Blisscraft Life With Christina Katz

What is it about typewriters anyway? Does anyone know why so many people find them compelling?

Like many people, I am obsessed with them, which first prompted me to create my Typewriter Obsession Pinterest page a while back.

Then my husband gave me a broken-down typewriter, which I wrote about yesterday. I shared the before photo and now I’m going to share the after photo, which I turned into a poster for my Etsy shop.

I also had a hashtag inspiration when posting my before photo yesterday. #Icouldplantinthat is a new hashtag I am starting for folks like me, who look at old objects they see and immediately assess whether or not they could fill them with dirt and plant something in them.

I hope you will join me this gardening season in creating unusual garden containers and sharing them by using the #Icouldplantinthat hashtag on social media. No one is currently using the tag, so when someone starts using it, we’ll know they are one of us.

Here’s the new poster. Let me know what you think.

Thanks for reading! And thanks for sharing this post with fellow writers! Please subscribe to The Prosperous Writer Blog and sign up for The Prosperous Writer Newsletter, for exclusive discounts you won’t find elsewhere. Take advantage of lowest price discounts now in my brand new online writing school.

My latest fascination is gardening. Something has clicked this year and instead of a little trial and a lot of error, I’m experiencing a little trial and a lot of success.

Yay. And it only took me…well, never mind how long it took me.

What matters is that my gardens are looking really good and I’m starting to plant in unusual containers again. I always found this frivolity amusing but for some reason I stopped doing it for a while.

Honestly, I often feel torn between writing and gardening. I love doing both. But I can look back and see that when I was writing intensely, my gardening was on the wane. And when I am gardening intensely, my writing is on the wane.

But I don’t want to have to choose. I want to do both.

Recently my husband gave me a broken-down typewriter that someone had donated to his theater department. The Underwood is to junky to use as a prop but, of course there are other possibilities… So broken down typewriter: prepare to become a pot.

When Jason gave me the typewriter, I got the message. Why struggle? Writing and gardening have so much in common. This was the theme of this month’s Become Your Own Writing Coach pep talk and it’s a topic I have addressed before in The Writer’s Workout. I even wrote an article comparing platforms and gardens for Author magazine, Grow For It: Activate & Reactivate Your Perennial Platform Power. It was one of my most comprehensive articles on platform development.

So why do I put my writing and gardening at odds with each other? Why can’t they compliment each other? They could if I let them, since they already do.

All of this was the inspiration for a new digital download poster I created for my Etsy shop. The quote is: “A bouquet is a poem written in flowers.” And the photo is selection of flowers I picked from the garden with my daughter Samantha on Mother’s Day weekend.

If you love words and gardening, you are not alone. If you words and many other things, you are not alone. We are allowed to mix things up, to juxtapose them, to bring unlikely things together. The creative impulse wants to move forward into the new, not have to choose one direction over another. So why not just go with it?

In the past, I have shared lower resolution images of my posters on Pinterest. This time, I am sharing images of the framed poster. The digital download itself is available for purchase in my Etsy shop. It turned out beautifully and I had so much fun making it.

If you like it too, thanks for sharing it with your friends who love words and flowers.

How about you? Do you have things in your life that you put in competition with your writing? Do you need to stop creating friction and start creating something new instead?

Thanks for reading! And thanks for sharing this post with fellow writers! Please subscribe to The Prosperous Writer Blog and sign up for The Prosperous Writer Newsletter, for exclusive discounts you won’t find elsewhere. Take advantage of lowest price discounts now in my brand new online writing school.

I happened to stumble on this blog post by Amanda Flaker while I was on Facebook earlier today.

Empath Vs. Highly Sensitive Person (They Are Not The Same Thing)

I was searching for something else and this network for highly sensitive people came up. Maybe I was already a member. I’m not sure.

I would consider myself a highly sensitive person and I am also an empath. Being an empath means I can and sometimes do experience other people’s feelings as if they are my own.

In order to lead a happy life, an empath needs good boundaries and connections with positive, constructive people. Being surrounded by negative or angry people for any length of time is an empath’s worst nightmare.

