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Author Mindset: Choose Wonder Over Worry With Amber Rae

September 24, 2018 by Joanna Penn 3 Comments

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How do you deal with the roller-coaster of being a creative? In today's show, I talk to Amber Rae about self-doubt, worry, envy, ambition, comparisonitis and more.

WONDER OVER WORRY In the intro, I talk about Ready Player One (the movie), and the Exponential Wisdom podcast with Peter Diamandis about speaking in VR on High Fidelity, created by Philip Rosedale of Second Life. As I am off to Florida to speak at Novelists Inc, I am definitely a fan of the future of VR speaking!

I also talk about my personal writing update, working on final edits for Valley of Dry Bones, now available for pre-order.

editorsToday's episode is sponsored by my own list of recommended editors, ranging from story editors, content and structural editors, copy editors, line editors, proofreaders and more. I still work with editors after 28 books and I continue to learn how to improve my writing. If you need help improving your manuscript, then check out the list which also includes my tutorial on how to find and work with professional editors: www.TheCreativePenn.com/editors

Amber RaeAmber Rae is an author, artist and speaker. Her latest book is Choose Wonder Over Worry: Move Beyond Fear and Doubt to Unlock Your Full Potential.

You can listen above or on iTunes or Stitcher or watch the video here, read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and full transcript below.

Show Notes
Choose Wonder over Worry

  • On publicly exploring the big questions about life
  • Working with Seth Godin on the Domino Project
  • Mining journals for memoir material
  • Balancing ambition and creative dissatisfaction
  • Why envy is a powerful tool for creatives
  • Naming and having a conversation with our difficult emotions
  • On useful worry and toxic worry
  • Launching a book with 100 interviews and 30 events
  • The book launch marketing strategies that Amber found useful. And the ones she didn’t

You can find Amber at AmberRae.com and on Twitter @heyamberrae

[Header image: Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash]

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Creating An Author Persona For Interviews And Live Events

September 15, 2018 by Joanna Penn 8 Comments

Writers are chameleon creatures – we inhabit different skins when we write, and we play different characters in the world. 

creating an author persona

It's natural to behave differently when you're with a loved one, or with a new acquaintance, or your Dad or your best friend. And it's just as natural to create a persona to help you with the interactions necessary in the writer's life.

In today's article, Jess Lourey and Shannon Baker, two writers with 23 books between them, share their tips for coping with the amount of public interaction a published writer must do.

Pull up a chair, help yourself to the red wine and dark chocolate we set over on the table, and let’s get real. Most authors are more comfortable staring at a computer screen then at a talking, judging human being. That’s why we’re writers, for the love of Betsy.

The Problem

First, let go of your belief that writers get to simply clack away at the keyboard, spinning tales and immersing themselves in story. Most successful authors have active social media accounts and go on blog tours, but they also complete interviews, participate in panels, set up book signings, and maybe even deliver keynote speeches.

These are great ways to build an audience, but a far cry from the reality most of us imagined when we dreamed of becoming authors.

Shannon Baker has published seven books and says she still finds it difficult to network at conferences and meetings. “Often, I’m hovering around the outskirts of conversation groups feeling awkward and dull-witted. Then I get tongue-tied or flat-out say the wrong thing,” Shannon says.

The Solution

Fortunately, there is a way for an introvert to navigate this situation and maintain her sanity: create an author persona.

Rewrite Your lifeJess Lourey, author of sixteen books, including Rewrite Your Life: Discover Your Truth Through the Healing Power of Fiction, recommends creating an author persona.

“I received some of the best writing advice early in my career,” Jess says. “It came from Carl Brookins, a gruff Minnesota mystery author with a background in television. He said that to survive, I should create an author persona. I told him I was no actor. He said it’s not acting; it’s taking that gregarious, unique person we all have somewhere in us, and shoving her on stage. The actor Ryan Reynolds recently spoke about how he’s adopted a persona to deal with his anxiety. It works the same for writers.”

The Details

1. When creating your author persona, try to keep your mask as close to your real face as possible, but make the public one cheerier and more upbeat.

2. Also, make a conscious decision about whether your public persona will discuss (online and in person) politics, religion, civil rights, i.e. important and potentially polarizing issues.

