Dec 17, 2014 |
Doing the Write Thing
I sometimes feel like a circus performer, juggling more plates than a normal person would, yet artfully keeping them up in the air without fail.
For the most part, anyway. The law of averages dictates that sooner or later, the law of gravity will take hold of one or more items and, well, you know . . .
Still, I enjoy working so many angles with my writing. Social Media and Marketing for others. Promoting my own projects. Running New Inklings Press. And, of course, actually writing.
It’s when I don’t make time for writing that the rest of my world turns to chaos. And so, once the fall cleaning, the new budget, and the flu had all run their course out of Bedford Manor, I was able to get back on track by getting back into writing.
NOLA is on its third draft ~ a combination of the rough draft and the second rework which didn’t go so well. I’m learning more about my characters each day and how they think, feel, live. I’m learning to listen to my characters, and allow them more freedom in telling the story, instead of dictating every scene in my own linear thinking.
My friend Beckie and I are forming a critique group for the Writers Club. It will be another outlet for our creativity, as well as a means to offer and receive support, encouragement, and wisdom from other writers.
My GoFundMe #DoingTheWriteThing campaign is still gaining steam, which is also encouraging. It inspires me to work harder on my writings.
I recently updated The Penny Parable and A Study on the Ten Commandments for Kindle. I now have three eBooks available, and over 50 print copies of The Unemployment Cookbook still in inventory.
I’m working on a series of blog posts for January ~ potato-based recipes. I’m becoming a huge fan of boiled, baked and mashed potatoes. I’ve always loved potatoes, but lately I’ve been doing much more than I used to. I can’t wait to share some ideas with you.
For Christmas I’ll be reading my Narnia collection, a family story written by my uncle, and Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
Charles Dickens
But first, it’s time to enjoy this wonderful life.
And Frankly, My Dear . . . that’s all she wrote!
Please share my GoFundMe #DoingTheWriteThing campaign by clicking on the poster below. If just one thousand people purchase each of my three Kindle titles (a total of three eBooks for less than $5), I’ll earn the full funding and be able to attend two major writing conferences in Spring, 2015.
Go Fund Me: #DoingTheWriteThing
You may also enjoy reading:
FIVE THINGS FRIDAY: Everything Old is NEW Again
Why I Write. Every Day.
Mojo Book Review: “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe” by C.S. Lewis
“Be Not Afraid.” Yes, I’m talking to YOU
Sep 26, 2014 |
Five Things Friday at Frankly, My Dear…
Welcome back to Five Things Friday. My theme for this week is #DoingTheWriteThing. I can’t get tired of it. The more I promote writing, the more addicted to writing I become.
Every conversation I hear, every sight I see, every sense I experience is placed in my mental filing cabinet (and sometimes on paper) for probable later use.
Reading about writing excites me. I’m currently studying Flannery O’Connor’s “Mystery and Manners” and came across this gem, Number One on today’s Five Things Friday.
Flannery O’Connor’s “Mystery and Manners”
1. My writing mentor assigned me to read two books. Flannery O’Connor’s “Mystery and Manners” is the first. I’ve been struggling with how to write a gripping murder mystery while retaining my Christianity. He has been telling me for several months that this book would clear that up for me. Three chapters in, and I see he’s right. The book begins with an essay or two on peacocks, which has rekindled my love for these beautiful creatures. That’s another blog post. The next sections express the importance of Christians writing the grotesque with redemption. For if we write only “rainbow and unicorns” (my words) where is the challenge for others to change their world? Authenticity, not loftiness, is the better writing.
2. I finally released The Unemployment Cookbook for Kindle on Amazon. I spent quite a bit of last week rekeying the text into the proper format, then creating the hyperlinks in the Table of Contents. It’s satisfying to have another title in the stable, as well as a completed project. Novel writing takes years, so to have something to show for all my writing efforts makes me feel productive, but more than that, it gives me the chance to show you, my faithful readers, that your support isn’t in vain or cast aside.
The Unemployment Cookbook, Second Edition
3. All the profits from the Kindle cookbook are going into my #DoingTheWriteThing fundraiser. So even though I have a fundraiser page set up, I’m doing as much as I can to contribute my fair share. Each morning brings me one day closer to the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference and other networking and learning opportunities, and one step closer to being the better writer I know I can be.
Go Fund Me: #DoingTheWriteThing
4. I reconnected with old friends last week. My missionary friend, Cynthia, returned home from Germany for a short visit. It’s been quite a few years since we were able to see each other, and I am grateful for the time we had. I was reminded that she, too, is a creative writer. She shared how she’s using her gift to minister to children, teens, and young women near Dresden, Germany.
Three Amigas: Corrie, Cynthia, Molly Jo
5. I’m promoting the High Desert Chapter of the California Writers Club. I’ve mentioned it before. It’s a wonderful, state-recognized organization for writers to get together. With over one hundred active members, we have formal critique groups, informal salons, monthly meetings with guest speakers, book fairs, networking and sales opportunities. For the last several months I’ve been the official Social Media Marketer. That’s just a fancy way of saying I get to be on social media for the club. I sit up front at the meetings, attend local author book signings, take photos, and share content. There’s something magical about being in a room of like-minded people, those who don’t just see the words on paper, but know how to put them there. I’m very honored to be an active member of this group.
Wordsmith Salon: Dwight, Tess, Richard, Lorelei, Molly Jo
Today’s bonus is for those of you who think I can’t stop writing.
My Favorite Quote From Isaac Asimov
You’re right.
And Frankly, My Dear . . . that’s all she wrote!
You may also enjoy reading:
Five Years and a Party
FIVE THINGS FRIDAY: The Big Easy
“What’s the Word?” Wednesday: Aaron Gansky on Magic and Writing
New Meaning to Ghost Writing
I’ll Fly Away
