Semper deinceps! (SEM-purr dee-IN-keps) That’s Latin for “Ever forward.” It means you continuously strive for progress. You experience growth through consistent effort. But what if instead of “semper deinceps,” you/I feel more like “whimper deinceps”? If you/I want to stomp away from stagnation to gain ground, it will require a smidge of strategy. (Not to worry. It’s simple. Sorta.)
Let’s hatch a plan
It helps to have something to look forward to, so let’s whip up a plan. It doesn’t need to be fancy-schmancy, but the more curlicues (as in details) you can add, the more “ever forward” you’re going to feel.
You’re making a list & checking it thrice
How about this? On your phone, or better yet, using a pen and a piece of actual paper (because you know what’ll happen if you pick up that phone), make a list of three things. (You know how writers like things in threes.)
Photo by Vicky Lorencen
Fair enough, my little shiny yellow No. 2 pencils, I’ll start:
“Audit” my old writing files in search of stories worthy of resuscitation.
Go on a weekend-long spring writing retreat with friends for feedback on my revived stories.
Spend three Saturdays in a row at my favorite branch of my local library with my most beloved, yet most neglected writing project. (I don’t know how they feel, but I miss my characters!)
No longer feeling list-less
Looking at my list, I must say, I already feel less schlumpy. The idea of sifting through my old stuff sounds fun. For one thing, it will (gosh, I sure hope) prove to me that I’ve made progress. And for another, who knows what germs of ideas or gems of inspiration may be tucked in there? Spending time with writer friends is always good for the soul and encourages accountability. And devoting time to a novel that is nearest to my heart will feel like a family reunion (and I won’t have to bring potato salad!)
To be fair, jotting down a list isn’t technically progress. BUT devising a detailed plan to move “ever forward” is a start. In the coming days, I will embellish my list with curlicues like adding specific names, blocking calendar dates and collecting files. Dare I admit it? I feel some semper simmering!
Did you make a new plan, Stan?
How about you, my little fountain pen of creativity? Care to share what’s on your list? I’d love to see it and cheer you on. Together, we WILL move ever forward. Semper deinceps!
You don’t start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it’s good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That’s why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence. ~ Octavia E. Butler
My little bumper shoots of joy, it feels far-fetched imagining our little froggy friend is now a teenager. (Although, you’ll note, he still fits neatly on a dime!)
In celebration of my blog’s 13th anniversary, I wish to wish you 13 wishes. (And that’s not just wishful thinking. Although, thinking about wishes is filled with wishes. I’m sliding off track again, aren’t I?)
Let’s dive in!
Wish 1: I wish you a “Now Day.” That’s 24-hours of existing in the present. No regrets or frets about the past. No worries or woes about the future. Nothing but appreciating the present.
Wish 2: I wish you an avalanche of gratitude. May you be overcome by the thought of all the good things (and people) in your life.
Wish 3: I wish you a day with no mirrors. (No side eye glances either!) Be blissfully thoughtless about your outsides (despite their obvious charms!)
Wish 4: I wish you a new friend — yourself. Lavish the kindness, compassion, encouragement, and thoughtfulness on yourself equal to what you generously bestow on your favorite people.
Wish 5: I wish you bravery. Write that query letter. Enter that contest. Go to that event. Ask that question.
Wish 6: I wish you patience with your progress. There are typically a lot more days spent in the process and progress phase than there are the shiny new success days. Be patient and appreciate how far you’ve come.
Wish 7: I wish you a playful heart. Being silly, spontaneous, goofy, uninhibited, whimsical, and free-spirited is energizing. Let your inner child take the lead and welcome the joy.
Wish 8: I wish you a lane change. Use that blinker and get on over. Try reading or writing in a new genre, a new workshop on a topic you’ve never explored, a novel way of drawing, or a different way to build a poem.
Wish 9: I wish you a day of liberty – no cell phone, no social media, no computer, no Google, no scrolling, no online shopping, no TV, no 24-hour news cycle, no outside noise.
Wish 10: I wish you time to treat yourself. There’s that book shop you’ve driven by a dozen times, but never stopped, treat yourself and go on in. Whatever you consider a treat–a nap, a long walk, a lunch with a dear friend–g’head!
Wish 11: I wish you deep, restorative sleep, and dreams that ignite your creativity with ideas you really do recall when you wake.