Shannon avoids these areas, Jess does not. You have to decide where your comfort level is, but make the decision consciously and early so your audience knows what to expect.

3. Choose one quality that you like about real you, and amp that up in your author persona. For Jess, it’s humor. For Shannon, it’s being an excellent listener.

Deciding what organic quality of yours you’ll rely on in public situations keeps it authentic while also giving you comfort.

4. Finally, have a special wardrobe that you save for author events. Don’t go out and buy something all new and expensive. Rather, use your regular wardrobe but make it a little bit more fun.

Some authors are known for wearing hats, or a scarf, or blue shoes. The item/wardrobe signals to you that you’re about to perform.

The Aftermath

Most of us introverts need to recharge after being “on.” Make sure to schedule quiet time after you’ve trotted out your author persona. This is especially important at conferences and signings, where the amount of interaction can feel overwhelming.

Your fellow authors will understand.

airport loungeAccording to Shannon, “The first time I met Jess was at Left Coast Crime in Sacramento. After a full weekend of peopling, I headed to the airport early to be alone while I waited for my plane. It’s not a big airport and when I sat in the open hub area where the gates spoked, I spotted Jess, also sitting alone. I didn’t approach her, sat with my back to her and we didn’t speak. I emailed her later and told her I’d seen her but I was full-up of being ‘on.’ She thanked me for leaving her alone since she was in the same state.”

The biggest benefit for having a public persona is that it’s a bit of armor. You may find that you rely on your persona a lot at first but then you become more comfortable in the spotlight.

Find what works for you, stay dynamic, and never lose sight of the real reason you’re doing this: to find the audience for your writing.

How do you cope with in-person events and lots of human interaction as an author? Please leave your thoughts in the comments and join the conversation.

Shannon BakerShannon Baker is author of the Kate Fox mystery series set in rural Nebraska cattle country, and the Nora Abbott mystery series, fast-paced mix of Hopi Indian mysticism, environmental issues, and murder. Now a resident of Tucson, Baker spent 20 years in the Nebraska Sandhills, where cattle outnumber people by more than 50:1. She is proud to have been chosen Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ 2014 and 2017 Writer of the Year.

A lover of the outdoors, she can be found backpacking in the Rockies, traipsing to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, skiing mountains and plains, kayaking lakes, hiking, cycling, and scuba diving whenever she gets the chance. Arizona sunsets notwithstanding, Baker is, and always will be, a Nebraska Husker. Go Big Red. Visit Shannon at Shannon-Baker.com.

Jess LoureyJess Lourey (rhymes with “dowry”) is a bestselling Anthony, Lefty, and Agatha-nominated author known for her critically-acclaimed Mira James Mysteries, which have earned multiple starred reviews from Library Journal and Booklist, the latter calling her writing “a splendid mix of humor and suspense.” She is a tenured professor of creative writing and sociology, a recipient of The Loft’s Excellence in Teaching fellowship, a regular Psychology Today blogger, and a sought-after workshop leader and keynote speaker who delivered the 2016 “Rewrite Your Life” TEDx Talk. Mercy’s Chase, the second in the feminist thriller series Lee Child calls “highly recommended,” releases September 8. You can find out more at JessicaLourey.com.

[Airport photo courtesy Suganth and Unsplash.]

Why Writing For Therapy Can Change Your Life

December 7, 2017 by Joanna Penn 7 Comments

I wrote my first book, Career Change, because I was so miserable in my day job that I would weep in the toilets at lunch-time, wondering what the hell I was doing with my life. 

Writing for therapyExcerpts from my journals appear in most of my non-fiction books, and I still write for therapy when I am going through tough times. Because writing can heal you, and it can help others. 

In today's article, A.L.Michael shares how writing for therapy can change your life. 

When people ask you why you write, you can probably answer immediately, can’t you? Because you love it, because it’s fun, because it’s your business, because it’s your escape.

I’ve known more than a few authors who have answered ‘because it’s my therapy.’

There are always two responses to this reason. There are the authors who treat their writing very seriously. Writing is their business, their job and it’s something to be respected. Not just anyone can do it.

The other response is a sigh and a smile: me too!

