Author: jcladyluv

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

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

No Excuses Allowed (Anymore)

January 4, 2012 jcladyluv

“Excuses are the nails used to build a house of failure.”

~Don Wilder

I was in the gym this morning and one of the guys in there (who hadn’t been there for about two weeks) strolled in to a barrage of questions from everyone else in the weight room. In our gym we look after one another and we definitely hold everyone accountable to what they say they want to accomplish by coming there. So this particular person constantly comes in the gym speaking about how he plans on being more consistent and then he will disappear for about a week. When he comes back in he talks about all of the things that threw him off of his plan to be consistent and the mistakes that he made in his diet that made him feel too guilty to come back to the gym on a regular basis. We tell him the same thing time after time. That it doesn’t matter the mistakes he made in his own plan, or that he got off track. What matters is that he corrects the mistakes and gets it together. In one ear and out the other our words go every time.

Today, for every excuse he gave me, I simply said to him “this is the year for no excuses”. He responded by saying “but I fell off, I messed up”. I told him that it doesn’t matter that you ‘fell off’ or that you made mistakes in your own plan, what will make those mistakes matter is if you give those mistakes power by never correcting them. He asked me “well haven’t you ever made mistakes in your diet and messed up and then felt guilty about it?” and I said ‘sure I mess up in my diet because I’m an emotional eater, and I’ve missed more than one or two days at the gym but I don’t feel guilty about it because I know that I am going to correct it and eventually I do’.

Now this conversation may just be in reference to going to the gym and maintaining a healthy regimen but the message applies to everyday life as well. We all make mistakes that we feel guilty about and we sometimes think that we can’t come back from whatever mistake it is but the reality is that we can and using those mistakes then becomes more of an excuse. Not one person walking this earth is perfect or goes without making one single mistake. Sometimes what makes the mistakes worse than what they really are is the fact that we keep repeating them and never do what needs to be done to correct them.

I think that sometimes we should celebrate the fact that we are imperfect beings because it will be those imperfections that strengthen our character and our determination to do the things that we were put here to do. Those imperfections allow us to realize that while we may fall down, we most certainly have the strength to get back up. So for the year of 2012, let’s try to take the attitude that we won’t make any excuses, nor will we accept any. If we make a mistake, don’t let that very mistake be a reason that we don’t correct our actions. So you fell down, so what. Sit up, get your bearings together, dust yourself off, and get back up again. It will only stay a mistake if you don’t do anything to correct it. Until tomorrow…Rejoice in your imperfections, they are apart of what makes you who you are!

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

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

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

The Other Version of Me

January 3, 2012 jcladyluv

There is another side of me. I would refer to her as my other personality but then people would get the wrong idea and suddenly think that I am crazy and need to be committed (some days they might be right). Now while I do find myself communicating with my characters from one novel or another on a regular basis, I do not hear voices and speak to them and I don’t think that I have a twin version of myself that I talk to at night. But there is another version of myself that I am referring to when I speak about my other self. I am talking about the version of me that I feel that I should be by now, the version of me that I see myself becoming in the not so distant future.

That version of me is already living inManhattan,New Yorkand is on the New York Times Bestseller’s list for three out of her four published novels. She goes on at least eight book signing tours a year (and that would be a slow year). She speaks to elementary, middle, and high schools on the importance of not bullying their peers and emphasizing the impact that the bullying has on the victims. She also speaks at multiple writing seminars and networking events about nurturing the craft of writing. She has two thriving online magazines, one of which comes out in print on a quarterly basis; both of which are produced and published through her publishing company.

Her media empire would be continuously producing movies, television shows, and stage plays that promote self-confidence and self-esteem, empower women of all races, and emphasize the message of people being at peace with themselves and believing that they have the right to be (Write 2 Be) who they are; a Media empire that will eventually give Tyler Perry a run for his money. She will finally get out of her own way and start singing back up for her best friend Ms. L as she goes on her many tours and perhaps will even sing solo in small venues around town. She will be in the process of accumulating funding for her non-profit creativity camp for kids (Write 2 Be Creativity Camp) that will help promote and encourage the importance and development of the arts in children. Last but certainly not least, she will be making moves to begin opening up her local bookstore that will be like no other bookstore. Whew! This woman is busy!

It sounds like a lot, I know, but this is the version of me that I am striving to be and who I believe that I was meant to be. I know that it will take more than one year to get to that version of myself but 2012 is definitely going to be the year in which I begin to clear the path of all of the self-made obstacles that I have created over the years. It is going to be the year in which I am going to take clear and calculated steps that will further me in my efforts to becoming that person. The other version of myself (the one I want to be) is standing on the other side of a very long bridge and this year I am making my way over to her. What a journey I am sure it will be. I guess when I reach her I will let you know. What does your “other self” look like to you? Until tomorrow…Are you who you always thought you would be? If not, what’s stopping you?

