life curation

Motivation for Writers

Hey folks! Today’s post is going to be a super-short one, because I am majorly behind on my 1000-words-per-day goal. I don’t mind occasionally falling behind, but I don’t want to have to do a mad dash at any point because I’ve slacked too much. So, today is a writing day. Time to play catch up!

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However, if you’re a writer looking for a little motivation, check out this podcast from Side Hustle Nation. This is one of the earlier podcasts available on the website. An author lays out his exact formula for writing success including (you guessed it) a minimum writing quota that helps him generate enough content to create his books. This could easily work with any genre, and can be tweaked to accommodate anyone’s schedule. I highly recommend listening to this one if you’re a writer: I’ve listened to it more than once!

In fact, while you’re on Side Hustle Nation, check out all of the self-publishing podcasts and blog posts: you’ll find so many great resources for aspiring writers there. Have fun gleaning all sorts of tips, tricks and recommendations to help you achieve writing success!

Uncategorized

Blog-A-Versary and Giveaway!!!

It’s my blog-a-versary!!! Thank you all for stopping by, reading, and commenting. You have no idea how much each and every one of you means to me. I’m still amazed that I’ve had this blog for a year! This is post # 365, so I’m so happy that I’ve been so consistent this year.

To show my appreciation for you all, I’m hosting a mini-giveaway. I’ll be 2 Amazon e-gift cards to some lucky readers out there. All you have to do is:

  1. Follow this blog
  2. Follow me on Instagram
  3. Comment below and let me know which post was your favorite

I’ll select the winners on Wednesday, August 15th, and I’ll announce the winners on Friday, August 17th. Bonne chance!

life curation

My Top Three Goals For This Year

I’m still buzzing from the excitement of welcoming in a brand new year of life, but I wanted to share some thoughts I had over the past few days.

It’s easy to talk about the “stuff” that I want, but I spent some time getting real with myself and asking, honestly, what do I REALLY want for myself in the year to come?

My list is brief, but it perfectly captures what I think will be the most powerful things that I can do to create a wonderful new year.

kindness

1) Be more kind and generous

I always strive to be kind but I want to make this my signature personality trait. That will involve me regularly taking a more empathetic stance and avoiding “hasty” reactions. I’ve been working on these things for a while but I can always stand to improve. As far as generosity goes, giving is one of my favorite things EVER! So I’m looking forward to giving even more in the year to come.

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2) Deepen my commitment to my writing

I’d like to write a lot more. I already work on my craft frequently, but what if I wrote daily? I’ve decided to commit to writing 1000 words per day. This won’t include blog entries, thought that would be a wonderful way for me to rack up my word count. No, these words have to be in the form of entries in books that I will (hopefully) one day publish. It doesn’t matter if the entries are great or nonsensical: the point is to get in the habit of doing it daily. I decided a day ago to do this, so I’m a little behind. I’m keeping count, however, and I’m aiming to catch up soon. Just for fun, I’ll put the count in the bar on the right side of the page, so you all can see my progress as I go along. The end goal is 365,000 words before August 1, 2019. I can do it!

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3) Incorporate more joy daily

Joy is always my daily goal, and I have made it a point to share a lot of my daily joys on this blog. But a bigger commitment to experiencing joy daily is a goal that I can really get behind! I’m open to however it comes – big, elaborate displays, small, interesting surprises, and everything in between – and I am looking forward to seeing how joy shows up in my life daily. Of course, I’m going to make sure that I’m a vibrational match for joy, so that it has no choice but to set up permanent residence in my life!

 

life curation

More About My Finished Book . . .

Happy Tuesday, friends! Today’s post is going to be a light one, because I’m preparing for my trip out of town and I’m taking care of a few open items that need my attention before I get away for a few days . . .

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Thankful that I don’t have to type on one of these beauties . . .

Anyhoo, I just wanted to give you updates on my finished book. I gave it to a few friends for feedback, and they’ve spoken. They love it! I’m so excited, because I need that vote of confidence before I move forward. I trust that they will tell me if there are any topics that need to be discussed further or if there were any incomplete thoughts or unclear ideas. They all confirmed that the book was complete, well-written and immediately actionable.

The SIGH of relief that I felt when I got their feedback was tremendous! I’m eager to get a little more feedback before publishing, but at this point, I’m really happy that it’s being well-received. Every bit of feedback brings me closer to making the book available to the public, so this has been a great experience.

Uncategorized

It’s Almost My Blog-A-Versary!

I let some of the days get past me, but we’re less than a month away from my blog-a-versary! I’m so excited to be celebrating one full year of blogging here at Bronze Butterfly. It’s been such an enjoyable journey, and I’m eager to start unveiling some new stuff in this space.

