Musing About My Writing Goals

This week, I'm feeling pretty good as far as my writing is concerned.  My muse is sticking with me for the time being, and I'm pleased about that.  My current WIP Silent Soliloquy has been challenging for me, so while I haven't made the kind of rapid progress I would like, I still feel like I'm making steady progress.  If all goes well, I hope to have the rough draft done by Valentine's Day.  I'm going to do all I can to adhere to that goal.

I've also finished all of my A-Z posts for this blog, and now I plan to start the posts for my other blog sometime soon.  I have the topic for each post selected, so hopefully those will come together for me relatively easily.

The weather here is awful, and probably won't be much better tomorrow. Perfect weather for staying inside.  Hopefully that will keep me motivated.

What are your goals for the week?  Has your muse been kind to you lately?

Musing About A-Z and Other Things

Now that we're in a new year, there's been a lot of talk about the next April A-Z Challenge. That's certainly understandable.  It's an exciting event, and it tends to bring a lot of the blogging community together.  Even those who don't post can partake in the joy of reading what their fellow bloggers have to share.

I have decided that I will participate again this year.  On both my blogs.  I pulled it off last year, and I have no doubt I can do it again.  I just need to remain motivated.  I have my themes selected, and I've written a few posts so far.  My goal is to try to keep them short and interesting.  Hopefully.  I'll reveal more about my plans as we get closer to April 1st.

I've also started writing some 55 Fiction.  It's extremely difficult to tell a complete story in exactly 55 words, but it's been a fun and valuable exercise. I've learned to use my words wisely.

And of course, I'm still working on my longer stories.  My mind is a veritable storm of ideas right now, and I'm trying to harness them the best I can.  Wish me luck!

What are your writing aspirations for the week?

Musing About the Cold Weather

I have one important complaint to make.  It's COLD outside!  Granted, about half of the country is suffering right now, so plenty of you are having to suffer along with me.  The high today was in the negative single digits.  The last time I checked the actual temperature before I went to bed last night, it was -14.  The wind chill was hovering around -40.  I've been through the kind of weather before, but it's more than a little unpleasant.  It's the kind of weather that makes me consider moving to a warmer climate.

Either way, my muse and I are safely huddled away inside the house.  She's even more sensitive about the cold than I am.  Luckily, sitting in a warm house with a thick blanket and a hot cup of cocoa is good for the creative juices.  I'm hoping the weather improves soon, but in the meantime, I plan to make the most of my forced hibernation inside my house.

My kids, of course, are being extra loud to make up for the fact that they can't go outside, but what else can you expect?  They can also be a tremendous source of inspiration.  I've come up with an astonishing number of ideas just because I was trying to figure out what they're thinking when they do something strange.

Musing About Titles and Things

I'm feeling pretty inspired to work on the tragedy I've been working on.  I don't know if I can exactly classify it as a tragedy, though there is a lot of tragedy happening in it, but that's beside the point.  Classification can be important or helpful, but I don't want to worry so much about pigeon-holing it that I let that get in the way of telling a good story.  As a writer, I feel like my main concern should be about telling a good story, and more specifically, the story that I want to tell.

So, all that aside, I have a working title down on paper, though I always feel hesitant about titles.  I never know if they fit just right.  A title, after all, is the first representation to the world that your story has.  It's your first attempt, through words, to draw potential readers in.

Not that I'm fretting too much about this.  Not at all!  I swear!  (Fret, fret, fret. Fret, fret, fret.)  What?  What are you looking at?

Okay, seriously though, a title is worth some thoughtful consideration.  I'm using the working title Silent Soliloquy because I feel like it reflects the narrator's situation.  I can't say too much lest I give everything away, but she has a story to tell and no one to listen to it.  Hence the name.  So, it works on that level for me, but at the same time, it doesn't feel attention-grabbing enough.  Oh well.  I have time to consider that while I work on the more important piece of this puzzle: the story itself.  And that part, I feel, is going well.

Thanks for letting me vent a little.  Now, I should get back to work!

Some Humorous Inspiration for Your Muse

Sometimes Mondays can just feel a bit icky.  You know how it is.  Your mind feels sluggish, and you aren't quite ready for the usual routine of a weekday.

Well, that's how I'm feeling today.  So, to get my mind working, at least creatively speaking, I sought out some funny videos.  (You might call it procrastination, and it isn't . . . well maybe . . . oh, I don't know, even if it is, it's at least a potentially valuable form of procrastination.)

This first one has a little fun with language and the art of essay writing in school. This is an example of how not to write essays.  So if you're in school, or simply want a good laugh, watch this.

This second video features Matthew Lewis (a.k.a. Neville Longbottom) playing innuendo bingo.  It's replete with examples of how the way you phrase things can inadvertently change the meaning.  So if you love language, or Harry Potter, you need to watch this!

