jcladyluv

Is Having a Deadline Really Such a Bad Idea?

February 26, 2013 jcladyluv

I don’t have a tight schedule to write on. I’m not an author who is on the New York Times Bestsellers list (not yet anyway) so I don’t have any major publishing houses breathing down my back for my next novel (they would be quite upset with me right now). I also don’t currently have any newspaper or magazine editors waiting for my next article and hounding me about when it will be done. That would sound like heaven to most writers, no stress and worry about being penalized for being late with an assignment.

However, what I have discovered about me over the last several years is that I am one of those writers (hopefully not the only one) who needs a deadline. I need that invisible ticking clock over my head ticking away the minutes that I am wasting on something that is not going to actually earn me any income as a writer. I need that editor or major publishing house breathing down my back and constantly checking in with me to see if I have finished that article yet, or that next novel that I would ordinarily be stuck on if not for the fact that I have a time limit.

I have an ebook that I was supposed to have written by now so that I can begin promoting and selling it. However, despite the fact that I have an outline to get me off to a good start I have yet to produce one single chapter of that ebook. Perhaps if I had some editor telling me that it needed to be done in a month I could sit down and just crank it out already.

I’ve always known that I worked a little better under pressure. It seems like the more intense the pressure the faster I work and the better the writing is. Even with school papers I have always waited until the final moment, even now as I am earning a Master’s degree I will wait until the night before the paper is due to do it. I wish I was that person who could start things a week or more ahead of time, giving myself ample time to get things done and produce good work but I don’t believe I am wired that way.

So since I don’t have that editor or that publishing house screaming at me through emails I have to be the one dangling that deadline in front of my face. I have to start setting dates for the production of my work (and actually stick to them instead of just moving the date further up) and either find a computer program (not sure where to even start with that one) to help me keep track of those deadlines or mark the calendar and hold firm to the date I set. I suppose until I have that editor or publishing house tapping their fingers at me as a signal to hurry up and finish my project, I have to hold myself accountable in other ways. Otherwise I might never make it to that New York Times Bestsellers list (and on Oprah’s book club list) and that is an outcome that I refuse to let happen.

How do all of you deal with deadlines? Are deadlines your friend or your enemy?

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

https://write-2-be.com/

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

Write 2 Be Magazine is now out so please go check it out at http://write2bemagazine.com/. Also please go and join the magazine on twitter https://twitter.com/write2bemag, join the email listing for the magazine or submit a request for an author interview at Write2bemagazine@yahoo.com, and also like the Write 2 Be Magazine fan page https://www.facebook.com/Write2BeMagazine. Please help support my endeavor and my new journey and help me spread the word about Write 2 Be and its meaning.

Feeling Grateful

February 22, 2013 jcladyluv

This week I had a lot of different emotions going on. I felt really excited for my well received second issue of Write 2 Be magazine. Then I felt anxious about the novel that I have yet to finish as well as the novel that I am also anxious to get started on. I also felt full of doubt and I still had to wonder is my writing really good enough to start going after those freelance positions at the newspapers and magazines that I want. However, despite all of that, I woke up today just feeling grateful.

Looking at the news and seeing all of the tragedy that there is out there and all of the problems that people are dealing with that are so much bigger than mine, I can’t really complain. I mean sure my struggles, to me, are going to always feel like they are mountains that grew out of molehills, and for me the issues that I am struggling with are difficult but whose issues aren’t. There are people, who just this past week in my area, have lost their children and all around the world there are people who are homeless, who are hungry, whose lives are cut short for one reason or another.

I woke up today, seemingly healthy, my child is healthy, and I am making it (miraculously) and I just had to tell God thank you. Not just for all that he has pulled me through, but also for all that he shields me from, and also for the potential of my opportunities both in the present and in the future to come. We all have to remind ourselves to be grateful for the things we have and sometimes for the things we don’t have as well because when we think about the things that we want and don’t have it gives us drive and fuels us with determination to be able to make those things happen.

Just remember, before you rest your head tonight, to make sure to take in what you do have around you and make sure that you cherish it. Another thing I am grateful for (among so many other things) is that I have this blog to share my thoughts and my life with all of you out there and I am grateful to those of you are interested enough to tune in. Have a great weekend everyone!