Wish 12: I wish you discovery — a new author, a new writing technique, a new plant or animal, a new color, a new place to explore, a new song that makes your heart soar, a new recipe (especially if it’s a dessert), a new way of looking at an old problem.
Wish 13: I wish you a day to start “The Thing.” Whatever that Thing is–getting back to an old novel, learning a new technology, reorganizing your desk or files, outlining a new book–go ahead, and at long last, take that first step (or hop, skip or jump).
Don’t underestimate the power of consistent progress. Small things become big things. ~ Brian Reese
There’s a big difference between showing off and showing up. Showing off is rarely productive or inspiring. But showing up? That’s where the power is. You see those brilliant red leaves, right? Okay, sure, maybe they do appear to be showing off, but they don’t do that every day. We count on that spectacular color to show up each autumn in Michigan. When those colors show up, it signals the start of an all-too-short cozy season. Knowing I can depend on the trees to do their “thing” is a comfort, especially when the world feels unpredictable and chaotic.
Showing up may not seem like much, but you’d be surprised what a difference it can make in your creative pursuits, your professional goals, and in your personal relationships. Consistency, even when we don’t feel like showing up, is what chips away at complacency and creates subtle, but persistent progress. I find it’s often best not to make showing up a decision. Will I? Won’t I? It’s best to view it as a foregone conclusion.
Will you join me in challenging ourselves to show up:
At your desk/computer/workspace — I guarantee you’ll make more progress.
When I was working on the manuscript for my children’s book, I had to show up–even on vacation–because I was determined to meet every deadline set by my editor. Did I do it? Yes. (Sometimes I didn’t send a revision until 4:59 p.m., but I got it there.)
For creative friends who need encouragement, a nudge or a lovingly worded challenge to help them get unstuck (so they can then show up, too).
I’ve found offering an open invitation to review a friend’s work or offer feedback can give them the motivation they need. Writing can be lonely work. Knowing someone is willing to show up for you can make other want to show up for themselves.
For book launches or author talks to show fellow creatives our support. You don’t have to bring a gift. You don’t need to stay for hours. Just show up. Let them see your sweet, shiny face in the crowd.
I love cheering on friends at their events whenever I can. Plus, I find I almost always come away with an idea I can incorporate in my future presentations.
For learning opportunities like workshops, virtual events, seminars, retreats, critique groups and classes. Get at least one on your calendar each season (and for those of you who live in a seasonless climate, let’s call it four times a year!)
I don’t have time to travel to far away events, so I often look for virtual opportunities — I’m still showing up!
For yourself — for your health (both mental and physical), for your goals and ambitions, your rejuvenation. Get “you” on your calendar for annual check up, dental appointments, counseling sessions, and dates with friends who recharge your batteries.
I find this one can be the most challenging, but it’s what makes it possible to show up for all the others.
My little apple cinnamon tarts, of course, you can’t show up for everything and everyone all the time. No one can. Just be intentional and consistent with your choices and feel the satisfaction of your own forward momentum. I’m rooting for you. Ever forward. Ever forward.
(And yes, always show up for cider and donuts!)
Care to share your progress?
The advice I like to give young artists, or really anybody who’ll listen to me, is not to wait around for inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work. ~ Chuck Close
Welcome! So glad you’re here. Snoop around and stay a while. This is the Frog on a Dime Summer Open House. I’ve swept the porch, put the plumpest pillows on the swing and poured a chilled glass of refreshing lip-puckering strawberry lemonade–just for you!
Win 2 copies!
This year’s Summer Open House giveaway is extra special. The winner will receive not one, but two copies of THE BIG BOOK OF BARF. One autographed copy will be yours to keep (or give to your favorite young reader). The second copy is for you to donate to your local public library or elementary school media center.
Here’s how to enter:
Share a childhood library memory in the comment section for this post. Easy peasy!
Enter by noon on Saturday, July 12.
My little firecrackers, it seems only fair that I share an early library memory of my own. I recall being in Mrs. Server’s kindergarten classroom. On our designated “Library Day,” we’d line up to walk the long window-lined hallway, past the principal’s office, through the school lobby and over to the right where we, a row of little kinderducks, would file into our Blackman Elementary School library.
I remember low book stacks, only two or three shelves high, running perpendicular to the wall of windows that looked out on the school yard. It was a quiet place, a warm room, filled with the potpourri only a collection of aging books can create. We were each given a dark brown “paddle” made of pressed wood. This we would use as a place marker once we’d pulled the book of our choice–our choice!–from the shelves.
