Author Journey: July 30, 2021

Welcome! I'm happy to see you here. I do have an update on my Camp Nano project. If this is your first visit here, I've been running a content edit on the second book in my Children of Y'Dahnndrya fantasy series. While the going has been rough, progress is being made. Let me show you what I mean...

My Camp Nano Progress

I'm so close to the 50k goal I can taste it. OK, not really taste it, but you probably understand what I mean. With three days left to write and me sitting at a little over 5k to meet the goal, and with me usually editing through over 2k words per day, I can certainly see me winning this time. That would be such an encouragement after struggling so long to get back into my writing. Here's how the goal line sits as of today (which is Thursday, July 29th at the time I'm prepping this post.)

I haven't edited anything yet today but after this post is prepped and scheduled, I'll be getting back to it. Since I'm coming to one of my favorite scenes, it shouldn't be any kind of a hardship. I look forward to seeing what I can accomplish today, tomorrow, and Saturday, though Saturday writing might be tough since I prefer to wait until after the sun sets. 

Other Writing

Since all the hullabaloo of 2020, I've found myself writing snippets of songs and lyrics. Like most of my creative endeavors, I run through them in cycles. Sometimes the cycle lasts for a few years, like it did with my writing. (This is why I'm struggling now. I started writing seriously in the middle of 2016 and continued to pound out stories through half of 2019.) I worked chainmail jewelry dedicatedly from 2005 to 2008 or 9. I worked in mixed media art and photography from around the end of 2010 until 2017 which is probably my longest run. 

But song writing...that one comes whenever it wants to and I can't really pin down a pattern. If you read Wednesday's post, then you know I lost two babies to miscarriage. During that time, I was writing songs or putting poetry to music or reworking old hymns to sound a little more modern. And I was pounding them out, pouring out my chaotic clutter of emotions into the work and doing my best to keep them focused on how I could see the hand of God working in my life during that time. Two of the songs I wrote as therapy to deal with the loss of the little ones and it did help. But the others were about my spiritual walk with the Lord God Almighty. 

These days, I find my songs to be more focused on praising God for helping me rise out of the pit of despair and overcome fears through the power of my Savior. The encouragement I gain from reading the Bible is a big inspiration, too. 

I don't share these songs too much and never online. Most of them aren't really meant for sharing that far abroad, at least not in mainstream soc-med. I don't mind the critiques of my novels and short stories. But my music...it's personal and precious in a different way. 

So while I may take breaks from working on my novels, I don't stop writing completely. I know God has a plan for me using the skills He's blessed me with. I look forward to sharing the songs I've written specifically for my novels in the future. I just don't have the necessary recording equipment I need to complete that kind of a project at the quality level I require.

What About You? 

Do you spread out your creative genius when your brain needs a break? If so, would you be willing to leave a comment sharing some of the ways you keep your creativity flowing when it's not focused on your main style of work?

 

 Thank you so much for take the time to read today's post. I do appreciate you and thank you for the encouragement and support. 

 

Until next time...