Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing you all a very happy, healthy and safe Thanksgiving!  As we go about our celebrations, let us all pause and give special thanks for all those who have and continue to serve and fight for our freedom.

Avoid the Trap of Perfectionism

I've blogged before about the debilitating idea of perfectionism.  One can argue the merits of being a perfectionist, and I am certainly one who would agree there are numerous pros.  Yet time and time again, I am slapped upside the head with the corresponding cons. 

All of you who follow and read my blog (and thank you very much to those who do!) know very well my struggle with needing to have a "perfect" (e.g, clean and organized with few things on my TTD list except writing and writing related activities) environment in which to write.  Often, I blow my entire allotted time prepping my surroundings to write only to then have no more time to accomplish what I've hoped to accomplish.

I'm working very diligently to overcome this mental need for organization...my husband would argue my surroundings are far from organized with all my piles and lists..though he obviously has no idea of the organized nature of my chaos:)

I was thumbing through a Self magazine while on the treadmill the other day and ran across this blurb about avoiding the perfectionism trap.  It referenced Elizabeth Gilbert's "Secret to Creativity" in Big Magic.  As I read, it was like Wham! 

And I quote, "Perfectionism stops people from completing their work--but even worse, it often stops people from beginning their work.  Perfectionists decide in advance that the end product is never going to be satisfactory, so they don't even bother trying to be creative in the first place."

Hell yeah!  This epitomizes me and so many things in my life but especially writing.  Giving oneself the freedom to create with no thought to the end product (until such time as one begins to edit, that is) is something I preach though am not very good at doing.  Which is why this month's Picture Book Idea Month (PiBoIdMo) challenge has been wonderfully enlightening and productive for me.  Thank you, Tara Lazar!  The idea is to generate 30 PB ideas in the month of November.  No one has to see them; they don't even have to be wonderful ideas.  They just have to be ideas, not books in whole.  I am on my honor to create them, and it has taken the pressure off and opened the floodgates.  Some ideas are definitely not so great, but some I am very excited about further developing. 

Now, my mission going forward is to take this feeling of being able to create ideas and run with the ones worth running with and not fear the crippling perfectionism that can often stop me dead in my tracks.

I urge all you PB writers to consider Tara Lazar's PiBoIdMo next year!  More info here...

http://taralazar.com/

For now, happy writing and creating.  Let it flow freely without the binding chains of the need to be "perfect."

Guardian Angel Kids eZine

Guardian Angel Kids An Online Magazine

 

November 2015 Reading and Writing Poetry

 

Special Features:

If I Could Be Anything by Kevin McNamee; Illustrations by Marina Movshina
My Grandma’s Kitchen Rules by Bill Kirk; Illustrations by Marina Movshina

 

Features :
NONFICTION ARTICLES
Yes, You Can be a Poet by Shari Klase
Styles of Poetry by Christine Collier
Awesome Acrostics by Carol J. Douglas

ACTIVITIES
Fun With Rhymes by Bill Kirk

POETRY
The Point is Tradition by A.J. Huffman
When Rhyming Gets Slumpy by Bill Kirk
What Will I Be? by Christy Mihaly
My Robot and Me by Debbie Vilardi
Sick Day Lesson by Jennifer Weiss
Autumn Kaleidoscope by Pamela Love
Poetry Project by Donna J. Shepherd

www.guardian-angel-kids.com

Guardian Angel New Releases

Congratulations to the October 2015 Guardian Angel Releases

100 Pecans for Tabitha
Academic Wings
Author: Tracey M. Cox; Illustrator: Eugene Ruble
Tabitha is on the search for 100 pecans. Help her count by 5s to reach her goal and have her favorite treats. Recipes and Pecan info included.
guardianangelpublishing.com/tabitha.htm

America Bless God— a Children’s Musical
Angelic Harmony
Authors: Dixie Phillips, Sharon Phillips
Light up your 4th of July with this simple easy-to-perform patriotic children’s musical.
guardianangelpublishing.com/america-bless-god.htm

Colby Mouse’s Christmas Gift
Wings of Faith
Author: Barbara Bockman; Illustrator: KC Snider
When Colby Mouse sees the happiness of the people family celebrating Christmas, he yearns to join in the festivities. He gives and receives a gift.
guardianangelpublishing.com/colby-mouse.htm

Papillon and the Magic Lamp
Chapbooks for Tweens
Author: Osa Kauffman; Illustrator: Aumi Kauffman Perry
A talking butterfly and a boy embark on an adventure in the desert. They encounter a talking camel, a wily salesman, and a magical lamp.
guardianangelpublishing.com/papillon-magic-lamp.htm

September 2015 Guardian Angel Publishing New Releases

Congratulations to all the talented GAP authors and illustrators of the September releases...

Guardian Angel September 2015 NEW RELEASES

BonBon
Littlest Angels
Author: Barbara Bockman Illustrations: Eugene Ruble
In Paris, France BonBon gets her wish to go home from the toy store with a child.
guardianangelpublishing.com/bonbon.htm


Clare’s Christmas Wish
Littlest Angels
Author; Tracey M Cox; Illustrator: Eugene Ruble
Two girls learn the true meaning of Christmas… GIVING.
guardianangelpublishing.com/clares-wish.htm

Gatsby’s Grand Adventures Book 3 Thomas Gainsborough’s “Girl with Pigs”
Author: Barbara Cairns; Illustrator: Eugene Ruble
When Gatsby the art gallery cat explores Thomas Gainsborough’s painting “GIRL WITH PIGS”, strange things happen.
guardianangelpublishing.com/gatsby-girl-pig.htm


Purple Frog Pajamas
Written and illustrated by San Hoy (Sandra H Sanders
Six year old Joshua has a bed wetting problem. His re-deployed mother gives him a parting gift, a set of pajamas covered with purple frogs.
guardianangelpublishing.com/frog-pajamas.htm