Access to Creativity

Artist Patricia Roshaven asked in a recent comment here how I get access to my own creativity.

In the course of working with other folks, I've put together dozens of tricks for doing that, but I'm going to ponder here what I regularly do myself to GET TO THE DEEPEST, WILDEST STUFF:

1. I start work, in my case, writing. The result may be awful for a while and then get better. And ideas emerge while I'm working.

2. After working--maybe later in the day--I do something physical and mindless: exercise, take a shower, eat lunch, do the laundry, run errands. After I've been writing, ideas pop up when I'm doing something physical and routine.

3. I've learned this one only in the last year: Keep a little sign on my computer that helps me remember the point of what I'm writing: insofar as I know the point. This may seem obvious, but what I write seems to come from preconscious material, and it slips away very easily. Here's a post about the therapy session I had that brought me to a breakthrough on this.

4. At times when I've felt gripped by fear, I've taken short breaks every hour and read something that helped me keep the floodgates open: in writing the first chapter of Sister India, I kept stopping to read a couple of pages of Natalie Goldberg's Wild Mind. At another point when I was feeling shocked by what I was writing, I read bits of an autobiography by a friend, Lucy Daniels, With a Woman's Voice, which was startlingly personal and disclosing. I kept thinking: if she can do this, I can surely keep on spinning this fiction.

5. Having lots of toys and visual stimulation has helped me when I needed to write an ad on a deadline. (I used to do a lot of this kind of work.) Also, meditation has worked well for this: read the basic information, then sit and not-think about it for half an hour. Several times I've opened my eyes and had the idea present itself full-blown.


Part Two of Patricia's question was: what causes creativity to stop for me. One word answer: overwork.

Please suggest some of your own creativity tricks in the comments section, if you will.

The Good News Blues

Used to be that at the completion of each draft of each book, I'd go into a three-day emotional hell that I referred to as POST-DRAFT NERVOUS BREAKDOWN.

This was like an amplifed version of coming out of a movie into bright daylight: *light too bright
*sounds too loud
*real world appears badly managed and in need of a wash
*irritants become infuriating
Fortunately, I seem to have gotten over that.

This weekend, I surprised myself with a writerly emotional phenomenon that I'd forgotten: AGENT-LOVES-MY-BOOK JITTERS.

As I boasted in my last post, my agent reported Thursday that she's quite keen on my novel. She's enthusiastically sending it out.

So this weekend, I spent much of Saturday BERATING MYSELF for:
*being too fat (false)
*being out of shape (somewhat true)
*wasting a lot of time (mostly not true)
*house in a perpetual mess (mostly true)
*berating myself (true)

Of course, I barely thought about the novel and its future at all.

On Sunday came STAGE 2 of the jitters:
*mind calm
*painfully tense neck

Still no thought of book going out this week to editors.

Today, Monday: So far so good, which will likely continue. Working tends to distract me, which is a damn good thing.

Some Book News

My agent called yesterday and she's excited about the revision of my novel COBALT BLUE that I finished and Fedexed two weeks ago.

This was what I wanted to hear: serious enthusiasm. I feel and she feels that the novel is really working after this last five-month go-round (Lord, let it be the last go-round before a sale!)

So now she sends it out. Please send it selling vibes (much like healing vibes) to help wing it to a soft landing in the lap of the publisher who will love it and provide it an enormous promotion budget. Thanks!

Authenticity

One of my heroes, the comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell, said this about authenticity:

THE PRIVILEGE OF A LIFETIME IS BEING WHO YOU ARE.

Takes guts to let the truth show, though. Especially in a piece of art that goes out into the world. That difficulty, on the face of it, doesn't make a lot of sense. Because nothing is more satisfying.

Well, maybe a happy marriage; but that too requires being authentic. In fact, so do most things that are worth doing.

So, as far as I can see, there's really not a lot of reason to hide out in a false persona. Except for the cost in courage, approval, awkward moments, and sometimes cash. I tell myself these are all short-term problems, and I'm convinced that this is true. But moment by moment, damn, it can be scary to venture out unguarded, and without apology.

The Artist's Career at Lake Junaluska

Last weekend's 3-day workshop at Lake Junaluska was about artists of all sorts increasing audience, income, and time for creative work. The photos are some of the artists and this old Methodist mountain retreat in the NC mountains where we met.

There were a couple of dozen of us and we left there wildly excited, full of ideas, and each carrrying
one overriding lesson: set your goal as high as you can imagine, and then develop a detailed step-by-step plan for how you can use the resources you have to start moving yourself in that direction.
The big lesson was that simple. And yet how many artists of any sort put together such a plan?


The idea is that each small step you take toward your goal opens some new resources and wider possibilities. And when we run up on the inevitable setbacks and fits of nervousness: just STAY WITH YOUR PLAN.

I set as my goal to sell one million copies of Cobalt Blue and all my other books. I do have a plan--and I've begun. Will keep you posted.

Feel free to post here any similarly immodest goal of your own. (The workshop was run by Creative Capital and sponsored by the NC Arts Council.)

Hypnotic Exploration

A note to women in central NC: my mesmerizing husband, psychologist Dr. Bob Dick, is running a seminar at our house this Friday on hypnosis and women's issues: which of course always include creativity.

I attended one of these self-hypnosis seminars of his not long after we got married, and, because of a trance experience there, the next day started work on what would become my first published novel, Revelation. Bob's contact number is 919 929-1227. We live in a log cabin on a pond out in the woods of eastern Chatham County.

The photo to the right is of Bob and me on an Alaskan exploration.

Stunned by Wisdom, Ambition, and Fatigue

The fatigue is mine. The wisdom came from the Creative Capital workshop I attended in the NC mountains this weekend.

Over this past winter, I wrote a lot of posts here about the one-day class I took with this group whose purpose is to help all kinds of artists, especially the most experimental ones, learn how to make money at a professional level and have the time and independence to do their best work. The workshop was sponsored by the NC Arts Council.

I said this before, but I will brag again. My income increased 82% in the four months after that workshop in December compared to the same four months a year earlier.

So I went back for the 3-day class. It was extremely valuable strategic career planning. That may not sound sexy. But the income that these teacher/artists were making sure did. And it was pretty fascinating and exciting when I started working with some seriously high-priced planners on how to arrange for my just-completed novel COBALT BLUE to sell a million copies.

It was also intriguing to see a couple of dozen other artists show their first-rate work, and see their plans get bigger--and more do-able and detailed.

I'm hoping some of those folks are going to comment on this blog about their art and accelerating careers.

I'll have a lot more to say about mine, as you might imagine. And be back with some pictures too, once I get my mind unpacked.

Shipping the Manuscript

Just shipped my book to my agent. After first going all the way to the copy center without bothering to take it with me.

My first two novels--Sister India and Revelation--are stories about people daring to to be bold on behalf of what's most important to them.

This new one Cobalt Blue is my own act of daring. It ventures into some raw sexual territory--and into sacred sex. The scenes are absolutely integral to the story and the character; and it's a serious novel, has ambitions. Nonetheless, I'm a little worried about what my mama's going to think; and curious about what it will feel like to have this book out in the world. My agent, when she first read the first chapter, said, "This is quite a story, Peggy."

Final Copy?

Four minutes after midnight Good Friday; actually Saturday morning technically. I'm printing out what I'm hoping is my final copy of my new novel COBALT BLUE.

I just spent a couple of hours going through and getting rid of what I'm told is my excessive use of words including: now, again, so, and sardonic. What does that say about my book? I'm not sure.

I have great hopes, confidence, actually, in this novel. Long-term anyway. I do hope it flies on this time out, though. I'm eager to get it to my agent before the publishing industry slows down for the summer. She'll have it by the end of this coming week.

Maybe I'll follow the industry's excellent example then and slow down for the summer myself. I'm not really sure I want to. Guess we'll see.

Happy Easter, Passover, Holi (that's Hindu) and Spring.

Increasing Income of Writers/Artists

The weekend after this one, I'm going to a second event run by Creative Capital and the NC Arts Council on how writers and artists can make professional incomes.

Last fall I went to the one-day seminar, did (most of) the homework assignments, because the folks there said that if you did that, your income the next year would rise 20%. Well, in the first month mine went up roughly 250% over the previous year. This is a fluke, I cautioned myself. It was, but still...the first quarter of this year was 28% higher than last year. I'm happy. And I'm going back to learn more, and I will report here.

If you'd like to go back to earlier posts and look at some of the earlier homework assignments and tips, just do a search of this blog for the phrase "Creative Capital."

Knowing The Guts of the Story

At this late point in my revisions, the changes I'm making in my novel Cobalt Blue are small and huge.

SMALL CHANGES because:
*they're short
*they don't take long.

