May We Motivate You?

As the month of May draws to a close, we here at TSR would like to offer up some motivation - and a little humor! Let's start the second half of 2018 with a kick in the creative "oomph" and a chuckle or two . . . .

"YOUR INTUITION ALREADY KNOWS

WHAT IT WANTS TO WRITE,

SO GET OUT OF THE WAY."

(Ray Bradbury)

"There are a million talented writers out there

who are unpublished only because

they stop writing when it gets hard.

Don't do that."

(Gillian Flynn)

"UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 

HEALTHY STRIVING AND PERFECTIONISM 

IS CRITICAL 

TO LAYING DOWN THE SHIELD 

AND PICKING UP YOUR LIFE." 

(Dr. Brene Brown)

"My theory on housework is,

if the item doesn't multiply, smell,

catch fire, or block the refrigerator door,

let it be. No one else cares.

Why should you?

(Erma Bombeck)

"IF I WROTE A DR. SEUSS-ESQUE BOOK

ABOUT THE RESEARCH I DO FOR MY NOVELS

IT WOULD BE TITLED

'OH, THE THINGS YOU NOW KNOW.'

IT WOULD BE TOTALLY INAPPROPRIATE

FOR CHILDREN."

(Mindy McGinnis)

"MY WISH FOR YOU IS THAT

YOU FEEL NO NEED 

TO CONSTRICT YOURSELF 

TO MAKE OTHER PEOPLE

COMFORTABLE."

(Ta-Nehisi Coates)

*****

How was your May? Your first half of 2018? What creative plans and projects do you have coming up? What are you looking forward to this summer - books, movies, TV shows, vacations?

IWSG: The Cruelest Month

Well, I'm back from Camp NaNo. 

My Camp NaNo t-shirt and Minion pajama pants are covered in chocolate and peanut butter and marshmallow. I refused to use those creepy Camp showers so I smell like fear-sweat. And wine. (Oh, come on, of course I didn't use the showers! Where else would a serial killer/giant rat/super-flu lurk?) My huge flashlight has run out of juice and is battered and cracked.

Much like me and my WiP.

I have picked up and put down this story for years. I lugged it to this conference, shoved it at that critique group. I wept bitter, angry tears. I know in my gut the story is alive and breathing, buried somewhere in the muck of pacing problems and point-of-view issues. It's waiting for me to dig deeper, harder.

And I will.

Camp NaNo is over, but the year is not. I've got time - to get this done, to get this right. And so do you. If your creative plans didn't work out last month, don't give up. Let's go into May with a plan and a positive attitude.

My plan positively includes eating more s'mores. And writing, of course. Care to join me?

*****

How was your April? Accomplish a goal? Make progress on a challenge? Have any big creative plans for the summer? Anyone going to Camp NaNo in July?

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Time Off for Creative Behavior

It's time for the April session of Camp NaNo, and I am ready to go! I'm wearing my Camp NaNo t-shirt and my Minion pajama pants. I've packed all the necessary supplies - Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, wine, a giant flashlight that serves double duty - it's bright enough to illuminate all the dark corners of the woods (and of my mind) and it's heavy enough to thwack monsters, stunning them so I can run away screaming for help from either the tortoises or my husband.

And I've got a story draped over my imagination much like Spanish moss. It's been clinging to me for so long now that I've lost track of how many drafts it's gone through. But enough is enough. Writing this novella/novel is my fight of 2018, and April is the next round. Who - or what - will emerge at the end of this month?

"Because after all, 

isn't writing a novel 

a survival story of its own?" 

(Kathleen McCleary)

I'm pretty sure I'll make it - having gained a few pounds and lost a few more marbles. I think the story will survive - bloody and twisted. As for some of the characters, well, let's just say they really could've used that heavy duty flashlight to fight back against the baddies. Not that it would've done much good . . . .

Mwahaha!

*****

Will you be going to Camp this month? Participating in the A-Z Blogging Challenge? Undertaking some other creative project? Good luck to us all!

