Blogging Archives - INSPIRING MAX

Perfect Day

November 21, 2014November 21, 2014 inspiringmax

What’s your idea of a perfect day off: one during which you can quietly relax, doing nothing, or one with one fun activity lined up after the other? Tell us how you’d spend your time.

Today is the first day of my 7 week holiday. I am excited. Next week I will be traveling to Canada with my husband for our first white Christmas. I am looking forward to exploring new areas, cultures and ways of life.

However, today I plan on enjoying the peace and quiet of my home while nobody else is here. This is my idea of spending a perfect day off. I work full- time with people, so on my day off, I like to recharge under my own rules. Mostly this involves sitting at my computer—oblivious to the rest of the world. I do really know what is going on around me—through years of training in observation, but I don’t get involved unless I need to.

Since I recommenced blogging in late August—I start every day on my blog. Excited about who has visited, any comments made and also what others have written on their blogs. I spend as much time visiting as I do on my blog. I love the interaction and inspiration. Blogging allows me to interact with others according to my time schedule, not somebody else’s and this I find relaxing.

The other way I enjoy my day off is working on my book. Having a large chunk of uninterrupted time to work on it helps me see my progress. At present I am on the last stages of editing, which is nowhere near the fun of writing it. I find it tedious and boring. But when it all comes together, editing is like learning to drive—a necessary evil that requires a lot of concentration—with a great reward at the end.

Thanks for calling in and visiting. You help to make my day off perfect. All I need now is some sparkling wine—just to top it off.

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/still-or-sparkling/

Writing Lessons

November 9, 2014November 9, 2014 inspiringmax

Yesterday I attended the NSW Emerging Writers Festival. The first session of the day comprised of 5 Australian authors giving their writing tips—Tom Doig, Delia Falconer, Benjamin Law, Laura Jean McKay and Walter Mason.

This was favourite part of the day. It lead me to think about what I have learnt on my writing journey—from book to blogging.

1. Begin by writing. Don’t worry about order—get your ideas down. Form and order come in the editing process. The more you write, the quicker and more naturally, form and order come.

2. Use every spare moment to write. Half of my book was written in 10-30 minute sessions on my daily train commute. I continue this habit with my blogging.

3. Believe in yourself. Self doubt can and will question your ability. I heard it and kept going anyway. I let my audience decide if my writing was good enough. So far, feedback has been positive.

4. Find ways to talk about your work. Initially, I didn’t know how to bring my work up in conversation. So I focused on it. The more I talked about it, the easier it got. Yesterday, I joined a panel at the writers festival to discuss my work and my ideas. It was fun. Afterwards I was surprised and excited by how natural it felt.

5. Prioritise your time. There will always be a reason not to write—too busy, too tired, somebody else needs something. Find a way to incorporate everything you want to do in a day. This is where writing in short sessions helps.

The secret is—find what works for you and keep doing it. If you really want to do something—you will find away.

Nature Chills Challenge

October 30, 2014 inspiringmax

An event create by amommasview in response to a Blogging 201 assignment.

What in nature makes you chill out the most and why?

My favourite way to chill out is on a mountain covered in snow. Coming from Australia this is a rarity, which is what makes it special. I can go to the beach— my second favourite place—any day I choose, but not play in the snow. I love the serenity of having no-one else around—just me, my partner and nature’s beauty on top of the world. The stark contrast between the crisp white snow, the bright shining sun and the Alpine trees.

Wherever possible I like to spend my birthday at the snow. I was last there on my final day being forty —my husband and I were at Whakapapa, New Zealand. It was a great day.

In less than a month, we travel to Canada to fulfill our dream of a white Christmas. After six weeks living in the snow—I may no longer see snow as my favourite way to chill in nature.

http://amommasview.wordpress.com/blog-eventschallenges/nature-chills-challenge/

Liebster Award

October 19, 2014 inspiringmax

In the last week I have been honoured and excited to be nominated twice for the Liebster Award for new bloggers.

