CAMP NANO PROGRESS & HEARTIES RETREAT!

 

Hi everyone!

We are just past the half way mark through Camp Nano.   How are you doing? 

I'm off to a very slow start. I knew I would be. I'm just too much of a housewife. I can't let things go.

I have made strides in the story just not where I wanted to be. 

The first month of each quarter, Sarra Cannon and her Admin Team in our Hearties Facebook group put together a Virtual Writing Retreat. Each retreat is set in a virtual locale. The location for this month's retreat hasn't been announced yet and we are set to start on Friday. I have no clue what to 'pack' beyond my writing supplies. 

There are a lot of scheduled sprints over the course of the three-day weekend, allowing ample time to get some writing in.  You can join us either by being a part of the Heartbreathings Writing Community on Facebook or just following the sprints. You'll find a list of sprints on this month's Google Calendar on Sarra's website.  Go HERE then scroll down to see the Google Calendar. You can add this to your own Google calendar. 

Of course, this is Bob's last weekend home. I try not to work any more than necessary his first and last week home. Thankfully, he understands I need to write if I'm going to publish books and supplement his retirement. 

At least I have a writing space again.

While my space isn't perfect, I do have a table - if you count my sewing machine cabinet with the leaf open LOL. The important thing is I'm NOT at the dining room table anymore. Hopefully, by time for retreat I'll have my big work table cleared off and my comfy cushioned Captain's chair bar stool. Stay tuned for a picture of where my 'retreat' location will be. 

I'm hoping by next month to have this blog back on track adding back Spotlight Author. I just haven't had time to read. I do have a couple of things to share this week, though, so visit again.

All my best!

~Angela

CAMP NANO PREP #3 - And An Apology

 Good morning, friends

First off, I got so caught up in prepping for the weekend Write-A-Thon I failed to post the information here. However, if you watched my Camp Nano Prep #2, you got the information anyway. I will try to do better about my postings.

This was the Camp Nano Prep #3 from last week where I talked about TOOLS. What are the things we need to have for camp. While I address the normal things you'd think about when sitting down to write, also consider things that are more personal to you. We are three days away from Camp Nano Kick-off! I will be doing a premiere on Friday, March 31st. Time yet to be determined but I'll let you know tomorrow when I post Camp Nano Prep #4.

Here's #3 in the video series:

All my best!

~Angela

CAMP NANO PREP - #2 - The Plan

 Good morning, friends!

Bob's been gone a week and I've been trying to accomplish stuff but this icky wet/ cold weather is just not conducive to wanting to do anything but curl up under a blanket with the Hallmark Channel. I haven't but tempting.

Monday was the first day of Spring, and while you couldn't really tell by the weather,  I took my witchy self out for a day in Poplar Bluff. I spent two hours at Bluff Coffee & Mercantile enjoying a large coffee and mapping out the entire video series for Camp Nano prep.  I posted Part 2 this morning - The Plan - where I talk about forming a writing schedule based on whatever is going on in your life while still reaching your goal. You'll find several recipe links in the description box as well as a link to Sarra Cannon's Heartbreathings (author) channel where you'll find her video and links to freebies when you sign up for her email. 

I have an art video to do today then I can work on the next Camp Prep video.

Also, because I don't want this to get lost in this post, tomorrow I'm going to post info about a 24 hour write-a-thon taking place on YouTube. twenty-four hours of sprints to help you reach your writing goal! I hope you'll come back for that tomorrow.

In the mean time, here is today's Camp Nano video:

All my best!

~ Angela

MONDAY MOTIVATION - Busy Week!

 Good morning, everyone!

Have you been checking out the Something Blue authors? These gals are super talented. 

Speaking of talented folks, I have a fabulous surprise for you this week. How many of you have seen A HEAVENLY CHRISTMAS on the Hallmark Channel during Christmas?

That movie is one of my favorite and 'must-see' holiday movies. The movie has also brought me a dear friend, Gregg McBride.  Gregg wrote the story. You can find out more about him on his YOUTUBE Channel

Gregg just released his first children's book - Biron the Bee Who Couldn't, released last Friday. In his honor, I'm stepping away from the Something Blue authors to shine the spotlight on Gregg all week long! You won't want to miss all Gregg has to share.

