I still haven’t been writing…I’ve been sick and stressed at work. I have also been avoiding even picking up my notebook. It is sitting in the study, waiting patiently for attention and word love, but I am playing hard to get.

I just got a new Writers Digest magazine and there are some good articles about skill building for writers. There were some great ideas that actually sparked me to want to run to my notebook with open arms and confess how I had missed the lines on her pages and the comfort of sharing secrets…but I didn’t.

I was thinking later that these skill building exercises might just be tricks. They might be gimmicks that make me think I am getting closer to overcoming my writers block, but really they lead me deeper into the woods.

Last weekend I Skyped with my two writer soul mates and even though it was wonderful and grounding to hear their voices and stories, I was saddened that I couldn’t report any new writing. My friend is sooo dedicated and never seems to be plagued with the deadly writers block – at least in the last four years since we met. How does she do it?

One of the differences between us is that she puts in the time, everyday, even when the world gets in the way. I used to do this too. I was able to keep this up for about a year while I feverishly rewrote and dissected my novel The Christmas Child, but since then – no dice.

I am a bit of a bi-polar writer if left to my own devices. I am manic and write like a crazy person for a couple of days to a week, sometimes a month if I’m really on a bender. At some point I fizzle out and then slip into the depression. I spend all my gunpowder in one glorious firework and then I have to wait for the next holiday to show my colors again. I was able to keep out of this cycle for a time, by only writing for 20 minutes or so a day and always leaving the page with an idea still in my head, like a line of dialogue or an image that I could use to get me to the page the next day. But alas, this only lasted for a couple of months as well.

I also confessed during my post-Skype chat with my other glorious writer friend that part of the problem is that I don’t know my stories well enough to tell them yet. I worked on The Christmas Child for ten years. I know that world in a visceral way. I know how it smells, tastes and feels. These new wiper-snapper wip’s are unreliable and smell unfamiliar. I’m not sure if we have any chemistry and I am avoiding getting to know them. I have been thinking that maybe I need to work on some short-stories while I court my wip’s and get to know them better. But that would take me actually writing…

Maybe this Writer’s Digest was divine intervention. Could this skill building article be my miraculous fix? Could I use these gimmicks to trick my bi-polar writer psyche into picking up the languishing notebook and knocking out some killer short stories while building the back story and character profiles for my neglected wip’s? Perhaps. It is possible that these gimmicks could actually be secret squirrel ninja tricks that take my writers block and kick its sorry ass.

I hope so!

I had a great post idea today, but I spent the day being a responsible grown up instead. I went grocery shopping and cleaned the kitchen. I cooked for the week and made homemade bread. I packed my lunch for tomorrow and a snack since I will be staying late to tutor.

I am even going to cut this short because it’s already after 10 and I have resolved to make myself go to bed by 10:30 on school nights in 2012.

I have a lot to say about writing, but it will have to wait. I might not wait until Thursday to post again, but I felt like I should at least post something today.

Now be nice to yourself  – and go to bed already

Talk soon

I’m still pretty tired. It’s amazing how being back at school is taking it out of me. I haven’t been sleeping very soundly the last couple of days either and that probably has a bunch to do with it too. It’s crazy how easily I can slip back into my old ways of staying up way to late. I had a major power struggle with a student today, which was a bit exhausting as well. It wasn’t a power struggle, per se, because I was very consistent and would not budge with it. I am very stubborn and it actually served me well today. I was calm and firm. It was hard to hold my ground, but he was looking for an inch of wiggle room and I never would have got that authority back. I love him. He is bright and I enjoy working with him every day but he challenges me almost everyday as well. I think the is on the Autism spectrum and he is being observed this month. I am grateful for him because he makes me a better teacher. We are learning from each other.

On a nicer note, two of my 5th grade students finished my book over the Winter Break. One of them saw me in the hallway today before our group and stopped to give me a hug and tell me she had completed it over break. She struggles with reading, but she works hard to improve. She was so happy to talk to me about the book and she asked me when she could read another one of my books because it was so interesting. I said, “Well, I’m still writing it…”

She said, “You better get busy! I want to read it soon!”

That is inspiration and a lot of pressure

I told her how proud I was of her for finishing it and doing such an amazing job. It was the biggest book she has ever read and she read it in less than two weeks. It was above her reading level and she really pushed herself. She had a huge grin on her face and I knew she felt my pride and excitement for her awesome accomplishment.

I haven’t been writing. I think about it all the time, but I haven’t even tried to write anything other than journaling or Morning Pages in months. Having the students enjoy my book so much and be excited to read what’s next has been a revelation and inspiration to get off my duff and just try to get some words down. I have had little spurts of inspiration with these WIP’s, but mainly a lot of one step forward two steps back.

I resolved to write more again anyway, so time is of the essence!

