The Beach Writer 1:40 pm on September 5, 2018

Found on the beach: a book and a page

I haven’t been writing much about the beach lately, partly because I haven’t been to the beach much lately. There are many reasons for that. But the best one is that I’ve finished my book and it’s available now for preorder from Amazon!

Please check it out:

In other news, I’ve started a patreon page. In the coming weeks I’ll be moving this blog, and my Parkinson’s blog, over to my patreon. But don’t worry, you’ll still be able to read them without charge. My blog posts will always remain public. I just need to consolidate my online website management as much as possible so I have time to write more. Patreon offers me the opportunity to blog and also provide behind the scenes access to readers who are interested. I will dual post beach blogs here and on my patreon through the end of this year to ease the transition for occasional followers.

Please check out my patreon page for more information, and future Beach Writer blog posts:

http://www.patreon.com/gwenowen

The Beach Writer 11:11 am on February 27, 2014
Tags: Creativity ( 22 ), Hanna Beach ( 10 ), writer ( 29 ), Writing ( 54 )

It’s About Writing

As you may have noticed, some changes have been made around here since the first of the year. In addition to giving the site a makeover, I’ve streamlined the categories for my blog posts and added a new page, About Writing.

Let’s tackle those blog changes first. Most blog posts are now placed into at least one of three main categories–Creative Nature, Writing Words, and Content Characteristics.

Creative Nature posts are about the cyclical nature of chronic creativity. What does a creative life look, smell, or sound like? These are the topics of posts in the creative nature section. And if it’s my beach posts you love, you’ll find them in this category.

Writing Words contains posts about tips and tricks of the trade, issues in the writing world, and general How To information about many kinds of writing. Posts in this section focus on the writing process, from idea to draft, through revision, and then to the final form.

The Content Characteristics category is for posts about the product rather than the process–developing content, reworking, reusing, and repurposing content, content marketing, writing project management, and organizing, compiling, designing, and managing documentation systems, collections, and manuals/books. I haven’t posted any blogs for this category yet but I’ve got one in the queue and more to follow.

Previous blog entries have been reclassified into the new categories. If more than one category applies to a post it will be found in each appropriate category. Posts that don’t fit into any of those, such as housekeeping and announcement posts like this one, will remain uncategorized.

The new About Writing page is designed to provide access to not just blog posts but also longer articles, white papers/case studies, and eventually courses and ebooks about writing. I’m in the process of revamping my course materials from my writing instructor days into ecourses and webinars. When completed, they’ll be added. I’ve launched the page with a variety of articles and the quick access links to blog post categories. As more content is added I’ll post brief announcements.

Now about that makeover. I’m going for cleaner, more direct, and easier to navigate and find what you want to read. The Beach Writer site is for all kinds of writers and creatives, as well as people looking for someone who can do their writing for them. That’s a lot to ask of one website so please let me know where you think I’m succeeding and where I should try again.

Finally, a large, sun-drenched, sand-covered THANK YOU to all of you who read, follow, and encourage me! And for those who are still experiencing winter, a glimpse of something warm…

The Poles at Hanna Beach, Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park, Jacksonville, FL

The Beach Writer 12:04 pm on January 7, 2013
Tags: Beach ( 30 ), Jax Beach ( 21 ), sunset ( 2 ), writer ( 29 ), Writing ( 54 )

In with the new

Well it’s started. The great redesign project is underway here at thebeachwriter.com. We have a new front porch to welcome guests and provide directions to a couple of new destination pages…one for blog posts and another with a brief summary of, and contact information for, Janda Writing and Consulting. The foundation is complete. Now the much longer and slower phase of building can begin. That is going to stretch out over the coming months so, if you’re curious, you might want to stop by every so often and have a look around. I’ll post blog entries noting significant additions along the way but in between those there will be plenty of little tweaks and add ons.

For those of you who like hints and spoilers, in the coming year I’ll be adding business details, along with articles, guides, and webinars that provide more in-depth and detailed information on a variety of writing topics. My goal is to get this information out of my head and off of notes (both handwritten and electronic) and into a format that will benefit others. Personally, I’m hoping that clearing out some of the information I keep in my brain will free up storage space for other, non-writing but terribly important information, like what I am supposed to buy at the grocery store, or the names of people I’ve just met, or anything involving numbers.