*****

Since I'll be busy wandering around the deep, dark woods, weeping into my Reese's Peanut Butter Cups while wondering why I thought being a writer was a good idea, I'm taking a blogging break for April. I'll be popping in and out - as long as the flashlight works - but no new posts until May's IWSG. 

Foot in Mouth - The Sirens Call

I am honored to once again be included in The Sirens Call eZine's Annual Women in Horror Month Issue - Issue #37.

My flash fiction piece, Foot in Mouth (p. 32), is a twisted little tale about how, when you say something you regret, you're not always able to take it back, to remove foot from mouth. No matter how hard you try. 

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IWSG: As Close to Camping as I Get

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One of my big goals for this year is to take my novella/novel as far as I can - writing, editing, researching publishing options, etc. I'm still kind of vague on what that should look like when December 31, 2018 rolls around, but I believe my gut will let me know.

Unfortunately, my gut is not big on deadlines.

So, I'm considering signing up for the April session of Camp NaNo. I've participated a few times over the years, but it's been awhile, and I'm hesitant.

Camp NaNo provides a deadline - great! But it also lets you set your own goal - project or word count - and this is not something I excel at. I make it either too easy or too hard, and I end up coming away from the experience with a stomach ache. (And, unfortunately, not one from eating too many s'mores.)

As March marches on, I'll continue to work on my novella/novel (for crying out loud, pick one!) and give more thought to Camp NaNo. Hmm, maybe I'll just go with my gut.

My gut really likes s'mores . . . .

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Any thoughts on what I should do? If I go to Camp, should I set a project or a word count goal? Have you ever done Camp NaNo? How did it go for you? 

IWSG: Slow. Steady. Strong.

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In January's IWSG post, I talked about how I had two big goals for 2018, and that's where I was putting the majority of my effort and energy.

Well, for both my writing and my running goals, progress has been slower than tortoises who don't want to leave their heat lamp on a cold day. (But who can blame them? There were days this winter I wanted to crawl in with them!) Everything is taking so much longer - and is a whole lot harder - than I'd thought.

But then I remind myself that what I'm doing is building a solid foundation for my story and my health.

Slow. Steady. Strong. This is what I say when I sit down to write, when I need to figure out the logic of a major plot point before I can even get to the actual writing, when I need to cut a character I love because he no longer serves the story.

Slow. Steady. Strong. This is what I chant - ok, gasp - when I run. It's what I tell myself when I put on my sneakers, when I worry about people in passing cars laughing at me, when I don't think I can make it to the next corner.

But I'll get there. And so will you. Don't give up on your goals, your resolutions, your plans. It'll probably take a while, maybe even all year, but we can do this. It's only February, after all.

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What do you do when progress feels non-existent? How do you stay focused and patient? What do you tell yourself - mantras, cheers, quotes - when you need encouragement? 

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Don't forget to visit my wonderful co-hosts: Stephen Tremp, Pat Garcia, Angela Wooldridge, and Victoria Marie Lees.

IWSG: Focus, Finish

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Looking ahead to 2018 was like walking around my house without my glasses on - everything was blurry, vague, and I kept bumping into walls, tripping over tortoises.

I spent the last chunk of 2017 cleaning up and cleaning out, and finally saw a better, clearer view of the new year.

It's about fewer goals, more follow-through. It's about focusing, about finishing. I named two large projects that will probably take the whole year. In the meantime, a handful of small ones will help me feel like I'm accomplishing something. A hobby or two (art!) and some fun experiences (classes! day trips!) will round out where most of my effort and energy will go.

With this plan, I feel like I just slipped on a new pair of glasses, and now I can finally see where I'm going.

* And speaking of positive starts to the new year, my 25 word story "Pillow Talk" made the Best of 2017 issue over at Nailpolish Stories! *

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How is 2018 looking to you? If you're good at following through on projects, what's your secret? If you struggle like I do, what do you think holds you back? Too many projects, interests? Time management issues?