I finished! Here's a look at my personal vision board:
It is full of affirmations and goals and dreams of what my future will be. I know that I already have the most important ingredient for my own happiness - my amazing husband. He's everything I ever dreamed of in a life partner, and more. Now, it's just a matter of us working together to achieve the rest of our dreams. Hopefully this vision board will help us to focus on those goals and get motivated to work toward them every day!
Update: My Vision Board
Creating My Vision Board
My goal for today is to create a "vision board". So what is a vision board? As I understand it, it's a place where I can put my goals and where I want to be in the future into visual images and affirmations. For example, I want to focus on losing weight and getting healthy. In the future, I see myself as someone who is thin, beautiful, and healthy. Last night, I cut out pictures of healthy food, exercise equipment I want to use, and words like 'beautiful' and 'go the extra mile'. Weight loss is just one part of my vision for my future, but it's important. There are four other things on my personal vision board, and while I won't go into them, I will post a picture of the finished board on Monday or later this weekend.
After I finish making the board, I will post it somewhere near my desk in the office where I can see it all day, every day. In the mornings, I will meditate on those images. I will picture myself having those things and imagine myself working hard to make them come true. I think the major difference between what I've been doing with my goals and the vision board is that in the past, I have always thought about my long-term goals and felt overwhelmed. It's easy to get frustrated and feel like these goals are so far away that they are nearly impossible. When I think of my goals in these terms, it's always negative thoughts like "I can't do it" or "I'll never happen" or "It's just too hard".
With a vision board, the whole point is to visualize myself already having this life that I want. If I meditate on these images and picture myself inside of this vision I have for my future, I will be more motivated to work toward those goals every day. Now, there are also people out there who claim that simply focusing on specific wants and declaring to the universe that I want them (in a positive way) will open up doors out of positive energy. The universe will move in order to bring these things into my life. I don't know for sure how or if that really works, but I'm willing to test it out and give it a shot. Being positive and finding a morning motivator will only bring good things into my life. A positive attitude can only help me in achieving my goals. So today, I make a vision board. It's my Friday project, and I'm excited to get focused and clear about what I want as we move into September next week and I begin writing a new novel.
Happy Friday all! Have a great weekend!
Book 15: NAKED IN DEATH
I know I've lost count at this point. I've definitely read more than fifteen books this year, but I have failed to write reviews on my site about them. /sigh. It was a good idea, but I've definitely fallen short on getting every book up here. This one, however, I wanted to mention for a variety of reasons.
'Naked in Death' by J.D. Robb was an awesome book. I read it over the course of four or five nights, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Eve Dallas, the main protagonist of the series, is a cop in the 2050's. She's tough-as-nails, sexy, and very smart. She doesn't take shit from anybody, which I love. But what I love most about her is that she doesn't feel... manufactured. She feels real, like someone who could really exist. She's flawed. She's capable of being vulnerable. As I read this book, I worried for her and cheered for her. No wonder there are now something like 30 books in the 'in death' series. I'm definitely a new fan.
Roarke, the love interest, is also quite sexy. He's a billionaire, for one. And has an Irish accent. What's not to love? He's definitely an Alpha male who doesn't take no for an answer, which for me can often be a turn-off. But with Roarke it works simply because he's so head-over-heels for Eve. He truly cares for her and is protective of her, but at the same time, he's impressed by her and respects her skills and intelligence. Very sexy.
This first installment of the 'in death' series follows Lieutenant Eve Dallas as she investigates a series of murders involving certified "companions", which basically means prostitutes. I'm guessing that each book hereafter will explore some other police mystery that will have her questioning witnesses, lining up suspects, finding clues, and eventually capturing the criminal. I can't speak to how well the series formula holds up after fifteen or so books, but the first book was certainly riveting, and I already have the second, "Glory in Death" here to read next. If you haven't read any of Nora Roberts' 'In Death' series, I highly recommend it.
Fish-sitiing
I am the proud babysitter of one very pretty Beta fish. His name is "Alpha", how cute is that? My friend J is going to Japan for a couple of weeks, so I agreed to watch him. I'm already loving him. As you can see, I couldn't really get a great picture of him. He tends to hide in the little grass most of the time, but every once in a while, he comes to the front of the tank to say hello.
Fish are so cool, and the fact that you can have one who is content to live in a small enough tank to sit on your desk? I love it. I just hope I can keep him healthy and happy while J is in Tokyo, hopefully having the time of her life. I'll try to get some better pictures of Alpha this week as we become more acquainted.
