Christina Garner's Blog, page 3

Calling all Keepers and Guardians

Do you dream of being a Keeper? Want to kick butt as a Guardian?

The Gateway is all that lies between this world and the demon world, and without Keepers to hold it closed, and Guardians to protect them, all will be lost.

Are you up to the challenge?

If so, apply to join the Institute!

Once you apply, you’ll be given five tasks. Complete three of them, and you’ll be accepted into the Institute as a student.

As a student, you’ll be sent an initiation packet, giving you everything you need to go from trainee, to full-fledged Keeper or Guardian:

10 bookmarks (1 of them signed!)
Stickers
A magnet available only to initiates
A custom-made badge for your blog or website.
The option to choose whether you’ll be training to be a Keeper or a Guardian
A Facebook members only group for discussions on the books, the writing process, and cover reveals.

Each month you’ll receive fun new missions. When you complete them, you’ll be entered to win prizes, including:

Books
ARCs
Gift Cards
& More!

Once you’ve completed six missions, you will be tested. Will you have what it takes to become a Keeper or Guardian?

If you pass, you’ll receive:

A signed copy of Gateway
A free ebook of your choice
A limited-edition gift based on whether you’ve become a Keeper or Guardian

Along the way, you’ll be given special opportunities, like:

Quarterly chats where I’ll answer your questions.
If you have a blog, you’ll be first in line to host giveaways and interviews.
The opportunity to submit fan fiction that might be featured on my website.
Any other awesomeness I can think of!

Ready? Apply now!

 

image via gtall1

Truth

The truth doesn’t hurt.

It’s the gap between the truth and what we want to be the truth that hurts.

We Write to Expose the Unexposed

“We write to expose the unexposed. If there is one door in the castle you have been told not to go through, you must. Otherwise, you’ll just be rearranging furniture in rooms you’ve already been in. Most human beings are dedicated to keeping that one door shut. But the writer’s job is to see what’s behind it, to see the bleak unspeakable stuff, and to turn the unspeakable into words – not just any words but if we can, into rhythm and blues.” Anne Lamott

Pop Quiz

Think of something you really, really want. Go big.


Do you want to:


Finish college
Lose 50 pounds
Get married
Write a novel
Have a baby



Pick the one that sings to you. (You know the one.) Now, ask yourself how you will feel once you get it.
 
Some examples might be:




Happy
Sexy
Excited
Loved
Proud
Peaceful


Great, you’re almost done.
 
What are three things you could do, that would also lead to the feeling you’ve attached to your desire? For this part, think small.


For instance:




Would buying new (clothing, lingerie, bath products) give you a shot of sexy?
If you’re looking to feel peaceful, maybe a 15 minute meditation or a yoga class would help.
Wanting some excitement? How about a rock climbing class?
Need a dose of happy? My go-to overall happiness booster is the dog park. I can’t not smile watching puppies with their fat little bellies, rolling around and playing.

Got the three things you could do?

Perfect. Now pick the one that you will do. Today. This week at the latest.Congratulations! You scored 100%

**Extra credit: Leave a comment and let me know what you’ll be doing, then come back and tell me how you feel after you do it.

image via Lisa Widerberg

Writing a Novel 20 Minutes at a Time

Think I’m kidding? I’m not.

Years ago, I learned an important tool known as “timed writing.”

While Kelly Morgan didn’t invent it, she’s the one who taught it to me, and I’m forever grateful. If you aren’t familiar with the method, it involves you, a writing instrument, and a timer. Willingness helps, but it’s not absolutely necessary. Depending on my preference at the time, I’ve used my computer, or put pen to paper.  

Commit to keeping your pen (or fingers on the keys) moving for the alloted time. No ifs, ands, or buts.

Don’t have anything to say?

Then write, “I don’t have anything to say” over and over again.

Think this is stupid?

You guessed it—write, “this is stupid” as many times as is necessary.

 

Just. Write.

 

While it’s possible that you’ll end up with a few pages filled only with “I hate this, blah blah…” I can tell you from experience it’s pretty unlikely. In fact, in the years I’ve been using this technique, it’s never been a complete disappointment, and often yields fabulous results.

This is very much a “first thought, best thought” discipline. There’s no filter, and you aren’t writing to get something “good.” (Although, don’t be surprised if you tap a hidden vein of gold.) Lately, I’ve been using 20 minute chunks. This jibes with the pomodoro technique, and I’ve had success with it. Your mileage may vary, so feel free to experiment.  

Today, I worked with it in a slightly different way. I’m currently working on Tether, Book 3 in The Gateway Trilogy, and I’m feeling behind because of some health stuff. But I’m committed to my deadline, so although I’ve got some resistance going, I decided to shake things up and see if I could get some results. 

So far, it’s exceeded my expectations. I woke up and did my morning routine of taking my dog out, making coffee, and meditating in my garden. Then, I went old school with a spiral-bound notebook and the timer on my iPhone. Side note: I prefer gel pens for the ease with which they glide across the paper. I find that genuinely makes a difference. 

What I didn’t do, is wait until I felt like writing—who knows when that might be? I’ve got stitches in my mouth and feel queasy from antibiotics. 

Instead, I started off with, “I don’t know what to write. Where do I pick up the story?” Then I started writing down a few things that weren’t working, things I needed to fix but wasn’t sure how. At some point during the exercise, things shifted and I no longer resented doing it.

After my first session, I played with my pup and danced to two songs. After the second break, I emptied my dishwasher and ate a snack while listening to Howard Stern. And after the third session, I was inspired to begin this blog post. After the fourth, I made a phone call and after the fifth I was done!

