Category: writing

owning pink, relationships, writing

Step 169: My New Column on Relationships on OwningPink.com

Christa Avampato

It’s with great excitement that I announce my new OwningPink.com column on relationships. The brilliant and ridiculously talented Pink team asked me if I’d be interested in being a featured blogger and I couldn’t resist the chance to be more closely linked to them. I was very influenced by Chris Brogan’s recent post on the importance of labs and how they fuel our creativity by pushing us to our edge on a subject we want to understand more deeply. The complexity and wide of relationships (including our relationships with romance, family, friends, money, co-workers, our community, dreams, etc.) is something I want to understand better, so I’m writing my way to understanding through OwningPink.com and inviting all of you along for the ride.

I’ll be posting about twice a month, under the incredible editorial eyes of my dear friend, Joy Mazzola, and her sparkling partner-in-pink-crime, Lauren Nagel. The whole venture is headed by Lissa Rankin, Founder and Pink Doctor of Mojo (what a great title!). Lissa and I connected through Twitter and then I interviewed her for my entrepreneurship column on Examiner. She is a gift in my life.

Would love for you to check out my new column, leave a comment, and click around the site to see all of the other amazing creative work that’s on display.

opportunity, social media, writing

Step 153: Yelp Review Leads to Freelance Writing Gig

Christa Avampato

What we write online matters more than we know. A few weeks ago, I went to Terroir Wine Bar’s new location in Tribeca with my friend, Sara. My friend, Amanda, and I went to their location in the East Village a while back and I loved it so when this new one opened right near my office I had to check it out. I enjoyed it so much that I wrote a Yelp review, clicked submit, and never gave it a second thought.

About a week later I heard from Neil Squillante, Founder of Technolawyer, a social media company that writes a series of newsletters and a blog covering product reviews, technology tips, and other helpful information for lawyers and law firms of all shapes and sizes. He enjoyed my review on Yelp and then clicked to my profile to see what I do for a living. Seeing that I am a freelance writer and a product developer for a large company, he asked if I knew anyone who might be interested in freelance B2B (business-to-business) writing. I replied, “Yes. Me.”

Several weeks, a few emails back and forth, and a face-to-face meeting later, he asked if I would be interested in doing some freelance writing work for Technolawyer. I never thought a review on Yelp would lead to a freelance writing gig so I certainly didn’t write the review of Terroir for that reason. It’s a great wine bar with an exceptionally wonderful staff, so I wrote the piece in the hopes that it would get them some business. That small piece turned out to be the epitome of a textbook win-win scenario. Or karma, depending on your point-of-view.

Neil looked through my blog, gave me some solid advice about writing, life, and entrepreneurship, and then asked if I’d write about a particular area of my own expertise: positive thinking. While not strictly a required competency for a lawyer, it certainly helps get the job done. Positive thinking particularly helps people, lawyers or not, in this economy. It certainly has helped me and now I hope my post helps others, too.

My article posted on Technolawyer’s blog yesterday. Have a look at http://blog.technolawyer.com/2010/06/remain-sane.html

I must remember to send Yelp a thank you note. It just goes to show that what we put out into the online ether can have far more significance than we ever imagined. Neil’s working on my next writing mission for Technolawyer. I’ll let you know how this unfolds.

writer, writing

Step 141: Reasons for Writing

Christa Avampato

“You must trust and believe in people, or life becomes impossible.” ~ Anton Chekhov

I recently landed a freelance writing gig that caused my mind to reel in a very different direction. I will tell you the groovy circumstances of how it happened when the post goes live next week. For now, I’ll share how the conversation I had with the company’s founder started to change my outlook on my writing.

I spend a good deal of time writing about creativity, hope, and personal growth. Sometimes I struggle to sum it all up. I write about my life in New York, ‘Christa in New York’. When I put that down in writing, it sounds awkward to me. Too cliché, too flat.

