Knocked Down and Explosions

I'm not really sure exactly what is going on. I was knocked down hard by the 10th anniversary of a devastating personal tragedy. It was all I could do to complete day to day tasks and homeschool. It is the end of the round and my story is still bugging me. I contemplated not bothering for the rest of this round and just moving on, but the more I tried not to focus on how many days in a row I had gone without writing the more the story popped into my head. Do you know what it is like to try to concentrate on primary English lessons when some mad freak is calling lightening to set a huge pavilion full of people on fire and someone else is lobbing fireballs at them. Yes, I know it's a bit over the top, but my characters are getting frustrated and restoring to explosions in public to get my attention. Oh, the poor innocent bystanders.

I feel like I keep coming back to the same thing. The life I'm living VS the life going on in my head and I must tell you I'm getting on my own nerves. I know I have to decide what I really want to do and pursue it. I know homeschooling is a priority over writing, but I don't know how many things I can do while maintaining the small gains I have maid with my health.

I am aiming for writing and visiting ROW80 friends every day.

How are you all doing on your round? My hope is that it has been more productive than mine. Please leave me a comment to say hello. Don't forget to let me know where you are visiting from so I can follow you back and see what you're up to.

Photos from Pixabay.

100 Days To Nail A Habit

As part of next years homeschool journey I wanted my children to start a gratitude journal. Of course I will be joining them because I believe teaching by example is the best way to teach children. While looking up exactly what goes into a gratitude journal, especially for someone as young as 7. I stumbled across a 100 Day Habit Challenge and we all know how easily I am swayed into joining a challenge. This challenge reminded me a lot of ROW80 because you set your own goals. You pick 3 goals in different categories to focus on over the next 100 days and you replace old bad habits with newer and hopefully good and productive habits.

The categories are creativity habit, anything habit and health habit. For the creativity habit portion you choose a project that would make you ecstatic to complete in the 100 days. The anything habit can be, well anything, a new morning routine or catching up with a friend/family member everyday. The recommendation was whatever will make you happy, is good for you and does harm to none. Finally, the health habit can be any habit that will help you improve your health. There is even a nifty calendar you mark off every day as you work on your new habit for 20 minutes or more. The theory is the more you check off the less you want to skip it and risk breaking the streak.

My creativity habit is to write every day and finish the first draft of The Most Magical Place. My anything habit is to get up at the same time every day and stick to a morning routine. My health habit is to go to bed by 2am. We agreed to start tomorrow so that means I haven't messed up yet, right? 

I googled it and I think the idea or at least the printable calendar was formed on this site, but the idea of a 100 day challenge is not a new one. The first one I found didn't have her branding or the quotes on the printable.

Have you ever heard of or tried a gratitude journal? Was it helpful? Do you work all year to break old habits or is January the only month that sees good habit attempts? Make sure you leave a comment to say hello. Don't forget to let me know where you are visiting from so I can follow you back and see what you're up to.

ROW80 August & September Goals Rundown

1. Write 2 Poms every day.
I wrote Thursday, but not Friday or Saturday. I am behind on planing and gathering materials for our next homeschool year because I didn't do anything in June except Camp NaNo, eating and sleeping.

2. Post for every ROW80 check-in.
Still a win in this category.

3. Spend 1 Pom per day visiting ROW80 friends.
I did make it around to visiting my ROW80 friends as well as my IWSG friends. I love seeing what you guys are doing, it keeps me inspired to try harder.

4. Post to Twitter on ROW80 days.
More win! I even managed to post another day. When I stopped over to visit Kristen, one of our ROW80 friends, she gave me reasons NOT to facepunch a bear. I am not entirely sure I needed more reasons not to facepunch a bear, but there you go. The post made me laugh so hard I just had to retweet it. Go read it if you haven't already.

Photos by Pixabay.

Crazy, Stress and Baby Steps

Craziness and stress has been the name of the game for the past few days. Our car broke down Sunday and we had to tow it to the mechanic Tuesday. My amazing brother drove 100 miles to take me to a doctor appointment and shopping Monday. I fought for several hours with my doctor's office on Tuesday. I did manage to make time for writing, but it wasn't much. Sill I have to remind myself that this month is probably trying to kill me and baby steps are still progress.

