My Blog

See the World at its Worst

by Ninagracia, posted in Opinion Writing, Writing

I remember when I was young when I could barely reach the kitchen sink. I would stand on my toes, reaching for the soap and water to wash my hands. This is the first thing I learned in my childhood-washing my hands properly.

Now, we seemed to have forgotten how to wash our hands properly. The fundamental necessity to save our lives and others is a simple act of washing hands.

I don’t remember anymore the number of times I have washed my hands in a day. It is beginning to dry my skin. Sooner or later, our pharmaceutical companies will need to produce hand lotions or hand creams to treat skin dermatitis.

But that is the least of our problem now.

We are facing challenging times right now.  We are scared, confused and angry.

When I used the slogan on my website, “We exist to rise up and grow” as the central theme of what all my writing is going to be,  I didn’t think that one day I would be asking myself why I used this theme.

Our existence into this world is put into test. How we respond to adversity and challenges are being tested right now.

If we rise to the occasion or we crumble into pieces, we will never be able to hide it anymore. It will show who we are and what we are made of.

Some will show their real colours, and the good and the bad in all of us will appear.

Leaders will exhibit their leadership ability, and unwilling followers will display their individualistic behaviour. The others will fully cooperate and sometimes offer to help, while, there would be those who will exaggerate and push their own opinion.

We are confused because we hear different stories, and we are continually being told numerous instructions on what to do.

We are scared because we do not know how long it will last and we are afraid for our own safety and the safety of our loved ones.

Our livelihood is being threatened. We are scared to lose what we worked so hard for so many years, and then be taken away from us.

We are angry about why it must happen, and we are mad with the world.

Illustration By: Nathan May

Our anger should not be focused on others who are trying to live their lives to the best of their abilities. It is not our place to question their faith if it is the only thing that gives them strength and hope, and a feeling of security. Just like you and me and everyone else, it is their right to have faith and belief in a Devine power, which is the only thing that will give them the will to survive.

It is okay not to believe. It is perfectly understandable to put one’s faith to a Supreme power to lift your spirit and strengthen your hope and your will to survive. Let us respect everyone’s faith and belief. That is all we’ve got now.

We are not alone, and we all have dreams and purpose of living. Let us serve our purpose in life and do our best all the time.

We become prisoners in our own home, and we spent a lot of time being alone.

We dreaded going to work, and now, we lost what provides for our living.

There will be days when our hopes would be shattered. We lose focus on allowing ourselves to have the emotion and at the same time, to be supportive to our friends and family.

We exist to learn.

There is so much noise around us. It’s everywhere, and all over the place, it’s the whole world.

It is not a noise of conflict or war. It’s a cry for help to be together as one and fight this disease that is crippling the universe.

Suddenly, the unpleasant noise of conflict and war silenced us. Every nation in the world had forgotten what they were fighting for before it all happened.

We learned to forgo arrogance, the race to power, who is reliable and who is not. It’s all because we are fighting one and the same war – the war to eradicate coronavirus, immediately and for good.

Our life became a tight race. This disease knows no boundaries. It doesn’t discriminate, and it has no time limits.

We learned that human activities have contributed to this problem. There is no need to blame each other now or point the finger at anybody. We are all accountable, directly or indirectly.

We learned that the Earth doesn’t belong to us. It is our home and home for every living creatures – in land, water and air.

But for us, human beings forgot all of that. Instead, we crossed the boundaries. Dictated by greed and selfishness, those that should be left alone were disturbed and taken away from their habitat and food supply.

We disturbed what is in the air, the land and in water.

We will get through this. We will survive, and we will get better, but it will leave a mark that will reside in the deepest core of our hearts. It will heal, but it will always be sore to touch. It will become a constant reminder of outlining our journey.

We exist to learn and grow. Part of growing up is learning to co-exist with every living thing here on Earth. A million pieces of lives will cover the distance to get us to the finish line. Yet, the race may be just beginning.

What is important now and what counts the most is our attitude and our behaviour towards one another.

Give due respect and help those who need it most. We all deserve a place here on Earth, big or small, and every living thing.

