My Favorite Things -- Wordsmiths.

Hi, folks,  I'm continuing my series on favorite things. This week, my favorite wordsmiths. I'm going to chat about a few and share tidbits of how these connections inspire me, move me, and improve me.

I went to a conference recently (KidLitCon) and I really didn't know anyone.  This is always a challenge for me. You know, new-kid-on-the-block fear.  Happily, as I find time and time again, there are friends everywhere.

There is not enough blog to share every wordsmith I know. I'm just going to toss out some impressions that hit me.  (If you are not here, it's only because I keep my blog is too short.

At Kidlitcon, I had the pleasure of meeting Liviania, In Bed With Books blogger. She was just a bubbling fountain of the good news about books.  I also met Lee Wind,  I'm Here and I'm Queer. What the Hell do I Read, blogger --  a man with a mission and  one of those folks who offer a better understanding of the universe at large. I also met fab, Margo Rabb -- Books, Chocolate, Sundries, a deep thinker for sure, and really connecting with joy, I think.  I also met the genius behind -- MotherReader, Jen Robinson's Book Page, Wands and Words, and 5 Minutes For Books.  So many. Jazzy.

Next, I'm going to chat about my current friendly critique galaxy. Kathy Whitehead writes middle grade and picture books and is an anchoring soul who brings steady wisdom with every word she speaks or writes. Ellen McGinty is the author of YA realistic and fantasy. Gosh, she's young and amazing. I will say I knew her when someday. Robin Overby Cox writes for children and adults. She has a clear, salient view of the way books should flow. Yay! Liz Mertz writes YA and digs deep into spiritual side of  story. Amen. I also enjoy the genius of Susan, Angela, Candilynn and Andy, all powerhouse voices who drop in some.

Now my expanded critique universe.  Oh, Vijaya Bodach, author of non-fiction and YA,  an original kindred spirit. We are all better because of her words. Conrad Wesselhoeft writes YA and is "a word master." His writing will change you. It will. Holly Cupala. No words of  to express how grateful I am to know this author. She understands the resiliency of the broken spirit and puts this on the page.  Katherine Grace Bond, author of YA, she has this uncanny knack of revealing profound belief in a relevant way. Amazing. Chris Eboch, author of everything, (it is true). Chris's writing is the intersection of clarity, adventure and the impossible things before breakfast. Louise Spiegler, oh, she's so talented and brings new wind into the fantasy/sci-fi genre. Definitely blazing new trails. I must add Kevan Atteberry --  heart and soul and laughter, all rolled together.  Stasia Ward Kehoe! -- new book alert -- The Sound of Letting Go -- astounding voice. Peggy King Anderson and Lois Brandt...take their classes, Seattle folk. You will thank me. A few more names...Allyson Valentine Schrier, Janet Lee Carey, Cathy B., Shelley, Megan.... so many more...

I think you get it. I am the friend and fan of so many wordsmiths.  I hope you take a minute to reflect on your favorite wordsmiths. (I didn't even get a chance to mention my imaginary friends!)  Be back next week for more of my favorite things.

Here is the doodle for the week. "Another Herd of Turtles."

A quote from my favorite imaginary friend.

When I say it's you I like, I'm talking about that part of you that knows that life is far more than anything you can ever see or hear or touch. That deep part of you that allows you to stand for those things without which humankind cannot survive. Love that conquers hate, peace that rises triumphant over war, and justice that proves more powerful than greed. Fred Rodgers

Chicken by Chicken: Writing Every Day

Hi, folks,

Thanks for all the congrats for my upcoming novel in May 2014 PLUMB CRAZY from Swoon Romance. I hope that my personal journey will give you some needed encouragement as you move forward with creative endeavors. My title "Chicken by Chicken" is a play on Anne Lamott's book title, BIRD BY BIRD, a helpful writing book.

Chicken by chicken is how I roll as a writer.  I'm chatting about my instructions for writing and life.

First, a sample day: the alarm at 6:30 a.m., I lay on the floor thinking wishing I could cry beccause I was so tired, but instead I got up and make French toast to ensure the teenager popped out of bed. A lifetime of study has taught me that the male teenager will wake up on time for school if food is provided. No other method of waking up the male teenager is viable.

