Writing – Life Writing Wanderlust

Excuses, Excuses…

“Oh, I’m too busy.” or “I just can’t at this time.” or “I’ll do it someday.”

Have you ever heard someone say this? Or maybe you’ve thought it yourself?

I just want to stop you there. I want to stop my brain from ever uttering those words ever again. It really BOTHERS me whenever I hear people give all the reasons for why they can’t achieve their dreams. Or why they can’t do something.

As a leader in my company, I’ve noticed this more and more recently. It strikes a chord, because I know I’ve said it sometime In my life.

The thing is though, cemeteries are filled with unfulfilled dreams and goals. I don’t care how much work it’s going to take, but you better guess it… I’m going to achieve my goals and dreams!

So, from THIS MOMENT. We aren’t going to make excuses anymore. We are going to achieve and chase after our dreams. Right?

What are you avoiding with excuses?

I want you to take out a notebook and I want you to write up the different things you’ve been avoiding?

Why are you avoiding them?

Most of the time we make excuses because of two things: either we are scared or lazy.

Now, I want you to achieve your goals. Throw out the excuses!!!

What I Learned By Doing The Grandparent Program

Over Christmas weekend, I hand-delivered gifts to a nursing home. My husband, sister, mom, and Gma came with as well. We dressed up in fashionable Santa hats and came to town to bring cheer, love, and presents to all of the residents at the rural MN.

What I learned…

1. Residents are extremely thankful and just want to be loved.

It was amazing to be there the day before Christmas Eve. We were able to just spread joy with them all. I wanted them to know we cared.

My mom handed out a gift to an elderly man in a wheel chair and he started to cry. At that moment my heart broke all over for them.

I’m so glad we were able to go see them.

2. People MOSTLY, want to help out!
I’m seriously blessed with knowing so many of the right kinds of people. People who just want to help and bless! So blessed.

3. You find out who you want to be like and who you don’t…
Christmas season tends to bring out the best and worst in people. And when you are in charge of a charity, you tend to see both sides.

I tend to just use that as an example of who I’d rather be like! One person I know jumped and said “Oh, sign us up for three!”

I want to be like that! I want to help those in need without worrying about how it’s going to affect me and just know that because of it, I will have blessed someone else.

4. I felt so good after delivering the gifts!

I am definitely going to do this again next year! Who knows, maybe I’ll do it again in a few months! It really felt good to give back!

Thank you to all of my blog followers who adopted a grandparent! It meant so much to them and I’m glad I was able to be a part of this!! <3

Why you should set goals…

There are things I know I have to finish and get done, but then I tend to put them off to the last moment? I just started thinking about these things this week, because of the Health Challenge, I’ve been doing.

The Health Challenge this week was making sure I drink enough water each day. Each day I’ve gotten up earlier and I’ve also felt more energetic and all because I’ve been watching my calorie intake (food journal), drinking more water, and eating greener foods, less sugars and starches, and last, but not least I’ve done some form of exercise everyday for at least 30-45 minutes along with some strength training to build muscle. It’s also helped because I have an accountability partner and others that encourage me along the way. Becoming healthy isn’t achieved through dieting… it’s a lifestyle change. Have you set goals to accomplish today? This week? This month? Start now! Continue reading “Why you should set goals…”

Character Conversations #7: Take From Fairytales

Every month, I write a writing prompt post, to encourage you guys forward in your writing and character crafting. I call these posts “character conversations!” Today we will be talking about fairytales!

Don’t you just LOVE fairytale stories?

I feel like a lot of times in life people might say “Why get so into fairytales. Life isn’t a fairytale. Come down to earth and live in the real world.”

I’ve heard people say that to others before.

But, how untrue. I feel like if anyone were to understand the trials of reality, it would be fairytale people and creatures, if they were real. I mean, look at it this way… Ariel the little mermaid in the original fairytale, actually never ended up with her man and turned to sea foam at the end of the story. Cinderella’s step sisters cut their toes off so they could fit their feet into the glass slipper. Morbid, right?

And don’t even get me started on Hansel & Gretel OR Pinocchio. Those characters would all KNOW the realities of the real world.

Our world is grim at times and inside the fairytale stories, all those characters know that. And those characters have a lot to offer when it comes to inspiration.

I want you to choose a character from a fairytale that you love. Make it a unique one.

Let’s use Maleficent for example.

I absolutely love the movie Maleficent. It shows the story from her point of view. I want to encourage you to write about a character from a fairytale that you love, but here’s the twist. Use one of these ideas.

Make your villain your hero.
Make your hero your villain.
Tell the story from your villain’s POV.

Reach into who they are from the original fairytale and create a new life for their character. Maybe it could even be an origin story for how said character became the character we all know today.

Let me know how it went. Share it in the comments!

Are You In A Long Distance Relationship?

Guess what?

Johan and I are writing a book.

And it’s not just any book. It is going to be full of tips on how to make your long-distance relationship THRIVE, as well as, some stories from our long-distance relationship.

We originally wanted to put out a long-distance relationship magazine, but figured a book would be a better place to begin. Here’s a little vlog video that we created last summer.

We aren’t currently releasing new videos weekly, but I have some saved up that I will share soon!

When the launch of our book gets closer, we will be doing some NEW videos!

We were in a long-distance relationship for 5.5 years. I met Johan when I went to study abroad in 2010. We made the distance work for us and now we are together in the same place.

Why did you name your vlog “Wolfland Magazine?”

We were inspired by wolves and good qualities that they held.

Wolves have three attributes that we really value and believe has a lot to do with successful long distance relationships. And crazy enough, they actually all begin with a C.

