writing process

Never Say Never

Posted by Barbara Techel
Never Say Never
My First Author School Visit April 2008

What a curious few days it has been.

I’ve been working on updating my bio, book order form, and letter of agreement.  All things I had in place five years ago when I did over 400 school and library appearances with my dachshund, Frankie.

For so long, I couldn’t imagine a day I’d do an author visit without my faithful, steal-the-show, wheelie dog, at my side. Even when my friend Mary mentioned that I could still continue to do author visits after Frankie died, I just couldn’t imagine it–it didn’t feel right to me. And honestly, I was burnt out.

But time has a way of sometimes changing one’s thoughts.

And it isn’t something I planned. But when a friend contacted me, who recently took a new principal job at a nearby school asking me if I’d come visit their school and talk about the writing process, life as an author, what empathy is, plus a lunch and learn with the teachers, I found myself curiously open to it.

Working on updating my forms I find myself excited about doing this visit in either January or February, which will be a morning session with k-2 and then an afternoon session with 3-4 graders.

I find myself smiling as I think about Frankie and how, because of her, I was able to gain the confidence to speak in public – and as you likely know that is most people’s number one fear!

I also find myself in sweet reflection recalling a reading I had done with Frankie with my friend, Dawn, who is an animal communicator. It was the day before Frankie passed away.

During that reading Frankie shared how she loved how I’d become much more relaxed as we did more and more presentations over the years. And how I’d learned to go more with the flow and not be so anxious and overly uptight about being oober organized – which I can tend to be – and something I never verbally shared with anyone. And Frankie was spot on!

So much I learned from that little dog who flew through the school hallways on her wheels, oftentimes looking like she’d take flight!

It was such a beautiful time in my life. And so it is now, too. Opportunities and possibilities to ponder and consider and take advantage of when it feels right.

While I could never imagine sharing Frankie’s story without her, here I am, ready to do just that and feeling happy in heart about it. While she won’t be with me, and I shall stand alone, it is the loving memory of her and all she taught me that I am never, ever alone…

And what a lesson in never saying never.

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My Writing Process Blog Tour

Posted by Barbara Techel

IMG_2067Feeling like I am part of the outside world with lots of windows and light is important to me for my writing process

I’m honored that I have been asked to take part in this blog tour called #mywritingprocess. It’s a tour that includes many writers of different genres and a sneak peek into their lives. Don’t you just love peeking in on what creatives are doing? I know I do because it never fails to inspire me! Each writer participating is answering a few simple questions.

I was invited by Linda Hoye who blogs over at A Slice of Life Writing. She has also written a touching and brave memoir called Two Hearts, An Adoptee’s Journey Through Grief and Gratitude. Linda has helped many who have been adopted and wrestling with the many emotions that often comes with this. I hope you will stop by her blog and learn more about her.

Without further ado, here are my answers to questions for #mywritingprocess!

What am I working on?

One of my passions is sharing with others the lessons our animal friends teach us. I’ve especially grown in ways I never imagined because of the dogs I’ve had the last twenty plus years. I often credit them for how far I’ve come in my personal development because of the many wise lessons they’ve taught me.

After two children’s books written about my dachshund, Frankie, who suffered from a disc disease and in a dog wheelchair, I went on to write a memoir about my journey with her called, Through Frankie’s Eyes which I released last February. Frankie taught me to stand tall in the woman that I am and make choices that matter to me without worrying what others may think.

In loving and caring for Frankie, and after she passed away, I knew I’d want to nurture another special needs dachshund. I was led to adopt Joie (pronounced Joey) from a rescue in the state of Washington. Sadly, she was only with me for short ten months before I had to give her the gift of letting her go due to numerous complications that had her in severe pain.

Currently I’m working on the story of what I learned from Joie. Many days I feel good about my writing process and where I am at with this book, there are some days I don’t like what I’m writing. But that is part of being a writer. I’m learning to trust the process, to accept where I am at with it, and to let it unfold as it is supposed to.

I continue to blog frequently for my blog writing about the human-animal bond, living an authentic, meaningful and simple life, and what inspires me. I also publish a newsletter twice a month, and am pursuing more guest post opportunities.

Why do I write what I do?

What I write about is what I am passionate about which are dogs, the human-animal bond, living simply, being authentic, and finding meaning and joy in our lives. I also want to be a positive light in the world, though yes, I’m not always positive, but I try to learn from each moment that is challenging and look for the blessings. I just feel there is enough bad news in the world. I want to make a difference by being a beacon of all the good that there is if we open ourselves to it.

I’m fascinated by what animals share with us if we are awake enough to observe and take in those lessons. I left the corporate world years ago because I didn’t like the hustle and bustle or how politics so often plays into world. I wanted a simpler life. I also wanted to live from my own values and choices and not get caught up in society expectations.

Often I find myself being still with my dogs and this helps center me in this place of just being and of being aware of what it is that makes me happy. And then doing what I can to live from that place. They are my daily reminders of choosing to live with joy. These are the things, moments and observations that I love to share and write about in hopes of helping others live from the center of who they truly want to be.

How Does My Writing Process Work?

When I left my full time J.O.B. almost 15 years ago (and wow just thinking about this now, I didn’t realize it was that long ago!), I had a challenging time finding what fit for me in terms of a schedule. The nine to five time frame was so ingrained in me. Still is, in many ways.

