inspiration

Trying – Sleeping – Random Inspiration

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Photo credit: Yamu_Jay on Pixabay

Hey guys, welcome back. I know, I know, I’ve already missed a week and it’s only the first two weeks of the new year. Well, life is crazy stuff sometimes and that is what it is for me right now.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know that I’ve been sick for many months. Well, it continues and right now, we are still trying to figure out what is going on. I’ve had more dr appointments and this week I’ve got more tests to get. In the meantime, my sleep schedule is even more erratic that it already was. I slept through the holidays, literally. I slept all Christmas Day and New Year’s days and then three days after, only being up for a few hours here and there. I slept almost this entire past weekend and trying to stay awake is a real fight. However, I’m still here!

With all of this being said, I’m trying so hard to stay focused on my book. The waking hours I do have, I dedicate to both reading and editing my manuscript. (And streaming Brooklyn Nine-Nine, because the show makes me laugh out loud.)

As dedicated as I’ve been, I actually went days without touching the book. That doesn’t happen and it bothers me that it did. I couldn’t focus, I couldn’t open it up to read it, I just couldn’t go near it. When I can’t work on it? That’s when I know that I can officially say, I’m not well.

I am happy to say though that the time I have put into it? I’ve cut almost 4000 more words! I’ve been cutting full pages, full paragraphs and reworking/rewriting the story so that it will embrace the time of year I’ve switched it to which has been fun.

I’m still trying desperately hard to figure out just how to keep so much of what I’ve written, without having to break this particular origin story in two. I’ve talked about making this a series in the past, but I really want a lot of what is already done to be a part of this first book. The stress I’m putting myself through about it though, needs to stop. Can’t afford that right now. So as I get through this latest read through and cut and cut and cut, I remind myself that yes, I can indeed put some of this into it’s sequel and to calm the hell down. (I yell at myself a lot when I’m working…sometimes I wonder what my neighbors think is going on over here.)

I think one of the best things I’ve done to help the editing process along has been taking it ten chapters at a time. Honestly, it gives me such a sense of accomplishment when I’m done with a set of ten and seeing just how much I’ve cut from them. How much I’ve changed them. Doing it all as a full document was making it rather overwhelming. Doing it in stages? Well, I should have been doing it this way all along!

Someone on a video I watched on YouTube once said, ‘if you are feeling overwhelmed by a task, try breaking it down into small pieces.’ Well damned if they weren’t right about that! I couldn’t recommend this process more. This is my second time going through the book doing the ten at a time method and it has helped tremendously and I’ll continue to do it this way until I get it just the way I want it.

Whether it’s a video on YouTube or talking to a friend, attending a seminar or hell, watching a tv show you like, advice can come from where you least expect it. The video I watched? Had absolutely nothing to do with processes or writing. It was just a random sentence that popped up and I latched onto it. Always keep your eyes and ears open, for inspiration can come from anywhere! (Including your friendly neighborhood blogger.) 😬

And that is where I will leave you today. I hope you got something out of this post!

Until next time folks…cheers!!!

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Want to start journaling this year? I’ve designed several blank journals that are on Amazon. You can find the graphic link here on the site, or hit up my linktree that houses my shops with thousands of items with my designs on them: linktr.ee/stuffwemade

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If you’ve made it this far, I thank you so much! See you soon. 😊

Revising, Rethinking and Lots of Rewriting

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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!! 🙂

Friday’s Here, Hitting a Lull and Just Start Writing

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Photo credit: Ramdlon on Pixabay.

Hey guys, happy Friday! It’s been a busy one this week and for those of us who like to read during a good rain storm, it’s been another good couple of days for that. I was excited by the number of folks who came to read my post the other day as well as the likes and I can’t thank you guys enough for coming back each time. And to those of you who are new here? Welcome!

I mentioned the other day that I’ve been quite productive lately and it’s been great. I’m actually about to start writing chapter 20 after I finish this post and just last week at this time, I was happy I had just passed the ‘dirty dozen’ mark. So that has been a bonus for this week. What has been driving me crazy though is that I hit a chapter that caused me to have a little lull. A little lack of, I don’t know, excitement maybe? For lack of a better word.

