Building Your Vocabulary Using Colour

(Thank you for navigating to my author blog from Instagram.)

Learning the Colour of Things

I’m once again talking about another chapter in Sage Cohen’s book “Fierce on the Page” where she discusses learning the name of things, in a chapter called, “Learn the Name of Things.”

https://youtu.be/oDW8zg4aLaQ

A rose is a rose is a rose…

I purposely chose the featured image to be a subtle image of off-white and beige colours to show you how a writer can use very descriptive colour names to describe what they are seeing. For example, a writer could use these names: white, pearl, alabaster, cream, egg shell, chiffon, linen, and rice to describe the image featured.

When you build your palette of colours, you will see the world with different eyes. A leaf will no longer just be “green”, a leaf will be shades of emerald and forest green. You will now notice a dirt road covered with mud of burnt umber, red clay, and desert sand. The sky will change from cornflower blue in the morning to Atlantis blue in late afternoon.

Choose your colour wisely…

The more you layer colour into your descriptions, the more fun you’ll have. Next time you go into a hardware or paint store, grab some of those coloured strips and add some new colours to your vocabulary. Each month, pick a new set to learn.

I hope you enjoyed this video. If you like what you’re seeing, comment below, navigate to my author site (click on the button) and subscribe to support me, or just keep coming back. I’d love to know what you think or feel.

Namaste,
CC

P.S. Follow my Instagram account at https://www.instagram.com/ccsullivan_writer/ or check out my author website at http://ccsullivan.me/

To check out Sage Cohen’s book Fierce on the Page, you’ll find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Fierce-Page-Become-Writer-Succeed/dp/1599639939

Flower: Image by photosforyou from Pixabay

Tracks: Image by Martin Winkler from Pixabay

March 16, 2019March 16, 2019

JOURNALING & WRITING⁣

Why do we resist journaling?

We constantly write reminders for ourselves. Send texts, emails, keep notes, and jot down ideas. But I’ll bet a lot of us own journals that remain blank. Yet we buy them with all the right intentions.⁣

Why do I leave mine empty? I ask myself.

I’ve paid for those journals and they look so attractive. I just don’t want to ruin them. —Now, that’s messed up.⁣

Am I afraid of what will come out if I write about it?

It’s possible. But your journals are for you only, so what are you worried about? (If you are worried about other eyes reading, I’d suggest getting a lock box. Anything else and this becomes an entirely different blog subject.)

So, let’s list the five reasons why journaling is a wonderful ritual for everyone.

# 1 — You’ll create a deeper connection to yourself, your mind, your emotional life.
⁣ .⁣
# 2 — You’ll rediscover your own mind and opinions.
⁣ .⁣
# 3 — You’ll become more aware of recurring ideas or thoughts.
⁣ .⁣
# 4 — You’ll find solutions to unresolved problems or issues.⁣
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# 5 — You’ll open up the doorway to creativity and inspiration.

Buy yourself a journal and start journaling.

The journal can be expensive, utilitarian, or one you get at the dollar store.

I had so much trouble writing in those beautifully-designed lined books, I bought a dollar store journal—the kind with that recyclable brown paper. Now, I have no problem with writing all over the pages because I’m not worried about what it looks like. Strange, but it worked for me.
⁣⁣
Begin the ritual of journaling. Once a month, then once a week, every other day, and then on a daily basis. Set the timer (on your phone). Write for five minutes at first, then 10 minutes, then 20, and so forth. Don’t stop your pen from moving, and don’t worry about what you’re writing. Just write.

At least try it.

If you begin with journaling first thing in the morning, it allows you to clear your mind for the rest of the day. If you do it at night, it releases the tensions of the day. Try both and see what works best for you. Obviously, if lunchtime or a break is the only time, then that’s when you’ll do your journaling.

Do you write in a journal?

If you do, let me know how it helps you.⁣

Namaste,
CC

PS – I love journals, so I designed and published my own tarot journal called Your Personal Tarot Journal: An Intuitive Journey. People love it and are using it faithfully each day.

Journaling and writing — ©CC Sullivan, 2019

Featured Photos from royalty free sites:
@pixabay
@pexels
@unsplash⁣
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#writerslife #write #writing #igwriters #writerscommunity #womenwhowrite #AmWriting #Creativity #IndieAuthor #WIP #WriteChat #WriteGoal #WriteMotivation #WriteTip #WritersLife #WritingBlitz #writer #amwriting #lovewriting #writinglife #SelfPub #WritingAdvice #ilovewriting #authorlife #writerscorner #journal #journaling

February 13, 2019February 16, 2019

Book Marketing and Promotion 101: The Organic Method

Beginner Steps in Book Marketing and Promotion.

So, here I am, starting from scratch. Again.

I uploaded my novel, Masters of the Elements: Resonance, the first in the Paragon series, at the end of November as an ebook, and then later in December, as a paperback. And began thinking about marketing my book.

Fast forward. Here I am in February after numerous delays, all completely legit (no excuses here), but I’m only starting now to market my book.

