Artistry With Words

I’m afraid to write Happy Tuesday, because I’m not sure I’ll get this posted in time…so Happy Whateverdayitis!

I’ve been taking weekends off from writing now for a few months, and I love the break, but the break means more work on Monday, and one of the first sacrifices, if I don’t have enough time, is this blog…but….oh well!

I can only do so much, and that is true of us all.

Today I want to talk about recycling.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We live in a disposable society. It’s easier to throw things out than to fix them. We even give it a name – we call it recycling.”

Neil LaBute
From a writing standpoint, this quote can apply in a couple different ways.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

Do you keep your old work? I sure hope you do. I know a writer friend by the name of Lea who has oodles and gobs of old work picking up dust on the back shelves of her home….just one more reason why I like Lea.

Look at the quote again.  “It’s easier to throw things out than to fix them.”  Are you a one-draft kind of writer?  Are you completely satisfied with the first draft that you write?  If so, I don’t know how you do it.  My first draft of anything is terribly rough…often filled with mistakes.

Which leaves me with choices. I can either fix those mistakes before I publish the article, or I can toss it away in frustration….or worse yet, I can publish them without fixing them, which I consider to be unforgiveable.

The other way that recycling relates to writing for me is when I go back and take a look at articles I wrote years ago.  It’s amazing how many times I’ve done that, and either come up with a new idea for a new article, or seen something I could add to the old article, essentially making it a new article.

TIP OF THE DAY

Throw nothing out with regards to your writing.  You never know when your old stuff will come in handy.  If it was worth writing the first time, it is worth saving and at some point revisiting.

WRITER OF THE DAY

I’m going to introduce you to an old friend of mine. In truth, she is younger than I am, but she has been an online friend for almost three years, and she is not only fiercely loyal but a fine writer as well.  Her name is Paula, and at HubPages she is called fpherj48 and you can find her here.

CONTEST OF THE DAY

This isn’t a contest but it is a national site that promotes writing a novel during the month of November.  It is called nanowrimo and you can read all about it here.  As a kick-in-the-butt for procrastinators, it is a great site.

I GUESS THAT’S IT FOR TODAY

I’ll try and return later this week.  If I don’t make it, I’m sure you’ll carry on quite nicely without one more blog to read. J

Bill

“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”

Happy whatever day it is. Truth be told, I’ve been so busy with customers lately that I haven’t had time for this blog.  No excuse, just fact.

So this will probably be a short one, but I was inspired today and had to write about the inspiration.

I have an incubator in my writing studio, and in that incubator are little quail eggs.  Well today our first one hatched, and honestly, I was blown away watching that little baby climb out of her shell and lay there so beautiful and helpless.  I gently picked her up and yes, I had tears in my eyes.

Life is so damned precious.  How could anyone feel differently?  I was in awe of the scene playing out in front of me, and I was humbled to be holding that new life in my hands.

And that leads us to today’s topic….inspiration!

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.”

Helen Keller
THOUGHT OF THE DAY

Excuse me if I sound like I’m on my high horse. I don’t mean to sound like that.  It’s just that I can’t understand how writers cannot find inspiration in their daily lives.  My goodness, open your eyes and look around you.

Last night two young girls came to our door. They were selling cookies for a school fundraiser, and of course we bought some, because I’ve never seen a chocolate chip cookie I didn’t like.  Anyway, they were adorable….two sisters….polite, innocent, their whole lives in front of them…and I was touched by it all.  Such a simple scene from life, but it was heartwarming and I just wanted to sit down and write about them at that very moment.

TIP OF THE DAY

Get out, live life, and let it inspire you.  Allow your senses to swallow up every magical moment of this gift called life, and then write about it, paint it for others, and share in the wonder.

You are writers. Use the talent you have to inspire others…please!

I’LL BE BACK

I just don’t know when. I seem to have a lot to do of late, but I’m sure I’ll be back sooner rather than later. I hope you are all enjoying this week…and life.

Bill

“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”

Can you believe we are halfway through October?  Well, I guess we better believe it, right, because the calendar doesn’t lie.  I’ve done everything I can to prepare for winter.  The animals are all snug in their homes, the wood is split and stacked, and I have a new roof on the writing studio.  I say BRING IT ON!

