22nd February 2020 by the Peru Government for Excellence in Literature, and in August 2019 by the Seychelles Government for her Literary skills. 

 

 

You can connect with Brenda Mohammed through the links above.

I wish Brenda everything of the very best in her writing success.

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End Bell

As the year draws to a close in the blink of the year bowing out, it is a time to reflect on where we are, where we’ve come from and of course where we’re heading to.

 

Gratitude 

My gratitude for a writing life is the blessing of the creative gift to tell the stories of forgotten or unheard voices and the passion to sustain this. I am indebted to the people I’ve met along the way who support my creativity by reading my books and inspiring and supporting my desire to write more.

 

ALLi guides my ethical author status by providing up-to-the-minute publishing and marketing advice through podcasts, publications, members’ forums and Orna Ross’ weekly, Maker, Manager, and Marketer accountability for creatives.

The vibrant How to Write for Success FB group supports seasoned and novice writers in a nurturing, inspirational forum and is a space to create and showcase some of my pieces while supporting writers on their creations in a constructive, non-judgmental forum.

 

Joanna Francis Penn’s Travel and Books Podcast and Mark Dawson’s SPS Podcasts are informative, entertaining and inspirational.

 

Writers no longer work in isolation. Seclusion is necessary for the creative process and  networking creates visibility

 

 

Publishing

 

The third novel in the Souls Of Her Daughters Collection was completed, titled What Change May Come and a collection of short stories, Life’s Seasons was published this year. It has been a year of many things on all of life’s fronts with life experience extending understanding and the capacity to live my passion.

 

 

 

 

 

2020 – Onwards and Upwards

Currently, a new novel series/trilogy is in the making with the first draft complete and chilling for a month before several rounds of editing and reworking to be born into the world in the first quarter of next year.

Poetry is a calling that intensifies as evident in the post, Poetry Educates Prose. It was a joy to have my poem, ‘Listen,’ published in the December edition of the literary journal SIPAY. Coleridge, Wordsworth, Byron, Keats, Yeats and Orna Ross are poets I enjoy reading.

Additionally, supporting rising poets brings joy to my creative space.

 

 

What more…

 

Lots more writing and possibly looking at non-fiction and poetry publications while teaching, learning and growing.

 

 

 

A writing life, like reading, is the breath and pulse of life.

 

 

Have you signed up for my monthly or bi-monthly newsletters for special offers/ free books/stories and updates on new publications? Join the community here to enter and receive two free short stories.

 

As the year closes this chapter, I look forward with a glad and grateful heart.

 

Happy Reading, Happy Writing and Publishing this holiday season.

 

Season’s Greetings, may 2020 bring you the very best in peace, joy, good health, enhanced creative productivity, and abundant success in all your endeavours.

 

What are you grateful for as 2019 draws to a close?

 

 

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Writing Life: Looking Back

Time and technology have propelled us through 2018 at the speed of light. While the end is nigh, it’s nostalgic as memorable, or a year quickly fading and forgotten.

 

A nostalgic or forgotten year? What’s your choice?

 

It has been an incredible year on the writing and publishing front with changes appearing at every corner. While embracing change is the way forward, it has been challenging keeping pace with the rapidity of change in the publishing landscape.
Keeping informed and grounded is paramount to keep creative energy buoyant and abundant. Associations with professional writing bodies, tuning in to the wise and wonderful is essential.

After three publications this year:

•Souls of Her Daughters – March 2018
•The Rain – A Collection of Short Stories – July 2018
•Chosen Lives – October 2018

the year certainly sped by in a haze of complete joy and heady energy.

The Rain, A Collection of Short Stories,  an unplanned visitation that appeared between resting a novel draft before editing, took hold with an unstoppable fire, in the middle of the Australian winter, warming my heart and heating my hands, for a July 2018 publication.

 

The joy of writing is soulful, delightful and inspiring and brings to mind the memory of the amazing Aretha Franklin’s timeless, universal words breaking the wall to being voiceless, to find the necessary space through writing/music/painting that is unshackled by difference when it ignites, consumes, connects, offers hope, and entertains – surely that is the meaning of life!

 

It has been a year of connecting with writers near and far, the lovely Queensland author, Rhonda Forrest in the post, Australian Voices, and reading her novel, The Shack By the Bay, that invites the reader into the stunning North Queensland setting. Meeting online, award-winning, inspirational, Trinidadian author, Brenda Mohammed, author of How To Write For Success, a non-fiction book, and the famed fictional Zeeka Chronicles, and many more.

Valuable inspiration is drawn from  ALLi’s Director and Founder, Orna Ross, poet and author, on the creative process and the creative business mindset, essential for authors/artists. Joanna Penn’s The Creative Penn podcast provides up to date inspiration and information on publishing trends, and Mark Dawson’s SPF podcasts and courses are valuable resources for all writers.  Online inspiration is abundantly available from well-informed,  forerunners who selflessly share their experience in supporting aspiring and new authors.

Receiving readers’ comments on what they enjoyed or how they connected to your books is the sheer joy of knowing it has moved someone. It’s the validation needed to go on. Equally, it’s accepting that one learns something new every day, to improve, to become the best at what we do.

