Tag: Sunday Box Talk

  • Sunday Box Talk – Questions and Answers

    Sunday Box Talk – Questions and Answers

    Morning Pages In the Garden With Coffee
    Image © 2013, A. Catherine Noon

    I\’m sure I\’m not alone during this time of year in wondering what new beginnings are occurring and what things to leave behind in the old year.

    There are years that ask questions and years that answer.
    Zora Neale Hurston

    I think it\’s important to not be so quick to demand answers.  Finding the right questions is important, particularly if we are to get to the answers that will help us.  Our society has become impatient with not knowing; we assume the answer is always on the internet.  It\’s become common to say, \”Just google it,\” and the company name has become synonymous with finding answers.

    The important questions aren\’t so easily remedied.  Take \”Who am I?\” for example.  That\’s not something one can google.  It\’s also not something we can easily answer with a pat recitation of our name, birth date and serial number.  Sometimes the answer can take a lifetime, and sometimes we can live for decades without knowing that we don\’t, in fact, know the answer and haven\’t yet really asked the question.

  • Sunday Box Talk: NaNo and Marathons

    Sunday Box Talk: NaNo and Marathons

    It\’s the 17th and the month is half over.  I know some of us, myself among them, have not written as much as we\’d hope at the bright start of NaNoWriMo.  But it ain\’t over til it\’s over and there\’s still time to write.  It doesn\’t matter what happened the past 16 days.  We can\’t change them.  We can\’t go back and do them over.  We can\’t do them differently.  They\’re done, and what\’s done is done.

    So where does that leave us?

    Some of us will give up.  We will say, it\’s just too much water under the bridge, too much time passed me by and there\’s no use.

    Don\’t do that.

    Keep writing.  There are more days left in this month and more words left in your brain.  You owe it to yourself to let them out, to give yourself the chance and the gift of hope.

    In running a marathon, experienced runners know what beginning runners haven\’t learned yet:  the marathon isn\’t won in the first five or even ten miles.  It\’s won when you hit the wall at mile twenty or twenty-one and you just can\’t run anymore.  You continue, you put one foot in front of the other, and you slog your way through to the finish line.

    Life is like that sometimes.  Don\’t give up, don\’t surrender.  Stay strong; borrow the courage of giants.  You may not be part of Seal Team Nine but you can do what they do:  keep going.  Keep writing.

    Keep going.

    Keep writing.

    Hoo-rah, baby.  Hoo-rah.

  • Sunday Box Talk: Hope and Etiquette

    It was the best of times,
    It was the worst of times,
    It was the age of wisdom,
    It was the age of foolishness,
    It was the epoch of belief,
    It was the epoch of incredulity,
    It was the season of light,
    It was the season of darkness,
    It was the spring of hope,
    It was the winter of despair,
    We had everything before us,
    We had nothing before us,
    We were all going direct to heaven,
    We were all going direct the other way…

    ~ Charles Dickens (1812-1870), A Tale of Two Cities

    As I embark on my journey of the next stage of my career, one of my companions is Richard Nelson Bolles and his book, What Color Is Your Parachute.  In it, his first argument is that the most important, and primary, thing to cultivate as a job searcher – and, really, a human being – is hope.  With hope, we have everything; without it, we have nothing and nowhere to go.