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

https://write-2-be.com/

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

Beware of the False Negatives

February 21, 2013 jcladyluv

I think that sometimes people, particularly artists, have a hard time trusting ourselves. I’ve noticed that with myself at least. I know I’ve shared with all of you in the past that I constantly second guess myself and then when I decide on something, I rethink it and wonder if I made the right choice. I wonder if I’m good enough. Sometimes I even think that when I have confidence in something that I might be getting too far ahead of myself because maybe, just maybe, I shouldn’t be nearly as confident as I am.

I tend to give advice to others about trusting their gut and doing what they know if right for them and trust that God will not steer them wrong or allow them to get too far off course. I give good advice that I never seem to be able to take myself. I seem to have no problem filling my head with all of these false negatives, I’m not good enough, I’m not smart enough, I’m not strong enough, I didn’t work hard enough, I didn’t try enough, but the odd thing is that deep down inside I know those to be false statements and yet they are so much easier to believe then the truth. Why do we do that?

We tell ourselves the worst, perhaps trying to not allow ourselves to get big headed or to get overly confident or to get our hopes up, but why shouldn’t we be all of those things? Why shouldn’t we be confident and why shouldn’t our hopes be raised? Joel Osteen said something in one of his sermons that stuck with me. He said “you can’t have faith if you don’t first have hope”. We’re always so worried about the other shoe dropping from somewhere out of the sky to make everything around us crumble.

The fact is that so many things can go wrong that we don’t need to add to it by standing by and waiting for what we presume might be the inevitable. Instead of worrying about this invisible shoe from some unknown place and filling our heads with all of these false negatives that we like to tell ourselves about our own abilities, why don’t we just chose to act now. Act on those instincts, don’t second guess, don’t over think, don’t wonder if you’re good enough, don’t question all that might go wrong, just take action.

Think of all of the opportunities you’re walking right pass while you are worrying and waiting for that other shoe that just might never drop. It’s a false expectation that helps to foster all of those false negatives that you have come to rely on to be true. Sometimes the lies we tell ourselves can end up being the death of all of our dreams.

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

https://write-2-be.com/

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

How Do I Get this Thing Off of Repeat?

February 20, 2013 jcladyluv

We sometimes tend to get into cycles that are not good for us to be in and they often seem to be a cycle that we subconsciously repeat. I have many cycles that I personally would like to never repeat again but today I started to notice a professional cycle beginning to repeat itself and it is one that has been on repeat for quite some time now and I am working my hardest to not hit the repeat button again.

I have this cycle with my writing (as I touched on briefly in yesterday’s post) where I get excited about my projects to the point where I can’t stop talking about it (and drive my friends crazy with these characters who are not real to them). Then I get stuck on how to miraculously work on all of my projects at precisely the same time (yes I tend to be drawn to the impossible). And when that doesn’t happen the way that I want to I just stop producing altogether.

I mean sure I am watching T.V. or a movie and calling it inspiration (which sometimes it does inspire), or I’m reading a book that I suddenly can’t seem to put down (which in and of itself is not a bad thing), or I’m staring at the blank computer screen willing the words to just somehow leap from my brain onto the screen without me having to lift a finger (too bad there’s no real technology for that—or is there). All of these are quite possibly valid and relaxing time wasters, but they are also great procrastination techniques as well.

I have a plan for this year, to focus mainly on moving my writing career forward and promoting myself and my brand and heading towards success. I promised myself that I would get away from the major distractions and really purposely direct my focus to what needs to get done to not only reach that level of success but to also remain on that level. I started to notice that I was doing it again. I was getting hung up on trying to work on all of my writing projects at one time and getting frustrated because it just isn’t possible to get an effective amount of work done trying to do it all at once, and lately I have found myself constructively procrastinating.

Constructive or not, procrastination is just that, procrastination. I have to stop repeating the cycle of trying to do too much at one time and instead, designate the appropriate amount of time to each project at different times and not getting discouraged if it’s not getting done as quickly as I would like it to get done. Truthfully, I would like my ideas to be able to write themselves because if that was possible I would have over a dozen novels by now, but good quality, thought provoking writing, takes time and can not be rushed. Expecting perfection in my writing is one cycle that I can’t wait to stop repeating itself, but it’s all a work in progress.

