books

Character Development, Blog Block and Learning New Stuff

/ ccsocialcreative
Photo Credit: MsErinEast on Pixabay.

Welcome back and Happy Spring folks! If I haven’t said this before, I really am so thankful to those of you who bear with my inane ramblings every week. Especially when I’m on a ‘ramble roll!” Every week I swear to myself I’m not just going to keep typing, but then, I just keep going. So to all of you who stick it out with me…THANK YOU!

It’s pretty much been the same old stuff this week. I’ve been enjoying a new book that I got at our library’s bookstore, I binged a few shows, (all ones I’ve watched before) and have made progress on my writing. It is seriously crazy how much more I’m writing now that I have the new keyboard! I just like it so much and it is very easy on my hands which get worse with each passing month. And frankly, I love the sound of it as well. Even when I’m not using it, I still find myself pressing the keys just to hear it. My own personal ASMR as it were. Speaking of, there are a few ASMR YouTube channels I love to watch where all they do is type. Crazy? Maybe, but I find that not only is it awesome background noise and not only does it jumpstart something in my brain for my next chapter to write, but it also helped me decide how I wanted my own keyboard to sound. So I looked up a few things and got one and now I’m writing a lot more than I have in some time. I call that a win-win-win! (Plus ASMR rocks and tapping stuff puts me to sleep.)

The funny thing is, even though I have been getting more motivation for writing the sequel to my first novel, when it comes to this blog, sometimes I just have no clue what to write about. The last couple of weeks, I have been trying hard to post more regularly (that is how you build a following right?) and I do enjoy it once I get started, but that is the issue isn’t it? Just getting started.

That of course is the biggest issue with anything in life. I had always wanted to write a book but it took me until I was almost 50 years old to buckle down and get it going. Sure I have a ton of ‘started’ books, but none more than a few chapters and they could easily morph into short stories. But to actually finish something that was hundreds of pages long? Well, that took a lot longer and what a sense of accomplishment it was when it was done!

A blog, well, that’s different. First off, no characters have to be created. A lot of people over the years have said that I am quite a character myself, but in most cases, I’d rather they talk about me than me talk about myself. Besides, this time of my life has been rather uninteresting, except for all the medical crap and frankly, sooo done with talking about all that with anyone who isn’t part of my 10 doc team. So that leaves just me.

A few years back, I had a life, I had fun, I had great stories of times with friends and past jobs. But at this point of my journey…eh, I’m just here. I spend all of my time in bed, literally. I can’t work for anyone else because day to day my situation changes so I can’t meet deadlines. So I pour myself into books, both writing and reading. They are my escape and one I’m happy to have. (Ok, so I also watch tons of documentaries on Cults but that’s for another post. lol) 

“Blog block” is a term I have been using lately to describe how hard it can be sometimes to come up with a topic for this site. I know others have the same issue and all we hear about is, ‘putting out consistent content is what helps you grow as a creator’. Am I trying to be the next big influencer though? Why no, no I am not. I’d like a following of course and maybe make something from my posts to help with bills, but do I want to be someone who documents every facet of their everyday life for all to see? Hell no! I worked in social media and at one time, that was a goal. I wanted to be an influencer for content creators. I was building up a great network of similar folks out there and had a lot of freedom in doing so in my last job. It looked like it was going to be fun and this was pre-TikTok era (and pre illness as well). When I got sick and everything came to a halt, I watched as those I had been online friends take off with their brands. While a part of me was jealous as hell, I also saw the work they put into everything plus sharing maybe too much of their daily lives and there was no way I would’ve been able to keep up with that. Maybe the old me would have, but this post 2016 me? It makes me tired just thinking about it.

Not that I’m not ambitious. I have dreams. I have things I want to do. I’ve said in a previous post how I sell vintage and estate jewelry and have for 26 years. I’ve enjoyed it and have collected some wonderful stories from my buyers over the years…widows who found I had something similar to a piece their late husband had given them but they’d lost…a cancer patient who came out the other side of years of treatment and wanted to treat herself to something nice…a Hollywood costumer who needed a pair of 1920’s earrings for a period show she was working on…a comedian who was going on tour and needed some more sparkle for his wardrobe…seriously amazing people have crossed my path doing this eBay thing and I will be forever grateful for that. It’s all been nice and fun but I have months where nothing sells and I’m stuck having to borrow money and that feels horrible. I work very hard at what I do but this is a tough time for many and jewelry over eggs really isn’t a priority for most. (Although these days, jewelry may actually be cheaper!)

