Nov 1st is the last day for to join us on our writing and creating quest.
There are so many great goals. Novels will be revised, novels will begin, hours of pure writing will spring forth, short stories will fly and a girl detective will discover whodunit!!! OOOOH, this is so exciting!
So far there are 17 of us, some have posted and others have emailed me personally. No goal is too small! There are 27 more hours. Join in the fun: The Golden Coffee Cup.
Let's all get something done!
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Monday, October 30, 2006
What happens if you are a tea drinker?
This question came from Chris E. You may participate in the Golden Coffee Cup if you eschew coffee and guzzle tea. Go to the link now and post your goal!
The Golden Coffee Cup
This is time for true confession. I eschew coffee. I drink tea in coffee cup. Of course, our golden coffee cups will be virtual and will only hold imaginary tea or coffee anyway.
Seize the day!
The Golden Coffee Cup
This is time for true confession. I eschew coffee. I drink tea in coffee cup. Of course, our golden coffee cups will be virtual and will only hold imaginary tea or coffee anyway.
Seize the day!
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Encouraging Thoughts!!!!
Dear friends: The month of Novemember is ahead. Please post a goal at The Golden Coffee Cup. Here is a bit of inspiration to help you move forward.
First, in an interview Madeleine L' Engle was asked, "“Wrinkle’’ was rejected repeatedly before it was published. Were you confident then you’d have a breakthrough?" Her answer? "No, there was a period when I thought I never would. But I kept on writing because that’s what I had to do. I was compelled not to stop."
So let's write and create because we are complelled not to stop.
Here are some thoughts from other writers I loved as a child.
I am writing in the garden. To write as one should of a garden one must write not outside it or merely somewhere near it, but in the garden.
Francis Hodgson Burnett
I long to accomplish great and noble tasks, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.
Helen Keller
The best way out is always through.
Robert Frost
I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult.
E. B. White
Fantasy is hardly an escape from reality. It's a way of understanding it.
Lloyd Alexander
I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.
Louisa May Alcott
First, in an interview Madeleine L' Engle was asked, "“Wrinkle’’ was rejected repeatedly before it was published. Were you confident then you’d have a breakthrough?" Her answer? "No, there was a period when I thought I never would. But I kept on writing because that’s what I had to do. I was compelled not to stop."
So let's write and create because we are complelled not to stop.
Here are some thoughts from other writers I loved as a child.
I am writing in the garden. To write as one should of a garden one must write not outside it or merely somewhere near it, but in the garden.
Francis Hodgson Burnett
I long to accomplish great and noble tasks, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.
Helen Keller
The best way out is always through.
Robert Frost
I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult.
E. B. White
Fantasy is hardly an escape from reality. It's a way of understanding it.
Lloyd Alexander
I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.
Louisa May Alcott
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Motivational Coffee Cups
I've had a few folks request a peek at the "2006 Golden Coffee Cup", but you are going to have to make and achieve your goal to do that. However, you may find some inspiration from the black and red coffee cups. Feel the motivation pouring into you!
Back to
The Golden Coffee Cup.
Back to
The Golden Coffee Cup.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
The Golden Coffee Cup
In honor of National Novel Writing Month, I'm having a little event on my blog for anyone one who needs an extra boost of motivation to get their current project rolling.If you don't know about Nanowrmo, National Novel Writing Month, this is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30. This is a kamakazie approach to writing, it's about quanity and not quality.
The Golden Coffee Cup is a different kind of motivational thingy. This soon-to-be coveted award (an awesome picture of a coffee cup emailed to you that you may display it with pride) will be given to the successful November goal setters.
This is my answer to that "interesting concept" (cough, cough) of requiring writers to churn out 50,000 incomprehensible words in one month.
I’d like to churn less with much more comprehension in my month. I ask you to join me. The 2006 Golden Coffee Cup will be awarded for a month of goal setting and achievement.
THE RULES:
1. Post your November creative goals here by Nov 1. That is the deadline, folks.
2. Come back weekly for general cheering and wild ruckus, celebrating your successes. We'll do some holy snappin'. For extra motivation, celebrity guests will be on hand to offer high fives for your achievements!
