Pleasure Writing -- The World of Fiction

Today is day 3 in the somewhat famous NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) experience. The goal of each participant is to write a minimum of 50,000 words (a novella) in the 30 days of November. This is my fifth year of participating and the second year that I've gotten a very late start (I haven't written a single word of fiction yet this month...). I do, however, intend to finish a rough manuscript before the end of the month.

Concerned how this can work? Check out Chris Baty's (the founder of NaNoWriMo) book: No Plot? No Problem!: A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days.

I spent the day at a writer's workshop, sponsored by RWA-Tucson, called "Discovering Story Magic". While the group was large (and the dynamic of the group discussion period would have been a lot more fun with less people), there was a lot of fantastic information passed along. If you have the opportunity to attend this workshop, I do recommend it. Our wonderfully special RWA chapter apparently came to a unique conclusion that none of the other "Discovering Story Magic" workshops have ever come to before. No spoilers from me. :)

If you have any desire to become a fiction writer, events such as NaNoWriMo are a fantastic way to get the momentum started. You might not come away with a best-seller at the end of the month, but you'll certainly be one step closer. Try participating in NaNoEdMo in March to edit your November masterpiece in a one month time period. A mere 50 hours counts as completion in this event, although most writers need significantly more to completely edit a novel.

Prefer writing a screenplay in a month? Check out Script Frenzy next June. This event has participants writing a 20,000 word screenplay in the one month time period. I've yet to participate in this, but I plan to at some point.

Think these are doable events? Feeling inspired? If you think you have it in you, you do. Have fun writing.

Have a Vision: Vision Boards and Vision Boxes

Vision Boards and Vision Boxes are becoming very popular! They are similar to Wish Lists, yet significantly deeper. Vision Boards can encompass not only our material desires, but also our deepest and innermost wishes and dreams such as "more peace" or "a magical existence". With The Law of Attraction and "The Secret" so popular, we're learning that our thoughts and dreams really can come true! We just have to really want them.

My daughters and I have vision boards. We made ours out of cut peg board. We glued cork on different areas of the boards (different for each of us), strung wire on the back, and stained little wooden boxes that we later glued on the boards. We use the cork area for the material things and/or short term events we want (ours are evolving with us). The other area we've mod-podged things that make us feel good -- pictures of things, words, etc. that reflect who we are and who we want to be (I've put lots of calm, zen images on my board; my oldest daughter has lots of magical images; my youngest daughter has gemstones and ballet photos). Basically, we put things on our boards that we want to manifest into our lives. My youngest daughter cleverly hooked a cup onto her board that she fills with little homemade clay items.

Some people choose to make Vision Binders or Boxes where they put photos and magazine words/pictures/items into. We prefer our Boards that hang on the wall, so we can look at them throughout the day. The boards definitely lack the portability of a binder though. I've seen a variety of Vision Boards made out of cardboard, foam board, and other materials. The great thing about these is that there is no set way of making them. It is entirely up to you! Christine Kane wrote a really great "How to Make a Vision Board" blog entry for those interested. Some people even make computer wallpaper Vision Boards for their screen's background. This is a very neat concept!

We enjoy our Vision Boards so much that we held a "Vision Board Day" with our Girl Scout Troop (I'm a Girl Scout Leader for both of my daughters' troops). I've been amazed at the wonderful and creative ideas the girls have had! This also gave us a chance to share our collection of catalogs and magazines. Some of the girls put only words all over their boards, others chose only pictures. One thing is for certain: our boards have to evolve since we keep getting everything we hope and dream for! It is amazing how these things keep appearing in our lives.

With the Holiday Season just around the corner, I'm excited to see the items that are popping up on my daughters' Vision Boards. I know what they'll love to receive and I don't have to ask them.

Don't forget to periodically take photos of your Vision Boards. It is fun to look back over time and see how your dreams have come true!

Catalogs I LOVE

I'm not a fan of receiving too many catalogs and other mail that I don't want. However, I am a huge fan of receiving catalogs in the mail that I'm going to keep around a while and reference. Be sure to check out online catalogs before you have a paper one sent to you. If you prefer to look and purchase online only, be sure to drop them an e-mail saying you don't want catalogs sent to you.

Here are catalogs that I love. They inspire me and my children. We keep them for weeks, or months, or years. We cut them up and make collages with them (then ATCs out of those), we dream about the photos, they broaden our worlds. They often intrigue us and help us have a more Zen-like life, all at the same time. And, sometimes, of course, we actually buy things out of them. :) We keep our wished for items on our vision boards for all the world to see and miraculously, we usually have our wishes come true.