I also like to work on designs for my second business of stickers, bookmarks and stationery. I really want that biz to take off. I watch countless videos from others in similar businesses and have been learning so much from all of them. Most are by women half my age who are just killing it and all self taught! These are true workhorse hustlers who know how to get it done and I mean that in the best possible way. I make a point to watch several of these videos daily and take notes like I’m taking a master class in keychain and Cricut makers. I pay attention to what equipment they have, how they inventory their supplies, what they use for storage, any little thing that I think could help me down the line. Of course the main issue is having the money to invest in much of what I want to do, but that’s ok. I have been allowing myself the time to grow slowly so I don’t get overwhelmed. As much as I’d like to be successful at this particular type of creative business, I couldn’t handle some of the sales these other folks are doing. When I see videos of hundreds of shipping labels being printed out at once because a sale they were having on their site went better than planned, my first thought is always, “how the hell can one person handle shipping all of that out themselves?” I’m not afraid of success, I’m afraid of being able to keep up. So in the meantime, I learn new art techniques, I create new designs and I play with printer settings to get my stuff to look as good as it does on screen. It’s what I can handle right now and I tell myself, that’s ok. Because it is.

I also find that while I’m creating, say, a bookmark design or taking pics of a vintage brooch and trying to get the lighting just right, my mind frees up for my writing. I used to go for walks for that, but since walking and I are not on the best of terms right now, I need busy work to do the same thing. Writing a sequel/series is not something I ever thought I’d do but I am thoroughly enjoying it. It’s giving me some freedom to develop the characters a bit more and I find I really like the people I write about. When I have a little block though, I put it away for a little bit. Not too long or I lose momentum, but as an example: I recently got in some new vintage pieces. I am vigilant about learning all I can about something before I post them for sale. While doing the research, cleaning a piece, doing the pics for the listing, it keeps my mind occupied. Strangely, it is mostly when I’m cleaning them that I start to get some ideas going. Maybe it’s the water or the polishing, who knows. But I could be doing something as simple as that and suddenly my book pops into my head and it’s “omg she needs to be doing that next!” And then I have to write it down so I don’t forget it. However, even just that one thought can bring about the next chapter or two and many times the ideas flow so fast now that the block is gone that my fingers can’t keep up with my thoughts! I really wish I was one of those people whose mind gets freed up while cleaning. My house would shine from top to bottom! 

Characters whether in a book or in real life all have a backstory that makes them who they are. I know for myself, as strange as my life has been, it is the culmination of what I’ve gone through that has made me, me. In a story however, we have to create the backstories and that can be tough. In my own writing, I can picture the backstory of a character in my head and know how they got to where they are at this point of their lives. It’s getting it across to the reader that is the challenge. Now, I love a good challenge. I just wish sometimes that I could record my thoughts as they are happening so I can just say to a future reader, ‘here, this is where I was headed with that because this happened to them a long time ago.’ Alas, that technology hasn’t happened yet. 🙂

So I write what I can. I ramble when I do. I learn something everyday to keep on top of things and hopefully use what I learn in the future. By the way, that goes for my writing as well. I am constantly reading about publishers, self publishing, agents, query letters, submission sites for short stories, hours every day trying to learn more and more about this writing thing so I can be, well, not an influencer, but rather a writer worth reading and reading about. Would I like to be part of the #booktok world down the line? It would be nice. In the meantime, I will keep developing my characters and living in my fictional worlds while selling my jewelry and bookmarks. Why? #becauselife

One more quick note…as you may have noticed, I try to never inundate you with affiliate links and the like in my posts themselves. If I do talk about an item, or something I’d like to suggest to you like a current read, etc, I will add the links to the end of my posts. I do keep some links permanently on the sidebar of the blog as well, the are to my own shops and things I’ve designed. Also this past week, I’ve added a mini-shop to my linktree and you can, if you want to, purchase things directly through them. I will also add that link to the bottom of my posts as well, but I will never overwhelm you with linked products in my posts like many others do. That’s just how I roll.

Thank you again for hanging with me for a bit this week and hope you have a fabulous weekend! Until next time…

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Current read: California Girls by Susan Mallery

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Linktree for this site: Linktr.ee/Promosocially

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My StuffWeFind for VIntage and Estate Jewerly: Linktr.ee/StuffWeFind

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My links for StuffWeMade stickers, bookmarks and fun stuff: Linktr.ee/StuffWeMade 

Irish Fun, Plot Twist and Sipowicz

/ ccsocialcreative
Photo credit: soramang on pixabay. As usual, all other relevant links will be under article.

It’s just days before St. Patrick’s Day and everything is just a bit too quiet around these parts. I am a huge Paddy’s day person, I always considered it my second Christmas. The parade days around here have been legendary. The parade usually  taking place on a Saturday, early afternoon, usually a week or two before the big day and lasting well past closing time. The day was always a marathon, not a sprint and it was always good times with good friends. Plus, it would usher in the busy seasons for our downtown area. If you’ve ever worked in a bar or restaurant, you know that the slow to a crawl time is from New Year’s Day thru St. Patrick’s. 

