Tag: writing

Let Providence Be Your Guide

jcladyluv

I was watching Oprah’s Master Class last night and this particular episode was about Morgan Freeman and his long journey to success.  He spoke a lot of letting Providence be your guide.  I know that this is going to sound funny but I had never really heard of that saying and I didn’t quite understand what it meant.  I mean I realized what meaning it had by the context he was using it in throughout the telling of his life lessons but I still (being the constant researcher that I am) had to go to Google and read more about this Providence.  In short, it refers to God’s extraordinary intervention in the life of people.  

When Morgan Freeman continually mentioned Providence intervening at the right moments in his life he spoke of the countless times that he might have been leaning towards making wrong, or worse, desperate decisions to maintain a somewhat decent living while in search for his dream that frankly took way longer to come to fruition than he would’ve liked.  He spoke about his attempt in joining the Air Force in which case he quickly realized he wasn’t cut out for that. Providence had intervened.  

He talked about his attempts at being a ‘clerk typists’ and working for this company as a temp.  When he tried to get the job full time the hiring manager told him that that was not what he was supposed to be doing, and that he was supposed to be an Actor. Providence had intervened again.  He spoke of his collecting unemployment and having to search for a typical, clerk typist job which kept him from looking for acting jobs.  He said that he had gotten frustrated enough to go to the supervisor of the employment agency and told her that by them making him look for typical work that he just wasn’t meant for, they were keeping him from being who he truly was, an actor.  She approved his benefits anyway and gave him six months to get an acting job. Providence intervened again.  There were countless other people in his life that ‘intervened’ with him trying to lead a mediocre existence and steered him even further towards what he was born to do. 

In the beginning of the program he made a statement about things happening as they should and that you are going to have those certain times in your life where you think that you should have been doing something else, something more, but that’s not necessarily so.  He said that you probably should be doing whatever it is you’re doing, just to do your best at it.  I thought about that, and the fact that I always feel like I should be in a much different place, a much better place.  But in listening to the life lessons of Morgan Freeman, a man who didn’t really come into his career until he was around the age of fifty (although I really hope it doesn’t take me that long), I realized that he’s right.  

I mean I would like to not have gone through a lot of the things I’ve gone through in life. I’ve had opportunities pass by me that just seemed like they should have been mine but somehow didn’t pan out.  Perhaps that was Providence also intervening in my life.  Without all of the things that I have gone through, those things I sit and wonder ‘why me’ about, would I be the person I am right now.  Would I be as strong, as determined, as persistent?  Would I be this much of a fighter?  I don’t know that I would be if I hadn’t had all of these tests and obstacles along my journey.  

Perhaps Providence has protected me from something I might not have been ready for.  Maybe the opportunities that passed me by weren’t really mine to begin with.  Maybe I should just do the best at what I’m doing now and be the best writer that I can be right now, in this moment, and let Providence guide me.  Maybe we all should let that spiritual force be the guide that steers us in the direction that we should be going, not necessarily in the direction we think we should be going.  Until tomorrow…Take stock in what you are doing now, it most likely is right where you should be. 

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

Knowing is Half the Battle

jcladyluv

One of the things I struggle most with when it comes to writing is my consistence in the art of procrastination.  As much as I want other writers out there to buckle down and plant their butts in a chair and as much as I tell myself the same thing, lately it seems like any minor distraction can deter me from writing, mostly the TV.  

I think I might be addicted to television.  I mean even if I turn the sound down on the TV it doesn’t help but if I turn the TV off then it’s too quiet and I can’t focus when it is too quiet, I need some modicum of sound.  And it’s not as if I watch TV for the sheer enjoyment of watching it (at least not most of the shows I watch) but rather I watch it from the standpoint of a writer.  I watch the storylines and pay close attention to the dialogue and analyze it in my head as to what I, as a writer, could bring to that TV show or movie.  

I am going into detail about the distraction of TV because although I have many other distractions that just come with everyday life and being a mom, the TV is basically my kryptonite and sometimes (not all the time) it weakens my desire to write.  Well now that I’ve been honest with myself and you, hopefully I can take the proper steps to resolve the issue of that distraction.  

I think when I used to go to Borders to do my writing it got me away from the TV and I felt inspired sitting in the bookstore surrounded by all of these great writers (I mean of the books on the shelves) and it just made me want to work harder.  Ever since they closed down Borders I haven’t had anywhere to retreat to get away from the distractions of being home with the TV.  I guess I have to find another place now where I can get away and still feel inspired.  

