Category: Writers

Creative Mindset: Flex and Extend

 

Routine is necessary to accomplish a finished product. The creative benefits from a routine that maximises goals and intentions.

Rote, however,  harms creative growth when curiosity is denied in favour of robotic daily ‘doing’ that limits the capacity and capabilities of the mind. Rote erodes enjoyment, takes the fun out of creativity if allowed to fester in mindlessness.

 

 

 

Once we relinquish the act of questioning, debating, and learning alternative ways, the creative quest goes down the rabbit-hole

 

Open to what others are doing successfully in their creative pursuits. Debate with the self, first, to test how to improve our creative patterns and when we observe or flex to alternative methods, before embracing them, then we are on the route to extending the creative mind.

What we read is as significant as what we write. As a fiction writer, it is essential for me to move beyond restricting myself to only reading fiction.

Get out of the box – mind the bog

 

It is imperative that we read judiciously selected, respected successful forerunners of the craft of fiction—past and present—for inspiration on the ways in which we can flex the mind. Engaging with the information gathered is the actual flexing—then question what does not sit well.  Argue why this is so, look for alternatives to the arguments that have surfaced. Never ignore your internal unrest without asking why and how. Why am I unsettled by this? How should I address why I feel this way? We learn to flex and extend our skills from observing first and then listening to what is around us. The inner well is deep, but testing the waters from the ocean of talent available deepens and brightens the path ahead.

The choice to extend ourselves is within our grasp to refresh or radicalise how we create. Flex to invite minor changes, analyse what is working for you, and incrementally extend to achieve more.

Like muscles that face a new physical challenge which is overcome by gradual flexing and extending, achieved through the art/act of trying—not rote, but being open to challenging the self, so too, the creative mind grows.

 

Photo Credit: My Life Through a Lens (Unsplash)

 

Creative and Critical

As creatives, we ought to be critical thinking beings—not cynical but critical. Herein is the source for debate to generate fresh waves of thinking and doing.

Watching a documentary, for example, on an unfamiliar topic that holds some interest is beneficial for starting the mindset extension with exposure to new knowledge. This opens inner and external debates that arise from the observation phase to grow the knowledge base and experience on the subject/topic. 

Extend listening skills to enhance creative growth without visual distractions by listening to podcasts that present new knowledge to stimulate thinking without the bias of the visual effect. The brain rain received generates novel ways of thinking or questioning how we can reinvent old patterns.

 

 

Never stop asking why, how or what can I gain from this?

 

 

As fiction writers, we should seek to understand the values that differ from our own to invite creative ideas to emerge from this openness to what lies outside of our inner workings.

I ground my novels in, in our angst and joy we are one under the sky of humanity.’ Inclusivity is my pre-wired emotional mindset because I have lived my formative years under South Africa’s apartheid regime’s divisive rule.

 

Suggested Reading

Try reading all or extracts from the following non-fiction books to open new vistas of understanding, or to deepen your understanding of human relations, justice, and politics, if this is of interest.

Essays – George Orwell

The Source of Self-Regard– Toni Morrison

The End of Imagination – Arundhati Roy

Caste – The lies that Divide Us – Isabel Wilkinson

 

 

Pick up, or do something different—something you have never read or done before and observe, reflect and note by writing what it stirs within. Get past the initial discomfort then decide if you want to extend what you do and how you do it.

 

When we flex the mind in a new direction, there’s discomfort at first, when extended, it fuels passion and ignites creativity

 

 

How do you flex and extend the mind in your creative pursuits?

 

Please like, share and comment.

 

Creative Mojo

Being a people-pleaser often impedes the writing deadline.
Some perceive writing as not a regular day, serious job, and expectations are that the writer is always available, because the writer is self-employed, locked in the head of imagination that does not,(by choice of some), demand a fixed workspace.

 

 

 

Write as a free-flowing creative. Be the  rigid business manager

 

 

 

 

If we do not rectify this thinking, impositions on the writer’s free time could seriously hinder writing progress to the point of murdering the writing mojo.

 

 

Know when to say No

 

 

 

 

 

The writing mojo is temperamental and disappears if there’s no plan, the time and process wind up bending to the noise and demands that soon override it.

 

 

 

Being flexible is paramount to the creative

 

If the writing mojo is showing signs of being at risk — set down a plan and stick to it as far as possible. Achieve at least 80% of your daily or weekly goals with consistency to make a writing life productive.

 

A writing life incorporates many facets and significant among them is audience/reader engagement. To flourish in this career, and a career it is, if given every opportunity of serious intention, then it becomes that sweet spot of primary income or multiple streams of writing income – a way of life.

 

 

Turn off the phone – block the internet

 

 

Creating blocks of time to have regular hours that are not sidelined by the daily demands of life happens if there is a set plan.

Here are a few pointers to keep the writing mojo  on an upswing.

• create a routine and stick to it as you would any day job
• set the clock – have several /number of words per session/chapter a day goals
• take your working day coffee and lunch breaks – remember ONE coffee break in the morning and ONE in the afternoon.
• choose your most creative part of the day to get your words on the page.
• leave your phone in another room, muted to avoid its cradle cry.
• get some exercise – a walk outdoors for half an hour should get the mojo back on track
• track monthly, weekly and daily productivity.
• note potential distractions and cut them out.
• the space you write in must be free of distractions – • no internet – no television – no phone.
• have water and a healthy snack close by
• learn to say: writing is my work life.
• begin your day with a writing reflection, FREE Writing (Free, Raw, Exact and Easy) as Orna Ross, Founder of The Alliance of Independent Authors, teaches or writing morning pages as Julia Cameron advises in, The Artist’s Way – clear the cobwebs to open the creative path to your writing day.

 

 

Now, what is holding you back? 
Get to it with a further nudge from these inspirational lines:

 

 

If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word – Margaret Atwood

Without great solitude, no serious work is possible – Picasso

Like an ability or muscle, hearing your inner wisdom is strengthened by doing it – Robbie Gass

 

Inspiration may be a form of super consciousness, or perhaps of subconsciousness — I wouldn’t know. But I am sure it is the antithesis of self-consciousness – Aaron Copeland

 

 

 

Happy Writing, Happy Reading!

Best wishes.

 

Share your thoughts and ideas on how to avoid distractions in your creative day. Please like and share.

 

Creating in a Challenging World

We have read it and heard it repeated everywhere we look and listen.

Change is — has been — will impact all facets of life. The current global change that has claimed 2020 has challenged the ‘do I dare?’ mindset of the creative. The muse is a sensitive soul. She feels the angst as deeply as the joy — inspiration is derived and mined from this seat — gold mined.

 

 

 

 

Health crisis, economic crisis, the uncertainty of life, the fear of not so much the outdoors but whether we can trust that everybody is doing the right thing.

For how long must we entertain fear as it enslaves us by forfeiting joy?

The creative forges on to leave the carbon footprint of these challenging times.

 

Dare and dare again and the muse shall heed the call.

 

The creative day, if allowed to slide, is a difficult one to recover but is possible with the determination of, ‘I will dare.’