For regardless of today, there will always be tomorrow to look forward to.

Till next time. Take care of each other and love one another.

Cheers!

We Will Prevail, The World Will Survive

by Ninagracia, posted in Opinion Writing, Writing

I would like to take a short break from my usual routine of posting articles on writing and instead focus on what is happening around us.

I understand it is hard to concentrate on your writing when there are so many things going on around you. I, for one, is also getting distracted by so many news that is taking place right now.

It is alright to get scared. That is normal. When you are afraid, you become more cautious, alert with your surroundings, and protective not only of yourself but also of your loved ones.

We fear the invisible things. It is hard to fight and eradicate what is not visible to the naked eyes. So, here we are, trapped and tortured with fear, hysteria, negativity, and judgement.

Do not let these crush our spirit. We are better than that. Our prospect of survival depends on our ability and our behaviour towards one another.

Our government and the media have bombarded us endless news and discussions about the coronavirus that is taking over our lives now.

A great American leader, Thomas Jefferson, once said, “The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government.”

We looked up to our politicians governing our country for guidance, for protection, for good health, and financial security. They are also human like us with a family that needs protection and security. And, they would do everything what they think is best for everyone.

The call for a national emergency has put us all in a state of fear. To overcome that level of anxiety, we must be resilient and strong in spirit.

We are dependent on one another for survival, yet, we ignored the cry for extreme precaution and social or physical distancing.

We can no longer go to work, but it is not an opportunity to go around places and seek fun and adventure. We are not on a holiday break, not anymore.

We must think of our safety, our total well-being, and the safety of the people around us and our community. Our only hope is for our society to act as one family looking after each other, caring for one another and providing help who need it most.

We have that induced fear and anxiety of missing out or not having anything that will provide us for our daily maintenance.

This fear led us to greed and selfishness. We behaved like animals fighting for a mere piece of item that we could share with everyone.

Selfishness dictated our behaviour to take more than what we need and what we can swallow. Still, we instead have it all for fear of not having anything at all.

Let us all get reminded what Mahatma Gandhi said…

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need but not every man’s greed.”

Let this challenging experience become our teacher about life.

We learned the value of life when it diminished right before our eyes. We don’t own it. What is left of it will be taken away anytime, whether we are ready or not.

We learned to slow down, to take a deep breath, and to go home.

We move in a fast lane where the nights are no longer welcome; when the power never gets turned off, and technologies dictate everything we do, what to say and even what to eat.

We found time to sit down and have meals with our family.

We listened to music, read a good book and wrote a poem, and spent time with the people in our household.

And, for the first time, we felt that fear that we might lose what we love.

Keep your faith grounded and don’t be ashamed to pray. We will survive this horror. We will fight it, and we will pass the test.

Let us renew and cherish what is left on Earth. It is our home. It is our responsibility to take care of it.

Till next time. Take care of each other.

Sources: brainyquote.com; quotetab.com

Does Age Really Matter?

by Ninagracia, posted in Writing, Writing Advice

The house is clean, dishes are done, dinner is cooked, so what’s next?

Over the years, you have accustomed yourself doing these routines daily. This is your weekend, but you are stuck with household chores.

You thought about the years – those years you put in towards working to make a living. It was a job that you dreaded sometimes, but you have to get up in the morning and go to work. No matter what your job is about, it paid your bills, your mortgage, and sent your children to school.

You found it hard to balance your priorities between work, family, and doing the job you like to do.

Just like everybody else, you chose family first, and you got yourself doing something you never enjoyed.

Your children are all grown-ups now, but sometimes you feel like you are too old to do anything anymore.

So, what if you are now in your 40’s, 50’s, or in your 60’s. Does it really matter how old you are when it comes to pursuing that dream of writing a book one day?

Are you still stuck on that chair contemplating what it would have been like if you pursued that dream?

Or, perhaps you are still wrapped up with the idea that the right time and opportunity will come. One day maybe, but not today!

That day is NOW.

You reached the prime of your life, your golden years. Everybody deserves something better – YOU, me, and the entire human race.

