November 11, 2007 by Lani Voivod, Chief Scribbler.

(Note: This comes from my hubby and fellow scribbler Allen Voivod, from a writer’s newsletter he wrote back in 2006 - still useful today!)

When I asked myself, “What could I use?” recently, two answers sprung forth: 1) I could always use a little inspiration, and 2) I could always use a little less junk in my email Inbox. So I looked at everything coming in on a regular basis, and started unsubscribing like crazy.

What a difference a month makes! I cut down my emails by over a third, I don’t feel like I’m missing anything, and I don’t feel the sense of dread while watching the popping of envelope icons in my System Tray (sorry, Mac users, I don’t know the relevant analogy for you - and that’s the general “you”).

So that covered #2. But what about #1? Ironically, it involved subscribing to an email newsletter. The Writer’s Almanac is linked to Garrison Keillor of Prairie Home Companion fame, and I must admit I’ve never once listened to Keillor. It’s not that I don’t like him - I’ve just never been motivated enough to find out whether I would or wouldn’t. Based on the Almanac, though, I’ll probably give him a sympathetic listen whenever the first time occurs.

The daily contents of each email are a poem and a this-date-in-history thing with a literary focus. What’s surprised me recently is how many satirists are showing up - Vonnegut, O’Rourke and Atwood, to name three in November alone. What’s surprised me even more are the poems, which I initially dismissed as irrelevant. In fact, the more I read them, the more I get that sort of “ping” in the soul, the feeling of how powerful words are, and of the insight they can deliver.

I’ve begun making it a ritual to open this email before any other in the day. If you’d like to check it out, here’s the link to sign up.

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October 9, 2007 by Lani Voivod, Chief Scribbler.

(Note: This comes from my hubby and fellow scribbler Allen Voivod, from a writer’s newsletter he wrote back in 2006 - still useful today!) 

It’s weird to see something you’ve advocated for years, and never heard anyone anywhere else say, suddenly appear as a tip on your Day Runner desk calendar. That’s what happened to me recently with this month’s tool for proofreading your content: read backward.

There’s no more efficient manual spell-checking technique I’ve found than the backward method. It’s not totally backward, since your mind will automatically try to restart you going forward. And THAT reflex is particularly useful for catching your/you’re and their/there/they’re mistakes.

The one downside: it’s somewhat time-consuming. But it can’t be beat for sending anything upon which your reputation may depend. Assuming you placed in the top 10% of your childhood spelling bees, of course. Otherwise, it’s off to Dictionary.com with you.

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July 19, 2007 by Lani Voivod, Chief Scribbler.

I am so excited, proud, and delighted to be sharing the following writing resource on The Wild Quills Blog for two reasons:

1. It’s AWESOME - thorough, engaging, interesting, gamut-running, inclusive, essential, informative, thoughtful and thought-provoking, entertaining, and utterly useful.

2. I’m thrilled to be one of the contributors!

What IS this muse? This Craft Caddy must-have?

It’s The New Writer’s Handbook 2007: A Practical Anthology of Best Advice for Your Craft and Career

Although editor Philip Martin contacted me way back in February to ask if he could include one of my blog posts from Epiphanies, Inc.’s “A-Ha Blog” in his anthology, I told myself I wouldn’t get excited until I actually held the book in my hands.

I guess it’s the Achille’s heel of the creative soul - we have so many ideas in our hearts and minds, and so often opportunities present themselves that ultimately never make it to fruition, that we set up a few guards for the things we TRULY want, just in case they don’t pan out.

Well, last week I received an envelope in the mail. I tore open the envelope, reached in, and pulled out the book and a check, just as Mr. Martin had promised.

This book has been parked on the island in our kitchen since then. Now granted, our family has been busy. We’ve had out-of-town guests, our son’s swimming lessons, work deadlines, prenatal appointments…the usual stuff of life.

But the truth is, I’m still in a quiet shock. I know this by my behavior of the past week. While the book has perched confidently on the island of our kitchen, I’ve been walking past it, circling around it, almost afraid to even touch it or confront it directly.

