On Camp, my next book, the business, and a book that scared me...

July is Camp NaNoWriMo month, and instead of writing fiction, I decided to tackle my next non-fiction book, Take your Journal to the Next Level. It is the working title for now, but I am already partial to keeping it as the final title of the book. But writing non-fiction is not an easy thing to do for a writing challenge focused on word count, so I needed a backup story for the days where the book wasn't progressing according to schedule.

My word count target per month

It was hard since I didn't have a story I was working on, only editing. Until I got a writing prompt from a writing website I subscribe to and bam! my problem was solved. A murder mystery with a serial killer on the lose. Not sure I am ready for this story, but we will see how it develops after I finish the book and the editing of my fifth novel.

My business as a life coach for creatives will launch soon. Although the company has been going since 2015, I needed to do a few things before it was ready for full-scale activities. Watch this space! Oh, yeah, this blog is not for business, so if you are an indie author or artist, the website for the company is listed under my About page. No need to clutter this blog with that.

While July was primarily spent writing, I also finished a book that I started about a month earlier. Reading relaxes me, but it also provides insight and knowledge, both of which I constantly feel the need to attain. The book is Selfie by Will Storr. I bought the book on impulse thinking it was about our modern predilection for taking pictures of ourselves. Aside from the cover that blinded me each time I picked it up (it is intentional I think, since it is highly reflective, almost a mirror), the book is an investigative piece about of self-obsession. The author did a tremendous job to find out where it all began, where we are now and how this almost narcissistic trend is affecting us, our society and culture and how this vicious circle is feeding on itself. Scary stuff, but a book well worth the time.

One criticism I do have is the layout of the book. It is not easy to read since it was written in six parts, with no chapters. A book of this nature and well over 300 pages, is not a one-sitting kind of read, so it was a challenge to me.

So life is back on the regular daily writing target, with the other things that I have to do. I will post more updates about my current non-fiction project on Medium and the website. If you keep a journal or plan to start, or just want to see what exciting things I dug up in my research, those are the places where I bare all.

Until next time!

💜 Linzé

On fund-raisers, letting go, and Camp NaNoWriMo

Hi there,

Recent weeks have been hectic and tonight is the first time that I have a chance to gather my thoughts so to speak. Between Camp NaNoWriMo, preparing for an indie author event yesterday (it doubled as a fund-raiser for a library) and doing a course to become an executive coach, some things had to give. The course was the victim. As soon as the second module's study material landed in my inbox, and I read through the first article, I knew this style of coaching was not for me. I withdrew from the course, only to have the fund-raiser take up a lot of my time.

After the author event yesterday I am now solely focused on my writing for the rest of the month.

For once it felt like freedom to sit down and write, even if I had to catch up on my word count target in which I fell behind because of the other commitments.

But July is also a month of promotions at Smashwords. I enrolled my 3rd Gender Series - all five books - so you can get them for FREE.

And now it is back into my writing cave to continue spouting the words on my Camp NaNo target. Is that a spider? I clearly need some more coffee to get my head back in the game.

Until next time!

💜 Linzé

PS: You can read more about the author event here

It is a matter a days before we leave home for a well-deserved vacation in the land of kilts and whiskey, and to be frank I can barely sleep with the anticipation blasting through my veins. I weighed my suitcase this morning. With wide eyes I eyeballed the scale, 13 kg. I was like, seriously? The thing is stuffed to the gills with warm clothes and the necessaries, and it weighs only 13 kg?

Well, that leaves me with another 10 kg available for shopping. LOL! If only the space will magically appear where I can put said shopping.

We will take a car trip around Scotland, and you can share in our experiences as we explore one of the loveliest countries (in my opinion, of course) in the world.

I will not take a computer with me so my trusty little iPad will be bringer of the news of our trip. Since I am not that skilled in adding pictures to these posts on a mobile device, you can check out the graphic evidence of what we are up to on Instagram.

My travel journal's first pages

Since it is fairly obvious what Francois will be doing on our trip (he is the photographer in this family), I decided to make a travel journal to record our trip with art, photographs, and words. It is after all the number one destination on my bucket list, and I truly want to make the most of our short time visiting.

Follow us around Scotland as we travel by car. You might even enjoy the shenanigans of two South Africans traipsing through a foreign country on their first holiday abroad.

Until Scotland!

