Angel Oak, the oldest tree east of the Mississippe. 1,500 years old!
Photo taken from the Angel Oak site.
Life keeps getting in the way of writing time. One catastrophe after another. One new responsibility after another. And then there’s the day job!
Becca asked a challenging question this week on Write on Wednesday. What fresh new ideas do you have for your writing? I don’t have any fresh ideas, I guess. Any more fresh than usual. I have so many projects started right now, I don’t dare start anything else. I do, however, enjoy change and challenge, so I would have to say I am constantly in a state of fresh ideas. Norman Vincent Peale said:
Change your thoughts and you change your world.
While Peale is rather controversial, albeit long famous, he has said some pretty brilliant things. I have, since the new year began, been reading some books outside of my range of normal. Peale, Flannery O’Connor, William Ellery Channing, and Wayne Dyer. Do you sense a theme here? I will write about this later in the month, after I have gathered my thoughts.
Back to fresh ideas. Peale also said,
Those who are fired with an enthusiastic idea and who allow it to take hold and dominate their thoughts find that new worlds open for them. As long as enthusiasm holds out, so will new opportunities.
This goes back to my father telling me, “you can do anything you want.” I am fortunate to live in the time and place I find my self, with the health and resources available to me, to have this be true. So I am willing to take risks, assuming that everything will work out, and so far, so good.
On a slightly less than fresh note, I continue to search for that agent who is going to fall in love with my work. I use Query Tracker to keep track of what I have mailed out. It is also an excellent site to research agents from. All the links you could possibly need are right there, and it is free. I have five queries out there, with one partial requested. Cross fingers, etc.
I received a pleasant comment this week, from the author of the second or third book I ever reviewed on this blog. Bonnie Trenga, author of The Curious Case of the Misplaced Modifier, also has her own very cool blog, The Sentence Sleuth, which is worth a regular visit. Check it out.
I am prattling today. I haven’t written a real post in so long, I think I have forgotten how. I do have a couple book reviews to write and post, so I will leave you here and move on to that.
Methuselah, oldest tree in the world, located in Northwestern United States. It is 4,800 years old!
Photo taken from the Waymark site.
P.S. If you are wondering “what’s with the trees?” I will just give you a little clue: think tree house.
...Kopi Time 
Goodness, I do love these trees! And Flannery O’Connor!
Are we moving to a tree house??? Can Edward and I join you?
Yes, yes, and yes!!
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I get a sense of a lot of fresh ideas mingling around in your brain :)I hope all your enthusiastic ideas “hold out”… and especially hopeful for finding an agent for your book.
BTW, I loved seeing that gorgeous green tree – ours are all completely snow covered, which has it’s own beauty, but I prefer the green of summer!
Hi Becca. It was very odd for me too, looking at that oh-so-green tree. I like the snow as you do, but I am sure I will be tired of it by the end of February. We have had a couple inches in the last week, so everything is sparkling and pure again.
Yes, the fresh ideas are there, but life has overwhelmed everything lately. I have to figure out how to carve out some time for myself, and I have to decide to become calm about it all!
Thanks for the good wishes for finding an agent. I have read so much bad news in the publishing industry with the sinking economy, I am not holding a lot of hope, but I will write on, regardless. I couldn’t not!!
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It’s a kind of tenet of French social and political theorists that you can’t change anything about the world unless you begin by changing the way people think. That’s probably true on a small scale too, and there’s no personal change possible unless it’s accompanied by a sustainable, genuine reframing of ideas. But I find myself really intrigued by the fact that you use beautiful pictures of trees as an accompaniment to your text here, as trees may be in continual flux but they rarely change. In fact, both those trees look like examples of endurance, stamina and solidity to me. Perhaps they are simply a reflection of how settled you feel in your own place and time, too, which is always a wonderful thing in itself as well.
Ahhhh, Litlove. It was one of those things that means something even though I hadn’t specifically thought about it….. At the moment, my branches are waving widely in the monsoon of life, while my roots are firmly planted. So you are absolutely right all the way around. I will persevere and survive, and even thrive, regardless.
I know so many people who do not believe they can reframe, and thus change – it is so sad to think of the potential lost.
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Oh, my friend — don’t sell your advent posts short — definitely “real” posts in my sense of the word!
I find reading and listening to empowering messages, like the Peale, Wayne D., and others, great motivation. My parents also always said, “You can be (or do) anything you decide” and it really held true. On the days I have my “I wish I could…” I have to sit back and think if I wish I could do that thing enough. And sometimes, it’s not.
Dyer says “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change,” and I really think that one sentence says it all. And to expand on that, when you change the way you look at things, you see different elements to focus upon. The details become more vibrant when you begin to look beyond the surface.
I see much good writing coming from you — and I look forward to it being complemented by gorgeous photos like this one!
Hi Jeanie, you said: “On the days I have my “I wish I could…” I have to sit back and think if I wish I could do that thing enough. And sometimes, it’s not.” You really nailed it there – it’s not enough just deciding you want something. You have to be willing to work for it too!
You made some excellent points here. Thanks so much for being such a faithful visitor.
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