3. If you reach your goal by Nov 30, you will be eligible for a Golden Coffee Cup. There is no verification process, I believe you. Send in your email address to mollyblaisdell@verizon.net and your Golden Coffee Cup will be emailed to you. Display it proudly as wallpaper, post it on your blog, print it out and tack it on your bulletin board for year-long motivation.
GOAL GUIDELINES:
The Golden Coffee Cup is about making a goal and keeping it.
If you are a novel writer, you can write something new with a realistic word count goal, keeping your life in mind. Your goal might also be making your first novel submission (think Delacorte Contest) or a revision of a novel you've already written. You can do this!
If you are a picture book writer or artist, hey, picture books are harder to write than they look. I don't really care about the word count because if your project is over 500 words that might be a problem. Picture book artists tell stories too. You might be an artist making a dummy and a dummy is certainly as hard to create as a novel. This is about quality not quantity.
Win your very own Golden Coffee Cup.
Let's bring some excellence into that creation!!!!!
Need inspiration: Try the Motivational Coffee Cups.
EXTRA, EXTRA INCENTIVE!!!!!
I'm happy to report that Paula McDonald of P&G Speakeasy Cafe in Duvall has said that anyone coming into her establishment who can show her their Golden Coffee Cup award will be entitled to one free latte in honor of the occasion. Buy lunch while you're there. Paula loves artists.
3:18 AM
The Golden Coffee Cup is a different kind of motivational thingy. This soon-to-be coveted award (an awesome picture of a coffee cup emailed to you that you may display it with pride) will be given to the successful November goal setters.
This is my answer to that "interesting concept" (cough, cough) of requiring writers to churn out 50,000 incomprehensible words in one month.
I’d like to churn less with much more comprehension in my month. I ask you to join me. The 2006 Golden Coffee Cup will be awarded for a month of goal setting and achievement.
THE RULES:
1. Post your November creative goals here by Nov 1. That is the deadline, folks.
2. Come back weekly for general cheering and wild ruckus, celebrating your successes. We'll do some holy snappin'. For extra motivation, celebrity guests will be on hand to offer high fives for your achievements!
3. If you reach your goal by Nov 30, you will be eligible for a Golden Coffee Cup. There is no verification process, I believe you. Send in your email address to mollyblaisdell@verizon.net and your Golden Coffee Cup will be emailed to you. Display it proudly as wallpaper, post it on your blog, print it out and tack it on your bulletin board for year-long motivation.
GOAL GUIDELINES:
The Golden Coffee Cup is about making a goal and keeping it.
If you are a novel writer, you can write something new with a realistic word count goal, keeping your life in mind. Your goal might also be making your first novel submission (think Delacorte Contest) or a revision of a novel you've already written. You can do this!
If you are a picture book writer or artist, hey, picture books are harder to write than they look. I don't really care about the word count because if your project is over 500 words that might be a problem. Picture book artists tell stories too. You might be an artist making a dummy and a dummy is certainly as hard to create as a novel. This is about quality not quantity.
Win your very own Golden Coffee Cup.
Let's bring some excellence into that creation!!!!!
Need inspiration: Try the Motivational Coffee Cups.
EXTRA, EXTRA INCENTIVE!!!!!
I'm happy to report that Paula McDonald of P&G Speakeasy Cafe in Duvall has said that anyone coming into her establishment who can show her their Golden Coffee Cup award will be entitled to one free latte in honor of the occasion. Buy lunch while you're there. Paula loves artists.
3:18 AM
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Leaven
I'm slowly recovering from my Patricia Lee Gauch marathon day. SCBWI Western Washington offered a one day writer's workshop here in Seattle with Patti teaching.
In case you didn't know, Patricia Lee Gauch is the vice president and editor-at-large of Philomel Books. She is the editor of so many wondrous books, but my particular favorites include T.A. Barron's Merlin series, Brian Jacques's Redwall series, Owl Moon by Jane Yolen, it goes on. Oh, Patti is the author of almost 40 books too. OK, you get it, she's awesome.
