"A" - "Abandon"

I only heard about the A - Z Blog today. So, I jumped in with both feet, not even really thinking it through. And then it struck me. That's a perfect beginning for this blog entry.

Abandon.

Everyone needs it. Shaking up the patterns of your life and sucking in great gulps of whatever fills you with joy is the way to go. Reckless abandon. Joyous abandon. Permanent abandon...maybe not permanent. It might not have the same effect on a full-time basis.

Passionate abandon. Sensual abandon. Sexual abandon. Whatever it is that fills your heart with joy.

Jump in with both feet. Abandon the strictures of your day-to-day life and pursue your dreams.

Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

See you tomorrow!

Round 2 Goals

My goals are simple again - even though I'm also doing Camp Nano this month, with a goal of 50,000 words.

Once April is over, I'm going to attempt to keep up my momentum by continuing the 1,667 words per day. That, and continue planning far enough in advance that I'll always have something to write.

It sounds simple, but I have to do everything on my terrabyte drive and take it with me everywhere I go. Scrivener is on that drive, as well as my projects, so I can work anywhere there is a computer. My laptop is on its way out, so I made everything portable to use the computers at work instead.

Hmm. Maybe it doesn't sound so simple after all.

Looking forward to jumping back into ROW80!

First Round Final Bits

I'm here at Starbucks, coffee by my hand, ready to rip into planning. I still want to have this entire book planned and organized before I start writing again on April 1st. (Hmm...doesn't sound like an auspicious day, does it?)

The first thing I'm going to do today, though, is look at Kristen Lamb's post on POV. I've been wavering on whether I should choose first or deep third, and hopefully she'll give me some insight. She's always brilliant - she's one of the people I actually keep a folder on.

Here's to productivity!

I hope everyone enjoys the holiday - and takes a well-deserved break.

I Beat the Spider!

I've been away for a while, both from my writing and from my computer. This week my eye is finally back to normal, so I've been able to get back to the keyboard.

Unfortunately, I didn't finish my goal - I wanted to have this entire book plotted out so I could find the problems, fix them in outline form, and then continue to write.

Didn't happen.

But, I'm not deterred. I've transferred my Scrivener program and files onto a portable terrabyte drive. It comes with me everywhere, so I can write as often as possible. Beginning tomorrow, it's going to work with me. I often have time between students when I can do my own thing, so every spare minute will be dedicated to this project.

I will accomplish this!

Happy creating!

Spider Bite Over Left Eye

Just a quick note to mention that I might not be posting for the next week or so. I've got a spider bite - at least, I think it's a spider bite - just over my left eyebrow. The left side of my face is swollen, and a huge area above my eyebrow is a combination of painful and itchy. My eye is swollen almost shut. I had to get a ride in to work this morning. It looks like I've been attacked by an alien insect of some sort, or mutating into a creature that needs a third eye.

Either way, not a pretty picture. On the upside, I've not seen any necrotic (dead) tissue. So, there's hope.

But the computer is hurting my eyes right now, so I don't think I'll be looking at it much.

If it doesn't start to feel better by tomorrow, I'll be headed to the walk-in clinic.

Issuing an Invitation

So, my writing partner Olivia and I just got an invitation to Camp Nano. For those who don't know, it's another opportunity to make yourself crazy for a month trying to deliver on what most would consider impossible goals. (We know better, don't we?)

She and I both write paranormal/paranormal suspense/paranormal romances. We're going to get a "cabin" during April for this craziness. We need two more people to share the lunacy with, because the cabins hold four people.

Any takers? We'll have virtual everything, from favorite snacks to favorite alcohol. The conversation will be good, the writing will be sparkling, and goals will be met and then exceeded.

Speaking of goals...

Regarding my ROW goals, I'm off my back, breathing, and back at Starbucks working. Of course, I left my TB drive at home, so everything I'm doing today is in Word, and I'll transfer it when I get home, which will be about 11 hours from now. I'm thinking I should be making a checklist before I pack my stuff.

Have a wonderfully productive week. See y'all on Sunday!

Long Slog Back

It's amazing how hard a combination of the flu and allergies can whack you upside the head. I'm not immune. For the past 10 days or so, I've been pulling myself up through the quicksand-like morass of my lethargy and attempting to pull myself together. It's a process, and I think I'm still stuck in up to my left shin.

That's why I've not been around.

But, I'm on vacation this week, and my goal is to rest and write. That's it. Nothing else.

It sounds like a good plan to me.

Hopefully, I'll have something more impressive to tell you all about on Wednesday.

Up and Down

Writing started going really well, then I got slammed with the flu. 102 fever yesterday. I've pulled all my intercostal muscles coughing. My throat is raw. I'm sore and full of snot.

I'll see you all Wednesday.

I've Got the Blahs...

