Tag: Writers

The Other Version of Me

jcladyluv

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 Writer Wish List

jcladyluv

I was thinking about all of the things that I would have loved to have gotten for Christmas.  Not extravagant things, not a whole closet full of clothes (maybe just 1 new pair of jeans), not a lot of jewelry, and not expensive shoes (okay maybe just 1 inexpensive pair).  The things that I would’ve liked for Christmas are all pertaining to my craft of writing.  Well Christmas has come and gone and I still have my Writer Wish List without anything being crossed off so I guess that just adds another list of things that I need to strive for in the year 2012 to be able to obtain.  Today I thought I would share my Writer Wish List with all of you, somewhat as a way to hold myself to the task of achieving some, if not all, of the items on the list.  

  1. A yearly subscription to the ‘Writer’s Digest’ Magazine and ‘The Writer’ Magazine so I won’t miss one single issue.
  2. A New Laptop that doesn’t go as slow as molasses and would be able to hold some of the software that I would also like to get.
  3. Six month’s supply of printing cartridges so I won’t run out of ink for at least that length of time.
  4. A gift card to either a book store or an office supply store.
  5. A set of pretty purple pens (that seems to be my favorite color to write with even though my personal favorite color is blue).
  6. A year supply of coffee (the good stuff while we’re at it).
  7. A stack of empty journals/notebooks with pretty covers.
  8. The Scrivener software for writers as well the Adobe Creative Suite software.
  9. An Agent
  10. A new batch of customized business cards to pass out and bring in some new clients. 

So that’s my Writer wish list for the New Year.  So what are some of your most needed items on your Writer wish list?  Until tomorrow…Hope you have all of your lists ready for 2012.

 

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

Who Says Writing is Not a Job?

jcladyluv

“Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don’t feel I should be doing something else.”
~Gloria Steinem 

After finishing up my walk/run on the treadmill in the gym this morning I began talking to two fellow gym members and we were watching The Wendy Williams Show (no one bothers to turn the T.V. channel after the news goes off) and this morning the Braxton family were the guests today.  Now despite saying that I would never watch that mess during the first season (because I hate most reality TV shows), I accidentally ended up watching it one night and I was immediately hooked and have been watching ever since.  There’s so much about the Braxton family that I learned in watching their show and it is extremely entertaining to say the least.  

Needless to say, one of the sisters, Towanda, is separated from her husband and she talked about that today on The Wendy Williams Show and that one of the main reasons that they are separated is because he doesn’t have a job.  Now because I watch the show I know that her husband is a writer, albeit a struggling writer, but a writer nonetheless.  He just self-published his first book and already has himself lined up for several media and book events so he is soon about to take off.  However, because the fruits of his labor have not been seen yet, he is still seen as the man with no job.  

I take great issue with this because that implies that writing is not a job.  This sparked some mild debate with my two gym buddies because initially they felt as if I was attacking them.  After making it clear that I was not directly referring to them, I expressed how I am constantly hearing that about writers.  It’s as if you say you’re a writer and people then say oh, but what is your job.  That is my job.  I AM A WRITER!  It takes time, discipline, determination, persistence, and sheer willpower to put in the work to write a book and then do everything else that it takes to get that book published and then make it successful.  Writing is no small feat and I am getting really tired of people who dismiss it as simply a hobby or something that someone with an actual job does on the side.  

Now don’t get me wrong, there are people with skilled jobs or even other major career paths who do in fact write on the side and I am not trying to take anything away from them.  But you do have those people who are not better suited for a regular, skilled, 9 to 5, type of job because it would simply just take away from doing what it is that they were truly meant to do.  I am one of those people.  I have had regular jobs and I have once thought about taking up a particular skilled job that I could make a career out of but I just simply am not built that way.  I was born to be a writer and while I do not currently have what other people would consider a job, I feel that everyday that I sit down to my computer and write on my blog, or write an article for some online publication, or send out my queries to national magazines for my articles, or send out queries to agents for representation, or work on my novels, or edit someone else’s novel, that I am doing my JOB.  

I don’t make as much (right now) that I would like to be making and I do struggle at times without having that steady stream of bi-weekly income to come into my household but I don’t regret not going out there and seeking typical employment.  I do what I love and I am home for my daughter when she gets home from school to help her with homework and for whatever else her needs are.  I feel like people who just choose to write for a living with no additional methods of income get a really bad wrap.  Out of work Actors don’t get told that they are no longer considered Actors because they are not currently making a steady stream of income, no they are still Actors, so what is so different about being a writer?  I don’t knock anyone that does go to work in the morning and comes home and parents their children and then if they want to write, sit and write at night.  I think that it is admirable and very tough to do, but everyone is not built that way.  I know that I was never good at it and frankly it made me quite miserable and at times unbearable to deal with.  

