The Spark & the Flame

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For the last two years, in late October and November I have found myself in project limbo. Having finished a revision on one manuscript, and waiting for feedback, and wondering what I should start working on next.

But this year, with the energy of our country in such a state of unrest, and my birthday falling on Election Day, I’ve been finding myself doing a lot more soul searching — about my work, my voice, what I really want to do next, now, in the distant future. 

Writing is a tool for me to explore more than commercial plot points & romantic happily ever afters. It has long been the place where I tell the honest truth — to myself & readers — through the voices of my characters. And it’s often a truth I don’t even recognize until I’ve learned it again alongside my own creations. 

Art is something that comes inherently from inside. It is often sparked by “out there” – a walk in the woods, a line of a poem, a news article, a mystery unsolved, a place, a time, a TV show, a song. But the end result of our own art is something unabashedly, utterly us. 

Impossible to manufacture or for anyone else recreate. 

On a Monday afternoon, with a whole new week ahead, I’m asking myself to look for the spark, and then listen to the story that I want to tell as it comes alive. 

What are some ways YOU seek the spark of a new idea?

Make Big Moves

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Make big moves for your dreams.✨

This mug is a constant reminder that sometimes the moves we have to make for our dreams to come true are big, scary, wild, and wooly. In fact, in my experience they almost always are.

I know many of you following me are writers with a dream to one day see your words in print— whether that’s online or on paper.

I am opening to more creative coaching clients in June, which is something I have not done since last year.

I also know that many of you creatives are struggling to write your words right now. If that’s you, working with a coach might be just the thing you need to finish your projects hanging in limbo.

Please feel free to shoot me an email with any questions and check out my Creative Consulting page on this website for all the details!

Whatever you do today, and no matter what darkness looms around you, remember you are a light. You CAN & yes. You. Will.🦄

xo,

Rebekah

P.S. For the month of June I am offering 30% off all services, which is something I never do, and am so happy to offer right now.

Don’t just ride.

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There are days when I feel a bit invincible in my own home. Cocooned in my little bungalow where it’s just my husband, my son and two scruffy dogs. When I know it’s okay and I’m okay, and despite the news, the world is okay, too.

There are days when I feel low. Dropped to the bottom of a steep incline and slammed into the seat, jolted, breathless, and ready to get off now, please.

This is a roller coaster we can’t just leave. There’s no escape hatch. There’s no emergency off switch, and that makes us feel aimless. Like we’re just here for the ride, but we’re not actually required for the journey.

Schools are closed through the rest of the school year. The stay at home order is in place for many until May 1st – for now. I walk through my neighborhood and prickle when I see someone on the same side of the street, walking the same sidewalk. I take a wide berth, reroute, and feel lonelier when the dogs tug back, wanting to greet, and me just wanting more space.

It’s easy to feel a little defeated. To want to sit down, right here, and just stop. Not cry because that would mean you were still fighting. No – just sit, just let it all pass you by, because this coaster is going fast on the loops and the dips and you aren’t the one manning the controls.

Without vision we perish. Right now a lot of us are getting vision confused with existence. Existence is what we do to survive. Vision is what we need to prosper and thrive. And even in a season of collective cocooning, we must have vision or we’ll just ride.

The real question for many not on the frontlines of this fight isn’t what should we do to survive – it’s who will we be if we do?

Time isn’t going to stop.

We’re not just gonna pick up in a few months where we left off. Too much will have happened, and even though this pause touches everyone, we as individuals must still carry on. In our homes, in our work, dreaming our dreams, doing our deeds by whatever means possible — by innovation and with determination.

We must keep our eyes like flint on the vision, however we can, because even though it will surely tarry, it will still arrive.

The roller coaster of this pandemic will one day come to an end, but who we will be when we get out of the car, stretch our legs, and take the first steps into the new normal, is still up for debate.

Faith is not a passive thing. Faith is an action word. It is alive and it requires our participation.

Whatever you have to do – whether it’s make a mask, clean your house, rock your baby, call you mother, write your words – keep doing it and don’t let this pause convince you that you aren’t still here for a reason, for such a time as this. ❤︎

I can.

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Yesterday I was in a funk. A mood. Something inside me felt like it was cracking open and that actually scared me.

And I do not scare easily.

All around me were giants. Hulking masses with clubs.

All around me were possibilities. Ethereal and tangible and opaque and translucent.

All around me were things outside my control. And I love to maintain control. Relinquishing it? That’s just a fancy word for lose.

I wanted to get some work done, and I couldn’t. I couldn’t get above the fog long enough to focus. Because I couldn’t stop looking everything around me that I needed or wanted to hold together.

