Tag Archive | Art

Big Progress and Little Changes

Dec28

I had a head-slapping moment recently.

The writing scheduling advice I’ve found in the writing community just doesn’t work for me. At least not yet. I seem to get the most writing on my WIP done when I have no other writing to think about. If I know have blog posts to write and research, it’s very hard for me to focus on my WIP.

Last month I decided to conduct a test that would begin on December 1st. I spent the month of November writing blogs ahead of schedule. By Thanksgiving, I had blog posts written for my 3 x week schedule through the first week of January, 2012. That means that in 21 days, I wrote 30 blog posts – 10 posts each week. I didn’t write even one word on my manuscript.

Why did I scramble like crazy to get so far ahead on my posts?

crazy

image source: Google.com

I wanted to have the entire month of December free to write only on my manuscript, and I ended up being able to begin a few days earlier than December 1st and I had Thanksgiving week with no worries.

December has been an interesting month! Some out of the ordinary things happened. My sisters and I found an opportunity to move our 88 yr old mother to an assisted living facility two weeks ago. We had one week to pack her and move her in. For me, there was travel time involved as I live 2 1/2 hours away. So, between packing her things, moving her and unpacking her things, 10 days were consumed. In addition, my daughter needed help babysitting on Saturdays to finish up her schooling, so that wiped out 3 more days.

Total – 13 days…no writing.

With one week left of the month, I don’t expect to hit my word goal of 25,000. I have written 2,600 words and I still have another week free to write some more. My granddaughter is with us this week and I have another day of traveling to return her to her mother, but I hope to get another 2,500 words written before the end of the month.

I have been diligent about making sure my blogs posted properly and I enjoyed time chatting with my readers via comments. Having all that writing and research done allowed me such peace of mind, especially the past couple of weeks. If you can find the time to push through it, blogging ahead it definitely worth it.

And as for writing, I’m going to continue working on my current projects week by week and I’ll continue to build a backlog of posts, hopefully to cover more than a month at a time. It’s invaluable when life throws a curve ball. My goal is to write quality content and be responsible about posting regularly.

 One way I’ll be doing that is by trimming my posting schedule to two regular days each week – Wednesday and Friday. My Wednesday posts will consist of all the elements I had in both Monday and Wednesday(before the holidays), so you won’t be missing out on any of your favorite topics.

#1 Big lesson learned…Be Flexible! Family is more important than any self-imposed deadline or schedule. No point in banging your head against the wall because the schedule didn’t pan out the way you’d hoped. You’ll just give yourself a bigger headache.

#2 Big lesson learned…The 30 posts I wrote in the first 3 weeks of November totaled approximately 30,000 words. That means that I am capable of writing beyond my blog posts. January will hold 9 blog posts – at most 9,000 words. That leaves me more than 20,000 words I should be able to write on my WIP.

coming soon

image source: Google.com

Beginning January 4th:

Wednesdays will be Woman’s Day. The posts will consist of all the elements I had in both Monday and Wednesday, so you won’t be missing out on any of your favorite topics. I will be including more posts on and for women – our strength, courage, sexiness, health and inspiration with a little history included now and then.

Fridays will be Lists and Links. Every other Friday will continue to be The Life List Club. Alternate Fridays will be lists on writing and other topics I feel would be of some value to you. A mash-up of links will be at the end of the lists. They will include the best of the blogosphere for the previous two weeks.

The last Saturday of each month I will post an update on my Health Challenge. This is where you’ll learn about new and ongoing health challenges in which you can participate. At the end of each post will be doctor approved health tips just for you. 

I hope you’ll enjoy the changes and will continue to visit with me Wednesdays, Fridays and one Saturday a month.

Don’t forget! This Friday is The Life List Club Milestone Party! It will be a celebration of 6 months of working toward our goals and a look ahead to the New Year. Please join us to win some awesome prizes as our gift to you for sticking with us.

Giving Thanks to You and Kudos to Bloggers

Nov23

Before I get to today’s post, I’d like to take a minute to tell all my friends and family, all my writer acquaintances and all my readers…THANK YOU.

