Archives: There’s No Sin in Being Good to Yourself

When it came time to find words for today’s post, I had none. I wandered through my archives, looking for something to ‘re-run’, and one title appealled, so I’m reposting it. Sometimes being good to oneself is as important as being good to someone else. I clicked on the link in the first paragraph to

The Long Road to Publication

. For the past few months my aunt, Norma McGuire (aka Nonie Vogue), has been working on a special and very personal project – a chapter book for children. It contains bedtime stories that were told by her now deceased husband to their children and grandchildren. Each chapter recounts an adventure of an old fishing boat

A Vocation or Avocation?

. How we think of ourselves can determine how others think of us.  Our attitude affects our demeanor, and that in turn affects how others respond to us. What does this have to do with writing? I believe respecting our right to be serious about our writing can determine whether we become known as word

Monday Musings on Friday

. Friday is the favourite day of the week for many people. It heralds the weekend, an opportunity to wind down and escape from the workplace. For preachers, of course, the weekend is a ‘getting into gear’ time. Sunday is the focal point of their week’s studying and sermon preparation. But for the rest of

Taking Stock of our Writing Inventory

In a recent post WordServe agent Rachelle Gardner provided statistics in review of her year. WordPress also sent out the stats for our WordPress blogs. I took note of mine but they didn’t tell me much I didn’t already know… that the number of readers here has steadily increased and the most popular posts are

How many? You’ve got to be kidding!

As of last night, only four days into NaNoWriMo, the total collective word count wrenched from 185,587 word-weary brains is an incredible 417,497,927. We won’t discuss the quality of those words. Some will be little better than gibberish, although some — mine included, of course 🙂 — are creating a legitimate novel. Not everyone sees the point

Achievement means first making a start

This morning I was made aware of how much my attitude limits my achievements. A television interview with athlete and paralympian Rick Hansen left me in awe of the example he sets, not just for the physically handicapped but for everyone. He has already accomplished more in his life than many able-bodied ever will. While discussing

Climbing Ladders and Reaching for Success

People are painting parts of our house today. High parts. The parts my husband prefers not to deal with.  He’s already power washed the siding and painted much of the trim. There are just these teeter-on-the-top-of-a-ladder and climb-on-the-roof bits that still need attention, and ladders and roofs are not his favourite places. Unfortunately, short of

Carpe Diem for Writers

On her blog today Carol Benedict includes a music video of “Seize the Day” sung by Carolyn Arends.  Only one of the verses makes reference to writing a novel but the theme is one that reminds me of how important carpe diem is if I’m serious about my goals. . “Life slips away like hourglass

Finding Failure or Success

Success is a unisex commodity. Don’t we all like the feeling of being considered successful? It’s satisfying to feel in control and be functioning with efficiency, accomplishing what we set out to do. . The fact is, we don’t always accomplish what we intend. I’ve read that less than 10% of people manage to keep