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

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

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

Back to Business

January 2, 2012 jcladyluv

So now that it is the second day of the New Year everyone should already have their Christmas Tree taken down (or put out in case of those who actually like real trees), the decorations back in their storage space (only to be taken out next year), and the new calendar up with important dates already marked. Hopefully another thing that everyone also has is their game plan in place for the 2012. The holidays are over and now it is time to get back to the business of accomplishing the goals that you set for this year. Whatever your goals are today is the time to begin working on them. Take those plans that you began making in December of 2011 and begin acting on them as if your life depended on it, because it does. I know that I’ve got a novel to finish up and a magazine that needs to be finished and put together by the end of January (preferably before the end) so I’ve got to get moving myself. Until tomorrow…Get moving on those dreams, there’s no more time to waste!

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

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

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

My New Year’s Wish for All of You

December 31, 2011 jcladyluv

I just wanted to take some time out to wish all of you a Happy New Year. I will be embracing the year 2012 with the faith that this will be a good year for me and that it will bring new adventures and experiences for me. Last year I went into 2011 saying that it was going to be a good year for me, but in the back of my mind there was always doubt there and I didn’t really believe that it would be. This year I am going to have faith and confidence that it will. I wanted to encourage everyone to embark on this upcoming year embracing the idea of change and being fearless. I pray that all of you will go into the New Year with confidence and faith that whatever you are wanting for yourselves this year will happen. Until tomorrow…Have a Safe and Blessed New Year’s Eve!

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

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

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

My Writer Wish List

December 30, 2011 jcladyluv

I was thinking about all of the things that I would have loved to have gotten for Christmas. Not extravagant things, not a whole closet full of clothes (maybe just 1 new pair of jeans), not a lot of jewelry, and not expensive shoes (okay maybe just 1 inexpensive pair). The things that I would’ve liked for Christmas are all pertaining to my craft of writing. Well Christmas has come and gone and I still have my Writer Wish List without anything being crossed off so I guess that just adds another list of things that I need to strive for in the year 2012 to be able to obtain. Today I thought I would share my Writer Wish List with all of you, somewhat as a way to hold myself to the task of achieving some, if not all, of the items on the list.

A yearly subscription to the ‘Writer’s Digest’ Magazine and ‘The Writer’ Magazine so I won’t miss one single issue.
A New Laptop that doesn’t go as slow as molasses and would be able to hold some of the software that I would also like to get.
Six month’s supply of printing cartridges so I won’t run out of ink for at least that length of time.
A gift card to either a book store or an office supply store.
A set of pretty purple pens (that seems to be my favorite color to write with even though my personal favorite color is blue).
A year supply of coffee (the good stuff while we’re at it).
A stack of empty journals/notebooks with pretty covers.
The Scrivener software for writers as well the Adobe Creative Suite software.
An Agent
A new batch of customized business cards to pass out and bring in some new clients.

So that’s my Writer wish list for the New Year. So what are some of your most needed items on your Writer wish list? Until tomorrow…Hope you have all of your lists ready for 2012.

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

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

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

Who Says Writing is Not a Job?

December 29, 2011 jcladyluv

“Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don’t feel I should be doing something else.”
~Gloria Steinem

After finishing up my walk/run on the treadmill in the gym this morning I began talking to two fellow gym members and we were watching The Wendy Williams Show (no one bothers to turn the T.V. channel after the news goes off) and this morning the Braxton family were the guests today. Now despite saying that I would never watch that mess during the first season (because I hate most reality TV shows), I accidentally ended up watching it one night and I was immediately hooked and have been watching ever since. There’s so much about the Braxton family that I learned in watching their show and it is extremely entertaining to say the least.

Needless to say, one of the sisters, Towanda, is separated from her husband and she talked about that today on The Wendy Williams Show and that one of the main reasons that they are separated is because he doesn’t have a job. Now because I watch the show I know that her husband is a writer, albeit a struggling writer, but a writer nonetheless. He just self-published his first book and already has himself lined up for several media and book events so he is soon about to take off. However, because the fruits of his labor have not been seen yet, he is still seen as the man with no job.

I take great issue with this because that implies that writing is not a job. This sparked some mild debate with my two gym buddies because initially they felt as if I was attacking them. After making it clear that I was not directly referring to them, I expressed how I am constantly hearing that about writers. It’s as if you say you’re a writer and people then say oh, but what is your job. That is my job. I AM A WRITER! It takes time, discipline, determination, persistence, and sheer willpower to put in the work to write a book and then do everything else that it takes to get that book published and then make it successful. Writing is no small feat and I am getting really tired of people who dismiss it as simply a hobby or something that someone with an actual job does on the side.

