A –Z Challenge: BELIEVE

I think this is truly my favorite word. I love the definition from Dictionary.Com “to have confidence in the truth, the existence, or thereliability of something, although without absolute proof thatone is right in doing so: Only if one believes in something can one act purposefully.”

I would also like to recommend a great book that deals with Positive Thinking. “Beyond Positive Thinking: A No-Nonsense Formula for Gettingthe Results You Want” By Robert Anthony.  I was gifted the audio version and listen to it quite a lot on my commute to and from work. The audio book is almost like having your own cheerleader in the car with you! I knew I had to purchase the Kindle version to be able to reinforce what I was hearing. (I hope I am not violating any copyright laws here, but I really do want to recommend this book for anyone wanting to boost their self-confidence.)

Chapter 3 “ What Are You Telling Yourself”, was really informative for me. Two points that I remember well are how children from the same family and growing up with the same experiences can perceive those experiences differently and this quote “Other people can hand us opinions about ourselves.”  This chapter really goes into detail and discusses several important topics such as : Building a Self-Image, Increasing Performance, Attitudes, the importance of Self Talk.

Chapter 4 “Believing is Seeing” discusses concepts for helping you to see the person you want to be and Chapter 5 discusses “Write Your Own Script”.

As we grow into adulthood we are conditioned into believing things about ourselves that are simply not true. These are the perceptions of other people and if we are not careful, they can become how we perceive ourselves. I wish I had had this book in my twenties to explain some of the ingrained self-beliefs I grew up with.  As a child, being compared to siblings or cousins even if at times somewhat favorably can be detrimental. I have one sibling, a sister that is two years younger, and she was referred to as “the pretty one”.  I can laugh at that now, (therapy does wonders lol) but imagine the effect it had on me as a teenager. 

Today, I BELIEVE things like: I will finish my Work in Progress, I will not only skate my 25 laps but make it to 27. I BELIEVE I will make it through all 26 letters because, after all, there are way more than 26 wonderful things to discover and write about!

The A-Z Challenge: Affirmations

Graphic from: Finerminds.com

Can you count the times during the day when you have been told something positive about yourself by another?  How often through the day do you tell others something positive about themselves?  

Affirmations are statements that declare truth within it. Take a moment to think about the things you said to yourself today. Were they positive or negative? Removing negative statements about ourselves from our thoughts is extremely difficult. Keeping a journal and recording those random thoughts will help as we learn to reprogram the negative into a positive experience.  I firmly believe we can be our own worst critics when in fact we should be our best cheerleaders!

How often have you heard someone say, I wish I had more money or I wish I had a better job? The key to making these wishes happen is to believe in our words and to go out there and use the resources available to make these wishes come true.  I have personally experienced affirmations that came true. I believed that they would happen and trusted that somehow the money would appear to make them happen.

I am passing on some links here that have been meaningful to me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR3rK0kZFkg – This little girl knows who she is and I hope she keeps this confidence throughout her lifetime!

http://affirmart.blogspot.com/2009/05/power-word-for-action.html - Awesome affirmations and motivational art.

http://www.thewellnesswarrior.com.au/2012/02/are-you-positive-how-and-why-affirmations-work/ - Jessica Ainscough from the Wellness Warrior and her story of how affirmations have helped her.

http://www.kindovermatter.com/2010/03/kind-over-matter-spring-collboration.html - This is an awesome free collection of printable affirmations along with a printable envelope.  

Fears, Obstacles and a Tarot Card

I recently received a gorgeous Tarot Deck, The Gilded Tarot,designed by Ciro Marchetti. The cards are absolutely beautiful with elements of nature and animals added to them. For me, they are the most positive feeling cards I have ever owned. I decided this week to really open my mind up and randomly select a different card each day to study. I use the book by Barbara Moore and Ciro Marchetti to study each card and supplement it with various other resources. I plan on keeping a journal of each card for everyday of the week and then reviewing what I learned on Sunday.

The first card I drew this week was the lovely Eight of Swords. A blind folded woman with her hands loosely bound by a gold cord is depicted. In other decks she is sometimes bound by loose wrappings and she has shoes on her feet, which I had never closely noticed as a symbol. The swords around her are stuck tip down into the ground around her.

The feelings conjured by this card can be of helplessness or being trapped in a situation and another website suggested that the swords could represent negative words that the person depicted in the card has begun to believe and is being held not by the bonds but by the negativity of the words. The shoes and the spread apart swords show that she could simply walk through them. The loose bonds in the Gilded Tarot deck, suggest once she is ready, she will simply slip through the bonds, remove the blindfold and see her way clear to move through the swords, thus breaking a negative cycle.

