Hurry! Time is running out to sign up for 12×12 & ReFoReMo!

This is a reminder post.

If you – or someone you know – is interested in signing up for Julie Hedlund’s 12 x 12 in 2016, there are only three days left to register. Don’t put it off because if you miss the date then you have to wait for registration in 2017! Please remind your friends who might be interested. Go HERE to register for this amazing challenge. There is so much offered, well worth the fee charged.

Also, if you – or someone you know – is interested in signing up for Carrie Charlie Brown’s ReFoReMo (Reading For Research Month) for this year, tomorrow (February 27) Pre-ReFoReMo begins! Remind your friends because you and they won’t want to miss any of it. Registration for the challenge ends March 1 at 11 pm CST. Go HERE to register and get ready to read over 100 picture books! It’s free, by the way.

12 x 12 and ReFoReMo work well together. If you have wanted to write picture books this could be your time to get started. Do check them out, and maybe I’ll see you there! Let me know if you sign up. 🙂

Do you enjoy challenges such as these?

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

Winning, writing and winter blahs

I’ve heard several people say February is such a long month that drags out Winter and feels so blah. Really?

February is the shortest month we have, and even though this is Leap Year with 29 days instead of 28, it’s still our shortest month. We can do this!

Here is what I did in anticipation of Spring and to help myself get through Winter:

As you can see, that was February 13, so we’re closer now. Yay! (I’ll soon set up a countdown timer on my blog, too.)

At the Alzheimer’s Caregivers Support Group meeting last week one of the men who attends brought roses for Valentine’s Day and gave them to all the ladies in attendance. Isn’t that sweet? The group is for family members who are caregivers of loved ones: a parent, a spouse, a friend.

Here’s my rose:

Earlier that day I took Meyya to the groomer who is at the animal hospital/shelter in the veterinarian’s location in town. They were selling tickets on a basket of goodies. All I noticed was a teddy bear in there and I figured there was likely chocolate – which I can’t eat. No matter, I bought a bunch of tickets because the money was to benefit the animal shelter. Well, on Friday didn’t they call to tell me I WON THE BASKET!! Wowsers!

It turned out the teddy bear was this …

cute, soft, little cat.

In the basket with it: a gift certificate from a local diner, two bottles of wine, some healthy things from the healthfood store, and – yes, some chocolates. It was a lovely win and my husband received the chocolates. 🙂

On another note: because of 12 x 12 in 2016 I am focusing more on my writing. I’ve completed the second revision of the story (picture book) I wrote in January, but I haven’t written a new story for this month. Even so, I’m so glad I signed on. I’ve benefited already. And my own private writing coach is super helpful and insightful.

For me personally, February is a good month so far. I still have some things to take care of, which I plan to finalize this month, to free up a little more time and space for my writing. I’ll get there!

What are you doing to dismiss the winter blahs?

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

Words of encouragement from Ira Glass

On January 16 of this year I joined Julie Hedlund’s 12 x 12 in 2016. The goal for members is to write a picture book draft each month so that by the end of this year we will each have twelve completed drafts or manuscripts, hence, twelve by twelve. There’s no penalty if we don’t manage it but there is a huge amount and variety of encouragement to help us get there. I’m happy I did this for myself.

I participated when Julie first concocted the idea and made it public for 2012, the year she decided she needed accountability writing friends who would join her in this challenge she had set for herself to push forward with the ideas she had come up with during Tara Lazar’s PiBoIdMo. 12×12 (twelve by twelve) has grown into an amazing program during the years since, with hundreds of participants, and I am very glad I signed on for 2016. Three weeks in and I’ve learned a lot already. I’m among a group of writers who encourage and learn from one another (as well as learning from professionals who join in at certain times), plus – I might be in a small critique group soon.

There is still a little time left should anyone else want to join 12×12 for this year before the door is closed. I can’t recall exactly when that is but I think you have at least another week if you’re interested.

Now I want to share with you a quote someone in 12 x 12 brought to our attention for encouragement. Do you know Ira Glass? Well, he said the following – and I have it written exactly as he said it:

“Nobody tells people who are beginners, and I really wish somebody had told this to me … is that all of us who do creative work, like y’know we get into it and we get into it because we have good taste. But it’s like there’s a gap. That for the first couple years that you’re making stuff, what you’re making isn’t so good, okay? It’s not that great. It’s trying to be good, it has ambition to be good, but it’s not quite that good. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, your taste is still killer. And your taste is good enough that you can tell that what you’re making is kind of a disappointment to you. Y’know what I mean? A lot of people never get past that phase and a lot of people at that point they quit. And the thing I would just like to say to you with all my heart is that most everybody I know who does interesting creative work, they went through a phase of years where they had really good taste and they could tell what they were making wasn’t as good as they wanted it to be. They knew it fell short. It didn’t have the special thing that we wanted it to have and the thing what to do is … Everybody goes through that. And for you to go through it, going through it right now, if you’re just getting out of that phase you’ve got to know it’s totally normal and the most important possible thing you can do is do a lot of work. Do a huge volume of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week or every month you know you’re going to finish one story. Because it’s only by actually going through a volume of work that you’re actually going to catch up and close that gap. And your work you’re making will be as good as your ambitions. In my case, like I took longer to figure out how to do this than anybody I’ve ever met. It takes awhile. It’s going to take you awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. And you just have to fight your way through that. Okay?” – Ira Glass

What do you think of this advice? What has been your experience?

