As part of my random 3 digit reading project, I discovered a Smithsonian book on different types of shells. Of all of the books that I got that I probably never would have picked up on my own, this one is the one that has drawn my attention most so far. (Thanks to @adanishheart for a really great lucky number!)

The whole point of this project was to inspire something new for me and this totally has. Although I have occasionally looked for shells on the beach, admired beautiful shells and even kept a handful of them in a vessel in my home for awhile, I’ve never thought one way or the other about them. This book has taught me that there are sooooo many different kinds of shells, that they all have histories and their own unique parts and stories.

And I’ve just fallen in love with the language in the book, the language of shells with their whorls and spires, their iridescent pearlized insides and concentric ribbed outsides … It has been awhile since I’ve felt like writing any kind of poetry but this book totally re-sparked my poetry bug. In fact, I went to a coffee shop today with a new notebook and the book on shells and five poems came flooding out of me. Of course, they are the bare bones of poems. They need to be edited, explored, worked on. But the structure, the spark, is totally there. I felt inspired. I love inspired!

I also have an idea for crochet shell art that I’m developing in my mind. We’ll see, we’ll see. What a fun adventure!

Tags: poetry, reading project, shells

I’ve been writing a whole lot lately about how hard it is to work from home. I’ve been thinking about productivity and how to make it better in the home office. I’ve been wondering if multi-tasking helps or hinders these goals. And I’ve been putting together tips for increasing home office productivity. All of these things are based on my own experiences working from home for so many years.

But the truth is that I don’t always do what I recommend that others should do. And yes, my productivity probably falters because of it. Some of the things that I do wrong when it comes to working from home:

• I turn on the TV at lunchtime. It’s supposed to be a quick distraction but usually I get sucked in and leave it on for several hours in the background while I try to do my work which tends to mean that I’m only half paying attention to what I need to be working on.
• I check my social networking sites and IM throughout the day. This means that I’m regularly getting distracted by non-work conversations during my work hours.
• I often work from bed. I don’t have a good work space in my house and I frequently spend hours working from my bed even though I don’t think this is healthy for the mind or body.

However, there’s a lot I do right which is why I can make things work as a full-time freelancers. Things I’ve gotten down include:

• Scheduling. I’ve learned to create a schedule that works for me and I’ve learned how to adapt that schedule as needed when other things come up.
• Setting boundaries. When I don’t want to be bothered during working hours I have no problem letting people know that.
• Getting up and dressed. Even though I work from bed a lot, I always get up first and shower and put on clothes that are nice and make the bed before getting back into it.

Learning to work well from home takes time. I’m getting there.

Tags: advice, business, freelance, hubpages, kathryn vercillo, productivity, small business, work, work from home, working for yourself, writing

People seem to take poetry way too seriously. I think it’s because of the way that poetry was approached in school. We were asked to deconstruct the meaning of every line of poems that probably didn’t interest us. Sometimes a red wheelbarrow is just a red wheelbarrow, you know.

But poetry is meant to be fun. Even when it’s not happy, even when it is intense, it is meant to be an experience that we immerse ourselves in. It is meant to be something that we enjoy.

Celebrating National Poetry Month is all about bringing that fun back to poetry. It’s about honoring the fact that poetry exists in our history and in our modern lives. It’s about finding that poet that you can fall in love with and reading his or her works again and again. It’s about attending poetry readings and feeling the energy of a crowd or getting lost in the page as you pen your own poems for no one else’s eyes.

There are many small things that we can do to celebrate poetry but the main thing is to stop looking so negatively about it, to stop taking it so seriously, to stop thinking that we know what it is and instead to give it a chance to reveal something new to us. Who knows, it may just make us laugh with glee!

Tags: arts, celebration, ehow, kathryn vercillo, national poetry month, poetry, writing poetry

Every month I sit down and list twenty small creative goals that I’d like to complete in the month. I usually get at least half of them completed which makes me feel like I’m adding creativity to my life on a regular basis. I truly believe that almost anyone can do ten small things in a month that add up to big creative changes in their lives.

April is National Poetry Month so perhaps we should focus on what we can do that’s creative and related to poetry. Here’s a look at ten different small things that most of us could do to bring poetry to our lives this month:

1. Write out a quote about poetry. It doesn’t take long to find a quotation about poetry that we like and then to write it out on nice paper. Hang it somewhere that you can see it throughout the rest of the month to feel inspired to appreciate poetry.
2. Attend one poetry event. There must be a poetry reading or poetry slam somewhere in your area this month. If you’re free, take a few hours out of your day to go on a poetry date with yourself.
3. Check a book of poetry out of the local library. You don’t even have to read all of it. Just read one or two poems this month.
4. Write a poem. It doesn’t have to be perfect or even good. The idea is just to get your creative juices flowing.
5. Blog about poetry. If you don’t blog, write about poetry on your Facebook or Twitter account.
6. Watch poetry videos on YouTube. There are recordings of people reading their poetry, visual poetry pictures and footage of poetry competitions.
7. Buy those poetry magnets and play with them.
8. Go to a bookstore and read a children’s poetry book. You’ll be reminded of the fun of poetry!
9. Copy a favorite poem and send it to someone you love. Share poetry month with others!
10. Give poetry a chance this month. Most people ignore poetry a lot of them. Do anything at all that allows you to give it a chance.