Thanks for your support, your intelligent and enthusiastic comments and your interest in what I have to offer you on my blog. Thank you for allowing me to appear on your computer screen and talk your ear off for a few minutes each time we meet.

This community of writers and readers is the most open, friendly, generous and giving group I’ve ever had the good fortune to know.

I wish you all a warm and loving Thanksgiving Holiday.

I will be back here bending your ear on Friday, as always.

Okay, back to the blog:

I was searching for other historical fiction writers and book bloggers, when I came across a terrific blog by a woman who is a book reviewer and an editor. It was fun to poke around her site and find all the treasures hidden there.

The site is It’s All in the Details, authored by Jenny Quinlan who likes to be called Jenny Q. Her welcome message made me feel like I was stepping into a friend’s home. What I love about this site is that Jenny Q understands what is required of a historical writer and the difficulties we sometimes have in writing about a particular era. She offers resources on writing and publishing historical fiction. But that’s not all. She also writes book reviews, interviews authors and posts articles about inspiring people of history. Check out her ‘Just For Fun’ page if you need a laugh.I Hear America Talking

When I happened on Jenny Q’s blog, I found a review on a book every writer would find entertaining and historical writers will find invaluable. I just purchased a used 1976 edition of this out-of-print book from Amazon.com for about $5. and I can’t wait to dig in! The title is I Hear America Talking, by Stuart Berg Flexner. This is what Jenny Q has to say about it:

Historical fiction writers face many challenges, including making sure they’re using words appropriate to their time period, and bringing the voices of the past to life in a smooth, engaging manner for today’s readers. Need to know if your Revolutionary War soldier can “take a piss” or if your Gilded Age socialite can refer to her derriere as her “fanny”?
 
In this book, you’ll find answers to those questions and many more, and in a fun presentation with entries accompanied by pictures, artwork, and memorabilia. (Your soldier can take a piss, by the way. Americans have officially been “pissing” since 1760, though it is believed they were pissing much earlier, but since that word didn’t get written down often, earlier records don’t exist. And yes, your socialite can have a “fanny”. That word dates back to the 1860s.)

Doesn’t that make you want to run out and grab that book? Well, that’s how I reacted. I’ll do my own review on it in a future post.

I found two other sites that I go back to time and again for the gorgeous photos and the author’s unique posts.

Naked in Eden, by Robin Easton, who loves adventure. Robin is a photographer, as well as a musician, writer and speaker. She has spent a great deal of time in wild, remote locations all over the world including Tasmania, and the tropical rainforest in Australia. Want to let your mind drift to places that immediately relax you? Take a trip to Eden to view Robin’s photographs and read her inspiring posts.

Micro mosaic flower arrangement

Micro-mosaic Photo courtesy of Pierotucci

We have Patricia Sands’ Blog where she transports us to France with her stories and beautiful photography. Now you can be virtually transported to Italy at Pierotucci. Pierotucci established a leather factory in Florence, Italy in 1972. The company has since grown to include a leather goods shop and an art & jewelry shop. You might think this would be just a retail site selling their wares. You’d be wrong. I’ve learned so much. A representative of the company commented on my blog last week and included their web address. I was surprised to find posts that taught me all about leather-dying and Murano glass made into miniatures. I love the posts about the city of Florence and find I get a peek into what it’s like to live in Italy. They do have posts showcasing their deliciously soft and gorgeously colored leather goods, but they’re tasteful and not the garish in-your-face type of marketing we see in the U.S.

And finally, just one more, very dear to my heart…My beautful, funny and brilliant daughter started a blog which chronicles her journey from newlywed to divorcee. Her posts help us see the humor and irony in such a life changing event. So many young women have told her how much they needed to know they weren’t alone in navigating a similar experience and are so inspired by her strength and courage. Her voice has been compared to NYTBS author, Jennifer Weiner. Please visit It’s Just Jen Again. Laugh, cry and pass the link along to anyone you know who would enjoy a twenty-something’s take on today’s life, love, children and mishaps. Here’s a teaser from her very first post last year and it only gets better from here:

Because Why?

Because I’m the only one out of my friends who does not take antidepressants, or (cough, cough) “self-medicates”.  Although spiritual, I do not conform to one specific religion, and I do not necessarily believe that there is a “God” who will hear me if I beg for answers.  