What inspires you to keep writing and persevering when writing gets tough?

I know I will see that student’s grin in my head from now on when I sit down to write.

Happy New Year’s Eve!

2011 is on its way out and 2012 is knocking at the door, ready to come in and play.

I have been awfully neglectful to this blog these last couple of months. I have been busy with work and not writing. That is going to change in 2012.

I’ve learned this last December that my writing is important in ways I didn’t realize. That realization was a wonderful gift.

I got behind on getting The Christmas Child  printed this year. It was more work than I expected getting the book ready for reprint and even though I made contacts with some stores, I couldn’t afford to get the new copies printed fast enough for the book to be featured before Christmas. 2012 will be more about advancing the book. I will be working on marketing from January to July so that I will be prepared in August to really steam ahead.

I was disappointed with the lack of forward motion this year, but it was a reflection of the time I put into it last year. I teach a group of fifth graders literacy everyday. One of them found my book on the classroom bookshelf and asked if she could show it to the rest of the group. They were excited and wanted to read it. It is above their reading level, but we all agreed to work hard on vocabulary and I brought them copies the week before we went on Winter Break.  The excitement and rate at which they devoured the book amazed me. They were begging to read more and everyday they would come back having read 15-20 pages at home.

They are asking when they can read the next book and I don’t have anything to offer them yet. Their enthusiasm is good motivation to get back to work!

I still devour books like that. When a great story grabs at you and takes you out of your everyday life, it is a gift. I’m excited that my book is offering that to these six students.

I also received a text from a friend right before Christmas that her brother-in-law was reading my book to his kids for the third time this year. I couldn’t help but be honored by this. This book is special to me in ways that I can’t even express, but to realize that it is special to other people, to strangers is a revelation that I never really expected. You hope that it will matter to someone, but it is such a wonderful surprise when it does.

As 2011 comes to close, I want to thank it for all the wonderful opportunities it brought into my life. I’m excited to see what 2012 has in store for me and my writing.

I make resolutions each year, but I’m never too good at keeping them. I did the best job to date this last year. In terms of writing resolutions, I want to write daily. I am going to start small with a time frame not a word count because that seems to be easier for me to tackle. I think I will start with 10-15 minutes and try to increase it a bit every month.

What about you. What do you hope to accomplish with your writing or art in 2012?

I’m a big fan of Julia Cameron and her Artist Way books. I realized a week ago that I have never finished The Vein of Gold. I remember starting it in my early twenties, but not getting very far. I think a journey into my creative heart is exactly what I need in 2012. I am looking forward to co-creating a life of creativity this coming year.

Happy New Year’s Eve! See you next year.

Today we had a yucky snow day, but not enough to warrant a snow day – just enough to make it miserable to get to and from school.  I also found out that I could add falling snow to my blog, which was a nice surprise and less inconvenient than all the snow outside

I can’t believe that it’s December. The months have flown by. It seems impossible that 2011 is almost over. I have been struggling with a sinus infection and my energy level hasn’t been anything to brag about. I want to write, but have been doing everything but. I need to finish a book trailer, edit and upload an e-book and work on my website…but I don’t seem to be able to get my butt in gear.

What do you do to get yourself back on the wagon when procrastination is winning? Thoughts?

]]> http://monkeybethmedia.wordpress.com/2011/12/01/its-beginning-to-look-a-lot-like-christmas/feed/ 0 monkeybethmedia Snow day http://monkeybethmedia.wordpress.com/2011/11/28/its-time-to-get-things-started/ http://monkeybethmedia.wordpress.com/2011/11/28/its-time-to-get-things-started/#comments Mon, 28 Nov 2011 07:49:24 +0000 monkeybethmedia http://monkeybethmedia.wordpress.com/?p=760 ]]>

Spoiler Alert! I’ll be writing about the new Muppet movie, so if you haven’t seen it yet…shame on you and stop reading at once! Leave your computer and go to the theatre! I’ll be here when you get back

For everybody else, here goes.

I was so geeked out that I had to go to the midnight showing. I was super tired and suffering from a cold, but the movie was worth it. So was seeing it in the middle of the night with twenty other super fans. My mom and dad were going to go with me, but my mom felt under the weather. My brother came instead, which was nice as we never get a chance to see each other.

I was bewitched by the film from the second the lights went down to the final credits  – and then some. I have thought about the movie much of the holiday weekend. Walter, the super Muppet fan who tries his best to get the gang back together and find himself in the process, was so touching and wonderful. He reminded me of myself and my undying devotion to the Muppets all these long years. I wore a Kermit watch for over half my life and I think I have most of the Muppet paraphernalia seen in his room at the beginning of the movie.

The humor in the film is pitch-perfect. It is classic Jim Henson humor and it is obvious that Jason Segel and Nick Stoller are Muppet super fans as well, because only someone who truly loves them would have been capable of grasping that humor and putting it into this movie in such an effective way.