The opportunity that you have been waiting for has come. Right NOW, TODAY. It wouldn’t knock on your door. It is already there waiting. You need to take the necessary action and do what you have been waiting for a very long time.

This is the moment in your life to be the person you wanted to be and what you always wanted to do.

Write that book. You have so much wisdom to share.

Peel off the old YOU because it’s time for you to shine.

Do not focus on your age. It is just a number and be proud of it. The higher the number goes, the greater the experience and maturity you have within you.

You have so much to offer because your experiences are your lessons. You passed those lessons, and you learned from it, so it’s time to share it and let everyone learn from you.

So, till next time. Dream big and make it happen.

 

Gracie is Finally Here

by Ninagracia, posted in Books, Children's Books, Featured post

Yes, Gracie made it to the finish line, and she’s here to tell you her story.

“Gracie…Shhh!” is a chapter book for children between 9 and 12 years old.

It is a story about friendship and the quest for the truth about magic and mythical creature.

The characters in the story are believable and behave in ways that are consistent with their age and background.

It has a light humour, gentle, and it is written informally like a friend telling the story to another friend.

“…as always, I was blamed for the storm. I created the storm, according to the little children.

I began to think about whether they believed that I have the power to cast destruction in our school.”

A GIFT OF POETRY: Emily

by Ninagracia, posted in Personal Pieces, Poetry

If we can only choose our birthday, many of us would select Valentine’s Day as the day of our birthday.

Lucky for those who are celebrating their birthdays today because it will always be remembered by friends and families.

When your sister is celebrating her birthday, it is always a challenge to find the right way to express how much she means to you.

So, your sister could be skinny but gentle, loving and affectionate, still unmarried, sassy but a cranky old lady, impossibly stubborn, sometimes moody but caring and fun-loving…

Oops! I just described my sister.

So, sister, we’re here to tell you Happy Birthday and Happy Valentines Day to you.

Here’s our gift to you.

 

FROM ALL OF US

 

It’s Never Too Late to Write Your Book

by Ninagracia, posted in Writing, Writing Advice

This is the last series of “My Personal Journey as a New and Emerging Author”. I hope I was able to give you a bit of insight into my writing journey and encouragement to keep on writing in order to achieve your writing goal. After all, we all want the same thing – be an author.

Every new undertaking is not easy. It requires discipline and dedication to achieve a goal, and being a new author is one of them.

It was not a decision I made overnight, nor something I planned for a very long time.

Writing to me is like a seed that I plant on the pot. I water that seed to grow, and then I nourish that seed to blossom and bear flowers or fruits afterwards.

That seed represents my desire to write, and the flower or the fruit I reaped from that plant gave me a sustainable amount of knowledge and skills to pursue a dream.

This is what I do now – I write.

My journey is like a winding road. There is a lot of twists and turns. It is even harder when there’s no one showing you the way.

Our technology provided me with dozens of information from successful authors who worked their way to the top. Their experiences are like precious gems. They are valuable and priceless, and their generosity to share it with new authors like me are remarkable.

Yes, I read too. I am not a very enthusiastic person when it comes to reading. I dread long passages. Most definitely, I don’t have the patience to get to the “end” part of the story. I couldn’t wait to know the ending of the story. I am so bad when it comes to surprises, so sorry about that. I always jump straight to the final chapter. Silly as it may sound, but that is what makes me go back from the start and read the entire book afterwards.

I read to learn and to sharpen my skills. I read on the genre I like to write, and I also read other types that fascinate me.

I write too, and I write everything that comes into my head from poetry to stories of any kind. Sometimes, I write myself a letter when I am feeling unhappy.

These series of actions are something I have accustomed to doing over some time.

Some say it is better to stick to one genre to help me establish my own brand. I can’t entirely agree with that. I hesitated to do that simply because I’m not too fond of the idea of limiting myself to one genre.

I wanted to be able to entertain children and write children’s book too whenever some funny stories come to my head.

If I’m feeling over the moon, I wanted to be able to write romance and share that feeling to people of my age and take them with me to never-never land.

And of course, there will be moments that I like to play with words and rhyme them to come up with something inspirational.

