April's A-Z Challenge

Are you familiar with the A-Z Blogging Challenge?  It occurs every April.  Bloggers work their way through the alphabet, one letter at a time, Sundays off.  On April 1, they write a short post on something starting with A.  On April 2, it's the letter B, and so on.

This is my third year in the challenge, and I recommend it because it hones writing skills like nothing else.  It builds creativity and discipline.  It's an awesome way to connect with other like-minded bloggers.  If you want to exercise your brain, meet fellow believers, and expand your network, sign up next year (the blog list is closed for this year, as April has started.)

Just over 2,000 bloggers signed up this year.  Not only do you write a letter post a day, you visit other blogs on the link list.  They are coded as writing blogs, crafting blogs, personal blogs, lifestyle blogs, book blogs, etc., so you can view only ones that interest you.  It's a phenomenal way to reach out and meet other writers. 

Today is Day 3 of the A-Z Challenge, so the letter C is the star.  Here's my 'C' post, if you'd like to get a sample of a Challenge post:  C IS FOR CHRISTMAS.  Once there, you can scroll down my blog for B (Brownies) and A (Adventures) posts.    

It's beneficial to write posts ahead of time - I write them all year long and save them as drafts, so come April, I'm all set.  I can then spend my time blog hopping and meeting new blog buddies.  I have found editors and writers' groups this way. 

The Challenge is overseen by several managers.  Links that are dead, or bloggers who are not following the rules are eliminated.  The A-Z site is up all year round for questions and support.  Arlee Bird is the brain child of the A-Z Challenge.  You can meet him and the other managers here:  A-Z BLOGGING CHALLENGE Site.

If your writing needs a little kick in the pants, think about linking up with the A-Z Challenge next spring.  Start writing posts NOW!  (In fact, NOW is a good N word.)

Tomorrow, the letter D - Downton Abbey.  If you're an Abbey fan, stop by ADVENTURES IN THE BALLPARK.

I'll see ya' in two weeks, when I'm writing about the letter R.  (Religion, Ruffles, Rolaids?  Hmm...)

Absence Makes the Heart More Realistic

by Mare Ball from Adventures in the Ballpark

I got back to work this week.  Having been sick since Christmas, it took me awhile.  I've had different health issues recently, and writing has been on the back burner.  It's amazing how hard it is to get back in the groove after a month of being off track.

Getting back to my WIP, I discovered this - some things really needed a do-over.

Words I'd written in July, after a month of not looking at them, didn't seem so great.  I also discovered I had too many graphics/photographs in certain chapters of my (how-to) book.  The whole thing just looked different.  Surprisingly, it was not too painful to remove some things and edit out chunks here and there.  This week, I've tightened and shortened and, hopefully, improved my book.

So, I've decided that month off was quite beneficial.  Who knew.  All month, I was feeling bad because I hadn't disciplined myself to get back to the computer.  I just gave in to my head cold and my puzzling joint pain and napped a lot.  I felt lazy and unproductive, but I wasn't ready to open my working files yet.

When I'm in writing mode, it's intense around here.  I can write for eight hours, I can work until two a.m., I can stay in the chair until my bladder begins to protest.  I love uninterrupted hours of working; I make a lot of progress that way.  And, of course, when I'm in the zone, everything I write is brilliant.      

Or, so it feels. 

I've been working on this book steadily all year, but I've had days here and there where I couldn't get  to it.  When I've returned to it, it's familiar, and I know exactly where to start, what to re-work.   After a month away from it, it was a different experience.  I felt less enamored, less attached.

More objective.

This is a very good thing.  Here's why: every editor or publisher is going to view my work objectively, not enamored-ly.  So, I'm ahead of the game if I can gain that perspective now. 

Time away (and not just a few hours) from my WIP clearly reduced some of my captivation with my own creation.  This will help me out when I find a publisher, and he/she requires I chop every third sentence.  My book is my baby, but if it's to gain any recognition in the publishing world, it has to stand on its own, apart from the adoration of its mama.

I'm inspired again to get this book and its book proposal finished.  That month wasn't wasted after all.

Have you found time away from your WIP gives you a new perspective?

Time May Change Me...

by Katy White

This month has presented an interesting lesson in balance for me.  At the beginning of the month, I set a goal of writing 70,000 words, I committed to teaching a week of seminary, and now another later in the month, and I've received a new calling in my ward's YW Presidency.  And, of course, I fully expected that all of my regular duties as a wife and mother and sister and friend wouldn't take a hit.  I planned to put on the Whole Armor daily, like I always try to do, and I was sure I'd still get my visiting teaching done.

So, yeah, about that...

Some things have gone really well.  I've written 54,000 words to this point, which means NaNo's in the bag!  Squee!  Happy dance!  The first week teaching seminary was wonderful, and I'm optimist that the next one will be, as well.  My scripture study has actually been stronger than usual; I'm actually studying rather than simply reading a page or a chapter each day.

