It is just over three months away from the publication date of my upcoming book, You-Know-Who: An Alienated Daughter's Memoir. Here are just a few things that are happening in preparation for that: * I have begun to ask for comments on my book to use for back cover blurbs, press releases and my webpage. … Continue reading Minimal Monday
Author: danalaquidara
Minimal Monday
Each year I reread one of Don Miguel Ruiz's books, and this year I've chosen The Four Agreements Companion Book. Ruiz's books are full of great wisdom and insight, but I want to share part of a passage that I think is pure gold in its simplicity. In Chapter Seven, Ruiz writes about seeing through … Continue reading Minimal Monday
Minimal Monday
With each new year comes the rewarding and fun task of choosing a fresh planner. As I've already written about, I love using Cal Newport's Time-Block Planner to schedule chunks of time to work on writing projects https://danalaquidara.com/2022/08/08/minimal-monday-25/ . But I use a separate tool, an agenda, for my weekly and monthly calendar and to-do … Continue reading Minimal Monday
Minimal Monday
We are just six days away from the new year and many of us are thinking about new goals, old habits, and what we want 2023 to look like. The fact that next year will bring plenty that I have no control over, is reason enough to do my best at what I can control. … Continue reading Minimal Monday
Minimal Monday
I am having a bit of trouble with deciding how to end my book and I think I know why. Life is fluid, always changing, and I believe it is good to allow ourselves to change too. Limiting a story- and in the case of a memoir, half a lifetime - to the finite, physical … Continue reading Minimal Monday
Minimal Monday
If you believe that everything is connected, then it makes perfect sense that doing even one small thing can improve everything else. Let's just take the example of our home or work environment. If it is messy, chaotic or disorganized, it tends to make us feel lazy, lethargic or overwhelmed. Cleaning it up leads to … Continue reading Minimal Monday
Minimal Monday
I wanted a book cover that depicted the main challenge in my story and I think this does. The child (me) has the fading memories of a mom (You-Know-Who) who seems to have disappeared. I've been reluctant to share my cover because it represents the realness of having my story published, and out into the … Continue reading Minimal Monday
Minimal Monday
I must admit, in light of Elon Musk's recent shenanigans, I was happy to have the perfect excuse to ditch Twitter. It's not as though I really needed an excuse, but until the quit-twitter bandwagon, I had been letting inertia keep me there. I was an inactive user (wait, is that an oximoron?) I had … Continue reading Minimal Monday
Minimal Monday
I have been thinking about the ways in which we do or do not honor our commitments to ourselves. I think this is an area that I sometimes struggle with. I am great at honoring my commitments to others. If I say I am going to do something, you can bet I will follow through. … Continue reading Minimal Monday
Minimal Monday
One of my favorite and most challenging areas to simplify is my writing life. My memoir coach, the talented and magnificent Marion Roach Smith, has told me that every scene should move the story forward. (You can find Marion here: https://marionroach.com/) The writing advice that we should kill our darlings, a phrase coined by William … Continue reading Minimal Monday
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