Author: jcladyluv

     It seems no matter what things in life that you push aside and what responsibilities you overlook for the day you never get the time to yourself that you so desperately need and deserve.  It may often seem like our lives have just become a series of tasks to complete rather than moments to enjoy.  But whatever happened to making every moment count?  Did it get replaced with the job, the kids, the housework, the friends and the bills that never go away?  At what point did we abandon our responsibilities to ourselves and our own sanity?  And at what point do we stop and take some time for ourselves without any interruptions?  Have we somehow managed to put our needs on a shelf that we can no longer reach?

     Okay getting a moment to yourself without interruptions may never really happen but in theory it’s certainly something to strive for.  As a mother, and a writer among many other things I find that it always seems like you just never have enough time to do everything it is that you want to do.  But who does.  My problem, however, isn’t knowing how to make time for myself.  I’m the opposite.  I always manage to sneak in a little relaxation or a late night movie with a snack here and there.  My problem is that I tend to feel guilty about the time that I do steal for myself.  I sometimes feel as though I shouldn’t have stopped to take that moment and that there is so much more that I could be doing or writing with that little “break” in time.  But I’ve realized lately that I had the right idea all along and that maybe those little “breaks” in time are what keep me going.

     If I always kept going and never stopped to appreciate what I have and the fact that I made it through yet another day I think that I quite possibly would’ve gone crazy by now.   There’s no sense in feeling like your at your wits end and wanting to pull your hair out if you can avoid all of that by simply stopping to breathe and regain your thoughts.  I often feel like those moments I’ve stolen for myself are one’s that I could’ve used to write something worthwhile but if I hadn’t taken those moments I wouldn’t have had ideas for other stories and other projects and I’d find myself hitting a mental wall more often than not.  When I don’t take the time for myself I begin feeling frustrated, and overwhelmed and I start to loose sight of what’s important to me.  Sometimes I just have to stop doing for a while and just be.

     It’s an odd concept but I sometimes think that people with a full life really have no life at all because they never take the time to enjoy it.  They are consumed with the day to day worries of the children, and the friends, the boyfriend or the spouse, and those ever so popular bills that you think if you give your undivided attention to will somehow go away.  They never just go take a walk and soak up the environment, or go out to eat by themselves to just enjoy their own company.  They are so busy taking care of everything and everyone else that they forget about themselves and just put themselves off until later.  But how long can you really put yourself off?  Taking time for yourself brings a sense of peace, renews your thoughts and taps into that creative energy that you may not even know you possess.  Don’t take time for granted because it tends to fly by when nobody’s looking.  I’m not saying that you should all of a sudden neglect the rest of your responsibilities but while you’re looking after everyone else, who is it that’s supposed to look after you?

Jimmetta Carpenter

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Release Date To Be Announced)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

www.freefalllit.com

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

https://writetobe.wordpress.com/

http://spokenlikeaqueen.blogspot.com/

www.myspace.com/jcladyluv

www.lulu.com/ladybugpress

www.authorsden.com/jimmettacarpenter

There are always going to be mistakes in our lives that we wish we hadn’t made and things in our lives that we tend to regret.  The problem lies in when those mistakes and those regrets start to take up too much of our thought process.   We either forget the good things that might’ve come out of those mistakes or we dwell on the regrets so much that we can’t get our lives back on the right path.  What if we are so stuck on regretting what we didn’t get accomplished or not being at the place in life that we feel we should be that those regrets start to turn into procrastination and even worse, excuses.  Okay so you’ve now realized where it is that you went wrong.  Are you going to keep dwelling on that regret and that mistake or are you going to stop turning that regret into your next excuse and get your life back on track and back into high gear.

I say this as I am really just now beginning to fully understand it but our past is not our present nor does it have to be our future.  So often we become so obsessed with all of the regrets we have over what goals we were unable to achieve that we end up convincing ourselves that it is too late for those goals and that we are doomed to fail at anything we do.  Regretting what you did or didn’t do doesn’t enhance you in any way.  In reality all it does is drain you emotionally, physically, and spiritually.  We can’t allow our regrets to keep us chained to a prison of should of’s, could of’s and would of’s or else we will never turn them into a reality.  Plain and simple, regrets are just a waste of time, and time that none of us have to waste.     