I took my mom to see it yesterday and I loved it just as much the second time around. I also cried in the exact same spots as the first showing. I get teary eyed when Walter tells Kermit that he is his hero and shows him his watch. I cry when Kermit sings Pictures in My Head, a new song where he is reminiscing about his old friends and whether they can get back what they have lost. I also weep during the Rainbow Connection and at the end when they walk out to the thousands and thousands of fans outside the theatre after the telethon. My mom couldn’t keep the tears back during the Rainbow Connection either. We whispered the lyrics that we have sung so many times over the years. As we walked to the car, she rubbed my shoulders and said it was nice to go to a Muppet movie again with me, their biggest fan.

When I was 11 years old, I went to see a traveling exhibit called Muppets, Monsters and Magic. It was like being in a fairytale. There was a Kermit watch that I desperately wanted. My dad said they would think about it because it was pretty expensive and we would come back before we left. When we did come back, it was gone.  I was pretty depressed.

We went out to a nice dinner afterwards at The Spaghetti Factory. We only went there on special occasions and I couldn’t even enjoy it because of the watch that got away. I went to use the restroom after we ordered and when I came back, the watch was sitting in front of my salad. My dad said the look on my face was priceless and one of his favorite Mary moments. I started to cry right there in the restaurant and I wore that watch with pride until it died many years later. A number of years after that, my parents found three more watches in a Tuesday Morning and gave them to me for Christmas. I was ecstatic. Just like Walter, that watch reminded me of my hero every time I looked at my wrist. I wore those watches out too and finally had to trade it in for something else. They now live in a shadow box with some of my other Muppet treasures.

They got it all right with this movie. Maybe I am just a devoted fan, but I was very pleased with every minute of it. There was plenty of nostalgia, but also an acknowledgment that the power of the Muppets and Jim Henson’s genius never really went away. It has lived in our hearts and memories all this time. Thank you Jason, for giving all of us this gift.

I am grateful for the new Muppet movie. I am also grateful for the inspiration from Jason Segel. He worked hard to bring this project to life. He proved again to me that believing is seeing. He used his passion to create a beautiful reverent tribute for us super fans and also introduced the Muppets to a new generation. He embraced what he loved about the Muppets and breathed new life into something that has been languishing in the wings, just waiting to be brought back into the spotlight.

Thank you for this incredible treat. I may be the happiest girl in the land. It’s not always easy being a dreamer, but I think it’s what I want to be and whether you’re a man or a Muppet, you’ll love this movie!

Have you been half asleep and have you heard voices?
I’ve heard them calling my name.
Is this the sweet sound that called the young sailors.
The voice might be one and the same.
I’ve heard it too many times to ignore it.
It’s something that I’m supposed to be.
Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection.
The lovers, the dreamers and me.

]]> http://monkeybethmedia.wordpress.com/2011/11/28/its-time-to-get-things-started/feed/ 2 monkeybethmedia the-muppets 115px-LorusSeiko1991KermitWatch muppets3-large http://monkeybethmedia.wordpress.com/2011/11/06/sunday-morning/ http://monkeybethmedia.wordpress.com/2011/11/06/sunday-morning/#comments Sun, 06 Nov 2011 17:24:09 +0000 monkeybethmedia http://monkeybethmedia.wordpress.com/?p=750 ]]>

Good morning.

I am enjoying the extra hour of sleep and a nice cup of french press vanilla hazelnut coffee in my favorite Kermit mug this morning as I write.  I haven’t been great about posting on a schedule since I moved, but I am starting to feel more settled and I think all of that will fall back into place again.

This Kermit mug was a Christmas gift last year from my cousin and I love it more than anything. As most of my close friends who read this blog know, I am a Muppet fanatic. I have loved ALL things Muppet since I was an infant. My first Christmas ornaments were Muppet themed. Once, when I was a toddler the Muppet Show was preempted by a football game and I was so inconsolable, my dad called the network to see what could be done to right it.

If I had three wishes and could acquire any Muppet paraphernalia in the world…I would want Kermit’s coffee cup from the Muppet Show set and the beaded microphone headband that Jim wore when he was performing. I know, I will probably never have an opportunity to have either of these priceless items, so this Kermit cup is a nice substitute.

Jim Henson is more than my hero, he is my inspiration and my touchstone of what a creative and imaginative person can accomplish. I still remember where I was when I found out that he had passed away. It was three days before my thirteenth birthday and I was sitting in the car, waiting for my mom at the bank. She came back to the car to find me inconsolable again. I cried all the way home and couldn’t even tell her until we were back inside. I always thought that I would meet him and maybe work with him some day. I was devastated.

