Category Archives: New opportunities

River sunset

Creativity: Pursuing Your Passions

Blogging, Cooking, Creativity, Czech Republic, New opportunities, Reading, Recipes, Refresh and reset, Writing, Writing Craft, , , , ,

Sometimes I wonder where my creativity is hiding. Particularly with regard to my writing. I haven’t been putting much pen to paper lately (as you may’ve noticed). Or fingers to keyboard, since I use both methods depending on where I am. And these thoughts kept returning to me recently. I decided a new post was in order. One that focuses on where we pursue our creative passions.

Partly, I’ve missed making words work and play together. Partly—oddly perhaps—I’ve missed actual typing. Isn’t that a hoot? I still remember my high school typing class, using a good ol’ IBM Selectric, and thinking, “What the heck is this good for?” That class is one of the few in which the skills I learned I constantly use and appreciate to this day. Plus, I love the little clackity-tap sounds of my keyboard! Yes, I’m that weirdo. 😛

Many of you know how strongly I believe in the creative aspects of what we do on any given day. Creativity and imagination figure firmly into living a full, happy, and engaged life. One where you decipher the answers to your problems, create new things from next to nothing, and share the experiences with others.

The coolest thing is creativity lurks around every corner. All you have to do sometimes is turn that corner.

I caught up with an old college friend a couple of weeks ago. So. Much. Fun. Scotty has always been a vocal supporter of my books (thank you, my friend!). So naturally, conversation soon swung around to the state of my current, albatross-like manuscript, still lovingly referred to as Book 3. I’d mentioned to him how I feared the end currently planned wasn’t good enough, as I’d intended for Book 3 to be the conclusion of this series.

And he asked me a question that stopped me: “What if that isn’t the end?”

With those few words, he shifted my view just a bit sideways. Thank goodness! Sometimes the thing you need to turn your brain on its head comes at you in an unexpected way. The reminder to look at things from a different, new perspective can be just what we need to step outside of our current situation. And to step into something that speaks clearly to us. My book writing’s been on the slow side, though things are percolating at last. In the meantime, I decided to look around to see where my creative energy has been going. I’m happy to say, it’s flowing full-force in many other aspects of my life. (I wonder if you’d find the same thing in yours, on examination.)

Today, I’d like to share how I’ve been creating in other ways, which I find pretty cool. 😛

On the food front, I’m still going strong with my Sourdough Bread making. I’ve had a lot of fun with a couple of experiments, and I’ve grown very comfortable over the past year with making and baking the basic loaf we eat weekly. In fact, I’ll make another tonight, since we’re done with my latest Rye Everything Bagel Garlic Powder Onion Powder loaf. Big-time yums!

Since I love a challenge, I’ve also tried my hand at baking a few Czech specialties for my hub and friends. These latest include the wacky-wonderful pastry, Vetrnik (OMG, YUM!) and a Prague Kolache. Part of my creative instincts are put to use trying to decipher Czech recipes translated into English, and how to figure out what American counterparts are similar enough to mimic them, to fill in the questionable spots. Man, it’s been interesting/entertaining/delicious! I’m still tweaking my Rohliky recipe, but my latest turned out pretty well…

Czech Vetrnik
Czech Prague Kolache
Czech Rohliky

And while food is fabulous 😊, you guys also know by now how much I love designing and reselling fixer houses with my dearest hub, Lou. With that in mind, and with a lifelong love of space planning and design, I’ve completed a one-year diploma course in Interior Design. It was pretty fab! I learned a great deal, including architecture and design history and new design software, and I’ve been studying and creating floorplans for projects Lou and I are planning. Way cool. Check out these roughs:

As I’ve been on a design kick lately, I’ve been creating graphics for my hub’s logo and designing marketing materials for his construction company, like t-shirts, hats, and business cards. Those are still a WIP, but he’s grooving on the results, so I’m happy and will continue to finesse them as needed.

