Cloud Niners: An IWSG Post

12:00 AM Elizabeth Seckman 153 Comments

Happy New Year! And I love your advice. There are so many negative nellies in the world who can't stand to see someone happy. Don't let them bring you down. At least not permanently.

Thanks for the encouragement, Elizabeth!!!

Happy New Year! Your post is wonderful and encouraging. You rock, Elizabeth!

What a great post! Debbie Downers love to rain on parades. Ignore. Enjoy Cloud Nine! Thanks for co-hosting IWSG this month.

Happy new year! What a wonderful encouraging post to start it off. :)

Hi Elizabeth, Happy New Year! I love your cloud 9 post, lets all keep our glasses half full this year (or even brimming over!)

That is a great message, Elizabeth!
Thanks for co-hosting and for your kind words. I'm just doing the work, that's all.

Great post, Elizabeth! And you're right about seeing all the work that goes into success. As one of Alex's Ninja Minions for the last A-Z Challenge, I was blown away but how much work was involved in that whole enterprise - those guys are awesome!

Have fun co-hosting IWSG this month!

Without the clouds the sky would never change, would never be perfect. Loved this post and thanks for co-hosting this month.

I don't pay attention to nasty members of Cloud Ten. I get my inspiration from the nice, hard working writers I meet.

Thanks for co-hosting the IWSG this month!

Great post, Elizabeth! I know I could use a reminder to ignore those on cloud ten.

I like the message of your post. Staying on cloud nine and loving it.

Thanks for co-hosting!

I'm all about sunshine and seeing the best in every situation this year. (You might also call that the cheese of life.) It's the only way to stay above the rainclouds, eh?

Happy 2015!

I have a funny story about that. I landed my first publishing contract and a family member told another family member, "Don't tell Stephanie because I don't want to get her feelings hurt, but my friend sold his manuscript the first time he tried. They contacted him." When my family member started asking questions, the name of the publisher came out. I looked it up and it's one of those VERY well-known publishers that charges authors to publish. Not just the "buy your own copies" type of charging, either...he paid just for the privilege of having them publish his book, then was asked to buy copies. Still today, that publisher is texting this author, asking him to send another manuscript that they can charge him to publish. My family member still doesn't realize this friend is published by a publisher that writers are warned about! We never spilled the secret.

That guy who sold his ms on the first try, bet his bubble was popped when he compared his success to any of the many authors on the best seller's list: Grisham, Cornwall, Rowling, etc. Thanks for hosting this month, Elizabeth. Best to you in this brand new exciting year!

haha never thought of cloud ten, but cloud ten can stick it haha

Comparisons are creativity blockers. Thanks for co-hosting IWSG this month.
Play off the Page

Love this post! I've met one or two of those cloud tenners . . . fie on them . . . ahem, I mean, um . . . best wishes on their growth as people . . . um, oh well, never mind. I think I would like to see that juggling act with the sauce. :)
Best wishes for 2015, Elizabeth! You are awesome!

I def needed this! I get a ton of this cloud ten crap from my grandparents and other extended fam lol...not fun!

Love the possibilities of a New Year too, but doubts can sneak in on many a wind! So true!
Great post Elizabeth, full of hope and positiveness! Can't go wrong with that! You made me smile and any blog that does that is tops!

Great post! I guess the Cloud Teners, have Cloud Eleveners raining on their parade, and they're just sharing the misery?

My 2015 notebook already has smudges :-)

Great post! Thanks for co-hosting, and happy new year!

I love your spirit Elizabeth! You are all kinds of AWESOME!
You always make me smile.
"...penned it on a napkin while juggling dinner plates as he/she also whipped up a masterful Hollandaise sauce..." Love, love, love this! (The visual played out in my hyperactive mind's eye... *giggles*)

Glad to be co-hosting the IWSG with you this month!
Writer In Transit

Great post!

Thanks for co-hosting! I helped Alex one month and his ninja-awesomeness is a lot of work! :) But worth it.

I haven't even cracked open my 2015 notebook yet, but I will today hopefully!

Comparisons are the first step on a nasty negative feedback cycle. You feel bad and don't work, which makes you feel worse when you get nothing done.

AH! I hate Cloud Ten!

