Behold the Subconscious Mind

It's odd the things that will come out in your dreams.  Even more so when you seldom remember your dreams.  I've found that when I'm locked deep in a creative process that keeps me up late at night (like writing or revising a novel, for instance) I tend to have very intense dreams.  Probably because I'm not getting as much sleep, and I wake up in mid-REM sleep which bumps up the recall factor. 

Sometimes I even dream inside the plotline or fictional world I'm building, which sounds like it would be cool, but actually screws up my writing process quite a lot---because it saps my creative energy even before I've had a chance to wake up. (I wonder if cognitive psychologists have ever done any studies on this phenomenon.)

Anyhoo, I'm currently in the process of revising a novel and prepping to write its sequel, which means the creativity centers of my brain are buzzing, big-time. And for the past two nights I've had very vivid dreams that involved two of my sleaziest ex-boyfriends.  Both cheated on me and lied about it, one had a secret drug habit (he was a doctor, which made the drug habit doubly bad----in a second ironic twist he was also a chain-smoker). The other one stalked me for years after I dumped him for cheating---trying to track me down from across the country for hookups and booty calls even after he'd MARRIED (yep) the skank he was cheating on me with. I had to change my phone number and email address multiple times to shut that dude down.  (He's a lawyer for the insurance industry. Draw your own conclusions.)

You'd think that vivid dreams about creepy exes would be creepy themselves, but no.  In both cases these dudes blamed me for their bad behavior in real life (i.e., I either drove them to it by being an inadequate girlfriend, or I wasn't classy enough for their standards, or as a creative artist I was too "loopy," ad nauseum). But in my dream world these guys actually showed up on my doorstep to tell me how impressed they were with how my life had turned out without them, and how beautiful my children were, et cetera.  And they didn't try to hit on me or pick me up for old flames' sake, either. (At least, not that I remember).  It doesn't take a Ph.D in psychology to analyze the symbolism in those dreams, but I gotta wonder what part of my subconscious got pinged to bring all of this up, and why. Since I write New Adult fiction maybe I've tapped into my early twentysomething self (which was when I was dating these guys) somehow and that's what stirred the proverbial sand in the hourglass.

In any case, it seemed like a cool thing to mention. People are always asking me about my writing process, and truth be told there is so much about it I don't understand.  A lot of my work just arises from the primordial goo, as it were. I don't know why or how---it just is. 

For my next post, I'll talk about how a lot of my best writing ideas come to me in the shower.

Peace.

A sample of things to come. . .

I just finished writing a set of guest blog posts for one of my upcoming blog tours.  Here's a snippet of one called "Inside the Mind of a Writer." To read the whole thing, you'll have to follow my tours! Stay tuned here for more deets.

Okay, so this computer is TOO FREAKING SLOW. I really need to look into buying a new one. What kind of processor do I need? Okay, so now it’s finally going.  Let’s check email. HOLY FREAKING COW, WHY do I have 87 messages already!  I just logged off a few hours ago, pulling an all-nighter. Oh great, and almost all of it is spam. Typical.  Okay, so let’s clear that out.  I need to pull up Google Calendar to see what’s on the plate today. Wow, THREE INTERVIEWS!  Sheesh, and one is with that kooky guy from Missouri who’s cancelled three times already.  I’ll do my best not to talk to him too long. Right. Where are my interview questions again? Oh, here they are. And note to self: you need to research what social-media crowdsourcing is for that article that’s due next week. And go to the library to get the book about the thingey you can’t remember right now---whatsit?  Go to Wikipedia for a minute, look it up. Oh yeah, THAT thing. Jot it down. Good girl.

 

Peace.

Blog Tours, et. al.

I've been neglecting the blog for too long, alas----between journalism deadlines, chasing two kids, running a household, and writing/promoting my novels, there just isn't enough time in the day. But I promise to do better.  I have a bigger readership now and it grows every day---and those readers are clamoring to find out what makes me tick as a writer.  To make a long story short, it's pretty much the same thing that drives everyone else to do their job---gotta pay the bills, folks.

