Monthly Archives: January 2015

Day 7: What are you taking with you from this Challenge?

Here we are all together at the end of all things. At least the end of seven solid days of sharing our thoughts and our souls with the world. I’ve met people I would never have encountered otherwise. I’m taking away a new appreciation for the writing of some people I’ve never met before this, as well as for my own writing. I’ve gathered more followers to the blog, which was getting a bit lonely
I’ve dug deep into my personal belief system and found the courage to speak out about things that bother me, no matter how trivial or disturbing they might seem to anyone else.
I’m spending more time enjoying the gift that is my life. Walking around even more with the dogs, which makes all of us happier.
Have I shipped other than the blogs? Yes. I contacted my editor with a prologue and a blurb on a book that I’d let languish at about 80% done. She’s sending a contract. I’ve been avoiding taking any contracts until the book is done since I no longer had faith in myself to finish. That faith is coming back. I’m taking the stool away from my writing set up and standing to write. Turmeric has become a part of the daily routine for me and the Salukis.
I have not moved away from my enjoyment of the ironic. Check out that You Tube of Frodo and Sam at Mount Doom. You might notice Frodo’s face changing from one clip to another…covered in sweat and a second later only a mark on his cheek, a humorous bit of a continuity issue. I’d say it was the end of Lord of the Rings except the movie dragged on and on and on afterwards. Same as the book, for that matter. Maybe Tolkien wanted us to stay in Middle Earth with him just a little bit longer.
I’d like to stay with everyone who has shared this seven days with me, but it’s time for all of us to move forward. Maybe one day we’ll meet in person but in the meantime, tomorrow I’ll be sharing the MOST amazing low carb dessert.
Until then.

Day 6: Tell us about a time when you surprised yourself.

This is going to be a rough one.
Throughout the years I have learned I’m a selfish person, and prefer to walk away from stress. I’m also far more lazy than I’d like to admit. This in addition to the usual detritus of growing up kept me from wanting to marry until I was pretty much past the age when my mother stopped nagging me about marriage. Well, and also I hadn’t found anyone I’d really want to spend the rest of my life with.
Until that life changing day I met a sweet guy at a dog show. It took a few years before we both managed to be in the right place at the right time, and we took those for better or worse vows.
So.
Forward more than twenty years, in 2011, he looked yellow to my eye and I bullied him into going to the doctor immediately. In those bright doctor office lights he could have rivaled the Simpsons. Off to the hospital, and the specialists.  A tumor was blocking his bile duct.
Surgery, five months in the hospital and acute care center until they ‘could do nothing more for him.’ Which is hospital speak for ‘the insurance won’t pay if he doesn’t show progress.’ They said he had to go to the hospice floor of the hospital since he wasn’t going to get better and: “Your wife can’t take care of you.”
Wait a minute.
Who said I couldn’t take care of him? Yeah, okay, selfish, lazy, avoiding stress. But this was different. This mattered. Even if he only lived the week longer the doctor predicted, he deserved to have that week at home, surrounded by the dogs and the property he loved.
We got three months, and I learned more about patient care than I thought I wanted to know. I also learned how to heal deep seated infections the hospital couldn’t clear up, and how to bully, prod, tease him into working harder than he ever wanted. In the end it wasn’t enough but we were able to share a few months. When he finally slipped away I could believe I’d done the best I could.
Was it a win? Well at least it was a short term success. Would I have changed anything? Of course I’d rather have him here fussing about his lawn tractor than have him in a container in the closet. Could I have done more? I have no idea. I just know I did the best I could at that time. And that’s all any of us can do.

photo credit Monica Stoner…that’s me when I’m not writing!

Day 5: What advice would you give for getting unstuck?

