By the way, if you’ve been thinking of weeding your personal library a bit, and trying to sell some of your excess books, this article has some interesting information about why you might want to do that sooner . . . → Read More: digital books, the internet, and the future]]> Check out this interesting article, “Digital books, the internet, and the future” by John H Armstrong.

By the way, if you’ve been thinking of weeding your personal library a bit, and trying to sell some of your excess books, this article has some interesting information about why you might want to do that sooner than later.

Aug 24, 2010

Right now, I just want to . . . → Read More: discouraged about writing – but still determined!]]> It’s been a long time since I posted here – almost 3 weeks. I was thinking about that the other day, wondering why its been so hard to get motivated the write, when I love writing. Here are my thoughts, which I jotted down in my journal:

Aug 24, 2010

Right now, I just want to crawl in bed under a big quilt and hide! I think I’m just procrastinating, afraid to make decisions, and to take the plunge.

When I was away, visiting my new grandchild, I had gotten so discouraged about my writing, partly because a lot of people had questioned me about why I was writing, how much money I’d made so far – not much, and what was the point of it when I could dependably make more money with even a simple minimum wage job. My explanations about having a passion for writing, for always having wanted to pursue it (when I was in high school I really wanted to go into journalism, but everyone discouraged me, and then life just got busy and complicated), for wanting to explore in writing certain ideas I’m also passionate about – those explanations just met with puzzled expressions and head-shaking.

So while I was away, I actually decided to look for a “real job” when I got home. Well, I’m home now, and there isn’t much work available (until the end of summer anyway, when kids go back to school and college and leave their jobs). Meanwhile, I’ve been doing a lot of reading – and a bit of commenting on some blogs (which I am afraid mostly sounds rambling and scrambled) – but I haven’t done any “real” writing.

Oh! I did do a book review at my other blog – but that was because I had been given a free copy of the book on the condition that I post a book review by a certain date. In other words, I had a deadline.

Today I read a blog post about “discipline” and I guess that is part of my problem. I seem to need schedules and deadlines. And mostly, externally placed ones seem to be more effective. Though there have been times when a carefully drawn up schedule has worked for a period of time. Maybe the fact that it’s summer time right now is also part of my problem. And the fact that I’ve been waiting for 3 new grandchildren to arrive; I have found it hard to buckle down to any big writing projects when I know I could receive a phone call at any time, and need to jump on the Greyhound and head off for a week or two.

**** and now back to the present!

Well, I’m getting back on-board with writing. I went through all the blog posts I subscribe to, picked out the ones I found really interesting, and have commented on them. I have also written about some of them at my Church Journey blog. I’ve started journaling again (as you can see above!). I’ve gotten back to work redesigning the Church Journey blog, by adding pages on specific topics, and on them putting key clips from some of the varied topics I have on that blog. So far I’ve done a page called Street Church – Father’s Call and Street Church – Stories, both about the Another Chance street ministry I’m involved with. I’ve been posting on the Penticton Writers e-group that I moderate, and attended the Penticton Writers and Publishers (PWAP) AGM this week – where I found myself appointed “Director of Communications.” (And I am exploring alternative ways of producing the PWAP quarterly newsletter; I edited the first issue in July, and am looking for ways to improve it for the October issue).

I’ve also posted a little file on my desktop where I can quickly jot down writing ideas (as if I didn’t already have a long, long list elsewhere) as they pop into my head. Like starting a blog/website for the “church at Penticton” as a place to maybe encourage interaction and unity. And get busy on this penandpapermama.com blog doing posts on writing and publishing, traditional (paper-based) and internet-based both.

An older PWAP member phoned the other day and asked if he could come by so I could explain to him a bit about blogging. I’ve been realizing that for a lot of us “seniors” (I found out the other day that I’m a senior, when I was given the “55+ seniors discount” at a local restaurant, lol), the whole electronic writing and publishing thing is pretty scary – and a majority of the tutorials available on the net assume some basic understanding already. So after I tried to explain the basics to this gentleman, I was really inspired to try and start a series of simply-explained posts for seniors, many of whom have been writing and publishing for years in the traditional publishing and self-publishing domain, but who are beginning to realize that using the web is becoming unavoidable.

I’ve actually been doing a lot of research, gathering information and trying out various things, since I decided to really work on my writing, starting in mid-March. I’ve learned a huge amount, and am hoping that with my background in education (I have taught K through grade 12 in both public and private schools), and the fact that I’m not so young myself, maybe I can explain some of these things in ways that seniors can understand.

So I’m afraid that the internet hasn’t got rid of me yet! I’m back, and I’m more determined than ever.

I’ll think about “real work” another day!

My apologies for lack of posting recently. I’ve been very busy with family visiting us, and now my daughter has just given birth, so I’m off to her home to . . . → Read More: lack of posting? Good reason!]]> Hello all!

My apologies for lack of posting recently. I’ve been very busy with family visiting us, and now my daughter has just given birth, so I’m off to her home to help out!

(Chris Brogan on “How Not to Write a Book” … great post! check . . . → Read More: Are you lazy? write a book!]]> “It’s 1/2 as many steps to write a book than it is to not write one. Are you lazy? Then write a book. It takes half the effort of not writing a book.”

(Chris Brogan on “How Not to Write a Book” … great post! check it out!)

