The joy is in the journey.
Follow Amy Morse - The Roaming Entrepreneur's - adventures in writing and entrepreneurship.
Her shenanigans, plots, plans, schemes, experiments, escapism - exploring her way to the ultimate freedom of roaming and working.
Join me in my 365 Adventures in Writing and Entrepreneurship...
I've already published one of the items on my list of lists - List of book marketing activities: http://ideaism.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/45-ways-to-market-your-book.html This week I'm drawing inspiration from another item on my list of lists: List of favourite quotes As a writer, I love the power and complexity of words. It's incredible to think that with 24 letters, expressed in an infinite combination, we can describe the complexity of human emotion and experience. When I'm stuck for inspiration, need a pick-me-up, some motivation or just for something to make me smile, I often turn to quotations. I have a Pinterest board of inspiration and collect quotes there among other things: Follow Amy Morse - Authorpreneur's board Inspire me on Pinterest. There are also lots of websites of quotations. One I use relatively regularly is: http://www.quotationspage.com/
This site has a really useful 'search by subject' section. There are so many great quotes I could list. Instead,
On 10th April 1912 The White Star Line launched the RMS Titanic from Southampton. It was the largest ship afloat at the time and was supposedly unsinkable. 5 days into her maiden voyage to New York, she struck an iceberg. It was the early hours of the morning with many of the passengers below decks in their cabins. The Titanic had enough lifeboats for a little over half the people on board. It was the worst peacetime maritime disaster the world had ever seen with the loss of over 1,500 lives. The disaster was most recently immortalised in James Cameron's 1997 movie, Titanic. Until 2009 it was the highest grossing film in history and won 11 Oscars. It lost it's title as the highest grossing film in history to another James Cameron film, Avatar.
There is a particular scene in the movie, that is based on the reportedly historically accurate account that the Captain sent the orchestra onto the deck to play some cheerful music to stop the passengers from panicking as the ship was sinking.
This is a classic example of focusing your energies in the wrong place when faced with impending doom. Even as the ship sinks and the orchestra starts to slide along the deck they are still playing. A futile act and an unnecessary loss of life. Sometimes it comes to the point where you just have to admit defeat and walk away with your pride intact.
I'd rather be on the lifeboat than sliding towards oblivion (Tweet this) We all face challenges in our lives and have to make hard choices. We all make mistakes, it's part of being human. Bad news is a fact of life and we can deliver it to others and face it ourselves in different ways.
The trick is to learn from our mistakes and to find the positives in every bad situation.
Sometimes we have to take ourselves to the edge of the abyss before we realise that we need to make a change (Tweet this)
With every change, there is always opportunity(Tweet this)
Here's my take on 6 bad ways to deliver bad news: 1) Text Message If you need to tell someone something bad, say it to their face. Avoiding them makes you look cowardly and unprofessional. Man up! 2) Blaming and scapegoating Take responsibility for yourself and your own actions. Stop finding someone to blame. Often, there is no one person at fault, the majority of disasters are a result of a serious of unfortunately timed systematic failures. The media are brilliant at this - 'trial by newspaper' has seen the end of countless political and celebrity careers. 3) Radio Silence Not telling people is much worse than telling them. At least if people know they can act accordingly. A small business trying to cover up bad news lets everyone involved down. It erodes the trust of customers, staff and anyone else with a stake in the business. Your reputation will be in tatters if you lose the trust of those associated with you. No one has the right to remove other people's freedom to act. 4) Being blasé about it "Oh well, never mind," does not tackle the problems that got you in that mess in the first place. You run the risk of making the same, or worse mistakes in the future. 5) Denial Pretending it isn't happening is asking for trouble. Mistakes should be learned from, not ignored or dismissed. 6) Too much sugar The
blow of bad news can be softened by packaging it with good news,
however, too much sugar coating can diminish the message to the point
that it is not taken seriously by the recipient. There's a saying 'you can't polish a turd'. Mythbusters proved that you can polish a turd -but the fact remains, however much you polish it, it's still just a ball of shit.