The other illustration project I’m finishing up is for myself and my readers! That’s you, dear friends. 😉 I’m finalizing a free short story to share with my readers to say thank you for sticking with me on my writing journey. In addition to writing the piece, I’ve designed the cover art for it, which was another first for me, and one I really enjoyed. I may have to stick my finger in that pot again soon.

For me, a creative life isn’t about always writing or blogging. It’s about how you pursue your creative passions.

Novel writing definitely requires a particular focus, and sometimes, the time constraints and challenges of my other commitments keep me from maintaining that focus. But since I love to experiment with learning new things and pushing my creative boundaries, I’ve tried to be more flexible and forgive myself when writing doesn’t top my list.

When I look over the different experiences and activities I’ve tackled, I’m pleased to see the creative thread that weaves through them all and brings me joy. How about you? What creative pursuits light your fire? In what other unique ways do you give life to your creative side?  Do you struggle with being creative and finding inspiration? What do you do to plow through? I’d love to hear how you channel your creative brain and get through your slumps in writing and in life. Please comment below or email me at: carolyn@carolyngreeley.com.

One other thing that helps me sometimes, is my photography. Sometimes a simple photo, like a simple question, can shift my perspective and reset my thinking. Please don’t forget to follow me on Instagram at @carolyngreeley. I find it much easier to post my photography there, so I’d love for you to join me as I search out and post images that inspire and delight me. I really hope you find something moving and enjoyable there as well.

Thank you, dear friends and readers, for walking with me down this creative and wild lane. Happy Reading and Writing to you!

Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedinmail
Backyard trees

Writing Craft: Creative Shifts and Shorts

Blogging, FWA, New opportunities, Refresh and reset, Writing, Writing Craft, Writing locations, , ,

Life really runs just so smoothly, right? Nah! I began writing this post in May, the month celebrating the Short Story. I planned to blog about changing formats to challenge your growth as a writer, in my case, writing shorts instead of working on my usual long-format novel. You guys know I can’t resist stretching my chops and working on writing craft.

But, now it’s June. I’m just posting this, and all I can do is chuckle. And grab a cold glass of something refreshing. Because here in Florida, the temps are rising, and summer has hit the ground running.

Despite the heat, I love to write outside on our screen porch, which is a tad cluttered—read: tools, coolers, spare deck chairs, and general et cetera—but the view of our jungle (AKA, the backyard) is great for a creative boost.

And oftentimes a change of scenery, even a small one like moving from office to porch, can make a big creative difference. As I write and study the craft, anything that can enhance creativity helps. Sometimes, that’s a scenery shift, sometimes a format change to write something brilliant and brief.

It’s from the wacky screen porch that I wrote two short stories these past two months. And guess what? One of those stories has been selected for publication in an anthology. Woo hoo! You might recall I mentioned the Florida Writers Association Collection contest. The contest is open to poetry and short stories of up to 1200 words, a length which is definitely not my strong suit.

This year’s Collection theme was the unignorable Secrets, so I decided to submit a piece. I have entered this contest in the past, to no avail. But you only get better with practice, and that’s definitely true of writing craft.

You all already know I primarily write novels. Long, descriptive, but hopefully compelling, page-turning novels. I love to plunge into action, adventure, characters’ brains and emotions, food, travels, all that good stuff that drives a reader through every page. Novels are my happy place.

So, for me to shift to writing a short story is a real trick, and one I’m working on doing better. Because the thing is, a short story is basically a very short novel, meaning, that tiny piece of writing must contain all the elements of the novel with thousands fewer words. Yikes. By contrast, my novels run in the 70-90,000-word range. You can see the challenge this presents for a writer like me.

And maybe now you can see the appeal, too. Every author wants to improve, wants to hone their writing craft and make it readable, enjoyable, or gripping. I’m pretty okay (so I’m told) at putting together decent imagery, fun vignettes, things of that nature. If you’re keen, I post some of those under the Writing Snippets section here at my site. But they’re not all short stories, with a story arc, character development, conflict, etc. and the other elements of a true SS.