TS Eliot’s poem, The Lovesong of J Alfred Prufrock. conveys the uncertainty of modern times where ‘normal’ becomes unusual. Images of desolation pervade his poem:

Like a patient etherized upon a table/Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,/The muttering retreats

This echoes the current emotional and scientific uncertainty we face.

The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes,
The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes

 

Eliot’s raw emotions capture the universal angst of his time where rapid economic and technological advancement changed his perceptions of life. And the yellow fog of uncertainty seeps into 2020 rising, falling …

The natural outcome is to be perplexed but navigation to the new normal through introspection is vital.

The pen is the mighty memory of our time, of all times, and writing must go on as must art and music and all creative pursuits.

In the making as creatives, writers, artists, we share a universal experience in that it is normal to be afraid, and it is brave to dare by creating new worlds that either mirror the present or transport us to worlds we dream of. In dreaming we bring those hopeful worlds into the conscious mind of the reader/audience who in turn subconsciously works towards making that dreamed, hopeful world, a new reality.

 

The writer’s pen will never dry or fade — words speak into the future from the past bringing meaning and understanding that this too shall pass.

The human condition is live with the possibility for new stories to be told, poems to be written, songs to be sung and paintings to be created to articulate and quell all fear.

Do I dare, and do I dare, — oh yes, we must, to make this life the best life we have had the courage to dream into our reality!

 

Today step forward — leave the fences and backyards of your mind and speak of your fears, insecurity, and uncertainty through artistic expression.

 

Take a chance. Live your passion.

 

This is a time for you to be YOU in all that you do without the fear of judgement.

 

Happy writing. Happy creating. Happy daring to channel your way forward for a life free of angst with the promise of joy.

 

What’s your creative plan?

 

2020 and Beyond – Voices in Literature

Diverse voices exist in literature but are under-represented by trade publishers.

 

All hail the dawn of self-publishing!

 

 

 

The tragedy of George Floyd’s death in the United States has sparked a resurgence for the recognition of black writers. Read the rumble in the UK here on what the newly found Black Writer’s Guild has initiated.

It is shocking to note that black writers are offered a lower advance to that of their white contemporaries, and editors ask for white or racist characters to be added to books.

 

As an author of colour, in Australia, I faced the dilemma of whether I should create a neutral non-black pen name to get publishing recognition. But my writing mission is, In our angst and joy, we are ONE under the sky of humanity, which does not support using a pen name and so authenticity prevailed.

My apartheid past in South Africa had stolen the right to feel comfortable in my skin or to dare to speak out against racism. Hence my debut novel Across Time and Space and the sequel Vindication Across Time, present the bald face of racism as a universal disease through my eyes. My third novel, Souls of Her Daughters exposes injustice on multiple levels.

 

Fear makes one believe that a name that hints at race would be bypassed by publishers and readers. Listen to the words of author Michael La Ronn who articulates the issues black writer’s face in writing and publishing. Note what he says about gaslighting 

 

 

Racism – Inequality – Injustice – Prejudice – by any name must be caught and called in the books we read, movies we watch and conversations we have

 

 

The Zulu word Ubuntu refers to the human spirit as it should be:

 

  • I am because we are
  • humanity towards others
  • the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity

 

 

In writing multicultural stories as I do – the spirit of Ubuntu prevails.

 

 

 

 

What will you be reading and watching in the renaissance of Black Lives Matter in literature?

 

I recommend watching the movie In My Country on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in South Africa and Rabbit-Proof Fence on Australia’s Stolen Generation.

 

From the Uncle Tom’s Cabin and beyond, voices have raised the alarm but sadly the call to end racism fell on deaf ears. Now it must be made history, an unforgotten one to remind us that prejudice is heinous and should be obliterated from the stage of life. Diverse voices that are in the main ignored, share why the human condition needs a radical shake-up.

 

Feel the angst, walk a mile in the shoes of the racially downtrodden – only then will you know the corrosive impact of racism.

 

The wound of prejudice cuts deep to the soul leaving indelible scars.

 

But you pick your head up, as you do, to face another day no longer silent especially to subtle bias…

 

 

In the wake of the change in 2020 and beyond, walk a mile through these suggestions to know and feel that in our diversity the common factor is that we are emotional beings with the capacity to rectify prejudice by the stories we tell and read.

 

 

Here are ten suggestions where diverse voices rip out your heart to sensitise your soul.

 

  1. Long Walk to Freedom – Nelson Mandela
  2. . My Place -Sally Morgan
  3. Talking to My Country – Stan Grant
  4. To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
  5. The Underground Railroad – Colson Whitehead
  6. Between the World and Me – Ta-Nehisi Coates
  7. Cry the Beloved Country – Alan Paton
  8. The Power of One – Bryce Courtney
  9. The Bluest Eye – Toni Morrison
  10. Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence – Derald Wing Sue

 

May you write and read stories that share histories to sensitise our souls to dismantle racial bias.

 

 

 

Erase Negative Generators

Some quick pointers as we either drown in or swim out of the quagmire of negative news.

 

As fiction writers we are wired to all that happens around us as our receptors absorb ideas for the next great story. The blessing and curse of the news – more a curse in the current times while essential for updates on matters of health and mortality, the economic slump and the general state of the nation – it is disruptive in its overdose of negativity.

 

 

Brain receptors

 

The writer’s receptors grab ideas at the speed of a 5G network – the mind is never at rest, dreams emerge during troubled times as stress levels are elevated and the quest for ideas, for the next great book, arrives in a mangled mind needing time out. Once this agglomerates to confuse and clog thinking which we are at risk of in the current global climate, the danger is depressing outcomes for the writer on high alert – never wanting to miss a moment of the rapid global change we are undergoing. The virulent effect, if we are not selective, leaves its scar for a lifetime.

 

Be Selective

 

Choice matters when words count and writing deadlines are set-up. Where possible avoid mismanaged choices that deaden your writing plans – dry the inkwell or moves the virus into your hard drive. Choose to read inspirational material to reframe how you see yourself in the world. I recommend reading The Untethered Soul, the journey beyond yourself, by Michael Singer to redirect thoughts to positivity and peace.

 

 

To attain true inner freedom, you must be able to objectively watch your problems instead of being lost in them – Michael Singer, The Untethered Soul

 

 

 

Erase Negative News for Creativity to Shine

 

Poetry, meditation, or inspirational music will reset your inner dial for greater productivity. Catch up on writing podcasts to refresh your muse. There are loads of positive platforms to draw from to rev your creative mojo free from negativity. 

Go Creative Flow Practice

 

 

Music is the Food of Life, Please Play on

 

Whatever your choice of music choose healing sounds to quieten the mind and open the creative receptors free of the pollution of an overload of negative news.

 

Kimba Arem

Louis Armstong

Mandala 7 Chakras

 

 

Dance/Move your way to writing inspiration

 

Dance like nobody is watching is an excellent way to get the blood pumping and the mood in an upswing, so whatever you choose to do, jive, toe-tap or nod to the rhythm of the sounds, you will feel energised to activate what might be momentarily blocked.

 

Jerusalema

Happy Song

 

 

Try a little Humour

 

Watch old comedy movies/television sitcoms or stand-up comedy shows. Slapstick humour relaxes the body and mind and transports us to joy – a positive mental state necessary for general wellbeing and a surge in creative energy.

