Your Environment Your Mind

Your Environment Your Mind

By Tanela Hicks

Sometimes putting your mind where it needs to be is just the thing that can put YOU where you need to be.

As the Midwest moves through a cool and rainy summer, I am reminded of the fresh beauty I saw while vacationing a couple years ago in Boston. Now I should preface everything that follows by admitting that I have an unfounded love for this city. I have no ties to the city and have never lived on the east coast, but for reasons unknown I have always loved Boston. It was April the weather was perfect for walking, thinking, and writing. The views from my hotel were not great but the moment you stepped into the heart of the city everything around me changed my perspective. Before my visit I was in a dead stop on my projects and my overall was at a low. The change of scenery had a strong effect on me as wife, mother, and writer.

Your environment can change your view and your view starts in your mind.

The weeping willow trees in the Boston Public Garden were transparent yet extremely bright and alive. A lighter green than expected and only semi bloomed, these trees did more for me than any advice column or spa day could have ever done. The swayed and swung as if they had direction but knew there job was to stand still. I would like to think they did it for me, but I know that it was really God’s design and plan. In life sometimes standing still is exactly what God wants us to do. He wants use to allow him to move and groom us for his will and purpose. The pond that quietly moved below the trees provided moisture in the air and calm to the sound of the wind. Despite the quiet scene, I remember that day it was quite busy. There were children playing in the park. Groups of tourist were rapidly walking through the park, missing the nature beauty. But then there was a couple sitting privately hug together in a sweet embrace that rejuvenated my romance and gave me the inspiration to hold my own husband’s hand (after I took the picture of course).

Don’t Lose the View

Taking the time to sit and see things through a different lens ultimately changed my life. In that moment I sat there a promised never to lose that soft heart and soul that God gave me. I promised to once again start using the gifts God gave me to help, move, and inspire others, just as that couple done for me.

We spent a total of 6 days in the city. The memory of the trip still stands strong with me, and now 2 years later I still go to this place when I feel the need to surround myself with beauty and inspiration. Especially when writing. I no longer have to physically be there, its impact was so strong that it has made a permanent mark in my mind. This place gives me happiness; it gives me peace, and reminds me of my promise and Gods vision.

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Great Music New Natural

Great Music New Natural

"We Are KING"

~KING

 

“We Are KING” by KING is easy eclectic listening. The album opens smooth and defined with Right One. You have a good understanding as to want type of music you are about to listening to; which in my book is a huge plus. Throughout the album you hear a lot of airy soft sounds which makes it a through and through album. The song order and transitions are seamless. I review enjoyed all the instrumental work. It is full on technique yet somehow not cluttered. I was so engulfed listening to the music that I had to go back through and focus on the lyrics. While there is nothing revolutionary lyrically the words in most the songs are very dreamy and vivid. Red Eye and Love Song are forward and pull you into a vision that a full of color and beauty. My only wish in this debut is I wanted to hear more of the group’s vocals. Maybe an a capella song or two would have been nice. These ladies are going to go far if the keep their niche and sound intact, but expand their vocals and of course exposure. Great job Ladies!

"Awaken, My Love!"

~ Childish Gambino

So, the winner of the year for odd and efficient goes to Childish Gambino AKA Donald Glover and his album “Awaken, My Love!”. Childish Gambino’s sound is intentionally alternative, almost not natural, but somehow still shines. The obvious Prince influence is all over this album which makes it intriguing. If you are looking for a standard hip hop rap album, this is not the album for you. If you are looking for deep lyrics mixed with trippy 70’s rock, then Awaken, My Love! is perfect. A mix between Lenny Kravitz and Andrae 3000, Childish Gambino’s lyrics are very socially conscious with songs like Riot, and Boogieman hitting all the relevant social tones of 2016. I could listen to it through and through, even opting to do it again, but mainly because I wasn’t sure what I heard. Stand Tall and Redbone were positive hits for me. The album seems to be weird for weird sake. I would have loved to hear some more jazz like instrumentals from him. Like his other albums, this was not produced for the masses, but for those who like creativity and accept the unexplainable. Good job Donald!

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Non-Fiction Niche’

Non-Fiction Niche’

                   Anyone that knows me knows how much I love to read. I enjoy a wonderfully made story. The creative demonstration from an artist, writer, or musician is always something exciting and beautiful to see. Maybe it’s because I a writer and I enjoy the seeing the creative process unfold, or maybe creativity just inspires me. Either way I cannot get enough. Currently I am reading several books. The Barrier Between- Collector Series Book Two by Stacey Marie Brown, Always Watching- Elite Guardians by Lynette Eason, and Aerie by Maria Dahvana Headley are on the top of my currently reading pile.

                   I am a die-hard Sci-Fi, paranormal fan. Imaginative stories with faraway lands and magical creatures take me away from the sterile corporate world I currently work in. If you add in some time travel it is like Christmas for a book lover girl like me. Because of this automatic pull I have created a strong motivation to stay diverse. I purposefully and regularly read “normal & mundane” stories. Most recently I read 2 of 3 books in the Hidden Identity series; which is a Christian fiction mystery series by the fast story teller Lynette Eason. I thoroughly enjoyed it and you can read my reviews for each book on my Review page.

So, that wasn’t too hard, right? Read a book with no werewolves or magic…. check. Now read some Non-Fiction Tanela.

