Put on Some Music and DANCE! - Motivation Monday

I have a tendency to let things get me down.  I don't know where it came from, because I wasn't this way as a child.  Some days, it doesn't take much for the gloom to set in.  An unpleasant word from someone I barely know, a look at my bank balance at the wrong time of the month, even nothing at all, just a down feeling when I get out of bed.

Now and then I'll wallow in the blues, but eventually I'll remind myself that I'm not doing myself any good.  That's when I look for something external to fix my internal.  And one of the best things I've found--and the quickest to work--is music.

Many writers listen to music while they work.  It's inspirational for a lot of us and helps us get in the mood to write.  Some even have specific playlists for each book that help them get in the mood for particular scenes, characters, or parts of the book.

I have several playlists.  One is for writing, and it happens to be playing right now.  Peter Cetera's Restless Heart.  Not only is it writing inspirational, but it has a great beat, and I swear it's hard to stay in my seat while listening to it.  That means it motivates me to get moving. ☺

But the playlist I listen to the most is my "walking" playlist--that I've never used for walking.  Instead, it's the one that can pull me out of the doldrums and get me on my feet.  And getting up and on my feet, making the blood pump faster, never fails to make me feel better.  It only takes one song to put a smile on my face.  When used in conjunction for writing motivation, it nearly always leads me to sit down, put my hands on the keyboard, and write.

One song that can literally drag me to my feet and get me moving is Springsteen's Dancing in the Dark---and I'm not a big Springsteen fan.  There's one problem.  As I'm getting up out of my chair, my groan fills the room.  Years ago--and I mean many years ago--I took an aerobics class that used the song for one of the routines.  It was painful.  But before my groan has run its course, I'm moving.  I can't help it, and that's what I need.  (Reminder to self:  Download that song and add to playlist.)

Even in the car I use music.  There's something about driving alone that can sometimes bring on the feelings that take me down.  Maybe it's the other drivers, who seem to think they're the only ones on the road?  I'm not sure.  It's quite possibly a very bad habit that began before and during my divorce.  The car was the one place where I could be alone.  Now that I've realized how therapeutic music has become for me, as soon as I feel myself slipping into the gloomies, I turn on the radio.  I must be blessed at times like these, because the song playing has inevitably been a perfect mood-lifter.  Or maybe the DJs are psychic?  Whatever, I'm grateful.

I listen mostly to Oldies, ranging mainly from the '50s to the '80s.  Throw in some Country, the occasional Classic, and even some old Show Tunes, and I'm a happy camper.

What gets your blood pumping?  What lifts your spirits?  Is it music?  Or something else?

Take a music bath once or twice a week for a few seasons.  You will find it is to the soul what a water bath is to the body. - Oliver Wendell Holmes

The Not So Yo Ho Ho of Piracy - Sunday Soapbox

Lately, there's been a lot in the news about piracy.  No, not the Somali pirates.  Online piracy.  You see, there's such a thing as "copyright," which

"is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time. Generally, it is "the right to copy", but also gives the copyright holder the right to be credited for the work, to determine who may adapt the work to other forms, who may perform the work, who may financially benefit from it, and other, related rights. It is an intellectual property form (like the patent, the trademark, and the trade secret) applicable to any expressible form of an idea or information that is substantive and discrete. 

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright)

The recent news glut concerning SOPA and PIPA was associated with Congressional bills enforcing copyright in the U.S..  I have opinions on both bills, but this blog isn't about them.  It's about the basics of copyright and what's happening currently in cyberspace.

Yes, this blog post is basically a rant, but instead of spewing and sputtering, I'd rather try to educate those out there who aren't familiar with what's right and what's wrong and what is being done about online piracy.

Piracy of books is now rampant throughout the internet.  "Pirates" scan printed books or strip DRM (Digital Rights Management) from electronic books and either offer for free or for a price on download sites, effectively cutting into the often meager earnings of authors.  It's gotten so bad that some publishers have created websites where authors can report that their work has been pirated.  Publishers then contact the illegal download sights and request the material is removed.  Most is.