Linzé

The bucket is empty...or will be soon

Pen drawing of a bucket (from Linzé's journal)

Two days ago my husband mentioned that it is a month to go before we go on our annual vacation. It has long been a contentious issue between us because of the cost to visit the UK. The South African currency is horrible when compared to the pound, and Francois has always used that point to counter any argument I had in the past. We finally sat down and did a budget and realised that this year we could afford to go. 
Then we started planning the vacation because I finally got my wish to do the number one thing on my bucket list: visit Scotland.
While I could regale you with long and eminently dull tales of why a visit to that particular country is in the prime spot on my list, I will save you the tears.
My husband, with his no doubt innocent and excited remark, got me thinking about that bucket list. And I realised that pretty soon it is going to be empty. Let me tell you; it is not a good image to carry around in one's mind.
Of course, it was not the only thing on my list, but the other things have secretly wound their way to the outside world over the years. Write a book: check. Publish a novel: check - number four was published about a month ago. Be self-employed: check - did that for ten years, and loved it. Be financially secure for retirement: check. So what now? After Scotland, that bucket will be empty.
It is damn near impossible to describe how it feels to have nothing I want to do, no matter how farfetched or big. Sure I can put stuff in there like space travel and an Olympic gold medal in archery, but those are not my dreams. Although I do like archery.
Our trip is a month away, and I am thinking about what to pack and what to leave behind, but underneath all the excitement this empty list is bothering me. More places to visit? I do not know. I have been to the one country in Africa (outside of my own that is) that I wanted to see, more than once. I have been to other countries in the world too, although there are many more to go if that is what I want to do.
And here we get to the crux of my predicament: what do I still want to do? As I sit here contemplating the words of this post, I have no freaking clue. I think that any new destination can be delayed since it would only be fair to go someplace Francois wants to visit. Since he is a photographer, I doubt that it would be a chore to accompany him.
And my bucket will still be empty. I am not sure how to handle this. It is a very odd experience this not knowing, or at the very least have a vague idea. There is nothing looming in my subconscious either.
Then a thought struck: do I need a bucket list? Surely, it is not the end of the world if I no longer have some big dream to chase? I do have my goals, and are those not some form of a bucket list? Perhaps what I need is a change in perspective, not another big and/or impossible thing. Who says it has to be impossible...again a shift in perspective perhaps?
Some things to ponder in the weeks ahead while I pack my suitcase for Scotland.

It is a new year, isn't it?

Wishing you all a happy and prosperous 2018!

Don't we all want to start a new year with hope and positivity? Unfortunately, mine did not. I went back to work on 2 January to the news that two of my colleagues had died. The first was a young woman (I do not know the circumstances) and the second was a man was murdered in a home invasion. While this is shocking and sad, it is not that unusual in this country.

While it makes me angry, I am not going to dwell on the incompetencies of our justice system or the corruption of the government. You only have to read the news to see that for yourself.

My editing badge ❤️

I would rather find something more positive and happy to write about today.

I managed to achieve several of my goals for 2017. I wrote 275 000 words, managed to complete 20 art projects and read 58 books. I did a few drawing courses and one or two to help me grow to become a better me.

Of course, the disappointments were there too. I deliberately avoid the word 'failures' because I have learnt a few things as a result, and that is always a good thing.

To list them: I did not publish the five books I had on my list. Three of them were professionally edited, so they were finished. The novel I wanted to publish last year, is still being proofread before I press that publish key on my keyboard. The other two are short stories. One is still in need of a cover (I cannot make up my mind) and the second short story is part of a trilogy. I have put it on ice until the third story is ready for publication. At least the cover of the trilogy is ready.

Lessons learnt include make more time to edit to ensure that deadlines are met. I do not like editing, so this is something I have to work at this year.

My second disappointment? While I managed to lose some weight, I did not achieve my target. Moreover, with no one to blame except myself, this will be one goal that I am taking very seriously this year too.

My goals for this year

It took me a few hours of soul searching to determine if I am ready to set new goals for 2018, or if I am going to make a list the same as in 2017.

My badge for achieving my word
count target 💙

In the end it will be a combination of both. I did some of that soul-searching at work last week and forgot to email my thoughts home. I will put my 2018 list up next week.

As part of my writing goals for this year, I enrolled in a short story challenge. After the closing date of the month, I will post my story here for you to read. I have no control over the prompts, but if you have a moment, I would appreciate a comment or two.

More exciting news!

