Sunday Post #2

Some Quote Here

The beginning of this week will be different from most of them. I am not at home in New York. I’m in Georgia to attend a wedding. Yay! I am happy for the couple but ready for everything to be over already. It is a kind of selfish on my part however these are my feelings. This event changed what my summer would be looking like. This may not have been stated before, the day job is a patient care assistant gig. I was hired directly by the family so the official title is a personal assistant. Instead of hours of patient care, I worked a block time to be off for seven days. When I go home I will work another block of time to relieve the colleague, who is taking care of the patient since I’ve been away. I will be a wreck. Traveling takes energy, preparing for a wedding takes energy, as well as taking care of a patient takes energy. Being creative also takes energy. Is my dilemma making sense?

In times like these, I catch up on interesting and entertaining movies, tv shows, listen to inspirational books, fantastic stories, informative podcasts, and music. I keep in mind that time to be creative will come again. Sometimes the mind is willing but the body can’t and vice versa. I make plans, consider writing reviews on what I am taking in, make notes. It is difficult to remember but I do my best. I would like to think that it would be better if there was some kind of achievement completed. This is a complicated thought because I won’t know until I do it. I still feel the time is against me and some times the people in my life are against me too.

I get over this by writing. I handle the negative feelings by posting them on this blog. I apologize for sharing or oversharing. I want this blog to be an upbeat account of a writer’s life. But nothing is ever upbeat all the time. There are downer days, weeks, months. I’m grateful that I haven’t had a downer month is a couple of years. I realized the triggers and I work on them. It doesn’t always show up on this blog. What is important is that they happen.

It has been decided that this entry will be a short one. Mainly because there is a wedding to attend. If possible there will be another entry this week. There will definitely be an entry next week. Until then I hope everyone has a good productive week.

End

-BlackPrincess

Some Title Here

cropped-summer-sun-yellow-spring Ever so often I feel like writing and posting an essay that is similar to a Do Now, the teacher assignment given to elementary kids at the beginning of the class period. I call them free write essays.

Bear with me this might hurt. I write that because I have read previous free write essays on other blog accounts, all posted without the benefit of the Grammarly app and they are sometimes painful to read.

What I will like to accomplish is an entertaining essay on how good intentions can be difficult. These intentions are my writing plans. However, this will mostly be a stream of consciousness essay on random thoughts that go through this writer’s mind. One thought blending into another thought that may or may not be related. Essays like this are usually a response to something that happened in the public eye – politics, the internet, various business industries, etc. I have done my best to stay away from the outrage wagon or the trending wagon. There are people whose only purpose in life is to outrage others. While we are exploring the outrage, we are missing important clues everywhere. I was trying to come up with something more profound but the words are not with me today.

I started this essay in the last week in March I think. The plan was to write everything and then post it with or without grammar corrections. It is now the third week in April. My reasons for this vary. There was a family event and there is Camp Nanowrimo. I may write a Camp Nanowrimo blog or a Nanowrimo blog. I am supposed to be posting an essay at least every week on the Universe. That does not happen. I believe sometimes it is because I don’t feel I’m qualified enough to write on a certain subject. This is also the reason I stay away from what is trending. By the time I feel like I know enough to write on a subject. It is no longer trending. I will still write about it, just to get my thoughts out of my head. I won’t post it. There are exceptions, those are not posted because I haven’t finished them.

Despite everything that is going on in my life the ups and downs, I can’t see myself not writing. I can’t see myself not telling myself tailor-made stories or revising something that I read, watched or listened to. I didn’t give this entry a title because I knew it would be paragraphs of rambling thoughts. I hope this inspires someone to create something like me or not be like me. As long as they are happy with the choices they made.

Today I am good with my choices.