Shiny New Idea
I love new ideas. It's exciting to come up with a totally new cast of characters, a new setting, a brand new plot or premise. It feels especially shiny and new when you've been working on your last novel for almost a year. I'm burned out on it, to be honest. I know it needs more revisions, but I need space first. Time to let it cool off before I go back in and start dissecting it again or rewriting. I'm hoping that once I go back to it, I'll find out that it is actually pretty good. Haha. After struggling with one idea and one story for so long, it's awesome to start working on a brand new, shiny, fresh idea.
It's too early for me to share the details of this idea, because it isn't really formed yet, but I have this plan. I am going to write a series with the intention of self-publishing online. I am setting some pretty huge goals for myself, hoping to have two books written and published online by Christmas. Meanwhile, I am going to let my novel, Pandemic, get cold for a few months. Then I'll brush it off and begin rewrites again with the intention of querying agents and sending it out.
I have also been thinking of starting a new blog. Something totally fresh where I can explore the topic of self-publishing vs. traditional print publishing. It's definitely a topic worth exploring these days. So much to think about... If I do start a new blog, I'll be sure to let you know. :)
Digital Titles at the Library
Yay! My local library has finally started carrying ebooks! I went on their website to peruse the selection, and it's actually not too bad. In fact, I have already checked out 2 ebooks for my Sony reader. 'The Carrie Diaries' by Candace Bushnell, which is the teen life of Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City. I haven't started reading it yet, but I have loved almost all of Bushnell's books, and we all know how much I love the series her book spawned. I've been dying to read this newest book, but haven't wanted to shell out the $15 bucks or so to buy it. Another book in that same category (the category of not wanting to pay fifteen dollars, I mean) is Nora Roberts' 'Vision in White', the first of her Bride Quartet. I have to say, I actually love the actual trade paperback copy of this book in the bookstores. It's beautiful. Tattered edges, silky cover, gorgeous dress on the front. I love all things bridal, so this book appeals to me without even having to know what's it's about. Still, every time I pick it up, I see that huge pricetag and put it right back down.
Being a book lover is expensive. I support the industry and purchase several hundred dollars worth of books a year. But when the price of a book gets over $10, I often have to put it down and look for something else I wanted to read. Or I have to look for alternate ways to read that book. Does a friend of mine have a copy I could borrow? Is there a copy at the used bookstore for only $4? Do they have a copy at the library? I was extremely happy to find out that the Wake County Library system here in the Raleigh area is now offering digital audio and ebooks for check-out. The audio books are 7 day or 14 day check-outs and the ebooks are 21 days. You can download them to your computer, then transfer them to your ipod or your ereader. After the time has expired, they simply disappear. It's brilliant.
I will continue to support the publishing industry by buying books, don't get me wrong. In ebook format, audio, and paperback. I even buy the occasional hardcover (Mockingjay anyone?) if it's a book I have been waiting for or an author I can't resist. But it's nice to know that for those other books that I want to read, but can't really afford, there's now a digital option. I hope this spreads to all library systems and that more and more selections become available for temporary download. If you live in Wake County and would like to check out their selection, go to the library's digital media page to read more.
Making Character Collages
After this awesome video by Tera Lynn Childs at Writeoncon, I felt inspired to make a few character collages. I'm going to be starting a new project soon, and I wanted to get an idea of who these characters really are. Plus, I got to spend lots of fun time with my friends and critique partners, which is always good. We talked through our stories a little bit and worked out some plot details while we cut things out. I wish I had taken a picture of the living room floor with all of the magazines on it! It was completely packed with everything from Dwell Magazine to Vogue to Martha Stewart's Weddings. We probably had over 50 magazines spread out on the floor to choose from! When you're stuck on figuring out a character's personality or what kind of clothes she wears or what her hair really looks like, heck even what house she might live in, you can always grab a stack of magazines for a visual cue. It's visual inspiration that gets your ideas flowing and helps give that extra spark when you're either stuck or just tired or unable to make some decisions. I highly recommend it.
And no, your collages don't have to be the best looking, most artistic pieces in the world. Seriously. Check out my first collage from last night here. It's simple, but you can easily get an idea of what this character's personality is. Include words, outfits, details like the cheerleader, ice cream, kittens, her favorite handbag, a scarf, whatever. Anything goes as long as it gets you thinking and helps you clarify who that character is or what she likes. You don't even have to show them to anyone else. I plan to hang mine on the wall in front of my computer so that I can look up while I'm writing that character's dialogue or a scene from their POV. I figure it's worth a shot to see if I can get into that character's head a little faster and see things from their eyes.
Happy Friday everyone. Have a great weekend.
