Tag: On Work

On moving toward money, and meaning.

One Great Blog

From my “For Writers, By Writers” Series I bow deeply to pro-bloggers who keep the art of blogging closest to its journaling roots. My favorite pro-blogger is the erasible “Pioneer Woman,” Ree Drummond. Here are the five reasons why “Pioneer Woman” swallows entire mornings. 1. Personal. It’s the way that blogs are intended. Ree slathers…

More Stuff Than I Could Ever Need

I told Colin last night that if I ever, actually, cracked, the cause would be: STUFF. People — namely me and the those concerned with me — spend a ridiculous amount of time fussing over THINGS. I’ll define the limitations of what I am referring to herewith: Stuff: Anything not attached to your naked body,…

Charisma Will Get You… Somewhere

“Lenny” walked into my classroom today with NOTHING in his hands. “Bye Lenny. Go get yours books, paper, a pen.” On a scale from 1 to 10, I adore Lenny, at like a 9.2. He is charming, funny, he pays attention. He has that “It” factor as a human being that exudes from his pores.…

Double Digits – My growing mailing list!

Growth is exciting! Today I saw my mailing list subscriber list number hit double digits! I know others have no idea, but you TOO can receive A Small State right to your email box… along with my newsletter, special deals on my Demand Poetry, and links to my guests posts. I bow in thanks again…

What Makes Me Come Alive

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” –Howard Thurman Today my two friends, Karin and Marcy, both told me I should be WORKING WITH TEENAGERS. “You know how to talk to them.” “They seem to really…

pay attention: a river of stones – Now on Sale!

I was thrilled that Fiona Robyn and Kaspalita selected one of my small stones to be published in their beautiful anthology… and here it is! pay attention: a river of stones is available is three formats: a stunning collectible hardcover (of course, I willsign your copy for you!); lusciously affordable paperback; and easy-peasy, ultra-portable, great-for-the-subway…

To Ask for Help, or Go It Alone

Here’s my quandry and I’d love some feedback I feel like I work better with a partner: the home business thing is not only intimidating, it is like a labyrinth of learning. I write— that’s my main gig. But I know I can develop a business that would provide fantastic creative products that allow people…

On Rivers of Stone

Tomorrow I start teaching again which would normally make me feel as though I am lost to free time for a few months. But, I love teaching. And I love my tutoring job, and I love the time I spend with my students and colleagues on campus, where, for the few peanuts tossed to me,…

3 Questions for Scoutie Girl

When I met Tara Gentile virtually, I was like: Oh Shit. Here goes. I’m probably going to make a fool of myself, drooling. Generosity is one of the keys to the success of blogger, business innovator, and creativity guru Tara Gentile. It’s all over everything she does. In fact, she has made a full-time business of…

The Company We Keep

Last week I received THREE emails in one day from friends and writers I had wanted to post here as guests. The first I put up yesterday: a raw, painful post called “Airline Food” by Zen Buddhist priest and author Karen Maezen Miller. Read it, if you dare. Tomorrow you will have access to the exclusive…

Blogging Tip: Serving the Meaning

As a writing specialist, I occasionally  tear my hair out reading bad blog posts. More often I just read and tweet about good ones though, because I’ve stopped reading the poorly written ones by the second sentence. But then I eventually write a “make your blog posts better” tip. Here’s one: Don’t ramble. A lot…

Beyond Avoidance: The Other 4.8

#reverb10 Prompt: Beyond avoidance. “What should you have done this year but didn’t because you were too scared, worried, unsure, busy or otherwise deterred from doing?” I should have revised the novel I wrote instead of chickening out and just taking a teaching job. Because I got positive feedback from agents on it. Because I…

“Why I’m Too Scared to Blog”

A Guest Post in Which New Haven Graphic Designer Jessica Ferguson Reveals Her “Blog Problem” “Most people are just afraid of putting pencil to paper.” That’s how one of my favorite art teachers started his “Introduction to Drawing” course. “When you’re a kid, you don’t care – you’ll draw anything on any surface you can…

Dancing with Time

Today’s #reverb10 prompt wants to know what I have come to appreciate most this year and how do I express my gratitude for it. (Thanks Victoria Klein). One word: TIME. With my new dedication to my work, along with my family additions, time has compressed itself into carefully negotiated nuggets. On weekends, when Colin and…

To Be of Use: Beyond Making Do

Here’s a tandem response today: integrating #Reverb10’s Day 13 prompt on “Action,” asking  “What’s your next step?” with my dovetailed thoughts to Tara’s question posed to us: “Why do you make?” (I am going to put aside for now the fact that when I nannied in 1989, the family used the word “make” as euphemism…