A few years ago I caught myself wondering how one gets to be included in a niche anthology of any kind (nevermind how one gets to be part of a collaborative non-fiction book that’s got a preface by legendary author Erica Jong, who wrote one my personal favorite books/feminist anthems of all time: Fear of Flying).

Is it who you know? Do you have to have an “in” with the publisher? Do you query? Barge in? Beg?

To my utter joy and amazement, it turns out I just had to be surprised by an email in my inbox from a wonderful person who found something I wrote online, liked it, and had his own mission and vision to pursue.

This is the ultimate fairy tale for me. This one opportunity supports everything I believe - and want to believe - about how life works when it’s at its best.

1. You do something with passion. In my case, I wrote that blog post when I was particularly fired up about the amazing power and potential of blogging.

2. You put it “OUT THERE.” For everyone, someone, or no one in particular. But at least it’s “OUT THERE,” and “OUT THERE” means there’s a chance for something to happen to it while you’re busy doing other things.

3. You get rewarded. I’m now part of a professional anthology about my favorite thing: THE CRAFT, CULTURE, AND ACT OF WRITING.

My name is among more than 50 experts on all things writing.

We’re talking award-winning authors, journalists, bloggers, teachers, essayists, industry leaders, literary agents, editors, and unstoppable enthusiasts (including Jane Yolen, Richard Powers, Ridley Pearson, Marcia Yudkin, Katha Pollitt, and many, many more!).

The more I flip through this book, the more I see it’s a dynamic, cover-to-cover gotta-read about everything I love AND everything I want (and need) to know about.

I’m so darn grateful to Mr. Philip Martin, to the universe, and to whatever twist of fate that invited me into this opportunity so gracefully and effortlessly.

I’ve put a lot of things “OUT THERE” over the years. Some of it’s been let loose with a rigid strategy behind it. Other stuff has been sent out with a wing and a prayer. And still others (like the rant on blogging included in this book) has been put “OUT THERE” because it felt like a raging necessity, and I had to get it off my chest in the itty bitty time slot I had available, or I’d be weirdly bitter, or implode, or self-flagellate endlessly.

If I had known this particular rant would soon be in a book alongside articles, excerpts, and essays written by some of today’s most celebrated and talented writing professionals, I probably would have agonized over it so much I would have either:

a) Never let it loose, or

b) Watered it down so much it would have never caught the fancy of dear Mr. Martin.

Thank goodness for the small miracles of life that turn out to be such wondrous whoppers to your own personal journey. I’m so glad I didn’t get in my own way.

THANK YOU, MR. PHILIP MARTIN, and Scarletta Press, and Erica Jong, and everyone else who’s a part of this book. You’ve all made THIS writing enthusiast very, very, VERY happy.

To find out more about The New Writer’s Handbook 2007 from its Scarletta Press homepage, click here.

To buy the book RIGHT NOW at Amazon.com, CLICK HERE!

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July 13, 2007 by Lani Voivod, Chief Scribbler.

What if I told you there’s an easy, convenient, and (often) cost-free way to…

• Get access to how-to writing classes (among others)

• Learn from a diverse and ever-changing group of passionate professionals

• Go hog wild with career development, niche hobbies, and personal growth

• Hang out with hundreds of strangers in the comfort of your own home

…all while wearing your grungiest pajamas?

I know that sounds like a bad infomercial, but it’s the real deal. They’re called teleclasses, and the “Teleclass News” (brought to you by Coachville.com) is a fine way to fish for the subjects that interest you and toss back the rest.

“But What the Heck Is a Teleclass?”
A teleclass is a group phone call on a specific topic, and if it’s through Teleclass.com it’s led by a certified instructor. The typical Teleclass is about an hour long. You sign up, they send you a special phone number, you dial in at the scheduled time, and then you take notes, listen passively, or hang up if the call doesn’t hold your interest.

Though some of the teleclasses are tuition-only, most are FREE. The talent and expertise of the instructors range from mediocre to extraordinary, so if you try the format out, give it a fair shot – say, three to five sample classes – before you decide if this resource works for you.

To learn more about teleclasses, click here, or just sign up for their weekly email and see what catches your fancy.

So many different (read: unique, valuable, or downright bizarre!) interests out there – there’s bound to be something that piques yours!