Other things have not gone so well.  The state of my house, while not truly horrific, is causing me some stress.  Laundry gets done, then sits, clean and wrinkly, in the laundry basket.  Which is now about the height of my husband.  The floor around my daughter's high chair is getting wiped up daily, and I'm just pretending that the quick wipe of these two square feet counts as mopping.  My husband has been writing love notes to me in the dust on our surfaces.  Literally.  He thinks it's cute, I think it's an indictment on my housekeeping.  We agree to disagree.

I've realized that TV is a luxury I don't need but I'm not completely willing to give up (and I thank Brooklyn Nine Nine and The Mindy Project for that little epiphany).  I have cut out a couple of my weekly shows, though.  I've virtually turned off Facebook, I've Instagrammed maybe a tenth of what I normally do, and I've talked to my sisters about half as often as normal (considering we talk once to twice a day, this isn't the tragedy I'm making it out to be).  I drink a can of Diet Pepsi almost daily.

I'm still saying my prayers, though I've fallen asleep praying almost every night because I'm staying up too late.  I've also remembered more than once to say my morning prayers while on my morning walk rather than when I first wake up.  Frown.

According to Elder Dallin H. Oaks, "Our priorities are most visible in how we use our time. Someone has said, 'Three things never come back—the spent arrow, the spoken word, and the lost opportunity.' We cannot recycle or save the time allotted to us each day. With time, we have only one opportunity for choice, and then it is gone forever."

Our time is precious.  I haven't reached the balance I want, but I'm closer from this experience than I would be otherwise.  I've learned that writing daily is possible and necessary for my happiness, while Facebook daily isn't.  I can't "have it all."  Heck, I don't even want it all.  I just need to know what my priorities are and shoot for those.  If my house is a little dusty (okay, a lot dusty), my day will be just fine.  If I miss my prayers, not so much.  

While I work out my priorities, I'd love to know how you ladies do it.  What sacrifices have you found are worth it and what aren't?  Any balance successes or failures (like my dusty love notes) to share?

Writing and Re-writing

Here I am, scatterbrained about writing again.  (I initially posted this yesterday instead of my regular Friday.)

I thought by the time I wrote this post, I would have made some progress on my WIP.  (I wrote in my last post about not having worked on it lately.)  But, alas, no.

I did work on it, but I lost the new work to cyberspace.  For some unknown reason, a three-hour chunk of words disappeared this week.  Right after I crafted it.  I saved it and closed it, then went back in to add a last-minute thought.   And it wasn't there.

I looked everywhere I could think of.  I refreshed the page.  Nothing.  That block of material was gone.  It was midnight, so I thought maybe I was just brain-dead, and the recent work would appear the next day.

It did not.  Days later, I still can't find it.  I've moped and griped and prayed that God would make it appear, but so far...nothing.

Years ago, I lost seventeen pages of a novel I was working on.  Seventeen pages.  It made me sick.   Because I was younger and had the time, I sat down and re-wrote all of it in an afternoon.  I was obsessed about getting it all back. 

I'm not so obsessed this time.  I'm surely disappointed that my time and effort have been swallowed by an unidentifiable source, but it crossed my mind today that maybe that chunk of work wasn't that great.  Already, I'm thinking, when I re-write it, I'm going to make changes.  Maybe writing at midnight isn't the best idea.  Maybe scrolling through facebook the hour before writing isn't the best idea either.  I don't know.  I write in fits and starts between care taking and doctor appointments and endless errands and laundry.  I should be happy I get anything written at all.

And I am.  Most days nothing gets lost.  I have a computer that works well (I hope I didn't just jinx that.)  I have loved ones who support my love of writing.  I have eyes that pick up most typos and a good thesaurus.  I have fingers that work.

So, with a deep breath, I'll start over tomorrow.  I'll try to conjure up what I tapped out last week, only make it better.  I'll roar at the cyber monsters to not eat my stuff.  I'll write, whether it gets lost or not, published or not, whether it's good or not.

Because that's what writers do.

Writing in Cycles

June is a day away, and I thought I would have my book finished by now.  I'm working on a book for families - a Christmas project - called "The 12 Days of Christmas Adventure." 

I work on it furiously during November and December, because I'm thinking of Christmas, of course.  Come January, I'm weary of the thing (it involves a lot of pictures) and I set it aside for awhile, swearing to be done by June.  I'm ashamed to admit I've done this for three years.

I know this is an unproductive pattern.  Well, it's productive during November and December, and then the factory practically shuts down.  I clearly struggle to write about a holiday when the holiday is not upon me.  Is there a remedy for this?

I think it's this: I have to keep writing.

