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Book Pages: Beautiful Hand Calligraphy

I remember doing a unit on calligraphy in my middle school art class. My mom took me to the store to buy an extra-special set of calligraphy pens because of my fervent interest in this particular art unit. Besides wanting to be an actress, ranch worker, artist, writer, singer-songwriter, fashion designer, beach bum and naturalist, I also wanted to be a professional calligrapher at one point. I even collected all the necessary tools and scavenged this seconhand calligraphy book:

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Check out these rad typeface techniques. These would be perfect for art journals or scrapbooks.

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Beautiful spiralling calligraphy:
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Have you ever tried calligraphy before? It’s an enchanting art form. You can add another dimension of visual beauty to your handmade greeting cards or handwritten wedding invitations. This triple-tip technique looks reminiscent of manuscripts from the 18th century or something.

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And here is my own attempt at an ancient typeface. This sheet was tucked inside the book and probably written by the little 7th grade version of me. I can hardly believe that I could pull this off at age 12.

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Immediately upon seeing this practice page, something reignited inside of me. I just love the aesthetic of calligraphic letters. I think a part of me has always wanted to combine art and writing in some meaningful way. Well, ta-da!

The Book and its Cover

I’ve learned a lot of things about myself from reading. Authors have an inexplicable gift for putting seemingly unimportant circumstances into words that make them sound profound and forming crisp ideas in the mind of the reader.

Reading material also has the tendency to trigger new ideas in me. From reading, or sometimes accidentally reading things wrong, I’ve come up with ideas for writing. Small nuances, gestures, explanations or observations begin a cycle of thought that’s all my own. It might be a memory trigger, an emerging pattern, or a way of looking at something from an unexpected angle.

I have also learned a great deal about myself from books. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance brought me out of an all-encompassing funk when I was a teenager. I had an inferiority complex and was extremely self-conscious, to say the least. I couldn’t understand why people generally dismissed me, come to find out I was projecting an image of, to be frank, worthlessness. The main character was told that he came off as harsh and conceited when he didn’t participate in conversation, even though he was really the shy, contemplative, watch-from-the-sidelines type. This sort of revelation, as simple as it sounds, had a profound effect on my life. It’s those sagacious passages that have the ability to trigger momentous ah-ha moments just when we need them most.

This idea can also be applied to your outer appearance, your visible binding and covers. When you wear frumpy clothes, throw your hair into a bun, bite off your nails and fail to remove accumulated lint from your garments, you come off as someone who doesn’t care. People instantly read this cover, no matter how much you think they won’t. I’m not saying your worth is found in how you look, but the care you take with yourself tells people something about you before they have a chance to peel back the layers.

This is why they tell you that to be a good writer, you need to read; to be a good conversationalist, you need to read; to understand the world, you need to read; to take a break from your life, you need to read. There are so many reasons to read, but nearly none more important than mining your own identity and understanding your existence in this fine world.

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Eat Like a Kid

In one of my college writing classes, we read a narrative by Terry Tempest Williams about a boy sitting next to his mother peeling potatoes. The narrative was only one paragraph yet so exquisitely written. We were instructed to write our own narrative involving a poignant food memory. I still have mine:

My mother taught me how to eat grapefruit in our living room one balmy summer evening. She instructed me to cut the large fruit in half between the two ends so there were perfect triangular pockets to scoop from. She even let me use a special spoon with a serrated edge to scrape out the fleshy pulp. She laughed at my persistent efforts, swiping a blush across her brightening face, even though her stomach was always tied with anxiety from the pervasive stress of piling bills. She handed me sugar to sprinkle over the half I held in my sticky, dripping hand. Her face was beaming as I took a spoonful of the bitter fruit, sweetened to enjoyment by a simple touch of sugar. 

Coming across this again inspired me to start thinking about the way we approach food in our homes and how eating like a kid could really be healthy.

1. Make your best memories revolve around healthy food. Wouldn’t it be great if our kids had predispositions to eat berries because the family always went berry picking in the summer? Or cucumbers because they nurtured them from seed? Or veggie skewers because that’s what you always served at family picnics? Or spinach because that’s what turned their “Zombie” smoothies green? I’m so glad my memory revolved around a grapefruit and not a Snickers Bar. I admit, we occasionally ate Oreos by the row, but if you can make an equally poignant memory revolve around healthy food instead of junk food, then by all means try it!

2. Turn away your head when you’re full. Something happens between our first bites of food around 6 months of age and adulthood. We stop taking cues from our bodies somewhere along the way. Feeding an 8-month-old is easy. You just feed them until they turn away their heads. As we get older, we fight those natural signals and stuff ourselves until we’re uncomfortable. Stop eating when you feel sufficiently full or when you know you’ve eaten enough.