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February 22, 2007 by Lani Voivod, Chief Scribbler.

Here’s an exercise I’ve come across in many variations over the years, and it always packs some serious punch.

1. Find a scathingly negative journal entry. You know, one of those gems in which you explain in great detail all the worst features of your life, talent (or lack thereof), job, frustrations, marriage/relationships, misery, laziness, lost dreams, bad habits, or the whole hurricane of your aching innards.

2. Now, FLIP IT. We’re talking global “Find and Replace” function. Take every single negative word or riff and replace it with its polar opposite. Be thorough and honest. Use Thesaurus.com and abuse the “antonym” lists, if necessary.

3. Polish and shine the FLIPPED version and read it ‘til it’s burnt in your brain! Sure, you laughed and scoffed while you wrote it. And yes, it may have felt fiercely uncomfortable to write such winning things about yourself. But c’mon – it only sounds so good because it was sooooo wicked ‘n cruel in the first place!

And please, don’t discount this Craft-Caddy trick as a silly Stuart Smalley affirmation. It’s the easiest, most direct way to see what you really want if, say, you weren’t suffering from “The Writer Mystique” (among other things). And maybe, just maybe, you’ll start trying your new “REALITY” on for size…(!!!)

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November 23, 2006 by Lani Voivod, Chief Scribbler.

Oh boy, did I find something cool! It’s a whole hour of fab audio on FAILURE, based around four diverse books – and a Showgirls junkie. (Yes, that movie!) It’s well worth your time if:

• You’d like to hear Natalie Goldberg talk about her memoir, The Great Failure: A Bartender, A Monk, and My Unlikely Path to Truth.

• You’re like David Schmader, who’s seen the brilliantly abysmal Showgirls a couple hundred times, and who believes: “Only by this weird misalignment of ambitions between everyone involved in the movie could they get this distinctly, thoroughly off-key freak movie. Which is a miracle.”

• You’re interested in historical failures (Born Losers: A History of Failure in America, by Scott Sandage) and would like to hear why Ralph Waldo Emerson called the 44-year-old Henry David Thoreau – his once-star student – a FAILURE(!)…at his funeral.

But WAIT! There’s more! You’ll also get to hear David Denby, author of “American Sucker,” talk about his mishaps in the stock market when the dot com bubble burst. And you’ll hear author and professor Mike Magnuson talk about how he went from blubbery Lummox to pedal-happy athlete in Heft on Wheels. It’s good stuff – hope you get a chance to listen!

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October 2, 2006 by Lani Voivod, Chief Scribbler.

WRITING DOWN THE BONES
Freeing the Writer Within
By Natalie Goldberg

First published in 1986, this little book may well be the official handbook for SHOWING UP. Its author – a Zen practitioner who’s been teaching, writing and Zenning for more than a quarter of a century – demystifies the writing process with short, self-contained essays and anecdotal meditations. Befriending us with her intimate voice and naked style, Goldberg explains and demonstrates how the awesome act and power of writing is also the easiest, simplest pleasure to embrace.

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June 30, 2006 by Lani Voivod, Chief Scribbler.

The Artist Date is one of the two vital tools recommended by Julia Cameron in her best-selling bible for “discovering and recovering your creative self,” The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity (the other vital tool being Morning Pages).

Simply put, this weekly commitment to your creativity is an excursion or play date with yourself that you pre-plan and keep at all costs, no excuses. No one goes with you – no kids, spouses, friends, or associates – no exceptions. The key is to have fun, not to run errands or do something your Logic Brain thinks you should do to be more cultured or responsible. It doesn’t have to cost money or be extravagant. It just has to be something you truly want to do.

The Artist Date fills your creative well. Since the Artist Brain relies on images and sensory experiences to thrive, it needs fun, inspiring things upon which to draw when the time comes to create. When you’re playing freely or otherwise involved in an activity you truly love, you load your Artist Brain with the fuel it needs. Plus – you feel more alive…which means you’re prime for receiving those ideas and insights that thrill you most.

If you want to be more creative and do more and create more, you must replenish your rations. The Artist Date is an awesome way to do just that.

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