One Writing Assignment Can Help a Couple Others

Friday, I handed in a homework assignment and somewhere by the end of the weekend I had my entry for Father (paternal) at FaithWriters completed and posted. That was definitely a fun memory. I can't link it yet, but I'll start linking my stories here for you to check out after the winners are announced for each.

I did a thorough critique on chapter one of a novel recently posted by a new member over at the Christian Writers Forum. I find that the critiquing helps me figure out my own weaknesses. Of course, the more I get into critiquing and studying writing, the more I find myself doing it when I sit down for a leisurely read.

So if I'm noticing things, how come when it is time to actually go find an example of an error for my homework, I never find it immediately? I definitely did not find the scene and POV issues asked for in the past couple of lessons in the Lynn Austin book I'm reading. She has it in first person from the point of view of a 20-year-old trying to figure out her lot in life. As she tries to find her mother, she suddenly has all these options she never dreamed of and some pretty interesting adventures. It's so fun to read, I probably would miss a mistake anyway. The book is "A Proper Pursuit" and is quite the intriguing historical novel that happens in the summer of 1893 in Chicago. Anyway, I wound up picking on poor old Isaac Asimov for a couple of assignments because I knew I could find examples in his writing style. I just can't seem to find them in very many modern day writers and especially the Christian ones. Not that any of them are super perfect, but oddly the style of writing these days takes way more care with POV than older styles.

In the end I did get about 75% of my current homework assignment done in one sitting last night. To hit on the point of the subject line, in doing so I took pieces from two works in progress. One, is my completed and mostly edited sci fi novel and the other is my rough draft start to a young adult adventure. In both I found better ways of fixing my wording due to having to rewrite scenes in multiple versions from varying point of views for my homework. Nothing like homework helping works in progress, too. It seems to be leaning that way with several of the assignments out of the fiction section I'm now going through.

This inspires me to try my best at these assignments in order to get the okay to plunge into the journeyman level class for fiction. So far it is proving to only improve my writing right along with FraithWriters writing challenges, critiquing, studying various books about writing, and just simply doing it. It's both easier and harder now. Easier due to knowing the rules of writing better. Harder because I know the rules better. ::laughing:: I'm sure I broke some rules in this post.

Spring is Really Here

I've slowed down a bit on my writing since that mad dash of trying to fit in fifty hours of novel editing in March without stopping anything else that I had to do. My brain is going through a recharge. However, I have an inspirational article revision and a short story posted for critiquing. I also got an entry into the first challenge of the quarter over at Faithwriters.com. I have several ideas of what to write for this week's challenge. I have a writing assignment due tomorrow and have it done already.

Reading all that sounds like a lot, but it's been pretty leisurely paced. I've even taken some time to read a little more in a Lynn Austin novel and read further through "Getting Into Character" for the Missing Pages Book Club over at the Christian Writer's Forum.

Writing and reading have always been a huge part of my life and I actually missed it when I didn't plug away at it like I have since Christmas week. I got too wound up in computer games which wasted a lot of time. I easily played for 20 to 30 hours a week. Now that time goes towards my writingand reading again. I've felt like I've found the right path to be on for this season of my life since Christmas. Do I know exactly where I am going? No, but writing is definitely involved.

To help the spirit and emotional side all the more, it has been sunny all week and the last snow I saw was Saturday morning. The neighbor's domesticated goose decided the stream in our backyard was better for a nest rather than her owner's. The grass is starting to turn green. There are buds on some of the trees. Today is supposedly the nicest so far, so I didn't go outside while at work. I would have run away instead.

Our living room, minus a few odds and ends, is setup. I had access to my exercise equipment and used it for the first time in months. That felt really good. I know at least half my issues is the lack of exercise and the other half are things that exercise will help, but they will be with me until I die. I need to keep this up and to do so I need to organize my schedule to allow for up to an hour for whatever exercising I chose to do for the day. This really helps for after work because it allows me to unwind before I step into my writing. It releaves a lot of stress in various forms that I may acquire while at work. Now to keep this all in mind as my marshmallow of a body complains about the muscles I'm starting to workout again.