Some folks may not realize that they are highly sensitive. Others may not realize that they are also empaths. I think it’s helpful to know yourself and especially to know if these two traits apply to you.

I think most writers are highly sensitive people. I occasionally encounter a writer who does not seem to fit the definition of highly sensitive. But this is fairly unusual.

As you can learn from reading the above post, just because a person is highly sensitive does not mean that they are nice. There are plenty of fearful, negative, and defensive sensitive people in the world.

If you think you might be highly sensitive yourself. Here are some resources that can help you find ways to move through the world sensitively without feeling continually irritated and overwhelmed:

The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine N. Aron, Ph.D.

The Highly Sensitive Person Website

Sensitive, Watch Preview Of The Documentary

Are you highly sensitive, writers? Here’s a self-test. See for yourself and then chime in with your responses to this post.

I also liked Amanda’s follow-up audio about the differences between highly sensitive folks and empaths. She seems to have some good resources on her site for those who fit these descriptions. She seems quite young to be taking on such tricky topics and this makes me want to applaud her.

I guess what I’d like to say to both highly sensitive and empathetic people is, you are a highly creative person. Your sensitivity grants you abilities that other less tuned in folks may not have. If you can focus on self-expression as a goal, you can move beyond merely surviving and into thriving as a sensitive person. Focus on tapping into what you have to offer rather than merely coping with what it’s like to be highly sensitive. Nobody wants to spend their whole life coping, but just about everyone has a deep desire to express themselves authentically.

You have a lot too offer. We all do. Don’t let being highly sensitive stand in your way.

I’d love to hear what you think in the comments.

If you liked this post, you might also like my recent piece on imposter syndrome that appeared in my recent Prosperous Writer ezine.

Thanks for reading! And thanks for sharing this post with fellow writers! Please subscribe to The Prosperous Writer Blog and sign up for The Prosperous Writer Newsletter, for exclusive discounts you won’t find elsewhere. Take advantage of lowest price discounts now in my brand new online writing school.

If you follow my offerings, then I’m sure you already know that I’m a mom.

I love being a mom and I love serving moms in my work.

Moms have incredible power to inspire a better world through our children.

I love that the work I do inspires moms to improve their lives. And I know that inspired moms raise inspired children. Every day I get to watch the moms who I have worked with have an impact on making the world a better place through their work.

That’s a really good feeling.

It’s funny that I ended up as a parenting journalist because I never really set out to be a parenting expert. I don’t have a degree in childhood education or anything like that.

But I know a lot about re-parenting, as in the necessary work many parents learn to do on themselves as they are also raising children.

A lot of the work I do as a writing coach has re-parenting at its core. I didn’t do that on purpose; it just came out that way. Maybe that’s why so many writers enjoy my friendly, encouraging approach to learning.

Much of what I write about in my parenting articles is about inspired ways of parenting kids and encouraging kids to create a more inspired world. At the same time, I enjoy making the publishing world a more inspired place. I am also making my life the most inspiring place possible for me.

I guess I feel as though the world can always use a little more joy and a little less cynicism, negativity, and drama. And that’s why I created my course, More Joy Now.

As a special gift to moms this week, I’m putting More Joy Now on sale for half price. Usually the course is $30 but until Friday, May 13th it’s on sale for just $15.

More Joy Now is available exclusively on Udemy. I just took the course there again myself, and the improvements they have made to the course viewing experience are working quite well.

You can easily stream the whole class while you make dinner, drive around doing errands, or sit in a coffee shop with headphones on relishing a tasty drink.

The course has mind-expanding visuals, but they are optional for viewing because I designed the course expressly for busy people who don’t always have time to drop everything and watch a screen. You can listen sitting or on the go and you can download the handouts as you watch or afterwards.

I’m going to have a more inspired weekend because I re-took More Joy Now. If you could stand a little more joy in your life today then there is no reason to postpone your happiness. I created this course so we could all have more joy sooner rather than later.

Just click on the badge to visit the course info page. If you like what you hear, I’ll see you in there. And a very joyful Mother’s Day to you!