I suppose this means I’m not one of those writers who can do my work 100% from the comfort of my home.  I guess getting out of my home office will also help me to network with other writers as well.  Now that I figured out why I haven’t been writing much lately I know exactly what I need to do to fix it.  Well knowing is half of the battle isn’t it?  Until tomorrow…It’s good to know your flaws and your weaknesses, because if you don’t know what they are you can’t fix them.  

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

Where There’s A No There’s a Yes Right Around The Corner

jcladyluv

Rejection is a part of the process of becoming a successful writer.  I mean unless you have a lot of connections and you know all of the people you need to know to be placed right where you want to be in your career then you are pretty much starting at the bottom of the barrel.  That means that you will more than likely be rejected more times than you would care to count.  Now if you have nerves of steel and can stare adversity in the eye with a straight face then you will have no problem forging ahead right out of the pile of rejection letters that you are likely to receive before you become that top selling author you desire to be.  

However, if you are anything like me, where being rejected makes you rethink every decision you ever made and has you constantly second guessing yourself, then this business (writing) is going to take some getting used to and quite frankly a lot more of a backbone.  I’m not talking about having the talent for writing, that’s only about 20% of being a successful writer.  It’s the other 80% that takes diligence and determination to really make it as a writer.  Now I’ve always been afraid of the rejection, and with writing it’s so much of it, but I know that I can’t give up on my dream.  

I was watching an up and coming author who was on the Anderson show yesterday (Amanda Hocking) and she spoke of how she had been rejected at least a thousand times before she went the route of self publishing in which she sold over a million copies on her own and then was eventually picked up by a major publishing house.  At first I was taken aback by the amount of rejection she endured but then I was just in awe of how she powered through it and moved her own career forward and look where she is now, on a nationally broadcasted talk show talking about her books.  

So from now on I am not going to be discouraged by my rejection letters (I have a small stack growing on my desk) and I am not going to doubt myself every time someone decides to pass on an article.  I am not going to stop at one rejection, but rather power through and press on until someone gives me the yes that I know I deserve to hear.  Of course when I get my media company up and running I may not even need someone’s yes, I’ll just create my own.  Until tomorrow…Don’t let rejection stop you when there’s a yes right around the corner!

 

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

Someone’s Always Watching You

jcladyluv

I was told today that I was a motivating source to someone who I hadn’t even realized was paying attention to me.  This guy in the gym said that every time that he thought about staying in the bed and not dragging himself to the gym he thought about me and my hard work that I put in at the gym, and the fact that I constantly push myself to do more and to push through even when I don’t feel like it.  He said that I motivated him to push through and come to the gym even if he didn’t feel like it.  I was amazed and shocked because this was a guy who was relatively new to the gym and who I would’ve never known was paying attention to anything that I did.  As he was leaving out the door he said that you never know who might be watching so keep up the good work.  

Aside from feeling flattered I felt confused because I never saw myself as motivation for anyone but I suppose that just as there are those that might not realize how much they motivate me, I too, might be recognized by others.  As someone who is naturally an observer I notice people and their actions all the time.  I find myself continually motivated by these ambitious people (unknown to me personally) that I see striving to be successful in everything they do and who are determined to make their dreams a reality.  

I guess if I’m watching others it’s not so far fetched to think that someone could be watching me.  Hopefully someone is watching this blog, and my writing development through the internet world and recognizes that some day as well.  For whoever is watching (or should I say reading) this blog, I write articles on a multitude of topics, I edit manuscripts for a reasonable fee, I am perfectly fine with my blog being turned into a book, and I am always looking for new clients to work with.  Until tomorrow…Work hard and be diligent because you never know who might be watching 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

Romanticized Notions of Being a Writer

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When I was a little girl and first dreamed of being a writer I just thought of all of the wonderful stories that I wanted to tell and all of them would have happy endings.  When I was ten and started to write poetry to essentially pour my heart out on the page I realized that I had something other then fairy tale stories inside me and that there was a poet in there.  When I realized how long winded I could be in my storytelling and that I had some really unique stories to tell in the form of novels I dreamed of being on the New York Times Best-Seller’s list.  

No where in any of my romanticized dreams of becoming various versions of a writer did I factor in the business side of it all.  In my daydream I had a wonderful agent who got me this wonderful five book deal with Random House and of course once the first five are done they option me for another five book deal.  Of course because it’s Random House all of the marketing and getting my author name to known as a household name to book lovers everywhere is taken care of by their in house marketing team.  Never did I plan on trying to do this myself or that it would be so incredibly hard to get an agent.  Never did I factor in having to market myself.  

Writing is for the creative and the imaginative but it is also indeed a business.  You can only romanticize the idea of being a writer for so long before coming to terms with the fact that only about 25% of your time (if that) will be spent actually writing and the rest will be spent on the business of getting yourself out there.  No one is going to know your name, your work, your talent, if you don’t put yourself out there and hustle for that recognition.  

