The willingness to put in the work will determine how great you will
become at your craft.
Mark’s Writing Motto #8
Writing Consistently
My Happy Place
When I write,
I’m in my happy place
A place where I’m returning to
the most purest spot in my soul
Everyday I always return
to the place where the best things are
I may not be the most
talented, creative or eloquent writer
but my passion
to get my words out onto paper
just makes
my love for this craft
stronger
Writing elevates
my mind, body and soul
It takes me to another level
of complete joy
I’m able to go to a place
where I create things
not only with my words
but with
my heart,
my soul,
my true inner voice.
Mark’s Writing Motto #3
Words come to paper easy when you bare your soul.
Mark’s Writing Motto #2
To be a good writer, you must be a keen observer and an active listener.
Mark’s Writing Motto
“A true writer does not make excuses for not taking the time to write.”
“The Art of Writing” in Six Words
“Creatively painting our thoughts with words.”
The Worst Thing About Writing
Whether it be professional, recreational or therapeutic, being a writer can be the most exhilarating craft of all. You get to expound your thoughts, ideas, dreams or fantasy onto paper for all the world to see. You’re essentially the master of your realm; your creativity knows no bounds. The inner voice inside of you takes over and the words you use to display your soul shines through. It’s the best thing ever.
However, the one dreaded thing about writing is when you hit a dry spell. At some point we run out of ideas or struggle to think of something to talk about. It can be one of the most frustrating things to experience. You’d think that as a writer, you’d have a plethora of golden nuggets to pick and choose from. Sadly, that’s not the case.
We wrack our brains trying to come up with something fresh, something new, the next exciting thing that only you could have dreamt up. Alas that’s not the case. We sit and stare at a blank screen; typing a word or sentence that is soon deleted a couple of seconds later. It either sounded too ridiculous or something that was not quite our true thoughts.
We look high and low for new inspirations or turn to a friend or family member to be our muse. Sometimes we hit gold and other times we crap out. But the greatest thing about getting writer’s block is that, we as writers will continue to search for that next thing that excites us into crafting our thoughts into the words of our soul.
Writers are an eccentric and eclectic bunch that have a “Never give up” mentality. That’s why we continue to do what we do. It’s a love that can never be extinguished. So the next time you have writer’s block, just remember that there are others out there staring a blank screen just like you. We are writers, united in thought…united in passion.
Liebster Award
I am truly honored and appreciative of the fact that I was nominated for the Liebster Award by Haylee. I had stumbled across her log one day and was pleasantly surprised by her posts…most especially her poems. They are simple, profound and touch on life experiences that we all encountered at some point in our lives. If you get the chance, check out her site: stumblingaboutourworld.wordpress.com
You’ll be pleasantly surprised as I was.
Questions from stumblingaboutourworld:
1. What is the most extreme thing that I’ve done?
When I was in college, I hiked along the entire ridge of Diamond Head. Which I’m glad I did because now they do not permit anyone to do so because of the dangerous conditions.
2. Out of all the places I visited, which did I like the most?
I really like Hawaii (also known as the “Big Island”) . I got the opportunity to see an active volcano, walk on solid lava, got to go to the top of Mauna Kea, experienced the black sand beach as well as the green sand beach and saw many historical Hawaiian sites.
3. What is on of my favorite memories?
The birth of my daughter Chloe and my son Conor. It truly was an experience that surpasses anything and everything that I encountered or will encounter.
4. Why did I decide to start my blog?
It was on the advice of my literary manager but in the end it was my passion for writing and sharing my inner voice for the world to see.
5. What is my favorite book or book series?
“Writing Movies For Fun And Profit or How We Made A Billion Dollars at the Box Office and You Can, Too!” by Robert Ben Garant & Thomas Lennon
6. Do I have a post (one of my own) that you favor over others?
The one that I liked best was a post called “Our Special Gift” :
midlifemaniacalme.me/?s=our+special+gift
7. If I could go anywhere in the world and take one person, who would it be and why?
I would go and see Japan with my wife because she is my everything – the love of my life, my best friend, the foundation of our family, strong, smart and a fighter.
8. If I were given $500 today, what would I do with it and why?
If given a $500 today, I would spend it on a dinner for my parents because of all they’ve done for me. They’ve taught me the values of life, helped shaped the person into who I am today.
9. What inspires me to write?
It’s just a passion that I’ve had for the past 27 years. The joy I get from writing anything totally frees me and lets my inner voice be heard and shared with both strangers and all of my blogging colleagues.
