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Dahlia DeWinters - Author

Quirky Heroines, Happy Endings

Anxious? Get Those Creative Juices Flowing!

Oh, anxiety. We’re all too familiar with that nagging beast, aren’t we? It rears its restless head at the most inconvenient times, leaving us tense and overwhelmed. Not fun! But don’t stress, lovelies. You know by now I’ve got a trick up my proverbial sleeve just for you.  

photo of rainbow colored painting on canvas
Photo by Steve Johnson on Pexels.com

Let’s talk about creative playtime.

That’s right! Tapping into your creative side can whisk those worries away. Remember “whistle while you work”? I’m talking art, music, dance…anything that sparks the inner muse. Trust me, anxiety doesn’t stand a chance against an actively creative mind.

Now I know what you’re thinking… Did he fire six shots or only five? ….wait, that’s not what you’re thinking.  What you’re really thinking is:  “But I’m not artistic or talented…” My friend, come on, that’s so not true! We ALL have that creative flair within; we just have to reconnect with it.

In fact, let your inner child be your guide! Think back to the activities you loved as a kid. Were you a coloring fanatic? An epic block tower engineer? Did you write poems and stories? How about dance parties in the living room? All signs pointing to that untapped creative side of you! It’s so easy to access now. Really.

If you’ve read my blog, or followed me on social media, you are well aware how much I love my music. Dance? Not so much. Maybe the Electric Slide, or the Harlem Shuffle and the ever-famous Two-Step. Despite my disco shortcomings,  music and dance send my worries drifting away. Cranking up my favorite tunes and shaking it out (embarrassingly) fills me with feel-good energy! Maybe meditation music or a spicy salsa rhythm is your jam. Find what floats your creative boat and makes you happy and bubbly.

If you feel stuck, try taking a class and learning something new. Consider that camera gathering dust or finally try sculpting pottery like you’ve always wanted. Trust me, anxiety doesn’t stand a chance against fresh inspiration.

And hey, being creative isn’t about being Picasso or Mozart! Find activities that distract you, capture your attention, and flow intuitively. This is not the space to be intimidated, just have fun!

Sometimes we need to escape anxiety’s clutch and access our creative freedom. From coloring books to dance offs, cooking, photography…if it sparks your spirit and chills out your mind, embrace it. Ready to try it?

Drop a comment as to what YOU do to shake those anxiety blues.


Filed Under: Real Talk, Writing Tagged: black girl nerds, blerd, dahlia dewinters, geek girl, multicultural romance, writer advice

Old Characters Made New

nile / Pixabay

Sometimes it’s okay to look back. I’m doing an author’s challenge on Instagram, and day 12 asked me about my protagonist. Now, I’m currently working on three stories, editing and updating them for publication. Not such bad work, especially since I’ve been living with these characters for a while. I do best with writing when I’m the most familiar with my characters, at least for a few months. I guess I’ll never be that writer who can pump out a new book every month, and I’m okay with that. I’m working with characters I’ve “known” since 2011-2012

For those of you who have read Second Chance Christmas, know that Naomi and Zach had a story before their Christmas story. Yep. They were the very first story that I submitted for publication. Unfortunately, it was rejected. I then wrote Kitty Wishes, and I never went back to the story. However, I ran upon it on my vast Google Drive, dusted it off, and decided to try to publish it. I mean, why not? It was over 90 pages of Naomi/Zach that I didn’t want to go to waste.

The story shows how bubbly and rather scatterbrained Naomi is, and I think that lends a fun aspect to their relationship. Plus it was fun to write and I’m having fun revisiting it.

Because I’ve been revising this story so intensely, I started to think a little more about Naomi, what makes her tick and how she and

Zach got together. So, as I said,as part of this author’s challenge, I created a mood board that represent what Naomi is all about. Check it out:

I always thought of Naomi as a poor little rich girl. Her parents gave her everything she wanted except attention. She went to the best schools, but never got a direction in which she wanted to go. She suffers from depression, and if you’ve read Second Chance Christmas, you know what that resulted in. If you haven’t read the story, it will be made clear in the new book.

I really enjoy working with Naomi. She’s young, kinda gullible, but always ready to look on the bright side of things. She’s sweet, empathetic, and always willing to help out. On the other hand, she is prone to depression and while she might wish for a companion, she doesn’t want to burden anyone with her problems. I’m sure there is a little of Naomi in all of us at on time or another.

I look forward to putting out the new and revised story sometime next month.


Filed Under: Blogging, Tuesdays Tagged: author, dahlia dewinters, geek girl, multicultural romance, writer, writing

#MotivationMonday – 5 Ways to Kickstart Your Muse

We all have those days where we’d rather be writing, but nothing is flowing. Instead we putter around, catch up on programs or simply sit and stare at a blank page. Believe me, you’re not alone. It happens to everyone.

