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Setting #Goals – The First Step in Turning the Invisible to the Visible
I use a lot of prompts in my writing classes. Today’s in-class writing prompt was this: Write about a goal you are trying to achieve. This can be a personal goal, an educational goal, or a professional goal. No more than 350 words. I decided to write along with my class this morning, as I am going to try something new this time. Feel free to join in the fun and write or blog along with us. Here’s my prompt. *** Over the last few months, I’ve decided that after self-publishing four independent works of fiction, I am going to write a fifth novel that I will attempt to send…
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Don’t Put Limitations on Yourself: Inspiration to Achieve the Goals You Set for Yourself
* Writer and director James Cameron (Titantic, Avatar, and the Terminator) says it best at the end of his Ted Talk on Ted.com: Don’t put limitations on yourself; other people will do that for you. I typically show this Ted Talk to my university feature writing students each fall after they read a piece about the iconic director. We discuss the profile article, the writing style, the use of feature techniques, and then we talk about James Cameron—as he is portrayed in the article. You see, when you read an article about someone, it’s from that one person’s perspective. And sometimes, he or she doesn’t get all the details, facts,…
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I Totally Missed It
You’re supposed to remember the dates of big anniversaries. I didn’t. I totally missed it. Monday marked the one-year anniversary of the publication of my novel. It wasn’t even a blip on my radar; I am wrapped up in other things and didn’t take a moment to reflect on the last year. Anniversaries are for remembering. For reflecting on what has happened since you embarked on whatever it was: marriage, children, jobs, schools, a project come to fruition, etc. I’m still the same old person I used to be (and I do mean old). I go about my daily routines in the same way I always did. I take care…
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On Being A Dreamer
* * * DREAMS by Langston Hughes Hold fast to dreamsFor if dreams dieLife is a broken-winged birdThat cannot fly.Hold fast to dreamsFor when dreams goLife is a barren fieldFrozen with snow. * * * I remember reading this poem as a teenager. My mother had this book of great literature and poetry that sat around the house, and I frequently looked at it. It had short stories like Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” and Edgar Allen Poe’s classic “The Raven.” And while those two are legendary in their own right, it’s been Hughes’s poem that I keep in my head and my heart. I love every word of…
