Do You Have Goals? November 2017

Hosted by Misha and Beth

Some odd, but celebratory news:

Just last night during a random search at Amazon, I discovered that a small press publisher published a novella of mine in August. I didn't know it was out.

Here's the story behind the novella:

It all started with an acting gig for my daughters who were in one of the episodes of a youtube series, and then I was asked to write a novella for one of the episodes, creating my own B plot. (This makes it sound like I live in Hollywood, but I just live on the rainy Washington peninsula. For those non-USA folks, this is the peninsula that sticks out slightly on the left hand side of the US, separated from Canada by the Juan De Fuca.)

I signed a contract just to write the book. 

I conducted research on the series and the B plot, wrote it, received editorial feedback, and made changes to the novella - all in two months. It was a wild run down an unexpected path. I had never written paranormal, or MG, or mystery. I had never taken a script to a novella format, or created a B plot to intermix with someone else's A plot.

 I had my doubts, sure, but I felt pretty good about my writing for it, and I hoped my B plot character, Muriel (a selkie), would add to the overall novella's tension with her quest to find her father interesecting with the MC's quest to discover the secret of a mysterious lady. 

I enjoyed the writing of it, edited it as the publisher asked, and then didn't hear anything. I finished the whole project almost two years ago. In fact, I thought the whole project was just lost, gone down the tubes, and forgotten for all eternity. But, here it is:

Ghost Sniffers: Eight if By Sea

Plot A is based on the script of the youtube series, and Plot B was my own creation. They are woven together in the book.

Here's the blurb from Amazon:

Ghost Sniffers, Inc. is a paranormal investigation firm run by nine-year-old Faith Forge, a little girl whose Type 1 Diabetes gave her the ability to sniff out ghosts. But she’s not the only one with a “trade-off power.” In the fictional world of Ghost
Sniffers, Inc., all young people with life-altering medical conditions or disabilities have super powers. United with Forge, these brave investigators solve mysteries that are serious and silly, wacky and witty.

A lighthouse keeper's love might be a selkie, so Forge calls on Maxo, Spark, Skully, Gogo, and Captain Snakes to help. But a shocking turn of events leads to the biggest cliffhanger of the season.

Based on Season 1, Episode 5 of Ghost Sniffers, Inc., the television and web series where the actors’ real-life disabilities become super abilities, Eight If By Sea is a novelization with a twist written by Tyrean Martinson and approved by the show’s creator, Jennifer DiMarco. 

So, I contacted my publisher last night and they sent an immediate response sometime late in the night. Somehow, I missed an announcement two months ago . . . not sure where that is. I searched for it and didn't find it; but in any case, the book is out now. So, I'm celebrating a little late.

Onto Goals

My main November goal - Thanksgiving!

Secondary goal: Exercise and Health

Third goal: NaNoWriMo (with the main and secondary goals always before it) My NaNo name is: Tyreantigger - however, I'm not usually social via NaNo, sorry. :( 

October Finish Line Results:

Words Written: 12,081 (not even half of my goal)

Stories accepted for publication: 1

Stories rejected: 6

Stories on submission (new count today): 18 - Including a new one to IWSG! Many thanks to our beautiful host, Misha, for editing "Of Words and Swords"!

Miles Walked: 36

Miles Biked: 0 Agh. I may get out this weekend.

A NEW Exercise Practice: Brazilian Jujitsu and MMA!!! So far, I love it. 

Our whole family is going two to five days a week.

Book News:

Cling to God in the chaos of life...

Cling to God is a book of devotionals for every day of the year. The aim is to encourage Christians in their faith, to help them think about their beliefs and learn more about God. The devotions are short and inspirational so that people with busy lifestyles will still able to spend time with the Lord each day. 

By Lynda R. Young at WIP

Amazon

(So far, I'm only a bit into the devotional and I love it!!!)

If you need a little music inspiration, listen to "MOVE"

And, I found another video just recently that I really liked. It's about knowing our purpose and how that can make a difference.




Are you on the move? And why?
How can knowing our purpose make our writing more powerful?

BTW, I'll be taking part in the Trick-or-Treats Read Hop on Monday and I'll be co-hosting IWSG next Wednesday.

Do You Have Goals Update

Many thanks to Misha and Beth for hosting this invigorating blog hop each month. 

Misha kindly hosted me for a guest post on "Starting Over" last week! 

Writing Goal: 25,000 words each month.

July: Finished 15,050 words (mostly after the 15th).