Now that I've been sufficiently entertained, perhaps I will be able to get some writing done.  Wish me luck!

Musing About Laughter and Tears

I've been working on two WIPs for the last few days.  One is a comedy.  The other is tragedy. Both have elements of science fiction.  When it's me, how can that possibly come as a surprise?  I'm excited about both projects, and the benefit of working on two extremely different projects seems to be this: no matter what mood I'm in, it seems I'm in the right mood to work on one of them.

Today seems to be a tragic mood.  Not that I'm sad or anything, because I'm not. I'm just in the mood to make people cry.

Wow.  When I say it like that, it sounds bad.  Hopefully my fellow writers will understand.  I want to evoke powerful emotions in my readers.  I want people to connect with the worlds I create.  It's not like I want to go up and kick someone in the shins in the hopes of producing tears.  That would just make me a jerk.

I'll let you know more as my newest project begins to unfold.  All I can say for now is that I'm optimistic.  Though the fresh cup of coffee I have in hand might be a contributing factor in that.  

Musing About the Weekend

I'm sorry to be writing this so late, but my muse took an extra long holiday.  She even came back with a hangover.  She was probably off traveling distant lands and having a good time.

I had a pretty good holiday weekend myself.  We spent some time with family, saw fireworks, took our kids to the zoo, and celebrated my husband's birthday. The most dramatic moment of the weekend came when my son Jude bumped his head at the zoo and ended up bleeding everywhere.  We had to go to the first aid station and get him bandaged up.  It looked dramatic with all the blood Jude had in his hair, but all he cared about was getting back out there and enjoying the rest of his day.

Now I need to get back on track.  Sometimes holidays make it difficult to get back into a routine, but I'll do my best.

Musing About Voice

Today I'm struggling with my muse.  Have you ever had one of those days when you can't seem to find your writerly voice?  For whatever reason, whether it be stress or tiredness or simple distraction, I think all writer's struggle to hit their writing stride from time to time.

That's one of the reasons why I didn't post a philosophy post over the weekend. My mind was just dead.  For that reason, I'm going to combine my weekend philosophy post with my Monday meeting with my muse.  I'll reflect a little on the issue of voice.

Sometimes I read the works of authors I enjoy and admire, and I wonder how they put their stories on paper.  From time to time, I wish I could replicate their voice, or even just capture the confidence that comes through in their voice.

Still, while it may be wise to study the voice of our favorite authors so we can better understand how they use language to tell their stories, we shouldn't wish to replicate any one writer's voice exactly.

"A writer should have this little voice inside of you saying, Tell the truth. Reveal a few secrets here."
-Quentin Tarantino 

Part of telling that truth is being genuine in your voice.  The way you structure your sentences, the words you choose, are a reflection of who you are.  The parts of the story you emphasize, and the parts you gloss over, reveals a lot about you.  Putting yourself onto the page in that way keeps you excited and connected to your work.

"A voice is such a deep, personal reflection of character."

-Daniel Day-Lewis 

If you try to use a voice that is not your own, you will ultimately lose that connection with your work that each writer should have, and your work will suffer for it.  That's why I know that, even when I'm having a brief period of time when I struggle to find my voice, I can't give up.  As a writer, I have to be me.  Otherwise I might as well not do it at all.

So how do you make it past such difficulties when life weighs on you and makes expression difficult?  Keep trying, and believe that with a little effort, you'll hit your stride again.  It's only a matter of time and effort.

I'm a Winner!

I've been slacking a little in my blogging duties over the past week, but that's because life has just been . . . busy.  Nothing bad has happened.  It's just getting to be summertime, and my kids always want to be on the go outdoors.  I'll do the best I can to keep up with my regular posts, but if I disappear unexpectedly for a day or two, or if I simply post later than normal, that's why.

I'm still keeping in touch with my muse through all this craziness, so that's a positive thing.

Also, I'd like to share another positive thing!  I was selected as a winner for Lisa L. Regan's Aberration Blog Hop!  I won a signed paperback copy of her new book Aberration!  Yay!  I love getting new books!  Thanks to Lisa for offering this great prize!

Musing About Crazy Weather

It's been a bizarre weekend to say the least, so hopefully that will serve as inspiration for the coming week.  I don't want to go into too many details right now, but I will say that flash flooding temporarily washed out all of the roads leading out of town when we were at my in-laws house yesterday.  It took about an hour and a half for any exits to become viable.  While there, my husband and I saw that the park where we got married had turned into a raging river.  The current would have easily swept anyone away who tried to cross.

Needless to say, though I'll say it anyway, the weather has been volatile around here.  We went from getting about ten inches of snow, to breaking a heat record, to flash flooding.  Our house is nowhere near the flooding, however, so that's at least a good thing for us.