Let me be clear, I’m not writing an action adventure thing that will turn into a Summer blockbuster down the line (and who I will never champion Tom Cruise for). Rather, mine is but a romcom with some deeper stuff in it as well. Or at least, that is what I’m going for. However, every book that you read or write has those couple of chapters that are just there to bridge the story from one place to another and that is where I am now. I’m not saying they are boring. (Hoping they are not.) What I am saying is that I’m excited for the next chapter and wanted to skip over these last two to get to the next one. There is still a lot going on, a lot of information dolled out and even more character development of course, but as I am living vicariously through these people, I’m just excited for their next adventure. 

Last night I even had trouble sitting down to write. I didn’t know where the words were going to take me and I still have yet to reread and edit them before I continue writing tonight. What I do know is this, much like I do with this blog, I just sit down and start writing. That’s it.

This is how I wrote my last two chapters. I had blocks, I had worries, I had “well now what do I do now that I wrote them into this issue” and yet, I just kept writing.

I ended up liking one chapter a lot. It turned out better than I thought it did and when I read/edited it, I actually laughed in some places. (Yes in the spots that were meant to be funny.) So somewhere in my mind, the story is still there guiding me. Yesterday was a bit tougher. I had a vision of where it was going to go, how to get past the lull a little bit more and make it not so, I don’t know, day-to-day? Yet after a bit of writing the first scene, the typing continued. I once again did an almost automatic writing session and because I did, I came up with a new twist I hadn’t even thought of before. A way to tie some pieces together that honestly, never crossed my mind once and again, this is at chapter 19! I was able to add some more depth, some more emotion and some more backstory to characters that deserve to have their stories told.

I hope I’m not building myself up here. This is by no means the next ‘great American novel’ and I’m hoping that if you are reading this now, I’m not ruining anything for you if you decide to read what is finally published. I’m just trying to share part of my process here. I sometimes start off blind. No clue where the story will take me. I just know that if I take more than a day off, I feel like I’m failing myself. That if I miss more than a day of working on this story, the story will leave me.

As much as I like to keep my schedule going, there are times when it isn’t meant to happen. I encourage listening to yourself and how you feel. This goes for anything, not just writing. Case in point, the other night, I had an idea for the next chapter and wanted to get it down, but I hadn’t been feeling good at all the entire night. When I sat down to write, it felt more like a chore, more like homework, more like I had some deadline I was supposed to meet when in reality, I have none. I read and edited the chapter from the night before, but when it came time to write the next one, I got three sentences in and stopped. My eyes and head were pounding looking at the screen. It was pouring outside and I decided to shut off the devices and dive further into the book that I’m currently reading, which, btw, I’m loving. There is nothing like reading during a good storm and once I got off the glare of my iPad, I started to feel a lot better.

What I’m saying is this…there are times the story needs to come out but the body isn’t willing. There are times when the story is stuck, but the mindset is to keep going. Just start writing. You may be surprised. It will either flow or you will get the clear sign that it’s just not going to happen in the moment. But you’ll never know unless you just start writing.

And that’s where I’ll leave you today! Thanks for joining me today, be sure to check out the links below and I wish you guys a great weekend!!!

Until next time…Cheers!

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To check out the book I’m reading now: Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson

(loving this book and will hate to see it end).

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To follow me on social and shop my linktree shop: linktr.ee/promosocially

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You can find my official merch shop, link to blank journals all designed by me as wel as more of my links, see the sidebar. If you also like reading in the rain, I added a new design to the merch shop celebrating it!

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If you ‘ve made it this far, thanks so much! 🙂

New Week, Excitement and Creative Juices

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Photo credit: annmariephotography on Pixabay.

Hey guys, welcome back and happy new week! I wasn’t planning on posting today but I’m excited. I’ve been so hard at work on my new story that I’ve been making significant progress on it.

When I posted on Friday, I had crossed the dozen chapters mark and as of today, Tuesday, I am about to start chapter 18! This story has me hooked and I hope upon hope that when I finally get it out there, readers will like these characters just as much as I do. I honestly can’t wait to get typing to see what will happen next.

