Well, before I get started, I must say, weebly certainly has been off. I KNOW I posted more than the title on my last blog but it did NOT publish it!  Once again, another glitch.  Could it be the scrub and pop up stoppers or the site?  Who knows but I apologize! I edit and correct and I publish and that too doesn't show!  What's up with that, I have no idea!  I updated my Mac operating system...I totally dislike it!  However I don't want to get started on how Mac is selling out!  Onward to more interesting topics!

I am now Wwoofing on Salt Spring Island again. I was here in the summer, at the peak season and now I am here in Sept/Oct and what a difference in the market.  As locals will tell you, Salt Spring is definitely more busy in winter season now than before but for those who sell to tourists, no one is complaining to much.  Much like so many other changes that have happened on this and the other Gulf Islands here off BC, folks are all an mis-mash and some very cool and aware people.  There is a sensibility here about the importance of diversity and change and being involved that was always lacking in my dear Nova Scotia. People complain a good deal there, but unlike here, they don't do anything!  If you walk around the main town of Ganges here on Salt Spring you will notice, there are no Mac Donald's of Wendies or other fast food restaurants... ( I did hear from a local there was a Dairy Queen for awhile but locals would go and it eventually gave up!).

So while in Nova Scotia where many orchards full of a huge varieties of apple trees have been cut and burned so that a few major varieties can produce only, here on Salt Spring everyone takes pride in the fact there are over 300 varieties of apples here!

I think the struggling farmers are not to blame for such a sacrilege to apples, they were just working at the whole concept of supply and demand. If that is what sort of apples people want, then why should they flog apples no one appreciates anyhow?  It is such a shame really, but as I found out a long time ago, the different varieties exist because they cater not only to a diversity of taste buds when you chomp down on it, they also work better for different purposes which was the point for local settlers who came to Nova Scotia.  

Here in Salt Spring, folks understand why some apples are red inside, they make the best coloured jams and jellies and have higher pectin so they gel better, while others taste bitter until you cook then and then they shine or other apples resist certain threats like scabs and warts and some insects because of their skin. 

I know my Nova Scotian grandmothers knew what apples worked for what purpose and sometimes trees were grafted to get some on an existing tree, while other times apples were trimmed carefully and cultivated until what was wanted was produced. It is all part of the history of apples.

Yesterday I attended the Salt Spring Apple Festival.  I was there to sketch people (mainly children - great fun and a great way to practice!  You have to make every mark count when you're drawing a squirming child!  Not to mention how it sharpens and keeps your visual memory up to date).  Since I was there for the day, I had a chance to chat with a lot of vendors and long standing farmers.  I even had a chance to chat with two apple experts which was interesting. I learned so much!  I will share more about the sacred apple next blog. Have to go help build a chicken run shelter now!

For the fun of it I signed up for this webinar on writing and making money.  Of course I know it is more about the one who created the webinar making money but up until it costs, I don't mind usually investing a little time in it.

Well, what is it with this whole notion of writer's block? The very first thing you were supposed to do is tell how you procrastinate and have writer's block!  What the hell?!?!  I went to a writing workshop, same thing, lets all focus on how we NOT write! I walked out!  I don't need that sort of programming.  If you get what you focus on, why on earth would I want to focus on this?

There are a zillion books on the market dating back to the sixties on "deliberate creating".  Dear Seth speaks is a good example and later came along Ester and Abraham, Dyer, The Secret, E squared, etc.
They all basically say the Same thing: WHAT YOU FOCUS ON YOU GET!

I remember saying to a friend once, "I can't tell if I am depressed or just bore and tired."  Athletes will say the same thing when they are interviewed before the big event when asked how they feel...they all say they are pumped or excited...non of them say they are anxious!  Really, they are very similar feelings and how you cope with them will depend on how you label them!  That is how our human brains work.

So when someone says I am procrastinating, I say I am "composting", why they say I am avoiding, I say I am preparing, when they say I am not disciplined, I say I am following my natural rhythms!  Seeing where I am going with this? 

So I never use words like "block or blocked", I simply feel I am in the flow and working on finding my next inspiration!  

Have you ever knew something you were going to do was going to be difficult, that a lot could go wrong and that it would take a certain mental fortitude?  Well, isn't all creating like this?  I know from experience when I approach a painting, if I am ready to do it, it will flow out of me however if I am pushing myself it will just be one headache after another.  I have often wondered if we create our own problems to support our belief today isn't the day to be doing this, or if simply we just don't have enough mental energy to pull it off?

I know when I am in "the zone" and really on my mark, I do my best work.  It is one of the reasons I NEVER walk away from a painting or piece of writing without having resolved an issue. I want to make sure coming back to it is a pleasure and not a pain!  Only way to do that sometimes is to quit while your ahead. If I know the next step is going to require more energy than I have at the moment, I know it is a good time to walk away!

I think writing blocks are like that.  Every writer, like every painter has a "process", a time or period prior to work that they have to work through to get themselves where they need to be.  It isn't a block, or a problem, it is just part of the whole experience of writing.