I relate closely to that card this week as I have faced barriers in roller derby, my work in progress, my fitness regime and in my daily work. As I look closer at those barriers, I realize no one else is hampering my progress. Fear has become rooted in my subconscious and now I must overcome those fears. In roller derby, I lack one skill completing my ability to participate in actual game day play. I must complete 25 laps in 5 minutes and I am very close. I have absolutely no fear of injury, which may sound crazy at my age, but I have a fear of once again falling short at 22.5 or 23 of those 25 laps. I also realized this week as I analyzed fears in my life, that the fear of getting historical facts correct is slowly progress on my WIP and fear failing in an upcoming fitness challenge allows me to accept excuses I make for skipping workouts.

My writing and derby friend Teralyn, has a great blog post this week here. She describes a member of her writing group that asked for suggestions promoting his book. She asked him an important question and restated his response in a positive manner, only for him to reply that he actually desired more. I honestly believe a fear of some sort is hampering him. When he firmly states his true desire and comes to terms with how to achieve those, I think overcoming a fear will be a major factor.

So what are your goals or desires and what fears do you have or have overcome to achieve those goals? Do you have any suggestions for others in overcoming fears?

Writer's Wednesday and My Favorite Zany Character

Wow, this is a long post! Quilt of Dragonflies  is hosting Write on Wednesday this week and the topic is Zany Characters. Once again, my old movie buff affection surfaces at this topic. Lucille Ball and Bob Hope probably spring to most people's minds when they think about zany old movie characters, but mine immediately thinks of a movie I bought for a dollar at a dollar store. The title is "My Man Godfrey" starring Carole Lombard and William Powell. You can read all about this screwball comedy here. This movie is often shown on TCM and is a pure delight to watch.

The opening scene concerns a group of Park Avenue rich people engaged in a frenzied scavenger hunt. This movie was made in 1936 and the fact that a depression is going on contrasts this group's shenanigans even more so. One character even states that the scavenger hunt is for charity but no one even knows if they make money or where it goes if they do. Carole Lombard plays a spoiled rich girl used to ordering people about and daddy bailing her out of trouble. She is likable in a way though her sister not so much. William Powell plays a homeless man living in the city dump and she hires him to become their butler. Eventually, Carole Lombard's character realizes she is in love with this new butler. As she ups her antics to win him over, her sister ups hers to get him fired. The mother is scatter brained almost beyond belief and the father is trying not to lose his mind keeping them all out of jail for the stunts they pull. 

I really hate to give away movie plots here but if you would like to read the full synopsis please click the link above. For me, this movie defines the word ZANY.

AND NOW.....

Welcome back to Writer Wednesday Blog Hop! If you are a returning hopper, welcome back! If you are new, welcome to the fun! As usual, we have three hosts for the blog hop, so that means more the awesome-ness for you bloggers out there. 

And while you're here, make sure you grab a button 
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Here's the rules! 



1) Follow your blog hosts: World of My Imagination , A Writer Weaves a Tale..., and A Writer's Muses 



2) Follow at least three other blogs (if you post your link early, make sure you come back and check out the other blogs) 



3) Let the person you followed know that you are following their blog 



4) (Optional...sort of): Tweet about the blog hop! (Use hashtag #WWBH and #WW when you do!) - Thank you to all of you who have featured this hop on your site!! I really appreciate it! 



And all you do is link up below! You can link up your writing site, your blog, your twitter account, or your facebook page. We're flexible, and I know my other awesome hoppers are too. We're a cool bunch. 

Roller Derby Blues and Writing on Wednesday

A quick update on my Roller Derby skills test: I am still 2 1/2 laps shy of my 25 laps in 5 minutes. I will admit to crying in the bathroom and almost hysterically in the parking lot.( actually quite hysterically and all the way home) Roller Derby has truly changed my life and I just cannot give up on it now. So, it is back to the gym and then to the skating rink on off days. I will either get fit and pass or die trying. SK8R for life! Now hop on over to the Blog Hop!

Welcome back to Writer Wednesday Blog Hop! If you are a returning hopper, welcome back! If you are new, welcome to the fun! As usual, we have three hosts for the blog hop, so that means more the awesome-ness for you bloggers out there.

And while you're here, make sure you grab a button

Writer Wednesday Blog Hop Button!

Click and copy this code 

<p align="center"><a href="http://theworldofmyimagination.blogspot.com/search/label/Writers%20Wednesday%20Blog%20Hop" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHyBDjKEcQSydgj2SguQpKMCOT2bQfqJZmgcJGyZRWfU_ajxoqrUvtcecIkkzry4GklxN7C5oPCJLe1NodwPaSi48bziB5n_f-0xM61cKs2JUP1MEdPUPniKoFboAPrgyaHgBbeHsEQrg/s1600/WWBH+badge.bmp" width="200" height="178" /></a></p><p> </p>

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Here's the rules!

