30 01, 2017

Procrastination Can Kill Writing Success

By judythemorgan|2017-01-26T16:11:04-06:00January 30th, 2017|Make Me Think Monday|2 Comments

Procrastination means putting off an essential task.

Admit it you procrastinate. All writers do.

Procrastination is a clever enemy often disguised as worthy endeavors such as a writer’s meeting, a writing conference, a computer game to “clear the head”, or a movie for “research.”

Social media, while a critical component for author promotion, can also be a major procrastination culprit. Who doesn’t find Twitter or Facebook or web surfing sucking precious time from writing?

Delaying issues for some writers can be more subtle. Things like spending time reading blogs or books about writing or tidying a work area before beginning. Well-intentioned things to do, however not very productive.

If your time revolves around thinking about writing or learning about writing without actually writing, face it, you’re procrastinating.

So how do we cure the culprit that steals our words from the page?

First, admit you’re procrastinating.

Next, try these five helpful hints to stop.

Divide your project into small chunks

Commit to working an hour on a project by breaking the task into doable pieces. For non-fiction books, this may be creating a chapter outline. For a novel, try breaking the story smaller segments like scenes or start with character development.

Schedule writing time

Too often writers put off writing until everything else is done. The dishes put in the dishwasher, the clothes folded, the dog walked, etc. You get the idea. There is no perfect time to write.

Schedule a one-hour block of time to sit down at your desk and write. Consider it an unbreakable appointment.

Set a timer

Once you have a designated writing time, set your phone timer, a kitchen timer, or an online timer like e.ggtimer.com for 15 – 30 minutes. Forget about whether what you produce is good or bad – keep writing.

Turn off your internal editor and self-critic

Simply write like nobody’s watching. After all, no one needs to see your writing until you’re ready.

Get a grip and just do it.

Put your butt in the chair and W-R-I-T-E whether you feel like it or not. No matter how much strategizing, planning, and hypothesizing you do if you don’t take action, nothing happens.

According to Wayne Dyer, “Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy.”

Don’t let procrastination defeat you. Try these five tips and when you’ve put words on the page,

celebrate.

23 01, 2017

Are these five POGO traits sabotaging your writing?

By judythemorgan|2017-01-13T14:27:25-06:00January 23rd, 2017|Make Me Think Monday|1 Comment

A writing career has no policy and procedure manual, no checklist for success. Each day brings uncharted water.

The path to success can be an emotional roller coaster ride. Up one day. Downhill fast the next.

More than any other job, writers are in control of their destiny. At the same time, writers can be their own worst enemy. Unfamiliar with Pogo?

Pogo and his “swamp critter friends” are the anthropomorphic comic strip animals created by Walt Kelly in 1948. They philosophized and poked at social and political successes and follies in Kelly’s comic strip. Probably the most widely used Pogo quote is the one depicted in this poster from Earth Day in the 70s.

There are five traits, when exhibited, that can make a writer his own worst enemy. That’s why I dubbed them POGO traits.

Too much time and energy focused on mimicking the writing and style of other authors.

The world already has Janet Evanovich, J.K. Rowling, Steven King, and Nora Roberts. Their success is their success.

You can’t copy and get there! Stop wasting your time.

Preoccupation with following THE RULES.

Rules are very important. Absolutely.

Writing, on the other hand, is an art form that entails experimentation, innovation, and expansion. Once you have the basics down—things like POV, dialogue, setting, character, plot, theme, it’s time to trust your instincts and what works for your story.

Buying into every new way to write or plot that’s suggested

Workshops, classes, and webinars are terrific for improving craft skills. BUT writing experts don’t always know what’s right for your writing process. Once you find the process that works best for you and your lifestyle, stick with it.

An inability to take criticism or believing everything anyone says about your story

Either of these positions can be fatal. Admittedly, surviving a brutal criticism or review isn’t for the fainthearted. As a writer, you need elephant hide and keen discernment to see the opinions expressed for exactly what they’re worth.

It’s strong writers who survive…and often produce better stories from hard critiques or bad reviews.

Not writing

The procrastination parasite bites us all from time to time. Whether moved by the muse or not, a professional writer goes to the keyboard or grabs a pencil every day.

Promotion, social media, and marketing do cut into writing time. All of that is important for developing reader relationships. Balance is the key because gaining readership (aka success) ultimately comes from writing the next story.

Do you see POGO traits in yourself? I admit I’m guilty of too many, too often.

I become my own worst enemy. Do you?

16 01, 2017

Thoughts on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

By judythemorgan|2017-01-16T16:52:35-06:00January 16th, 2017|Make Me Think Monday|0 Comments

President Ronald Reagan signed legislation in 1983 designating today as a federal holiday to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. and his accomplishments.

