Category Archives: Inspiration

Inspiration from P. Bodi

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

April is National Poetry Month, a month set aside to celebrate poetry and its vital place in our society. Today, and for the next two Wednesdays, I will be sharing thought-provoking poems I have discovered this past year.

The following untitled poem was written by P. Bodi and can be found in her inspirational collection, Inherit the Dawn.

Celebrating National Poetry Month

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

April is National Poetry Month, a month set aside to celebrate poetry and its vital place in our society. Today, and for the next three Wednesdays, I will be sharing four thought-provoking poems I have discovered this past year.

The following poem was written by Ada Limón, the 24th Poet Laureate of the United States.

How to Triumph Like a Girl

I like the lady horses best,
how they make it all look easy,
like running 40 miles per hour
is as fun as taking a nap, or grass.
I like their lady horse swagger,
after winning. Ears up, girls, ears up!
But mainly, let’s be honest, I like
that they’re ladies. As if this big
dangerous animal is also a part of me,
that somewhere inside the delicate
skin of my body, there pumps
an 8-pound female horse heart,
giant with power, heavy with blood.
Don’t you want to believe it?
Don’t you want to lift my shirt and see
the huge beating genius machine
that thinks, no, it knows,
it’s going to come in first.

On Being Aware

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

Author Liz Michalski shared the following thought-provoking advice in a recent post on the Writer Unboxed blog:

As writers, we spend so much time in our heads, creating imaginary worlds and populating them with imaginary people, that sometimes we can miss the world we are a part of. Walking, we can be so immersed in telling ourselves the story we’re trying to write that we miss what the clouds are writing in the sky over our head. Driving, we hammer out plot holes and fail to see the scenery arcing past our windows. And it’s not just writing that carries us away. Worry and impatience for things to ‘begin’ (or for tea to boil) keep us from living – and noticing – what is happening now. The world becomes background noise to what is in our head.

But I’d argue that being aware of the details of life as we live them is important for us both as people, which of course is what matters the most, but also as writers. It’s these details, captured, that help us immerse readers in our stories, that bind them to us with that best magic – truth in our fiction. To capture the whispering sound of snow on the wind, the sharp green scent of pine needles crushed underfoot, the heavy, warm weight of a sleeping toddler in our arms, to trap them on the page and make them come alive, it helps if we have captured them in our memories first. And that can only happen if we allow ourselves to be aware of them as they happen.

So my challenge today to you, my dear friends, is to take a moment to settle into this complex world we live in, to slow down and look at it with open eyes, as if for the first time. What are you seeing or hearing or tasting or touching that on another day you might not have noticed?

Read the rest of the post here.

Remembering Brian Mulroney

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Earlier today, a state funeral was held at Notre Dame Basilica in Montreal for Brian Mulroney, the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. A bold and transformative leader, Mr. Mulroney accomplished so much for Canada and the world.

During his tenure, he implemented a series of significant economic reforms, including the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the negotiation of the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement (FTA). He also played a key role in establishing the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

Never afraid to take on a fight. Mr. Mulroney supported the liberation movement in South Africa. He called for the release of Nelson Mandela and imposed sanctions upon the apartheid regime. He then persuaded Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher to follow his lead. Grateful, Nelson Mandela made his first foreign visit to Canada’s parliament after his release from prison.

Prime Minister Brian Mulroney died on February 29, 2024 at the age of 84.

Here are my favourite quotations from Brian Mulroney:

Leaders must have vision and they must find the courage to fight for the policies that will give that vision life. Leaders must govern not for easy headlines in 10 days but for a better Canada in 10 years.

I can recall the splendor of the view from the highest mountaintop and the sorrow one feels in the valley of defeat. Life is an unending sequence of challenges from which no one emerges unscathed. Defeat is not something to fear but surrender is something to reject.

As difficult as the process may be to arrest and to mitigate the effects of global warming, the work cannot be left to the next fellow. The stakes are too high, the risks to our planet and the human species too grave.

Trade is Canada’s life blood. Our objective is to strengthen Canada’s stature as a first-class world trader.

Canadians have an obligation to help make the world a better and safer place. Not least, we owe it to ourselves to honor excellence and pursue it relentlessly. Canada must stand for the best in all fields of human endeavour. And we must be uncompromising in the pursuit of values that are the moral foundation of all great nations. That is my dream for my country: a Canada fair and generous, tolerant and just.