My therapy, per se, has always been some sort of art form.  Music, mostly.  And writing.  I have about 30 unfinished word documents on my computer on various subjects.  I always go back to writing.  I love the freedom of it.  Except when I see a green squiggly line under my sentences. 

 I never learned about “passive voice” in English and it really pisses me off when I’m corrected by a machine.  Most of the Declaration of Independence is written in passive voice.  Did anyone say to Benjamin Franklin – “Wait a minute, Ben, wait a minute.  You wrote that in passive voice.  How is anyone going to take us seriously?!  You are a failure, Benjamin Franklin!” ?  I think not.

I digress.  Anyway, I’m in trouble. 

So, I’m opening the floor for all of you to tell us about a blog you’ve found that moved you, inspired you, informed you, made you laugh or cry, had a beautifully artistic design, or any other category that comes to mind.

Those are my new discoveries. What are yours? I know each of you visits blogs I haven’t heard of, yet. So, come on…share! If you want to promote  your own awesome blog or that of a friend, I encourage you to do so.

You know I love hearing from you and anxiously await your comments!

Win Big and Support a Friend!

Sep27

K.M. Weiland just released her new book, Outline Your Novel…Map Your Way To Success, and she’s having a contest to make the launch successful! Woohoo! We love contests, don’t we? She’s offering amazing prizes. Take a look:

  

Win a Kindle and over $100 in writing craft books!

The big day is here! Welcome to the official launch of Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success.

You can purchase the book in paperback, Kindle, or Nook formats (or all three!).

I need your help to ensure the book has a successful launch week, so please join the party! I’m celebrating all this week with daily giveaways, culminating in our three-tiered Grand Prize giveaway, worth over $400!

 

Grand Prizes

Prize A: A Kindle. Value: $114

Prize B: A whopping bundle of writing craft books donated and signed by some of the industry’s best authors. Value: $100

 

Prize C: Poster of winner’s choice donated by the fabulous PosterText. These unique posters feature a scene from your favorite book constructed from the text of the book. Be sure to drop by their site to browse their wonderful selection. Value: $35.

 

Bonus—Hourly Prize Today Only: Conquering Writer’s Block and Summoning Inspiration Mp3. Value: $8.99. 

From 6 AM to 11 PM, I’ll be drawing a winner every hour for my 60-minute audio presentation Conquering Writer’s Block and Summoning Inspiration. Winning this prize does not exclude you from the Grand Prize drawing on Friday, but the sooner you enter this one, the better your chances of winning! Check the blog throughout the day to discover hourly winners.

Rules

All you have to do to enter is buy a book!

Paperbacks are priced at $9.79, and the Kindle version is only $2.99. After you’ve purchased the book, email your receipt to me to be entered in the contest.

The contest will run all week, and you can do several things to earn contest points and increase your chances of winning. For every contest point earned, your name will be entered once more into the pool (e.g., if you’ve earned 18 points, you have 18 chances of winning).

You can win points by:

1. Buying a book early in the week. I’m trying to create a surge of sales to boost the book in Amazon’s ratings, so I’d like to encourage people to purchase as soon as possible.
        Buy a book on Monday = 5 points
        Buy a book on Tuesday = 4 points
        Buy a book on Wednesday = 3 points
        Buy a book on Thursday = 2 points
        Buy a book on Friday = 1 point

2. Buy more than one book! You get one extra point for each additional book you buy.
        Buy additional books = 1 extra point per book

3. Tweet the following message each day of the week. Duplicate posts per day will be counted as one post.

RT @KMWeiland Win a Kindle and over $100 in writing craft books! http://tinyurl.com/3lo2dau

        Tweet about the book = 1 point per day, possible 5 points over the course of the week

4. Share this post on Facebook. Be sure to tag me (@K.M. Weiland), so I can find and count your posts. You’ll need to “like” my page in order to tag me. Duplicate posts per day will be counted as one post.
        Share on Facebook = 1 point per day, possible 5 points over the course of the week

5. Mention the contest and the book on your blog. Be sure to email me the link, so I can give you credit.
        Blog post = 3 points

Note: Because of shipping costs, I’m sorry to say the contest will be limited only to U.S. citizens. My apologies to all my international readers!