Dr. King’s nonviolent activism during the civil rights movement changed things for so many. He believed “We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.”

Today offers an opportunity to reflect on the past, think about the present, plan for the future, and remember what is truly important.

We are all in the same boat now.

More recently, the 1994 King Holiday and Service Act passed to encourage Americans to transform the King Holiday into a day of citizen action volunteer service.

This quote sums up Dr. King’s attitude on service

“Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”

As we reflect on Dr. King’s words, I encourage all of us to find a project that forwards King’s vision and participate. Let today be the start of a year in which we make a positive and peaceful impact in our community and the world.

Let’s make this boat we’re in a better place.

9 01, 2017

Legacy of Letter Writing

By judythemorgan|2017-01-08T20:25:39-06:00January 9th, 2017|Make Me Think Monday|1 Comment

January 8 through 14 is letter-writing week. The intent of the week long observation is to have more people W-R-I-T-E a letter with a pen or pencil or any other writing instrument.

Handwritten letters offer such a legacy. It’s a shame we don’t value the skill and write more.

Texting and emailing have replace paper and pen as the preferred method of communicating. You can’t deny the convenience and accessibility, but an email or text doesn’t come close to evoking the emotional and visceral response of a lovingly crafted, handwritten letter.

Letters can tell such stories.

Recently, my husband spent days sorting through his family letters and other ephemera. From those old letters, he has been able to reconstruct his family history.

Some of the letters confirmed his memories. Some corrected his memories and others stirred new memories.

From all those letters between his parents , their friends, and his siblings and other documents, he has a timeline that future generations will be able to follow. Plus, they’ll have all the original letters to read.

Maybe you have family letters stashed away some place. Cherish them. Someday organize what you have.

I store family ephemera in vintage suitcases that in turn become side tables or coffee tables.

This year we received more holiday cards than ever before. Many of the cards had letters or handwritten notes. I’ve always been one of those who love to read about what our friends and family are doing. Receiving so many cards this year made my holiday all the merrier.

I’m hoping it’s a trend and others are coming to appreciate letter writing.

This week I encourage you to participate by writing a letter to a friend or family member. Or take the time to teach a child how to write simple thank you cards, letters, invitations, and post cards.

Receiving a handwritten note will put a smile on someone’s face. More importantly, you’ll leave a legacy.

2 01, 2017

Black-eyed peas and Lucky New Year’s Foods

By judythemorgan|2016-12-30T16:01:30-06:00January 2nd, 2017|Make Me Think Monday|1 Comment

If you’re born-and-raised in the U.S. south, you never skip eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day.

It doesn’t matter whether the peas are fresh, frozen, or canned, you must have at least one pea if you want good luck in the coming New Year.

The tradition originated with Union General William Tecumseh Sherman’s march from Atlanta to Savanah, Georgia, in the fall of 1864 during the War of Northern Aggression. (Okay, it’s called the Civil War. I’m using the term preferred by diehard southerners.)

Sherman’s soldiers stripped the Georgia countryside of crops, robbed food stores and killed or carried away livestock as they progressed toward the sea. The troops passed over the field peas, what we call black-eyed peas, thinking the legumes were for animal feed. The plantation owners with untouched fields of black-eyed peas felt lucky to have food for the winter.

There are other foods here in the U.S. and around the world considered “lucky” to eat on New Year’s Day.

Greens. Collards, kale, or chard because they’re green like money.

Grains and noodles. Grains (corn, rice, quinoa, barley) are symbols of long life and abundance.

Ring shaped cakes and pastries. The circular shape suggests coming full circle. In Denmark, you might be served a dramatically tall, ringed cake called Kransekage, a cone-shaped pastry constructed of ever smaller concentric circles.

Pork. Pigs are a worldwide symbol of prosperity and a lucky New Year’s food, especially in Germany. The symbolism dates back to old decks of playing cards, in which the ace was known as die Sau (a sow, or female pig). The expression Schwein haben became a synonym for being lucky.

Fruit. In Spain, Portugal and many Latin American countries, New Year’s revelers eat 12 grapes at midnight— one grape for each stroke of the clock. If one grape is sour, that month might not be so fortunate. Other lucky fruits include pomegranate and figs. Pomegranate seeds suggest prosperity and figs fertility.

If you didn’t try any lucky foods yesterday, you might consider eating a few today just in case. After all, you can’t have too much good luck.

26 12, 2016

Goodbye Christmas 2016 – 8 Tips for Packing Decorations Away

By judythemorgan|2016-12-23T08:28:36-06:00December 26th, 2016|Holidays, Make Me Think Monday|0 Comments

Yesterday we celebrated Christmas. Are you removing the Christmas decorations today? Or, do you wait until Epiphany or Twelfth Night?

