Minot, ND. Nov. 22.
As Fall gracefully bids adieu to her audience of admirers, Winter storms the stage. And I mean storms the stage—with a grand blizzard of an entrance, dropping two feet of snow on Bismarck, North Dakota. Winter is here, my friends. Ready or not.
Okay, technically, we still have a couple of weeks until the Solstice. However, this time of year, I always find myself turning inward for some deep self-reflection. This is a natural sort of shift in human behavior. I don’t have any studies to cite, but my yoga teacher said so, and I believe her. The days are colder and shorter. It’s natural to do a sort of hibernation, both physically and emotionally.
One thing I’ve been reflecting on is my website and blog, and my habits surrounding them. I’ve known for a long time that I need to focus my effort on my books. Working full time, I have to be careful with how I spend my extra time. The thinner I spread myself, the less I’ll get done.
I’ve always wanted to maintain a weekly blog. I’ve wanted to write inspirational posts that would draw in new readers. But the truth is I can’t maintain that. It would take valuable time away from my book writing.
With all my inward reflection, I’ve made some decisions about my blog. Basically, moving forward, my goal is a once-per-month newsletter style blog. Also my goal: to make it a very inspirational newsletter! This is the first in that series. Enjoy!
Book Updates and Things
1.) New Book Cover! “The Author and The Illustrator” got a make over just in time for Christmas! I am in love with the new cover. There is a long list of reasons for why I changed the cover. Basically, I talked myself into liking the first one. I shouldn’t have done that. But I put money into it and some people told me they liked it, so I went with it.
The newly update cover is now available on Amazon.
Lesson Learned: Go with your gut! Don’t be like me. Don’t go against your intuition. If it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it. Even if you invested time and money. If it’s not right, it’s not right!
2.) NaNoWriMo = NaNo NoGo. I tried. I got stressed. I gave up. Writing a book in one month is not for me.
3.) The Unwritten and The King. Current word count 4,500. December goal 8k words.
Lesson Learned: Just because it works for some does not mean it works for everyone! Find your own jam/groove/rhythm.
4.) Website updates coming soon. I just want to make my website prettier to highlight my book better. Also, see above.
Lesson Learned: Always put your best self out into the world. But the key is YOUR best self.
Get inspired. Stay inspired. Create more.
📖Book-spired. Current read. Little Women.
Inspiring quote: “I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.”
Follow me on Goodreads to see what I’m reading next!
🍜Food-spired. Eat well, create well. Carrot-Ginger Soup.
So amazingly fresh. It was the lemon for me. I’ve had carrot soup before and it was meh. But the lemon in this recipe gave it such a zing! It was perfect for a start-to-winter detox.
🧘♀️Yoga-spired. 15 minute sequence to get the creative juices flowing.
- Spend 5 minutes doing some deep breathing and imagining a bright white light growing from your heart and expanding to the rest of your body.
OR Spend 5 minutes doing some deep breathing and practice my “Waterfall” meditation from my book “25 Imaginative Meditations to Spark Creativity.” - Cat/Cow (10 rounds)
- Kneeling Twist (Three breaths, each side)
- Downward Dog (Three breaths)
- Repeat steps 2-5 two more times.
✍️Write Something. Writing prompt! You follow a bright white light that seems to move through a cave. Where does it lead?
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Shawnee Randolph 