The company founder I spoke to helped me articulate my writing purpose when he asked me to write about how to stay positive in a big company job with big company challenges. While the post focuses on career, the ideas it explains have broader applications within our lives. This blog really focuses on positive thinking – how to find it, get it, and keep it. Sure, I get discouraged from time to time. In some posts, you will see glimpses of that. Mostly, I write to celebrate and commemorate moments – this act makes the bad times bearable and the good times even more joyful.

Negativity exists in a lot of places, on a lot of faces, and within a lot blogs. Those blogs have their place and their followings, just not here on this site. I believe in full expression and experience, and I also believe that hard times, shortcomings, and failures offer us valuable opportunities to stop, listen, look, and examine our lives. They give us the gifts of faith, trust, and belief that together we can make everything better. I write to connect with people who hold this idea in their hearts and then take it out into the world, bravely and boldly.

blog, writing

Step 123: Blogathon 2010

Christa Avampato

Thanks to a post by my friend, Amanda, author of the fantastically creative blog Tastee Pudding, I learned about the WordCount 2010 blogathon. Started by Michelle Rafter, this year’s edition is a commitment by 111 bloggers to write every day for the month of May. The blogs span a wide variety of subjects, from skincare to gardening to travel to life as a teenager. In a single year, the number of participants has more than doubled.

From Michelle’s site:

“In spring 2008, I was a still a blogging newbie and looking for motivation to post more consistently. I challenged myself to blog every day during the month of May. Since misery loves company, I invited other writers to join me. The WordCount Blogathon was born. Some two dozen of us posted about work, life, love, food, travel, kids and a lot of other things. We wrote a lot, learned a lot, and a good time was had by all.

Flash forward to 2009. Magazines are folding. Newspapers are getting skinnier by the week. Freelancers who once made their living writing for print publications are looking to expand their repertoire to include podcasting, multimedia reporting – and blogging.

So once again, we challenged ourselves to blog every day. We also held a guest post exchange day where we spent one day writing on someone else’s blog, and vice versa. We also tracked our activity on Twitter, using the hashtag #MayBlog2.

We wound things up on June 1 with a Blogathon wrap party, chatting about what worked, what didn’t, what we learned and what we’d do differently next time.”

Michelle’s efforts to increase her own writing motivation, and take others with her, is a cause I support and admire. Have a look at everything that’s cookin’ for the 2010 WordCount Blogathon and discover some kindred writing spirits.

New York Ciy, outlook, writing, yoga

Step 110: The Elusive Center

Christa Avampato

Finding our center, particularly in a city as busy as New York, is tough. This is the 3rd time in my life that I’ve lived in New York, and only now have I been able to find some semblance of peace here. I had this conversation twice today, with my friends, Ellie and Sara. Sometimes I feel like a puppy who’s chasing a light across the floor. I scramble over here and over there and everywhere, looking for the elusive “thing” that I should be doing or seeing or finding. The chase. I always feel like I’m on the look-out for something bigger and better.

In the past few months, I’ve been working on finding my center, appreciating where I am and reveling in it, rather than focusing on running toward something else. There are a few things I’ve been trying and I think they’re working to help calm me down:

1.) Yoga. Lots and lots of yoga. Getting my teacher certification is something I’ve been coveting for a number of years. Rather than making excuses of why I couldn’t do it, I just made time, happened upon the perfect program for me, and went for it. The meditation practice that has come along with my yoga training has also been an invaluable gift.

2.) I now give myself permission to just go home after work when I just need to go home. I don’t cave in to what I “should” do to live a “New York life”. I decided that my New York life includes whatever I want it to include, not any artificial expectations.

3.) I have a job that I really enjoy that provides me with a comfortable living in this city while I work on my own business ideas. I certainly realize that I hit the jackpot with this assignment, and every day I wake up and am thankful for it. It took some and effort to find the right combination of circumstances that would work for me, but finally I found my way. It just took commitment and perseverance on my part.

4.) I decided I could go out in crazy, but I didn’t need to live in crazy. I love being able to be in the middle of it all, and then I Iike to be able to get out of the middle of it when I want to go to sleep. As a result I live in a less cool neighborhood for the sake of some peace and quiet. And living near some large parks is an easy way to “get away” for a bit while I’m right in the midst of the city.