    One way to build it within ourselves is to remember that in any situation, there is always something, some part of it, over which we can exert control and assert our own power.  Doing so can restore our belief that we are the Captains of our own ships.
    I couldn\’t agree more.  After all, isn\’t this what we\’ve learnt in all our travels on the Artist\’s Way?  In fact, the theme for these essays, Sunday Box Talk, comes from Mr. Bolles\’ book The Three Boxes of Life, in which he proposes that we figure out what we have control over and rethink how we exercise that control. 
    It\’s a lesson many of us, myself included, must continue learning over and over.  But I am grateful to Mr. Bolles for his willingness to share of himself and his knowledge.  He has changed the world for millions of people and the world is a better place because of him.
    On the subject of Etiquette, I had the opportunity to work with another author recently.  They came on an emailing list I\’m part of and asked to appear on others\’ blogs in a blog tour promoting their book.  I emailed them and offered my blog, asking if we could do an exchange since I, too, have a book release coming up.
    To my startled eyes, I received an email reply:  \”I don\’t do blog posts anymore.\”
    Then why on earth would you ask for a blog post on another\’s blog, someone who does continue the effort to develop interesting content for readers and maintain a site for them to enjoy?
    Apparently, common sense isn\’t, so I\’ll say this for those of you out there who need to hear it (though, sadly, the ones who need to hear it probably aren\’t reading my humble words):  if you are out there looking for promotion, be prepared to return the favor.  The world is your oyster, my dear, but you must also give back to the sea.
    After all, we\’re all in this together.
    Happy Sunday, Dear Reader, and may you find Hope within your heart today and remember: you are loved.

  • Sunday Box Talk: DON\’T THINK OF A PINK ELEPHANT!

    I had an epiphany.  You know that old children\’s fable, don\’t think of a pink elephant?  The first thing that pops into your mind is a pink elephant, right?  Don\’t think about it!  Don\’t think about that elephant.  Not possible, right?

    My name is Noony and I am a workaholic.  It\’s something I\’ve struggled with since a very young age.  I won\’t bore you with all the particulars, but I will say it\’s an incredibly socially-acceptable behavior because we appear to be so high functioning.  On a bender, people say, \”Wow, what a hard worker!  Did you know she was here when I left the office last night, and she was here before me this morning? Does she sleep under her desk?\”  Folks laugh and business goes on.  But work-life balance isn\’t just a feel-good phrase, it\’s a real issue.  And it\’s easy, remarkably easy, to get out of balance.

    There\’s hope for us, though.  As I struggle out of a down-cycle, I am reminded of the elephant.  It\’s not possible to not think of a pink elephant, right?

    The converse of that statement is also true:  THINK of a pink elephant.  The way to change what you\’re focusing on is to focus on something else.  If you cannot pull your mind out of something, simply focus on something different.  In my case, for example, I can set a timer and focus on my writing for 30 minutes.  I don\’t have to not think of a pink elephant.  In fact, my pink elephant can sit on my desk with me while I do it.

    Next time your pink elephant is trying to sit on your lap, why not make friends with her?  Elephants are long-lived, loyal, and smart.  They take care of their families and visit their dead.  They are ferocious with enemies but tender with their children.  Just point her at what you want to focus on and see if she\’ll help you.

  • Sunday Box Talk: DON\’T THINK OF A PINK ELEPHANT!

    I had an epiphany.  You know that old children\’s fable, don\’t think of a pink elephant?  The first thing that pops into your mind is a pink elephant, right?  Don\’t think about it!  Don\’t think about that elephant.  Not possible, right?

    My name is Noony and I am a workaholic.  It\’s something I\’ve struggled with since a very young age.  I won\’t bore you with all the particulars, but I will say it\’s an incredibly socially-acceptable behavior because we appear to be so high functioning.  On a bender, people say, \”Wow, what a hard worker!  Did you know she was here when I left the office last night, and she was here before me this morning? Does she sleep under her desk?\”  Folks laugh and business goes on.  But work-life balance isn\’t just a feel-good phrase, it\’s a real issue.  And it\’s easy, remarkably easy, to get out of balance.

    There\’s hope for us, though.  As I struggle out of a down-cycle, I am reminded of the elephant.  It\’s not possible to not think of a pink elephant, right?

    The converse of that statement is also true:  THINK of a pink elephant.  The way to change what you\’re focusing on is to focus on something else.  If you cannot pull your mind out of something, simply focus on something different.  In my case, for example, I can set a timer and focus on my writing for 30 minutes.  I don\’t have to not think of a pink elephant.  In fact, my pink elephant can sit on my desk with me while I do it.

    Next time your pink elephant is trying to sit on your lap, why not make friends with her?  Elephants are long-lived, loyal, and smart.  They take care of their families and visit their dead.  They are ferocious with enemies but tender with their children.  Just point her at what you want to focus on and see if she\’ll help you.