Looking back is undoubtedly encouraging the way forward to 2019, to reach out, share, connect and create.

 

Moving ahead, onwards and upwards is what matters the most,  by networking  in a shared global, writing community.

 

May the new year usher in abundant creative energy and books galore!

Happy NEW YEAR!

 

Happy writing, Happy reading.

Share your thoughts in the message box below to start a New Year conversation on your writing and reading aims for 2019.

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Rear to Front View

We hear and read much about goal setting with the onset of a New Year.

The rear view must be kept in sight to negotiate the lift-off to the front view, to minimise errors and risks that need refining − that backward glance reminder is significant as the new year begins

 

Looking back on the not so distant past year, its exit a rapidly fading memory− caught in the fanfare and fountain of eternal fireworks that kick-start the New Year− if we linger on the threshold of the New Year,  we might not move forward fast enough.

With everything in life, we get better at it when we do it over with a new spin, a new attitude and a passion to achieve the best we can.

 

We are human after all, we can only get better with a little effort and skill.

 

How do we keep the rear view in focus while bolting to the front view?

  • Make a list of your past successes
  • Make a list of some past shortcomings
  • Match them against each other
  • Now decide what is worth pursuing and what should be culled.
  • Work at culling first and shutting down that rear mirror.
  • Pick up the shortcomings that need attention – make them a priority, review, add-in, refine and polish. Repeat the cycle a few times. Once this is defined as the way forward, look at the new front view,  you want to see,  and advance at a speed and pace that is comfortable for you.

 

How do we create that front view?

  • Itemise THREE small goals you want to achieve
  • Make a list of the tools you might require
  • Set a timeline for how you will achieve each goal
  • Structure the above timeline in four monthly slots
  • Start with the goal that is perceived  as  crucial to a glorious front view
  •  Proceed with getting as close as you can as the four-monthly goal post rolls in
  • Move to the next goal, even if the first has not been fully realised, the first view should continue to grow as the second is being crafted
  • Continue with this pattern, with your eye on the long view

 

 

What if there are challenges within each new view?

Here’s the thing:

  • reflect-reflect-reflect
  • write down or voice record what happened, why it happened and what you can improve upon
  • without conscious acknowledgement of why the challenge arose, the risk is,  it might recur,  awareness through thought, guides and creates a redirection for a better view.
  • turn to influencers in your craft: writer, teacher, mother, father, painter, musician etc, draw inspiration from their blogs, podcasts, Facebook specific groups, face-to-face interactions and professional associations.
  • Ask questions, no question is too simple.

It’s a pattern− not an inflexible structure− t should be one that guides your drive through the year, a look in the rear-view mirror, as you proceed, is a worthwhile look− reduce the frequency when you reach your halfway mark.

Keep driving, keep looking ahead, and a safe and happy arrival is assured!

Happy New Year!

What’s your view on the rear view? Add your comments below.

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What have you done with your days?

It’s the summer of December 2017. Eleven months of the year are done and perhaps not quite dusted yet as we tie up loose ends to set us free for the holidays.

Do you take stock of the year in your business of life? Do you tick off all that you have achieved and create another list of goals yet to be achieved?

The final month of a year is time to step back, think over and set the bar further for a host of things that will drive your passion into the next year.

 

 

Here are some suggestions to consider although your life plans may differ:

  • Mark ‘you’ time in your calendar for a balanced life
  • Make time for those important people in your life
  • Toss toxic relationships
  • Avoid pulling down others – ‘live and let live’
  • Set goals desired for 2018
  • Address that which was not achieved in 2017
  • Search for and befriend influencers in your line of work/life experience
  • Lend a helping hand to those less fortunate – every little bit counts
  • Clear out the clutter that has not delivered as expected in 2017
  • Surround yourself with positive energy
  • Take a holiday once a year, go someplace you’ve never been to before.
  • Nurture your spirit
  • Look at yourself in the mirror- what ‘face’ are you presenting to the world? – SMILE!
  • Keep a gratitude journal, write one affirmation each day no matter how small it may seem to you
  • Ask yourself, ‘what would I like to change about myself for 2018?’ – again this could be a minor change
  • Remain authentic and steadfast to your life goals

 

It may seem like a long list, but all areas are within our grasp. Let’s take stock of what matters to us the most.

 

My stocktake revealed:

  • A reconsideration of balance
  • Time management considerations: to fulfill and extend my writing and reading aims
  • Making time for relationships that matter
  • Saying ‘no’ to some demands
  • To make a difference in what I do and how I do it
  • To get in more hours of sleep for a healthier me
  • And then some…always a WIP!

List your dreams for 2018, pin them up on your fridge, above your desk, on the dashboard of your car, your wallpaper on your phone, slip a page with your goals/dreams inside your favourite book. Create a five-year time capsule, bury it in the garden or a pot plant. (This was done in collaboration with a friend and looking back it’s amazing how most of the goals have been realised or are in the process of being realised. 

Inking rather than just thinking the dream is closer to claiming it!

Dig up the buried time capsule when the time is right, and you’ll be surprised!

Wishing you an insightful stocktake of the self in this final month of 2017.

Add your tips on how to clear the decks for the New Year with an action plan for an enhanced life in the message box below.

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