inspiration, creative writing prompts, motivational quotes, poetry and gentle nagging on the creative writing life...
31 July 2011
Small Stone for July 31st
cleaning out the herb garden; the scent of lemon balm, mint, rosemary and oregano lingers in the air
30 July 2011
29 July 2011
28 July 2011
26 July 2011
Small stone for July 26
yellow paneled truck on the side of the highway "bonsai for everybody, one day only."
25 July 2011
24 July 2011
23 July 2011
22 July 2011
21 July 2011
Small Stone for July 21
in the garden new growth; the first of the fragrant sweet peas, chamomile, larkspur buds and the first dahlia blooms maroon velvet
20 July 2011
Small Stone for July 20
new gray paint on wooden porch steps; this old house is ready to welcome guests
19 July 2011
18 July 2011
Greenwoman Magazine
I just got a copy of the inaugural issue of a local literary magazine, Greenwoman Magazine; A Literary Garden...First of all I'm very excited that local writer and editor Sandra Knauf is living her dream of launching a literary magazine with a focus on fiction, nonfiction, poetry, commentary, biography, art and comics. And I'm of course enthused that gardening is the thread that weaves the issue together. As Sandra Knauf says in her editor's letter, "I believe in the transformative power of connecting with nature."
Yesterday we held our monthly haiku meeting at a local garden center. I sat with six other women of various ages from 18-70+ and we wrote Asian forms of poetry inspired by the beauty around us...by the end of the meeting we were all quite aware of this power. Look for my review of Greenwoman Magazine this week!
Lovingly,
The Writing Nag
Yesterday we held our monthly haiku meeting at a local garden center. I sat with six other women of various ages from 18-70+ and we wrote Asian forms of poetry inspired by the beauty around us...by the end of the meeting we were all quite aware of this power. Look for my review of Greenwoman Magazine this week!
The Writing Nag
17 July 2011
16 July 2011
15 July 2011
14 July 2011
13 July 2011
Small Stone for July 13
the moment in the reading of a page that you realize you're in the middle of a very good book
12 July 2011
11 July 2011
10 July 2011
The Rust of The Whole Week
Sunday clears away the rust of the whole week. Joseph Addison
It's no wonder I love Sundays, my husband makes me breakfast, I can drink more than two cups of coffee at a stretch and I catch up on reading, writing, and visiting my favorite blogs without feeling too guilty...
My friend and I have committed to sending out 31 submissions and/or queries for July. Week one was good I got an acceptance with a September 2011 publishing date and she got a request for more pages from a New York agent. Although I'm expecting a lot of rejections getting the work out there feels great. Writers write and writers publish. Sometimes it's just working through the fear of failure and/or the fear of success.
Today, consider starting a free writing exercise with "Sunday."
Sunday is everything bagels and The New York Times, filling the bird baths and weeding between the flagstones, taking pictures, listening to the mourning doves that perch on the roof of the garage, staying in my pajamas until noon, hiking with my dog on new-to-me trails, losing time in a good book, eating apple fritters with afternoon coffee...Sunday is family and brunch, comfortable clothes, clean sheets, to do lists and time-for-me day, Sunday drives and the sun on our faces, early dinner, farmers markets, bunches of wild flowers, bramble berry pie, afternoon showers, a stop at an ice cream stand...
What does Sunday mean to you?
Lovingly,
09 July 2011
Small Stone for July 9th
A river of stones
Look at the trees, look at the birds, look at the clouds, look at the stars... and if you have eyes you will be able to see that the whole existence is joyful. Everything is simply happy. Trees are happy for no reason; they are not going to become prime ministers or presidents and they are not going to become rich and they will never have any bank balance. Look at the flowers - for no reason. It is simply unbelievable how happy flowers are. Osho
You might have noticed my banner for a River of Stones. Writers pay attention...they notice the details. Starting in early spring I am in detail mode. Did you see the peony it's ready to bloom. Look at the buds in the Mock Orange tree. I try to decipher each seedling...is it a cosmos or a cornflower that is coming up. What color will the sweet pea be?
Read more about it at A River of Stones and try to commit to writing a small stone every day in July.
Lovingly,
Guest Post Marney K. Makridakis
The Awe of Attraction
You've probably heard
about "The Law of Attraction", popularized in "The Secret" movie and
book a few years ago. It generally refers to the concept of focusing
on what you want, in order to get it. In a teleclass I presented on October 14, called "The Awe of Attraction: Break the 'Law' and Find the Love", in which we explored the exciting
nuances of a slight modification: instead of focusing on what you want
(which automatically puts you in a mindset of lacking something), focus
on what you LOVE.
One thing that I have found difficult about simply, generically
"focusing on what you want" is that it then becomes all-too-easy to
lose sight of what we already have. Focusing on what we want
automatically puts a subconscious focus on what is missing, rather than
what is already here, available, and plentiful. Creative, regular
practices of gratitude are so helpful because they remind us what IS
working in our lives. And, whether we know it or not, love is
a natural force that is working in all of us. It's pretty amazing when
you think about it; we all naturally have the capacity to love,
sometimes even in spite of our own human cynicism. We don't have to
study or learn how to do anything. We just have to open our hearts. My
goal for this teleclass was to use creativity as the conduit
for sharing the ways that we can harness and use that love and over
1,000 people signed up to join and explore with me, so it was truly, a
love fest! :-)
One of the lessons I presented in this class involved using the
metaphor of the kaleidoscope to explain the power of love. In a
kaleidoscope, when we focus on a single object, the image magically
expands into a dazzling infinity of patterns and colors, instantly
changing our capacity to SEE. And when we love, our capacity to LIVE
suddenly expands in infinite ways.
