Missing In Action…

I haven’t written much since early 2024. I’m not sure if I’m losing the desire to write. Maybe I haven’t had anything in particular to post that I haven’t already posted. I only know I’ve had little desire to write, to express, which as a creative, is highly unusual (and unhealthy, if you ask me). With nine years of posts, you still have plenty to catch up on and learn.

Life threw me a big curveball early last year (story of my life) and I’ve had to make adjustments. Life is like that, sometimes. Best to go with the flow to avoid over-stressing the system. Change is the one constant, remember? Going with the flow, accepting what is, even if we don’t like it at first, is crucial to getting through the chaos to the calm (which always follows chaos, it’s the natural flow of things).

One by One…

Once the calm has arrived, you can once again set achievable goals (I prefer the small ones, they’re easier to reach and maintain) so you feel like you’re moving forward, until the next round of chaos (read: change) sets in, as it always does. I have found that taking those small, steady movements (short-term, doable goals) toward the completion of a larger goal (e.g., going home) keeps up the momentum. I feel like I’m accomplishing something as opposed to doing nothing and waiting it all out. That never works, as I found out the hard way last year.

It has become more important these days that I get all my ducks in a row. I think it has more to do with age than anything else. Turns out, I like some semblance of order, some predictability to my life, since most of my adventuring days are behind me. Getting my ducks in a row has been an overriding theme for the last four years as I continue the struggle to find a way out of California and make for HOME.

It started with replacing broken down cardboard book boxes (ruined by moisture, cold, humidity) in storage, crushed by the weight of other heavy book boxes. Every weekend, I buy one or two file containers (they’re a good size that I can lift without hurting my back) and put my books in new containers. And they stack one on top of the other easily, so now I have a nice pile of clear boxes and can find a book if needed. Small goal turned into a big accomplishment. And then…

It Only Takes One Duck to Get the Ball Rolling…

…Duck #1 came to me a few weeks ago. I came out of a Whole Foods just after dark and as I approached my car, I saw something sitting on the driver door handle. It was a little yellow rubber ducky in a Pink Jeep! Evidently, Jeep owners of a certain younger generation love to do something called “getting ducked.” If you’re a Jeep owner (in some states, it’s only for Wrangler owners; in other states, like CA, it’s for any Jeep owner), you might get this ducky with a Jeep-shaped card attached that reads “Nice Ride!” on one side and on the other side a handwritten note. Mine read “Happy Valentine’s Day!” Needless to say, I had a good laugh.

And a good start to my latest get-all-my-ducks-in-a-row adventure.

#duckduckjeep #amwriting #writersoninstagram #gettingducked #goals #life #living

Combine Your Multiple Income Streams (MIS)

I’ve blogged about creating multiple income streams (MIS) as a way for writers to increase exposure and income. We are naturally curious and creative and the world around us is our canvas, from which we create sensational stories, paintings, photos, and more. Art is no longer an exclusive community available only to those with connections in the art world. Thanks to social media, digital art software and internet commerce sites, more of us can participate and contribute our creations, whatever they may be.

Utilizing the concept of MIS in conjunction with my other creative endeavors, I’m in the process of putting the pieces together “under one roof.” Writer/photographer Lee Foster, in her article, “Could You Make (And Even Sell) Your Own Pictures?” (February 7, 2019), posits that since we use photos in our blogs, on our SM sites, and perhaps even in our books, we can create some of those photos ourselves. There are multiple sites online where we can access copyright-free photos (Pixabay, Pexels, etc.); they offer many options to create new photos or works of art via digital enhancement. She then suggests that we sell those photos as a way of earning extra income. This could apply to your paintings (and/or digital prints of them) as well.

Pictures are visual stimuli used extensively in marketing campaigns, on websites and in magazines, to name a few. Selling your pictures can be profitable but in this highly competitive market you need to research where you can optimize your sales. The size of the photo and pixels are also important; make sure you know what size requirements are for each sales venue. Will you digitally enhance the photos? There are plenty of websites for that, too (I like LunaPics for basic digital effects).

Which SM Works Best for Your Projects?

In the same vein as knowing your target market, knowing which SM to use and which forms of art (e.g., acrylic painting, digital photography, poetry, etc.) to share, it’s important to decide how to create your multiple income streams, no matter how large or small, with each of your creative talents. Once they are up and running independently, you can tie them all together in one place – such as a landing page or on your existing website – that will allow customers and fans to access all of your works from one location.

Have you set up multiple income streams? What advice do you have for the rest of us? Please share your expertise in setting up and operating multiple income streams and how you manage them. Let’s all work together to make online and physical marketplaces a reachable goal for all artists.

#multipleincomestreams #bloggingformoney #blogging #writing #photography