Jimmetta Carpenter – Page 32

Thinking Out Loud

November 14, 2013 jcladyluv

I know that it is National Novel Writing Month and I am supposed to be participating. I had a plan, I signed up, and even tried to motivate myself to focus on doing it. Nevertheless, I have not written anything on the novel that I was supposed to be finishing (that truthfully should have been finished by now) and to add to the lack of production, I have not done a very good job lately of keeping up with this blog which I love.

I tried to pinpoint the reasons behind my recent lack of motivation towards writing in general, thinking that for some time it has been my focus and determination to finish up my degree that was enabling my laziness when it came to my writing. But now that I am finished with my Master’s degree (and have time to contemplate whether or not I want to enter the doctorate program) I thought for sure this would be the perfect time to get back into high gear with all of my writing efforts.

Sadly, that has not been how it was been working out. I have felt so un-motivated to write anything, and feeling a lot like what I say doesn’t matter. I’ve been mostly feeling a little depressed that my writing career hasn’t evolved into what I thought it would have already been by now. I even mentally entertained the idea that there could be a possibility, that somehow I was not cut out to be a writer like I had dreamed about since the age of 6 and that maybe all this time I thought that God was instructing me that this was my calling and maybe I was wrong, maybe I assumed what I wanted to assume and that wasn’t what my calling was at all. I even entertained the reasoning that my heart just wasn’t in it anymore, that maybe the amount of rejection for my (what I always thought was talented) writing had somehow hardened me and that I just couldn’t muster up the energy to try it anymore.

All of those thoughts have been running through my mind and life throwing other monumental curveballs at me in the interim has added its share of unproductiveness. But then I think of the fact that if that were truly the case, if it truly was not in me to do anymore, if this truly was not the calling that I had always perceived it to be, that I wouldn’t still have so many (good) ideas that flow through my mind and so many ways that I feel I can use my writing, my words to implement things that will not only change my life but the lives of the other people around me.

My whole message for Write 2 Be is to instill empowerment to people, in particular to children who are constantly told that they can never be what it is that they want to be, that there is nothing that they can’t do with the willpower and determination to make it happen. Sometimes I have to remind myself that even when it seems like what I am trying to do doesn’t matter, that it does, and not just to me, not just for my daughter, but for anyone who has ever felt discouraged and who has ever been overrun by their fears of never being able to be what it is they feel that they were truly meant to be. I can’t say why my motivation has dwindled these past several months, but I know that I am definitely not throwing in the towel on my dreams and on my purpose.

I feel like I needed to write this because I get the feeling that I am not the only one of you out there who has had these feelings and these doubts. I suppose the hardest part of feeling the fear and doubt in yourself is thinking that you are all alone in thinking what others are too afraid to say out loud. So this is me thinking out loud and hoping that it helps the rest of you who might be thinking the same thoughts and feeling the same way know that someone else gets it too.

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

Don’t Think I Forgot that It’s NaNo Time!

November 2, 2013 jcladyluv

I know I have been unusually absent from my blog recently and I am trying to get back into the swing of things. I haven’t forgotten what time of year this is (aside from the dreaded beginning of the holiday season). It is National Novel Writing Month and while I do not have a new novel outlined and ready to go, my plan (which is my failed plan from last year’s NaNo) is to finish a novel that I started during NaNo about two years ago (wow, didn’t realize it has been that long). My first attempt at a mystery which I had such excitement about, and still do, is begging to be finished and I am going to put forth my very best effort to do it. I have to admit that I am off to a bad start considering the fact that NaNo started yesterday and today, the second day of NaNo, is almost over and I still haven’t opened my novel file to work on it yet. However, today isn’t over yet and I haven’t thrown in the towel at all. NaNo is also usually a really good time to work on maintaining my blogging so look for November to be a very productive month from me. I hope that all of you who are doing NaNo this year have a very productive month and that if nothing else you put forth your best effort. Good Luck fellow NaNo Writers and hopefully you’ll clue me in on what you are working on this month!

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

Write 2 Be Media Writing, Editing, and Social Media Marketing Services

October 31, 2013 jcladyluv

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Write 2 Be Media Writing Services…your source for professional & quality writing, editing, and social media marketing.

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

Weekend Motivation

September 6, 2013 jcladyluv

I will admit that I have not been as productive as I would like to be lately. I could have been doing so much work that I haven’t been getting accomplished. I could blame it on this Master’s program that I am finishing up which is draining a lot more out of me than I had anticipated it would. I could blame it on the fact that I have been feeling more blocked lately. I could accurately blame it on trying to be an active and aware mother who pours so much of her focus into her child that she sometimes forgets about herself (which is actually truer than I would like it to be).