Jonathan Swift summed up editorial work thus:

“Blot out, correct, insert, refine,

Enlarge, diminish, interline;

Be mindful, when invention fails,

To scratch your head, and bite . . . → Read More: editing – humor]]> July 28, 2010

Jonathan Swift summed up editorial work thus:

“Blot out, correct, insert, refine,

Enlarge, diminish, interline;

Be mindful, when invention fails,

To scratch your head, and bite your nails.”

I read a good post today on basic ways to build and improve your blog.

Kimberley Payne suggests:

1. Focus your blog 2. Decide on frequency 3. Do a variety of posts 4. Publicize your blog 5. There’s lots of advice out . . . → Read More: how to improve your blog]]> Are you a beginning blogger, or just thinking of starting a blog?

I read a good post today on basic ways to build and improve your blog.

Kimberley Payne suggests:

1. Focus your blog
2. Decide on frequency
3. Do a variety of posts
4. Publicize your blog
5. There’s lots of advice out there…

To learn more about each of these, check out Kimberley’s blog now.

And keep tuned…

I’ll be posting a list of my own very soon – right here at Pen and Paper Mama.

Click on the “posts” button at the top right hand corner of the blog, and subscribe so you don’t miss out on what coming up!

You can find pictures, links, and reviews on all ten books at PasteMagazine.com (which, by the way, also has amazing top-10/50/etc . . . → Read More: Top ten books about writing]]> You’ll definitely want to check out this “top ten books about writing” list … I’ve already read a couple of them, and considering how excellent those were, I’m certainly going to check out the others!

You can find pictures, links, and reviews on all ten books at PasteMagazine.com (which, by the way, also has amazing top-10/50/etc lists of all kinds of other things. A site you’ll want to bookmark, for sure!)

The books they list are:
The Artists Way by Julia Cameron
The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson
Zen in the Art of Writing by Bill Bradbury
On Writing Well by William Zinsser
Writing Tools: 50 Essential Tools for Every Writer by Roy Peter Clark
On Writing by Stephen King
The War of Art by Stephen Pressfield
The Writing Life by Annie Dillard
On Moral Fiction by John Gardner
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on the Writing Life by Anne Lamott

So what are you waiting for? Go to the site and check out the details! You’ll be glad you did!

Do you want to learn more about on-line writing and publishing?

If you do, why not join our community of writers and publishers?

Whether you are brand new to the online writing and publishing world, and have many questions; or you’re a seasoned pro and want to share . . . → Read More: Join our community of writers and publishers]]> Do you feel alone as a writer or publisher?

Do you want to learn more about on-line writing and publishing?

If you do, why not join our community of writers and publishers?

Whether you are brand new to the online writing and publishing world, and have many questions; or you’re a seasoned pro and want to share your knowledge, please join us! Click on the “posts” word in the top right hand corner of this page, and subscribe to receive regular updates from this site – then be sure to comment or ask questions on any of the posts which interest you.

Looking forward to having you become part of our community!

Afraid of on-line writing and publishing?

The other evening I listened to the 2009 Dalton Camp Lecture in Journalism on the CBC Radio program, “Ideas.” The guest lecturer was Sue Gardner, who worked for CBC Radio for a number of years, and is now in leadership at the Wikimedia Foundation (which produces on-line “wiki” . . . → Read More: Calm your fears of on-line writing]]> July 26, 2010

Afraid of on-line writing and publishing?

The other evening I listened to the 2009 Dalton Camp Lecture in Journalism on the CBC Radio program, “Ideas.” The guest lecturer was Sue Gardner, who worked for CBC Radio for a number of years, and is now in leadership at the Wikimedia Foundation (which produces on-line “wiki” sites like Wikipedia).

Here’s help!

If you are hesitant about on-line writing and publishing, I highly recommend that you listen to her presentation. Ms. Gardner knows both worlds well – traditional publishing and the new digital (on-line/ internet) publishing world. In this lecture, she talks about her experiences in both, and helps the listener to really understand the huge changes that are happening in the writing, broadcasting, and publishing worlds.

Listen here:

Listen to her presentation here at the CBC Ideas site.

Questions? Comments?

Be sure to leave your comments and questions at the end of this post. Let’s learn together.

Which of course makes sense, since it’s my “Pen and Paper Mama” site!

I particularly want to encourage folks who enjoy writing, but are . . . → Read More: Writing!!!]]> If you’ve been following this blog for awhile, you’ll know already that I’ve been trying to figure out what to focus on. And I’ve decided this will be my WRITING AND PUBLISHING center.

Which of course makes sense, since it’s my “Pen and Paper Mama” site!

I particularly want to encourage folks who enjoy writing, but are perhaps nervous about on-line writing and publishing. It really is the wave of the future – no, actually, on-line writing and publishing is NOW!

I do understand, though, that the internet can be intimidating to a lot of folks, especially those of my own generation, and those who are elders. So I am going to try to explain things in simple terms. I am no expert myself, but have been going through a pretty steep learning curve recently. And I think that perhaps I can help people out by explaining things more simply than many of the learning sites that are available.

So that is my goal for this site. If you have any questions, ask away! I will do my best to answer them, and if I don’t know the answer, I will find out for you – and for me, of course.