Tag: Write 2 Be

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Just a Little Break (I Promise)

December 2, 2011 jcladyluv

Okay so I have officially taken two days away from my novel now, and I know that I have to finish the first draft (hopefully before the end of this month), but I just need to take a mental break for a moment. Trust me, it won’t be a long break because Mackenzie is nudging me along trying to get me back at the keyboard sooner rather than later. I think that my mind is just so flooded with all of the ideas concerning the rest of this novel, but more so with the next book that will be next to come in the series, and even the one after that. I have lots of different angles in mind of where to go but until I finish this novel I won’t really know which angle to take. Well I just wanted to touch base with all of you. Hope you all have a blessed night! Until tomorrow!

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

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

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

It’s National Novel Writing Month Time!

October 31, 2011 jcladyluv

Regrettably I did not write any blog posts last week but it was for a good reason. I was making sure that I had everything prepared for National Novel Writing Month, which starts tomorrow, and I was mapping out my plan on how to go about achieving my maximum word count per day so that I can reach that goal of 50,000 words by the end of the month. This will be the third year (I think) that I have done this and although many might think that it should be easier the more often that I do it, it most certainly is not. Especially since this year my story is a little different for me. I am stepping out of my typical comfort zone and writing a story that is not in the genre that I have experience in writing (which is typical mainstream fiction) but one that I would like to definitely gain some experience in (mystery, suspense, with a little romance for good measure). This year this will be a little more challenging for me, but then again I always like to be challenged. So I thought to maintain my blog during November instead of completely abandoning it, that I would blog about my NaNoWriMo experience as I go along. I hope that you will follow along in my journey this year and perhaps even go sign up this year and take the plunge yourself. Well I better go make sure that I have all last minute details of my characters ironed out before tomorrow. Until next time…Start planning, you have a novel to write too!

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

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

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

What Would You Do If You Were Not Afraid?

October 11, 2011 jcladyluv

“Whatever you fear most has no power—it is your fear that has the power.

~Oprah Winfrey

I was watching the interview that Oprah did with facebook’s COO, Sheryl Sandberg the other night and I managed to get some really inspirational things from it, but that’s no surprise considering it is Oprah. I think that the most insightful thing that I got from it was when Oprah talked about the fear she had at starting her own cable network. She said that one of the ways that she was able to move past that fear was to make a list of all of the things that she would do if she were not afraid to do them. I immediately jotted down a few notes and started pondering what my list would look like.

Now anyone who knows me knows that I am the queen of list making so of course I couldn’t just sit and ponder what would be on my list, I had to actually make my list. The funny thing was that I put quite a few things on that list that I didn’t even realize that I actually had a yearning to do. There were things that I am so afraid of doing that I had somehow convinced myself that I didn’t want to do those things simply out of fear. In writing them down and being completely honest with myself I realized that I do want to do those things, I’m just scared to. But what kind of existence can I possibly have always being afraid to do what it is I really want to do?

We are all afraid of something. Fear is just a part of life. We are going to be afraid of something, and it is even going to trip us up for a while, but how long do you let that fear control the destination of your journey? I know I can’t kick that habit of fear overnight, hell probably not even in a month or so, but I know it’s not helping me meet my goals. I think that I am going to put my list up on my bulletin board in an effort to remind me of all of the things that I am missing out on by being afraid to do them, or at the very least try.

So since I am a little bit afraid to share any part of this list with the rest of the world for fear of becoming vulnerable I am in fact going to share a part of that list:

Open my own bookstore
Go to culinary arts school and pursue opening my own restaurant.
Write a soap opera and present it for production.
Write a stage play and get it produced.
Hound a national magazine or newspaper until they hire me to write for them.
Start my own internet talk/radio show.
Audition for the X-factor.
Start doing motivational speaking to kids and teens in elementary and high schools about the dangers of bullying.

Okay so that was only a small part of my list but I don’t want to go sharing everything. So I think that everyone should go make their own list of what they would do if they were not afraid. If you don’t mind sharing maybe you could leave a comment and share one of those things that you would do. If it’s out there, then there’s no reason to be afraid anymore, right? Even if you don’t share make the list anyway, you just might find it liberating. Until next time…Do what it is you are most afraid of!

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

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

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

Write 2 Be Online Magazine is looking for Writers…

September 16, 2011 jcladyluv

Write 2 Be Magazine, produced by LadyBug Press and set to debut in January 2012, 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.

