Tag: Preparation

It is Now Planning Season

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So today is the last day of NaNoWriMo and I know that I’ve been MIA for the last two weeks. I realized that I had to put my total focus on writing my novel for NaNo these last few weeks. I actually put quite a few things on the back burner but it all paid off because I did it! I won NaNoWriMo!

Now while that does not mean that the book is finished because it is most certainly not (I’m not sure a book would ever be completed for me in 50,000 words lol)  but the pressure of finishing those first chunk of words of my novel is over and now I can relax a bit. I say relax but really relaxing is the last thing that’s really going to happen in the month of December.

December is the month of planning for me (and a lot of other writers frankly) in which I start taking a hard look at the year of 2021 and what I want to happen over the course of that year, the goals, the vision board, the reading lists, the books I plan to write and publish, the merchandise I am releasing, the new things for the magazine, my YouTube channel, my newsletter, and other things. Sounds like a lot doesn’t it?

Yeah it’s overwhelming when I lay it all out like that but I am a planner and a person who needs goals to strive to reach and while I may not reach all of them (Lord knows I did not reach my goals in 2020—but who did lol) I will definitely feel better about myself if I know that I am at least giving it a try. So what do all of you do to get prepared for the New Year? Are you feeling a little shy about planning for 2021 given the year that was 2020? Share your planning methods with me if you’d like! Until next time… #BeMotivated #BePrepared #BeFearless

 

Jimmetta Carpenter 

Writer/Editor 

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

http://write2bemagazine.com/

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

https://www.facebook.com/Write2BeMagazine

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJCCarpenter

https://twitter.com/jcladyluv 

https://twitter.com/write2bemag 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPU35EkFSbuxgekCp4LfI5g

 

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Are You Really As Ready As You Think You Are?

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are you really ready 1

I was thinking about what it means to actually be ready for the things that you dream for and that you say you want. My Pastor preached this past Sunday about what being ready really meant. It’s not just speaking into existence what you want for your life. It’s not even just knowing exactly what it is that you say you want. Those are important factors but what it really means to actually be ready to receive your dreams is about much more than that.

Being ready is about being knowledgeable and skilled in the things that you will need to do to prepare for your dreams. It’s about being attentive to the things and details that need to be addressed and the distractions that need to be removed so that you can be ready when the time comes. It is about being in the position that you need to be in, in order to make sure that when opportunity presents itself you are able to invest what’s necessary in yourself and your purpose. Being ready also means that once you have properly positioned yourself and you are rightly focused, you are then willing to put in all of the hard work that it will take for you to actually attain your dreams. Most of all, I think that to be ready means that you have to be available to receive your dreams, and fulfill your purpose. If you are too busy focusing on the things that aren’t going to get you to your dreams then you aren’t really ready.

You see there are so many things that we often times think that we are ready to jump into and it’s not that we don’t truly think that we are. It’s more often than not that we don’t truly understand exactly what being ready means. When I had my first book published back in 2008 I thought I was ready for what came next but because I was naïve as to all that it encompassed to be successful at being a published author things didn’t exactly go as I had envisioned them going. The book didn’t sell well and I was overwhelmed with the other side of what being a published author meant (the business side) and although I thought I was, I was not ready for that.

When opportunity comes knocking to make our dreams come true we always like to think that we are ready for whatever comes after. We don’t always properly assess things and what’s worse is that we find that we hadn’t properly prepared for what it is we said we wanted. We end up not being as ready as we thought we were. This is why we have to make ourselves ready. It’s not enough to just want the dreams we have envisioned to come true. We have to begin preparing for it long before the opportunity comes to knock at our door. So the next time that you say that you are ready to finally get all that you’ve been dreaming for, think about whether you are truly ready and properly prepared. Think about whether you have assessed everything and the amount of diligence and tenacity that it will take for you to see it through. Think about whether you are truly ready and more importantly, are you willing to step into your purpose and fulfill your dreams with the gifts that God gave you!

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

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

http://write2bemagazine.com/

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/ 

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

https://www.facebook.com/Write2BeMagazine

https://www.facebook.com/confessionsoftheunpleasantlyplump

https://twitter.com/jcladyluv 

https://twitter.com/write2bemag 

What All Can Go Right

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What if everything goes right

I live in the land of worst case scenarios where I prepare for whatever there is that can possibly go wrong and for what I would need to do to fix things if they should go wrong. I don’t think that I am alone in doing this. I think that the world has grown so cynical that in planning for our futures in which we want to soar and fly, we brace ourselves for that harsh landing that quite frankly, often times never actually comes.

