Writing Muse

by Kimberly A. Cook               (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Attended a beautiful wedding last Saturday. This one was a new experience for me since this time I was a guest. The five weddings before I was either Maid of Honor or the aunt of the bride, so I was always “work’in.” I’ve found my military training helps with surviving national writing conferences and being part of a bridal party.

One of the great things about being a guest is listening to all the stories. For a writer, just observing all the dynamics playing out are also fun. I knew about four people at the event, all in the wedding party, so I was on my own.

Three wonderful long-time friends of the bride adopted me for dinner and we had a great chat. One is a new friend who I will explore more about her Army father being at Pearl Harbor during the bombings. Vet stories are everywhere!

The bride was gorgeous, the groom handsome and family and friends were so happy to celebrate their union. As usual I shed happy tears during the ceremony. I find when I’m not in the bridal party the waterworks start easily. Over the years I’ve perfected the silent cry for these occasions so besides screwing up my makeup, it’s all good.

These important personal events reflect our past, present and future lives coming together with those we love and cherish. There are always a few characters and crazy relatives we all have or it wouldn’t be a wedding. This ceremony was beautiful and celebrated with much love by all involved. A truly happy ever after complete with toasts,  love and break dancing. I kid you not.

So the next time you attend a special event as a guest, put on your writer hat and see it for what it really is; an important story in your life.

by Kimberly A. Cook           (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

When our smart phone crashes, the ebook reader’s battery dies, the laptop gets a virus and desktop computer files become corrupted, what can a writer do? Grab a pen and paper and sprint for a used bookstore. Sometimes the gadgets go voodoo and we need to reboot our writer selves.

While ebooks are growing, they don’t carry all book titles and will never have some treasured books. Go old school and hunt down actual physical books. Refresh our inner bibliophile with the smell and tactile pleasures of caressing an actual ink on paper oldie but goodie. Saturday I had the chance to visit Cover to Cover, a used bookstore in Vancouver, Washington. They’ve been on my radar for a while and I finally made the trek.

Greeted by Smedley, the famous host, the calm and organized atmosphere set my nerves to serene and the cup of hot chocolate from the espresso bar helped. Bookseller Mel Sanders has created an inviting home for readers and searchers. Several customers came in during my stay looking for those books the “big retailers don’t carry anymore.” The helpful and friendly staff were happy to assist folks on a treasure hunt.

Smedley is more interested in crinkly packages that might contain cat treats and purses. Seems he has one devoted fan who brings hidden treats, so he acts like a TSA agent whenever a purse gets close. Sir Smedley leaves no bag behind.

Wandering the well-organized aisles I managed to find seven books which had to go home with me. Where else can you find everything from a French and English Dictionary to Sun Signs For Writers?

 We writers can get geeked out with the new, latest, bright shiny thing and forget the days when Shakespeare used nib, ink and parchment. One of the many great things about being a writer is all our manufacturing equipment is with us at all times, grey matter engaged.

When the voodoo crazies hit your creative equipment or you need to unplug from your desk chair, find a local haunt with used books and explore. If in Vancouver, Washington, stop by Cover to Cover Books & Espresso at 6300 NE St. James, Road, Suite 104-B from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Give Smedley a salute; he is named after a General. Or visit his staff web page at www.covertocoverbooks.net

So take a clue from Smedley, find a used bookstore, acquire a comfy chair and cuddle up with a book. Smedley has staff the rest of us can only dream of having and he stays off the computer. Smart cat!

By Kimberly A. Cook             (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

When I worked on the newspaper, silence was impossible. Between the front door opening with visitors to place ads and fight over stories, the presses running in the next room, 20 phones ringing and the police and fire scanners going off all the time, quiet didn’t exist. I wrote in the middle of noise chaos on deadline.

Writers must focus to create. While taking an online writing class about being a successful writer from Bob Mayer, he asked an interesting question. Where do you write? Which environment? I discovered I write and edit different types of writing in different locations with varying noise levels. It all depends how we have trained ourselves to create.

Writers attach ourselves to keyboards in quiet places to coffee shops and then as published authors have to go out and sell our wares. Different skill sets. Right now I am reading the book Quiet – The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain. She writes about how today’s’ society has made it a requirement to be an extrovert and more than one-third of us are introverts. She wonders what happened to it being okay to think, ponder and listen.

Very interesting book. When we age, we tend to become more of what our type is, not less. So perhaps this is why when we get away from the stress of our day jobs and want to write at home or on the road, us introverted writers seek quiet. Silence to let the muse run wild and catch up with our subconscious.

With all the beeps, tweets, cell phone jingles, cross walk chiming and general noise in everyday life, silence is truly golden.  Many times when I write music plays in the background. Then other times I want complete silence, until the cat can’t stand it anymore and knocks a pen off the desk. Have you given yourself the gift of quiet lately?

