Tag: focus

Are We Only Giving Our Children Half of the Information that They Need?

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Children and dreams

We instill in our children when they are younger that they can be anything that they want to be when they grow up as long as they put their mind to it. We as adults understand that putting our mind to something requires more than just thinking up a dream and wishing it to be so. However, our children (while smarter than we often give them credit for) do not grasp at a young age what putting their mind to something actually entails.

I think that we are in a time period where we can’t just say you can be whatever you want as long as you go for it. We have to start telling our children early what going for it is actually going to mean. When I was younger I had huge dreams and while I never had my dreams reinforced by my mother (or anyone in my family to be honest) there were a few teachers who told me that I could be whatever I wanted to be but they never told me about all of the hard work that had to go behind those big dreams and extreme ambitions.

I think that we want so much for the children of the future to pursue their dreams that we forget to inform them of all of the tenacity that they will need and the patience that they will have to learn to develop. We neglect to tell them of all the hard work and studying of the things that they want to achieve that they will need to do in order to get anywhere near accomplishing their dreams.

We forget to remind them that pure talent will not do anything for them if they don’t have the drive to do something with that talent. If their ambitions are to be their own business person we must be sure to reiterate to them how important marketing and promotion of themselves will be which requires confidence because they have to be confident about themselves if they want others to be confident about them and whatever services they were trying to offer.

Our dreams come to us out of nowhere and it doesn’t take anything to have the vision, or even the desire to make those dreams happen. But those dreams cannot come to fruition without certain habits that have to be developed in pursuit of those dreams. They say the problem with the generation coming up is that they expect everything to be handed to them and that they don’t think they have to work for anything and to some extent that is because we fail to tell them that yes they can be whoever they want to be and have all of the things that they want to have but they have to have the work ethic to match the drive to become what they want.

Nothing comes to us easy and while there are some extremely lucky people which seem to have their dreams fall right into their lap because they know all the right people or they have better timing than others, for almost everyone out there going for that dream you have to put in the work and hustle hard.

So make sure to let your children, or grand-children, or any children in your life know that yes they can most certainly be anything they want to be but make sure they are aware that it won’t be easy, it won’t come overnight, and if it’s worth it to them they have to put in more work than they could even imagine they would have to. Arm them with the fact that just dreaming and having the talent and ability will not get them any closer to that dream without the work that goes with it. These children are our future and we have to make sure they are fully prepared with all of the information.

 

Jimmetta Carpenter

My Write 2 Be is…

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

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Springing Into Overdrive

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Spring into overdrive

While Spring is the time of year where everyone seems to have that sudden bursts of creative energy it seems to be that time of year when I start to reflect on what I haven’t gotten done yet. I know, it seems like a negative thing, it really does. However, if you think about it, it could be the swift kick in the pants that some of us procrastinators (at least me anyway) need to get into higher gear.

I have a lot of things to carry out this year and because I set unbelievably high goals for myself on a yearly basis that even the most brilliant and best-selling novelists might not be able to get achieved in one year, I am realistic enough to know that every single item on that list will most likely not be carried out. However, I do know that over half of the things are able to be completed if I just stop my procrastinating ways and do what I know needs to be done.

What needs to be done is a lot less sleep and a lot of early rising mornings. This is hard for me to fathom because I barely sleep as it is but I remember the days when I used to pull all-nighters and slept even less than I do now and stuff got done then. But I have come to the realization, as May approaches and almost half the year has flown by, that if I don’t start sleeping a lot less in order to work a lot more than I might not even get half the things on my list accomplished. I can’t accept that.

So springing into action is what I will be focusing on and getting into overdrive. Just hope I don’t burn myself out in the process. But all sacrifices will be worth it in the end, right? Well I hope that your creativity has sprung into high gear and that you are getting all that you need to get done. If not, then let’s get moving, the year is only going to move faster from here on out. So stay driven and keep that butt in the chair, writing!

 

Jimmetta Carpenter

My Write 2 Be is…

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

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

http://write2bemagazine.com/

https://twitter.com/write2bemag

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Productivity Doesn’t Always Come Easy

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Productivity is not easy

Last week was just not a very productive week for me. Well maybe I should say that in terms of actual writing being done, it was not a week of progress. I actually managed to read quite a bit more than I normally get to do but that was mainly because I felt so guilty about not being able to get anything done, writing wise. But the question is should I feel guilty?

Every week is not going to be perfect for a writer. We don’t always know the words we want to say and we aren’t always able to just sit down in front of a computer and just start writing non-stop until the work is done. We have really good weeks where we get all the work we set out to do and more, we have those weeks where we get just what we needed done but nothing more.

And then there are those weeks where nothing (seemingly) gets accomplished and we are sitting there banging our heads against a wall trying to figure out why nothing is coming to mind and your fingers just don’t want to more across the keys of the keyboard. Those are those moments when you have to remind yourself that your mind sometimes needs a break too.