Thank you http://notestiedonthesagebrush.wordpress.com/ and http://betzceerambles.com/ for your recognition and encouragement. It is rewarding to know that other bloggers are enjoying what I write on my blog.

The Liebster Award has German origins. The word “liebster” has several definitions: dearest, sweetest, kindest, nicest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, welcome, sweetheart and boyfriend.

It aims to discover new bloggers and welcome them to the blogosphere. Bloggers award other bloggers. Here are the rules for accepting the Liebster award:

Post the award on your blog.
Thank the blogger who presented this award and link back to their blog.
Write 11 random facts about yourself.
Nominate 11 bloggers who you feel deserve this award and who have less than 200 followers.
Answer 11 questions posted by the presenter and ask your nominees 11 questions.

Here are my 11 random facts:

1. I am a Leo.

2. I once ate cucumber sandwiches at Government House.

3. I write on coloured note pads—I don’t like white.

4. I have a new toy—a reflex punching ball.

5. I can’t sing but love karaoke.

6. Last year, I saw The Seekers in concert.

7. I love attending writers courses.

8. My favourite pet is a bunny rabbit.

9. In China, I like to drink Peach Tea.

10. My first house was in a coal mine.

11. I wish I could memorise my speeches

My 11 questions for you:

If you wrote a book what genre would it be?
Is WordPress you whole life right now?
What current issue in the news are you passionate about?
Do you like to get together with a small group of friends or do you like big parties?
Do you prefer cities, small towns or being in a more remote area?
When you travel do you like to rough it or do you prefer a hotel with all the amenities?
Do you feel you really need to be in constant communication with friends on Facebook, text, twitter or other social media?
Do you enjoy time to yourself, solitude?
Do you need to have a special place in your home or elsewhere where it is quiet to write?
Are you a romantic?
What type of music do you enjoy?

My 11 Answers:

1. I have written a non-fiction book on how eating disorder recovery is possible—knowledge from a professional.

2. Not quite. I am also attempting to finish editing my book so I can publish it next year.

3. Mental health week last week otherwise, I don’t watch the news.

4. Small groups these days.

5. I would love to live in the country again but close enough to have the city services and not when I am still working.

6. Depends where I am travelling. Overseas definitely in a recognised safe hotel. I am also partial to a weekend camping away in the bush—complete with a dig your own toilet.

7. No. Most of the time I live in my own little world finding out what i need to at some stage.

8. Yes. That is why I love writing. I speak to people all day every day at work. Home is me time.

9. I have taken over the back room but I also write a lot on the train.

10. Yes.

11. Songs with meaning to their words.

Second set of questions:

Which do you find more tiresome – shoveling snow or dealing with mosquitoes and other warm weather pests?
Bottled water or tap water, and why?
Assuming you are omnivorous, could you live a year as a vegan?
What is your favourite vegetarian meal?
Baseball, football, basketball, hockey or Dancing with the Stars?
Do you have a hobby or pastime (besides blogging)? What is it?
If you could make a living blogging, would you leave your current employment?
If you could afford any lifestyle you choose, what would it be?
Television: which do you prefer – sitcoms or crime dramas? Other?
What is one healthy habit you wish you could develop?
Children? Or pets?

My 11 Answers:

1. I have never shoveled snow. Maybe this year on our trip to Canada I may get the experience. Mossies and flies can be very annoying however.

2. Tap water. We add flouride to it and it tastes good. Why pay for something I don’t need to.

3. No, I could never be vegan as I would struggle to get all of my nutrition being allergic to peanuts and unable to eat nut meat. There are also too many restriction on other things in a vegans life.