Everything has fallen off-track for me. I've given in on pizza and chicken. My only triumph on the chicken was that it happened to be rotisserie, not fried. A small gain, but a good one.

Writing? Hah! I think I've managed about 250 words since last Sunday, and plotted about three scenes. And I've only figured out where to put one of them. Then again, maybe not. Hmm. Have to take a look at that again. Thank God you can reorder things easily in Scrivener. I keep one scene per chapter while I'm working and planning, to make everything easier to shift if I need to.

The only upside to this week is that I gained another private student. That's a great thing, and very much appreciated at my bank.

Well, since my creativity button doesn't seem to want to work this morning, I think I'll put on my exercise clothes (t-shirt and sweats) and go to the gym. Something good has to come out of today, right?

See you Wednesday! (If I have anything to report...)

Gotta Remember My Mantra!

Hi everybody. It's been one wild week -- and not because I've been having a great writing week. In fact, I haven't done much of anything, writing wise.

I've been dealing with several financial crises, most minor, but added together became a bit more problematic. To deal with them, by the grace of God, I've been able to pick up a few more tutoring students. Paying the rent today, in full, was nothing short of a small miracle. My pantry is stocked well enough to get us through next week until I bring in some more cash. And, I've ended up in the black, even though it's by a very small amount.

Whew!

Kaylee was right - everything really is shiny, and I shouldn't fret.

I've been staying away from the grocery store, and all the processed food. Snacking has been on clementines, before they go out of season again. I love those! No chips!

Okay, now that I've taken care of urgent stuff, time to get back to the creative stuff. See y'all Wednesday!

Happy writing...

Today I'm a Babbling Idiot

Yup. It's true. Babbling. Completely. Know why? It's because I haven't really slept in two days. It's because vampires are real.

I'm sure if you, dear reader, live in the world of acceptable reality, you're probably thinking, "Huh?" Read on, and I will enlighten you.

I may have mentioned in previous posts about my odd upstairs neighbors. They sleep all day, with the blinds tightly closed. They only surface after dark. And, just before dawn, there is always a crashing around upstairs and the sounds of dragging furniture around. Hmm. Coffins?

They tend to do their "living" at night. In fact, Friday night, after spending most of their "day" outside on the porch sharing the dark (very loudly) with friends, they decided to call it a day. At approximately 5:45 a.m. About 15 minutes before my alarm went off. This semester, I teach two math classes on Saturday. Beginning in the early morning. I went out on my patio and I let them know that I really enjoyed their conversation, but it was time for me to get up and go to work now. As an afterthought, I added that I also appreciated the fact that they kept me from having to use my alarm clock that day. It was very thoughtful on their part. Yeah. Right.

Repeat last night.

I love coffee. A lot. I've been mainlining it for the past couple of days. Hence, the babbling today.

Goals:

I'm changing my writing goals because I made a great discovery in Scrivener. Now, I'm sure it's evident to anyone who's even remotely competent in it. But I just figured out how, when in the corkboard view, to add things in between the cards to facilitate plotting. This is making my life SO much easier. Therefore...I'm changing my writing goal to simply finishing a very detailed plotting of "Immortal Blood." Any writing that comes from that will be a bonus.

I also have to add studying for my teaching certification exams. I've got to take three, and I've got to have them done by the end of June. So that's going to take time away from writing. Unfortunately. Teaching math is going to be my ticket out of Florida back to the land of cold and snow. Yeah!

See you all Wednesday!

Lost In the Fog

Morning...at least, I think it's morning. Looking out the window, all I can see is fog. That's okay, thought, because it's matching what's going on in my head. Not a lot, so far.

On the writing front, something great happened yesterday. I came across an old blog post of Gwen's (I think her last name is Hernandez - but I'm not sure) explaining how to create templates in Scrivener. She's the author of "Scrivener for Dummies." I've been wanting to do that, because as I plot out what's happening, I'd like to make sure I have some thorough scene analyses to go along. Hence, the additional templates. All I can say is, Gwen's a goddess. She's gotten me out of a heckuva jam.

My goal for the day is to get all my templates created and start another Scrivener file to make my planning more comprehensive. If I'm really lucky, I'll get some writing done, too.

Other goals:

I've not made it to the grocery store yet today, so I'm on track so far. I'm still looking to spend only on local or USA products.

The plan is to go to the gym later this afternoon. I think there's a class I want to take, but I have to check the schedule to make sure. Luckily, the schedule's online so that will only take a moment.

I've been failing miserably when it comes to taking time for myself. Writing in a personal journal has gone by the wayside. Meditation hasn't happened. I'm more focused on trying to study for my teacher certification so I can work in the K-12 school system, and finding a part-time job because my hours have been cut at work. I'm down to 24 right now. Not good. But the pendulum always swings, and there will be an upside. I know it's coming, and that stops me from fretting too much.