I mean sure we fall and we have bad breaks where things don’t quite go the way that we wanted them to. But in reality those are not actually the harsh landings that we are bracing ourselves for. I forget sometimes to prepare for the successes, to purposely plan for things to go right. I spend so much time being completely over prepared for the other shoe that’s definitely (in my mind anyway) going to drop, and for the rock bottom that I’m going to hit (and thankfully never truly have) someday soon if things don’t improve, and for everything that I have ever dreamed of achieving to float right by me as I watch someone else reach out and grab ahold of what was supposed to be my success. None of these things have ever happened. That’s not saying of course that they couldn’t still, but they haven’t.

I’ve been waiting all of this time for everything to go wrong instead of preparing and actually believing that everything could go right. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not as if I haven’t had my share of the bad breaks and the things that come crashing down around me but what I neglect to realize oftentimes is that about eight times out of ten everything that seemingly went wrong turned out to work out in a better way than I had imagined and planned for them to. I spent so much time thinking of all the negatives and forgot that even in a negative outcome, something positive can come from that. I need to stop always thinking about the walls that may crumble and start thinking that even if they do, what beautiful new direction can come from the wreckage.

There are beautiful things that can come out of even the most painful and disheartening situations. We just have to be open to them and prepare for what is good instead of bracing ourselves for what is bad. When we brace ourselves we are closing ourselves off and tightening up. We don’t have our arms and hands open and free to receive all the good that is coming our way. So start realizing what it is to truly let go. Open up and surrender to ALL that life has in store for you, the good, the bad, and yes, especially the unplanned. Sometimes the best moments in life cannot be planned out beforehand. Let go and let God!

 

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

I’ve Never Fully Been Ready to Jump

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leap of faith_1

I am one of those people who can prepare something to death.  I mean I make a list, and then I check over it, I double check and sometimes even triple check.  When it comes to writing a novel or an article, I outline, and then I research.  I often end up with massive amounts of research in which only about half of it gets used and the rest gets tossed to the side and becomes a reminder of how much time I wasted over-preparing for something yet again.

I know that preparation is supposed to be a good thing and for most people it is but for those of us who can tend to use the preparation process as another stall tactic (procrastination) it can rob us of so much time that would be better spent just jumping into the project and getting started already.  When am I going to learn that sometimes it really is better to just dive in (head first) and get it done.  I spend so much time waiting for the right moment to come, for the right amount of money (or in most cases, any money), for the right person to partner with, for just the right amount of nerve to actually launch that business.

So much time I waste waiting and never actually doing any of the things I long to do.  If I could go back and count how many accomplishments I could’ve been able to cross off my list had I not waited for some unknown right moment I would’ve already tackled most of that list by now and I would be much happier for it.  If we could add up all of the countless hours that we have wasted on second guessing ourselves, and preparing everything to the point of exhaustion how many of our endeavors could we have already achieved?

You can never really prepare for everything, especially the curveballs that life throws you that you don’t even realize are coming.  The best you can do is deal with things as they come and just go along for the ride.  I think that is where I went wrong with this year’s plan.  I over-plan and try to over-prepare everything, and worry so much about what money I don’t have to start this business that I have wanted to start for as long as I can remember.  I am over-thinking everything, so much so that nothing is being done.  I’ve got to just take a leap of faith and jump right in.

No one is every really 100% ready to begin the journey that will lead them into their destiny because the things that are most worth having are never really easy to attain.  So if you are one of those people who over-prepares and stands on the edge of the curb waiting for all of the possible obstacles that could block your path before you actually cross the road leading to your destiny, stop waiting.  If you stood by to let every obstacle pass you by before taking the chance to walk that road you may find yourself standing on that curb for a very long time.  You may not be 100% ready, but what the hell, jump anyway!

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.

When Sweating the Small Stuff Takes on a Deeper Meaning

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There are many myths and associations that go along with being a writer.  Writers are said to be big dreamers.  They are rumored to be alcoholics and deeply depressed.  They are said to be flighty and unreliable.  But one major thing that is associated with being a writer is that we are huge coffee drinkers.  Of course that’s not to say that there aren’t non-writers who love to drink coffee, but rarely will you meet a person who is a writer that does not drink coffee.

Well coffee is one of the things that I get really excited about getting to each morning.  I sit with my cup of coffee (usually the first of two) and read some of the blogs that I follow and get inspired to write and work on what I need to work on for the day.  I must say that it never dawns on me just how important my coffee actually is to me or my creative process until I don’t’ have it for one reason or another.  So all of that to say that I almost had a meltdown this morning because I put my coffee in the filter and the water in the machine and turned it on only to come back into the kitchen and find that there was nothing in the pot.  The light was on but no coffee had come out.