We are not machines, no matter what profession, but particularly writers. It is hard to take mental breaks when so much of what you do lives inside your head. You have characters screaming at you all the time (lol) and ideas just popping in your mind at a moment’s notice and sometimes your mind just needs a break. So I guess last week was my mental vacation. I caught up on some reading and I even caught up on some TV shows.

However, this week, I am ready to get back to the business of writing and working on these projects and finishing up others. Hope your week is starting off right and that you’re ready to get your hustle on this week. Stay focused and be blessed!

 

Jimmetta Carpenter

My Write 2 Be is…

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

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

http://write2bemagazine.com/

https://twitter.com/write2bemag

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Showing Up Can Be the Difference from Standing Still and Moving Forward

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show up

The most important thing you can do as a writer, as an artist, or just as an entrepreneur in general is show up. Speaking from the standpoint of a writer who has made this her business, just sitting down in preparation to write something or promote what it is you are working on is showing up and is in some way (even if it’s in baby steps) moving your business and career forward.

I’m hard on myself sometimes, for essentially no reason, because I may sit down and the words may not even come for me to put together a blog post (as in yesterday) and I may not write (or type) one single word on the current project I may be working on but completely look over the fact that I did some social media promotion (as much as I can do anyway) or that I read my book or a writing magazine to fuel my creativity. I somehow discount those things when I should be celebrating those things for what they are which is progress.

Progress may not happen all at once like we so often want it to but typically the things that we want most, that matter the most, are not going to be easy to come by and they most certainly are not going to come all at once. Progress, in any form, no matter how little, should be acknowledged. I wrote a post a while ago about the fact that I felt like I was slacking in my reading and as most of you writers know, reading is a huge part of writing. I felt like I wasn’t measuring up in that department and I wasn’t being fueled creatively in that area.

Since then I have made time, in fact, I have gone so far as to include reading on my to do list for the day because I realized that if I didn’t put it on my list I might never get to it. I’ve not only been reading my fiction book that I am nearing the end of but I even have been reading some things on my craft. Just that little bit of progress has made me open up a little more in my creativity and I’m not going to discount that because it wasn’t actual writing that was being done.

I say all of this to say, celebrate the progress that you make in your daily endeavors and not just the big moments but the little ones as well. Don’t count out the baby steps that you are making. They may feel like you’ve only moved an inch closer to your goals, but keep in mind that it was an inch of ground that you hadn’t covered the day before. So stay persistent and keep making progress. You will get there and it may be in slower fashion than you would like it to be but if you remember, slow and steady wins the race. Be blessed and keep moving forward!

 

Jimmetta Carpenter

My Write 2 Be is…

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

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

http://write2bemagazine.com/

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Blurring the Lines Always Leaves One Side Lacking

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Blurred Lines

As I work to market my brand, my blog, my magazine, my upcoming ebook series (tentatively titled “For the Crazy Makers”), and my writing services, it is hard to actually find time to put into my writing.  I mean I am still finishing up work on the first book in the ebook series and getting ready to start work on the second book but that’s a non-fiction project and has nothing to do with the novel that I still need to finish or the other novel that I need to have edited.

Sometimes the lines between the business of writing and actually creatively writing get a little blurred. They don’t always meet in the middle and more often than not you end up doing one end of the spectrum than the other.  I’m not sure I have come across anyone yet that can give equal amounts of time to both effectively.  So why did I expect it to be any different for me?  I don’t know.  Call it crazy optimism or just plain wishful thinking but I really did think that there was a way I could adequately focus on both without sacrificing time for either one.  That is not the case.

I guess I am doing a disservice by even trying to split my time between the two in half because then it means I can’t give my full attention to either one.  I am still trying to figure out a system to make it work for both sides but so far, my creative writing side is suffering drastically because I felt I needed to get my business side of my writing together.  After all, what good is having large amounts of content with no one caring enough to read it?

I can’t do everything perfectly and that’s something I have to come to terms with as well.  I have to stop trying to do everything perfectly and stop thinking that everything can get done all at once.  All things will happen in their due time.  Right now, I have to hustle to keep getting my name out there or else I’ll have a shelf full of books I’ve written and no one to actually read them.  Did you get your hustle on today?  Stay hungry and Stay Foolish!

 

Jimmetta Carpenter

My Write 2 Be is…

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

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

http://write2bemagazine.com/

https://twitter.com/write2bemag

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

https://twitter.com/jcladyluv

When the Focus Has Been Found

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Focus (spelled out)

I have in mind the plans for this year and what I wanted to get accomplished but my plans were somewhat generalized.  I hadn’t been able to be more detailed in my plans and my goals and the focus was a bit off.  Then I talked to Ms. L last night and we talked about things that had nothing to do with writing or our separate businesses, things that were personal.  Eventually we did get to the topic of our business endeavors and I expressed my frustration to her because I knew the things I wanted to do and get done but I just didn’t have a concrete plan (or even a vague one) of how to go about accomplishing them.