I don’t like wasted time, because you never get it back. I try not to dither away time on social media either, because that’s a hole you can get sucked down and not emerge until three hours later. While I do love the cat vids and the cool memes, there’s a time for work and a time for play.

This brings me to the point of my post. Sometimes inspiration doesn’t sit waiting for you, you have to run it down and beat it into submission. Inspiration is wonderful. Inspiration can get you writing 5k a day. However, when inspiration decides to take a little break, what do you do?

You jump start your creativity. You can do it! Here’s seven quick ways to get that brain churning.

1. Listen to music – Remember “The Mozart Effect”? While that’s kind of gone the way of the dodo, the premise can still be used. Grab a song or two that you really love and jam out to it for a couple of minutes. Sing, dance, get the blood moving to that stuffy brain. Then, sit down and dare that blank page to defy your words.

2. Write by hand – I can’t recommend this technique enough. There is something about putting pencil to paper which gets the creativity going, especially if you imagine yourself as the royal scribe for the kingdom of…whatever. Point is, the physical act of writing may send stimulus to the brain that it’s time to get to work.

3. Get out of the house – We spend a lot of time indoors, especially in those of us in areas of colder winters. Shake yourself out of a rut by going outside – bundle up if you need to! Even as little as ten minutes taking in nature will mostly like shake that creativity into submission.

4. Work with your hands– Activating your hands will activate your brain. Cooking, knitting, crocheting…even washing dishes has an effect. Something about focusing on a bit of a mundane task makes the brain want to entertain itself. I swear to you, I’ve had some excellent ideas when up to my wrists in dishwater.

5. Play video games – I have a terrible secret to share. When I feel I’m stuck and can’t write another word, I go onto Facebook….and spin those fake slots. Or, I’ll play Zuma, where a frog spits beads. In other words, I do something totally mindless. Again, the brain gets bored, and tries to entertain itself. And as odd as it sounds, it really does work.

One thing I don’t recommend is scrolling social media. Depending on your temperament, it might actually be detrimental to your ability to create, depending on what you run into on your feed. As we all know, news stories and other people’s issues can be stressful, even if we are not directly involved. Save your social media involvement for after you’ve finished working. You won’t be sorry.

Do you have a tip to get the creative motor running? Leave it in the comments.

1Love

Dahlia


Filed Under: Writing Tagged: #dahliawrites, creativity, dahliadewinters, monday blogs, motivation monday, multicultural romance, on writing, writer, writing

Recipe Wednesday – Stewed Chicken with Andouille

Photograph by Antonis Achilleos

My favorite is cold weather cooking – you can turn on the oven, the stove and warm up the kitchen with spicy aroma.

This recipe is taken from the Food Network site.

Ingredients

6 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (about 1 3/4 pounds), trimmed
Kosher salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 link andouille sausage (about 3 ounces), chopped
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3 medium red potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 10-ounce package frozen whole baby okra, thawed
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Directions
Cut each chicken thigh into quarters (or 1 1/2-inch pieces, if large). Pat dry and season with 1 teaspoon salt. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add the chicken in a single layer and cook undisturbed until browned, about 4 minutes. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is golden brown all over, about 5 more minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the chicken and cook, stirring, 1 minute.

Stir in the broth and potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the potatoes are just tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the okra and cook, covered, until the chicken and potatoes are cooked through, 5 to 10 more minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lime juice and cilantro.

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/stewed-chicken-with-andouille-recipe/index.html?oc=linkback


Filed Under: Recipes, Uncategorized Tagged: dahlia dewinters, interracial romance, multicultural romance, recipe Wednesday, romance, the sultry scribe

Music Monday – Top 5 Elton John Songs

Since I did Billy Joel last week, it’s only fair that I praise my other favorite piano man, Elton John.  I first heard of Elton John (to know he was Elton John) during the eighties. Upon further exploration of his discography, I discovered that I had been enjoying his songs for quite a while, even though I hadn’t known who he was.  This was back in the olden times of radio and DJs….

Without further ramblings, here’s my top five mix of Elton John songs. As always, they are in no particular order.

 

 

I’m Still Standing

Rollicking upbeat elton.

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Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road

The vocal riff of “Oh…oh…oh….” is what sells it.

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The One

“All I ever needed was the one……”

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Candle in the Wind

His tribute to Marilyn Monroe, and later Princess Diana, still brings a tear to my eye.

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Rocket Man

 

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Honorable Mention – Bennie and the Jets

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And there’s my faves from Elton John..  Have any Elton John favorites?  Drop them in the comments!

 

Peace, Love, Unity

Dahlia

 


Filed Under: Music Tagged: black geek girls, blerd, candle in the wind, dahlia dewinters, elton john, goodbye yellow brick road, multicultural romance, music, music favorites, music monday, top elton john songs

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