Things are not entirely easy, but I'd be scared if they were. Even when it seems hard to get my writing done for the day, I'm definitely enjoying the journey. I have plenty still to learn and as I network I'm finding more ways to test out my writing.

Still Unraveling

Unraveling from what, you ask? Actually winning NaNoEdMo on Monday and finishing off the organizing of the monstrosity bookshelves.

Okay, there is one shelf left for the husband's remodeling and woodworking books. Though we did have a great laugh over one he found published in 1970. Still do the basics the same, but the style doesn't cut it with either of us. It supplied a good laugh even if it supplied nothing to help with a bathroom remodel.

I need to keep working on the den so I have more room in there. Unfortunately I know some of this includes a better way to organize some of my scrapbooking stuff and all them pictures still not properly organized. I think I can write the first draft of a novel before I could get all these pictures in scrapbooks. Of course, I have great fun with it and journal like crazy in my scrapbooks. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a few added on to direct the viewers mind as to why the picture is there definitely helps. Like a picture of a flowering sage across the dirt path from a tree and how the shadow plays may be cool, but if I didn't add that it was at Sunset Crater National Park, no one would ever know that.

Julie even commented she doesn't know how I get so much done. Some days I wonder myself. It can be challenging, but after this week of also working a different shift, I'll be back to normal without EdMo timing haunting me. I plan on continuing the editing, submitting some writing, and picking up on doing more critiquing this month.

I think I'll be adding walks to the agenda (not just the treadmill) and I can find my TotalGym again. Look out, I might find a way to become a lean, mean working machine, but I'll always be verbose!

The Developement of Ideas

It never fails that I'm working on one project, that another idea comes along when I'm not working on my writing. Then things will come up that remind you of the idea. They will either help enhance it or squash it.

You can't always trust what your brain is doing while you are playing with stain and polyurethane, even if you open windows some and crank up the ceiling fans. However, one idea might be fun to play with in the future.

I've been reading a lot of historical novels based on the late 1800's recently. I'm even critiquing one over at the Christian Writer's Forum. While staining the shelving system my husband built for our living room, I had one of those 'what if' moments that geared into the late 1800's society.

What if the values and some of that way of life survived all the changes of technology to exist today? A far fetched alternative reality, don't you think? Well, I kept mulling this over during my staining times and here and there.

Then I get reading Julie's post from yesterday over at the Christian Writers Forum Blog and also on her blogspot at TheSurrenderedScribe. It's about how media has affected how Generation X'ers see marriage, but it can be applied to most anything. Media plays a big part in our lives and it seems that each generation takes it to the next extreme, but then asks, "Why are kids the way they are these days?" It isn't the kids shoving the media at them, but the parents. Maybe not directly, but people the age of the parents are making this stuff and some are parents.

This brought me back around to how we lost those values from the 1800's generation by generation. Some may really be outmoded, but others are timeless and should have never been lost. So what if they did not change as technology advanced? I'm right back to my 'what if' I started with, and without the stain fumes. I may not write about this idea this year due to other projects and ideas in the works, but this is one that will be mulled over and at least played with in my idea book. Who knows, it might bloom into an interesting alternate reality book or it might stay forevermore in the realms of ideas only. Time will tell.

Editing Takes Time

I did manage to spend a couple hours editing last night. It included the joy of taking all the red marks on my hardcopy and putting them into the computer. I also had to break down my chapters into new files, since most of the chapters were too long. The original manuscript was single spaced which really isn't good for editing nor is it the format publishers want it in for submission.

After two hours, the first two old chapters were done and printed out as the four chapters it turned into. These first few chapters of my book were the easiest due to the least amount of editing. The big edits start in chapter 5 of the old manuscript, so I honestly can't say how many hours I'll log for NaNoEdMo for acquiring a clean and properly formatted copy.

Once I have that all organized, I have the fun of doing one more big edit. This edit includes more dispersion of the information leading up to the finale of the novel. Some is dispersed, but not enough. The ending is more like an info dump even if it reveals an interesting twist. I want to lead up to the twist while leaving it a mystery. This will prove an interesting editing phase.