Really good points. We can't live day to day on what others think of us. Only what we do.

Great post. Thanks for co-hosting!
Heather

YOU are awesome too! I was especially happy when you added that part about doing the work. I just saw a pin in a gift store that said "wish, dream, imagine." Not a word about to have your dreams come true, you gotta work toward that! (Wrote a whole book for girls interviewing successful women who DID achieve their dream careers through hard work...So I guess I am very sensitive to the idea you can wish your dreams into reality.) Hoo boy, your post got me goin'. Thanks so much for co hosting as well as this encouraging post. AWESOME!!

I love living with my head in the clouds. Anyone is free to join me, just be aware - does make for a bad hair day. Thanks for co-hosting.

Thanks for co-hosting and for the encouragement!
It's sometimes hard to stay motivated, but it helps to key our eyes on our target and not what everybody else is doing.

I love the way you put this. As much as I love having my head in the clouds, I make it a point that I'm not the only one in them. There's plenty of room. Wishing you a Happy New Year, Elizabeth! :)

Love the idea of this post, fine message :)

OMG. How do you do that? Hit the nail right on the head in such a fun-to-read way. I'm going to remember Cloud 10 every time I get worried or anxious. Thank you for giving me a great visual to get me back on target! Reminder: There is always someone out there who has it better or worse than I do.

And thanks for co-hosting!!!!

It's so important to remember we're the most important people in our own lives, no matter how many people might try to rain on our parades. Only our success should matter, not their taunts or stories of people who are more successful.

Funny post. Cracked me up. Thanks for the encouragement. I'll never think of Cloud 9 in quite the same way again. Thanks for co-hosting and Happy 2015!

Boo on the shadows of cloud tens! We should all chase them off for each other. We deserve our stars and moments in the sun.

Pleased to meet you, Elizabeth. Thank you for co-hosting this month's IWSG. I don't spend much time on Cloud Nine but I do make an effort to ignore Cloud Tens! Thanks for the great smile-inducing post today. Happy New Year.

A very uplifting post Elizabeth. Thanks for sharing about yourself, and your accomplishments. I like to see people ride cloud 9 for as long as possible :) I did not realize you write women's fiction; I'm trying to read more in this genre so I will read a couple of your books.

This so clever. Damn those Cloud Tens.
Happy New Year and have fun co-hosting!

I love this post! I just hate nasty people who want to put others down. What's the point, really? Thanks for co-hosting!

Is so sad when those Cloud Teners are supposed friends too. :( But your right, you have to not let them get you down.

Dear Elizabeth,
I think we must be long-lost best friends. I LOVED your post! It is so important to be mindful and aware when there's a Cloud Tenner at work. They are so good at making you doubt! And it's a terrible thing when you find one in your circle of friends. But, I count myself lucky to spot them and know, so I can protect myself! Happy January!

I believe creative minds—whether artists, singers, and yes writers—are simply brave. How they open their minds and reveal themselves to criticism is amazing.
But what do I know? I'm a doofus writer, *GRIN*

Those darned Cloud 10's. Why? I ask. Great co-hosting today!

Its' great to be co-hosting with you today, Elizabeth. I'm definitely going to do it again. :)

I don't understand why people have to put down others. Especially when we know them. I have a family member who does this to me.

Niner-niner, Elizabeth! No Cloud 10 is going to rain on our parade this year, right?. . . We're just awesome that way. :)

Thank you so very much for co-hosting this month. You rock! Don't forget to watch Saturday's game so we can squish Brady! Love you girl! Xoxoxo

I think many times the Cloud Ten crew might not even be trying to look down their noses. Some people are just so talented that their very awesomeness makes us more normal folk feel insecure. Then it's our problem coming to terms with our own feelings of inadequacy. I think age and surviving tumultuous life experiences so that you've already proven to yourself that you have grit and determination helps!

"...AND he/she penned it on a napkin while juggling dinner plates as he/she also whipped up a masterful Hollandaise sauce."

LOL This is why I love you.

Loved this, Elizabeth! Thanks for co-hosting this month! I feel exactly the same way you do about a new year! The nasties can be found lurking just about anywhere, but sometimes it's had to shut them out! Your encouraging post is s good set of muffling headphones!