4. Chiili beans.

5. Dancing with the stars unless it is a major football game—rugby league, rugby union or aussie rules, not soccer.

6. Knitting although I don’t do it much anymore these days.

7. In a couple of years. I am getting to old for the commute.

8. Living in the country on the beach being a full-time writer and travelling overseas regularly.

9. Depends on the show—mostly I think sitcoms.

10. Exercising more regularly

11. Children. My two are adults now and would like a pet but if they get one it will be their responsibility not mine.

.And here are my 15 Blogger nominations—can’t count—no actually with two awards and more new bloggers to recognise I thought I would pay it forward to more. I didn’t quite have enough for 11 each. Some of my friends I have been following for some time, and some I have recently discovered. If you get the chance stop by I know they would love a visit.

http://shibumathewn15.wordpress.com/

http://toweararainbow.wordpress.com/

http://medicinalmeadows.com/

http://gillswriting.wordpress.com/

http://mybookself.org/

http://gypsysjourneys.com/

http://otterlover58.wordpress.com/

http://justplainolvic.wordpress.com/

http://tinadunksperceptions.com/

http://juliehhicks.wordpress.com/

http://crystaltrulove.wordpress.com/

http://wrinspirations.wordpress.com/

http://quinoaandcookies.wordpress.com/

http://kassafrass.com/

http://glannst.wordpress.com/

My 11 questions for you are:

1. Which brand and flavour potato chips do you prefer?

2. What is the strangest thing you have ever done?

3. What is your favourite flower?

4. What part of Australia would you like to visit?

5. What is your preferred way to spend the afternoon—blogging excluded.

6. What is the weirdest fact you know?

7. If you could have any job in the world for a week, what would you choose?

8. What is the best advice your mother ever told you?

9. What wish would you ask a gene for?

10. What two words best describe you?

11. What animal scares you the most?

Write Twice, Publish Once

September 11, 2014September 12, 2014 inspiringmax

My father taught me an important rule of building is to measure twice, cut once. If you only measure once before you cut and your measurement is wrong there is no going back. As you can edit after publishing, this is not the same with blogging, however, I find that write twice, publish once helps with my writers block and assists the flow of my blog.

By writing on the topic from scratch each time, my creativity often flows in a different direction. There are always some key points that to my surprise, I frequently by chance write identical sentences to cover these topics. This information I take as the core to my topic and build the other ideas from each writing session to complete my blog.

To date, I have found the second attempt to be more creative and fills in the detail. This practice works best when there is a couple of days between writing segments. Don’t read what you have written prior to writing your second draft. Re reading your previous attempt may stop new ideas from flowing as your mind is biased by your words.

Next time you find yourself stuck, give my write twice, publish once technique a try and let me know about your experience.

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Why Am I Here?

May 17, 2014January 5, 2015 inspiringmax

I have previously done the Blogging 101 challenge however am repeating it to connect with more people and to find new ways to improve my blog. There are many things I didn’t connect with last time and I hope to attempt them this time and see what happens. At present, this feels daunting but the personal growth is always from outside your comfort zone. While I have done this challenge before I am hoping to extend myself even further and continue to find my online voice.

The concept of Inspiring Max was created in my head a few years ago, but like all good things it has taken its time to develop. I have chosen to write this blog under my family nick name, to allow me more creativity, and not to have my ideas biased. Through Inspiring Max, I want to connect with people and share my thoughts, experiences and travels with the world. I will also blog on things I have found useful and inspiring. The secret of success is understanding what your audience wants, so I am very keen to receive your feedback and ideas.

My interests are learning new things, meeting new people and enjoy exchanging ideas and information. The world is a fascinating place and I think blogging can bring everyone closer. Having spend all my working life with people face to face, using the written word online is a new experience that I am excited about taking up the challenge of.

For the last 50 years, I have led a relatively sheltered life and through Inspiring Max, I want to ‘put myself out there and see where the journey takes me.’ I hope that you will stay a while and join me on my journey.

This year I plan to self-publish my book Inspiring Hope: How Eating Disorder recovery Is Possible, which is based on my experiences working with patients over the last 20 years with people recovering form an eating disorder as a professional working in the field.

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Lao-tzu