Of course when you are out there and everyone knows who you are and you make enough to outsource your marketing efforts, (which is definitely in my plan) then that is certainly a good option but you have to put in your fair share of work first.  I am still a work in progress on this aspect but I know that if I don’t step my game up and market myself as if my life depended on it (because it actually does) then I won’t get where I want to be, where I need to be.  My romanticized notions of being a writer are certainly gone now (at least until I get that five book deal) and now it’s time to get down to the business of really being a writer and a media mogul.  Until tomorrow…Have you tapped into your business side yet?

 

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

What is There to Wait For?

jcladyluv

“Waiting is a trap.  There will always be reasons to wait.  The truth is, there are only two things in life, reasons and results, and reasons simply don’t count.”

~Dr. Robert Anthony 

When someone in the gym this morning asked why I didn’t wait for them to go start my running I simply said I’m not waiting for anyone this year.  It got me to thinking about just how much time I have spent (or rather wasted) waiting around for something or someone.  It seems like I was always the one that would wait for people to come along, or come around and who in turn wanted people to wait around for me.  

I guess I must have had some sort of revelation when this year kicked into gear because my attitude became one of not wanting to wait around for anyone anymore, or for anything to just happen.  Not even waiting around for the other shoe to drop as I typically do as well.  How many minutes or hours do people spend just waiting?  I am tired of waiting for other people, or even having people waiting for me to do something that they already know they need to do.  

Now I am not speaking of every single aspect of your life but when it comes to doing something that you know has to get done, don’t sit around waiting, not even for that person that said they were going to be right there alongside you.  I wish I could get back all of the time that I’ve wasted waiting around for something to happen, waiting for someone to get their act together, waiting for someone to give me great opportunities to exercise the talent that I possess, even waiting for inspiration to just strike (as I posted about yesterday).  

The fact of the matter is that I can’t just sit and wait because there isn’t anymore time for that.  Too much time has already gone by.  Now it’s time to get my butt into high gear and get busy making what I want happen and not waiting around letting opportunities just fall through the cracks.  Until tomorrow…Can you count how much time you’ve wasted just waiting around?     

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 Inspirational Surroundings

jcladyluv

I am sitting in the corner of my room that is designated as ‘my office’ and looking at my empty bulletin board and I am not feeling inspired at the moment.  I run into this problem at the beginning of every year.  I want to put new and inspiring things up on my bulletin board but I don’t quite know what to put up there.  I have some pictures up surrounding the bulletin board but I’m thinking about changing them.  I am trying not to let the lack of inspiration in front of my desk stop me from being productive but it is easier said than done.  

I had a battle with procrastination today and I think that procrastination may have won this one.  I think that I am going to take a little time this evening to finally fill my bulletin board and the walls around my desk area full of inspiration and try again tomorrow to be my most productive self.  I guess every day can’t always be a good writing day.  Until tomorrow…What inspiration is surrounding you in your office?

 

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

Taking Care of You

jcladyluv

Ms. L reminded me of something tonight; that you can’t take care of everyone else if you don’t first make time to take care of yourself.  I have a hard time doing that.  I had a conversation earlier today with someone about not knowing what to do with myself during the time that my daughter is with her father.  I mean I know how to make use of the time when she’s in school because after dropping her off and going to the gym everyone morning (which is probably the only thing that I really do to take care of me) I am only left with a small amount of time before having to get her from school.  But when she goes away to her dad’s house and spends the night I am left with all of this time and I don’t know what to do with it.  

I mean sure I write and do housework but I don’t really do anything that is solely just for the sake of having fun (or pampering myself).  It’s almost like I forgot how to be me.  I’m just a mom and a writer.  I don’t really know how to be anyone else.  It’s programmed in me and I suppose I have to search and find that something that is just for me, just for my benefit, so that I can feel like I’m being taken care of too (and if I have a little fun along the way that’s good too).  

For anyone out there is feels so caught up in what they do for a living and being someone’s parent, find a way to take care of you this year.  You deserve to feel pampered and you deserve to have fun (fun outside of the kids) too.  It’s time to take care of you so that you can be able to better take care of the ones you love around you.  Until tomorrow…Try putting yourself first every once and a while. 

 

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

Having Faith in the Bigger Picture

jcladyluv

“No matter how steep the mountain – the Lord is going to climb it with you.”