We don’t plan on making as many mistakes in our lives as we do.  We make plans and navigate paths on how to get to our destination and just assume that everything will turn out the way we intend for them to.  We don’t leave much room for any error or account for any mistakes so of course we are taken aback when these mistakes that we didn’t see coming take us so far off course.  However the way to get back on track is not to fill our heads with regret after regret.  Eventually you have to take those regrets and turn them into awareness.  Become aware of your mistakes and instead of letting them become your regrets, let them remain your life lessons. 

At some point in our lives we all find ourselves wishing that we could go back and change our approach to different situations.  But some mistakes and outcomes are just beyond our control and no matter how much we would like to we can’t go back.  So why waste time wishing we could.  Why not take those moments we regret the most and use them as our motivation to turn things back around.  If we hold on to those regrets for too long they will eventually hold us back and they will become the next excuse of why we couldn’t accomplish something else we wanted to accomplish and inevitably they will breed new regrets.  It would be a shame to close the door on our future accomplishments by dwelling on the failed attempts at the old ones.  It is better to look ahead and prepare for what could be than to keep looking back and regret what could’ve been.    

Jimmetta Carpenter

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Release Date To Be Announced)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

www.freefalllit.com

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

https://writetobe.wordpress.com/

http://spokenlikeaqueen.blogspot.com/

www.myspace.com/jcladyluv

www.lulu.com/ladybugpress

www.authorsden.com/jimmettacarpenter

When I tell people that I am a writer it bothers me to hear those who say, “Oh that’s a nice hobby, what do you really want to do with your life?” I just reply, “Writing is my life, it’s who I am.” That’s really the only way that I can address those kinds of statements. People have no idea just what it takes to be a writer. It may look as if we just sit around and write all day and get to be free spirits but it’s so much more then that. Writing is reading, and researching, and conversing with a multitude of people. It is being confident in what you write and who you are within that particular piece of work. It is being determined to not let the cynics and the pessimists get inside your head (which is harder than you would think). It’s withstanding the constant rejections and being able to press on. Writing is an art and a writer is the person who transforms that art from idea to actual vision. We writers have what is called a calling, not a drive, but a pull that leaves us no choice but to follow it.
Writers are more than just people who write down words as a way of life. Writing involves so much more than that. We are people who live and breathe words. We are people who are truly in love with words and the meanings behind them. Writers are surveyors, reporters, interpreters, storytellers, and most of all observers. We have a passion for ideas that is almost too intense. We are fearless explorers who are engaged in life, and love and know what it means to be alive, to grow, to experience, to know, to learn, to love, and to fear. Writers ask what if? We want to know more than just the who, what, when, and where, we want to know why? We need to know why.
Writers are complicated to say the very least and contrary to popular belief this profession does not come as easy as it may be perceived. There are a lot of ups and downs that accompany being a writer but the trick is having or forming really thick skin. That mixed in with patience, persistence, and perseverance might get you really far in this line of work. We’ve learned to laugh at ourselves and throw out those perfectionist standards, which we sometimes set. Rejection is a way of life for writers but we come with an odd mix of optimism and humility along with a humble heart and a healthy dose of realism that seem to help. Writers have to be confident. Sure we let that circle of doubt cloud us from time to time wondering whether or not what we’re doing is really worth it or not. But we get through it and move past it and move on.
Writers are an example of many things such as strength, extreme willpower, and a huge amount of creativity and idealism. We find the discipline and stamina to support our love of words and we use our vigorous imagination to interpret our experiences in life. Writers are people who have something to say and something that they absolutely have to get out. Writing to me isn’t a choice, or just a profession. It is who I am and it is how I express myself and it’s how I get heard. It is where I implement the voices in my head that are trying to get through to someone else but have no way to do it on their own. Writing isn’t just a career it is an existence. I not only write because I can’t fight the urge, but I write simply because I have no choice.
 Jimmetta Carpenter

“The Diary: Succession of Lies” (Release Date To Be Announced)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

www.myspace.com/jcladyluv

www.lulu.com/ladybugpress

www.authorsden.com/jimmettacarpenter

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

https://writetobe.wordpress.com/

www.freefalllit.com

http://spokenlikeaqueen.blogspot.com/  

It’s hard to find the balance between your job and your career especially when the two don’t go hand in hand.  The job seems to always take precedence over the career because it is, after all, how you manage to pay the bills and put food on the table for you and your family.  It’s nice when our career and our job are one in the same but what do you do if they aren’t?  If your job takes up so much of your time and you can’t seem to balance it with your career then how will you ever reach the point where you make your career your job? 