One fun highlight of this day was her threatening to lock us in a room for a week with no permission to leave unless we find our own original voice. The whole day was like a time warp for me, hours passed, but it seemed like minutes. I love listening to her take on writing. I could feel the cobwebs in the unused gray matter of my brain being swept away. Ooh, I always get shivers up my back when someone says know yourself. It's a scary thought. Who are you? Then comes the idea that answering this question is paramount if you want to actually ever say something. I also liked the idea of being gritty. I learned this lesson from Rembrandt, too. In his art, it is the inclusion of every day elements, this fascination with the imperfect, the juxtaposition of light and dark that reveals the "soul" within. The idea that books have soul is very provocative to me. I am so comfortable with the realm of the imaginary. Thought cannot be quantified. You can't measure it, you can't put it in bottle, there is no code for it, no spectral analysis, and yet, the evidence of it is everywhere, books for one.
The last bit, I want to touch on is the idea of sassy characters. Patti shared the heart of what a powerful character is, and I think I get it. For me this is almost a spiritual exchange, like focusing on the miracle of taking your next breath. You stop all you thoughts, and for a moment appreciate the fact that you are alive, that your lungs faithfully inhale and exhale. The best characters are unaffected, sublime and yet thoroughly human. She pointed out conversation is a key to authentic characters. I got the idea that we should slip into our characters, not just into the skin, but into the bones and marrow, and the psyche, and right into their souls. Maybe this is strange; the story of the Velveteen Rabbit came to me. This was a real rabbit, not a stuffed bunny. It was made real by love and a fairy. Perhaps we need to come in with our fairy powers, shake some dust and reveal to all, that this imagined friend is so much more than sawdust and velveteen.
Oh, I feel the warmth of love curling in and surrounding, like incense thick and heavy on a Sunday morning during worship at church. I could go on all day like this. Patti is really a treasure when it comes to the world of children's books. I want the blessing of her thoughts to work like leaven in my writing. I hope some of that leaven spreads to you here.
In case you didn't know, Patricia Lee Gauch is the vice president and editor-at-large of Philomel Books. She is the editor of so many wondrous books, but my particular favorites include T.A. Barron's Merlin series, Brian Jacques's Redwall series, Owl Moon by Jane Yolen, it goes on. Oh, Patti is the author of almost 40 books too. OK, you get it, she's awesome.
One fun highlight of this day was her threatening to lock us in a room for a week with no permission to leave unless we find our own original voice. The whole day was like a time warp for me, hours passed, but it seemed like minutes. I love listening to her take on writing. I could feel the cobwebs in the unused gray matter of my brain being swept away. Ooh, I always get shivers up my back when someone says know yourself. It's a scary thought. Who are you? Then comes the idea that answering this question is paramount if you want to actually ever say something. I also liked the idea of being gritty. I learned this lesson from Rembrandt, too. In his art, it is the inclusion of every day elements, this fascination with the imperfect, the juxtaposition of light and dark that reveals the "soul" within. The idea that books have soul is very provocative to me. I am so comfortable with the realm of the imaginary. Thought cannot be quantified. You can't measure it, you can't put it in bottle, there is no code for it, no spectral analysis, and yet, the evidence of it is everywhere, books for one.
The last bit, I want to touch on is the idea of sassy characters. Patti shared the heart of what a powerful character is, and I think I get it. For me this is almost a spiritual exchange, like focusing on the miracle of taking your next breath. You stop all you thoughts, and for a moment appreciate the fact that you are alive, that your lungs faithfully inhale and exhale. The best characters are unaffected, sublime and yet thoroughly human. She pointed out conversation is a key to authentic characters. I got the idea that we should slip into our characters, not just into the skin, but into the bones and marrow, and the psyche, and right into their souls. Maybe this is strange; the story of the Velveteen Rabbit came to me. This was a real rabbit, not a stuffed bunny. It was made real by love and a fairy. Perhaps we need to come in with our fairy powers, shake some dust and reveal to all, that this imagined friend is so much more than sawdust and velveteen.
Oh, I feel the warmth of love curling in and surrounding, like incense thick and heavy on a Sunday morning during worship at church. I could go on all day like this. Patti is really a treasure when it comes to the world of children's books. I want the blessing of her thoughts to work like leaven in my writing. I hope some of that leaven spreads to you here.
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