Stephanie Cage - Writer

It surprises me slightly that I recently felt the need to write a blog post about affirmations.   I used to think they sounded woolly and new agey and I couldn’t imagine them working for me. Somehow, though, I couldn't quite give up the feeling that this technique had something important to offer me.  It had worked for Jeannette Maw and Louise Hay and so many other people I admired, that there had to be something to it. The idea of affirmations started making a lot more sense to me once I read a bit about how the mind works, and realised that the work some coaches I admired were doing with affirmations was very similar to the model developed by Harper and Ellis and espoused by a whole generation of therapists. The model, often described as ABC, provides a framework for understanding how an event (activating event, A in our alphabet) triggers a set of beliefs (B) which in turn have consequences (C). I’m grossly oversimplifying here, partly due to my own limited knowled...

Recently I read a post on one of my favourite sites, mindbodygreen, entitled ‘ Why Affirmations Don’t Work and What You Should be Doing Instead .’  I’d started an argument with the author before the page had even finished downloading. A few minutes later I realised that for many years I’d actually agreed with the author, and in some ways I still do. The word ‘affirmations’ is often associated with new age thinking, get rich quick schemes and unrealistic positive expectations.  If by saying that ‘affirmations work’, you mean that you expect to sit in front of the TV eating junk food and affirming ‘I’m rich, famous and beautiful’ and have it suddenly become true, then it’s perfectly accurate to say that they don’t work. But at its root, the word ‘affirmation’ simply means ‘the act of affirming something’, and affirm has two meanings: to state something publicly, and to offer emotional support or encouragement. So affirmations are simply statements of support, made pub...

In some previous years I’ve blogged at the end of the year about my favourite books of the year .  Last year, for various reasons, I didn’t quite get around to it, so instead I sat down at the start of 2017 to think about what I’d read (and watched and listened to) in 2016 that I thought would continue to interest and inspire me in the coming year.  My first inspiring choice is Mimi Thebo.  Mimi was one of my tutors on the MA course at Bath Spa University.  I’ve written before about the haiku exercise she gave us as part of the Exploration and Experiment module of the course, and since leaving Bath I’ve followed her career with interest.  She’s a perfect example of what she teaches: her oeuvre includes adult novels ( Welcome to Eudora recalls such beautiful American authors as Fannie Flagg, Patricia Gaffney and Barbara Kingsolver), children’s stories (Walker Books) and everything in between.  Dreaming the Bear , released in 2016, may possibly be m...

It’s a pleasure today to welcome J Arlene Culiner, whose latest book is A Swan’s Sweet Song , from The Wild Rose Press, although like me, she’s also had a book published by Crimson Romance.  Welcome, Arlene. It’s a pleasure being invited by you, Stephanie. Thanks. I liked the fact that A Swan’s Sweet Song has a very grown-up hero and heroine, who have both had some great life experiences.  Do you enjoy writing about mature characters? Actually, I only write about mature characters. I really do think experience makes us more interesting. When we’re older, we have more to say, we’re not just guided by hormones or the desire to find a mate so we can reproduce. Mature characters can have great discussions; they know, finally, how to communicate — and, for me, that means their romance really does have a chance of lasting. Sherry Valentine is a country singer and Carston Hewlett is a playwright.  What made you choose these jobs for your hero and heroine, and di...

Looking ahead to 2015, I've just spotted that Mills and Boon novelist extraordinaire, Kate Walker, has posted links to some courses she's involved with next year.  So now there's a new item on my Christmas wish list - the Relax and Write weekend at Weetwood Hall in March - handy for us northerners, just outside Leeds.  She's also teaching a workshop at the Fishguard Writing Weekend in February... but as a real-life romantic I have other ideas about Valentine's weekend, so I'll be giving that one a miss!!!!! If you're curious about these or her other courses, the full post is here: http://kate-walker.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/courses-for-2015.html If you want to learn more about writing romance and don't feel like traveling or the budget doesn't permit, I thoroughly recommend Kate's invaluable Twelve Point Guide to Writing Romance.

I just realised it's been a few months since I've shared here what I've been writing for Book-in-a-Week.  For anyone who's missed my previous posts, I should probably explain that Book-in-a-Week is a fantastic web-based community of writers who once a month take part in a shared challenge to set and fulfil a writing goal over the course of a week.  As well as participating regularly, I also write a monthly column for the site.   I've been thinking a lot recently about how I can fit in more writing time, and be more productive in my writing time, so two recent posts have been inspired by these experiments. The first post on this theme looks at developing a daily writing habit, which is advocated by many successful writers, including Stephen King.  You can read this one at http://www.book-in-a-week.com/2014/06/the-chain-method-to-writing-every-day/. Following on from this, I've also posted about the benefits I've found to keeping closer track of my word ...