I will tell you this – I used to be in the first camp. I trained in writing, I spent hours writing and editing and adapting, struggling to weave something out of an unholy mess of ideas and words.

Writing may be fun, sometimes, but I had no desire to write my feelings out on the page. I didn’t do therapy. I wrote fiction. Fiction was not for expressing your feelings, it was for bringing them out in your readers.

I was doing perfectly fine thank you very much.

And then I discovered CWTP – creative writing for therapeutic purposes. Which destroyed my whole concept of what writing was.

Because

  • Writing has been proven to have a positive effect on your mental health; and,
  • Anyone can do it.

How is writing good for you?

writing-emotionsThere have been studies in how writing affects the mind and mood for years – in all sorts of settings and forms. Poetry classes, writing in prisons, in hospitals and hospices, writing in addiction centres, bibliotherapy sessions – writing is finally being recognised as a creative therapy, alongside dance, drama, crafts and music.

One of the most powerful pieces of research in this field was undertaken by researcher James Pennebaker – he got a group of people to spend 20 minutes a day writing expressively.

By expressive, he meant they had to write about something that evoked an emotional response, usually something traumatic or upsetting. He then had a control group who wrote about things they had no connection to.

The result? Those writing about non-emotional subjects experienced no difference, but those who wrote expressively visited the doctors less – they literally felt better.

I’m not a trauma therapist, but I’m pretty sure most of us have had the experience of release when you finally express something you’ve been holding on to? Whether that’s in a screaming match or a therapy session, or on a page.

When you let go of the things that are holding you down, when you are free to express how you feel, you feel better.

So how does writing do this?

Well, obviously, you can write expressively and therapeutically alone, as people have done for centuries, keeping diaries and journals. Think about the range of writing you do, and how it affects your feelings. Even writing a humble shopping list or to do list has an effect on your mood. It makes you feel in control.

Writing for yourself and reading it back can put an experience in perspective – it can distance the pain, can draw a line under it, or can help you explore how others in the situation perceived it.

I would argue that therapeutic writing is more powerful in a group. Firstly, you’ll have a workshop leader (therapeutic facilitator) to hold the group, make you feel safe, take care of the timings and set the activities.

bigstock-reading-outloudFor those of you who have been to creative writing groups only to tremble through reading your work aloud, and then have it savaged under a guise of ‘constructive criticism’, these writing groups are different. Because it’s not about the piece.

I’m going to say that again:

It’s not about the piece of writing.

Whatever you have written, whether it’s a memory that makes you smile, or a jagged little poem that shares your brokenness with the world, the point is not the form or the punctuation or anything else. The point is that you wrote it. The point is how you felt when you wrote it, and when you read it out loud. The process is more important than the outcome.

Sharing something that feels authentic can make you feel powerful or vulnerable, but the point of the group is to be your audience and support you in your writing journey. Not to suggest that you use a different similie.

Writing for wellbeing is about connection and exploration. You will still use the craft of writing, metaphors and colour and structure, but it is not in the way we usually use them as writers – to delight or shock or create something pretty. You use your craft to express the truest version of yourself.

bigstock-sharing-writingThe power of writing for wellbeing is half in the writing, and half in the sharing. Reading something out that tells a group of near strangers about your hardest time, or your deepest desires can be terrifying.

But to be thanked for sharing, to have someone acknowledge your pain, or relate to your dreams? It is immensely powerful. Empathy has a large part to play in writing, and in wellbeing.

The benefits of writing for wellbeing have been acknowledged as feeling more confident, feeling ‘heard’, leaving behind negative memories and associations, finding joy, feeling comfortable with vulnerability, managing stress and having fun.

Pennebaker’s research could suggest there were physical elements that changed in response to writing, but I think it says more about how the writers felt – they didn’t feel like there was something wrong with them, or that they needed to go to the doctor.

My own research in this field was with women who were recovering from eating disorders, and which specific writing activities were useful to them in recovery.

The elements of writing that we don’t even question as authors – finding the perfect word, creating powerful images, using archetypes, viewing a situation from a different perspective – all of these things were used in workshops, and can be harnessed in recovery.

Writing about Recovery as a powerful woman, creating an image of the writer as a boxer, fighting against her illness. All of these things we would not even question in a book, as a creative device. But the devices are not just for the end result – they have value in and of themselves.

