Tag: A writers life

the Writing Process

The Writing Process – Preptopber 13, 2021

 

Also known as a habit, whether you develop the practice of writing ten pages a day or continue with the speed of NaNoWriMo at One thousand six hundred sixty seven words a day, the key to being an accomplished writer in my point of view is to continue with one story until it is finished. 

If you can not finish the story, and you constantly go on to the next story idea you have, oftentimes you will find other authors no longer take you seriously in the craft of writing. 

Consistency with word count – Five hundred words consistently written each day will produce a One hundred eighty-five thousand five hundred word tomb by the end of the year.

Regularity with page counts – two pages written each day will produce a seven hundred thirty page epic saga by the end of the year.

Viscosity – using a flow of time to create words of fifteen minutes a day, will produce at least a novel by the end of the year. 

Bullet points to strive for: 

  • Consistency – word count, page count, allotted time
  • Consistency – page count, allotted time, word count
  • Consistency – allotted time, word count, page count
  • Follow through and type “The End” or “The End for Now”

 

Write for the story. Do not get attached to the outcome of your story. Let me explain, if your goal is two pages a day or five hundred words, sometimes dialogue will fall short of that five hundred, yet you have a full two pages.

So open up your document, set it to your favorite font or use one of mine (Merriweather, Book Antique, Crimson Text) and 12 px font.

Have fun writing and building a new habit.

Books, Books, Books

September brings another chance for my east coast readers to meet me in person.  This event, originally scheduled for Harrisburg, PA has moved to Carlisle, PA.  I hope to see you there.

RV challenges

Life is challenging, whether you are in an apartment, house, or RV motorhome. I, finally, found a shop that had the knowledge to fix Lucy the Shark. The suspension is being repaired, she is getting an alignment and new brakes. According to Paul at Acme Springs in Dayton, Ohio, she will be returned to me sometime this week. He has been super about keeping me updated.

The riverfront campsite I rented for the year, I won’t be renting next year. Jim, successfully sold the campground last Friday and the new owners will take full possession on October 11. Tonya, the new owner informed me last night they wanted to ‘rent’ my site, that I have a yearly contract and paid a year in advance, to overnighters since I was not using it.  Excuse me? After explaining my rig was in the shop, she got even more snippy about why I wouldn’t allow her to rent my spot to temporary overnighters. Needless to say, I won’t renew my contract with these folks.

While that sounds icky and sour, I am not. I was taken aback by her attitude, but in my world, something better is coming along.  Originally I wanted closer to my girls during the summer and will begin looking in the one-hour travel time area today.

The improvements with Lucy are beyond groovy. The fifty-five-inch television is totally hidden within the cabinet that still needs painting. Then the living room will be totally done except for a throw rug. Joe and Cleo love the couch.

Remember the wobbly driver’s seat? Well, the new pedestal arrived and is ready for install when Acme Springs is done with Lucy’s new suspension and brakes. I decided to wait on actual new captain chairs for now.

Moving into the bedroom area, all curtains and decor have arrived. I’ll paint the walls, but not the woodwork.

Oh, you may or may not know, Jeeps have Easter Eggs. For example, my #2 daughter’s C-7 has a spider embossed in the gas tank door and a lizard someplace else.  This gave me the idea to put USN and Shark-themed puffy stickers in out-of-the-way, fun places for the grandchildren to discover on their visits with Grammy. Oh yeah, the four-year-old sings Grammy Shark when she visits.

Will I repaint the Shark? Yes. She is fun and draws attention, but the paint is flaking and I will need to repaint her next year. My focus this year was getting her upgraded for me to travel in. I’m thinking cream and blue for the exterior. Although, I did consider a vinyl wrap, except they only last about seven years.

Let me know your thoughts about future improvements.  Photos of the interior will arrive when she is returned to me and we get settled at the river.

Successful wishes to you!

 

Online Book Signings

May 2020, consisted of two online book signings.  It was a pleasure to meet with readers virtually though the webcasts. Books were signed and mailed the day after each event.

The CABIN FEVER ANTHOLOGY is coming along. It is comprised of six authors, romance, and having cabin fever.  Look for it to arrive on Amazon in July.

 

NaNoWriMo

What is NaNoWriMo?  It is National Novel Writing Month.  Embraced by novelists, authors, and writers.  The goal is to write 50,000 words in a story format.  Formatting does not matter, genre does not matter, and neither do your typing skills or grammar.  This is a goal each person sets for him or herself, and all milestones should be celebrated.

My goal is to write 50,000 words in a new genre.  The new to me genre is romance.  Romance has a formula and to have a romance novel that means I have to meet the expectations of the industry.  To reach the word count is doing what I do already, type 2,000 words a day.  My stretch is writing to market and catching all the beats anticipated by the reader and demanded by the publishers.

Write-On, Cindy

Monthly meandering

A lot happened this past month.  I celebrated my two youngest daughters’ birthdays, fixed a flat on the RV and headed west.  For a more in-depth look at my RV life and its recent challenges visit RoamingRaven.com.

The recovery of the author interviews on the external hard drive, that went swimming in the dog’s water dish, was a 95% recovery.  The layering of the video is now in production.  Tim Smith’s is in the final stages.
Mountain Bookfest canceled.  Since Renee and I had several hard copies of “The Missing Locket” we gave the copies away in exchange for reviews.  Ten ARC readers of “The Missing Locket” report, they want more.  Yet, they have not left a review on Amazon in exchange for reading the novelette.  If it is as good as they tell Renee and me, how will others know unless they leave a review on Amazon?  The frustrations of being an author.
For a dollar a month, you can support Cleo and Joe’s dog bone habit on Patreon.  You will receive several lens clips from us each day, and video, postings, etcetera not public on Instagram or YouTube.