 

  • Fawlty Towers
  •  Are you being served?
  • ‘Allo ‘Allo

 

 

 

 

 

Select what you will read, listen, dance or move to in your week and notice how your writing flows when you mindfully infuse beauty and peace into your daily activities.

 

Stay safe, find peace, abundant writing best wishes sent your way!

 

Happy Reading. Happy Writing!

 

 

Share your ideas on how to uplift positivity in our writing lives and life in general.

 

Maintaining a Healthy Muse

 

Life is topsy-turvy. The news makes us morose.
But creativity must go on.

So how do we keep the momentum going when all else has fallen apart?

 

This time shall pass

 

To avoid dwelling on the negative statistics of the world’s mortality rate, look for reading matter that will stimulate your soul to breathe as the mind’s eye turns inward. This will generate refreshing conversations. Too much has been coming at us in recent weeks, but we have the imaginative capacity to redirect this towards positivity.

 

 

 

 

Movies will come and go, but a novel or poem lingers. Change your routine. Begin your day doing some inspirational reading. Download free eBooks. Load your Kindles, iBooks, Kobo readers with words that enhance creative thinking.

 

Roll up the newspaper, shut off the television

 

We need to be informed — limit this to once a day because overkill might devour your muse. Turn to poetry, short stories, novels and inspirational music. Teach the creative muse to move beyond the immediate.

 

Limit the online interactions.

 

Lend a helping hand to a fellow creative. Encourage the reading and writing of new content — unrelated to the current context. Bring the wonder of nature back into our lives, even if it’s from an armchair perspective — watch a documentary — mentally travel to another realm

 

Free yourself from fear

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some hand-picked inspirational suggestions to awaken and maintain a healthy muse. This is a brief list to get the creative juices flowing, to inject an abundant dose of ideas, if you are feeling the slump with each passing day. There are many more you might have already read and perhaps a re-read is another way to lift the lid to ignite the imagination.

 

 

Poetry:

The Daffodils – William Wordsworth
First Hush – Orna Ross
Frost at Midnight – Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Still I Rise – Maya Angelou
A Spark of Hope Vol 1 &11 – Brenda Mohammed and HTWFS

 

Fiction and Non-Fiction:

The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho
The Catcher in the Rye– J.D. Salinger
Beloved – Toni Morrison
A Thousand Splendid Suns– Khalid Hosseini
Swami and Friends– R.K. Narayan
Half of a Yellow Sun– Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

 

We are not alone, reach out, touch a life or mind and enjoy the benefit of the enhanced energy this brings.

 

Stay safe and well.

 

Read or write something today.

 

How do you keep your creative juices flowing when things fall apart?

 

Writing and Publishing During a Global Crisis

 

 

Every corner of the world has been hit by Covid19 — life for millions has come to a grinding halt. Businesses have shut down left, right and centre. Bookstores have closed their doors. Libraries are no longer a sanctuary as silent voices are in lockdown.

 

The question tossed around is: do we go ahead with the launch of a new book?

My heart says yes but my mind says, should I? Then a voice whispers an answer: yes, launch it online, reach people who need to move out of the mental space of the current crisis we all face. We need the sanctity of books. Bookshops continue to take orders online if a digital book is not a preference.

 

In the face of a global crisis, publishing is vital now more than ever before — it says we are here, later it will speak confirming that we were here, and this is what we did. It is akin to writing historical fiction. The Great Books of the world brought us knowledge of people, cultures, events, aspirations, challenges and celebrations from eras long before our current existence. Without those scribes, the artists of the past, we would be as ignorant of the world as the occupants in Plato’s cave.

 

Literature is the light into now, the glow of the past and spotlight into our dreams of the future.

Books imprint memory

 

Writers have the acute ability to sense mood and observe human behaviour down to minuscule details. So, why wait? It is time to pick up the pen of prose or poetry. Each will speak of this time and of our dreams and visions. Leave the messages that say we are indeed one.

 

In our angst and joy, we are ONE under the sky of humanity

 

Forthcoming Title This April

 

 

To ignite compassion, we must walk in the shoes of angst, or suffering, to extend love and care to others because we know it—we feel it. Stories elicit compassion and bring meaning more particularly as we sit in self-isolation to protect our loved ones and communities.

 

Writing and publishing must go on, as must, soft digital launches of news titles and relaunching of backlists. Lower prices, offer free titles, reach the masses by bringing meaning to the lives of those living in fear of what the next news bulletin or press conference will announce. Our uncertainty unites us in our desire for a renewed tomorrow. We inhabit the same house under a global sky.

 

 

Now we speak with the same human voice in our sans streets, sans parks, sans beaches… but we should never be reduced to fearing each other.

 

 

Keep literature flowing for generations to come—it is within our control, thanks to the digital platforms that serve us.

 

 

Keep Writing, Keep Reading.

Stay Safe.

 

This time will pass. Keeping hope alive through poetry and stories.

 

 

Creative Space

Psychological boundaries are either self-constructed or built by others. Whoever is doing the construction of the wall is of no relevance — both will hinder creative energy.

We need people around us as creatives just not their negative energies that overwhelm and stifle.

 

Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creation and change ~ Brene Brown.

 

Creatives are sensitive souls, dreamers in tune with what the naked eye might not see. This opens the mind and soul to all aspects of the universe and in so doing leaves the creative vulnerable.

Choose your associations. This is crucial to creative energy. People who understand the creative, appreciate the need for space to commune with the muse, nature and the imagination.

Positive vibrations come from such associations that sustain and enhance a creative life. People who understand solitude and the creative need to slip off the radar for a brief period are associates to nurture and stay connected to.

In seeking creative space distancing the self from negativity is crucial to avoiding that which mars the creative process

 

What to watch…

  • those who tell you what you should be creating
  • those that question what you write or why you write
  • those who are not writers but freely offer writing advice
  • those who imagine a character or situation reflects their lives. It’s good if they do — that’s being a good writer to be able to craft lives/stories that people feel connected to — the ultimate writing goal is to reach the reader.
  • those who scour your books and comment that your book is a reflection of your own life by ignoring that you’re writing fiction and have not got down to writing a memoir yet.

 

Creative energy is more critical than learning ~ Albert Einstein

 

 

Who should we hang onto?

  • those who can’t wait to read your next book
  • those who let you know what they loved about your writing and let you know what thoughts your book has left them with
  • those who allow you to be you — gentle, idiosyncratic or wild.
  • those who spread the word about your books

 

Choose your friends and associates with care — those who appreciate the creative in you, and if it’s a small number — that’s all you need for abundant positivity to flow

 

Choosing your tribe is vital to preserving creative flow and production.

 

 

Engage in activities that enhance the creative within. Turn to meditation, singing, writing or reading poetry, reading the books you have on the nightstand calling out to you, read something different, a different genre. Take a walk on the beach or in a park or forest — do whatever makes your heart sing!

 

We undertake certain spiritual exercises to achieve alignment with the creative universe ~ Julia Cameron

 

Be your wildest or quietest authentic self and gravitate to those people who appreciate you for whoever you are, wherever you are in your creative life.