Within a manner of thirty minutes (probably less) Ms. L helped me to develop a comprehensive plan of action to get the things I need done, more specific details on how to get the most out of those things, and a plan to promote those projects that I have to get accomplished.  She even helped me to add some projects to the list which tie in really well with the other ideas and can do more for my business as a whole.  She helped to focus my ideas and goals so that they weren’t so all over the place in my mind.

Ms. L is a godsend and I am so thankful that God sent me a friend like her, whose mind works similar to mine, whose bones in her body also are filled with creativity.  I wrote a post about when you don’t have the right people around you it could essentially hinder your progress.  However, having the right person or people around you, who have the same ideals and whose goals are not necessarily the same, but inadvertently linked with one another.

Ms. L was definitely someone sent into my life by God and she keeps me sane and she reminds me whenever I forget (and I forget a lot) that everything that I need to make my dreams a reality is already within me so long as I have the faith that it is there.  Make sure that you know who is surrounding you but not only that, make sure that you don’t let their value in your life go to waste.  God didn’t put them there in your life for nothing.  He placed them there so they could be a vessel to use, so use them!

 

Jimmetta Carpenter

My Write 2 Be is…

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

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

http://write2bemagazine.com/

https://twitter.com/write2bemag

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

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Giving It My All, Even if the Progress is Slow

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3 choices in life

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

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

http://write2bemagazine.com/

https://twitter.com/write2bemag

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

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Nobody Likes to Feel the Sting of Rejection

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sting of rejection

I don’t think that there is a single person (at least not one that I’ve know) who likes to be rejected.  It is not something that you look forward to and most people would avoid all instances that would mean that there was a guarantee that they will be rejected.  As a writer, it is almost inevitable (unless you are extremely lucky) that you will be rejected in your career at some point, whether it be with the submission of an article, a blog post, a short story, a novel to a publisher, or even by an agent that you want to represent you.  As a writer you have to be prepared to be rejected, so much so that you should probably just prepare a box for the stacks of rejection letters that you are bound to receive.

Being as though it is almost June and six months into the year that I thought was really going to be a turnaround year for me I’ve been looking over all of my lists of things I was supposed to accomplish this year.  I was supposed to live a more fearless life this year and I was supposed to have a more productive year.  Looking at my list and just how little I am able to check off, I would say that I have not lived up to my own expectations for the year thus far.

A big part of my list was to submit my next novel to agents and publishers and also to start submitting more articles to local newspapers.  A huge part of the reason that I have yet to submit my work is because I fear the rejection letters that I will be sent.  I know that you are not supposed to assume that your work will be rejected but it is really hard not to prepare for the worst instead of hoping for the best.  The thought of someone saying my work isn’t good enough is like someone telling me that I am not good enough and that is what hold me back.

I was reading the Writer’s Digest magazine and in the back of every issue they highlight a rejection letter to a famous author (when they weren’t so famous) and you get to see that even the authors that are seen as the greatest authors of all have been rejected.  I have read many of these letters but the one that shocked me the most to read was the one I read for Charles Dickens “Great Expectations”.  In it the editor essentially called his work boring and too descriptive, on top of telling Charles Dickens that he was seemingly a pervert and that this novel was only good for burning in a fireplace.

I felt like it was so harsh and by far the worst one I have seen but it also made me think, “well it had to be worth something in this editor’s eyes because this letter was so personal for it to be a rejection letter.”  You could tell by reading it that this was not a book that (as bored as she said she was with it) the editor just read for a little bit and got midway through and then tossed it in the rejection pile.  Details mentioned in the rejection letter suggested that they apparently thought enough of it to read it all the way through.  It was exactly the kind of rejection letter that I had always said I never wanted but now I’m not so sure.

In reality I should be looking at rejection letters as a statement of what it would say about me.  It would say that I put myself out there, as difficult as it is to be vulnerable, I would have been brave and fearless about my work.  In some cases rejection letters (when personalized instead of generic) means that someone thought enough of your work to actually write the rejection letter with their own personal touches.  If even the greatest authors have been rejected, what would make me any different?  I have to get past that fear because it is only holding me back even further.

The sting of rejection is what you have to come to grips with when you are willing to take risks.  Otherwise, all that means is that you never took the risk.  Sure that means that you won’t have to worry about feeling rejected, but you also won’t run the risk of actually being accepted either.