  • Sunday Box Talk: The Next Big Thing

    For today’s offering of Sunday Box Talk, I offer you the Next Big Thing, an event where participating authors share their insights on their current in-progress novel. My agent provocatrix is Meg Allison, fellow author at Beyond the Veil and \”wife, mom, and published romance writer\” (love her tag line, don’t you?).

    I know talking about my favorite subject, my writing, isn’t exactly about the boxes of life, but here’s how I’m thinking of it: my life centers around my writing and my family or home. I think ruminating on that for a while is a useful exercise when we’re thinking about our boxes and why they’re there.

    So, without further ado, here are my Ten Interview Questions for the Next Big Thing. Stay tuned at the bottom for links to some other participants in this event.

    TNBT: What is your working title of your book?

    Noony:  Our next book is called BOUND BY FIRE.

    TNBT:  Where did the idea come from for the book?

    Noony:  I was at my coauthor Rachel’s house and we were talking late one night. She has a print over her desk of a dragon at the portcullis of a castle and he is talking to a castle denizen. Of course, the assumption is the dragon’s there to eat the occupants, but I got to thinking, what if the dragon were an ally?

    TNBT:  What genre does your book fall under?

    Noony:  Fantasy M/M romance.

    TNBT:  Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

    Noony:  We actually selected models to play the two main characters, and use a lovely site called Beautiful. It’s a labor of love by two men in Europe and is one of the most professional sites on the internet for erotic male photography. If you haven’t checked it out, take a visit (not work safe and make sure you’re over 18).

    TNBT:  What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

    Noony:  Gosh. Good question! I always find these exercises tough. We struggle over the blurb for the books we write and I hope, someday, they’ll get easier. Let’s see what I can come up with for now:

    Will Vanya, apprentice to an unscrupulous sorcerer, be able to free himself from a powerful binding with an elemental or will he become bait for a dragon?

    TNBT:  Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

    Noony:  Neither. We are targeting a specific house for this one, but we do not use an agency right now.

    TNBT:  How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

    Noony:  Not very long; the first draft only took a month or two. The challenging part has been the ending and bridges in the middle. I’m finding the endings are the most challenging part of any project.

    TNBT:  What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

    Noony:  Some of the elements of the MYTH ADVENTURES series by Robert Asprin and Jody Lynn Nye influenced us, as well as the early Harlequin white-covers where the romance is between two people brought together by arrangement.

    TNBT:  Who or what inspired you to write this book?

    Noony:  My inspiration comes from many different places, especially my coauthor Rachel Wilder and the crew of Writer Zen Garden. I love you guys.

    TNBT:  What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

    Noony:  There are snakes, and bears, and sorcerers, and dragons. What more could you want? Oh, yes. The smut. Lots of lovely smex.

    Be sure to check out some of the other participants in the Next Big Thing:

    Kimberley Troutte’s Blog

    Selena Robins Musings

  • Sunday Box Talk – The Journal As Tool

    One of the best ways to get better at understanding our own boxes and their effect on us is through journaling.  I don\’t mean the stereotypical daily page-by-page, blow-by-blow accounts, but more like letters to ourselves.  In fact, writing a dialog with ourselves is tremendously useful.

    How does it work?

    As we write, sometimes we have other responses in our heads to thoughts we write down.  For example, we might write, \”I want to go to France.\”  A response might be, \”Yeah, right, like I have money for that.\”  Another response might be, \”Well, I could set up a savings account for it.\”  And then, \”Well, I\’d better set up an appointment at the bank to talk about options for savings.\”  If we label that first thought A, and then label each response, we can begin to follow a conversation:

    A:  I want to go to France.

    B:  Yeah, right, like I have money for that.\”

    A:  Well, I could set up a savings account for it.\”

    C:  I\’d better set up an appointment at the bank.

    \”C\” is the advisor that helps us get in touch with our deeper wisdom.  It might be D or E.  But if we dig deeply enough, we can find the inner strength to navigate many tough problems.

    What do you think about journaling?  Do you use one?