Either way, the tree must be unadorned. The things we carefully placed to put us in the holiday spirit must be stored until next year.

Exhaustion has swallowed the enthusiasm we experienced setting up and the task of taking down decorations can be depressing. Still, the job must be done and being systematic with undecorating can make the decorating task go faster next year.

Try these eight tips to ensure everything you take down this year is in good condition and ready to be displayed next year.

Start by deciding whether you’ll use the Swiss cheese method or devote an entire day to the task. Me, I prefer the Swiss cheese method. I gather things into one spot before I begin loading my plastic containers.

Dismantle holiday displays and pack them up according to specific areas of the home.

Store decorations in plastic containers marked with the location for the decorations.

Launder fabric items before you put away. Always make sure the items are completely dry before packing them up. Oversized zip-top bags or vacuum bags work perfectly for storage. Or place folded items in one plastic container.

Bows made from wire-edged ribbon should be gently loaded into plastic containers. Wads of tissue paper stuffed in the loops will help keep their shape while in storage. Even if they get a bit smashed, they can easily be refreshed for next year.

Wrap fragile ornaments in tissue paper or bubble wrap from holiday deliveries and gifts if you did not save the original packaging for storage. Plastic ornament boxes with dividers are a great investment. It makes undecorating the tree go quickly and delicate ornaments are well protected.

Light strings, either indoor or outdoor, should be wound and stored in individual zip-lock bags to prevent tangles.

Outdoor displays should be covered in large, heavy-duty contractor bags that can be used more than once.

Can you add any tips you have for undecorating? If so, share in the comments.

12 12, 2016

Christmas Trees – the custom and traditions

By judythemorgan|2016-11-30T08:48:45-06:00December 12th, 2016|Holidays, Make Me Think Monday|0 Comments

A small tabletop tree with candles stands as a tribute to our German grandfather’s ancestry. A hand sewnSt. Nicholas doll stands beside the tree.

The tradition of putting up and decorating a Christmas tree began in Germany in the 16th century.

Legend has it that Protestant reformer Martin Luther, who was awed by the brilliance of twinkling stars amidst evergreens on a nighttime walk, wired candles to Christmas tree branches to recapture the scene.

The idea of a decorated Christmas tree was slow to gain popularity in Puritan America. Puritans held to a strict sacred observation of Christmas. In fact, in 1659, hanging decorations brought fines for breaking the law against observance of December 25 (other than a church service).

The Puritan legacy diminished with the influx of German and Irish immigrants and Christmas trees became the focal point of those who celebrate Christmas in America.

Thinking about Christmas trees from childhood is sure to stir a bit of nostalgia.

I can remember piling into the family station wagon and driving into the Texas hill country to cut the perfect tree. We’d sing Christmas carols and eat a picnic lunch. Fun times.

I’d stare for hours at the icicles reflecting in the multi-colored bulbs then beg to be in charge of cutting off the lights before bedtime so I could stay up late. I might add that those icicles had to hang single strand over single branches. Daddy was always watching to be sure.

Once I married and we had our own tree, I’d planned to throw the icicles haphazardly on the tree. Somehow, it didn’t look right. Or maybe it was Daddy’s voice echoing in my head.

Christmas trees continue to play an important role in our holiday decorating.

In Houston, we placed multiple trees around our Victorian home. Most were artificial and each tree had its own theme.

For years we’ve collected White House and Texas Capitol ornaments. Those collections hang on gold-branched display trees every year.

With the Rio Grande National Forest as our backyard, we can secure a permit, take a short hike, and have a fresh cut tree whenever we’re ready to decorate.

I do miss all the little helpers I had in years past. Putting gumdrops on the gumdrop tree by myself (a tradition from my Irish grandmother) isn’t the same.

This year our new four-legged baby, Finnegan MacCool will be helping, which may or may not be a good thing.

Here’s Finn helping me make a Christmas stocking for the newest family member-our granddaughter’s new husband.

Should be fun time decorating the Christmas tree this year with an Old English sheepdog puppy. At five months everything is a chew toy.

How’s the decorating going at your place? Is a Christmas tree part of your holiday tradition?

5 12, 2016

Let the Christmas Traditions and Customs Begin

By judythemorgan|2022-11-27T10:19:35-06:00December 5th, 2016|Holidays, Make Me Think Monday|0 Comments

Santa Claus waves to spectators along Central Park West during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York Thursday, Nov. 24, 2016. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

Santa is officially tucked in place at Macy’s New York. You did watch the Macy parade on Thanksgiving, didn’t you?

Macy’s parade always signals Christmas preparations and traditions can officially begin for me.

I absolutely love Christmas customs and traditions. This month I’ll be sharing about my favorites starting with the Advent wreath.

