Came across an unique business in an article by Brittany Lyte of the  Stamford Advocate. The business is called “Demand Poetry” and is run by Elizabeth Howard. She gets back to the essence of writing by putting words in ink on paper with an electric typewriter. For a modest fee, she takes requests and writes poems for men who don’t know how to express their feelings to their wives or girlfriends. It reminded me of Cyrano De Bergerc; romantic and wistful. Typing poems takes us back to a simplier time when we had time to ponder our feelings rather than just banging out a text message in harsh abbreviations that flits through the air and vanishes with a click of the delete key. Howard’s poems can be framed as a lasting memory of emotion.

Great ingenuity! Wishing her success as she helps us pause in our frantic lives to examine our inner world.

Here’s her link: http://elizabethhoward.net/demandpoetry/

It’s a dream come true…for all fiction junkies, the Harvard Business Review now says that research proves that reading fiction can help you earn more money. How? Because people who read fiction learn superior emotional intelligence skills by absorbing their favorite character’s responses to the trials and tribulations their authors put them through. Emotional intelligence or the ability to appropriately read and respond to other’s emotions is key to gaining promotions and earning higher salaries.

So next time you feel guilty for settling into the couch with a blanket, a cup of coffee and a good book, don’t. The dishes can go in the dishwasher. The dust isn’t hurting anyone. So get to work on that promotion and get reading!

Here’s the full story:

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/01/the_business_case_for_reading.html

This is the kind of story I love. A group of smart, twenty-something New Yorkers disenfranchised by traditional literary society/industry strike out on their own and create a new journal and intellectual salon. These writers and editors could have given up when all the doors slammed in their face. But they didn’t. They pushed on and created something new themselves. Now they are starting to gain national attention for their work.

They might not be raking in big salaries yet, but that’s beside the point. They are on the right path. They are on the path of opening doors themselves, not standing outside closed doors passively and waiting for them to open. There may be twists and turns on the path and it may get discouraging, but it’s essential to keep trying and keep learning. Most successful people have experienced plenty of failure as well, but the key thing is they learn from it and move past it.

Here’s the whole story:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/01/fashion/new-yorks-literary-cubs.html?pagewanted=3&_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha210

In September I launched a new social site, http://dudequote.me

This site lets visitors post their own original philosophical musings and share them with friends plus rate quotes from others. It’s another way to spur creativity and innovation. It’s also a way to look inside and find strength to overcome adversity- especially needed in this tough economy.

Visit Dudequote.me any time and post your unique quote. Hope you enjoy this recently published feature article that overviews my business ventures and writing projects (including the recently published e-book ”Small Business Rocket Fuel: Marketing Tools to Boost Revenue”) as well. It’s always exciting see your business through someone else’s eyes.

http://www.acorn-online.com/joomla15/wiltonbulletin/news/localnews/108643-the-business-of-writing-uplifting-quotes.html

No matter how crazy the economy gets, the things that can’t be taken away are aspects of your core personality. Creativity is one of these. Creativity is resilient, but there are still ways to feed it and grow it. One of these is through new and interesting experiences. These experiences can be used to build stories and spark new ideas.

My MBA program has been a tremendous idea sparker. As I look back on what I’ve learned over the past year plus, it’s been life-changing in many ways. It’s hard to believe that the end is growing ever closer.

Besides taking classes, new experiences can be gained through travel and meeting new people even at local conferences.

The new economy has given many of us a new perspective. Life isn’t all about what you can buy, but about what you can be.

In keeping with this philosophy, I’m hard at work on the next book in the “Small Business Rocket Fuel” series as well as finishing up novel 3 (really novel 4 except it jumped ahead and demanded to be worked on).

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Take a look at this interesting article on how experiences can benefit you more than be part of the “buy culture”.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/americans-rethinking-prosperity-162216815.html

Hi! In honor of banned books week, I am posting a short reading of Orlando by Virginia Woolf. I read from the 1929 Tauchnitz edition. The bottom of the cover of this edition is printed with the words, “Not to be introduced into the British Empire.”

The reading is also available on You-Tube.

Hope you enjoy the reading!

Banned Books Wk Candice Hughes Orlando

1. Give yourself time to daydream. I find great ideas come when I’m doing something physical that requires little thought like running, working out on an exercise machine at the gym, gardening, etc. So unplug the iPod and let the thoughts swirl about in your brain.

2. Go someplace new. While going to the same vacation spot every year is comfortable and creates warm memories, going somewhere new can get new ideas pinging about.

3. Talk to people. Listen to people. I have come up with some great ideas during lectures, presentations or even just meeting and talking with someone new at a conference. Often just one word or phrase from someone else will spark a cascade of ideas related to some problem I’d been mulling for days.

I just love coming up with new ideas. I find myself delving into whole new areas and becoming quite passionate about them. The hard work comes when implementing the ideas. That’s when you have to roll up your sleeves and get to it. This is when the good ideas are sifted out from the less good. But it is also a stumbling point for many. Not only does it take effort to start something new (like a book, project or business), it also takes courage. Many new efforts fail. Even if yours fails, you deserve praise for having tried. And learned. If starting something new were easy, then more people would do it instead of opting out before they start. So don’t look down into the darkness of failure. Be Courageous! Be Passionate! Just Start!

In New England, we’ve passed from inferno hot back to pleasantly cool and grey. I admit it was hard to think in the heat sometimes even with the air conditioning on. So nice to be past that. Despite the weather had some good writing days this month on my thriller #4 manuscript. Starting to see the “light at the end of the tunnel”. It’s always hard to write middles. But I love writing endings! That’s what I’m into now.

Also not forgetting the Small Business Rocket Fuel series. This is such a great series and there are so many more ideas to explore. So exciting to be contemplating a blank slate of a new project.

Hard to believe we’re moving into the final stretch of summer…

I read a great article about James Rollins recently (he’s one of the founders of the International Thriller Writer’s Association, which recently held it’s annual conference in NYC). I  had been searching for awhile for a good definition and most seemed nebulous or incomplete. However, I thought James Rollins’ definition to be complete and on target- at least for my work.

He said, “Thrillers deal in science fiction, romance, suspense, mystery.” That encompasses all the various aspects of my thriller and it’s a useful framework in developing new novels.

Hope you find this definition useful too!

If you’re looking for me on Facebook, I now have a new author page.

Here’s the URL:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Candice-Hughes/131065013641606?v=wall

Or you can catch up with me on GoodReads:

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5028511.Candice_Hughes

(see permanent links in Blogroll)

Enjoy!