5.) My writing. This blog, my guest posts, and my on-line connections with other writers, keep me sane. Writing keeps me actively engaged while also providing me with perspective. And every crazy thing that happens to me in this city is just another source of good material.

6.) After my yoga teacher training, I’m getting a dog. For most of my life, we’ve had dogs in my family and these past few months since we lost Sebastian, our family pup, have been tough ones. After months of contemplating getting my own dog, I’ve finally decided that the routine necessary to raise a happy, healthy pup, is something I can and want to commit to.

I’d love to hear how you’re finding a ways to keep the peace amidst your busy lives, wherever you call home!

books, writing

Step 109: Looking for Some Solid Writing Advice? Author Zadie Smith Serves It Up.

Christa Avampato

A few weeks ago, I signed up for an open house at Gotham Writer’s Workshop. As a result, I was added to their email list and have been enjoying their newsletter. Today they featured 10 solid tips from author Zadie Smith, known for her brilliant books White Teeth, The Autograph Man, and On Beauty.

1.) When still a child, make sure you read a lot of books. Spend more time doing this than anything else.
Chances are if you’re reading this blog post, you aren’t a child but if you have children in your life in some way this is a great gift to pass on to them.

2.) When an adult, try to read your own work as a stranger would read it, or even better, as an enemy would.
Hard to be critic of our own work, especially if we love the piece, but this point is critical to being a good editor.

3.) Don’t romanticize your “vocation.” You can either write good sentences or you can’t. There is no “writer’s lifestyle.” All that matters is what you leave on the page.
This is my favorite tip in this list. Practical and straight-forward. And it made me realize that my life off the page is an important influence on my work.

4.) Avoid your weaknesses. But do this without telling yourself that the things you can’t do aren’t worth doing. Don’t mask self-doubt with contempt.
I’m a fan of playing to my strengths. Thank you, Marcus Buckingham.

5.) Leave a decent space of time between writing something and editing it.
I like my writing to sit for at least a day before I start editing.

6.) Avoid cliques, gangs, groups. The presence of a crowd won’t make your writing any better than it is.
I like that this puts us in charge of determining the value of our own writing.

7.) Work on a computer that is disconnected from the Internet.
For fiction writing, I totally agree. Blogging and news writing often require research and the internet is invaluable for that.

8.) Protect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it, even the people who are most important to you.
I love my writing nights after work, or having a whole weekend day to just write. Those nights and days are few and far between lately, but I’m hoping to get them back soon. I do write everyday, and it doesn’t seem daunting and doesn’t resemble a chore. It’s just what I do. Just like brushing my teeth.

9.) Don’t confuse honors with achievement.
Some of the very best writing I’ve read never won any kind of award, and it didn’t make one bit of difference in how much those pieces helped me.

10.) Tell the truth through whichever veil comes to hand—but tell it. Resign yourself to the lifelong sadness that comes from never being satisfied.
The truth takes on many forms, and appears in our lives, off the page and on the page, in so many different ways. Just take it as it comes, through moments of triumph and defeat. It’s all learning.

Looking for more cool tips from some of the best writers around? Check out Tips from Masters.

books, writing

Step 96: Don’t Save Yourself

Christa Avampato

I’ve been trying to space out my Examiner.com posts, limiting them to 2 per month. Guidelines at Examiner require writers to publish once per month to be considered active. A few months ago, I found a slew of great entrepreneurs who I wanted to feature so I spaced them out to last me through the middle of the year. I was saving up the great content to share in the coming months just in case I didn’t find any great leads in the near future.

In the past few weeks, I’ve gotten referrals and requests from entrepreneurs asking me to feature them in the column. Some came in from entrepreneurs I’ve featured before and friends of those entrepreneurs. (They travel in tight circles!) Some have read the column and pitched me a story about their business. I’m proud of the content I’ve put out there, and in return more good content is finding its way to me, even when I’m looking for it.

