A Mantra For Bloggers and Writers

 60 Comments on A Mantra For Bloggers and Writers 0 1149

She’s not a blogger who publishes often. In fact, she calls herself the “deciduous blogger”, and says,

It seems I have a natural tendency to take frequent breaks from blogging; my blog often lies dormant while I gather strength, ready to reach for the sun, put out fresh new growth and blossom again.

When she does share her words, the voice of the writer in her shines through.

The blogger I’m talking about is Janice from Sharing The Journey.

In her post titled How to Write like Adam Lambert (revisited) she ended the post with these magical words. Words which I thought make a perfect mantra for bloggers and writers alike.

With Janice’s permission, I’m sharing them here. Enjoy!

Isn’t that beautiful? And so true.

I’m thinking we can’t go wrong if we follow Janice’s words of wisdom.

With the holiday weekend upon us, there will be no assignment or lesson for today, however comments will remain open for those of you who would like to share your thoughts.

If you’re in the States, enjoy the Fourth of July holiday. If you’re elsewhere in the world, enjoy your weekend.

The next lesson will be published on Tuesday, July 6, 2010.

P.S. As a reminder, the words in the mantra were written by Janice Hunter of Sharing The Journey and cannot be reproduced without her permission. Be sure to check out her blog for more of her beautiful writings.

Graphics by Barbara Swafford

60 thoughts on “A Mantra For Bloggers and Writers”

  1. Barbara, thanks so much for sharing this, I’m off to visit Janice’s website. I may have to make a mini-poster of the mantra and put in on my wall!

    1. You’re welcome Jeanne,

      I know you’ll enjoy Janice’s blog. Although she doesn’t update real often, her archives are filled with real treasures.

  2. That is a beautiful mantra – thank you for finding and sharing!
    Today was/is Canada Day – happy Canada Day to my friends and family up north!

    1. You’re welcome Long-Winded Scribbler,

      I agree, Janice’s words are beautiful.

      That’s right. Today was/is Canada Day. Like you, I hope all of our friends up north had a marvelous day.

  3. I’m so glad you shared about Janice here. She’s amazing, isn’t she? And I currently miss her little updates in the corner of my blogosphere. Hoping we see her more actively soon.

    In the meantime, thank you for sharing this nugget of hers with us. Have a marvelous 4th of July weekend, Barbara. 🙂

    1. You’re welcome Chania Girl,

      Yes. Janice is not only an amazing writer, but a sweetheart of a person. Like you, I also miss her words of wisdom. Thankfully we can always dig through her archives and find more.

      Thank you for the well wishes. I hope you have a fun weekend planned, as well.

  4. Hi Barbara .. thanks for sharing this .. and I love the way you’ve projected it here for us to read ..

    Janice is a wonderful blogger .. posting from her heart .. she has such a soft tone .. and we can ‘be with her’ in her journey as she is so true to herself and to life.

    Great that you’ve brought Janice to the fore .. thanks .. and have a wonderful celebratory weekend yourself .. Hilary

  5. You’re welcome Hilary,

    I agree with what you said about Janice’s tone and how she writes from the heart. Her blog is truly a joy to read.

    Have a fabulous weekend too, Hilary. ((Hugs)) to you and your mom.

  7. Happy fourth Barbara!

    Thanks to you and Janice for these sweet words. The graphics look great too making the words stand out. I particularly liked how the part about blossoming. We all need a break now and again.

    Julie

    1. Thank you Julie,

      I agree. Breaks from blogging can help all of us. I think it’s better to take breaks when we need them, then to burn out because we didn’t.

  8. Thank you for sharing this. It is a great mantra. I plan to apply it my other life as a reporter. Have a wonderful holiday!

  9. What a great mantra Barbara. Can you even imagine the power that would have if every single blogger took that advice to heart and refused to hit publish unless it fulfilled that criteria? Wow. A changed world.

    Happy Independence weekend to America, and to those outside of USA, enjoy a personal Independence weekend and celebrate yourself! You/we are all worthy!

  10. Beautiful! I’ve just returned from a 3-week vacation. I kept MomGrind quiet… and the world did not come to an end! 😉

    Have a good weekend and a happy 4th of July!

    1. Thank you Vered,

      Your recent vacation is a perfect example of how we CAN take a break from blogging and not see any repercussions because we were gone.

  11. Hi Barbara,

    Thank you for sharing this.
    Wouldn’t that be the ideal? To be able to create feelings, to change their mood and thoughts with words? Just like a composer can make us cry, laugh or dance with his/her music.

    At the other hand, how frustrating to write from the heart to find out later that no one perceives. So the continuous task of self improvement in the way we write and express the thoughts and feelings we want to express in our blogs.

    Raul

    1. You’re welcome Raul,

      Your comment reminded me of how even though we THINK our words may have not had an effect on someone, we never really know. It’s only when they comment that we do.

  12. Wonderful wonderful words!! And – so good to hear they are words shared by Janice…someone I have so much respect for as a writer.

    Janice, your words in that mantra land on my heart…and are touching.

    Much peace to both of you…always…

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  14. Happy 4th of July, Barbara.

    This was lovely work from Janice. I too miss her posts, but I also admire her for allowing herself to take the time away.

    My favourite part of blogging is knowing the writing has made people ‘feel’ something… even more than learned something.

    You designed this presentation of Janice’s words, didn’t you? Am I right? 🙂 It’s as beautiful as the words written on it.

    1. Thank you Davina,

      I hear you. If we can make our readers feel “something”, than we’ve done something right.

      Yes. I did design the graphics. Thank you for the nice compliment.