I suppose that I am writing to all of those writers out there who might at times be feeling guilty about making the choice to either quit their regular jobs or just not seek another one altogether to focus on their writing.  If you feel that writing is your purpose and what you were meant to do, if you feel that you are truly doing God’s work, then go for it.  You will struggle, you will get frustrated, you will be looked at funny, you will get rejected, but in the end, when your goal is accomplished and you get to where you always envisioned yourself being, then it will all be worth it.  Until tomorrow…Be brave enough to do what’s in your heart and commit yourself to following through. 

 

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

Looking for a Writing Course

jcladyluv

One of the goals on my list for the 2012 year is to take a couple of writing courses.  Even the greatest of writers (which I am working on becoming) need to enhance their already impeccable writing skills.  There might be techniques that they have forgotten or desire to learn and a course every now and then can be just the thing to help.  I specifically would like to take a course in writing short stories because I have the hardest time writing them (possibly because I am so incredibly long-winded) and I just need some instruction in that particular area.  Now I don’t know when I will be taking this course because I haven’t even found one yet, nor have I saved up the money to do it, but I am looking so if any of you out there know of any short story writing courses that they would like to recommend please leave a comment.  Okay now I’ve shared one of my goals on my list for the New Year, why don’t you share one with me. 

 

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

Let’s Talk About Courage (Pt. 2)

jcladyluv

“One isn’t necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential.  Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency.  We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.”

~Maya Angelou 

I think that creative people are very special.  I say this not just because I am a creative person and that I surround myself with nothing but people who are also immersed in their own creativity.  I say this because being someone who’s life’s purpose centers around the creative arts is not really something that one can learn or that can even be taught if it is not ingrained somewhere deep inside of them.  Take a singer for instance.  You can give someone vocal lessons and the techniques and coaching that they may need to make their voice better and stronger, but if that natural talent and ability was never there in the first place, if it did not live deep inside of them, then it would never be able to be taught. 

There’s something else that lives inside of a person who is creative at heart, courage.  I think that being a creative person takes massive amounts of courage; the courage to withstand rejection, the courage to be patient and never give up while waiting for your turn, the courage to step out there and take the risk of being rejected to begin with, the courage to sacrifice comfort ability to serve your purpose no matter how crazy your loved ones may think you are.  

It takes courage to be your true self even if it is not what is expected of you or what is perceived as something that will be a more immediate success.  So today’s message is for all of you out there who are fulfilling your creative aspirations and enduring people looking at you or questioning your choices as if you’ve lost all of your senses.  Keep wearing that badge of courage because in the end it will pay off and you will be glad that you remained true to yourself.  Until tomorrow…“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the resistance to give in to that fear.” (Mark Twain)  

 

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

While I’m Planning, God is Laughing (a lot)

jcladyluv

Writers are supposed to be established by a certain age right?  By the age of thirty-one you would expect them to be published, either with articles in national magazines or a book on the shelves of every bookstore.  If not that then they would certainly be working in a magazine or a newspaper getting first hand experience in their craft and getting the chance to use it on a daily basis.  If you’re lucky you would have some five or six figure book deal that ends up being turned into a phenomenal movie and you’ve finally made it to the bestsellers list.  

Yes I always thought that at this age (31) that I would be already inNew York, working for some national magazine, or a publishing company as an editor with my own book deals in the work simultaneously.  But as you all know, life (and God) often times has very different plans for you that you didn’t anticipate.  You know they say when we plan, God laughs.  Well he must have been having a really good laugh with me for the last few years now.  I am certainly not where I would like to be within my career but perhaps I am where I need to be and wherever God has planned for me to be.  

I was reading a magazine interview with Walter Mosley and what I never knew about him was that he didn’t even start writing until he was 34 years old and wasn’t first published until he was about 38 years old.  Now he is 59 with 34 books published (so far).  This gave me hope.  There is still time for me to make the mark on the literary and media world like I want and perhaps God’s plan for me included a long lengthy journey of good old fashion struggle on my way to success (probably along with a lesson in patience—cause I really need to work on that).  I am hopeful that my journey will be worth it in the end and confident that I will carry out exactly the plan that God has tailor made for me, at the precise time he plans for it to be carried out.  Until tomorrow…Don’t give up hope, his plan IS your plan too! 

 

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

Putting Yourself Into Your Work

jcladyluv

I was reading an article in a writer’s magazine today that talked about how this particular author always incorporated a little piece of herself and her life, whether it be childhood or adulthood, into her novels.  They are not autobiographical per say but in some ways each of them give away some aspect of who she is.  I started thinking about the book of novel storylines that I have that I want to work on and realizing that in some ways I do the same thing.  

Now my first novel (The Diary: Succession of Lies) is very much based on some true events that I experienced and worked into the novel.  The second one that I want to get published (When Love Calls; currently awaiting the editing phase) may be a little less based on accurate details but I totally identify with my main character as if a piece of me is in her even though she and I are not really alike.  With the current novel that I worked on during NaNoWriMo and am still working on (Through the Looking Glass) right now is so far a part from any real experience I have ever been through but yet I identify with my main character, Mackenzie, so much.  Now Mackenzie and I are absolutely nothing alike but yet I feel so in tune with her.  