Our town, like many, would have two celebration days, parade day and the day itself. Being part Irish, I always embraced the days and those leading up to them as well. I have been benched for a few years, with finally making my return back to the fray last year. This year, our parade was held the first day of the month and while I was only able to stay for a little bit, I still loved every second I was amongst those dressed in green from head to toe. Got to hear the music, see the pipers and of course, being it’s like a homecoming day, got to see friends I hadn’t seen since last year. Always a good time and since I won’t be able to go out this Monday for the actual holiday, getting to celebrate even a little bit on the ‘outside’ meant a whole lot.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that I won’t do anything at home! I’ve been listening to a lot of Irish music which I love and will of course be watching Father Ted for my annual marathon. (If you have never seen this hilarious show, it is so worth the watch.) On my FB page for this site, I designed some celebratory phone wallpaper freebies for my followers (I post new ones every month/season/when I come up with a new design, so be sure to follow) with a Paddy’s day theme and what March wouldn’t be complete without a shamrock shake or two!

I grew up with my mom’s side honoring their Irish roots and loving the music and the movies, etc. As I got older, I ended up with a lot of my friends from over there and Irish pubs were my second home for a while. I got to work in one for a while and loved every second of my time there. I still remember being in a pub here in town and one of the guys who was just back from a business trip to Shannon brought in a video of a new dance troupe that was making a splash in the latest Eurovision competition. They asked the owners if they could play it on the projection screen for everyone and the owner cued it right up. That was when we here in the US were introduced to a little known group then called Riverdance! The place erupted with cheers and screams when their dance was over with and then just a few years later, I got to see them live in Radio City on one of their tours.

A few years before that, I was working backstage in a theater and on Monday nights we had special performances unrelated to whatever musical we were putting on at the time. For March, we would have Irish groups come in including the Wolfe Tones  and the Clancy Brothers. It was pretty cool to go out to the bar after the gig to shoot darts with the Wolfe Tones and having grown up with the Clancy’s music and it was an honor to work a few of those shows and party with them afterwards backstage as well. What was an even greater surprise, when I went back to the theater after I had left and had gone to a show to see the boys play, I sent a note backstage to see if they’d remember me. How shocked was I to get a note back inviting me to hang out with them after the show for hours of storytelling and belly laughs. That was over 30 years ago now and it still brings the best smiles to my face. They are all gone now and I miss every damned one of those guys. So grateful for the time I had with them and still listen to their music to bring it all back.

Having to stay in this year is once again going to be a bummer. Still battling Covid and it’s been a rough ride. I haven’t written a word since my post last week. It’s been tough to focus and just the idea of typing or editing hasn’t been something I could sit and just do while I’m on meds and all kind of dizzy and such from the illness. It even took me days to finish the last 50 pages of the book I had been reading when normally, I would have finished it several days prior. The words kept jumbling up on me and really not making sense. As for writing anything, it has been nearly impossible. So frustrating for a creative who just wants to sit and write the stories that are coming to her! Even writing this post has been a challenge with lots of stops, starts and edits while my focus has been all over the place.

While I’ve been in my daze this past week, I spent hours playing a game or two on my iPad while living inside of my head. Then somehow, somewhere, the plot twist that has been eluding me for weeks came to me suddenly and from out of nowhere. It was one of those bolts of lightning that happens every blue moon where you literally sit up and go ‘THAT’S IT!’ and have to jot it down quickly before you forget it. I was so worried that the fevers I’ve been having were going to finally pass and I’d forget about where my story was going. That I’d get through these couple of weeks of isolation and then have no clue where the new book was headed. Again, the biggest issue right now is sitting down to focus and get it written out but at least the main hurdle has been jumped and now the fun will be to see where the story leads me.

I’ve talked in the past about being inspired by other writers and during this ‘down time’ has been no exception. One of my favorite shows of all time is NYPD Blue. I found out this week that prime video has a live station dedicated to the show and I’ve been glued to it for the last few days. Now, I know I could stream it on a few other services, but there is something about seeing it live like it’s on regular tv again that brings it all back. It’s funny, the first time I got really sick, years ago, the show had just gone into syndication on TNT and I watched it for the first time and got hooked on it then. Well over a decade later, I had another bout of illness and the show was back on tv in reruns and now, covid time, here we are again. Basically, this show has gotten me through some bad moments in my life and this time around, I am really paying attention to the writing. This show was brilliant and the jargon, the language, the storytelling, it was all done by genius minds. I think NYPE Blue and West Wing are two shows that I could never get tired of just listening to the music that is the dialogue presented on screen. I find myself taking notes on phrasing, humor and of course, the one liners. If ever there was someone to help make me feel better it is the great Dennis Franz playing Andy Sipowicz and for that, I will be forever grateful to the man himself. The perfect marriage of man to character and watching how he evolved throughout the series makes this show must-see tv forever.

All in all it’s been a rough week but one that in some ways, has been a sort of mental vacation. All of the zoning out from covid has partially helped me to rest while also clearing my mind. Now I just hope that I will be able to get my fingers to cooperate with me when all is said and done to keep up with all of the ideas that I’ve been getting during this down time! In the meantime, let’s get ready to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day! 