HUGE CHANGES because:
*the small additions, to fill in holes that my local reader/critics pointed out, are very high-impact
*I've worked on this story off and on for 18 years (while also writing three other books, etc.) and know all the off-stage history of the characters, can thus produce a highly relevant mini-scene pretty easily
*I know the story so well that I've grown more sure of each step I take, and each step is therefore stronger and clearer: BOLDER.

It's a very nice feeling, a real treat, in fact. It feels like a reward for a lot of groudwork, this rare ease.

Final Revision Mood Swings

I'm about three weeks from sending my new novel COBALT BLUE back to my agent. I can tell the end is near because I'm shifting from mood to mood in a most unsettling way.

END-OF-NOVEL MOODS SO FAR:
*relief, as if I'd already finished
*fear that this finished book is going to make trouble for me one way or another *exhaustion that makes me feel tremulous with any emotion
*indecisiveness about small, unrelated things
*feebleness as if I'm starting to come out of an illness
*anger, that it hasn't already won the National Book Award, and that it still isn't quite finished
*uneasiness about the peculiarly erotic nature of this novel
*sadness that it will soon leave my hands
*pride that it's so good
*excitement about what will happen next

So mid-morning today, I lay down on the rug in front of my desk and slept for an hour. It was an excellent solution. It's 8 pm. and I've been balanced and productive ever since. Now I'm wrapping up for the day. And soon I will re-encounter my peculiar emotional state in my dreams, at least that's the way it was last night.

I'm telling myself to cherish these interestingly tumultuous times. At least I've given up fighting off the turmoil.

Billy Arthur: Small and Bold

"William J. "Billy" Arthur, well-known journalist, newspaper publisher, legislator, businessman and dwarf, died Monday, March 27, 2006 at Carolina Meadows Health Center."

This is the lead to an obit in the Raleigh News & Observer. A friend e-mailed it to me and said: you don't see many like this. The list of accomplishments is impressive and then you get to that last descriptor: dwarf.

In North Carolina, this man was A STATEWIDE PRESENCE, THOUGH HE WAS 42 INCHES TALL.

He didn't hide. He "went all out."

He was a politician. With his wife, he operated several businesses. And he wrote a newspaper column that ran for 66 years. He also sang on Broadway and was, in his youth, head cheerleader at UNC-Chapel Hill.

The friend who sent me the obit said her father remembered running into him on the street in the '40s and '50s and if you squatted down to talk with him, he would squat down too. "Just to keep things equal."

A Wealth of Old Newspaper War Stories

One notable effect of a reunion of old newspaper people is that MOST EVERYONE LEAVES THE PARTY AND WRITES A STORY ABOUT IT.

The reunion at the new Raleigh Times Bar of staffers from the old Raleigh Times newspaper, which I've written about in the last few posts, has now turned into a print and cyberspace newsroom-nostalgia-fest.

Coming from a bunch of career writers, it's probably no surprise that the reminiscences make good stories: funny, poignant, and mostly well-written. Otherwise, the accounts are interestingly different from each other, and the coverage at the smaller newspapers is just as good as at the larger papers.

I've already linked to a couple of stories in previous posts. Here's A BRIEF RUNDOWN ON THE LATEST DISPATCHES:

At The Island Packet in Hilton Head, SC, David Lauderdale writes in both his blog and his column about the reunion: "Sharon Campbell remembers a reporter throwing a chair that whizzed right over her head. (Someone else recalled that) Dudley Price got tired of paper spilling over from the desk crammed next to his, so he set it on fire. With all the cigarette smoke in the room, it probably went unnoticed for hours."

David Lauderdale also quotes Arthur Sulzberger, now New York Times publisher, on his best and worst memories of his tenure at The Raleigh Times. The worst was when he called the home of a man and his son who had just been killed in a boating accident. The wife and mother answered, and Arthur learned that she hadn't yet been given the news.

Bob Ashley, now editor of The Herald-Sun in Durham started at The Raleigh Times the same week I did, both of fresh out of Duke, and both having worked for The Duke Chronicle. Bob notes how every detail of Raleigh was news for our staff; he once wrote eleven stories from one City Council meeting: no small morning's work.

Former Times editor A.C. Snow's column in the News & Observer remembers an angry call from a subscriber whose mother had been quoted all too correctly.

In The Apex Herald, Lynne Wogan conducts an interview with Gail Gregg, who was editor and the only writer of the Apex newspaper, then called the Western Wake Herald, while her husband Arthur, was working at the Raleigh Times. Apex was then a town of 3,000 and Gail, now a successful painter and freelance writer, was young, a self-described Yankee, ready to take on the world.

In the Clayton News-Star, editor Margaret Ritchie tells where a lot of old Times staffers are now, and says that what she has done with the newspaper in Clayton is recreate a paper a lot like the old Raleigh Times.

I'm still waiting for The Raleigh Times nostalgia piece to show up in The New York Times. Arthur, you're up.

More on Newspaper Buddies, Novelist Buddies

Here's another post from the recent reunion of people who worked for The Raleigh Times newspaper. In the previous post--where I told about this historic get-together of writers, editors, and photographers--I invited others to send in better pictures than mine. Well, a real photographer responded: these two vivid moments are from the camera of freelance photojournalist Karen Tam.

In this first, Sharon (Kilby) Campbell, retired editor of The Chapel Hill News is addressing the assemblage; with her are host and downtown redeveloper Greg Hatem (owner of The Raleigh Times Bar) and former Timeser Mary Burch, now executive director of a nonprofit, the Auditory Learning Center.

Lighting a celebratory cigar is Arthur Sulzberger, New York Times publisher, with News & Observer business writer Dudley Price inhaling.

These newspaper folks and I were covering Raleigh for the small and fiercely competitive Raleigh Times in the 1970s. Our being buddies helped us to do good work--after all, who would want to be the faltering member of the team?

I remember being part of the group that covered V.P. Spiro Agnew coming to town. My job was writing features from the hotel where he was staying, The Velvet Cloak. Security around the place was intense, and I was determined to find and interview his speech writer on this trip, a man I'm 97% sure was Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

I found out the room number and, coming out of the elevator, I scooted unseen past the back of the security guard. When he caught sight of me, I ran, heading around a corner and toward a door at the end of the balcony hallway.

I looked back only at the point when I was pounding on Moynihan's door. The guard was running toward me with his rifle held ready, as if he were advancing single-handedly on the whole Russian army.

The door opened. "A MAN IS FOLLOWING ME WITH A GUN," I said, appropriately breathless. The rather courtly Moynihan-most-likely ushered me in.

I was seated and near-composed by the time the guard got to the door. The White House advisor assured the man that all was well, not to worry.

He then, genially, gave me a few good quotes for my story, and I left him to his typewriter and his work-in-progress. The thing is: I don't know if I would have run down that hall without THE HONOR OF THE TEAM to uphold--or if I'd have stood in the bushes under one of the hotel's kitchen windows to interview people cooking for Agnew and his entourage.

MY NEWSPAPER BUDDIES FIRED ME UP TO DO MY BEST WORK then. Other "working" friendships, intensified by commitment to similar goals, help me do my best work as a novelist now. My office partner, and the fiction-writing critique group that I've been part of for 24 years, and other friends, including one from the old Times gang, all help me in this way. From them I get trustworthy criticism and encouragement, which is as important as any professional tool I have, and this includes my computer.

So--anybody got any more reunion pictures I can post? Or MORE WAR STORIES?

In the meantime, do go to the Times reunion coverage in the News and Observer written by columnist (and, as it happens, my sister-in-law) Ruth Sheehan, or to the report in The Independent by former Timeser Sylvia Adcock, who was later part of THE NEWSDAY TEAM that won the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for spot news reporting with their coverage of the TWA plane crash off Long Island.

A Hundred Year-Old Writers' Group

Comrades-in-arts are crucial for writers, painters, and others working in fields that are often solitary and speculative. (I think I've said this a time or two before on this blog.)

Friday night I took part in A BANG-UP CELEBRATION of writer (and editor and photographer, etc.) SOLIDARITY that was so unusual--and terrific--that it drew a television crew, news reporters and people from New York to Florida.

The party was a gathering of "alums" of the now-defunct Raleigh Times. The invited guests included anyone who had ever worked for this little afternoon newspaper that was started just over a hundred years ago. The host was Greg Hatem, owner of the Raleigh Times Bar soon to open in the 1906 building that first housed the newspaper. The picture at the top of this post shows in the background the staff in the mid-70s.


This was not the first such gathering of Timesers--I've been to three other reunions. This is a bunch of people who have stayed in touch, stayed buddies even at a distance, and over so many years, so many decades.

I worked at this paper in 1970-1972--quite a while ago. The paper has been closed since '89. And yet, dozens of us still gather every few years. For any kind of enterprise, this is some unusual solidarity.

This tight connection came about because we were such a scrappy little newspaper. There were probably no more than 8 or 10 reporters in the newsroom at a time, and we competed daily against the magnitudes-larger News & Observer.

The work was intense. My beat was health, science, the environment and education, and that was the year the schools here desegregated. Busy? Whoa, baby!

