Give Yourself the Gifts of Creativity and Weight Loss

I’m intrigued by a new book by Julia Cameron, The Writing Diet.

Cameron wrote the very first writing book I ever read, so I’m a little partial. Her latest book takes all the advice she gives about writing and applies it to weight loss.

Before you dismiss it out of hand (so to speak) let me tell you a little about her writing books. They’re not really about writing. They’re about being creative. And it turns out that tapping into your creativity – whether that’s painting, writing, or cooking – is difficult if not impossible if you’re running away from all the stuff you don’t want to think about for one reason or another.

Cameron’s advice includes exercise, food journaling, and morning pages, which are stream-of-consciousness diary entries record early in the day. This is the meat of the creativity boosting advice. The first step is to spill your brain onto the page without judgment.

Apparently over the past 25 years of teaching writers and other creative types that as they uncovered their creative selves they often achieved a physical transformation. Cameron claims that creativity can block overeating. I think she’s right. And I know that using food to comfort feelings can lead health problems way beyond unnecessary weight gain.

The Writing Diet may or may not work for you, but one thing is sure – getting in touch with your creativity this time of year is the very best gift you can give yourself!

The Making of a Local Celebrity

Hello Visitors!

If you saw the story on 40/29 this morning, or if you’re just stopping by – I want to welcome you to After the Bubbly. This is my personal blog where I mostly cover home and family, as well as post the essays that appear monthly in Peekaboo magazine. If you scroll down the right side of the page you can check out the other places I write. Since Jennifer mentioned I was a CPA for ten years, you might want to visit a site I just inherited from another blogger, Accounting Solver.

As for the information in the story, I just wanted to clear up just couple of things:

1. Jennifer mentioned this morning that I make more blogging than I EVER did as a CPA. While close, this is not exactly true. What I meant to tell her was that I make more now working part time at my writing than I was able to make working part time as a CPA. It’s an important distinction because I don’t want you all to think I’m raking the cash by writing about packing lunches and watching and attending PTA meetings. On that note, it’s also important to note that I make a good portion of my income writing about business topics. Also, I’ve been at it a while. The advertising dollars take quite a bit of time and effort before they begin to pay off. I just don’t want anyone to think writing online is a quick road to big cash. That said….

2. After the story the anchor mentioned I would be giving FREE seminars. Again, close. What I am offering is a very reasonably priced class on How to Launch an Online Writing Career on January 17th. (Details below.) I’m teaching this with a partner so while students are going to get a great value from our combined brilliance, I can’t offer it for free. What I can do however is answer any questions you have between now and then. In fact, if you wanted to try and get started writing online now and then take the class in January, you’d probably be in very good shape to grow your new writing venture in the new year. If there is enough interest I can set up a free mini-class at a local bookstore or library. But feel free to comment here or email me with any questions. My address is ldavidson98 AT gmail DOT com.

Class Details:

How to Launch a Successful Online Writing Career

In this 3-hour course you will learn:
-Where to find online writing jobs
-How to identify a good opportunity vs. a scam
-Accepted methods of applying for work online
-How to create a blog and what to write about
-Types of revenue streams available to bloggers
-How to brand yourself and promote your work
-Components of successful online posts and articles
-The five most common types of online articles
-Where to find images
-Business issues specific to online writers
-And more!

Plus – Students will receive electronic templates for various useful files such as a time tracker and a sample cover letter you can cut and paste into emails to apply for jobs. But wait, there’s more!

After the class, every student will have the opportunity to have a writing sample critiqued by Lela or Mary Ann to make sure they understand the specific requirements for online articles!

How to Launch a Successful Online Writing Career
Saturday, January 17th, 9:00 am – Noon
Community Room, Parkway Bank in Pinnacle Hills just off 540

To register, email Lela at ldavidson98 AT gmail DOT com.
Class fee if received before December 10th: $45
Class fee if received after December 10th: $55
Please register soon. Class size is limited to the first 20 respondents!

Accounting is Fun Again!

Depending on your level of enthusiasm for accounting, you may or may not be excited about my news. Nevertheless, I am the new mommy of Accounting Solver on b5 Media’s business channel. (Check out the cool new portal, Bizzia!) I’ll be writing about accounting, finance, and money and I’m very, very excited to have the support of b5 Media, one of top blog networks in the world. Yeah, the WORLD baby! While Business Pundit is a lot more prominent, Accounting Solver will be all mine. I plan to grow it into THE blog for accounting related EVERYTHING. It’s my new baby and a big step in my writing career. I’m going to be learning more about blogging at warp speed and I’m sure my new knowledge will transfer to some cool stuff here too.

In case you can’t tell, I am not one of those boring accountants. If you have the tiniest interest please stop by and say hello so I won’t feel I am preaching out into the ether. Plus you just might learn something. For example, did you know today’s election is nothing more than a huge inventory?