I keep using a mantra from Firefly, originally uttered by Kaylee: "Everything's shiny, not to fret."

So far, it works. Life is good.

An Uneven Week So Far...

I made it to the gym yesterday! I actually took a yoga class! Wow. And guess what I discovered? I'm a heck of a lot more out of shape than I thought. And I hate floor-to-ceiling mirrors. A lot. But that's okay - at least I made it there. And I lasted the entire hour. Woo hoo!

I've already missed the yoga class for today. If I'm lucky I'll get to the gym this evening for some cardio. If not, I'll just have to take a walk around the apartment complex after I make dinner.

I haven't done any grocery shopping since my last post, so that goal is unchanged.

And now, for the writing portion of our evening...

I've done some plotting, but for "Blood, Breath and Fire", not "Immortal Blood." I'm thinking about taking a side trip back to Rassa for a little while. I woke up this morning discovering a couple of other things about the history of that world, so I think I need to  hang there for a bit.

My cooking is going well, sort of. I did buy Boar's Head beef hot dogs for dinner last night, but I have managed to stay away from Publix's Fried Chicken and Papa John's pizza. It's a process. I'm going to try to get more recipes from a blog called "Poor Girl Eats Well". There's some great stuff there. Right now I'm eager to try a quinoa recipe that has butternut squash, dried cranberries, kale, apple, and a couple of other things in it. Sounds like it might be a good thing to take for lunch tomorrow. I'm working all day this semester on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays, so lunch planning is something of a priority.

See you all on Sunday!

Shoulda Taken A Left Turn At Albuquerque

I got lost this week. But, you know how sometimes getting lost can lead you to a good place? That might've happened. Let me explain.

I have a series - four books plotted, the first being written. It's called "Fireheart." I put that aside to finish the first book of the Witches and Weres series, called "Immortal Blood." That's what my earlier-than-beta readers decided they wanted to see finished first. Fine. I went with that.

I mentioned in my last post that I got an idea for a short story, now called "Blood, Breath and Flame." I discovered this week that this short story takes place on the same planet, Rassa, that the Fireheart series takes place on. In fact, the protagonist, Jaelyn of Darislay, is the progenitrix of the family who turns out to be the rulers of Rassa, many generations down the line.

I also found out about a war that takes place sometime between Jaelyn and Alizaane (the heir of Rassa in Fireheart). It's fought against those with psychic ability and the temples that support them. Some survive, fleeing the centers of population where the temples are. They and their descendants become known as "the Scattered." In Fireheart, one of these turns out to be the hero. He's a trained assassin who comes to Alizaane's aid as her bodyguard.

Whew!

So, there was writing done. But not on the project I expected. I can't even say there was a lot of actual writing done, but there was a good deal of history and notes.

Other goals:

I'm getting to the gym later today. I plan on yoga and a desultory bout of basketball.

Grocery shopping today was good. I couldn't purchase as locally as I wanted to, but I managed to keep it in the United States. I kept to my goal and didn't buy the fresh peaches -- but I sure wanted to!

How's everyone else doing?

Starting Off Slowly

This challenge has started off like a deflated balloon. Yup, limp. Yesterday was Tuesday, and I was supposed to make it to the gym. Didn't happen. I had to wait for pest management to come for maintenance on my apartment. (Our complex was purchased recently, so some things have changed.) They didn't make it to my building. In the evening, I was supposed to tutor. My student rescheduled for today.

I've got gym plans for today, but it's iffy at best. I'm here waiting for the pest people, then I have to get ready for tutoring. Again. We'll see if it works today.

On the upside, I got an idea to try a short story. It's working title is "Breath and Fire" and it's about an artist pair, one an apprentice teenage girl and the other her dragon partner. I might end up adding that to my goals, but I'm not sure yet. I need to do a little planning first.

Does it sound interesting to anyone?

I haven't been shopping for anything except bread. I got sub rolls from Publix, which were made in the store. The bread that I purchased was made in the United States, but I'm not sure if it's anything close to being local. It was Arnold 100% Whole Wheat bread. I got that because it doesn't have any high fructose corn syrup in it.

I plan on spending time in the kitchen today, cooking grain salads and other things to take to work for lunch over the next couple of days.

See everyone on Sunday!

First Round of 2013

Welcome to Round 1! I'm so excited to be back. I'm at work, so I have to get my goals out really fast and get back to what I should be doing. Here we go...

Writing

• Continue planning and organizing "Immortal Blood" in Scrivener.
• Plot out scenes in detail, including transitions and/or final sentences.
• Finish 80 pages of new material.

Community/Economic

• Buy American, if at all possible. Congress doesn't seem to be able to get our country back to work, so I will do my best to help.
• Buy from local farmers, as much as I can, to keep the money in our local community.

Exercise

• I will go to the gym on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Sundays, because those are the days I have off, and so I'll have no excuse not to go.

