Terescia’s thoughts and such on writing romantic fiction for publication.

All-righty then, I now know that some habits just don’t die. During my fix up of my blog a few days ago, I discovered this post about my 2006 New Year’s Resolutions.

Let me see…

Blog more? Nope.

Write new articles for my websites? Nope.

Write some fiction? Some, but not nearly what I would consider the expected production of a dedicated author.^{(See footnote #1)}

Devote more time to myself? Oh, that’s a good one. Didn’t happen. In fact, I think I finally gave up on all my hobbies, just so I could keep up with life.

Please don’t think I’m bitter about it all. Just know it.

:-)

Okay, for real now. I love my new home and my new office. And yes, it was worth putting off a year or so of my life for, because this was and is truly my dream home. I’m watching the sun come up from my desk, because I have windows that reach from floor to ceiling right in front of me. I see trees and hear birds and can think about peaceful things if that’s all I want to do. It’s my own blank slate when I want to visualize. I can stare at a blank wall and feel nothing but sadness, but I can see into my forest of trees and brambles and brush and  feel peace. Spending time alone with your thoughts is the most powerful writing tool an author can utilize.

footnote #1
I built a new home which my husband and I had started in January 2006. We moved in in March 2007. I had a hand in a great many things–apparently to my detriment. According to a hand specialist, I did not give myself carpal tunnel syndrome as my family physician believed, but I did in fact give myself a bad case of tennis elbow. In both arms. Fascinating, huh?

I painted my beautiful two-story home with its fabulous two-story foyer and all the attendant rooms a mini-large home can have. (Mini-large defined: smallish, but not small.) Three coats for every lovely wall.

I installed hardwood flooring in every room of my home with my husband, because we were too cheap budget-minded to hire someone else to come in and install the flooring.

Did I mention that when we decided to sell the home that we were living in at the time had an unfinished addition we had started almost a year previously? Yeah, should have mentioned that. I painted that one too. And installed some fake hardwood while I was at it.

It’s amazing how easy it’s becoming to find more time to write. Just this past week, I noticed that Amazon.com is now selling grocery items (Affiliate Link! :-). This wouldn’t be that big a deal, but as a member of Amazon Prime, I get free shipping on most of the items I buy through Amazon, and I live in a state with an enormously high sales tax rate (9.75%). I don’t pay taxes on my Amazon purchases.

Of course, if you’re not a member of Amazon Prime, and you’re not in a hurry to get your items, you can also take advantage of the Super Saver Shipping and still get your items delivered for free.
I love that I can now save myself two hours or more of time that would have been spent running to and from Wal-mart to pick up something my local grocery store doesn’t carry. My rural area has only one major grocery store and it never seems to have everything I need, and the things it does have are overpriced and undersized.

Writing time is precious these days, so the extra time is well worth the wait. As a relatively slow writer, two hours of time each week is several pages of whatever book I happen to be working on at the time. In a sense, those two hours each week could mean the difference between meeting my writing goals for the week or not (assuming I only go to the store once a week, which isn’t always true ;-).

On a personal note, I’m excited about the Amazon grocery sales because my sister must maintain a gluten-free diet. The stuff she has to buy is outrageously expensive as it is, but because of size of the town we live in, she has to drive over 50 miles just to buy a package of gluten-free potato flour.

Amazon sells lots of those specialty items and I can get them for her with my Amazon Prime account so she doesn’t have to pay for delivery. :-)

Do you find writer’s groups helpful? I’m a member of many groups, but the truth is, I don’t receive email for most of those groups. I want access when I need it, but I don’t want the day-to-day hassle of 200 emails in my inbox.

My writer’s group, HEA Writers Group, is much more lenient than others, because I don’t worry about what topics we discuss. But then again, it’s a very small group at the moment.

How do you feel about the rules that many of the popular writer’s groups use to control the group? Are they necessary, or do you believe they’re a hinderance to discussion?
I would love feedback on this issue.

Also, join my writer’s group at Google Groups for email discussion of writing for publication. It’s a low volume group. Discussion of goals, quotas, useful articles, writing techniques, etc are welcome. Treat it as a motivational tool. :-)

I’ve tried to put myself into the frame of mind of a reader today, and visit multiple blog sites for ideas. But the only thing I truly got from the experience was a knowledge that as a reader, I would be very disappointed with my blog.

Regular updates are important, and I have some mighty bad posting habits. I’m an erratic blogger at best, and an unreliable blogger at worst.

So, since I never did get around to making myself any new year’s resolutions–of any kind–today is as good a day as any to decide to up the ante on my blogging.

My 2006 New Year’s Resolutions:

Read the rest of this entry »

I started this post back on 4/17/05 but got interrupted. By what, I can’t remember. I kept meaning to come back to it, but every time I thought of it or saw the little draft mark beside the entry, I didn’t actually have the inclination to finish. Well, now I do.

So, here it is. The post that almost got away. :-)

What’s allowed to interrupt my writing? Or, what should be allowed to interrupt my writing.

• Business. Income is a necessity, unfortunately. But not just any business. In fact, I’ve finally put a limit on the amount of business I allow in my life. Time limits have done wonders for the amount of time I have available for writing. The only problem I’ve encountered is that the time limits haven’t actually affected the amount of writing I do. :-) Seems I’m not too fond of writing when I don’t want to write.
• Friends in need. But only friends in need. Not friends in want, or friends who are bored. Or even friends who think they need a friend’s shoulder to cry on when they’d be better off drying their tears and getting on with their lives. However, I’m not talking about you, I promise (whichever of my dear friends you happen to be). ;-)
• Family. There’s nothing as important, and yet, I find it easier to say no to family than to anyone else who tries to interrupt. The unfortunate part of this is that it should be harder. But I’m practicing being better at saying yes. Time limits, remember? They aren’t just for business, you know.

Do I have my priorities right? I don’t know, but I think it fits me and my goals, so yeah, maybe my priorities are exactly what they need to be. And if they’re not, then next week I can change them again. As my mother likes to remind me, people are in a constant state of change. How or who you are today may not be what you are tomorrow. Your priorities and goals should reflect this.

So, what’s allowed to interrupt your writing? Seriously, I’d like to know. :-)

I have high expectations for today, but I’m having a tough time getting started. So, I thought I’d put up my goals for the world to see (or my mom, if that’s the only person I can finagle into reading this thing! :). Considering the humilation I’ll suffer if my hubby sees this, maybe I’ll be more apt to reach them.

10 pages.

Since I compose reading material about as fast as I can calculate pI, this is a hefty goal. It’s 8:17 am by my clock. I’ll check back in when I’ve reached my goal–or 7pm, whichever comes sooner.

Maybe by then I’ll have something enlightening to say.

:-)