When I first interviewed for the job, the managing editor Joe Harper asked if I was comfortable writing up to five stories a day; I assured him I was, though I doubt if I ever had done any such thing. We wrote for two deadlines, 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Then we went to lunch together. Supposedly, we were off work at three.

The group was typically young and single. So people partied together, romanced, shared apartments, as well as working together.

Now those of us who worked there are bonded. Permanently. Sort of like we were underdogs together in the same battle.

And people have turned out pretty well so far: among those attending were a reporter from the St. Petersburg paper, an art gallery owner, several successful freelancers, an antiques dealer, a couple of painters, a journalism professor, a media consultant, the editor of The Durham Herald-Sun and the publisher of The New York Times. Those who had to miss this time include: an editor at The Washington Post, and the just-retired head of a university journalism school.

Karen Tam, a photographer, staged her slide show of "how-we-were" in the '70's--always a hilarious and poignant event at these reunions. The media consultant and I were an item in one of those "hippie" years; there he was in dashiki in one of the old pictures, with me in my pink velour bell bottoms.

A regular highlight of the slide show: a guy who is now a reporter for the News & Observer was literally caught with his pants down on some unnamed social occasion; it was a moment he will never be allowed to forget.

Also portrayed were various members of the gang: climbing a tree, playing at the beach, working in the newsroom, making faces, showing off a new baby, etc. That baby is an adult now. The rest of us are adults-and-then-some.

As you see, I tried shooting a few pictures at Friday's party. They didn't turn out very well. All the people are much more fetching than these pix would indicate. (I held back the real howlers, maybe they'll be in the next slide show.) New camera, low light, fit of shyness, dying batteries, and good conversations got in the way. But here are a few of them. If you happened to be at that party and have better ones, email me (ppayne51@cs.com) and I'll post those.

Again, let me say: it's a great thing to have such friends.

An Invitation to Promote Your Art

A lot of blogs ask people who comment to refrain from writing anything self-promotional.

I'm taking the opposite approach. I'd like to invite you to use this space to PROMOTE YOUR CREATIVE WORK. If you have a book coming out, or an art opening, a dazzling new invention, or a class or speaker to assist people in doing this kind of work: ANNOUNCE IT HERE.

Doesn't matter where you are. Even if readers can't get to the show, they can still learn where to find you and your work.

So if you have a product that you, as an individual, created, HAVE AT IT. Say, in the comments section of any one post, regardless of the post topic, what you've got going on--unless what you created is Viagra.

City of Literature

From the blog The Elegant Variation:


THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD

As part of its City of Literature push, Edinburgh would like to become a "city of refuge" for persecuted writers.

The Scottish capital could offer sanctuary to those unable to work and live safely in their home country.

If senior councillors give the proposal their backing on Tuesday, the Lord Provost Lesley Hinds will launch a consultation on the move.

Edinburgh would then look to bid for official status, aiming to be accepted in time for this year's book festival.

The idea has been brought forward by the Scottish branch of PEN, a worldwide association of writers committed to protecting freedom of expression.


Note from Peggy: I applaud the idea of a City of Literature. May all our villages have such aspirations.

Social Support for Artists

One of the best things I've ever done for my daily productivity as a writer is move my office into my good buddy Carrie's office building. That's her, just to the right--Carrie Knowles, both a printmaker and writer (The Last Childhood, Three Rivers, 2000.)

My office and hers are situated so that, with doors open, we can talk without either of us getting up from our desks. Or if we need quiet (hasn't happened yet) or have a client, then we can shut the doors.

Her visual art space--Free Range Studio and Gallery--is in the front room and in the big old-fashioned foyer of this 1910 house. In the picture she's setting up a piece of art just inside the front door.

So, not only do I get to my office through a small charming gallery, but she and I have an ongoing conversation as well as trading advice throughout the day. My question this morning: can I use the word "disingenuous" and not have to explain it?

More important than the advice is being able to have two minutes of conversation most any time. For a person who works in solitude, this is so valuable, because:

*The frustrations of the work are less frustrating.
*Work is more fun, and I keep going longer.
*Looking at her artworks in progress refreshes my mind.
*I have the sense that my daily work problems are shared and they are less serious than they otherwise would be.
*If I'm about to shoot myself in the foot by, for example, agreeing to a price or timeline that I shouldn't, she can see it more clearly in the moment than I can.
*I take five-minute breaks in the building, instead of the 30-minute go-somewhere kind that I would otherwise.
*And again, it's just fun.

Even if you sit and write together at a fast-food restaurant, it can be helpful to have a writing buddy.

Post-Deadline Euphoria

I shipped the big editing project, caught up on sleep, and today I am as light as pollen. (It's warmy and breezy spring here today.)

It's a delicious feeling, to have just gotten a huge amount of work done. Back when I worked for The Raleigh Times--a now-defunct afternoon newspaper, and my first job after graduation--I had this feeling many days. Because the work I did in the morning was in the paper in the afternoon. Not many kinds of work give that immediate relief, celebration and feedback. Writing novels certainly doesn't.

I find it nice--no, more than that--to have this feeling periodically. Like the pollen, I'm pure potential (a rare feeling in adult life.) And like the pollen, today I'm just drifting on the breeze.

That's crucial before re-immersing myself in the details of work.

Once in my 20s, I finished a batch of stories for Family Circle magazine and felt, not light, but so burned-out I couldn't imagine lifting a finger to a keyboard again. The day that work was done, I decided I was going to Mexico the next day. By myself. No reservations, no definite return date. And I told the editor that I couldn't be reached. I wound up in Isla Mujeres, "the island of women." I slept a mere 20 hours my first day there, and when I finally emerged from the room, I found someone had put flowers around my door.

I stayed a week, rode a bike around the island, snorkelled, ate, improbably, in a French restaurant on a porch. The woman who owned the place came out and sat down with me and said her 30 year-old son was coming in from Paris that afternoon. Would I have dinner with him? A blind date set up by the guy's mother. I was flattered, sort of. I don't think he was, though. He seemed jet-lagged and irritable mainly, but we got through dinner.

I came home from that trip feeling good. But it only lasted a few days. It became clear to me then that I was facing some decisions about career direction. I think it took that interim, and it's not "working," to help me see. So I'm in favor of time off, sometimes taken grudgingly, whether it feels good or not.

Today it feels good. Now I shut down my computer and go outside and play.

My First All-Nighter

Last night gives new meaning to the cliche: it's never too late.

At the age of 57, I did my first all-nighter--a rough deadline on an editing project. I worked straight through the night and now it's 3 o'clock in the afternoon, and I'm about to leave the office and call it A DAY.

I'm pleased with the work. And feel proud,as if I held up reasonably well in some athletic competition like a triathlon. Hour after hour--kept pawing at the keyboard and after a while the sun started coming up. Just wanted to share this moment with you.

Inspiration from the Oscars

Watching the Academy Awards--an annual event of great importance for me--offers every year TWO KINDS OF INSPIRATION. The show flamboyantly demonstrates that:

1. Dreams do come true, in a huge way, and sometimes for people who didn't seem to have a chance from the start.

2. Even wildly successful people still have big disappointments that they cope with and then keep on working.

This year there was AN INSPIRATIONAL BONUS: the Coke ad campaign. One of the slogans was (something on the order of): "Live Life As If They're Wanting an Encore."

Imagine that. Literally. Not only does the audience love your song, they want you to sing another one. That's inspiring. That kind of thinking can keep you singing.

Ferociously Busy

Finished the latest draft of my new novel COBALT BLUE. And working nearly continuously (though I do sleep and eat) to get a line-edit done ASAP of another writer's novel. Wow!

At the same time, "literary lightning," a great rush of wonderful book-luck hit a friend of mine in the past week. So I took a multi-hour break to celebrate. She doesn't want her name used yet, because she's superstitious and feels it's too soon to talk about. But I think most of the nation will hear at some point not too far away.

And I want to highly recommend another excellent book, just out from a good buddy. Have a look at Dan Wakefield's THE HIGHJACKING OF JESUS. It tells exactly how the fundamentalist right-wing movement has used churches as a political base. Pretty juicy. You can click to Dan's website from my links list.

More later when the smoke clears.

"Literary Lightning"

You know those stories about megamillion-dollar literary luck? My local newspaper (The News & Observer in Raleigh) just ran a piece on the luck involved in huge success. It's about one author who has just been struck by "literary lightning" and about me, as an example of a writer who has had good luck, but not the million dollar kind.

As you can imagine, I was a little nervous about being an interviewed for an article where I could come off as the "designated loser," the one that luck was ignoring.

But the reporter, Bridgette Lacy, is a very good one, and a novelist herself. And as my husband reminded me "all publicity is good publicity." So I went ahead. And I was very pleased with the results. It felt like a kind of public wish for my good luck, for which I'm grateful.

If anybody has any ideas about how to bring on this kind of luck, do pass them on.