Then I do the knit-picky editing of wording to polish it up. I have a tendancy, as many do, of throwing in extra words like 'that', 'really', etc. Good ole passive voice loves to rear its head when active voice would give far more punch. When you work as an engineer writing technical documents all day that use passive voice, it gets rather entertaining reading a manuscript to find you couldn't leave ole passive voice at work.

This novel will turn into something publishable soon enough, but some days it needs to come after my writing homework assignments. Or some short item comes up wanting attention like an inspirational article I did print all the critiques for when I do sit down to polish it.

Now to head out so I can work on some of this for the evening.

Life Interrupted

I was on a good roll with writing, but then I let other life needs interrupt. In the end it worked out fine because I did something else I love to do.

I did a lot of writing/editing at the end of last week knowing I would spend Saturday doing things with my husband and getting out of the house. It turned into a great day together with a lot of shopping for things we needed and splurging for a few things we wanted.

We acquired a piece of molding, stain and polyurethane for finishing the bookshelves my husband has been working on for the winter. Since he had to work overtime Sunday evening, I decided to start the staining. I had no desire to sit down, which ruled out any editing I had planned to do. I cranked up "The Message" on XM radio and set out to see how the staining would go. Setup is always a little tedious, but once I got on a roll, I kept on going. Next thing I knew it was nine o'clock and I had everything assembled thus far stained.

I decided to continue with the polyurethane on Monday after work. Three hours later, the glossy shine and the oils of the polyurethane had made the grain pop out all the more on the oak wood. The golden oak stain with the glossy polyurethane finish had proven a good choice.

Of course, this led to my husband trying to tell me I was in a hurry for my book shelves. I told him I had a lot of fun doing it, so figured I might as well go to the end before cleaning up. I think he felt more upset due to not accomplishing as much on a work day as I can. I had to remind him that he gets up with me at breakfast after only five hours of sleep and then he needs to go back to get the remaining 2 or 3 after I leave. If he didn't do this, we would really feel like ships passing in the night with our different work shifts. This leaves him with 2 or 3 hours to put into a project before work around everything else. I usually have 5 to 6 hours straight to use after work.

So I may have some nicely stained bookshelves, but I had to just chill last night. I need to do some writing tonight. These past four days put me behind the insanity of NaNoEdMo and accomplishing 50 hours of editing in the month of March. I also want to finish another homework assignment this week. After looking over the critiques of my inspirational article again, I feel inspired to crank out the suggested changes I feel would work for my writing style and submit the revision for a final critique.

Now, I did manage to critique three more chapters of a novel for a member over at the Christian Writers Forum. That is just as important to me as getting my own writing done. It actually helps me look at my writing differently knowing what a critiquer should look for.

Crazy me also has the next writing how-to book for our Missing Pages Book Club and I need to read some of it for tomorrow night's discussion. I could not make any sense out of it last night, but I think my brain is recovering from whatever had it sleeping last night.

This all proves writing is a huge part of my life now and it feels weird to take some time off from it to do something else.

Getting Out of Isolation Mode

Writing causes a great deal of isolation because it is a solitary job. For the best writing time you will find yourself alone. If others are in the house, you are probably writing while they work on other things or sleeping. I know if I'm home with my husband and I manage to do writing related things it is because he is doing other things. If you let it, your writing can reduce you to only seeing your family and people at church (if you don't have a full time job).

I know I need to get out and be with people now and then. There is the need to be connected. How will I write about people if I don't know people?

It still does not prove easy, but I've become the secretary/treasurer of our Women's Ministries at church. With my crazy need to write, spend time with my husband and hold down a full time job, I find my desire to go out and do extra things squelched most days. I have taken this knowledge of myself and working on getting more interest in the ministry. I've set the goal of getting way more literature out in advance for what we are doing in order for the women to actually see what we are doing and what will happen next. If I don't at least try this enticement, then I won't know if it will actually help gain more involvement. I do understand that schedules don't always workout and many with teenage kids have after school things that block out even a once a month women's ministry meeting.