  • Sunday Box Talk

    On the Subject of Naps
    I\’m sitting here, exhausted after my first week of work after vacation, my second week of work ever at my new job that I love, and realized something.
    The reason I can\’t think of a good post is because I\’M TIRED!
    Duh.
    Then it hit me.  Sunday\’s Box Talk this week will be about – you guessed it – naps!
    When\’s the last time you took a nap?  When\’s the last time to got a good night\’s sleep?  If you have to think about it for a moment, it\’s been too long.  Do what you have to.  Take a sick day (only if you haven\’t just started a new job ~grin~), a personal day, a vacation day, hell, even a weekend day.  Declare it \”Nap Day.\”  If you have kids, outfit the living room with blankets, sheets, and build a fort out of the couch.  Lounge around in your pajamas and refuse to go outside.
    Rest.
    Most global traditions hold that the Creator rested at some point, be it the seventh day, or after weaving the world, or holding it up, or creating it out of dust.  Regardless of your religious traditions, or even in the absence of any, it just makes good sense.  Babies, cats, and dogs know it.  Horses know it.  Birds know it.  Naps are good for you.
    Excuse me, my couch is calling me.  It\’s time to nap.
    Happy napping!

  • Reality Check – Sunday Box Talk

    \”Facts are facts and will not disappear on account of your likes.\” 
    ~ Jawaharlal Nehru

    As my vacation winds to a close, I wanted to talk a moment about the boxes of life and how we can use them as stepping stones and not enclosures.

    One of my favorite quotes from Sarah Ban Breathnach isn\’t exactly a quote, since I paraphrase it in my memory, it\’s more of a concept.  She points out that we can look at where we are in life at the moment as \”this is where I am right now, not this is where I must stay for ever and ever.  This is my body right now, or this is the state of my home right now.  This is the state of my writing right now.\”  Adding the concept of \”right now\” changes it to a fact from an accusation and gives us back the power to change it.

    When we recognize that we are living the results of our decisions, this knowledge at first can seem daunting because we realize, jeez, I\’m living the result of my decisions.  But then we realize that we can live today as the result of today\’s decisions and that today, we can make different decisions than we have in the past.

    What one thing could you change today that would make a meaningful impact on your week?  Would it be to write in your journal?  Take a walk?  Join a gym?  Write a gratitude list of all the things for which you are grateful?

    It doesn\’t take a lot to change the tide.  If we make small steps that are in the direction we wish to go, then we begin the journey toward our dreams.  Take heart, take a risk, and take responsibility.  It\’s your life.  What will you do with it?

  • Sunday Box Talk

    I like to start my week on Sunday, since that\’s what makes the most sense to me for how my schedule works.  Sunday is a day of rest for our family, but we don\’t necessarily mean rest as in nothing to do.  Typically large laundry day (sheets and such), we don\’t tend to get out of our pajamas most of, or all of, the day.  It\’s a day for large projects like knitting or photo editing (my husband\’s a professional photographer), web development, and family feast meal.  Sometimes we\’ll do a movie.

    It\’s also the day I start my Artist\’s Way week, when I read the essays for the week and get started on the tasks.  It\’s a more contemplative time since I don\’t schedule anything for this day and my friends know that.  I provides a nice break between the week that was and the week that is coming.

    What kinds of routines do you establish for yourself for the week?  When we\’re in school, this is done for us; but when we graduate, there are no more quarters and semesters, finals, and back-to-school.  Even if we have kids of our own for whom we do these tasks, they don\’t really apply to us and it\’s very easy for one day to bleed into the next.

    Richard Nelson Bolles, in his book The Three Boxes of Life and How to Get Out of Them talks about Learning, Working, and Leisure or Play.  The way most of us organize our lives is we play as children, we learn in school and university, and then we spend the rest of our lives working.  But one way to accomplish balance is to re-think what\’s possible in our daily round.  This week, think about these three concepts and how you develop them in your own life.  Even if you haven\’t yet set aside time for all three, just thinking about how you might begin to do so can open doors for you in terms of your personal planning.

    Do you have a routine during your week?  I\’d love to know; tell me in the comments.