As a writer who would love to be a stay at home writer and mom I find having a full time job highly disruptive to my creative thought process.  It seems like I would have the time when I get home to write and work on whatever projects I have to work on but after picking up my daughter, getting her home, fed, bathed, and ready for bed and getting myself ready to do the same thing all over again the next day I find that I am way to tired to stay focused on my writing which is my dream.  I kept waiting for me to get adjusted to my new schedule so that I could incorporate my writing time in there with the rest of my day but I am beginning to realize that being adjusted to a hectic schedule is more of an ideal then a reality.  It’s up to me to MAKE myself adjusted and if the sacrifice happens to be sleep or the TV or even talking on the telephone then so be it. 

I read about the writers who have sacrificed so much for their craft and I wonder why even though I say I am willing to make those sacrifices, when the time comes to actually make them I seem to fall short.  I guess it’s just a matter of whether I am really as serious about my writing as I say I am and the answer to that question is definitely a yes.  Now I just have to work everything in and if the thing that I have to give up a little of is sleep or other social activities that disrupt my writing time then I think that to accomplish the dreams I set out to accomplish it is well worth it.   

There are many steps in balancing your life out such as setting deadlines for yourself, and organizing your work and your goals but the first step is to see what it is that you are spending your time doing.  Making a schedule of what your day normally looks like is helpful because then you can see where you could actually be writing instead wasting your time on other frivolous things.  Once you do that then you can make a new schedule that involves more writing then television watching or talking on the telephone.  You can’t get anywhere with your work without giving up some old bad habits.  

I guess finding a balance between your job and your career and making the two work together requires you to re-focus and re-prioritize and make yourself see what is most important to you.  I just know that I don’t want to find myself, ten years later, wondering why it took me so long to get anything accomplished and looking back to find that the hold up and the problem all along was me not being focused enough and sacrificing enough to find that balance.  All that life has become, or anything that you do in your life, is a balancing act. It’s a constant everyday test as to whether you can really multi-task and do everything without letting yourself get distracted.  And even though it may seem easy to stay focused on something that you know you want so bad, it is anything but easy.  But it will almost certainly turn out to be well worth all of the sacrifices that you made to get where you are destined to be.       

Jimmetta Carpenter

So I have been reading a very informative book on the proper way to boost my freelance writing career into high gear which it definitely not at this time.  I’ve always had my mind set on one or two different ways that I can make money with my writing but this book has opened my mind up to other ways that I never even thought about doing until this book put those ideas into a broader perspective.  There are so many things that I can be doing with my writing talent, some of them of which I might not necessarily want to do, but they have a very big potential to make my career more lucrative and that is exactly what I want at this stage in my life.  That means that I now have to step out of my comfort zone of what I am used to doing and try things that I have never done before and some I’ve never even thought about trying before.  I will admit that I am not particularly good with change but I suppose in life that is sometimes what makes it worthwhile is the change.  I am just going to have to try my best to be more and more productive and work on several projects at a time because working on one at a time is not producing enough.  I am a list person so I think that making list will work better for me in terms of actually producing work and getting things done.  So this month I am going to take some time and try and maybe distance myself from people (not total isolation but just not talk on the phone so much which I do an incredible amount of) and probably not focus so much on the man in my life who gives my hell sometimes and get my head into what it is that I need to be doing which is turning my career into something that is going to not just make ends meet but make things comfortable and so I won’t have to worry about how this bill and that bill will get paid.  Well I suppose that I should stop writing about wanting to get paid and go do it.  Until next time….Be Blessed!!!   

Jimmetta Carpenter

“The Diary: Succession of Lies” (Release Date To Be Announced)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