Until next week…Sláinte!

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Relevant links for items mentioned in post:

Clancy Brothers Live in Tipperary 1995

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Original 1994 Eurovision perfomance and introduction to Riverdance

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The comedy Father Ted is streaming on several services including Tubi, Peacock and more. If you’d like to catch the first episode of the series: click here

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Free phone wallpaper designed by me available here or click fb page link on the sidebar to the right.

Humor, Suggestibility and Covid

/ ccsocialcreative
Photo credit: josealbafotos on Pixabay.

Hey all, happy March! I know it sounds odd to say as I write this and it is only March 6th, but boy is this month flying! Why does it seem that January and February go on forever, (well, more January of course) and then March comes and boom, it’s almost St. Patrick’s Day already! I’d like to be upfront here and let y’all know that I tested positive for Covid (edited from the flu as I hadn’t taken the test yet) and have a fever, so I am not quite sure where this post is going to go, but let’s see what happens, shall we?

I have been going through some past posts and I realized something, there are almost no humorous moments in them. I find this rather disturbing as I am generally known to be a funny person. I love to make people laugh and even considered going into stand-up once upon a time back in my theater days. But here on this blog, which is supposed to be all kinds of personal and documenting not just my writing journey, but my own, I find my posts to be lacking in the humor department. Of course, now that I’ve put the pressure on myself to make you laugh, I am thinking I shouldn’t have said any of this ‘out loud’ as it’s like telling someone not to think about pink elephants and then suddenly that’s all you can think about. (Again, flu, fever, pink elephants just seemed like a fun thing to think about. Let’s all pause for a moment shall we?)

Annnd, we’re back!

So large, colorful trunk-faced mammals aside, the humorous component has yet to surface. Unless it has and I am just so used to my own quips that they blew right past me. Anywhooo, I have been reading a rather funny book by Emily Henry whose books I just love because I literally laugh so hard at times, I have to put the book down to compose myself long enough to get past the sentence that brought tears to my eyes and my inhaler to my lips and have noticed that I lack such segments in my own writing. Not that the novel I wrote (and am now editing) is supposed to be a comedy, but I was hoping to get a few of these little moments in there to keep the reader on their toes. (By the way, that rather long sentence above is basically how I speak in real life and it is no wonder I need an inhaler, just to get through such a mini-monologue.)

But I digress…I’m not saying that humor should be in every book. Quite the contrary. We need diverse offerings. But when I read something like this and it comes to me at the right time, like when I need a laugh the most and the trigger sentence sneaks up on you like a seagull waiting for you to drop that bagel in a convenience store parking lot, well then, it makes you not only literally laugh out loud but for a writer makes you think about your own writing and what can you do to improve it.

I mentioned in the last few posts that I had been reading a series for my February Cancer fundraiser and after I completed all 9 books (in the shortest month of the year thank you very much), I needed a change. I dove into my TBR pile to grab something a little different that would make me laugh and Ms. Henry’s books never fail me in that regard. The beautiful thing about reading is that for the writer, it inspires you. I won’t go into too much detail as I already discussed this very topic last week, but it never fails to astound me the level of inspiration I get while reading something I really enjoy. It doesn’t even have to be the same genre, just something that gets in your head and suddenly, ‘hey, there’s that hook for that one section that I’ve been looking for!’ Of course why it comes to you at that moment is always a mystery and frankly, it doesn’t even need to be while you are reading! Hell, I once wrote a crime noir short story after watching an episode of Friends. Who knows how the brain works?

Which brings us to suggestibility. I have the mind of a sponge and I think the advertisers out there are on to me. One of my favorite commercials that I could watch over and over again is the Haribo Gold Bears ad with the football players. No matter how many times I watch it, I laugh. So of course, while picking up prescriptions one day, I had to get the damned things because I could hear them talking in my head. (The football players, not the gummy bears. Just wanted to make that clear.) There is now a Lay’s potato chip commercial that was a popular ad during this past Super Bowl and used the Barry Louis-Polisar song, “All I Want is You.” It didn’t make me want to run out and buy a bag of chips, rather it made me want to watch the movie Juno again for like the 75th time because it is the song used in the opening credits scene. And really, the movie never gets old, so any excuse to watch it and I’m all for it.

I have a quirk where I can’t move past something until I’ve done something that’s in my head. I’m sure there are many out there who are also like this, but this is how I ended up writing the first seven chapters of the sequel to my first book that has yet to be finished on the editing side. Actually, it’s why I’ve started several other books because of this same reason. I could be doing something, like I’m doing now and suddenly an idea pops into my head. I have to get it down now or I will forget it. Granted, I have some neuro issues with my health that cause me to forget things quite easily, but that being said, I can’t just jot a note down about the idea. I have to full on begin the entire process of getting the story down in a draft for the future or it’s gone forever. Which is why it takes me so long to get through a first of something. ADHD at its finest.