If you’re just beginning to make writing a part of your daily practice, five sessions would be overwhelming—I’d suggest starting with one. And if 20 minutes is intimidating, go with 10. When first starting any habit, it’s consistency that matters most. Experiment and see what works for you.

I find that I get insights, that prior to writing, I was unable to access. Sometimes that carries me through the 20 minutes, but more often, I go back to writing, “this sucks” until I hit another vein, or until the timer dings. I remind myself as I go, that this is meant to be fun, and that I’m just exploring—nothing has to be “good.” 

Truth be told, there will be a time when this won’t be nearly enough time for me to put in and still meet my looming deadline. But for now, while some of the story is still formless, I need a more fluid approach in order to bring it into being. Once things are a bit clearer, I’ll go back to my 2500 words a day goal. (I only count actual words written IN the story, not just about the story.) 

I’ve used timed writing to help unravel plot points, brainstorm blog posts, compose said blog posts, and do a “brain drain” so that I can empty my mind of chatter.

How about you? Have you tried this technique? What were your results? 

image via distelfliege

The Gap

There is who you are,

And who you are becoming.

Between them lies the gap.

How will you bridge it?
And more importantly,
What will you gain from the journey?





 

When Life Sends a Wave, Dive Deep

I grew up in the small town of Kailua, on the windward side of Oahu. I’ve been swimming in the ocean since an early age, and while I have a healthy respect for its power, I don’t usually fear it–even when a big wave comes.

I think it was my step-father who taught me that when a wave comes, the best thing to do is dive as deeply as you can and let it pass over you. I remember being a afraid–who wants to jump straight into something with such potential to wreck you? But, since the alternative was to continue getting tossed about as I had been–sometimes getting rolled end over end until I had no breath left–I gave it a try. After that first time, when I dove deep and felt the force of the wave pass powerfully, yet gently over me, I was a believer. I shot up to the surface exuberant. I began to seek out waves to jump under.

The same is true of life. 

When a life wave comes crashing, it seems like all the power is on the surface–with our egos, our circumstances, the people who have done us wrong. But the real power is at the base of the wave–our beliefs, our knowing, our ability to transform.

Ultimately, we get to choose how we will meet each wave. We can stay on the surface–firing off that harshly worded email, feeling sorry for ourselves, playing the blame game. But those are likely to send us crashing to the ocean floor, with water up our noses and sand in our bikini bottoms.

Or we can dive deep–into our soul, our intuition, our willingness to change and be changed. And from that place of power, we are healed, transformed, and ultimately shot out the other side.

I’ve had a few waves recently, and although I’ve let myself get rolled a few times, and I’ve yet to pop out the other side, I find myself at the base of the wave, still breathing. 

 

image via Micah Camara

Are You in Good Hands?

I had dental surgery today, which turned out to be pretty intense–both to my mouth and my finances. But there was something that made up for it: I was in good hands.

Even though it was my first time with this endodontist, I just knew it. It started yesterday, when I spoke with a new dentist and she asked how I was, and I told her the truth. “I’m scared,” I said. She (very kindly) said, “There’s no reason to be scared.” She then went on to tell me all the ways she and the endodontist could help me, and suddenly, a situation that I’d been told was all but hopeless, opened up–and I could breathe again.

What it came down to was trust.

I trusted my instincts a few days ago, when I got up–novocaine-soaked Q-Tip in mouth–and walked away from my original dentist. You see, this dentist–who had recommended the procedure he was about to do–instilled no trust when he shrugged, sighed, and said, “Let’s hope this works.” After a few minutes of discussion, I knew in my gut that this was not the man who should do this–or any–procedure on me.

There was time when I wouldn’t have done that. Instead of abandoning that dental office, I’d have abandoned myself, for the sake of not making waves. 

So when I got in touch with this new dentist, and immediately felt safe with her, I knew I’d chosen well this time.

And this morning, in the office of the endodontist she referred me to, I felt safe as well. He took time to explain everything to me and answered my questions. He also seemed genuinely confident that he could help me. Even though it cost much more than I was expecting, I knew I was getting good value. He even found a way to save a tooth that I’d been told was most likely a goner, which was worth its weight in gold. If that wasn’t confirmation enough, he told me that the other dentist’s plan of treatment would have done no good.

My point in telling this story isn’t to garner sympathy, but to share how trusting myself led me to others who were trustworthy.

How often do we place our trust in people despite all evidence that we shouldn’t? How often do we just “go along,” only to pay for it later? And there is always a price when we go against what we know is true. 

And the truth is, we need to know we’re in good hands–especially when they’re ours.

 

image via Ibsbokeh

Safe Space

I’m scared.

Write now, as I type this, I am really, really scared. I have some health stuff happening that is already serious, and could get more so pretty quickly. 

The details aren’t important because the truth is, we’re all scared. And what’s important is what we do about it. How we treat ourselves. What we tell ourselves. 



Today, what I’m doing about it is making necessary phone calls and sitting in my garden. 



I feel held in this little patio that I’ve adorned with plants and flowers. It’s my safe space. And it’s the place I most easily get in touch with an even safer place–my own heart. 



We’re all going through something, always. Sometimes it’s a minor annoyance, sometimes it’s a health scare, or loss of a loved one. 



Where do you go–in your physical space, and your inner space–when you’re afraid, or when life is treating you harshly?



image via Widerbergs

Your Life

Your life is your message.

What is yours saying?

 

photo via aaronmcintyrephotography