  15. Hi Barbara,
    Happy Independence Day, too. I hope you have a refreshing weekend. 🙂
    That was a lovely mantra, indeed. Thanks for sharing Janice’s words.

    I have found the same thing, sometimes I need to take a brief break and come back after a brief hiatus. I agree with Davina, too, making someone laugh or feel *anything* makes me feel wonderful. To incite the reader to pause and think of something in a different way — what a lovely thing.

    Great post (again!), Barbara. Thank you!
    ~xo

    1. You’re welcome Lori,

      Yes. Taking a blogging break gives us a great opportunity to not only recharge our batteries, but to also appreciate that which we have in our real lives.

  16. This is a nice mantra to all the bloggers and writers out there who loves to write about anything. If you can’t sting them with the flow of your wordings then tingle them with a radiating emotions in it. Keep your words on a personal level and make sure you connect with them internally.

    1. Thank you Print Companies Online,

      I hear you. Connecting with our readers on a personal level is very important, as is having the ability to radiate emotions.

  18. Janice and Barbara,
    What a duo! Janice I’m sorry for your losses and I certainly remember those times when so much was going on during the time my four daughters were teens at once.

    You are a gifted writer and no matter how much time you take off you’re like a squirrel storing nuts for the winter…when the time is right we feast on your writing. I’m sending thoughts of love and light. Thanks Barbara. I just printed off the mantra. Oh how I need to see those and absorb them;) Happy 4th.

    1. You’re welcome Tess,

      Enjoy the mantra. I’m with you. Seeing the words and absorbing them makes a big difference when we’re trying to apply wisdom.

  19. Words to live by indeed!

    I wish I could be my “best self” every time I sit down to write a post, but it just doesn’t happen that way.

    Sometimes I set out to write stellar content and I’m lucky if it’s passable. Then other times I think I will just write a quick post to fill in the holes, nothing special. And then poof, suddenly out of nowhere I get smacked up the side of the head with unexpected inspirations. Suddenly the mundane becomes star performer.

    Inspiration is a fickle critter, sometimes as elusive as the mythical Unicorn. But when you get it – wow, what a rush!

  22. Hi Barbara,

    Commenting mostly to share that I’m back posting in English, less often than in Spanish, but yet, from time to time, you’ll be seeing some of my stuff in English.

    I’m bilingual and so it must be my blog, isn’t it about being who you really are?

  23. Excellent words of wisdom. It’s refreshing to read something on a blog with words of encouragement.

    And I feel you Janice. My blog posts are not always consistent as well.

  24. Hi Barbara
    What a great phrase “deciduous blogger” – could certainly describe me.
    Mantra sounds good.
    The final line “Be yourself – be your best self.” is a phrase I have used for a long time when I tell people how to be when they deliver a speech.
    Most bloggers appear to be following the mantra – some of the posts I read are creative, informative, clever and well written.
    Scares me to death. LOL

    1. Thank you Keith,

      That’s great advice, isn’t it? “Be yourself – be your best self”. If we can follow that in our lives, we can’t go wrong.

      Psssst. Don’t be scared. You’re blog is pretty awesome, too. 🙂

  25. Happy 4th and what a lovely card – sharing.

    I tweeted because I can not top what is already said with beauty and light….true fireworks

  26. To all my American chums, have a wonderful 4th of July! And to Barbara, thanks for introducing us to Janice! I will have to check out her blog very soon (I have a bit of catching up to do first). 🙂

  27. Hi Barbara – That is awesome. I’m looking forward to checking out Janice’s blog. Hope you’ve had a great holiday weekend.

    1. Thank you Cath,

      I agree. The mantra is truly awesome. Such wonderful words to live by.

      As I told Tony, you won’t be disappointed with Janice’s blog.

  28. I am so happy to have found your blog and subsequently Janice’s. The amount of talent in the blogging world never ceases to amaze me. Janice’s mantra is a tall order but a wonderful goal! Thank you so much for sharing it.

    1. You’re welcome Marie,

      I’m happy you found me, too. And you’re right. The mantra is a tall order, but it’s definitely doable.

      I hope to see you here again soon. 🙂

  29. Dear Barbara:

    Came here as I was blog-hopping. Love your wee place. Almost like a journal, I flipped through the pages and I appreciate the way you reply to each of the comment inspite of receiving so many.

    Shall follow your blog and wait for the lovely insights to unfold. In the meanwhile let me check Janice’s blog.

    Joy and peace,
    Susan

  31. Oh, Barbara…what can I say!! As you know, I’ve been offline – truly offline – and haven’t read emails or my favourite blogs for weeks. I hadn’t realised you’d done something so generous and uplifting with those words you asked for permission to use. You’ve managed do do exactly what I urged folk to do; I’m trying to type this with tears streaming down my face. Your post, the banner and all those comments from folk I’ve come to know and admire are an invite to my Best Self to come back out and play when I’m feeling restored and replenished; it’s reminded me why I love sharing my writing on my blog and why I love the community spirit in the blogs I visit.

    A lot’s been going on here, as you know, but this is the second day in a row that I’ve logged on for a few disciplined, balanced hours and swept the cobwebs off my blog with no ill effects or back pain. What a precious homecoming gift for anyone to receive on their first wee wander to a friend’s blog. Thank you, all from the soaring bits of my heart!

    1. You’re welcome Janice,

      Again I must say “thank you” for allowing me to share your wise words. As you saw from the comments, they touched everyone deeply. THAT, my friend, is a sign of a great writer.

      I pray things are looking up in your life. In the meantime, take care of yourself. We’ll be here waiting when you’re ready to resume blogging. 🙂

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