MONDAY MOTIVATION - Slip and Slide

Good morning, everyone!

I've had a busy week. Still laying out the studio re-do. I spent most of last week painting two ladder shelf units and the new foot stool crate. I like to sit on the sofa in my office, away from the loving animal assistants, but I need my feet up. On the up-side, the sofa is cleared, cleaned and put back into place so I can use it. 

Another big project was rearranging my Little Golden Book collection (all 272) to make room for my Doctor Dan Medical Kit. I'm still researching that item but as you'll see from one of the pictures below, the toy doesn't appear to have ever been played with. all the components are still within the rubber bands holding them in place. The only deterioration is in the plastic wrapping.

However, once I had the LGB shelf in order and put the sofa back in place, I wound up laying components for another project I need finished by the end of the week on the sofa.  LOL It's a process, I tell you.

The meeting with the retired Combat Training Officer was an amazing experience. Listening to him talk was an emotional experience. He answered all of my probability questions and I finally feel as if I have everything I need to finish An Ozarks Homecoming.  Now to just make the time. 

My problem is I can not work in chaos - I think I've mentioned this a time or two. With the studio remodel in progress and needing my 'office' off the dining room table by this Wednesday, my real focus has been on the studio project and things I can move out of my way once the one creative project is finished. I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I need to locate a couple of organization items tomorrow and the rest should be here Wednesday. I'm so ready for this to be done and be able to write with a clear head.

I will only get three work days this week. Bob will be home on Wednesday after being gone a full month! The weekend belongs to him. 

*  Make the house presentable

*  Get blog posts for the next two weeks set up

*  Continue to get studio/ office in order. 

Keep in mind, while the studio and office are in the same room I do have specific areas for each. Right now I'm focusing on the studio part. With that, the 'office' work station will be on the large island in the middle of the room. Phase 2 - the 'office' is going to take a bit longer - probably during my holiday break. 

I have been using my HB90 planner. Right now my kanban plan is in the planner. I don't have space to put the physical board up in the office just yet.  Part of my board tickets are for the blog posts for the month of August as well as continuing progress on the studio. 

We have the final two Something Blue authors this week then we'll be moving on to new books and authors. Holiday stories should be coming out beginning this month. I'm ready for holiday reads! Who's with me?

All my best

~Angela

 

 

WRITER'S TIP THURSDAY - Research

 Good morning, everyone!

I wanted to stop in quick this morning and talk about research. 

Can you do too much? How much should you include in your story? 

If you've been following this blog then you know I've really been hung up on the research for An Ozarks Homecoming. Will I include everything I've learned? Not even close. However, when it comes to the military, there are things you just can't screw up!

Courtesy of Pixabay photographer

I thought I had everything I needed until I realized my hero's internal struggle. I think, aside from the military stuff I had to get right, not knowing Marc's issues was the real dam holding everything back. I knew things weren't flowing but I hadn't located the dam.

Once I connected dots in my head and realized Marc was suffering from survivor's guilt I knew I needed to actually talk to a combat training officer. I was blessed to have made a connection with one guy from our local farmer's market. While he hadn't served in that capacity, he was able to put me in touch with someone who had. Jason is a retired combat training offer AND had mustered out from Fort Polk - right where Marc had the experience! 

While Jason doesn't talk about his military service, he did spend almost an hour with me on Tuesday answering my questions, filling in gaps and sharing a couple of stories about his own experiences. WOW!

I wish I hadn't been too tired to work when I got home but was after 9 p.m. by the time I got  home. For someone who gets up at 5:30 a.m., it was way past my bedtime. 

Will I include everything I learned from our talk? Not even close. Just having that background information is enough to help me tell Marc's story. 

Thank you, Jason, for your time and your service

All my best

~ Angela

MONDAY MOTIVATION - Back On Track!!

Good morning, everyone!

Wow, after last week I'm ready for a fresh start.

I didn't get any writing done last week because I crunched to get things out of the way in preparation for a FREE on-line writer's conference I heard about from Sarra Cannon earlier in the week.

WEBSITE

I encourage everyone to check out the website and watch the videos. Just go to SCHEDULE 2022 then click on the YouTube icon next to the sessions that interest you.

This was an intense three days of great information on both Writing and Publishing. My brain is kind of on over-load as I took copious notes and screenshots from most of the sessions. I still have a few to go back and watch thanks to a migraine that hit on Friday. I made connections with some really great people and found some new sprinting groups I hope to take part in. 

One thing that was a REAL eye-opener is how much time this whole writing business thing is going to take. I mean, I KNEW but I just didn't absorb the enormity of the process. I know the over-all journey is an evolution and I'll get there. That's what Sarra Cannon's HB90 course is all about - avoiding the overwhelm while still moving the needle forward.   

The coordinators realized they probably could have timed this better, since this is Camp Nano month so they've scheduled the 2023 YouTube conference for June 23-25, 2023.  Mark your calendar for an amazing conference from the comfort of your own home!

Speaking of Sarra Cannon, She did an awesome presentation on Saturday talking about Planning To Thrive. She is a planner girl and pretty much everything she does involves a planner. She also just opened registration for the Publish & Thrive course that starts in a few weeks. Here's her video with all the details:

PUBLISH & THRIVE INFORMATION VIDEO

Note that she does offer payment options as well as a bundle savings when you purchase Publish and Thrive PLUS the HB90

I do have a busy week but one I'm SUPER excited about.

I have an interview later today with a retired combat training officer from Ft. Polk Army training grounds. This interview should clinch the research I need to finish An Ozarks Homecoming. I don't recall if I mentioned but a few months back I finally realized what my hero's internal struggle is - all stemming from an incident when he was stationed at Ft. Polk. However, I'm determined to not misrepresent the military in any way so I needed to find someone who could tell me if the incident that led to his struggle is plausible. Jason should be able to answer those questions. 

For this week:

1 - Continue work on studio

2 - Kanban board

3 - Write 500 words per day minimum - beginning today!

The 500 word per day challenge came as a result of meeting  Joe from SixCats Press during the AuthorTube Conference. I'll link his video down below. I'm a few days behind to be in sync with him but as Amber McCue would say - I'm right on time!

That pretty much brings you up to speed. I'll be back tomorrow and Wednesday with the next two Something Blue anthology authors - Robyn Neeley and Annie Rains.

All my best

~ Angela