Personal

• I will try to take some alone time for myself, to recharge my batteries.
• I'll try to write in my journal as a method of private meditation.
• Continue to eat healthier, as much from scratch as possible.

See you next time!

Gearing Up For 2013

Today's my birthday, and my roommates have given me the best gift possible - they're leaving me alone! I get to spend the entire day (except for the trip to the gym) planning for Round 1 of 2013!!

I haven't got a goal plan yet, but I know it's going to include some exercise, and trying to live in awareness of what I'm doing and what's going on. There are certain things I do on autopilot - like eat while I'm doing other things - so I often eat more than I want to or need to. Time to change that!

I hope everyone's had a wonderful, happy and safe holiday season.

See you soon!

Wandering in the Fog

I'm feeling a little vague right now, and my work is reflecting it. I think I've had something of a mental breakdown after Nano, probably to look for energy.

I haven't gotten a lot accomplished on Immortal Blood. The only progress I've made, in fact, is finding out the approximate age of Akhenaten when he died. A little known piece of information that would have a negative impact on my manuscript if I didn't know it. So, I guess that's good.

On the upside, I actually walked through the doors of the gym on Saturday. Wow, I'm more out of shape than I thought! Motivation or despair - I'm not sure yet. I'm hoping for the former. I also, on the way home from a Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert yesterday, got an idea for a book of short stories/novellas that all link together, with a vaguely Christmas theme. Right now, in Scrivener, I'm calling it "Three Wishes."

My food goals are so-so. I didn't have fried chicken this past week, although I was craving it and it would have been REALLY convenient. The guys begged for pizza one night, so I ordered it. I got a veggie pizza for me with light cheese, and they got their sausage pizza. Papa John's has a special going on with a 5-sausage pizza. Blech. I tasted it, but it was way too...meaty...for me. I need my veg.

Holiday shopping? Not finished. But a good deal of it is in my Amazon cart, waiting to be shipped when I get paid on Thursday at midnight. How's that for cutting it close??

I hope you and your families have a wonderful, safe, and happy holiday!

Why Negative Coffee Times Negative Coffee Equals Positive Evil

The end of the semester is winding down here at the college. I didn't have a lot of students Monday, and when afternoon rolled around, I was fading fast. I'd only slept a few hours on Sunday night, and not well. My  coffee addiction tried to send me to the coffee stand downstairs, but my logical mind prevailed, reminding me that if I had coffee in the middle of the afternoon, I'd face another sleepless night. Oh, bother.

So, Kris, who was in the lab with me and studying for a Calculus final, began sketching my babbling on the board, in the form of a graph with a cracked coffee mug. The mug was slowly dripping coffee into the negative quadrant of the graph (any value here will be negative). We all know that, in algebra, a negative multiplied with another negative will give you a positive; in physics, we'd need to determine how fast we'd have to drink the coffee. (A linear function -- f(x) = x -- was drawn through the graph, bisecting the coffee mug and giving us an arbitrary line from which to determine how much coffee we had available to drink. Once it dripped below the line, we'd be * outta luck.)

So, by extrapolation, here are the parameters of the graph:

coffee = good
-coffee = bad
(-coffee)(-coffee) = +evil.

Makes sense, right? (Yes, and I agree, we should have had more work to do that afternoon!)

Goals? Oh, right, let's talk about that.

Pages: Met, thanks to Nano.

Exercise: Nope. I've been tutoring or dealing with pre-Christmas stuff whenever I've not been working.

Planning: Yes. So much so that around 4:30 this morning I woke up, realizing that I needed to find out the age of the "death" of Akhenaten so I could reasonably determine whether he had grey hair or not. Nothing like obsessing, right?

Food: Managed to stay away from the fried chicken still. Pizza, though, I ordered some because the guys asked me to. And since there was a new pizza on the menu, I tried it. I didn't like it. Yay! I did order a vegetarian pizza with light cheese, just so I could feel a bit better about my bad behavior.

How's everyone else doing?

Welcome to December!

Before anything, I'd like to take a moment to say "Congratulations!" to all the winners of Nano 2012 - and that includes everyone who participated. Even if you didn't get to 50,000, it was an incredible effort. Nano provided the impetus to get more words out than may otherwise have been achieved. That's always a win!

I won Nano, but I sure didn't win on any other fronts over the past week.

Exercise was negligible at best. I worked late on Monday, so fried chicken ended up on the menu. Much to my shame, I indulged. The good news is that I didn't like it as much as I normally do. Maybe I'm getting over my addiction? I'm hopeful.

My very small writing group elected to keep going throughout December, too. So, I'm plowing ahead with the rough draft of Immortal Blood, hoping to make significant progress during the holidays. That should be kind of easy, because my college will be shut down for three weeks between semesters, so I have hope.

Is everyone else as wrung out at I am?

See everyone on Wednesday.