Kid Stuff:
Chinaberry (books, toys, audio books)
Oriental Trading Company (they have several different catalogs)
MindWare (fun "thinking" toys)
Lego Magazine and Catalog
HearthSong (miscellaneous fun toys, lots of wood items)
Spilsbury (puzzles, etc.)
C.W.D. Kids (clothing for little kids)
Magic Cabin (similar to Hearthsong, but more Waldorf -- beautiful illustrations!)
Educational Innovations (science things, their catalog is MUCH better than their online store)
Steve Spangler Science (science fun)
Hammacher Schlemmer (fun dream toys)
Discover Channel Store (great toy and DVD source)

Household Stuff:
IKEA (everything you need to furnish an entire house)
Solutions Catalog (all kinds of interesting things)

Zen Stuff that has all kinds of things:
Isabella Catalog (the "grown-up" Chinaberry Catalog)
Signals
The Wireless Catalog
Gaiam (they have several different catalogs)
Lush (nice massage bars and bath bombs)
Dharma Trading (dyes and blanks for dyeing things -- I always keep a catalog on-hand)
Acacia (some of the neatest things I've seen for a while)

For Travel and outdoor:
Sahalie (clothing, traveling, and outdoor supplies)
TravelSmith (clothing and supplies for traveling)
Magellans

Online only:
Geeks.com (discounted fun electronics)
ThinkGeek.com (fun geeky things)
amazon.com (just about everything these days)
Kodak Gallery
Vegan Essentials
Rick Steves (excellent source for traveling supplies, best source for information about traveling in Europe)

Enjoy!

Support Local Artists

Next time you are on the market for a new painting, sculpture, or other artistic gift, check out your local artists. I keep being pleasantly surprised at the wonderful artwork that is created in and around my community. Some of my recent finds include:

• Diana Madaras -- canvases, prints, calendars, art tiles, and more (I was introduced to her work when it was auctioned off at a PCRM dinner at Tucson's vegan restaurant, Lovin' Spoonfuls, last year). We just met this artist at her signing last night; she is just as lovely in person as we imagined her to be. My oldest daughter is a huge fan! Be sure to check out her display at the Tucson airport, if you are flying through.
  

• Desert Art Works -- mobiles, windchimes, metal sculptures

My favorite artist from Iowa (where I am originally from) is:

• Isabel Bloom -- sculptures

Go check out your local galleries and galleries you find while you travel. Some amazing artwork can be found at very decent prices. I sometimes even find sculpture and furniture artists showing their wares on street corners. These people are incredibly talented! My daughters and I have fun looking at artwork wherever we go.

As a speculative fiction writer myself (another type of artist), I have found meeting with local writers to be very interesting and inspiring. I am a member of the Tucson Romance Writer's of America chapter. Their monthly meetings are always fun and educational and I have thoroughly enjoyed working my way through reading (a small portion) of the published author's writings. Check your local bookstores in the local authors section. You just might find a new favorite.

Then, of course, don't forget that you can make your own artwork! The majority of art around our house is handcrafted by my children and myself. We highly enjoy these pieces because they are beautiful and hold sentimental value. Be sure to check out local and online communities of artist's trading cards. This is a really fun way to have your own versions of other's art.

Keep Family Up-to-date with Photos

In order to keep our family and friends up-to-date on our lives, we like to send them photographs. We enjoy sending digital photos to Ceiva digital frames. We first gave frames to family over seven years ago. The frames have held up well and for the most part, we've been extremely happy with Ceiva and their customer support. The original frame requires a phone line, but their new frame does not. My parents currently have one of each. The frames are simple and straight-forward for the end user. The downloading is automatic, unless you force it to download immediately (always an option). These do require a subscription, but we've found the price to be well worth the ease of use and the enjoyment of the recipient.

For prints, I prefer using Kodak Gallery (previously ofoto.com). Their prints have held up well and we've been especially happy with the quality of their photo books. I like the ease of ordering online and I've had no problems with delivery or incorrect orders, unlike other places.

I purchase photo supplies, specialty camera items, and backdrops, etc. from Adorama.

For simple photo editing, I use PhotoDeluxe. I use PhotoShop for more extensive editing.

For fun e-card type photograph mailings, I prefer Smilebox.

Celebrating "Not Back to School" 2007

It's that time of year again: NOT Back to School time! Whoo-Hoo for all Radical Unschoolers like my family. It is time to celebrate our freedom and life long journey of learning all the time.

What have we been up to?

I've been busy updating my list of Unschooling books, websites, and magazines for all new Unschooling families out there. Happily for the children of the world, there are more and more each year. Unschooling is living life fully and completely with no matrix of false reality.
No matter which definition you put on it, Unschooling is a journey of self discovery for the parents as well as the children.

We are planning adventures, art projects, and more. My eldest daughter's current favorite activity is making Art Trading Cards (otherwise known as ATCs). We make these 2.5"x3.5" cards and trade with other people in online and in-person "Anything Goes" and specialty themed trades. We've made a "How To Guide" and we regularly update our Flikr page with our own creations and those of trades that we host.

My youngest daughter's current favorite activity is Webkinz. These are brilliant and I would like to officially congratulate the creator. I'm not sure there is anyone out there that doesn't know how great this is, but on the off chance, here is a quick summary: Webkinz are lovable stuffed animals in two different sizes (regular Webkinz and the small "Lil' Kinz" version - close in size to Beanie Babies). Both come with a tag that has a special code that allows the owner to play with a virtual version of their pet in its own world. Each pet gets a room and some special gifts, as well as Kinzcash. There are games to play and jobs to work at and so much more! All earn the user more Kinzcash, which in turn, allows the user to make themselves a mansion of fun. If you have a child between the ages of 5 and 18, you might check these out. Of course, I'm the first to admit that I have two Webkinz of my own. I can't wait for the turtle. :)