How can therapeutic writing benefit authors?

Authors are a group who can benefit from therapeutic writing massively – and not necessarily because they have writing skills (I have run writing for wellbeing sessions with people with low literacy levels, like I said, the quality of the writing in and of itself doesn’t matter.)

One half of being able to benefit from a writing for wellbeing workshop is enjoying writing.

The other half is being open to the process, and being happy to try writing in a different way.

Imposter syndromeAuthors can benefit from this because their jobs are filled with doubt and fear and imposter syndrome and all sorts of feelings that often can’t be expressed, for fear of damaging their brand, or their work or their income.

Having a space to explore those feelings, to own them and play with them creatively is important, and I would argue, necessary for any professional creative.

The other reason might shock you – it causes you to get the hell over yourself.

You’re a professional writer, yes, you know about tone and form and language, you can carve worlds out of words. But when was the last time you wrote a silly limerick, or made up an acrostic? School, probably.

When we become authors, a title many of us have worked hard to earn, we don’t want to lower ourselves to something as silly as play. I’m here to tell you that play has a lot to offer in the therapeutic writing sphere.

I’ve worked with people who have written books for years, but were moved to tears by the words they put in an acrostic about how they were feeling. I knew a bestseller with a huge publishing deal who wrote a poem about her feelings about nature and stability, and the images used in that poem have stayed with me for years. I can’t remember the discussion, but I remember that image of a young girl sitting in the embrace of a tree, feeling alone.

Writing fiction therapeutically gives us the safety to explore themes we didn’t want to touch on, and definitely couldn’t talk about directly. Writing about a failed relationship as a fairytale, a moment of shame from the perspective of an object in the room, even just freewriting how you’re feeling without stopping for three minutes, these are all things we can do as writers.

We have the tools. What we need is the desire to use them to heal ourselves. We need to be brave enough to write something awful, something unimpressive, unpublishable and frankly, sometimes, embarrassing. Because when we shift from the product of the writing, to the act of writing – that is where the therapeutic magic happens.

Writing has probably changed your life in one way or another, so why not let it do it again?

Do you use writing as a therapeutic tool? Please leave your thoughts below and join the conversation.

Andi MichaelcocktailsanddreamsA.L. Michael is the author of 9 novels. Her latest book, Cocktails and Dreams, is book one in the Martini Club Series, and like most of her novels, is a love letter to London.

Andi has a BA in English Literature with Creative Writing, an MA in Creative Entrepreneurship and an MSc in Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes. She works as a creative therapeutic workshop facilitator, and just finished her research on how creative writing can be useful to those in recovery from eating disorders. When she's not writing novels or helping others to write, she works as a digital content writer. You can find out more about Andi's books or about therapeutic writing at www.almichael.com or on Twitter @almichael_

Writing While Under The Influence Of Depression

October 26, 2017 by Joanna Penn 17 Comments

As writers, we use our minds to create something new in the world. We turn ideas into books. We are awesome! 

writing depressionBut sometimes, our own minds can hinder us as well as help our creative journey, and writers with depression find that they need to work with the swings, rather than against them. 

I don't personally suffer from depression, but in today's article, Mark O'Neill shares how he writes under the influence. 

JK Rowling. Carrie Fisher, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sylvia Plath. Winston Churchill. Apart from being successful authors, what is the one trait they all shared?

Apart from being successful authors, what is the one trait they all shared?

They all have (or have had) severe mental issues. Clinical or bipolar depression to be precise.

  • Plath eventually gave way to her demons and committed suicide at the age of 30 because of it.
  • Carrie Fisher buckled under the strain of celebrity from Star Wars and famous parents, and became an alcoholic and drug addict, leading to severe bipolar depression.
  • JK Rowling was a single mother struggling on benefits until she invented a schoolboy called Harry Potter.

As for Churchill, well he was only the British Prime Minister during what was to prove the most brutal war in history, and he fought to stop the Nazis from invading Great Britain. You know, nothing special.