                   I LOATH NON-FICTION! Again, my persistent thoughts on the cultural benefits of staying diverse with my entertainment choices force me to read at least one Nonfiction book a year. Thanks to my good friend, I had the chance to read a good one this year called Bringing Up Boys by Dr. James Dobson. The author has revealing and relatable concepts on raising Christian boys. I enjoyed it enough to chat with other mothers about it, but still not enough to write my standard review. See Non-Fiction is not evil, right, you just should easy into it. I still have a few others on my Non-Fiction list for the year, which includes Shonda’s Rhimes Year of Yes, but since I technically have made my quota for the year, I’m all set right?

                  Here comes the entire reason for writing this post. The accidental click on Anna Kendrick’s Scrappy Little Nobody changed tone on non-fiction. While I was clicking out of a different book on Amazon, I accidently selected Kendrick’s new memoir. Let me preference the rest of this mini fandom by acknowledging I am a little bit of a default fan. I have loosely followed Kendrick ever since the Twilight movie days because I thought she did an amazing job in those films. I have since, seen just about all her work and recently moved her to the actresses to watch category in my moviegoer pop culture mind. Okay, back to the book. So, I listened to the preview on Audible of Scrappy Little Nobody, narrated by the author Anna Kendrick (great idea) and I immediately felt her story as something I wanted to hear. She was so honest and transparent that I forgot I was reading about a celebrity. When she said in the first chapter that she wished she could call her book “A tweet, but longer.” I was sold. I downloaded the full book and started listening immediately finishing in just a few days. You can read my full review of Scrappy Little Nobody on my Review page. It’s an awesome book for all anyone.

My experience with this memoir has taught me a big lesson and I am kind of ashamed to admit it.I LIKE NON-FICTION I JUST DIDN’T REALIZE WHAT IT COULD BE TO ME
           This is shamefully because that is what I do. I Google everything about everyone; me and Wikipedia are virtual close friends, and I love learning about with world and people around me. I enjoy nosing around facts on topics from “last TV show to air on UPN” to “Aesop- real or fake storyteller” (FYI- that topic has a very interesting history, look it up). So, why have I never been moved to read a story about another person? True I still think that books like “How to Live a Better Life” would be of NO interest to me, but I am not considering reading Soledad Obrien’s book “The Next Big Story: My Journey Though the Land of Possibilities” and “Self-Inflicted Wounds: Heartwarming Tales of Epic Humiliation” by Aisha Tyler, which I have recommended and purchased for others, but never took the time to read myself. Crazy! Thanks to Anna Kendrick and her witty and revealing story telling about acceptance of one’s self, and perseverance I am excited to see what I can learn from the eyes and pens of other interesting people in the world. Non-Fiction has a Niche’ for me, and now I am right there in it.

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National Novel Writing Month

National Novel Writing Month

Learning Myself Through My Writing Goals

By Tanela Hicks

                My history with National Novel Writing Month is a little give and take; love and hate. Just like getting use to a new car, or understanding a new computer system, it took a while, but we finally understand our role in each other’s life. NaNo (as it is affectionately called) is there to be a motivator and a tool to help drive my writing career and I am here to use it. Simple.

Just as an overview, NaNo to me is the celebration and awareness of the craft of writing. There is an entire culture that pushes you to meet your writing goals throughout the year. There are camps for young writers, weekly encouragement from published authors, and tons of advice. During the month of November specifically it is “Campaign Time”. To keep it simple, if you are participating in the organization sponsored activities, you can enter a contest to complete 50,000 words in 30 days. At the end of the month you can submit what you have written for critiques, publishing help, and more. This contest not only serves as incentive, but drives project productivity. It’s a wonderful opportunity and totally free…or not use.

My first year being a part of the NaNo community I was very excited. Being the over organized person I am, I made a word count spread sheet to compare against their suggested rate of process. Yes, there are formulas, and programming in this spreadsheet that automatically told me the messages like “Great Job” when I meet my daily goal or things like “Words Waiting” when I slacked off.

national-writing-month

When I started in November 2013 with the NaNo, I actually had already completed the bulk of what “Dreams of the Heart” would come to be putting me well past the 50,000 benchmark the website set. So my big goal was to write every day. As you can see I did not succeeded at that, but overall I was thoroughly invigorated with the creativity process. I ended the month with approximately 18,000 thousand words and completed my first rough draft. Then came 2014 and I hit a huge drought. “Dreams of the Heart” draft one was complete and I was deep into rewrites. There were many complications, but my biggest headache was deciding on the level of adult content. The main character and I “fell out” multiple times the first half of the year over elements of the story that needed to be PG edited. As a true woman of faith and a new deacon’s wife it was very hard to determine what was right and what was wrong. I ultimately learned through experience and prayer to let the story direct your path no matter what. Once I settle on that school of thought, me and “Jamice”; main character of “Dreams of the Heart” become best buds again and my massive rewrite moved forward.

Writing novels, short stories, articles, or anything creative is not an easy task and those that can or even try to do it are special people. Reflecting back on my beginnings with NANO and “Dreams of the Heart” makes me smile and thank God for this talent that he has given me. I have learned so many lessons. I have applied advice received from that community and others to my two projects still in progress. Surrounding myself in a community of like-minded writers; all pushing towards similar goals, truly helped propel me to complete my first novel. If you are looking for a guide or catalyst this year for your writing try it. I will not guarantee you will hit the mark of 50,000 words, but you will learn something about your writing and a lot about yourself.

For more information on National Novel Writing Month Click Here

Happy Writing!

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