End

Hard Choices

Hard choices were made this week. Accounts were permanently closed or disabled. I don’t know how many people were following the Jo Experiment Blog Review. I barely got any feedback and I was never as prolific with reviews as I wanted to be. However, it was one of the longest blog accounts I had, and I tried to keep it up. The spirit was always willing, but the body was … … tired, hungry or uninspired to create intelligent, entertaining, informative essays on media. I had expanded the JoEx to include anime, graphic novels as well as books from any genre, that I read or listened too. It is crazy that along with writing fiction I would set myself up to do so much and then freeze.
This blog, the universe was supposed to be about writing, fiction, the writing business and the road to developing a podcast. I don’t know if I ever wrote all those things in one sentence for the account but there it is.
This account was started when I failed with the website on 1and1.

I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.
Thomas A. Edison

I don’t know if I have found 10,000 ways to fail as a writer, but it just feels like it. [side note: I don’t know if this quote is a verified Thomas A. Edison Quote. Any objections should be taken up with brainy quotes of brainyquotes.com]. I used to have a blog about becoming well and healthy, about fiction only, about book reviews etc. Each with a defining flower so I know what the hell I was looking at and where I should file or post the essay. But once I put a name on it. I had a problem creating and it was easier to let other issues in life take up space. I have family members that sometimes need help and since I am generally low on cash, I offer my time and person. It takes a toll. The result was that the blogs suffered. I would leave them for months and then come back with an apology essay and then state that I will do better.
That never really happened because there were a number of pressing family issues to deal with. I have never felt comfortable exposing my whole life online. There are some things I am willing to share and there are some things I will never write about here.

Two years ago, two of my close relatives died. It changed a lot of things in my life. I am still dealing with it. I am now realizing that I would always be dealing with it. Of course, writing helps. I have solved most of my moodiness with writing.

I would like to say that this essay was easy to write. It wasn’t. I made several attempts that ended up in the delete folder. Ever so often I come across a YouTube video or podcast that reminds me that writing is not just about art, but it is also a business.

One of the most important goals is to produce intelligent and entertaining essays for this blog. Another is to make each essay informative as well. As a reader expect some essays will be subjective and others will be objective. Some posts will be fiction, other reviews on fiction. There will also be the odd essay about the podcast as well as essays with a different point of view.

Overall, I am hoping that what I am writing is worth reading. It is not just a plea from a person online screaming “Like me, Please Like Me!”

The process is ever evolving.

In conclusion, I am hoping to attract readers who comment and like my work. I don’t have a number in my head. In the past, I have taken all kinds of steps in many directions and surprise got no positive results because I was spreading myself too thin. Consolidation is difficult but necessary.

End

lioness standing

January 2019 the next five

Be Yourself, everyone else is taken

Oscar Wilde

A new week, another journal entry mashup. It is possible that in February, I will do something different with these prompts. I don’t know yet. The week is getting busy and I almost forgot about this goal. Here’s to keeping up resolutions.

1. A trip you want to take this year
In October a colleague and I will be going to Miami, Florida for the West Indian Carnival. We will most likely all play mas because that was the plan. The trip I am looking forward to is all in my hometown. My plan to is to visit the New York City Museums. One or two from every borough. I have been inspired by the Art Assignment on YouTube.

2. Your top three priorities
1. Complete then edit the short story Punch. Develop the short story Idle Hands. Continue to work on another story with the working title called the Returner.
2. Podcast – work on the Red Mushroom Podcast; it is a dream and near creative goal to have a podcast. The episodes will be about writing and the writing business.
3. Maintain this blog with at least a weekly post.

3. A list of places you have visited Places I have been to London, England; New Amsterdam, Guyana South America, and Mount Pleasant, Trinidad and Tobago.
All these visits occurred years ago. The England trip is over 10 years old. The Trinidad and Tobago trip, happed when I was a small kid. The most recent was New Amsterdam Guyana but at least 4 years ago. I went down to Guyana with my mom. It is her birth country. The last time I visited Guyana, I was a small kid. It was interesting because it was December and there were all kinds of Christmas decorations in 80-degree weather. It is probably normal for people who live in warmer climates in the United States. Since I am from the Northeast, when there used to be snow in December, it felt a little strange. Like a Christmas in July advertisement. The trip was a special one of the last things I did with my mom. I didn’t stay longer than 7 days and I always regretted that I didn’t call my job and tell them I was stuck in a foreign country.