I love StoryCubes so that I will be rolling out a writing competition from the 1st of February. The details will be made available later in the week. If you are interested in taking part, please subscribe to my newsletter. All the details for the entries every month will be emailed. No spam, I promise.

That is it for this week.

See you soon!

Linzé

Why do we write? Let me count the ways by Richard Beynon

Why do throngs of people around the world feel the urge to record their thoughts and feelings and observations, but, more than that, to shape them into narratives that engage and enthrall others?

The internet age – with its promise of instant publication and worldwide distribution – has ushered in millions more writers who dream of firing the imagination of readers, and making a mint of money in the process.

But it’s not simply money that drives us, I don’t believe. Even the most commercial writers who crank out an annual thriller or detective story in time for the Christmas rush, are driven at least partly – and I suspect, mostly – by the thrill of creation.

Because it’s out of the threads and tangles of our imaginations, fed by our observation of the world and its players, that we weave our stories. And that act itself nurtures the powers of our imagination, and sharpens our observation of the world. There is instant reward and gratification for creating stories – and the more skillful we become at shaping these stories, the greater the reward.

Perhaps it’s because the act of writing calls on our whole selves in a way that few other – if any – activities do. Not only does it yoke the active and fluid imagination, it also calls on all our powers of critical reasoning.

Many of us have remarked on how totally lost to the world we become in creating our own universes. This is little wonder, given the complete commitment that writing demands and elicits.

Writing plays a subversive role amongst the snarls of our own prejudices. We might create a villain who embodies all the vileness we’ve encountered in others – and then find, when we stand in his shoes, that there are vulnerabilities and weakness present that, while they might not excuse him, make him human, and capable, therefore, of remorse and redemption.

One of the injunctions directed at writers of fiction is to give their antagonists the best arguments. Thinking your way into the logic of a bad character - or even a character very different from you - yields surprisingly good insights and will develop sympathies that could, not to put too fine a point on it, expand your moral horizons.

And then, of course, whenever a writer plugs in her laptop, or uncaps her pen, she embarks on a hero’s journey of her own that at once generates surprises, heart-stopping climaxes but above all direction. Every story you embark on constitutes a project with its own imperatives and goals.

Ursula le Guin, author of the magical Wizard of Earthsea, dwelt on what writing means to the writer. She wrote, “A writer is a person who cares what words mean, what they say, how they say it. Writers know words are their way towards truth and freedom, and so they use them with care, with thought, with fear, with delight. By using words well, they strengthen their souls.”

Perhaps we should encourage others to join the throng.

Happy writing,

Richard

💜 

For more writing tips and a little motivation click here to read Jo-Anne’s latest blog, Writing Secrets: Sentences aren’t strong men – don’t overburden them and click here to read last week's Monday Motivation: The bigger the story, the larger your lens

💜

Note from me: The post was reblogged with permission from Richard at www.allaboutwritingcourses.com

Infographic: 15 Ways to Write Faster

SOURCE @ www.custom-writing.org

On Being a Writer - Paulo Coelho style

Click the image for more detail

This is why my 2017 Goals are still on Track (mostly) – Part 1

A badge Linzé earned in a group
where writers hold themselves
accountable for daily writing

I wrote my first word of a first draft way back in 2001. While my odyssey to publication took another eleven years, I didn’t just write this one book. This first book was not my first published book, for that, I had to write some more before publication would be an option.
Why eleven years? There is no magic to this number, it was how long it took for me to figure out that I might actually be good enough.
What I did in those eleven years, established the foundation of why I now describe myself as a writer—I wrote.
In fact, I wrote another eight full-length novels: two are published, and the third is planned for October this year. The rest must wait their turn…it is a series after all.
In the years since that first attempt, writing became a habit. A daily habit that to date produced several more manuscripts, to the effect that this year my total creative word count now stands at over 2,200,000 words.
I started keeping a spreadsheet that I update at the end of every evening’s writing session. It was more curiosity in the beginning, but it has become more than that…it’s my daily ‘personal trainer’ if you like.