When my little son Kai looks through what he calls his "kaMYdasope"– he
gets so excited because the view is so new and surprising, and a bit
silly. The loves of our lives can be surprising, too. We can find
them in places where we might not expect them...and yes, they might
even be a bit silly. (In the class, I shared a story of finding love
while waiting in line at the pharmacy when their computer was jammed).
Thursday's group did some amazing artsy archeological digging
to find some of those hidden gems, and then we expressed them in an
ARTsignment™ art project, called a Ka-LOVE-ascope. While
everyone was working on their projects, I was reminded of something I
read once: that every person's heartbeat is slightly different (much
like our fingerprints are, although obviously more subtle). I realized
that as we were all gathered together on the phone, literally from all
corners of the world, all creating our own interpretation of this
ARTsignment™…I could almost hear our hearts beating, in the most
beautiful symphony of love and creation. I can't imagine a grander
work of art than that…painted with the single color of love.
Marney K. Makridakis is the founder of ArtellaLand.com
and the inventor of the ARTbundance Philosophy, which uses ARTsignments™ to change lives through the power of creativity. If you are
intrigued by the idea of exploring a new vision for yourself in which
you apply the ARTbundance™ philosophy and ARTsignments™ to your own professional dreams and goals,
you are invited to apply for the next ARTbundance™
Certification Training (ACT),
beginning in April 2011.
The "Awe" of Attraction
by Marney K. Makridakis
by Marney K. Makridakis
You've probably heard
about "The Law of Attraction", popularized in "The Secret" movie and
book a few years ago. It generally refers to the concept of focusing
on what you want, in order to get it. In a teleclass I presented on October 14, called "The Awe of Attraction: Break the 'Law' and Find the Love", in which we explored the exciting
nuances of a slight modification: instead of focusing on what you want
(which automatically puts you in a mindset of lacking something), focus
on what you LOVE.
One thing that I have found difficult about simply, generically
"focusing on what you want" is that it then becomes all-too-easy to
lose sight of what we already have. Focusing on what we want
automatically puts a subconscious focus on what is missing, rather than
what is already here, available, and plentiful. Creative, regular
practices of gratitude are so helpful because they remind us what IS
working in our lives. And, whether we know it or not, love is
a natural force that is working in all of us. It's pretty amazing when
you think about it; we all naturally have the capacity to love,
sometimes even in spite of our own human cynicism. We don't have to
study or learn how to do anything. We just have to open our hearts. My
goal for this teleclass was to use creativity as the conduit
for sharing the ways that we can harness and use that love and over
1,000 people signed up to join and explore with me, so it was truly, a
love fest! :-)
One of the lessons I presented in this class involved using the
metaphor of the kaleidoscope to explain the power of love. In a
kaleidoscope, when we focus on a single object, the image magically
expands into a dazzling infinity of patterns and colors, instantly
changing our capacity to SEE. And when we love, our capacity to LIVE
suddenly expands in infinite ways.
When my little son Kai looks through what he calls his "kaMYdasope"– he
gets so excited because the view is so new and surprising, and a bit
silly. The loves of our lives can be surprising, too. We can find
them in places where we might not expect them...and yes, they might
even be a bit silly. (In the class, I shared a story of finding love
while waiting in line at the pharmacy when their computer was jammed).
Thursday's group did some amazing artsy archeological digging
to find some of those hidden gems, and then we expressed them in an
ARTsignment™ art project, called a Ka-LOVE-ascope. While
everyone was working on their projects, I was reminded of something I
read once: that every person's heartbeat is slightly different (much
like our fingerprints are, although obviously more subtle). I realized
that as we were all gathered together on the phone, literally from all
corners of the world, all creating our own interpretation of this
ARTsignment™…I could almost hear our hearts beating, in the most
beautiful symphony of love and creation. I can't imagine a grander
work of art than that…painted with the single color of love.
Marney K. Makridakis is the founder of ArtellaLand.com
and the inventor of the ARTbundance Philosophy, which uses ARTsignments™ to change lives through the power of creativity. If you are
intrigued by the idea of exploring a new vision for yourself in which
you apply the ARTbundance™ philosophy and ARTsignments™ to your own professional dreams and goals,
you are invited to apply for the next ARTbundance™
Certification Training (ACT),
beginning in April 2011.
04 July 2011
Happy Fourth of July!
You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism. Erma Bombeck
Happy Fourth!
I spent yesterday in Denver working a food truck in the middle of the Fourth of July festivities. It was great to see families and especially the children enjoying music, food, family time and the thrill of a firework show. On my desk I have a picture of my brother holding a sparkler in front of his face. It is one of my favorite photos of him, he is probably six years old and there is such a look of awe and happiness on his face! Remember when something as simple as a sparkler brought joy to your face. May you find happiness in simple moments today!
Image(s) courtesy VintageHolidayCrafts.com
02 July 2011
Adanna Literary Journal: Adanna Literary Journal
Adanna Literary Journal: Adanna Literary Journal: "Why Adanna? Adanna , a name of Nigerian origin, pronounced a-DAN-a, is defined as “her father’s daughter.” This literary journal is t..."
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