 

~Dare to be different~

Share your thoughts on your quest for creative space.

 

Happy Writing. Happy Creating. Happy Connecting!

 

A Fine Art or Brutal Chop

 

As I work through cleaning up my latest manuscript, a first in series, I am weeding out those darling crutch words, scene shifts, and other hidden gems (I thought they were gems until I read them with an unemotional,  critical eye) to clear the wood for the trees to have a better view of where my characters are and what they’re getting up to. If I don’t have a clear, error free, sense of my story, how will the editor? Worse still what would the reader do?

 

It’s not easy after several self-edits to handover your baby for professional scrutiny. There’s no getting away from it, self-editing is turning the eye inward without a tear, first the incision then as you pass judgement, the brutal chop of your precious, crafted words, emotions, descriptions, settings, characters, and whatever else might need adjusting in your created world.

 

 

very, really, rather, quite, in fact… do you need them?

 

So, how many steps are there during the self-editing phase? (These are the steps I follow which varies from writer to writer)

  • First, line by line, chapter by chapter, on the computer screen change the double word use, missing words, etc.
  • The second step is to correct timelines if there are errors. 
  • During the third phase, put the manuscript through editing software such as Grammarly, and Pro-Writing Aid —  excellent to pick up flaws the naked eye missed —  spelling (American or British?), grammar, repetitions, and general style especially when that sneaky passive voice creeps in.
  • The fourth step is reading your manuscript out aloud and recording the story for playback editing. Rhythm, the cadence, and sense become distinct during this process which directs you back to the screen to fix those snags.
  • The fifth phase is print a hard copy of the manuscript and rip though it with the colours of the rainbow to show you what is working, and what needs  another chop or perhaps another trim. 
  • The sixth phase is formatting an eBook in Scrivener to read through in a different form — anything that slipped through the self-editing cracks screams out, in a new form, for rectification.

Now the manuscript is ready for the professional edit although I might enlist a trusted, closely held,  proof-reader to check through once before the professional submission. Then proofreaders step in for the final check.

 

During the process of self-editing do not rely solely on your gut experience  in making changes. Consult those in the industry that you admire, read or use as a role-model .  An editing guidebook, and a thesaurus is a must have on any good writer’s desk. 

 

 

 

When working with an editor, it should be a negotiation on necessary changes, but be prepared that there could be changes suggested that might not sit too well with you,  but for the success of the book,  within reason, you should take the suggestions on board.

 

 

What is the editing timeframe?

There are many ways to do this , some say spend three months drafting, three months editing. However, some write a book a month —  at best I could get through two to three in a year as a part-time writer. Remember, the professional editor could ask for a month to check your manuscript.

 I generally veer to three months writing, three months editing, but sometimes life makes its call on time and energy so that varies year to year, book by book.

 

What are your self-editing tips? Let us know how you do it your way.

 

 Collaborate + Consider + Cooperate + Change = an excellent MS ready to go. 

 

 

Best wishes with writing, editing, and publishing.

 

 

 

From Sydney to Seychelles

 

Today we travel across the Indian Ocean to meet Magie Faure-Vidot. Magie is a French-language poet from beautiful Seychelles. She has published work in English and Seychelles Creole. She is the Chief Editor/Director of the Publication SIPAY and is an inspirational supporter of rising poets and writers. She is tireless in her dedication to upholding international close connections between writers of all genres and forms.

Recently she has travelled to India for the World Thinkers’ and Writer’s Peace Meet attending two international events in December 2019 in Vijayawada and Kolkata.

 

 

Meet the Poet

Magie Faure-Vidot was born in Victoria. She is a member of the Institut Académique de Paris and the Académie Internationale de Lutèce. She has won numerous prizes over the course of her career, including the Coupe de la Ville de Paris, a Lyre d’honneur, and six silver and numerous bronze medals in various international literary competitions, and she has represented her home country at many international poetry festivals and other initiatives. Her work has been discussed in critical studies of Seychellois literature. She has also achieved some fame as an oral performer.

After living for some time in Lebanon, England, Italy, and France, Faure-Vidot returned to Seychelles. There she co-founded and continues to codirect, both the online literary review Vents Alizés and the online publishing house Edisyon Losean Endyen, both of which she runs in conjunction with Hungarian poet Károly Sándor Pallai. Her work is regularly published in Seychelles Nation and The People, and she is the Chief Editor/Director of  SIPAY,  the only Seychellois international literary magazine. Her poems were published in the international poetry anthology Amaravati Poetic Prism in India. In 2017, she received the prestigious Seychelles Arts Award in literature for her outstanding literary work and achievements. She writes for Spirit of Nature where she features amongst the 60 poets published in 2019.Opa Anthology of Poetry.

She is a member of the World Nations Writers Union Kazakhstan. She is the Regional Director – East Africa and Central Asia and on the Administration Council of  MS.

Additional information on Magie Faure-Vidot is available on Wikipedia.

 

 

Getting to know  Magie

 

 When did your love for poetry begin?

The love for literature began when I was a kid. My parents worked on a vast agricultural property and had many animals. I loved them so much that I used to tell them small stories. We lived close to the beach and I had my private beach where I used to enjoy the sea, the birds, coconut trees, swimming with small fish, and playing with crabs. Being a loner, I had to keep myself busy. The sea carried me to faraway imaginary places. And I would always be asking my parents to buy me pencils and exercise-books.

 

 

 What do you enjoy the most about living in Seychelles?

The island life, friendliness of the inhabitants, no snow but the sand.

 

 

The View From Magie Faure-Vidot’s  Home in the Beautiful Island of Seychelles  ~ A Creative  Haven

 

 

Tell us about the International Literary Journal, SIPAY. When did it begin? What is its aim?

SIPAY saw birth in 2008 but registered in June 2009. At first, the aim was to promote the  French language at 60% and 40% shared between our two other national languages, English and Creole. But now it has taken another turn. It is affiliated to Motivational Strips, and  Spanish has been added to the three languages. SIPAY is now an International Literary Magazine and opportunities are given to various writers all over the globe. SIPAY is a non-political, non-religious magazine. SIPAY is distributed to the Ministry of Education for all the schools, Ministry of Culture, Creole Institute, the National Library, the National Journal (NISA), and some private individuals. One copy is posted to all contributors at no charge. SIPAY is a non-profit making publication. Money generated from the sale is reinvested in the next edition.

 

Describe your typical writing day.

I write when the urge tickles me. First, however, I take care of my home, family and animals  – three dogs, and I feed some fifty birds every day. I then take to writing, attending to posts in  MS, Lasosyasyon Lar san Frontyer, Congo Ecrit etc.

 

 

What are your future goals for literature both within Seychelles and internationally? 

I’m planning my 7th book, assisting the Lasosyasyon Lar San Frontyer as a Chief Consultant and Congo Ecrit. I  attended two international events in December 2019 in Vijayawada and Kolkata.

 

***

I extend my gratitude to Magie Faure-Vidot for sharing her illustrious writing journey. You can connect with Magie Faure-Vidot for more information on her recent literary travels and works:

Email

Website

Facebook

 

 

Please leave your thoughts in the box below:

Through Australian Eyes

As 2020 dawns it will be remiss not to look at the world that is changing before our very eyes.

