Tag: distractions

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Trying to Strike the Right Balance

March 4, 2019 jcladyluv

striking balance 2

So I’ve been working really hard on getting my online magazine back on track after taking one too many breaks last year and also working on the self-publishing process for my novel that I’ll be releasing soon (pushing back the date to be announced soon) and I am longing to work on my current novel that I have in progress. The last time I worked on it was the end of last year. I know what you’re going to say. Can’t I just work on the novel while I’m simultaneously working on the magazine and self publishing my first two books? The simple answer would be yes but the more long drawn out answer is yes but I shouldn’t because knowing myself the way that I do I will get more and more focused on the current novel and lose focus on the process of getting these first two books out and that can not happen.

I am generally pretty good at multi-tasking but as most of you writers know when you get lost in a story sometimes it can be hard to swap in and out of it to other projects and it would be different if these two books that I’m self-publishing weren’t so long overdo. I am working really hard on trying to hone my focus on the right projects in the right time period but I can’t deny that I miss my writing routine and my story (which is the second book in my new mystery series that I’m writing). I think that once I can get these two books out there into the world I would better be able to handle the multi-tasking of publishing one book while writing another because I will be more accustomed to the self-publishing process and able to (hopefully anyway) move through that process more fluidly so it won’t be such a distraction to write a novel simultaneously.

I think that because this is the very first experience I’m having with self-publishing that it needs my full focus (well most of it anyway) because I still have a lot to learn when it comes to this process. I will share with you guys when the final date for the release of my novel will be (I know it was supposed to be March 1^st but—cover issues) and I hope that you will support me on my journey (by buying the book) and for anyone out there who has vast experience in self-publishing, if you have any tips or wise words you want to share, please leave a comment and share your advice with me. I could use all the help I could get because this process is quite overwhelming and a bit more than I anticipated but I know that the reward will be well worth it!

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

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Shutting Out the Noise

March 9, 2018 jcladyluv

Shutting Out the Noise

Let’s talk about distractions! The noise of our distractions can be so loud sometimes that it drowns out what really matters to us. There are so many things that keep people from succeeding and being productive in their endeavors. From friends and even family, to television and other things that aren’t of high priority, the environment we surround ourselves with can sometimes do more harm to us than good.

What can also be a distraction to our ultimate goals are the no’s that we hear and the failures that we endure. The obstacles that are thrown at us to derail our journey can allow us to get distracted. We tend to get caught up in the failed attempts at whatever it is we were trying to get accomplished that we overlook the fact that a failed attempt means that there was an attempt to begin with.

A failed attempt is a lesson for what not to do in the next attempt. People who like to constantly remind you of what you’ve failed at and who try to discourage you from making any further attempts at greatness are just distractions in disguise. I used to get distracted by the no’s and I’ll admit that sadly I was a person who had allowed defeat to make me feel defeated. I’ve been working really hard to make sure I change that. I have been working to not allow myself to fall into those particular distractions because they are not good for my productivity.

Sometimes, as hard as it may be to do, you have to block out the moments of defeat. You have to let go of the feelings of self-doubt that hearing no can bring about. You have to treat those moments in which you feel like you’ve failed as teaching tools for your path moving forward. Don’t be so distracted by the obstacle that you completely miss the lesson that it’s meant to teach you.

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

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I Have To Move Out of My Way

August 21, 2015 jcladyluv

So I have been trying to figure out what it is that I have been doing wrong all this time to still not be where I should be in my career. It’s very disheartening when you realize that the person who has been standing in your way the most is you. I’ve posted here before that throughout my adult years I have suffered with bouts of depression, some worse than others, and one just recently in the beginning part of this year. I’m getting better and I’m starting to feel that drive and ambition come back but even still I think I have become somewhat lazy and I have no idea where that came from cause that has never been me.