Even without SOPA and PIPA, copyright laws are still in place, but it can be a pain to enforce them.  In the case of books, as soon as the pirated material is taken down on one site, it reappears on another.  There are currently 13 alerts in my inbox of suspected--and now confirmed--piracy of my books.  Those are just the tip of the iceberg.

Considering the fact that libraries carry copies of millions of books that can be checked out and read for free, not to mention things like used book stores, there's no reason why works need to be pirated.  So why do those who run download sites of pirated material do it?  For those who charge, it's obviously the money.  The sad part is, these people are sometimes making more money on these downloads than the authors are making on the copyrighted book.  For those who are offering these illegal copies for free, my guess would have to be that they aren't aware of the law--which I highly doubt--or have found it's a thrill to do something against the law, or maybe they think this will gain them friends.  What it might gain them is a little jail time or at the very least, the shutdown of their site, SOPA and PIPA aside.

Yes, I've borrowed books from friends to read, and I've loaned books to my friends and family.  I'm also acutely aware of the state of the economy.  But I also know that if you keep your eyes open, you can find free books or books at reduced prices.

If you've been in involved with download sites, please stop and think about the author of the book, who has not only spent a lot of time writing that book from her/his heart, but also hopes sales will help pay the bills.  No, most are not getting rich from book sales.  Not even close.  And maybe next time I climb on the soapbox, I'll explain how that works.

The copyright bargain: a balance between protection for the artist and rights for the consumer.  - Robin Gross

Officially climbing down from soapbox...until next time. ☺ 

I Should Be...

If you can't tell by the picture on the left, the rest of the title of this blog post should be the word "writing."  I'm hearing strains of the BeeGee's song from Saturday Night Fever, You Should Be Dancing, in my head, only it isn't "you" and "dancing" that I'm hearing.  It's I and writing.  I don't want to look at that writing progress meter down there on the right.  It's one more reminder that I've accomplished nothing in the writing department for almost two weeks.  Or maybe it's been over two weeks.  I've lost track.

In case you just dropped in out of curiosity, the members of my local writers' group are working together on a new project.  We're trying to reach word count goals we've set individually and collectively.  At present, our group goal for 2012 is 1,639,700.  Yes, that's right.  Over a million and a half words.  There are fourteen of us involved.  I'm not the only one who hasn't had my nose to the grindstone...uh, fingers to the keyboard.  Life has intruded for most of us.

But that's okay, because we know that catching up now on our individual goals will be much easier than if we wait until, oh, December 31.  All I know is that I need to get in gear and get writing.  Just as soon as I do some tweaking on the new website of a friend.  And do some updates on another website.  And get that contract revision letter thingy signed and in the mail.  And convince myself that it does not matter that the IRS's Where's My Refund is not working online and wondering if that means refunds are not being sent.  YIKES!  Oh, just a gazillion other little things that I allow to intrude.

So here's the deal.  I'll get all those intrusions out of the way this morning, and use this afternoon for the writing side of the writing business.  If the creativity gods are willing, of course.  It's obviously time to start setting a daily schedule.  Ha!  Like that's going to work.

A little inspiration.  To dance, at least.  I'm not promising anything for writing.

And if you can stay in your chair while this is playing, there's a problem.

The only way to learn to write is to write. - Peggy Teeters

The Yin and the Yang

People who know me are aware of my title, Queen of Procrastination.  While it's a lofty position, I'm starting to rethink it and wondering if maybe it's time to abdicate my throne.  Or at least share my crown with others who could give me some competition if I was willing to give them the chance.  But  that takes actually doing something, and why would I do that?  Counter-productive?  Isn't that what procrastination is all about?

Still with me?  You see, I know procrastination has its yang.  Or is that yin?  Whatever, I need some motivation.  And just how did I come to this earth shattering realization?  This morning I crawled out of bed with the idea that I would be happier today than yesterday.  That means I have to be productive in some way.  Crawling out of bed was the first step.