Join me in my 365 Adventures in Writing and Entrepreneurship...
I am well and truly a child of the 80's. I remember dad coming home from Blockbuster video with the latest movie that we'd watch as a family. There was the inevitable minor skirmish between myself and my siblings over whose turn it was to get up and press play on our top loading beta max video player.
Some of my favourite films were the Indiana Jones movies. Harrison Ford was my first crush and Indiana Jones has definitely been a big influence on the books I read and write myself. In the Bronze Box and Solomon's Secrets (already available on Amazon) and Gabriel's Game, the third book in the Sheridan and Blake Adventure Series (currently being written), my heroine is British Archaeologist, Dr Sasha Blake and her companion and the hero of the stories is an antiquities expert and former SAS soldier, Tom Sheridan.
One of those legendary cinematic moments is the opening scene in Raiders of The Lost Ark where Indie escapes from a booby trapped cavern with a golden idol. He is running from a massive boulder, hurtling towards him. I love Harrison Ford's facial expressions, his look of relief and that lovely smile of his when he grabs the vine, then the look of horror as it slips through his fingers. Throughout the movie we feel everything Indie feels and can't help but root for him.
I really felt the pain of Sheldon, Raj, Howard and Leonard when Amy ruined it for all of us in this episode of The Big Bang Theory.
I'm yet to forgive my namesake for doing this to us all, but I still love The Big Bang Theory
The giant boulder in the opening scene of Raiders serves to remind us that we are all running from our own giant boulders. We all carry heavy stones around that hold us back, these are the limiting beliefs that we have about ourselves. The things we tell ourselves, or have been told by others, we 'can't do'. The more we and others tell us we can't do it, the more we believe it. We've been carrying our limiting beliefs around with us, often since a painful memory in childhood, so moving it aside in one step is a daunting challenge. Break the task down into smaller parts, chip away at that boulder or edge around it slowly and carefully by setting small goals and stretching your comfort zone:
Beliefs are a powerful tool for both positive and negative. We tell ourselves we can't do something and we believe it, the same is true if we tell ourselves what we can do. Positive affirmations are a great way to remind us that we can do things. Try telling yourself some of these instead:
If I'm confused about it, that means I'm about to learn something
I can't change the past but I can make my own future
There is always a way around an obstacle (Tweet this)
Whatever decision I make, the important part is to make a decision so things can be different
Celebrate small victories and take pleasure in little things
Assume makes an ASS of U and ME
What other people think of me is none of my business
What I do today is a the only way I can change tomorrow(Tweet this)
However bad it gets, there is always someone worse off than me
Creative energy flows through me and I need to share it
We also hold ourselves back by aiming for perfection.
No matter how many small goals we set ourselves, it will never be perfect because perfection is a fallacy. There is no such thing as perfection. It's an unrealistic and unattainable goal so why set it for ourselves?
Everything we ever do can only be 'good enough' - and that's OK. If someone had told Indiana Jones that his intervention in
saving the ark from the Nazi's would make no difference to the eventual
outcome, would it have stopped him from going anyway? If he believed
that he wasn't able to make a difference right from the start, it would
make him a very different person (and it would have been a boring
movie!). We all live our lives in a narrative in which we are the central character. If your life were a movie, you'd want it to be a good one. Face the booby traps, go after the golden idol, save the girl, save the world - You'll be a better person for it and your movie will be worth watching.
Is there one thing you can do today to challenge your limiting beliefs?
Entrepreneur = [ahn-truh-pruh-nur, -noo r] A person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk. Author = [aw-ther] A person who writes a novel, poem, essay, etc.; the composer of a literary work, as distinguished from a compiler, translator, editor, or copyist.
Author + Entrepreneur = Authorpreneur
How Authorpreneurial are you? Take the Quiz to find out...
How do you define an entrepreneur?