But won’t do that, I won’t blame things or circumstances in which I have control over. Truthfully I just haven’t been effective at carving out the time for what I should have never let myself lose time doing. So this weekend I will be planning certain projects and figuring out a way to schedule the things that I need to get accomplished. What are your weekend goals?

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

There are new things to be found in Write 2 Be Magazine 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.

Making Declarations

September 4, 2013 jcladyluv

So hopefully everyone enjoyed their long Labor Day weekend. Yesterday didn’t particularly feel like the Tuesday that it was, but rather it felt like I was still in the Monday mode and for those of you who follow me and my patterns you know I don’t usually post on Monday’s. Having said that, I have been thinking today about the declarations that we make on and for our lives. How we don’t really realize the true power that our words hold, or better still, the power the lack of our words have as well.

I watched a Joel Osteen sermon a couple of Sunday’s ago and he spoke on declaring the destiny that we seek within our lives. You know we say our prayers and we get specific with the things that we pray for, and we put our faith in that prayer but sometimes what we forget to do is just to breathe life into those silent prayers that we make.

When God was creating the earth and all of the living creatures within it, he didn’t just silently pray and hope and believe that there would be light, he spoke the words “let there be light” and then it was done. We want things and we pray for them to come to fruition and we even say that we have faith that they will but we need to remember to just speak on those things as if they have already become a reality.

What we put out there as a reality will eventually, if it is truly meant to become our destination, become the reality that we are already proclaiming it to be. Don’t wait for things to keep going wrong and to get in the way of what you want, just speak it into existence and embrace everything that is working out in your favor.

Friday Motivation

August 30, 2013 jcladyluv

Well it’s Friday and with a long weekend approaching it always makes me think about what I need to get accomplished in the week to come. However, during my blog vacation I realized that there are times when I just need to live in the moment and enjoy things as they come. That’s not saying that I won’t have my lists of goals and things that I need to check off to prepare for the next level of where I am going, but I am learning more about focusing on what is right in front of me, what is in my present.

The past is gone, and the future, while important, has not yet arrived. We have to start taking advantage of what we have now. Now is the moment that you can’t get back. So hopefully for this weekend you will find a way to balance your checklist with the moments that you have right in front of you.

Ordered Footsteps

August 28, 2013 jcladyluv

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”
~Proverbs 16:9

When I saw the picture above it made me think about just how much we ask God for something, or we ask him to give us direction and then often times we completely ignore the direction he wants us to go in simply because it didn’t fit in with what we had been planning for our own lives. What we seem to have a hard time grasping is that when we plan, God laughs. Not because we shouldn’t have goals and things that we aspire to do, but because a lot of the times our goals and dreams are on such a smaller scale than God has mapped out for us.

In many cases we know when we are not on the path that we are supposed to be on. We can feel our direction being changed and redirected. However, we are so stubborn and set in our ways that we try to forcefully stay on that same path not even realizing when our steps are being guided in a different direction by someone who already knows the goal that we are destined to achieve. If you are going to ask God for an answer as to which way you should be going, then you have to be patient in waiting for his answer.

Don’t go off and make up in your mind what you think his answer is. Wait for it. While the answer that you are looking to receive may not come right away, it most certainly will come, but in his time, not yours. Don’t be so used to things being one way. If you keep trying to reach your goals by staying in that same mindset then you won’t be able to open yourself up to the change that God is steering you towards. It’s a struggle to be patient and not always do everything your way (trust me I know) but it is so worth it when you do things his way!

What’s in a Name?

July 18, 2013 jcladyluv

Apparently it is not always about the talent that you have but just the name that you possess. By now most of the literary world knows that J.K. Rowling (famed writer of the Harry Potter Series) has written a book under a pseudonym, Robert Galbraith, called ‘The Cuckoo’s Calling’. Now this book was released in April of this year and it received positive reviews, however, it didn’t do so well in the sales department. I’m sure it wasn’t what J.K. Rowling was used to. Of course that was before it was ‘accidentally’ leaked that the true author of the book was in fact J.K. Rowling.

Now the book has sailed to best-seller status and number one on the Amazon for hardcover and ebook. We all know how talented J.K. Rowling’s writing is and while her name does carry a lot of weight, she actually has the talent to back it up. But when that same talented writer wrote a book under another name, a virtual nobody, no one was looking for the talent, but rather a name that they could recognize.