For those of you who visit for my beach pics, rest assured there’ll be plenty for you to enjoy in the upcoming months as well. I have plans for a gallery or two, as well as continued posts and pics of what I see and think and feel when my feet are in the sand. In fact, as I continue to make adjustments to the layout of various pages, I’ll be adding more pics from my local beaches, especially Jax, Atlantic, Neptune, and Hanna Beaches. To kick the year off right, here’s one of Jax Beach taken January 1st.

Jax Beach, sunset, January 1, 2013

I’d love your input. Please let me know what you think of the changes as they happen, and feel free to suggest topics you like to see discussed in the future, either by commenting below or contacting me directly.

The Beach Writer 6:26 pm on February 13, 2012
Tags: Creativity ( 22 ), photography ( 2 ), sculpting, Sunshine Award, Writing ( 54 )

Sunshine State of Mind

Ahh, sunshine. It lifts spirits, warms hearts, and helps everything grow. Thanks to Word Flows it now also graces my blog page.

Thank you, Word Flows, for thinking of me and my love of the spotlight, but especially for your kind words about my blog!

Of course these things come with customs, so let’s get right to them.

The Rules:

Thank the person who gave you the award.
Write a post about it.
Answer a few deeply personal and revealing questions.
Pass it along to ten people and let them know they received the award.

The Deeply Personal and Revealing Questions:

Favorite colour: Blue
Favorite animal: Labrador Retrievers
Favorite number: 27
Favorite non-alcoholic drink: Tea
Facebook or Twitter? Facebook
My passion: Writing. It’s always been writing. It will always be writing. Unfortunately for my fitness level, my passion has provoked hours of sitting down indoors. Thanks to my relocation, I have taken to following my passion sitting down outdoors, in the sand near the surf. I am working on writing via dictation while walking on the beach.
Getting or giving presents? Giving
Favorite pattern: I’m a solid girl
Favorite day of the week: Friday, because on that day the weekend still holds all the promise and possibility I can imagine
Favorite flower: Lilies…all makes and models.

Pass It Along:
This is where the rule breaking begins, or, to put it in terms relevant to writers, where the taking of creative liberties begins.

I am not picking 10. I am not picking any arbitrary number. Instead, I have decided to pick according to a theme, which, when applied, led to me picking five.

Indulge me an explanation. When I think of sunshine, I think of creativity. And when I thought of handing out Sunshine Award nominations, I decided that I wanted to let that be an opportunity to give a shout out to the creative people who inspire me the most.

At first I thought of calling them my Algonquin Round Table, which in many ways they are. But that would imply that we all interact and fuel creativity in each other, when in reality not everyone on this list knows each other. Nevertheless, each of the people who write the blogs I’ve listed below are creative people who inspire me to write, and to keep writing when my own enthusiasm is running low. I don’t get to interact with most of them offline much anymore, but thanks to social media I get to banter with them from time to time, sneak a peak into their worlds and keep them caught up with mine.

I have known each of these bloggers for many years, a couple going back to my college days and the rest from my former life as a newspaper publisher. In the interest of full disclosure I will say that one is my husband, and the rest are friends who continually inspire me with their writing, sculpting, photography and offbeat perspectives of our world. Their blogs brighten my day, and hopefully will brighten yours.

Oh Goody, another iPhone Photo Blog – I listed my husband’s blog first because, well, I do have to live with him. And because he is #1 of course! Jeff takes pictures of things we walk past together, and then shows me what I failed to see.
Rabbitville Road – Rita is the queen of creativity as a sculptor, fellow writer, and Nana extraordinaire. She not only inspires me to build my career upon my creativity, but is also an excellent role model for blending personal and professional in a way that enhances both while maintaining the boundaries of each.
Life, Times & Memories – Small town journalists have to stick together to survive, even if they write for competing publications, because they all answer to the same readers. That’s how I met Krystal, and though I still enjoy reading her news stories occasionally, I love her blog about daily small town living even more.
Classic Film and TV Cafe – Kent knows what I should be watching, even before I do. Just this morning he posted the cure for my Downton Abbey withdrawal. He’s so thoughtful that way!
Coyote Watches – When I met Bryan at college he was prince of the city. Then and now he reminds me that life is a game we are compelled to play, so why not revel in the wonder of it all?

