Reflections after a year of travel

  • Reflections after a year of travel

    Guest Blogger Alisha Wielfaert encourages us to work through the difficulties rather than be stuck in the mud.

    This excerpt is from her December 4, 2017 blog post, with her epiphany about her year of travel.

    The glowing orange moon rose over the cypress swamp as we drove home with tired limbs, hungry bellies and full hearts after a long day of kayaking. I had almost bowed out of this trip before it even started. 

    Maia called me on my last trip to DC before I left for Paris and said, “We’re camping at Carolina beach and taking a few of my students to kayak the three sisters swamp to visit some of the oldest cypress trees in the world.  Can you join us?”  

    Maia, full of energy and excitement, just isn’t someone you tell “no” even though I knew saying yes meant two days away from home after only 3 nights in my own bed. That’s how I found myself in a swamp in the middle of nowhere, NC somewhere near the coast.

    Sunlight streaked through the bare trees and flooded over us, floating on the water with two adventurous women. I reflected that this time last week I had been in Paris running next to the Seine then eating a bistro dinner. 

    It’s now December and I’m in a swamp with muddy, soaking wet shoes and socks because I just jumped out of a kayak to see, touch, and feel trees that are over 2500 years old. Older than Jesus.

    This self-proclaimed year of travel has been a wild ride. The backs of my eyes sting with tears I’m holding back as I realize that this year of travel adventures has ended.

    In addition to a touch of sadness, there is also extreme relief that these adventures are over because I’ve been spread thin more than when I was working a full-time job and running a yoga studio.  

    Reflecting on this through the cypress swamp I’m suddenly aware of the magnitude of everything I experienced in the last 12 months, and I’m emotional.  

    I’ve gained so much but also at a cost. I’m spent financially, relationships at home need tending, and I’m ready to give my new business my full attention.  

    I’m not ready to sum up the year just yet, there’s still too much to process and I need some space between the experience and writing about it.

    One of the biggest lessons of the year of the travel has been “too much of a good thing is still too much.”

    But if I had followed that lesson I would have said no to this camping trip and I would have got to rest at home, maybe even getting work done, but I never would have got to car camp at the ocean, and connect deeply with these men and women in the absence of many words while floating down a river and visiting 2500-year-old cypress trees in the middle of no-where.  

    While we were floating on the river, I realized that when you’re on the right path it feels like you’re being pulled and the current will carry you in the right direction.  Even if you do nothing you’ll at least be ever so slowly pulled in the right direction.  

    When you get off the right path you might find that you’ve landed on a sand bar alone and getting back into the current can be really difficult.

    When I worked in corporate America, I didn’t feel like I was moving. I was stuck in the mud.  

    I’ve had to claw and dig my way back to the current, to the right path, and now I feel like I’m being physically pulled in the right direction.  

    Looking back over this whole year I realize that as soon as I made my mind up to leave what didn’t serve me, I’ve been pulled in the right direction.  

    Frankly it’s not been a gentle process. It feels like I’ve been pulled through a class 5 rapids over the last 12 months and I’ve been hanging on for dear life trying to keep it together.

    But that’s a much better feeling than being stuck in the mud alone.  

    Meet Alisha Wielfaert

    I’m a leadership, life and creativity coach who specializes in working with women. I do this work because my purpose in life is to use my curiosity, empathy and listening skills to walk as a guide with seekers on paths towards clarity of purpose.  

    I’m the compass to point you towards your north to ensure you fully step into your own power.  

    I spent over a decade in corporate America in sales for an insurance company, a great company and a great career, but for someone else.

    I went about gathering tools, looking for the map and the compass to find my own north.

    I became a certified yoga instructor, taught yoga classes, opened a yoga studio and created a program to teach others how to share the gift of yoga.

    Yoga and the trainings I’ve received as a yoga teacher brought me closer to my calling, it gave me the map, but I wasn’t quite there.  

    After selling the yoga studio, I started leadership, life and creativity coaching.  

    For the first time in my life, I knew I could stop searching. I had my compass. This was the work I’d been put on this earth to do.  

    I coach individuals and groups, lead workshops to move you north of neutral, speak on topics to help others flourish, and lead retreats all over the world.  

