Bite That Bullet

Hey, I’m Dreamin’ Here…

What I Learned from #theWVoice

1.  I can no longer say I’ve never won anything.  The rafflecopter picked me.

2.  This is/was the nicest, most supportive bunch of contestants and coaches I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet.

3.  My query does indeed need an overhaul, as I suspected.

4.  My first 250 apparently do not (per comments anyway, there’s always room for improvement).

5.  It’s easier to handle disappointment when all the entries were seriously so damn good.

6.  @annettetdodd is an amazing stats woman

7.  It’s okay to be humorous and serious at the same time.

8.  My site got visits from all over the world.

9.  It’s easy for even a shy person to make friends in such a competition if she lets herself.

10.  Contests such as #TheWVoice, PitMad, #PitchWars, and #QueryKombat  can be well worth your time for feedback, making new friends/connections, and generally putting yourself out there.  Instead of the cold and lonely plunge into the sea of agents, you can get your feet wet in warmer water and learn a lot. (Though The Write Voice is the only one I’ve participated in, the experience was so positive I’m sure there will be others in my future.)

11.  I will follow these entries through the next rounds of the contest.  Every one of them is outstanding and I hope to learn a few things by contrasting original queries with the polished queries posted for the agents round.

12.  I’m a little sad it’s over for me because I’ve enjoyed these writers and coaches immensely.

13. I’m so happy to have made some great new twitter friends.

14.  I have tremendous respect for the coaches and the effort they expended to make The Writers Voice happen.

It’s the Heat

I wouldn’t be caught dead in public in a bathing suit if not for this heat.  As it is, my most recent day dreams all begin with one of these:

So while I’m fantasizing about a nice cool dip on a real hot day, I flow on over to Google and take a look.  The first pool I saw made me sit back and think.  Can anyone guess what the shape reminds me of and why I won’t be commissioning this particular pool in my lifetime?

This one's just confusing.

And since I have a real problem with heights, the following pools won’t find their way into my world any time soon:

There are some pretty cool pools out there, and I’d be over the moon with any of these:

Could You Live With Only 100 Posessions?

I ran across an interesting challenge this week.  I suppose you’ve figured out I’m into simple living, downsizing and making life work for you instead of the other way around.  Because of that, I find this challenge especially interesting on a personal level.  I’ve included an excerpt below.

What is the 100 Thing Challenge?  David Bruno explains it: The 100 Thing Challenge is my little way to personalize my efforts to fight consumerism.

What would possess people to eliminate such a large chunk of their belongings?  It’s the same motivation found here in a comment from Time:

Living small is hardly a new concept. Henry Thoreau tucked himself into a 150-sq.-ft. house on Walden Pond in the 1840s, and the city of San Francisco built some 5,600 earthquake cottages for survivors of the 1906 temblor. But over the past decade, dozens of architects and builders have begun specializing in tiny-house designs. And home buyers–motivated by the desire to simplify their lives, use fewer resources and save money–are falling in love with the little things.

I think the 100 Thing Challenge would be a prerequisite for anyone considering microhousing.  Also, I would have to lump my books together under one thing called a library just as David did.  Books are not optional for me, and many of them are related to my goals on the internet.  However, just looking around my study, I can see where benefits might be clear.

I’ve often thought about microhousing.  Indeed, if I were single, it would be a done deal.  However, my husband is a large man and the idea of the two of us in 150 square feet is quite painful and humorous.  Still, we have curbed our desire for “bigger and better,” content with our 1187 square feet, and we are careful about what we add to that space.  It’s a start for him, and normal for me.

This following quote sums up David Bruno’s purpose for the challenge:

Well, I am just an average person. Yet sometimes I have listened to the siren-craft of branding consultants and imagined myself to be someone very special. And I have sometimes behaved and consumed as if that were true, as if I were a celebrity and a genius and rich and sophisticated. Which is another way of saying that I have worn certain clothing brands and expected the world to listen to all I think and gotten myself into debt and made a fool of myself.

Then also, I have been a critic of American-style consumerism. I have become indignant with the cheapness of Wal-Mart and Costco, whose prices are slashed on the backs of labor, manufacturers, and suppliers. Equally, I have become offended by the sumptuousness of Nordstrom and Banana Republic, whose expense is visible on strapless prom dresses, thousand-dollar shoes, and always-changing fashions that demand always-purchasing humans.

But I have shopped at all those places. (Except Wal-Mart, yuck!) Even in the midst of my 100 Thing Challenge, I have ducked into a Banana Republic store to browse the sale racks, but sneak peeks at the full-priced extravagance. Perhaps American-style consumerism has been and in many ways still is my problem.

I just do not see any solution to any problem until I am willing to ask myself and ask others to honestly assess me, “Am I the one responsible for this?”

The 100 Thing Challenge is many things. I have some hopes and fears for what I might accomplish before it is all done. At its most fundamental level, though, the 100 Thing Challenge is an attempt to answer the question about my role in American-style consumerism.

In My Dreams – Writing Desks

I do like tables better than desks, and even though I use a computer a lot, I still need free space to write longhand or spread out my stuff.  I think these writing desks are beautiful and would love to have any one of them. 🙂

So Ready for Spring!

Spring cleaning is something I used to enjoy.  I get the itch, and I have it really bad this year…the urge to air out my life and my home.  Unfortunately, my schedule, an apathetic and depressed spouse, and my own body will keep me from getting much done or allowing spring inside the house.  For now, I have my pictures.

