Monday Morning Inspiration: Create

"How will you give something beautiful to the world?" 

Monday Morning Inspiration: Live

Put your tennis shoes on. 

Sharpen your pencil. 

Stir your paint. 

Air up your bicycle tires. 

Or, pick up the phone. 

After you view this video, your heart will race and you will want to go and DO and CREATE and LIVE and LOVE.

Share this with someone today.

Monday Morning Inspiration: Comparison

This is such an inspiring sentiment for me. As a writer, I'm often tempted to compare myself to other writers. We all do. I have to tell myself the same phrase I'm often saying to my little girls: God made you uniquely individual. There is no one else like you. Don't compare yourself to Sally. Be glad and joyful and see the good work He will do you in. Work that no one else on the planet can do except you! 

Don't you find that sometimes it's the encouraging words we say to little children that we should also say to ourselves?

Monday Morning Inspiration: Write Like Hemingway

I recently watched "Midnight in Paris," that gem of a Woody Allen film featuring a writer who enters the world of great authors after midnight. If only a real wrinkle in time such as this existed! I loved the actor who portrayed Hemingway and his vigorous dialogue urging all writers to write about truth and nobility.

The movie inspired me to revisit some of my books on Hemingway. I stumbled across this terrific piece from Confident Writing titled "27 Secrets to Writing Like Hemingway." 

My favorite piece of advice on this list is to "watch what happens today."

--
Do you have a favorite piece of writing advice? Are you a Hemingway devotee? 

Monday Morning Inspiration: On Life

Saw this list from author Seth Godin. Tacking to my bulletin board now.

Monday Morning Inspiration: Begin

“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”

Lao Tzu

I just turned in what I hope are the final round of edits for my forthcoming novel. Woo! As it often happens with me after I finish one project, I have the feeling that I don't even know how to write a simple sentence. So I'm trying to focus on taking that first single step. Here I go....

Monday Morning Inspiration: What readers want

Last Thursday, the weekly meme Booking Through Thursday posed that oft repeated question - What’s more important: Good writing? Or a good story?

It got me to thinking that this was a must read meme for writers. It's great to hear what readers want, what they tend to favor and even examples of books that supported their answers.

Some particularly succinct responses to this question can be found at:

Everything Distills Into Reading

A Very Disoriented Reader

Once Upon a Twilight

Magic Is In Words

And here's my response. Peruse ALL of the Booking Through Thursday responses here.

Monday Morning Inspiration For Writers

Monday Morning Inspiration

Teresa Wozniak's fun New Year's poster as seen here.

Monday Morning Inspiration

I saw this at one of my favorite blogs - YA Highway. Here's hoping this inspiration saves a life! Ha!

Monday Morning Inspiration: Our Deepest Fear

This scene from the movie Coach Carter features a powerful poem by Marianne Williamson. I love the sentiments within these few short words. They urge us to more forward, live big and embrace our deepest fear. My wish is that every child would "let their own light shine" as this poem encourages. My wish is the every artist who wants to create something for the world would memorize these few words.