Will it work? Who knows. Maybe some things will get going on different days to actually accomplish some projects.

In the long run I know it will help me. I am enjoying fellowshiping with the women of my church and getting to know them better. I'm learning more about who I am as a person and what causes me to get irritated and what does not. Then I can learn how to change my feelings or at least redirect them in a way that solves my internal issues while accomplishing something with a team. It's a trial, so there will be learning. Hiding from people just to do my writing will hinder my growth as a person and hinder my understanding of how people tick.

Besides, doing things as a group can be quite enlightening and entertaining. You can accomplish more and in the end you still have plenty of writing time around the group activities. So get out there and live and see how it can enhance your writing along the way. Don't believe me? I find that I can still get in 20 hours a week of writing/editing with a full time job, women's ministries, church, family and friends.

Bad Emotions

I'm not sure why it happens, but I actually did not feel overly right yesterday and I woke up feeling like could spit nails this morning. There is absolutely no reason for any of this. Only bad thing about yesterday was that my job was boring, but that definitely doesn't get my blood boiling. I think the worse that happened was something I was trying to type up got obliterated and not being in the right frame of mind it came off worse. Other than that it was just another rainy day.

Even talking to God and praying didn't seem to help much at first. It was two hours after I got up that I felt like I had an even keel again emotionally. I even called to apologize to my husband because I know I was not helping his morning any even if I didn't lose it until he finally did. I guess he wasn't doing so well either, since he is trying to get over the cold I gave him. I only have minor congestion that is just bad enough to be annoying at times and more due to it seeming to lag on for days.

So I manage to find my equilibrium and I can function at work. Whether emotionally or mentally off it is not going to go well for the day if you know you have to do a huge amount of number data entry for a project. It probably wouldn't help me if I were home trying to edit my novel either. Though if I were home I would have some good Christian bands playing in the background to help sooth the beast within.

Hopefully it is gone for awhile and doesn't come back without a reason ever again. I doubt this since I am only human. I can definitely see why we should not be ruled by our emotions because sometimes they just don't make any sense at all.

All I know is that the Bible study, some lying down and then having the Christian music going made it so I actually did three hours of productive novel editing last night. I'm quite sure if I did not lean on God and rely on His Word to help get my mind and emotions on the right path, everything could have gone far worse.

Maybe I'm just feeling cabin fever and wanting it to be spring real soon now that I survived to March. ::laughing:: All I know is that I definitely was off kilter for some reason I can't determine for sure.

Zipping Right Along

Time and what I'm managing to do with it is zipping right along. Even the needed do-hardly-anything day yesterday helped immensely. My husband even called into work and we both pretty much worked on getting rid of our colds. I'm sure I gave it to him for that matter.

It made it close to 50 yesterday, but turned the world into soupiness as the snow melted. Our road is pretty much a mud pit due to the dirt they throw on it during the winter. So it warmed up after all that snow we had when I posted only three days ago. Of couse, today it stays cooler and rains all day. I'm ready for warm weather where I can get out without having to wear boots for a walk or too many layers. Actually I'm ready for some nice 70 degree and sunny days. I'm finding it far too easy to be lethargic these days.

On a good point, I definitely was not lethargic on Sunday. I got about 25% of my sci fi novel in outline mode. So far one scene jumps out that needs editing, but not much. Finding I'm wanting to leave the worldly stuff in there to a degree to show how it contrasts with how the character feels and changes by the end of the novel. I just don't want anything risque scampering around in the pages. ;)

The interesting thing is the outline is way different from the one for the homework assignment I did using the young adult novel idea. However, both are helping with the writing process as needed for each story. I'll be able to go back to the YA novel more easily now with what I have done for the homework assignments in order to finish writing it. The sci fi novel, I'll know where I need to edit, delete or add scenes in order for proper flow and timing of the plot as well as keeping the character arch true.

I think the in depth outline I'm doing for the completed sci fi novel is going to wind up being around 25 pages or more by the time I'm done. I'm guessing it will take a minimum of 12 hours to complete due to it taking 3 hours for the first 25% of the story. I would love to have it done by this weekend, but we shall see how that goes. Only good thing is that I'm back to my normal work schedule which might actually help me get things done.

