Category: Musing Moments

Pausing to Remember: Memorial Day

Published on by Candice Coates2 Comments

 

Happy Memorial Day! In honor of this day of remembrance, ICFTS is forgoing this week’s postings for Motivation Monday.

Tune in next week for new motivations to help you #SiezetheDream.

In the meantime, we pause to remember those who gave up their lives for the liberties of others. We celebrate them, not out of politics, but out of the heart cry of person to person, life for life.

Those who’ve fallen gave up the luxury of having the little things we take for granted.

However you celebrate this day, if you celebrate this day, do so with sincerity and thanksgiving. Life is precious.

Happy Memorial Day!

~Dream. Imagine. Believe. Do. CONQUER!

Coming Soon!!!: New Features ahead on ICFTS #Change #Writer #Musing

Published on by Candice CoatesLeave a comment

Hello, fellow Creatives!

April is just a week away from blurring into May and with that in mind, I want to give you a few updates on what is going on here at I came for the soup….

For over a year now I have been going back and forward with shifts and changes here on this platform trying to figure out what I needed to do in order to breathe the freshness back into this creative space.

I tried on different blog themes, I renovated my menu, I removed certain weekly posts…

It wasn’t until the start of April that I finally began to feel the heartbeat of this creative space beating more strongly, and that was when I discovered and embraced what I was missing here.

What was going on, you ask?

Well, I was trying to hold on to something old while attempting to blindly take hold of something new. The thing is you can only get the clarity to grasp the new thing when you leave the old thing in the dark where it belongs.

Needless to say, I’ve let go and I have taken hold. The winds of Spring and the creative life is bubbling again!

WHAT’S NEW:

First: There has been a shift in the brand here. What used to be a platform for me to journal my growth and nourish my own creative soul has now shifted into a platform where you the reader are central and me the creator and author is now the support.

I came for the soup… was once about nourishing the faith art and fiction in MY soul, but now it is all about nourishing the faith, arts, and vision in yours.

The first three years of this creative space was about building up my creative muscles and vision and now I have the strength to help build yours.

. . . you can only get the clarity to grasp the new thing when you leave the old thing in the dark where it belongs. 

I want you to help you take hold of your creative voice like never before!

More of what that will look like will be coming soon.

Second: Some things that were discarded while I struggled through my cocoon of growth and change, will be coming back again.

One of those is Monday’s Muse Writing Prompt. Actually, it will be making it’s second debut in just an hour from now!

Nourishing the Arts in you begins with helping you find and stretch your voice. For writers, this is done through writing prompts and I have to say that I not only enjoyed creating this weekly prompt, but I also enjoyed doing it myself.

Third: The art of platform revision continues. Now that I have a clear and solid view of where this creative space and brand is headed, I need to begin implementing the necessary changes.

Bear with me.

My goal is to have this ‘machine’ running at top performance before the end of Spring. I am working on new content to help you take hold of your vision and find your authentic creative voice, while I revise older material that I feel is very relevant even for this current moment.

There are even non-fiction books under works, all geared toward drawing the light out of you and helping you to conquer!

I am super excited about this new season and the changes that are taking place and I hope you are too.

Thank you for sticking around while the dust was still flying. Great stuff is ahead and I can’t wait to share it with you.

~Candice

~Dream. Imagine. Believe. Do. CONQUER! 

Of Battle Of The Books

Published on by Candice Coates2 Comments

Check out this week’s Battle of the Books blog tour interview with Becoming the Muse. Beaton is a fantastic blogger and storyteller and has come up with GREAT questions for Warden and Nexus Gate, as well as your’s truly. Read on to find out more!

Becoming The Muse

If you were having coffee with me……… we would be hosting a special guest author Candice Coates.

My dear friend Candice has two novels ready for publication Warden nor Nexus Gate 4037: The Animal.

She had an interesting dilemma of not knowing which one to get published first and so decided on an equally interesting concept of Battle of the Books where The Reader decides after reading teaser excerpts  from the books and completing a poll… the crowd favourite gets published first… sounds simple enough…

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We had an interesting chat with Candice about writing, books, battles and aliens grab a chair some coffee and join us……..

–why a book battle?

The concept for the Battle of the Books came from my own indecision. First, neither Warden nor Nexus Gate 4037: The Animal are my first finished manuscripts, however, they are the strongest in my opinion. I chose to battle them…

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Blog Novel & Future Plans: What’s Going on in March #AmWriting #Writinglife #Novel

Published on by Candice CoatesLeave a comment

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There’s a way to do it better-find it.” Thomas A. Edison

For over a year now I’ve been coming up with plans to reinvent this creative platform in a way that makes my soul sing like it did from the very first moment that I gave birth to it.