Untitled design

I’ve got some pretty incredible stuff coming in the year ahead, and I’ll be posting more about that in the very near future. I also have some updates to share – including resuming my “Best Year of Your Life” series, which I put on hold while I worked on a few others things – and some other fun changes.

There is some great things on the horizon – I hope you’re ready! Talk to you all tomorrow!

life curation

My Book is Done!!!

I finally finished my first book!!! This is the how-to book that I’d been revising for some time, and there was just a little work left to be done on it. If you all recall in my most recent Goals Update post,  I had to complete the supplemental/resource material section of the how-to book, and then the text would be pretty much done. I had done the bulk of the work a while ago (as in, over three years ago) but I had been dragging my feet when it came to finishing it.

book

However, a few weeks ago, a friend expressed interest in the book, and just a few days ago, a different friend brought up a topic that confirmed the need for this book. So, after getting those very CLEAR signs that it was time to finish, I spent a little time pounding out the last few pages, and then I whipped up a cover using some copyright-free images. I converted everything to PDF and sent it out for my friends to read.

Sure, this book still needs the critical eye of a professional editor, as well as some spectacular cover art that doesn’t involve my rudimentary photo editing skills. I want it to be GREAT before I offer it on this blog or anywhere else. But that’s neither here nor there, because the book is DONE. My book is DONE, DONE, DONE! I’m so excited that I’m ready to get to work on the next one!

life curation

2018 Goals – Next Round of Updates

Happy Monday, friends! I was due for another 2018 goal update, so I figured that I’d do it now, before the end of the month.

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My last goal update post reiterated my three overall goals to accomplish during this year, as well as steps I intended to take to bring me closer to those goals.

For those that don’t remember, my goals are as follows:

  • Publish some of my writing
  • Travel more
  • Dabble in an art career

Here are the updates as promised! I’ll also share my next round of tasks for each goal.

Goal 1: Publish some of my writing

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I intended to take 3 different actions before the end of the month of April. Those actions were:

  • Start on the 2nd round of edits for my novel
  • Complete 1st round of edits for my how-to book
  • Purchase a MasterClass membership to get additional writing assistance

So, I’m happy to say that I finished my 2nd round of novel edits (go me!) and did my first round of edits for the how-to book (yay!). I opted out of purchasing the MasterClass membership in April because I determined that I would be taking several online classes during the next few months. However, I’ll revisit the MasterClass purchase in September.

My new writing goals are as follows:

  • Finish writing out supplemental/resource material for the how-to book
  • Allow my friends to read a draft of my novel for feedback
  • Resume work on novel # 2

Goal 2: More travel

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My travel goals were simple: mostly decisions and research. Those goals were:

  • Make a decision on my London travel: whether I will do one or two trips this year
  • Start pricing my London and New York airfare and hotel stays
  • Reserve rooms for weekend trips in May

 

Due to some changing priorities at work, I had to reassess my travel plans for later this year. However, I did the weekend trip that I planned to do in May (my embassy weekend). Now that I’m halfway through the year, I’ve got another set of goals. These are:

  • Finalize details for birthday trip in August
  • Finish paying off October cruise balance
  • Start budgeting for international trip in December

Goal 3: Dabble in an art career

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As you all recall from previous posts, my art career goals involve working in the art world as opposed to creating art. My last round of goals were a bit more ambiguous, but funny enough, I made progress just the same. Those goals were:

  • Reserve my space in the Christie’s course(s) I plan to take in New York this summer
  • Begin another online art course
  • Narrow down the opportunities I’ve listed to those most advantageous for the path

I opted out of taking a Christie’s course this summer due to those previously mentioned changes at work. I’ve had my hands full with the Cultures and Identities in Europe and Inside Opera courses, so I put a hold on my ALISON art course (Color Theory for Artists and Designers). Once those two FutureLearn courses wrap up, I’ll see if there are any more suitable art courses that I want to take: if not, I’ll resume my ALISON course. I also got a great idea for dabbling in an art career on my terms, and I’m really excited about that (I’ll share more as I finish ironing out the details).

Now, my goals for my art related career is as follows:

  • Complete an art course
  • Create a website for art career “secret project”
  • Read “Institutional Time – A Critique of Studio Art Education” by Judy Chicago

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My timeframe for completing these tasks is August 15th. So, look out for updates to my new incremental goals in the next few weeks.

Thanks everyone, for stopping through and for keeping me accountable. I truly appreciate it. Talk to you all soon!

words of wisdom

Words of Wisdom: Octavia Butler

Tell stories filled with facts. Make people touch and taste and know. Make people FEEL! FEEL! FEEL!

I’m really surprised that I hadn’t written about this incredible author before, especially since she is one of my main inspirations when it comes to my writing. I haven’t tried my hand at science fiction/fantasy, but reading Octavia Butler’s work always makes me want to give it a whirl.