    This work is my calling and it’s a gift to share it with you.  

    When we step into our power, we make the world a better place. Let’s shine our lights brightly together! 

    Marlene C

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  • NaNoWriMo-Is it for you?

    Have you heard of NaNoWriMo? National Novel Writing Month.

    “NaNoWriMo believes in the transformational power of creativity. We provide the structure, community, and encouragement to help people find their voices, achieve creative goals, and build new worlds—on and off the page.” —NaNoWriMo website

    “A month of NaNoWriMo can lead to a lifetime of better writing.” Grant Faulkner, founder and creator of NaNoWriMo.

    NaNoWriMo

    National Novel Writing Month began in 1999 as a daunting but straightforward challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel during the thirty days of November.

    Each year on November 1, hundreds of thousands of people around the world begin to write, determined to end the month with 50,000 words of a brand-new novel — but that’s not all that NaNoWriMo is!

    NaNoWriMo is a nonprofit organization that supports writing fluency and education.

    It’s a teaching tool, it’s a curriculum, and its programs run year-round.

    Whatever you thought NaNoWriMo was, it is more than that. — NaNoWriMo website

    The following is excerpted from an article by Grant Faulkner, Nov/Dec 2016, Writers Digest magazine.

    “Wharton professor Katherine Milkman and her colleagues found that we’re most likely to set new goals around ‘temporal landmarks’: a birthday, a holiday, the start of a new semester—or a new month, such as National Novel Writing Month. These milestones create a new ‘mental accounting period’ (past lapses are forgiven, and we have a clean slate ahead of us) and prompt us to turn our gaze toward a better vision of what we want for ourselves and how we can achieve it.

    NaNoWriMo invites you to generate many new ideas—to rip through failures, learn from them and build on them.

    “I like to think of Nano-ing as excavating. You uncover different things at the 30,000-word mark than you do at 10,000,” says Erin Morgenstern, who wrote the rough draft of The Night Circus during NaNoWriMo.

    A sense of playful wonder is important for writing mastery, and NaNoWriMo teaches you to trust the gambols of your imagination, to test your ideas on the page. When you stop demanding perfection of yourself, the blank page becomes a spacious place, a playground. So what if your writing feels a bit sloppy? It’s just a first draft.

    NaNoWriMo gives you the opportunity to reflect on your writing, to understand what creative approaches work for you, and to develop the grit, resilience and can-do gusto of a true master.

    How to find time to write when you have no time.

    Need ideas for when your stuck? How about doing a 15-minute freewrite as a warm-up before your writing? You can use writing prompts for freewrites and they might just end up in your novel, or help you get your characters from Point A to Point B.

    Just Write!

    Marlene C

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  • New Delta Review

    New Delta Review is an online literary and arts journal produced by graduate students in the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Louisiana State University. Since 1984, NDR has published the work of emerging and established writers. Each issue includes original fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, reviews, interviews, and artwork.

    “In our 30 years of publication, authors of international renown — Anne Carson, Billy Collins, Robert Olen Butler, J. Robert Lennon and Alissa Nutting, to name a few — have shared our pages with tomorrow’s literary stars. Our contributors are regularly included in anthologies such as Best American Short Stories, New Stories from the South, and Best American Poetry.

    As a journal we are committed to publishing underrepresented voices, and aim to foster diversity in our issues. Although we ask for a small fee for our general submissions, this fee helps us sustain and extend this practice into our community by hosting and supporting readings and other literary events.”

    Submit: Art, Digital Media, Reviews, Interviews, Flash Fiction and Photography Contest, Matt Clark Editors’ Prize in Prose and Poetry.

    Marlene C

  • Changes and challenges. Prompt #453

    What are disappointment and disasters all about?  What is your first reaction when you hear or read disturbing news?

    Write about how you, or your fictional character, deal with changes and challenges.

    Marlene C

  • Bookstagrammers & Influeners

    Hello from Marlene, host of The Write Spot Blog,

    I originally read the post below by Julie Valerie on Anne R. Allen’s Blog with Ruth Harris.

    Today’s guest blog post is longer than my usual posts. Take it in small bites. There is a lot of content here. All good stuff.

    I learned so much I didn’t know about things such as bookstagrammers and influencers (the book kind).

