Left Behind

What good’s a life that leaves nothing behind, not a thought or a dream that might echo in time?
— Trans-Siberian Orchestra

We build our legacy piece by piece, and maybe the whole world will remember you or maybe just a couple of people, but you do what you can to make sure you're still around after you're gone.
— David Lowery

My legacy is that I stayed on course... from the beginning to the end, because I believed in something inside of me.
— Tina Turner

What will you leave behind when you’re gone?

The hubby and I had our wills finalized recently, and it’s a real process, I tell you what. Amongst a lot of crap we had to deal with was the creation of our bequest lists. These were the lists of items we want to go to specific people.

I have a lot of stuff, and I love my stuff. And I really hate the thought that no one else is going to care about my stuff like I do. That when I’m gone all this stuff I’ve lovingly collected over the years will just be disposed of without a thought to how much it meant to me.

But it’s also unreasonable to expect someone else to takeover everything. I remember when we had to go through my aunt’s house – she collected antiques, but I only saved things that had sentimental value for me. As much as I would have liked to save more, the things that meant a great deal to her, I just didn’t have the space.

So I spent a lot of time thinking about my various collections – dragons, teapots, books – and picked out a couple of items from each collection that meant the most to me. Then I thought about who might appreciate these things the most and bequeathed the items to them in my will. Now maybe this will make the beneficiaries happy, and maybe it won’t. But I’ll be dead and if they want to donate/sell their bequests that’s fine by me.

My books are still an ongoing process. I’d like the various collections to be kept together, but a lot of my books are out of date or have a limited audience. Like my reference books – I have several sets of reference books that I bought through Time/Life Books – Time Frame series (history), the Enchanted World, Mysteries of the Unknown, Planet Earth – and a couple of sets I bought at book sales. While I still find them useful – the Planet Earth series was especially helpful with my Elemental book series – most people prefer looking stuff up on the internet.

Which brings me to my writing files. My vast array of writing files, both paper and electronic. My great body of ideas and unfinished stories/novels. My unpublished works that, if printed out, could probably paper the earth. Or at least the moon. Not to brag, but a lot of this stuff shows promise and it would be a shame to let this promise go to waste. On the other hand, who’s going to finish all this if not me?

And there’s my motivation to get off my lazy butt and taking my writing seriously again. If I don’t do it, who will?

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WORDAGE REPORT

Yes, that’s right. I skipped my Monday post again. Quite frankly, I don’t do that much (besides grocery shop) outside of the house, and my life can be somewhat uneventful. I had a bunch of routine medical appointments and no one really wants to hear about that.

As for other writing . . . it appears I’m still in my slump. I’m getting my ten-minute words done, but that’s pretty much it. I keep hoping that will change, but really, nothing’s going to change unless I just suck it up and change it.

NEW WORDS:
Blog Posts – 1104+841= 1,945

Total words: 1,945 words

Three minute words – 102+113+78+77+93+92+93=648

Goals For Next Week:
Finish the Christmas story.

EDITING:
I actually did take a fresh look at Magickal Mayhem. Or maybe that’s going to be Magic and Mayhem. I haven’t decided yet. But in any case, in an effort to pare down the wordage, I cut a whole bunch of description and now it looks like I need to put at least some of it back in. It’s times like these that makes me wonder if I know what I’m doing in the first place

Goal For Next Week:
Edit Magickal Mayhem.

MARKETING MONDAY:
There are a lot of markets for flash fiction out there. And a lot of contests. And the one thing they usually have in common is they have a specific theme they’re looking for. And while it’s all well and good to have my stories categorized by length, it would be more helpful to have them categorized by subject, i.e. horror, fantasy, mythology, etc. So that’s what I’m doing

The poem I sent in last week was returned with the request for a really minor edit, which I agreed to and as far as I know it will be included in this really cool local project that I shouldn’t really talk about until it’s a done deal. And then it might be worth a post all on its own. :-)

Goal For Next Week:
Submit two stories and one poem.