Maybe that's too simplistic.  I don't do this just for the money.  (Though you'll never hear me complain about getting paid to do what I love).  My brain is hardwired to create.  I've been writing stories and plays since I was five years old.  It's just who I am. If I'm not writing, I'm miserable.  More than that---I even start to feel ill.  Then again, sometimes the business of writing is stressful, frustrating, emotionally draining, not to mention a never-ending battle for recognition. The French author Jules Renard said, "Writing is an occupation in which you have to keep proving your talent to people who have none."

I only wish I had more hours in the day to write.  Especially when it comes to maintaining my blog.  When I'm engrossed in writing an article or a book, one part of me is dying to share that creative process with the rest of the world. But I have to tread carefully, because with so many competing demands I can't risk wasting precious time or creative energy on non-professional (i.e., non-paying) assignments.  This blog is deeply personal, and I don't get paid to write it.  Priorities, folks.

But I'm launching a series of blog tours promoting my three current New Adult titles this month, and I'll need to do a better job of engaging with the new readers those tours will bring me.  So starting today, I pledge to write at least one blog entry per day, just for you---my precious readers.  No slacking, I promise.  I can't guarantee it will always be interesting, but it will always be honest.

In the meantime, check out my blog tours. The current one is hosted by Reading Addiction Book Tours in support of TEMPLAND. There'll be reviews, excerpts, guest posts, and interviews, along with giveaways of a free Kindle and a $25.00 Amazon gift card.  Click on the below banner to follow the tour.  You can enter the Rafflecopter giveaway at any of the tour stops, or below.



Click this link for a Rafflecopter giveaway

Peace.

A Conundrum

The grand conundrum of the working professional parent. You work to make money. You pay for child care so you can work to make money. You have more than one kid, which doubles or even triples your child care costs, yet renders you unable to work as much so you end up doubly behind in your quest to make money. This is what rotated through my brain today as I set up private-school tuition accounts t...hat will come due while I am also paying for full-time summer camp daycare, swimming lessons and a part-time nanny for baby. And my workload is less than what I had before baby (by choice, since I can't keep up with what I was doing before.) I could raid my investment portfolio, but the capital gains taxes would make it a wash.

Long story short, I'm buying a lotto ticket tomorrow.

 

Peace.

Sorry I haven't written. . .

I've been neglecting my blog of late because my limited writing time needs to be for work I get paid for. Hoping to restart soon. Meanwhile, dear readers, post here about what you want to see more of. I'm unmoderating comments for a limited time.

Post.

Neuropathy

Here's something very cool I read the other night in one of the several books I'm currently reading. Apparently neurological studies have found that the "spark" you often get in the beginning with romantic partners who end up being totally wrong for you is because they reinforce the neural pathways associated with childhood dysfunction. In order to break out of those patterns, you have to carve new pathways via new behavior, which hurts in the short run but bis eneficial in the long run. Sort of like working out.

This is what I thought about during the whole Tae Bo DVD last night. No pain, no gain.

Peace.

A koan

I'm reading some more of my favorite Zen master, Thich Nhat Hanh. Last night, I was perusing his book NO DEATH, NO FEAR, and stumbled upon an old favorite Zen koan of mine that illustrates how nonviolence is the best way to defend yourself. Paraphrasing:

An infamous warlord scourged the land, wreaking havoc wherever he went. He came to the Zen monastery and banged on the door, his armies behind him, demanding all its food and wealth and threatening to burn it to the ground. Instead of cowering in fear, the Zen master opened the door and came out and greeted the warlord warmly.

The warlord was flabbergasted. "Don't you know who I am?" he sputtered to the master. "I can take this sword of mine and run you through and think nothing of it."

The master smiled. "Don't you know who _I_ am? You can run your sword through me and I will think nothing of it."

Peace.