Anne Lamott, my favorite author, wrote a book called Bird by Bird. When I was a teenager, that book made me want to be a writer. (It’s out of print now which I think is completely ridiculous, but luckily it is available for the Kindle.) On the topic of giving, which all writers do every moment of every day, she says, “it is only when I go ahead and decide to shoot my literary, creative wad on a daily basis that I get any sense of full presence.” She’s hilarious and truthful and right.

We have to keep showing up and giving the best we’ve got everyday, whether or not we’re writers. It doesn’t behoove us, it doesn’t behoove anyone, to hoard our talents and stories and souls. Those who give will always find that there’s no end to what they will receive in return.

The image above is not my own. It can be found here.

health, writing

Step 95: Write for Mental Health

Christa Avampato

A lot of people ask me how and why I find the time to write every day. After almost 3 years of keeping this blog and nearly a year and half of making sure to write every day, writing is a habit for me. I brush my teeth, eat (at least) 3 meals a day, and I write. It’s a lens for everything I do. Some days, I feel like I really get it right. And some days, I really get it wrong. Every day I’m a happier person because I’m a writer. It helps me live a better life, so I keep doing it.

For the past few months, I’ve been getting a daily email from Psychology Today. The handful of articles they send to me are all centered around a specific theme. A few weeks ago, the theme was the positive effect that writing has on our mental health. One of the articles lists some scientific studies that have been explored the link between writing and good mental health, and provides some tips on how to get your write on.

Writing’s not a magic bullet. It doesn’t cure everything, fix everything, or heal every wound. It doesn’t protect us. It can’t save us. What it can do is help us process. It can help us get by, by helping us get through. And that’s good enough reason for me to keep going.

writing, yoga

Step 91: Finding the Words

Christa Avampato

In tonight’s yoga class, we practiced, taught, and learned the anatomy of back bends, the class of poses that ask us to open our hearts, to be vulnerable, to give, and to receive. They can be frightening poses for some and fully liberating for others. Thanks to my work with Brian and my desire to be open to possibility, back bends are a natural part of my practice and my life. I have worked hard to find comfort in discomfort, to feel at home far, far away.

To help the class capture the essence of back bends, my teacher, Jeffrey, helped us make word banks for Purvottonasana, Upward Plank. Some to capture the feeling of the pose: a window opening, lifting, flying, rising, shining, offering, accepting, receiving, expanding, letting go, surrender, liberation, and grace. Beautiful, poetic words to match the poetry of our bodies.

On my way home, I thought about word banks that may apply in other areas of our lives to capture the essence of an activity, a moment, an event, a relationship. How often do we really consider the true essence, the intention, of our daily trials and triumphs? I don’t have this practice, though after tonight’s yoga class I see how powerful a practice it can be. The moments of our lives deserve description.

blogging, writer, writing

Step 25: Writers Rising

Christa Avampato

I’ve always wanted to be part of a writers circle. When I first moved to New York 11 years ago, my friend, Neil, and I used to meet regularly to talk about our writing. We did okay, though our styles and genres were so different. I was interested in writing novels and essays and he wrote screenplays. At the time he was the only writer I knew, and vice versa, so we made it work. And then he moved to LA, in the era before cell phones were ubiquitous. Away went my writing circle of one.

Since Neil, I’ve considered joining a few other writing groups, though they didn’t have the right vibe. I felt like I was putting in more work than I was getting of value in return, and getting to the meetings was challenging with my schedule. So for several years now, I’ve just been writing on my own. Over the weekend, my friend, Kathy, asked me to join her online writers group, Writers Rising. I read through the site and quickly realized that this was exactly the kind of group I have always wanted to join. I accepted her invitation right away.

I like the easy flow of Writers Rising, the imagery it conjures up, and the variety of material that comes together when a group writes a blog together. I’m excited to get to know these other writers, to lift them up, and share in this wonderful process of creation. One tiny step toward my goal of working more with friends in the coming year. Thanks to my pal, Sharni, for introducing me to this wonderful group.

I just put up my introductory post, Happy to Be Here, on Writers Rising. Hop over and check it out!