I thought there was maybe this “magic” formula by which all writers wrote. So often I’d read about the process of other writers and think, maybe I should do it their way? But over time I’ve learned to follow my own intuition. And honestly, there are some days that I don’t want to write. Those are the challenging days to plant my butt in the chair and write anyways. And usually what happens is I’m so glad that I did. It helps me to work through my thoughts which in turn helps me in special kind of therapy all just for me. But what I’ve also gained is a trust that I will come back to the page, my blog, the book I’m working on, or whatever project I have on my list.

My ideas and thoughts come to me most often while driving, in the shower, or out walking, so I try to have pen and paper with me to capture them. I also carry a small recorder for when driving since it is not a good idea to write while driving!

While there is much thought to writing by hand, for me, I have to use a laptop. My thoughts tend to come so fast that my fingers can’t keep up with pen and paper.  I do much better with my fingers flying across my keyboard!

Now I’m happy to share with you three writers I’ve nominated  to be a part of the #mywritingprocess blog tour. Please be sure to visit their blogs next week to learn about their writing process.

peg-kelly-full-body-shot-small2Meet Peggy Frezon and her writing companion, Kelly. Peggy Frezon is an author, pet columnist, and multiple award-winning freelance writer from New York. She contributes regularly to Guideposts and Angels on Earth magazines and is published in more than a dozen Chicken Soup for the Soul books. Her work can also be seen in magazines such as Woman’s World, Teaching Tolerance, Pockets and others, and in books including The Ultimate Dog Lover, Miracles and Animals, Soul Matters, and David Jeremiah’s Grace Givers. She writes two web columns, Pawsitively Pets and Animals 4 People, is a staff writer for Be the Change for Animals, and blogs at Peggy’s Pet Place, which will soon be relaunching as “The Writer’s Dog.” Her first book is Dieting with my Dog (Hubble & Hattie, 2011).

deanne001Meet Deanne Schultz who is a freelance writer and blogger. She specializes in human interest stories, newsletters, and proofreading. My work includes over 400 stories written for the Sheboygan Press, Herald Times Reporter and Lakeshore Living, a magazine distributed by their parent company, Gannett Media. She is currently working on a series of humorous essays titled The Green Hornet Suit and Other Musings.

kimMeet Kim J. Gifford. She used to describe herself as a writer and teacher by day and a mild-mannered pug owner and photographer by night, but then realized that’s not true. Yes, since she graduated from Middlebury College in 1990, she has been writing as a career on just about any topic imaginable including the kitchen sink, literally! And, she’s been teaching writing classes in Vermont and New Hampshire, particularly memoir writing, for almost as long. But, in recent years she returned to a love of art that began in childhood and also branched out into photography, realizing that both are just new ways of doing what she has been all along – telling stories. She has exhibited her photographs, art and collages throughout Vermont, New Hampshire and Washington County in New York state. She blogs over at Pugs and Pics.

Wanting to Versus Having to. How this Changed Everything for Me.

Posted by Barbara Techel

IMG_1959I was awake at 5:00am today. As often happens to me, my mind began to fill with many thoughts.

Today I heard, “I want to write. I don’t have to write.”  This thought kept swirling around and around in my mind. I knew I better get up and write this idea down before other thoughts invaded, and it evaporated into oblivion. I knew I’d want to write about this on my blog today. I also reminded myself that I’m trying to follow these impulses more often, so I told myself to get my butt out of bed now.

When I began writing in my early 40s for a local newspaper column, then started my blog, as well as books I’ve written, I read quite a bit about the art of writing. I wanted to do it right.

I often got caught up in the process of how other writers did it. When was their best time to write? How many pages or words did they write each day?  Where did they write?  Did they feel compelled and just had to write?  Many books and blogs I read had the writer sharing they just have to write.

I wonder if wanting to, and having to, is perhaps the same thing?  I suppose it’s all in how each writer defines it. But whenever I read that another writer just had to write and couldn’t miss a day of it, like not brushing their teeth, it never really truly resonated with me.

This morning it was as if I had my own aha moment after writing for almost ten years now on a pretty consistent basis. I want to write.

It’s not like I didn’t already know this, but I feel like I now have more clarification.  Clarity is a good thing. I want to write to make a difference. To bring my thoughts and observations to those that need to hear most what I have to say.

As I’ve shared before on my blog, which became even more clear to me after my sabbatical, I want to encourage and inspire others. This is what makes me feel alive– to know in some small way, through my writing, I’m making the life of someone else just a little bit better.

I’ve heard from so many of you who follow my blog, on Facebook, or have read, Through Frankie’s Eyes how sharing my story and my thoughts has helped, or resonated with you.  This means to much so me. I’m truly grateful when you reach out to me and share your thoughts. It encourages and inspires me to keep writing.

I don’t have to write, but I want to write. Writing is my small way of bringing some positive, peace, and meaning to a world that sometimes loses sight of these things.

No longer do I have the need to find the right way to write. I may not be grammatically correct and don’t put comma’s in exactly the right place, along with a slew of other English proper’s that really never made any sense to me (this is why I love my editor when I write my books). But I want to write. I want to write from my truth and my heart.

This is part of who I am. Having a deeper clarity present itself to me like this today makes me happy to once again have my butt planted firmly in my chair and writing this moment.  Writing in a way that is right for me.