New Year, New Goals and a Brand New Logo

NaNo2018 was an epic failure on my part. Sort of, not really, but yes a failure. I did write more in November 2018 than I did in the rest of 2018 put together - so win! - but still, I fell ridiculously short of meeting the 50k goal. 

So what happens now? 

It's a New Year -- 2019!!! -- and after a lot of thought, and I mean a LOT, I'm going to change things up a little bit. I'm going to goal set differently, more specifically but perhaps also in a way that won't constantly make me feel like I'm falling behind and failing. Here's where I start...

Goal #1 -- Write Every Single Day (on a WIP)

I know, God do I know, that not every day is going to be a good writing day. One day I may get in 2500 words. Another day I may add 5. And that's okay so long as I write. Eventually I'll finish what I've started and I'll have what I need to take the next step. 

Goal #2 -- Write a Blog Post Each Month 

Sort of like an accountability check-in. I've seen other writers do this - both the indies just getting into the industry, as well as well established traditionally published authors that I've read/loved/followed for years. But more than simply holding myself accountable to my craft, I've missed writing blog posts, missed this avenue of interaction with other bloggers and writers. Now, January didn't get a blog post but you'll see a little bit further down what I was busy with last month. Going forward though I'm going to write (at least) one blog post here each month - and at least one blog post for each of my other blogs too.

Goal #3 -- Finish Something 

Here's the thing: right now I have 4 projects on the go. One of them is and always has been intended as a stand alone novel/novella. Two of them could be the launch points for a series or other multi book/story set, I can see other possible storylines that could come from them, or they could just end up as stand alone novels too. The fourth project is absolutely the beginning of a series - I know pretty much everything that will happen in the first three books/stories, how much further the series goes after that is still up in the air. 

So the goal is to evaluate them, pick one, focus on that and FINISH it. 

But which, which, which one will it be? 

Goal #4 -- Set Periodic, Quantifiable Deadlines  

This is one that could be tricky. Or it could be super easy. These would be goals like: finish one chapter this week, or write 5000 words by the end of the month. Which, like I said could be simple or could be hard. I hope that over the course of time, having those quantifiable deadlines will increase my productivity. 

I'm also hoping that with time those quantifiable goals will become more lofty - 10k words in a month, then 5k words per week, etc, etc, etc. Eventually, assuming this works the way I want, I'd be able to set goals more along the line of This Novel done by March and That Novel written by August; you know deadline deadlines. 

(I'd cross my fingers in hope but that may make it more difficult for me to type. Cross 'em for me??) 

Goal #5 -- Become a Better Writer

One step to attaining this goal, one that will help tremendously all on its own is simply to write. To write and keep writing, and then write some more. Another part of this will be to read, of course; I've always felt that to be a good writer and to continually better yourself, you must read. (In general, the reading thing has never been a real problem for me. 😉 ) A third thing I'm going to try to do is find some online writing courses - creative writing, or novel writing, or maybe even an editing course. I've actually discovered a few through my local library that look promising, so I've got somewhere to start. 

I'm sure there's more that I can do and if, and when, I discover those things I'll let you know. 

via GIPHY

Now remember earlier in this post when I alluded to what I'd been busy doing this past January? Number one on that list was to completely redesign and launch a new website for my mother's massage therapy business - at which I'm more or less in charge of all marketing and advertising these days. The redesign is done, the site is launched and now, except for weekly/month maintenance to keep the site dynamic and up-to-date, I'm able to direct my creative energies elsewhere. 

Number 2 on the list of things I did last month came about in the middle of doing the website redesign. And it was the development of new logos for each of my blogs, and another logo which incorporates aspects of the other three to use as a social media profile photo. The logo for Inside My Mind is simple, clean, and while it may not be my forever logo, for now I really love it. 

What do you think? 

Interested in seeing the other logos? Pop over to my Facebook Page where three of the four have now been launched! The fourth will be coming in the next little bit.

Writing Problems

Writing problems. We all have them – blocks, ideas that just aren’t working, words that won’t come or don’t sound right, lack of time, energy, etc… This gig, by which I mean writing, it isn’t for the faint of heart, or the half-hearted. It’s funny, but more and more lately I’ve wondered that writing is a lot like life. It’s a balancing act of finding time vs. making time. A battle between having the right words and forcing any words out. It’s a struggle between knowing the right thing (or way or road or whatever) and having to guess.