I think I'm up to doing a workout when I get home before I plunge into my outline. The moving around will help immensely. This nerve issue with my left arm will hopefully get some relief if I get in the stretching and weight training the physical therapist told me to keep doing. Due to the crummy weather, I'll hop on the treadmill if it is in a place where I can get it plugged in. Use of the equipment we have at home is random now based on the fact we have pieces of book shelving being assembled taking up living room space and crowding out the exercise equipment areas. It will all lead to even more organizing and getting things where they belong in the house once done. Less clutter will even help the den and how I arrange my writing areas.

When I feel fried on my novel editing, I'll grab my article and work on the suggested edits from the critiques I got. I could try a story for the faithwriters topic of the week, too. Now what was that? Yup, definitely in novel mode at the moment.

First Day of NaNoEdMo

NaNoEdMo started today, but I didn't. I'm actually at work due to the project through the weekend. I'll finally get my weekend some time this coming week. Then I'll crank through some editing.

To make things more interesting, I'm fighting off a lovely cold that has me sleeping extra when I can just so I can manage to be here through the weekend for this project. I'm so tempted to add on some vacation days to just disappear for more days to recuperate.

On a good note I actually got my writing assignment I discussed in the last post done and sent in on Tuesday. Then, while sitting here for this project one night, scribbled out the character biography I needed for the next assignment. I typed that up this morning and reorganized it. I also dug through what I have done of the draft to find a scene where dialogue and action are the primary sources for knowledge of the characters involved for the reader. I need to recheck that it states no more than 4 double spaced pages and not at least. My brain is suddenly scared that I read it wrong, but I'm not handing it in until I get the other assignment back from my mentor. At least, I'll have this assignment ready to go as soon as she's done with that one. I need to get one more extra lesson squeaked in at the least to be sure I am caught up again.

The outlining I mentioned actually went really well. It helped determine where I've gone already with what I do have written in rough draft and solidified more of the idea for the rest of it. The character sketch ended up having some of the ideas in it as well. Due to how well it went for this, I'm definitely starting off my NaNoEdMo with a scene by scene outline for the sci fi novel to really find where the plot needs work or the character arch seems to sag. I bet this will take a few hours in of itself. The one for the YW novel used in the lesson took me around four hours minimum to do. However, part of it is not written and I could make up most of it. For the sci fi novel I have the entire thing written and then I need to mark where things should change and outline how to make the change flow in.

Only time will tell in how much it will take to truly edit what I have to. Needless to say, despite crazy work hours and other life interruptions, I have a feeling I'll be needing 50 hours to do a lot of this editing. Now to see if I have 50 hours in one month to do it. Oh, wait. I bet I do! I used to spend around 20+ hours playing internet games like EverQuest in a week and still get some stuff done. I think I do sleep more now, though. ;)

It might as well snow if it is winter, but could someone convince March that since it came in like a lion that it better be a lamb by the 15th. :P I'm ready for spring, but have 7 inches of new snow instead.

It's Been a Whole Week

It's interesting how time can fly. Between work, writing, family, and church, I can fill a week up pretty good.

I received honorable mention in intermediate for the challenge that ended this past Thursday. I'm getting encouraging comments on the one that can be read now. I'm not much of a short term and short worded writer, but these challenges are helping a lot on both counts. I still need to write up what I plan on posting before this coming Thursday for this week's challenge of "Actions Speak Louder than Words".

I signed up for NaNoEdMo which starts this Saturday, March 1st. The goal is to take a novel you have written and see if you can manage to spend 50 hours working on editing it for the month. I decided to try this for two reasons: I have this sci fi novel I really like, but needs work, and it would be interesting to actually log the time used for editing to see how much time things really do take. So maybe by the end of March I'll have those things I need to change figured out and I'll also know how much time I can put into editing a novel in a month around other writing things. I still have a few more lessons to complete for the apprenticeship course. I have to critique at least one thing a week while I have my inspirational article up for critiquing. I plan on revising it and reposting the revised version to have it complete by the end of March, as well.

