Be Joe

There are certain days in my life that stand out strong in my memory. One of these days is the first time I saw Joe Versus the Volcano. This Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan classic is one of my family's all time favorites. It is inspirational in ways that few other movies or books are. It's not sad, sappy, or cruel. It has so many quotable lines that we often find ourselves saying lines from this movie and randomly singing lines from some of the songs. Joe's circumstances show us how any ordinary person can pick up their life and become the best that they can be (much like Do Life Right's mission statement). All anyone has to do is decide to have the life they want. Everything we ever need and want is available to us, we just have to believe it and grab it.

If you want to be reminded to WAKE UP and LIVE NOW, Joe Versus the Volcano is the movie for you. Whenever we're feeling like life is rough, or otherwise needing inspiration, we pull out this movie and become Joe for a while.

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!