Hi, Elizabeth!

Happy 2015! Love your Cloud 9 Cloud 10 description. It is sooo true. We have ALL been there. Some people are just blessed and things come very easy to them. They are not all bad either. They are just... blessed...

Now the one's who are NOT so nice need to GET A GRIP and need to be THROWN OFF THEIR CLOUD! A month or two in the mud and cold will definitely help their disposition... don't you think? And imagine what it will do for ours... hmmm... love that dripping mud thing. LOL.

Thanks for hosting this month and sharing you anecdotes ... such fun....

Love it! Cloud 10 definitely has a habit of getting in the way, but it only takes one small thing to lift us onto Cloud 9.

LOL, I love the idea of Cloud Tenners messing everything up! :) I also love this: "I love new years. They're like clean, blank notebooks. No smudges, no scribbled out sentences...just wonder and magical possibilities to mark up each new page."

Thank you for co-hosting, too!

Cloud Ten. I like that. I'm lucky that I don't generally see much of that directly. Unfortunately, what I do experience is self-induced.

Hi Elizabeth! Yes, we don't need any Cloud Ten around us. Thanks for your post. And thanks for co-hosting for Alex!

With that Cloud Nine pep talk, I'm feeling good about being a Niner and well, hells bells, those Cloud Tenners tend to be the ones who Won't buy my book so they can suck precipitation lol!

Thanks for co-hosting this month! I love your take on cloud 10. We'll keep each other on cloud 9 :)

Love the post and your take on cloud 9. Thanks for being an awesome co-host this month.
Juneta at Writer's Gambit

Hi Elizabeth, thanks for co-hosting IWSG this month. I loved your take on cloud 10. There are some people who love to burst someone else's happy bubble.

I don't deal with Cloud Tenners. Comparing oneself to others can be depressing, and those who are mean-spirited and critical have an agenda to tear others down.

Thank you so much for co-hosting. I'm with you - I have two boys (men) ages 23 and almost 22, but to me, they are still boys. Wonder if I'll ever call them men. :P

What a wonderful post. I once accused my hubby of being a balloon popper--sort of like your bubble popper. That was the first step in getting him to stop raining on my cloud. It's wonderful to have his support now and I feel like anything and everything is possible.

This made me happy. Thanks, Elizabeth. You are NOT one of those Cloud Ten people. You're amazing!

I don't think I've ever even thought about cloud 10! Thanks for this (and thanks for co-hosting this month).

I never thought about what is above Cloud 9, and I"m not liking those on Cloud 10 at all. Thanks for co-hosting. =)

This post made me feel very well and it also made me smile. Yes, Cloud Ten can be mean for Cloud Nine. Good you reminded me it doesn't matter what anybody says. And thanks for helping the man in black jammies!

You just have to keep going and not worry about who's doing better or worse than you. If you're doing what you love then Cloud 9 is a great place to be!

I love this piece. Cloud 9 sounds lovely. Who cares about Cloud 10. Thanks for co-hosting and cool intro.

Oh man, that's so true. We always have to watch out for Cloud Tenners. And carry a big umbrella!

Adore your banner! And love your mantra of ignoring others nastiness! Happy New Year!

I think Cloud 10 people maybe are unhappy, even though they have everything, and that's why they pick on Cloud 9 people. Great post. Thanks.

Cloud 9 is way more fun then 10 just enjoy it :)

Cloud nine is a wonderful place and how awesome is it that there are enough of them so that we can all grab one. The sooner those 10-ers realize that the happier they will be.
Happy New Year and thank you for co-hosting this month!

That's an awesome allegory. And extremely well timed for me. Thanks for the reminder. just because some of us have to dig everything out of the grit, it doesn't diminish it.

Also, Happy New Year!

So true. Those haters on cloud 10 gonna hate no matter what. I'd way rather cruise on cloud 9!

12th January 2015
Dear Elizabeth,
(My favourite name.)
Happy New Year and thank you for following my blog.
You write as if you were only a dreamer, but I suspect that you are an energetic doer!
Best wishes,
Anna

Anna's IWSG for January 2015

Thanks for visiting my IWSG-post for January!
Anna
ox