I had some serious doubts about my WIP Patient (unhappy marriage arrangements, kidnapping by dragon kin, magic, dragons, etc), wrote more short stories, and did some research for Great Glory (a foray into historical fiction and redeeming a historical villain). 

I had eight stories and poems published this month - hooray! (See links at end of post, if interested.) 

I also had one story acceptance and one poetry acceptance for future publications in August and November.

And, I had five rejections, which all rolled into my e-mail within four days of each other.

Seventeen stories/poems/articles are currently out on submission or re-submission. 

Exercise Goals: 

Walked: 40 (just about where I want to be)

Biked: 90 miles. Yes, this is getting back where I want to be.

Maybe Marketing:  

I decided to do something crazy and clean out the books I have in my basement by hosting:

Books for a Mission - an event this coming Saturday from Noon to 2 PM at the Subway on Point Fosdick Dr. NW, Gig Harbor (if you're local, please come). 

What this is: a donation to the One Hope Church Peru Mission Team = a signed paperback by me (while supplies last) and a Subway chocolate chip cookie (while supplies last).

All proceeds will go to the mission team. (I'm donating the books and hoping others will donate cash.)

The mission team is going to give away health kits and run an after-school program at several elementary schools in Peru. 

Spiritual Growth: sometimes this happens because I remember to read my Bible and pray, and sometimes God just throws stuff in my path so I get forced to grow. 

It's been a serious time of prayer these last few weeks. Beyond all the violence, I have had several reasons close to home to pray. Some friends have two teens who have been in the ICU in the last few weeks. (Two teens, same family, two different circumstances.) One of those teens is a living, walking miracle - he fell from a 350 foot waterfall and could actually walk 5 days later, athough his full recovery will take longer. The other teen was on a mission trip and collapsed, but is now recovering. 

At home, we discovered that my oldest daughter fractured her foot in two places, not just one, but the most recent x-rays showed good bone growth/healing. And, while my husband is healthy enough to ride 206 miles on an organized bicycle ride from Seattle to Portland in one day, he started to feel ill and was diagnosed with pneumonia a few days later. He's recovering quickly, but he doesn't like to rest.

My parents took their annual scooter trip and along the road they lost: my mom's hearing aids, my mom's glasses, one of my dad's teeth, and part of my dad's prosthetic leg. 

Thankfully, my dad carries spare parts and my mom's hearing aids were insured. I'm not sure 70+ is a good age to be riding the highways on a scooter with a sidecar, but they are happier when they travel. We definitely had some good laughs over all the missing gear and they haven't lost their sense of humor. (They are home safe now.)

Rest: in some moments, this happened. I'm hoping for more next month.

So, how are your goals coming along this month/year?

And, do you carry spare parts with you when you travel?

Short Stories Published This Month - if you have time to read:
"The Fence" at The Drabble. July 24th, 2016. (Beware: story content includes child abuse.)
"Good Enough" at The Drabble. July 17th, 2016. (Beware: this is a story commentary on rape culture.)

"Spikes" at Seven by Twenty. (Twitter fiction)
"Floppy Sunhat" at Seven by Twenty.  (Twitter fiction)
"From Heat to Final" at Seven by Twenty. (Twitter Fiction)
"Racing" at Seven by Twenty.  (Twitter fiction)
"Races End" at Seven by Twenty. (Twitter fiction)

"The Shimmer" at Between Worlds Zine. (Flash fiction. Beware: story content includes child abuse.)

My "happier" fiction just has been low on acceptances lately. Maybe I write depressing stuff better? 


I keep forgetting to mention this, but two of my books are 50% off at the Smashwords July Summer Sale. If you're looking to pick up Champion in Flight or Champion's Destiny, this is a good day to do it. :)

And, Check out the Wings' Edge Call of Submissions Here!

Do You Have Goals? Books and Movies Update

Many thanks to Misha and Beth for this blog hop!

If you are interested in joining, go here!

1. Write Strong!

 I fell way short of my 25,000 word per month writing goal, but I did keep writing. 

I wrote and subbed an article for the new IWSG newsletter, and Chris Fey accepted it! Yay! (It may be with this month or a forthcoming month newsletter edition). 

2. Market with Strength!

I'm still figuring out what this might mean. 

However, a friend of mine sold 15 of my books for me. (Wow!) I think I need to at least buy her a coffee. 

On a seriously sad note, the most encouraging and kind bookstore owner I've met has sold her business and closed shop. She's retiring and no one bought the bookstore from her, so I had three books returned to me. 

3. Publish with Strength!

Champion's Destiny is still getting its paperback cover . . . soon, soon, soon.

