Edits – Support – Writing Hangover

July 21, 2025 / ccsocialcreative / Leave a comment

Photo credit: StartupStockPhotos on Pixabay.

Hey guys, welcome back! It’s been a busy time and as I type this, I’m looking at the screen through tired eyes. While many are out enjoying their Summers at pools and vacations, I’ve been writing for hours upon hours each night. And you know what? I’m loving every minute of it!

Last night alone, I typed for six hours straight and with hands that are affected by arthritis, it was an exercise in determination. (Also, shoutout to the makers of painkillers. You guys rock!)

I’m in the final third of the book and have been having lots of issues with both story and character development. I’ve strayed quite a bit from the original feel of the book. However, the way it has progressed? Has now given me the basis for a future novel. NEVER THROW YOUR WORK AWAY! Just because what I’ve written doesn’t fit with the current story, doesn’t mean it won’t be good for a new one with new characters. Sometimes you just need to write it out. Get the thoughts out of your head so you can move on to the rest. While doing that, this past week alone, I have almost three chapters worth of material that I can use for a future project. I just wish I knew where this storyline came from because it was completely out of the blue.

Anyway, I’ve been writing and rewriting, changing chapter after chapter and also rereading what I’ve already done to make sure that everything flows. It is vital for me that I do this as I have memory issues. But also for continuity’s sake, it is so important that I keep reading this work over and over. I keep finding areas that need work and unfortunately, big chunks that now need to be cut. I wrote 42 pages over two days and looking over them tonight, there is so much that cannot be used. I have no idea where my mind was going with what I wrote, but again, at least it’s out of my head. And as you can probably see, I am so tired right now, I’m talking in circles. I do believe that the tired has infiltrated my story and is helping to take my characters to a place that they were never destined to go.

I’ve said before and I will say it again, these characters mean the world to me. I’ve created a place I look forward to going to every night. There’s pieces of me in each one and they deserve my best. However I am feeling lately that I am not giving it to them and I need to reel myself back in and get back to the foundation of this book and what I started to do with it. The early chapters came so damned easily to me and keeping the flow of it as I get to these later ones is proving to be the true challenge. It is one that I am up to though and I will make this the best work that I possibly can do.

I have found great support with the writing community slash #booktok community on TikTok. When other writers post about the struggles they are going through with their own characters and plot lines, it makes me feel better knowing I’m not the only one dealing with these issues. It’s like having access to a support group from my home and I’m so grateful to all of them for being there. I’ve tried to do the same, posting videos with some kind of message here and there, thanks to the new five hashtag limits though, my views have gone to almost nonexistent. I’m still there though and happy to be a part of that community. After all, creatives help creatives and that is what I hope I am doing here with this blog. 😉

In the words of the immortal Forrest Gump, that’s all I have to say about that.

Remember, if you are looking for reading suggestions for the rest of your Summer and beyond, be sure to hit the ‘On the Bookshelf 2025’ page. I’ll be adding to it all the time. I’ve been on a great reading roll myself and will once again be participating in the Read Every Day Challenge for the American Cancer Society and I’ll put the link below if you’d like to donate. It’s a very personal cause for me being a survivor myself as well as having many family members affected by it. If a donation isn’t in your budget right now? (Which I totally get btw.) You can certainly join in the challenge yourself! It’s of course free to join and it is such an important cause.

And that is where I will leave you for today. Thank you as always for following along with my insanity and tired ramblings. No matter what your creative outlet is, remember to just keep going. Even if something doesn’t fit, even if something comes out wonky, it doesn’t matter. Just keep doing what you are doing and keep being the best you that you can be. 🩷

Until next time…

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On the Bookshelf 2025

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Revising, Rethinking and Lots of Rewriting

July 14, 2025 / ccsocialcreative / Leave a comment

Hey guys, welcome back! It’s a dark and stormy night here in New England and that for me means, lots of reading and writing! I love rainy nights, days, weeks, for just this reason. Plus, it holds the oppressive heat at bay so that’s always a bonus.

I’ve been kind of losing my mind lately with the progress of my book. I wrote myself into a hole of crap that I now am trying to fix. If you’ve been following along for a while, you know that this current novel that I have been working on has been really flowing. I was on a role writing a chapter a night and the story has been going great. And then…

I hit a chapter with a pivotal plot point. One that is taking much more research than I thought it would. As I’m working on that, there is another aspect that I also need to do some follow up on and in the meantime, the rest of the story wants to come out! Yes folks, I’ve hit that point where I yell at my screen at least once an evening now.

I’ve rewritten full chapters, cutting scenes that I really thought would work but now see that they would be better in future pages. Lots of cutting and pasting to rework what’s already been written which, by the way, is another reason why I save each chapter separately. This way I can rework them individually without having to scroll through the entire manuscript. Still, it’s been hard to change what I thought were great pages.