Thanks for reading! And thanks for sharing this post with fellow writers! Please subscribe to The Prosperous Writer Blog and sign up for The Prosperous Writer Newsletter, for exclusive discounts you won’t find elsewhere. Take advantage of lowest price discounts now in my brand new online writing school.

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Course Prices Are Going Back Up

Now that things have settled back down, I am raising the prices on my writing and publishing courses back up to where they belong on May 9th, the day after Mother’s Day.

I want to give everyone, including moms, plenty of time to take advantage of these courses at their lowest prices.

Article courses will go from $99 to $149. They are valued at $299 but $149 will be the  CK School discounted price.

Platform courses will go from $33 to $66. They are valued at $99 but $66 will be the CK School discounted price.

Writing Stories About The Holidays will go from $99 to $149. It is valued at $299 but $149 will be the CK School discounted price.

Opportunities For Additional Instructor Support

I’ve also added new ways for class participants to receive additional instructor support. These offers apply whether you are taking the course on Udemy or in my school.

I totally understand how some students prefer independent learning and other students prefer working with a veteran instructor. Naturally, there are benefits to working with an instructor, and you are welcome to sign up for additional instructor services here. My courses are designed to be comprehensive on their topics, however, if you want more support, please register below:

$50 Instructor Support:

One month of instructor support in one registered course (you send instructor weekly update on your progress, check off lessons as you complete them)

$50 Red-line:

One round of red-lines in one 1,000-word or less article, essay or story (apply when work in registered course is ready, instructor response within one week)

$75 Red-line:

Two rounds of red-lines in one 1,000-word or less article essay or story (apply when work in registered course is ready, instructor response within one week, one month time limit to receive your revisions, then second instructor response within one week)

$10/month Monthly Coaching Support:

Ongoing Writing Career Goal-setting Support: Become Your Own Writing Coach Group

LEARN MORE

Phone Consulting For Platform Planning Discussion Or Existing Platform Review

One-hour phone consult or half-hour phone consult following any combination of platform courses

LEARN MORE

Thanks for reading! And thanks for sharing this post with fellow writers! Please subscribe to The Prosperous Writer Blog and sign up for The Prosperous Writer Newsletter, for exclusive discounts you won’t find elsewhere. Take advantage of lowest price discounts now in my brand new online writing school.

Are you ready to set and reach all of your writing career goals over time?

I know writers can achieve their dreams because I surpass mine on a regular basis. I also work with writers to set writing career goals and I have for been doing this for over fifteen years.

The writers I work with make steady career progress and constantly surprise themselves with what they achieve.

What I am really good at is creating a positive, constructive context in which writers can consider what they have accomplished so far and then prioritize their next steps.

If you want help setting goals in your writing career each month and you don’t want to spend an arm and a leg to do it, I can help. Just register for my monthly Become Your Own Writing Coach group and you’ll receive a monthly pep talk video, goal-setting worksheets, and a list of monthly tips.

The best part of this low-cost service is that it reminds you to touch base with yourself each month and check your actual progress against your goals. If you did nothing else but this every month, you would start reaching more of your goals sooner.

Why try to go it alone when you can get insider advice from an industry veteran? Participants are always telling me that the videos contain helpful, clarifying advice. Sign ups for the following month each month by the 28th. That’s coming right up in two days!

And, of course, all three of my books also encourage writers to set and surpass writing career goals, especially The Writer’s Workout.

If your writing career goals include article writing and platform development, I hope you will check out my focused learning space, The Christina Katz Writing & Publishing School.

If you are the type of person who has trouble setting goals in the first place, you might enjoy my Udemy course, More Joy Now. This course will help you tap into the type of daily self-acceptance and self-appreciation that help you choose the best goals for you.

Generally speaking, if you are trying to shift out of a negative, defeatist mindset and into a positive, constructive mindset, then I am a good writing coach for you. It’s not enough to deny yourself the luxury of a negative thought, you also have to add in positive habits to replace those negative habits.

