Life of a Busy Writer

I love being busy and getting things done. I just hate that sometimes I don’t have the time to write. I am starting to go back to having a notebook for a story. Not the word document typing of a story, this way I can keep writing the story that is begging to be written a chance to live. I need to have that creative outlet and that might just be something I have to do.

Being busy and having a life that isn’t just about writing a story, is all about adaptability and still having a way to do something you love besides the other work you are doing. Hopefully, now with this revelation, I will be able to get some writing, even if it’s a little bit each day and not the 1,000 word mark, done.

Mini-Holiday = Gaining Focus

So, one good thing about having a mini holiday is that I can have some time to reflect and get back on track. See where things went wrong and know where to fix it. Also, having one thing off of my plate is always helpful. I have a positive outlook about the “future” and I know that things will fall in place where the should be. Having determination and positive energy can help in all things.

Also, I submitted a story to a contest. I hope that this one will place or gain an interest to get published. I hated editing it and taking around 1,200 words from it, but for contests, you need to play by the rules. I’ll update on that progress as I get information. I did get an email saying they had received it, now it’s time for the hard part, seeing if they like what I wrote.

Being Flexible -Adaptability

So this week hasn’t been the “greatest” with the new resolutions. The thing with the New Year Resolutions are that after the new year, depending on where it falls and how much vacation time you have taken, you can get into some good habits for about 2-5 days. Then it’s time to get back to your normal schedule with all of the bumps in the road, being tired after a long unexpected stressful day, or you want that last piece of chocolate cake even though you shouldn’t.

I’ve witnessed this week with a lot of those struggles and know that next week will be challenging as well since I have workshops and conferences. The thing is, I will have chances to write, I will have chances to do the “promises” to myself from the first of the year, it’s making it all work in the normal day to day life that comes up.

It’s one thing that I will try to get better out, starting today. I need to stop over-booking or overworking myself in life and in being so hard on myself in general. So, I haven’t really gotten to write this week, or work on things because of work, the internet was down or things in that nature. I can turn that around, be forgiving, but keep on my new promise to myself to find ways of doing what is needed.

Splash of Water

The “Real World”, no not the television show, but the world in which we go to work and have our schedules and interruptions to what we really want to do, is creeping up in the background. Holiday season is now over and with that comes the fast paced life. I am hoping that I keep to my promise to myself and keep on writing every day or at least mostly every day. We’ll see how this first week goes. I’m working on a lot of different projects for work and personally. I need to find that good balance of life.

Perhaps the answer is keeping myself on a strict schedule for work AND personal wants/needs. Of course making lists and schedules is what I do best, so I think I should be able to stick to everything. Bring on Monday. I can handle it.

Road to Writing: Outline vs. Non-outline

So far in my New Year resolution to writing and reading more, a.k.a. getting back to how I was, I am doing pretty good. I wrote a chapter in my novella series and marked down where I need to work on some areas (the prologue). I love that I am inspired to write and in the books I am reading it is helping me learn more about my creative skill. I hope to keep this trend going today when I sit down to write more.

With this story, I haven’t outlined it at all. I have made my character list like I need to, but I haven’t outlined it. I do have a word count for each novella in the series (at least 30,000 words total), but I am uncertain if I should outline. Sometimes the outline restricts me and other times it helps me remember some points that I want to add in. Perhaps for this story, I’ll just jot down the main features I want and make sure they are in.

More Non-Fiction/New Year

I’ve been published again in the Mississippi Libraries Journal. I am blessed to have made it into the publication again and I am striving to get another non-fiction article published once it is done. The article that was published last month was about programming in Academic Libraries. The article can be found here.

With the New Year upon us, I am hoping to get more items published, including more short stories, novellas, and a novel. I will be updating this blog more through my journey and hope to record my trails and errors to help other aspiring authors thrive. Here is to a new year!

A new week, a new month

So, lately I feel as if I do get a chance to write, but it’s for a good day or two and then life happens. Which is typically for a writer who has a main job and other responsibilities. This month, I have a goal of finishing one short story (at least 2000 words) and enter it in to a contest. The other is a novella series I’m writing that I need to do some research.

On top of doing that, I have an article I’m writing for my professional life as well as a presentation. Those two items, are considered writing but I want to be connected with my fiction side like I used to be!

Creating Characters

I realized that a story I had started a couple of weeks ago, faded quickly and I knew why once I began to look at my project binder. I didn’t follow my usual writing method of writing a story. I didn’t create my Character Profiles, nor did I do a summery. I just jumped right on into things. It had a good start, but I didn’t have anything I could reference when I needed to remember how I had the character. I decided to table that story for now and start a new one.

As, I work with my usual research method and Character Profiles, and creating the summery, I am feeling more at home as I right. It makes me realize that if it works then don’t worry about changing it. Always use the formula that makes things work.

I am embarking on a crossover series of two popular genres and with this it is important to know: Parentage, Powers, Physical Description and much more and keep it recorded in my own “mythology” of the world. It will help keep me consistent and let the characters come to life.

Decisions

The decisions to self-publish a book through a major publisher can be tasking. Looking at the pricing of the “bundles” and trying to figure out what the right road to use is tough. The major thing that I think I need to keep in mind is “what is best for my story” and “what is best for me as an aspiring author”. Should I shell out loads and loads of money to see if people buy my stories or do I just keep writing and searching for contests to enter? Time will tell, but I’m starting to think that the second option would be better for both me as an author and my stories that I want to share with the world.

Life and Writing

This week and part of last week have all be non-writing days for me. I have a story in editing mode and one in the making and I haven’t gotten the time to write at all. Mostly it is because of more urgent matters in life and writing takes a backseat. Hopefully, soon, I’ll be able to write some of the story I’m working on. I have ideas in my head and I need to get them on paper!