To make life more interesting, a project I am assisting with at work has me changing shifts randomly. Not for the worse, mind you. I actually can come to work when my husband does during the project. On the downside it winds up going into weekends a lot. So an attempt at a three day weekend this coming weekend has been cancelled. I know I'll definitely have to work Friday night, but I'm hoping if things don't have the same bumps in the road as last time I may not have to come in Saturday or Sunday. Time will tell on this.

All this project means is readjusting the times I do my writing, plus working it around when the husband is doing something. Usually I am home alone during the week and so is he. We wind up like ships passing in the night though he does get up to have breakfast with me before napping a bit to get all his sleep.

A young adult adventure novel I have started will get attention through my fiction writing homework for the apprenticeship course. However, it isn't going to see extra time while I try to edit the sci fi novel in March. I'll have one of the main character sketches done and an outline by the end of this week for an assignment. I've never done an outline for anything, but I'm going to be doing one for the YA novel for homework. I'm thinking of doing one for the sci fi novel as well so I can figure out how to tweak the plot and character arc so they work better. Both will be an interesting test for me and my writing.

To top things off, my lethargic self (I'm on a computer at work and at home with what I do) needs to eat less and move more. So its time to push through the getting lazy bit to exercise some and I need to eat less. I'm eating far too many calories. At this rate I'll be having to buy bigger clothes and I don't want to. I actually have some clothes I used to fit in before I was disabled last winter. Exercise will help the physical problem that remains to. Even so, I'm not finding it easy to get started and keep going even if once I do get going, I love it.

So throw in the exercise of at least half an hour five days a week to the list at the beginning. I'm really not sure how this will all work out, but I do need to put the exercise stuff in the schedule better.

Off and Running

It's been busy since last Wednesday.

The husband took Thursday off so we could spend some time together since we don't work the same hours. We went out to dinner, it was both good and bad. I should have stopped with the fritters and skipped the steak. One piece was good, but one definitely was not. We were home fairly early where we just lounged for a bit, but we were both pretty tired. He fell asleep trying to read and I wound up chatting with Julie over at Christian Writers Forum for the usual Thursday night book chat. It wound up being just the two of us, but we chatted away most of the hour.

Somewhere over the weekend I managed to pull off completion of another scene in young adult novel idea I have started. I feel more comfortable working on this rather than trying to edit a sci fi thing I pulled out from six years ago. I am using it for my fiction writing assignments that I am now working on in the Christian Writers Guild apprenticeship even if the sci fi was used in the recent screenwriting assignments.

Of course, the first fiction assignment was a letter to a reader who views things way different than you do and then a parable. I found that letter hard even if at one time I was on a way different path that did not agree with where I am now. We'll see what my mentor has to say about it. At least the next assignment is going to be way easier even if it will take a lot longer to complete.

My current entry that is posted for the FaithWriters weekly challenge about "spilt milk" has received several great comments and was selected a jewel by this weeks jewelers. Of course, I have to wait until Thursday to see where I really placed. In the mean time I actually cranked out a rough draft for "Don't bite off your nose to spite your face" challenge. It actually uses the MC (main character for those who don't know) from a previous challenge entry. It stands alone, but it follows right along with where the MC wound up next. I left the rough draft for the husband to read when he gets home. He at least gives me an honest opinion and can point out general things, like wording he don't understand.

I've had two people give me some great ideas to play with for the article they critiqued for me. I like most of the ideas given and knew there would be some wording and grammar mistakes I missed. I'll be leaving it a bit longer for any further critiques people may do before editing and posting with edits for a final review. I'm hoping to submit it by the end of March.

Now it is almost bed time, so I can be ready for another day of work. If only it could seem as productive as my writing lately. I've got a lot done, but not feeling like it really is geting me anywhere or that it matters. I actually have to make people fix things tomorrow because they can't even fill out paperwork consistantly so it actually agrees on all forms.

So It's Wednesday Already

...and I still don't have my weekly challenge written for FW.