Source: Medium

Seeing the number of words I have written thus far is inspirational, but it is the words that have yet to come to life, that truly gets my writing brain into gear. So many stories that still need to be told!
Of course, I did not write as many words back then as I do now. In my own defense, it did take a while for my blonde brain cells to truly get the message: if you want to write, it is exactly what you should do. Write. Every day.
Some people set themselves a daily word target, others a daily time to write. I fall into the latter category. With a full-time job, my writing time is limited, and I want to squeeze every second that I can get out of it.
NaNoWriMo months change the goals a bit, but the words still count. They must. With an annual goal of one full-length novel, plus a few shorter stories to keep the creative juices flowing, I simply cannot help myself anymore—I have to write. When I don’t, I feel as if I am going to work without wearing a bra—something essential is missing.
Fortunately, that is one piece of clothing I have not yet forgotten!
I suppose it becomes a habit like brushing my teeth or putting on said bra. So that means when those words are not written, my creative mind will rot in a manner of speaking. Trust me, the zombie look will not look good on me.

Source: Medium

Whatever the target is you set for yourself, time or words, make it a habit. Habits become entrenched in the definition of who we are.
If you write, you will feel like a writer, you will think like a writer…you will be a writer.

Before you disappear back to reality, please take a moment to share this post with your friends. Thank you! 💜

Linzé Brandon is the author of several books and short stories. She is a project manager, closet artist, sometimes blogger and wife to an engineer who likes to play with a camera. The unicorns and fairies love playing with their German shepherds almost as much as their human pack members.

Live in Balance: A to Z Challenge - C is for...

C is for Colour

We all need a little colour in our lives whether it be literally, or metaphorically. Today I am focusing on the literal meaning of the word. I am sometimes teased because my favourite colour is black. My engineering friends and colleagues (including Francois) constantly tell me that black is not a colour. Well, technically I suppose they are correct since black does not feature in any colour of light. Note: if you mix all the colours of the rainbow (in lightwaves) you get white, but no combination will ever give you black.

When mixing paints you do get black, but let's not argue that point.

Today I want you to explore your favourite colours in an art entry in your journal. I have done mine with the video clips you find below.

Before you watch (and dig in) a few pointers:

1. Wear an old t-shirt to protect your clothes. Most water-based paints will set permanently once dry and ruin your clothes. A lesson I learned once when I dropped a paintbrush covered in black paint on my favourite denim-blue tennis shoes. I went out and bought the eye-blindingly bright pink housecoat you see me wearing in the video clips (now I paint with those shoes!). It works, what more can I say.
2. You are most welcome to copy my designs for your journal or use your own. Keep it simple, something you can draw and paint in a matter of minutes.
3. If you want to use another medium or design that takes longer to be ready, allocate the space in your journal to glue it in later when it's ready.
4. Use the link here, to find your colour (or its closest match) and pen your thoughts about that. Remember to explore your emotions about the colour, as well as your experience of doing the art project for today's prompt.

Hints and tips:

• Put down a layer of plastic on your work surface to protect it from the paint. I used a plastic bag that I cut open. 
• Put newspaper on top of the plastic. It will absorb any excess moisture and prevent your artwork from unwanted bleeding across the paper.
• Try to use only the text part of the paper. Any pictures will create odd colours or shading of your design.
• Measure your journal's page size and cut the paper rectangles the same size or smaller. This way you know the end result will fit.
• Remove any jewellery from your hands. Paint sticks to everything and will dry quickly because of your body's heat. If your wedding ring has no gemstones, grooves or uneven surfaces like engravings, it may not be a problem, but the smallest crevice will be very hard to clean once the paint is dry.
• I put my hair in a ponytail because I have accidentally painted the ends a time or two and then the paint gets transferred to my face or glasses. But that's just me.
• Lastly, enjoy the art project!

Watch the short YouTube Videos!

Introduction

Drawing and painting a flower

Finishing the leaves

Preparing the design

Finishing the design in my journal

My favourite colours, what they mean, and my thoughts on that

Black

According to the website, it is a colour of mystery and secrecy. While I would like to think that I am mysterious and secretive, the closest I ever get to that are the mystery novels I love to read. Deep down I don't think I want to be mysterious.

Perhaps because I am an introvert who is happy to be on my own or left alone to do my own thing. Took me years to figure that part out. Only when I got to know other writers, did I begin to understand this part of myself. Interesting thing to discover in your early thirties, I can tell you.

But knowing this also allowed me to more easily accept this part of myself. Understanding it has been a journey, but I feel that understanding this part of me, helps me define my path to happiness.

Purple

This is the colour of creativity. My mother used to tell me that it is the only colour where you can wear any shades of it together without clashing with yourself. I am no fashionista and have no interest in dressing fashionably (if I do, it is pure luck), so I don't know if that is true. What I do know is that creativity is something I am still learning about every day.