I wish I could condense all of these into one BIG mighty word to make everyone’s writing journey easy, but there is no shortcut, unfortunately.

We all must go through the process, right from the beginning, step by step. There is no “finish line”. We must continue to move forward, learn new things, and meet new people. We should continue to grow and mature and evolve at the same time with the modern technologies that kept on changing minute by minute.

Our craft is a combination of skill and talent. They go hand in hand, and we cannot separate one from the other.

We are all born with the talent of some kind, but we need the right skill to harness that talent and make it come to life.

Anyone can write and so do you, and I can too, but it is up to us how far we want to go.

When I write, I go to a series of self-doubts that I am not good enough.

The truth is, there will always be someone who will be so much better than us. And there will be another one who will be heaps better than that “someone”. This cycle will keep on going on in the circle, and if we let that get into our heads, then writing becomes more difficult and challenging to conquer.

I doubted myself that I may not be good enough, but that is not the only thing that bugs me occasionally.

Am I too late to pursue this endeavour? Would I fit into the new generation of young and talented authors? These are like broken records that kept on playing at the back of my mind.

It scared me, so there were many occasions that I stopped and concentrated on doing other things as some people do.

But writing is so addictive. It is like a bar of chocolate that I crave to have, and if I can’t have one, it drives me nuts.

And so, I have no other alternative except to feed that addiction. I got that pen and paper and started to write…and then write some more until the lights on my brain begin to switch back on again.

I write to express my thoughts and feelings. I use words as my medium of expression – beautiful words, kind words, or inspiring words.

I stopped thinking about trying to fit into the new and young generations, and to all others who are a much better writer than me.

I write to entertain and inspire readers – that’s all and nothing else.

I still allow myself to dream. The good thing about dreams, it has no expiration date for as long as I wake up and make that dream come true.

Don’t let our age become a barrier to shine. We have good stuff to write. It’s all within us, packaged with maturity and experience.

It’s never too late to write your book. So write it!

Till next time, dream big and make it happen.

The Battle of the Block

by Ninagracia, posted in Writing, Writing Advice

Fighting Writer’s Block

Writing your first sentence could be daunting, horrible, or even impossible. You watched that blinking cursor patiently waiting for you to type a word, but nothing is happening. You wished it would move on its own and miraculously type some words for you if not sentences would even be better.

Imagine finishing a whole article, when you are already struggling to write a simple sentence.

You wonder too how to begin.

.

 

If you see that vast space on top of this, that is something I purposely skipped. I’ve got nothing to write, as a matter of fact. I honestly at this time of the night, couldn’t come up with anything to begin my article. It has been three days that I have struggled to shake things off my head.


I shifted the time from the day and tried to write at night. There you go, I still have blank spaces in between.


If you think I’m talking nonsense, well I agree with you on that, and

If you’re saying I am experiencing “writer’s block”, you’re not wrong.


I have no definition of what writer’s block means, nor I can give advice on how to tackle such a thing.


What I can only imagine about writer’s block is like a brick wall in front of me. It is too close to my face, and that I couldn’t see what is behind it.

I can also associate writer’s block like a white canvas with nothing on it. Even traces of sketches that the artist have done is no longer visible. Just plain white canvas.

Like many other writers, I have experienced the pain of writer’s block, not only once, twice, but many times.

Imagine how difficult it is if you write for a living or working on a deadline. Experiencing the writer’s block is going to slow your writing process.

Right now, as I write this article, I am beginning to feel the flow of some words coming out of my head, simply because I just kept on typing anything. It is like talking to a friend, whining just about everything, including not being able to finish this article.

Fighting writer’s block is like fighting with a black belt ninja expert. You want to crash that brick wall, but you need steady hands and legs to kick it down to pieces.

For someone like my age, that is not even possible. To beat it, I gave my writer’s block a name: “TORA” meaning “tiger”.

Tigers are fierce and territorial animals. They won’t leave, and they will take over.

I know that whenever Tora is hanging around me again, I feel that I can’t write. I call out his name aloud, I yell, I get angry, and I order him to get out of my way. It is easy to release your frustration, especially if there is something you could focus on, like a name.

