Menna Van Praag's Blog, page 33

Listening & Living in the Moment

Tonight I spent two hours listening. Doing nothing else but listening. How often do we do that? I rarely do. If I’m listening to the radio or podcasts (I love podcasts) I’m usually doing something else: the washing up, cooking, that sort of thing. But to simply sit and listen is a wonderful thing. At first my mind still races with thoughts from the day but slowly, as the minutes tick past and I listen to people talking about living in the moment, I experience being in the moment and I feel soft and relaxed and I have the sense that life is perfect just the way it is. I don’t need to change anything, I don’t need to strive, I don’t need to be better than I am. What a beautiful feeling that is. That is what two hours of Instantaneous Transformation gives me. Sweet.

Passion: Part Two. Having watched Thor last night (lots o...

Passion: Part Two. Having watched Thor last night (lots of fun), I watched an interview today with the lovely Tom Hiddleston who played Loki. He was talking about passion and how people think it’s “uncool” to want something with great passion, so people suppress themselves to fit in, they act like they don’t care, they become sensible and stoical and numb to all the beauty of life. So don’t be afraid to express your passion. Give it free reign. Be honest. Be true. Give yourself permission to have passion. It takes courage to be uncool, but it’s worth it!

Pic: my new author pic for the paperback of HOPE

Yesterday I taught my first group online writing course –...

Yesterday I taught my first group online writing course – it was AMAZING!!! I loved it. And my students loved it too. We were all alive with passion afterwards and inspired to write. It was a great reminder about the pure beauty of passion – how life is magical with it and grey without it. When you’re excited and passionate about anything you feel amazing, your heart beats faster and you smile for no reason at all. Teaching is wonderful because sharing your passion with others inspires you all over again. Passion is infectious and – especially in the face of so much sombreness, sensibleness & sadness in this world – we need all we can get. Little O, like all kiddies, is pretty much passionate all the time about everything. I learn a lot from him

“Genius is 1% talent and 99% percent hard work.” ― Einstein.

We often think, in the face of “failure” or difficulties, that perhaps we’re not good enough to succeed, that we don’t have the particular talents needed to achieve what it is we want to achieve. Since it took me nine years of waitressing and writing before I published my first book, I’m no stranger to self-doubt. And today I taught a student, who has begun writing an absolutely brilliant book, but she’s still doubting her abilities to be able to do it. We spoke about the 26 drafts that HOPE STREET went through before it was published. She was comparing her very first draft of chapter one to the finished works of authors she admired (I used to do the same) so no wonder she was succumbing to self-doubt! It’s important to remember, when embarking on any creative endeavour, not to compare yourself to others, or you might give up before you’ve barely begun. Remember: tenacity always is infinitely more important than talent alone.

Pic: the magical moment – after 26 drafts – that HOPE finally hit the shelves

Join me for my next writing workshop!

Do you want to write a BRILLIANT novel? If so, I can teach you how! Talking about and teaching the art of great storytelling is one of my greatest passions. I love supporting writers to write the very BEST book they can write. I love discussing character, plot, style… all that gorgeous stuff. If you love it too (& want to have your own HOPE STREET published) then sign up for my next writing workshop! It takes place over four weeks, with four one hour phone sessions (recorded, if you can’t make it live), email contact and personal feedback on your writing – all for only £99. How cool is that?! Pretty cool, I think

Email me if you’d love to join me: menna@mennavanpraag.com

Invitation: to an evening of lightness and laughter! Plac...

Invitation: to an evening of lightness and laughter! Place: my flat. Date & time: 19th Nov @ 6.30pm-9pm. Price: £17. If you live anywhere near Cambridge, UK and want to have a wonderful evening next Tuesday night, then you are invited to join me! I often talk about this wonderful thing called Instantaneous Transformation I do – the thing that keeps me so happy & young – because I know how easy it is for all of us to get lost in all the ups and downs of life and lose sight of all the magic and beauty at our fingertips. After an evening of listening to Ariel & Shya Kane talk about Instantaneous Transformation, I’m always left smiling, feeling good just being me and happy for no reason at all… & what could be better than that?!

Pic: Oscar & Ella

I spent a lovely weekend doing not much of anything at al...

I spent a lovely weekend doing not much of anything at all. That’s a rather rare thing for me, since I’m something of a “doer” and love to work. Occasionally then, I force myself to take time off and do absolutely nothing productive for a few days. This has the double bonus of being relaxing and fun in itself and, of course, making me even more creative and productive when I return to work. Sometimes I forget that doing nothing can often in fact be more productive than doing too much. Especially when that over-doing comes from the fear that we won’t get what we want/need if we don’t push hard enough. I used to believe I had to push myself – and the world around me – really hard to make my dreams come true. I’ve learned, over the years, that it really isn’t true at all. A good work-play balance is what creates the best life – in all possible ways!

Pic: Knitting a scarf & cuddling up under the gorgeous quilt made by the absolutely lovely & enormously talented Alice Jago.

Happy Birthday Oscar!! My little boy turned 2 today. I ca...

Happy Birthday Oscar!! My little boy turned 2 today. I can’t hardly believe it. There’s nothing quite like watching your baby growing up to remind you to treasure every precious moment of life. O changes so quickly and the time flies past. Every now and then I stop and squeeze him and breathe in the very second that is mine right now, that I’m blessed to be alive for, and that will never return again. How lucky we are to have all these moments we’re given. So, here’s to O and here’s to life and here’s to all of us!

I learnt so much last weekend! The most important lesson ...

I learnt so much last weekend! The most important lesson being about that old adage “life ends at the end of your comfort zone.” How true, true, true. On Friday night I hardly slept, so nervous about the upcoming pitching sessions. Then, after not allowing myself to run home on Saturday and after more than a few chocolate croissants for courage, I spent a hour doing what I was so terrified to do. I was rather shocked to discover that, after the first pitch or two, I started enjoying the process and when my time was up I wanted to go all over again! On Sunday I gave myself another challenge – the elevator pitch. I joined a queue of 50 writers all waiting to get into an elevator with a producer a pitch very quickly before they both reached the first floor of the building. The moment before I stepped in I felt nauseous with nerves. The moment I stepped out I was grinning with pride. I did it! Oh, and the producer wanted to see my film script. Now I’m no longer nervous about pitching, I’m excited. Stepping outside your comfort zone is a wonderful thing indeed!

Men, Money & Chocolate – the film!

WOWZERS!!! This weekend was AMAZING!! I met many very inspiring people – including lots of Hollywood producers – and had the BEST time. I was practically shaking with nervous excitement when it came time to pitch but it went brilliantly and a few unexpectedly wonderful things happened. I’d planned on pitching my TV show idea, I’d practised ’till perfect, but I’d not thought of saying anything else than that. Then the producer from ITV asked what else I had and I started telling her about Men, Money & Chocolate (I wrote a film script for it years ago) and she loved it! Then I told another producer and he loved it too! & this morning he asked me to come in and meet his team to discuss the prospect of turning it into a film – whoop! whoop! I will, of course, keep you all updated!