Charlotte Rains Dixon

A Writer's Diet: Slim Shots

Last week, Ray, my mailman, found me washing dishes in the kitchen.  He'd been knocking on the front door (haven't had a functioning doorbell in this house, ever) but I thought it was just the noisy construction guys around the corner, so I ignored the sound until he came around to the side door to roust me.

We chatted for a bit about the new roof and gutters (is there anything more boring to spend a small fortune on?) and then he handed me a package.  This was exciting, as packages are always exciting, but I didn't remember ordering anything so I was a bit puzzled.

Ah, but once I ripped the package open it all became clear. 

A month or so ago I got a mass email sent to bloggers, asking if they would like to review a diet product called Slim Shots.  Well, hell, I'm always up for experimentation with my body, especially if it means dropping a few pounds.  I sent off my acceptance, doubting that they would choose little ole me for the review, seeing as how I have a writing blog, not a dieting blog.  I never heard a thing more about it, until Ray delivered me package which turned out to be a one-week supply of Slim Shots.

What are Slim Shots?  They are a dietary supplement that helps to suppress your appetite.  As far as I can tell, they are at least not terribly bad for you, their main ingredients being palm oil and oat oil.  They come in little plastic packages, shot-size, amazingly enough.  You can drink them plain or add them to food or liquid.  For the first week, you drink one with breakfast and one with lunch, and then you graduate to just taking one with breakfast.

Dubious as I am about fad diets and miracle supplements, I kind of like these little guys. Thanks to the advice of my wonderful naturopath,  I've been working on the 80% full thing, which turns eating into a bit of a spiritual practice.  What you do is eat until you are 80% full and then quit.  Sounds easy, right?  But it is way harder than it sounds, because it forces you to seriously pay attention to what you are eating.  Half the time I'm gulping down a meal so I can get to the writing, or whatever else it is I want to do.  Or I'm eating with friends and family, and paying more attention to them to what I'm actually eating.  Figuring out when I'm full is difficult enough, but actually stopping before then is crazy hard.

So I think these Slim Shots help with that.  What I am not sure about is whether or not I'll actually pay for more of them.  They are spendy--did you think they'd be cheap?  And they make it cheaper if you do the auto-ship thing, which I've accidentally gotten hooked into before and very much regretted.  The auto-ship option is the default, so be very careful if you do decide to order.  My idea would be to order a month's supply to give my 80% full quest a boost and then take it from there myself. 

Because isn't it true that your stomach does actually shrink as you eat less, or is that just wishful thinking?  It is probably wishful thinking.  But I'm going with the idea, anyway...

A Successful Writing Life

Last week at the Fall Writer's Loft orientation, we held a panel on The Writing Life.  I moderated, and mentors Bill Brown, David Pierce, and Linda Busby Parker participated.  It was a freewheeling and wide-ranging discussion, as I'd hoped.  Since I was moderating, I scribbled notes, just in case the conversation lagged and I needed to get it going again.  That didn't happen, but looking back over my notes gives some idea of what all we covered:

• Finding a balance between making a living and writing
• Tips on just doing it
• The value of getting into the flow of writing 1,000 words a day, no matter what
• "Stay with it" momentum (see above)
• Handling rejection
• Pointing yourself in a specific direction
• Switch it up--try non-fiction if you mostly write fiction, etc.
• The pressure to write a blog and keep up with twitter and social media
• The best writer's conferences and events
• How to use prompts
• And we covered all this in 45 minutes...

After I got back home to the lovely (and hot) PDX, I started pondering the writing life anew.  I didn't talk much at the panel, as it was not intended to be about me.  But many people have expressed interest in the writing life that I have created for myself.  While I don't yet make buckets of money and I'm not a household name, I do have a satisfying life that I love.  It gives me tons of freedom and independence, which are two of my most important personal values.  I can pretty much do what I want when I want, though let us not forget I earn this right by being slavishly devoted to my clients and their deadlines. (Just so you don't think I'm a slacker all the time.)

Anyway, I started thinking about some of the things I've done to create myself a writing life and came up with the following:

1.  Decide what kind of writing life you want.  Do you want to pick a job that doesn't require you give it your heart and soul, and thus frees your emotional energy for writing?  Or do you want a job that is in writing or a related field?  Obviously, I chose the latter and I like it because the more I write, the better I get.  All of the various kinds of writing that I do--ghostwriting, copywriting, blogging, fiction, critiquing--enhance each other.

2.  If you do choose the full-time writing life, be willing to do anything (well, within reason).  Like most free-lancers, I wear many hats, and I like some of these hats lots better than others.  But that doesn't mean I turn down the things that aren't as much fun.  For me, its all writing, and I still get a thrill from even the dullest of jobs.  I had no idea that ghostwriting could be such a fun and lucrative gig, until I did my first assignment, which I got nearly by accident.  So keep your mind and your options open.

