The Cicada’s are louder this morning
insight observations, just an opinion and ob..., Looking around, looking forward, On Writing, open letter, Opinion, Personal Story, positive mindset, Reflections, writing community Sylvia Jimenez insight observations, just an opinion and ob..., Looking around, looking forward, On Writing, open letter, Opinion, Personal Story, positive mindset, Reflections, writing community Sylvia Jimenez

The Cicada’s are louder this morning

I welcome the first day of 2025 not by the sound of the alarm, or the coffee machine that has an auto cleaning mechanism that scares the bejeezus out of us in the middle of the night, but by the sound of the Cicadas, which according to the encyclopedia, varies between a: the weather (well it’s pretty effin hot in Sydney today) and b: their mating season ritual, so in fact, these delicate little creatures of the male kind have woken me due to their persistence to procreate. Did I mention they were extremely loud this morning? And no, I’m not nursing a post new year celebration hangover and my ears are not ringing, I feel completely awake and if I had to take a breathalyser, It would probably come up as having .000001% of alcohol in my system, but nothing to get worried about. And it’s too early to move out from under the freshly laundered sheets in my oh-so-comfy bed. So husband has delivered the prescribed second latte, the cat has been fed and the dog has curled up for yet another mid-morning snooze and I am awake, like really awake listening to the Cicadas.

Published: Sylvia Jimenez

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How much do we really notice all that is around us?
a lighter look, insight observations, Looking around, observing people, On Writing, Personal Story, Postcard commentary, Reflections, Taking time out, The Beach, writing community Sylvia Jimenez a lighter look, insight observations, Looking around, observing people, On Writing, Personal Story, Postcard commentary, Reflections, Taking time out, The Beach, writing community Sylvia Jimenez

How much do we really notice all that is around us?

We often take for granted how much we really notice in our environments. Our brains are able to recognize and process a tremendous amount of information. We may not always be consciously aware of the details, but our subconscious constantly takes in and processes information from our surroundings. We may not be able to recall specifics, but when we become more mindful of our environment, we can begin to notice more of the details that may have gone unnoticed before. It’s amazing how much we can observe when we take the time to really pay attention to what’s around us.

Published: Sylvia Jimenez

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How having a Beta Reader has made me a Better Reader
Authors work, getting creative, looking forward, On Writing, open letter, Opinion, Personal Story, positive, writing community Sylvia Jimenez Authors work, getting creative, looking forward, On Writing, open letter, Opinion, Personal Story, positive, writing community Sylvia Jimenez

How having a Beta Reader has made me a Better Reader

To all those writers, journo’s, bloggers, vloggers, poets, laureates, composers and so forth, you would understand that the joy of writing, while creative and intuitive is somewhat an isolated process. We draft and redraft. Edit, sub edit, antagonise, get caught up on, rewrite and finally, when we are ready for our writing to emerge from our subconscious and the conscious world (where all great ideas form), having not only Alpha readers but a Beta Reader is better for the creative process.

Published: Sylvia Jimenez

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Mentors – make the connection.
Authors work, communications, Connecting with people, Introduction, looking forward, On Writing, open letter, Opinion, Personal Story, positive, positive mindset, Reflections, writing community Sylvia Jimenez Authors work, communications, Connecting with people, Introduction, looking forward, On Writing, open letter, Opinion, Personal Story, positive, positive mindset, Reflections, writing community Sylvia Jimenez

Mentors – make the connection.

This blog post isn’t about the importance of acquiring a mentor; there are several excellent articles written about the importance of a good mentor; I am concentrating on my experience and connection with two people who have and still mentor me to this day.

Published: Sylvia Jimenez

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Praise for the list.
a lighter look, Authors work, communications, humour, insight observations, just an opinion and ob..., On Writing, Opinion, Personal Story, Reflections Sylvia Jimenez a lighter look, Authors work, communications, humour, insight observations, just an opinion and ob..., On Writing, Opinion, Personal Story, Reflections Sylvia Jimenez

Praise for the list.

I love writing lists. Seems like so many others do as well. There are Pinterest boards dedicated to correct list writing. Youtube videos demonstrating the ‘write’ way to write a list. Some would say that it’s too rigid, while others claim that life without a list would be chaos.

Published: Sylvia Jimenez

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I've finished writing a book: how I'm keeping myself busy in between querying
Authors work, Introduction, looking forward, On Writing, Personal Story, positive, Uncategorized, writing community Sylvia Jimenez Authors work, Introduction, looking forward, On Writing, Personal Story, positive, Uncategorized, writing community Sylvia Jimenez

I've finished writing a book: how I'm keeping myself busy in between querying

Daunting, fighting imposter syndrome, ecstatic, excited, tense, optimistic and reconciled that whatever happens, happens! But I won’t be sitting on my laurels. One of the aspects of falling into the writing rabbit hole was that time did fly by until my novel was completed (a few drafts and many edits later). For my close friends reading this, I apologise for my incognito state; I was simply obsessing over getting it finished, and as you know me well…a deadline is still a deadline! Hence, the best advice given by my mentor and writing communities is to start writing the next one.

Published: Sylvia Jimenez

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