Cyberflanerie: Mitch Horowitz on Occult of Personality; Reese on Rare Books; Desert Breath; Regina Leeds; Money is a Story

Over at Greg Kaminsky's Occult of Personality podcast, a long interview with Mitch Horowitz, author of Occult America and One Simple Idea. Highly recommended.

Whither the book biz? An oldie but goodie: William Reese's talk about rare books at the Library of Congress.

Whither the book biz? Take 2 (sigh):  Desert Breath sculpture in Egypt, from 1997.

One Year to an Organized Life Regina Leeds' blog

Seth Godin on how (indeed) money is a story

COMMENTS

Guest-Blogs on Wednesdays...

Except when not. Alas, the one I'd hoped to post today didn't come through-- although already in line for next week, still-to-be-formatted, there's a fascinating guest-blog post from travel writer Gerry Hadden. So herewith, five of my favorite guest-blog posts (ask me tomorrow and I might make a different list):

App designer Julia Sussner: 5 apps to explore for yourself

Organizer Regina Leeds: 5 + 1 resources to make a writer happy in an organized space

Poet Christine Boyka Kluge: 5 sites for hybrid writing, collaboratiopns, and experimental work

Writer Paula Whyman: 5 + 1 sites for books on baking -- for writers and other breadheads

Writer Sheila Bender: Top 5 books on writing

---> For the complete archive of Madam Mayo's guest-blog posts, click here.

More anon.

Guest-Blog Wednesday: Richard Jeffrey Newman, Alexandra van de Kamp, Regina Leeds, Susan Coll, Dylan Landis

On Wednesdays I usually post a guest-blog by, usually, another writer with a new book out. The guidelines, which most of them manage to follow, call for a "5 link format"-- that is, 5 recommended links that are in some way relevant to their new book. I love learning more about the books, websites, movies, and museums other writers recommend, and I think that you, dear reader, will too. There's no guest-blog this Wednesday, so here are my top 5 favorite guest-blogs as of today (I might pick a different 5 tomorrow...)

Richard Jeffrey Newman on 5 Sites to Learn More About the Shanameh

Alexandra van de Kamp on 5 Inspiring World Museums

Regina Leeds on 5 Resources to Make a Writer Happy in an Organized Space

Susan Coll's 5 Favorite Comic Novels

Dylan Landis on 5 Magnetic Spaces

--->For the complete archive of guest-blogs, click here.

Blogs Noted: Nola, Maximilian -Carlota, First Person Plural, Own the Dollar, Charles T. Tart, and more

Nola.com Gulf Oil Spill News Page
Includes links to public blog.

Maximilian - Carlota
I decided to rename my new blog. It was "Second Empire," but that seemed a little Star War-y. It's a blog for researchers (both serious and armchair) of the tumultuous period of Mexican history known as the Second Empire or "French Intervention." I'd love to use a more poetic title taken from a saying of the period (say, "Bed of Roses in a Goldmine"?) but I do have the search engines in mind.

First Person Plural
The Writer's Center's blog now has a new URL.

John Oliver Simon
Poet and translator-- recently blogging about some interesting Costa Rican poets.

Casa del Poeta Ramón López Velarde
In Mexico City. New blog, excellent long-time reading series.

Periódico de Poesía
Editor Pedro Serrano's Defensa de poesía.

Real Delia
On clearing out the inbox. (Holy Smokes, is this really possible?)

Own the Dollar
Includes this fun interview with organizing expert Regina Leeds.(See Regina's guest-blog post for Madam Mayo here.)

Charles T. Tart
Consciousness evolving.

Professional Writing Coach
Excellent new writing blog by Eva Hunter. (See her guest-blog post for Madam Mayo here.)

P.S. World Cup youtuberie with a surprise.

Guest-blogger Regina Leeds on 5 + 1 Resources to Make a Writer Happy in an Organized Space

Writes organizer Regina Leeds:

"There is all too often a major disconnect between what we say we want and what we are actually doing on a daily basis. The task at hand is to bring everything we do into alignment with what we say we want."