TECHNO TUESDAY:
So far I have not been doing well on Techno Tuesdays. This time I had a zoom meeting with my stitchery group in the morning, and then in the afternoon I was inspired to work on my stitchery.

Goal For Next Week:
Set up Paperwhite

CRAFTING:
I am waiting for some embroidery transfers I ordered to arrive, so I’ve put the granddaughter’s dress on hold until they get here. Hopefully this week. And hopefully they’ll have something in the package that I can use on it.

When I haven’t been hitting the dollar stories and craft stores for more crafting supplies, and then organizing them so my hoard doesn’t get away from me again, I’ve been working on embroidered squares for a baby quilt.

Goal For Next Week:
Finish baby quilt. Start the embroidery on granddaughter’s dress. Figure out how to finish embroidered tote bag (that I started many years ago).

WHAT I’M READING:
I’m still reading Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens and I’ll probably stick with it until I’m done. And I confess, I read Whiskey Beach by Nora Roberts last week, but I made it last the whole week instead of a single day. So I guess that’s progress.

On the Kindle. I finished The Merman’s Kiss by Tamsin Ley and really liked it. These characters had a lot of issues to overcome, and you’re kept wondering if they’d be able to be together at all. Plus I really like the author’s take on merfolk. Now I’m working on Curse of Christmas: A Collection of Paranormal Holiday Stories, by assorted authors.

Goal For Next Week:
Finish “Crawdads” so I can pass it on, and otherwise keep taking it easy on the reading so it doesn’t take over my life.

GOAL REVIEW:
My goals always seem so reasonable, I don’t know why I have such trouble sticking to them. At least as far as the writing goals go. The crafting and reading goals seem to be doing okay, although I do spend more time on my crafting compared to anything else. But then again, I do most of my crafting (needlework mostly) in front of the TV at night. At least it keeps me away from the games.

Happy writing.

Things I Learned at the Retreat, Part Three

Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can - there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did.
— Sarah Caldwell

Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and diligence.
— Abigail Adams

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.
— Albert Einstein

I suspect this will be a rather long post because not only will I be talking about my last day at the retreat, I have actual words to report. :-)

So, Sunday the rain actually let up for a bit, and since I was a much earlier riser than my cabin mates, I took a leisurely walk along the lake shore, hoping to get some pictures of the sunrise. The sunrise wasn’t that great, but I got some interesting silhouette shots and I really enjoyed the walk.

For our last session together, we discussed ways to write every day. That seems to be an issue with a lot of writers, especially those working full time jobs or taking care of family, or both. Some of the suggestions included: using a pen and paper (easy to take with you so you can fit in a few words whenever you get a chance), block out a section of time every day (and make your family understand you are not to be disturbed), try just five minutes at a time (you’d be surprised what you can accomplish in just five minutes).

This was followed by our Freefalling, in which we were to focus on a sound during our meditation, and then to step into the sound. We were to start with the phrase, “When I hear this…” My sound was water:

When I hear this… I think of walks in the woods beside a lake. I think of my childhood, driving up to Owen Sound, standing on the precipice of Inglis Falls, or watching the fish jump at the mill dam. I think of waterfalls, big and small, the feel of the spray on my face, the smell of the moisture laden air. The rocks are slippery, don’t get too close. Voices are raised to be heard over the cascade of water. Make your way to the lake where waves are lapping at the shore, crashing if the day is stormy. I think of rain, pitter-pattering on the roof or pounding down during a storm. The fresh, earthy smell of the woods after the rain has gone. The soggy feel of the earth under my feet. The drip, drip, drip of the water returning to the earth.

And for our final lesson in creativity, we turned to a page in our work books that had seven boxes on it with seven different labels: Expressions, Characters, Events, Food, Words, Colours, and Clothing. And under each of these seven labels were seven cues: the Food box included lemon, chili, bread, chocolate, red meat, coffee, pie and the Colour box included yellow, blue, white, grey, green, tangerine, and red. You get the idea.