Flicker: A Collection of Short Stories and Poetry is set to launch via Smashwords on March 1st - and the paperback might be ready that day, too. I'm kind of proud of it since over half of the 90 stories in it were published previously over the last few years. A little warning/taste for readers (especially those few younger readers who stop by my blog), Flicker is meant for readers 15 and up since some material is dark and there are a dozen stories that reference serious topics like human trafficking, depression, and serial killers (not all at once). At the same time, if you like truly dark stuff, it doesn't have that much of it - it has light-fluffy stuff like superheroes struggling with long capes in addition to the grim stuff. It's a combination of short, long, light, and dark - flickers of various genres and lengths of story-writing and poetry. 

Smashwords

Nook

Kobo

4. Live Strong!

I've walked 27 miles and biked 45 miles this month so far. I have cut back slightly on caffeine, and I've been feeling much better.

Sadly, vertigo has still been my companion if I use my computer too long. (This is why I haven't been asking for any blog book tour kind of help - I feel like I'm in the random zone of blogging time - 15 minutes in the am - 15 at noon, and then sometimes in the evening.)

5. Worship Strong!

I'm taking part in a Bible Challenge for Lent - attempting to read from Genesis to Revelation by Easter. I've fallen a few books of the Bible behind, but I think I can catch up . . . maybe. 

I'm also fasting from fiction, except for Sunday afternoons - so all of my fiction reading is going on in 2-4 hour spurts once a week, and the rest of the time I'm into the Bible and a few non-fiction books.

6. Gratitude = Grace (Strength Through Thanksgiving!)

I noticed that my attitude improved on day 5 of my Bible reading challenge. Maybe this was just coincidence, but I don't think so. I was a bit cranky while reading Genesis and Exodus - "really, God - using totally broken, messed up people to start the kingdom of God on earth?" but finally started feeling some thanksgiving - "so glad my dad comes to church with me, and sings off-tune right next to me." (Really, I would rather hear my dad singing off-tune over any professional singer - I love my dad's voice.)

7. Rest, as needed. (Rest Strong!)

Did this, again! Score! I know it sounds weird to add to a list of goals, but I have to remind myself that rest is a good thing. 

Books, Movies, General Fandom, and News

Books I enjoyed this last month:

Bill Bryson's African Diary is probably the shortest travelogue that I've read by Bill Bryson and one of the most serious as he highlights CARE refugee camps, but Bryson's humor still makes a showing on the small aircraft rides and train transportation sequences.

The Inquisitor's Mark by Diane K. Salerni takes off where the first book, The Eighth Day, ended, and it adds more twists and exciting turns to this excellently written adventure series. Highly recommended! 

Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible by Stan Lee is a unique comic book auto-biography of Stan Lee's life. I think I learned more in an interview of him in Costco Magazine. However, I got it from the library and it was fun. 

Pawn by Aimee Carter was a one-afternoon library read for me, and it takes the reader on an action-packed dystopian journey filled with political intrigue. The MC, Kitty, undergoes a total make-over of her life on a bone-deep level just to escape punishment for stealing an orange.

Movies and Shows I enjoyed this last month:

Fantastic Four, the newest remake, made for a wonderful family evening at home. We wished we had supported it in the theaters. While it didn't have quite enough Ben Grimm (Thing) screen-time for me, we all thought did a great job developing the characters and the background of the Fantastic Four. Sure, it only had one major action scene, but we didn't mind. This was a movie about friendship, not about beat-downs.

Hail, Caesar! by the Coen Brother is . . . a Coen brothers' film. I'm not sure how else to describe it. It's funny, thought-provoking, interesting, and enjoyable, but all at a slightly odd angle . . . or at least that's how I felt after I watched it. 

Flash has been in my docket of Netflix shows for a while, but I finally convinced my family it was worthwhile this last month and we raced through the end of season 2. My daughters had a half hour debate over how time travel issues might work. My husband managed to keep his "that's not within the laws of physics, engineering, science" comments fairly low, and we were all glad that this particular DC comic hero doesn't need to strip to the waist to do his stuff (cue: many more comments from the husband unit peanut gallery). 

An old youtube show that got picked up and had a three year run from 2012-2015: Video Game High School. I didn't expect much from it but I thought I would try it one night on Netflix, and the first episode is worth a watch, even if if you never watch the rest. I think it's pretty funny, and my family seems to agree. Enjoy ultimate gamer geekdom with this show! 

Current non-fiction reads (will report in a month or two, since I'm slow at non-fiction): The House of Sky by Ivan Doig, Turn Right at Machu Picchu by Mark Adams, and Showing and Telling in Fiction by Marcy Kennedy. 

