Life Happens

Life happens while you’re making other plans. ~ John Lennon

That quote accurately describes last week. Opportunities popped up and . . .  squirrel! I wrote my monthly post for Insecure Writers Support Group, and love connecting with so many contributors. Their responses to the question—what writing rule do you wish you’d never heard?—were so varied. Interestingly, point of view flipping and commas (my responses) were quite popular. Of course, those writers had different takes on why they disliked those rules. The only “bad” part with IWSG is the time it takes to visit so many posters. I never make it through all 218 posts.

Then, I read about the 52-Week Blog Challenge, sponsored by Marketing For Romance Writers (MFRW). Another “squirrel” moment. I hadn’t finished visiting the IWSG posters when I started visiting the 52-Week bloggers. Each week, we’re given a topic to blog about. Favorite Things was last week’s topic. I loved it. Too bad I discovered this after the sign-up had closed. But I mushed on and wrote my post. And visited the others. So far, no responses. Darn, I forgot to advertise the post.

In the midst of all this blogging, I missed the Weekend Warrior blog hop. Not good. I love reading the snippets from the others’ books. On top of that, I put out a call for guests on the Paranormal Romantics blog. Wow. What a response. But you know what that means? Answering questions, scheduling dates. While I’m pleased that so many responded, that all takes time.

While I was writing and visiting blogs and scheduling, what wasn’t I doing? Writing. I managed to write 1,500 words. That’s it! I can write that much on an average day. At this rate, I won’t finish The Case of the Meddling Mama until June.

I’ve forgotten my focus--writing my story. It’s so easy to do. Social media demands our attention. What if I miss something? The world won’t come to an end if I do. In the flurry before Christmas, I signed up for an online class (offered by Kiss of Death RWA chapter) called Everything You Thought You Knew About Cops—research for the Alex O’Hara PI mystery series. Never mind I could have invited over my friend who’s a retired police chief and picked his brain (as I’ve done in the past). I’m saving the lessons and posts to read later. I can't keep up.

Bombarded with email, Facebook, Twitter, I lost my goal to write. Promoting my books and my name recognition is essential but not at the cost of swallowing up writing time.

Last week, I said I’d keep you apprised of my progress on writing a business plan. Zip, zero, nada. That’s how far I’ve gotten.

And on the personal front, we’ve begun taking down the Christmas decorations. I hate that. The decorations are so cheery. After all the work putting them up, it seems too soon to take them down and pack away. Ah, well . . .

I hope you’re doing a better job than I am on your goals for 2017.

Highs and Lows

Last week was one of highs and lows. My family lost another uncle. He was my dad’s brother, the one closest to him in age, the quiet one. Because he was quiet and unassuming, I didn’t know much about him until after I was married. Hubs is a listener. At family gatherings (that could be overwhelming) he would quietly engage my uncle in conversation. From Hubs, I learned more about all my uncles and especially about the one who just passed. It seems appropriate on this Veterans’ Day to mention my uncle’s military service during WWII. He served in the Aleutians, Marshall Islands, and the Southern Philippines and received two Bronze Stars. Four years ago, his daughter gathered family members for his ninetieth birthday. How great it was to see the five (of seven) siblings together. Now only two are left. I know it’s to be expected considering their age. Still, it’s difficult to lose a family member.

In contrast, on Saturday our family gained three new members. My cousin’s son married a woman with two children. I was so impressed with the way the minister included the children in the ceremony. Along with witnessing a happy event, I got to connect with cousins I’ve only seen at funerals lately. Sure, some of us connect through Facebook, but not all. So we caught up with what we’re doing now, sharing stories of our children and grandchildren. And, for a change, we were together for a very happy event.

Isn’t life like that—full of highs and lows? Maybe not in the same week, though. Usually, our lives are pretty mundane. Whether we’re still working or retired, each day is pretty much like the one before. We get complacent until Life smacks us up the side of the head. Sometimes it’s for a happy event, like a wedding or a birth (btw, two weeks ago, my nephew and his wife welcomed a son into their family), a promotion, or a retirement. And other times Life pulls us up short with a disappointment, a job loss, or a death. We celebrate the highs and ride out the lows.

In honor of my uncle, my dad, and all who have served our country, I'd like to express my thanks for your service.

 

Goal Setting

November is NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and over a quarter million writers participate in this annual project to write a 50,000 word novel in thirty days. As I understand the objective, writers are to write forward, no looking back, no using the backspace or delete keys, just keep writing. At the end of the month, they’ll have a rough draft that they can flesh out, edit, etc. into a full-length book.

I was tempted to try it this year. I am 25,000 words short of finishing The Chameleon (the second book in the Outer Rim series). I want to finish this book for two reasons. I want to release another book in December and if I complete the book by November 30^th, I’ll qualify for the I Will Write a Book challenge by my local RWA chapter (Mid-Michigan RWA). It’s a goal setting exercise where we announce in June that we’ll complete a book by the end of November. I’ve never had difficulty finishing a book in the allotted time. This year, I had an event that took precedence—moving to a new house.

In my current rush to finish the book, I’ve let some things slide. Boxes still line the walls in some rooms—okay, make that most rooms—and laundry piles up. But my book hasn’t completely taken over my life. On beautiful sunny days, when Hub says “let’s go for a drive” I go willingly as we explore a new area. Or we go furniture shopping. After forty-one years, we decided to retire our bedroom set. That and the uncomfortable (for tall people) couch will find new homes via the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. Eventually, we need to replace them.

One of the best deterrents to unpacking boxes or writing my novel is a visit from the grandkiddies. While their mother graded her students’ portfolios last Saturday, the kiddies spent all day at Nana and Papa’s. That’s the main reason we moved. To be close enough for visits.

While NaNoWriMo works for many people, I knew it wouldn’t work for me. I would never be able to keep my fingers off the delete and backspace keys. I’m too OCD to let typos stay. I have to tweak as I go. But the main reason is I let life interfere. If you can’t enjoy life, what’s the purpose? I admire people who hold down full-time jobs, have the responsibilities of a young family, and produce five to six books a year. That’s just not me.

However, goal setting does give a sense of purpose. Thanks to a fellow writer, I found a great program that many NaNoWriMo writers use. It tracks the number of words I write per day, including a graph with my goal and my expected and actual progress toward that goal. For those who are interested, the program is Write Track. http://writetrack.davidsgale.com/

Tracking my progress toward a goal gives me a sense of accomplishment. Instead of looking at how far I have to go (or how many boxes I need to unpack), I see how much I’ve done. On this blog, I’ve mentioned that I’m a list maker and a list crosser-offer (is that a word???). Again, it’s a sense of accomplishment to see how many items on my to-do list that I’ve done.

I salute those who entered NaNoWriMo this year and wish them well. As for me, I’ll unpack a box at a time, aim for finishing The Chameleon by the end of November, play with my grandkids, and try not to neglect my sweet husband.

How do you stay on track toward your goals?