Now don’t get me wrong, there are people with skilled jobs or even other major career paths who do in fact write on the side and I am not trying to take anything away from them. But you do have those people who are not better suited for a regular, skilled, 9 to 5, type of job because it would simply just take away from doing what it is that they were truly meant to do. I am one of those people. I have had regular jobs and I have once thought about taking up a particular skilled job that I could make a career out of but I just simply am not built that way. I was born to be a writer and while I do not currently have what other people would consider a job, I feel that everyday that I sit down to my computer and write on my blog, or write an article for some online publication, or send out my queries to national magazines for my articles, or send out queries to agents for representation, or work on my novels, or edit someone else’s novel, that I am doing my JOB.

I don’t make as much (right now) that I would like to be making and I do struggle at times without having that steady stream of bi-weekly income to come into my household but I don’t regret not going out there and seeking typical employment. I do what I love and I am home for my daughter when she gets home from school to help her with homework and for whatever else her needs are. I feel like people who just choose to write for a living with no additional methods of income get a really bad wrap. Out of work Actors don’t get told that they are no longer considered Actors because they are not currently making a steady stream of income, no they are still Actors, so what is so different about being a writer? I don’t knock anyone that does go to work in the morning and comes home and parents their children and then if they want to write, sit and write at night. I think that it is admirable and very tough to do, but everyone is not built that way. I know that I was never good at it and frankly it made me quite miserable and at times unbearable to deal with.

I suppose that I am writing to all of those writers out there who might at times be feeling guilty about making the choice to either quit their regular jobs or just not seek another one altogether to focus on their writing. If you feel that writing is your purpose and what you were meant to do, if you feel that you are truly doing God’s work, then go for it. You will struggle, you will get frustrated, you will be looked at funny, you will get rejected, but in the end, when your goal is accomplished and you get to where you always envisioned yourself being, then it will all be worth it. Until tomorrow…Be brave enough to do what’s in your heart and commit yourself to following through.

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

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

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

Looking for a Writing Course

December 28, 2011 jcladyluv

One of the goals on my list for the 2012 year is to take a couple of writing courses. Even the greatest of writers (which I am working on becoming) need to enhance their already impeccable writing skills. There might be techniques that they have forgotten or desire to learn and a course every now and then can be just the thing to help. I specifically would like to take a course in writing short stories because I have the hardest time writing them (possibly because I am so incredibly long-winded) and I just need some instruction in that particular area. Now I don’t know when I will be taking this course because I haven’t even found one yet, nor have I saved up the money to do it, but I am looking so if any of you out there know of any short story writing courses that they would like to recommend please leave a comment. Okay now I’ve shared one of my goals on my list for the New Year, why don’t you share one with me.

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

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

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

God Called One of His Angels Home Today

December 27, 2011 jcladyluv

“What we are is God’s gift to us. What we become is our gift to God.”

~Eleanor Powell

I had something completely different in mind to blog about today but when my best friend Ms. L called me with some tragic news that took place in her family I was moved to write something totally different. A 38 year old woman is no longer in this world today due to a heart attack that no one saw coming and obviously (because of her age and good health) could not have been predicted. Ms. L had just spoken to her last night and she was said to have been lively and energetic, without any sign of something being wrong. Then she was just gone.

Now while I did not know this person personally I feel sadness for Ms. L and her family and the immediate family of the person they lost. Mostly I feel such sadness for her 8 year old little girl who was unfortunate enough to be the one to find her because she had no idea (clearly) that this would be her last Christmas with her mother. This is a painful reminder of the fact that none of us are promised tomorrow.

I find myself constantly telling myself that I will start really living my life tomorrow, or next week, or next year, after I have everything mapped out. Today I realized the problem with that way of thinking. We don’t know what life we have left on this earth and because of that we have to start living that life. I’m not dismissing the act of planning what it is that you want to do in life (I don’t think I could stop planning if I tried) as well as what you want out of it. However, all of that planning should not go to waste by forgetting to live out those plans before we lose our chance to.

And for those of you out there who have unspoken words that you think you have all this time left to say, say them now because none of us know if we will have another time to say them. Until tomorrow…Never take for granted the life that you have.

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

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

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

Even When No One Is Looking

December 26, 2011 jcladyluv

So I didn’t necessarily feel like blogging today but I’ve already taken a two day break over the Christmas holiday and I didn’t want to risk missing anymore. I was having trouble figuring out what to write about today and I found that I wasn’t feeling all that motivated because I took a look at the stats of my blog and saw that there weren’t that many people reading what I had to say to begin with. I think I need for my best friend Ms. L. to share her secrets with me because she can go from having a bad blog day to a good blog day in a matter of minutes with just one post. Maybe it’s just not my blog moment yet. I guess that I just have to wait my turn in that area too. It feels like I always seem to be waiting for my turn at something. Well they say that the best things come to those who wait and since I don’t plan on ever giving up on writing, I guess I’ll just keep on blogging and writing my novels and doing whatever else my journey as a writer brings to me even if no one is looking (or in this case reading). Until tomorrow…Always do what you love doing whether people are watching or not!

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”