 

Through Australian eyes, sadly, the ongoing bushfires have encircled our lives affecting health, and mindset with loss of human lives, homes, fauna and flora — this impacts the creative soul and spirit which is closely aligned to the natural cycle of life.  There is an unease that wants answers and quick solutions to a problem that has been steadily growing.

As we cry, ‘climate change’ — it is more about necessary unified ‘human change’ to rectify that which ails our burning country. Change can be initiated by ongoing fostering of awareness that we all have a part to play to improve the state of our country, the world and subsequently the human condition. As writers, this awareness becomes a moral obligation, as I see it. Books/stories are valued for the message/s they extend to make us aware that our angst is a global issue.

 

Natural disasters multiply around the world causing human decimation, yet the power to minimise this rests in human hands. I draw the analogy to writing, the creative arts — the passion exists, but a huge effort is required to produce quality art — passion without persistence is naught.

Literature today will speak into all our tomorrows about human negligence and irresponsibility in the quest for more. Like the wars of the past and those that exist in the here and now, it is a time for soul searching and a coming together to rectify that which has gone awry. Like editing a manuscript, we cannot take out without replenishing with good, better, and best to improve the story, poem, or essay — likewise, constant extraction from the earth must be restored.

Healing is not a band-aid fix to the problem — it takes a mammoth collaboration of all sectors of society to reach out and do what is necessary — cut back on all forms of pollution/emissions for a purer balanced tomorrow.

It’s never too late to begin afresh if it matters, like revisiting a manuscript to cleanse, to be rid of that which is not necessary, to clear the waters for something brighter, purer, clearer and better.

 

Let’s make the 2020’s a healing decade of body, mind, spoken and written word, the spirit, relationships and heal the earth we live on and from.

All positive contributions matter — raising one life, saving one wild animal or property is the beginning of survival from extinction by fire or other natural or human ills that befall the planet.

As we look forward to a bushfire-free future,  let us remember we all have a part to play to save this beautiful land we call home.

 

Have a safe and happy entrance into the next decade. May it be filled with many blessings.

May peace abound and the earth receive the blessing of rain, may poverty and pain diminish.

 

Happy Reading, Happy Writing and Publishing.

 

Please add your comments below:

Writer’s Connect: Spotlight: Author Vash Karuppa

 

 

Today I turn the spotlight on South African Author Vash Karuppa whose debut novel DESTINY FOR LOVE ARRANGED is a favourite among readers in South Africa and abroad. Her novel captures the cultural significance of life, and the command and necessity of love in a voice that connects the reader to place and culture and the understanding that the heart is not entirely self-directed.

 

 

 

 Synopsis: Destiny for Love Arranged:

 

Destiny for Love Arranged is a contemporary, gripping and angsty, second chance Indian romance that reveals the love of family and friendship bonds during trying times. All protagonists are of South African Indian origin.

 

The story revolves around Aariyan Ranjan, a highly successful CEO of a Hotel Empire and Varini Iyengar, an Oncologist, both are forced into a temporary marriage of convenience to help them resolve personal dilemmas.

Not because it had anything to do with his heart he thought stoically…, but because it suited his purposes…

While Aariyan is determined to treat their marriage as he would any other business deal, love rarely listens to logic, and what follows is anything but business. On the other hand, Varini soon finds herself gravitating toward and rejoicing in the love she thought lost forever with a hidden hope that their marriage of convenience will end in a union of everlasting love. The story is embedded with cultural anecdotes familiar to any family of Indian origin. It takes their family, friends and a life-threatening situation to show them the love they lost is worth fighting for.

 

In short, this is a story about family, friendship, and starting over, as Aariyan and Varini embark on a journey toward a second chance at love. You will get to share in their moments as they discover that vulnerability can be their strength and the most perplexing problems can be overcome with the support and resourcefulness of a loving family and faithful friends. This is Book 1 of a trilogy.

 

 

About the Author 

 

 

Vash is a South African author of Indian origin who has been a bookaholic from about the age of five. Her addiction for books grows exponentially daily, so after spending years concentrating on her role as a corporate executive and a short stint as an entrepreneur, she decided to unleash her number one desire i.e. a passion for writing. Whilst books of most genres interest her, it was romance that captured her soul. Her writing portrays the lives and drama of ordinary people who readers can easily relate to. The crux of her stories celebrates the power of true love coupled with the timeless bonds that exist between family and friends while capturing the true essence of diverse cultures.

Vash Karuppa is a member of the Romance Writers Organisation of South Africa (ROSA)

 

What inspired you to write Destiny for Love Arranged?

For many years I have read articles around the call for diverse romance novels that incorporate multi-cultural aspects into a traditional romance plot. In addition, I’m a hopeless romantic myself and always had a plot in my head around a story that integrates family and friendship bonds (which I have been blessed to have throughout my life) together with a typical romance story.

When I eventually decided to put pen to paper, it all just naturally came together, giving birth to Destiny for Love Arranged. Finally, I am aware there aren’t many novels written which share intricacies of the South Indian culture and I was determined to write about it. Looking at the feedback received thus far from readers, it was well-received.

 

 

 

 

Have you always wanted to be a writer? How long did it take you to write your novel?

 

Being a passionate romantic and voracious bookaholic, reading was a drug to which I had an instant addiction, one that only grew with time. While books in all genres interest me, it was romance that I was drawn to. From as early as my pre-teen years, I loved the ‘happily ever after (HEA)’ syndrome hence my love with any book in the romance genre, and later as a teenager with a dream of writing my own HEA story.

 

Writing a novel has always been part of my bucket list, so, after spending years concentrating on my role as a corporate executive, I eventually unleashed my number one desire and passion for writing with Destiny for Love Arranged

I didn’t really plan on publishing my work though, because I started writing for my own fulfilment. However, when a few of my friends read the script, they encouraged me to consider publication and so it happened….

The hardest part of completing the story was not knowing how to stop. I had so much more to tell but owing to publishing rules on limited word count and reader expectation of the length of books I had to cut out a lot from the original script.

 

 

What’s your typical writing day like?

Owing to a “day job”, I tend to confine my writing to nights for at least 2 hours a day in the week and whatever time I can hijack on the weekend.

My best writing is done in a quiet space in my little apartment directly next to a window where I can have the warmth of the sun and sounds of chirping birds to keep me company while writing.

 

 

Who is your greatest source of inspiration?

My 92-year-old maternal grandfather has undoubtedly been the inspiration behind my love for writing. He taught me how to read and then introduced me to the word of writing through the books he wrote and is still writing might I add.

 

What are your future writing plans?

 

Books 2 and 3 of the Keshavam Industries trilogy is almost complete and will be released between December 2019 and February 2020.

I have a new series planned for the rest of 2020.

Destiny for Love Arranged is on Amazon for your reading pleasure.

You can engage with Vash Karuppa on:

 

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

Goodreads

 

Happy Reading! Happy Writing! Happy Publishing!

 

Black Friday: Marketing Social Media Platforms

 

A few quick pointers to get your books out there this Black Friday.