According to Thesaurus.com alternative words
are; Adventurer, businessperson, charlatan, daredevil, fortune-hunter, gambler,
executive, founder, impresario, industrialist, manager, organiser… Are you any of those things? Are you an author with a business in you bursting to get out? What makes someone entrepreneurial? (Tweet this) Here are 10 attributes of an entrepreneur:
Creativity
Attitude to risk
Financial Acumen
Business Awareness
Management skills
Organised
Disciplined
Adaptability
Positivity
Energy
and determination
Have a go at the quiz to find out how entrepreneurial you
are, be honest, there are no right or wrong answers: 1.Creativity: Do you come up with new ideas: a) Rarely b) Often c) All the time 2.Attitude to Risk: Would you give up a
stable job to spend time on a new idea? a) Not unless I was sure b) I don’t care about money, so yes c) If I was confident in it, yes 3.Financial Acumen: Which statement is most like you - I am good with money: a) No, my finances are really disorganised b) Money is not important to me c) Yes, I am organised and have a system in place 4.Business awareness: I am interested in
business and economics:
a) I don’t know much about it b) Sometimes c) Yes, I like to be well informed 5.Management skills: When I manage myself: a) I tend to procrastinate b) I try to do it all myself c) I'm not afraid to ask for help 6.Organised: Which statement is most like you: a) I’m always so busy I find it hard to get organised b) I enjoy finding new ways to be more organised and efficient c) I am methodical and systematic and like to set boundaries 7.Disciplined: Which statement is most like you: a) I’m great at starting projects but rubbish at completing them b) I leave everything to the last minute c) I like to see something through to completion 8.Adaptability: Which statement is most like you: a) I’m not sure what I’m good at and I’m scared of failing if I try something new b) I’m not really sure what I’m good at but I’m happy to have a go c) I know what I’m good at and I’m not afraid to ask for help 9.Positivity: Most of the time I tend to be: a) Cautiously pessimistic b) Optimistic c) Cautiously optimistic 10.Energy
and determination: Most of the time I tend to: a) View change with suspicion b) Change my mind c) See change as an opportunity Now count the A's, B's and C's and add them up:
A = 1 B = 2 C = 3
If you scored between 10 - 16
You're a Scribbler You love to write and have probably had some good feedback from friends and family. You are considering putting your work out there, perhaps through self publishing or by starting a blog, or you may have tried this but have not had much response.You are on social media because you think you should be but don't really get it.Writing is currently a hobby but you are starting to ask yourself if you can make a career from it. Actions:
Are there any writers groups in your area? Go to some meetings and get some feedback, tips and critiques from other writers to help improve your craft and boost your confidence.
Are there any literary festivals or events you could visit? Go and mingle and meet some like minded people. This is a great way to grow your network and improve your craft.
Go on writing courses to improve your skills
Check local listings for any Social Media talks or workshops and learn more from people who do it well. www.Eventbrite.co.ukis a good place to start. Don't be afraid to experiment and explore different social media platforms, but focus on getting good at 1 or 2 to start with (Facebook and Twitter are the most obvious)
If you scored between 17 - 23 You're a Dabbler You love to write and have already published some work which is starting to sell. You're pretty good on social media but still learning and experimenting with different platforms.You're doing lots of research, reading lots of tips and advice blogs to ground yourself better in the world of writing. Actions:
Time to start behaving in a a more business like way. Look for any local business start up courses and get involved. Build a business and marketing plan for your author business.
Look for opportunities to network in the small business community by going to business events and making connections.
Get more organised with your social media. Have a plan and a regular presence by making use of tools to monitor your platforms and schedule regular content, ie: Hootesuite
Have the confidence to go to more prestigious literary events and mingle with experienced writers. You've published, you've sold your work, be proud of that, you deserve to be there as much as they do, don't be intimidated. Be bold, read some work and be at the forefront of events, or perhaps organise your own.