And it is a constant series of wondering if what you’ve done is good enough, if it was done fast enough, long enough, enough, enough, enough…

Having 4 kids, one only 4 months old, means it takes either a lot of scheduling to get time where I can simply sit at my computer and write, or it takes sacrificing of sleep. Some times it takes the scheduling of sacrificed sleep to get myself in front of this computer. And alright, full truth, sometimes it’s just a matter of luck too. (Right now, for instance, I’m able to sit at my computer writing this because the baby fell back to sleep after it’s morning feed, the girls are at my parents, and the boy had a couple friends sleep over and they tried to stay up all night and are still in exhausted slumber. See – luck!)

When I do get to the computer I’ve got about a dozen projects on the go between work, my sister’s wedding, and other personal ideas that I’ve been working on. Writing, some times is simply not at the top of the list. And other times I’m just burnt out enough from everything else going on in life, that when writing is at the top I just can’t, or don’t feel like I can.

It’s been that way for me for a while now. That feeling of can’t.

I hate it.

Yet, at the same time, I know that I’m simply not the type of writer that can sit down and force a story. I mean, I could, but I’ve done it before and, well, it was horrible. The writing was horrible. The story that came from it was horrible. I’m talking: even my 13-year old daughter thought it was bad, horrible. Everything was stilted, one-dimensional, tired sounding, and honestly just plain painful to read. So yeah, forcing out a story – not really my thing.

Great writing doesn't always come in a day, sometimes it comes in weeks and months. Honing writing skills. #amwriting pic.twitter.com/rtgyIa4olU

— Writing & Editing (@WrtrStat) September 28, 2017

Lately though I’ve been feeling the need to write again. The whispers in the back of my mind while I go about my day. The familiar tones and voices of my characters as they’ve once again began asking me to tell their stories. The sensations are wonderful, my dreams are again colourful and coming to life, and I’m looking forward to some quality time with my keyboard. Or pen and paper. Or my phone’s voice memo app. (Like I said time is a crunch with 4 kids.)

So writing problems… What have yours been lately?   

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The Another Year of Books Celebration GRAND PRIZE CONTEST is begun!

Hey there!

The ANOTHER YEAR OF BOOKS GRAND PRIZE GIVEAWAY Contest is now under way.

As more donations toward the grand prize are gathered additional prize entry options may be added. 

Please Enter. Please Share. Join the Event Page on Facebook. 

And join us on event days for tons of fun, many chances to win during daily Fast Giveaways, meeting new authors and bloggers, and discovering tons of new books to read!

As Always - Happy Reading!

LD Ferris ~ aka Writer Mom

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We're Going to Be Celebrating...

In conjunction with my book loving blog Ups, Downs, Ins & Outs we're having a celebration!

Most of the details can be found in the post linked below but the gist is this.

May 31 - June 2 the event will run on Facebook (see the event page here), on Ups, Downs, Ins & Outs and here on Inside My Mind. Most of the event activity will take place on Facebook but authors and other bloggers will have the chance to post guest blog posts (on the blog of their choice) as well.

Authors and Bloggers who wish to participate or simply donate prizes for giveaways can Sign-Up Here. 

Ups, Downs, Ins & Outs: Announcing the ANOTHER YEAR OF BOOKS CELEBRATION E...: That's right, it's time for another Special Event!  I've been thinking of doing a Spring event - just because I could. But it ...

Why Do You Write?

Writing.

You do it because you have a passion for words - for the way you can craft them, twist them and use them. You write because you’ve got a story within you that simply must be told. Sometimes you have just one story to tell and some times there are simply dozens of stories waiting to be shared.

Writing.

Taking an idea, even the barest fragment of one, and nurturing it. Giving it time and love and attention. You feed it. Then the idea grows and you develop it in to more. It becomes characters and settings and a plot line. And you feed it more. You give it your heart and mind and sometimes even your soul. You give it everything you’ve got, and then you give it more.

Writing.

