6 New Short Stories Up on Amazon - Kindle Quick Reads

 

Using a Planner for Writing?

 Last time I bought a planner was 2020 and we all know how that worked out! Yikes! But that was for my business, separate from writing. A business covid crushed. 

I was almost afraid to purchase a new planner, but it's always best to look forward, right? 

Here's to 2023! 

Sending positive wishes 

for a great year to the Universe. 

What to use a planner for in writing? 

   Starting in January, one of my resolutions was to get 2 to 3 more books published on Amazon. Writing everyday. 

   Hard part?  Getting the time alone to write - yes, I need to be alone. (There's a reason King wrote in the laundry room with a typewriter on his knees in those early years -Recommending Stephen King's On Writing if you want to learn more)

Is this planner to set a schedule? No. 

Keep notes about the story? No. 

This planner is maybe 5 x 3" and would not fit the notes. 

I'm using this planner to track writing/editing days. Once I finish writing for the day, I print it and edit those pages. This is for two reasons. Editing the pages a day or two after writing them, and before going back to story creation, keeps the details fresh in my mind. 

With the planner I can see where creativity flows and how to keep it going. Its a bird's eye view of the writing process. 

 I have 3 printed chapters sitting her now and I've got to get to the editing process. 

Time to get to work (No matter what the cat on my keyboard says) 

Why aren't I more Prolific?

Prolific: causing abundant growth, generation, or reproduction

I have great plans. Write in the morning, write after work, go into my home office, aim for a page count, and on and on...

I heard a quote in a meeting; It's still a goal until you quit.
Good words.  My goal is to become a prolific writer.

Sometimes we have to reset the goal. Life changes, work changes, we change. Enough that maybe the old ideas of how we hope to get things done, don't really fit anymore.  In the past three years I've held four different positions at work. Each one another rung on the ladder so that's a good thing, but each change brought on more studying, more challenges to conquer. A learning journey. It's been fun and educational. I knew when I took the first job, it was below my skill level, but I liked the place and the people and knew I could figure the rest out as I learned about the business.

Then there's my writing. The stories that need editing and stories to tell. Sometimes I'd pull that word doc up and put a few paragraphs in, but then spend time rereading what I wrote last since it's been a while since I wrote it.  Going nowhere fast...

I have Stephen King's book, On Writing, on my nightstand. I sometimes reread parts of it for inspiration. One of the things that stands out about his whole writing journey is that he always wrote. Even when working in other places, he found a way and wrote. He set goals.

So, how to set goals when working a full time job, coming home with your brain fried, and head spinning? What do you?  Sadly, I turn to Facebook or Pinterest. Evil little time suckers.

After a while my mind screams; ENOUGH! LET'S GET IT DONE!

It's time to set new goals. Here's the plan;

Weekends; 20 pages. That's only 10 pages a day. How hard can that be? When I'm into a story, 10 pages are easy.  Aside from the occasional family thing or adoption days for my foster dog, weekends are pretty much open.

Weekdays; 10 pages for the whole week. (This goal is frightening) That would be 2 pages a day or about there.  Depending on what's going on at work, sometimes I wake up thinking about what I have to get done that day. My mind starts scheduling things, lining up the day as I sip coffee. After work? Facebook calls. When there's nothing exciting there, it's on to Pinterest!  Bad habits that need to go. Writing during the week is hardest.

Question? How do you clear your mind to write?

Foster Dog, Lexie. On the day she saved from a North Carolina kill shelter. 

Turbulent Life & Time to Write

I wish I had stairs to do this! 

When life gets crazy--writing gets hard. 
Lots going on right now at home and at work so I'm struggling again with carving out time to write. Some days I come home from work and my brain is fried. I just want to veg-out and if I do pick up my laptop, it's usually for surfing art on Pinterest.  Some really awesome artists post there and after writing, painting is my next love. 

At work I've been designing artwork/lettering for company trucks and doing some copy writing. Although I started there as a receptionist, my job has morphed into much more and I'm having a great time. However, a busy day at work can be draining.  When my brain is mush, I'm not sure I can give my manuscript my best. 

Just did a major home improvement, which sent dust everywhere and drove me crazy. Now it's done so the house doesn't seem to be such a wreck any more. As a former stay-at-home-mom, I still feel like the house is my job and if it's a mess, that's all I think about. 

Am I making excuses??? Hmmmm....could be. Everything is an excuse when you don't write. I just have to figure out which excuses are valid and which are my anchors of procrastination. 

Back to the wall-best way to write. 

Did I mention my desk? Due to the shuffling we did in the house, my desk is now up against a wall. My desk use to be set out from the wall so I could slip behind it and my back would be to the wall. I know this might sound weird but when I write, if someone comes up behind me it startles me big time. I nearly jump out of the chair. So I'm thinking of moving it, I just don't know where. 

Where are you Edgar? 

And I can't find my Edgar Allan Poe action figure since moving my desk. 


The excuses are mounting....

How's your writing going? What are your usual excuses?