What are your goals? Your current reads? Best movies or shows watched recently? And, if you would like to dream big, please join this awesome hop!

Celebrations and Do You Have Goals Mixed Together

Celebrate The Small Things and Do You Have Goals Mixed Together - The Insanity Edition

Many thanks to Lexa Cain, LG Keltner, Katie, Misha, and Beth for these two positive hops!

I realized that my goals might be slightly insane. In fact, I decided around March 10th, that I might tear out all my hair need to slow them down a bit for sanity. But here is a glimpse of the work I've been doing. (Beware, although I am celebrating, there's a bit of a vent in here, too.) Hit bold highlights if you need to run . . .

Dynamic Writing 1 ground me into my desk and gave me formatting for e-book nightmares. I struggled and decided to put out a "sample" book with the first 15 lessons . . . on a whim. Not sure it's the right move, but it's available via kindle for 99 cents. 



After looking at curriculum prices and noticing that most curricula don't come via e-book and that they usually cost over $25, I thought I might split Dynamic Writing 1 into two different e-books, for first semester and second semester. Then, I decided to "improve" a few of the lessons by changing some of the order around. Formatting nightmares ensued. I had first semester out for kindle and Smashwords for a few days and was happy that no copies sold because it didn't pass the Smashwords Epub check and I can't figure out why. Is it because it's in 2.0 spacing? I need at least the writing samples to be in 2.0 spacing because that's the required spacing for my students when I teach the class. It's either that or the numeric lists of questions and answers for the sentence variation practice problems. I don't really want to pay an exorbitant fee to get the formatting done, so currently I'm planning on finishing the paperback in late May, and if I can fix the stinking e-book formatting issues by then, I'll re-release the e-book version.

Dynamic Writing 1 contains 185 lessons in writing that cover journal practice writing, sentence variations practice, and a multiple draft process for essays, poetry, and short fiction. I've been using a "casual," private print version for a year now with one of my classes. It's basically all the notes that I had for class bound into a book. And, I have Dynamic Writing 2 and 3 drafted out that way as well. However, taking it to the "public" and formal level has had me banging my head on my desk. I think I should have avoided the idea of an e-book and just gone for a print format first.

Celebration point for that mess: Progress.

In my tiny, experimental, "crazy" writing, things have been going much better.

Ashes Burn Season 2: Ashes Stirred has been merrily airing three times a week for a few months now, and I just compiled it all into it's own little e-book. Today is release day for Ashes Burn Season 2: Ashes Stirred! The first five official (with a comment) visitors here, at the Ashes Burn blog and at the Wings of Light Publishing blog can get a free download via a Smashwords coupon, if so desired. It's available for 99 cents at:
Kindle
Nook
Smashwords
Kobo

And Ashes Burn Season One: Ashes Away is #perma-free since it is a strange experiment in tiny writing form.
Kindle
Nook
Smashwords
Kobo







Other writing goals for 2015 have received a paring down to size that will allow for some sanity. Dynamic Writing 2 and 3 may or may not be released this year. Champion's Destiny and some short stories are my next top priorities, along with surviving A to Z as a Commando Muffin. (Oh, and finishing at least the paperback of Dynamic Writing 1 before June. Agh.)

Exercise: I'm back to it! I can walk 1 mile, bike 30-40 minutes on an exercise bike without much tension on it, and I can do yoga.

Prayer: every day, all the time, as much as I can. Bible study: some days, yes. some days, less.

Relational: the invitational attitude idea kind of suffered when my kids were sick earlier this month and I was tearing my hair out over projects. We did invite friends to see a movie with us. Our niece came to dinner one night. And, I had some guests and spotlights here at my blog, including Shelly Sly, Elizabeth Seckman, Lori L. MacLaughlin, Emma L. Adams, and Nick Wilford. I'm planning to celebrate them again, along with a few others, for A to Z!

Write 1 Sub 1 goals: I wrote and subbed a flash fiction story to Brilliant Flash Fiction's photo prompt contest and . . . the results of that are below. (Happy dance)

Lexa Cain, awesome leader of the Celebrate the Small Things hop, requested some pics of the kayaking and canoeing race from last weekend, but the wind came up, the rain came down, and my girls both had a really rough day (falling in, broken rudder on the kayak, etc.) so I'm going to wait until I have a cheerier pic to show.