I’ve found that the only time I can really focus on anything these days is while I’m either reading or writing. I love true crime shows. Love. Them. My Sunday nights are dedicated to the ID network and I’ve affectionately dubbed them “Serial Killer Sundays” but of course, that is just one day out of many that I’m glued to these demented shows about real and tragic things that have happened to people. However, if it is a two hour Dateline, I am screwed. Every Friday night for many years, I hit the remote to watch the weekly two hour episodes. (Unless it’s baseball season or I was going out, then I’d record it. Just want to make that clear. Let’s go Yankees.) I’d sit and get through the first hour on the edge of my seat thinking I’ve solved said crime and of course the big twists always happen in the second hour. About an hour and a half in, they lose me. Even though there are still massive plot points to reveal and moments of ‘oh crap I didn’t see that coming,’ I’ll have moved on to a game on my iPad or listing more vintage jewelry on eBay. (For some reason I find Keith Morrison’s voice soothing and motivational to get my work done on my listings.) But while doing these things, I lose the momentum of the show. I know it is not Mr. Morrison’s fault. If anything, I love his voice so much I want the man to read the eulogy at my wake! I just can’t stay focused enough to make it to the end without having to rewind sections over and over again until what they’ve said on screen finally lands in my brain. I used to have this issue with my reading. Turns out, it was part of the dyslexia I didn’t know I had until I was in my 40’s. But tv has been betraying me as of late and I am just thankful to live in an era where rewinding is possible.

We all have that thing though that we love, that we can spend our time truly focusing on. It can be music, it can be a craft, it can be a job you love, hell it can even be getting behind the wheel of a car and taking off for the weekend. Your focus is strong and that means, it is something that makes you happy.

While you may already have something like this in your life, be open to suggestions. Maybe you are on YouTube one day looking up how to fix that toaster that just won’t brown the bread on one side no matter what you try and a video comes up on airplane model building. Maybe it’s something you have wanted to try but never thought to look up! Maybe it sparks a creative side of you that, while it may not be  model building, but by the mere suggestion of it, has you thinking about buying that watercolor set you’ve been eyeing on Amazon or trying out that new dance class that just opened up downtown. Yes, these suggested videos can take you down a rabbit hole of doom scrolling to things you had no intention of ever watching and now your daily ‘for you’ on either YT or TikTok looks like a mashup of Martha Stewart flower arranging diy’s mixed with how to throw a ninja star with style and grace tutorials. In some ways though, that’s the fun! Maybe you’ve been restless and looking for something new to try, well, these side videos may just help you find that one thing you’ve been looking for.

Look, I’m not suggesting you go on a 12-hour binge on YouTube or TikTok. (Been there, done that.) I’m just saying, as focused as you may be on some things in your life you should also be open to the occasional suggestion that may come from a source you weren’t expecting. You really think that there is a correlation between Friends and a noir crime story? My brain tends to connect the dots in a rather strange way, but you get my point.

So this week, I challenge you to look around your space. Pay attention to the everyday. Do you walk past a building you never realized gave weekly classes in something? Do you like that donut you had this morning for breakfast and always wondered if you could make them? Maybe there is something you do that just doesn’t excite you the way it used to and you find yourself daydreaming of doing something else. Why not look it up to see if there is a call for it near you, or if you can find a video on how to get started! Or maybe, just maybe, fixing that toaster felt great and now you want to fix other stuff as well because using your hands in a constructive way can be so much more rewarding than sitting in front of a screen all day. (Plus the feeling you get every time you make a slice of perfect toast just gives you a sense of satisfaction you never thought you could achieve in life!) Give yourself the opportunity to explore different areas of life and you may find your own Haribo Gold Bears at the end of the rainbow!

Until next week my friends…Cheers!!

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Disclaimer, this post is not sponsored by any of the above mentioned goodies, but hey, if I’ve got you thinking of gummy bears and potato chips, click here and here!

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Need a good laugh? Try an Emily Henry book!

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Find me on eBay (as well as my other shops) if you are so interested: linktr.ee/stuffwefind

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Amazon affiliate links above, hope you’ll click to shop and support the site. Thanks for visiting! 🙂

Too Many Ideas, Stories From Nowhere and Thoughts to Fingers

/ ccsocialcreative
Photo credit: mohamed_hasssan on Pixabay.

How are you all doing this week? These past seven days have been a whirlwind of reading, writing and medical stuff. But I won’t bore you with the latter (this time).

As the month of February comes to a close (and my how fast it has gone compared to the endless hell that was January), I am proud to say that I have almost reached my final goal of reading all nine books of a series for my Read Every Day in February Cancer Fundraiser! I wish the donations would’ve been better this time around, but I still have a couple of days and there is at least some money there, so that’s something. However, my personal challenge was one I honestly didn’t think I could do.