Like others who write, this book has become such a part of me. I dream about it. I work scenes in my head like a movie and even as I talk to people, the next chapter is playing out in my mind over and over again until I can get it written. I feel like I owe it to these characters to give them my best and damned if I’m not going to give it to them!

Is this a public pep talk to myself? Maybe. But when it’s now been months and reams of paper have been printed with chapter after edited chapter, I need to keep myself on track. I lost several days of writing last week when I was stuck, blocked and basically up against a wall. Plus, I was reading a book that I never wanted to put down and once it was over, it stuck with me deeply and I couldn’t get my own story back in my head for two days. So here I am, putting this out there…all creatives will get to this point. That time where there is a pause in the flow of our work. Where there will be a blip in how we think and a time where we constantly curse at ourselves while we try to get it back.

For me, stepping back last week was good. I had been taking the book in the wrong direction. Not saying it wouldn’t have worked the way it was going, but it wasn’t where I wanted this story to go. It was like writing an alternative universe for these characters. Sure it would have been a bit spicier, but I’m writing a romcom not a Fifty Shades kind of book and that’s when I knew stepping back was needed. (However, if I do decide to write something steamier in the future? I’ve kept those scenes in another document, just in case. Throw nothing away.)

Maybe the Summer is affecting me, who knows. As I sit here and type this, waiting for Fall and my first PSL of the season, my characters are trying to keep me in the moment. It’s really a good thing I have no life or else this wouldn’t get written at all! 😂

Anywhoo, this is where I’m going to leave you for today. I hope this resonates with you on some level. If it doesn’t, that means I’m just losing it. But hey, thank you for letting me lose it here!

Until next time…keep enjoying your Summers!

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If you’ve gotten this far, thanks so much. You guys rock!! 🙂

Storyline, Re-Editing and Chapter Length Issues

June 10, 2025 / ccsocialcreative / Leave a comment

Hey guys, welcome back! Hope everyone is doing well out there. So happy to see this blog growing a larger audience. I’m hoping that means that what I talk about here is resonating with you all and that means so much.

Let’s get to it shall we?

Ok so, yesterday I finished re-editing the first 28 chapters of the current book that I’m working on. Boy was I happy I did it! First of all, I read the first 10 with fresh eyes as it’s been a while since I revisited what I had written. I’ll admit, (and yes I’m sure there is extreme bias here) but I am loving this story. I am currently in my romcom era in reading, so to be able to surprise myself with writing my first one and making myself laugh in places, has been a nice surprise. It is the first time I’m attempting this genre and I think I may have a new calling. Do I sound a bit too overconfident? Absolutely! I have never talked this way about anything I’ve ever written before and I’ll admit, a lot of it is out of pure fear. I think because I have a lot riding on this book. After all, I’ve been talking about it here since the beginning! If I don’t do well with it, I’ll have more than egg on my face (and with egg prices being what they are, that’s a pretty expensive embarrassment). I think the fact that I’m writing characters from my heart is helping. There’s a little reality in many of the character traits of the group involved and let’s face it, don’t we all write what we know? I mean, isn’t that rule #1?!

So maybe it’s not the book itself I’m excited about, but rather the characters because I’ve been spending so much time with them. Annnnd I really need to get out of the house more.

While doing the edits, I have discovered a few other things…number one is that I found that I wrote something twice but in two very different ways.

I’ve discussed being a ‘pantser’ writer, (one who writes by the seat of their pants letting the story flow, rather than using an outline), this can cause overlapping scenes sometimes. I wrote a very meaningful scene early on and then later in the book, did the same thing but in a more lighthearted way. So I had to rewrite and cut a whole bunch out there and choose which I liked better. I won’t give it away, but I think how I resolved it fit perfectly with the tone of the character development.

The second thing I’ve found is that some of the chapters seem very short. I’ve found this to be a fast read and that can be both good and bad. So the question now becomes, do I combine chapters to make them longer or not?

Right now, I personally like the way each chapter ends. I’d almost rather leave them the length they are as they have a natural progression to their ending. Small chapters are not necessarily bad, of course. Ironically, as I discovered this in my own work, I started reading a new book which has, and I am not joking here, chapters that are literally 3 pages long. So here I am re-editing and discovering that many of my own chapter’s are 11 pages in length and I’m thinking, well, maybe they should be longer. But if this already published book that is in my hands has MANY chapters of maybe 3 pages, why am I so worried? Every day it’s something new to think about.

After doing these edits, I’m finally back into the writing stage. This story that has been flowing out of me for months, is now finding it hard to resurface. I think I just need to get back into the routine of actually writing, although I did do a lot of REwriting during the second edit phase. However, picking the story back up is proving to be a challenge.

Where do I want it to go now? Is the conflict enough? Will it build to something completely different? Inquiring minds want to know!