The next step is motivation.  Make that MOTIVATION.  To be productive means I must do things, and being the Queen of Procrastin--  Well, you get the picture.  My Yin and Yang are definitely battling.  I decided to google the word motivation and see what I could find that might motivate me.  I stumbled upon a whole section at Psychology Today.  But I didn't stop there.  No, the Q of P must continue to hunt down every lead, no matter where it takes her--or how much time is sucked up in the process.  What did I find?  Why, an integral part of me:  PROCRASTINATION.  A whole blog devoted to it, written by a PhD in Canada at Psychology Today.  Wow!  I could spend days just reading about these things!

What's a Queen to do?  Then I noticed this within the article:

"It has been associated with depression, guilt, low exam grades, anxiety, neuroticism, irrational thinking, cheating and low self-esteem. ...It can be an extremely disabling psychological condition."

Not very queenly, is it? And as far as Yin Yang is concerned, procrastination is the dark side, and too much of one is not good.  It's time for some light.  So let's get motivated and move away from the procrastination.

As the Queen of Procrastination, I hereby decree that Mondays will now be known as MOTIVATION MONDAYS.  Let's get this done!

Begin to be now what you will be hereafter. - William James

In Honor of Martin Luther King Jr.

While school children and others enjoy this day off, we should all remember how selflessly Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. worked so others could have a better and safer life.  I hope everyone takes a moment today to honor the man and his accomplishments.

I've read The Help and remember the 1960s well.  I grew up during the latter years of segregation, but really didn't understand what it was, until people like MLK stood up for their rights.  After taking a trip downtown with my dad when I was quite young, I remember asking him why the colored people (the term used at that time) sat in the back of the bus.  His answer was that some people believed other people shouldn't get to do things with the rest of us because of the color of their skin.  That was a little confusing to me, but I was too young to understand.  In 1954, the Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka (Kansas) was a landmark case, and the Supreme Court's decision changed the course of this country for many.  But it didn't mean everything was to be integrated.  In 1958 the Dockum Drugstore sit-in  "was one of the first organized lunch-counter sit-ins for the purpose of integrating segregated establishments in the United States."  Wichita, Kansas was instrumental in making us aware of segregation, and having been a Wichita girl, I'm very proud of that.

I'm very lucky to have lived to see the changes I've seen in this country and in this world.  Freedom is a word we tend to take too lightly, too often.  Thank you to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and so many others who have given their time and their lives to make this country a better place.

"The secret of happiness is freedom. The secret of freedom is courage." - Thucydides 460-404bc

One Down and a Gazillion to Go

In spite of my phobia of making New Year's Resolutions, I still have things to do.  Goals to be decided on, lists to make, and the usual daily chores that can only be pushed aside for so long.

I've now come to the place where I've reached the goal--finish a new 2-book proposal--I've been working on pretty much exclusively for the past month or so and realize that I still don't get to sleep in or watch TV ad nauseum or any of those things that would be fun but not productive.  While working on that goal, there were too many times that I said, "I'll get to it as soon as I get this finished and sent."  Yeah, well, that time is here and the dishes are still waiting, while the Christmas decorations packed in boxes need to be hauled to the attic.  Oh, and let's not forget the laundry that I've begun tripping on as it's begun to spill out of the basket.  Yes, real life has returned, and it's as real as it always has been.  Ah, what a glamorous life!

One goal may have been reached, but there are plenty waiting in the background.  Yes, that bookcase I wanted to put back together for the living is still waiting in the corner of my bedroom.  I did manage to get my office re-arranged, but not everything has been put away in a proper place.  I did manage on Christmas Day to get my kitchen in shape, but with those dishes waiting...

Goals aren't always a one-time-mark-it-off-and-forget-it thing.  Living takes a lot of time, and daily goals continue to reappear like clockwork. And maybe that's a good thing, because otherwise I might revert to reading all day and watching TV all night.  And now that I think of it....

"People with goals succeed because they know where they're going."  - Earl Nightingale 

Wichita Area Romance Authors are blogging about goals this month.  Come visit!

How Busy Was It?