There are writers who can work amidst piles of clutter, but I am not one of them. And while we may occasionally see a photo of some impishly grinning genius amidst his swirls of chaos, I would bet bucks that the overwhelming majority of would-be writers are defeated by their clutter before they have a chance to sit down. (Who would even want to sit down in a cluttered room?) Ever since I devoured her The Zen of Organizing: Creating Order and Peace in Your Home, Career, and Life, I've been a big fan of Regina Leeds. For my writing workshops, which have included "Break the Block" and "Staying Focused: Researching and Writing the Longer Book Project," I always and warmly recommend her tips. Leeds is also the author of the New York Times best-seller One Year to an Organized Life; One Year to an Organized Work Life; Creating a Place Without Losing Your Space: a Couples Guide to Blending Homes, Lives and Clutter, among others. Her latest is One Year to an Organized Financial Life, which she wrote with financial advisor Russell Wild. How (in blazes) does she get so much writing done? Herewith, Regina Leeds' links for you:

5 + 1 Resources to Make a Writer Happy in an Organized Space

My style of organizing, called ‘Zen Organizing,’ is devoted to help you create physical environments that literally nurture and support you. You’ll be fighting an uphill battle with your creative impulses if your work area looks as if Katrina just blew through. I’ve decided for this guest blog to share some of the diverse items that make me a happy writer in an organized space. I hope they help you as well.

1. Need an organizing tool? Head to The Container Store. There are two things that make this store my ‘go to’ choice for all things organizing: the quality of the products and the consistency in the stock. What could be more demoralizing for a newbie organizer than to find a product you love and in a few weeks or months not be able to add to your stash. I also appreciate the level of training the staff receives. Everyone knows the stock, how to use it and where it’s located. This knowledge can save you time when you go in to shop.

2. I couldn’t live without my Brother P-Touch label maker. When I open a file drawer and see easy to read labels, it calms me. And, since my hand writing leaves everything to be desired, if an assistant needs to look in my drawers (so to speak) it’s an easy quest for him or her as well. Label makers are available in many styles and range in price form $30 to about $100. All the big box stores like Staples, Office Max or Office Depot carry them. You can purchase the low end machine for as little as $15 during a sale!

3. In all of my books I advocate a holistic approach to getting organized. A big project can be daunting to someone who doesn’t have a natural proclivity for creating order. Stack the deck in your favor with a supply of fresh fruit and cheese in lieu of candy bars or other sweet treats. Drink water as an alternative to caffeinated beverages and sodas that are loaded with sugar. My favorite sources for such items is walking distance from my home. I bet there’s one near you: www.traderjoes.com.

4. Sound or silence? Which works best for you? The vast majority of my clients prefer sound. Treat yourself to a quality system (i Pod, anyone?), if that’s how you roll. I prefer silence myself. I go deep into my thoughts and the outside word vanishes. From time to time, however, I do want some ‘white noise’ in the background. I listen to Reiki healing music. My favorite incorporates the call of whales, a haunting sound to be sure. My personal favorite is a recording from AJAD called ‘Reiki Music vol. 3.” My CD was a gift but I found it on line at www.ipgmusic.com. You’ll find an unexpected by-product is that children and pets are calmed by the sounds as well. Maybe even a cranky partner?

5. Are you in the hot seat? If you use a chair that is less than an ergonomic dream, write at the kitchen table, have inadequate lighting or place your keyboard at an angle guaranteed to give you karpal tunnel, stop the madness! The more comfortable you are, the easier it will be to think clearly. Type in ‘ergonomically correct furniture” in your favorite search box and go from there. I’ve tried various types of chairs over the years. Right now I’m using a large exercise ball from Body Sport. Check out the ones available at www.amazon.com. They are super comfortable, keep your back straight and are really inexpensive.

6. Perhaps the most shocking discovery for me when I began writing professionally was how exhausting it is. As they say in my old neighborhood in Brooklyn: ‘Who knew?’ Taking meditation breaks helps me recharge my nervous system and calm my mind. Not all meditation teachers and systems are created equal. You can, however, trust the information you find at: www.mysteries.net and www.tm.org. Writers come in all sizes and shapes. We have different lifestyles, interests and skills. It is my fondest hope that at least one of the above tips resonates with you and brings renewed joy to your writing life.

- Regina Leeds


---> For the archive of Madam Mayo guest-blog posts, click here.

