I was told not to be the dream catcher, but by-pass the dream by doing everything else but the dream. It is no wonder I have found myself depressed, unsettled, disheartened with a longing to fill the emptiness inside. Then I took a risk and it paid off: I followed my gut.

The importance of listening to our intuition is of utmost significance in every aspect of our lives. Oprah stated that we are the only species that willingly walks towards danger because we are taught not to listen to our gut. She’s pointing it out for a dangerous situation in this clip, but I’m pointing it out for an everyday situation.

A suggested book to read that mirrors this: “An Invisible Thread” by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski, published by Howard Books, a Divison of Simon & Schuster, Inc., published in 2011. This truly inspiring non-fictional piece tells us what happens when we listen to the voice inside of us.

An excerpt from page 6 of the book:

Looking back all these years later, I believe there was a strong, unseen connection that pulled me back to Maurice. It’s something I call an invisible thread. It is, as the old Chinese proverb tells us, something that connects two people who are destined to meet, regardless of time and place and circumstance. Some legends call it the red string of fate; others, the thread of destiny. It is, I believe, what brought Maurice and I to the same stretch of sidewalk in a vast, teeming city—just two people out of eight million, somehow connected, somehow meant to be friends.

What she gives him is her time. That makes all the difference in the world. Pursue what feels right to you, truly right.

This is my time and I’m giving it to you.

Thank you for giving your time to me.

This is truly where the writer wants to be: typing or writing the words, sentences, paragraphs, the ideas, creations and meaning, without feeling the resistance, angst or worry of what is happening to the page. The story unfolds and it feels right. This freely flowing energy excites, and thus, consequently, creates a high feeling. This height is a pure form of happiness. It’s a sense of knowing and a source of inspiration that’s profoundly fulfilling.

Writers are not alone in this feeling or experience. Ask artists their process and most certainly there will be mention of their feelings; they were following their gut. It was their intuition that told them where to, or not to, go. This feeling of knowing moves beyond an artists’ world, although it is more prevalent in a creative realm. Einstein certainly had a creative burst while pondering physics giving birth to his Theory of Relativity and his gut probably told him to run freely with the idea, later giving it more thought while putting his theory to work.

Recently I wrote a short story that took me for a ride. I went along with my gut. 10,000 words later, the story came to an end. I was left feeling satisfied, excited and mystified. What did I just write? It freely came out of me, an outpouring of words, thoughts, feelings, emotions, lives touched and places traveled. When I had a fellow writer read my work, she asked: “What drugs were you on?” My answer was simple: “None.” It was pure moments of gut, listening, writing, and constant forward momentum. She loved the piece; it held her, captivated her, although she didn’t completely understand it.

It doesn’t matter if she understood it or not; what is important is that the story held her attention and she continued reading. Some would argue that point, but I look at it another way: understanding is relative to a person’s experience, point of view, perception. A story can be changed and edited. Sometimes things don’t come in neat and tidy packages with a clear-cut story line; some work is left to make the reader think. Did Einstein’s Theory of Relativity stop him from working on his project? No. And it won’t stop me either. My gut is my guide.

Think of those whose persistence has paid off: J.K. Rowling, Margaret Mitchell, John Grisham, Mark Twain, Edith Wharton, Suzanne Collins and Dr. Seuss, and of course numerous others—too long of a list to mention.

Think of your favorite author. What would our lives be like without these writers?

It takes more than just knowing how to write a great book or story, it takes being true to who you are and what you produce. Rejection isn’t failing; it’s learning how to be persistent. Risk is also vital in learning how that persistence works. Sometimes what is needed means being different from the norm. A great example is Dr. Seuss. Considering the time period, there was nothing like his books out in the market, and that’s precisely why he got rejected, but it’s also exactly why he got accepted.

Read the other genre you book falls in, read the other work that is getting published and having the gut to take a chance; persistence is key.

Here is one author’s word on rejection that I feel has a great deal of merit: Ellen Jackson.

Happy writing!

The modern age of America’s dependence on gasoline is visualized in Joe DeCamilis’ artwork, which appears throughout the journal. He blends old book covers with a slice of Americana that is an experience down memory lane while holding the gas can culpable to our industrious height and demise.

Based at Eastern Kentucky University through Bluegrass Writers Studio, Jelly Bucket consists of emerging and established writers in the genres of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. They were founded in 2009 and are a member of clmp (Council of Literary Magazines and Presses). Their journals can be found at Barnes and Noble.

I recommend reading this emerging journal that’s now living beyond the walls of Kentucky.      

