Friday, January 28, 2022

It's Gonna be a Bright (Bright) Sunshiny Day


When the sun goes down on my side of town

That lonesome feeling comes to my door

And the whole world turns blue


Oh, wait, wrong topic, wrong song, wrong everything. Sigh.

Seriously, I heard that country-sad-song yesterday and when I looked out the window and saw the sun going down, and an empty screen staring back at me, it seemed to fit.



Sigh.

What do you DO when all the ideas for your blog post just get up and walk out on you?

I really wanted to blog about the cool online class that Missy and I, along with THOUSANDS of others took, this past week: Bryan Cohen’s Author Ad Challenge, which is an introductory class to setting up advertising on Amazon. 



It’s INTENSE and takes about 1-2 hours a day to keep up. And, did I say that it was free, or at least the week-long challenge is. Bryan and his team offer a much more intense program of coaching, teaching and “hand-holding” for a fee called Amazon Ad School (I believe that’s the correct term), but the free training was more than enough to help me get started.

However, I didn’t want to give away information that Bryan and his team have done tons of leg-work on. And what’s the point of blogging about it if I can’t give Seekerville readers a small taste of how Amazon ads work? The good news is that the Amazon Ad Challenge will be offered again in April 13th, so if anyone wants to take the class, you’ll be able to then.


Now if you lose your one and only 

There's always room here for the lonely


So, one topic down. Then I planned to blog about past (as in LONG past) contest entries where I would find snippets of what judges had to say about what was wrong (or right) about a passage from a contest entry, then show the various stages those passages went through before they made it into publication, but that was also a no go. I couldn’t find much in what I kept from 10, 15, and, yes, TWENTY years ago, to be helpful.



And, let’s be honest. Do I really want to go back all those years and be reminded of how bad some passages were way back in the beginning? And, would I want to share them with you? Probably not.


To watch your broken dreams

Dance in and out of the beams

Of a neon moon


Yeah, let’s just say that it’s best that blog post left me, too! lol

So, here we are, singing a sad song and looking BACKWARDS at lost love (blog posts and horrible writing) and broken dreams … 


Whoa!!!!!

Wrong topic! Wrong Story!

WRONG EVERYTHING AGAIN!!


Let’s turn this train around, folks. Right here… I mean RIGHT HERE, I stopped working on my blog post and read Cate’s post from Wednesday. Why would I feel the urge to do that? In some ways, she already said what I'm saying again today, but I think we're both trying to hammer a point home, without even knowing that the other one was on this same track. Go back and read Cate's post here! What an encouragement!

Seriously, that neon moon song is a catchy tune, but if that gal's gone, she’s gone. Right? Right!

She -- meaning a blog post, that idea for a short story or a novel that packed up and left a long time ago, an submission opportunity I missed in 2020 because my head was stuck in the sand... or even staring (figuratively) at a neon moon… -- ain’t coming back. Let’s stop whining about it. Let’s stop going to the dark, smoky places that aren’t doing us any favors. Stop moping around mooning over that particular story, that particular area of our lives that we can’t fix, that we can’t bring back, that just isn’t working anymore.

And before anyone gets all up in arms, I’m NOT talking about torn relationships, sick family, fractured lives, financial woes, and burning the candle at both ends until you're burned out. I’m talking about writing for those of us who write. I'm talking about just holding on.

Turn on ALL the lights, brighten things up and write something big, beautiful and new. Create a NEW thing. Draw bright, sunny pictures with the kids or the grandkids. And if you don't have any kids in your circle, borrow somebody's for a day or volunteer in Sunday School or at a preschool for a day.

Put some brightness in your life and that neon moon will pale in comparison to the big, beautiful new sunrise you’ll wake up to tomorrow!!

I’ll leave you with this…



It's gonna be a bright (bright)

Bright (bright) sunshiny day

It's gonna be a bright (bright)

Bright (bright) sunshiny day


Let's choose to live in a bright, sunshiny day, not under a "neon" moon.

12 comments:

  1. Such a great pick-me-up this morning. We're into the dead of winter, but every day we're a little closer to spring, right? Thanks for the encouragement to keep going. That is something this blog--and its people--are wonderful at. Have a great day, everyone!

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    1. Spring is coming. Yes!! :)

      I had grand babies today so have been AWOL a bit, but my babysitting gig has ended for the week and I'm here to visit with Seekerville! :)

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  2. You've inspired me, Pam! I loved the lyrics and your post!

    Yes, in spite of the gloomy, cold weather, I'm seeing the sunshine and hoping to create something new today!

    God is so good! :)

    Prayers for safety and power remaining on for all those in the eye of the NE storm. We'll have very cold temps in GA with a few flurries of snow in the northern sections of the state. Brrr!

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    1. Same here, Debby. Even here in MS, it was blisteringly cold and windy today. We didn't dare venture out. Praying for those in colder climates and in the path of storms.

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  3. And guess what song is going to be stuck in my head for the rest of the day? ;) What motivating post, Pam. Thank you!

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    1. Well, it's either Neon Moon, or Bright Sunshiny Day. lol

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  4. So, so, so true, Pam!

    Four years ago, I had a house fire and lost fifteen years worth of stories I'd left on the back burner until I was done raising my kids. After the fire, I began to reconstruct as much as I could, but you can't ever write something the same way twice. Some of those stories I intend to go back to eventually, but in order to move forward, I had to let them go and start something new. My current WIP is something I never would have thought of before the fire and wouldn't have had the skill to write at that time even if I had. And I'm loving every minute of it! If I had tried to hang on to what I'd done in the past, I would have missed the opportunity for something even better in the future. Sometimes God wants us to let go of one thing so our hands are free to grab on to another.

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    1. Terri, I'm so sorry about the fire and everything you lost. But I love your spirit and am excited about your new project. Go you!

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  5. Thank you for this, Pam! I've been fighting a cold for the past week (I know you know what that is like!) and trying to keep the lingering virus from turning into a sinus infection. The result is that I just don't have the energy to work right now.

    So I'll enjoy our warm and sunny day today by bundling up in my recliner and watching the blue sky while I let my story simmer on the back burner...

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    1. Ugh, Jan, so sorry you're still feeling poorly. It seems that we get over one thing and something else crops up. Relax, rest, and reflect on your story!

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  6. I haven't thought of that song in years but I'm sure I'll be hearing it in my head as I begin my next book. Why does it seem like winter is so long? Or maybe it's this pandemic season we're in. Either way, I do try each day to look for the light - in my grandchildren, in the birds at my bird feeders, and even in my pets antics.

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    1. Oh, Christina, your comment reminded me.... I had two of my grands here today and while we couldn't go outside, we watched the redbirds playing in a sunny patch and they sure did bring joy to us. One came up close to the window and the kids really enjoyed seeing them up close.

      I did too. :)

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