3. Make food fun. Did your mom ever plant “trees” (broccoli) on a hill (of mashed potatoes) for you? Did your dad ever drive your spoon around like it was a train headed for the depot (your mouth)? Food was fun when you were a kid. I encourage you to make food fun again! Make it a point to try a new food or healthy recipe each week. Toy around with the colors, textures, spices, pairings and presentation. Cut fruit out with cookie cutters. Lick the spoon. Become familiar with the playground. Food should not be your enemy, it should be your plaything.

4. Don’t think about food while you’re playing. When you’re not eating, don’t obsess or worry about food. You’ve never seen a child in the throes of a playground wondering if dinner will come soon enough. Let yourself get carried away with non-food activities. Believe me, when you’re busy with an involved project, you won’t be thinking about the Girl Scout cookies calling you from the cupboard. Don’t allow thoughts about food to control you. You get to control your thoughts!

5. Eat slow. Your toddler isn’t allowed to leave the table until he’s cleared his plates, and that usually comes about a half-hour after everyone else is finished. We may practice better manners as we get older, but we surely forget how to eat as mindfully as a child. Slow down. Taste, I mean really taste, every bite. Chew it. Put your fork down. Look away from that screen. And take a cue from Junior.

Writing Tip: Keep a Word Collection

When I was a young girl, I think my mom suggested each of us girls should start “collecting” something. I got into teddy bears for awhile, then baseball cards. Those collections have long been donated or passed on, but I still keep my prism collection in the kitchen window. Today, I would say I have a special affinity toward collecting books, pretty things made out of glass, fitness DVDs, pretty fabrics and vintage ephemera.

But there’s one collection that I hadn’t really noticed before: Word Collections. I guess, being a writer, it just comes naturally to pay strong attention to words and descriptions. I will often read and re-read really captivating or thoughtful descriptions, hoping maybe I’ll remember the sentiment again someday. While reading magazines on the treadmill, my subconscious is always pointing out great word phrases that I could use at work. See, I like to write them on subscription cards from my fitness magazines…

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Words that resonate with me (you have to understand the word nerdy-ness of a writer) are noted in my writing journal.

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Sometimes they return again in a poem. Sometimes they’re just there to trigger a thought. Sometimes they help me to explain things better. Oh yeah, maybe it helps build a better vocabulary too.

I started another word list in the notebook journal I carry around everywhere. Mostly these are “nice” words that I like to think about on an inspirational vintage book page:

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This last one is my word collection from work. It helps me with product descriptions and such. I have a whole section dedicated to “color” descriptions and phrases that mean “fast.” I have over 90 of those. Haha!

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I can’t always keep this many words in my head at one time. It helps to record them, especially when I hit a block. 

So my advice to other blog writers, and writers in general, is to keep a running list of word inspiration like this. I really think it helps your words stay fresh. Otherwise, just meditate on pretty words like “composure” when you’re stressed out.

De-cluttering Old Schoolwork

I went in the attic to locate a buried research paper example for my husband. He has to write a 10 to 12-pager by the end of the semester and doesn’t even know what one looks like. Well, being an English major, I had 10 to 15-pagers aplenty. So I went on a search to find one that I could easily explain to him. A paper deconstructing literature would’ve been much too difficult to break down for him.

I found the paper I was looking for quite easily and then I tried to pry something…anything…out of the box and into the garbage. After all, I know I will never return to those notes or those posters or any of it really. I paged through one notebook and thought about it in the garbage and immediately returned it to the box. I just.can’t.do.it. Short of someone coming in with a pry bar, I cannot let these papers go. The time invested. The real raw blood, sweat and tears. Those four whole gruelling years of full-time school and full-time work to put myself through college. It feels like trying to amputate my own limb.

I marveled at the way I could write. I mean, I know I can write, but sometimes I forget exactly how keen my intellect can be amidst piles of research and analysis. I’ll admit, looking through the papers calms my inferiority complex a bit. Especially coming across all the letters and stickers I got for being on the Dean’s list almost every semester. I don’t mean to boast, because most of the time I’m pretty hard on myself, but sometimes those gentle reminders of our talents and abilities really do give us a boost.

Then, I think about my kids coming across my old papers one day. I came across old papers from my mom’s elementary school days and I was completely enamored. Seeing her handwriting and her grades and imagining her in cute red polyester jumpsuits sitting at her Catholic school desk was just too sweet to miss. I wondered if somehow I time-traveled and ended up in her same class, if we would instantly be best friends. Wanting to immerse myself in that sentiment, I even swiped one of her rad retro leftover folders.

Being the writer that I am, the back page of every one of my notebook was littered with my word graffiti. Story ideas were born there. Poems originated in the margins. My favorite words were recorded there. The beauty of being a harried student and full-time worker is that the best ideas are born out of the overwhelming chaos. My muse materializes during bouts of over-scheduling and information overload. I built a lot of my best work off of those scribbled-up “back pages.”