 I don’t know if other authors deal with this and this will sound a little out there, but as I am going about my day and taking care of other things, the story is playing out for me in my head like a movie. I feel that these characters are taking the lead and guiding me through this whole thing and I’m letting them. I know I touched on that a bit in my last post, but with the amount of writing I’ve been doing over the last several days, they haven’t let up and right now, I’m letting them!

While I block off a certain amount of time to write each day, I also have a block for doing my research. Tons of research. Steps to take on the publishing side, getting ISBN numbers, to copyright or not to copyright and putting numbers together to see how much I still need to save up to get this book out there when it’s ready. Unless something changes, I’m still planning on self publishing this book. It’s a big undertaking but the way this story is coming together, I feel this one wants to be seen and soon. Not that it’s anything profound by any means. I think that mainly, I need to get this out of my system. My first published book.

I also need to get this story out of my head. I can’t move forward with the first book I wrote (and its sequel) until this one has vacated my mind. That first book I do plan to submit somewhere and that is also part of my research process. Trying to figure out formatting, how much of it I need to send in, editors, am I going agent or direct to a publishing house and of course, figuring out the dreaded query letter. (Ugh)

The book I just finished reading, The Page Turner by Viola Shipman, while fiction, was based in the publishing world. It gave me a lot of insight to the process and some great jumping off points for what I will need to do. (I took a ton of notes.) Ironically, I started a new book yesterday that also takes place in publishing and it was a total coincidence that I picked this particular book off of my TBR pile. Or was it? I like a good sign thrown at me and while yes, a lot of the books I’ve been reading lately have involved writers, these two are the first I’m reading that deal with publishing. So sure, sign!

I think my takeaway from these past couple of weeks is that creatively, it is a strong time for me and I hope you as well! Even though I sit here, directly across from the pile of crafts supplies, mocking me horribly that I haven’t touched them in months, writing-wise (new word?) I’ve been nonstop. Even writing this post, my fingers were flying as I was typing. I’m in a good groove and here’s to hoping this is a wave we creatives can all ride for a long, long time!

May this new week bring you opportunities to flex those creative muscles. Go forth and write, paint, play, sing, sculpt, draw whatever your medium is, go out there and do it! Even if there is no plan in place, you may have something inside of you that has been waiting for its moment to come out…and this may just be that moment!

And that is where I will leave you today. Until next time…Cheers!

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The Page Turner by Viola Shipman

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Hit ‘new posts’ to catch up with what I’ve been rambling about here.

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If you’ve made it this far, I thank you! 🙂

Absolute Panic, Brainstorming and Challenging Myself

/ ccsocialcreative
Photo Credit: LMSunday at Pixabay

Hi all and welcome to a new week! I had planned on posting this a little earlier today but I lost the Bluetooth connection to my keyboard and freaked out for a bit. Thanks to this internet thing, I found the manual and all is right with the world again. Silly issue? Possibly, but since I use this thing constantly, yes, an absolute panic was had for a good 45 minutes.

But I digress…

I have been really churning out the pages on this new story I came up with last week. In a matter of about four days, I’ve typed over 20,000 words over several chapters and this morning, my brain decided that wasn’t enough. Just as I was going to sleep, I came up with a scene that I needed to jot down fast or I’d lose it. (With no short term memory, having a note pad next to my bed is vital for times like this.) The funny thing is, I was giving my fingers a bit of a break yesterday by refraining from any typing and yet, when I went to write down these scene ideas, I ended up handwriting 9 pages in my happy new notebook. At this rate, I’ll be needing a new one every other day!

Having a brainstorming session with myself is surreal. I don’t know if anyone else goes through this, ok, I’m almost positive you all do…but when I get an idea I have to get it out. Clear the mind so I can move on. This is how this new book started in the first place! As I’ve mentioned previously, I was working on the sequel to my first novel (while editing that one) and an idea struck me. When this happens, everything else gets put on hold until I can get the idea out of my head. Once I get a lull or something strikes me for my original plan, I can abandon what I’m currently working on. I don’t know if any of that makes sense but it sounded good in my head!