New from Anna Deavere Smith

Just heard on my local Shaw University radio station: an intriguing interview with actor-writer Anna Deavere Smith. Her new book Letters to a Young Artist has been out three weeks and sounds like the sort of thing we'd be interested in.
Sounds terrific, in fact, whether or not the artist is experienced or young. (Of course the practice of an art does keep a person young.)

The subtitle is Straight-up Advice on Making a Life in the Arts-For Actors, Performers, Writers, and Artists of Every Kind and the reviews are good.

The author is seriously smart and also very wide-ranging in her view of art--includes advice from a rodeo rider and a dentist. This point-of-view about art is, I think, good for writers and good for dentists.

Use The Promotional Resources You Have

My writer/artist-buddy Carrie Knowles brought into the office last night a tantalizing book Lost Secrets of the Sacred Ark that because of my metaphysical interest she thought I'd like.

Glancing over the flap copy I paused at this bit in the writer's bio: The author Laurence Gardner is "a Knight Templar of St. Anthony and Prior of Sacred Kindred of St. Columba." Moreover, at least one of his books has been a bestseller. I'm thinking maybe there's a connection

SO WHY HAVE I BEEN IGNORING MY OWN ESOTERIC CREDENTIALS, since my novels are all mystical adventures?

Here is my tenuous connection--based on my internet research--and you may well see this info noted on my next dust jacket.

My name Payne is a variation on the name Payen, etc. It comes from the word "pagan" and originally referred not to a family group but to the people in the British Isles who hid out in the boondocks (le pays) when the Romans arrived. These were the folks who didn't like being taken over and organized. So it's no wonder that I and most of my relatives are bull-headed, given to flights of fancy, and self-employed.

NOW HERE'S THE HEADLINE ITEM: The first recorded use of the name for a particular individual was Hugh de Payen (sometimes written Payens or Pagen)who was FOUNDER OF THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR

Not that I've tracked down any kinship to Sir Hugh.

Nonetheless, I mean to mention this name thing prominently when COBALT BLUE comes out. Seriously. I think the Knights Templar founder will CONNECT me with readers who would like my work.

Writer's Block

Here's a good NPR show on writer's block and some ways to deal with it from the series "The Infinite Mind."

One of the most useful parts of the show is the quotes from writers like FLAUBERT, CONRAD, DANTE, etc. talking about their problems with blocking. It's encouraging to know that they had this problem and managed to do pretty well anyway.

Then there's best-selling satirist Fran Lebowitz, who could put most writers' writer's block problems into perspective: she had a multi-year phobia of going into the room where her desk sat.

For me, the songwriter Aimee Mann was the MOST USEFUL. One of her ideas for solving the problem is to write out how you're feeling. She wrote a song about "calling it quits" that got her to writing songs again.

"Living Out Loud"

My husband Bob who turns 64 tomorrow received the unlikely birthday gift of two tickets to Menopause: The Musical, which is now on a many-city national tour.

And what a burst of boldness this show is!
(It may seem an odd present for a man. But it's something any married man should see at some point. Also, Bob's a psychotherapist and deals with menopause issues in his practice.

So we went to this musical. And loved it, both of us.

WHAT AN UPPER!!! it is.

Four women--Iowa Housewife, Soap Star, Power Woman, and Earth Mother-- sing Boomer rock-and-roll songs with the words hilariously changed to such subjects as sex and hot flashes.

Essentially it's about the solidarity between women who are going through the sweaty, tumultuous experience of estrogen loss, who bond with an intensity like men's war friendships.

And it's about "living out loud," being bold. From the writer Emile Zola: "If you ask me what I came to do in this world, I will answer--I CAME HERE TO LIVE OUT LOUD."

Each of the four women gives a fine performance. And when Power Woman, who is rather large, emerges at the end in a slinky little black dress and a lion-sized Tina Turner mane, the result in the crowd is a rush of giddiness, not unlike the moment when a gulp of champagne goes straight to the brainstem.

At the end of the performance, the entire audience was invited to the stage to join in the final kick line.

For anyone wanting to live with more intensity, daring, and authenticity, this is a delightful encouragement. And it's as much fun as any show I've ever seen.

Thanks for the tix, Ruth and Harry and sons.

(Lately this blog has become my thank-you notes. I guess there's nothing wrong with "thank you" writ large.)

The Gift of Boldness

I've decorated my desk with a couple of birthday presents I recently received in celebration of my turning 57.

One was a set of inspirational cards, (Isle of View Insight Cards). Next to my computer today is the one that plays off the word BOLD. The letters of the word are a reminder of the message: Believing Opens Life's Dream.

The idea, of course, is: BELIEVE YOU CAN ACHIEVE WHAT YOU WANT AND YOU'LL BE ABLE TO.. I do believe that and I have, pretty much, found it to be so (although the jury's still out on a couple of matters). Much as I believe it, I also find it helpful to be reminded.

Then there's the Lady Godiva cup, which holds enough to feed Lady Godiva's horse, and came with some sumptuous Godiva cocoa. The image--of the naked woman on the horse--also brought along its thousand year-old history: Lady Godiva bared all in order to achieve her purpose.

What she wanted was for her husband, the Earl of Leofric, to lower taxes on the peasantry. He said he'd do it the day she rode through town naked. So she did.

What artists must summon again and again is the courage be as EMOTIONALLY BARE IN OUR WORK AS LADY GODIVA.

So I'm drinking deep out of this mug; of course the chocolate helps too.

And thank you, Joe Burgo and Karen Tam.

From Robertson Davies

Davies is one of my long-time favorite novelists, especially The Deptford Trilogy. His Jungian tilt intrigues me. Nobody does archetypes better.

Here's a thought from him that I found encouraging--especially for when a manuscript is at its muddy stage.


The best among our writers are doing their accustomed work of mirroring what is deep in the spirit of our time; if chaos appears in those mirrors, we must have faith that in the future, as always in the past, that chaos will slowly reveal itself as a new aspect of order.
Robertson Davies
A Voice from the Attic (1951)


The way I think about this is personal: "what is deep in my spirit" rather than what's in the spirit of our time. Often it's something I don't know about, and am shocked to find. Also, I don't try to "mirror" it. Instead I use it as a spark of energy that will start to lead me into a fictional story.

I chase the spark, do my best to keep it in sight.

ADDENDUM: Adapting bits of wisdom to suit me is necessary. A writer friend told me this definition of a writer: someone who, if present as God creates the universe, would stare at the final product then say, You know, God, it's nice, but it would be so much better if you just changed this...." I expect that definition applies pretty well to most humans.

Rejection Slip

Only one post ago, I was blythely writing about how we have to consider rejections, obstacles, setbacks as progress. Since it's inevitable that some come along, we just need to view them as part of the trip, not a reason to stop or slow down.

And then-- a favorite client of mine decided to cancel the project I'd already gotten deeply involved in. I'd written one draft of a booklet, a piece I'm especially proud of. Now: no booklet.

I got paid anyway, very well-treated. No hard feelings from me, and none from them that I know of.

Yet--that piece I like so much will likely never be read.

Indeed, A DISAPPOINTMENT.

I looked back ruefully on what I'd just so easily written about absorbing these blows. Well, the thing is I NEVER SAID THEY'RE NOT BLOWS.. The news hovered at the edge of my consciousness, like a pulled muscle, until mid-day the following day. I kept working, I'm proud to say.

Now once again I feel philosophical about the parts of this work I cannot control. I still wish, though, that that 20-pager was going to be published.

And I'm genuinely pleased to discover again that I still possess my RESILIENCE.

6 More Hints on Arts Marketing

*When you're having a booksigning or an art opening or some other career event, figure out who the people are whose presence would mean the most for your career. Write those people A PERSONAL LETTER of invitation, perhaps in addition to including them in an mass e-mail.

*LEARN ABOUT THE PERSON YOU WANT TO REACH, his or her interests and accomplishments, how you can fit into what that person is doing, what mutual friends or contacts you might have.

*COUNT ON A LOT OF REJECTIONS and setbacks in marketing, just as most of us do in the process of doing the work. Part of the day's work and the progress is getting the inevitable rejections. These are a step forward.

*OTHER ARTISTS' SUCCESSES show where there may be an opportunity for you. Find out how they did it, and how you can adapt that approach for yourself.

*In sending out UPDATES ON YOUR WORK, limit yourself to twice a year, and don't send announcements about your very small victories. You might save some of your mailing list, in announcing a book release or a long-running art show, until you have a good review to quote.

*COMMUNICATE YOUR PASSION about your work to the person you want to interest. Show your excitement and say what has drawn you to this project, what it means to you.

These ideas are brought to you from the Creative Capital seminar on strategic planning for artists, which I've been carrying on about for weeks now.

ADDENDUM: The picture is the view from my desk (isn't my office building wonderful?)with the glass I mentioned in my last post. Note the COBALT BLUE color. Every time I reach for this weak iced tea, I'm reminded of my novel and my goals for it.