Write 2 Be Magazine is looking for writers to make submissions of poetry (including clips of spoken word performances), short stories, articles, personal essays, and book reviews. Currently we are a non-paying market and can only compensate you with exposure and the opportunity to touch thousands of lives with just the click of a mouse.

If you are interested in joining the community of writers that will make up Write 2 Be Magazine please feel free to e-mail any submissions and/or inquiries to write2bemagazine@yahoo.com. We look forward to hearing from you and wish you the best in all of your writing endeavors.

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

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

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

An Ambitious Nature

September 12, 2011 jcladyluv

“If a woman is sufficiently ambitious, determined and gifted – there is practically nothing she can’t do.”

~Helen Lawrenson

I would like to think that I have an ambitious nature. Whether it is a low level of ambition or I am overly ambitious varies depending upon what day it is. I think that might just be my problem. With the things that I want out of this life and what I would like to accomplish as far as my career goals, I can not afford to have too many of days of underachievement where I don’t even reach the standard that I have set for myself.

On my accountability list that I emailed to my best friend last night of the goals that I need to accomplish this week I actually added to the number of things to get done this week. The first week my list had 8 items, the second it had 9, and this week it has 12. The way I see it, the more I expect of myself, the more I am likely to get accomplished.

Now I realize this method might not work every week but I am trying to get myself to that level where I don’t have weeks of underachievement, just weeks where I have tackled all of my ambitions head on and achieved them without fail. Now I am not so unrealistic as to think that every single week I am going to be able to actually check off everything on that list but nothing beats a failure but a try.

My message to those out there that might think that they are being a bit too ambitious (or unrealistic), don’t listen to that voice in your mind that is telling you that. Having higher expectations of yourself enables you to keep yourself on your toes and to raise your own bar. So how high are you willing to set your bar? Leave me a comment and tell me, what are some of the ways you make sure to hold yourself accountable for you goals? Well I guess I better go get started on that long list I have for this week. Until next time…stay on your toes!

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

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

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

For the Busy Writers

September 9, 2011 jcladyluv

I was so engulfed in trying to be productive and finish my goal list for this week that I almost forgot to do this blog post which is also on my list of goals. So I thought I would share some time management tips that may help those writers out there are that are trying to figure out how to deal with their everyday busy lives and incorporate writing into that mix. Hope some of these tips are helpful to you.

Publicize your writing goals- Tell your friends and family, even your kids, what your goals are that you need to accomplish for the week, or for the month. Put a list of those goals up on the bulletin board in front of your desk (because all writers should have one) or on a post it note and stick it on your computer. If you have a blog share some of those goals with your readers. This will help you to hold yourself accountable to the tasks you set out to achieve because if you don’t, now someone else will.
Do the more time consuming tasks first- You may be tempted to check all the smaller things off your list first but none of those smaller things help you to accomplish the few bigger things on that list then you may still get to the end of the week with those things unfinished and it will feel less gratifying. If you knock the big things out of the way you will feel more accomplished by the end of the week.
Be flexible- You will probably never complete an entire writing project without having something go wrong along the way, or not necessarily wrong, just not as you originally planned them to go. Make some back up plans for when things get thrown off track. This will help you to bounce back quicker than you would if you were just left without some sense of knowing what to do next.
Track where your time goes- Often times we don’t even know where the time goes or what we have done with that time. If this is the case with you, it may be beneficial to chart out your day and make notes of what you do and when. See where you can cut some things out that may not be so necessary in order for you to implement for time for writing.
Just Say No- Distractions are just a part of life and for a writer it is often that people will dismiss your need to actually sit down and write. They expect you to always be available to talk or go out and it’s hard to say no and justify why you’re not spending time with them so you can write. If you start telling them NO and letting them know that this is something serious for you and that it matters, they will eventually get the message and respect your craft. But you have to say No first.

I hope that some of these tips are helpful to you. I am still working on practicing some of them myself. Well I better get back to my craft now. Until next time…be blessed!

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

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

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

The Best You

September 8, 2011 jcladyluv

“The best way to get approval is not to need it! Focus on being the best you and the rest will take care of itself.”

~Chris Gardner

It is natural for people to want to seek approval from others. More often than not it is of the one’s that are immediately around you, like your friends and family. We want them to accept us and to be proud of us and to support us in our endeavors and always encourage our ambitions. When we don’t get that support and that approval, especially from family, we are crushed.