So then we had fun picking random cues from different boxes and combining them. For instance, taking a cue from Character and one from Events you might end up with a ‘teacher’ at a ‘fire.’ Or a cue from Colour and one from Expression might give you ‘green’ and ‘look before you leap.’ Again, you get the idea.

It was both fun and interesting. You could use just a couple of boxes, or several boxes to create your own prompt. The possibilities were endless. And the best part is, you can totally create your own boxes with your own labels and cues, tailored to your specific needs, like characters, settings, conflicts, obstacles, scenes, escalating conflict… And to fill your boxes the possibilities are endless.

If I run into trouble with my NaNo, I will totally be turning to the boxes to get my creative juices going. But so far I’ve been doing good on my own. I downloaded a whole pile of prompts from Writer’s Digest and I’ve only had to go back and find a new prompt once. And of course because I’m doing flash fiction instead of a novel, it’s no big deal if your idea doesn’t work out and you have to start fresh.

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Wordage Report

Woot! I have actual words to report!

New Words:

Flash anthology – 14,031
Blog Posts – 943+594+427+273=2,237
Total = 16,268 words

Not only am I ahead of the game with the words on my NaNo anthology, I managed to get all my blog posts done too.

Editing:

No editing yet, it’s not allowed during NaNo LOL, but I’m kind of looking forward to editing my anthology when it’s done. The first story needs to be expanded, while the second one needs to be condensed a bit.

What I’m Reading:

I haven’t taken much time for reading. I think I’ve only progressed by a chapter or two in The Book of Magic by Alice Hoffman. I started reading a book I picked up at the retreat called Lichen. I’m not quite sure whether it’s an anthology or a paperback magazine, but it’s full of stories and poems from a variety of authors. I’m finding it a very interesting read, very thought provoking.

AND I’ve been showing my Kindle a little love lately. I read Inferno, by V. Vaughn, book one of the Smokey Falls Wolves series. I just love me a good werewolf story and this didn’t disappoint. I don’t know the name of the one I’m reading now, but it’s about bear shifters and it’s got me really curious about how the hero is going to fix things with his love interest, because he screwed up pretty good. LOL

Goals

Seeing as my only goal for the week was to stay on track for NaNo, I’d say I aced it. I was hoping for 1667 words per story, maybe a few more, maybe a few less, and I cannot believe every one of them has been over 2,000 words. Go me!

For the most part, the stories never end up being what I think they’ll be, which I guess is a good thing. I think doing flash stories instead of a novel has taken a lot of pressure off of NaNo. You only have to think of one story at a time, and who cares whether it’s any good or not. They’re going to need work when I’m done, of course, but I think they’re pretty much all keepers so far.

This Week’s Goals

1. Keep up the good work on NaNo.
2. Keep up the good work on the blog posts.
3. Try to get out and enjoy the sunshine while it lasts.


Here’s to a new week ahead.

Spring Thaw Writescape Re-emerging Retreat

He who retreats lives longer.
— Michael Scott

I've decided to retreat to the spirit world where I feel appreciated and understood.
— Dov Davidoff

In order to understand the world, one has to turn away from it on occasion.
― Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays

It only took a year and a half of waiting, but as I type this, I’m at my writer’s retreat. Woot! Whether you’re seeing this post at the regular time or much later today will depend on whether or not I can sign into the dashboard for my blog (I’m on my Lenovo here, not my MSI and I still switching back and forth between the two for some things, like blog posts).

I gotta tell you, third time’s the charm.

The first retreat I went on, Winterfire, was pretty much a learning experience. And I don’t mean learning as in I learned a lot there, I mean learning as in learning to investigate a little more fully about what I want/don’t want out of a retreat. It had a beautiful setting – a big manor house up on Lake Simcoe – but was a little lacking in the amenities, and it was run by a Toronto Based writer’s group so naturally a lot of the participants were from that group. They seemed to be dabblers more than writers; only a couple of them were serious about their writing and they pretty much kept to themselves.