Delicious Literary Promotion Gambit

I got a terrific suggestion from one of the writers at the Creative Capital alum reunion Sunday night:

****For promotion (and celebration)of my nearly-done novel Cobalt Blue, to create a drink called a Cobalt Blue.

This potion needs to be an ethereal blue--and sizzling good. If you HAVE IDEAS? for the recipe that you'd like to contribute, do feel free to pass them on.

I already have the perfect vessel for the testing: it's a martini glass with a cobalt blue rim and a cobalt blue stem that I picked up at a thrift shop for the color.

A hard version and a soft version of the drink are needed--since I can handle about three sips of wine and that's all. So, for myself at least, I'm going to create for this pretty-racy novel a Virgin Cobalt Blue.

Years ago I thought it was funny that the screen rights contract for my first novel, Revelation, included the soft drink rights. I couldn't imagine a Revelation soft drink. I was clearly too narrow in my thinking.

Visualize the Published Book

Visualizations of a goal work even better for me when I create the image of what I want and keep it before me.

Here's an example: my mock-up of COBALT BLUE, my novel-in-terrific-progress, as a published hardback. It's about a painter: note the paintbrush, and the color blue.
Those little gold seals on the cover are for national awards, including the Pulitzer. I also put some nice blurbs and a picture of me on the back.

This looks like a second grader did it. But you get the idea. And so does my unconscious. I've done this with my previous books; it hasn't missed yet.

Bold Artist Reunion

First, to the right: another piece of my artistic cross-training, the dabbling I do in visual arts and crafts to refresh my writing mind. This crazy quilt in our guest-room is hand-stitched, took months of reflective evenings: so it's a crazy project in more ways than one.

THE BREAKING NEWS: a gathering took place last night of the artists from my area who are alums from the nationally-offered Creative Capital seminars on strategic career planning for artists.

There were 7 of us: 5 visual artists, one writer/visual artist (our host Carrie Knowles), and novelist-me. Also two spouses and a 15 year-old son.

The energy and excitement were as inspiring as at the original seminar, which teaches artists of all kinds HOW TO MAKE MORE MONEY AND MANAGE THE BUSINESS SIDE OF AN ARTS CAREER.

Bryant Holsenbeck, a mixed-media sculptor, asked everyone to announce their goal for 2006. These included: get a six-figure book deal (two wanted that), settle down in one place, get work acquired by a museum, increase annual income by $15,000, become 50% less irritable, solve the health insurance problem, get Queen Latifah to play the heroine in the film, and become fluent in Hebrew.

At the very least, the question and the answers were quite a good party ice-breaker. (Not that there was a lot of ice.) But it was more than that: I'd bet that we're all seriously committed to these goals we've declared and are taking steps today to get there.

It's hard, of course, to figure the steps to a $100,000 contract. But one useful one is to FINISH THE NOVEL.

So I'm about to hit "Publish Post" and start on today's work on mine: without berating myself that it's already past 4 o'clock in the afternoon.

One way or another, time always seems to be an issue: getting it, using it, reaching a goal by a deadline, etc.

For me, the dinner was a double reminder: yesterday was my 57th birthday. My time, it's now clear to me, is not infinite. If this is true for you as well, feel free to join me in getting moving NOW on the NUMBER ONE PROJECT, and get a bit more done on it TODAY.

The Missing Piece for the New Year of Writing

After much pondering, I set out three resolves for the new year that all have to do with allowing me to work more effectively and write with more freedom.

And I LEFT OUT THE OBVIOUS: finish my novel COBALT BLUE and have it scheduled for speedy publication by an appreciative editor with deep pockets for my advance and for an unparalleled promotion budget.

How did I manage to leave that out? It's a mistake I've made before: forgetting the most obvious and pressing and important thing. I discovered that finishing my book isn't on my to-do list either. Jeez! Well, that has changed.

Now I formally add to my resolves for 2006: finish COBALT BLUE, and get a terrific deal that will set the book up for next year's resolution about New York Times bestsellerdom.

And in the future,I'm going to KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM. To the contrary of conventional wisdom, it's quite possible to miss it.

Now, ABOUT THE PICTURES: They show more samples of my cross-training in the visual arts--playing at it with no standards at all to refresh my creative engines. And being so bold as to have the results on display all around our house, even when company comes.

On our shed is the Buddhist image of the Eyes of God which I saw so often in Nepal, when I visited there after my winter in Varanasi to research SISTER INDIA. The way the boards were falling off the wall and door suggested this image, which has long hung in my mind.



The pages of squiggles are nothing but that. However, the impulse to make those marks is relevant, because COBALT BLUE is a novel about the mysterious rising of psychic energy called kundalini. Looking at them, I feel that I'm visualizing that movement, and I've had a strong impulse lately that has led to the covering of many pages with these swirls.

A NOTE ON CREATIVE CAPITAL STRATEGY RESULTS: The seminar I went to in December has kept me excited about running my writing consulting business in a way that is better for me and for my work. I've been putting the lessons I learned into effect as fast as I can.

I decided to make a comparison. How did my income compare this December with last December? the holiday season being an invariably slow month for me for any kind of business. Well, I can't directly attribute most of the improvement to the new strategies--or to my new-in-October office with my friend Carrie; but I am pleased to say that my INCOME INCREASE was 275%. That sure dashed the notion that the writing business is always slow in December.

New Year--New Leaf--New Artistic Resolves

Some time back I was promoting here the idea of CROSS-TRAINING FOR ARTISTS of all sorts: doing some work/play in an art form other than the one that's the main focus of serious ambitions.

FOR THREE REASONS:
*It's fun and refreshing to be entirely playful with art.
*It's good practice; that playfulness, which is so productive, will come more easily than otherwise during the "serious work."
*It keeps the engines of creativity, the source of new ideas, well-oiled.

So this is why I have this picture of my personally-hand-beaded leaf here. Or at least it's how I'm justifying showing you this.

My work is words. I fool around, with no standards to meet, with lots of kinds of visual arts and crafts.

Last summer I beaded this roughly 3x4 foot item you see hanging from a tree next to my driveway (we live in a cabin in the woods.) Sewing on this many loose beads allowed me to play with colors and filmy material and gave me lots of time for thoughts to float up. Which they did.

I got the thing ready in time for a party at my house in July. I thought of it as my New Leaf party, though I wasn't really turning over any new leaves at the time. Now I am.

Now this leaf is my New Year's New Leaf: reminding me every time I come and go of my fresh career strategies I learned in the Creative Capital workshop that I've been detailing here for the last month.

And so my New Year's Resolve, which is: value myself (more and in ways that I can feel.) The pieces to put this into practice are:
*increase my income by 20% this year
*spend a minimum of one hour a week organizing my house better, so that everything I use is easily accessible, uncluttered, and pleasant to live with. This hour will, of course, turn into more than one, but if I start with a high requirement I'm likely to put off getting started.
*stop berating myself about anything. Do or don't do--but no wasting energy and time on self-nagging. My plan for doing this is to write down every time I start haranguing myself, and congratulate myself on having caught it. (This tactic came to me at lunch today from the creative mind of my friend and fellow writer Stephanie Bass.)

I will report here how I fare. And I'd like your encouragement.

Happpy New Year and New Resolves to you. I'd love for you to use this space to commit yourself to small definite steps toward what you want most this year.

The Courage to Flourish

At a bonfire last night, standing close as I could get for the warmth, I took part in a small wonderful celebration of the solstice, the longest and darkest night of the year.

Kelley Harrell, author of Gift of the Dreamtime, led this ceremony. The heart of it was her reminder that: OUT OF THE LONG DARKNESS CAN COME CREATIVITY. (I certainly have felt a burst of creativity after a difficult time, and then the same pattern again: almost like stitches in a fabric, the thread sinking, then reappearing.)

In last's night's cold, we each tossed into the fire some symbol of whatever we wished to be finished with from the past year. Because OUT OF DESTRUCTION, SOMETHING NEW must inevitably come.

I threw in a handful of dead leaves; I'd forgotten to bring a home-made symbol. Those leaves stood in for the dead, dry images of the "starving artist" stereotype, whatever limited ambitions I have had that allowed me to run a business that "gets by." This choice had emerged weeks ago from the Creative Capital seminar I've been writing about these recent days.

Now those no-longer-useful ideas are smoke that has dispersed out of existence. I replace them with practices that will allow me and my work to flourish.

For once, I do not fear that this is a New Year's Resolution that will go away. I know it's here to stay.

After solemnizing this vow, I warmed myself with a new taste sensation: hot chocolate made of white chocolate and laced with Triple Sec. Mon Dieu! it was good. A toast to all the births and re-births of the season!

An Uplifting Thought about Artistic Productivity

Here's a piece I (significantly) forgot to mention when I posted the writer work-day recommendation from the Creative Capital seminar.

