IWSG, NaNo report, and Sleep-typing?

It's IWSG - that awesome time of month where writers everywhere in blogland take a moment to reflect on their insecurities, or to give inspiration, or maybe just give a rambling report on the state of writing? (no, that's not official that's just me this month)

Remember to stop by and Thank the Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh for his awesomeness - he started and continues to lead IWSG each month!

It seems like road blocks have been cropping up at regular intervals for my writing journey. I start, get up to speed, and an orange road block sign jumps out at me from behind an innocent looking bend in the road. I slow down, navigate my way through the orange cones and around the detour,  then creep up to speed again. (no, not the kind of speed that got me those speeding tickets mentioned in the And You Are Blogfest – I try not to do that anymore)

These road blocks have come in different ways: emergency trips to the hospital for my dad and my father-in-law, a friend whose daughter had a much needed spinal surgery needed some friends to sit with her in the waiting room, my oldest daughter’s intense dislike of the distributive property in algebra (solved now), two family Thanksgiving dinners on two different days, a need to rest and just read. (really that’s a need for me), my husband preparing to “do” video for three different winter dance recitals, a different dance class schedule (my youngest switched from four days of ballet to only one day of tap – should be easier but any change throws me off), upcoming ski and snowboard weekends to prepare for (do the ski pants fit, where did those poles go?), a Christmas tree, my friend’s homecoming for her daughter from the hospital, and silly things like having a very sleepless night because of our two dogs barking at an animal outside our fence, followed by a night of sleepwalking and possible sleep-typing.  I woke up by my laptop at 1a.m. and hoped I hadn’t updated my facebook status with gibberish or something even more embarrassing.

Somewhere in all of that, my NaNoWriMo project The Identity of Captain Wrath derailed, and my characters were complaining that I wasn’t writing them correctly. On a positive note, for NaNoRevMo, I did get quite a bit of work done for Champion in the Darkness. Two of my beta readers have declared it ready for sale, but I still need to give it a final read aloud for typos, grammar errors, and then I’ll be onto formatting.

So, one would think that in the midst of all those road blocks, the derailment of one project and the plain slowness of another I would feel really insecure, right?

Strangely, I don’t. Why not?

1.       Because of you, you, you, and all of you. (You know I’m talking about You, right?) Your support and encouragement has been huge!!! Thank you!

2.       Because I am still getting something done, a little bit at a time. Champion in the Darkness will be ready for February. I know it.

3.       Lots of prayer. Bible study. The sureness that God has a plan for me, and even if it’s looks a bit blotchy at close range, I’m sure that it will turn out good at a distance like a Monet.  (not because I’m beautiful but because Jesus is)

4.       I’m working on a new plan for The Identity of Captain Wrath. Have you ever seen any of the books that are released chapter by chapter in episodes? Well, I think (still in thought process) that I may be doing something like that. . .crazy? Maybe. If I go that route, I plan to release one chapter at a time every two weeks, and then at the very end compile it all together into book format . . .thinking that 24-36 episodes should be about right. I’ll be making up my mind on that over Christmas break (yes, I’ll be taking one of those from December 20ish to January 1^st).

 

5. Because of you . . .yes, I'm back to you. Really, your encouragement brightens my day.

 

Remember to Give Back to Alex with the Cheers, Cavanaugh Fest!

And please feel free to join M Pax and I for Hobbit Fest on December 14th!