Only… I am not so savvy in this department. In fact, A real novice. I have been doing some research, and more research, and it has become overwhelming. Find Readers; Get reviews; Build an e-mail list; Sell, sell, sell! And I froze. Mainly because I don’t want to bombard my social media lists with advertisements about my book. Over and over again. It makes me uncomfortable to do that.

The (Writing) Fool

Now, some of you may (or may not) know that I am also interested in Tarot and Astrology. I even have a book (Journal) printed called A Personal Tarot Journal: An Intuitive Journey. But I’ll leave that one for another post. In any case, I pulled a card at the beginning of last week, and it was The Fool.

Now, one of the most meaningful interpretations for The Fool is to find a mentor, someone who has already done the work to guide you where you feel you might just “leap off that precipice feeling happy, happy, happy, but not knowing what the hell you’re doing.”

Hey Everyone! Here’s my new book!

I left a post or comment or two on one of my social media threads. And EJ Runyon, my developmental editor, caught sight of it and left me a message.

— If you need a session on how to learn book marketing and promotion for your novel, let me know and we’ll do a session.

— Really? You do that too?

— Yes!

So, after my numerous distractions and delays, I set up a Skype appointment with EJ Runyon, and let me tell you, she dragged (not literally of course) me back to the starting line and gave me the pointers I needed. I suddenly feel less overwhelmed.

Lagging behind in book marketing and promotion.

Yes, I am lagging behind a little (no, horribly), but I have decided to go with the flow. I know there are certain steps which I missed, such as the proper way to do Pre-order Promotions, the Release Announcement, the Press Release, and the list goes on. But I’m not Stephenie Meyer or M.L. Stedman… yet.

When I am less of a novice and more knowledgeable in Book Marketing and Promotion, I will NOT miss those steps. Mark my word.

Training and writing.

In the meantime, I’m doing my training using my first book (It’s been my Learning Baby from the get-go.) And I am currently writing the second in the series!

Book Marketing and Promotion — step by step.

Now, I’m ready to start the marketing and promotion of my book. Step by step, following EJ Runyon’s tips and techniques to growing your following with the organic method. Connect with her, she’ll be happy to set up a learning session with you!

On your mark. Ready. Set. GO!

Living an extraordinary life,
CC Sullivan

July 17, 2018

The Sounds of Excavation

excavators-51665_1280

Digging, grinding, shovelling, moving earth, grumbling machinery, vibrations. Loud, loud, loudness outside my window.

If I listen to music to drown it out, I will only be doing that. I cannot work with music. So I must continue on with my current list of things to do with the noise outside.

…

Now, back to my writing:

It’s exciting, gruelling, hair-pulling, exhilarating, mind-numbing, and, yes, I could go on with this list of opposing emotional reactions I’m experiencing as I go through the last stage of my novel merry-go-round.

carousel-1513955_1280

I am doing the “last” comb through of sentence structure, spelling, word usage, repetitions, sticky sentences, and grammar points. I use ProWritingAid for this process. It helps to point out all the hidden things that have escaped my eye while going through the last round of edits (with my bare naked eye), and the changes suggested by my developmental editor, EJ Runyon.

By this, I mean, I am still in the process… and it’s a process. And I’m sure to still miss some things. Yes, I’m certain of that.

But I honestly can’t wait till it’s done! As much as I love writing and get a high off it. This part really sucks and is every expletive adjective and adverb I can think of. I’m officially done with this.

Now that I’ve got that off my chest, I can go back to it. I’ve taken enough of a break from it the last couple of days.

Where are you in your writing journey?

Living my extraordinary life,
Cece <3

(Excavation by PeterDargatz from pixabay.com)

#writer #writer’s-life #writing #editing #pro-writing-aid #grammar

June 13, 2018

Mosquito Nightmares

Writing Journal Entry #2

I’m on holiday this week, from Paradise. It actually exists folks! Some of you know the attached photo from my other page, but it actually is what I’m looking at when working away in the mornings on my writing project.

But back to the nightmares for a minute. My better half does not get bitten by mosquitoes (it’s the gin), but I do. So he walks in and out, leaves windows open, lives a normal life. I wish I could. I walk around, paranoid. But, you see, they love me—with a vengeance. And that vengeance takes place at night when I’m unaware. The bitches. So, even though it’s gorgeous and a personal paradise called Home, it’s my own personal nightmare at night.

Now, back to this week’s goal (exercise). It’s called Moving and Trimming. My developmental editor, EJ Runyon (https://www.facebook.com/groups/172786866842998/), has gone through my novel, and is helping me to make my bottom heavy, info dump become more spread out throughout the story.

It’s a bit of a nightmare (for me), perhaps it was for her too. But, the exercise is to attack them bit by bit, one by one. Killing each info dump like it’s a mosquito. I’m good at that, and I have no remorse whatsoever. Not one bit.

But I have to remember to keep the balance. I can’t kill all of them and suddenly find out that some of the info was still needed. Just like mosquitoes (really?) But… dragonflies feed on them, and it’s my logo, so… I let some of those bitches get away. BUT my story survives, and that’s the point.

