Happy Inauguration Day

Normally I don't discuss politics. I'm firmly in the camp of everyone is entitled to their own opinions and beliefs. However, I can't imagine that anyone could blog today about anything other than the inauguration of Barack Obama.

This election was historic on so many levels. Going into the voting booth, I knew whichever party won, this country was breaking down barriers. Whatever your ethnicity, gender, religion, or politics, today we are witness to history.

As we move into what will (hopefully) be an inclusive era, I'll leave you with this final thought. Love too can transcend the boundaries of differences. Love is universal, love unites, and love inspires a profound hope for the future.

Writing Friends

My critique group, left to right, Me, Trish Cetrone, Lynn Coddington, Sophie Littlefield, and Cyndy Rymer

Writers who critique are not hard to come by. Pretty much anyone who has been writing for more than a month will have something to say if you put your draft, aka your baby, in their hands.

Whether they offer anything productive is another story. :)

I am blessed to have the best critique group on the planet (and sorry, but no, we are not taking new members). We didn't start out as the best ever, we evolved into our current group slowly and sometimes accidentally. Underlying every meeting, we have each other's best interests at heart, we are not afraid to give criticism but we're also not afraid to ignore criticism (even if we're sometimes wrong in ignoring it!) We each have our own critiquing strength which when put together equals a well-rounded judgement.

I've heard horror stories about professional jealousy from people who are supposed to be your friends. We have managed to avoid that trap because we are geniunely as invested in our friend's career as we are our own. We celebrate our triumphs and our disappointments equally, cheer each other on, commiserate through family trials, go on writing trips and field trips together, inspire and motivate and nag each other when necessary. Such as, thank you Sophie, for the nag, er gentle reminder to write my blog post for the week. :)


So with all the craziness in the world today, I wanted to just say thanks to my fabulous critique group. :)

Resolutions

Happy New Year! Out with the old and in with the new....thank goodness. We can only hope 2009 is a heck of a lot better than 2008--although there are always plenty of things to give thanks for even if the year overall didn't turn out how you wished.



Resolutions are a funny thing. I bet if you looked at your list year after year, the resolutions haven't changed much. Lose those ubiquitous pounds (only the amount changes), drink less, exercise more, be kinder to those around us....



A few years ago I used the expertise of a life coach to help focus what I wanted and how to go about it. Looking at my goals for 2009, I was pleased to see that while some of my resolutions are the same (weight and exercise :) ) in many areas I have moved on to new and more challenging goals and I've replaced old behaviors with more productive and satisfying ones.



The trick to achieving any goal is to break it down into manageable pieces. I also believe there is much in the attitude you take while trying to achieve the goal. Instead of thinking of achieving a resolution or goal through discipline (which infers toil and drudgery) think of the actions as devotion. I heard this in a workshop given by Eric Maisel (www.ericmaisel.com) and it really struck a chord with me.



I don't write every day for drudgery, I write because I love the process (even when I hate the process). It is an act of devotion.



So here's hoping that your year is full of devotion.