In the past I was always that person who you couldn’t pull away from the computer or that notepad because I was always writing and working on something to further my dream but even then I think I’ve always been afraid of the submission part of things. Part of it is being scared to put myself out there but a larger part is being afraid that my work wouldn’t be seen as good enough, that I wouldn’t be good enough. And the times I do get rejected I take it really personal because I consider myself to be an extremely talented writer (which makes me wonder why I’m so scared to submit my work) and I suppose I still get offended that talent these days doesn’t seem to be enough.

I think another part of it is that when I dreamed of being a writer when I was younger and I dreamt up all the books and television shows and plays I would write I only thought of the artistry of it all. The business side of it was the part that I just completely ignored and that is the part of it that confronts me now. I have plenty of ideas and I have the words just lying dormant inside of me but what makes me anxious, what makes me fearful, what makes me downright panicked is the business side of writing.

When I think about it really, the submission process of writing is also the business side because I have to think about marketing and my numbers and stats and I have to create packets to present myself in just the right way, and sometimes I just want to write but when I think about the business of it my writing ceases up.

Sometimes it feels like an outer body experience. I can see all the potential, I can see the end game of what I want and I know the things I need to be doing to get there and I’m watching myself paralyzed by fear and sheer lack of confidence just standing there not moving. I want to scream at myself “what are you doing just standing there?” but nothing comes out and I remain still. I have to get out of this cycle because it’s the only way that I am going to see what I want become a reality. I swear I don’t mean to get in my own way.

I’m in a self-evaluation process because I know that I can’t fix the problem without analyzing and figuring out what all there is that I need to work on. I have to really evaluate where I went off track at to begin with. I am a work in progress but I have to be real with myself and truthful with myself if I expect to get myself back on track. So this is not a post excusing myself, in fact this is me realizing that I have no excuses and I can’t keep allowing myself to stand in my own way.

Jimmetta Carpenter

My Write 2 Be is…

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

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Giving It My All, Even if the Progress is Slow

January 22, 2014 jcladyluv

Facebook tends to provide a lot of inspirational sayings to me these days but I suppose it also helps to have inspirational people as your Facebook friends. Read a saying that said we have three choices in life, you either give up, you give in, or you give it all you’ve got.

I think last year, not sure at what point, I not only gave up but I also gave in. I threw in the towel and everything because I was just tired of fighting for something that seemed to be avoiding me at every turn. When this year started I realized that I needed to give it all that I’ve got and get back up and get into this fight again.

The problem I have every now and then is that my emotions tend to get the better of me and when things in my personal life are not going the way that I wish they were my focus is shifted. I am a great at multi-tasking when it comes to writing and working on different projects at one time but what I am not good at multi-tasking my personal emotions and my focus on my writing project.

I wish I was better at it but all I can say is that these last few days in which I have not been able to concentrate on my project are not going to get the better of me. I am not going to let it completely debilitate me like it did last year. I’m already doing one step better because I thought about not writing this post today and sinking deep into the emotion that I was feeling and as you see, that’s not the decision that I rested on.

Progress comes slowly sometimes but I am working on myself and on staying motivated. I’m not there yet but I am getting there.

Jimmetta Carpenter

My Write 2 Be is…

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

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6 Ways to Get More Organized in Your Writing Habits and Increase Productivity

June 6, 2013June 6, 2013 jcladyluv

Sometimes it’s hard to get your writing habits in check and maintain some discipline when it comes to working on your project(s). I am working on implementing some ways to get more organized in my writing that I wanted to share with you guys today because I know that this is something that a lot of writers struggle with. In particular writers who have not yet found their groove, so to speak.

I do have to admit that I have yet to master a couple of these (at least not for extended period of time) and I am still working on some of these suggestions myself. However, I thought that we writers all need to stick together so I hope that some of these suggestions can not only be good for me but that they can help some of you out there as well.