    Guest Blogger Julie Valerie:

    From Book Blog to Book Deal

    Julie asks: Does a book blog still land a book deal?

    Of course they do. Great writing and great content will always find an audience, and where there’s an audience, especially a sizable one, there’s typically a book deal waiting to happen. Think Julie Powell, Candice Bushnell, Jen Lancaster, and Jenny Lawson.

    Not to mention, entire empires (with books launched along the way), have been built on the humble foundations of blog sites that just wouldn’t quit. Think ProBlogger’s Darren Rowse and Content Marketing Institute’s Joe Pulizzi.

    Getting Visible is an Uphill Battle – Bookstagrammers and Influencers

    For published and unpublished writers, whether traditionally-published, hybrid, or self-published, it’s often an uphill battle to garner attention for our work.

    Working with influencers such as book reviewers, bookstagrammers, and book bloggers is an excellent way of reaching both a wider audience as well as an audience that may lead to signing with an agent or landing a traditional book deal. (If this is something you are seeking, not all authors share the same goals.)

    Many authors invest considerable time networking with book influencers. Some have worked to build influence and audiences for their work by becoming professional book reviewers, bookstagrammers, and/or book bloggers.

    Julie is one of those authors.

    How Her Book Blog Worked For Julie

    Though I do work closely with bookstagrammers now that the first book in my Village of Primm series is releasing with Lake Union Publishing December 2019, I do not have professional experience as a bookstagrammer. 

    Note from Anne R. Allen: Bookstagram is a book-related platform on Instagram. Here’s more info on becoming a bookstagrammer.

    Back to Julie: As a former book-reviewing book blogger, I reviewed 200+ books in my genre while writing my debut novel, seeking an agent, and signing with a publisher.

    Technically speaking, I was not “discovered” solely because of my book blog, though many authors have been. I did, however, cite my work as a book reviewer and book blogger in the query letter that ultimately led to signing with my agent.

    And I believe the body of work I produced on my blog over the course of many years helped with that. So did the audience I built and the network of fellow writers I nurtured, as well as the market research and knowledge I acquired reviewing 200+ books in my genre. They helped to strengthen my credentials as an author in today’s competitive book publishing industry—whether I had pursued a traditional or indie path toward publishing.

    I signed with an agent who sold my women’s fiction series to a publisher based on the merits of the manuscript, at the time, I was an unpublished writer.

    Having that book blog demonstrated I could meet deadlines, produce a lot of writing on a timely schedule, and sustain a writing life that not only built readership (very important) in advance of the first book, but also one that built relationships with other writers.

    When You Have to Step Aside from Your Book Blog

    Unfortunately, I had to give up my book blog in 2016. The development of the Village of Primm series, coupled with the launch of the 85K Writing Challenge, led to a redesign of my work life.

    I miss my book blogging days.

    But I do produce steady content for my author site at julievalerie.com, including a monthly author newsletter, and I will continue to do so for as long as I’m in the industry. I feel it’s a necessary part of conducting business.

    Why Bother with a Blog or Website?

    There are many benefits of hosting your content on your own website. One, unlike content shared on social media, what you write on your site isn’t fleeting and isn’t bound by the rules of someone else.

    Two, you own that content – not so with content published to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

    And three, as long as you keep your domain name and web hosting services active, no one can pull the plug on what you want to present to the world. Your author site is your space, your portfolio, your home.

    If you’re pursuing a publishing contract, be mindful of copyright law before publishing excerpts of your unpublished work. A publisher may consider what you post as already “published” and in the public domain.

    Was book reviewing and book blogging a lot of work? Yes, it most certainly was.

    Was it worth it in the end? Absolutely. But enough about me.

    Let’s Talk about You

    I’m here to share a broad overview of the “influencer” sector of the publishing industry so that you can decide how best to proceed according to your goals. Who knows where your work in this sector of the book industry might lead you?

    Are you interested in reaching readers, building name recognition, increasing awareness of book titles, and driving sales? Of course, you are. Who wouldn’t be? But how does an author do that? Let’s drill down, starting with why any of this should matter to you.

    Should You Start a Book Blog or Become a Bookstagrammer?

    What are the benefits of working with or becoming a book blogger or bookstagrammer who posts book reviews?