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

https://write-2-be.com/

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

The Reasons Why My Novel Might Not Be Finished Yet

February 19, 2013February 19, 2013 jcladyluv

I started my current novel some time ago (I’m embarrassed to even say how long ago it was) and it should’ve been finished by now. In fact I should’ve not only finished that novel but have already been well into the next one. Nevertheless, I am still not finished yet. I think that these are some of the reasons that I haven’t finished my novel yet:

Too many ideas
Can’t balance my time effectively
Too ambitious with the projects that I want to accomplish
Too much time spent not writing

In the end they all boil down to excuses that just aren’t good enough but I thought identifying with them would possibly help me finally get to the point where I could perhaps finish the novel. I believe the biggest reason I can’t seem to finish is the fact that I just have one too many ideas running around in my head; too many characters; too many plots. I did what I seem to always do. I get to that point where I am almost at the end (literally, I’m on Chapter 22 of a novel that is supposed to go to chapter 29—of course that could change) and then another idea that I’ve had in my head for sometime starts to become a stronger presence in my subconscious and then it’s the only idea I can concentrate on.

It’s a terrible habit that I have and it almost makes me wish that my problem was having a lack of ideas so the ones I have won’t take over every other project that I am working on. Perhaps this is another form of writer’s block. I always thought that it pertained to not having any ideas or inspiration to write at all but I think it might be just as bad to have so many ideas that you can’t focus on just one. Maybe I can’t seem to finish because it is my first attempt at writing a mystery and I’m nervous it won’t turn out as good as I am hoping. This is the point where I chuckle at people who seem to think that writing is easy and that all writers do is come up with stories. It’s so much harder then people think it is.

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

https://write-2-be.com/

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

Happy Love Day

February 14, 2013 jcladyluv

I know Valentine’s Day is almost over but I couldn’t let the entire day go by without at least a few words and then it’s back to work on the Magazine. Of course this is a day for showing just how much you love that special someone in your life. But don’t forget to do something special for yourself, and it doesn’t have to be today, but just be reminded today that you do need to show yourself that special attention sometimes too. In addition, don’t forget to show your love for your writing career and your writing in general.

If you’ve started to forget why you are working so hard at this, do something that reminds you just how much you love writing and why. Write in a journal, write something that you’re not doing as an assignment, write something that is different from what you normally do, just do something to reignite that deep love that you have for the craft of writing. So don’t take your loved ones for granted, don’t take yourself for granted, and don’t take your writing career for granted. Happy Love Day everyone!

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

https://write-2-be.com/

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

Put Your Money Where Your Dreams Are

February 13, 2013 jcladyluv

The idea and title, for that matter, of my blog post today was inspired by my best friend Ms. L’s video blog post regarding her thoughts on the State of the Union Address made by President Obama last night. One point she made in her post was about us, in our everyday lives, being willing to invest in ourselves and essentially “put your money where your dreams are”.

She got me to thinking of how we can find a happy medium in between investing everything we can into that dream we are striving towards and being able to somehow still reward ourselves for the accomplishments that we do achieve along the way in our journey. I thought of a couple of things that we can maybe think of doing that might not seem so impossible to actually do.

1.) Bank on Your Dreams—Give your dream its own bank account. If you already have a separate business account, this would be also considered your dream account (unless your own business is not in fact your dream- then you still need a different account to build on your dream). This is an account that is only for things pertaining to making your dream a reality. This IS NOT an emergency fund for when things start getting tough. If you are striving to be a successful writer and make your entire income by writing then when you need to go to a conference to network, that would be when you tap into this account. It is not for seeing a movie that you want to call research for your next great project. That is not an emergency.

2.) Be Your Own Bill Collector—Treat your dream, and the expenses for accomplishing your dream, as if it is a bill and you are its bill collector. Whether it be once every two weeks, or once a month (however your income flows) take a percentage or a set amount each time you get paid and put into your dream. This is where the dream account comes in handy. If we treat our dreams as if it is just like all of our bills other bills that come every month, the one’s we stress ourselves over, then perhaps we will actually manage to put some money into it.