You accumulate political capital to spend it on noble causes for Canada. If you’re afraid to spend your capital, you shouldn’t be there.

You can’t be chasing 15 rabbits. Otherwise, the public mind cannot follow you.

Once you articulate an agenda, you have to follow it.

If everything is important, then nothing is important.

I am not denying anything I did not say.

On a lighter note…

Blessed with a beautiful baritone voice, our former prime minister loved to sing and considered himself a “frustrated saloon singer.” A recording of Brian Mulroney singing ‘We’ll Meet Again’ was played at his funeral, fulfilling a final wish of the former prime minister. Here’s the link:

https://www.ctvnews.ca/video/c2890921-mulroney-sings–we-ll-meet-again–at-his-funeral?playlistId=1.6819632

Finding Your Writing Groove

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to my Second Acts Series

I’m happy to welcome author and illustrator Joanna Vander Vlugt. Today, Joanna shares her new release, Spy Girls.

Here’s Joanna!

Briefly describe your first act.

I spent 34 years working as a Supreme Court Assistant in the prosecutor’s office (Crown Counsel Office) in Nanaimo and Victoria, BC. I then worked at the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner. I began writing when I was 25 while working full-time raising two small children. I had three short stories published during that time. After approximately 10 years of writing and many rejection letters, I stopped. I had studied to become a personal trainer and fitness instructor, and I couldn’t do it all. I’d like to stress that at that time, I believed I would never write again. My friends would ask me, “Have you done any writing lately?” I would say, “No. It’s not my priority.”

What triggered the need for change?

I believe if you’re a creative person, even if you stop being creative, it will resurface. My mom used to say to me, “The creativity is bubbling inside you.” I created art as a teenager. I had stopped creating art when I entered the workforce. Jump ahead 30 years and my mom has been moved into a care home, I began creating art again and selling motorcycle illustrations. My mom was my biggest supporter. I still hadn’t started writing. Six months after my mom passed, I thought about the manuscript I had written 20 years ago. I pulled it out and thought if the story was “salvageable,” I would re-write it and self-publish. The cool thing about reading that manuscript was even though I had written it, I had forgotten who was the murderer. I was reading it as a reader, not as the writer. That manuscript turned into The Unravelling, which was a Canadian Book Club Awards Finalist. A month after that book was published, I had the idea for Dealer’s Child, the second novel in this series, which was also a finalist in the Canadian Book Club Awards. My art then inspired my writing and my characters, and my writing inspired my art. That is why my heroines ride motorcycles.

Where are you now?

My third novel in my Jade & Sage series, Spy Girls, is coming out March 16, 2024. I am writing novels that I never thought I would write. I’m finishing up the first draft of a time travel, giving my characters, Jade and Sage, a break before I write the fourth book in the Jade Thyme thriller series. I’m also retired so I’m able to write full-time and pursue art projects, such as creating illustrations for a graphic novel.

Do you have advice for anyone planning to pursue a second act?

I’m living proof of that cliché, “never say never.” I never thought I would write again. I never thought I’d create art again. I’m doing both. If you are writing and working full-time, you are not alone. When I worked full-time, I’d write during my lunch hours. What I didn’t expect, after working 34 years for the government, was how I floundered when I retired. I needed to figure out my writing schedule. For so many years I dreamed about being a full-time writer. I was now at that stage in my life and I didn’t know what to do. I realized that I needed to treat my writing as a job. When that realization clicked, I had my writing routine figured out. My two dogs know at 9:00 am, when I have my coffee in my hands and walk down the hall, it’s time to head to the office where they’ll find their dog beds.

Any affirmations or quotations you wish to share?

I try every night before I fall asleep to say thank you and be grateful. To quote my mother, “We have a roof over our heads and food on the table.” When it comes to writing and the publishing industry, the one rule which needs to be stitched on a pillow is, “do not compare.” Everyone’s writing journey is unique. Appreciate recognition, be it big or small, and keep writing the stories you want to read.

Blurb

A CIA action officer is released from prison. A Chief Justice is murdered, and the Law Society is scrutinizing Jade Thyme’s conduct. Jade’s life can’t get much worse until she is coerced into finding an elusive double agent. Tangled in lies and political agendas, high speed chases and sticky bombs, can Jade outplay a dangerous Russian assassin before her own life is terminated?

