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When One Chapter Ends, Another Begins

posted 28th July 2010    Written by: Heather Rae    CATEGORY: Heather Rae, Season 2, What I've Learned

Six months ago, I started a new journey.  I walked away from my job and made a pact with myself – I would write my novel, start traveling and develop as an artist.  And then I decided to share that journey with you.

That’s been the best part in some ways, sharing this experience with other people who totally get it.  Which is also probably the reason I put off writing this post for so long.  What can I say?  I’m having a little separation anxiety.

Actually, I’ve been having a lot of separation anxiety lately.  Two weeks ago, I uprooted myself from Pasadena to start a new life in the Seattle area.  I arrived in the Pacific Northwest after a freaking long yet somehow amazing road trip, and the reality of leaving my friends behind hit me.  Then I realized I’d also moved incredibly far from my family in Las Vegas.  Everyone is so far away.

These days, I remind myself of this: when one chapter ends, another begins.

So, long story short, this is my last official Stratejoy post.  Personally, the fact that six months have passed since this all began, well, I can’t believe it.  Can you? I seriously had to look at the calendar and count the months to be sure.  (Not even kidding about that.)  I left my job six months ago.  I started writing for Stratejoy six months ago.  I set out to work on myself and my dreams, yep, six months ago.

Looking back at where I started, I think I’ve done pretty well.  It has, by no means, been a perfect journey.  But I made an absolutely amazing start.  And for me, for where I am right now in this moment, it actually is perfect.  Because what I’ve realized is this — where I am at any moment in time, that’s exactly where I should be.

I finished the first draft of my novel.  I haven’t started traveling yet (unless you count a three-day, six state road trip through the western U.S. and moving out of state), but I am making plans to take an international trip before the year is out.  Writing a novel sort of took over my life, leaving my art on the back burner.  I did, however, join a group for mixed-media collage artists, and I can’t wait to meet the group in August.  I went rock climbing and hiking and spent more time outdoors.  And I found a great language institute where I’ll sign up for French classes in the fall.

All in all, not a bad ride.  And it’s only just begun.  That’s the beauty in all of this.  The years may be short, but the days are long.  And I plan to pack as much life into each day as I possibly can.

I invite you to continue following my journey — the likely maddening experience of revising a novel, the joy of meeting new friends, the sadness of missing old ones, the love, the wins, the fails and my attempt to break all the rules.  Send me an email.  Leave me a comment.  Tweet me.  (And I may just resort to begging Molly to let me guest post on occasion.)  Also, if you’re ever in the Seattle area (maybe you already are), I’d love to meet you!

Here’s how to find me:

My Blog — In Search of Squid

Twitter — @insearchofsquid

There’s a song lyric that I love.  “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.”

And so, I’m signing off.  I’m thinking of it as a new beginning. A new beginning for the next group of sure-to-be-amazing Stratejoy bloggers.  And a new beginning for me, as I embark on this next chapter.

[Note from the Editor:  Okay, Heather Rae, I'm totally crying over here.  When I think back to your journey, the immense of amount of bravery, ups and downs, and grace in the face of some BIG changes- I get all choked up.  You're the epitome of a gutsy girl and I'm incredibly grateful that you shared it all with us.  Thank you from all of us.  Seriously, sunshine-  You are INSPIRING.  I can't wait to say I knew you when...

And I'm ridiculously excited for our long, long lunch next Monday.  To thank you in person, to give you a great big hug, to welcome you to this next part of your journey here in Seattle.  I wish you all the best in the world- adventures, love, learning, and success served up exactly as you'd like it.  I'm thrilled that we're going to be fast friends here in the Northwest.  Can't you just feel it?  :)    Love x 30,  Molly]

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When Life is Frustrating, Ask for Help

posted 15th April 2010    Written by: Heather Rae    CATEGORY: Heather Rae, Season 2, What I've Learned

My days have become pretty consistent.  This is a good thing.  I’m one of those people that thrive on routine, to-do lists and the familiar.  Actually, I’m sort of in love with my to-do list.

And the most important I-have-to-finish-this piece of work I give myself each day is to write at least five pages for my novel.

Every afternoon, I head to the library.  I write, write, write — well, until I get stuck or bored or both.  Then I surf the net or check Twitter or chat with some random friend on Facebook.  But that’s a whole other topic.  The point is, I make myself sit there until I reach my required page count for the day. Once I do that, I consider if I have anything more to say or if I should put it away and come back with fresh ideas the next day.  Sometimes I’m in the middle of a creative burst, and I keep typing until I get the words out.  Other times, I struggle to get even five pages and decide not to push it.

Writing every day is sort of exactly what I thought it would be.  My skills are improving, I make my own schedule and my work allows for lots of creativity.  But then, it’s also totally different.  For one, writing a novel can be incredibly frustrating.

I constantly wonder if my writing is good enough.

So here’s how I thought my daily writing would go:  I would put words to paper and think to myself — Damn, girl, you’re good. How clever of you! Yes, it’s true.  I thought the self-talk would all be positive.  I thought my innate ability to write would charm the pants right off of me (okay, maybe not my pants, but at least a sock or something).