The trick is to move the words first, then trim. Don’t trim first then move because that’s when you might lose that bit that’s really important to move your story forward.

Have a wonderful writing day, folks!
<3 CC

#nightmares #vengeance #novel #goal #goals #moving #trimming #developmental editor #info dump #dragonflies #dragonfly #writing #writer #story #novel

August 23, 2014

Fruitflesh… and Setting The Mood

Fruitflesh: Seeds of Inspiration for Women Who Write by Gayle Brandeis. I’ve had this book for a while on my shelf and so I grab it (finally) and open it up. I’ve spent the last few months working, writing, living, and not writing this blog. So I figured I’d come back to my blog today… with a fresh start.

The first entry of Fruitflesh just happens to be my favourite so far. I hope the author will not mind me posting this entry. I find it extremely inspiring.

Page 13: Fruitflesh Meditation: Mango

Hold a mango in your hand, Notice how solid it feels, rooted firmly in its own skin. The flesh inside is incredibly sexy—moist and slick, saturated with shades of sunset and intense, ambrosial flavor. The mango is wild but centred, its seed supportive as a spine.

Slice off a wedge of mango. Bend the fruit back, like a neck arched in pleasure. Explore the sweet flesh with your tongue, your teeth. Devour the fruit until your whole face is slippery with its juice.

Let your writing be like this feast—bold, sensual, unapologetic. Enter into it fully, with your whole body, without hesitation.

Gayle Brandeis

Beautiful. Simply beautiful. Whenever I read this first passage, I want to dive into writing the way I would dive into eating this fruit. Messy, dripping, sticky, sweet. There’s no stopping to wipe my fingers because the next bite just saturates my fingers all over again. There’s no point. I have to go through from start to finish enjoying the process without stopping. By the end, there’s a gooey mess all over my hands and face. And when it comes to the end, I feel that same disappointment as when I have to stop writing. Real life. And, with the fruit, the process of cleaning up the mess.

I’m back.

February 16, 2014

Writing 1000 Words a Day… and the Daily Goal of Nothing (Lately)

Writing on my novel has not been happening very well lately. I have been in a limbo mode the past couple of weeks and I’m not sure whether it is because I’m avoiding writing my book or trying to get some writing done in other capacities. I think it’s the avoiding one. And, it’s not because I don’t have any inspiration because I do — plenty of it.

I normally do the daily goal of writing 1,000 words a day — or at least using that as my benchmark. If I only get a 100 words in, I am actually happy that I got something down. It takes very little to please me obviously (haha.)

I’m not quite sure whether these days it’s because I’m a little burned out, work is getting in the way, or have some form of ADD and want to do a million things at once while not doing anything at all.

It is frustrating and I feel like I’m on the edge of ‘something.’ Is that ‘something’ the abyss or a major breakthrough?

I hope I snap out of it because the “Finish My Novel Goal” for my second novel (and third) is the end of July. I best get cracking as we are already halfway there or so it feels.

May 28, 2013

Where’s the Emotion? Adding heart-rending scenes at strategic points in your story…

http://writersinthestorm.wordpress.com/2013/05/27/writerstrong-getting-fresh-emotion-on-the-page/ — by Laura Drake

Here’s another article that you should keep under your belt when you’re writing. Keep in mind those emotions that usually grip us at — what could seem — strategic moments in our daily lives making our own stories an interesting roller-coaster ride in themselves. Try to remember some of those key moments in your life and put them to paper to use in your stories to keep emotions real and alive.

I love these kinds of articles that jog your mind. My reaction is always, “Wow. I was so busy writing my story that I forgot that using emotion is crucial to any story.” Readers either want to relive emotions they have felt before or want to experience emotions they would hope never to have to go through and live vicariously through another so that they can get that understanding without hurting themselves.

In short, a reader wants to lose themselves in some other story! Anger, sadness, frustration, elation, love, apathy, fear — they want to feel all of those things through your characters.

It’s a another part of show, don’t tell — let your readers feel, don’t tell them how they should be feeling.

Well, folks, I’m off to write some notes and must remember to do this in my own writing.

G’day, CC

May 25, 2013

What’s the Visual? Adding Power To Your Writing.

What’s the Visual? Adding Power To Your Writing..

Here is another very good article by Margie Lawson on adding descriptive power to your writing. These are the kind of articles to keep in your repository to remind you that writing is a powerful vehicle that can be used to enter the reader’s mind.

Show, don’t tell.

May 19, 2013

Burble (bûrbl)

Word of the Week

Burble. I like the way this word sounds – like a babbling brook. It is a word you read or write down but not necessarily a word you would use in every day language. It’s a combination of gurgle and bubble, and sounds like a phonetic description of the sound that comes out when someone is excited and bubbling over with words. When you read this word, you have to stop and enjoy the sound it makes in your mind. There are some words that do that to me, and this is definitely one of them!

— Go to http://www.thefreedictionary.com/burble for the full definition.

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Tag: writing