It's one of those weird weather days, ending in fun snow to drive home in after a downpouring rain. I give up figuring out the weather for this winter. I'm just wanting to hybernate for another 6 weeks or so.

I actually like playing online video games, but I killed my subscription in order to make sure I did writing instead. Probably a good thing since I really want to be doing that now instead of writing. Of course, I can't. So instead I caught up on some message board stuff at FaithWriters, killed my email, and checked out the boards and blog at the Christian Writers Forum.

So it's an hour later and now I'm typing here instead of typing my challenge entry. Funny thing is my entries I wind up doing at work in little snipets seem to do the best. One won 3rd place and another was in 8th place. I'll know tomorrow how the one I finally did from home placed. It did get some great comments and some good red ink fixes, too.

It's just a jumbled brain day. However, I was really focused at work. I did data entry for some measurements obtained from testing, edited two reports so that all I have to do is enter information in as I get the rest of it, and reviewed this 461 page factory exceptance test for an assembly line. Maybe I wore the brain out with all that geeky engineer stuff. =)

I'm really beginning to believe that due to all the technical like writing I have to do at work, this is one reason I really love fiction when I work on my writing at home. It's a productive escape from reality while the computer games were simply an escape. I honestly prefer the productive kind of escapes and change of paces.

Now to convince my cat he is not supposed to be sitting on my arm that has all the issues and has the continually tingly/semi-numb hand attached. It actually hurts. Silly cuddle muffin. He has always been the infamous lap cat and computer helper since he was a kitten.

Patience Test

I get plenty of tests on patience. I learn a little. I slip some. I get better. Then I blow it.

Now the great thing about all these little tests is that I try my patience more than anybody else does. A lot of things that used to annoy me that others did do not have the same affect. Most of these I can blow off and go on now. However, when I'm trying to do something and it just keeps getting messed up, I get ornery. Not a good thing at all.

Latest example:

I'm trying to post a critique over at the Christian Writers Forum which I belong to. After the fourth try of my numb hands messing up and making the post disappear, I got angry and yelled at my computer. Does this help? Absolutely not. Did it make it harder to accomplish? Absolutely.

How did this wind up harder even if I did get it on the next (fifth) try? Well, I had to go reassure all the pets that mommy was not yelling at them. I got the fraidy cat all huggled up first. Found the alpha male kitty just thinking I'm loco as usual. I could NOT find the 120 pound dog. There are not many places for a 120 pound dog to hide. Actually there really is only one in the whole house where he might feel like he is closed in and safe: the bathtub! So I had to convince the big, ole puppy I was not yelling at him either and he did come out of the bathroom. He did nervously look for his daddy who was at work, but then finally calmed down because I had calmed down.

So even if you are utterly alone and fly off the handle due to a lack of patience with your own efforts, it still messes with your whole world and you will need to sort it out before moving on.

Run Down But Not Run Out

I'm definitely run down by a crazy work schedule and the fight against a cold. However, I've learned a lot of cool stuff at work and I've definitely not run out of ideas for writing.

I received 8th place in intermediate at Faithwriters for the challenge of "All that glitters is not gold" and I have an entry in for "A man is known by the company he keeps" or at least that is my close paraphrasing to the exact topic. Now to wrap my brain around the idea that it isn't worth crying over spilt milk. I love these challenges that invigorate the brain and really don't take long to write. The good thing is they keep me writing even on weeks I don't get much else cranked out.

I do have an article I would love to have my critiquing buddies check out before I submit it. After checking out three different types of articles on the same topic for various course assignments, I found that one needed little editing to make a nice inspirational article. It also had great comments by my mentor about it. However, it was originally written as an exposition instead of inspirational. Sad thing is, she really liked the article, but I didn't quite cut the grade of exposition thus leaving it more inspirational. Well, it appears to have been in the form it was truly met to be. I just need a few more eyes and opinions to make sure its truly tweaked to its fullest potential. This will be the first thing I'll submit for a serious publishing attempt. Gotta start somewhere!