3.  Be willing to take low-paying jobs at first.  You need experience.  You need clips.  Work for free or a pittance if you have to at first.  I got paid a miserable wage in my first years as a writer, but I was able to up my fees quickly once I mastered the various genres and had the clips to prove it.

4.  Broaden your physical horizons.  We're a global community now.  Many of my ghostwriting clients are in LA, and my students in Nashville.  Doesn't matter--we've got this thing called the internet that allows us to communicate instantly.  Don't reject jobs because they are in other locations.  Besides, one of the best parts of my job is the fact that I get to travel to places I love.

I'm sure I've got more advice in me, but the workers who are doing God only knows what at the house around the corner are so noisy they've got my brain scrambled.  So, since I don't have to report to anybody but myself (did I mention that as a huge benefit?)  I'm taking my freedom and heading to New Seasons.

PS.  Read more about the Loft orientation at Linda's blog, right here.

The Writing Life: It's Raining in Nashville

When it rains in Nashville, the heavens open in a biblical manner.  If you happen to be caught outside in it, you are soaked to the bone instantly.  Often the rain is accompanied by scary bursts of thunder and lightning.

Perhaps the thunder and lightning is scary to me because I experience it so rarely back home in Portland.  There, the rain is gentle yet persistent.  It is gentle enough that Portlanders scorn umbrellas and really, you can get along fine most rainy days without one. 

Not in Nashville. 

Yet I don't own an umbrella and it certainly never occurs to me to pack one, seeing as how I never use one in Portland.  And let me just say that my fall back position of all-purpose shawl held over my head is a lame attempt to shield myself from the rain.  And so I've been soaked several times now.

But Nashville has other delights and so I forgive it the rain this week.

I arrived last Friday afternoon to take part in Path and Pen, a spiritual writing conference.  What a great weekend.  I presented my Writing Abundance workshop on Saturday morning, and all of us had a blast.  Truly the reason the workshop went so well was because of my wonderful participants.  I got to spend quite a bit of time with the amazing Rabbi Rami Shapiro and also to attend the Greater Bethel AME church on Sunday morning, at the invitation of Kim Johnson, program director at Scarritt Bennett.  I made some good new friends, including fellow faculty members Kent Ira Groff and Dr Sybril Bennett.  Best of all, they've asked me to come back in December to be the writer in residence for Room to Write. What is Room to Write?  It is a two-day writing retreat.  All you have to do is show up and write.  Your room will be ready for you and all meals provided.  If you need advice or motivation or support, I'll be on hand to provide it.  Check it out, it's going to be wonderful.

I've been house-sitting in Nashville this week, spending time with friends, and putting the final touches on the fall orientation weekend at The Writer's Loft.  There's still time to join, either the full semester or the one-day workshops on Friday which are open to the public.  Join us for workshops from poet Bill Brown, CNF writer David Pierce, and fiction writer Terry Price.

Oh, and my friend from Portland, Mayanna is arriving tomorrow, as well as Linda Busby Parker from Alabama and Betsy Woods from Louisiana.  We're going to have a great time and learn lots about writing.

But in the meantime, I think its raining again....

And The Winner Is....

My contact at All Modern has chosen the lucky winner of the contest I've been running with them.  Through the miracle of modern technology, he ran the seven commenters through a random number generator at random.org.

And the results are....

Ready?

Really?

Okay, here it is for real: the winner is number five, Gabby!

Congratulations, Gabby, and please email me with the address where you would like the prize to be mailed and we'll get it right out to you.

For those of you who would like a bit more info about All Modern, here you go:

Part of CSN Stores, All Modern is just one of over 260 retail sites that offer a diverse array of products from office furniture by Herman Miller to wall sconces by Murray Feiss. 

PS:  I'm on my way to Nashville very, very early in the morning tomorrow.  I'm leading a workshop Saturday morning at Path and Pen and will be on hand the next weekend for The Loft orientation weekend.  Maybe I'll see you at one of these events!

All Modern Contest Continues

A quick note--I want to let everyone know that the All Modern contest, originally slated to end tomorrow, has been extended over the Labor Day Weekend.   My contact at the site is on vacation.  This is good news for him and good news for you as well, because it means more time for you to enter!

Entering is a no-brainer, there's no skill involved, you don't even have to write much.  All you have to do is post a comment on the original post, which you can access here.

The prize is an awesome desk accessory, which I myself covet (no big surprise since I chose it), a picture of which you can see on the contest post.

The winner will be chosen in a random drawing from all those who have posted a comment on the original contest post.

You don't even have to write anything brilliant, just say hi.  Or you can be brilliant if you prefer.  I do like brilliance.

Just remember that the comment has to go on the original post in order to count.