#IWSG A New Perspective for 2016

It's time for another Insecure Writer's Support Group blog posting. IWSG was created by the awesome ninja captain Alex J. Cavanaugh, and you can find a list of all the other members of the group here

His awesome co-hosts for the January 6, 2016 posting of the IWSG are:
L.G. Keltner, Denise Covey, Sheri Larsen, J.Q. Rose, Chemist Ken,

and Michelle Wallace! 

  Be sure to visit the
Insecure Writer’s Support Group Website!!!

Aloha, and Happy New Year! My New Year’s blog post, A New Perspective, expressed a goal to begin seeing the world from a new perspective. I wanted to start looking at all aspects of my life in a new light. The idea was not fully formed, though, something I realized in the next few days.

Nothing I’d encountered during my daily routine had created an impression. Had I noticed any interesting faces on the bus? Were people smiling, children humming? What colors stood out in a routine scene? I had continued to focus inward, contemplating the intangible rather than absorbing the real world around me.

Seeing the world from a new perspective is a necessity for a writer. I knew it was time to make a conscious effort to put my idea to the test. The first opportunity arose as I walked down a side street, heading home from Starbucks. A bush along the sidewalk displayed a profusion of pink hibiscus blossoms.

I’ve taken pictures of various-colored hibiscus over the past year, but none displayed the solid confidence of this pink bloom. With only green leaves as a framing backdrop, and without frills or contrasting color, it needed only its natural beauty to attract attention. This flower in my path gave me the opportunity to examine my own talents from a new perspective.

As a writer, I needn’t depend on bells and whistles to shine. I can attract attention to my work by using my life experiences as a framing backdrop. I will allow my thoughts to flow more naturally from within. Then the beauty of well-phrased words will reflect the confidence of a solid pink hibiscus.

 

Procrastination Means Never Having to Say "I'm Early"



New Year's Fireworks at
Magic Island, Honolulu

Happy New Year to you, and best wishes for a happy and healthy 2012. (As you can see, putting an end to procrastination is not one of my resolutions for this year.)

2011 was an exciting year for me. I turned an ambitious goal into a reality when I published my first novel. Each New Year's Day offers the possibility of exciting new experiences, and opportunities for accomplishments once only imagined. My writing transported me from the isolated existence of creating a suspenseful story to the world of publishing and marketing the novel.

The extended process reinforced an important adage, that successful writing includes the side component of reading. In a recent interview, one (to remain unnamed) author disagreed with the importance of reading. He (my arbitrary choice of pronoun) stated it wasn’t necessarily time well-spent to read when he could be using that time to write.

In my experience though, reading keeps me grounded, informed, aware, and alive. Novels entertain me. Newspaper articles tie me to a teeming, ever-growing and changing society of ideas. Non-fiction stimulates my mind, allowing me to transform my own thoughts into written words.

2012 is a bright new canvas, its blank face offering a tantalizing challenge. This year, my updated ‘Resolution List’ has all the usual suspects: lose weight, exercise more, eat well, smile often, and enjoy life. At the top of the list are my main goals for the year ahead: polish and publish Book #2 in the Pepper Bibeau mystery series; continue marketing my novels; and start writing the next one. While working on these goals, I intend to smile . . . often.

What is at the top of your list?