Connections to the worlds of writers and readers is the yardstick for successful writing. This is by no means limited to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Pinterest has proved a visual platform ideal for authors marketing their books. Additionally, sites such as Authors Den is a valuable promotional website and getting eyes on you the author.
Blogging about authors or influencers you admire is beneficial in opening up to diverse audiences as well as touting bloggers who are keen to blog about you the author and your books.
There are many more platforms on which you could  market your wares, as it were.  Commaful, and Hello Poetry are other forums I have recently looked at as cites that raise awareness and showcase your talents. Tumblr is another option to consider.

 

The question is, how many sites do you use when the sky is the ceiling of choice?

 

                        Life’s Seasons – A Collection of Short Stories

adad Souls Collection

 

 

 

 

 

Try as many at first, see what’s your best fit and persist with those. The ratio that is palatable as cited by Dalma Szentpaly, from PublishDrive, on the ALLi Poetry Podcast, is the 80-20 rule — to avoid overkill in an already saturated arena, market your books in twenty percent of your posts but be yourself in 80 percent of your posts. Let readers know what you represent, whether you will be their ‘to-go-to person — an authentic influencer.

The paid options are certainly BookBub, Amazon Ads, Kobo, D2D etc. When choosing unknown platforms do your research first to avoid untold losses.

 

 

Try, test and then persist.

 

 

Happy Marketing, Happy Selling, Happy Reading!

Share your marketing tips in the comment box below or what you might try as a new marketing tool.

 

 

Poetry Educates Prose

 

 

 

A thing of beauty is a joy forever.
Its loveliness increases; it will never
pass into nothingness …
~John Keats

 

Poet or novelist, one, the other or both — one grows into the other almost instinctively to develop the ideal creative state.

 

Writing improves with consistency and ongoing learning of the essentials of the craft. The art of writing expands the imagination and bulks the creative muscle by triggering the desire to know more, to research, to read, to push boundaries, and feel joy — a perpetual quest of the writer.

 

Voracious reading of all forms and more particularly poetry, the fine art of saying much with an economy of words, is a skill worth learning to enhance prose writing skills. Poetry as a literary form is laden with layered sensory imagery, conveying pain and joy, the state of the human condition and a celebration of nature which when emulated in prose fiction, is the lyricism in narration or the cadence of poetic storytelling.

 

 

 

 

‘And above all, poetry is compacted metaphor or simile’ ~ Ray Bradbury, Zen in the Art of Writing

 

The habit of reading poetry grows the writer’s ability to choose appropriate/effective language or specific words that says it all with brevity. We live in an era where attention span is brief, access is quick, and impatience governs desires.

 

Saying it all in four lines:

Hear it, See it, Feel it, Believe it…

 

Spring Song

Hark, I hear a robin calling!
List, the wind is from the south!
And the orchard-bloom is falling
Sweet as kisses on the mouth

~Lucy Maud Montgomery

 

 

 

 

   Little bursts remain to sustain…

 

 

Invictus
It matters not how strait the gate,
      How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
      I am the captain of my soul
 ~ William Ernest Henley

 

 

There is an intensely intimate, mindful experience apparent in poetry,  a purity that makes it more personal where prose is more social, and when married with a sensitivity to both forms, the reader benefits from the writer’s authenticity.

 

As a teacher, evidence points to incremental learning leading to lifelong knowledge. Piecemeal understanding is committed to memory in meaningful short bursts of information whereas lengthy mindless memorisation disappears after the moment of recall.

 

Poetry speaks in the rhythm and profundity of its brief lines, a boon in holding the attention of the reader.

 

Poetry read before sitting down to write prose or read as the last activity before sleep, sharpens the ability to borrow from the poetic form and style for precise, well-formed ideas that touch with the depth and clarity that poetry engenders.

 

If writing in a particular genre or establishing an emotion in a prose scene, turn to poetry that’s appropriate in that instant and feel the passion and power of the words and those left unsaid, then a deepening of thought processes emerge to heighten the imagination. Reading poetry written in any period has the inspirational ability to enhance overall writing.

 

Crafting poems for creative leisure or publication is beneficial as self-directed editing of what works and what requires reworking. Poetry cannot hide intention and purpose, it’s stark, it’s true, a visual and emotive painting through words. This skill shapes brilliance in prose writing.

 

Poetry and prose are close cousins of the writing family. Read as many novels as you would poems, or more to capture that sweet spot of simple, short, stunning sentences, one after the other, until a story is born.

 

How many poetry books are there on your bookshelf? The internet is a valuable source, but there’s much to be said on having a book in your hand as you read, delight in, make note of,  absorb and contemplate.

 

For aspiring writers: Write a poem today on any topic, let it tumble freely onto the page, then try your hand at prose. Watch the magic unfold. An open mind is necessary to attain this joy, and brilliance in prose writing.

 

Happy Reading. Happy Writing.

 

Share your thoughts on the benefit of poetry in prose writing.

 

Author Proficiency and Professionalism

 

 

Author professionalism is not negotiable in a world where access to all we say, do and create is out in the world with a click.

It costs nothing to be supportive of aspiring authors and accept that there are oceans of experienced, seasoned authors out there who act as mentors and are deserving of respect and acknowledgement. Blog about the work others do put yourself out there to be blogged about and while you find your way to being noticed as a writer, notice others in a personable, professional manner.

The publishing landscape is rich and diverse with an ever-growing space for all. Collaboration is vital as learning is never exhausted. As a teacher, this lesson was all too clear with constant syllabus changes or when students challenged an idea and a new wave of thought was born. Like classrooms without borders, learning is a two-way process, and so too is the writing, and publishing world.

 

Pride and ego waste creative energy—aiming towards excellence is a humble, hardworking process. No one person is gifted in the craft without commitment and extensive effort in being worthy to be viewed as a mentor/master of the craft.

 

 

 

 

 

Being proficient is ensuring great covers clothe your labour of creative love, and that they appeal to the genre and audiences’ interest. Having your work edited is an important step in the writing process to rise to professional standards in the industry. (although creativity is not an industry for me—a labour of love for sure!) Publishing services come with a price tag if it’s quality that matters. With quality, the stamp of professionalism is assured.

 

 

Never compromise your values…

 

 

Professionalism as an author like any walk of life is also about expressing thanks and appreciation without the ‘I’m the artist’ big-headed attitude. Collectively a professional outlook makes success a possibility. Professionalism can be challenged when confronted by unethical practices in the publishing ecosystem but as always it’s best to walk away, let it be, there are plenty more avenues out there to pursue, that might well be a better fit for you. Like any job, if the fit is not good, move on to greener pastures, or create your own. As a writer, you steer the vessel on the path you choose to take.

 

Alliance of Independent Authors /

 

 

Authors are among some of the most exploited people if unaware of the pitfalls. The way to armour yourself is to sign up for authentic associations, register for webinars and Facebook live sessions, attend conferences, network, to educate yourself in knowing that the allure of being published comes with ethical responsibility. Read, research and find your way with the confidence that you are proficient and professional.

 

 

 

Writing is a solitary process but being an author is a collaborative role. Aspiring writers, you are not alone. Pick who you follow, to wisely ensure you are protecting your craft and practice.