www.myspace.com/jcladyluv

www.lulu.com/ladybugpress

www.authorsden.com/jimmettacarpenter

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

https://writetobe.wordpress.com/

www.freefalllit.com

I don’t exactly know what seems to be different about this New Year and about the goals and promises that I made to myself but I feel like my mind is focused on what I want and that I am being consistently productive.  I know what I want to happen this year and while I can not control everything such as the outcome of my efforts but I can make sure that I make all of the effort that can possibly make.  Maybe it’s because I am about to hit 30 and I feel like I should be further along in my life right now and instead of crying about it and feeling sorry for myself I am going to do something about it.  I am sending out query letters to literary agents soon for my novel and let the chips fall where they may in concerns to that.  I am also going to begin sending query letters to several magazines for article ideas that I have and just let my work speak for itself.  It’s funny because out of all of the things in my life the one thing that I am most confident in and about is my writing.  I know I am an excellent writer and that I will be a successful novelist so I am wondering to myself why it has taken me so long to finally get up the nerve to have faith that others will see how much of a great writer I am too.  I guess everyone in a sense is a little scared of rejection but they say that you know you’re a writer when you start getting those rejection slips in the mail.  So this year I am going for it, rejection be damned.  I am also starting to plan my move to Connecticut so that I can be in the New York area to start seeking out work there once I have finished my bachelor’s degree.  I would love to be able to afford to actually move to New York but with a child that would be damn near impossible so Connecticut is going to have to do.  Well I have a few projects to go work on and homework to do but I think that everyone should take into account what they have to offer as of this moment and don’t pay attention to what you are not capable of doing as much as what you are capable of doing.  Don’t let what you haven’t mastered yet stop you from putting out there what it is that you have.  In other words, in all aspects of your life, don’t set your own limitations.  The world is full of people that will already do that for you.  Until next time….Be Blessed!!!   

Jimmetta Carpenter

“The Diary: Succession of Lies” (Release Date To Be Announced)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

www.myspace.com/jcladyluv

www.lulu.com/ladybugpress

www.authorsden.com/jimmettacarpenter

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

https://writetobe.wordpress.com/

Okay National Novel Writing Month is over and that is the excuse that I used to not write on my blog.  But National Novel Writing month has been over since the first day of December so really there is no excuse.  Okay so I’m getting that “what have I done with my life” bug.  You know, the disease you come down with every time you feel like you life is not going the way you had hoped it would go.  They say that’s something you’re supposed get when you hit you mid-life crisis but since no one really knows when they are destined to die that could literally be at any time.  The real question is what am I going to do about this bug that I’ve got.  So here’s what I thought.  I have been taking the whole one project at a time approach to my writing but obviously that has not gotten me anywhere thus far so I am going to flip it around.  Now I am not opposed to working on multiple projects at one time because I figure if my work on one project gets stale or I hit a block then I can have another project to switch to.  Some might call this procrastinating a bit and I thought that was what it would be doing but now I’m looking at it much differently.  I could have several projects finishing up around the same time as opposed to just one.  Sort of like the saying don’t put all your eggs in one basket.  So my book proposal for the first novel that I have actually finished is going to be one of these mini projects for the New Year.  I wanted to self publish but the fact of the matter is that I just don’t have the money so I am going to move on to the next step and try to get my an agent.  Well I guess I better get working.  I have more than just this blog to write…Until next time….Be Blessed!!!   

Jimmetta Carpenter

“The Diary: Succession of Lies” (Release Date To Be Announced)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

www.myspace.com/jcladyluv

www.lulu.com/ladybugpress

www.authorsden.com/jimmettacarpenter

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

https://writetobe.wordpress.com/

It’s almost here!!! By it I mean National Novel Writing Month.  The month of November is the month when all writers alike get their projects and ideas ready and come November the 1^st they start writing.  Now although it does say Novel in the title of the event that does not mean that a person has to actually be working on a novel.  You could choose to do a play or a book on something else that is not necessarily a novel.  My project however is a novel.  I am beginning my third novel and I have already finished the outline which is going to help the writing of my book go a little quicker.  Now I am in the research phase so that I can get the research done before I start the book.  I am excited to be starting this project and just hope that the actual writing part goes smooth throughout the month of November.  Now given the fact that I have school work to do also it is going to make things very challenging but I think that I am up for the challenge.  It is just going to take some more discipline and a few more nights where I just get a little less sleep, a lot little less time on the telephone, and a lot less procrastination.  I made my 50,000 words last year so I believe that I can make my 50,000 words this year as well.  I’m actually a little better prepared this year than I was last year so I believe that I will do just fine.  I just have to make sure that I stay on top of my game.  I hope that all the writers out there take the month of November to focus a large part of their energy on their writing.  Even if it is just a hobby for you, you never know if this just might be the hobby that you could turn into your career.  Try to find a little time in each day during November and just sit down and write because you never know what you’re going to come up with.  Until next time….Be Blessed!!!   