On a last, and unexpected, celebratory note:
I had a fun-to-write-but-quirky flash fiction story, "The Biggest Waterslide," short-listed at Brilliant Flash Fiction's last photo prompt contest. It's the seventh story on the page. I was in stinky armpit mode the day that I wrote it - hard to explain, unless you read it.

And I have a couple of tiny twitter stories up @7x20 this week: "Buzz" went live yesterday and "almost spring" will air later today.

What are you celebrating today? Are you staying sane in pursuit of your Dream Goals? 

And, if you can, please check out that story for free, or pick up a free copy of Ashes Burn Season One, or a 99 cent copy of Ashes Burn Season Two. :)

Do You Have Goals Update and Celebrations!

 Many thanks to Lexa Cain, Katie, and LG Keltner for keeping this hop hopping, and many thanks to Viklit for starting it!

I'm celebrating everything below in this post, and for this hop, specifically:

1. Shelley Sly's sweet review and interview on Monday.
2. C. Lee Mckenzie's Opening Lines guest post here.
3. Getting done with a novella on Wednesday night at 11:24p.m.
4. Lexa Cain's shout-out for my "Seedling" story freebie. Thanks, Lexa!

 Write 1 Sub 1: I have today and tomorrow to make this happen. Agh. I'm working on a few hint fiction stories because that's the length my brain can handle outside my longer projects right now.

 This is my personal goals banner for the year. And, I've been working on those foundations every day!

Official Goals Update for Do You Have Goals, hosted by Misha and Beth:
1. Finished the novella project.
2. Received rejection letters (at least three, didn't want to count more), but that meant I submitted work, right?
3. Re-subbed a hint fiction story.
4. Re-entered my curriculum project - ultra copy edit time.
5. Really happy with publishing A Jumble of 500+ Writing Prompts and it's sibling projects: A Pocket-Sized Jumble of 500+ Writing Prompts, Jumble Journal 1, and Jumble Journal 2.
6. Relational: I have a few bloggers guesting here next month! But I haven't invited anyone for May yet. (Skipping April for A to Z) And, in the HD/real world, I need to get invitations going for March.
7. Exercise: minor floor exercises: leg lifts, sit ups, etc. No walking/biking allowed by docs yet. Next month.
8. Spiritual: Ash Wednesday talk at my church, Children's Message at a Sunday worship, daily time - most days with prayer as the focus and some Biblical study.
9. Marketing . . . some twittering and regular posting here. Using the free version of the Buffer app for pre-written twitter posts.

So, do you have goals? How do you put foundations under them? And, what are you celebrating this week/month?



If you are looking for a few writing prompts, A Jumble of 500+ Writing Prompts is only 99 cents for e-readers at Kindle, B&N, and Smashwords.

Deja Vu Blogfest, Celebrations, and Do You Have Goals Wrap Up!

Brought to us by the awesome Blitzer DL Hammons and the fantastic Nicole Zoltak, this fest invites us to re-post a post from this year!

Due to triple threat post I have going on here, I chose a super short one that was overlooked . . . mainly because I was late to the party that day. 

This was my "Endings Blogfest" post from January 9th, 2014 that celebrated the blogaversary of LG Keltner's blog.

When I saw this fest, I couldn't resist. 

However, due to a cold, waking up late, and getting the kids going on their lessons for the day (we homeschool and breakfast is planning time), I'm a little late to the party. Sorry.

And I have thought over what to say . . . but no idea seemed like the right one, until now.

 

The endings I like best are the endings with a sense of homecoming and a sense of open horizon - a look to the possible future.

 

Every ending like that feels like the one described at the end of The Last Battle:

 

"And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has ever read: which goes on forever, in which every chapter is better than the one before."

 

What kind of ending do you like?

Celebrate the Small Things, originated by Viklit, has been an awesome part of blogging for me these last few years.

This year, I'm celebrating two things:

1. You, dear blogger buddies, who visit and comment. Thank you!

2. The continuation of blogging. It's been a struggle this year, but I have kept going. 

Do You Have Goals? is a blog hop that has helped me tremendously this last year. Misha and Beth have been wonderful encouragers, and I appreciate everyone involved in this hop.

To Wrap Up the year, but not get too long-winded:

We were encouraged to create huge, amazing goals, and then chase them down. :)

My goals were: Write and Publish two novels/novellas and some short works.

What I actually accomplished:

The finish and publication of Champion in Flight: the second novel in The Champion Trilogy.

The finish and publication of Light Reflections: a collection of poetry.

