Celebrate the Small Things-September 29, 2017

It's Friday!  Let's Celebrate the Small Things with Lexa Cain!  Tonja Drecker and I are her co-hosts.

It's been one of those weeks where I've been busy, but I don't feel like I've gotten a lot done.  I'm sure most of you can relate to that.  In my case, this failure to finish anything is largely due to the projects I've tackled this past week.  I'm working on two separate short stories, jumping between them as inspiration allows.  Doing this means that the work I've gotten done is spread out, and that makes it feel like I've accomplished less than I actually have.  I'm choosing to celebrate the fact that I've gotten some good writing done, even if I find myself feeling I should have done more.

I also did more outlining for my novel in progress.  I'm happy with the story I have in my head, at least so far.  I have a long way to go on it, of course.  Hopefully my enthusiasm for the project will keep me going.

I'm also celebrating the fact that October is almost here.  October means Halloween is almost here, and it's absolutely one of my favorite holidays!  My boys are already excited.  They can't wait to go trick-or-treating.  They've been making lots of homemade decorations and hanging them up around the house.  I may be biased, but I think they're pretty good artists.

What would you like to celebrate?

Celebrate the Small Things-September 22, 2017

It's Friday!  Let's Celebrate the Small Things with Lexa Cain!  Tonja Drecker and I are her co-hosts.

I submitted another story this week.  I have four out on submission right now, which is a record for me.  Granted, two of those submissions are super short, but I'm still proud of that accomplishment.  I've now made ten submissions so far this year, and I plan to make two more before the year ends.  This would be the first time I managed to make twelve submissions in a single year.  I really hope I pull it off.

My husband took the night off work.  Tonight is the homecoming game, and my boys have been begging their daddy to take them to the football game.  They're really excited about going.

Zoe is ten months old today.  I don't even know how that's possible.  I haven't lost as much pregnancy weight in that time as I'd have liked, but I'll choose not to focus on that for now.  That would just ruin my good mood.

What would you like to celebrate?

Celebrate the Small Things-September 15, 2017

It's Friday!  Let's Celebrate the Small Things with Lexa Cain!  Tonja Drecker and I are her co-hosts.

I've finished the first draft of a new short story, and I'm hoping to finish editing it by the end of the day today. Fingers crossed that I don't succumb to procrastination.

Procrastination has been a problem this week since my husband and I have been re-watching Game of Thrones.  It hasn't been good for my productivity, but it's been too entertaining for me to care too much.

Zoe learned to wave.  It's so cute when she does it, too.  She's also getting more teeth.  Five in total have popped through now, and a sixth is visible just below the surface.  She bit my shoulder the other day, and I have to say, it really hurt.  She seemed to think it was funny.

What would you like to celebrate?

Celebrate the Small Things-September 8, 2017

It's Friday!  Let's Celebrate the Small Things with Lexa Cain!  Tonja Drecker and I are her co-hosts.

I wasn't around last weekend because I traveled to Illinois with my husband and kids so we could visit family.  We left midday Thursday and got back home at 11:30 Monday night. The drive was also about 8 hours (could have been 6 but the kids kept having to use the restroom), so I was going stir crazy.  Still, we all made it there and back safely, and we had a great time seeing everyone.

As much fun as we had on our trip, I'm also celebrating being home again.  It's been good getting back into my regular routine and being able to relax a little.

I'm also happy that I've been able to get back into my normal writing routine.  I didn't write while we were gone, and I was worried my inspiration might dry up because of that, but nope.  That didn't happen.  I've been getting quite a bit done over the last few days.

What would you like to celebrate?

The Insecure Writer's Support Group: September 2017

It's the first Wednesday of the month!  That means it's time to convene another meeting of The Insecure Writer's Support Group.  Our leader Alex J. Cavanaugh has once again recruited a fine group of co-hosts: Tyrean Martinson, Tara Tyler, Raimey Gallant, and Beverly Stowe McClure.

Be sure to visit the IWSG website.  Not only is it a great source of support and information, information on the next IWSG Anthology Contest will be revealed.  You don't want to miss out!

As far as insecurities go, I always feel anxious when I have stories out on submission.  The second I hit send, I start to second guess myself.  I begin to wonder if the premise of the story is weak.  I worry that I might have an embarrassing misspelling.  I question whether I met all of the submission guidelines.  To get past these insecurities, I'm trying to focus on the feeling of accomplishment I get from finishing a story and sending it out.

I'm also concerned with getting back into the swing of things when it comes to writing.  We took a road trip out of state to visit family over the weekend.  We left early Thursday afternoon and got back late Monday night.  It was a lot of fun, but it shouldn't come as a surprise that I did little in the way of writing while we were gone.  I want to get back into a routine so I can still meet my goals for this month.  I think I can.  At least, I hope I can.

The question for this month is:  Have you ever surprised yourself with your writing?  For example, by trying a new genre you didn't think you'd be comfortable in?

I love the feeling of being surprised when I'm writing.  That's part of what makes writing so enjoyable.  When I start a new project, I like to have an idea of where it's going to go. That helps get me started.  I don't always stick to those plans, though, and sometimes those surprises make the story even stronger than before.

I've talked before about how important it is to try new genres and find out what you're really capable of (which can lead to many wonderful surprises), so I won't rehash that here. Instead I'd like to talk a little about the importance of looking at your past writings and comparing those to what you're currently writing.  When I've done this, I found myself absolutely stunned by how far I've come as a writer.

Don't get me wrong.  I still have a lot to learn, but looking at where I started shows me how much is possible when you keep writing and refuse to give up.  If you're ever feeling down about your writing, I suggest you pull out something you wrote years ago and compare it to something more recent. There's a good chance you'll be pleasantly surprised too.

Celebrate the Small Things-September 1, 2017

It's Friday!  Let's Celebrate the Small Things with Lexa Cain!  Tonja Drecker and I are her co-hosts.

I'm actually writing this post a couple of days early.  By the time it goes live, I'll be in Illinois visiting family.  It's going to be a busy weekend with a lot of driving involved.  Hopefully it all goes well and the kids don't go stir crazy.

I submitted a short story this week.  It had to be in by a certain date, and I procrastinated so that I barely got it done in time. Nevertheless, it got finished, so that's reason enough to celebrate.

I'm looking forward to starting a new short story and getting some more work done on my new novel in the coming week. Hopefully it goes well.

What would you like to celebrate?