Writing the shorts these past months really challenged how I wrote, what I wrote about, and how good my recall of Grammar 101 was (it wasn’t!). ;P So, I hit some hurdles while working on my submissions. But the experience of writing a full story, succinctly, was excellent. If you’re interested in some smart tips for writing shorts from uber-knowledgeable folks, follow these two links to learn more: Writer’s Digest and Grammarly.

I can say honestly—especially after hearing about my anthology contest selection—that the experience was really worth the effort of writing something outside my wheelhouse. It sure helps when that effort is rewarded.

I haven’t heard back yet about the second contest I entered, for AutoCrit, so I’ll stay positive on that score. Once the judging ends and all the legalities are sorted, I’ll share the news.  

In the meantime, this creative shift should help me refocus as I return to writing Book 3 of my series. Sometimes all we need is that bit of clarity that comes from a change of perspective.

Thanks again for visiting. And please let me know in the comments how you like to mix things up with your writing craft. Would love to hear what works for you!

Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedinmail

February in a Flash … and Sequel Writing

Blogging, Editing, New opportunities, Sequel Writing, Writing, Writing Craft, , , , , ,

No, I don’t mean Flash Fiction. I mean, February—as per usual—has passed in a flash. And I’m not too keen on it happening, I can tell you. Once again, I find myself behind the eight ball of editing and blogging. I long ago jumped onto that adult bandwagon of repeatedly commenting on the swift passage of time. So, what the hell, I’ll do it again.

Where does the time go???

Feb 18 calendar

Partly, the days zip by so readily because of my semi-unique work life. It’s a bit odd, working multiple part-time positions. Changing brain functions between them is a nonstop juggle, as they all seem to draw on a different element of my psyche: creative, practical, professional. Two of my jobs mean working from my home office (which, by the way, we’re finally setting up, yay!), so that adds a near-constant battle to get “everything household” done that needs doing. After all, I’m “home,” right? Oy! The distractions are numerous and the pull great. I can only imagine how people with kids cope. The drive to handle it all must be that must stronger.

Anyhoo, enough blathering. The struggle is real, for pretty much all of us, and so it continues. At the moment, I have a few contiguous hours to myself, and I’m writing and will return to editing TB after I finish this post. Which is also to say, I’ll keep this short. ; )

Now, onto the “… and Sequel Writing” portion of the program. Here’s the latest on Treasure Bound: I finally finished round two edits on my laptop, added a few scenes, tweaked others, and printed out everything. And it’s still short! As in, too short for my taste. But, as I’d mentioned in December, I suspected that’d be the case as I completed that round.

I’ve begun round three, which in this instance is reading through the hardcopy in as few sittings as possible. On this round, I’m looking to add more backstory in key places, flesh out the new characters, add some tension and bad-guy scenes, and hopefully fill in a few holes. I write this longhand on the printouts, which I usually enjoy.

Well guess what? Last week I had another cow, although it was a smaller cow than last summer. A calf, I suppose. With horns?

Mini Cow

But, seriously, I was like “For real?” What I’ve learned is that writing a sequel, though fun and easy in some ways, is incredibly challenging for keeping facts consistent throughout both novels. No surprise, but I thought I’d already passed this hiccup. I found out last week that I’d written something about one of the main characters in Emerald Obsession that is counter to a large portion of what happens to that character in TB. DOH!!!

Crazy part, I wrote the detail practically as an aside in EO, which is how I almost forgot about it. But the words are in print, and unless I want to revise EO and create a second edition, then I have to work with what I’ve got.

But…….okay, mini cow had, and possible workaround already figured. Not completely, but with fingers crossed and striving to access those creative brain cells, hopefully all is not lost.

You guys, dear friends and readers who know me by now, know I (usually) enjoy a challenge. Well, writing this sequel certainly is one. I began it so long ago, and I’ve had some surprising good feedback and a few bad experiences.