 

 

 

Happy Writing/Creating and Publishing.

Whenever Wherever

 

 

As writer’s, we have our unique quirks on what works for us and what is not good for our creative energy.

Time:

The alarm screams,  reluctant eyes peer at the bedside clock, it’s an icy Sydney winter morning – characters whisper, ‘let me out, I need some fun, you left me in a dark and terrible place, remember?’ You heed the call, it’s your passion, your people, your joy, your story, your everything!

When we write is as important as how we write. I am a crack of dawn writer, rising at 4 am and writing from around 5-6 am up to 8 am and if a generous muse should pop by later, I resume writing in the afternoon. The morning is the pattern, the afternoon depends on work, the muse and other commitments. Then there are writers, like F. Scott Fitzgerald who picked up the pen at midnight and worked through into the wee hours of the morning. Individual biorhythms determine optimum brain functionality.

Consistency is key, to allow the energy to find you, to invest the time if you have a passion for writing. With a busy teaching schedule, long gaps prevented timely completion of a project started. Lots of stories sat abandoned on hard drives and usbs.  Being able to pull back allows time for creative headspace and naturally hails the muse for assistance.

And there are writers who snatch a bit of time during a daily commute to work, or during a lunch break. The time is dedicated to achieving what the soul desires.

 

 

Place:

A sense of where we write is as important as, the bed we sleep in. Some like solitude away from the presence of others, that is my quirk, I need to be at my desk for deep writing.  Stephen King in On Writing says, ‘most of us do our best in a place of our own.’ Although ideas can emerge at any time, and in any place – carparks, doctor’s waiting room, at these times a handy notebook/journal stashed in a handbag with a pencil at the ready is a godsend.

Some can do intense writing in a crowded café with headphones in place – listening to white noise for a few hours of solid writing. Such public places would gladly have the writer in their space ordering endless cups of coffee and perhaps a slice or two of banana bread, or a friand or other sugary delight.

If writing in a home with lots of distractions – children needing attention, wanting to play, or visitors popping in, then a neat garden shed with all the creature comforts a writer would need is an option. A Writer’s Wendy Workhouse, (although writing hardly feels like work) a place to call your own, for needed headspace and entry allowed to ONE visitor, the divine muse!

 

Some may write with the television on in a room filled with activity because they have the wonderful ability to switch off and become an un-listening shape in the room. On a personal note, this is not conducive for creative energy in my world.  I can read and mark a paper in a crowded room, just not go deep into the writing process. I wrote a short story titled, Romantic Recreation where the aspiring writer had her writing desk in the garden shed because she needed to be close to nature, to hear the rain and perhaps feel it, in a space that had a corrugated roof inviting amplified sounds – birds strutting on the roof, a cat scuttling across, big drops of rain pelting down, or the deafening hammer of hailstones.

 

Equally the twitter of birds, flickering shafts of sunlight, the smell of earth and flora after a storm enlivens the senses if one is tucked away in a garden shed at the furthermost end of the backyard. Some writers rent a space to have privacy/seclusion to do their deep writing. Stephen King says the writing place should be humble, something I’ve followed through on his advice is to have a room with a door you can shut to make, ‘a serious commitment to write… to walk the walk as well as talk the talk.’ There are different views on whether the room should have a view or not – I like a window although some prefer facing a wall to minimise distractions. Jane Austen preferred writing at a window in the dining room.

Whatever the choice, tell the story, only you can tell, whenever and wherever.

 

A private writing space is a heavenly home away from home ~ MN

 

 

What’s your dream writing or reading space?

 

Happy writing, happy reading!

 

 

 

Voices From Trinidad To Australia

As the New Year settles in, I’m following through on my creative intentions for 2019, to reach out, to connect in a global publishing landscape to learn and share ideas.

Through this shared landscape, I met and was inspired by prolific, Trinidadian author, Brenda Mohammed. She is the author of twenty-one publications, including the non-fiction book, How to Write For Success, a valuable advice book on achieving your personal best as a writer.

Brenda is also an award-winning author of Zeeka Chronicles, a Young Adult Thriller, and I am Cancer Free , a memoir, in the category Health and Fitness.
As a cancer survivor, banker, and writer, Brenda heads the rapidly growing How to Write for Success Group on Facebook for new and aspiring writers.

 

Getting To Know Brenda Mohammed

Author: Brenda Mohammed

 

Biography:

Trinidadian Brenda Mohammed is a renowned, multi-genre, award-winning author and poet who has written twenty-one books to date.
She is a former Bank Manager of a leading International Bank in Trinidad and Tobago, and holds a Diploma in Banking from the Institute of Bankers in London.
When she branched off into Insurance she obtained a Diploma in Life Underwriting from the American College, USA.

 

Achievements

In November 2018 she received two book awards from Readers Favourite International, at an Awards Ceremony at the Regency Hotel in Miami. The awards were for I am Cancer Free in the category Health and Fitness, and Zeeka Chronicles, in the category Young Adult Thriller.

Brenda is the Founder of the group How to Write for Success.

 

From the Author

Becoming an author was not on my agenda.

My plans changed drastically when in 2005 I was faced with a life-changing situation. Diagnosed with cancer and living to tell my story inspired me to help others afflicted with the disease to cope. I documented my heart-wrenching experience of being diagnosed with ovarian cancer and my long and painful journey to overcoming the death sentence. In time, the essays transitioned into a book, I am Cancer Free: A Memoir, that tells my true story as a cancer survivor.

The book was published on June 3rd, 2013, and was available on digital stores worldwide. It had been read by so many people that it won the McGrath House Indie Book Awards 2016 in the non-fiction category. It also earned a five-star review and five-star seal in February 2017 from Readers’ Favorite and won an award in the Readers’ Favorite International Book Awards 2018 in the Health and Fitness category.

Encouraged by the rave reviews, I went on to write six fascinating memoirs, a five-book science fiction series, two children’s books, four books of short stories, one self-help book, How to Write for Success, two crime fiction books, and one book of poetry.

The science-fiction futuristic thriller series Zeeka Chronicles: Revenge of Zeeka also won an award for Best Science Fiction in September 2017 from Metamorph Publishing Summer Indie Book Awards, a five-star rating and five-star seal from Readers’ Favourite, the gold award in the category of science fiction in Emagazine Readers’ Choice Awards 2018 and placed in the top ten in the Author Academy Awards. It also won the Young Adult Thriller category in the Readers’ Favourite International Book Awards 2018.

Of my other books, My Life as a Banker was awarded for Best Bio/Memoir in Metamorph Publishing Summer Indie Awards 2016 and Your Time is Now, which contains a section of inspirational poems, received the IHIBRP 5 Star Recommended Read Award Badge.

 

Motivation

Words from my brother David V. Khan before he died:

‘Your book makes very pleasant reading, and your literary expression is superb and easy to follow. You have excellent talent, and you should follow up on a leisurely basis with perhaps publishing a book of short stories. With fiction, you will have a greater opportunity to use your imagination and your undoubted descriptive ability.
You used the word “fantasize” to create a situation. This is an outstanding quality, which you should continue to use because it is imagination, which disposes of everything, coming from within you. It creates beauty, justice, and happiness, which are everything in this world.’