This book, while a romcom, is also one with heart. There are issues in it that are near and dear to my heart and have some edge to it as well. (No not smut, I’m not at that point, well…yet. lol) I address an issue in this that I feel needs a voice. So while it has its sweet and funny moments, there are others to remind us all that no matter what, real life can rear its ugly head and bring us back to reality while in a ‘happy bubble.’

After all, even Disney princess movies have their turmoil to overcome before the happy ending and tiaras are dolled out, right?

I’ve also been surprised at the amount of research I’m doing for this book. Now, I’m a research junkie. I love it. I’ve used that particular talent for both my own endeavors as well as helping others. Especially when it came to writing my history pieces (see menu bar above for those links). But creating authenticity with some of this storyline has had me Googling things that, well, make a lot of writing memes what they are. I also value Google Earth for helping figure out some locations and distances, etc. There is a lot more to writing a story than just writing it and I don’t think a lot of people get that. While yes, a lot can be made up, if you are using real life places or issues, the research must be done.

Anywhoo, this process has been cathartic. Both writing the book and documenting the process here. By blogging about it, it is keeping me grounded as far as keeping me on track and it also helps when I go to write the next chapter later on. As I write here, my mind either figures out my next move or suddenly discovers that I need to go back and redo something I’ve previously written. The old ‘distraction’ move as it were. Quick example, with my health issues, I have twitches in my hands. (Sucks when typing.) My neurologist gave me an exercise to stop them…when my left hand twitches badly, I do finger movements with my right hand and the twitching stops. The brain is so focused on the conscious hand movements that it lets go of my twitches. Same thing applies here. When I’m writing about writing, I get more story ideas. Crazy? Yes. Helpful? Also yes! So I thank you for letting me vent a lot of this out here, it’s been great for the process all around.

One more thing to add to this post…I officially announce that I’ve added a TikTok for this site. Will I post every day? Hell no. I post when it moves me, just like I do with my other accounts for my jewelry and Etsy businesses. I just wanted to have something fun that I could add, connect with other readers, #booktok-ers as well as other authors. Those who get it. The link is in my linktree which I always add below my posts. 🙂

So that is where I will leave you today. I thank you as always for joining me here and I really hope you connect with what I’m writing about and if you do, I hope you’ll share this site. It would be so great to have this keep growing. (and growing)

Until next time…Cheers All! 🙂

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Editing, Escapism and Writing Fail

June 5, 2025June 5, 2025 / ccsocialcreative / Leave a comment

Photo credit: Danikrabonekonek on PIxabay.

Hey guys, welcome back! Hope you are enjoying the new look of the place. I’ve been trying to make sure that all the links have been updated and may soon start a TikTok that will also reflect the new name, but I’m not rushing to do that. Still a lot going on, so stay tuned.

Speaking of, this week I had a medical test done. Now, I’m pretty much used to every kind of test there is because the last 9 years alone has had me glowing in the dark from all the stuff that’s been done to me. But this one, I’ve had before and it is one I knew would be painful as hell. (I almost punched one doctor in the face and the next time I screamed until my throat hurt. But I digress…) So I haven’t really slept in weeks since they told me I had to have it done. Thankfully, it went better than expected, I wanted to hug the doctor who did it and I may even have some answers that no one else has been able to pinpoint, so, yay! In the meantime, I’ve been such a basket case about this I made myself a little sick. (Like cold sickness, not the regular nonsense going on in my life.)

Why am I sharing this? Because, this is a reminder to you…take care of yourself! Yes, it’s ok to worry about things. But not sleeping, not eating properly and just plain being a mental mess can lead to other ookie feelings. (Yes, that is a medical term I just made up.) I was barely functional the next day and I decided that it was some cosmic way of telling me, it was time for an unplug day!

I turned off all my devices and just read, for hours. Finished the second half of the book I had started over the weekend and got about a third into a new one. It felt great! Just me, the quiet and escaping into the lives of others was just what I needed. I know not everyone can take that much time to do this of course. Some have kids or hectic schedules. However, I’m throwing forth the challenge to you, to take at least one day a month and for an hour, two hours, or however long you can, just unplug. You don’t have to read of course. That is my personal escapism. Go for a walk, a bike ride, get ice cream, hell, take a nap! Just do something that makes you happy without looking at a screen. Summer is here, why not go swimming or go exploring your own town. You may discover an area you never knew about or stumble on a historic marker you never spotted before. Unplugging can feel so good and there is actually a part of me, after doing this, that regrets it when I turn the phone back on. There are times I’m just not in the mood to face real life again. So days like that? I may just shut it back off, pick my book back up and escape some more.

As for the other days? Well, I’ve been doing a great deal of editing the first chapters of the book. I’ve written 28 so far, but for continuity’s sake, I needed to go back and see if I had mentioned something in a previous chapter. So I decided to take the opportunity and re-edit the early chapters and go from there. SO GLAD I DID!