The second one, the Kingston Writersfest, was pretty good (really good compared to Winterfire). It was an urban setting, but set on the waterfront. It was more down to the brass tacks of writing with its lectures and masterclasses to pick and choose from to make your own schedule. There really weren’t many opportunities to socialize outside of the classes, but I did learn a lot.

This retreat is everything I was looking for in a retreat. It’s a picturesque setting, the cabins lined up along the north shore of Rice Lake. Each cabin has its own kitchen, fireplace, and deck, but it’s part of a resort so there’s also a restaurant and all kinds of stuff to do should you want to. We have group writing sessions, but lots of free time to do our own thing. The cabins are shared, but we each have our own room – one shared bathroom with a spa tub, one small bathroom with a closet sized shower attached to one of the bedrooms.

This retreat is for more serious-minded writers, or writers who are trying to take their writing more seriously. The cabins were supposed to have a writing desk in each bedroom, but the only “desk” in here is a table-like thing with a chair against the wall beside the fireplace. But that’s okay. There’s a long table in the kitchen that’s big enough for at least two of us (socially distant) to work on our laptops. Mostly we’ve been writing in notebooks.

These writers are friendly and more sociable, and the only bad thing about it is that I only signed up for three days, not the five or seven. It’s even worse when the moderators announced that this will be the last retreat they’ll be offering. *sigh*

Looks like it’s back to the drawing board to find a yearly (or more often) writing retreat to go to. However, if I feel the need to get away to write I can always book a cabin on my own. Maybe even talk a writer friend or two into going with me.

Can’t say as I got a lot of writing done last week, other than the blog posts. I seem to recall running a lot of errands, mostly in the morning which is when I’m supposed to be writing. I managed to get together with one of my writing friends and we had coffee down on the waterfront one cool and grey-looking day, and another of my writing friends and I have been unsuccessfully trying to connect by phone.

Of course I can feel the creative juices starting to ignite from being at the retreat. Let’s just hope I can keep fueling the fire once I get home.

I’m more than halfway through The Green Man, by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, and I probably don’t even have to say how much I’m enjoying it.

The Week Ahead . . .

I have no idea what this week’s spice is going to be. My big book of spices is at home. But rest assured there’s always room for more spice in your life.

Other than writing every day, I also have no idea what I’ll be doing this week. I’d like to try and nail down my mornings for writing in my office, but I suspect first I’ll have to clean it – again!

One thing I’d like to do for sure is nail down my idea for this year’s NaNo. Maybe I’ll have to write them on a list or something – I have several of them. Although the Kiranthus book isn’t out of the race yet.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

The New Leaves Are Stirring

The woods are hush'd, their music is no more;
The leaf is dead, the yearning past away;
New leaf, new life
the days of frost are o'er;
~ Alfred Lord Tennyson

So . . . the new leaf I was turning over is a little crumpled around the edges, but dare I say I think I’m starting to smooth it out? I mean, check it out – I got my poetry post done for the first Friday of the month. Can more posts be far behind? LOL

I ordered myself a copy of Anne Lamott’s Bird By Bird and I’ve been reading it a little bit at a time for inspiration. Though it’s not a writing instruction book per se, it starts out with her talking about the writing classes she’s given and describing a few of the exercises she’s given her students. Trying to get back into the writing habit (as a start to getting into a productive writing habit) I thought, why not give them a try?

The first one had you thinking back to your childhood and describing your early school years, starting with kindergarten. Anne advised that you don’t worry about the order, just write as many details as you can remember.

It was a kind of interesting exercise. Given kindergarten was a long time ago for me I didn’t think I’d have much to say, but the more I wrote the more I remembered. Before I knew it, I’d filled a couple of pages.

I’m still fumbling a bit, trying to find a routine, but I am writing more. Finding a balance is harder than you’d think. Or maybe it’s just me.