By Kimberly A. Cook        (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

We writers are drawn by the latest flashy trend or quirky story. But when it comes to career planning, are we on the right team? When I left the Army to go to college, I wanted to become a writer or a marine biologist. Taking advice from others I respected, I ended up with a business degree.

Graduating during the recession in the early 1980s, I couldn’t get a job and worked as a temporary receptionist. Fed up, I figured if I couldn’t get a job as a business person, I might as well go do what I loved in the first place. Used the rest of my G.I. Bill money and got a Journalism Technology Degree. Never looked back.

Advisors mean well but if their advice doesn’t fit your passion, screw it. Any vocation requires hard work and dedication, so we better like how we choose to spend our life energy. Money is not the be all and end all of life. If it was, there would be no poets. And we’ve got to have poets amongst us.

This past weekend I enjoyed the movie Big Miracle. With gray whale stars and Drew Barrymore, how could I lose? Been a huge whale fan my whole life, watching them traverse the Oregon Coast. While working on the newspaper in Newport, Oregon, I got to interview whale researchers and rescuers. My editor nicknamed me the marine mammal reporter. Dreams do come true.

We can listen to advice from other writers and authors, agents and coaches, but we have to listen to our own creative hearts. Find what makes you happy and pursue it. The movie is inspired by a true story about how diverse people came together to help three whales. Teamwork can move obstacles and whales. So, are you on the right creative team?

by Kimberly A. Cook            (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Romance reading and writing are two of my loves; next to family, friends, cats and chocolate. And books and Maui and shoes and beads; you get the picture. The happily ever after ending in a romance novel is a worthwhile and valiant goal for us humans. We want to believe in sharing life with another person who gets us; whether we are weird, quirky, fun, odd or all of the above.

Warriors since time began yearned for the “home-coming” to family, friends and loved ones. Last week in a CNN article, hospice chaplain Kerry Egan wrote about what people talk to her about before they die. Egan said they tell stories about their families and loved ones; not religion, God or dying, but family, friends and love. The moments of life. It’s a pretty darn important goal for all of us to have those stories and experiences.

So on the day dedicated to love and romance, what do we do if we don’t have a partner? We need to think long and hard about who we do have as our “partners” in life. Our writer friends and mentors, our co-workers who support us on a daily basis, our pets who are always there, and welcoming home troops from the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars. It’s a great start.

With all that is going on in our world today, we need all the love we can get. So surprise one person today who has supported you and maybe doesn’t get thanked. See what happens when an act of kindness drops unexpected into someone’s day. We all get a surprise happily ever after.

And that, writers and readers alike, is what all of us warriors put it on the line for; our buddies, families, friends, pets and country. Happily ever after is a very good goal.  It can heal our world. Love is a very powerful and splendid thing; pass it on. Happy Valentine’s Day.

by Kimberly A. Cook                    (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

One challenge of being a creative type in the business world is when passion and joy run smack into basic necessities, like needing to eat. This was drilled home by a teacher I was interviewing for the  newspaper in 1984.  “I always tell the other teachers to be nice to the newspaper reporters,” she said. “You’re the only ones who have to have a four-year degree and get paid less than we do.” Too true.

So before digital media, writing didn’t necessarily pan out as a cash cow career. So why do we write? If we are doing it strictly for the money, we will eventually burn out. Writing is hard work. Or good writing is hard work, to be more specific. The option to self publish is switching the control of the publishing game back to authors, but this brings up more challenges.

When we turn a passion into a job, it can lose some or all of the joy. Deadlines, sales figures and screwed up cover art become our new dragons. A survey I read said if anyone is happy with 60 percent of their job, that’s as good as it gets. Bet that means taxes, paying bills and equipment malfunctions drop into everyone’s work life, no matter what they produce.

About 10 years ago I decided it was time for a hobby to balance my day job and my writing business. Experts suggest revisiting what you liked to do as a kid. Writing and reading were big in my life, even at age 10, but making jewelry was also a passion. I reconnected with jewelry making and enjoy it to this day; I’m a beadaholic.

I thought about selling my jewelry, then I sat myself down and had a chat. “Everything cannot be a business,” I told myself. “This is your official hobby.”  I was relieved. I had given myself permission to play, which helps my writing muse. Money can be a demanding mistress if we let her boss us around all the time.

So if our writing passion becomes a business and it doesn’t feel right, change it. Go back to writing for the fun of it. Keep our day jobs. Reduce the stress. Being published is not the holy grail; it is just one of many roads for writers. We all have to do our taxes, pay our bills and fight with the stupid computer upgrade programs; but if we are fighting and dreading our writing, something is wrong. Maybe it’s time we had a chat with ourselves and figured it out. Are we writing for love, money or ourselves?