I stumbled on a major mistake I never realized I had made! I screwed up the entire timeline. There is a way to fix it, but I’m having trouble getting it done. I need to insert a new chapter but one that flows with the rest of the story. One that fits in seamlessly so that my readers aren’t aware that the chapter in question was never a part of the original manuscript. One that is stressing me out and mocking me every time I go to write it.

I was on such a roll with this book. Averaging about a chapter a day/every other day. Editing as I went. Story flowing. It was going well…a little too well. Normally I just write a chapter. It comes to me, I write it, I’m done. It’s just how my process works. But having to go back 20 chapters to insert a scenario that wasn’t meant to be a part of the story? Ugh. I had the feeling I was going to stumble at some point. Hit a speed bump and move on. Wasn’t expecting a major storyline snafu. And really, when in life do we ever get to use the word ‘snafu’?

I’ve now lost momentum on the higher chapters and will be editing the entire thing leading up to where I left off. I’m now hoping that will inspire where the story leads next. I’ve been making notes along the way to be sure that the storyline doesn’t get skipped over in such a way again. At least I get to spend more time with these characters I’ve truly grown to love.

The moral of this particular story? Editing is done for a reason. Not just spelling errors. Obvious? Maybe. When it happens to you? It’s a revelation! One that calls for another unplug day. See how it all comes full circle? (See how I can make anything into a reading session?)

And that is where I am leaving you today. We all have crazy weeks. This one was just a drop in the bucket for me. But stepping back, reevaluating things, unplugging and fueling the creative energies are all just a part of life. Right? 🙂

Hope you got something out of this post and so happy you’re here. Thanks for coming back and if it’s your first time visiting, welcome!!!

Until next time folks…Cheers!

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Thanks for getting this far! See you soon. 🙂

Insomnia, Reworking Scenes and Possible Name Change

May 20, 2025May 20, 2025 / ccsocialcreative / Leave a comment

Hey guys, welcome back! I am here trying this Tuesday thing again to see how it goes. From looking at the stats, this seems to be the better day to post (my traditional Friday posts have been slacking big time but that’s ok. I shall keep on trying!

Hope your week is off to a good start. I’ve been dealing with a brutal bout of insomnia myself. I get it at least three times a year anyway, but since healing up from Covid back in March, it has been coming more and more in waves. In this case, my meds have played a factor as well. I’ve been trying to change them up and wean myself off some of them as well. However in doing so, it has caused tremendous pain and lack of sleep. Finally tonight I caved and feel like myself (somewhat) again. Let me be clear, it wasn’t a withdrawal thing and I’m not an addict, I just have a plethora of medical issues that cause incredible pain. Even if I am doing nothing but sitting here breathing, it hurts. I just needed a break. So sick of all the pills. Of course the problem then comes in, without feeling better, my creativity suffers as well.

Case in point…I wrote a chapter last night that I really couldn’t wait to get to. It was a pivotal scene that had been playing in my head for a week and I was so excited for it. However, I was so foggy, tired and uncomfortable, I could barely get through it. I did what I could and then put everything away and tried to go to bed. I thought about it all night, (you know, because I wasn’t sleeping) and even without rereading it, I knew it sucked. I blew right past what was supposed to be an important moment for my characters and did them wrong.

I’ve talked about my writing/editing process here a number of times:

I write a chapter

Next night I read what I wrote the night before, fix it then move on

Write the next chapter

So tonight, after I finish here, I will go back and make sure that the chapter is properly written and the pair are treated much, much better. It’s funny how attached I’ve become to the people I’ve made up. I actually look forward to ‘hanging out’ with them every night. (I really need to get out of the house more.)

Anyway, I am happy to say that even with all this going on, the latest chapter? Is chapter 21! This book has been really taken on its own life and it has been an incredible journey writing this story. Not just the book itself, but documenting it here. I can’t tell if it’s therapeutic or if I’m hoping that someone out there that reads this blog gets that ‘it’s not just me’ moment from it? But it has helped me keep on track and I actually get ideas for the story while I’m typing out my posts. And I’m always so, so grateful to those who come here to read my rambles. I hope that means I’m doing something right!

One thing I’ve been thinking about is changing the name of this site. I had originally chosen CCSocialCreative/Promosocially (my social handle) when I was doing social media management and writing articles on the side. But now the tone has changed significantly and I’m trying to come up with something catchy and that invokes the writing/reading/life stuff spirit. I’ve chosen a few different names but haven’t narrowed it down as of yet. So stay tuned!

And that is where I will leave you for today. I hope that this week brings lots of good stuff, opportunities and something to make you smile. To quote a great ELF: I just like to smile, smiling’s my favorite!

Until next time…cheers all!!!

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