As I’ve mentioned in a previous post regarding this topic, my creative needs have changed and so have the ebbs and flows of my musings. What was once just a space to journal my creative growth, has morphed into something different and it continues to change even as my vision for my writing future becomes clearer.

With the recent launching of my author site: www.candicecoates.wordpress.com, and the promotion of my Battle of the Books, my time is divided as is my creative focus, all for good reasons.

This blog was created to harness reawakened creativity and it has certainly met its goal and continues to.

That being said, I am trying a new thing here…again…with how I manage this blog space.

FIRST: SCHEDULE

I have visited this topic several times and have come back to the same place.

  • 3 posts a week, Monday, Wednesday, Friday

…That seemed easy enough.

The more difficult part of this was/is determining what to continue here on this platform.

SECOND: BLOGGING TOPICS

  • Creative Writing
  • Blog Novel (MORE ON THIS BELOW)
  • Musings and Creative Inspirations
  • Faith
  • Art

If you have been following this blog for a while, you are probably wondering what happened to Wisdom From the Writer’s Journal, where I give writing tips, encouragements, and host interviews or guest posts? If not, then you should be, but I digress.

What I have decided to do, after mulling it over for the last three months, is move WFTWJ to my Author Site. Because this is where I will be highlighting more of my indie Publishing journey and focusing solely on the craft of creative writing, it only makes sense for me to move WFTWJ to that platform.

So if you were digging Wisdom From the Writer’s Journal, FOLLOW MY AUTHOR SITE!

I will still continue to share writing inspirations and encouragements in more of a conversational way, hence the bullet for musings and creative inspirations.

THIRD: THE INFAMOUS BLOG NOVEL,  ASCENSION GRAVEYARD

Our greates weakness lies in giving up. The most certian way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” ~Thomas A. Edison

For going on four years this June, I have been writing and rewriting Ascension Graveyard. I have made it to a good, 90k words, only to turn around and rework the peace. I have shared chapters here three times going all the way up to over 30 chapters at a time.

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I have worked hard…and I have found that though my labors have not been in vain, they haven’t yielded the desired fruit.

That being said, a fourth rewrite is in order. By this, I don’t mean just another round of editing and weeding currently existing chapters, but completely rewriting the book at least 85% from scratch.

I will be honest, I have had this idea for over a year and the thought of actually giving it a shot makes me a bit skittish, but I have to trust my creative flow and give it a go.

When will new and hopefully improved chapters of the paranormal science fiction suspense thriller be available? I don’t quite know yet.

I hesitate to make a time commitment as I have done so several times already only to have to push it back.

SO JUST A RECAP:

  1. Blogging Monday, Wednesday, Friday
  2. Creative Writing, Art, Faith, and Encouragements for topics
  3. Rewriting Ascension Graveyard to share soon!
  4. BONUS: Follow my author site and partake in the Battle of the Books!

Thanks for sticking with me this long and continuing on this road with me. Creative is indeed a winding road of its own and the scenery it lends often changes!

See you Wednesday.

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~Dream. Imagine. Believe. Do. CONQUER!

Like a Sapling through Soil: Flash Fiction & Musing

Published on by Candice CoatesLeave a comment

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“You’ve gone quiet,” Their words weren’t condemning, still it drew her attention with enough force to make her spine go rigid.

Forcing her nerves into a sense of calm, she shook her head. “I haven’t really gone quiet.”

“No?”

“No. I’ve been in the dark, much like a seed.” Without looking at them she could almost feel their interest peek and a smile bloom with interest.

“Explain if you can. I like seeds, so much potential there.”

This made her smile. “Like a seed I’ve been in the dark. I have a lot of things pressing on me from every side, but the pressure is only promoting change. I have much to say. The words are on the tip of my tongue but I need to allow the right moment to arrive.”

“Like a sapling through the soil,”

“Precisely! Like a sapling through the soil. Seeds planted in Fall burst forth in the Spring.”

“Spring is right around the corner you know?”

Another smile. “Yes, it is. I can feel it in my bones.”

THE BEGINNING…

A Moment for Musing

Hello there friends! If you haven’t figured it out the above story would be my conversation with creativity and my work here on I came for the soup. I’ve struggled with my blogging rhythm here, yet again and it has produced a level of anxiety.

There is so much I want to say, so many stories I want to tell, and yet only so many hours in a given day.

I want to thank all of you who have stuck with me as I build up my Author Site and prepare for Indie Publishing. If you haven’t already, please swing by http://www.candicecoates.wordpress.com, follow, share with others, and partake in reading the sample chapters of two of my novels, Warden and Nexus Gate 4037: The Animal. After reading, cast your vote for the novel you think should be published first.

