It's My (Pity) Party...

Writing is the manual labor of the mind: a job, like laying pipe. -- John Gregory Dunne

For an exciting change in our weather, it iced a bit overnight. So, I can't say that it snowed... lol...

I threw myself a pity party yesterday mid-morning. I'd decided to write and my brain was completely blank. Completely. Feeling dramatic about the entire situation I decided I was done writing. That I'd never get another word down, and might as well shut down the blog and my website, because -- what was the point?

After much pacing and fussing, tearing of clothes and gnashing of teeth (okay, maybe I exaggerate a little), I settled down. I had stories in my head. It shouldn't be impossible to get them written. All I had to do was 250 words (I really wanted 500, but at this point I wasn't going to push it). 250 words... easy peasy, right?

I opened document after document, but nothing was working. Finally, I'd opened "Now and Forever" the "Kitchen Matches" sequel and decided I was going to get 250 *&^%$ words down if it was the last thing I did.

It was agonizing. I birthed each word like it was a two-week overdue breech baby. But darn if I didn't get just over 500 words done.

Now, I just need to repeat that today. Without the gnashing of teeth.

======================

Here's an interesting video (hated the music, but the information was good):



======================

You Show Thoughtfulness

You are the contemplative type. You like to think everything through throughly and carefully. You are very conscientious and responsible. You take your time and make sure things are done right. You are neat and accurate in any work you do. You pride yourself on being detail oriented. You are tactful and polite. You choose your words carefully to make sure you communicate effectively

The Knee Sock Test

Mostly right...

======================

My Muse Has Lost Her Mojo

A word is not the same with one writer as with another. One tears it from his guts. The other pulls it out of his overcoat pocket. ~Charles Peguy

I tried to write yesterday... TRIED being the important word in that sentence. I haven't finished my fantasy (I'm SO freaking close) and I have one more week to meet my goal. I'm at the pivotal, uber-important part of the story and I don't know if I'm overwhelmed by it, intimidated by it, or just don't know how to get from point A to point B, but I open up the document and stare at it.

I was determined to write, though, so I opened "A Change of Tune". The Wild Rose Press is going to be offering a new western series and my store would fit in neatly. Since it's a sequel to my other TWRP story, "A Change of Heart", I figured I could kill two birds.

I'm at a fabulous point of the story, one that could be touching and funny and is quite pivotal (I plan on it being the first kiss for my H/H). I know what I want to happen, but when I open the document I just stare.

I used to write longhand when this happened, but my thumb is still achy and I can't write easily. So, I decided to open something light and silly, something I could write in without concern. A story where I could flat out be goofy if I wanted, thinking abject silliness might be the cure. I opened "Perilous Love". And stared. I admit, I finally just decided to write whatever came to mind just to see if I could bash through the block. It didn't help.

And I went to bed utterly dejected.

I'm going to give it a go again today. And tomorrow. And the next day. I suspect part of my problem was not writing something every day. It's easy to get out of the habit and, just like exercise, we get out of shape.

I hope that's all it is.

*sigh*

=========================

You Are Liquid

You are a laid back person, and you always good with the flow. Why fight things? You are dreamy and imaginative. You get swept up in the moment, and you love abstract concepts. You are comfortable with solitude. You treasure your alone time and get into your own groove. You don't follow rules, and you definitely aren't punctual. You act without consulting anyone else.

Are You Solid, Gas, or Liquid?

Except for being comfortable with solitude? This is completely wrong.

====================

Making Time

Sometimes I feel that life is passing me by, not slowly either, but with ropes of steam and spark-spattered wheels and a hoarse roar of power or terror. It's passing, yet I'm the one who's doing all the moving. ~ Martin Amis

Yesterday I made time...okay, not exactly, but despite the fact that I'm still (and always) buried in LASR/WC/Goddess Fish work, I decided I would make time to do some other things.

So... I wrote.

Only it wasn't as successful as I may have liked, since the story is coming out like a bunch of dog excrement. It's frustrating: I know the characters, I have the plot loosely outlined, I have a pile of scenes I can see CLEARLY in my mind, but when I write them??? They are horrible. Stilted. Dull.

Should I push through and get it down on paper? Or do I stop and try to figure out why this book, which should be quite fun and sexy, is coming out dry and boring?

I also spent some time with DD.

We played Battleship for an interminable amount of time. Then we were going to put the rest of her jewelry up on Artfire, but got sidetracked. We received an email from another artisan telling us that DD's items were lovely, but that we weren't pricing them high enough -- that the low prices were indicating to possible buyers that we didn't value our work and made them hesitant to buy.

And I sat and wondered if that were true.

And I agonized... because we price them to make a profit, but not a huge one. And we're not trying to rip anyone off. But, OTOH, are we making it look as though her work is cheap? Not worth anything?

I'm still not certain ... and we surfed both Artfire and Etsy to see what other people charge, and we are lower than most.

So, what do we do?

For now -- we put a about a quarter of the items on DistinctivelyDD on sale to clear out the older items for the new stuff she's making (LOTS of earrings for $1.99/each!) and will contemplated the prices. You should go look. *G*

Frustrating. What do YOU think?

==========================

I forgot to bring in my birdfeeders last night... and just now, as the sun was rising, my heart was in my throat. Had the bear gotten them? I didn't want to lose my stupidly expensive, squirrel resistant Droll Yankee Dipper.

:::Peeking out through my fingers:::

PHEW! Still there. I'm so lucky!

===========================

You Are a Verb

You are an active and proactive person. Verbs are doing words, and you are a doing creature. You're always up to something. Inaction drives you crazy. You get bored and restless easily. And even when you take time to sit still, you don't quiet your mind. You are in a different state every few minutes. Whether you're thinking, working, playing, loving, wondering, reading, or simply smiling - you are a verb all the way.

What Part of Speech Are You?

Yep, yep, yep....

=========================