Word of the Week: Greatness!

 

 

 

"The greatness comes not when things go always good for you. But the greatness comes when you're really tested, when you take some knocks, some disappointments, when sadness comes. Because only if you've been in the deepest valley can you ever know how magnificent it is to be on the highest mountain."

 

-Richard Milhouse Nixon

 

 

"Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another steppingstone to greatness."

-Oprah Winfrey

 

 

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but really great people make you feel that you too, can become great.

 

-Mark Twain 

 

 

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I can't think of anything that inspires me more to consider life's endless possibilities and opportunities, than gazing at a beautiful sky.

 

 Greatness.

 

What an encompassing and beautiful ideal to aspire too.

 

We all have the potential to be great. Even if it applies to only one talent, skill, gift... isn't it worth aspiring too? 

 

I hope these quotes will inspire you to explore and discover your own path to greatness, this week and every week.

 

 ***

And some new posts at my other blogs:
 

 

Veggies, Yarns & Tails: Mr. Cheddar and the Scoop on Pet Food Storage

 

My Poetic Path: Autumn Feast. A Tau-Ku Poem

 

My Real Life Reviews: Sea Glass Hearts (book review)

 

 

Word of the Week: Productivity!

I've been away from blogging for the past month, working on a number of offline projects.

It's been a most productive month! :<) 

I finished up a number of craft projects that have been "in the works" some for a long time including a couple of gifts I sewed. Book orders ready and sent. Proposals I'm working on....

The crafts, I'll  be sharing over at Veggies...in the near future, with photos.

 The weather was for the most part was toooo hot to enjoy much outdoor activity so I wasn't tempted to venture outside all that much. I am not a fan of overly hot weather.

I also completed my haiku poetry book: Haiku Reflections; The Four Seasons, now available for sale over at Amazon. Again, another project I was happy to complete and also happy with the results.

And I've been working through the edits of my novel. Again, going very well. I'm really feeling hopeful and positive about the story I've written. Some knowledgeable (former and new) contacts in the book biz. have "surfaced" recently, so I'm getting some pointers/advice how best to proceed after I'm finished with all the edits and ready to go from there. 

 I was procrastinating on this project, truth be told. After I had finished my first draft, I was excited and at the same time, apprehensive about the next step in the process. But now that I have gotten past that hurdle and have actually started working to finish the book, I am really feeling good about my work.

A long time ago, a man I was involved with shared this quote with me, apparently credited to L. Ron Hubbard, of Scientology "fame". I'm NOT a fan of Scientology but I did like this quote and I never forgot it:

"Production is the Basis of all Morale"

I don't know about the ALL part but being productive is so energizing, when it comes to creative projects. Taking an ordinary or even bad day and turning it around for the better.

Another quote I like:

"Just begin, the inspiration will follow."

This one shared by a famous Canadian painter I had the privilege to interview years ago.

Sometimes, we don't feel like starting. I know that only too well. But the inspiration DOES follow. The best way to begin, is, to begin (my quote) and it's so true.

Best of luck with all your creative pursuits too! When we encourage and support each other, it's even easier to be productive I believe. Positive vibes and energy, love it!!!!

I'll be catching up with all my blog visiting this week.

Happy Week!

Word of the Week: Inspiration!

That's how I've been feeling lately: truly inspired!

You may remember this previous post about my current novel project. Well, my little journal has been filled since that post was written. I have been writing my novel, on my computer since then.

 For the most part, it's been going very well. I did come to a point where I felt a "stuck" and I could no longer continue to just write the story, without taking the time to create several, detailed reference pages to work from. Too much information about characters, locations etc... to try to remember.

I did a lot of research and trial and error at that point, trying out various novel writing software programs and suggestions, looking for something that would help, not hinder my progress. And to help me get organized in a way that would make writing the rest of my book easier.

I've come full-circle now on this after trying out the "bells and whistles" of  many of the choices of novel writing software currently available.

For me, working with a typed and printed outline, character and location pages, in a binder to refer to, seems best. It's not distracting as I found some of the software programs to be, with the various windows and files/folders to open, when looking for the information I need.

When it all comes down to it, if it's not making the story move forward, why use it?

Having an outline and scene ideas typed out for the whole book has been very helpful. It's like filling in a puzzle. Instead of being unwieldy and overwhelming, to move forward and type a couple of hundred more pages to complete my novel, now I look forward to my writing time each day.

And speaking of writing time. I've decided to take the month of January to complete the first draft of my novel. Complete! Yes, I think it's possible but only if I make my novel top-priority for a while.

So, I've decided to take the month of January off from blogging entirely. Maybe do some visiting now and then, at my fav blogs but no posting. As you all know, blogging can take up a lot of time, if you factor in writing posts, visiting, taking photos for posts, research etc... And if I'm ever going to finish this book, I need as few distractions and diversions as possible.

I'll be back here at Happy Break with a Christmas post on December 25th as I couldn't resist the OSI prompt for that day; it's such a good one. Thanks for the great prompt suggestion: Sandy C !

                      

Here's to a creative and inspiring new year, for all of us!