I received an email from a person in Los Angeles yesterday.  He read an article I wrote a couple years ago about living in Olympia.  It seems he and his family are fed up with living in L.A. and they are moving to Olympia, and he wanted to ask me some questions about this area.  Kind of cool.

I also, this week, received an email from someone who just celebrated their first year of sobriety, and she wanted to thank me for the alcoholism blog I ran for a year or so.  She told me my blog had helped her during her first tough months of sobriety.  I repeat…kind of cool.

And that brings us to today’s quote.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Every person has a longing to be significant; to make a contribution; to be a part of something noble and purposeful.”

John C. Maxwell
THOUGHT OF THE DAY

Last week I heard from a writer friend who was struggling.  They wanted to touch base with me and hear some affirmation that what they are doing really matters. Of course I gave them a heartfelt sales pitch because, well, that’s what I do.

To summarize, I told her that writers matter and what we do is significant, and that is my message to you as well.  I know this is grueling at times.  My God, we spend day after day pouring out words, and we really have very little feeling for the significance of those words.  It’s not like we have the physical presence of an audience in front of us.  We just hit “send” and our words float out to the online world, and then we move on to our next pressing business.

Always remember that what we do is important. We are the voices of our generation.  We toil in obscurity, just as all writers have done during their careers, and there are days when the only pat on the back we receive is the one we give ourselves….but…there are other days when we hear from someone, and they tell us how much they appreciate what we are doing, that our words made a difference in their lives, and then our souls are fed once again.

TIP OF THE DAY

Write as though every word that you write matters…because it does.

HUG OF THE DAY

It goes to all of you, my friends, because you deserve one.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND

I don’t have anything else for you today. We are all busy and all tired, so let’s get ready for the weekend. Thank you for visiting and I’ll talk to you next week.

Bill

“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”

I finally made it back.  So much to do. I’ve been calling it a day early of late because I need to get the wood split before the rains arrive.  Once they get here they won’t leave for six months, so time is of the essence lately.

Anyway, a good weekend. How about you?

I just celebrated my 66^th birthday. I’m not sure if celebrate is the right word when you get to that age. It is more like a reminder that time is running out, if you get what I mean.

It is also a reminder, for me, that I am exactly three years into my five-year writing plan, and that means it is time to reflect on where I’ve come from and the progress I’ve made.

And that leads us to today’s topic.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.”

Benjamin Franklin
THOUGHT OF THE DAY

When I started as a freelance writer, I laid out a five-year plan.  Why five years?  It was based, at least partly, on the 10,000 Hour Principle, and my belief that a writer, like anyone else in any profession, must pay his dues and put in his time in order to excel.

I started by building my platform and establishing myself as a professional writer. I have done that. My ultimate goal is to be published by a traditional publishing company, so I have two more years to achieve that.  I think I’m going to make it, but it will require more work and more improvement.

TIP OF THE DAY

Take some time this week to reflect back to where you started, and then look at where you are now as a writer. Can you see progress?  If the answer is yes, then keep doing what you are doing. If the answer is no, you have some changes that need to be made in your approach.

PROMPT OF THE DAY

Happy Valentine’s Day!  Can you think of a special Valentine’s Day you have had? I ask this because, if you are going to write articles about Valentine’s Day, now is the time to do so.  Give those articles a chance to circulate on the Web, so write them by the end of October.

WRITER OF THE DAY

Take a moment and go say hello to my friend Dianna…she is Teaches12345 on HP.  She’s one of the good guys, and I’m proud to call her my friend.

CONTEST OF THE DAY

Flash fiction seems to be the new rage, so I found you a flash fiction contest. This is an international contest with no entry fee, so take a look here.

HOPEFULLY MORE LATER IN THE WEEK

Sorry, but I got behind because of all the birthday wishes I had to answer….actually, I’m not sorry at all.  I love that I have so many caring friends in the writing community, and spending part of my birthday with them was a thrill.

Have a great week of writing.