ROW80 Rundown:

1. Write at least 500 words per day on plotting or blogging.
Monday: I was sad after stepping out of the A to Z fast lane and had doctor appointment and a lot of running around to do which lead to no words.
Tuesday: I wrote 642 words in my Hiveword working on characters.
Wednesday: 300 words on this post. So I fall short.

2. Check out at least 3 A to Z posts per day.

I made it to 4 since the last check-in. So not a win, but not a loss either.

3. Check out at least 5 posts from each new ROW80 linky before the next one comes out.

I only made it to 4, but I'm going to go check out 1 more and call it good. 

4. Use Twitter at least once per day.
Oh goodness, I completely forgot about Twitter. I must work on that, too.

5. Post on my author Facebook page at least 2 times per week.
As long as I get this one out I will be squarely in the win category with this one. 

6. Read 5 books in round 2.
My new book just came and I'm working on it. I'm hoping to get this one done soon.

Photos by Pixabay. 

E is for Exempt From Perfection

Update on me: My heart is still in A Fib and the Dr. has told me that it is more likely to drop back into it's regular rhythm if I get a full nights rest. At home this would mean working until I'm done and then sleeping in, but everyone knows you can't sleep long in a hospital before someone needs to poke or prod you. I still have some time, but if it gets too late I may put it down and just post afar I have. You have been warned, TMI concluded.

E is also for experience! The only way you can get experience is to just do it. It's like a Nike commercial, but with less sweat and more chocolate or coffee or both. This is something I am really bad at. I seem to always have a billion things that distract me from actually sitting down and putting pen to paper or pixels to cloud. However it goes these days. Usually it is mundane life stuff, which I will never complain about again because the Fates keep showing me it could always be worse. For the record I believe them.

Another thing that seems to distract me is research. There is so much great stuff out there that you could probably spend a lifetime researching and never move to the next step of starting your story. So of course that leaves me here preaching about experience when I am far from this magical creature called the experienced author.

How am I going to get this much coveted experience? I have a few plans. First, challenges like A to Z help me immensely. I just like the feeling of moving toward a measurable goal with a bunch of other people. Being able to pick your brains has led to some ingenious solutions.

Second, dedicating a set time each day in your routine is reported to help you transition from mundane you to writer more quickly and easily. I have no experience easily becoming writer me, but I have seen the power of the routine in my children's lives. I will apply those principles to my writing and see how far I get. The only way it could get worse is if I don't try.

Another piece of advice I have used with success is setting a timer and just writing as much as you can in the allotted time. Write or Die offers a word processor equipped with a timer and warnings that tell you if you have stopped writing for too long. The settings are customizable, so the penalties range from an annoying reminder to deleting your work if your inactive for too long. It is available as a program you can purchase or a free web version with fewer features.

Lastly, I am going to be kinder to myself. We all try to be kind and supportive of our friends and writing groups. We go out of our way to make helpful comments and listen as others vent. We have proven we posses these skills so why do we not practice them when dealing with our selves. I am guilty of negative self talk and usually talk myself out of even trying because I'm convinced that what is in my head will never measure up. I can not allow this to go on. Doubt is trying to kill my dreams and I need to resuscitate them and then nurture them.

I showed you mine now you show me yours. What are your best tips for motivating yourself or others to just do this writing thing? Let me know where your visiting from so I can follow you back and see what your up to.

Photos by Pixabay. 

D is for Discovery of Destiny

What do you even say when you discover your destiny? For many characters no thank you and your crazy you've got the wrong person are common knee jerk reactions. It's my goal as the writer to help  my hero at least understand their destiny even if they choose to ignore or walk away. Of course if they walked away from the destiny I've hoisted on them permanently it would never turn out to be a great story.

At least I wouldn't want to read a story where a mad woman was attacking and winning because no one was able to stand up to her and no matter how bad it gets no one ever does. This little story needs your hero. What do you do to convince him to don the power bequeathed to him at birth?

Larry Brooks says that you have to give them the chance to be human before they can ever become the hero you see in them. What does that entail? There are 3 phases. I am actually talking about 3 of his 4 story boxes he discusses in his 10-part tutorial on the fundamentals of story structure.