A friend and I just had a conversation about decluttering old school papers. She just did it with a shrug of the shoulder and her head turned the other way. I told her that I really tried to channel her in my own purge attempt, but it totally failed. I’m convinced that pieces of my identity are tucked inside the folds in there. It’s only one box anyway. It’s not like Hoarders territory or anything. I’ll think I’ll keep them just a little longer.

Is there anything that you still cling to? Your favorite dolly from childhood (oops, I’m guilty of this one too), your collection of Tonka trucks or pen pal letters?

Current Obsessions

Every once in awhile I become completely obsessive over someone or something. The objects of my obsession all relate to my deepest passions in life in one way or another. I love studying people who are doing exactly what I want to be doing or things that trip my heart a little. Here are some of my recent and past obsessions:

1. Sylvia Plath: her intelligence, way with words, and desire to follow her writing dreams. I don’t like to delve too deep into the dark side, but I think her writing is genius. I’m a little bit of a nerd when it comes to reading scholarly articles that analyze her works, just don’t tell anyone.

2. JK Rowling: her background story is riveting. Her keen intelligence and humbleness makes her oh-so-likable. The way her ingenious, detail-driven mind works is astounding. I love how protective she is of her own creation too. She will never sell out to anything that doesn’t completely match her vision. I never hear ego when I hear her speak, I just hear a passion for her creation.

3. Creative, playful, self-driven girls making their own ways in the world like Ginny, Amy, Elsie and Rachel. I have to go back and read earlier posts just to soak up as much as I can. I find that when I steep myself in all their charm, beauty and creativity, it jumpstarts the inspiration in my own life. A big thanks!

4. Zee Avi music: my soul does a happy little skip when her voice comes on my Pandora channel.

5. I somehow can’t soak up enough podcasts about thinkers, ideas, literature, big dreams, fitness, and weird science. I will be a student until the day I die.

6. Diana Vreeland: I can’t help it, but I’m hooked. I read her biography, researched her life and fell in love. Yes, there’s the arrogance, but she has no apologies for it. I just think it’s riveting how she pretty much inspired fashion in her time. She didn’t just track fashion trends in Vogue, she actually dictated fashion to the world. She knew exactly what she wanted and never wavered even a smidgen. I got stuck on Jackie O for the same reason–she had vision. I like that.

7. Mad Men: A friend and I started watching the series at the same time just because we thought it looked neat. “Looked neat” is such an understatement, no? The clothes, the interior design, the juicy plots, the inside look at the advertising world (I’m a copywriter, I can’t help it). I’m in a love/hate relationship with the moodiness, but it’s better than frothiness if you ask me.

8. Christian Hedonism: I’m reading Desiring God by John Piper (bless him!). I want to lap up every last drop. Who knew Christians were really supposed to be that happy? My spirit is growing from having a solemn attitude (which has its place in certain contexts) about faith to a downright giddy one. It’s exciting!

9. Oprah’s LifeClass: I’m not going to be trite and gush about how Oprah has changed my life, but you have to respect the woman for her self-built empire and unprecedented gallery of information. That said, I’m finding the LifeClass immensely groundbreaking for curating a life built upon my deepest, most pure potential. Even some of those listed above have been creative, lifestyle role models and have helped me realize some key things about myself and what I want to accomplish.

What to do with an English Major

The most unjust thing a college counselor can say, with brows furrowed, to an English major is: “So what are you going to do with an English major?” You can either become a teacher or a starving poet. That’s what everyone thinks. Even the most trusted, well-meaning adult authority figures in your life will nudge you toward something “more lucrative.” You’ll get annoyed by the dollar signs in their eyes. Don’t they understand that words and literature give your life meaning, thrill you to the soul, and push blood through your very heart?

I’m here to tell you to go for it! There are ways to go about a career with an English major in the right way. If reading, writing, analyzing words or editing give you a rush, don’t ignore that. After all, the most fulfilling concept you can practice is: Feed your hopes, not your fears. Here is a list of lucrative and exciting careers that having an English degree can prepare you for:

1. Internal Communications
2. Public Relations
3. Social Media Marketing
4. Product Copywriter (that’s me!)
5. Advertising Copywriter
6. Freelance Writer
7. Journalist
8. Editor
9. If you’re as lucky and strategic as some, you could make money as a blog writer.
10. Resume Writer/Consultant
11. News Writer
12. Technical Writer
13. Magazine Article Writer (on almost any subject, might I add: food, travel, fashion, sports, fitness…)
14. Magazine Editor
15. Author (fiction, non-fiction, adults, children, young adults…chick lit? Oh yes!)
16. Grant Writer
17. Screenwriter
18. Speech Writer
19. Songwriter
20. Proofreader
21. E-book or E-course writer
22. Website Content Writer

There are so many more that I’m missing and so many careers outside of reading, writing and editing. Check out this list of famous people with English majors to see how they’re using them. Some of these careers take a long time to infiltrate, building a portfolio, making connections and such. But just take a look at the jobs being posted on sites like MediaBistro and freelancewritinggigs.com if you’re feeling discouraged.