Next, I headed to jury duty for HOURS (was selected), clipped off to an interview for a job (which I bombed), then topped off  the evening with several hours scurrying around the high school for a parent teacher night. During the day I had 4 asthma attacks, one migraine, and began to run a fever (pretty sure I had a sinus infection -- was right.) At the end of this day, after I made dinner and cleaned house, I opened up my computer and worked  for a COUPLE of hours on my work-in-progress.

Then I turned on my alarm around midnight for another round.

Writing is not convenient. It doesn't happen in a vacuum. There is the occasional glorious day where there is time and major progress, but mostly writing is part of the grind. It's the sum of the work that matters to me. That moment when I write the end, is like topping Everest. The hope that some day my book may offer a moment of clarity, a moment of laughter, a sense of connection, and more -- I live for this.

I also live for the art of writing. I love to up the stakes, find the tone, define the characters, bring the setting to life, delve into the themes. I'm this triptych of sorts: the creative, the emotional, the connector. I'm also in the business of fostering who we are and what we want. Every day. Chicken by chicken. For me, writing is worth fitting in.

I like this book by Leo Tolstoy called What is Art? You might check it out. Hope you write this week with more fervour. Back next week with more Chicken by Chicken.

Here is the doodle. My fav superhero: "Thor Chicken."

Here is a quote for your pocket.

 A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work. Colin Powell.

Blooming: Setting

Hi, folks: I'm continuing my blog series Blooming, and I'm keeping with the list-y format. I'm offering pre-writing activities for setting this week. Authentic setting will make your stories pop!  I hope that something here helps you utilize place within your stories like it is a living breathing character. 

Travel -- One powerful way to create setting is to go there. Here is a link to Stephanie Meyer's trip to Forks, WA.   Take a camera, a notebook, a recorder and go crazy!  Don't  be shy. Talk to old timers, visit old houses, tromp through historical sites, and tiptoe through graveyards!

Shop -- I have more than one friend that shops for vintage photos on eBay. I also like to rummage around in antique shops. Remember a picture is worth a thousand words.

Maps -- I love Google Earth. Man, it is addictive. At Google Maps you can get directions to drive, take transit, walk or bike there. Very handy.  I also like Map Quest.  Here is a link to 3-D virtual room software.  I also am a pretty handy doodler and create maps for my fantasy and sci-fi worlds. If you don't doodle, try fantasy map making software like at ProFantasy Software.

Model -- Here is a link to Dollhousecity. You might want to but miniature set of furniture for a room. Here is a Wooden Dollhouse Set from Amazon. This can be handy if you have a fight scene and need to toss some furniture around.  Exactly how does a chair look that is tossed out a window? I mean you could really toss a chair out the window or ....

Archives -- Did you know almost all major cities have online photo archives?  Here are a couple to get you started.   Here is NYC Municipal Archives.  Here is a link to the City of Houston Gallery.  Newspapers also have photo archives.  Here is one to the Chicago Tribune. I am also a big fan of the digital collections at the Library of Congress.

If you are in doubt, Google it. 

I think following up with some of these pre-writing activities are a great way to build strong story bones.  I hope that you are moving forward with your project.

Here is this week's doodle:  "Dandelion".

Here is a quote for your pocket.

All the ideas in the universe can be described by words. Therefore, if you simply take all the words and rearrange them randomly enough times, you’re bound to hit upon at least a few great ideas eventually. Sausage donkey swallows flying guillotine, my love assembly line.
 Jarod Kintz

Blooming: Plot

Hi, folks! My cold is better this week, but I keeping my listy format for the month. I'm offering pre-writing activities for writers, and this week I'm focusing on plot. I have found pre-writing activities insure that you create viable manuscripts. I hope that you find something here interesting. 

Charts -- Here is a link to actual charts of authors on Flavorwire: Charts and Diagrams Drawn by Famous Authors. You can see how regular writer folk like J.K. Rowling, Jack Kerouac,  and Kurt Vonnegut plot stories. I'm not sure how you write a novel without doing some charting.  Everyone finds their own chart method. Check out several and then create your own.

Cards -- How do you keep all those plot points together? Here is a 3x5 card method  illustration -- the tried and true method -- at Kimberley's Wanderings.

Software -- If you are like me you don't a ton of pieces floating around you.  Hey, you lose stuff. This organizational software will help. Writer's Blocks is a popular program to get you started.  I am also a fan of Celtx.  Many love  their Scrivener. It has excellent plotting stuff.