Reading and I have been on a roller coaster my whole life. I was reading at a 2nd grade level in kindergarten and then as I got older, somewhere along the line, it all came to a halt. I have been such a slow reader for most of my life and it wasn’t until about 8 years ago I was diagnosed with a mild form of dyslexia. Quite a revelation for someone, who, at the time, was in her late 40’s! It really explained so much and for someone who only, again at the time, read nothing but non-fiction-mainly-histories, helped me to understand why one book would take weeks or even months to finish. I had no retention of what I was reading unless I wrote notes down which frankly took away from the enjoyment of the books unless I was reading for research.I have one book in particular that has been my white whale. It has taken me years to finish and I made a promise to myself that this would be the year I do it! However, once I figured out taking a bookmark and reading line by line and hiding the rest really helped my focus and retention issues. I do this for non fiction and extremely detailed histories and what an enormous help it has been. And because each line is so deliberately read, my retention of facts has been so much better.

Now, having said that, once I brought fiction into the mix? For some reason, I can fly though them! Especially the more lighthearted/escapist type of books. No bookmark trick needed for them, except to keep my place of course. Thus my going through the series I’m reading now so quickly. I think they have been an excellent distraction from real life and I’ve very much been enjoying being in another “mental space” while I read. I mentioned in previous posts how I’ve actually been learning from these particular books as well as the author has been sneaking in some great tips on publishing, book marketing and other creative processes for writing their own manuscripts. So all in all, this series has been a wonderful vacation/teachable moment for me.

I also find that when I’m reading a book that grabs me, I get inspired even more with my own writing. The idea for my first novel came to me while reading another book. Not that the stories were anywhere near similar but something struck a chord and the next thing I knew, I had my first six chapters written before I had finished the one I was reading! Apparently the current books I’ve been into have also upped my creative flow, as during this month I have been working a lot more on my own material. It has been the most productive month I’ve had in that respect in quite some time. I once wrote an article for LinkedIn called Creatives Inspiring Creatives and that is exactly what I am talking about.i

You have to understand something here, with all of my medical issues, I am on a lot of meds, many who’s side effects affect my train of thought. So to be in this more steady zone of building story vs editing has been a fantastic and long overdue journey!

This past week alone, I’ve edited five chapters of the first draft of my completed novel; written two more chapters of the sequel and written two chapters of another story that popped into my head. In my files, I have started to write so many other books because new ideas keep coming to me. I always assume they will just be short fiction stories that I could submit to journals and such. But then the stories keep flowing and the next thing I know, I’m several chapters in. In the meantime, I am more than determined than ever to get my first two manuscripts out because I have worked for years on the main story and am pretty excited about it!

I don’t know if you have the same problem where you could be in the middle of working on something that you’ve been so passionate about and then suddenly another idea pops into your head and won’t let go. Until you get it out, you cannot focus on your original idea. Thus, these stories/songs/art pieces, whatever is your own personal medium, from absolutely nowhere need to find a place outside of your head. Once they have? You can go back to what you were doing and all is right with the world.

A big issue I have as well, as do many, is trying to get your fingers to move as quickly as your thoughts. As fast as I do type, my fingers don’t move as precisely as they used to so I am constantly fixing typos along the way. A perfect example is that the last sentence. As I typed, it was filled with incorrect words and letters and it took me twice as long to complete it because I’m constantly hitting the wrong keys. Some of that again are medical issues, some, this particular week, is still getting used to my new keyboard (and now new keycaps!) and some, is that getting my thoughts to my fingers can be tricky. There is a constant disconnect between the two that makes my hands hit the wrong keys and the frustration factor is off the charts. I’ve always been a fast typist, but to express myself through writing can come out like stuttering when speaking. Brain works too fast, the execution, not so much. Sometimes I think it’s a pain and yet other times, I feel it is a wonderful issue to have. I say this because many creatives have so many ideas flooding their thoughts that sometimes the brain doesn’t know which to physically get out first!

I was at my neurologist’s office this week and one thing discussed with him is that I have trouble finding words when I speak. It can sometimes take me a while to get out a sentence during a conversation. My head knows what I want to say, but I can’t find the words to express the thought. So I go blank. I always feel bad for the person I’m talking to because they can see my wheels turning and know that what I want to say is right in front of me. They can see me searching for my statement like I’m looking for a cue card that someone is holding up next to them but of course, is not there. The same thing happens when I’m writing. But oddly, only when I’m doing something like this.

When I’m writing my book or a new story, it just flows. I don’t even know where it’s coming from and it’s like automatic writing. I’m often surprised when I go to read it the next day to see what I came up with. But when expressing my own thoughts and words in something like a blog post? Ugh. Each sentence is a challenge. The thought is there, but the errors and mistakes are constant and it takes me twice or even three times as long to finish a post than it should. I wish I could slow down just a bit, but I’m not hardwired that way so I just have to go with it.