Note to recipients above: You are not obligated to accept this award. Yes, I know it resembles a chain letter. You can break the chain, or cheat as I have done. The world won’t end and you still get to add the pretty flower graphic to your blog page…but only if you want to. 🙂

The Beach Writer 3:17 pm on January 23, 2012
Tags: Versatile Blogger award, writer ( 29 ), Writing ( 54 )

A word about an award

I want to thank The writer, the reviser, the visualizer at Write Or Revise Daily (WORD!) for choosing me for a Versatile Blogger award (http://versatilebloggeraward.wordpress.com/)! Write or Revise Daily is one of my favorite blogs and it’s a treat as well as an honor to be recognized by a fellow blogger!

For those of you who, like me, aren’t familiar with how this works, there are rules. Rule #1, don’t talk about Versatile Blogger award. Wait, that is definitely not right!

The real rules are as follows.

Thank the award-giver and link back to them in your post.

Done and Done. But thanks again! I appreciate the recognition and encouragement.

Share 7 things about yourself.

1. I don’t handle praise or recognition well. It’s not that I don’t welcome or appreciate it. I do! But although I often come across as an extrovert, I am actually shy about being in a spotlight not of my own making.

2. Although I have been a writer all of my life, I was first published as a photojournalist when I was a teenager. I put away my camera professionally in favor of a keyboard long ago, but this blog is allowing me the chance to revisit my photographic roots a bit.

3. Speaking of journalism, I once owned and published a weekly newspaper.

4. I was born and lived most of my life in the incredibly, landlocked, ocean-free Midwest.

5. In 2011 I decided it was a good time to have a mid-life crisis and rather than buy a sports car I relocated from snowy winters to a southern city with a beach.

6. I live in an all-creative household. My husband is a poet, photographer and writer. My son is an artist, lapsed poet, and master of puns. My daughter is a dancer and writer.

7. My favorite food is sushi.

Pass this award along to 15 others.

I am nominating blogs I always look forward to reading. Each of them has something that draws me back post after post no matter how busy I think I am. Hope you enjoy them as well! They are, of course, in no particular order.

1. Fibromy-Awesome
2. Cerridwen’s Cauldren
3. 1 Story A Week
4. Terribly Write
5. Wordsmith Six
6. Writers Write Daily
7. Susie Lindau’s Wild Ride
8. Robotic Rhetoric
9. Word Flows
10. David Gaughran
11. Savvy Writing Careers
12. Outside the Box
13. Villanova Junction
14. Cdeminski’s Blog
15. Alice Dusenberry

I also want to link to one more blog that would have made this list if he hadn’t been the one to nominate The writer, the reviser, the visualizer...Pete Denton – Writer. Maybe now I’ll get around to adding each of these to my blogroll?

Contact your chosen bloggers.

In process!

Thanks again to Write Or Revise Daily for the vote of confidence and to everyone for reading.

The Beach Writer 11:35 am on November 15, 2011
Tags: Writing ( 54 )

The end of the beginning

Well here we go. I signed up in October and I’m finally getting around to adding my first blog post. Doesn’t bode well for the future does it?

Don’t be fooled by the delay.

My son didn’t talk much, or really at all, until he was about two. But once he started he couldn’t be stopped. He even talked in his sleep. Eighteen years later he can still make our ears bleed. It was the getting started that was hard.

We have that in common.

I’m not new to the writing life or to publishing. But after nearly three decades of writing in public I still find it hard to get started. My perfectionism pegs in the red zone. I want the first words, first chapter, first column, or first paragraph of an article or editorial to WOW.

That’s not realistic. It’s not productive. It’s a flow chart to a perfectly blank page.

If beginning is the problem then ending the beginning is the logical solution and the only one that has worked for me consistently over the years.

So here we are at the end of the beginning. Welcome to my blog!