B-I-N-G-O Was His Name O

I must admit Cow Patty Bingo is not anything I had thought about lately. However it brings up memories of things... like going submarine hunting in Valley View Texas when I was a kid. Oh, hunting for raccoons was another favorite past time, which seemed to be played exclusively at night...right along with submarine hunts.

Go check out how Cow Patty Bingo works over at Bloggrrl, and while you're there find out why your dog is different than you.

Write it down,

Carma

Are You Addicted to Blogging?

I am 77% addicted to blogging. I am a little surprised about that. But I feel in good company with these two guys. Phil Gerbyshak at Make It Great is 81% and Dawud Miracle is 71%. Being a novice blogger I feel pretty good about this type of addiction and I like Phil's take on it as a "commitment".

Write it down,
Carma


77%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Achieve Success - Hire A Coach

A writer needs a coach for the same reason an athlete does. For instance, consider Joe Blanton, pitcher for the Oakland A’s. He did not tie an Oakland rookie record of 12 wins in 2005 with out a coach, nor did he throw his first shutout on May 31 against the Royals without a pitching coach.

I am not a coach, but I am a “coach-ee” and my “coach-er” is Lisa Gates from Design Your Writing Life. I met Lisa right here in the blogosphere and she taught me how to define the difference between the “I have to’s” and the “I am committed to’s” for my writing career and personal life (among other things).

I have to…oops…I am committed to writing my book proposal by September. See what I mean?

Are you finding yourself spending time on unproductive work? What is unproductive work? For me it is washing dishes, cooking, or cleaning house. All of these things can be hired out. Why should you do anything that you can pay someone else to do or have your partner do? Thus, freeing up more time to spend on your writing.

Are you earning enough money? Of course not but a coach will show you ways to improve in that area.

Are you good at what you do but you are not getting the desired results? This is probably true for most of us. A coach will show you how to get the desired result.

Coaches smooth the progress for their clients in gaining confidence, establishing goals, building a strong foundation and becoming successful. Through Lisa’s coaching I was able to come up with a dynamite motto which will inform my target audience what I do. When I fine tune it, I will be ready to publish.

Hiring a writing coach is not about having someone check grammar and punctuation, although they are quite capable and experienced in that field. A coach gives support, listens and teaches. Furthermore, the objectivity they provide is tremendous because they are not so embedded in your trees that they can’t see your forest.

Write it down,

Carma

Take A Bite From the Billion Dollar Book Pie

This incredible information came from Billie Williams at Printed Words

290,000 books were published in 2006 – makes you feel like a needle in a haystack if you are an author. Where do you fit, how can you possibly hope to compete? Take heart!31 Billion dollars a year is, according to a recent survey, spent on book purchases. That’s a lot of change. I imagine some are purchased for schools, but many of their textbooks are used year after year with minimal replacement. So, you have to think that most books are purchased for personal reasons. All you have to do is write the book you are passionate about, market it like there is no tomorrow, and you may carve out your slice of that Billion dollar pie.

And here is a daunting thought:

Speaking of writing — did you know that if you have an idea that you think sounds like a great first line, gets you unstuck on your current WIP (Works in Progress) or just takes your breath away—you only have 37 seconds to capture that fleeting pellet of wisdom before it floats away on the ether? And even if you can recall bits and pieces of it — within 7 minutes it will be gone forever.

I know all of us have experienced the familiar panic attack when a “WOW” idea hits us and there is NOTHING to write on or what about the time the title of your book popped in your head and you KNEW this was IT and you were lathered up in the shower? What did you do?

I used to place one of those notepads with a rubber suction cup on the dashboard of my car. Other than looking nerdy, I think the sight of it chased my muse away. Day after day the blank paper on the note pad glared at me. Finally, I got rid of it.

Now when I am in the car, I carry a personal digital recorder in my purse. It isn’t much bigger than a lipstick case and it works great. Not only does it record my bright ideas, it records the inflection of my tone and mood. I love that part. When I am at home, I have pen and paper in every room of the house.

If you get a chance click on over to the Printed Word and read Billie’s post in its entirety.

Billie A Williams, Award winning author of over two dozen fiction works, plus non-fiction and poetry books, articles, columns and recently a 3-Act Play to be released July 2007. http://www.billiewilliams.com/ http://www.word-mage.com/ (where you can visit other authors of her Word Mage writing group)

Write it down,

Carma

Plumbers Versus Writers

When I became a plumbing contractor I had no skills but I had knowledge. When I became a writer, I had skills but no knowledge. (Carma Dutra)

I have been a plumbing contractor for 25 years and I have been a writer for 6 months...professionally speaking that is. Following are some similarities between plumbing and writing.

Plumbers are specialists. Plumbers apprentice for numerous years before being recognized as a journeyman plumber. Plumbers are the health of the nation.

Writers are specialists and apprentice their craft by attending workshops and submitting oodles of proposals for a lot of years before being recognized and published.

Scores of plumbing contractors own their own business and service customers.

Countless writers own their business and work for clients.