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Butler willed her success into existence. Some of her papers show the affirmations that she wrote, encouraging herself along the way. While working an assortment of temporary jobs, she would wake up early to write. Her writing effortlessly weaves fantasy with contemporary issues like politics and power struggles around age-old dividers such as race, gender and sexual relationships. Her characters – multidimensional and transcendent – stay with you long after you finish her books.

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I’ve read several of her stories, starting with Mind of My Mind though, knowing what I know now, I would have started with Wild Seed, my favorite book by Butler. Wild Seed is an origin story, which describes the long history between Doro and Anyanwu. This story sets the scene for the subsequent novels. These two powerful beings struggle with one another through centuries, until they have a final showdown that end their tug-of-war.

jenebaspeaks

I love how Wild Seed takes readers through Anyanwu’s growth into an empowered woman. I love reading about Doro’s calculated nature and how everything he does is part of his master plan. And most of all, I love how well-developed the characters are and how they navigate their dysfunctional symbiotic relationship. I found myself questioning my own journey to empowerment and self actualization while reading Wild Seed.

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On today, which would have been Butler’s 71st birthday, I’m sharing a few of my favorite quotes. I hope you enjoy!

 

(Photos courtesy of BlackMattersUs, JenebaSpeaks, Pinterest and ForReadingAddicts.co.uk)

reading list

Book Review: The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

writing

When I mentioned The War of Art by Steven Pressfield in my May Reading List post, I shared that I had read it before, but I rushed through it. I read it as part of a business “boot camp” that I participated in a few years ago. The book was good but since the business I was designing wasn’t “creative”, it didn’t feel relevant to my circumstances at the time.

However, I’m in a different space in my life now, and I am tapping into my creative powers regularly. That’s why I post daily in this space, whether I have lots to talk about or not much going on. It’s all about continuing to write and dedicating myself to my craft. Errors and all, I post here every day with the hope that I’ll share something that inspires or educates.

Back to War of Art: this book is all about learning what “Resistance” is, how it impacts our creative projects, and how to break through it. For those that don’t know, Resistance is anything that distracts us from our creative projects or interferes with our creative expression. Resistance takes many forms, but each of them are detrimental to the creative, who is denied their natural expression when they allow Resistance to win.

Resistance is described as an enemy that has mastered the art of disguise: so much so, it’s possible that this enemy is attacking you from several angles. However, once identified, the enemy can be defeated and the creative can realize his/her ultimate goal. Pressfield assures us that Resistance can be beaten, as he stated, “Defeating Resistance is like giving birth. It seems absolutely impossible until you remember that women have been pulling it off successfully, with support and without, for fifty million years”.

The book is divided into three sections. The first section outlines the many disguises of Resistance: it can be something as blatant as procrastination or as subtle as vicarious living through loved ones. The second section describes the way to conquer Resistance which is going “pro”: utilizing strategies of the “professional” to sets out to do his/her work regardless of all of the Resistance swirling in the atmosphere. The third section is all about what happens after Resistance is conquered. This section speaks of the magic of starting a project, the incredible outcomes of deferring to “higher powers” like God, the Muses, etc., and moving beyond the Ego.

This entire book is enjoyable, but I’m especially a fan of the second section. Many of the practices outlined are disciplines that could serve you in multiple arenas. I often need to be reminded of what a “professional” does, so that, instead of being frustrated by circumstance, I’m focused instead on what I need to do.

This was such a good read! I hope you all check it out and find some benefit in it for yourselves!

words of wisdom

Words of Wisdom: June Jordan

In keeping with the spirit of some of my Words of Wisdom posts (I enjoy profiling women writers), I’m sharing a few quotes from June Jordan.

goodreads

(from Goodreads)

Jordan touched on many of the same issues as discussed by Audre Lorde.  I love that Jordan focused on telling her truth through poetry. When you think about it, truth-telling is difficult – or at very least uncomfortable – when you have weighty matters or opinions to discuss. But to be able to tell the truth artistically sound extraordinarily challenging: Jordan, however, did it with ease.

In the process of telling the truth about what you feel

(photo from Affinity Magazine)

Jordan’s poetry often intersected art with politics, race, gender and other issues of representation. She understood that her chosen method of truth telling was distinctly political and self-reflective.

azquotes

(from AZQuotes)

Jordan’s writings are a testimony to the power of poetry to embolden and empower readers. After all, she famously stated, “We are the ones we have been waiting for”. And what is more powerful than knowing that you – yes, YOU – have the ability to rescue yourself? I find that thought extremely comforting.

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(from Pinterest)

Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy your Friday! I’ll chat with you all tomorrow!