Story Journals -- Here is a peek at author Laini Taylor's story journal at Figment.  This a working place to build a plot.

Dreaming-- Try this activity.  Think about your plot for about an hour before you go to bed. Think hard about each plot point. You will find gaps. You will find walls where you don't know what happens next. You will think certain plot elements are weak, but you won't know how to fix them. Just think. In the morning take a couple of hours and think again. This time write what you think. Keep doing this until you know. Stuff to put in your story journal.

Gossiping -- Join together with your writing gurus and talk about your plot. Argue. Joke. Sound off.  Let them offer their ideas. You might want to tape this or take notes.  This is a great way to get a plot engine going.  You might put your notes in a story journal.

Chatting -- This is about taking a walk. You tell a trusted friend about your story without interruption. As you tell your story, allow yourself to change directions, up the stakes, and be inventive.  After this chat, write about what you learned about your story. You might put this in a story journal too.

Write the book -- Sounds crazy to me, but some folks just don't have a clue unless they start writing. This draft is very exploratory.Your plot will be a mess: dead ends, rabbit holes, and incongruity.You might write 8 versions of the same chapter in it to find one.  I have heard of authors who write this draft and delete it. If this is your cup of tea, NANOWRIMO is for you.

If you pick some of these activities and do them, your plot is sure to bloom. Guaranteed.

Here is a doodle: "Louisana Iris."

Quote for the week:

Every discourse, even a poetic or oracular sentence, carries with it a system of rules for producing analogous things and thus an outline of methodology. Jacques Derrida

Blooming: Characters

Hi, folks! I hope that you are having a good week. I am down with a bad cold and am wondering why I still have a jacket out in May. It was almost 40 degrees yesterday morning. Brr. I don't know how anything is going to bloom, but my friend the pecan farmer and children's author, Andy Sherrod, assures me that if the ground is warm, so stuff is going to bloom.  So how do you get your ground warm?

I will spend this month sharing prewriting activities that I use to ensure success.  This week I'm going to touch on prewriting characters. I'm going to give you serious activities to help! 

Scrap:  Gather together pictures that represent your characters. Building composites using one photo's eyes, another's nose, etc. works.  Try  istockphoto.com but there are many more stock sites. 

Personality:   I always take the Enneagram test for my characters. Also do the Jung Typology Test.  Here is a link to a bunch more personality tests, and, yes, I do use some of these.

Traits: Martina Boone offers this useful character trait  worksheet.  I also love these character questionnaires from the Gotham Writers Workshop. My best advice, look at a number of character questionaires and worksheets and then design one that fits your style.

Letter: Have all your main characters write you a letter telling you what they think this journey is about.

Act: Take an hour or a whole day and pretend to be your character. When you are done take an hour to write down what you learned from the exercise..

Cast: Go to imbd.com and see if you can find the perfect actors to play the parts of your characters.

Journal:  Write a journal from your character's POV about the events of your story.  You don't have to go crazy here, you should do this until it is easy to produce interior thoughts from your character.

Interview:  Find folks who you feel may connect with your character and do character interviews of them.  (This always makes people cry -- take tissues and a Starbucks card.)

Okay, this feels like enough to get  your started.  Enjoy the blooming process. Do this stuff and when your start to write, your characters will pop off the page.  Guaranteed.

Come back next week for more blooming. Seize the day!

Doodle this week: "Swimming Fish."

Here is the quote for the week.

Just keep swimming
Just keep swimming
Everything will be okay
See?
Just keep swimming
Move your tail
And sure enough we'll find our way
Oh sometimes things look bad
Then poof! The moment is gone
And what do we do?

Dory, Finding Nemo (Thomas Newman)

Reflections: What is your theme?

Hi folks, I'm wrapping up my month of reflecting on theme. I have found that everything you write is connected. Every writer is digging into some universal ideas or messages that are directly connected to her experience.

I went to a workshop with Bethany Hegedus, author and teacher, a few years ago and she convinced me that the magician behind the curtain (me) is the one holding the keys to my story. Her message: understand what you are about -- mind and soul -- and you will find your theme. I also got a big wake up call from Julia Cameron and her book Finding Water.  You must learn to say the things you never say. This takes an insane amount of bravery, and I am still working on in it. At the end of the day, you must discover what you are looking for.