    Though the what, the why, and the how of book reviews, bookstagram, and book blogs differ slightly, what they all have in common is their exceptional ability to reach an author’s end consumer, whether that end consumer be agents, publishers, other industry professionals, or the most coveted end consumer of all: readers.

    Many authors have enjoyed careers that skyrocket after receiving coverage in the book review, bookstagram, and book blog ecosystem. And many writers, while writing their first novel, have gained meaningful access to the book industry through their work as a book reviewer, bookstagrammer, and/or book blogger.

    Book reviews, bookstagram, and book blogs are important constituents within the book industry because they offer authors the opportunity to attract attention that:

    • builds name recognition
    • raises awareness for book titles, and
    • drives sales

    How Does an Author Maximize these Opportunities?

    Start by considering the people behind the book reviews, bookstagram, and book blogs as well as the role those people play as influencers in a crowded book market.

    A great place to start is understanding influencers and influencer marketing.

    What is an Influencer?

    An influencer is anyone who uses their knowledge, authority, social position, audience, or relationship with others to affect the decisions of an audience.

    Types of influencers:

    • celebrities
    • industry leaders
    • industry experts
    • thought leaders
    • content creators
    • journalists
    • book reviewers
    • bloggers
    • micro-influencers
    • social media mavens
    • vloggers, podcasters, booktubers, etc.
    • other authors

    Celebrities are typically considered the original influencers. They play an important role within the book industry, especially celebrities with book clubs. They carry a lot of clout due to their large, already established, and loyal fan base, which helps to move the needle on sales.

    Industry leaders, industry experts, and thought leaders are often executives, brand or genre specialists, and often work for publishing companies, trade publications, professional organizations, and the like.

    Content creators and journalists provide a steady flow of information consumed by broad audiences.

    Book blog reviewers, bloggers, micro-influencers, social media mavens, vloggers, podcasters, and booktubers all fall under the focus of this discussion but differ from the above types of influencers due to their unique ability to speak directly to their audiences with peer-to-peer “voice,” which lends authenticity to their influence through active, often daily interactions with their fan base. With these types of influencers, fan bases are treated as a wide web of interconnected friends.

    Because of this “extended conversation with friends” and the unique blend of highly niche book chatter and its resulting word-of-mouth book recommendations, agents, publishers, industry professionals, authors, and most certainly, readers, take notice.

    I have experience as a book reviewer and book blogger and would love to share a few insights with you.

    The Inside Scoop on Working with Book Influencers

    1. Know what you’re asking. 

    The behind-the-scenes life of a book influencer is hard, time-consuming work.

    When seeking a book review on either Instagram, a book blog, or some other media like a podcast, vlog, or booktube, keep in mind you are asking someone to commit about five to eight hours of their life to you.

    I estimate it took me about four to six hours to read the book, about an hour to write a thoughtful review, and then another hour creating a blog post, scheduling social media to support that blog post, and then finally, uploading the book review to the various book review sites. And that doesn’t count time spent monitoring the published post to engage with readers in the comment section.

    Taking all of this into consideration, what are my tips?

    Be courteous. Submit all materials in a timely manner. Remember to thank them, share their coverage on your social media channels, and be sure to engage with their readership in the comment section of the post.

    2. Research first.

    No one likes a cold call. And it’s frustrating when someone asks you to review a book from a genre you clearly don’t cover. It shows they took no time to get to know you, your work, and your audience.

    My first name is Julie. My last name is Valerie. I make this distinction clear on my website and sign off on all emails as simply “Julie” (with a notation in my email signature that clarifies my first and last name).

    But there was one author who kept swinging by my site whenever she had a book release, asking for coverage (remember those five to eight hours I described above?), and she simply could not stop referring to me as if my first name was Valerie. Now, I typically don’t care if you get my name wrong. Truly. (It happens all the time.) But this one particular author really bugged me. It seemed selfish on her part. Not to mention unprofessional.

    If you’re asking someone to devote possibly eight hours to your book, and you’re asking someone to share your book with their readers, please, spend meaningful time researching their platform, don’t send a form letter, do nurture the relationship, and for goodness sake, get the person’s first name right.