3.) Give Up Unnecessary Wants—Be prepared to give up what you don’t need to have. You know what I mean. That night that you ate out when you had food in the house you could have fixed. That extra pair of shoes that you didn’t really need to buy. That bottle of wine that you didn’t actually need to get. Those cigarettes that you bought when you know you need to quit anyway. Those are things that you want, possibly things you think you need, but that you don’t. This is money being taken away from that dream you keep hoping to see progress in.

4.) Reward Yourself Feasibly—Okay just because I said that you have to be willing to give up those unnecessary wants doesn’t mean that I am saying to not ever reward yourself for the things you do accomplish along the way. If you don’t reward yourself in some way you will most likely start to feel like you’re not getting anything out of this because it is (unless you are lucky enough to make it big overnight) going to take some time to see the complete end result that you are looking for. However, let’s keep our end results in mind when we reward ourselves. For instance, I can see buying those sneakers that you really need because your current pair are almost in the category of falling apart, but do you really think the extra pair of $300 shoes is necessary. That handbag that you want to buy for $100 is not really a need when you have a dozen perfectly good handbags at home (and that one is hard for me because purses are my weakness). One cup of Starbucks a week is a nice reward but do you actually need to go every day when you have a perfectly good coffee maker at home. Reward in moderation.

So do you see any of these on the list that you can at least start with this week? I think that I can see one specifically that I need to do for myself that I can’t even believe I haven’t done yet. Hopefully you will find some of these helpful and perhaps you can even think of a few that I didn’t include that you can share with me. Let’s start taking our dreams off of the back burner where we tend to forget about them, and placing them on that front burner so they are always at the top of our agenda. We have to take our dreams seriously, because if we don’t know no one else will.

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

https://write-2-be.com/

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

If Only I Could Have It All…Time That Is

February 12, 2013 jcladyluv

I don’t think this is the first time I’ve mentioned this but I have extreme issues with time management. With me and my writing there isn’t a problem with having enough ideas, I have plenty of those (too many in fact). There isn’t necessarily a problem with drive and determination, I have tons of that. There is, however, a serious mismanagement of time. It isn’t always that I don’t have enough time either (although it certainly feels that way), but rather that I don’t think that I am doing the right things with my time.

I know what you’re thinking. If you know that then it should be easy to fix, right. Well you know what they say. Some things are just easier said then done. I get trapped by the normal time traps that I’m sure trap everyone from time to time; checking emails, checking facebook (both my personal page and the Write 2 Be fan page-seriously for networking purposes mostly), watching TV (especially the shows that inspire further creativity), and just the everyday mom stuff.

It’s not that I don’t get any work done, I do, but I haven’t gotten back to my novel in months and I miss it. I miss that side of my writing and it’s not as if I don’t want to finish my novel, I just can’t seem to find the time. At least it always feels that way. I know it should be a simple solution but rarely will the things that seem simple ever actually be simple. So I thought of a few things that I could possibly do to improve my time issues as it pertains to my writing.

1.) Cut out some of my TV time— Okay not necessarily just completely ignore all of the shows I love and can’t stand to miss. But perhaps I could block out a chunk of time for my writing that can not be interrupted by the television and just DVR those shows that I can’t miss (after all what else do I have DVR for). That way I can also have that set time where I’m relaxing and catching up on all of the TV that I missed while writing.

2.) Not check my emails every thirty minutes— Seriously, what am I really going to miss in thirty minutes. I just need to set three times in a day that I can check my emails. There probably won’t be a crucially urgent email in there that can’t wait to be read.

3.) Not try to make everything perfect—Nothing is perfect and you would think that I would have realized this already. A large part of what takes up the time that I do spend writing is stressing about whether everything that I produced is perfect or not. Nothing comes of trying to make things 100% perfect except for a lot of wasted time and missed writing assignments. Perfection is, after all, overrated.

4.) Map out a schedule—I know all of the projects that I need to work on, and I know all of the marketing that I need to do to further promote myself, now I just need to set certain time periods to work on certain projects. That way, if I set a specific timeline to work on a project then I know I have that allotted amount of time to work on that project and that project only. This way I can make absolute sure that something gets worked on. It’s more efficient then what I am doing now which is just working in whatever I can whenever I can.

