MONDAY MOTIVATION - Time to Tell a Story

 Good morning, everyone!

Wow!

Well, I can say first of all that last week did not go as planned. 

For starters, Bob left on Monday. From there I dove in to really making progress on clearing the studio by working through one area at a time. I managed to complete my filming area except for a shelf I need Bob to add to my shelving unit. He tried to do it before he left but the one shelf board I had wasabout 1/2" too short. In the mean time, I'm making progress elsewhere.

Yesterday, I found about 80% of my 4'x8' work table. I need it cleared for working on other areas, like cataloging the stamp sets and cutting large pieces of mat and foam core board - again, for other projects that need finished.

I also didn't get Burroughs emailed. That is tops on my list for this week. Review my contract to make sure I have dates correct, then email them a formal request for rights back. Cross your fingers because I really want to offer Somewhere Down the Line in print in time for the Ozark Creative Writers conference in October.

TIME TO TELL A STORY

I woke up this morning with the realization of why An Ozarks Homecoming is moving so slow for me. I'm so caught up in getting details correct that I've stopped giving you a STORY! The light bulb clicked on last night as I finished the last novella in Christmas at the Amish Bakeshop. When I finished The Christmas Cupcake by Loree Lough I thought, 'she told such a beautiful story'.  (No spoilers as to why since you'll learn more in Week 3 of the Author Spotlight series for this book) The sense dawned on me is that's how my first two books came about. I just told a story. 

So effective with tonight's writing sprints, I'm just going to sit with a blank page and start telling a story. I'll fix all the 'telling to showing' stuff in edits. 

Hello Kitty in honor of Sarra Cannon

Here's my Goals for the Week:

* Contact Burroughs

* Clear Sofa

* Tell the Story

That's it for my week. What is ONE THING you want to do TODAY! Tomorrow will come soon enough!

All my best

~Angela

MOTIVATION MONDAY

 

Good morning, everyone!

Another month is behind us... as well as Camp Nano. I can say without reservation that I did not meet my goal for July. I just can't write in chaos and my office/ studio has been a disaster. My goal has been to get that space organized so that I will have my peaceful writing space back. 

Since this picture was taken, I've made a new sofa cover but the area is a complete disaster at the moment. The sofa is buried beneath my sem-day job as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator. That's been the project I've been working on. As I said in last week's post (or the week before) putting it out there is a great motivator. I need my space back so I hope to have reclaimed my sanctuary by next week. 

Bob leaves tomorrow - opening up my week to really dive in.

* Dedicated writing time

* August blog posts scheduled

* Continuing work on the conference items

* Following up with Burroughs

Note: I'm writing this post a couple weeks ahead. I can do that thanks to my planner. By the time this airs I hope to have heard back from my editor at Burroughs and gotten the rights back to Somewhere Down the Line. If that's the case than an additional task will be added to my list of cleaning the manuscript up (can't believe the mistakes they put back in after we'd taken them out during edits!) as well as getting my new cover ordered

That's a full week for me. What's on your agenda?  Please share in the comments below and we'll motivate each other! 

All my best

~Angela

#AMWRITING - An Ozarks Soldier's Homecoming

I'm glad to be writing again. Words are flowing and I'm finally into the story. About time considering this book is set to release mid-May.

This poster, considered 'vintage' by collector.com, hangs in my office. My daughter bought me the poster for my birthday in the mid- 1990's because I'm a huge John Elway fan. I  met John the first year he joined the Denver Broncos. I've followed him through the ups and downs of his career. He's navigated everything with a word he lives by... DEDICATION.

You have to be dedicated in this business ... or any endeavor.. if you plan to succeed and reach your goals. 

Our military are DEDICATED to their beliefs and their trainings. I've learned a lot about our armed forces, particularly the Army, as I've researched for An Ozarks Soldier's Homecoming. Over the years I've heard people (writers) say they write contemporary because they don't want to do all that research. Well, unless you are creating a completely fictional world and know EVERYTHING there is to know about the details involved in your book, you are going to have to do research in some form and amount.

This past week I've talked to a Staff Sargant at an Armed Forces Career Center (they aren't called recruiting offices any more), plus been to every conceivable site and video about Mortuary Affairs and Dignified Transfers.

As I've said before, this story has made me want to get the details right, though the Staff Sargent did tell me that the details weren't as important if I were writing fiction. Sorry, Sir, but I don't abide by that one. Someone who knows about Mortuary Affairs, Dignified Transfers or have brought a loved one home in a dignified transfer case WILL know. I refuse to dishonor them by not getting it right. 

I took part in JANO 2020 though I'm more about my own writing time line than trying to dump 50,000 words in 31 days. I managed 15,000 but that's okay. I'm on target for the time line I've set up in my writing planner.

This is going to be a busy month. I'm planning on posting three days a week. Monday/ Wednesday/ Friday.  Beginning in March I will be launching From the Writer's Nest where we see WHERE authors write those books we love to read. 

I hope you'll join me and comment.

Happy Reading!

~Angela

THE WEEK AHEAD - November 11 Coming out on top

Last week was pretty much a wash for me. Though we had a couple of mild pre-winter days I did not feel up to anything except taking cold meds and snuggling on the couch. 'Tis the season for the ABC Family Channel 'Countdown to Christmas'. They always have an amazing line-up of heartwarming stories of love and family during the holidays. 'Scrooge' is always thwarted in the end. And though predictable is not always something we like in a story, when there is potential for cold medicine to knock you out part way through the movie, you know there is going to be a HEA so it's all good.

I read the new book in the 'Hannah's Daughters' series by Emma Miller. Rebecca's Christmas Gift tells the story of another of the widow Hannah's daughters, Rebecca. I have loved this series set in an Amish community from the very first one, 'Courting Ruth'. There are several other books by Ms Miller and I look forward to reading them all.

As you can see by the sidebar, my Nano total is not so great. I wrote approx 900 words while we were in Nashville, which is where I caught this silly cold. So I did almost not writing on Heart on the Line until yesterday when I rocked out about 5000 words! Although I knew this was a story I could love, I wasn't feeling the passion for the characters like I did Trey and Ali in Somewhere Down the Line. But while trying to get a few words in Saturday I found my muse... my late stepmother, Grammy. She is Granny Pearl and in many ways, I am Kassandra Ewards. Not in the relationship with the hero, Bo Peterson, but in Kassandra's love of Granny Pearl and all the things Grammy taught me. Once I made that connection, the words began to flow. But then it was time for the Broncos vs Chargers game and life became the couch and a crochet hook for the next three hours.

I have been a Broncos fan since John Elway's first year on the team when I met him at a backyard BBQ. I don't care what people say about John. I met him off the field, away from press, just hangin' out and he is a good and decent man. I have a poster of John that my daughter gave me for my birthday one year. Though I have almost no wall space in my office, that poster hangs prominently next to my computer. Beneath the picture is the word DEDICATION - and the dictionary meaning of the word. John has dedicated the majority of his life to the Denver Broncos in some form to this day as VP of the organization. Some might think him an odd example to follow, but I think he's done okay for himself. May we all be half as blessed in doing what we love.

As a side note for all you John Elway fans, Stanford University will retire his #7 Jersey in a ceremony on Thursday, November 14th. He will join Jim Plunkett (No. 16) and Ernie Nevers (No. 1) as the only players whose jerseys have been enshrined by the program. Congratulations, John!