4. Do your actions match your words?
I am making an effort with these journal entry mashups. There is so much going on in the world. Answers to these questions seem like the most trivial. I’m doing them because I need to write. Sometimes writing is difficult. A journal prompt can help the mind focus.

The podcast is still in the developing stages. It always feels like two steps forward five steps back with the Red Mushroom. I want to blame the outside world but I know the buck stops with me. I have yet to control my creative life and everything else, because of this imbalance, I either get too much done – burst of creativity or too little done – blocked days or hours. It can be frustrating. If my day is pie, where are the slices going? I might have an answer in a future entry

In the previous entry, I wrote that I have an exercise routine, I should perform at 6 days a week for 30 minutes. I have only been able to do that twice. Becoming healthy is important for me. I don’t work hard on it enough. I think if I write it here. I might feel a little guilty and produce positive results.

5. One thing you learned about yourself last year.
Last year I realized I don’t value my time enough. I am always willing to give my time to others for their purposes. However when I want to use my time for my own tasks. They are not given any regard. One of my many goals for this year is to value my time. It is the reason I am taking the time to write this entry. I know that I am the one who will have to put my foot down for my projects. Some people are going to have to get used to hearing the word no. For the sake of my precious time, I am going to have to limit by binge time. I will have to do an essay on that as well in the future.

In conclusion, I encourage anyone who reads this to take one of these or all of the prompts, think about your life and what is going on and answer them. The results are always surprising.

End.

January 2019 – The first five days

I believe that the greatest gift you can give your family and the world is a healthy you. – Joyce Meyer

A year ago, I came across some journal prompts called the Life of Lovely created by Elizabeth McNair. At first, I thought I would go through them daily however circumstances of my life had me combining five prompts per blog entry. To continue with the practice here are the first five days.

1. What are you most looking forward to
I’m looking forward to finishing the short story I’ve been struggling with for about two or more years. It has been a journey working through this story. It has been put aside more times that should be counted but always finds its way into my backpack. It is the roughest draft, that might be a blog essay in the future.

There is also the reinstitution of my health and wellness plans. It has always been my concern but circumstances have diverted my attention in the past. I have committed myself to an exercise routine, a moderate meal plan and time for reflection.

2. Three goals for the month
Maintain exercise routine 6 days a week for 30 minutes. It will vary because of my work schedule, the day job.

Write at least two blog essays a week. Each essay should be 750 words. One for the JC Henry Universe blog and the other for the Jo Experiment Blog. This will be difficult since I am out of practice. Often I lose motivation with essay writing. The one thing I learned from NaNoWriMo 2018, is that progress only comes from making the time.

Start spring cleaning early. I admire people who can live a minimalist lifestyle or are expert organizers. Full disclosure, I am none of those things. I do see why these methods are important for life. I am not a hoarder but I will admit that there are items in my home that need to be let go. Wish me Luck.

3. Describe your day in ten words
I would prefer my days to be more creative instead I have a job.

It is impossible for me to describe my day in ten words. I’m not sure if what I wrote can be called a description. It will be something I will work on how to describe my day in a logline.

4. Something that you’re looking forward to
I don’t understand how this prompt is different from the first of this entry. Not sure why this prompt is part of this month’s list. I look forward to completing my goals.

5. A time you don’t want to forget
On December 31, 2018 – New Year Eve’s Party. A relative acquired a karaoke machine. We sang all kinds of songs, from the ’70s to the present. The most fun was when the group sang Bohemian Rhapsody and I did my rendition of Someone to Love by Queen. It was great laughing and singing together. Most of the previous week, I was battling a cold. I had a cough, itchy throat, my voice was hoarse. I had no voice for Christmas. My voice had gotten better I was able to sing the high note in Somebody to Love, to the applause and adoration of my friends and family. It was a wonderful way to welcome the oncoming New Year.

The plan is to continue with journal prompts in groups. If one requires an in-depth exploration that could be done. This New Year is full of possibilities. A writer working on the business aspect of her writing. There should be specific plans and goals. There is some and posting on this blog is just one part of it.