Celebrate the Small Things-October 13, 2017

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

My birthday was on Wednesday.  It was a low key day, but I'm cool with that.  I recently learned that Michael J. Nelson of MST3K and Rifftrax fame shares a birthday with me, which automatically makes the day that much more awesome.

The boys (this includes my husband) had a good time making homemade Halloween decorations.  Here are a few pictures of the results.  (Note: the ghost isn't homemade, but the kids still wanted their picture taken with it.)

Happy Friday the 13th!  My husband and I always celebrate the day since we met on a Friday the 13th.  We've since considered it a good luck day for us.

What would you like to celebrate?

Celebrate the Small Things-October 6, 2017

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

This week has been a stressful one.  Zoe got a bad cold this week, so she's been really grouchy.  She's been getting better, though, so I'm grateful for that.  Unfortunately, she's passed her cold on to me, but it hasn't been too bad so far.

Even with the stress of caring for a sick baby, I've still managed to get some writing done.  It hasn't been a lot, but it's better than nothing.

My birthday is next Wednesday.  I don't have any fancy plans, but I am looking forward to the excuse to eat cake.  Bring forth the cake!

What would you like to celebrate?

The Insecure Writer's Support Group: October 2017

It's the first Wednesday of the month, and that means it's time to convene another meeting of The Insecure Writer's Support Group.  Our leader Alex J. Cavanaugh has assembled another great group of co-hosts: Olga Godim, Chemist Ken, Jennifer Hawes, and Tamara Narayan.

Be sure to visit the IWSG website!

The question for today is:  Have you ever slipped any of your personal information into your characters, either by accident or on purpose?

I think it's common for bits and pieces of ourselves to slip into our characters.  After all, they're born inside our heads.  We build them piece by piece, and the ways they behave are informed by our own experiences with humanity.

For example, I find myself writing characters telling jokes that I'd tell.  Or another character may share my love for reading.  I do try not to make them too much like me, though.  It would probably be boring if I denied myself the opportunity to look at the events of the story from the perspective of someone different from me.

Some authors may use their writing as a way to deal with a difficult event in their lives.  Perhaps in giving their protagonist a struggle similar to their own, the author can work through their own feelings.  I've done something like this before, though I never shared that story with anyone outside of a small group.  It felt a bit too personal to put out there.

Have you ever injected personal information into your characters?

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?