After getting the upper hand on a cold that had me wanting to crawl back into bed early last week, somehow I managed to actually finish the week with some accomplishments.  Lucky for me, the momentum followed me into today.

It started on Wednesday evening, when I joined the other three members of our critque group for the first time since before the holiday hustle and bustle hit hard in December.  I couldn't have felt better when I left that evening.  My contribution of a reading of the first two scenes from my current WIP was very well received.  To put it simply, they liked it!  There's no way to describe how much that helped my id.  By Thursday, I was raring to start addressing the few changes they suggested and get on with the writing---and revising---process.  (Thank you Pat, Theresa, and Deborah!  You three are the greatest!)

Sometimes all it takes is a few positive comments from others to chase away that feeling that you're swimming through mud.  Creative beings tend to be their own worst critics...and enemies.  We're so tuned into looking for what needs to be changed and improved that we sometimes forget to look for what's good.  Kathie D and I call it Forest for the Trees Syndrome.  Yes, you guessed it.  We get so close to our work, picking and trimming and changing, that we lose the ability to see the whole picture---or in a writer's case, the whole story.  Sure, the leaves on a tree are especially beautiful in the autumn, but it's the whole tree of leaves that takes our breath away.

Yesterday I finally finished rewriting the last of the three chapters that I soon plan to send to my editor.  Well, once the synopsis is revised to fit those new scenes that cried out to be written.  I'd planned to do a final read-through and polish today, but I worked on a updates for several websites, instead.  That's probably a good thing.  It gives it a chance to cool and me a chance to step away, if only for a little while.  My eyes (and brain!) will be a little fresher for it.

Yes, it's been a busy week, but it's been a week that I can look back on and say I accomplished a lot.  And that doesn't happen all that often.

"It is not time that we need to manage, but our attitude towards it - we all have the same amount, it is just how we use it that differs. Keep busy and keep getting results."

-- Anton Guinea

Happy 2012!

Yes, I'm late.  Not the best way to start the new year.  But sometimes we don't have control over what happens or at least we can use some of those happenings we do have control over to procrastinate.

As June Carter Cash sang in the song Time's A Wastin', ♪ ♫ "A cake's no good if you don't mix the batter and bake it." ♫ ♪

While I'm not much for making New Year's Resolutions that are quickly broken, I do sometimes make goals for the year.  This year I didn't.  My goals haven't really changed, but I am looking at them in a different way.  I know what it takes to reach them.  The problem comes when it's time to take that action.  Sometimes there are things that come along to keep us from working on our goals.  That's what happened to me this past week.

Early on Friday morning, two guys arrived to put the new siding on my house.  Not long ago, we had a new roof put on, so I knew it wouldn't be a normal time while they were working.  What I didn't realize was how long it would take or how intrusive it would be.  I tried writing on Friday, because my goal had been to finish the proposals I was working on and send them to my agent.  But the pounding and hammering on the walls (especially thin ones with no insulation) was a whole lot louder than I'd expected.  Concentration--at least the kind needed for writing--was almost nil.  They were there until after dark.  The same thing happened on Saturday.  Very little writing and revising got done, and because it was New Year's Eve, we had plans to go to my oldest daughter's for the evening.  We were a tad late, but well before the magic hour of midnight.  With the thought in mind that the next day was not only a Sunday, but a holiday, as well, we planned to sleep in late, after staying up into the wee hours of the morning.

We were WRONG.  At 8:15 in the morning on Sunday, I was awakened by what sounded like a sledgehammer on the wall next to my bed.  They're baaaaack!  I was not a happy camper, but there was very little I could do about it.  I managed a few paragraphs.  Yesterday (Monday) the siding was finally in place, and the workers left in mid-afternoon.  Hooray!

The result of the past few days is a super looking house...and the fact that I'm four days behind.  I no longer have time to play and must make up for lost time.  Somehow.

Is being behind schedule only three days into the new year a bad omen?  I hope not!  I'm determined to make this the best year yet, no matter what comes along to try to mess up my plans.

For me, 2012 starts today!

Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.

- Oprah Winfrey