Proof that you can be the most talented writer but if no one knows who you are and your name hasn’t become a household name, then you have almost no chance (I said almost) of making it as a successful novelist. It’s a little disheartening to be a writer who hasn’t quite made it yet and have that fear hanging overhead that you may not get there simply because no one knows who you are already.

So what that means for all of you unknown authors or one’s who have not yet made the best-seller’s list (that includes me) is that you have to start getting your name out there, even (and preferably) before the book that you are writing comes out. If your name is already buzzing all over the internet and people already know who you are and already are tuned in to the talent that you have it gives you a head start to that best-seller’s list.

Talent is no longer everything that you need to make it. It’s about how well you can sell your product, how much people want to read what it is that you have written, and yes, about whether your name means anything to anyone. So to answer my question in the title of this blog post, what’s in a name, the answer is….EVERYTHING!!!

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.

No Time Like the Present

July 17, 2013 jcladyluv

I’ve been feeling a little bit of writer’s block so I don’t have much to write about today. However, I wanted to encourage all of you out there to stop putting things off until tomorrow, or a week for now, or until you think that all of the stars are aligned. We know that nothing is promised to us and that everything is not going to go smoothly and perfectly with no stumbles and no falls. So if you have a novel that you’ve been meaning to start, a business that you are trying to start, or a goal that needs to be met, don’t wait until you think that everything is just right, don’t keep putting it off. Start today!

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

A Great Writer Can Never Forget to Be a Good Reader: 5 Ways to Make Sure You Fit Reading Into Your Everyday Life

July 11, 2013 jcladyluv

I get really frustrated when I can’t find the time to work on my novels, outside of finishing up school, maintaining both my blog and my online magazine, Write 2 Be, trying to keep up with Social media and market myself the way that I should be doing (which I still haven’t mastered yet), and of course, trying to be the best mother that I can be. What frustrates me even more is when I can’t even find the time to read like I want to.

I think that I have been reading the same book for months now (which normally I can read a book quicker than that) and it’s not that it is not interesting or that it is slow because I find myself thinking about the characters and what is going to happen when I am not reading it. I see other writers who have this balancing act down in such a neat and tidy way that you would never know (until you actually sit down and talk to them) that they struggle with these same time constraints as the rest of us writers.

It’s funny because I keep trying to rearrange and arrange again my schedule for writing, for doing school work and for everything else and it would seem that the more that I try and tweek the schedule and the time constraints that the less time I seem to have to write much less to read. However, reading is something that is extremely important for a writer to maintain and it is primarily the reason most of us writers even began to write in the first place.

So I thought of some other tactics that maybe I could try to better fit reading into my daily routine. I thought that maybe I could share them here with you, just in case I am not the only one who is struggling with trying to fit reading into their day.

1) Don’t mix your reading time in with your writing time—I’ve tried this before. I don’t know why I thought that it would work but I quickly found out that this does not work, at least for me. Now granted I have seen people do this. They will write for a few minutes, put their writing aside and then pick up a book and read for a few minutes. I guess this works for some but I think that for the vast majority this does not do anything but make you wish you were reading while you are writing, or vice versa.

2) Make sure that you read a book that holds your interest—I know that it is said to be a bad thing to stop reading a book after you have already started it and once upon a time I would have agreed with this. However, there is no point in wasting time reading a book that is not of interest to you either because it is too slow or it is just not captivating enough. You will save time by just moving on to the next book which, if you love it, will probably take you no time to read.

3) Just like you schedule your writing time, schedule your reading time too—If you have a hectic writing schedule and you have a deadline looming over your head, then you just have to find a way to work reading into your schedule. It may feel odd to have to do this for a task like reading but we fit so much of our daily lives into boxes on a calendar, why not add our reading (down time) to the list.

4) Make your reading time your down time—Use your reading, not as a chore that you must do, but rather as your time to wind down and wrap up your day. Perhaps read a few pages before going to bed which will still keep your mind feeling creative but allowing it to, in a sense, debrief, for the end of the day.

5) Treat Reading As the Norm—You have a routine for most everything that goes into your daily workload and your comings and goings. You know what time slot is for what and how to take a few minutes away from this time block to make room for this other task in the next time block. So make reading apart of your regular routine. After all it should be!

I hope that some of these suggestions work for you. I think that they are already beginning to work for me and I am almost finished with this book and have the next one picked out already. Just remember that a good and avid reader makes for an even better writer!

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