This week and next are super-busy for me. Bob comes home Wednesday, I leave for the Between The Pages writing conference on Friday. I'll get home on Sunday night and my in-laws arrive the following Tuesday. The house is my main focus this week. They've not visited in six years.

Beyond that, I really want to spend quality time with Bob. We've not just enjoyed each other's company in his past two trips home. With that in mind, I will do my best to schedule blog posts ahead between cleaning jags and conference time. 

We had the live kick-off for the Q3 of HB90 boot camp. If you recall, I had cracked my ribs two days before the Q2 kick off so the whole thing kind of tanked. I'm healthy and ready to make Q3 a productive quarter. By the weather forecast, the temps are going to be unbearably hot for the remaining of the summer so a good time to stay in and stay focused.

I'm also hoping to participate in Camp Nano and get serious about writing/ finishing Book 2. I am hoping to meet with the combat training officer on Wednesday to get a couple of questions answered. Bob will leave on the 5th so I will have the rest of the month to pound out words! I should have a word count bar up on my blog soon, courtesy of Sarra Cannon's husband, George. 

My Top 3 for this week:

1 - Put studio back together.

      I'm after Progress, not Perfection.  My in-laws haven't seen the studio since they helped lay the floor six years ago. All we had was walls and windows at the time.

2 - Straighten up the rest of the house. Presentable not Perfect

3 - Pack and be ready to enjoy three days of being with writer folks and being away from the house!

I'll be back tomorrow to shine the spotlight on Gregg McBride. I hope you'll join me!

All my best

~AngelaBTP

MONDAY MOTIVATION

 Good morning, everyone!

I apologize for missing this post last week. I've been working in the garden two hours in the morning. Labor-intensive work that wears me out. I've been crashing for several hours after the activity. Last Wednesday I got wise and decided I needed to just take a day and work on blog posts - including this one. But I knew then what my goals needed to be for this week.

Bob will be home on Wednesday and I've not accomplished a lot in the house that I had planned on. On the plus side, the new garden is shaping up nicely. 

For this week I need to focus on at least two items from my KanBan board. 

1 - Request rights back for Somewhere Down the Line

2 - Secure authors for September/ October and December

3 - Be consistent with Social Media, 

For that last one, I'll be making notes as I go so that I can include things in the Social Media Planner I'm trying to create in time to offer at the Ozark Creative Writers conference where I'll be speaking in October.

I've not been as productive on Camp Nano as I'd have liked. I've fixed a couple of kinks and the words are flowing again. I'd like to clear another 5,000 words this week, though I won't do much once Bob gets home. The first weekend he is home is dedicated to him unless he has a shoot or a lodge meeting.

That's my plan for the week.  What are you wanting to accomplish?  Remember, you can do anything you set your mind to - at least that's what I keep telling myself. ;-)

All my best

~Angela

WRITER TIP THURSDAY - The Master Class

 Good morning, everyone!

I'm in the garden early this morning then in the kitchen canning this afternoon.

Welcome to a new month!

PIXABAY

The Month of July is going to be Christmas In July. Christmas reads you might want on your list, tips from authors who've written Christmas stories, etc.

I'm still putting the list together so in the mean time, I thought I'd kick the month off with THIS article from MASTERCLASS on 8 Tips for Improving Your Writing. 

Camp Nano for April began today. I'm really hoping to push through this block. I have ideas but household stuff has to come first. You'll find me on the boards as RainLyte! I invite you to come friend me and we'll encourage each other!

I've also started #6M4L with Sarra Cannon. There are some areas in my life I really need to work on. One of them is being more consistent with my writing so I've joined her 'Don't Break the Chain' promise... to write every day. We're focusing on July but what a great way to keep the momentum going by the end of the month.

If you'd like to join us, just look for the hastag #6M4L .

For Don't Break the Chain, simply pull out any calendar for July. Every day that you write, put an X through the date, put a smiley face sticker... whatever will inspire you to KEEP GOING! You can also sign up for Sarra's newsletter and get access to a lot of free printables.  Check out her video below then join us. You'll find her links in the video description box:

I'm off the rest of this week. I purchased peaches and blueberries yesterday that need put into jars... and of course, writing!