What about image? Not all writers are as well known as Stephen King and the fickle public tends to discount you as a professional if you’re not on the top 10 sellers list.

You have heard about the infamous “Plumber’s crack” which is the image the world envisions when thinking of plumbers (thanks to the media)

The price that a writer or a plumber charges for their work is exorbitant if you believe the non-professional. There are numerous people who think a writer or a plumber can work for minimal wage?

In order to have work approved and accepted, plumbers submit their work to an inspector while a writer submits book proposals to editors in anticipation of approval and acceptance.

There are obvious differences. Plumbers have to crawl under houses; fight their way through cob webs, wrestle with black widows and bypass rats. They also clean roots and other paraphernalia from sewers and toilets. Their tools turn black and become crusted with gunk.

A writer does not need to undergo this type of “hands-on” experience. A stroke of the key board will suffice and replicate these experiences from the comfort of their home or office.

What’s it all about Alfie? Commitment, desire, pride, and work ethics. What other analogies can you come up with? Are you committed to yourself?

Over at http://www.bloggrrl.com/ Michelle Cepeda has a great analogy. She had me laughing.

Write it down,

Carma

Survival of the Fittest

A section of the fence in my back yard is directly up against one of our neighbors fences. This has created a small hollow space between the two fences, which has been the birthplace for a number of cats. I always know when there is a new litter because my Lab Rocky starts spending a lot of time sniffing at the fence.

I am a cat lover but I do not have time to take care of a multitude. When these cute little fur balls venture out of their sanctuary, wobbling on 4 little stubs of fur, who can blame anyone for not being able to resist such cuddly and cute objects of affection?

My 6 year old granddaughter came running into the house carrying a long drooping corrugated black plastic tube about 5 ft long. The tube was wobbly and bouncing around as she frantically tried to explain to me what was inside the tube. “Grandma the kittys stuck, and can’t get out”. The limp black tube was covered in spider webs and dust so I quickly turned her and the tube around to the deck outside.

I wiggled the floppy corrugated tube gently but it just bobbed up and down. I could feel that something was inside. Tiny scratching sounds and muffled meows could be heard. Out tumbled a little black and white kitty. No sooner had it tumbled out than it ran under the wood pile. Like an ostrich with its head in the sand, the little kitty’s bottom half was not moving while the top half was covered by the wood.

All the while my big lab dog Rocky had been on our heels chomping at the bit trying to get these little babies. Granddaughter is crying. I am yelling at Rocky. Out tumbles two more little puffs of fur from the bobbing tube, one orange and one brindle. Rocky’s ears and tail point upward as he pounced. However, the kitty was a little too quick for him. In the blink of an eye, the orange puff of fur leaped off the deck into the pond. The little thing was fleeing for its life. It had become Survival of the Fittest.

The world was coming to an end according to my granddaughter, who was wailing. By this time my husband heard the scuffle and came out just in time to see the kitty swimming for his life and scooped him up. Now we had 3 little kittys being scattered in all different directions and Rocky was bouncing from one to the other and almost succeeding. I picked the limp corrugated tube up and as I swung it around out flies a white kitty. I have never seen a kitty or cat walk on air before.

The end result was 2 kittens scooted to the neighbors yard, 1 soaking wet kitten scrambled back inside the fence and the fate of the other kittens are unknown but I am sure they are hunkered in deep somewhere. The most fit is not always the biggest.

Write it down,

Carma

Passion Wears Me Out

I have written about passion before but I feel it needs to be revisited. You may be living your passion, but for some of us, we are not so sure. Passion runs deep and often begins in childhood. Take a mental trip into your childhood. What did you dream or fantasize about? Identify what is more important to you. This means values. Make a list of things you deeply want

Dig down real deep to get to the core of your being. Do you see yourself making world changing contributions to society through your work? I often dream about becoming a philanderer, I mean philanthropist. Yes I would give away my money, if I had a lot, but after raising five kids, I’m plum tapped out.

When you were in grade school what did you fantasize about? When I played basketball out in the back yard, I would pretend that I was the star of the team and the crowd would go wild and yell, “Go Carma Go!!!” My mother once told me that when I was a toddler, I would shove other kids out of the way so I could be first.

Do you know how to find all the possibilities that await you? Research, ask questions and read a lot. I am not sure about the possibilities part but research is a great way to broaden your intelligence. Today while I was researching a subject for an article, I discovered little known facts, (at least to me), that soy ink is used in 90% of all American newspapers.

To learn if a particular career is right for you there are ways you can try it out. Get a temporary job in your dream career or shadow someone for a day or two. I like the word “shadow”. It makes me feel a little covert.

This passion stuff wears me out.

What do you enjoy so much that you would do it for free? Whatever that is, then that… IS your passion. Start doing what you love and the money will follow.

Isn’t that what we, as writers are doing? We are following our passion first, money is second. If you need money while you are following your passion, you may have to take a (gulp) job.

I made light of the seriousness of finding your passion, but we cannot take ourselves too seriously, however, we should take our career seriously. There is a difference. Did you get it?

Write it down,

Carma