Good communication skills are a dying, yet highly valued art form. Good writing is also one of those skills that translates well to every single business and even to the the digital world. It will not die with technological advances. In fact, technological advances have actually opened up whole new opportunities for writers, including SEO content, social media marketing and brand writing.

A lot of writers defect into the business world, but you can always pen and submit your personal essays and poems on the side. I myself have several poems and a short story in print. One that even provided some pocket money.

An English degree? Lucrative it is!

My New American Dream

I entered an essay-writing contest put on by Rent.com recently called the New American Dream Contest. It was a 250-word-or-less contest describing what the new American dream is, which is far-removed from the Gatsby-esque picket fences and 2-1/2 kids of yore. The first bout of judging was a “popularity contest” type of judging where you have to send all your friends and family to the site to vote for you (blech!). The second round was judged by a panel of third-party professionals. I was notified that I made it to the top 25 and then heard nothing more.

This might sound crazy, but I was already dreaming of the winning vacation and researching the motel. However, I think my entry got lost. Long story short, my essay does NOT show up in the top 25 (which I’m totally miffed about) and I’ve been trying to contact both Rent.com and their third-party consultants to figure out what went awry. I’m a bit disheartened, but I’ll live:) *wink*

Anyhow, I just thought I would share my entry:

My American Dream is to be able to go to bed at night without worrying about foundations failing in rainy weather or roofs leaking into moldy messes. To be surrounded by the people and things that make my heart sing. To have the resources to be able to do something that profoundly improves the life of someone else. To be able to give of my time, heart, and wealth generously. To feel relatively safe from intrusion while I’m sleeping at night. To be able to occasionally gather with a kindhearted group of friends and warm their bellies. To have a second child without fears of bankruptcy or crippling lifelong debt. To have a happy family without sacrificing time on multiple side jobs or donating body parts to survive. To enjoy cleanliness and safety throughout our home. To enjoy a cup of tea without worrying about the effects of the cost per tea bag on my family’s overall well being. To constantly be intellectually stimulated through travel and educational opportunities. To have a small stash of cash in the bank for that feeling of security. To be able to hear the words “middle class” and not hear the derogatory underlying suggestions of struggle and lack. And most of all, to one day stand in front of my family, the group of people that I had a hand in creating, and be able to relish in all their accomplishments and valuable contributions to the world.

Writing Announcement

I have an announcement to make concerning an essay I entered into the Rent.com New American Dream essay contest: I am in the top 25! Round one consisted of a “popularity contest” where you had to get your friends to vote for your essay. They had to sign up for the site in order to do so, so I’m sure I missed some votes just because of that. I was sure that I wouldn’t make it through just based on the “vote for me” criteria. But, out of 488 entries, I indeed made it past the first stage!

Now, I’m in the top 25 for a chance at $10,000, a Caribbean trip, or a Visa gift card. There are 7 prizes total, giving me a 28% chance of winning at least something. Yes, I totally did the math. This round will be judged by a panel of expert judges based on creativity, clarity, and such. And not to sound conceited in any form of the word, but I read some of the other entries and I’m not sure others took the “essay” part of the contest very seriously. I’ve got a good shot here!

My biggest hope is to win, not so much for the prizes involved (although I’ll probably faint with excitement and gladly take a trip to the ocean or mortgage lender’s office), but for the accolades winning would give me for my writing career. Sweet!

I’ll keep you posted.

You Know You’re A Writer When…

You Know You’re A Writer When:

1. There are scraps of computer paper with scribbling littering your desk and stuck out of your purse, lunch bag and jacket pocket. True story. I just looked over at my “stuff” and there are writing ideas nesting in every available cranny.

2. You can barely talk to people without translating the subject of your conversation into potential blog posts, magazine articles, headlines, columns, marketing angles, etc. I’m sorry, I really am listening. In fact, I hope you feel honored that our talks are so interesting that they’d make great topic pieces.

3. You can barely go about your daily functions without translating your own habits and thoughts into potential blog posts, magazine articles… It’s not that our egos think our lives are so very interesting. Really, it’s not. It’s that we think we can connect to other people by admitting to our own weird quirks. Hey, there’s got to be someone else out there who can’t sleep at night until they can figure out where they’ve seen that funky spatula with the smiling face cut out of the center before.

4. Unconsciously, you begin “fixing” other people’s writing, emails and resumes in your head. I mean seriously, don’t you think you could come up with something better than “operated heavy machinery?” And “drive-thru” is just wrong. Again, this is not an indication of our arrogance or anything, just that our minds are trained that way.