Finding Your Rhythm

I joined the Mayke It Happen challenge through Liberty Writers and pushed off about 20,000 works quick and easy then...stalled.
I saw Anna DeStefano speak and one of the things she said was that she pushes right through a new story to the end. I tried, really tried, but it's just not doing it for me.
So Caridad Pinero said she nails the first two or three chapters first and then moves on. I went back and did that and it helped alot.
One of the other things I took from Anna was that she prints it all out and puts it in a binder. Then uses postit notes to mark POV and things she wants to work on. This idea I love! Aside from the editing feature it also give me the ability to go back and look things up. Thanks Anna!
I have another writer friend, and soon to be published author, who is also in law school. How she finds the time to write I'll never know! However if she can do it do I have any chance at a valid excuse? She says she writes in twenty minute clips. So I've been doing that. Of course, those 20 mins often stretch into more but it gets me going.
Even after years of writing I'm still finding my rhythm. In all this searching I think what's helped me most is other writers. I've never met a group of people like this before. They go out of their way to help other writers. I find this amazing.
What about you? How did you find your writing rhythm?

Have a good think

Sometimes when I'm in the middle of one story something else pops into my head and I desperately want to start it. Ideas can be illusive creatures that slip away when you're not looking. Poof! That great thing bouncing around in your head suddenly blends back into the muddy recesses of your brain and it's gone...at least for now....at least you hope it's just for now.
So when one of these great ideas pops into my brain I blurb it. Pop open the Word doc and start scribbling ideas at the speed of light. Punctuation and spelling be damned. The idea doesn't care,it's not your 10th grade English teacher who's going to harp on every little comma, it has a life of its own. The idea splashes itself across the page seeking it's bliss.
Then I have to sigh, take a deep breath and close it up to hide away for a rainy day while I go back to the real world of my WIP.
So where do you keep your great ideas? How do you not forget?

Happy Easter!

This is from a train station in Belgium. Wouldn't real life be nicer if we burst into song at random times? Think how much better your day would be if people would sing at you instead of yelling?
:)
Hope your day is full of grins and giggles.

Drought

I'm at that middle part of the story that is in danger of dragging and I'm struggling. I feel like I need...something...here. This is the time in the story where I sometimes abandon the piece and write something different. And maybe taking a break isn't a bad thing but with this story I joined the Mayke it Happen challenge. I have to finish this by May 30th.
Usually not a hard thing to do but, and probably because I have a deadline, I'm stumped.
So how do you push past the drought?

Back!

Wow, I just realized I haven't blogged in a month...A WHOLE MONTH! Where have I been? It seems the time just slipped past...
I've been busy at work, non stop busy! Then at home I'm trying to do 60,000 words for the Liberty State Writers Mayke it Happen challenge. (I'm up to 27,000 so far) I'm using every spare minute to finish that story. It's about an angel.
Then there's my other creepy serial killer story I've been working on for the last few months.
From serial killers to angels....maybe I have a problem sticking to one subject? I think that's why I wanted to do this challenge. I'm hoping it gives me the sticktoitiveness (is that a real word??? lol) to finish something to submission status. I have lots written. A few completed books, some too long, one too short and some just right. Some I have no idea where to send it. (Know anyone looking for a refreshing story about a woman who makes a deal with God to be reincarnated as a petite blond but comes back as a long haired chihuahua? (well, she is a petite blond, isn't she?) I really like this story and wish I could find a home for it. Last year at the NJRWA convention I heard an editor speak and thought she might go for it...then I forgot her name...oops!
During the past month I've stopped by some blogs, read how peeps were doing and then just couldn't think of anything to say here. I try to keep this blog about writing and the pursuit of publication but sometimes I feel I'm repeating myself. And I don't want to say when I'm sending out cause I think I might jinx it. Ever feel like that?
So how's everyone else out there in blogland?

The Hero's Journey & Family Time

So I've been working on a story and trying to outline it by using the Hero's Journey. It's my mission now to understand the HJ inside and out. So I found an outline of the Hero's Journey for Star Wars and printed it out. Then I made a basic Hero's outline with blank spaces. Last night as the family sat down to watch Star Wars I passed out the papers and told them this movie was an assignment.
After they stopped laughing and making sarcastic comments they actually read the papers and started filling them in. We only had a few minor stumbling points.
Did the HJ have to go in the order it was outlined? Does the supernatural aid have to come BEFORE crossing the first threshold? In Star Wars was the supernatural aid the lightsaver or the force?
Who is Luke's soul mate? Leia? Obi-wan? Hans?
Is the "Over coming temptation" the fight in the bar?
We're still not in agreement.
Any answers out there?
How does the Hero's Journey fit your work?

There's a new magazine for Gluten Free Peoples!

I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 2003 and in those few short years there's been an explosion in the availability of Gluten Free foods but this is the first magazine I've heard of that is dedicated to living gluten free. I'm soooo excited! Check out this amazing new magazine! "Delight gluten free" is a fun food & lifestyle magazine for people with Celiac Disease, gluten intolerance and food allergies. It hosts delicious gourmet recipes and easy semihomemade as well. Don't miss the Gluten-Free Meals on a Budget either. (And boy! Do we need that! Gluten free food can be sooo expensive!) Whatever your food allergy you should be able to find something that fits your household, in their February issue they offer gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, soy-free and even some rice-free recipes. Not only that, this magazine has a travel section coming in May that will host lots of fun ideas and good advice for when you venture out on the road. Personal stories, inspiring articles on Autism, Q & A with the Doc are among the other features of this magazine. Subscribe to Delight Magazine!