    Some tips: Start by interacting with their platform. If they’ve posted something you enjoy, leave a comment, or consider sharing their post with your audience on your platform (author Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, your website, etc.). Get to know them as people. Try to establish authentic, meaningful connections. Some of my closest friendships in the book world are with book lovers that are not authors or writers, but rather, people who love the written word as much as I do and seek to connect readers with great books.

    3. Don’t show up only when it suits you.

    Here’s a novel idea: be present and participate in conversations when your book isn’t launching or in promotion. I think most people understand if there’s a spike in your activities around the time of your pub date or promotion, but if you’re nowhere to be found in the “off-season” and if you don’t support others when it’s their time to shine, people will sense your interest might be a little one-sided. By the time my first book will be released, I will have spent seven years participating full-time in the book community. Seven years.

    My tip? Always remember that more often than not, it’s not about you. It’s about someone else. So help each other out. Celebrate. Do onto others. You know, that stuff you learned in kindergarten.

    4. Tips on how to ask.

    Be polite. Write a courteous, personalized letter addressing them by name (the correct name.) Write a few sentences that either reflect your current relationship, or, if your query is the attempted start of a working relationship beyond baseline social media interactions, then include a few sentences that indicate you know who they are, what they do, and what they are seeking to cover on their platform.

    Include enough information about your book to help them decide if it’s a match for them and their audience. If they indicate a preferred format (ebook, paperback, etc.), try your best to accommodate them. If you can provide a signed book giveaway (or similar), say so. Also, indicate if you can answer interview questions and the like.

    Note from Anne R. Allen: And here’s a post on how NOT to query a blogger.

    5. Be prepared with a complete media kit. 

    Some items to include in your media kit: book cover, jacket copy, early endorsements, an excerpt if available, publisher name, pub date, buy links, author press photo, author bio, social media links, and a subscribe link to your author newsletter. The goal here is to anticipate ahead of time and then gather in one place everything that book influencer may need.

    6. Follow up and work to maintain the relationship.

    After coverage of your book goes “live,” thank the influencer in the comment section of the post. Keep an eye on the comment section of the post so that you can interact with the influencer’s audience (when appropriate and with proper etiquette).

    Be mindful of the valued and very important relationship the influencer has with their audience. If you’re a guest on their platform, then please, first and foremost, be friendly, be active, and be kind and considerate to the influencer’s audience.

    That’s a Wrap!

    I hope you found this discussion about book reviewers, bookstagrammers, and book bloggers useful. I’ve always felt that through the work of these influencers, authors have great potential to reach agents, publishers, industry professionals—and especially, readers.

    I hope you’re having a great day and I wish you every success.

    So what do you think, scriveners? Do you have any tips you’d like to share about reaching book influencers? Julie would love to hear what you found helpful and she’ll answer any lingering questions you may have. Did you know about the importance of bookstagrammers? 

    For more on how blogging can lead to big success in the publishing industry, see Anne R. Allen’s post on How Blogging Leads to Many Career Paths.

    Julie Valerie writes upmarket contemporary women’s fiction and is developing a series set in the fictional Village of Primm.

    Her debut novel, Holly Banks Full of Angst, Book One in the Village of Primm series, publishes December 2019 as part of a multi-book deal with Lake Union Publishing.

    A voracious reader, Julie has reviewed 200+ books in her genre, won the BookSparks 2015 Summer Reading Challenge Grand Prize, and founded the 85K Writing Challenge (85K90.com), providing writers with a supportive, enriching forum to pen 85,000 words in 90 days followed by 12 months of writing, editing, prepping to pub, and publishing support.

    With a master’s degree in education and a bachelor of fine arts degree in fashion, Julie earned an editing certificate from the University of Chicago Graham School and enjoys testing her knowledge of the Chicago Manual of Style. Connect with Julie at julievalerie.com. On Facebook and Instagram  @JulieValerieAuthor. On Twitter and Pinterest @Julie_Valerie.

    Marlene C

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  • Weather. Prompt #452

    Photo by Marlene Cullen

    Strangers do it. Neighbors do it. Friends do it. We all do it.

    Talk about the weather.

    Now, write about it.

    Write about how weather affects you.

    What is your favorite type of weather?