Everything is a risk in life, not just the bad but the good as well.  You can never really enjoy the good that is due to come your way unless you are willing to accept the possibility of things turning out bad.  So the next time I feel that fear of rejection when I want to submit my work, I am also going to put into perspective the good that I might be inviting my way as well.

 

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.

Blooming Late or Right In Season?

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Everything happens for a reason and at the time that it is supposed to happen.  That is how the saying goes right?  When frustrations set in about my slow (and I do mean slow) progression to writing success (and financial comfort ability) it is really hard to believe that there is any truth to that saying.  Half of the time I want to say that it is really just how people justify having a bad round of luck and the walls just crumbling in around them (or maybe that’s just me).  However, deep down inside I do know that there is actually truth to it.

When success happens later than you expect it to (or planned for it to) it gets frustrating watching people who are barely out of high school or college achieve success on a fluke or by a chance meeting with just the right person.  Meanwhile you work hard and consistently at something that you have the talent to back up and it just seems like mountain after mountain just keeps forming right in your path.  You get around one mountain only to be challenged with another.

You’re left wondering why this person can just snap their fingers and have all of what you’ve been working hard for years (and years), and where’s that person’s mountain.  Sometimes success just seems to come so easy for some and so much of a struggle for others.  I guess some people (myself included) are late bloomers.  It can make a person just want to throw up their hands and say the hell with it.

When I think about it, there are a lot of people who didn’t become a success when they first started out.  They struggled, stressed, and fought hard to get to their current place in life and it was a mountain to climb every step of the way.  Just because success doesn’t come easy does not mean that it isn’t coming.  There is a reason that some people have to go through more than others in order to accomplish what they set out to do.  Blooming late sometimes just means that you are blooming in season.

The writer I was in my 20’s is not who I am as a writer now in my 30’s.  Naturally I have grown, both in life and in my writing, but I have also been through things that have given me experience (and a little bit of wisdom) to be able to open up more within my writing.  If I had gotten the level of success that I wanted in my 20’s I’m not sure that I would’ve known what to do with it, or how to handle it with the level of maturity that I could now or in the future.

There was a reason why it didn’t come to me then.  I wasn’t ready for it, and I wouldn’t have been prepared.  It just wasn’t the time.  There is a reason why I haven’t bloomed yet but I do feel that the blooming is about to begin.  Better late then never!

 

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.

Writer’s Block: Real or Figment of the Imagination?

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I read a blog post yesterday about writer’s block, actually more about how writer’s block does not exist.  Of course everyone has their own opinions on the matter but I felt like I had to share mine.  I would like to say that I agree with this blog post and that when you can’t write you should just (basically) suck it up and get over it and put some words on the page.

I would love to say that it is easy to move past the blank screen and produce greatness (or at least a first draft towards greatness anyway).  I have a real problem with people who think that writer’s block is something that is just another excuse not to write or a procrastination technique.  Granted there are some who do use it as an excuse and they are not genuinely blocked, however, this does not mean that every person with writer’s block is not truly blocked.

I have been through moments where I have gotten up at the designated time, prepared adequately for the work to get done, and planted my butt in the chair for hours just waiting for the words to come.  They didn’t come.  For a long time they just wouldn’t come.  Maybe it was because I was depressed at that time or because of stress, or maybe the project just wasn’t right for me, but for whatever reason, the words wouldn’t come.  I tried the “just put the words on the page” method but when the words were garbage and didn’t produce anything of value then they just didn’t mean as much.

I know that there are people who say that you should write even if what you are writing is garbage but I don’t agree with that.  It is a waste of energy that could be saved up to produce work that can actually be crafted and molded into something of purpose.  Sometimes your mind just needs a vacation and sometimes you are just emotionally unable to tap into that creative resource for a small period of time (not saying that it is okay for you to remain in that state) and that is what I consider a writer’s block.

I don’t determine writer’s block as just being too distracted to put the words on the paper.  That is just you needed to buckle down and focus.  I don’t count you choosing to party all night so then you can’t get up to show up to produce the words as a writer’s block.  That just means that you need to straighten out your priorities.  I don’t count the excuse of having the words trapped up in your head because you haven’t figured out how to get it on the paper (and I have made this excuse many times) as writer’s block.  That is just being a little lazy and making a lot of excuses.

Writer’s block, to me, is when the words just won’t come; the struggle is there, the determination is there, the priority is there, the focus is there, but the words still won’t come.  I believe that writer’s block is a lot more about a person’s emotional state when they are trying to produce work.  Yes writing is typically about letting your emotions fuel the words but when they instead block the words then there might be some deep seeded issues that they have to deal with.

Writer’s block is very real to me and maybe this person who wrote the blog post expressing their view that it isn’t may never have had the displeasure of experiencing it, doesn’t make it any less real.  What are your feelings about writer’s block?  Do you feel like it’s real or do you think that it’s a figment of people’s imagination?

 

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.