Unstuck from a muddy road? A dead end job? Or the dreaded Writer’s Block?
Since I’ve suffered from “Writer’s Block” far too long and too often, I’ve collected advice from every source available. Some suggest keeping two projects going at once so you can change around when you’re stuck on one. Some suggest just sitting at the computer for a set length of time; further along that suggestion is to type out whatever nonsense words come from your fingers until you’ve flipped that creativity switch. Use one of the Do or Die writing aids.
Get some exercise, go out into the sunshine and commune with nature. Maybe wash some dishes or take a drive so that the mindless activity will help free the creative side of your brain (a walk might be safer than a drive.) Trick yourself by setting a timer and only letting yourself write for that set period of time. Set up sprints with other writers.
I’ve tried all of these and they have worked. As long as I keep doing them.
But
Nora Roberts doesn’t believe in writer’s block. She sees her writing as a job, same as going into the office every day. She’s not alone. In fact, when you start delving into the habits of very effective authors you find the same approach from nearly all of them. Yes, there are a few ‘burst’ authors who manage to produce good books in a very short period of time. Many of them admit to total exhaustion afterwards as well as a fervent promise to themselves NOT to try that again.
It’s the same as housekeeping (yeah I know ICK BOO.) You can either work at the house every day, a little bit at a time, or let it pile up to be last minute attacked in a violent burst of where the heck is the vacuum.
Guess which is my housekeeping style?

Fire Dragon over the jump, photo by Anita LG

Closer to my life and my passions, if you’re trying to keep your dog in condition to succeed in competition, either conformation shows (basically beauty contests) or performance events (running, jumping, or displaying their willingness to do what you tell them to do) success is far more within your reach if you work with them every day, not just cram training or conditioning or grooming into the last few days before the event.
That last paragraph was all one sentence. And it made sense. Looks like writing every day has helped me remember how to write.
The same as our legs and backs, our brains are muscles that can become stronger with exercise. And, yes, weaker with inactivity. Again, consistent routine exercise.
When I treat my writing like a job, and show up to work with my brain in gear and ready to produce, it’s far easier to ignore the doubt bullies who tell me I’m not Nora, or Darynda, or Doranna. Because they’re right, I’m not. But I am me; I’m kicking those doubt bullies to the curb and stepping on their squishy bodies on the way back to my book.
Oh, it helps to have one book in publisher edits and another contract on the way. Yes, we can do this.

Day 4: Teach us something that you do well

Pessimists scorn every rose has a thorn, but an Optimist knows every thorn has a rose.

Hmmm, I could list many things I don’t do well, but that’s actually one of the negative things I do well. What about the positive? I can’t remember when I first read this little ditty about thorns but it’s been ingrained in my psyche for a very long time. It took a long time to teach myself that how I chose to approach situations directly influenced how the situation affected me. Obviously many aspects of a situation were beyond my control. But my reaction was not, or should not be.

If I was in a power outage, then I could get to bed earlier and get some serious sleep. A long driving trip meant seeing new parts of the country. If I’d made that trip many times before then I could watch for changes along the way. If I was late leaving on a trip, I would be driving through at an entirely different time of day. This happened last year on my way to Pueblo Colorado, and I drove through the pass between New Mexico and Colorado as the sun was sinking. My only regret while seeing the sunset displayed against the mountains and on the plains was a lack of time to pull over and pull out the camera. But I have been able to capture  many New Mexico sunsets from my back yard, a great advantage of living on the plains.

Snow and freezing temperatures are the norm here in the winter. I could either moan about feeling cold or revel in the accidental beauty all around me. I’ve chosen to do the latter. I loved my many roses in California, but found they did not do nearly as well in

Ice on roses

what has turned out to be a wind magnet. But ordinary hedge roses, acclimated to the area, have produced far beyond expectations, holding on even when I forgot to tend them. Thorny bare branches have become a favorite subject with just the right combination of temperature and moisture.

Looking for the roses among the thorns might seem a useless form of entertainment. After all, the online dictionary describes Pollyanna as excessively, blindly, unreasonably, illogically optimistic.
Ouch.
Pollyanna played what she called the ‘glad game.’ Every morning she thought of at least one thing to be glad about. Hmmm, I’ve learned to do that. Every morning I wake with my legs working and

Faerie Queene

my eyes seeing is a good day. The mind takes a little longer to catch up. And since I also wake with my Salukis, life really is pretty darned good.

Tomorrow’s question is: What advice would you give for getting unstuck? I wonder, does this mean in the mud, in writing, or in life? This just might call for another cup of coffee.