Hold Regular Meetings with Yourself—Your writing is a business and you are the CEO of that business. You may not have the office, with the proper support staff (or you may) but you still have to hold the meetings and check in with yourself on where you are in reaching those goals that you are hopefully setting periodically. They can be weekly, bi-weekly, or even monthly, but they do need to happen.
Work on Multi-Tasking with Your Writing Projects— It used to be frowned upon to work on more than one project at a time. It was looked at as if you were throwing in the towel on the one project just to go start (and probably not finish) another one. However, times have changed and sometime when the inspiration is going dry on one project, rather than continuing at something that isn’t working in that moment, there is no reason to let the other ideas that might be filling up your brain (and your notepad) go to waste. Start another project and perhaps getting fired up for the new project can reignite some old inspiration for the other one.
Prepare Your Writing Projects in Detail— Another way to not get stuck in that “how do I start this” rut or that “I’ve got one chapter down but I don’t know where else to go with this” dilemma, is to outline your project or at least jot down the important story plots that you want to cover within your book. Having a guide map of where to go in your story doesn’t mean that you have to absolutely stick to that guide but it does help you to not get stuck wondering what will come next in the story and it will keep you from having to backtrack and try to recount minor details that you’ve already written when you forget what they are because chances are your readers will know when one detail doesn’t match the other.
Evaluate All of Your Time Wasters— You don’t have to give up all of your T.V. time, and you don’t have to never see another movie again but you do have to make your writing time matter more than that television show that you think you just can’t miss. Most people have cable now, and with that they typically have a DVR, so record the T.V. shows that you can’t miss and watch them later in your down time. But your writing time is precious and should not have to compete with the T.V. or the internet, or that phone call that you know you can make later. Don’t let your writing time go to waste.
Keep All of Your Eggs in Their Own Baskets— Now while it is perfectly okay to work on multiple projects at a time (not too many though) you do want to make sure that you don’t blur the lines between the projects. You can’t work on two projects at the exact same time period because the back and forth between the two projects would drive you crazy. Set a time to work on each project individually and separate from the others. (For example, in the morning time you work on project A, a little time in the afternoon for project B, and if you have a third project then perhaps you can devote some time in the evening for project C.)
Schedule the Down Time that You Know You Are Going to Need— Writing is not easy and if you are working on something personal to you it can be extremely emotional. If you are working on the business side of your writing career it can become quite taxing so you have to remember to take some time to do something for yourself that has absolutely nothing to do with writing. Go see a movie, get your nails done, take a spa day, go work out at the gym, take a mini-vacation or even a long one if you’ve just finished up a big project. Do something that you enjoy and that is going to give you a sense of calm so that your mind can be refreshed when it’s time to jump back into your writing project(s).

Hopefully some of the writers out there can put this into practice for yourselves and perhaps you have even more suggestions that you can add to this list that you can share with me and the rest of the readers here. Happy writing everyone!

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

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Organization Monday

March 11, 2013March 11, 2013 jcladyluv

It’s the beginning of yet another week in our continuing journey to become successful entrepreneurial writers. Organization is a key aspect to being a writer. I know that those that like to work surrounded by clutter and confusion will disagree with this statement but no good work can be done in chaos. Even people who claim to love chaos have some organization to their clutter. Here are a few tips to get your week started on how you can get organized and (hopefully) stay that way.

Keep Your To-Do Lists Short and Sweet—I am notorious for starting a to-do list only intended to be a few items long but then somehow ends up being about twenty items long. Well Ms. L. provided me with a tip the other day that is so appreciated that I had to share. She suggested making a list with only five items on it (stop at five) of the most important tasks needed to be done. If more items pop up in your mind then just begin a new list that will get addressed either when the first list is completed or the next day. Five items to a list, it’s short and it’s simple, and also manageable.
Keep a Clean Writing Space—This may sound like it has nothing to do with actually producing good writing but I believe that it does. When there’s nothing but clutter around you how can you possibly produce good work. If you clean the area your writing in I think it will make it more conducive to write your next great piece of work.
Set a Time Frame to Accomplish Your Task—It is good to have a deadline for when your projects should be completed. Having an unlimited time frame gives you to much of a reason not to complete the task and the deadline will give you something to aim for and less time to procrastinate.
Work on Minimizing the Distractions Around You—If you are a person who checks their email ten times a day and who networks on social media (hopefully you’re networking more than socializing), or who has their specific television shows that they just can not miss, then you are not going to suddenly become the polar opposite. However, you can work to minimize those distractions that are keeping you from doing your work. If you know that your novel isn’t getting worked on because you can’t part from you favorite TV program, then you know what you need to do to make that happen. I myself am drawn to watching my soap opera’s when I should be writing so recently I decided to just DVR the soap opera’s to watch later so I can write when I’m supposed to be writing.

