Every once in a while I get the opportunity to do my work at a coffee shop, my favorite place to settle in and get some writing done.
My wallet on the table? That is strategically placed. It’s holding the cord into the computer. That one spot seems to be the first thing to fail on laptop computers. Raise your hand if you’ve ever had to MacGuyver a powercord fix on your laptop.
Coffee shops aren’t just for getting work done; they are wonderful places to do some people watching. The diversity on Capitol Hill makes it one of my favorite places for people watching. I just watched two girls who, from such different outward appearances, looked like they might never otherwise interact come together to rescue a baby bird that fell from it’s nest.
And don’t forget the coffee. That’s really why I’m here.
I’ve been struggling with writers’ block lately, and it’s maddening. It’s time to do something about it, so I did a round up of some of my favorite sources for blog prompts.
Kristen Kalp’s blog Brand Camp is full of brilliant and uplifting advice for bloggers and other social media professionals. Her post how to get out of a blogging rut was just what I needed to read. It includes 10 post ideas as well as other steps to recharging the blog, and reclaiming that spark.
That’s more than 1048 prompts right there, although I imagine there might be a few repeats among those lists. If that wasn’t enough, Melissa Culbertson from Blog Clarity (you might remember that as momcomm) serves up the secret to a gazillion blog post ideas. It’s hard to argue with a gazillion.
And last but not least, one of my favorite stops for blogging inspiration is the writing prompts database at Mama’s Losin’ It.
The app serves up the prompts one at a time. If you don’t like the one displayed, click the inspiration button and it will serve up another. You could sit and click that button all day and not run out of inspiration.
Kathy takes the challenge up a notch by hosting a weekly writing workshop at Mama’s Losin It. She provides 5 prompts for the week. Pick one, write up a post on your blog, and on Thursday, link it up to share and read what others wrote.
No more excuses. It’s time to get writing.
Feel free to share your favorite writing prompts in the comments below.
I dove into the Winter/Spring semester as a full time student.
I went to New Orleans to attend the Conference for Young Women affected by breast cancer. Â It was so powerful to be in a place with nearly 1000 other young women living with breast cancer.
It’s not where you’re going, or the conditions along the way; I learned that what really makes a difference is your traveling companions.
I lost my inspiration, and then found it again at the grocery store.
Reviewing my pictures from New Orleans inspired some contemplation on my own guarded and self-protective tendencies.
April flowers reminded me that sometimes I need a time out, too, and that taking a break can help me refocus on what really matters.
 My little girl reminded me that adventure is where you create it.  My favorite quote of her’s yet: “Adventure makes me happy, and I have my shoes on.”
I was one of 5 authors reading our work about living with breast cancer at Courage Night.
 I was challenged to chronicle just one hour of my life for a blog post, and the results were magical.
 I realized that I am still re-learning how to dream after cancer. “I’ve reached the point where I understand what I have been intuitively trying to do, yet simultaneously resisting – to improve the flexibility and range of my imagination, of my ability to re-dream my future.”
Two years after chemo, I finally got my hair back into a ponytail.
Every year, I run away with my girls from the Young Survival Coalition (young women with breast cancer) for a retreat at the Harmony Hill Retreat Center. It’s a slumber party for grownups, but even more important, for a moment, we’re in a place and group where life with cancer is normal, and everyone understands what we’re going through.
 I wrote a piece for Survivorship Partners on Cancer and Guilt, when I noticed how much judgement there is around a cancer diagnosis. Nobody deserves cancer, not even me.
I traveled to Indianapolis to attend the Affiliate Summit for the Young Survival Coalition, and to participate in the process of changing much of the structure of that organization. The experience left me with a powerful lesson in change management.
My husband went to Istanbul to present his research at the International Society for Iranian Studies Conference. While he was there, he had a significant health crisis. I didn’t blog about that part, but it was more terrifying to me than my own cancer diagnosis. Â He’s healthy now, however, and he did manage to get a few great photographs of Istanbul while he was there.
 We attended the cutest birthday party ever. Our cousin’s daughter’s 3rd birthday party had a dinosaur ballerina theme. Perfect, as Gem is into dinosaurs and ballerinas, as well. You really can’t go wrong with homemade dinosaur tails and tutus for each of the kids.
My husband and I celebrated our eighth wedding anniversary, and I reminded the universe that the sickness and poorer parts of our vows were not an invitation. I also challenged to universe to remember that there was a richer and health part in there as well.
 In Taking Back October, I mourned the loss of one of my favorite months, October, to the Breast Cancer Awareness money making machine, and I discussed the difference between working towards awareness for the most well known cancer, and working towards a cure.
Plans for my second mastectomy and reconstruction surgery started in earnest. My surgery is scheduled for 2/4/13. Mom will be flying down from Alaska to take care of my little one.
This is where I do the very important work of blogging about being a mom. I know. You want to be like me when you grow up, don’t you?
I even have an intern.
Let me tell you, for an unpaid intern she’s quite expensive and high maintenance. She expects a meal, several meals, every day. I’d say something about her expecting me to wipe her butt, but that would be crude.
This is the kind of meal I prepare for my crew every day.
Ok, that’s not true. That’s the kind of food I intend to cook every day.
This is more like the kind of food I prepare for our meals.
Well, no, that’s not true either. That is the kind of food I would like to eat, and it implies I actually cook. In reality, I serve freezer lasagna, macaroni and cheese, and anything else that requires less than 5 minutes of time and effort on my part.
So much for being a food blogger.
These are my blogging pants.
What? You don’t match your intern to your pants?
Yes, she was taking yet another break. But she does contribute a lot to our team.
I usually beat myself up during the writing process. If every word isn’t perfect as it appears from my fingertips, I get frustrated and want to give up.
I don’t know how many times I heard the above quote at the Write on the Sound writers’ conference last weekend, but it was definitely something I needed to hear. I write, and I write, and then I sit and don’t write because I think I can’t write. What I don’t do is re-write.
I suspect I’m not the only writer that combines this odd mix of arrogance and self-flagellation by thinking my first draft should be good enough, and beating myself up when it’s not. Is there a self help group? A pill? Perhaps I should paint in big bold red letters above my desk: “IT’S JUST A DRAFT!”
I did get more out of the writer’s conference. It was my first one and I’m hooked. I got home and immediately went online to see if there were any more conferences coming up in the area.
And now I’m going to go ahead and hit publish on the first draft of this post. Really, I did learn that lesson. I also know that sometimes you’ve gotta just do it or it will never get done. It’s been a week since I posted anything in here, although I’m sitting on several posts that I’ve been re-writing. Life is a balance folks.
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