Much of my writing career work since 2001 has been focused on helping writers set and achieve their goals and my students have tons of published writing to show for it. So do I. I hope you can join us!

Thanks for reading! And thanks for sharing this post with fellow writers! Please subscribe to The Prosperous Writer Blog and sign up for The Prosperous Writer Newsletter, for exclusive discounts you won’t find elsewhere. I hope you will check out the latest courses in my brand new online writing school.

I have a lot of respect for Lee Gutkind and Creative Nonfiction magazine. I enjoy being a subscriber to a magazine with such high-quality nonfiction, and if you like my teachings, you likely will, too.

And good news, now The Creative Nonfiction Foundation is launching a new publication that pays writers for true stories.

Here’s the scoop:

Topic: True Story

Accepted Year-Round

The Creative Nonfiction Foundation is pleased to announce that, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, we’re starting a new monthly magazine, set to debut this fall. Each issue of True Story will feature one exceptional work of creative nonfiction, which will be distributed in print and digitally (though not available online).

Submissions should be between 3,500 and 7,000 words long, on any subject, in any style. Surprise us! The only rules are that all work submitted must be nonfiction and original to the author, and we will not consider previously published work.

We’ll pay $300 on publication and give you 10 free copies of “your” issue.

We’ll do our best to respond to submissions within three months. We can’t promise to consider work submitted for True Story for any of CNF’s other projects or publications—but we reserve the right to do so.

Read the rest of the guidelines here.

Creative Nonfiction also has more upcoming deadlines that might interest writers, like this one:

Topic: Joy

Deadline: May 16, 2016

For an upcoming issue, Creative Nonfiction is seeking new essays about JOY.

Too often the moments that move us to write are bleak ones—stories of loss, hardship, or learning through painful interactions. For this issue we’re looking for well-crafted narratives that explore the brighter moments in life, those that teach and enlighten us through their beauty or humor.

Your tale of joy need not revolve around ecstatic delight or a once-in-a-lifetime moment; we are equally interested in thoughtfully written pieces about finding pleasure in small things or unexpected places, and in works that highlight moments of joy in the midst of otherwise difficult circumstances. We also welcome less common approaches to this topic: the science of happiness, the history of some particularly joyful event, pop-cultural manifestations of bliss, and so on.

Essays must be vivid and dramatic; they should combine a strong and compelling narrative with an informative or reflective element and reach beyond a strictly personal experience for some universal or deeper meaning. They should approach the topic of joy sincerely—we’re not looking for a bitter or ironic take on happiness—but should at the same time avoid sentimental, uncomplicated “feel-good” stories. We’re looking for well-written prose, rich with detail and a distinctive voice; all essays must tell true stories and be factually accurate.

Creative Nonfiction editors will award $1,000 for Best Essay and $500 for runner-up. All essays will be considered for publication in a special “Joy” issue of the magazine to be published in winter 2017.

Read the rest of the guidelines here.

Thanks for reading! And thanks for sharing this post with fellow writers! Please subscribe to The Prosperous Writer Blog and sign up for The Prosperous Writer Newsletter, for exclusive discounts you won’t find elsewhere. I hope you will check out the latest courses in my brand new online writing school.

Click here, if you want your wall to look like this…

Writer mamas, you know how much I love you. This post’s for you!

Here are the kinds of things that beginning writer mamas get overwhelmed by:

• Finding enough time
• Battling distractions
• Guilt/Torn in too many directions
• Over-committed/Too many volunteer activities
• Don’t know what to prioritize first
• Can’t decide which idea to pursue
• Tired from working all day and caring for the family at home
• Lack of confidence/Can’t get out of the comfort-zone
• Unsure about the business aspects of writing
• Procrastination/Thinking about doing instead of doing
• Fear of both success and failure
• Not sure how to submit work
• Want national clips, but need to start local

And here’s the solutions I suggest:

• Forgive yourself for all you haven’t accomplished up until now. And now, decide to get to work without allowing any more excuses.
• Get your ideas down while they are hot. Just write the worst junk so you can capture the essence of the idea. Walking before writing can help loosen up your brain.
• Take classes with professionals you can trust. You’ll gain helpful information, an available mentor, and most importantly, deadlines!
• Don’t get hung up on the ever-changing marketplace. So many of the techniques that have always worked still work. You don’t need to try and reinvent the industry while you launch your career. That is not going to help you. Just follow professional advice closely and repeat what works.
• Keep your focus on simple steps. Like, if you don’t have clips, you need to get clips. (People who didn’t need clips were the exception, not the rule. Get some clips and get some experience at the same time.)
• Experience is what builds confidence. Nothing else is as authentic.
• Writing careers are built one article at a time, one acceptance at a time, and one publication date at a time. Keep it simple and know what your immediate goal is. Then work toward each goal.
• The accumulation of short-term goals leads to the achievement of long-term goals. That’s your trajectory for success. Think of it like a very long flight of stairs going up, up, up! Just aim for one success after another.

So get your butt in a chair. Grab a piece of paper and a pen or a laptop or a keyboard and get to work!

So much inspiration, so much time! Please subscribe to the Create, Share, Prosper blog and sign up for The Prosperous Creative ezine for exclusive discounts you won’t find elsewhere. Click on the Enter School tab above to put your creativity to prosperous use right now. Join my monthly pep talk video series because all the other prosperous writers are doing it. Like words? Check out my Etsy shop. And you haven’t seen anything, if you haven’t seen all the helpful offerings in my online shop. Thanks for reading and thanks for sharing this post with fellow creatives!

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A writer has never approached me and said, “I want to do worse than I am doing. Can you help me?”

Writers usually work with me because they want a writing life and they don’t have one yet.

They also work with me because they have a writing life but they want to create better results.

Another reason writers work with me is because they want to get published or publish themselves and they need help understanding and navigating all the steps.

Writers who work with me all have one thing in common: they are willing to work.

They don’t expect me to wave a magic wand or let them into an elite club. They want me to put the writing ball back in their court. And then they take that ball and they run with it.

If they don’t or they won’t, nothing changes. But usually they are more than happy to, because that’s what they pay me for.

I can’t do your work for you, because you need to do it yourself, if you want to make skills your own. But sometimes an encouraging kick in the caboose goes a long way towards getting things done.

This explains why my students get published, win awards, earn invitations, get invited back, receive appreciation for their professionalism, etc. My students and clients stand out for two reasons: quality work and professionalism.

Professionals focus on creating quality. They are not just trying to make a quick buck. They know their careers are only as good as their reputations in the short run and the long run.

When I started creating video courses, I saw a lot of examples of how to do it poorly. But I knew if I kept my focus on creating quality products then my courses would be successful…and so would my students.

So when Cindy Hudson told me that she took one of my video courses, drafted an article, then edited it and sold it the next day, I thought, Great. This is working as I intended.

I’ve been working with Cindy for a long time. So when a guy I’ve never met before said my article writing course was one of the most comprehensive and best structured courses on article writing he had ever taken and he had been published professionally over 720 times, I thought, Awesome, now I know my courses are not only working for my long-time students. They are working for new students, too.

And finally, when a writing-for-publication student said she had learned more from my course than from all of the writing books on my shelf on the topic of selling her writing, I thought, Yes! My courses are serving less experienced and more experienced students equally, as I had hoped they would.

So the long and the short of this message is, if you want to become a better and more professional writer, I can help.

Believe it or not, success is fun.

What’s not really that much fun is failure, frustration, and false promises. And you won’t find those things here.

I started off this post by saying, so you want to become a more professional writer?

So do you?

If so, you are in the right place.

So much inspiration, so much time! Please subscribe to the Create, Share, Prosper blog and sign up for The Prosperous Creative ezine for exclusive discounts you won’t find elsewhere. Click on the Enter School tab above to put your creativity to prosperous use right now. Join my monthly pep talk video series because all the other prosperous writers are doing it. Like words? Check out my Etsy shop. And you haven’t seen anything, if you haven’t seen all the helpful offerings in my online shop. Thanks for reading and thanks for sharing this post with fellow creatives!

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