These are just a few things that I try to remember to help me to stay more organized and also more focused on my writing and on the ventures that I want to pursue within my writing. I hope that at least one of these suggestions strikes a chord with you and that you can implement in your writing efforts.

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

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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”

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Trying to Be Perfect Does Not Always Amount to Perfection

October 5, 2012 jcladyluv

It is no secret to anyone who knows me that fear is something that I struggle with on a consistent basis. Being afraid of failing has been something that has kept me from doing a lot of things that I have wanted to do. Too often I have been afraid that I wasn’t good enough to make it, or good enough to even risk trying.

I guess it stems from my childhood being told by my mother on an almost daily basis that I was never going to be good enough. After a while of hearing the same thing repeatedly from someone who is supposed to shape how you think and feel about yourself, you start to believe that it’s true. It is that fear of not being good enough that has always made me feel that I couldn’t take certain risks if the preparation wasn’t perfect.

When it comes to query letters for articles, or pitching a novel to publishers or agents, or even sending out a resume to newspapers and magazines I want to work with or for, I have always held back if I didn’t feel that the package that I was sending off was perfect. A lot of times this resulted in me taking months just to send one thing off. Trying so hard to make everything perfect only really results in a lot of wasted time and lost opportunities.

It has taken until I was an adult with my own child for me to realize that those voices telling me that I wasn’t good enough were the voices that I needed to tune out. That the voice that I should have been paying attention to all along was the voice within that whispered that not only was I good enough but that I was going to be greater than even I expected.

In a sense I have failed at being perfect because I’m not ever going to be perfect, and certainly not everything I do or write is going to meet the standards of perfection. However, if I just continue being the best version of me that I can be, that is good enough. It’s good enough for me. It’s not always the loudest voices that deserve all the attention. Sure they’re loud and extremely difficult to ignore but often times the loudness is just a distraction from the whispers of what we should really be listening to.

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

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Time Is Of the Essence

August 20, 2012 jcladyluv

I’ve found myself saying to quite a lot of people lately that they shouldn’t wait to do whatever they said they were going to do the next time they get a chance. That they should take the opportunity to do whatever it is now, in that moment. Simply put, I have been reminding people that tomorrow is never promised and that you shouldn’t keep waiting for the next available moment when the moment has presented itself right now.

Isn’t it funny how we can impart wisdom and advice to other people, probably advice that was at some other time imparted to us, but we can never really seem to take that advice ourselves? I was telling Ms. L. today about how every time I make a plan to really buckle down and get things done I find myself at that moment, with all of my tools lined up around me ready for me to get stuff done and then either something gets me distracted or I simply fall asleep from being so tired. Hours later I end up with just as much done as I had before which is nothing.

I can’t keep repeating this same cycle of having a whole lot of plans to do something and ending up with very little to nothing actually being done. Is anyone else in a cycle of repeated procrastination or is it really just me? I only hope that I somehow learn to take my own advice (and advice given to me by others in the past) before time really does get away from me and it becomes too late to do anything about it.

As much as people would like to believe that it is never too late to do the things that you were meant to do, everyone’s time is up at some point. If I leave this earth without making a good enough use of the gifts and talents that God gave me and without fulfilling the purpose that he placed before me, then I really will have wasted all of the valuable time that I was given and I will have nothing to show for it.

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”