I kept seeing myself at Barnes and Noble. A three-story beauty with windows that look out over the whimsically lovely courtyard at the Americana Mall in Glendale.

I kept seeing it, and so finally I took myself there. I rode escalators to the top floor where all the romance and thrillers, the YAs and middle grades live. I wandered the floor and looked at the books, considered buying some but mostly just touched them.

Absorbed the power of imagination inside them.

I stepped outside to the patio lined with tables and chairs, found a spot, and got set up.

I didn’t start working right away.

I watched the fountain dance to the beat of the music. Watched tree leaves rustle in the breeze. I watched the ground below me, felt like a bird perched on a ledge, surveying and unencumbered by the need to walk.

Then I had ideas and I did crack open.

I kept on cracking open for the rest of the day, into the night, where I cried while watching my son sleep curled around a dragon-dog stuffed toy, snoring lightly. Because I remembered when my biggest fear in the world was that I wouldn’t ever get pregnant. That I’d never have him at all. That even if I did, I’d somehow screw it up.

But there he was, 10 years old now, and so much lovelier than I ever imagined, so worth all the faith and the struggle, fighting my giants of fear, relinquishing my control to just trust.

If I did it for him, for the dream of him and the reality of him, couldn’t I do it again for all the other dreams – the uncountable number I hold in my heart?

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Client Wins

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Client gifts are some of my favorite gifts because that means good news is on the way.🍾

Last week, one of my writers (yes, I am assembling a team of sparkling unbridled unicorns, and you can join them) had a big win on her road to publication.

My client, Rachel, landed her dream agent with her beautiful, heart-thumping adult fantasy, and I got the chance to be a part of her journey.

I gained a friend and colleague through my work with Rachel, but I also gained a gift I could never have expected. (No, not the bubbly featured here, although that is a gift I ADORE.)

This month two of my writers have landed agents within 11 days of each other, and as I celebrated with them, for them, about them, I realized something amazing:

I helped them make a dream come true.

They did the work, they wrote the book, but they chose to work with me and it paid off.

The win is THEIRS, but some of the joy is mine.

Because –

I HAVE BEEN IN THE TRENCHES.

I know the sting of rejection and the fear of failure all too well.

I’ve been agented and unagented.

I’ve written a book on Wattpad (that blew up, and keeps on going, going, going Energizer Bunny style) and I’ve written books that no one but my CPs will ever read.

I’ve found my Agent Person and started to make my own dreams come true in major ways.

And if I can help boost other writers from the trenches to reach their goals faster with less isolation and despair, then I want to do that for as many of them as I can. I will keep on doing it as long as I can.

There are two ways to work with me.

One-on-one, all-in, where I help you shape your story from the foundation up.

OR

The online course I created with the Six & Up CEO Academy (founded by my co-author extraordinaire Alexandra Grizinski & All-Around Biz Genius Jenny Beres) called Unlocking Creativity for Writers and Artists.

My writers are killing it. 🍾

My writers are the best humans around.💖

My writers are UNBRIDLED UNICORNS shooting for the stars.🦄

Here are the handy links:

Unlocking Creativity for Writers & Artists

The Six & Up CEO Academy

Unbridled Unicorn Creative Consulting

And, as always, feel free to send me a Voxer or shoot me an email if you have any questions!

Power’s Out

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Yesterday the power went out, & dealing with the, okay, pretty tiny crisis in the grand scheme of crises, reminded me that my power is unlimited.

I had a plan for my day. I had made a list & was dutifully checking items off. Then, about fifteen minutes past 11 am, I heard a hollow, metallic crash. It sounded like an anvil had dropped. Was Wylie Coyote running along the telephone wire after the Roadrunner?

Our fans slowly spun to a stop. My son’s online video game froze & then kicked him out. With the outage went all cell signal, the internet, & the only method we had to stay cool on a day when the temperature would soon rise to over 100 degrees.

We left the house, searching for signal, & blasting the air conditioner in the car. We ended up at an outdoor café where we got frozen yogurt and a Styrofoam cup of water for our dogs. We dropped our son at an IHOP so he could go to his friend’s powered and air conditioned house.

We went to another outdoor café, covered by awnings and surrounded by foliage. I ordered Rose and chopped salad, the dogs got a to-go container of water. We worked using the nearby Barnes and Noble wi-fi.

The power was out all day.

We finally went home, gave up trying to get work done, gave up having cell signal, & jumped in the pool. My husband & I were like kids, joyously swimming, laughing, playing – we never get to do that, just us. We had a picnic in the shade of our yard & talked without interruption. The power never came back on.

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We went to get our son and ended up staying for dinner. We booked a hotel because we were over the struggle with the power. The hotel was beautiful – the power finally returned. But while it had been out, my own power had slowly restored.