When the Christmas cookies are gone, I have to keep writing about Christmas.  When the Valentine candy appears in stores, I have to keep writing about Christmas.  When St. Patrick's day rolls around and May tulips are springing up, I have to keep writing about Christmas.  When Independence Day cookouts are smoking and school starts back up...I have to keep writing about Christmas. 

If I could do this for just ONE year, I know my work in progress would be my work is done.  At least until I find a publisher, and their suggestions send me back to the factory for some adjustments. 

Is anyone else working on a project that is seasonal, or circumstantial, and when that atmosphere wanes, so does some of your motivation?

No-No NaNo!

As much of a good girl as I am, I've probably been a tad more rebellious than I should have been. Sounds like a contradiction, huh?

A year or so ago, my husband related to a coworker the story of how my young women leaders (ages ago when I *was* a YW) tried to discourage us girls from wearing all black to church. They gave many reasons why they felt it was inappropriate, but my nicest clothes were black and I've always looked good in that color. My skirts weren't short. My tops not tight. I felt their quibble about the color was out of place. At least we were attending, right? I could have been in bed on a Sunday morning like my brothers, or sitting at the TV. Instead I was at church. So I blew them off, wore what I wanted, and secretly smiled at the pursed lips and disapproving looks.

The coworker (of my husband) was impressed that I lived my standards but still rebelled. I never saw it that way. I'm sort of a do-it-my-way person. I've found a system that works for me and I'm good with it.

Why am I telling you this? Well, it sort of leads into what I'm doing this month. You see, while everyone else seems to be on the NaNoWriMo wagon, that particular plan isn't going to work for me. Rather than not participating at all, I'm joining a few of my fellow "rebels" for Tristi Pinkston's No-No NaNo.

If you haven't met her, or don't know her books, Tristi is a genius. As well as being a talented author and editor, she does wonders to motivate her fellow writers--me being one of them. I have three books I need to finish before February (at least rough drafts) but I've started on each of them at least a little, so I can't technically fit into the traditional NaNo standard. Tristi's No-No NaNo is perfect for me this year.

So, if you've been on the fence about this month, or feeling a tad bit of envy for those writers with the chance to start a brand new project Nov 1--come join us! It's going to be fun!

This is what Happens

When you have too many irons in the fire, so to speak.

I sat comfortably this morning, confident I had a post scheduled for today--only to finally check in and realize that I don't.

So...

Thursday was a day I set aside just to write. I planned it, announced it, and got all ready to go. My mind was swirling with ideas. I have a short story to edit, and wanted to get it done or mostly done Thursday.

That was the plan. The reality? Not so much.

At 3am my husband woke up to find we had no power AT ALL in the house. He checked the breakers and everything was fine, just no electricity. At 5:30 we both got up, partly because we were overly warm and uncomfortable in bed and partly because it was time to get my oldest up for seminary. Which he does online since we live 30 miles from the church. Ya, that wasn't about to happen. We got all the kids up for school and got ready by flashlight/candlelight. Hubby called the power company. A truck showed up around 7. Hubby went to work, the kids caught the bus to school, and the puppy and I waited. I finally returned to bed with a headache and listened to the power company truck in the alley.

Suddenly, the ceiling fan came on. The bathroom light. Yes! Power is restored. I waited a few more minutes to see if the guy would come to the door and tell us what had happened. Nothing. Not a peep from the dog, who barks incessantly if someone comes to our door. My headache and I drift off to sleep.

The next thing I know it's 11am. We have power, but I feel rotten. Bad sleep will do that to you. So I take some time to wake up and get going. Announce to FB that I'm signing off for the day to get some writing done. Sure, the kids will be home from school soon (it's now about 1pm) but I can still work. I can shut myself in the office while they do chores and stuff and get some done. I can even write later while they are in bed. My schedule is not completely derailed.

Then I get a call. Can I come in at 2pm for a meeting to discuss my benefits? Yes, because I need to. But I'd rather not. Sigh. I get ready to leave.

I'm sitting in the waiting room and my boss calls my cell phone. Can I come in to work at 3pm? Forget that I have a meeting. Forget that I have dough rising at home for cinnamon rolls (which, by the way, did not survive). Forget that I have edits to do. I have to spend the evening at work.

Rush through my meeting. Hurry home. Throw my work clothes in the dryer and put together dinner for the kids for later. Leave them a note begging apology and also begging them to get along.

In all of that, I did write a couple of heart wrenching scenes for The Lost Princess. So I guess the day wasn't an epic fail. Sometimes I feel like that's what I get for making writing plans. It's almost like going to the temple. I've got to keep it a secret, sneak up on it, if I want to actually accomplish anything.

Mama said there'd be days like this.

What I learned Watching Castle

First, a disclaimer. I do NOT watch television to be instructed or even enlightened. I watch TV to be entertained. I don't even watch TV, actually, but TV shows on my computer.