10. What is my opinion on the advancement of technology?
I think that it’s great. A lot of what we do and see whether it be writing, seeing something is all instantaneous. It’s truly convenient.
Nominees:
I had a hard time trying to determine what blogs I was going to nominate because I follow so many great ones. The ones that particularly stuck out were the ones that touched me, inspired me, made me laugh and provoke thought. These blogs are written by the people who provide encouraging words and have the gift of prose. They really don’t need my help in sending people their way because so many people have found them already. But on the off chance you haven’t stumbled across them, please check them out..you won’t be disappointed.
Questions For The Blogs That I Nominate:
- What made you decide to start a blog?
- Which one of your own posts do you like the best and why?
- What inspires you to write?
- What have you learned from following other blogs?
- How has blogging affected your life?
- When do you like to do your writing – day or night?
- How do you decide on what blog you want to follow?
- Has your blogging experience been so far?
- Who is your biggest influence in your craft of writing?
- Would you recommend blogging to your family and friends?
Rules for Nominees:
- Thank the person who nominated you, and put a link to their blog on your blog. Try to include a little promotion for the person who nominated you. They will thank you for it and those who you nominate will also help you out as well.
- Display the award on your blog — by including it in your post and/or displaying it using a “widget” or a “gadget”. (Note that the best way to do this is to save the image to your own computer and then upload it to your blog post.) At the bottom of this post, I’ve included a whole lot of images you can use for your 2017 Liebster Award.
- For the 2017 Liebster Award, I will be shaking things up! Write a 150-300 word post about your favourite blog that is not your own. Explain why you like the blog, provide links.
- Provide 10 random facts about yourself. (This year I’m making this optional. If you wish to engage with your readers it’s a great idea to include random facts about you.)
- Nominate 5 – 11 blogs that you feel deserve the award. (Note that you can always ask the blog owner this since not all blogs display a widget that lets the readers know this information!)
- List these rules in your post (You can copy and paste from here or simply link to this post.) Once you have written and published it, you then have to:
- Inform the people/blogs that you nominated that they have been nominated for the Liebster award and provide a link for them to your post or mine if you don’t have all the information so that they can learn about it (they might not have ever heard of it!) (info)
Writing Haikus
Writing is a gift
Your words convey true feelings
Inspire everyone
Your stories bring hope
Share them with everyone now
Invigorate dreams
Writing’s a journey
Embrace the path everyday
Always love your craft
Where To Find That Fountain Of Endless Ideas
I know I’ve broached the subject on what to blog or not blog before, but I just can’t seem to let it go. So please forgive me if I sound like a broken record.
Being a writer, I’ve always made it a point to write often and consistently; it’s the only way that we as writers get better at our craft. When I’m writing a screenplay, I just seem to have an endless supply of ideas…a flash flood of thoughts just inundate my brain and there is no barrier to quell it. But that’s a good problem to have in that instance.
In the case of my blog site though, I tend to hit a road block week after week. You’d think that after two years of having this site I’d be a pro by now, but that isn’t the case. I’m one of the unfortunate ones that just doesn’t have a niche.
I hate to say this but I’m quite envious (more like jealous) of the blog sites that I follow. They all seem to have found their “voice” and are excelling at making their site exceptionally well thought out. Their writing is intriguing and holds me emotionally; I actually become invested into what they have to say.
Day after day, week after week, their vast array of topics are fresh, interesting and sometimes unconventional; it’s like they have an unlimited amount of ideas to choose from at their disposal. Sigh…I wish that I could be like them…they’re my idols.
For me to come up with a topic on my blog site is somewhat excruciating. I never really know what I’m going to write until the day before, and even then it’s not the best of topics sometimes.
You might say, “Then why do you have to write something every week? Why don’t you write once a month? Or why don’t you write when you have something relevant to say?”
I can answer all those questions in one simple answer – I’m a writer…plain and simple. I have to write on a consistent basis to get better at my craft. I’m not the most eloquent, artistic, humorous or intelligent of writers but I love what I do nonetheless. 
This sense of freedom; getting into a Zen-like state where you pen “heart” to paper and let it loose upon the internet masses. This is what I enjoy the most.
So I guess I’ll never crack this dilemma of the conception for new weekly blog ideas. Maybe that’s good thing, who knows. All I know is that I’m still here sitting at my desk…writing…because “I am a writer.”
Midlife, Maniacal & Me 