Part of the 60% of our time we're advised to spend on productive work should be UNCONVENTIONALLY PRODUCTIVE.

That means that taking a walk to clear my head counts.

In a comment to my previous post, "Billie" described ending her work day with a bath in which a MISSING PIECE for the revision of her book popped up in her mind. Obviously, that counted. But this time need not be immediately productive to be crucial.

The RULE OF THUMB advised for unconventional productiveness (whether it produces immediately or not) is 20% of total productive time. For an 8-hour day, that works out to be roughly AN HOUR. I think that's right; feel free to check my math.

I didn't always know about the value of this kind of time. Years ago, I did a lot of work for ad agencies. I remember times I worked in agencys' offices and saw a copywriter sitting at her desk flipping through magazines, and another making paper airplanes and sailing them out a window.

Pretty brassy, I thought, to be loafing like that with the door open. Then I saw how much faster and easier it is to come up with an ad concept and headline with a variety of visual stimulation coming from a lot of different unrelated directions.

So take a walk or a bath for an hour, or more precisely for 57.6 minutes, if I've figured correctly.

And another thing--thanks for visiting here. I feel your presence and I'm glad you're here. Please won't you leave a comment about your own experience. It would help a lot of other people (not to mention keeping the wonderfully-wise-and-frequent-commenter Billie and me company)

Writer Work-Day Report

Today, as promised, I tracked my work-time to see how closely I came to the Creative Capital guideline for a good writer's workday.

What was recommended was 60% of the time spent in production, and 20% each on administration and promotion.

MY OUTCOME: Today I spent half my time on production, about 20% on administration, about 6 percent on promotion, and nearly a quarter on personal errands.

MY REACTION: Well, could be worse since it's almost Christmas.

The awareness of time was very interesting. I did those personal phone calls, last Christmas cards, etc. a lot faster than I might have. I was terribly efficient.

BOTTOM LINE: This practice is going to be useful to me. I do think I got more done, with less lying to myself. And I felt LESS STRESS. Paradoxical, but true.

More later on the lessons from the Creative Capital seminar on Strategic Planning for all kinds of artists.

The Writer's Work Day

Here's a rule of thumb I learned at the Creative Capital seminar for effective organization of a work day for a writer or artist of any other sort.

It's very simple. APPORTION THE HOURS in this way:

Production------ 60%

Administration-- 20%

Promotion------- 20%

This looks like a reasonable plan to me, designed to keep me from spending the whole morning on e-mail. The numbers probably aren't magic, but they seem about right.

So, here's MY PLAN. Tomorrow, Friday, I will track my time all day and see how I actually spend my day.

MY EXPECTATION: I'll be much more productive, spend much more time on my novel and my manuscript consulting than I otherwise would, BECAUSE: I'll know I'm watching. And I don't want to face being unhappy with myself.

I will also report back to you what the day produces. That's A SECOND STRONG INCENTIVE to do right. So, thanks for being in on this with me.

More Arts Marketing Strategy

I just talked by phone with my partner from the Strategic Planning for artists seminar--a conversation that re-inspired me about my work, as if that were currently needed.

During the Creative Capital/NC Arts Council workshop, we paired off into buddies to continue to stay in touch and encourage each other. Of course those conversations work as deadlines too: I want to have some progress to report.

My partner Bridgette Lacy works a few blocks away from me in downtown Raleigh; she's writes features about authors and others for the News & Observer, and is finishing revisions on a novel.

We found that we'd taken similar steps since returning to Raleigh from the conference a week ago. We both began to ORGANIZE RUTHLESSLY.

I'm whittling down my desk pile of stray things-to-do. This usually feels like procrastination; now that issue is not worrying me. Getting my mind and desk organized feels NECESSARY.

I also made a decision about an offer to teach at a university. I'd been agonizing over it, because the school is a Christian evangelical one and I knew in my heart that I wasn't really a fit. I'm a Christian among other things; I and my upcoming novel COBALT BLUE take a serious interest in voodoo. END OF AGONIZING: I said no and didn't look back.

Bridgette--well, her story is hers to tell and she promises me she's going to tell it here pretty soon. But you can rest assured that she is on a roll.

And she left me a bit of wisdom from the weekend that I had forgotten. Here it is:

BIG DREAMS, SMALL STEPS, WRITE IT DOWN

That probably doesn't need a lot of explanation, but here's a bit anyway. Set your goals as large as you can imagine. Break them into the smallest possible steps. Write the steps down and then tackle them, tidbit by tidbit. The power of those little steps begins to accrue, thus beginning a CAREER GROWTH SPURT.


A personal BOLDNESS ADDENDUM: This weekend, as a graduate of a class called Singing for Non-Singers, I sang a solo at the talent show at my husband's office party. I had had nothing to drink but a lemon-lime soda. And I was fairly at ease.

My husband Bob Dick is a psychologist in a practice with 31 other psychotherapists. I had learned a song in the class called "Be Gone, Dull Care" that I thought was appropriate for this group. I told them it was an ancient psychotherapy song from the British Isles. People were very kind and encouraging to me, even though I had to follow a terrific rendition of "Bobby McGee."

An Artist's Life Plan

Last night while I was waiting for the AAA guy to come get my keys out of my locked car, I sat in a Whole Foods grocery store and started writing my obituary.

This obit-writing was an ASSIGNMENT from the Creative Capital how-artists-can-make-more-money workshop I attended last weekend.

THE IDEA: focus on what I want my life to be and amount to, so I can be sure I'm doing what I can to make that happen.

RESULTS SO FAR: I learned that: it stirs me up to think long about this stuff. That I'm pretty much (except for my procrastinating time) spending my time in the right pursuits. That I can be much more effective with less effort by a little more focusing and with a lot more THINKING BIG.

And that I mean to spend my 100th birthday on a round-the-world cruise on the QE2.

I'm still working on this obit. My plan is to post it here when I'm done, in hopes that going public will strengthen its impact on me and help me measure my progress.

The Elevator Pitch for Selling Your Art

Pretend you're in an elevator and suddenly realize that you're standing next to the person you want to publish your book or stage your play, to carry your project forward. What do you do?

This is what we each practiced at the Creative Capital arts careers seminar on Saturday. We took turns pitching our hottest projects at seminar leader, Daniel Jones, a writer/performer/director recently named by American Theatre Magazine to their list of the top 15 upcoming movers-and-shakers. In this case, Daniel was playing the part of whatever mover-shaker we each most wanted to meet.

First we each assembled what we'd say.

THE HOW-TO:

*LIST three nouns and three verbs that describe the piece of work. Very precise and concrete. One of my nouns to describe Cobalt Blue was "novel." The other two were "painter" and "sex." My verbs were "arouse, offend, seduce."

*WRITE a sentence or two using those words, or most of them, to tell the person what the project is about. No arts jargon, nothing flowery or scholarly. Tell it straight and get across your own excitement about it.

*PRACTICE the roughly 30-second elevator moment with a friend.

*INCLUDE THESE ELEMENTS:
Introduce yourself.
If you can, say something about the luminary's work and how it's relevant to what you're doing.
Say what your project is, using a relaxed, conversational version of your sentence.
Give them a business card or some other way to contact you.
Close with a way to keep the connection going, such as an invitation to a signing or an art show.
Say thanks and withdraw.
Be prepared to say something else useful if the person wants to extend the conversation.

MY SCRIPT: I said approximately this to Daniel who was playing the part of an unsuspecting publisher:

Peggy: Hi. I know who you are. I just read in The Times about your new imprint. Congratulations.

Daniel: Thank you.

Peggy: I'm dazzled to get to meet you. I'm just finishing my third novel Cobalt Blue about a painter who has a religious experience while she's working that causes her to go hog-wild with sex. It's about tantra. It's pretty serious literary stuff. Sort of like some of the books you've done: a bit disturbing. It'll either offend or seduce you. May I have my agent call?

Daniel: Oh, yes!

Peggy: Let me give you my card. (awkward sympathy-inducing moment of trying to get one of my cards out of the plastic sleeve of my nametag where I'd stashed them) Here. Thanks. Good-bye. (getting off "elevator" dizzy with the rush of adrenaline)


Well, by the time that experience was over I was more excited than ever about working on my book, and ready for any elevator.

What was also cool was to see the others in the group do their pitches. People were very good at it, it was just a matter of loosening up and getting into the spirit of it.

For anyone who didn't see the previous post, this one-day seminar is offered at locations across the country by Creative Capital in cooperation with other agencies. This particular class was co-hosted by the the N.C. Arts Council and held at McColl Center for Visual Art.

HIGHLY Effective Marketing for Writers and Artists

Saturday I showed up, brimming with eagerness and high expectations, at the long-awaited arts marketing seminar.

BOTTOM LINE: What I learned there met all my hopes.