After reading The Artist's Way, it opened even more doors in my mind. While I love my art projects, I have not experimented much simply because of my (mistaken) notion that painting (irrespective of the medium) was the only true expression of visual art, excluding sculpting.

Logically, I know that is not true, but until recently painting was all I did. I liked it, but it didn't grab me by the throat to drag me to the blank canvas. Only once I started experimenting with pastels and pencil do I feel as if I have truly found my art. I have a lot still to learn, but learning is easier for me if I have a passion for the subject.

It was the same for my engineering studies until I discovered electromagnetism in my third year. But that is something to explore at another time.

Jade

The closest colour to jade (or teal) on the website is turquoise. According to the website, it is the colour of balance because it sits right in the middle of the rainbow (mix of blue and green).

Sheesh, was I surprised when I read that the first time. There is no way I can convince myself that my choice of jade as a favourite, can have anything to do with my Live in Balance motto for this year. I have always loved this colour (it is also one of the few colours that both my mother and I liked equally), so the meaning cited on this website was pure coincidence, but not an unwelcome explanation!

When I think about my three favourite colours and their meanings, I am quite happy with the combination. Of course, there are negative connotations too, but I prefer to focus on the positive. I am striving for happiness after all!

👉 What have you learned today about your favourite colour(s)?

Live in Balance: Are they the right goals for me?

With most of my colleagues back at work with me, we invariably chat about the holidays and that conversation then rolls around to New Years' resolutions. I usually listen with an attentive ear, not only because I can learn something but it is hard not to sympathize with some of their issues.
I might have mentioned it, about a million times or so, that I work in a very stressful environment. Most people have stress in their lives that follow a wave-like pattern - up and down, up and down. Meaning that the stress only occurs as peaks over a small time period: financial year end, completing a product for delivery, and so on.

In my case, the level of stress never subsides. There are even higher peaks at certain times (almost every month), but the pressure never lets up. While it is a supercharged and exciting industry to work in, it takes a heavy toll on people, myself included.
To get back to my original point, New Years' resolutions in our lives can get drowned out in the noise of this kind of stress. A colleague mentioned that he decided to do something different this year since he barely made it through the last one. It is nothing odd or stupid, but he knew that the plan of last year was not good enough, so he had to change it.
And that is exactly the thing we often forget to do: sit back, reassess our goals of the past. Did they work? Did they achieve what we wanted them to do?
Most people are concerned about sticking to their goals for the year. I think there are many cases where people stick to their goals but feel just as frustrated or unhappy as those people who didn't stick to their goals. Could it be that the List, those New Years' resolutions, were the wrong goals to begin with?
Sure, there are lots of advice available on how to stay motivated. How to find out what motivates you to stick to those lovely goals you set for yourself. There is nothing wrong with that advice if you start off in the right place.

Why would putting losing weight as a goal (yeah, I have that on my Live In Balance list too!) be the wrong thing for you? Could it be that the thing you need to fix has nothing to do with your body weight, but more to do with the reasons you gained weight in the first place?
Boredom? Broken relationships? Depression? To name but a small number of reasons. Shouldn't you rather spend more time in figuring out on what the real reason is and then making that the issue you need to focus on?
It took me a long time to figure out that my problem is boredom. I don't need a lot of sleep and tend to snack after dinner to make my nights shorter. The problem is not the time of day that we have dinner, it's the snacking.
Doing mundane things bores me to tears - and I put household chores at the top of that list. I love cooking but detest washing up. And no, a dishwasher is not a solution to that problem, since it still requires work from a human - loading and unloading. I dumped the unloading part on my husband's shoulders. Needless to say, the list is long and dull. So if you expect a meticulous house when visiting me, you will be disappointed. Dust bunnies and the odd spider or gecko live very harmoniously with us until I do get around to cleaning and vacuuming. At least the geckos are smart enough to make a run for it before they get vacuumed!

Before I wrote this post, I had another look at my Live in Balance list, and at first glance it is overwhelming. But knowing my personal issues with boredom, it is probably a good thing. If I can keep myself occupied with things I love - reading, writing, sketching, painting, Tai Chi practice - then my weight-loss efforts might be less of a struggle.
While I was writing this post, I realised that by writing about my issues also helps to keep me motivated. As someone who has been struggling with being overweight my whole life, I need as much motivation and conviction as I can muster at this point.

It is the start of week 3 and so far so good. Are you still on track to achieving your goals for 2017?

And the debate on diet vs exercise rages on. Click to read more...