And, the publication of:

two articles on writing in How I Found the Write Path and IWSG Guide to Publishing and Beyond.

seven new short stories and poems: "Red Carpet, Take 1," "Red Carpet, Take 2," "Cloud Download," "Seedling," "Big Money," "Green Planet," and "Robot Sonnet." 

and three re-publications of stories in e-title format: "Seedling," "The Bridge Snap," and "The Horse in the Well."

When I list all that out, I realize that although I didn't hit my original goal exactly, I did accomplish a great deal, with more on my horizon ahead. 

What kinds of endings do you like? What goals have you accomplished? What are you celebrating? And, do you have a deja vu post?

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!! 

I'll be back for IWSG on January 7th.

Do You Have Goals?

Do You Have Goals? is hosted by Misha and Beth and has been a huge help for me this year. I've been encouraged by this great group, and I've discovered that even in my meandering months where it feels like I'm getting nothing done, I actually have made progress.

Next month, I plan to do a whole year wrap up.

For now . . .

November

For some reason, just writing the month name and saying it in my head seems to say it all. But then, I realize that no one reading this lived my November with me.

So . . . lots of family stuff (good and bad), changes in schedule, holidays, and planning for holiday events . . .

NaNoWriMo Attempt - AGH! I did want to win. I had a plan. Then, I had a plan B. Then, I had a plan C, then D, then . . . well, it didn't happen.

There is a part of me that loves NaNoWriMo, but the last few years have chocked up fails for me. I wish that it were some other month, like . . . well, ok, maybe March? I don't know.

However, I did get around 30,000 words written on various projects - Champion's Destiny, Captain Wrath, "The Clover Wars: A Seedling Story," a hint fiction story that I wrote and subbed for Write 1 Sub 1, and some world building notes for all of those plus others. I actually have this weird, massive idea of trying to world-build a bunch of different story ideas together . . . in some kind of crazy series. I'm not sure that will happen or not.

Then, I outlined a romance story about a skier and a snowboarder . . . kind of a star-crossed lovers idea that I've had ever since I picked up a funny postcard with Romeo and Juliet misquoted by a girl skier and a guy snowboarder. The "angst" between the two groups has gotten better, but it's still there. I know this because I'm a skier (who has snowboarded) married to a snowboarder (who used to be a skier), and there are people we meet who really think that's there's some kind of problem with that . . . which is just weird to me.

Basically, I planned to win NaNo and my brain and my life said, "Squirrel!" over and over again.

How did your November go? Have any crazy ideas or "squirrel!" moments?






#FridayFreebies -  Dragonfold and Other Adventures and "The Bridge Snap."

Celebrations and Do You Have Goals?

It's time to celebrate again!!! (A day early, a dollar short . . . no wait, just a day early)

Thank you Viklit!

This week, I'm celebrating:
1. Survival - there's been some humorous exploits, bee stings, forgotten medication, major tooth aches, and fence climbing with ripped jeans adventures this week in my household  . . . TGIF!!!

2. My kids and all of their talents, adventures, and inner beauty.

3. My husband isn't volunteering 30 hours this week in addition to his 40+ hour job. It's good to see him when he's awake. :)

4. An adventure ahead . . . O, Canada. (more about that next time)

5. Really sweet compliments from moms of kids in my classes at our homeschool co-op. ("My son wrote pages and pages for his story," "My son actually likes your writing assignments!" "My son has never written this much before willingly.") They blew me away and it felt really good to hear that maybe I can turn some reluctant writers into enthusiastic writers. :)

Do You Have Goals? Check-IN with Misha and Beth

Goals: Yes!
Progress for September: finished writing two books worth of notes and assignments for two of my homeschool classes.

Originally, I planned to publish them for sale, but I decided just to private publish them with Lulu for my classes. By the end of April 2015, I hope to have them polished (perfectionist moment) and have student examples included in them. So, this is a dream goal that has been slightly postponed. There's a homeschool book fair that I would like to attend as "vendor" in June with my class books and my fiction books.

This means that instead of 2-3 books published for sale this year, it's going to just be 2 . . . unless I self-pub a few short stories in ebook format, and I'm not sure I can "count" that.

Write 1 Sub 1 update: September is almost gone and, yikes, I haven't finished or submitted a story yet! I have 5 days left. Time to get cracking on that.

Other crazy dream goals/ideas for the next three months: Champion's Destiny took a backburner with my prep for teaching. My goal for October is to complete the rough draft of that, and outline a different novel - either Sacred/Sacrifice or Captain Wrath (the last time I tried to wrangle him into a novel size project, it died a painful, slow death - is he ready this time, maybe?). I will be participating in NaNo somehow. December is the month I plan to either finish up stray ends of projects, write short stories and poetry, or just take a break.