Commitment: Wolves are committed as they mate for life.

Community: They have wolf packs, which is a community that will help them thrive in the dangerous wild.

Communication: They also communicate across the distance with howling.

FAQ : Behind the Scenes of My Business

I am really excited to give a behind the scenes glimpse of my business. I really love and enjoy what I do, and I hope I can inspire you to do what you love. Many of you probably know that I recently quit my day job and that I’ve been working for myself. I’ve been loving it. If you’d like more on that, go here.

Question 1: What’s your two to three sentence bio?

Devin Joubert is a multi-passionate creative. She is a creative fiction writer and blogger, website designer, as well as an Independent Beauty Consultant with Mary Kay. Family is extremely important to me. I love creating stories to change lives. I am working toward agent representation.

Question 2: What’s the favorite part of your job?

Writing:

I love that I get to sip a chai latte, while focusing on building a story that readers will be able to relate to.

Mary Kay:

Honestly, I really love encouraging women and showing them how to feel better about themselves inside and out. I believe we need community.

Entrepreneur:

Another thing I really enjoy is having the freedom to choose my schedule. No more time restricted lunch breaks or asking to get days off for things. I feel so much freer and happier than I did before. Besides, I’m doing what I love!

Question 3: What’s your least favorite part of your job?

I have a few of these:

Not having enough hours in a day.
Running to the post office.
Buying groceries.
Making food.

Guess this just told me I should hire a maid and a person to run errands for me.

Question 4: What are the top three tools you use the most in your work?

I love using Scrivener, the notes app on my Iphone, and good old fashioned notebooks & pens. Continue reading “FAQ : Behind the Scenes of My Business”

How To Stand Against The Status Quo

Johan and I recently took a big step.

Entrepreneurship is filled with dreams, possibilities, and risks.

Throughout my life, I’ve never wanted to live cooped up in an office. I’ve always wanted to be out and about. On an adventure, to make an amazing life for myself and others. So in this post, I want to share how to go against the status quo and how when you do, people won’t understand your reasoning. Stand strong and chase your dreams. Mine was freedom.

How To Stand Against The Status Quo

I recently chatted with a traveling freelancer and she said that many times people will ask her “where are you traveling now?” or “When are you getting a real job.” Things like that really sting.

[Tweet “Don’t you just love being asked, “When are you getting a real job?””]

I guess I’ve always been against the status quo, because what’s so amazing about following some trail that a million others have walked in front of you? Yeah, sure it will bring you to a safe destination. I’d rather get off the well-tread paths and bushwhack.

You see so much more anyways. It makes me think of a time that I went GeoCaching in Glacier Montana with my dad and brother. We left the trail and followed the coordinates. Yes, at some points we felt like we were lost, at other points we saw amazing views we’d never have seen if we hadn’t left the trail in the first place. Continue reading “How To Stand Against The Status Quo”

Our Choice For Chasing Freedom As An Entrepreneur

I’m excited to share this news with you. I’ve been dreaming about the day that I’d get to say this for a long time.

I’m an entrepreneur now!

[Tweet “We only have ONE life. I’m not going to waste it.”]

When I originally wrote this, I had just recently put my resignation letter in at my day job, so I can chase my goal of being an entrepreneur. My husband and I came together about it and prayed. We felt that now is the best time to go after it.

I know, if you are like any other NORMAL human being you might be wondering, “Why though, did you quit your day job? People always warn against that.”

I know. But this is why… Continue reading “Our Choice For Chasing Freedom As An Entrepreneur”

Character Conversations #5: A World Of Saints & Sinners

This is the fifth installment of the Character Conversations series. If you haven’t read the other installments, that’s totally fine. You can read them here: convo #1, convo #2, convo #3, convo #4, although they will make sense if read out of order.

We live in a world with beautiful things and horrendous things. It’s a world of beauty and pain. It’s filled with saints and sinners. You can find that out by just stepping outside into the real world or by watching the news at any given moment.

[Tweet “Our world is a world filled with beauty and pain, & saints and sinners.”]

Last month, Johan’s grandpa passed away. It was really sad. He went in for a surgery and made it through that just fine, but all of a sudden when he was in the healing process, his heart just stopped. It was so tough, especially since Johan was here and the rest of his family was in South Africa.

In that same week, our town was hit by a horrendous crime that made everyone very uncomfortable and took away that safe feeling that a small community has. A pregnant woman went missing. And then they found her body. Continue reading “Character Conversations #5: A World Of Saints & Sinners”

My Favorite Novel Writing Tips

There have been countless times that people have asked me what I do to plot my writing. In this post, you’ll learn what my favorite novel writing tips are when it comes to plotting.

Ever since I was little, I struggled with outlines. I tried writing them in high school and didn’t do so well, teachers tried making me do them, I tried again in college, and even again while trying to find a good method for getting a little more organized when it comes to writing my books, so I end up with a cleaner 1st draft!

I struggled to find something, because I was not an outliner. I was what you’d call a pant-ser.

[Tweet “These are my favorite novel writing tips when it comes to plotting.”]

But now, I’ve found something that’s really helped me, well actually two things! Here are my secret novel writing tips:

The Novel Writing Tips That Helped Me The Most

The first novel writing tip is from the Snowflake Method. A friend mentioned it, when I was writing my first book, which I had to edit a thousand times. (Not exactly, but close to it. It was a MUCH MESSIER first draft than the book I just wrote using my new method.)

[Tweet “When I didn’t use a method to keep track of my plot, my first draft was a lot messier.”]

So what is my new method? (Be sure to read all the way to the bottom to get your download so you can try my new method.) Continue reading “My Favorite Novel Writing Tips”