When I go to a workshop or join a group and the first thing they address is "writer's block" I know it is not the place for me.  My ability to think and create is fine thank you and I don't need that sort of trip laid on me.  Who does?

So, if you write, and you are not feeling inspired, don't sit staring at a blank computer screen, go out and lower your stress level and enjoy life, that is the best inspiration you are going to find.  You would not be even thinking about having writer's block if you were not already motivated enough to make a start.  Perhaps it is just not the right time!  Do research, clean you keyboard, have a coffee with a friend, or whatever however don't go beating yourself up or labelling what is all part of the creative process!

And this can be applied to anything!  Lighten up, you don't need the cortisol!  Go play and create some endorphins!  Enjoy life!

POD means Print On Demand.  Just as it suggests, when a person wants a book, they order it, and then it is printed.  It means there is no out of pocket expenses.  And it is NOT a vanity press where you pay for so many of your book to be printed.  This is the latest way to do it and for me, it is by far, the most fun!

I admit it, I can be a control freak! At least when it comes to my creations! I learned a long time ago, that sometimes another's vision, even if they are a so called "professional" can be limiting for me. When I do everything myself, I have this satisfaction of not only having full control, but also being about to take full blame.  No chance of becoming the victim of someone else's stupidity!

Sure, may be a total flop and that is ok.  If so, it will be MY flop!  Not someone else's. I can live with that! lol!

Of course, people still get picked up by publishers and get their books put into the print the old fashioned way.  There have been many changes since the internet and POD has come on the scene.  Now a days, most publishers want you to have an agent to start with, AND they also want to see you have a following. They want to be sure there is little risk involved for them!

All fine and dandy for them however they also take almost all of the profit! If you write and don't have any other skills then getting yourself picked up by such publishers is fine, but the odds are great, and I for one, don't intend to waste my time waiting around hoping my work gets noticed!

And yes, I have come sooo close so many times!  Gone all the way up to final decision and then got rejected after having it tied up for MONTHS.  So long in fact, I had forgotten I had even submitted it!

Plus it isn't just the manuscript, it is the query letter.  Getting the first person's attention who sees your submission is just the beginning but it is important!  Like resumes, with so many submissions, any little mistakes at all, and you are out!  Screw it, I will just do it myself!

So with this in mind, I have had to make a lot of decisions such as who to go with for printing and distributing, what stores do I want it in, and so on.  So much with taxes and such I am still learning but I am getting there!

And among these decisions has also been about the registered name or not.  You see, this name can be attached to your ISBN number so when it is picked up by a book store, etc, it will give you publishing and not personal pen name.  

So what difference does it make?  Well, many people do think, if you are not picked up by a publisher, your work will be inferior. There is still a bias out there and by having a publisher name and logo for your spine, it takes longer for the average reader to figure out whether your POD or not!  This is a good thing I think!

Besides, I like designing things and having fun with them! If I am going to draw my own illustrations in the book and design the cover and my own branding, why not my logo and publishing name also? In for a penny, in for a pound!

It is a personal preference whether you register a business name or not. I chose to.  Next blog I will tell you more about the reasoning for the name and fun things about the logo!

I just happened to look at my last blog on here and saw only HALF of it went online! I am finding more and more, the internet is not always your friend!

On the upside, I have been able to get in touch with woofing hosts and house sitting jobs all over the world.  Makes me wonder what people did BEFORE there was an internet.

So much has happened so quickly that it is mind boggling how easily as a species we can adapt to something as not only life altering but reality altering as the internet is! Sometimes it is hard to imagine anymore pounding away on a little old Royal typewriter or writing text over and over because you couldn't just high light and paste!

In school, the entire process of doing research and writing papers is also changing. These days I know that very few students even know what plagiarism is!  They think that if it is online it is all open to be copied and pasted, and with all the law suits flying around with google and Facebook and the outcomes there, who is to say they are wrong? Intellectual property seems to be a thing of the past, almost non existent! It is harder and harder to know if ANYTHING you put out there on line can actually remain your own. I am beginning to think not!

When I was young, I was highly critical of my paintings and some I would throw in the trash.  Someone would fish it out and frame it. This upset me a great deal.  Then someone else pointed out to me, once I brought something into the material world that others could see, it no longer was simply mine anymore, and I think it can be said of what goes on line also.

So in a way, the fact that my blog post looked totally different half posted then it did in it's entirety is not far from the painting pulled out of the trash and hung on a wall.I think it is a case now, of finger's crossed and hoping there are now internet interruptions and that the emoji's are accurate and folks can actually interpret properly what I am trying to communicate.

Perhaps, as one person I heard recently on the radio said, now, writing is even more common place than it was in the past!  The formality of it is not the same level, but the need for it certainly is there!

I wonder if one day, we will end up like the Biblical story of the Tower of Babel, or will reach a point where communication will be far more effective.  Only time will tell however in the meantime, I do hope this site doesn't end up with any more glitches...and yes, I do check for typos!