However, this current story is really exciting me. It’s like nothing else I’ve written and I wanted to see if I could write in this genre. I love challenging myself. I really do. I find I do it a lot with life stuff and medical stuff. Getting me into an MRI took some doing now it’s just like, ‘ok, let’s get this over with’. Yet a challenge means so much more when I think I can’t do something. Or, I see someone else truly succeeding in something and wonder if I could do it so I decide to try it out. It’s challenging me for me. It doesn’t have to mean prizes at the end, or ribbons or cash rewards (although that would really come in handy right about now) but just being able to try it out and then finishing it? That to me is the prize.

When I wrote my first book, it took years to complete. Mostly because of medical issues. I had to keep stopping and heal up before I could write again. I was frustrated because I had written the first six chapters in less than a week and I thought it was going so well. Then I’d hit a health setback and it would be months before I could pick it up again. By then, I’d have to reread what I had written to remember the story lines, the details, hell even the character names! This cycle went on for quite some time but when I finished it and printed it out? I cried. I really did. Because I was so determined to finish it. Even if I didn’t get it published, I was so happy I completed it. (Of course it is getting published, are you crazy?)

I know I tend to repeat myself on this blog and I apologize for that. I used to think I was doing it so folks new here could catch up, but you know what? Sometimes I feel the messages need to be repeated. So here is my message for today…It is OK to challenge yourself! It is ok to put down a goal and strive for it even if no one else knows that’s what you are doing. Other people don’t need to know everything about you, no matter what social media claims. You can actually go out for dinner without posting pics! (Really, you can!) And just like that, you can write that book or that song. You can paint that canvas and try to get it in a show. You can learn a new language, instrument or skill. You can run that marathon or 5k. Whatever it is that means something to YOU, go for it!

The year before I got sick, I worked my ass off training for a 5k. I found a list of upcoming events in my area and found one that was still several months away. I had never participated in a race like this so I didn’t want to make an ass of myself doing it. And I certainly wasn’t up to doing a full or even half a marathon. I was never a runner and I was going to walk it, but I wanted to cut my time per mile down. I was always a big walker. Walked 15-20 miles a week minimum. But for a race? A leisurely stroll wasn’t going to cut it. So I started literally in my bedroom. It was still cold outside, so I’d walk in place (no treadmill) with my step counter and pick up the pace until I could do two miles under a certain time. As the weather warmed up, I would go next door to the elementary school and use their parking lot for laps. I had a playlist that kept a great pace and I walked every single day for all those months cutting my times bit by bit until it was race time. I was using old sneakers with almost no padding and I hurt my knee during training. This came back to bite me in the ass as about 30 seconds into the actual race, my knee flared up and I still wouldn’t let it stop me. Not after months of prepping for it!

When I first started my quest, I was over 21 minutes a mile and by race time, I clocked under 15:30. I was so damned proud of myself! I couldn’t believe it! I finished the race. I didn’t win, I didn’t even come in 20th. I was one of the last people to cross the finish line (but not the last so hey, personal win) and I wanted to scream out ‘I DID IT!!!’

I had only my mother there to cheer me on which was great and she proceeded to yell and scream as I walked past her, (I pretended I couldn’t hear her over my earbuds, but I think they could hear her in the next town over lol) and it was great.

Because I had only told a few what I was doing, sure I was hurt that I didn’t have more folks there cheering me on. Plus, I had one friend call it my “little walk thing” as in, “oh your little walk thing was today?” Which, I’m not gonna lie, still stings today. I mean obviously that’s why I mentioned it. But that’s ok. Because I wasn’t out to challenge anyone else. THAT’S the point. I wanted to challenge MYSELF. To see if I could do it and I did! So now that that particular bucket list item has been checked off, I went to the next one and then the one after that.

Now that I’m a little older, I can look back on my life and see that I really have checked off a whole lot on my list. Sure there’s always more stuff I’m adding to it, but adding them up in my head now? I’ve done a whole lot and I’m proud of myself for doing it. For TRYING. Did I always succeed? Hellllll no. But I tried and I hope you do too.

So that is your message for this week. Keep trying. Even if what you write sucks. Even if your painting is a splotch. Even if the song you write may never get into the rock and roll hal of fame, it’s ok!!! Keep trying. Keep motivated. Keep creating. It’s ok.

And that is where I am leaving you tonight!

Thanks as always for putting up with the rambles and until next time…

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