Winners will be announced Friday, September 30th.

Good luck to everyone in the drawing, have fun, and thank you for helping me celebrate the launch of Outlining Your Novel!

Happy writing!

Needless to say, I already have my copy of the book and have done all the other helpful tasks to earn points. I SO want Prizes A or B! If any of these prizes interest you, or if you just want to help out with the launch to support a fellow writer, start putting the word out, like I did! You can check out K.M.’s website here.
Thanks, friends!
 

 

ROW80 – ROWnd 4!

Sep24

This is it! I’m going for Round 4 to see if I can finish my manuscript!

All of you who have been stuck, floundering, procrastinating, dozing off…
                                                      

  HOP TO IT!

Get yourself motivated to jump in on the fun and inspiration to get your butt moving in the right direction! Oh, don’t worry…yes, I know, life can throw a wrench in the works. That’s precisely why ROW80 is for you! You can tweak your goals if you need to. We all think we’re capable of scaling a tall building in one bound; climbing Mt. Everest in an afternoon; writing a novel in one month! No way! Achieve goals

Goals take time, perseverance, motivation and GUTS to accomplish. I’m here to tell YOU…you have the will, the determination AND the strength to accomplish a goal!Uncle Sam

Pick a goal, any goal and get started today by signing up for A Round of Words in 80 days! Go on, DO IT NOW!

I’ll be looking for you!

It’s Milestone Friday! Let’s Celebrate!!

Sep23

!!!Happy Milestone Friday, Everyone!!!Party

Come on in and join the party!

As you might expect, at my house we have CHOCOLATE Parties! So dive in to the goodies on the table…come on, I’ll show you what we have:

Milk Chocolate custard

Flouted Milk Chocolate Custard

chocolate amaretto semifreddo

Chocolate Amaretto Semifreddo

Chocolate strawberries

Chocolate-covered Strawberries

truffles

Dark Chocolate and Mocha Truffles

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Grab a Chocolatini or a glass of Merlot and a plate of your favorite chocolates. Then rock to the music! 
 
 

dancing

dancing

Wow! What a party! Okay, settle down a bit. I need your attention!

I have an announcement to make!

We have A GIVEAWAY, PEOPLE!

Each of The Life List Club writers has a gift for one or more subscribers/commenters on today’s post. Check individual writers’ blogs for their details on how many winners will be chosen and when the contest ends.

My contest runs between 7am, 9/23 and midnight, 9/30(EST). Winner will be announced Saturday, October 1st! You have lots of time to subscribe and comment!

For one subscriber commenting on this post, my Prize Package includes:

1. A copy of my flash fiction story, Night Moves!

2. An invitation for you to guest post or be interviewed on my blog! (A guest post can be a work of flash fiction, a short story up to 2,000 words, or a post on history, life lessons, sweet obsessions, women’s issues, health & wellness, or writing)

3. I will name a character in my trilogy, The Dance and The Dancer, after you!

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Let’s get to the reason for this celebration…my 3-month progress report: (My progress is in red.)

1. Write for the book no less often than 5 days a week. I did poorly on writing daily due to grandchildren life getting in the way.

2. Write a minimum of 400 words each of 5 days each week. This would have equaled 24,000 words over 12 wks. If we count my WIP, my blog, flash fiction and short story I’ve written approximately 45,000 words. YAY!! (If we only count my WIP, my numbers stink!)

3. Visit ROW80 twice a week to stay motivated in my writing goal. I chose, instead, to visit once a week, but missed a few weeks during the summer. Checked in all this month and am ready to go for Round 4 with a fresh set of goals!

4. Get my butt out of my desk chair for at least 10 minutes every hour. I don’t get up every hour-I get too engrossed in writing-but I do get up more often than I used to.

5. Take at least 2 online classes to improve my blog and/or writing. So far, I’ve taken one (another was canceled) and am signed up for a second one this fall.

6. Find a critique partner/group to get feedback on my book. No luck with this yet. Does anybody have a connection with a good group or individual?