I am as excited about my work and my career as I have ever been in all these 33 years of freelance writing. This excitement is based not, as usual, on a piece of good news like a book contract. Instead it is based on having some new tools to better take charge of my own career and the fate of all my books.

For anyone who didn't see the previous post, this one-day seminar is offered at locations across the country by Creative Capital in cooperation with other agencies. This $30 class--I couldn't believe the price--was co-hosted by the indefatigable crew at the N.C. Arts Council and held at McColl Center for Visual Art.

I'm going report here about what I learned. Because there is so much material--even just hitting the high points--I'm going to spread it out over many days.

Some of what I learned amounted to A CHANGE OF PERSPECTIVE. And some was NUTS AND BOLTS. These two are equally important.

Here are TWO EXAMPLES OF WHAT I TOOK HOME, one from each category:

*The most important change of perspective: Shift from thinking "what do I need to get by?" to "what do I and my art need financially in order to flourish?"

*Nuts and bolts item: Create a financial team.

HOW TO DO THIS: Get a free consultation at your bank. Choose a bank that's a patron of the arts. Talk with friends who are passionate and successful with the workings of money about who to consult and what to do.

Study what you spend and find out what you need, then ask a consultant: how can I get x amount of passive (no work-involved) income, by x year. Find out what it will require, what step you need to take next. Do it even if you're currently insolvent. Especially if you are. It's possible to buy your freedom; it takes some time-and-money figuring, and developing new and expanded and alternative markets and possibilities (more on this later). Create financial stability rather than a constant hand-to-mouth crisis.

Realize that artists are good financial managers. Nobody squeezes more out of a buck. So don't "diss" yourself.

Find an accountant who is proficient in arts tax laws.

When you talk to bankers, etc. don't bad-mouth money and say you don't like financial stuff. However you word it, ask these folks to be your partners. Get the person's interest in what you're doing and make them part of it. In addition to using their advice, as appropriate, invite your financial team to your book-signings, art openings, or your movie premiere.



In addition to these notes I jotted, I (and the others) received written materials on types of funding sources and how to approach them.

In summary: attendees typically increase their income by at least 20% in the first year, with significantly less time spent at earning. And that came with added visibility of the art work and wider opportunities for more work.

MY RECOMMENDATION: If one of these day or weekend workshops shows up near you, GO! Or fly to wherever it is. Everyone I spoke with was wowed.

I'll keep reporting in this space about what I learned, how I'm putting it into practice and how it's working out. I INVITE YOU to add your thoughts, experiences and questions about each of these topics. And if you've attended one of these classes, please share any stories about how this approach is working for you. It'll help the rest of us.

Thanks!

Marketing for Artists

This Saturday I'm planning to have all my business and professional problems solved and my future assured.

You may think I'm exaggerating, but I have extraordinary high hopes and excitement about a seminar I'm participating in. The title is Strategic Planning Workshop for artists, run by a New York-based organization, Creative Capital Foundation. These workshops are given periodically at locations scattered around the country.

THE MOTIVATION: I saw one of my friends come back transformed from one of these classes last spring. Carrie Knowles, a visual artist as well as author of THE LAST CHILDHOOD, attended a weekend class.

When she got back, she bought a historic house, moved her office out of her house and into this new arts center, established an art gallery/studio in the building and a writing office, and rented space to me and others.

Moreover, six months later, she's still steaming ahead with her writing and art a lot faster than she used to.

THE RESULT: I'm going to go to this thing day after tomorrow and see what happens to me.

One of the exercises, I'm told, is doing an "elevator pitch." That's putting together--and practicing--a sentence that will sell your book to the publishing luminary you find yourself squeezed in next to on an elevator.

I will report here what happens.

Courage Advice From Another Site

Another creative courage strategy that works, reprinted from the Confidence & Courage Tips link on my link list to the left side of this site. Do give this one a shot; it's good for the just-back-from-the-holiday Monday.


Rise, Knight...
Slay The Dragons In Your Path...
Then Claim The Golden Crown

By Gabriel Daniels


The following is a powerful technique you can use to conquer your fears...and attain your dreams.

Imagine yourself being a brave knight, complete with armor, shield, helmet, and sword (or any weapon of your choice...ex. spear, bow and arrow, etc.). In other words, “act as if” you are a brave knight (one who has fought and won countless battles). You can do this with eyes open or closed...whichever you find more comfortable.

Stand the way a brave or fearless knight would stand. Breathe the way a brave knight would breathe. Gaze the way a brave knight would gaze. Feel yourself having the same kind of resolve and determination a brave knight would have.

And in your mind’s eye, focus on your target (your dream...visualize it vividly) in the distance (for the purpose of this article, let’s just use a “golden crown” as the target to symbolize your dream...when you’re applying this technique on your own, visualize exactly what it is you want instead of the golden crown), with such intensity, that you’re absolutely sure that nothing can stop you from attaining it. Better yet, believe that it’s already yours.

Imagine the golden crown with a bright light around it...as if it were drawing you towards it like a magnet...as if it were saying to you, “Come claim me. I’m yours.”

Then, in your mind’s eye, walk confidently and courageously towards the glowing crown. (If you wish to ride a horse instead, then go right ahead. You can even fly and do all kinds of acrobatics...just like what they do in The Matrix. Use your imagination to the fullest.)

And on your way to the crown, imagine one fire-breathing dragon after another flying towards you...trying to stop you from reaching the crown. (Include as many senses in your visualizations as possible. Hear the dragons’ wings flap. Hear the noise they make...including the sound of their breathing. See their huge, red eyes staring at you. Feel the heat of their breath. And so on.)

As each dragon comes towards you, strike it with your sword. And as your sword hits each one, imagine it getting blown to smithereens—just like the vampires in Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Blade. (If you wish, you can make it even more graphic. It’s up to you how you want to see the dragons defeated...how you want to see “your fears” defeated.) Use your imagination to the fullest. Don’t worry, no one will know you’re doing this. Remember, you’re merely visualizing all of this. So just go all out.

Let the glowing crown (your dream) in the distance inspire you to persist with courage and determination.

And when each dragon tries to breathe fire on you, simply use your shield to protect yourself. Imagine yourself being invincible as you continue to walk towards the brightly shining crown. Even though you feel intense heat all around you because of the fire coming from the dragons, it doesn’t bother you or make you retreat. You simply keep moving forward...with the confidence and conviction that nothing can get in your way.

Remember, you are a knight with absolute courage and unshakeable resolve. You are determined to get what you want...and absolutely nothing can stop you! In fact, nothing will stop you! The golden crown is as good as yours.

(Tip: As each dragon comes before you, you can label/name each one as a particular fear you may have. For example, as you look at the dragon before you, you can say, “Come on, rejection, let’s see what you’ve got.” Then without hesitation, strike the dragon with a quick swing of your sword...“POOF”...smithereens...like it was nothing. Or if a voice keeps playing in your head, telling you that you won’t succeed because you’re simply not good enough, bravely meet the dragon flying towards you and say, “You think you can stop me, negative critic? Well, you’re wrong! Take this!” Then drive your sword into the dragon’s body...“POOF”...smithereens. And continue to do this with each of your fears.)

Then after you’ve slain all the dragons, walk up to the golden crown and reach for it. Claim it. Hold it proudly with both hands and place it firmly on your head...knowing you deserve it. And as you do that, smile and experience the great feeling of victory.

Do this regularly or whenever you find all kinds of doubts, fears, worries, etc., creeping in. Then you will notice a difference in your attitude towards them...in the real world. You will feel like nothing can get in your way as you pursue your dreams.

So, now, I say to you, “Rise, knight. Slay the dragons in your path. Then claim the golden crown.”

About the Author:

Gabriel Daniels publishes Confidence & Courage Tips...To Help You Realize Your Dreams. For tips, strategies, stories, quotes, and more...to inspire and empower you to take action...so you can get what you want out of life, visit his website at: http://confidencetips.blogspot.com
You are free to reprint this article in your ezine or newsletter, or on your website, as long as you include this resource box—and as long as the article’s contents are not changed in any way.

Comfortable Creativity

A life-changing piece of news just in. The Compuserve What's New window today cites a study showing that creative thinking is best done lying down. People were tested on their skill in solving Word Jumbles in various positions. The clear winner: horizontal! Good news indeed.

Happy Thanksgiving to you.

Let Intention Take You the Rest of the Way

Some years ago, I attended the publication party at Carnegie Hall of a novel about a musician, BODY & SOUL, written by Frank Conroy, who was head of the famed creative writing program at Iowa.

Turns out that Conroy was also a terrific jazz piano player; he stayed at the piano much of the night.

When I got home with his novel, I came to a passage about being a musician that offered a bit of wisdom that works as well for writers.

The talented young man in the story was trying to play an exceptionally demanding piece. He told his teacher that he couldn't quite get all the way to the sound he was aiming for. He could come close but then he would come to a sort of wall; his fingers were too stupid to make the leap over that invisible barrier,.