    Does weather play a small or large role in your life? How? Why?

    Write about weather.

    Me? I like rain, as long as I don’t have to be out in it.

    Photo: View from my front porch on a lovely rainy day.

    Marlene C

  • An experience in nature. . . Prompt #451

    Today’s writing prompt is inspired by Poetic Medicine by John Fox, Infusing our poems with what nature teaches us:

    A forest fire is awesome and frightening but clears the forest floor for new growth.

    Metaphors and poetic images of earth can often express such feelings better than plain descriptive words, which seem to crack under the pressure of deep feeling. Feelings of grief might bring to mind images of winter’s coldness. Pablo Neruda crystalizes a wintry grief image:

    Yes: seed germs, and grief, and everything that throbs

    frightened in the crackling January light

    will ripen, will burn, as the fruit burned ripe.

    The insights we gain by observing nature, and the poems we make which include these insights, help us cope with our rage, grief and pain.

    The poetry of earth offers us a chance to experience something more about life than our self-definition and ordinary language usually permit. Like the forest after the fire, this something more is full of new growth and unknown potential.

    Writing Prompt: Choose an aspect of the natural world which you feel has something to teach you. It could be an animal, plant, or mineral. What specific quality does it express that speaks to you about your own life?

    Or write about an experience in nature that had a profound effect on you.

    Marlene C

  • Manifest with Brad Yates

    Brad Yates

    Today’s Guest Blogger is Brad Yates.

    In Manifestation 101 (& Taking Likely Action) Brad talks about a five-step process for manifesting what you really want.


    1. Create It
    2. Clear It
    3. Live It
    4. Let Go

    5. Likely Action

    Step One: Create It

    Decide what you really want.  Write it down. Start with something like:

    “I am so happy!  I have . . .”

    Then list the qualities and features of what it is you want (as if you already have them).

    It’s important that you write it in the present.  If you write “I want this,” then you are vibrating at a frequency of want – and the wanting of it is what you will continue to attract. You want to be vibrating in harmony with already having it.

    Write positive things, stating the positive aspect (what it has), rather than what it doesn’t have. If you write, “My new boyfriend isn’t a loser,” you are putting “loser” vibrations into the ether.  

    Rather than asking for money, focus on what you want to have. I focused on a trip I wanted to take, which I estimated to cost about $1,200. [And this is what Brad received.]

    Don’t limit the Universe by saying it has to be paid for in cash. If you want a new car – focus on the car. The money might show up, but you might also win the car.

    Once you’ve given the parameters of what you want, write at the end, “This, or something better – for the highest good of all concerned.”   Give the Universe an opportunity to give you something better and/or more appropriate – it knows better than we do.

    Step Two: Clear It

    Here’s where Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) comes into play. Too often we send contradictory energy, keeping what we consciously say we want at a distance from ourselves.

    Clear any contradictory thoughts.  The Universe picks up on them all. The biggest, in my experience, is: “I don’t deserve to have this.”  Tap on it, or use whatever other tools you might have for releasing blocks to your success.  

    You also want to be clear on your intentions. If you have doubts about your motives, you will either block the attainment of your objective, or limit your ability to receive it in a joyful manner. Make sure you want it for the right reasons (and only you can decide what is right for you.)

    Keep at this until you can think about the successful attainment of your objective without feeling any resistance.

    Step Three: Live It

    Now that you can think about the successful attainment of your objective without feeling any resistance – do so. Really think about having it – and allow yourself to enjoy that.

    Indulge in all the positive feelings you expect to experience while enjoying this thing in your life. Really feel how good it feels.

    Now would be a good time to tap yourself into trance and visualize yourself really enjoying your objective. As you do so, allow the positive feelings to wash over you and through you – feeling good in every muscle, nerve, fiber, tissue, cell and atom of your body.  Do this once a day – a daily reminder of what you are up to.


    Step Four: Let Go

    I also call this “Let Go and Let God.”  

    You need to be unattached to the outcome. Otherwise, you might start clenching your energy, asking “Where is it?”

    Not great attracting energy.

    A farmer doesn’t plant a seed, then stare at it in frustration hoping for it to grow. He does what he can to nurture it, but otherwise leaves it to nature to do what it does.