I immediately started to freak out and try and figure out how to get a new coffee pot considering the fact that I was low on funds and even lower on gas.  I’m still not really sure how I managed to scrounge up the money to get, not only gas to get to the nearest Walmart, but also for a coffee pot that was completely overpriced for its size, but needless to say I have now had my cup of coffee.  Ms. L. laughed at me when I told her that I had begun to have a meltdown in the store when at first they didn’t have the coffee pot that I wanted and that I had even shed a few tears.

The thing is that I don’t think that I was actually upset over the coffee (well yes I really did need my coffee) per say, just the culmination of things.  It’s like when you have everything else not adding up quite the way you want to and the one thing that you know you can rely on, for even a slight way to reward yourself, suddenly isn’t there and doesn’t work anymore.  That’s how I felt.

I am trying to work on the things that I need to work on within my writing so that when the shift that is going to come happens I am prepared and I am ready (at least as ready as I can be anyway).  Even when God places things in your path and he is working in your favor, you still have to be prepared for all that he has to offer.  Having said that, I am not quite as prepared as I would like to be for the changes that I know are coming my way and the one thing that I treasure every morning is my cup of coffee.  It helps me to relax, it allows me to think better, and allows my creativity to flow a little smoother.  So when my relaxation was gone, and my creativity wasn’t flowing right it made me a little on edge.

I guess I’m sharing this with all of you because I know that someone else out there has some ritual or some routine that works for them and when it’s broken or disturbed in some way it may make you a little crazy (not literally of course) and out of sorts.  I just want you to know that you’re not the only ones who feel this way and as trivial as your rituals or the things that keep you going may seem to other people, if they are meaningful to you then they matter.  Everyone has their own way of dealing with things, of coping with setbacks, of balancing their risks verses their rewards.  You should be okay with whatever gets you through and helps you to push forward to that next level of preparing yourself for the shift that is to come.

 

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.

Write 2 Be Magazine is Live!!!

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Well after much preparation and weeks of pulling my hair out to put the final product together, the debut issue of Write 2 Be Magazine is finally ready to be shared with the rest of the world.  Write 2 Be is about not fitting into the mold other people want you to fit in.  It’s about not letting other people’s thoughts and opinions of you define who it is that you are.  It’s about making the unexpected and sometimes unpopular choices in order to stay true to yourself.  Write 2 Be is about defining yourself as whatever you feel you have the Write 2 Be…

Write 2 Be Magazine will be designed to give writers and artists a broad platform to showcase their work and share their experiences in dealing with the ins and outs of both the creative and business side of writing and the publishing industry.  It is a magazine that is meant to help people tap into their true creative and artistic selves without giving into others expectations of who you should be.

It has been a true labor of love, one that I pray will carry on for years and years to come.  I really hope that all of you will go and check it out (http://write2bemagazine.com/) and more importantly, that you all will love it and read it on a regular basis.  So go on, check it out and leave a comment to let me know what you think.

I have the Write 2 Be Creative and Inspiring… What is your Write 2 Be?

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

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

http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/

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

Twas the Day Before NaNoWriMo

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Okay I know it’s Halloween and most of you are probably busy getting the children ready to go trick-or-treating in their costumes or off to their Halloween parties.  In all of the Halloween candy rush don’t forget what tonight is.  For those of you who have signed up to get lost in the world of words this November (National Novel Writing Month) it is the last night of freedom (in a sense) that you have to not be stressed over whether you met a certain word count requirement for the day.

By now you have hopefully already completed your outline, done your research, gained an intimate knowledge of your characters, and scheduled your time to write to suit your needs and your daily responsibilities.  If you’ve gotten all of that checked off your to do list, then you are practically ready to go come November 1st (that’s tomorrow by the way) but if you haven’t prepared then don’t panic.  You could always do what a lot of writers do during NaNoWriMo anyway, wing it.  Just start from point A and continue from there.

Also an important thing to remember for those who have not put tons of preparation into this, you DO NOT have to start your story from the very beginning.  I must admit that I myself have a hard time starting a story in any other place but the beginning but I’ve tried starting at a different chapter but number one a time or two and, to my surprise, it did not kill my passion for the story or disturb the flow once I went back to the beginning.

If you can’t think of how to start your story off, then begin with chapter two, or three, or why not even start at the end.  No matter where you start your story on November 1st, just start!  I’ll be blogging helpful tips and tricks to get through the crazy event that is NaNoWriMo throughout the month so make sure you check back from time to time.  Until then…Happy NaNoWriMo-ing!

 

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

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

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