Photography

The love of horses…

Posted by Nicole on Feb 20, 2012 in Horses, Photography | 1 comment

“An inborn love of the horse is instinctive, quite
unreasoning, and one cannot recall any beginning of
what seems to have always been there, together with a
craving for perfection in the object of interest.”
~Lady Ann Blunt~

Legend of the Bedouin

Posted by Nicole on Feb 13, 2012 in Horses, Photography | 0 comments

It was said the Creator
had taken a handful of South Wind
and given each newborn Arabian
the power of flight without wings.

“And now, the end is near…”

Posted by Nicole on Feb 6, 2012 in Photography, Writing | 2 comments

“And now, the end is near, and so I face, the final curtain…”

- Sinatra “My Way”

I’m referring to my latest manuscript, of course.

(not a cover - just me messing around in my graphic programs)

This project that I started for November’s Novel Writing Month has been a roller coaster of sorts – It is a book I began back in high school and have rewritten four times and re-edited another twenty times in between.

Having been so invested in this story and with a long and complicated history, there were times the two of us just didn’t get along. There were moments I contemplated re-writing the whole thing all over again.

But we worked out our differences. We came to compromises without sacrificing the heart of the story.

I’m thrilled and looking forward to typing “the end” – as much as I really don’t want the process to end.

Tell me about a book you read and/or wrote that you didn’t want to end.

Image credit: iStock Photo

Pulling words and thoughts out of the air

Posted by Nicole on Jan 17, 2012 in Photography, Writing | 3 comments

Ever have those days where you just aren’t sure where your words and thoughts are even coming from?

I’ve been struggling a bit with coming up with blog topics for this week, yet I’ve been sending others handfuls of ideas for them to write in other areas. Why is my well of creativity overflowing in some areas and not others?

So, I decided the one thing to do when you don’t know what to blog about…is blogging about not knowing what to blog about.

Make sense?

Sometimes the hardest thing in the world is to pull an idea out of nothing and putting that idea on paper. As a freelancer, I had no problem going after a story I was assigned. When it came to coming up with my own story idea, I faltered.

But then, ideas are everywhere. Headlines in the news. A conversation you overhear. An intriguing image. A scene you dreamt last night. A spin-off from another blog you read…

Endless possibilities. So why can’t you grasp onto just one and run with it?

I wouldn’t call it writer’s block or even a creativity block. Perhaps it is just that there is too much. Too much dammed up and waiting to overflow. That could leave you paralyzed with indecision above anything else.

So how do you overcome this?

Just start writing. Open a notebook, a word document, a blank blog post. Write whatever comes into that little brain of yours.
Absorb more inspiration. If you expose yourself to even more blogs, articles, topics that fill you will even more ideas, you’re bound to overflow and end up with something on the page. (Hypothetically.)
Give in and move onto something else. But come back to it later and work through it. Sometimes you just can’t force it.

My other freebie – have a friend you can rant to and let that spill over and inspire you to get back to that typing. Skype is invaluable for said rants.

Onward, my friends. Hang in there.

Pinterest: Oh, the potential.

Posted by Nicole on Jan 13, 2012 in Photography | 2 comments

I’ve known about Pinterest for some time – watched others use it. I’ve had it on my to-do list for some time (I’m a social media coordinator, so it is my job to investigate such things.)

Pinterest is an online pinboard. That cork board you have behind your desk with a variety of pictures and notes stuck all over it? Now you can put it online and add things, share things and repost things that catch your eye.

(Yes, I hear the inner groan of some of you – another social network thingy?)

But, oh. The potential.

For writers:

- My dear friend and blogger extraordinnaire, Caitlin Muir, suggested to me one day that Pinterest could be used as an idea board for novel development. If you’re a writer, think about it. Images of your character. Ideas for settings. Cover possibilities.

- Get readers involved by sharing the creative process and how you visualize your book. It is another way to share who you are and what kind of an author you are.

- I use Evernote to keep track of photos, blogs, websites and ideas for stories – but what if we had that out for everyone to see and share? Obviously, you won’t post the details that Pulitzer-prize winning novel plot out there for the world to see, but bits and pieces – why not?

- I’ve started several boards including “BookPile” for covers of books I love/want to read. “ArabianHorseLegacies” that share some of the stories that influence my novel ideas. These all reflect my author brand and they are things I’d love to see of my favorite authors.

For businesses:

- Depending on the business, Pinterest is the place to be. Artists, visual sectors – with how easy it is to share things and comment…the possibilities are endless.

- Right now, Pinterest is in beta and ad-free. Perhaps that is the main draw for early “pinners” and that is liable to change. (Think, Facebook in 2004 vs Facebook in 2012)

- I see Pinterest as a natural fit for any lifestyle sort of business – the simplicity and the popularity of beautiful images or unique items is key here.

For consumers & readers:

- Pinterest makes things incredibly easy to share.

- Blogger & social media specialist, Heather McLendon, wrote a post about the curate vs create atmosphere of Pinterest. Another article on Mashable I read stated that Americans are social media consumers, while in Asia there is far more creation on social media outlets. With Pinterest, will you be more of a “spectator” or a “creator”?

Time will tell.

You can check out my boards here – and if you want an invite, leave a comment and I’ll invite as many as I can!!

My new home away from home

Posted by Nicole on Jan 6, 2012 in History, Horses, Photography | 2 comments

Not literally. But for my latest manuscript, I’ve spent hours pouring over every picture and bit of information I can find about Janow Podlaski Stud in eastern Poland. Isn’t it beautiful?

I’m pretty sure I’ve dreamed about it every night for a month.

In 1817, Tsar Alexander commissioned Janow Stud to supply the cavalry and stock for the nation. Years later, it would become the most famous producer of purebred Arabian and half-Arabians in the country.

But the history of Janow is full of turmoil and invasion. In World War I, the horses were evacuated to Russia and never seen again. In 1939, the invading Russians took with them some of the finest “spoils of war” and Janow lost some of its most valuable Arabian blood.

But Janow’s history is one of survival and resilience. Today, they still produce some of the best Arabian horses in the world. They host the Pride of Poland auction each year and the horses fetch astounding prices.

As far as novel settings, this is by far my favorite. Wouldn’t you want to spend a day of your imagination lost in these images?