This year I am grateful for many things: my new job, a great apartment, the opportunity to teach awesome kids everyday, my health, my family and friends…I could go on. However, I am also very grateful for a new Muppet movie. I am starting to seriously geek out about it. Part of me thinks that I might be getting too excited, therefore lessening my chances of loving it because my expectations will be too high. But, I think that I love the Muppets with such intensity that I will more than likely love it anyway.

Also, Jason Segel wrote it and as I have come to discover this weekend – he may be a bigger Muppet fan than I am. Hard to imagine I know. He has such respect and admiration for the Muppets and Jim, I am pretty confident that he will do it justice. On another note, my mom is convinced that he is my soul mate because of our Muppet love connection. If you’re out there Jason, maybe you would enjoy a trip to Colorado soon…

I also have been busy trying to get geared up for another holiday season of selling my book, The Christmas Child. I have been working through some changes and edits from last year. This time last year I had a computer crash  and had to reformat the whole manuscript and barely got it printed before Christmas. This year, I couldn’t find anything but the PDF file and ended up reformatting once again. But a couple of days ago, I did find the elusive file from last year so…long story short – a lot of extra work for nothing.

I have a tendency to do that. Make a mountain out of a molehill, as they say. In my impatience, I sometimes jump prematurely and end up in the weeds. Oh well. At least I can send the file to the printer tomorrow. Now I have to focus on some promotion and try to get some more people to the book.

Every year I have sold more than the year before, so I can’t complain about that either but I would love to have some killer sales this year.

I am working on a book trailer and some fun videos that I will post links to soon.

Enjoy the extra time today to do something you love. I think I’ll enjoy a classic Muppet Movie and get some words on the page.

I made it through another week! TGIF and all that.

I wanted to go out tonight, but after I went for a walk and made some dinner…I decided that staying in might be a better idea. I’m pretty tired any way. Friday’s are weird because you want to go out and do something fun, but it was still a work day. I’m turning into a pumpkin rather early tonight.

I haven’t posted in forever! I have been busy being a new teacher and trying to get my new life together in a new home. It has been awesome, but I’m still not quite settled. And I haven’t really been writing either. I did write one flash fiction piece  last month for  a contest. I got some good feedback and I am excited to revise it and submit it somewhere else.

For now, I’m going to drink a glass of wine and go to bed. Tomorrow I am going to put some stuff away and try to get some writing done…after I sleep in, of course!

Goodnight.

]]> http://monkeybethmedia.wordpress.com/2011/10/21/friday-night-blues/feed/ 0 monkeybethmedia mbm2011LakeImageBVwtmk http://monkeybethmedia.wordpress.com/2011/09/04/moving-on-up/ http://monkeybethmedia.wordpress.com/2011/09/04/moving-on-up/#comments Mon, 05 Sep 2011 04:29:03 +0000 monkeybethmedia http://monkeybethmedia.wordpress.com/?p=730 ]]> Hi there,

I have been avoiding packing all day, but I can’t escape for long. My moving truck is confirmed and I have a handful of people planning to help so I better get myself in line.

I will be out of the loop for a bit while I finish putting my life into boxes and getting settled in my new home.

I’ll be back soon. Happy Labor Day.

I’m sorry to be posting late but I was busy scrambling to write a flash fiction story last night for the NYC Midnight Flash Fiction Challenge. Flash Fiction is short fiction, anything under 1,000 words. Some contests only allow fiction that is 55 words. Flash Fiction is tricky, but fun to try. It makes you think twice about every word choice because you have a limited amount of space to tell your story. One of the first short stories I was ever proud of sprung from a Flash Fiction exercise in college. We could only use 500 words. It wasn’t much to brag about in the first draft, but it led me to a great story.

One of the most famous flash fiction stories was written by Ernest Hemingway and it is only six words, but those six words are potent and powerful.

For sale: baby shoes, never worn.

One of the best books I’ve read in the last year was an anthology of six-word teen memoirs from Smith magazine. You can check out a bunch of funny, devastating and amazing memoirs here.

The NYC Midnight competition  groups all the contestants and each writer is given a genre, a location and an object. My genre was open, my location was a butcher shop and my item was a block of ice. At first I was excited that I could write in any genre I wanted, but as I was trying to think of a story, I started to wish I had some more parameters.

As someone who was a vegetarian for many years, I wasn’t stoked to write about a butcher shop. However, after a couple of hours of research I found myself grounded in a particular character, but I still didn’t know what his story was. Then I started writing dialogue where this character recognizes a woman in his shop as the girl who killed his father decades before.

I love when that happens. I often doubt that another idea will show up for me to write, but what I learned again last night is that the ideas always appear if I am connected and committed to the process.

There will be another round of the contest in late September. I’ll be given a new genre, location and item to write about. I almost decided not to participate. I’m glad I changed my mind

If you haven’t ever tried flash fiction, give it a try. You might be inspired and intrigued with what you come up with.