    Also, you don’t want to be attached to how it happens. You might be staring at a door waiting for that someone to walk in, and completely miss them because they came through the side door.

    Now, this doesn’t mean you don’t take action. Do what you can – let the Universe know you are serious about making things happen. Just don’t be surprised if the manifestation comes in a way that doesn’t seem to be directly related to what you are doing.

    Tapping can be very helpful with this step, too.  “Even though I feel I HAVE TO HAVE THIS NOW!!!.”  Let that go.

    If you’ve created your vision, cleared all internal objections to it, allowed yourself to experience living it and really feel how great it would be to have it – and it still isn’t showing up – then you need to trust that maybe it really isn’t in your best interest to have this objective at present.  

    But, “God’s delays are not God’s denials.”

    More often than not, there’s more clearing work to do. Abundance just is. It is all around. The extent to which we are not experiencing it is the extent to which we are resisting it.

    Stop resisting it.

    Manifest it.

    You deserve it.

    Step Five: Likely Action

    The Universe has many ways of making something happen – and yet we routinely limit ourselves to what we can think up on our own.

    Our job is to decide what we want, and focus on that in a positive way. Not to figure out how it is going to happen.

    That’s the Universe’s job.

    Instead of waiting until you know the right action, take a likely action, an action that is likely to move you toward your goal.

    Come up with lots of likely plans of action. Act on one of them.

    When thinking of your goal, ask yourself: “What could I do that might get me there?” No need to censor yourself – let the ideas flow, and ask of each, “Is this likely to move me in the right direction?” Then choose one and begin.

    Sure – you might make a mistake, and there may be consequences for that. You don’t have to be married to an idea – you can change strategies along the way. But there is a definite consequence for not taking action: you stay stuck.

    Decide what you want. Be clear. Then take likely action.

    That’s how the Universe knows you are serious about your intention. If you aren’t willing to move on it, the Universe may consider it just one of your countless whims. Show your commitment to your objective by getting going.

    And don’t be surprised as better ways to do it “magically” show up along the way.

    Now…what are you waiting for…? Get going! Do something now!

    Brad Yates is one of the top teachers of Emotional Freedom Techniques® (EFT), a quick, simple, effective method for overcoming fear and relieving stress. EFT, also sometimes referred to as Tapping, can help just about anyone dealing with anxiety and negative emotions.

    Marlene C

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  • Paint a word picture. Prompt #450

    Paint a word picture about anything you want, perhaps something that happened over the weekend, or during this past week.

    Or, paint a word picture of what you look like to others.

    Or write about what you experienced (saw, heard, felt, sensed) during a walk.

    Write about your garden. Or a community garden. Or a public garden.

    Just Write!

    Marlene C

  • Mudlark

    Mudlark was founded in 1995 as an electronic journal of poetry & poetics. It has an ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) from the Library of Congress; is refereed, copyrighted, and archived. Mudlark is “never in and never out of print.”

    To submit or not to submit? Take a good look at Mudlark. Spend some time on the Mudlark website. Find out what issues, posters, and flashes are. Then make your decision.

    As our full name, Mudlark: An Electronic Journal of Poetry & Poetics, suggests, we will consider accomplished work that locates itself anywhere on the spectrum of contemporary practice. We want poems, of course, but we want essays, too, that make us read poems (and write them?) differently somehow. Although we are not innocent, we do imagine ourselves capable of surprise.

    Mudlark publishes in three formats: “issues” are the electronic equivalent of print chapbooks; “posters” are the electronic equivalent of print broadsides; and “flashes” are poems that have news in them, poems that feel like current events. The acceptance rate at Mudlark is low, very low; the rejection rate is comparably high. The work of hobbyists and lobbyists is not for us. The poem is the thing at Mudlark… and the essay about it.

    In Mudlark poetry is free. Our authors give us their work and we, in turn, give it to our readers. What is the coin of poetry’s realm? Poetry is a gift economy. One of the things we can do at Mudlark to “pay” our authors for their work is point to it here and there, wherever else it is. We can tell our readers how to find it, how to subscribe to it, and how to buy it… if it is for sale. Toward that end, we maintain A-Notes (on the Authors) we publish. We call attention to their work.

    Submission Details.

    Marlene C