If you attend a traditional liturgical church, you probably lit the second candle of an Advent Wreath yesterday because Advent this year began on Sunday, November 27.

Not familiar with the tradition of Advent? Here’s my cliff note version:

Advent comes from adventus meaning “coming” or “visit” and includes the four Sundays before Christmas and ends on Christmas Eve. Advent also serves as the beginning of the liturgical year for churches.

Observance of advent began sometime after the 4th century. In the Middle Ages, the church extended the celebration to include the coming of Christ through his birth in Bethlehem, his future coming at the end of time, and his presence among us through the promised Holy Spirit.

Modern-day Advent services center on a garland wreath of evergreen branches representing eternity and symbolizing the coming of the light of Christ into the world.

The wreath contains three purple (or blue) candles, one pink candle, and one white candle. Each successive Sunday of Advent one of the candles is lit. The order and exact wording used as the candles come to light varies among churches.

Traditionally, the Prophecy Candle is first. The second Sunday candle is the Bethlehem candle. Third Sunday candle is the pink Shepherd candle. Fourth Sunday is the last purple candle called the Angel Candle. The White Candle (or Christ Candle) is lit on Christmas Eve.

Other variations light the candles to represent Hope, Peace, Love, and Joy.

Read more about the symbolism of the advent wreath, candles, and colors here.

If your church does not formally recognize a season of Advent, constructing an Advent wreath for your home can be part of family holiday traditions.

Here’s a link to an Advent wreath-coloring page for children. You’ll also find fun holiday activities to occupy little hands there.

Observing Advent is a great way to keep Christ the focus, teach the true meaning of Christmas, and diminish the commercialism of Christmas.

Is an advent wreath part of your Christmas season?

28 11, 2016

Cyber Security for the Holidays

By judythemorgan|2016-11-22T16:51:03-06:00November 28th, 2016|Make Me Think Monday|1 Comment

We’re full on turkey and pumpkin pie leftovers. The serious holiday gift buying has begun. It’s time to think about cyber security.

We all know how hackers use stolen data to create plausible emails to trick people into clicking harmful links and/or opening infected attachments, spreading malware, viruses, and other threats.

Yahoo’s data breach last September was a good reminder we need to be pro-active in protecting our data. I hope if you ever had a Yahoo account, you immediately changed your password or deleted the account if it’s inactive. If not, stop reading this blog and do it now.

We need to use caution when making on-line purchases or sharing posts on social media. We don’t want to put ourselves or anyone else at risk if we are hacked or have our data stolen in a cyber attack.

Here are seven tips for keeping your data safe all the time, not only during the holiday season.

Use different passwords on all your accounts.
Change your password and security question answers for all accounts regularly.
Avoid your name, initials, or birth date in a password.
Avoid actual words as part of a password.
Keep your anti-virus/anti-malware and all your computer programs up-to-date.
Frequently review all on-line accounts for suspicious activity.

Lastly, some reminders about your email.

~Never click on an email link if it’s unsolicited or from someone you don’t know.

~ Double-check before you click even if something seems to be from a friend, call, text, or email that friend and verify before you open.

~Regardless of how official an email appears never open unsolicited email. The IRS, your bank, your credit card companies, and other companies will NOT email you to ask for personal information. They already have it.

Use these tips and reminders about cyber security be security wise this holiday season and always.

21 11, 2016

It’s Thanksgiving Week

By judythemorgan|2016-11-11T10:45:22-06:00November 21st, 2016|Make Me Think Monday|0 Comments

Thanksgiving arrives on Thursday making this week filled with family reunions, food, fun, travel, football games, Black Friday, and being thankful.

Not necessarily in that order.

The way we celebrate things today is quite different from how Pilgrims celebrated Thanksgiving feasts.

Historically, Pilgrims in The Commonwealth of Virginia held Thanksgiving services beginning in 1607. Days of prayer, not days of feasting, but services deeply grounded in religious beliefs and gratitude to their Heavenly Father.

Our national holiday stems from the feast held in the autumn of 1621 by the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians to celebrate the colony’s first successful harvest. The colonist didn’t call it Thanksgiving, though.

Thanksgiving to them was a religious holiday in which they would go to church and thank God for a specific event. The activities that autumn of 1621 – dancing, singing secular songs, playing games – wouldn’t have been allowed. Not religious. The feast was a secular celebration, so it never would have been considered a thanksgiving in the pilgrims’ minds.

Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 proclamation for a national day of “Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.” established what we do today.

Interesting that the basis for our celebration remained the same as the early colonist feasts – thankfulness.

As you go about the preparations this week, spend some time thinking about the origins of the holiday and all the reasons you have to be thankful.