Author Journey: August 19, 2022 - I Need a Jump-Start

 Welcome back! Sometimes during life's journey, we need a little push to get going again. Something bogs us down or stalls our minds and a little nudge in the right direction can be super helpful. I'm going to be trying something new which will hopefully be a help to both you and me.

Author Journey: Still Waiting, Somewhat Impatiently

Sadly, there has been no further progress on The Tale of Outh'n Durr. Our income has taken a vicious hit with all the inflation going on. There's just no way to justify the expenditure. As soon as the money becomes available, I'll get it out there. Until then, I'll just keep working on the other installments of the Children of Y'Dahnndrya collection. 

Yes. I've decided to make it a collection, though I'll probably still dub it a series in print. The stories are connected, but only loosely. No overarching plot has come to mind and I rather like putting together stories in which the protagonists are working on improving themselves day by day. In all my stories, that's what's standing out to me. 

• Ripples - The protagonist must learn to overcome her fears to accomplish a very important task. 
• Surge - The protagonists must learn to overcome self, the past, and the restrictions of vain traditions to accomplish tasks and goals.
• Over Land & Under Stone - The protagonists must learn to rise above social stigma and prejudice to accomplish their goals. They also have to learn to set self aside in order to do that. 
• Bid the Fallen Rise - Both protagonists have to overcome the limitations and restrictions of their opposing social statuses and the stigmas associated with them to reach their goals. 
• The Crash of Waves - One protagonist must learn to deal with the unexpected in one way, while the other has to learn how to overcome the deepest sort of betrayal and derailing of their projected, planned future. 

I'm not even sure the list stops there. But it's a good list. I'm glad I thought to put it in a bullet list because that helps me see a pattern in my writing. The benefit is in knowing where I may need to go with the next book. 

Writer's Life: Kittens, Busyness, and A New Idea

I haven't got a kitten video this week, nor a photo. There were plenty of opportunities, but I just haven't had my phone ready. They are thriving, though, and growing. 

They're at about 5 lbs and big enough for flea collars now. And we just upgraded them to a regular litter box, though time will tell how they'll receive that gift. 

Life's still crazy around here. So many things are hitting us all at once, yet again. I really hate it when that happens. Exhaustion sets in and I just feel so drained. 

To combat how this affects my writing, I decided word prompts might be a good thing to incorporate. So starting today, I'm going to share a set of three words. As I'm able (on Sun, Mon, Tue, Thu, & Fri), I'll share a prompt with you. 

You can use any or all of the words in your writing. Poetry, lyrics, or prose, they're all acceptable. I ask that you keep the subject matter as clean as possible. Consider that an extra challenge point, if necessary.  

I work hard to keep my writing and anything associated with my site clean and free from excessively graphic material. Use your discretion, but obviously erotica, occult, and graphic horror are not something I will approve for sharing through my site. 

If for whatever reason the prompts give rise to too many links that lead my readers to material they will not receive well, I will only share my own writings and leave it at that. There are places for those things but this blog is not one of them. 

If you use the prompts, I'd love for you to link back to the post and let me know in the comments below the relevant post so I can go see what you came up with. 

Here's today's prompt:

I will share my own writing for this prompt in the next post. I'll probably put it into my fantasy book world since all three words lend themselves well to it. Here's hoping this will jumpstart some ideas when November comes around. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you'll enjoy what you've read here. Or maybe the word prompt will be something fun for you to try. 

In any case, I hope to see you again, for certain, on Wednesday when I'll have a couple of book reviews to share with you. Word prompt posts will show up randomly on the days mentioned above. I won't post every day of the week, but my Wednesday and Friday posts will still be regular. 

Thanks again for stopping by!

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