Jimmetta Carpenter

“The Diary: Succession of Lies” (Release Date To Be Announced)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

www.myspace.com/jcladyluv

www.lulu.com/ladybugpress

www.authorsden.com/jimmettacarpenter

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

https://writetobe.wordpress.com/

“By prevailing over all obstacles and distractions, one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination.”                       ~ Christopher Columbus~

Okay so I am making an effort to be continually productive but I admit that along this path of trying to remain continually productive I seem to get consistently distracted.  For me it doesn’t take much to distract me.  Life distracts me.  Love, when it is having its hiccups, distracts me.  Motherhood distracts me.  Occasional depression distracts me.  When I am in a good mood and everything, or almost everything, is going my way then I am good to go.  I am inventive.  I am creative.  I am resilient.  I am determined.  I am driven.  I am productive.  When shit gets me down and puts me in a depressing mood, I get thrown off.  My thing from here on out is that I must maintain my productivity or else I will get stuck.  My problem is that life seems to get in my way a lot, which ends up being distracting.  How do I see through the distraction is what I then have to deal with.

There is no real way of knowing when something is about to go wrong or when someone is about to disappoint you or anger you.  In short, there is no full proof way to avoid getting distracted.  There is, however, ways to try and assure that you quickly make your way through the distraction.  I think that some ways that you can see through the distraction is to keep your end goal in your mind.  You can’t let yourself get so down or so busy with other things that you forget what you really want in the end.  My struggle is going to be to separate my personal life and tribulations from the business and career side of my goals and what I want to do in life.  Distraction is something that can constantly get in someone’s way but only if you continue to let it.  Until next time….Be Blessed!!!   

Jimmetta Carpenter

“The Diary: Succession of Lies” (Release Date To Be Announced)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

www.myspace.com/jcladyluv

www.lulu.com/ladybugpress

www.authorsden.com/jimmettacarpenter

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

https://writetobe.wordpress.com/

“Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.”              ~Paul J. Meyer~

Okay I haven’t been as active at blog writing as I had hoped to be but I have new goals, or should I say I have a new angle at achieving my goals, and I am determined to be consistently productive.  I have been bogged down with school (just received my AA degree for Communications) because I am going for my Bachelor’s Degree in Communications now with the end goal of getting my Master’s in Psychology.  So trying to maintain my focus on school and of course being a full time mom, and trying to work on my outline for my third novel, has been harder than I thought it would be.  I keep saying that I am going to find a way to be more productive and then it just didn’t happen.  So now I am going to stop trying to figure out why I haven’t been as productive as I would like to be and just do it.  So yesterday I decided that a step that I am going to take toward that goal is to make task lists each day for what I want to get accomplished the next day. Also along with this I figured out that I had to make the goals something that was attainable.  I would sometimes put on a list to finish my business plan, knowing that I could not finish a whole business plan in one day or even in just one week.  So I think that I am going to make small goals each day as steps toward the larger goal and this would make for a better attainable to-do list.  I was proud of myself that yesterday I completed everything on my task list.  However, today I am behind on getting started so I am striving but I do realize that there are some days that I may not be able to get everything done everyday.  Being consistently productive is difficult but in this stage in my life (at almost 30 years old), where I have so many big dreams and goals, and am just now starting to see the results I want, I have to keep going and I have to not allow myself to get stagnant and stuck. 

How many times in life do we get stuck, and then we get so stuck on the fact that we are stuck that it just begins as a downward spiral deterring away from our goals and dreams.  Life gets up caught up and sometimes life just simply gets us down.  The question is, how long are we going to allow ourselves to stay down?  I hear people complain sometimes about the fact that there are so many things that they want to do and they just don’t know how they are going to manage to get it done because they are just occupied with so many other things.  Yet I see them sitting around doing a lot of nothing, or worse I see them doing a lot of them trying their best to look busy but yet they haven’t got anything done.  I do not consider myself to be one of those people and I refuse to let myself become one of those people.  We only get one shot at life, and we have to do it right.  I don’t want to go another twenty or so years and look back and regret what I did or did not get done.  I don’t want to have to say that I wish I had given that a shot or I wish that I had just made more time to do this or that.  I want every single second in my life to count for something and I have realized that in order to do that I have to stay continually productive.  I urge anyone who reads this to stay productive and don’t let yourself get to the point where you are stuck.  I urge you to make every single second count because tomorrow is never promised to us, we only have what’s left of today.  Make it count.  Until next time…Be Blessed !!!

Jimmetta Carpenter

“The Diary: Succession of Lies” (Release Date To Be Announced)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

www.myspace.com/jcladyluv

www.lulu.com/ladybugpress

www.authorsden.com/jimmettacarpenter