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

Baby steps toward CHANGE

2016, my year of change.

I’ve stated it publicly. I am determined to achieve it. I am committed to accepting it. (Thanks, Darlene, for that last point.)

For me, change means stepping beyond myself, my comfort zone, my place of safety. Even if that step is only a baby step, it is a step forward to my goal.

I am not saying I want to change everything about myself, or that I want to make drastic changes in my life. What I mean is I am working on my attitude and beliefs about my God-given abilities, talents, gifts, creativity. And fear – I am making baby steps away from the fear and toward the reality of who I am as a creative and what I am capable of doing.

“The key to change … is to let go of fear.” – Rosanne Cash

My goal, which I’m sure you all know by now, is to write children’s books for publication. The changes have begun for me to achieve this:

I have my own writing coach as of September 2015;
I’m ending my publishing of a newsletter I (very sadly) haven’t had the focus and leading to do anymore; after many years it’s hard to let go. I have the final issue to complete and loose ends to tidy up;
my publishing room will become my writing room, my creative space, which I’m excited to prepare;
I’ve continued with Tara Lazar’s PiBoIdMo each November, keeping the ideas coming. To take those ideas further, Friday I signed on for a year of *12×12, making that huge (for me) leap in commitment when I’m not sure how I’m going to manage the challenge. Having said that, I signed on because I need what is being offered through it in order to reach my goal. (I did 12×12 in 2012, Julie Hedlund’s first year offering 12×12; now it’s much advanced from those beginnings.)

The biggest change for me is my private outlook, my self-talk, what I believe about myself. Change in those will bring about the most change in me and how I approach my writing.

“Incredible change happens in your life when you decide to take control of what you do have power over instead of craving control over what you don’t.” – Steve Maraboli

Yes, 2016 is my year of CHANGE, the follow-up to and continuation of POSITIVITY – my word in 2015.

I am determined. I will need reminders. And energy. And focus and refocus. (That’s not a negative already, I know how it’s been and I’m needing to not go there.)

My life as caregiver will continue as it has been, with the change being in me, in how I use my other time. There’s no progress in wishing things were different.

“Life has no remote. Get up and change it yourself.” – Thegoodvibe.co

This could be an exciting year, a challenging year, a surprising year.

2016.

My year of change.

* If YOU are interested in writing children’s books, it is not too late to sign up for 12×12. Just follow the link I provided above in my point #4.

Can you relate to the struggle of staying the course? What are your goals and determinations that you know will make a remarkable change for you? (Or put that in past tense, what were your goals … and how did you manage to meet them?)

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

My word for 2016

If you could choose any word at all to fit YOU in 2016, what would it be?

I’ve thought about this a lot, and waited, and listened, and waited, and thought some more. The result of all that is a word I’ve been feeling is for the year of 2016. It may be for my own life as well as extending far beyond me. Although other words came to mind, this one always rose to the top. That word is CHANGE.

Therefore, my word for 2016 is CHANGE.

What I foresee in my limited vision and understanding is the following, as applies to me:

letting go of some longstanding commitments, thereby allowing space for other things
seeing myself as the writer I am, thereby freeing myself to create
pushing forward, thereby completing and preparing stories and manuscripts for submission
still applying my last year’s word .. POSITIVITY .. thereby disallowing negativity and discouragement to pull me down or stop me
allowing God to affect change within me in those places that can not remain the same if I am to grow and move on

Change may seem a simple thing for you. For me it is a little unnerving, a little off-putting, while at the same time it is exciting, hopeful, and alluring.

Change is my word and also my goal for 2016. What is yours?

Thank you for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

PS: Giveaway Reminder: tonight at 9:00 EST I’m drawing for the planner. Did you enter for yourself, or maybe for a friend?

2015 in review

I didn’t think I did much blogging this year because I know my posts were fewer, however, according to WordPress it seems as if I’ve been quite busy here. I do enjoy blogging, so it’s rewarding to read a report like this one. If you’re interested in reading the whole thing you can follow the link included below.

Here is my 2015 blog report:

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 7,900 times in 2015. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 7 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Do you have any thoughts to share about Polilla Writes?

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

What books did you get for Christmas?

Another Christmas is past and the clean-up has begun. Where do we put all these new things? Another incentive to purge and declutter?

This year I received a variety of books from several of my loved family and friends. Here is a picture (poor quality – sorry!):

You know I love books. 🙂

Close ups:

You can see (I hope, despite the dark views) I received the following:

two adult colouring books with markers and coloured pencils. Have you tried colouring again now you may not be a child anymore?
a drawing instruction book. Do you love to draw?
a writers’ book. Do you doubt yourself or push on through?
a novel. Have you read any of Ken Follett’s series? If so, which is your favourite? or what are you reading?
a daily devotional and two different types of journals – one for notes of gratitude, one for recording of blessings. Do you refer to any kind of inspirational reading/writing?

These books remind me I am a creative – in a couple of ways. I also love to read so must read more. I have to get writing more, too, including from my Christian perspective. Yes, 2016 is going to be a different kind of year for me, and I already have my word for 2016 which I’ll share in the new year. 🙂

Now, I’m eager to know: What books did you get for Christmas … or during the season, however you celebrate it?

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