My goal for this week is to keep up with my editing, and to try to stay sane.  With all the craziness going on around here, I won't be bored, a least!

How has the weather where you live been treating you?

Musing About A Relaxing Weekend

My weekend was extremely relaxed.  The most stressful thing my husband and I did was take our kids to the park, and that was more fun than anything else.  We ended up letting the boys run around the baseball diamond for awhile too, which they really seemed to enjoy.  Maybe they'll play baseball when they get older. Who knows?  As nonathletic as I am, I used to be a pretty decent softball pitcher when I was a kid.

The kids and I also played with sidewalk chalk on the patio.  We practiced letters, numbers,  shapes, and drew lots of pictures of flowers.  Then we accidentally left the chalk out, and it rained overnight.  Oh well.  We needed to get more anyway. The kids had already worn most of the chalk down.

Exciting things like trips can be good for your creativity, but so can weekends like this.  Having a relaxing couple of days can boost your creative energy. That's what it seems to have done for me.  I'm eager to get to work on my writing.

Most of this week will be simple.  I need to keep up with my blogging schedule, and I'm still working away at my edits for Adam's Apple.  My husband got around to reading the whole story this weekend, and he offered some perspective on what I could expand upon to improve the story.  I agree with a lot of what he said, and I look forward to working on fleshing the story out further.

I would also like to take the time to remind all of you that the Towel Day Blogfest is this weekend.  It runs from Friday, May 24th to Monday, May 27th.  Only one post is required, and it must simply pay homage to the late and great Douglas Adams and his fantastic work.  Simple, right?  

If you haven't yet signed up and would like to, I'll be keeping the linky list open through the end of the blogfest.  

So long for now.  Thanks for all the fish!

Meeting My Housework Muse Would Be Good Right About Now

If you're here for May Monster Madness, today's post can be found HERE.

After an insanely busy weekend, I have so much housework and other things that need to be done, I don't know where to start.  Seriously, how do dishes pile up so fast even when you're barely home?  Does someone break into our house for the sole purpose of dirtying my dishes?  And laundry.  Argh!

Oh well.  The plan for today is simple.

1. Consume more coffee.
2. Start laundry.
3. Make lunch.
4. Generally make sure the kids are looked after.
5. Schedule some blog posts while the littlest child naps.
6. Do any other housework I can fit in during nap time.
7. Take kids to the gas station for suckers, then to the park.
8. Make dinner.
9. Do more cleaning while the kids create a path of destruction in my wake.
10. Begrudgingly acknowledge the dishes.
11. Put the kids to bed.
12. Once the house is cleaned to my satisfaction, sit down to write.

That's a startlingly long list, isn't it?

Oh well.  In an attempt to procrastinate a little more, I'll share some pictures from this weekend.

Lyle with a birthday cupcake.

A picture of Lyle, Jude, and my nephew Asher.

My son Jude with a wooden train.  He loves his trains!

Lyle and Asher being distracted.

My Muse is Back (Though She Never Actually Left)

First of all, I'd like to remind all of you of the Towel Day Blogfest that I'm hosting May 24th-27th.  This is a celebration of the life and writings of Douglas Adams.  If you enjoy his work, feel free to sign up!  Or if you'd rather not participate, feel free to check out some of the posts anyway.  I have a feeling they'll be fun.

Now, down to today's business.  It's been more than a month since I've done one of these posts, though posting for A-Z instead was a welcome change of pace.  I got to let my imagination run wild, and what writer doesn't enjoy doing that?  So while I may not have been posting about whether my muse was cooperating with me or not, she was in fact being quite good to me.  Thanks a lot, Pleiades.  I owe you for getting me through the month of April!

Right now I'm working toward my next goal.  Since I made my decision to flesh out Adam's Apple and self-publish it, I've been working on fun little additions. I still need to edit and expand parts of the main story, but right now I'm feeling inspired to write the supplementary material that I'd like to include.  You could say they're the equivalent of appendices or the special features you might find on a DVD.  I guess I just enjoy things like that.

So far I've started writing about Adam's previous romantic failures, including the story of the go kart, the peach, and the turtle that was referenced in one of my A-Z posts.  People said they wanted to know the details of that story, and I intend to provide them.  I've also started a little piece entitled "George’s Cynical Rules for Surviving a Comically Absurd Cosmos".  This one has been a great deal of fun to write also, and I think it'll give people a chance to spend more time with George.

Anyway, I should probably get back to working on that, so I'll go for now.  See you around!

Off Schedule

I have the feeling it's going to be an odd sort of week.  My husband, who usually works nights, will be working day shirt starting this week.  The change is for training purposes, and I'm not sure how long it will last.  Either way, we all know how a shift in schedule can throw you off.  When you get used to a routine, it's never easy to change it.

Either way, no matter what else might feel off this week, I need my muse to be in top form.  I have to keep working on my A-Z Challenge posts.  I'm making good progress, but I have plenty more to do.