Which brings me to what is the first point in this post’s title, that having too many ideas can be both wonderful and a curse! Having trouble focusing on one idea at a time is already a challenge for many, but when your mind is constantly going, well, the fingers fight back and cause you to constantly hit the backspace button to erase the mistakes you have made along the way.

You know what? That’s ok. That’s what life is, isn’t it? Making those mistakes, learning from them and for us creative types, it’s creating something you didn’t even know you wanted to do. Sometimes those typing errors may be thoughts that you had that have been trying to get out and they think that it’s their time to shine. For an artist, they may paint something they hadn’t planned to, but it seems to work in the piece they had been working on. For a musician, those extra notes may strike the chord that they had been searching for and for the writer? It is finding out that the words that come out may just be the hook that has been hiding in plain sight all along.

We may not be able to control the mind, (or the fingers) but we can embrace the mistakes. We couldn’t be who we are without the mistakes we’ve made along the way in life and your work wouldn’t be what it is without them either. It is all in how you deal with them and how you begin to learn that sometimes, those things that go the most wrong, can turn out to be the ones that are the most right.

Have a great weekend all! Until next week…Cheers!!

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Interested in reading the LinkedIn piece? You can find it and some of my other past works on: this page

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Come check out the Nantucket series beginning with book 1: The Nantucket Inn

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Looking for a new keyboard? While I got mine in pink, it does come in other color schemes. The new keycaps are perfect for Spring but there are so many fun ones out there to customize your aesthetic to how you like it. You spend so much time on your keyboard, make it more you! Actually, the keycaps came from Temu, but I found extremely similar ones on Amazon here. Keyboard link.

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Links to Amazon products on this site are affiliate links and help support the site. Thanks for making a purchase, any purchase through the links. It is greatly  appreciated!

New Keyboard, Sequels and Learning from Others

/ ccsocialcreative
Image credit: lil_foot_ on Pixabay

Hey folks, how’s your week going? I have to say, mine is actually going ok! Spring training starts this week, we won the last quarter of the Super Bowl pool and I just got a brand new keyboard that has my fingers dancing over the keys.

I am new to the whole ‘hot swappable’ keyboard thing. Had never heard about it until recently, (I’m old, give me a break) but I actually heard about it first on ASMR videos! I love to watch/listen to people typing for relaxation and motivation for my writing and this one girl showcases a different keyboard in every video. She changes out her keys all the time and I was intrigued by this. To customize a main keyboard sounded intriguing and I was already looking for a new one as my other one was putting too much strain on my hands. So after a lot of searching, I found one that seemed cool and hey, it went on sale on Amazon for half off so, SOLD! I also picked out a cute set of keycaps on another site, but received the keyboard today and I can’t stop typing on it. What a different experience it is from my old one. Sometimes manufacturers don’t realize that some of us have smaller hands. So to find a keyboard that accommodates my hands is wonderful.

Ok, enough rambling about my new toy. (Although I’m really happy with it, can you tell?) I am happy to say that my writer’s block has cleared! In fact, I have been writing so much that I am now on my fourth chapter of the sequel to my first book. Yeah, yeah, I know I still need to edit the first one, but my heart is in the writing. The editing is like eating salads. You know you should do it, but you have to force yourself to sit and get it done. However, I got a spark of inspiration for the new story and wanted to get it down while I’m finally in writing mode.

I mentioned in the last post that I’ve been reading a series and I’d like to say, I’ve been learning a lot from it. I never thought I would read one let alone write one. But the further I go into the current series, the more I’m learning about how to shape the story around the first book. How to develop the characters more and to be sure to include details from the previous book for someone who may not have read the first one without boring the person who has already read it.

Case in point, I mentioned in the earlier post that I accidentally started with book three of the series. I had picked it up at a library book sale and only saw the author’s name. I like her work so I grabbed it. I was disappointed the story had ended because I really enjoyed it and then while looking for other books by her, only then did I realize I had read a book that was the third book in the series. So I’ve been getting the other books and enjoying them and while I’m invested in the story, I am learning a whole lot as well. There is a character in the book who is a writer. In the story he gives advice to another writer and I have been taking notes on it. There have been great tips throughout the books that I wasn’t expecting, considering it’s about a family on Nantucket! I stated in the last post to always look at acknowledgments at the end of a book for ideas on agents and editors. In this book, I’ve been learning more about the self-publishing process. 

I have taken a seminar on it at our library as one of the local author series they have. We are lucky to have quite a few authors in our city and one gave a class of sorts on how to get your book published. I have gone back and forth on the whole “to self-publish or not to self-publish” debate and never know where I will end up. So to find some great information in a fictional series took me by surprise. Not to mention the fact that I suddenly realized, the book I am reading, as well as the two others so far, look to be self published!