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Often we focus on the struggle. The drama and the toil, the annoyance that things aren’t the way we want them to be. We get impatient to check off our life-list.

Sometimes throwing out the list, and going along for the ride, is all you need to remember that you have power no one can take, unlimited potential, and a choice to enjoy the journey. Then the struggle becomes an adventure you’ll never forget.

 

STAY INSPIRED

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Unlocking Creativity

One of the big things that comes up when I’m doing a creative consultation with my clients:

HOW do you stay inspired to create in the midst of work/parenting/the dumpster fire news cycle/INSERT HERE?

My answer varies based on what I know to be true about the person I’m talking to – because there is no prescriptive cure that works for everyone – but at the heart, I like to think there is one thing we can all benefit from hearing.

ON REPEAT.

Are you ready?

You have to honor your passion.

Whatever kind of creative you are – and I will argue that we are all SOME KIND OF CREATIVE – you will not get very far if you do not honor that thing inside you that wants to creative.

It’s a little impractical to say: You must write everyday. Many can’t, many don’t want to, many fall asleep on the couch with a bowl of ice cream balancing on their knees. This is ok, and I will never shame you for that. (Hi, I’ve done it.)

It is not productive to say: Make time for it. We make time for things we believe deserve it. We won’t make time if we don’t first learn to honor the thing. To revere our work (and I don’t mean the job you have to go to everyday) as just as valuable as every other thing – including binge worthy TV or reading that engrossing novel, playing the new video game, squeezing in your workout, or whatever.

It is unfair to say: Your kids/spouse/dog should understand you need time to create. They won’t if you don’t make sure YOU believe that first. That belief comes from honor, and you can’t honor something you don’t think you truly deserve. You can’t honor something you make excuses not to do.

Start with HONOR.

Start with shutting the door, turning off the TV, getting off social media, and not allowing anything out there vying for your attention to win.

Then do that over and over until it’s a habit. Until you have the book, the screenplay, the play, graphic novel, self-help guide, memoir crafted, honor and intention set.

xx,

R

P.S.To work with me for editorial and creative consulting, check out my creative consulting page or shoot me an email at anytime.

You decide when you’re ready to honor your passion.

Unbridled Unicorn Creative Consulting Testimonial: Rachel Fikes, Adult Fantasy

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Unicorn Testimonial

“Rebekah is more than an editor. She’s the best story doctor, mentor, and life coach a writer could ever ask for! I came to her over a year ago with a wild, overly ambitious manuscript, with far too many POVs, and plots points haphazardly cavorting over the pages, desperately seeking purpose. 

She tirelessly waded through the mud and muck, draft after draft, patiently helping me whittle down and refine my novel into something I’m truly proud of. I’m incredibly lucky and honored to have worked with her. My writing wouldn’t be a fraction of what it is today were it not for her expertise and guidance. 

Rebekah gave me the courage to charge on when I didn’t think I could, the confidence to be adventurous, and most importantly, the faith to believe in myself.

Bonus: My very first query letter (she helped craft) that I sent to my dream agent earned a full manuscript request!”

Rachel Fikes, writer of Adult Fantasy

Throwback Thursday

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Reading through old blogs is like getting a letter from past me. It’s simultaneously heartbreaking and full of hope.

Today, I’m going back to New York – but only in my mind.

Sometimes I think about living there and I swell with panic. I remember endless climbs from the subway carrying my two-year-old and a stroller. I remember the loneliness. I remember the disillusionment. I remember the bitter cold and the blistering heat.

Sometimes, though, I remember the pizza from 5th Avenue or the bagels from 9th. The picnics in Prospect Park and all the trees we climbed. The local bar, Rhythm & Booze, where I took my kid for dinner before it got too rowdy, where we waited out storms and we got midnight fries. The time I saw THE NUTCRACKER and had a martini at the Plaza. The time I was in the same room as Daniel Radcliffe.

Then I remember the most important part of all.

That I did it even though it terrified me, and if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be where I am or who I am now. And none of it has been perfect, or easy, but it was right. And thank God it’s sunny here, that the flowers are blooming, and I have a pool – that I haven’t, and won’t, ever go backwards.

#TBT to this message from past me, and all the grace carrying each and every one of us through.

“There is a moment in the midst of the waiting, and crying — a moment in between public outbursts of anger and private laughter over pizza — that you realize the grace is holding. And it’s holding you. It’s holding your baby when he sleeps in his new bedroom. It’s holding the dog when he finds a spot on the floor in your empty house and takes a nap. It’s holding your parents and brothers and all those at home that you miss and miss you. It’s holding. The bottom hasn’t fallen out of your world. You’re just in a new world.”