From Day One, I was enchanted by Hans Christian Anderson’s Thumbelina. I’d pull it from the shelf, replace it with my paddle, and take the book to one of the library’s tables to devour the beauty of the book’s illustrations (with my eyes only!) At the close of our all-too-short library time, I’d have to return Thumbelina to her shelf . . . until next week when Mrs. Server would announce “Library Day!”. And I couldn’t wait see her again (Thumbelina, that is).
What do you remember?
Share your early library memory for a chance to win TWO copies of THE BIG BOOK OF BARF. Enter by July 12.
CONGRATULATIONS to Danielle Hammelef! You’re the winner of the Summer Open House giveaway! You’ll receive two copies of THE BIG BOOK OF BARF. I’m happy to personalize one for you AND one for your favorite local library or school media center! Thank you so much for sharing your library memory with all of us. Happy summering to you!
The library is like a candy store where everything is free. ~ Jamie Ford
Listen. A little hand covered in popsicle juice and sand is turning the lid on a jar.
Look. Fireflies play flashlight tag.
Feel. The grass under your bare feet is cooling. (Smack! Frenzied mosquitoes seek a bedtime snack.)
Smell. Summer’s incense–the sulfurous metallic scent of sparklers sizzle the night air.
Taste. A charred marshmallow deflates spreading sweetness on the tongue.
Whether you write novels, nonfiction, picture books or poetry for children, seize every sense of the summer season. Research can be pure pleasure. Scoop your piggies (aka toes) into the cool sand beneath the sizzling surface of the beach. Build a bonfire and swap your summer stories with friends. And, if you haven’t had a popsicle in a while (aka decades), you’d best snap to it.
Photo by Vicky Lorencen
Capture childhood memories of the season
Summer smells like (weather, food, plants, etc.)
Favorite summer food taste like
Summer-specific sounds by day/by night
Summer sights
Summer feels like ___________ on my skin/my face/my feet.
Summer water sensory memories (pool, lake, creek, sprinkler, hose, water park)
Summer night sounds
What long-forgotten memory paid a visit?
Photo by Vicky Lorencen
As with every season, not all memories are sweet.
There’s sunburn, bug bites, boredom, and harder still, family squabbles, disappointments, sullen babysitters, food insecurity or loneliness.
Collect deeper summer memorieswith these simple prompts
My family and I always went to
Going on a family vacation made me feel
My family and I never went on vacation because
Not going on a family vacation made me feel
I remember the first time I
When I didn’t have friends to play with, I would
I felt scared when
I dreaded it when
I used to imagine I
I couldn’t wait until
Summer break felt like it was ___ months long
As the end of summer approached, I felt/worried about/looked forward to
My sweet shortcakes, I hope this post sends your Ferris wheel of memories whirling. AND I also hope-hope-hope you’ll share a summer memory with me!
Photo by Vicky Lorencen
Fireflies in the Garden
Here come real stars to fill the upper skies, And here on earth come emulating flies, That though they never equal stars in size, (And they were never really stars at heart) Achieve at times a very star-like start. Only, of course, they can’t sustain the part. ~ Robert Frost
In 2007, Pulitzer Prize winning author Annie Dillard told NPR listeners, “I’m here to tell you that I’m retiring. I woke up one morning, went to my desk, and realized I’ve done everything I set out to do as a writer, and the writer label does not define me, and I have more life to live, but I am done because I did my work on my terms.”
Does Dillard’s declaration stir something in you? Inspiration? Exhilaration like a zing of electricity? A soul-satisfying exhale?
Maybe it’s time to quit.
And by “quit,” I mean . . .
Before we move on, my little lemon drops, let me define “quit.” I’m talking about letting go of your pursuit of publication. No more queries. No more proposals. No more stalking agents. No more pouring over every issue of PW. (And no, I’m not talking about never writing again. Yikes. Writers, by definition, have to write. It’s a given you won’t give that up.)
Queries about quitting. (You can be totally honest. You’ll be grading your own paper.)
Has my passion to be published–needing validation from the publishing industry, reviewers, readers–changed/diminished since I first began my pursuit?
Do I neeeed to be published to be happy?
Am I persisting in my pursuit solely because it pleases someone else or out of fear of displeasing them?