All my best

~Angela

MONDAY MOTIVATION - #amwriting

 

Good morning, everyone!

As you read this, I am on the road for Iowa to meet my 'grandbabies'. Mia and Lia are four months old and I have yet to meet them. This is a quick trip but on the way home I'm stopping at a hotel for a couple of days so I can write. 

I am way behind on where I need to be with my word count. I'm hoping to amp that up in the coming days.

In the mean time, please come back tomorrow where I'll be sharing my review of  Jodi Thomas' new book:

MONDAY MOTIVATION - Setting Goals

 

Image by pixabay contributor

Good morning, everyone!

I can not believe it's Monday again, already! Where does the time go?

Before I post what's going on this week, I do have to say I did not meet my writing goal last week. Trying to get too many things done around here and just flat wore out by the time I could sit and write. I am NOT a night person. I'd stop my day work around 4, eat supper, tidy up the kitchen. By then I didn't want to start writing because I knew the flow would get interrupted when Bob called around 6.  By 8, I am in bed to wind down for about an hour then hopefully, sleep the whole night through. I am usually up by 5 a.m. to start my day. Though, sleeping through the night is not something I do well anymore unless I take something. Zzquil is my friend about every other night.

As to talking with Bob, he is my real life hero. After 36 years of marriage, we still talk every day (signal allowing) when he's gone and we talk for an hour. I wait anxiously for him to retire when we can set a regular daily routine. Sadly, that isn't for another 20 months so must figure out how to make this work in the mean time.

He'll be home Wednesday night and there are several things I need to get done before he arrives. 

This week, I'll be finishing up the posting Author Spotlight/ Reviews for the 7 Brides for 7 Soldier's series. Those will run Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. From there we can get back to the regular schedule postings.  If you've not read this series and love a quick read, this 7 Brides for 7 Soldier's is for you. 

While my word count is way off where I need to be, I'm okay with that. I finally made the final pass-through of Chapter 1. On to Chapter 2 tonight... part of which is roughly written so will be all about fine-tuning Katie's point of view and adding Marc's. 

I pretty much dumped last week's goals. I did do the interview with Jennifer Connor of Sugar Lily Bakery & Floral. Learned a ton of stuff helpful for bringing a realism to my story. The official title by the way - AN OZARKS HOMECOMING

I reverted back to a previous working title because I want to keep AN OZARKS in each of the four titles. Book 3 - AN OZARKS REUNION and Book 4 - AN OZARKS PROMISE (tentatively)

So here we go for this week:

GOALS

* Complete Chapter 2 and have direction for Chapter 3

*Rethink the blogging/ social media book for conference

*Contact future authors for Writer's Nest posts

*Continue office clean out

I will be bakc tomorrow wiht Book 5 of the 7- Brides for 7 Soldier's series where I will introduce you to Jack. I hope you'll come back and meet Julia London. 

All my best

~ Angela

MONDAY MOTIVATION - Setting Goals

 

Image By Pixabay Designer

Good morning, everyone!

Wow, this is going to be a really busy week.  This is my last full week before Bob comes home for the next twenty-one days. As most of you know, I don't do a lot of work when he's home so this is cram week.

I know I dropped the ball on some book reviews. I'm going to run those this week and next with link-backs to the coordinating Author Spotlights, then next week we'll be back on track, so be prepared for back-to-back reviews.

Just a reminder that Jodi Thomas' Book 2 in the Honey Creek series, Picnic In Someday Valley releases April 27th. My review for that will run on a special SUNDAY REVIEW. In the meantime, the book is up for PRE-ORDER so go grab your copy and let's compare notes. By the way, Pre-order price is at a 26% discount! 

I'm way behind on Camp Nano but at least I'm finally in the story. I found my wings, so to speak, in setting the scene with Marc receiving the news they've found his grandfather's remains from the Korean War. As I type this I realize what is missing from that chapter so I'll have to work that in this evening.

My heroine, Katie, has a dream of opening her own bakery in Eureka Springs. That is her driving force since fate seems to have people walking away from her. She feels the bakery will be her one constant in her life. Today, I'm meeting with Jennifer Connor of Sugar Lily Bakery and Floral to get an inside look at what goes in to opening a bakery. 

