I’m reading this book as part of my “preparation” for the 2007 NaNoWriMo. In 2004 and 2005 when November 1st came around my mind went totally blank and I couldn’t type a thing. In 2006 I didn’t even try. So this year I’m determined to at least try to finish the 50,000 words even if I never go on to edit the book (that can be a future goal!). Along with this book I registered on storyright.com (this was recommended by a fellow 43thing’er). The two go surprisingly well together. The storyright.com format is not exactly like the forms that come with the book but they are very close.

I’m about half way through the book and it’s excellent so far. My plan is to go back after I’m done reading it and actually follow the process to create an outline. I’m considering using a book that I have read enough times to have it almost memorized just to see the process of creating the outline.

This book recommends leaving the outline “on the shelf” for two months before starting to write. So that means that I would have to finish the “real” outline by the end of August to be ready to start writing on November 1st. So I figure I can play around with outlining until the beginning of July and then start outlining the story that I want to write for NaNoWriMo.

Anyway, excellent resource for left brain writers!

I’m reading this book for my Metaphysical Discussion Group. I’ve owned the book for a few years. I bought it originally to learn how to block people that try to access my energy without my permission.

We all know these people. The guy at work that gets in your face and talks really loud and fast so you can’t hold your own in the conversation. The woman that stops you in the hall to gossip about your co-workers and cause dissent. The family member that calls to complain about the fact that you don’t call them. These are all techniques that psychic vampires or in some cases psychic parasites, if they are unaware of what they are doing, learn use.

We’ve all walked into a room and noticed the mood of the group. Sometimes, although not a word is said, it’s obvious that everyone is stressed, or sad, or expectant. Mob behavior is another manifestation of sharing energy. People that would never riot or attack another person, do so because they are overwhelmed by the emotions that those around them are giving off.

Many abusive relationships are a result of psychic vampirism. The dominant person controls the other by withholding positive energy except for short periods of time to keep the person “hooked’.

There are positive examples of sharing energies also. For example, a mother and her infant are sometimes so closely linked that she knows when the baby needs her. I know personally one mother that woke in the night in a panic, ran to the babies crib, and found him totally blue. She screamed and he woke up, probably just in time. The next day they found out he had SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome), and he had to wear a monitor for over a year to keep from slipping away in his sleep. Negative experiences have been known to dry up a mother’s milk.

We all live each day with our own emotions, but we also live with the emotions of others.

This book explains what psychic vampirism is, teaches how to spot the energy vampires in our lives, how to block them from both taking energy without our permission and feeding us negative energy, and to make sure we aren’t violating anyone else’s energy!