In the first phase your hero is anything but a hero. Everything he does is in response mode. He's scared and unsure of what to do. I mean who wouldn't be a little freaked out to discover the fate of the world resides on their shoulders. He is a wanderer and is doing any number of things to try and solve his new and unexpected problem. From Storyfix2.0:

The hero is running, analyzing, observing, recalculating, planning, recruiting or anything else required before she or he can move forward.

Alright now that he's finally done stumbling about and looking for answers. He has a plan and has entered the attack phase. Our hero takes his plan and his allies and off they go to kick some ass!  But what else has been going on while our hero was hard at work? Storyfix knows:

Meanwhile, the plot thickens – the antagonistic force is moving forward, too –  and what the hero thought would work isn’t quite enough.  They need more.  More courage.  More creativity.  A better plan. 

What the hell does our hero do now? The attacker must up his game and become the warrior. Just before you move along to the next phase something, known as the second plot point, will happen to rock your hero's  world all over again. Entering the last phase Storyfix says:

Part 4 shows how the hero summons the courage and growth to come forward with a solution to the problem, to reach the goal, to save the day or even the world, to attain the fame and riches associated with victory, and to generally beat down and conquer the story’s antagonistic force.

One very important thing to remember about the last phase is that no new information can enter the story. Our hero must draw on and use things and people that are already in play to solve the problem. Also, while he may need help the ultimate success should rely on what our hero has learned.

Update on me: I had more tests, yes it was shocking. Then I took a pretty bad fall and am now a fall risk. I also landed in a cardiac unit with Atrial Fibrilation. So it would seem that I am falling apart.

Good luck to those taking on the April challenges. Please leave me a note and say hello I will try to follow you back to see what you're up to.

Photos by Pixabay

C is for Cliche

Oh great I have just discovered that my novel is already cliche before I have even started it. I don't remember why, but I decided to Google 'Urban Fantasy' and I was dismayed. Wikipedia reads:

While several adult stories focus on professional heroes, many teen urban fantasy novels follow inexperienced protagonists who are unexpectedly drawn into paranormal struggles. Amidst these conflicts, characters often gain allies, find romance, and, in some cases, develop or discover supernatural abilities of their own.

Reading this blurb feels like reading 'my' story idea without specifics. I am wondering how do I set my novel apart when I apparently thought up a story that falls very closely into the template of a

certain genre. Or is that what readers want so they can find your works? Is writing your first manuscript even about potential readers or about getting the story in your head out? Wikipedia had more to say on the subject of the YA Urban Fantasy.

A common thread running through almost all teen urban fantasy is that, in addition to these teens dealing with stakes possibly as large as the fate of the world, they're also coming into their own and learning who they are. These coming-of-age themes and a teen 'voice' are what distinguish young adult urban fantasy from adult books in the genre.

I have a teenager and what I  plan to write is certainly not appropriate for her.  There will be at least one sex scene, but 2 would be better. Nothing really graphic, leaning more toward erotica, but still to much for a 14 year old.

Am I putting too much into worrying about labels and where my idea fits in? Do you worry about retelling the same story or are you of the school that figures it's all been done before and you're putting your unique voice on it to make it new?

Update on me: If you have been following along you know I suddenly lost my sight in my right eye on Sunday, 5 days ago. I am

still in the hospital and am not much closer to answers. I saw a cancer specialist yesterday and biased on the 8 billion tests they've run he doesn't think cancer is my cause. Good luck to all and I will visit as I can.

B is for Blindsided and Bad Breaks

Wow, so I have had one hell of a past few days. The original intent was to post about writing and write a novel with Camp NaNo. It doesn't look like I'll get all that done right now. I'm in a hospital blinded in one eye with no clear explication as to what is going on.

It started with a headache on Saturday and

has led to total blindness in my right eye with lots of poking and prodding. There

have been many scary words thrown around and they keep telling me to relax. It all makes me feel a little stabby.

I don't know what to do about A to Z, but the other challenges I have easily put on the back burner. I have no idea what today will hold so I can't even say if I'll continue posting. I'm not even sure if anyone would want to read what I would be capable of putting out.

I am at a cross roads filed with uncertainty. I sincerely hope your challenges are going better. Please leave me a note and let me know where you are visiting from so I can follow you back and see what you're up to.