The character’s traits develop from that aural stimulus, causing an emotional awareness. It’s the power of emotion, the ability to move, that serves me as a writer. It takes me out of my realm, into another, so I can piece together how the character is feeling. The character’s being comes alive as I move with music; this isn’t to say the character’s thoughts are necessarily represented by a song, but it helps to create the menagerie of qualities that make up the character.

In many ways I’m the photographer: taking the snapshot—albeit a written one—of the image. Creating depth and texture depending on the lens I use, I transform a one dimensional character into a multi-faceted one. I constantly weave, overlay and manipulate the image, creating something very human that’s tangible and yet vastly complex. Even if we, as humans, appear to be simple, we never are. This is why I strive to have real characters in my stories that are very believable and human; I want my stories to mimic life. Not all things are explicit, just like so many of life’s unexplained events; no words are the same, even if they appear the same in the text (consider how diversely some of the same lines are read during different performances). For example: take the term: “Yo Baby.” There a so many ways you can say this, so even though it may appear the same in writing, it depends which character speaks these words as to what meaning it truly takes.

One of my current characters took me to Alicia Keys’ “Empire State of Mind.” This song reflected the setting of the story; however, that is unusual. I don’t need a song that matches the region or character I’m trying to capture; I just need the emotions to get there. 

Here are some artists for emotional pulling (depending on mood and character):             

• Madonna  (This video shows Madonna’s raw emotions while singing this particular song. For me, it adds to her appeal. She isn’t doing the theatrics; she’s being human like the rest of us. When she first hit the scene, I remember critics said she wouldn’t last. She has managed to move with the times in over three decades. She pushes boundaries, limits and sets them.)
• Adele
• Amy Winehouse  (I’ve heard numerous versions, but I like this one because the way she sings “trouble” the second time around. She sings it with lingering oomph. Another song and version I particularly enjoy is “My Tears Dry on Their Own,” which goes into “Me and Mr. Jones.” A lesser known one: “Between the Cheats.”)
• Patsy Cline
• Vera Lynn
• Edith Piaf   (Something more theatrical sounding: ”Bravo Pour Le Clown.” Another favorite: “Padam, Padam.”)
• Nina Simone (I understand she was consumed by songs in her head, which is what Beethoven also described; he could never get the music out of his mind. I’m certain science will be able explain this some day. It’s probably caused by a mutated gene or an error in DNA code. I also like “I ain’t go no…I’ve got Life.”
• Sarah Vaughan
• Carrie Underwood
• Marlene Dietrich (I can no longer find the version where she asks the Israeli audience if it okay if she sings the song in German and they say yes.)
• Moody Blues   (Listening to this song creates a high without drugs. If you’d prefer to have the older version of when the guys were young hit this.)
• Glenn Miller Band
• George Harrison
• Susan Boyle  (I also suggest you hear Hallelujah.)
• kd lange (Also visit NPR.)
• Dawes
• Rihanna
• Traveling Wilburys

If I want to listen to a specific genre of music (jazz, R&B, rock & roll, pop, classical, etc.)  or  a specific time, I will choose that time period: 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, etc. This does help to snag a snippet of life gone since so much culture is represented in a song. Also, there are artists where one song has more emotional pulling than the combined songs the artist has produced.  

 Here is a foreign music site of interest: TV Noir

I have always had a number of interests that stemmed from math, science, food, and art to writing. I used to be bothered by my numerous interests, until I learned how to use them to my advantage; I developed the talent of shuttling between interests. By Concentrating on what I was presently doing, it prevented me from thinking about what I had just done. I took a breather, a step away from what was consuming me, and kept my peace of mind. I learned one of the greatest lessons of time management: by switching interests at just the time I needed a break I was able to cut out stress. This created an opportunity for my mind to explore. 

To understand this fully, some comprehension of science is needed. The brain has two halves; the right hemisphere and the left hemisphere. Each side performs tasks. If you’re right handed, your left hemisphere is activated. If you’re left handed, your right hemisphere is activated. When I write, one hemisphere is activated more than the other. To relax that part of my mind, which can feel overworked when writing, I switch it off and turn to another one of my interests, such as math. 

Instead of my interests getting in my way, they assist in my growth as a writer, artist and creative person. This other interest utilizes different parts of my brain, allowing relaxation of the part that I had been using. When this happens, my mind becomes less stressed, causing my brain’s mechanisms to expand from the stress reduction. This gives the main powerhouse of my body the ability to think more clearly, and be open to problem solving. It’s with this clarity that writing blocks are lifted, creativity flows, and what feels like is an epiphany, is many times, just that, an epiphany.    