Excerpt

Adam recognized the mob boss, who was in town for business when he was arrested in an after-hours nightclub. This was the mobster’s second assault in two weeks, and he was now being held in custody until his bail hearing. Adam stepped away from the table when he saw the red box on a cabinet.

Was it . . . her? He flipped the lid and pulled out cotton. Teeth. Upper and lower jaw, gold-plated. Crap. Katriona had been here. Maybe he should show the teeth to Elyssia? Get his point across as to who they were messing with.

The door opened. Elyssia’s voice was now at gunshot decibels. “We are through!” Dressed in a sparkling purple mini-dress, white fur shawl and purple ostrich feather stilettos, she pulled wheeled luggage behind her.

Jan followed. “Elyssia, listen. It’s a bad time right—”

“When isn’t it a bad time, Jan? Every other woman comes before me. It’s not like I’m a three dressed up as a nine. I’m a nine. More than a nine, a Goddamn ten. And you treat me like crap.”

Adam looked up. He had heard that lyric, three dressed up as a nine. Where? When?

“These are dangerous—”

“We’re through.”

She marched onto the porch. The fur shawl slipped, landing on the pavement, exposing a Prince tattoo on her left shoulder.

She stopped, her legs straddling two steps.

“Your shawl,” Jan said, holding it out to her.

She grabbed it and clicked out of sight.

Jan closed the door and returned to the main living area. He rubbed his hands over his face. “Give me a minute.”

“Trooper.”

“Excuse me?”

“The rock band Trooper wrote and sang that song, 3 Dressed Up as a 9. My dad listened to them all the time.”

“Glad you’re tripping down memory lane at my expense, but we’ve got bigger issues.” Jan disappeared into another room.

Links

BookBub | Goodreads | Amazon Author Page | Instagram | Podcast |
Amazon Buy Link

Character vs Personality

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

In his recent release, Hidden Potential, organizational psychologist and best-selling author Adam Grant shares the character skills and motivational structures that can help people realize their potential. Here’s a thought-provoking excerpt:

Character is often confused with personality, but they’re not the same. Personality is your predisposition—your basic instincts for how to think, feel, and act. Character is your capacity to prioritize your values over your instincts.

Knowing your principles doesn’t necessarily mean you know how to practice them, particularly under stress or pressure. It’s easy to be proactive and determined when things are going well. The true test of character is whether you manage to stand by those values when the deck is stacked against you. If personality is how your respond on a typical day, character is how you show up on a hard day.

Personality is not your destiny—it’s your tendency. Character skills enable you to transcend that tendency to be true to your principles. It’s not about the traits you have—it’s what you decide to do with them. Wherever you are today, there’s no reason why you can’t grow your character skills starting now.

Source: Hidden Potential by Adam Grant, pp. 20-21

On Getting Better Results

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

Entrepreneur Shane Parrish shares insights about overcoming unconscious reactions and making better decisions in his recent release, Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results. Here’s an excerpt:

While no one chooses difficult circumstances, adversity provides opportunity. The test isn’t against other people, though; it’s against our former selves. Are we better than we were yesterday? When circumstances are easy, it’s hard to distinguish ordinary people from extraordinary ones, or to see the extraordinary within ourselves. As the Roman slave Publilius Syrus once said, “Anyone can steer the ship when the sea is calm.”

The path to being exceptional begins when you decide to be responsible for your actions no matter what the situation. Exceptional people know they can’t change the hand they’ve been dealt, and don’t waste time wishing for a better one. They focus instead on how they’re going to play the cards they have to achieve the best result. They don’t hide behind others. The best people rise to the challenge—whatever it is. They choose to live up to their best self-image instead of surrendering to their defaults.

One of the most common mistakes people make is bargaining with how the world should work instead of accepting how it does work. Anytime you find yourself or your colleagues complaining “that’s not right,” or “that’s not fair,” or “it shouldn’t be that way,” you’re bargaining not accepting. You want the world to work in a way that it doesn’t.

Failing to accept how the world really works puts your time and energy toward proving how right you are. When the desired results don’t materialize, it’s easy to blame circumstances or others. I call this the wrong side of right. You’re focused on your ego not the outcome.

Solutions appear when you stop bargaining and start accepting the reality of the situation. That’s because focusing on the next move, rather than how you got here in the first place, opens you up to a lot of possibilities. When you put outcome over ego, you get better results.

Source: Clear Thinking by Shane Parrish, pp. 49-50.