What are you going to do to embrace National Poetry Month?

Tags: celebration, holiday, hubpages, kathryn vercillo, national poetry month, npm, poetry, writing

I wrote an article earlier today over at my Real Words blog all about how I’ve seen a recent shift in the way that my online social networking communication is taking place. In the past, I’ve had two types of connections online. First, there were my friends in real life who I chatted about normal stuff with on sites like MySpace, Facebook and Twitter. And then there were people who I know only from online who would add me to those sites just to send me links to their online work.

What I’ve noticed recently is that more and more people on these sites are truly interested in starting real conversations. The line between my real life friends and my online friends is starting to blur. People I don’t know are asking me how my day is going and responding to my general status updates. They are inviting me to meet them in the real world or at least expressing an interest in knowing what my real world is like.

At the same time, my real world friendships are getting closer as a result of staying more frequently updated with everyone’s activities online. I know that this revelation isn’t new – many people have experienced this with online social networking. But I still sense an even greater shift in this going on right now, at least in my own life, and I’m excited to see how it develops.

Tags: communication, friendship, kathryn vercillo, online networking, real words, Social Networking, writing

One of the things that you have to incorporate into your daily schedule when you work as a freelancer is the time to look for new freelance work. Although it’s a good idea to build up a set of steady clients so that you’re essentially working as a remote employee for just a few businesses, it is equally important to make sure that you’re continuously putting yourself out there to get new (and perhaps better) freelance jobs.

There are a few things that I’ve learned about finding work as a freelance writer that make the process of doing this simpler for me:

• It needs to be something that I do every day. This helps me stay abreast of the job opportunities that are out there so that I can apply to all of the ones that seem right for me.
• It should be done at the same time every day. That’s because it becomes part of a habitual schedule so you don’t have to think about when you’re going to fit it in. It’s just what you do every day like answer emails or update your social networking sites.
• It’s important to know where to look. I have a post up today listing ten places to look for freelance writing job leads for those people who are also working in this same industry.
• My resume must be kept up to date. As a freelancer, I usually rely on a web portfolio to show off my work but there are many potential clients who want a resume so it’s important to update mine regularly.
• The more you look, the better you get at looking. I can typically just glance at an ad now and easily tell whether it’s worth pursuing, whether or not to put a lot of effort into the application or if it’s a scam. Practice makes perfect so they say.

What have you learned about finding work as a freelancer? Any good tips or advice to share?

Tags: employment, freelance, freelance writing, job leads, work, writers, writing, writing work

I love being surrounded by other smart people who are also into writing. There are tons of places that you can find these people, of course, including coffee shops and book clubs. However, I think that the best place to go to get yourself in touch with smart writers is any kind of event where writers are reading their works.

I’m a big fan of literary events. Be it an open mic night at a local cafe or a big regional poetry slam at a large warehouse venue or a small book signing and reading at the indie bookstore, I think these things are a great chance to hear writing and meet writers.

Usually I end up feeling inspired just by attending one of these events. There’s something about meeting other people who are also doing writing for a living (or hobby) that makes you feel supported in the work that you yourself are doing as a writer.

And I find that going to these types of things doesn’t just inspire my writing. It inspires how I feel about life. I feel better about people in general after being around a lot of smart, creative, literary people in a group like this. Don’t you?!

Tags: being around people, open mic, poetry slam, smart people, writers, writing

Diary of a Smart Chick is certainly a diary of sorts. It’s a place where I think about my writing that I’m doing elsewhere on the web and add some insight to it and share it with others. But it’s not the only diary that I keep. I also keep a daily diary (or journal, rather) in my personal life. I’ve kept a diary off and on since I was about ten and it’s something that I do consistently now because I think it’s a really important part of my life.

For me, the journal is a place where I can get every single thought out of my head. I write in it every morning whether I am feeling happy or sad, sick or well. I write down what I’m feeling and what I’m thinking and what I’m going to do that day and what I’m worried about and what I’m excited about and what I don’t want to really write about.

Doing this allows that stuff to get on to the page where it can be processed. This means it’s not bouncing around inside of my brain anymore. The fact that it clears some peace of mind for me means that I can then go about my day without so much worry about those thoughts. I can make smart choices about how to handle problems. I can relax. I can be creative.

I believe that keeping a journal is something that is particularly important for writers. However, I think it’s a tool that anyone can (and should) use to get some peace of mind in their daily lives. It’s a way to understand yourself better. Plus keeping the commitment to write down your thoughts daily shows yourself that you value those thoughts and emotions which can go a long way towards living an emotionally healthy life.

Tags: diary, journal, kathryn vercillo, real words, writing