What is the theme of your life? What makes you howl at the moon? What turns you red hot on fire? Think about that. Write down all the words that resonate with you. Some of mine: Wisdom, peace, forgiveness, laughter, disrespect, belittlement, mockery, frustration, heaven, hope, worth ... Try making a Wordle of all your words. Post that near where you work and let it simmer. Gather together your favorite stuff: music, movies, TV shows, books, artwork, shoes, whatev. Put your treasure trove in a pile and think about it.  Add to the list the words that come to you. What does all of this speak to you?  What are you circling? Strip away all that fluff on the outside. Go close to the bone and discover your theme.

I hope these little exercises help you  draw closer to the knowledge of your theme.  Next week, I will start April Showers -- a series to water you creative soul...see you then. Meanwhile, seize the day!

Here is a doodle: "Shepherd and his sheep"

A quote for your pocket.

The soul is in the very likeness of the divine, and immortal, and intelligible, and uniform, and indissoluble, and unchangeable; and the body is in the very likeness of the human, and mortal, and unintelligible, and multiform, and dissoluble, and changeable. Plato

Novel Craft: Polish

Hi folks, this is last in my series of novel craft.  I'm offering tidbits of advice to those that have completed solid drafts and want to take their novel up a notch.  This week I'm going to chat about polish. I'm dividing this into three categories: the global, mundane, and the sublime.

First the global look. Here are some questions to help you add polish followed by my fun answers.

• Is the timeline solid? It takes longer than five minutes to drive to Boston from Houston. Really.
• Does your story make sense?  You can't leave a character in a closed car for hours in a Texas summer. Nope. Highly illogical, says Mr. Spock.
• Does your pacing make sense in a global way? If all the action bunched at the front then nothing for pages and finally something happens at the end, you have to fix that.
• Does your character cry all the time? I hope not.
• Do you have any info dumps? You spent five pages revealing the backstory of you character through a guy talking to a basketball. All info dumps have to go. ALL! Dribble out the details 
• Did you add sufficient texture your characters to rise them up above the level of cliche? Add some quirks and makes some unusual decisions.
• Is your protagonist a snot at any time during your book? No one want to read about a snot. 
• Is any side character taking over the plot? Stop them! Perhaps they need their own book. I'm thinking sequel.

This list will add some shine to your story.

And now the mundane. My friend Kathy Whitehead has a saying: "Make the writing pretty." You have a solid story and know you are going to pick apart each line from beginning to end.  Is your language clumsy or wordy?  Purple language goes. This isn't 1920.  You want to clean up frequently used words  like there, was, it, -ly, had, have, feel. Next, check for words you abuse regularly. Clean it all up. I find tools like the fee based AutoCrit Editing Wizard can help with this stuff. Lovely writing is important and don't assume that your writing is lovely unless you analyze it.

And finally comes the extra polish; the sublime or the pixie fairy dust or the superhero power -- whichever way you roll. Stare out the window, take a nap, go for a walk and think about what your book is about. Is there another twist that would just take your book up to another level. Have you achieved what you intended? Warning this takes absolute honesty with yourself.  The sublime is just that. You are seeking out spiritual, moral, and/or intellectual depth in your story. Do you have any idea what were you were trying to say?  Did you get it across?  Here's the trick -- I'm sure you don't need to put this into words but you do need to know it. Is there anything in the universe that would make your purpose more clear?  Add that and then breathe. Well done!

I hope my polish thoughts help you. I hope you achieve your best book. :)  Seize the day.

Here is the doodle: Yellow-horned Thang.

Here is my quote for your pocket:

"Dimidium facti qui coepit habet: sapere aude" ("He who has begun is half done: dare to know!"). Horace

Rattle Readers: Shocks in Fiction

I'm starting a new series about what rattles readers in fiction. I've read a ton of books, and I would like to mention that only a select few of these books rattle me. So words aren't enough, and characters aren't enough, and plot isn't enough to rattle me. I'm going to write around this idea in my brain about what makes most excellent fiction, and hopefully I will uncover something.