Hopefully if I begin practicing some of these tips I will be able to finish my novel and move and perhaps even start the next one. Maybe some of these tips can also work for someone else out there who is struggling with actually producing the amount of work they know they should be getting out. After all, time doesn’t stand still and we can’t keep wasting it by not having a plan of how best to use it.

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

https://write-2-be.com/

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

Self-Promotion Monday

February 11, 2013 jcladyluv

The second issue of the Write 2 Be Magazine will be available on Friday and it is just as nerve-racking as when I put together the first issue. However, nerve-racking it may be, it is still the most purposeful I have felt in a long time. I am still busy putting together the issue so I don’t have much to say today but I did want to take this time to post a few announcements concerning the magazine. I guess I am making today self-promotion Monday. So below are a few things that pertain to the magazine and to all of the fellow writers who may want to join the magazine and who would like to write for the magazine.

Always Looking for Writers and Artists’

Write 2 Be Magazine is looking for writers to share their words through poetry, short story, personal essays, or articles on and about writing. We are also accepting artwork or photography, book reviews, as well as video clips of spoken word performances. If you are interested in joining the community of writers that make up Write 2 Be Magazine please feel free to e-mail any submissions and/or inquiries to write2bemagazine@yahoo.com.

Seeking Authors to Interview

Write 2 Be Magazine is looking for authors to interview and who would like to bring attention to their published work and discuss their journey within their writing career. Please submit all requests for an email interview to write2bemagazine@yahoo.com and for those who live in the DMV area, you can request a face to face interview if you would prefer. I look forward to being able to help bring attention to the work of more talented writers and poets, in particular those who are just getting started on their journey.

February’s Magazine Giveaway

Last month Write 2 Be Magazine was giving away a Starbucks gift card for anyone who liked the Write 2 Be Magazine facebook fan page. This month I am giving away a FREE copy of my book, The Diary: Succession of Lies. For more information on how you can be entered to win a free copy of my book tune into the magazine on Friday.

I hope to see what wonderful artists’ you are soon!

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

https://write-2-be.com/

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

The Perception of Strength

February 7, 2013February 7, 2013 jcladyluv

It may sound strange but I sometimes get annoyed with people always using strong as one of the words to describe me. People tell me that I’ve been through so much and that with all of the struggles that I’ve had and still have they are amazed at my strength and how I manage to persevere through it and towards something better.

I want to say “it’s not as if I actually have a choice, I can’t just curl up and die”. More importantly I want to let them know that I am most certainly not strong, at least not any stronger than they are or anyone else out in this world going through horrific tragedies. What exactly is it to be strong anyway?

I think that people have this idea, particularly about women, that they are always sure of themselves, sure of where they are going, unafraid, and iron willed. There is this notion that if we are emotional, if we show our vulnerability, if we express our fears and our doubts, that somehow that makes us weak. I must admit I have played into that a lot.

I’m an extremely emotional person and I don’t try to hide it but I find myself sometimes apologizing for it and in many ways feeling embarrassed because of it. My mother once told me that tears and crying is for the weak and I have to admit that this made me even more apprehensive about showing my emotions to the general public.

For the people that really know me, on a deep and personal level, and they know my weaknesses and love me because of them as well as in spite of them, I will show that side. However, for the rest of the world, the outside people who have yet to get to know me, I have discovered that I have become that person who tries to put on the front of strength because I don’t want them to see what they might perceive as weak.

The thing that I have learned through discovering more about myself is that it is okay to not be iron willed all the time. Showing emotion, shedding tears, being afraid, or having doubts doesn’t make you any less strong than the people who won’t let their guard down enough to show cracks of vulnerability.

Strength is not in just bouncing back from tragedy or powering through the hard times. Strength isn’t about shutting people out because you are afraid of getting rejected. Strength is not always proving that you have all of the answers when things don’t go as planned. Strength is about being able to admit that you are afraid. It’s about acknowledging that you don’t have all the answers and that it’s okay, because you don’t need all of the answers today. Having strength is acknowledging that sometimes it is okay to be weak. As I shift into the next level of my journey and move further towards my success I don’t want to waste time and energy trying to keep up a front of always being strong. Because I am not.

I Have the Write 2 Be Strong In Spite of My Weaknesses… What is Your Write 2 Be?

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

https://write-2-be.com/

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

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