Tag: New York

The Perfect Retreat

jcladyluv

I have always wanted to go on a writer’s retreat and had hoped to one day just be able to get away, even just for a weekend, and do nothing but write.  Often times I think that a weekend away writing, with no phone, no T.V. (okay maybe not no T.V. at all), and more importantly no child.  I thought maybe that I would want to do one of those group writing retreats but I think that that is probably not the right direction for me.  That would provide yet another distraction, a group of people to talk to.

I’m sure everyone has their own idea of what their perfect writer’s retreat would be.  It probably would involve some cabin in the woods or a luxurious resort tucked away on some remote island somewhere.  All of that sounds nice but for me I think I know what the perfect retreat would be for me (and it might sound like the opposite of retreating).  I want to go to New York, book a luxurious hotel suite in a room that overlooks the view of Manhattan.

View of Manhattan from a Penthouse_2

I know that New   York is said to be noisy and busy and most likely what most people want to get away from when they think of the word retreat.  I think it might just be because I have never been to New York and ever since I was a little girl I have dreamed of going there and living there and forming my writing career there and it just hasn’t happened yet (I’m not completely giving up hope on that).  I can’t seem to get there and at this point going would probably seem like a vacation.

People warn me away from New York like it is the worst place to be but then again those people usually aren’t writers.  They also don’t typically appreciate the views and the life that New York has to offer a writer who wants to be immersed in the artistic world.  For just one weekend I would like to go to the city that never sleeps, that has been my visual inspiration for a lot of my projects that have yet to be started, and that has been calling me since I was a little girl.  That would be my perfect writing retreat.  What’s your idea of the perfect retreat?

 

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

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

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The Other Version of Me

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

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

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

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

 

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

https://writetobe.wordpress.com/

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

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

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

www.lulu.com/ladybugpress

My First Love

jcladyluv

Okay I know what it sounds like this post is going to be about from the title, but it’s not about that kind of love.  Yes I had one of those in high school but my first real love was writing and along with that came the state of New York.  Now don’t laugh at me, but I have never actually been to New York but I am in love with it nonetheless.  

I knew I wanted to be a writer when I was six years old but I really started actually putting it into practice and really fell in love with words when I was ten.  Being the constant information seeker that I’ve always been, I had always heard that if you want to be a writer, I mean really make it as a writer, you move to New York.  Me and my friend in the fifth grade (who also wanted to be a writer) had made plans that we would graduate high school and go to college in New York together and be roommates.  

Now of course that was fifth grade so that never panned out, but I have always in one way or another been trying to get to New York.  There are other places I plan on getting to also, like France and Italy, but there’s just something about New York that is just pulling me in its direction.  It is crazy to think that I am so head over heels for a city I’ve never even been to but I literally watch anything and everything that has to do with being a writer, and New York and if the two come together than that’s even better.  

I say all of this to get around to telling you that one of my goals on my list for the coming year of 2012 is to actually visit New York.  I plan to take in the sounds, the smells, the atmosphere, the sights (I wish I had got to go there before the destruction of theTwin Towers), the food, and yes even the traffic (lol!).  I am going with my best friend, Ms. L. and we plan on having so much fun and I am really planning on this not being one of the items on my goal list that doesn’t ever happen.  So cross your fingers and hope that I make it to where my heart has truly been since I was ten.  Until tomorrow…Where would you go to if you ever got the chance? 

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

https://writetobe.wordpress.com/

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

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

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

www.lulu.com/ladybugpress