I guess my point is this: I tried something new in how I approached writing this story, and I’m not sure it worked. Especially because TB is a sequel, the more time that passes from the original story, the more I have to refresh my brain to maintain accuracy and the longer my readers have to wait to read the next chapter. So bummed about that. Hopefully, I’ll have lived and learned my lesson and will attempt a different approach with Book 3. Yes, as of now, there’s still a Book 3 plodding through my brain. Lord help me. ; )

So that’s it for now, folks. Time for me to work on the back-end of this post, send it out into the nether regions of the web, and then get back to editing. Damn, despite all this BS, I still really love writing. And I really appreciate you visiting, hanging with me, checking in. You guys rock. Oh, and comments, please share them below and tell your friends. : )

PS–Here’s a little peek at the new office furniture. : )

Feb 18 New Office
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedinmail

Stability in a Whirlwind

Blogging, New opportunities, Time Management, Writing, Writing time, , , , , , , ,

I’m not one of those bloggers who writes articles in advance and has a stash ready to go at a moment’s notice, aided into the etherworld with the assistance of some tech-savvy social-media-managing app like Hootsuite. I’m one of those think-of-an-idea-then-write-it-when-I-make-time bloggers. Which is why—when generalized mayhem strikes as it did this lovely month of March (some good, some bad)—I found myself ill-prepared to post either of my two blogs-to-be this month.

Well, sort of, since—if luck/determination/the internet all cooperate with me—this post will hopefully go live on my website on March 31. Thereby letting me say at least one of my March blogs posted this month.

I’ve mentioned before how blogging doesn’t come easily to me, but that I enjoy it for the most part (best of all when I feel I have something fun and/or useful to share). But I like to take time to think over what I’m blogging about, make sure I feel it’s relevant to my readers.

So, why did I choose to add yet another serving to my already-full plate? Because that’s exactly what I’ve done.

In the form of starting a new part-time job in February. Man alive, I’m still shaking my head at myself, wondering whether adding such time-consuming madness to my life was smart to do.

So here I am, one(ish) month later, and going strong. For the most part. I’ll share a little bit about the decision without naming names because I’m still in the trial phase as far as I’m concerned.

Friends and readers, you know I like to learn new things. Pretty much all the time. So when I heard of the opportunity of a part-time job at a company I like, whose products I use often, and where I stood to learn a great deal about subjects of interest to me, I jumped. And by that I mean I applied, talked things over with my hub, aced the interview and was hired in a matter of a few days. Hello, whirlwind.

Whirlwind!

There are other layers of logic to my decision besides wanting to learn, though, not the least of which is dropping a few extra bucks in the bank. Having worked from home for the past four years, I also looked forward to a different job environment and new people. And I relished the idea of committing to a real schedule again, something that often proves difficult to maintain in the home-office world.

And that, dear readers, is proving the most challenging part of this. I enjoy the job, all that I’m learning, the people (most of them, let’s be honest), the environment. But the schedule … that leaves much to be desired. To say it’s random is an understatement. Erratic and changeable are better words by far.

Which leaves me with a potential problem. Those who follow my blogs and Facebook and Twitter posts know I’m struggling to complete the sequel to Emerald Obsession. I’m near the end of writing the first draft of Treasure Bound, but after that I have months of editing and other work.

Well, I’m someone who often reacts better to exterior deadlines than self-induced ones. My thought process behind starting a new part-time job included the belief a more structured daily routine would benefit my writing; it would super-charge my daily habits and keep my writing time regimented and productive.

Sadly, I’m not sure that’ll prove true. Though I’m game to keep working for a while longer. Five weeks isn’t enough time for me to feel I’ve gotten the entire job/schedule picture, so I’ll continue to test the waters. But I fear the inconsistent nature of the company’s scheduling, which I wasn’t clear on at the onset, won’t jive with what I need from a part-time job right now.

Either way, readers and friends, I’ll keep you posted on how things go. March had so many other things happening concurrent with starting the new job that maybe April will bring a settling down to life.

Either way, I’m a blessed person. My mom just left after a fun visit, today would’ve been Fodda’s 86th birthday; the sun shines bright in the morning sky, the hub smiles and things are right in my world. I hope they are in yours, too. Keep on, right? I’ll just keep on, keeping on. See you again soon.

Mellow rocks
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedinmail