Courage to Create - What's Stopping You?

Thankfully, you can’t see me. I’m dancing shamelessly to Beyonce’s “Run The World Girls.” I did it. My first draft of “The Land of Lost Dreams” is finished. I guess you could say I’m pleased with myself because the smile I’m wearing rivals Alice’s Cheshire cat.

The road to glory wasn’t easy. It was mined with booby traps and roadblocks. Created mostly by me, a little from life and some from friends. Yes, those little grey cells are a wondrous thing, but can be highly treacherous. They love to play games with the intention of tricking you out of grabbing the gold. Believe me, I know. I didn’t always know that was happening. But, somewhere along the line I tripped over one of those mind traps and realized I had been there before. When you uncover what’s holding you back it’s like coming out from your safe hiding place under the blankets to a brand new world.

So, this month long boot camp was not just about finishing a first draft but a personal challenge. It was like fire walking. Not that I have, but the thought of facing a bed of hot coals scares the breath out of me. Fear can do that. It squeezes the life you were meant to have and leaves you empty. Fear looked me in the face and asked “Are you up for this? Are you good enough?” and on and on it went.

It takes courage to create because you must battle with a force greater than the Dark Lord, yourself. The courage to create is also an affirmation of life. Yours.

A writer in my Fantasy writing group lives in Japan. After the terrible quake her affirmation of life was to build a potted vegetable garden on her balcony. By that simple act, she tapped into her deepest inner strength to state to the universe, “I will survive and prosper.” How awesome is that?

Life is always testing you by putting up brick walls and roadblocks. How you respond to the challenge placed before you defines who you are. This time I came to do battle with my sword in one hand and pen in the other against fear.

Till next time,

Elizabeth

I Can See The Finish Line

Update of the Savvy Authors bootcamp saga, twenty one days down and ten to go and I am on target. My first draft will be finished. Yay! It’s a feeling that’s better than having the power to resist that extra helping of dessert and pushing beyond the easy gratification, to stay the course and challenge myself.

I couldn’t have done it without the support of my sweet hubby who prepared dinners when I was too tired or couldn’t stop writing, who did the laundry when there were no more clean towels, and overlooked the dust bunnies multiplying in increasing numbers, well, you get the picture.

Also, I had the support of the Scouts from the Salon, the writers in my Fantasy Group and my mentor, June Diehl. You think I was accepting an Oscar. Well, in the scheme of things, it’s small potatoes, but for me personally it’s the appetizer, entrée and dessert. Woohoo!!!

On another subject the Salon received its second award. The first from Rosi at http://rosihollinbeckthewritestuff.blogspot.com/ and the second from Lindsey at http://lyndseyrosedavis.weebly.com/. The rules in accepting this award was to tell you seven things about ourselves. Here are my seven. Bear with me here. You just have to read it I had to write it. LOL.

1. I love animals and my first dog growing up was named Rocky. An unbelievable dog, who rode the backs of the neighbor’s two Collies jumping from one to the other. He also chewed my father’s slippers and morning paper. He was a beast.

2. My maiden name is E.Chang, named after the lady in the moon, who stole the elixir of immortality. Wat, my Chinese middle name means gentleness.

3. I was lucky enough to live and study in Europe for ten years.

4. I am a painter and a writer. I am enchanted and haunted by faces and prefer to paint portraits rather than landscapes. Pretty faces, for me are harder to paint because I can’t find the stories hidden in the lines.

5. Having grown up in Hawaii opened my eyes to a world of different cultures and faiths.

6. Presently living in the mountains with four dogs and my sweetie, but I dream of moving back to Paris.

7. I am writing a YA fantasy with Chinese mythology, thanks to my grandmother.
Okay, that’s probably more than you wanted to know about me.

The next rule of accepting this award is to nominate another blogger for the versatile Blogger Award. I nominate Laurel Wilczek, http://ravenlaw.wordpress.com/ . Laurel is in my Fantasy Group and pushed me to get blogging. Every day she inspires me to write with her humor and whip. Yup! She cracks a whip to get the group moving.

And http://anncory.blogspot.com/a writer who inspired me daily in our Artist Journal Workshop.

Visit these bloggers and leave your blog address in the comment box, so we can visit you.

Till next time,
Elizabeth

PS: June Diehl post tomorrow is “A Letter from your Muse.” It’s funny, enlightening and the info you need to know about your muse.

J.K. Rowling And Failure

We’re into the second week of Savvy’s Author boot camp. Every step along the way has been challenging. I haven’t thought of quitting, but I have wondered if I’ll make my goal of a first draft by the end of the month. Whether, I finish the first draft or not, I am learning about myself, writing and about the journey, which to me is as valuable in the end. I’ve also learned never to give up the dream that burns inside you even when things look their blackest.

I thought I’d share this video of one of my favorite authors, J.K. Rowling. It’s a commencement address she gave a couple years ago at Harvard. I found her funny, candid, vulnerable and above all inspirational.

J.K. Rowling Speaks at Harvard Commencement from Harvard Magazine on Vimeo.

Here is a fragment of her speech about failure:
“So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had been realized, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.

You might never fail on the scale I did, but some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.

Failure gave me an inner security that I had never attained by passing examinations. Failure taught me things about myself that I could have learned no other way. I discovered that I had a strong will, and more discipline than I had suspected; I also found out that I had friends whose value was truly above the price of rubies.

The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive. You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity. Such knowledge is a true gift, for all that it is painfully won, and it has been worth more than any qualification I ever earned.”

Hope this has inspired you to keep going. It has for me. How do you motivate or inspire yourself to keep going?

Till next time,
Elizabeth

PS: I will be interviewing author Mary Buckham about her book "Break Into Fiction" next month in June. Do you have a question you'd like to ask about her book? Tell me and that will be one of the question I will ask her.

Somewhere Out There And Naked

Yes, the scouts of the spec salon are in Savvy Author’s boot camp. Thirty days to write a first draft. For me it feels like free falling without a parachute or bungee jumping without a cord. It’s like a dream where you’re naked in front of crowd of people wondering how the hell you got there. It’s strange, exhilarating, and frightening at the same moment.

Why in the world would I do this? Because having a deadline and a goal pushes me. It pushes me out of my comfort zone. Yikes! Normally I would take the time to mull over scenes in a story and let it blossom on it’s own time. Or wait till my muse is willing to show up. This time, I’m flying fast.

What I’m trying to do in this first draft is to get the story out of my head and heart and on to the paper. In those times when my heart sings out with the story it feels good and I know I’m on track. Discoveries are plentiful like finding out some scenes need more worldbuilding. But, the most exciting breakthroughs pushing me onward are moments when the characters show me how to bring it all the way home.

As writers, we have different ways of getting the story down and ready for someone to read. The mode of transportation to our destination point is only valid if it works. That’s all we can do. Find out what works, hop on, and ride it all the way home.

Even though I’m feeling ‘somewhere out there’ it’s a ride I’m happy to be on. Excuse me while I grab a towel.

Let me leave with you a quote from John Campell:
A bit of advice given to a young Natve American at the time of his initiation:

"As you go the way of life, you will see a great chasm,

Jump.

It is not as wide as you think."

I'd like to know how your ride is going?

Till next time,
Elizabeth