What are your plans for the week?  Are you doing the A-Z Challenge?  If you are, are you posting ahead of time or writing as you go?  How do you adapt to changes in your routine?

Sulking in Snow

I've lived in Iowa my entire life, so you'd think I'd be used to all the wonderfully annoying winter weather we get here.  I'm not, though.  I expect it, but I don't like the way winter storms seem to be following one after the other this year. We're digging out just in time to get more.  Grrr.

Sorry, I had to help my husband get the car out of a bunch of snow today so he could get to work.  Our house doesn't have a driveway, so we have to park on the side of the street.  Therefore the car gets easily buried by plows and things.

Maybe that's why my muse has me wanting to write about sunny, warm things. Well, things that aren't at all winter related, anyway.  The topics I write about might not always be happy, but there will be sun involved in my fiction this week!

How does weather influence your writing?

Happy Grammar Day!

March 4th is National Grammar Day, and I knew I had to mention it here.  Today is the day when you can get away with correcting the grammatical errors you see or hear in the world.  People may still be annoyed by the corrections, but at least you'll have a valid excuse!  You can visit this website to learn more about this necessary holiday.

Background Image courtesy of photoraidz
/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

This week, I hope to get more work done on my posts for the April A-Z Challenge.  I've been slacking on that for the last couple of weeks due to family illness.  Now I can hopefully get back on track.  I'd also like to write more poetry this week.  I've had good luck with inspiration when it comes to my poetry, and I want to make the most of it while it lasts.

I hope you all have a fantastic and inspiring week!  May the muse work in your favor!

Meeting With Illness Again

Whew!  I'm exhausted.  After overcoming a week of illness not long ago, another wave of sickness has hit our house, and this one was worse than the first.  My boys and I both have a killer cough, which is making it difficult for us to get a good night of sleep.

This is why I'm not sure what my other goals for the week are going to be.  I'll read and write when I can, but the family has to come first for now.

I can't wait for spring!  When spring comes, I want to go for long walks and take my kids to the park.  For now, I simply have to focus on getting myself and my family healthy again.  I hope you all have a good and productive week ahead of you!

Some Geekdom to Start Out My Week

My husband and I got to go to the movies and out to dinner this weekend.  It was a lot of fun.  We saw Warm Bodies.  Whoever would have thought you could have a movie about romance between a human and a zombie?  Vampires may be dead in a technical sense, but they don't rot.  Zombies rot.  Even so, I quite enjoyed the movie and I'm glad I got a chance to see it.  This story is obviously a twist of Romeo and Juliet, complete with similar names and a balcony scene.  Yet, it's also quite unique in many ways, and well done (at least in my opinion).  I also know it's based on a book, which I may have to add to my TBR pile.

After the movie, we stopped by a bookstore and picked up a couple of gems. This first one is something that my husband and I both knew we needed to get.

We play Trivial Pursuit all the time, and we've memorized so many of the questions from all the versions of the game we own that we had to turn to a new source of trivia.  So here it is.  We played last night, and it was nice to have a whole new batch of questions we'd never seen before.  How long this book will last us, it's hard to say.

This second one is for me.  I love debating philosophy, and I love watching Doctor Who!  How could I pass this one up?  I've already read a couple of the essays in this book, and I'm loving it!

Wherever my muse takes me this week, I have no doubt it will be inspired by the geekdom mentioned in this post!  I could scream so loud with excitement that I might bring down the house.  So I'll put this here instead.

From GifBin

A Bitingly Good Week Ahead (Hopefully!)

After the busy and slightly odd week we had last week, I'm hoping my muse will treat me well this week.  I'm excited for Valentine's Day, though we have nothing fabulous planned.  When you have two kids, it can be difficult to celebrate holidays like that, but little gifts of chocolate or flowers are enough to brighten my day. (Hint to my husband.  Wink, wink. ;)

Valentine's Day is also the day of the Vampire Bite Blog Hop.  Quick, there's still time to join in on the fun!

So my plans for the week are to get back on track with writing.  I've gotten a little start on that goal already, and I look forward to getting more done!

What are your goals/aspirations for this week?  Do you have any special plans?

Lost in a Book

I'm posting late today.  Why?  Well, on top of the normal taking care of children and dealing with the normal chores of the day, I've been reading.  I'm just feeling an intense need to read right now.  There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, of course.  I'm sure I'll get around to writing soon enough, but for now, I'll have my face buried in a book.

  

How often do you find yourself immersed in a book you just can't put down?  It's great fun, but it also forces you to rearrange your schedule to a certain extent. Though, as a mother, I can only do so much rearranging.

So, I won't set myself any specific goals for this week.  Instead, I'll leave myself open to what happens.  It's kind of nice to be ready for anything.