But here’s what actually happens when I sit down to write:  I put words to paper, and as I’m describing some joint on the beach or dialogue between two people, I think — Wow, this sucks.  Could I think of nothing better to say?  Did I really just waste an entire page on that?  That’s so unrealistic.  Who would say that?

At least I seem to be in good company.  From what I hear, most novelists think they suck when doing the actual writing. Well, maybe not Stephen King.  But, hey, he’s been writing for like, ever.

Lucky for me, I have a pretty awesome partner in crime.

Most nights, Steven and I go for long walks.  We usually spend part of that time talking about my writing progress.  Sometimes all is good, and I excitedly tell him about the latest character revelations.  And then there are the times that I totally break down.  (This is the part that makes him so awesome.) Because then we talk through it.  I say, “Well, they [the characters] are in a boat, and they’re running from the bad guys.  But I have no idea where they’re going.  I wasn’t planning on putting them in a boat.  Where the hell did this boat come from?  What am I supposed to do?  It’s so stupid.”

And Steven says, “So blow up the boat.”

And then we laugh.

You see, when it comes to this book, Steven’s advice is usually centered on blowing something up.  Of course, I don’t always take this sage advice.  But what I love is that he comes up with a solution — and fast.  He makes me realize there are a thousand solutions to my problem. Stop freaking out.  We brainstorm a few ideas, pick the best one and go with it.  Crisis averted.

That’s the biggest thing I’ve learned so far.  I am not an island.  I don’t own the solution to every problem.  Sometimes I just have to ask for help.

photo credit: - reuben -

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How to Be Self Employed & Uber Productive – Sort of…

posted 24th February 2010    Written by: Heather Rae    CATEGORY: All Posts, Heather Rae, Job/Career/Work, Season 2

Being self employed is seriously hard.

Not that I really consider myself self employed.  One would assume that if you’re self employed, you’re making money.  I’m not.  Let’s be honest about that.  I’m working my ass off from the comfort of my home, for nothing more than the satisfaction of doing exactly what I want.

Seriously.  That’s it.

Hopefully, one day, someone will pay me for my hard work.  For now, I’ll have to settle for satisfaction.

So back to why it’s hard to work for myself. Actually – let me first tell you the perks.  For starters, my boss rocks!  She let’s me come in when I want, take breaks when I want, take long lunches, waste hours on the internet and leave when I want.

How’s that for freedom?

What’s the downside to having the best boss in the world?  Well, it’s all this damn freedom.  Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE it.  But it does take a bit of an adjustment and some serious self-discipline not to blow the whole day Facebook stalking old flames and watching Gilmore Girls reruns.

Seriously, I thought I would leave my job and immediately move into being uber productive and massively efficient. I would redesign my website on Monday, write a novel by Wednesday and be a bestselling author by Friday.  Sounds reasonable, doesn’t it?

Okay, perhaps I’m exaggerating a bit.  But I really did think that switching from being a micro-managed employee to someone who works for herself would be simple.

I’m not finding it so easy.

I’ve always been great with time management.  I’m a ninja multi-tasker, and I kick ass when it comes to productivity. Being productive, no sweat!

But I find that I excel most when I have a deadline.  In this new venture, I have no deadlines (no real ones anyway).

I need to give myself structure – to schedule my days in ways that keep me working and productive, to stop getting sidetracked by every little thing that crosses my path.

A few “self-employed” things have helped so far:

  1. Although the thought of it made me want to vomit a little, I decided to go back to getting up early and using my alarm clock. As much as I resisted, the fact is, I have to actually be awake in order to benefit from the extra hours I get from not having a day job.
  2. For some of my work, writing in particular, I have to be alone. This is a tough one.  My fiancé and I live together in a tiny one bedroom apartment.  He also happens to be in between projects at the moment (leaving the military and waiting for his residency to start), so he’s home all the time too.  I thought this fact would be the most fun ever – and it kind of is.  Except that it’s totally distracting.  To solve this, I’ve started assigning myself dedicated hours for writing – in which I shut myself in the bedroom and don’t come out until I’m done.  On a side note, I’ve also found that a laptop, a bed and a boatload of pillows make for an uber comfy work space.
  3. I discovered a super simple program for writing called Dark Room (Write Room on Mac). When viewed in full screen mode, you see nothing on your computer but a black background and the text that you’re typing.  This is seriously good for those of us prone to distractions (like shiny buttons, formatting options and that ever-calling internet browser).   I didn’t believe it would help until I tried it for myself.  Now I’m hooked.

So that’s where I’m at so far.  I’d love to hear some of your ideas.  Have you found ways to stay on track and keep productive when working on your own projects or being self employed?

[Editor's Note:  Just in case you lovely people haven't checked out Heather Rae's personal blog- do it!   You can follow more of her adventures and reflections as she writes a novel, travels the world and pursues her passions. And bonus of all bonuses- today she wrote about her experiences thus far with the Joy Plan!  Personal values, anyone?]

photo credit: blustar_tam

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