But here's the thing: Heavenly Father will reach out to you in whatever way will work, especially when He has something important to share.

Lately, I've been struggling with writers' blues. Not the oh-I-got-a-bad-review or I-have-incurable-writer's-block type, but the I-can't-ever-be-good-enough-why-try-I-want-to-quit-writing variety. And it's been serious.

I've been here before, and I know it's my calling in this life--beyond family and children. I can't give up. No matter how many times I may want to. But it's just been really hard to dump this funk. Weeks. Months. I have some highs where I think I'm coming out of it, and then some crashing lows where I wonder if the writer in me is bi-polar. Or schizophrenic. Being a writer is HARD. We each have demons we face every day. And I hate to say it, but some days the demons win.

Back to television. I love the show, Castle, but this season has been really hard to watch. Lots of stupid misunderstandings, characters missing the hints, hurt feelings, and some lame storylines have made me wonder why I keep watching. And I've been pretty hard on the writers.

Then I watched the season finale. Blew. Me. Away.

As I lay in bed that night, I started thinking. (You know how it is, sometimes the only quiet time you get as a mom is when everyone else is asleep) It was like the whole season was a set up for the finale. The finale that rocked. The finale that brought everything together in a wonderful, exciting way and culminated in viewer success. Like the writers were just saying this whole season, "Wait for it. There's something better just around the corner."

And I thought, isn't that what God does for us? We're slogging through the mire in a difficult time, feeling down and thinking it's never going to get better. But He's up there saying, "Wait for it. There's something wonderful just around the corner."

I'm sharing this because I know I'm not the only one who feels down, or like a failure, or like I just can't ever be good enough. I can throw some cliches at you (we at MMW love cliches, after all ;)) like "Tough times don't last; tough people do" or "It's going to get better" but, honestly, deep down we all know that. What I do want to say is that you are NOT alone. And that I KNOW God has something really wonderful in store for you. So hang in there.

Friday Again

Friday has always been my favorite day of the week, and I can't even tell you why it is now. Maybe it's because it means the week is finally OVER. It's been a crazy one filled with holiday shopping and surprising trips to the hair salon. If you want to know more about that one, you can read my POST on LDS Writers Blogck from yesterday. That was a hairy situation; bad pun intended.

Like everyone else, I wake up with goals. I'm going to write this morning. I'm going to pay bills and then write. I'm going to get that shopping done and then write. I'm going to go to the post office to mail all that stuff and then write. I see you've uncovered my theme.

Here's what I need to say: I'm going to WRITE and then do....

My characters talk to me all day, but I rarely take the time to work on the story. Yes, I know December is holiday hectic. And I did finish my Tyrant King edits in November. I have been writing/editing. Working. But, let's face facts. It's the 9th of December. I haven't written more than half a page on Consequences. I should be halfway DONE by now.

I think the reason for my sudden panic is that, in only a week, it will be the FRIDAY BEFORE WINTER BREAK, that dreaded day in the life of all writing moms which signifies 2 full weeks of no school. This means the kids are home. And it's cold, so they don't spend a lot of time outside. They are full of holiday spirits (read hyper here) and just can't wait for Christmas to come. No writing happens during this time. And it shouldn't. It's a time for family and each of us should be able to treat ourselves to holiday cheer.

But it means I only have a week to get any writing done to last me through the end of the year.

I have glorious plans. Sigh. My plans. I'm going to get everyone off to school/work and then write in the morning. No, I'll write at night when everyone has gone to bed. That never works. By the time I get them all in bed, I'm exhausted. Plus, there's that looming fact that I have to get up at 5:30am to get my son up for Seminary. 5am and I have never been friends. Ever. Besides, my husband is home by the time the kids go to bed every night, and he either wants the computer or to spend time with me.

He's a great guy. But I don't get any writing done when he's home, either. I love spending time with him. I don't want to take away from that. It is awesome that, after 16 yrs together, we still crave that one on one time. There's a lot of mental health related reasons why I've simply chosen to accept that part of my life. It's good.

Okay. I've spent a little bit of time here ranting about the reasons (read *excuses*) why I'm not writing as much as I want to be.

Now comes the part where I just buckled down and DO IT.

Wait, it's Friday?

Sorry, but it's afternoon. I'd love to have a great excuse for posting so late, like going to midnight showing of a movie and having to catch up on sleep, but I don't have one. Seriously, I got everyone off to school and work this morning and curled up on the love seat to get warm.

And woke up at almost 1pm. Oops.

Now the day is over, essentially. The kids are home and soon I have to get dinner done and make sure they do all their chores before watching the shows my son borrowed from his friend and has to return this weekend.

This is going to be one of those days where the "writer" part of my persona takes a back seat to the rest of my life. Maybe, though, I can get something done tonight.

It's just how being a writer works sometimes.

Till next week!