How is it that I can be so in tune with a character that I am nothing alike?  Isn’t it funny how sometimes when you are telling a story you can identify with a particular character that you really have nothing in common with?  But then again that’s the joy and excitement of writing novels.  You get to tell stories that you would probably never actually live through and if you want to throw in a few real life experiences you can do that too.  Until tomorrow…How much of yourself do you put into your stories? 

 

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

A Wish to be a More Avid Reader

jcladyluv

“Read, read, read. Read everything—trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the most.  Read! You’ll absorb it.  Then write. If it is good, you’ll find out.  If it’s not, throw it out the window.”
~William Faulkner 

A writer is supposed to also be a really good reader as well and I have to admit that, while I used to be, I am not the best at reading.  Not since I have thrown myself more into writing and concentrating on perfecting my writing skills and techniques.  I make an honest effort every year to try and do better at maintaining my reading pace.  When I make my list of books to read I try to put a little bit of everything on the list from romantic novels and mysteries, to some writing instruction books as well as motivational books.  I typically find myself only completing about half of my enormous list that I actually think I can read in a year.  

I suppose I would like to think that I could still read at the same pace that I used to read (like ten years ago).  But in reality I know that as I get more and more into writing my novels and other writing projects, I most likely won’t be able to read at that same rate but that never stops me from trying.  This year I am really going to attempt to make a manageable list that I will hopefully complete.  However instead of packing it with an eclectic mix of genres as I normally would I am going to be reading all mysteries next year.  For the last few books on this year’s list I’ve chosen the mystery books and I am really getting into the mystery genre.  I really like Sue Grafton and J.D. Robb novels right now.  

Also since my novel is a mystery and I am beginning a series, then it seems that I like to write mysteries as well.  So if any of you have any mysteries that you would like to suggest for my 2012 reading list I sure would like to hear them.  I have a few of my own already to put on there but I still would like to hear what books you would recommend.  Well I have a list to go finish.  Until tomorrow…What’s on your reading list?

 

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

Hidden on Purpose

jcladyluv

“The greatest thing about being hidden is that you can be underestimated.”

~Tyler Perry 

I admit that I am guilty of watching (probably what most writers would consider) way too much T.V.  I am a soap opera junky and I love movies (mostly suspense and drama), and yes I love my drama TV shows as well, such as Law and Order SVU and Unforgettable and many others.  I know the saying is that if you want to carve out more time to write and be an all around better writer then you need to cut out the unnecessary time wasters, which most would (arguably) consider television to be one of them.  But I have my reasons for watching so much television.  

I watch it not so much for the entertainment value (okay I will admit soap operas are entertaining to me) but from the standpoint of a writer.  I watch with the knowledge that I would love to write for a lot of these shows and quite frankly in terms of soap operas I think that being a lifetime watcher of a lot of them I would be a great asset as a writer because they change writers so often I think that the new writers don’t research the show and its history very well.  Some of the inconsistencies are really just ridiculous.  

I sit back and look at some of these shows and movies thinking I could write stuff like that, hell I can write some things better than that.  And then I find myself being a tad bit (okay maybe a lot) envious.  I wonder, why is my talent going unnoticed?  Why are there so-called writers (you know the ones, those with good story but bad writing technique) who are making millions of dollars off a book, and then movie when I not only have good stories but I can actually convey them well in written form.  Why am I going unnoticed? 

Every time I get this feeling of envy (which I know that it is wrong to be even somewhat envious of others successes) I remind myself of something I came across on Tyler Perry’s website in his inspirational corner.  He does these motivational segments via video and sends out emails of them every so often.  There was one particular video segment that made me see things a little differently.  He spoke about a friend of his who also wondered why his talents and his hard work continued to go unnoticed and he couldn’t seem to get to where he was trying to get to.  That he would get close but then it just wouldn’t pan out somehow.  

Tyler’s words of wisdom to his friend, was that maybe he was being hidden on purpose.  He told him that it just wasn’t his time to be seen yet.  He said “sometimes in life, God wants your story to be such a miracle that she shuts down every avenue, so that you can only go to him for the answer.”  He pointed out that there is an appointed time for everything and that everything that is supposed to happen in your life will happen.  

The best thing that he said that really stuck with me was that “if you walk in the path that you are supposed to at this point in time, then at the right time, God will reveal you, your talents, and everything you’ve done to the world.”  So when I am sitting back and wondering what all of my hard work and good writing is for when it continues to go unnoticed, I just have to keep thinking to myself, it’s not my time to be seen yet. 

I am going to continue to walk in the path in which I am supposed to walk, carrying out the purpose that God put me on this earth for, knowing that when God feels it is my time to be seen then I will shine the brightest that I could ever possibly shine.  Of course I have to keep reminding myself of this constantly when I am feeling a little envious of those writers who are already where I feel I should be right now.  I suppose I should just feel pure joy for those who are shining and being seen right now because they are paving the way for me to be seen when it is my time and when it is my time I will certainly be ready.  Until tomorrow…Get ready, your time is coming too! 

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