A great book suspends me. The words on the page fill my brain and I'm there. The real world disappears and I'm lost in the fictive dream. The fictive dream idea comes from John Gardner's book THE ART OF FICTION. Many writers understand the mechanics of story and can adequately sustain a story over thousands of words, but few writers can send me into a fictive dream state and keep me there.  So here goes some thoughts about how to rattle readers: what works, what doesn't, how do you know you are creating that dream?

I search for stories that rattle my bones. I feel myself pacing inside when I can't find a book that really stirs me up.  One way authors hook me is by uncovering something I call shocks: you know, unexpected revelations (plot, character, theme, setting, etc.) that change the shape of the whole story. Don't get me wrong, I'd don't like lazy shock value pushing the story forward. The problem shock comes when the author begins to flounder in their fictive dream and then slaps down a shocking twist  that does not naturally rise out of the plot of the story. As a reader I feel frustrated. As a writer I'm shoving my story in the direction I want it to go. So annoying. Some writers slap down too many shocks for the reader to care. (Guilty!) Some don't even offer one shock. (Boring!)

When a shock is spot on, as a reader, I feel excessively nervous or I'm totally relaxed (no inbetween); the shock hits and I can't breathe. I shut the book and try to get my emotions under control. I go back a few pages and read up to the shock again. I'm that immersed in the fictive dream. As a writer, I know I'm in the sweet spot when I'm laughing out loud and falling off the couch when I'm reading my story back to myself, or I start crying when I've read the scene a hundred times, or I have to put my manuscript down because I'm so angry again.  Yes, if you are participating in your own dream, this is a good thing.  You think you have written the greatest thing ever. It may not be there yet, but if you able to enter into the dream and stay there, you are on the right track and will succeed.

Hope you place some shocks on the page this week. I will dig around more in this subject next week. Short post though because I am off to the SCBWI New Mexico Fall Retreat.  I'm excited.  Seize the day.

Here is the doodle: " Spider Chicken".  I know, enough with chickens already.

Quote for the week.

My task which I am trying to achieve is by the power of the written word, to make you hear, to make you feel--it is, before all, to make you see. That--and no more, and it is everything.
- Joseph Conrad

Chicken by Chicken: A Horrendous Book

Hi folks, I hope that you have dedicated yourself to the work. This week I'm  continuing my series called Chicken by Chicken. I'm riffing of a fine writing book title by Anne Lamont called BIRD BY BIRD. You must write at least one horrendous book to write one very good book. I know, this is daunting news. Who wants to write  a horrendous book? You must write a book that is full of telling, plot holes, weak characterization, and way too much description or not enough. Your book will be a slog to read. You won't like it. It will discourage you unless you are an eternal optimist. It will be very hard to write this horrendous book. You will sacrifice to do it. When you complete it, you will feel you have climbed a mountain. It will  be a rush and most people around you will not "get" your enthusiasm. You will put the book aside for a few weeks and avoid it like a scared chicken. Then one day you will pick it up again and realize just how bad it is. Ouch.

Once you have written your horrendous book, you will start writing again. No, not a new book. You will begin writing your horrendous book again. You will cut scenes you love, you will see better ways to move your plot forward, you will begin to understand your characters and reshape them into more authentic souls.  You will be focused and  work on your book in a balanced way (if you are lucky.)  And after months of struggling, you will reach the end of the novel  again, and now you will have a mediocre book.  It will be meh, but you will feel that have climbed a big mountain. Only your writing partners and a few close friends will still be encouraging you to go on with this. You may now have some doubt roving around in your heart. You will feel weary. You will put the book aside for a few weeks (avoiding it like a scared chicken) and then finally pull it out again and realize it is OK. It's nothing special, but at least it has a plot, real characters who make some sort of sense. You will repeat this process again and again. You might repeat it 5 times, 10 times or more. 

Finally you will come to a draft that your scared chicken-self will pull out of the drawer and read. This book will need some copy editing. You might have to change a word here or there. But it will not be bad and it will not be meh.  Keep a box of tissues ready. You will feel you have reached the moon, invented time travel, and climbed Mount Everest. You have distinguished yourself in a most special and important way. You haven't attemped to "get published."  You have written a very good book. It is a masterpiece.

Getting published it not the same as writing a good book. But that is for another post.  I hope that you dedicate yourself to writing an awesome and lasting book.  I'm  happy to have had the chance to cheer you on.  I will see you next week with more inspiration.