Polls for voting will be available February 20th through March 25th.

I will have more information about what is going on here in the soup bowl, especially in regards to my blog novel Ascension Graveyard, coming soon.

Stay tuned!

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Click HERE for more about the Battle of the Books! The Battle is already on. Be sure to read and cast your VOTE today!

~Dream. Imagine. Believe. Do. CONQUER!

 

Which Novel Will I Publish First? You Decide: #BattleoftheBooks #IndiePublishing #Author

Published on by Candice CoatesLeave a comment

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The countdown is on! Only 6 days until the Battle of the Books begins, where you, my readers, get to decide which of these two books will be the first to be Indie Published.

If you haven’t already, follow my Author Page at www.candicecoates.wordpress.com and catch the teaser chapters for each book Warden and Nexus Gate 4037: The Animal. You can read the book flap descriptions of each book by clicking HERE!

Polls for reading the teaser chapters and voting will open at 12 am, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20th, and will close at 11:59 pm EST SATURDAY, MARCH 25th.

HERE’S ANOTHER WAY YOU CAN HELP: 

  • Would you like to be a host for my promotion tour on your blog from FEBRUARY 26th thru MARCH 24th? Contact me at: candicecoateswrites@gmail.com

Be sure to check back in later this week here or at www.candicecoates.wordpress.come for teaser sections, tantalizing tidbits to wet your appetite for the chapters to come.

Spread the word with others. See you at the battle!

~Dream. Image. Believe. Do. CONQUER!

Third’s a Charm, Right?: Revisiting Ascension Graveyard & Blog Theme Change #Writer #Novel #Revisions

Published on by Candice CoatesLeave a comment

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Third’s a charm, right? Right! I suppose that is true if this is indeed the third time that I have sat down to write AND finish my blog novel, ASCENSION GRAVEYARD.

Part of me, however, feels like this is the FOURTH time and that I left my third attempt somewhere to die a slow death in 2016…these things happen, I’m cool with that.

I suppose that I would have wallowed in frustration over each unfinished reboot if it weren’t for the fact that other creative happenings weren’t successfully occupying my time. It’s not at all that I have been just trying to fill failed space with projects that would massage my ego, but truly I’ve been working on building up my dreams.

To everything there is a time and a season…” ~Ecclesiastes 3:1

As I announced earlier this year, I have officially launched my Author Site, and I am gearing up to do a ‘Battle of the Books’ Monday, February 20th, 2017. The battle is a match between the first two novels that I completed during my summer sessions of NaNoWriMo. More information about that will be coming soon.

Ascension Graveyard is my third attempt at summer NaNo and has been like a very needy child for going on four years! As I’ve said before, I encourage myself about the time it is taking to complete this novel with the knowledge that it took Stephen King forty years or so to properly write Under the Dome. He began in the early 70’s and didn’t have her on the bookshelves until 2009.

Some aspiring writers may cringe at that length of time but here are two encouraging things I want you to take away from this:

  1. Anything worth having is worth the work and wait: Our lives and experiences influence the work that we produce. Stephen King started with an idea, but time and influence gave greater life and vision to the work…which also led to a T.V series…which leads to take away number 2.
  2. To everything there is a time and a season (Ecclesiastes 3:1): Some ideas are born in the moments of today but will only be ready for life years from now. The time in between is all about the preparation. Like a fine wine or cheese or a really great stew, long hours, or in the case of some pieces of fiction, long years are what’s required. (I wrote a faith post about waiting. You can find it here.)

Ascension Graveyard has taken me a long while and many moments of frustration, but I feel like the time to really get from the starting line to the end is upon us. I know that I must ‘kill many of my darlings’ during this third or fourth attempt but I am ready.

As a reminder, chapters will begin going up again starting in March 2017.

This leads me to my change in blog theme. Really, I find changing or finding the ‘right’ theme to be much like mall shopping for clothing. It is exhausting, somewhat disappointing, often times hit-or-miss, but when you need new clothes you just have the bite the bullet and step into the fitting room.

I’ve changed my theme after a year because, for one, I felt like I needed the change AND because of the simple function of having my PAGES visible in the body of the text and NOT somewhere floating around after the adds, share buttons, likes, etc.

This theme has the next pages of my post right there after the final period on the previous page. Easy-peasy. I want this process to not only be a fun and easy adventure for myself but a more user-friendly experience for my readers.

As I’ve said before, my writing can only improve with your constructive criticism. So, read along with me, turn those lovely pages, and leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

Also, don’t forget to stay tuned for the Battle of the Books! Your votes will determine which novel will be published and promoted first! You can stay connected and on top of updates by following my Author Site.

Thanks for tuning in!

~Dream. Imagine. Believe. Do. CONQUER!