P.S. For my ten tips for organizing a novel-in-progress, click here.

Ten Tools For Organizing the Novel-in-Process

Just posted: my guest-blog for ForeWord Magazine's "Publishing Insider" column---"Ten Tools for a Novel-Progress."

Previous columns:

For the Novelist's Bookshelf: One Dozen Books on Craft and Creating

Use an Egg-Timer If You Must: The Five Minute Cure for Writer's Block

One more to go-- next Wednesday.

On the Occasion of "Madam Mayo's" 2nd Anniversary: Five Lessons Learned About Blogging (So Far)

So, it's the end of March; I've been blogging steadily for two years. Why did I begin? For a bit of an adventure, and to promote my then-hot-off-the-presses anthology of 24 Mexican writers, Mexico: A Traveler's Literary Companion. So, like most literary bloggers, I waded in somewhat naively and self-servingly (if promoting an anthology of 24 Mexican writers can be called self-serving... humph... no, I think not. Would somebody please award me the Aztec Eagle now?) Here are the five lessons learned--- thus far:

#1.Blogging isn't necessarily "blogging"
By which I mean, a lot of people, especially literary types my age and older, have set ideas about what blogs and the so-called "blogging culture" are--- and they are missing the whole point. It's a literary genre, kindasorta, but it's also a delivery system, the whole Web 2.0 social networking technology-phenomenon--- in sum, we do not yet have the precise vocabulary to describe this. I've told writer friends who resist blogging (with that inevitable oh-so-subtle curl-of-the-lip), if you have a newsletter--- and many do nowadays, as adjuncts to their websites--- you already are "blogging." Just call your newsletter a blog. And if you have some resistance to that, well, then, call your blog a "newsletter." Call it a cupcake, whydoncha! Apropos of which: "To Blog or Not to Blog, That is Not the Question".

#2. Good blogging is more than flogging.
I don't read "flog blogs"--- the thud of "me, me, mine," is deadly. The best blogs offer quality writing and quality information--- however quirky a combination (e.g., Phronesisaical's politics, philosophy, international affairs & fruit) or specialized (e.g., Seth Godin's Blog on marketing). (That said, um... why take ads when I can advertise my own books? Yes indeed, look over to right side of this screen for all relevant links.)

#3. My blog is not a log or diary of my life; neither is it a forum or a community bulletin board. It's a filter.
You want to know what blogs to read? Come see what I recommend here and here and here. Want to find out about some extraordinary books? Try this 1,000-year-old apparently true adventure that almost defies belief and Hypnerotomachia Poliphili and all 10 of these. And how about this mind-blowing (literally) video, this Icelandic movie and this sleep-inducing CD and the magic Baby Muse... I blog about my books, events and workshops (yeah, I'm flogging) but also, generally, my interests, my tastes, what I want to share (e.g., "All Hail E.T., Minister of Information!") and celebrate (e.g., Mexico's beloved English eccentric's masterwork, "Las Pozas"). If you don't like it, fine, there is an ocean of blogs out there, wade in. Why not start your own?

#4. Blogging (and balancing blogging with my other writing, and the ever-roaring cascade of e-mails, etc, etc.) requires increasingly advanced time-management skills.
As I noted in my recent post, Time to Blog & Read Blogs & Everything Else Everywhereallthetime, apropos of writers' blogs, "...it seems to me that, as artists--- artists who live in this world of unimaginable quantities of information 24/ 7--- we need to develop a set of skills we never knew we needed." I've learned a lot about organization and productivity (two of my gurus are Regina Leeds and David Allen) but I know I have yet to learn more than I can probably imagine--- and this would be true whether I were blogging or not. That said, I rarely watch television or use a cell phone, and I've moved this blog to a more regular (if flexible) schedule: posts on Mondays and in-between more often than not; guest-bloggers generally on Wednesdays.

#5. Lists are good. Links are even better. Lists of links, yay!
I love my guest-bloggers. Check 'em out. (Coming up in the next weeks: Leslie Pietrzyk, Graham Mackintosh, Daniel Olivas, and more...) Like I said, it' all about Web 2.0. More anon.

--->For the archive of Madam Mayo's posts on blogging, click here.