Here is the next doodle. I call this one "Wonder Twin Chickens."

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. Benjamin Franklin

Wind for the Sails: Bethany Hegedus

I had the opportunity to go to a workshop with Bethany Hegedus . She is the author of BETWEEN US BAXTERS and upcoming TRUTH WITH A CAPITAL T, edits the children's section in Hunger Mountain: the VCFA journal of the arts, and is the Austin host of readergirlz.com. Her workshop was based around Francine Prose's book, READING LIKE A WRITER. Thank you, Bethany, and thank you also to Brazos Writers for hosting the event!

I will be honest now. I could not think of what to write about in the blog this week. I'm so tired from unpacking boxes, figuring out where the stores are, and finding good food for the table, and then working on my side job of reading on top of it all, and tossing in several hours of home schooling every day, and wedging in a family emergency, or two, ay, yi, yi, I am busy.

I keep pecking at my stories, but my creative ship has been becalmed. As Bethany moved us through a little exercise about our favorite movies and favorite books, and more, and then asked us to look for connections, I was baffled and then I began to see! I'm all about the underdog getting a day. I'm all about families figuring out a way to coexist in peace. I am about people taking care of each other. I am about putting together families from odd mixes of folks. I could feel the wind, and my sails began to billow out. The ship of my creative self began sailing again. As always, sometimes we need that surge of creative input to get moving through the deep waters of story.

Do something for yourself this week that will get your creative ship sailing. You know the stuff that moves you. Get off the beaten path. Mix it up. Get yourself in a place where the wind will hit your sails. See where it takes you. Seize the day. See you next week.

I have a photo today of pattypan squash, tomatoes, and green beans from my daddy's garden. I'm calling it: "Bounty", taken by talented daughter Jubilee Blaisdell.



What can we gain by sailing to the moon if we are not able to cross the abyss that separates us from ourselves? This is the most important of all voyages of discovery, and without it, all the rest are not only useless, but disastrous... Thomas Merton

April Showers: Mulch

I don't have time, but it's a long post this week. Spring, glorious spring, and me moving across country, I'm going to miss the whole planting party this year. Boo.

In the spring time, it's a good time to chop all that rich mulch into the hardscrabble dirt. I thought I would share the current stuff I'm cutting into the soil of me to make beautiful stories bloom in my heart.

Here's the deal, folks. I'm out of control with the books. I have been, am, and always will be out of control with the books, so this week I will discuss only the writing books I'm reading. Next week, I will jump into the fiction I'm reading, and the week after I will cover the rest of it.

Currently the stack by the bed:

Scene & Structure: How to Construct fiction with scene-by-scene flow, logic and readabilitiy by Jack M. Bickham. I like this book. It's my think-about-that-before I snooze book. Chapter 7 on sequels after scene particularly rocks for me because sequel is one big weakness in my writing. The disaster happened! Now my character must react to this: the gut emotional reaction, then truly my character must think about what the disaster meant, then they have to make a decision that will hopefully make the disaster all better, and last, my character needs to rock his or her world with breath-taking courage by acting on their decision. I learned this from this book. Good stuff. Agh, Writing is hard work.

I also have Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself Into Print by Renni Browne and Dave King. Doesn't the title make you want to grab a red pencil and go crazy? My characters think, ponder, and consider entirely too much. Want to cut the fat? This is a good book for that.

I have a new book on the shelf that was given to me by the wonderful Katherine Grace Bond. SHOUT OUT. Katherine just got an agent. Read about it at Holly Cupala's website. So Katherine gave me Finding Water: The Art of Perserverance by Julia Cameron. Considering that the prologue made me cry, it's probably going to be a good read. It was the idea that something in this universe really cares. This something watches out for us, hears us when we cry, and is determined to guide us to good places and pure words. I need to go look for a tissue.

Hope something here gets you enriching the soil of you with some excellent mulch. :) Seize the day. See you next week.

I'm moving back to where my creative spark started. This week's doodle was painted 25years ago or so at the Texas A&M campus, back when I thought Chemistry was a calling. This is a detail of a larger work I'm calling this "H20". I wish someone would have given the girl painting the Chemistry building instead of studying her Chemistry a darn good shake. Wrong major, Chickadee. Live and learn.



The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning. Mitch Albom