It creates beauty, justice, and happiness, which are everything in this world.

 

Influencers

My Father, Dr Andrew M. Khan [ Deceased] – A great Educator in Trinidad and Tobago.
My Brother, Justice Addison M. Khan [Deceased] – Former President of the Industrial Court in Trinidad and Tobago. He wrote several law books which are being used in schools and Universities. He won a National Award from the Government of Trinidad and Tobago for meritorious service.
My Brother, David V. Khan [ Deceased]– Acting Comptroller of Customs and Excise in Trinidad and Tobago. He loved Literature and encouraged me to write.
My Husband Rashiff Mohammed, a former Bank Manager and Executive in a car firm – Although he has only read one book I wrote on my father’s memoirs, he has been very supportive of all my careers – Banking, Insurance, and Writing. He was my rock when Cancer struck.

 

Favourite books

  • The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale
  • Unlimited Power by Anthony Robbins

 

Where to Next?

Wherever my writing takes me.

How to Write for Success has valuable nuggets of truth for new and aspiring authors.

 

 

Follow Brenda on her  Amazon Universal Link and check out all 21 of her books.

 

Brenda is selfless in inspiring, aspiring, and new authors in that anything is possible with commitment and humility in accepting that as writers, we too, are a work in progress.

I offer my gratitude to Brenda Mohammed for sharing her amazing journey as a prolific multi-genre, multi-award-winning author.

Please start the conversation today by adding your thoughts in the comment box below on sharing, supporting and learning from a global community of writers.

Happy Reading! Happy Writing!

Writing Life: Looking Back

Time and technology have propelled us through 2018 at the speed of light. While the end is nigh, it’s nostalgic as memorable, or a year quickly fading and forgotten.

 

A nostalgic or forgotten year? What’s your choice?

 

It has been an incredible year on the writing and publishing front with changes appearing at every corner. While embracing change is the way forward, it has been challenging keeping pace with the rapidity of change in the publishing landscape.
Keeping informed and grounded is paramount to keep creative energy buoyant and abundant. Associations with professional writing bodies, tuning in to the wise and wonderful is essential.

After three publications this year:

•Souls of Her Daughters – March 2018
•The Rain – A Collection of Short Stories – July 2018
•Chosen Lives – October 2018

the year certainly sped by in a haze of complete joy and heady energy.

The Rain, A Collection of Short Stories,  an unplanned visitation that appeared between resting a novel draft before editing, took hold with an unstoppable fire, in the middle of the Australian winter, warming my heart and heating my hands, for a July 2018 publication.

 

The joy of writing is soulful, delightful and inspiring and brings to mind the memory of the amazing Aretha Franklin’s timeless, universal words breaking the wall to being voiceless, to find the necessary space through writing/music/painting that is unshackled by difference when it ignites, consumes, connects, offers hope, and entertains – surely that is the meaning of life!

 

 

 

 

It has been a year of connecting with writers near and far, the lovely Queensland author, Rhonda Forrest in the post, Australian Voices, and reading her novel, The Shack By the Bay, that invites the reader into the stunning North Queensland setting. Meeting online, award-winning, inspirational, Trinidadian author, Brenda Mohammed, author of How To Write For Success, a non-fiction book, and the famed fictional Zeeka Chronicles, and many more.

Valuable inspiration is drawn from  ALLi’s Director and Founder, Orna Ross, poet and author, on the creative process and the creative business mindset, essential for authors/artists. Joanna Penn’s The Creative Penn podcast provides up to date inspiration and information on publishing trends, and Mark Dawson’s SPF podcasts and courses are valuable resources for all writers.  Online inspiration is abundantly available from well-informed,  forerunners who selflessly share their experience in supporting aspiring and new authors.

Receiving readers’ comments on what they enjoyed or how they connected to your books is the sheer joy of knowing it has moved someone. It’s the validation needed to go on. Equally, it’s accepting that one learns something new every day, to improve, to become the best at what we do.

Looking back is undoubtedly encouraging the way forward to 2019, to reach out, share, connect and create.

Moving ahead, onwards and upwards is what matters the most,  by networking  in a shared global, writing community.

 

May the new year usher in abundant creative energy and books galore!

Happy NEW YEAR!

 

 

Happy writing, Happy reading.

Share your thoughts in the message box below to start a New Year conversation on your writing and reading aims for 2019.

How do you name them?

An interesting question recently from a reader prompted this post on whether the names of my characters were people I knew. As a writer I could say, yes, I do know my characters between the pages of my books, and fiction mirrors life as the angst, joy and foibles of individuals.

 

Meanings behind names have always intrigued me.

 

I  choose names for some characters that befit their personalities and behaviour or represent the opposite of what they are. In Souls of Her Daughters, Grace and Patience are indomitable women in the face of the catastrophes that befall them. Grace’s mother,  Varuna, has her name taken from the Sanskrit equivalent that attests to her strength as one who embraces all, hence she is the embodiment of the god of water and the celestial ocean surrounding the world.  Her inner strength and capacity in how she copes with the murder of her devoted, humble husband, and subsequent chastisement and ostracisation by her extended family does not alter her essential goodness. Grace, Varuna’s biological daughter, and Patience, her adopted daughter endure horrific persecution, of a cultural and tribal nature – Varuna will stop at nothing to ensure her family is reunited, while she continues being a person for others in her neighbourhood. 

In the sequel to Souls of Her Daughters, Chosen Lives sees the introduction of new characters, who are named in a similar vein, sometimes with demographic relevance, or drawn from Greek mythology – Xandria, defender of humankind, much the same as Alexis – helper or defender. Zuri, a Swahili derivative, means inspirational, beautiful, truth-seeker, and more. The head of the mission in  Chosen Lives, an underground movement for a new world of women leaders, is named Masuyo, which means to profit or benefit the world. A mission recruit, running a school for women in India is Akanya, meaning peace and humility which she exemplifies in her interactions with others. 

On the other hand, the character, Felicity, family friend and colleague to Patience, is far from what her name suggests, given her difficult childhood – her razor-sharp mind is admirable. The Arabic name, Azmil, means light, given to a young man who lost both his parents at the hands of rebel forces in Pakistan. The work he does, at the Well Study Centre,  makes him the light to many orphaned young women.  The snatched memory of his mother fosters his commitment to young women in his community.

The character, Audra, has a childhood of neglect by affluent parents, her name as explained in her testimony, is a celebration of the beauty of Audrey Hepburn. As she says, ‘to my Ramon,  I was Audra.’

 

A multi-cultural cast of characters representing diversity in harmony 

 

The third part of this trilogy, being written, will follow through with similar thought for new characters that emerge. Each of the three novels is a standalone read, too.

 

In my debut novel, Across Time and Space, and the sequel Vindication Across Time,  Keres Bathory is a name drawn from a combination of Greek mythology and a historical character – a combination of one who disturbs the universe.

 

Aspects of a character’s behaviour might be drawn from observation which is married with imagination to serve the role they play in novels.

What’s your fascination with names in stories or the people you meet?

 

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Happy reading, Happy writing!

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