In My Dreams

A writer’s retreat.  Alone.  By myself.  No one around unless I felt like seeking someone out.

There are official retreats, such as Hedgebrook, My Retreat, The Porches.  Then there are unofficial getaway retreats I find my soul thirsting for.

What I have in mind is a small place in the middle of nowhere.  I don’t even care if there are utilities, though it would be nice to type sometimes as it is faster.

It isn’t really about the cabin…it is about getting away from phones, internet, pressure, noise, and responsibility long enough to simply BE and know what you need or want.  I crave it to the point of tears most days.

The Road Less Traveled

Let’s talk about life for a minute.   I’ve run across several posts this week the subject.

First, The Bold Life posted How to be Bold Enough to Surrender.   As I was already exploring a plot for a novel based on surrender, the article was a bit of serendipity for me.  Control ends up controlling us.  Surrender gives us freedom.  This isn’t something people learn early, unless they want to.  It is something that sometimes comes with age, and often not at all.  Surrender doesn’t mean letting people walk all over you.  It means giving up your expectations of others, and sometimes yourself.  The less control you try to exert over other people and circumstances, the more freedom you have.

The Change Blog’s article, Loving the Life You Have, Not the One You Think You Want speaks to our human tendency to be dissatisfied with where we are.  I am an advocate for living simply and well within your means.  There’s so much less stress that way!  If we can rid ourselves of the pressure of trying to keep up, we can rid ourselves of a lot of trouble.

Zen Habits on Why You Should Think About Encouraging Others To Be Brilliant speaks clearly to me of my own nature.  I don’t care if you think I’m brilliant, but if you need encouragement, I’m your gal.

What do these three articles have in common?  They all argue against going with the flow and trying to succeed through society’s means.  It is by going against this flow, I’m convinced, that you will find your happiness and purpose.  Success in life shouldn’t be measured in dollars or prestige.  It should be measured in contentment and relationships.

Here’s something else to think about.  If you are on life’s superhighway to satisfaction, you are competing against everyone else in bumper-to-bumper traffic.  If you forge your own path or follow the way of your values, you’ll find much less competition, more beautiful scenery, and better mileage.

Just a thought.

Writing With Arthritis

Fellow writers will understand this:  When I was first diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis and given my prognosis, my first thought was for my hands.  I am a writer.

 

To give a brief explanation, PsA is a destructive form of arthritis sometimes so similar to Rheumatoid Arthritis that they can be hard to differentiate, especially if you don’t have classic psoriasis.  Coupled with additional autoimmune diseases, it has been an aggressive and sometimes frightening addition to my life.

 

During the first few weeks, my thoughts dwelt often on my future.  I found I could accept, for the most part, the concept of possibly moving around in a wheelchair, or needing special aids and equipment to live.  What I could not accept was the idea of losing my hands, either for typing or longhand writing.  I have a voice recognition program.  It’s not at all the same.

 

It’s been a year.  I have had to adapt what type of pen I use and how I hold it, but I still write longhand on a daily basis.  I must limit my time on the computer keys and live with the destruction of my 80 wpm 2% error record.  I can live with this because I can still write how and when I want and need to.

 

My forefingers show the most deterioration; they have shortened and curve sharply.  The other fingers are beginning to curve noticeably as well.  The large thumb joints are probably the most painful, but I can manage with them stuck out straight.

 

For all the destruction started in my hands, I was almost glad when the disease moved into my spine.  Though the pain is breathtakingly intense, my hands are getting no worse for now.  I know on a deep level that I can live with many losses.  The ability to hold and use a pen is not one of them.

 

There are two quotes from Isaac Asimov that have provided both comfort and inspiration.  The first:

 

If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn’t brood.  I’d type a little faster. 

 

And the second:

 

I write for the same reason I breathe – because if I didn’t, I would die.

And then there is:

 

We do not write because we want to; we write because we have to.
                                                            Somerset Maugham

 

A clear and deep understanding of just how vital writing and the writing process are to me was not revealed until there was a chance it could be taken away.  It was the catalyst for me to evaluate my entire life, including the promises I made to myself during the 15 years I lived as a single parent and had so little time.  It helped me prioritize my needs and desires clearly and provided the impetus to make changes.  It is the reason I blog on line and the reason I started The Business. 

 

I don’t know what the future holds.   I don’t know how aggressive these autoimmune diseases will get without proper treatment and medication.  What I do know is that I am newly grateful every day that I am able to write in my journal or type at the computer.  I also understand that I must make the most of every hour my hands are doing well and work my life around the most important priorities.  I am experiencing the most productive and inspired period of my 30-year love affair with writing.

 

I find I am grateful for this disease that will eventually steal my pen from me.  It has given me the coming years of concentrated effort, enjoyment, and productivity in my writing life that I might not otherwise have had.

 

Is there a moral here?  Yup.  Never put off your dreams.  Pursue your dreams and passions every single day in whatever way you are able.  Do not put important things off for the vague future.  Make the most of the time you have today and live with Ray Bradbury’s “zest and gusto.”  If there comes a time your dreams are threatened by circumstance, injury, or illness, you will have already built momentum and memories to help you continue on in them.

 

Don’t just dare to dream.  Pursue it with passion and energy.