1) Follow your blog hosts: World of My Imagination , A Writer Weaves a Tale..., and A Writer's Muses

2) Follow at least three other blogs (if you post your link early, make sure you come back and check out the other blogs)

3) Let the person you followed know that you are following their blog

4) (Optional...sort of): Tweet about the blog hop! (Use hashtag #WWBH and #WW when you do!) - Thank you to all of you who have featured this hop on your site!! I really appreciate it!

And all you do is link up below! You can link up your writing site, your blog, your twitter account, or your facebook page. We're flexible, and I know my other awesome hoppers are too. We're a cool bunch.

Part 4 - Character Traits, Duchess and March Plans

Readers want character they can identify or sympathize with and who demonstrate multiple dimensions and emotions.   As a reader of historical fiction, I am interested in clothing, foods, customs and other period related items.

Sandy Tritt’s article “Character Trait Chart and Personality Components”   asks several questions for writers to consider when creating a character. Three of the traits she listed; smell, health and walking style, immediately made me think of things I have read about Henry VIII.  The leg wound he sustained in his prime would plague him for the rest of his life.  Not only did it hamper his walking style but his vanity was deeply injured as he had once been an admired dancer and athlete.  Because the wound would not heal properly, it required frequent dressing and the odor was quite unpleasant.  The chart of traits that accompanies this article is quite extensive and should prove helpful during those times when the right word just won’t materialize in a writer’s memory.

Another source I frequently turn to is “The Bookshelf Muse”.  They offer a thesaurus of not only character traits, but settings, symbolism, colors, and shapes among many other informative descriptive articles for writers.

I finished "Duchess: A Novel of Sarah Churchill" by Susan Holloway Scott this evening. The descriptions here were quite interesting and at times, slightly racy. She did lightly touch upon subjects that were realistic but she handled them quite well. In this book we walk along Sarah as she rises from poverty and through the ranks of the court of Charles II. The costs of friendships and intrigues are also explored. The characters came alive and invoked sorrow and sometimes disdain as I read this. 

I got behind with the February series and still have one more post left: Goal, Motivation and Conflict. I seem to be coming upon a lot of information in my craft reading regarding GMC, and would like to explore it here. 

March ushers in my first full roller derby season, some surprise guest posts, and a short series on Plotting. Old movie buffs will enjoy planned posts on deconstructing two rarely shown movies.  My goal is to grow this blog into an interesting place for writers and others. 

Writing on Wednesday and the New Writer's Workout Book

First off, I just purchased a highly anticipated book from Christina Katz who blogs at The Prosperous Writer. She is writing coach and my goal is to someday take one of her classes.  In the meantime, I plan on using this book this year. I will post a review next Wednesday as well as a review of the Instamax instant camera. Until then, enjoy visiting the blogs below and be sure to add a link to your own blog! 

Welcome to Writer Wednesday Blog Hop!

Just like last week, today we have three hosts for the blog hop today, so that means more the awesome-ness for you bloggers out there. And we have Bugs Bunny (my favorite!) hopping with us again today... 




Animations provided by MySpaceAnimations.com
And make sure you grab a button (yay, finally HTML code for it!)
Writer Wednesday Blog Hop Button!
 

 
Click and copy this code 
 
<p align="center"><a href="http://theworldofmyimagination.blogspot.com/search/label/Writers%20Wednesday%20Blog%20Hop" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHyBDjKEcQSydgj2SguQpKMCOT2bQfqJZmgcJGyZRWfU_ajxoqrUvtcecIkkzry4GklxN7C5oPCJLe1NodwPaSi48bziB5n_f-0xM61cKs2JUP1MEdPUPniKoFboAPrgyaHgBbeHsEQrg/s1600/WWBH+badge.bmp" width="200" height="178" /></a>
 </p>
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Here's the rules! 



1) Follow your blog hosts: World of My Imagination , A Writer Weaves a Tale..., and A Writer's Muses 



2) Follow at least three other blogs (if you post your link early, make sure you come back and check out the other blogs) 



3) Let the person you followed know that you are following their blog 



4) (Optional...sort of): Tweet about the blog hop! (Use hashtag #WWBH and #WW when you do!) - Thank you to all of you who have featured this hop on your site!! I really appreciate it! 



And all you do is link up below! You can link up your writing site, your blog, your twitter account, or your facebook page. We're flexible, and I know my other awesome hoppers are too. We're a cool bunch.