Maybe there’s hope for me yet.

The Week Ahead…

I’m hoping to expand on the writing I did last week. And by that I mean continue the exercise from Bird By Bird. I’d probably be happy with just that, but I’d like to see about adding a daily ‘three minutes with three words’ writing prompt.

My reading has slowed down considerably, but I’d really like to pull out of the Nora Roberts black hole I seem to be in. I did start reading a book of poetry written by one of the members of my poetry group. I’m quite enjoying it, but I’m taking my time, reading only a few at a time to make it last.

And finally, I’d like to reduce the amount of time I spend mindlessly playing games. I got tired of waiting for them to come up with new levels for Solitaire Garden and reset it. I’m ashamed to admit I’m already back up to level 389. Seeing as I made a trip to Michael’s (craft store) yesterday for more craft stuff I really don’t need, I’d like to replace at least some of that gaming time with crafting time.

Wish me luck. ;-)

Binging is Not Just For Netflix

There comes a time when you have to face the truth, and my truth is that I can no longer blame the weather and/or the pandemic for my lack of progress. Now I can blame J.R. Ward. LOL

Okay, not really. If I hadn’t fallen behind in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series to begin with, I wouldn’t be feeling the urge to binge read to catch up now. It’s kind of reminiscent of my binge reading last year, isn’t it?

As you may recall, last year I started out on the Argeneau Vampire series by Lynsay Sands, and when I ran out of them I went on a Nora Roberts binge. Wow she’s written a lot of books, and thanks to shopping on Indigo online, I now own most of them. In trade sized paperback no less.

It took me until about August before my interest in Nora’s books began to wane (she does write a nice variety so they’re not all the same). In fact, I still have a few unread ones in my stack. Then I went on a Charles de Lint kick, re-reading most of my collection of his books, with several Alice Hoffman books thrown in at random. FYI Magic Lessons is so much better than Practical Magic, which I probably would have enjoyed more if I hadn’t seen the movie first.

I’ve got eight more books in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series to go, and after that it’s anyone’s guess what I’ll be binging on. Maybe Katie MacAlister – I have most of both her vampire series and her dragon series.

Most people prefer to binge watching television or videos, but with me it’s books. That’s not to say I haven’t done my fair share of binge watching Stranger Things, or Game of Thrones, or disaster movies, but nothing makes me happier than a stack of books and uninterrupted time to read them.

What about you? Binge watching or binge reading?

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Wordage Report

New Words:
Blood Ties – 620
Blog Posts – 616+408+693+988=2,695
Total = 3315

When you see the numbers for the blog posts, you might be fooled into thinking I made most of my “write 500 words a day” goal from last week. But although in the one sense it’s nice to see some actual numbers, I actually meant new fictional words, so only the words on Blood Ties count.

And alas I did no freewriting last week because I was too busy reading.

Editing:
2 hours and 35 minutes on Blood Ties

Publishing:
None

What I’m Reading:
Once again, this was my strong suit for the week. I didn’t get much further on the Kindle, but I really went to town on the tree books.

I finished the Shadows. by J.R. Ward (so sad!) and went on to read Blood Kiss, the Beast, and Blood Vow. Now I’m currently reading the Chosen and trying to go a little more slowly so I don’t spend the majority of my writing time reading instead.

Goals

Last week’s goals were kind of a bust. The daily words, editing, and reading should be a given if I’m seriously trying to get into a routine, so the only real goal was the submitting a story or poem for publishing, which I didn’t even really give a thought to.

Maybe I need to start smaller. Instead of four goals, I have just one, doable goal. Get an outline of some kind drawn up for Knightsong so I can start making some progress on it. This was the book beginning I was originally going to take to the Spring Thaw writer’s retreat in spring of 2020. The current date it’s been rescheduled for is October 2021 – it would be really nice to have the first draft finished by then, don’t you think?

Let’s get writing.