Sometimes, I take a break. I leave my computer and watch the TV briefly. There are other times that I take a nap and then wake up fresh to start again. I know that lack of sleep is one cause of the mental block.

I never cleared up my desk. The clutter makes me keep going back to my work if there were papers and books scattered on my desk. I always feel that I have some writing to finish right away.

Fighting writer’s block or Tora as I call it is quite tricky. It would stay for as long as it likes. It could take days, weeks, or even months.


WHEN THAT HAPPENS, IT CALLS FOR DRASTIC ACTION!

I use music as my weapon of destruction. Michael Bublé always comes to my aid. I like jazz, and I like almost all his songs. 

Some say, listening to music without the lyrics would calm us down. I have no personal preferences when it comes to that, for as long as they are my favourite songs.

TORA doesn’t like music. It makes him sleepy, lazy, and ineffective. He would still try to put in a fight and hang around for as long as he can.

He doesn’t like jazz. It would kill him to listen to me sing. The only way is to retreat and leave me alone. Having a lousy singing voice sometimes helps. Can you believe that?

There are countless of advice we could gather to help us overcome writer’s block. Some are more scientific, and some are simple personal take.

Whichever you want to proceed, it all depends on how you handle it.

We all have a writing system that we could change or simplify to make our writing process more accessible.

Writer’s block or mental block is never going to leave us. It will always be around any time or any day. If we develop a system, then, we could always go around it and beat it to the ground.

Hopefully, it would never come back.

Happy writing!

Desperately Looking for Inspiration

by Ninagracia, posted in Writing, Writing Advice

Our society today is full of surprises. One minute you are a nobody, then suddenly, you have that glittering fifteen minutes that shoot you to fame and stardom. All you did is act silly, say something to create a mass debate, or do nothing, but you still get the attention.

It doesn’t work in the writing world. We don’t get the fifteen minutes to stardom because we need more than fifteen minutes. It takes a long time and many hours of work just to come up with some right materials or ideas.

Most of us, especially new writers or authors, struggle most of the time to find a consistent flow of ideas for our story.

It looks like this is the common denominator for everyone who is in the creative writing world.

We need the inspiration to make our writing flow smoothly. We want to showcase our artistic talent, and at the same time, we want the balance to project to our readers our style without compromising delivering good quality stories.

Waiting for inspiration to come to us is near to impossible. Where do we get it, or where can we find it? If it is something that I can buy, I will buy them all and keep them in my fridge.

Inspiration comes in different forms to any writer. It could be the object of your affection if you are in a romantic relationship, or it could be anything that makes your mind race, and your heartbeats.

Inspiration could be just the state of our mind. It is something like this – we are not feeling it, or not in the mood to do such a thing.

Remember when you don’t feel like cooking dinner for your family? What about when you couldn’t be bothered answering your emails or your text messages? Hey, what about cleaning your house too?

We don’t need the inspiration to do all those things. We don’t feel like doing them.

I, for one, am guilty of the above. I’m not particularly eager to do those things not because I need to be inspired. I was feeling lazy at that time.

Most of us associate inspiration to love or being in love. We look at our muse as our source of strength. It powers our mind to be artistic, imaginative, and creative. It empowers us to take the leap and transport our vision from pen to paper.

What happens when inspiration did not come to us? Indeed, we don’t know where to find it. So, all we could do was wait for it to come to us.

And, if it doesn’t come to us, does it mean we can’t start that story that’s been on our head for a long time?

Should our writing take a second spot because inspiration didn’t come to us?

If we wait, then we will never be able to start writing that story. Just imagine finishing it too.

Personally, I have issues with inspiration. Waiting for it to come to me had cost me so much time. It was a complete waste of time because it will never occur to you.

I’ve learned to look for it, hunt it down, and I used it while I have it.

I discovered that I could get inspiration anywhere. I love chocolates, so I write down what I felt when I ate that bar of chocolate.

I like watching people too. So, I watched people walked past my street while I vacuumed the floor. When I’m done, I sit near the window and watch. I came up with some good descriptions I thought I could use for my characters.