THE BIT OF WISDOM: His teacher told him to let his fingers carry him as far as they would. Then while playing he should focus on the result he was aiming for, and imagine the sound lifted over the wall. Eventually, the force of that imagined music, that aural "visualization" would take his playing where he wanted it to go.

MY WRITERLY APPLICATION: Keep writing, letting knowledge of craft do all it can. Keep in mind, while working, the emotional heart of the story. Then let imagination send its shooting currents--unpredictable but ultimately trustworthy--and ride them to see where they go.

Writing Goal for the Day

I seem to be having a hard time managing myself lately. I tell myself I'm going to work on this or that and then I don't.

Since I'm self-employed I find this particularly unnerving. I have the feeling, right or wrong, that everything depends on my doing what I decide to do.

So I'm resorting to a SOLUTION that has worked before: I'm STAKING MYSELF OUT, making an irreversible public commitment: today I will spend a minimum of one hour on my novel revisions and a minimum of one hour on the project I've been putting off for a week. I know that once I get going, I'll go on longer than that on at least one of these items.

THEN: I will report at the end of the day in the comments on this post that I've done what I decided to do. And I will feel very good. In fact, I'm feeling less irascible already.

I invite you to join me and make a commitment of your own here, today or at any time. Remember that it doesn't have to be large to work. Some days I've gotten myself started by committing to a mere 5 minutes.

My Writing Breakthrough

So I made my roughly annual visit to my psychotherapist, bringing what seemed to me an intractable writing problem.

THE PROBLEM: I didn't have a reliable sense of how many times I have to say things in a story to make them clear to most people. I'd write something that I felt hammered the reader over the head with the point. Yet not everybody got it. And I'm talking about people with good sense.

In no time, Nick Stratas (my doc) offered a plain and simple and effective solution. So simple it seemed like a no-brainer. And yet I, and later my writing group, were stunned by the power of it, and the fact that none of us had thought of it after 23 years of meeting, a stack of published books, several movie deals, a couple of stage adaptations, and decades of writing struggles.

EVOLUTION OF THE SOLUTION:

Nick: How long does it take you to figure out the point of one of your novels?

Peggy: One full draft.

Nick: And then you write that down and keep it in front of you while you write?

Peggy: No.

Nick: Why not?

Peggy: Because I know the point by then.

Nick: It takes you a full draft to discover it!!! This is preconscious material. It can slip away. That's why people keep a notebook beside their bed. I wake up with some wonderful idea and by the time I go to the bathroom, it's gone.

Peggy: (flooded with memories of times of re-remembering the point of a story, after not thinking of it for months) Oh. (pause) Yeah. (pause) You're right. (in wonderment) Jeez.

THE PUNCHLINE: Write down the embarrassingly simple idea that underlies the story. Keep it visible during writing times.

Turns out the problem hadn't been that I didn't know how to be clear; it was that I periodically forgot what I was talking about.

THE CHEEKINESS OF IT ALL: It takes confidence on the part of an advisor to make such a simple suggestion. A few years back I visited a notably astute psychic on my January birthday, a tradition I maintained for while. My annual question was: how do I make the most of what's going on for me in the next year? On one visit her answer was: eat more vegetables.

What a letdown. And how true. It would be easy to think that it's necessary to look good by saying something more complicated. It takes boldness to say the simple effective thing.

MY WRITING BREAKTHROUGH: Putting the idea in front of me is working. That's what it took to get fully clear.

Stay Loyal to Your Writing Passions

On a blog called Daytips for Writers I just ran across a reference to a Ray Bradbury book which jogged my memory of a chat with him on the QE2. Which led me to tell his story on that blog, and now to bring it back here. I'd like to make sure I NEVER FORGET it again.

I interviewed Bradbury when I was writing an article on writers at work on the ship's transatlantic crossing (Francis Ford Coppola was finishing a script on that same voyage.)

Bradbury told a story about staying true to our callings. He was saying that we need to stick with our passions, however odd they may seem to others. He told about being into some cartoon spaceman for years after he was considered too old for that kind of interest. Kids made fun of him and he went home and threw out his collection of Captain Whoever.

Then as an adult he tried to succeed as a writer of mainstream nonscifi fiction. Didn't work.

On a lark, he went back to his old interest, wrote a story about a dragon. Years later he picked up the phone. It was the director John Huston. He had run across the old story about the dragon, wanted Bradbury to write a script for him that had the same feel to it. The story was about a white whale. The movie Moby Dick turned out to be Bradbury's breakthrough. And all because he came back to the fantastical that was his love.

A Courage Tip: Nerve in the Curve

I don't remember where I came across the idea. I have a vague sense it was in the book LEARNED OPTIMISM by Martin Seligman (worth reading in any event.) But wherever it was, this idea I now think of as NERVE IN THE CURVE.

It seems some study showed that the race drivers who won races were most often the ones who didn't slow down on the curves.

The way I translate that for myself as a writer is: don't back off from my strategy at times when things have gotten difficult. Just ride through those tough periods full steam, focused on what's up ahead, doing what I planned and giving that plan a full chance.

EXAMPLE: going ahead full-tilt finishing my novel SISTER INDIA though it took three months longer than I'd planned and put me into my line-of-credit (in debt) for a while. I did sell the novel, and I did come out okay with the bank.

There's always a point in a project when I start getting nervous about whether I should be putting as much time or money into it as I first planned. My knee-jerk impulse is to slow down. Sometimes it might be the right thing to do. Or it might be like slowing down the boat when you're pulling a water skier. The skier sinks. Withdrawing fuel from a project at a crucial moment can make that project sink.

So when things get a little scary, I remind myself: nerve in the curve, Peggy. It might make sense to back off, but it doesn't make sense to get wobbly just because I'm running into the predictable delays and risks and difficulties. It doesn't make sense to slow out of a reflexive fear.

I hope these mixed sports metaphors make sense. Tell me if I didn't quite get it across.

Short Bursts of Writing

It's late on a Friday--been working on revising my novel COBALT BLUE. I found that I could work for only about 15 minutes before getting antsy and nervous. (The changes I'm making are small but BOLD) Some of the time it was abougt 3 minutes.

My jumpiness felt rather discouraging; it gave me the feeling that I wasn't going to get anything done today. Wrong--I got a lot done.

MY METHOD: I quit about every time I felt like it. Then went back to work 5 or 10 minutes later. It took me about 5 hours to do about 3 and a half hours worth of writing. And toward the end of the afternoon, I was starting to be able to stay with it longer.

I consider this approach a variation of the LOWERED EXPECTATIONS approach, essentially it's to do what I can. I'm happy with the way it turned out this time.

I don't think I was evading any subject matter by quitting so often. But next round I think I'm going to experiment and explore that possibility.

Why I Write Spooky, Literary, Metaphysical Fiction

I used to be a newspaper and TV reporter, covered politics and school boards, one motorcycle gang shootout, a few fish kills, a lot of other odd occurrences. Then as a travel writer for magazines and newspapers, I tended to accidentally turn up wherever events were about to explode: in Israel for a war with Lebanon, in India in a city where riots broke out, in Poland in time for the second round of Solidarity strikes.

As a novelist, I still fancy myself a reporter of sorts. I'm interested in "things unseen," the shapes and stirrings in our deepest recesses, in mystical experiences of the divine, in the paranormal and the barely conceivable.

MY METHODS: I meditate, though not very much
I write a fast see-what's-there chunk of story
I revise to develop-what's-there
I get feedback from the writing group/class I've been a member of for
22 years
I do more exploratory drafts and more polishing drafts
Maybe get more feedback
And all the while I count on what floats up into my consciousness, the
unexpected connections and images

GETTING THE DEEP IMAGES:
The surprise thoughts rise to my mind usually after two things have
happened: I've prepared the ground by writing about whatever it
is I'm currently most drawn to, and then I've taken a break and done
something physical like exercise, taking a shower, sleeping, raking.

EXAMPLE: In the case of the the novel I'm working on now, COBALT BLUE, the deep connection came to me while I was doing something rather quietly
physical: sitting out on my porch with Bob on a summer night,
thinking about nothing but the slight stirring of the damp air.

What came to my mind on that porch was the phrase: "it's kundalini." I
knew that the "it's" referred to the major event in my novel. In COBALT BLUE, the main character Andie has a sudden mysterious inner rush, followed by a blast of creativity as well as some rather extreme sexual episodes.

There were psychological reasons for this of course. But then this word
that I didn't know the meaning of showed up. I had overheard it
once but didn't know what it meant.

Kundalini, I learned, is a concept of unused life
force stored in every person. When the kundalini
spontaneously "rises wrong" a person can get more than they can
handle. The word is Sanskrit, but the idea exists in the history of
many religions.

I felt the idea slide into the story as if the story had been built
for it in every detail.

So I think of myself as a reporter, doing a sort of reconnaissance. I'm watching for what shows up and,in my way, reporting it. I want to know what's there.