Crafting your tale, not only in such a way that it tells the story you imagine but also in such a way that other people can enjoy it too. You don’t just need to catch the eye with a beautiful cover (even though that is important) but you need to catch the mind with an intriguing start, hold the reader with an interesting plot and satisfy the heart with a fulfilling finish. Sometimes there’s a happy ending, sometimes there’s not. Sometimes the story you tell simply ends with your characters right back where they started – in neither a better or worse position than at the beginning, but having had a grand adventure.

Writing.

Because whether you’re sharing parts of your day, parts of your dreams, your hopes, your likes or dislikes, you’ve got something to share, to tell, to say.

Writing.

In the good times and bad. When you struggle to find the words. When you just can’t find the right way to say what you need to. When you know exactly what to do and simply don’t have the time. When the story flows like water from your fingertips, slipping to the page as if by magic. When the story is there on paper and you just can find anyone to read it.

Writing.

Don’t stop. No matter why, no matter what, keep writing. Because, well, just because.

Everyone has there own reason for writing…

What’s yours?

Writers, Dreamers, Inspiration & Words

It's not an exaggeration to say that writers are dreamers.
 
We have to be, if for no other reason than to be able to create rich worlds and characters, and stories. We may dream up our stories at night, or in snippets here and there during our waking hours. We may hear the voices of our characters begging for their story to be told, or telling us the story over and over again, until we have no choice but to let it out, to let them out.
 
Our inspirations come from life, from color and form. Even music or a simple conversations can plant an idea in our head that may grow and blossom into something amazing.
 
Hours spent at a computer or with pen and paper, time that many people would consider wasted, becomes fantasy, becomes prose, becomes an alternate reality... Strangers meet in a dimly lit bar. A damaged warrior seeks solace and peace, and finds so much more. Vampires, werewolves and gods spring to life and off the page.
 
A kind of magic is created by writers. And it takes a special something to be able to create it. For writers, their creations are their life and as important to them as their loved ones, as cherished as a child.
 
I'm thankful everyday that I can find the words to put to paper, the ones that describe a scene or emotion, the characters and all the little bits that individually may seem insignificant but when compiled together are absolutely intrinsic to the worlds that I'm creating. Every day that I can find the inspiration I need to write, I know that I'm alive and while I may not be living the life that many can understand, it is the life that truly makes me happy.
 
Find your inspiration. And you'll find the words will follow.
 
Today this is mine.

November 1st... You Know What That Means!

It's November 1st and that means a couple things are going on RIGHT NOW!

First, today is National Author's Day... Or so the internet and Facebook tell me. So to all my writing and author friends out there - here is wishing you the most glorious of days! :-)

And second - NANOWRIMO STARTS TODAY!!!

It's National Novel Writing Month - the month long writing challenge of 50,000 words in 30 days.

I'm doing it again this year. I've even got a nifty little widget down on the left hand side on this site that *should* show you a running log of my total words written. So here's wishing myself and all the other NaNoWriMo-ers out there a very sincere Good Luck!

I'm off to get my butt busy. Talk to you again soon!!

I will finish The Queen's Mate this month... I will finish The Queen's Mate this month... I will finish The Queen's Mate this month...

The Next Step of The Journey

We write. We read. We edit and re-write. We re-read and then edit and re-write again.

We authors do everything in our power to make our manuscripts the very best that they can be.

We try to eliminate typos and grammatical errors. We strive to ensure that John doesn’t mysteriously become Desmond, only to turn back in to John. We push ourselves to ensure that the timeline of our back-story doesn’t clash (or *gasp* contradict) with the timeline of the rest of our story.

We do all of these things but we are human and we still make mistakes.
 

So we employ, beg, or plead for beta-readers and editors. Those people who are going to read our stories and tell us what works and what doesn’t. Those individuals who we trust to rip our precious babies apart and then help us put them back together and make them (hopefully) better. The like-minded peeps who look for all the nitpicky errors of people, place and thing, and actually enjoy telling us when we’ve done something wrong. They are the men and women who are going to say to us “why?” and “no, just no” and even “WTF is going on with this?”

These people are in many ways our guardian angels, our saviors, our own personal heroes.