Jumpstart Monday // DECIDE what's important to you as a writer

When we forget why we're writing, when we forget our vision, it's easy to get disillusioned when success seems illusive. This video, and the Egyptian uprising, can help us remember why it's so important to keep writing, even if it appears no one's reading.

Keep writing. Market yourself. Your readers will find you.

Donna Marie

Jumpstart Monday // write with CONVICTION

January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968

I was only a girl when John F. Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King, Jr. were slain, but I can clearly remember the shock and grief of my parents, the angry gun shots thundering in the neighborhood, and the ghostly, empty playground at my school. 

These are the impressions I have of that time, but today, on Dr. King's birthday, should we be enraged and filled with sorrow, or would these men want us to use our memories and imaginations in ways that improve our society?

In my opinion, there is no greater issue facing writers and self-publishers today. In a way, Dr. King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail," written in longhand on April 16, 1963, to critical Alabama clergymen was a self-published manifesto declaring his vision of nonviolence and social justice. 

Thus it is fitting, on this the commemoration of Dr. King's birthday, to serve up his own words to inspire, motivate, and stimulate you to write and publish with your full heart and complete conviction for the betterment of humankind.

"All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence." 

"Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better." 

"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it."

"History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people." 

"Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals."

"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."  

Source 

Happy birthday, Dr. King!

Donna Marie

Look back for the clues to your destiny

Photo by Willi Heidelbach

This photo of movable type brings back so many memories. In high school we had to take a shop class, so of all things I chose print shop. If I close my eyes I can feel the weight of the little pieces between my fingers. I can smell the metal. Talk about a destiny clue!

A destiny clue is an event, opportunity, or person that reminds you of what you're supposed to be doing with your life. I also believe in Carolyn Myss' concept of the "sacred contract," where at a certain level of consciousness we have agreed with various soul mates to help each other out to make things happen. 

So many of us are feeling rudderless right now. The economy, unemployment, and this psycho political season no doubt have contributed.

Don't let this shaky moment in time get you down. As a responsible grown up, your focus has been on making money and paying the bills, but I submit that this moment is about you getting back on track with your life mission. 

Try to remember what you loved to do as a child. Can you remember? When my son was a child I told him it would be great if he could get a job making toys. Guess what, he's the manager of a video game store!

Many of you have been laid off, but if you're reading The Celebrity Editor, that means the 9 to 5 probably isn't for you anyway. Believe me, I know how difficult it is to be suddenly jobless, but sometimes we need a kick to get us going.

Trust. Know that once you commit to your destiny, all that you'll need will be given to you – the right people, the right information, the right resources, the right opportunities. This is how blessings operate. They prepare you for your success and prosperity.

Donna Marie