Election Day: America’s Biggest Accounting Challenge?

What I’m Writing Now

It’s time again to let you know what I’m working on elsewhere:

• On Business Pundit I look into the real motivation behind sustainable packaging? And what does that even mean?
• Also on BP, I participated in Blog Action Day. My post about profiting off the poor was popular. Check it out if you want to know how some businesses are making money off our lowest income neighbors.

  
  

  Plus, I’m hearing from more and more of you who are reading After the Bubbly (and Chasing Date Night) in Peekaboo. THANK YOU so much! For those of you who are not local, I’m working on self-syndicating, so if you have a magazine you think might be a fit for my family humor essays, drop me a line and I’ll pitch the monthly column to them.
  

• I’ve been chronicling my progress on the novel over at HubPages, although I suspect few of you are interested in such things – unless you are a frustrated wannabe novelist like me!
• You may want to read a few ideas for creating Thanksgiving traditions for your family (or just keeping kids busy long enough to stuff a turkey!)
• I also did some research on differentiated instruction and wrote about that when my son outsmarted his math book.
• I’m working with an editor now on Capitalist Banter, which should mean I get funnier. Right? Check out this post on Ben & Jerry’s breast milk ice cream and let me know!

Grab Bag O’ the Week

I’m trying to get back on track with some regular topic series here on After the Bubbly, so please feel free to make suggestions in the comments. In the meantime, here’s what I’ve been working on elsewhere this week:

• I reviewed Qlubb.com on the review blog. Check it out to learn about this new tool that may help you get organized.
• I wrote a primer on FDIC and SIPC insurance coverage on Business Pundit.
• Also on Business Pundit, I looked at the rising cost of groceries.
• On Capitalist Banter, I poked fun at McPalin and economic experts.
• I give some options on HubPages about sports for kids who don’t like sports.
• I also wrote on pregnancy due dates, bob haircuts, and the status of the novel in progress on HubPages.

Again, let me know if there’s anything in particular you’d like to see more of!

Calling All NWA Scribblers

Yo – people who like to jot things down:

Mary Ann Powers and I will be presenting a talk on how to break into web writing at the Ozark Writers Live event at the Fayetteville Public Library on Saturday at 2:pm. If you’ve ever considered writing for the web, please come! We’ll give you the basics and leave time for questions too. It’s totally free and if you haven’t been to this gorgeous facility for a while it’s the perfect opportunity.

Can’t wait to see you there!

Follow the True Life Adventures of FitMom

How I forgot to mention my new gig as a Prevention Buzz Blogger is beyond me. But better late than never right? If you want to know how I keep my girlish figure, trick the family into eating healthy foods, and maintain the energy it takes to be witty and entertaining nearly all the time, tune in.

Here are the posts I’ve written so far:

Caffeine-Free Recipe For Success
Fortify Your Immune System With a Daily Salad
Fuel Up With a Scrambled Egg Sandwich
3 Secrets to Saving Your Manicure
3 Top Tips For Mastering Make-Up
Begin Your Day With a Deep Breath
Make the Easiest BBQ Sandwiches on Earth
Question Your Doctors, Follow Your Instincts
Are You Inhibited, or Just Not That Into It?
Pass My Blankie – It’s Time to Power Nap

Big Money For Little Words

For those writers in the mix, I just reviewed the reading, reviewing, and writing site FieldReport on After the Bubbly in Review. If you’re looking for a place to get your writing feet wet, you may want to check out what I thought of that site.

In other writing news… Some of you know I’ve started on a second novel, this time with a plot. So far it’s going well. I’ve been doing lots of planning and actually started some ‘writing’ on the synopsis yesterday. Very exciting. If you’re interested in following along, I’m writing a series on HubPages about my progress. Here are the articles so far:

How to Write a Novel in 6 Months: One Writer’s Journey
Week 1: Mapping Out the Six Month Plan
Week 2: Resources on Structure
Week 3: Index Cards Are My Friends
Week 4: Sketching Characters
Week 5: Researching Agents
Week 6: Outlining

What Do You Write?

It always makes me uncomfortable when people ask me what I write. I never seem to have the answer they’re looking for. There are no books on the shelf at Barnes & Noble. There is no $27 million website. No big name magazines are graced with my words. Yet.

“Did you ever publish that one about the dog? The one like the dog is talking?” my mother-in-law asks me over and over again.

“My Christmas letter? No. I haven’t published that.”

Yet.

However, I keep finding things to write. At Business Pundit you can find my articles on the following:

• the economic impact of your not eating tomatoes
• frustrations over my jackness vs. the specialist I’d always hoped I’d be
• tips on attracting media attention, no matter what your business
• musings about the eventual rise of the machines (fueled by way too many viewings of The Matrix)
• major dilemmas over my logo design

So, what do you write?

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