Showing posts with label editing cave. Show all posts
Showing posts with label editing cave. Show all posts

Thursday, October 22, 2020

Standby for NaNoWriMo

The screen of an IV pump displaying a white box with big blue letters: STANDBY

 November draweth nigh. And in the book world that means one  thing…NaNoWriMo!!!

National Novel Writing Month. Now that sounds like the perfect time to write a book? Yeah?


If you’ve been thinking about starting, or have started but stalled out, you might want to jump on this writing train. You can sign up officially and connect with thousands of other people in the same boat, you can track your progress, and you can earn badges and stuff. 


Actually, I’ve never Nano’d. But I have Rory Gilmore’d it and done a pro/con list. 


Pros:

  • if you sign up https://nanowrimo.org/sign-up you have a tracker that will get you to 50,000 words by the end of Nov
  • you can earn badges, we don’t need no stinkin’ badges doesn’t apply here
  • you can connect with writers in the same spot you’re in
  • connections mean cheerleaders to keep you going!


Cons:

  • it takes time to write and also update your nano/connect
  • previous projects have to take a backseat


Sure it’s clear the pros outweigh my cons, but it’s the previous projects part that always gets in the way. I’ve never been at a good place to drop what’s in the works and start a new project. And this year’s no different…I’m still in the editing cave and won’t come out 'til Thanksgiving. 


If you decide to NaNo I wish you many many words! Me, I’m headed back into the dark. If I’m not out in 30 days—send a pie in after me!!





Thursday, October 8, 2020

Unlimited

Brewing tea in my grey tea cup as I hold the tea-bag tag that says: You Are Unlimited

  Nitpicking…nitpicking. I’m sure I’ve got something to nitpick about, I mean—I can vent with the best of them. 

There’s—


Uhh…yesterday—


Well…maybe I can’t. I’m not much of a complainer because I’d rather focus on the what’s going good. So, what positives have I got going on right now? 


I’m in the editing cave which means:


  • Coffee’s on tap
  • I get to close the door (meaning the kiddos know they can only interrupt for really really important stuff…if they come in it’d better be for more than my brother took the last granola bar)
  • I’m focused—zeroed in, end in sight, can’t distract—


Ullr pup just walked in! Aww, he misses me and needs some belly scratching. Never mind me, I’ll be over here getting some puppy kisses. 


Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck ~Dalai Lama


Thursday, October 1, 2020

Life doesn't need a filter...only Peace

A calm lake at twilight, the far shore's oak trees are in shadow and the sun is about to slip behind them.

 Happy October 1st! Here in Minnesota it smells like fall and I love it! 

I also love our topic of the week: what’s on your mind. Frankly, there’s a lot on my mind, as I'm sure it is with you since our world's on fire...literally and figuratively. And it's October which means I’ll be hiding out in my editing cave—busy busy—but with so much uncertainty it’s difficult to concentrate. Maybe the post should be what isn’t on my mind…hmm.


C’est la vie, and so the most important thing on my mind right now is finding peace. 


I did a brain retraining class in the spring and one of the key points that stuck was the need to settle/calm the mind each day. Step one was breathing. Breathing! Easy…right?


Take one hand and place it on your chest and place the other hand on your belly. And breathe.


Which hand moves? My chest hand was the one going up and down…and it should be the hand on your belly. Chest breathing happens when your body’d limbic system is stuck and keeps you in stress-mode = not good.


Ever watch a baby sleep? Their bellies move, not their rib cage. Babies don’t stress, they sleep…like a baby. 


Seriously, who breathes wrong?! Me, that’s who. I had to consciously breathe from my belly, and it wasn’t easy to consciously breath differently, but after a week or so I’d only catch myself chest breathing here and there. And it definitely made me more calm which made that whole calming the mind easier and also helps with yoga. 


One step at a time. Now that I’ve done my yoga for the day it’s time to EDIT!


For those a step ahead of us chest breathers, coffee cheers to you! And tell me—how do you relax?

Thursday, April 23, 2020

TBR


TBR (noun): to be read. 

The entity that is the TBR comes in various forms. There’s the TBR list; which some keep in spreadsheets, some use Goodreads, and others *gasp* keep a list in their mind. There’s also the TBR pile. Piles really, because honestly, where there’s one there’s certainly more. You can also toss in the TBR stack, TBR shelf, and TBR cart.

Currently, I have 1,278 books on my Goodreads TBR list, 57 in my physical TBR stacks around the house, 6 waiting in my Kindle’s TBR queue, and 1 in my TBR-carry-along, aka my purse.

Clearly, I have a book hoarding problem. But that’s not the topic of the week, this week it’s all about reading. 

Reading’s an escape, a hobby, a pastime, a chore. It’s a hundred other things that can change by the moment and is also a necessity if you’re an author. Yet, I see many writers posting comments that they don’t read

A writer who doesn’t read is like a movie producer who doesn’t watch TV or motion pictures, like a chef who never eats out. A writer who doesn’t read is like a marketer who never studies another’s successful launch, like a product engineer who never uses or tests another company’s items. A writer who doesn’t read will never be as great as they could be.

“If you don’t have time to read, 
you don’t have the time or the tools to write. 
Simple as that.” 

~Stephen King, On Writing

I’m addicted to reading, always have been. And when there's been too much time since cracking open a book I start to crave the escape. Yes, as a writer there are times you have to buckle down, editing cave anyone, and reading takes a backseat.  

Editing Cave (noun): a place where time and space are suspended. 
When one enters, they are unable to leave until such a time when they can produce a finished product. Warning; food and beverages that pass into the editing cave never return.

But after a time of famine you have to refill the well, as we’ve blogged about before, which you can read here, and binge on reading. Reading will stimulate the imagination. Reading will draw you down new paths you didn’t know you needed in your own writing. Reading will give you the mental break you crave after a trip to the editing cave.



I have a book hoarding problem, but I don’t merely collect them. I read them. One or five at a time, I read them, and sometimes re-read and re-read them. 

A romance gives melts my heart and makes me more cuddly. A fantasy leads me to the woods and lets me dream. A sci-fi takes my imagination places I’d never believed I’d find. A thriller makes my heart pound. A mystery makes my mind question and seek answers. And all of these allow me to see people through their eyes, to feel the agony of their lives, to understand what drives them and is important to them. 

Tell me, what have you been reading? Have you recently read something that gave you an ah-ha moment? Or maybe a book that took you away from your daily stress?