7. Feed my addiction to chocolate, daily. :) I’m stellar at this! Another YAY!!

8. Allow myself only 2 hours a day to read blogs and keep up with social media marketing. I have found that 2 hours is just not enough time everyday. Sometimes it takes 3 hours to take care of the above, plus responding to comments on my blog posts and commenting on other blogs.

9. Get moving! Exercise at least 30 minutes 6 days a week. Ugh! This summer with the grandgirls was more movement in my days, but not necessarily exercise, per se. Started this week back to my routine and got in 3 days so far.

10. Only have 1 dessert each week. Yeah, right! What was I thinking? I vow to do better, though. How about 3 per week?

11. Read 25 books in the next 12 months. On target with this. I’ve read 7 books in 3 months. YAY!!

12. Attend a writer’s conference or workshop. No time so far; found one in Dallas next May that I’m hoping to attend.

13. Teach my granddaughters good new habits, like how much fun it is to do chores. :) Oooh, they learned this so well! They set the table and cleaned up toys, put dirty laundry in the hamper, helped with dusting and making their big bed, and took their dirty dishes to the sink. Even my 2yr old accomplished all of this! They were awesome, especially since they never complained.

14. Add more fruits and vegetables into my diet. So far, no rotting fruits or veggies in the refrigerator drawer! That means I’m eating what I buy every week! YAY!!

15. Create 15 minute pockets of time each day to spend alone with my hubs. We spend time at breakfast talking, planning and catching up. After dinner, we watch a movie together and late night, he stops in my office to chat for a while. It ends up being roughly 2 1/2 hours a day. And you just nevermind what we do after we talk in my office. ;)

16. Lose at least 35 lbs, in order to get off all my meds, about 3 pounds a month. This means I should have lost 9 lbs so far…uh, no. I’ve lost 2 lbs and am working harder now that the grands have gone home to their Mama.

17. Get back to the routine of cleaning bathrooms and dusting weekly, instead of pushing it off on my honey. Done! YAY!!

18. Be in, or finished with, the process of publishing my book by December, 2011. On target to finish the writing and self-editing, but may have to adjust the timeframe for publishing.

19. Floss everyday. Almost.

20. Remember to thank my husband everyday for his constant love and support. Always do! YAY!

21. Learn how to create podcasts, videos and a book trailer for my blog site. Not yet, maybe next time.

22. Eat more slowly. Practice. Practicing, but I still finish first. Dang!

23. Notice the little things and appreciate them. Doing it!

24. Live in the moment. YES!

25. Play. Often.

So, what do you think? Please rate my progress below, 1-5 stars. The score you give me has no effect on choosing the winner of the Prize Package, truly!

Now to go visit the other amazing writer’s blogs and enter to win theirballoons fabulous prizes, listed here. Just click on the writers’ links below:

Jess Witkins – a signed copy of Bethany Wiggins’, Shifting

Pam Hawley - package including: 1. Winner’s choice of excerpt from my novel-in-progress or a copy of my short story, ”Elevated.” 2. I will interview the winner on their goals and ambitions for a future post in Hawleyville. 3. Option to publish a piece of their own fiction/essay (up to 2,000 words) or do a guest post at my blog.

Sonia Medeiros - an ebook, Larry Brooks’, Story Engineering

Jennie Bennett - 1. a 10-page in-depth critique, 2. 3-book set -Oliver Twist, The Secret Garden and A Little Princess

Jenny Hansen – 1. a guest post by Jenny on the winner’s blog, 2. an interview of the winner on Jenny’s blog

Emily Moir – a 5-piece (4×6) photo series by Kate Moir

Lyn Midnight - an in-depth critique of two chapters

Diana Ligaya - 1. a copy of Joseph Campbell’s, the Hero with a Thousand Faces, 2. an in-depth fiction critique up to 15,000 words.

David Walker – 1. a copy of David’s short story, Bubba’s First Cruise, 2. a guest post swap

What generous writers we have at The Life List Club! I’m sure you’ll findParty ladies several prizes you’ll want to win!

OKAY, NOW, GO PARTY SOME MORE!!