BulldogBut despite their demons and black clouds, all were highly successful authors. Not too many people know that during his lifetime, as well as his political career, Churchill wrote 43 books. That doesn’t include his speeches as a politician, some of which have gone down in history, and countless newspaper articles. Despite his prolific output though, he frequently suffered from what he called his “black dog”.

It’s not really known definitively why writers tend to struggle with depression so much. But we can make a few speculative guesses.

For a start, writing is quite often a solitary life. We sit in our office or bedroom with the laptop, and we peck away at the keyboard. We invent worlds and characters, while the real world with its real characters continues on outside. But we are probably so wrapped up in those fictional worlds and characters that we don’t make the time to meet real people.

Isolation like that can have a crushing effect on a lot of people. Some people thrive on it, but humans on the whole are a social bunch and need to interact with others. When that isn’t possible, it’s easy to feel that the walls are closing in.

Lack of sleep, lack of exercise, lack of human contact, and lack of natural light are all factors that can develop into something much more serious.

Let’s not forget, writing is hard. I have just finished writing my second book and it was quite literally the hardest thing I have ever experienced in my life. This is coming from a 42-year-old guy who has already experienced quite a lot in life.

Since writing is so hard, it is very easy to get dispirited and to tell yourself that the whole project is hopeless. Especially when you get rejection slips from editors and harsh criticism from reviewers, and dare I say it, your family and friends.

sad faceThis can lead to what is known as the ‘Imposter Syndrome'. When people, such as an editor, your mother, your spouse, your best friend, tell you that your work is not good, then naturally it is a crushing feeling. These are the people you are looking to for validation that it has all been worth it. Those late nights, neglecting your family, neglecting your sleep.

So you begin to tell yourself you are not talented. That you were not cut out for this kind of life. Your hopes and dreams begin to fade, then…yep, along comes the big D. And when it arrives, good luck getting rid of it.

When I typed THE END on my manuscript, what was the first thing I felt? Was it elation? Well, yes partly.

But mostly, it was utter exhaustion. I just wanted to lie down and sleep for a week. You can see how, in those circumstances, a situation like that is an ideal breeding ground for depression to develop.

If you have managed to read this far, you’re probably thinking “Geez, this Mark guy is such a downer! I think I am ready to hang myself now after reading this!”. But there are many ways you can fight against the depression if you are a writer.

Look at me. Finally, at the age of 42, and after 15 years of extremely serious depression, I have two manuscripts done.

How did I overcome the depression?

Radically Rethink Your Daily Routine

alarm clockIt’s easy for someone who doesn’t have depression to derisively say to you “get a grip” (and I get furious when people say that to me). But as a depressed person myself who knows how much of a nightmare depression is, my first piece of advice is, ironically, “get a grip”.

I know how psychologically crippling depression is. But you have to find a way to fight it. You can start by structuring your day. Get up at the same time every morning and go to bed at the same time every night. When you get up, have a shower, have a proper breakfast, then go out for a walk (no matter what the weather is).

Do you know the best way to motivate yourself to exercise? Get a dog. I did and my dog is my lifesaver, my book agent, my movie agent, and my muse. He lobbied heavily for the main character in my book to be a dog and was pretty hacked off when I didn’t take his professional advice.

Develop Your Humour

See what I did there? That was humour. That is the next thing you need to work on. Develop your sense of humour.

Read funny books, watch funny movies and TV shows (I highly recommend “The Life Of Brian” and “Fawlty Towers”). Don’t look at it as wasting time. Look upon it as researching the human condition for your next book.

Don’t Beat Yourself Up If You Don’t Make Your Daily Word Count

target goal settingA lot of authors say you need to maintain a daily word count. This is true – to a point. But if you hold yourself to a specific number, there will be days when you simply can’t do it. That’s just human nature.

So look upon the word count as a highly flexible desired target. But if you don’t get there for whatever reason, don’t get worked up about it. Shrug your shoulders, and tell yourself you’ll do better tomorrow.

Don’t Show Your Work To Your Family

Obviously, this won’t apply to everyone, but if you know you have the kind of family who will instantly criticise you, then don’t show them your work. You’re just setting yourself up for heartbreak and conflict.

Obviously, criticism is necessary. Without criticism, how would we know what we did right and wrong in our last book?