As hard as we may try to hide it and act as if it doesn’t really matter that they don’t get our goals and that they don’t approve of the path we chose, it matters. It begins to feel like if the one’s you love and are supposed to be able to look to for support can’t be there for you then everyone must be against you. However, the problem isn’t them for not approving the goals we put forth; the problem is us for depending on the approval of anyone but ourselves to begin with.

On the journey towards being successful in our dreams and or passions the focus has to be us; what we think, what we approve of, and what we demand of ourselves. At some point we are going to have to realize that seeking the approval of anyone else is only going to be our downfall. People spend so much time trying to do what others expect of them and trying to be perfect in order to fit someone else’s standards. What they should be focused on is meeting their own standards and not so much on being perfect but on being the best that they can be for themselves.

Trying to be what everyone else wants you to be can become exhausting and it wastes entirely too much time and energy that can be better spent. If the people around you are making you feel as if you aren’t meeting their expectations, then you need to reevaluate who it is that you are surrounding yourself with and if they are really what you need to be focused on. I know, easier said then done.

It’s hard to let go of that need to be accepted and I know because I’m still working on the letting go part. But I am starting to realize that all the time that I’ve wasted trying to seek approval and be accepted could’ve been time that went into actually accomplishing the very things that I sought approval for. So today you should stop and ask yourselves, whose approval is that you really need? Theirs, or your own. Until next time…Be the best you that you can possibly be and everyone else will just have to follow suit!

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

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

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

Passionate Writer

September 7, 2011 jcladyluv

“A strong passion for anything will ensure success, for the desire of the end will point out the means.”
~William Hazlitt

Very seldom do I ever wish that I could go back in time to when I was younger, perhaps in high school, and just live in that moment for while. Perhaps I would enjoy and take stock in the moments when I wrote simply because it was all I could do to get my feelings out, or when writing was not so much of a job or chore and more of a past time that I didn’t have to actually think about anything past the point of writing the actual story.

Now don’t get me wrong, I still absolutely love to write and I could never imagine anything else that I should be doing in this life or the next other than writing. But before there was the business aspect of writing (the hardest part of being a writer), and the marketing and publicity aspect, and the managing sales figures and making sure you are actually making money off of your passion, there was simply just the passion of it all.

I remember rushing to get home to just get the words of my characters out on paper (because back then I wrote long-hand), and I remember the feeling of accomplishment when the story was finished and when someone else told me that my words meant something to them. I didn’t worry so much back then about how to get my words published and how to market and how to make actual profits off of my work. I just knew that writing was my life’s dream and that was how I wanted to make my living. I knew that I wanted to make the best seller’s lists and write movies and write for magazines and television shows and that I wanted my living to be made from what I loved to do more than anything in the world.

Now I am making schedule’s to try and fit what I love into the rest of my life and reading and teaching myself about things pertaining to marketing and publicity, which are things I really don’t care about, but I have to know these things to make what I love to do work for me. I would just love to get to that point again where all I have to think about is the sheer enjoyment of writing my words down on paper and telling the story of my characters; back to the moment when I first fell in love with writing to begin with.

However, in reality, I want my words to be seen by the world and that part of my dream takes work and hard labor. But it is definitely a labor of love and one that I am willing to make many sacrifices for. So what are you most passionate about and are you willing to put in the hard labor to make it happen? Until next time…be blessed and make your labor of love count!

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

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

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

Even the Mind Needs to be Recharged

September 2, 2011 jcladyluv

“If you neglect to recharge a battery, it dies. And if you run full speed ahead without stopping for water, you lose momentum to finish the race.”

~Oprah Winfrey

Sitting in the starbucks working on trying to finish up my list for this week and just remembered that I have not yet posted my third blog post for this week, which is on my list. So while this post will not be long because I must get back to working on this query letter, I thought I would say a few words. More than anything this is for my best friend who always motivates me to get out of my own way and stop insisting that I can’t do something and change my way of thinking. Today she is having one of those “I don’t really feel like doing anything” days and while I know I started to get on her about working on her list for this week, I stopped myself to tell her that it’s okay because sometimes we just have those days. I had months of those days so who am I to get on her about anything. Sometimes the mind just needs to rest and recharge its batteries and that’s okay.

If we really think about it, recharging the mind does have a lot to do with completing our tasks and our goals because if our minds aren’t sharp then nothing we produce will be of much good. So to my very best friend, and any other writer out there who is just having one of those days, don’t feel too bad because in actuality as long as your mind is still spinning those ideas around in your head then you haven’t really stopped working. Until next time…let your mind recharge, and begin again tomorrow!

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”