If you scored between 24 - 30 You're a Wrangler You love to write and have had consistent book sales for some time now. You're thinking like an entrepreneur and taking your career as a writer seriously. People are starting to know who you are and you are embedded into your local literary community.You have a business plan for your book and marketing plans that you are implementing and updating regularly to keep the momentum up - They're written down, working documents.You're active on social media with a big crowd of followers and fans, great analytics and high Klout scores.You are always on the look out for new and innovative ways to build on your writer platform but there is always more to learn. Actions:
Keep writing. Build on what you have and keep your readers coming back for more.
Stay active and engaging on Social Media.
You have a lot of expertise you could share. Use it to share content on blogs, through guest posts, articles or do task and training sessions for aspiring writers and entrepreneurs.
Keep that business plan up to scratch and stay focused. Make time for forward planning and marketing so the business is sustainable and build a budget into your plans to spend on marketing and promotion activities.
Tell us what you scored and what you plan to do next...
One of the great joys of being a writer is making up new people. We get to play God in the low risk environment of our imaginations and in the process, learn more about ourselves. My favouite computer game is The Sims (I'm still on Sims 2 and already there's a Sims 4) where I get to be an all powerful deity controlling the life and death of my virtual people. As a writer, I'm doing the same thing in my books.
Create some characters, put them together in a situation, poke them and see what happens.
There's a simple formula that defines a story:
Characters + Conflict = Story
We throw in all sorts of other juicy ingredients to create the layers of flavour needed to keep a reader salivating, but essentially this is what it boils down to.
Every story needs characters, but how do you conjure up new people?
Observation: Observing and understanding other people is crucial to develop believable characters. I'm a fan of people watching, watching strangers going about their lives and creating a story for them based on how they look, behave, dress and speak.
People we know: There's a myth that writers base their characters on real people. Sometimes this works, but more often than not we draw inspiration from different aspects of the personalities of the people we know, consciously or otherwise, and create new combinations of features and traits.
Research: It's not necessary to be a qualified psychologist to create characters but researching psychology, behaviours, academic studies, personality tests etc. can provide inspiration and help writers to coax realistic emotional responses from our characters when we put them in different situations.
Learn from other fiction: Film, TV, Books, Theatre - other fictional characters can have a real impact on our lives. Have you ever cried when a character has died?
I love adventure fiction; a bit of action, a bit of history. That's what I enjoy writing and I'm sure that this developed in me at a young age from the experiences I had as a child.
My favorite movies when I was growing up that influenced this were: Indiana Jones films (I was in love with Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford was my first crush)
The Goonies
Labyrinth
When developing characters, there's a simple process used by anyone teaching the subject and I've added my own take on it.
One of the best known personality profiling tools is the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator test. This profiling tool categorises people broadly into 16 personality types. If you're not familiar with it, this is a great Wikipedia explanation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers%E2%80%93Briggs_Type_Indicator
Use the personality typing questions in this image to determine the personality type of your main characters.
In my Sheridan and Blake Adventure Series I have done this for Tom Sheridan and Sasha Blake
Tom Sheridan: ISTJ (Introvert, Sensing, Thinking, Judging) He's reserved, a strategist, he struggles to show his emotions, prefers to observe than be the centre of attention - his specialty is hiding in plain sight. He's a logical thinker, loyal, likes to have a plan and scrutinize the details, Sasha calls him 'calculating'.
Sasha Blake: ENTP (Extrovert, Intuition, Thinking, Perceiving) She's impulsive, argumentative and likes to think out loud. She likes to imagine and consider different possibilities but then pin them down logically, make decisions and solve puzzles. She's spontaneous and fickle but in many ways, despite projecting outward confidence, verging on self righteousness, she is quite insecure and fears commitment.
Once I've made some decisions about the type of person my characters are and what they look like, I find images of actors who could play them in a movie. I collect the images on a Pinterset board, pinning images of the actors in different poses and situations. It helps me to hear tone of voice, imagine and picture scenes.
Here's my Pinterest board for my latest book, Gabriel's Game