Making time to write every day is part of the equation. Time management skills are a must. The importance of learning that skill takes time. It won’t happen overnight, but with practice and patience, it will be reality. Knowing when to write, when to let go, when to return, when it’s okay to write backstory that will never appear, all of it is okay and is part the process of writing successfully. One of the biggest things I’ve learned is knowing what works for me, what doesn’t, and how to use both to my advantage.

It was the positive reinforcement booster I needed and enjoyed hearing. I love the fact that they thanked me for the opportunity to read my writing. I also want to thank them for providing the resource to have my work published.

Thank You Glimmer Train for your feedback!

Glimmer Train caught my eye back in the 90s when I wasn’t taking my short story writing seriously; wait, let me rephrase that. It was the beginning that led to where I am today, now taking the time to become a published short story writer and novelist. I have been submitting regularly to Glimmer Train, revising every step of the way the pieces I’ve crafted, the narratives that say listen to me.

I love what I do. A smile appears on my face when I write, alone in my world, carefully creating a realm that pre-exists only in my mind, learning how to share it with you, my audience, my readers. Writing can be a great deal of time spent alone, but it is also spent with many other people. Research, editing, feedback from fellow writers—all of it—is a process that I thoroughly appreciate regardless how frustrated (at times) I may feel. The reward—the completed story—is worth it.

With the new release of Art Spiegelman’s MetaMaus this month by Pantheon, Publisher’s Weekly Interviewed Spiegelman about digital media and the “physical book.” In this interview he states the changes happening in today’s society, “…is also making the physical book capable of being more beautiful than books have been since the middle ages.” For the full interview visit Publisher’s Weekly.

The digital release by Forbes and JESS3 explores Steve Job’s life in a 60-page graphic novel, The Zen of Steve Jobs due out sometime this fall. The book focuses on Steve’s life through the 1980’s, when his life took a drastic change and follows the challenges that came with it. Through a friendship he formed with a Zen Buddhist priest, Kobun Chino Otogawa, Steve learns the meaning of walking meditation of kinhin and the Japanese design concept ma. Both of these shaped his life and design practice when he later returned to Apple.

Originally sponsored by the National Book Foundation, National Book Month is an important event with many areas celebrating books by having book festivals. This week in particular is Teen Read Week sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association ( YALSA). Teen Read Week encourages teenagers to pick up a book and read. The John Newberry Medal and Honor Books are awarded annually to children’s literature. This year’s winner is Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool.

The National Book Awards (NBA) began in 1950 at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. This award honored writers given by fellow writers and marked the beginning recognition of excellence in literature. The literary community came together through The American Book Publisher’s Council, The Book Manufacturers’ Institute and The American Booksellers’ Association. The awards recognize merit in the categories of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Having undergone many changes throughout its history, the NBA now includes the additional category of Young People’s Literature.

 And with these words I expect to find my readers—reading beyond my blog—with some of my recommended reads:

Young Adult:   “Hoot” by Carl Hiaasen

Fiction:   “The Reader” by Bernhard Schlink, “Like Water for Chocolate” Laura Esquivel, “The Waterworks” by E. L. Doctorow

Non-Fiction: “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot

Historical:   ”Wicked Philadelphia” by Thomas H. Keels

Self-Help:   “Overcoming Life’s Disappointments” by Harold S. Kushner

Literary Magazine: Apiary and Painted Bride

Short Story: “The Gilded Six-Bits” by Zora Neals Hurston and “Roman Fever” by Edith Wharton

 The National Book Awards for this year’s finalists are:

 FICTION

Andrew Krivak, “The Sojourn”
Tea Obreht, “The Tiger’s Wife”
Julie Otsuka, “The Buddha in the Attic”
Edith Pearlman, “Binocular Vision”
Jesmyn Ward, “Salvage the Bones”

NONFICTION:

Deborah Baker, “The Convert”
Mary Gabriel, “Love and Capital”
Stephen Greenblatt, “Swerve: How the World Became Modern”
Manning Marable, “Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention”
Lauren Redniss, “Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout”

POETRY:

Nikky Finney, “Head Off & Split”
Yusef Komunyakaa, “The Chameleon Couch”
Carl Phillips, “Double Shadow”
Adrienne Rich, “Tonight No Poetry Will Serve: Poems 2007-2010”
Bruce Smith, “Devotions”

YOUNG PEOPLE’S LITERATURE:

Franny Billingsley, “Chime”
Debby Dahl Edwardson, “My Name Is Not Easy”
Thanhha Lai, “Inside Out and Back Again”
Albert Marrin, “Flesh and Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy”
Lauren Myracle, “Shine”
Gary D. Schmidt, “Okay for Now“