On the long winded side of things, I have this novel I've been toying with which I pulled out a few weeks ago. I used the story to do some screenplay assignments in my writing course. This has led to an interesting observation. I already knew that part of the book was written before I even thought of becoming a Christian and the rest came out in that first year as I learned who Jesus really was. That definitely shows, but even more than I thought. There is so much worldly stuff, including sex (not explicit, but obvious enough), in that first part.

So I'm actually finding myself wanting to tone some of this down, but not wanting to totally delete either. The whole character arc will get skewed otherwise. It mirrors how many people really are before they really accept Christ and then how their views change step by step as they learn to walk with Him.

It even mirrors my change. Some things hit like a ton of bricks and you have to change them immediately. Others take little steps over time only to reveal there is something underneath to work on next. I equate my walk with Christ and getting to know Him better with an onion. The outer layers are bigger and come off easier. As you go deeper they seem to not peel as easy and your eyes water with the effort. Our trials will peel our onions. Somewhere under all our selfish layers there will be the true center of what God intended us to be. I'm still peeling and crying both tears of heartache and joy as I learn.

So never stop peeling your onion. There are some cool things deep in there waiting to come out. God does not make junk. =D

Day off for what?

I have been fighting a cold the past couple days and was overly glad I had today off. However, I had to take naps during the day in order to function. I spent time just playing on message boards. I finished reading a book. I continued my Bible reading and studies. I had no idea what to write or how to fix an article I had in mind.

Finally at around eight after waking up from a three hour nap, I got an idea at least for the faithwriters.com writing challenge this week. I'm never sure how to feel about the writing on these challenges. Sometimes it feels right on and others entirely off. I submit whatever I have done and see what comments I get. I love the comments I've gotten for both my failures and my successes. It keeps me writing even as I aspire to make it to master level there.

God confirmed once again about how my life would progress little by little. That's the best way to do anything because it allows time to even change patterns and habits in order to succeed. We should never forget the tiny successes even as we aim for the huge goals. We can't just jump up to that great success if we haven't done some work first to know how to get there and stay there. It's so interesting how God leads us through many things and its always little by little.

I need to work two longer days, but I'm hoping some inspiration for my article editing happens. I would like to submit it soon. Hopefully the ideas come and I can work on it during my three day weekend around what we already have planned.

Time to get some sleep. Tomorrow is another day for some writing.

The Intro

There are the little blurbs to the right to give you some hint about me. Maybe it has made you curious already. If it has, I'm sorry to disappoint you already. The story is very long and several years. As I blog here you will get a mixture of my past, present and future of my life as an aspiring writer. Someday that will be continuing life of a published writer.

I've always wanted to become published, even as a teen, but somehow I'm almost forty and not there yet. Far too much procrastination and just letting life get in the way. Some times life will cause a delay, but it shouldn't stop us entirely. Every day a little bit of writing or research into the how-to's should be accomplished even if it may only be an hour. Let's say even if that is an hour interrupted many times that takes all day. I've actually written ideas at work during breaks just to make sure I didn't lose them or researched something on the internet.

The best thing that has happened in the past year is that I did get remarried and to a man that loves to encourage me to write as much as he loves to work with wood and cook. I actually feel guilty because I actually let him do most of the cooking, but I truly believe that is one of the ways he loves to serve me. The hard part is that normal working hours do not match at all, but we've found our ways around this. We are quite independent and use the time for our favorite pursuits: I write and he builds things or cooks. Of course, if we tag team the kitchen, I can be cleaning up behind him and that allows for us to possibly crank out three different things in a couple hours that we can eat for several days to come.

I even have minor disabilities which used to be major. You try being a writer with one hand when you are normally a touch typist. So the worst part of the last year was healing while fully out of work for over four months. Somehow I did not get overly far behind on my course work for the Christian Writers Guild Apprenticeship program I started in 2006. I think I fell behind faster due to house remodeling/addition building, wedding planning, and moving last fall than I did due to my disability. I know why, too. I had plenty of time to type with one finger while on disability.

So there is the intro in a nutshell and the story will unfold from here. Be sure of it. I love to blog! I have the gift of gab fully inherited directly from mom. Thanks, Mom!