I hunted down my inspiration and used it to the max until it leaves me again.

I am no longer worried about where to find inspiration. I know how to look for it, and at the same time, I felt that I don’t need it anymore.

It doesn’t stop me from sitting in front of my computer and writing. I typed any word that I could think of, not sentences, just word. One word became two, then three, it became a sentence, and more sentences, and so on, and so on.

Getting into the habit of sitting in front of my computer every day helped me improved my attitudes towards working consistently and having a positive approach towards achieving an undertaking.

Once in while I still need to be inspired to write effectively. It doesn’t hurt to want it so badly. I go through some bad days every now and then, and it’s not all too bad to wish that my muse would come and generously throw his magic dust on to me.

Always remember, we create magic, not our muse.

Where to Get Ideas for Your Story

by Ninagracia, posted in Writing, Writing Advice

Okay, I listened to what everyone was saying. I’ve been reading a lot, especially in the genre I want to write.  I also read anything I could get my hands to like catalogues in my mailbox and old local papers that were left in the shop’s windows. There are stories and countless advice on the internet too. I’ve learnt to keep a pen and papers handy in case I need them. 

After all these preparations, I started wondering what to write and where I should get those bits and pieces of ideas for my story. I was like a tradie equipped with tools but no place of work to go.

So, I went surfing. The “net” is very friendly and has so much to share. Some said I could get ideas just by simply listening in to people talk. Anywhere – in the bus, train, shopping centre, at the coffee shop, or even eavesdrop on people talking on their mobile phones. People speak too loudly while on their mobile phones. Don’t they irritate you sometimes?

I tried the train. It was easy and not very much people use the train after peak hours. After moving around seats and looking for the right spot, I finally found one near the window. A couple sitting behind me were talking to each other. Perfect! It was true, there were nuggets of ideas you could get from people like the words they say, or even what they were talking. So, I took my pen out and my notebook ready.

I pressed myself close to the back of my seat so I could hear them very well. They even whisper but I managed to pick some words, so I started jotting them down one by one.

For me to understand them very well, I closed my eyes, trying to listen very carefully on what they were saying. I wanted to capture every word, every pause, and even their breathing.

What I didn’t realise was, two young girls sat in front of me. They giggled and commented that I was probably so tired, I fell asleep writing notes. I kept my eyes closed and pretended to be asleep. I want to hear everything they were saying about me.

They argued that I was either a teacher or a reporter, or if not, I am a train inspector. Gosh! Really? Then, they started to pick on my looks. They talked about my make-up. Funny, girls always look at the make-up first before anything else. (I wonder what boys look at first, hmm!)

There was total silence after that.

Suddenly, I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder, and a tall guy in blue asked me which station I was getting off. Apparently, it was the last station. I looked around, and there was no one except me. Before I got off, he commented, that I was probably very tired, I fell asleep writing notes. Really? Did I? Has it been that long?

It was a long ride back home, but I still have my pen and notebook with me. This time, I was writing down everything I heard and everything that I could remember from those girls. There was some funny stuff, and I giggled too, especially how they argued about it. There were a few slang words that I did not understand, but I could check them out with my children.

I realised that I could find ideas for my book anywhere, even by just looking at myself in front of the mirror.

I could also cultivate story ideas from my spontaneous trip and experience at the train.

If we know where and how to gather information, we will never run out of materials to write.

Sometimes, hanging out with people, even any brief interaction to strangers can give us tons of ideas for our writing project.

Don’t forget too that good old newspapers we used to love to read. It still provide us buckets of information about the daily happenings and incidents in our community.

And lastly, check your favourite book. There maybe a chapter or passages that you like so much, and write down what made you love that story. Use it to come up with your own materials for your story.

My writing journey was not easy and was not hard either, but there were so much to learn and a few things to laugh about.

It wasn’t all hard work, but with a little bit of funny stuff on the side as well. All in all, dedication, tons of imaginations, and commitment kept me from doing what I love to do most.

I am not done yet, but I am learning so much.

So, till next time. I’ve got to catch the bus this time. Fingers crossed, I’ll try not to fall asleep again.

See ya!