Bill

“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”

And here we are in the second week of October already.  One wouldn’t know it by looking at the weather we are having in Olympia.  A bit of a distraction for this writer, but I know the rains and the cold will be here soon, so I’m not complaining.

But, since we’re talking about distractions…..

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Successful people maintain a positive focus in life no matter what is going on around them. They stay focused on their past successes rather than their past failures, and on the next action steps they need to take to get them closer to the fulfillment of their goals rather than all the other distractions that life presents to them.”

Jack Canfield
I’ve got two words to say about this quote:  Boy howdy!

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

I don’t know why you are writers.  I don’t know what your goals are.  Maybe you want to be a novelist, or maybe your goal is to simply make money online. Whatever the case may be, you cannot allow distractions to side-track you or discourage you.

Has anyone heard of Panda?  Of course you have, and I was somewhat amused by the reactions of online writers the last time Panda came to visit.  Understand, that situation was completely out of the  hands of writers, and yet many acted like the world had come to an end, and they started making radical adjustments, and some even got discouraged and quit.

Concentrate on what you can control and not some random online adjustment.

If you are receiving a ton of rejections, then make adjustments.  If you aren’t making money the way you want to, then adjust, but for goodness sake, keep your eyes on the goal and don’t let distractions waylay you.

TIP OF THE DAY

If you don’t have your goals taped above your computer then do so.  We all need to keep our eyes on the prize that awaits us.

REVIEW OF THE DAY

I received a nice review for my novel, Resurrecting Tobias….you can follow the link below.

http://www.bubblews.com/news/8539879-book-review-of-resurrecting-tobias-by-william-d-holland

PROMPT OF THE DAY

What are you doing for New Years Eve?  Got any plans to party?

That’s your prompt, by the way, and I chose it for a reason:  you need to write seasonal articles in advance.  If you plan on writing a New Year’s Eve article, you need to write it now.  Plan on three-to-six months in advance.

INTERVIEW OF THE DAY

I was recently interview by my friend Christy on her site Poetic Parfait, and you can find that interview here.

WRITER OF THE DAY

My good friend Melanie Chisnall recently published a new fitness ebook, and you can find it on Amazon by following this link.

AND THE END OF THE DAY

But there will be more on Thursday…or Friday…whenever I get around to it.

Have a great week of writing.

Bill

“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”

Happy Friday to you all! I hope you’re ready to let your hair down and have some fun this weekend.  You deserve it, you know.

And that’s the topic of this blog posting….you deserve it!

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection.”

Buddha
Leave it to Buddha to speak truth.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

So here’s the thing:  nobody knows what a writer goes through except another writer.  Bev is as supportive as any spouse can possibly be, but she really has no clue what I go through daily, and I suspect the same is true for your significant others.

And how can they know?  While they are off doing their own “normal” job, we are spending seemingly every waking moment writing words to a public we can’t see, in hopes that we can make some money in a business where there are no guarantees.

We can quite possibly…quite probably…work for months on a project, knowing we may never see a penny from that project.

We put our fragile egos on the line daily when we hit the “publish” button, not knowing if we will be accepted or rejected as serious writers.

How can anyone other than a writer understand that?

So here’s what I want you to do…..

TIP OF THE DAY

Pat yourself on the back for a job well-done.  Do something nice for you this weekend….a little treat…some quiet time in a hot tub…a walk in nature..a decadent treat at the store…treat yourself like the royalty that you are.

You are one of a very small group of people in the world who do what we do.  You are capable of turning words into beauty.  You are capable of bringing sunshine into the lives of people who have always known storm clouds. That, my friends, is special, and so are you.

Toss aside those self-doubts and know that what you do is important.  You may never see monetary gains, but that does not diminish the importance of what you do.

Be proud!  You are a writer!

I SEE NO REASON TO ADD TO THAT

Let’s call it a day.  You don’t need me rambling any longer.  Let me recommend one writer to you and then I’ll wish you a great weekend.

Stop by, as a favor to me, and say hello to Iris Draak from Boise, Idaho.  You can find her here.  She has been very supportive of me, and I want to pass it on.

Thank you, and have a great weekend.

Bill

“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”