~Helen Steiner Rice 

I am not a stranger to struggle.  I have been knocked down time and time again and even when I get back up sometimes I get knocked right back down within seconds, but I just keep on getting right back up. 2011 inparticular was a really bad year for me, quite possibly the worst I’ve had, but yet I find myself optimistic for the coming year of 2012.  I heard someone earlier say that this year doesn’t feel any different than the last year but I disagree.  For some reason, to me, this year feels like it will be the beginning of bigger and better things that are to come for me.  Maybe it’s just the optimist in me.  Maybe it’s just sheer faith in God and in the person that he created me to be.  

Every time I go through something my mom constantly asks me how I can be so calm and nonchalant and not be worried about whatever it is.  I tell her that I just have faith that God has got my back and that I’m not walking this journey alone as long as I am doing what he asks of me.  In reality what I want to say is that I am worried (terrified really) when things start going wrong and that I am not really calm about it, deep inside I am panicking.  However, I realize more and more that I have a lot more faith than even I thought I had.  Of course I worry but I don’t think that I am nearly as terrified about things going wrong as I probably should be.  

It’s because I have so much faith.  Not only do I have an enormous amount of faith in God, but I have faith that he knows where I will end up (it is his plan after all) and just the trials and tribulations that I need to go through to get me there.  Everything I come up against challenges me but it also strengthens me and obstacle by obstacle I realize that I am stronger than I ever thought I could be.  

For anyone who knows me, they know that I am not the religious type, per say.  I don’t go to church (although deep down I feel I probably should) but I am a very spiritual person.  I don’t always get why certain struggles have to be placed on my shoulders and I admit that I get frustrated because I am that person who likes to know that everything is going be alright and hopefully that it will have a happy ending.  However, because I can’t fully see what God’s plan for me is and I don’t know what will be the end result of his journey for me, I have no other choice but to walk the path that he has laid out with faith.  God has already brought me through so much already, so I have to have faith that he will bring me through the rest.  

My message today is for you to have faith.  Even in times of struggle.  Even if there is nothing that is going the way you want it to.  Even if nothing that is happening to you makes sense.  Even if you feel like you can’t get back up and you want to just quit.  Even when you can no longer see the bigger picture for yourself.  You have to have faith.  We are human and we will worry but in the end you should know that God will never let you down.  Until tomorrow…Have faith that you are stronger than your greatest obstacles!

 

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

No Excuses Allowed (Anymore)

jcladyluv

“Excuses are the nails used to build a house of failure.” 

~Don Wilder 

I was in the gym this morning and one of the guys in there (who hadn’t been there for about two weeks) strolled in to a barrage of questions from everyone else in the weight room.  In our gym we look after one another and we definitely hold everyone accountable to what they say they want to accomplish by coming there.  So this particular person constantly comes in the gym speaking about how he plans on being more consistent and then he will disappear for about a week.  When he comes back in he talks about all of the things that threw him off of his plan to be consistent and the mistakes that he made in his diet that made him feel too guilty to come back to the gym on a regular basis.  We tell him the same thing time after time.  That it doesn’t matter the mistakes he made in his own plan, or that he got off track.  What matters is that he corrects the mistakes and gets it together.  In one ear and out the other our words go every time.  

Today, for every excuse he gave me, I simply said to him “this is the year for no excuses”.  He responded by saying “but I fell off, I messed up”.  I told him that it doesn’t matter that you ‘fell off’ or that you made mistakes in your own plan, what will make those mistakes matter is if you give those mistakes power by never correcting them.  He asked me “well haven’t you ever made mistakes in your diet and messed up and then felt guilty about it?” and I said ‘sure I mess up in my diet because I’m an emotional eater, and I’ve missed more than one or two days at the gym but I don’t feel guilty about it because I know that I am going to correct it and eventually I do’.  

Now this conversation may just be in reference to going to the gym and maintaining a healthy regimen but the message applies to everyday life as well.  We all make mistakes that we feel guilty about and we sometimes think that we can’t come back from whatever mistake it is but the reality is that we can and using those mistakes then becomes more of an excuse.  Not one person walking this earth is perfect or goes without making one single mistake.  Sometimes what makes the mistakes worse than what they really are is the fact that we keep repeating them and never do what needs to be done to correct them.  

I think that sometimes we should celebrate the fact that we are imperfect beings because it will be those imperfections that strengthen our character and our determination to do the things that we were put here to do.  Those imperfections allow us to realize that while we may fall down, we most certainly have the strength to get back up.  So for the year of 2012, let’s try to take the attitude that we won’t make any excuses, nor will we accept any.  If we make a mistake, don’t let that very mistake be a reason that we don’t correct our actions.  So you fell down, so what.  Sit up, get your bearings together, dust yourself off, and get back up again.  It will only stay a mistake if you don’t do anything to correct it.  Until tomorrow…Rejoice in your imperfections, they are apart of what makes you who you are!

 

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