Does the thought of setting my pursuit aside make me feel lighter, maybe even a little excited? (If it makes you feel full-on giddy, go ahead and quit already!)
Can I be satisfied with writing for my own pleasure and/or with helping others improve their writing?
Is my pursuit of publication keeping me from a new passion?
Do I want to invest my creative energies doing something wholly apart from writing? What might that be?
Would I see my decision as a liberation rather than a resignation?
How about a 6-month or 12-month “hiatus” from my publishing pursuits versus a full stop retirement?
Am I comfortable with not knowing what might have been?
What will my new dream be? How and when will I begin?
How will I see myself on the other side of my decision to quit?
Next steps
Take your time and ponder. Seep into a head-to-toe mull.
Journal over your responses to the 12 questions.
Reach out to a friend who can listen while you deliberate. And remember, I’m always here too.
The purpose of my post is not to discourage you from pursuing publishing. Honest. No one’s pushing you. (Go ahead. Look behind you. See?) I’m offering you the freedom to let go, if that’s what you really want to do. And, you should know I (and many others, I’m sure) will never quit admiring you and valuing you. Heck, some will even envy you.
Success does not lie in sticking to things. It lies in picking the right thing to stick to and quitting the rest. ~ Annie Duke, Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away
On this 12th birthday, I’m hoppy to dole out a dozen reasons I’m grateful for Frog on a Dime:
I’m grateful-grateful-grateful for all of you, my little twinkling tadpoles.
I’m grateful for your kind comments and encouragement. You’ve kept me hopping (versus hobbling) forward.
I’m grateful for the companionship this little blog provides. (Confession: I was trembly-terrified when it came time to publish my very first post. What if no one notices?)
I’m grateful for this space to capture random sparks of imagination, ruminations and images.
I’m grateful to Darcy Pattison, a wise children’s author and publisher. Darcy emphasized the importance of obtaining a domain name and establishing an online presence to protect against invisibility. And I did it.
I’m grateful to illustrator extraordinaire Matt Faulkner for the amphibitastic image of Frog on a Dime (as proudly displayed above).
I’m grateful for the opportunity to encourage you along your winding, wondrous creative journeys.
I’m grateful for this stockpile of memories to revisit and the way it reveals (at least some) progress.
I’m grateful for this connection with readers, librarians, teachers, and other such brilliant bibliophiles.
I’m grateful to authors and illustrators who welcome interviews, and I’m thankful I get to promote their work.
I’m grateful to offer you a giveaway in celebration of Frog on a Dime’s 12th birthday!
Giveaway details . . .
Enter to win an autographed copy of THE BIG BOOK OF BARF. BONUS: a complimentary barf bag (sporting googly eyes!)
Leave a comment about what you’re grateful for (e.g., new friendships, writing breakthroughs, experiences you’re looking forward to like a workshop or conference, a new technique you’ve learned or resource you’ve discovered or whatever makes you thankful).
Post the comment here or on Facebook.
HOP TO IT! Your entry must be posted by 12 (noon) on 12/20.
Oh, and if you like, go ahead and share this giveaway news with a friend. And aren’t you kind.
Onward to Lucky Year 13! Ever forward, my little sparklers! We will continue to keep each other encouraged in 2025.
The year I turned twelve, I learned that what I said and what I did mattered. ~ Lauren Wolk, Wolf Hollow
Congratulations to Danielle Hammelef! You’ve won an autographed copy of THE BIG BOOK OF BARF, plus the bonus BARF BAG! I’ll send it your way as soon as the book officially hurls into the world on January 28! Many thanks to everyone who participated. I am grateful for you!
Does the mere mention of the holiday season make you queasy, my sensitive little sugar plums? Let Frog on a Dime set you at ease. Here’s what you do . . .
Be among the first 30 to respond. You’ll get a spewtiful barf bag to give to that young reader. Inside is a personalized, autographed message with the exciting news a Happy Spew Year gift arrives soon. (THE BIG BOOK OF BARF releases all over the world on January 28, 2025. Messy!)
HURRY! Offer ends December 1 or while supplies last.
Wishing you peace–and good health–this holiday season, my Cocoa Cups of Kindness!
A sure crowd pleaser . . . this info-gusher, plainly a labor of love, will draw readers like flies. ~ KIRKUS REVIEWS
Welcome to Frog on a Dime 