I noticed that she did not put acknowledgements at the end of these, (not necessarily indicative of a self-published book) but this time instead of looking to the back for information, I went to the front. I noticed it says, “created with Vellum.” I didn’t know what that was, so I looked it up and found it to be software for Macs for authors. You can write, format and create your book and then publish to print and/or ebook format. It does cost money and it is right now only for Macs but I didn’t even know this software existed! So ok, more research. I’ve found good things said about this particular software, many authors swear by it and it looks to be a good investment. Alright so I’m now saving up for my own copy of Vellum, although you can use it for free until you are ready to publish.

Now a tidbit that came from the series that I thought could be good advice, is that many new authors self publish the first one and then after they see how their sales are doing, go the agent route. I have been seriously considering this. I think mostly because I am very proud of my first book and I really want it out there. It has been a bucket list item for me for so long and I’d like to be able to say that yes, I do have a published book out in the world! So that is another point in the Vellum column. It helps get your manuscript ready for publication.

Then of course is the ISBN issue. This I learned about in the class and honestly, I was so happy this came up. I had never even considered this issue at all! From what I understand (and I will certainly correct myself if I have this mixed up at all):  If you self publish with say, Amazon KDP, they will assign an ISBN number for free for you; however, you cannot then sell your book anywhere else. Meaning, say you want to have your local bookstore carry your book but you did it by KDP with the free number,  the bookstore can’t sell it. For example, I have designed several blank journals and have them published through KDP with the free numbers. I can’t have my local bookstore order and sell these in their shop. But if I have my own ISBN number, I can sell the books on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and even my local small shop. What I am still very iffy on is getting it published at another publishing house and how to get it listed on Amazon and the rest. But as a research junkie, I will figure it out and hopefully share it here.

Please also note that I was told by a bookshop owner that you must check a box that indicates returns can be done. This way if a shop orders say two dozen copies but only sells 10, they can return the unsold books to the publisher. However, if the box isn’t checked, the shop is stuck with them until they sell. I’ll post a link to an ISBN provider below that has more information on this and much more.

It’s a crazy world this writing business! It is not, despite what younger YouTubers think, where you can just fire off some pages, upload it and get tens of thousands of dollars in the first month! And I cannot stress this enough, it is also NOT about doing it with ChatGBT. I am someone who absolutely hates the idea of real writers getting outshined by people using AI to generate books. It is an insult to the writing community that you can even do this. So no, I will never be one of those people who uses fake programs to come up with story ideas and then publish and start selling them in a week. My first book took YEARS to finish. Yes, some of that was because of health issues, some was because of writer’s block and some was just the struggle with the process. But those who claim “writing a book is as easy as putting in a few ideas and having a program do the rest then watching the money roll in?” Lazy and stupid in my opinion. There, I said it. Let true writers be writers. My first full draft took an incredible amount of work and when I printed it all out and I saw my ‘small forest’ of paper for the first time, I was in awe that I had done it. That I had put my heart and soul into all of those pages. I don’t think you get that same sense of pride from an AI generated manuscript. But hey, that’s just me.

And that’s a subject for another day.

Anyway, my point is this. You never know where you might find the info you need. For me, learning about a writing program I didn’t know existed came from the front page of a book that I’d normally ignore. It came from a character in a book spouting real information on how to get started with a first novel. It has come from the acknowledgments in the back of a book I really enjoyed. Taking that information and then doing the research has been eye opening and as I always vow to learn something new every single day, this whole process has been like one giant life lesson that I am forever grateful for.

And on that note, I shall end this week’s post. I’ll be sure to throw some links below  on things mentioned in this post for you to check out if you’d like. I do hope you are getting something out of this and as I share my process and my own lessons. I am forever grateful for your hanging with me and reading this and hey, thanks for the likes last week! It has been a long time coming with that post and I was glad to see it got some reach. Hopefully the more consistent I get posting, the more we can grow together. I have been a writer for many years, but as a book author? There is so much to learn! So here I am sharing it with you both hoping you’ll get something out of it as well as a little online writing therapy for myself. 🙂

Until the next time, have an awesome Valentine’s Day and here’s to pitchers and catchers reporting this week!! Cheers all!! 

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I am still participating in the American Cancer Society’s Read Every Day in February fundraiser. If you would like to donate (no amount too small and every dollar helps!): Please Click Here

My new keyboard: Womier WK60 60% Keyboard Wireless, Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Hot Swappable Gasket, RGB Keryboard for Bluetooth/2.4GHz/USB-C, MOA PBT Keycaps, Pre-lubed POM Switches (I got it in pink but there are other color choices as well and again, you can customize the keys to your liking.)

Vellum Software for creating and publishing books.

Information on ISBN numbers and other publishing information at Bowker A great thing about this site is that you can buy either one number or a package of numbers to save you money. So if you are writing a series, plan on writing more than one book, or want to get them now for the future, you can get a good rate. (I am not an affiliate of this site, just love a good deal.)

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Please note: I am an Amazon affiiliate and any purchase made through one of my Amazon links sends a small commission my way. Other links are not commission based (for now) but I will always let you know when a link is an affiliate link.