Author Journey: April 14, 2023 - Camp Nano Struggles and A Lot of Waiting

 Welcome to my branch of the scenic route! However you ended up here, or whatever your reason, I'm happy you arrived. Today, I've got a couple of updates to share with you concerning my author journey. I'll give you a little peek into my life happenings. And I also have a writing prompt to share with you toward the end of the post. If you've come before and know I post short stories sometimes, I wasn't able to prepare one for you this week. Still, I hope you find something enjoyable or useful in the post.

Author Journey: Camp Nano Struggles, Changes, & Waiting

Camp Nano has been a struggle, moreso than the actual Nano event back in November. I don't know why I thought it'd be a breeze since I'm only editing. I haven't been able to work on that every day and as such, I'm so far behind, I don't know how I'll catch up. 

Changes of any kind really throw me for a loop. If you've followed my blog for a while, you know that already. Well, my husband and I took a short mini-vacation earlier this week. I hoped it wouldn't be so much of a change in process that I'd have trouble adjusting back to the norm, but nah. It's been tough. But I'm determined. Sometimes I don't meet the goals I originally set and that's disappointing. But oft-times that's how things have to be. I'll choose to be content with that knowledge and keep pressing on.

I'm still waiting for the documents to confirm The Tale of Outh'n Durr is registered. I haven't done anything more on getting it ready to loose upon the public. I'm going to, though. 

More changes! I'm rebranding my online presence. I would like everything to match, so I'm working to make my blog, website, and all social media sites I'm on. This won't change my introductory video on YouTube, though. I don't have the time for updating that right now, for certain. I will before too much time passes, though. I'd love to hear what you think about the changes to the blog. Please leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Writer's Life: Have Some Fresh Tea

Changes. Like the one I mentioned above, changes really throw me. My youngest daughter and I went to work. Then my husband did the same, going back to his previous job. There have been so many changes and unexpected things happening this year that I have been functioning like I'm working at my writing on the Tilt-a-Whirl, or maybe The Scrambler. When I grab hold of one task firmly, something else slips loose and flies off to the wild beyond. I'm so tired of trying to juggle. I've never been good at real juggling. But, usually, I'm good at shuffling tasks around until they work. 

I'm having to relearn how I did things when I was younger. How did I shut out everything which wasn't necessary to the task at hand? What did I miss because I did that and was it something I shouldn't have missed? I really can't know the answer to the second question. But it doesn't seem to have harmed me, so I'm going to assume it was safe to ignore the things I pushed aside in order to focus back then. I have got to figure this out if I'm going to succeed at this author bit. 

I've started walking again with my mom. This is in addition to the time we spend at the gym in town. This takes a huge chunk of my time and I feel it pressing on my mind. But it's necessary, for her health and for mine. So I'll continue. 

Spartacus is having an issue with some of his food, so we're having to figure that out. We have a plan and we're going to give it a try. Please keep us and him in your prayers. Other than that, he's doing well -- still feisty and playful.

Just Keep Writing: Friday Fascicles

If this is your first time participating in this kind of writing exercise, you're in for a treat. If you've done this with me before, just keep scrolling for the prompt.

Rules:

1. You can use any/all of the words and/or the photo in the prompt below to create a unique written work. Fiction or nonfiction, poetry or prose, even lyrics are acceptable.  
2. Please keep the material you write clean (ie. nothing R-rated or worse) if you wish to share the link to your work here, as well as if you link back to my site. I strive to keep my site free of such things. My readers know and expect this. I respect your right to write whatever you feel you need to write. And you're free to use my prompts. But if your material is graphic, I'd rather not view it, and most of my readers will not wish to. 
3. Have fun! This type of exercise is perfect for growing in the writing craft, or for helping through a rough patch in your current WIP. If you're looking to push your author limits and you normally write in nonfiction prose, try a whimsical collection of lyrics. If you normally write poems about real life events, try your hand at a fanfic. Give yourself some room to explore.

Don't forget to leave a link to your creation (unless you're writing graphic material) so my readers and I can check out your work. I'd appreciate a link back to this post to help me reach more readers, but it's not required. 

I absolutely love the word 'fastidious,' don't you? Are these words putting ideas for stories in your head? I hope so!

That's it for today's post. I hope you found something helpful here. Maybe you were encouraged to know you aren't alone in struggling through the writing process, or with life in general. 

I don't know why people visit my blog, unless they choose to share a bit in the comments. But I do know I hope you have a safe and blessed weekend. 

If you decide to come back on Monday, I'll have a fresh word prompt to share with you. See you then!

Until next time,
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