Sonia Marsh - Gutsy Living

Getting Results

January 31, 2010 by Sonia Marsh

If you’re having trouble viewing, please click here.
I mentioned the contest for memoir and narrative non-fiction writers in my video and the link is here: (www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog)

“Both tears and sweat are salty, but they render a different result. Tears will get you sympathy; sweat will get you change.” JESSE JACKSON.

“If I’m tempted to complain and cry when things don’t go my way, I can get myself moving instead. Do I need to work harder, try something different, or just change my plans? Chances are, what I need to do is simple and well within my control.”

(Taken from: The Daily Book of Positive Quotations, Linda Picone.)

I have taken some different steps which I shall share with you next week. In the meantime, let me know what steps you have taken to change and get results in your life, no matter what your goal may be.

Crack the Whip…Would you please?

January 23, 2010 by Sonia Marsh

Click here if you can’t see my video.

The instructions for this award are as follows:

1) Thank the person who sent the award. [Thanks so much Louise that was a fantastic prize to receive before my mini-break.
a) Copy the award to my blog [Above]
b) Link to their blog [Above]

2) List seven things people don’t know about me:

a). I love boysenberry jam on sharp cheddar cheese. Something my mother had for breakfast in Denmark and now my American son likes too.

b). I get mad when I cannot lift heavy weights at the gym. I refuse to accept age as an excuse.

c). I cover my eyes whenever there is blood and violence in a movie.

d). When I was nine-years-old, my parents sent me to California alone from Paris. The plane refueled in Greenland and after take-off, one engine caught fire. We had to do an emergency landing. I remember the woolen airline blanket rubbing my skin raw as I tried covering my eyes.

e). Faces stay with me forever, but I often forget names.

f). After 24 years in the U.S., I still haven’t bothered to learn the rules of baseball or American football. I guess I’m not interested.

g). I wish I could sing. I admire those who have a voice and can entertain others. You will NEVER hear me sing Karaoke.

3) Nominate seven bloggers for the award

a) Link to those blogs

b) Leave a comment to let them know of their award.

A. BLOGitse
B. Coffee Rings Everywhere
C. GulfGal
D. Living Consciously
E. Thoughts from Botswana
F. Patricia Stoltey
G. Pop and Ice

Does practice make you a great writer?

January 18, 2010 by Sonia Marsh

From reading and sharing our blogs, I realize how many of us are hoping to find answers and structure in something that is an art form.

The questions we ask famous authors and screenwriters, always seem to include: Give us an idea of your typical writing day? Where do you get your ideas from? Do you outline? Is plot more important than characters? Do you know the ending before you start? etc. etc.

Over the past three years, I’ve listened to many fiction, memoir, non-fiction and screenwriters, the most recent presentation I heard was Dean Devlin’s. He co-wrote and produced Independence Day, Stargate and Godzilla. and offered the same two messages as other successful writers:

1). The best way to become a good writer is to write every day. It doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad, just write.

2). Be passionate about what you’re writing. If you’re not passionate, the reader will sense it immediately.

I guess this is a lesson we can apply to all areas of life. If you practice and you’re passionate about a sport, writing, photography, working out, studies, career, cooking, no matter what it is in life, you’ll become good at it.

So let me ask you this. Could someone mediocre, practice and practice and become a great singer? Which brings me to the question of TALENT. How much of writing is talent and how much is practice? I’ve never heard a well-known author bring up the word talent during his/her presentation. Perseverance and practice but not talent. What do you think?

Disconnected Families: What is Yours?

January 15, 2010 by Sonia Marsh

Our House before we moved to Belize.
Our hut in Belize is below. Kids had much less stuff.

Flicking through television stations one afternoon–yes I know what you’re thinking, but please don’t go there– I came across the Oprah Show, and noticed a family of four facing the audience. The blond mother did not smile, the husband seemed intimidated, the 14-year-old appeared uncomfortable and the five-year-old, bored. Apparently this family had become disconnected and were getting prepped by Peter Walsh, for a week of stripping down, in order to become a reconnected family.

I just had to watch the show. I mean, we like to snoop into others’ lives and make sure that we’re on the right track ourselves. Call it human nature, or perhaps just plain nosy, but I wanted to find out on a scale of 1-10, how similar is, (was,) my family to this one?

We moved to a hut in Belize
See below.

Peter Walsh hit a chord when he mentioned people having “too much stuff,”

and “too many schedules,” and that everyone is so busy, and, “when you’re busy, you’re doing things right?—WRONG.”

This made me think about our year in Belize and the simplification of our lives and reconnection that took place in my family, mainly due to having so much less stuff, thus finding more time together, and YES, cooking more and making the kitchen a hub for communication and nourishment of the body and the soul.

Peter Walsh mentioned kids wanting to feel part of the family and if the kids aren’t getting that then where are they being nourished?

According to Walsh, kids are receiving passive entertainment from TV, video games, electronics, texting, computers and many have to “self-parent.” Walsh continues, “Everything is on their terms and when you take a child away from that environment, it is such a shock for them. What kids really want is their parents to be in control.”

So Walsh moved in with this family of four for a week and helped them “strip down and reconnect” using his five rules:

Rule 1: No Cell Phones or Texting
Rule 2: No Electronics
Rule 3: Prepare and Eat Healthy Meals Together

Rule 4: Clean and Organize the House

Rule 5: You Must Hug and Say “I Love You” to Each Family Member at Least Once a Day

At first they HATED it, but then surprisingly, the teenager admitted he did not miss texting, and enjoyed having meals and getting attention from his parents.

Listening to Walsh reminded me of the days when parents, (especially mothers) didn’t work and had more time and energy to prepare home-cooked meals and nurture their family. Perhaps that’s why in so many third world countries, with no stuff, families are much closer and they rely on each other and their community of friends and relatives for entertainment.

Is western society losing close family ties? What do you think?

My blogger friend Shirley with her blog 100 memoirs, is offering an interesting contest. Tell your life story in SIX WORDS.

Peter Walsh, author of It’s All Too Much