So, it's been a good month, although the last few weeks have been more about journaling, making lists, and wrestling with the first chapter of Champion's Destiny over and over again. I think I'm going to just jump into chapter two and turn off the evil inner editor.

Of course, I keep finding mistakes in this post that I accidentally posted a day early . . . so the evil inner editor needs to do a little more work before I send her packing. :)

Goals, Celebration, and Validation vs. Celebration

This post is a hybrid-combo post for Do You Have Goals and Celebrate The Small Things, with some thoughts on "validation" which seems to be a popular theme this week online.

Goals Check-In and Celebration: I've written a total of 39,000 words for two different projects this month plus run a basic spell/grammar/error check. The month isn't over. I still have time to finish. (more on the details of those projects some other day) I've also written one story and submitted it, plus re-submitted two other stories.

Validation Versus Celebration: I read three posts about attention-grabbing, empty validation this week. Some of the posts and comments made me think, and some got under my skin.

I agree that we live in a crazy culture of posting about every little moment of life - potentially bragging about our kids, our selves, etc. and that this kind of thing can seem like empty validation. It might be. It can be. It depends on the person.

However . . . . I started thinking about the people I know who post a lot of happy stuff, a lot of pictures of their kids, a lot of celebrations and accomplishments. And then, I started thinking about why I do those things . . .

When I'm celebrating, I'm not trying to gain validation with comments or likes, and I'm not trying to create an impression of perfection, sweetness, uber-blessings, arrogance, or anything like that.

If I post pictures on facebook or brag on my family, it's meant as a celebration of the parts of my life that totally and completely amaze me.

I'm also trying to be accountable in what has been a long-term goal to foster an attitude of gratitude.

If I post celebrations every day, it's because I'm looking for them.

When I don't look for celebrations, I just see the "suck" part of life: I had to put two dogs to sleep last year and I still miss them, my parents are aging and there are moments when that gets me down, my kids are testing their wings and sometimes I get whacked by an overzealous wingtip, I have had health issues scare the ____ out of me, my husband wants to help everyone which means he forgets to just hang out with me sometimes, our roof had to be replaced and before that we were living with smelly, wet insulation smell for years, and my sink always seems full with dirty dishes even though I run the dishwasher every day, sometimes twice.

However, if I focus on life-suck stuff, where does it get me? A validation for whininess?

I grew up with relatives that often had "I had the worst day/month/year" storytelling conversations - as if each person was trying to get the most "poor yous" out of a group of people.

I used to do that - friends from my high school and college years could "validate" that.

But I don't want to celebrate the life suck stuff. I don't want it cling to me and make me feel like _____.

If I'm celebrating, I want to celebrate life-giving moments, and I want to post it so I can remember it. Plus, I want to remember to say thanks and try to build up an attitude of gratitude.

I think that's what most people are doing when they share pics of their families and their lives on facebook or their blogs, when they celebrate their accomplishments and their blessings.

I don't think that's empty or wrong.

I think that everyone needs to look for celebrations.

If it's new to you, it may take time.

I spent a year forcing myself to post ten blessings a day, and trust me, there were times that I stopped at 2 or 4 and just stared at the blinking cursor on my screen.

In those moments, I couldn't even see the blessings right in front of me and all around me.

I created my own life suck moments because I was walking around only looking at life-sucking stuff.

I refuse to do that anymore.

You don't have to validate that with comments or likes because I found the validation I needed by making that decision several years ago and each day since the first time.

Celebrate life. Celebrate this moment. Celebrate the air you breathe and the pc you write on, and the gift of this moment. Celebrate pencils, and paper, and knives, and forks, and spoons, and water, and toes, and fingers, and everything you can think of to celebrate in the next ten seconds. 

And, don't forget to participate in:

Celebrate her life with sunflowers and help from Blogging from A to Z.

Link up to help C. Lee Mckenzie advocate literacy here

Say Cheese for a Shelfie with Tara Tyler

Take part in The Big "C" Hop to fight cancer.

And have fun with Underrated Treasures.

And I'll be back next week for IWSG, of course. :)

Epic Post: Do You Have Goals, Celebrate the Small Things, and Sunshine Blogger Award

Although micro-blogging is the rage, this is an epic length last post for the month of July. Hit the bold print for highlights.

Celebrate the Small Things - a wonderful blog hop hosted by Viklit! I'm a few days early, but it's my best day to post.