But there is a huge difference between constructive criticism and outright cruelty – and not many people know the difference. They say “you have to be cruel to be kind”. Well….no you don’t. If you have nothing useful to say, then say nothing at all.

To avoid that potential source of pain, perhaps write under an alias. Hey, money is still money whether you write under your own name or someone else’s.

Join Writers Groups – Online Or Offline

The best way to find acceptance for what you do is to find like-minded people. For a writer, this would obviously be a writer’s group.

This is where the Internet shines because there are so many support groups of many different stripes.

Whether it’s Facebook groups or Twitter, there’s always somebody there to give you support, guidance, and advice.

The chances are whatever problems you may be experiencing right now, there are people in these groups also experiencing them (or have done in the past).

Conclusion

If you have identified with this article and you know you are suffering, then don’t accept it as a part of life and a part of being a creative. At the very least, see a doctor and get treatment. Then get started on that next big novel that will make you millions and get you a movie deal.

I’ll see you on the evening talk show circuit!

Has depression ever affected your creative and writing life? Please leave your thoughts below and join the conversation.

Mark O'NeillMark O'Neill is a Scotsrenegade spyman now living in Würzburg, Germany, with his wife and dog. In the past, he has worked for the Scottish Government, taught English to foreign students, and has been a technology journalist since 2004.

An incurable bibliophile with over 1,000 books, Mark is now rebranding himself as an independently-published author.

His first book, The Renegade Spy, is now out, with two more books due out before the end of 2017. You can follow him on Twitter @markoneill.

My 2017 Goals. Plus Visualization and Positive Thinking For Authors with Nina Amir

January 2, 2017 by Joanna Penn 18 Comments

https://media.blubrry.com/thecreativepenn/p/s3.amazonaws.com/tcppodcast/Podcast_NinaAmir1216.mp3

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:27:40 — 70.2MB)

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I love the New Year! It's full of promise for the year ahead and in today's show, I talk to Nina Amir about positive thinking and creative visualization to help you set your goals for 2017.

visualizationIn the (mega-45 mins) introduction, I go through a couple of the trends I see for 2017. The Amazon Echo was the biggest seller for Christmas which (I think) means a rise in audiobook listening through the devices. But stay non-exclusive with your audiobook deals if possible because there will be more options than ACX coming in 2017.

The rise of beautiful print products will continue in 2017. Indies will continue to make the biggest chunk of income with digital but gorgeous hardbacks and limited edition print products will become collector's items – mirroring vinyl in the music industry. This was also emphasized in Rohit Bhargava's Non-Obvious Trends 2017 under Precious Print.

I recap my 2016 creative year including the surprises I hadn't planned for, and talk about how I hit my income goals. I also share my 2017 goals for The Creative Penn & non-fiction as Joanna Penn, our new small press, and J.F.Penn.

New Headshot Nina Amir tight tiltedNina Amir is the bestselling author of How to Blog a Book, The Author Training Manual and other nonfiction as well as an author, coach and trainer, award-winning blogger and professional speaker.

She founded National Nonfiction Writing Month and the Nonfiction Writers' University. And her latest book is Creative Visualization for Writers: An Interactive Guide for Bringing your Book Ideas and your Writing Career to Life.

You can listen above or on iTunes or Stitcher or watch the video here, read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and full transcript below.

  • How Nina got started with journalism, then editing non-fiction and finally into writing her own books
  • creative visualizationWhy non-fiction can be creative and can change lives
  • What visualization is and how you can use it as an author
  • My own story: Back in 2006, I wrote the affirmation “I am creative, I am an author.” In 2011, that affirmation became a reality.
  • How to identify your own visualizations
  • How to take ACTION in order to set your visualizations into motion. (This is sometimes the missing aspect that people forget!)
  • Why successful authors work on their mindset as well as the practical aspect of writing
  • What will you give up in order to achieve your creative dream? Because there is always a trade-off. How much do you really want this, and what are the excuses you're telling yourself that are preventing you getting there?
  • Why deciding on your values is so important in shaping the life you want
  • How to stay focused and positive in troubled times
  • Why content marketing will not go away, and why you should (maybe) start a blog

You can find Nina at www.NinaAmir.com and on twitter @NinaAmir. You can find her books here on Amazon.

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