For the past two years I've done a lot of research on military transfer and handling of remains. One thing I hadn't thought about was the way they get from Point A to Point B then to their final resting place. I've found some helpful videos (what did we do before YouTube University?!) on the inside look of a Boeing C-17 transport. Times like this is when I could fly to WA state to see my daughter and her family. She has an inside track with Boeing that I'm sure could get me an actual walk-on. Oh well, YouTube will have to do. 

GOALS:

* hit 20k on An Ozarks Homecoming

* continue to tweak a workbook on blogging/ social media that I want to sell at OCW

       (coordinates with the two sessions I'm presenting at the conference)

* get more stuff put away in the office so I can stop working 

at the dining room table when Bob is gone.

I don't have a Writer's Nest post for this month. Hopefully, I can get some authors in here for the rest of the year. I will admit I've not worked on that much the past few weeks but I do have some lining up - an entire series from a really strong critique group. Mid-South Writers Group of Cassville now have a more of a social media presence than just Facebook so I want to give them a boost.

I did look into putting a word count meter on my sidebar. I did not find one that wanted to play nice with blogger. If you have you that you like, please let me know in the comments below. I know there used to be one.. I used it when I first started the blog. My next step is to look up the one I used (should be in my password book) to see if that one is still available.

In the mean time, I'm off to discover things and get back to my characters.

All my best

~Angela

MONDAY MOTIVATION - Setting Goals

 

Image By Pixabay Designer

Good afternoon, everyone!

I'm a bit late coming to the party today because, well, I've been working! I just wasn't working on these blog posts. I'm here now, so let's talk about what's different.

For starters, I'm no longer using, TOP 3. If you liked that type of posting, please leave a comment and let  me know. I can always revert back. In the mean time, I think this new path covers the subject.

Next, whenever I use a pixabay image, I will post a link to the creator (not just pixabay but the artists page). Please check out their work if you're ever in need of some cool graphics. While they are free, take a moment to buy them a cup of coffee and link to them as well. That really helps their SEO standings.

Finally, but by no means less important, are my GOALS for the week.

Each Monday, I check in with my buddy, Jen Nipps (jennippsonline) where we share our Top 3 for the week. Later (when we remember) we check in on Wednesday for a progress report then again on Saturday as to how our week went. That is what started the Top 3 posts here on the blog. But I'm switching things up a bit... partly for the SEO thing. 

If you don't know, SEO means Search Engine Optimization. Basically, all about how you fall in ranking when someone searches for a specific topic. I don't thnk Top 3 is going to rate as well as Motivation or Goals. The content of the post won't change a lot, just how I present the information.

I have four major goals this week... actually for the next two since Bob is gone for two more FULL weeks. 

* Blog Posts for April & May

*Collab Projects for YouTube

*Book 2 of Planned to Perfection Series

*Garden - spring planting

I've already been back to work on the manuscript. Whether I feel up to it or not, I sit and work for at least an hour. Not near as much as I need to hit my release date but that is a start. ... Far more then I've been doing the past two years. I've had more than one request for Book 2. Time to get it out there.

I'll see about putting a word count bar over on my side bar but not tops on my priority list right now. The sun is still shining and there are onions to plant.

Remember to leave a comment below!

Also, if there is an author who's WRITER'S NEST you'd like to peek into, let me know in the comments or by using the contact form and I'll do my best to get them to open their door for a visit.

All my best

~Angela

FRIDAY RECAP - Words Are Flowing

On Wednesday, the beginning of Camp Nano, I set a GOAL to write a minimum of three hours every day. Whether I write by myself or I have sprinters to buddy up with.

So far so good.

Yesterday was the second on-line meet-up of my former writing group from Peoria, IL - Wordsmiths By Night .. aka WSBN There are four of us on this journey. I'm new to using Discord where we meet up but I'm just focusing on our little group and not venturing anywhere else. I'm still leading sprints on Chatzy. We write in 20-minute sprints with 10-minute breaks

If you'd like to participate, email me AngelaDrake (at) webname (dot) com and I'll send you the meet-up times/ details

OR

join my thread on Camp Nano -  Cauldron Cafe

Happy Writing!