An epic family road trip to Gainesville, Georgia commences tomorrow. We are driving a trailer with some of the Gig Harbor Canoe and Kayak boats to the Junior Flat-water Sprint Nationals at Lake Lanier. It will be the longest driving trip that any of us has ever taken at 2,672 miles.

At the same time, it's a 13th birthday present for our youngest daughter who went from novice kayaker to bantam racing competitor in the last five months. She told us that she would rather go to Nationals than have a birthday party or get a birthday present. (Her birthday will be one of our drive days and we are bringing a few presents from Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and us.) She loves the sport more than anything else she's ever done, and she's practiced hours and hours, fallen in over and over again, and improved her race times by several seconds for every distance. She's come home exhausted, cold, and hungry, and then gotten up the next morning ready to go again.

So, we are driving 2,672 miles to honor her awe-inspiring passion, for her birthday, and for our family summer trip.

Do You Have Goals? - hosted by the super-encouraging Misha and Beth!

This month - I planned to participate in Camp NaNo but I didn't take into account some of our family activities and so . . . I don't know that I'll reach the goal.
I'm posting early, so maybe I'll get some massive writing done on the road trip when my husband is driving.
So, this month felt like a big fat "zero" but then I realized I completed 14,000 words total between two projects. That's not "zero."

The delightful Sarah Scheele at Stardust and Gravel gave me this award last month! Thank you, Sarah!

Each blogger who receives this award must give 11 random facts, answer 11 questions, and pass it on to 11 bloggers.

Ready?

11 Random Facts:
1. I love sunflowers!!!
2. I'm allergic to sunflower seeds. I plant them anyway and don't eat them.
3. I love the sun!
4. I love all kinds of rain - the mist, the trickle, the steady, the drumbeat, and the massive downpour - but I have limits on how long I like the rain - two days is enough in a week or two.
5. I even like overcast skies with no rain - as long as they don't last for more than a day.
6. I love vanilla chai tea with honey and coconut milk.
7. I love roses with thorns. The thorn-less ones are just wrong.
8. I love dandelions and the bunnies that come to eat them.
9. I love blackberries.
10. We allow deer to eat the apples from our ancient apple trees, but we don't like them in our fenced vegetable garden.
11. I love journals and buy them too often. Some women have a closet full of shoes. I have desk drawers full of journals.

11 Questions with Answers
1. What’s the last sentence you wrote in a story?Clara and her group were only eleven strong, but that was the perfect number for a scout force into the Dark Sisterhood’s stronghold.
 2. What was the last movie you watched?The Avengers (fourth time)
 3. Do you have a favorite quote?Too many. "Writing is a dance of language." - Ivan Doig.
 4. Favorite food?           Vanilla Chai Tea
5. Have you ever seen a shooting star?               Yes
6. If you were stranded on a desert island and could only have three books, which would you bring?               The Bible, The Hobbit, and a journal
7. In real life, which appeals to you more: futuristic, modern, or old-fashioned?            Modern
8. In fiction, which appeals to you more: futuristic, modern, or old-fashioned? (Other worlds count.)Futuristic and old-fashioned :)
9. What’s the strangest thing hanging on your wall in your room?
             Origami cranes from birthday wrapping paper
10. What’s your favorite bird?    Eagle Owl
11.  Robin Hood or King Arthur?
Robin Hood


Now, I'm supposed to choose 11 bloggers to receive this award . . . and there are many more that deserve it . . . so, if you haven't received this award before, consider it yours!

What are you celebrating? What are your goals? And, Remember Please take a Sunflower Award!!!

A to Z: V and Do You Have Goals Check In

The A to Z Challenge is underway this year, thanks to the awesome hosts and minions. Special thanks to Arlee Bird for starting this amazing blogging challenge!!! For more information about this challenge, go to the website!

Primary theme: World of Aramatir (Setting for The Champion Trilogy) Glossary
Secondary Theme: World-Building Questions and Thoughts
V

Valeriy – Ambassador from Aerland, human

Valterra – capital of Aerland

Veness – a member of the Dark Sisterhood Coven, and care-taker of the nagi

World Building Thought/Question: Through what view will the reader see your world? The villain's view? The hero's view? The hero's best friend's view? (Holmes and Watson are an example of this last one)

Do You Have Goals Check-In: Just a quick check-in this month from me. This month's progress: nearly nil. I'm completely caught up in life with school work (teaching, and more teaching), and family events (Vacation at Whistler, Paddler's Cup for my youngest, a driver's permit for my oldest, and a niece's Wedding). I think by this time this airs (pre-posting), I'll be in final format mode for Champion in Flight . . . I hope. I'm far behind my goals for CiF and it's driving me nuts.