Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related: Things are moving along with the revisions on Ivan's story. 

Motivational Quote: "You're not always going to have an easy path to success, but if it's important enough you'll figure out a way to make it work." ~ Jessica Alba

What I'm Reading: I'm reading Her Night With the Duke by Diana Quincy. This is the first book in the Clandestine Affairs series. 

Random Things: We are finally starting to have spring like weather in our area. I did a little bit of yard work yesterday. The hyacinths and daffodils are starting to sprout. I sprinkled fertilizer around the rose bush. It's a little spindly and I was worried it wouldn't survive the winter. I'm hoping it will get a least a few blooms this year.

Random Photo:

                    I started a new puzzle a few days ago. I find building them relaxing.

What's Up Wednesday

This week...

My Current WIP (Work In Progress):  I revised/edited the last 60 pages before the big transitional scene I have to write that will tie the middle end of the book to the end of the story for Honor Bound. I feel like I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. 

Quote of the Week: "Success will depend on creating smaller goals. That big aim happens in thousands of little moves." ~ Unknown.

What I'm Reading:  I finally finished Silent in the Grave. It was a good book, but at 509 pages, a bit too long. I felt there were a lot of scenes that weren't necessary to the story, but added to the page count. I've picked The Enforcer by HelenKay Dimon back up and hope to finish it by the end of this week.

Random Thoughts: I've decided to do a bit of container gardening after all. I'm going to plant some sunflower seeds I received. I'm planning on going to our local farmer's market next weekend to buy some flowers to put into my garden. The farmer's market holds "Flower Days" specials on plants and such the last two weekends in May.

Random Photo of the Week:

Here's a picture of a sunflower I grew a couple of years ago. It was one of two that survived the squirrel attacks.

What's Up Wednesday

This week...

My current WIP (work in progress): Another good writing week - 25 new pages of material. The end is in sight. I'm hoping to have the first draft finished by the end of the month or by the 2nd week of September at the latest.

News from the publishing world: While this article isn't technically about the publishing world, I thought it was interesting and worth sharing. Link: Who's Stealing eBooks?

Quote of the week: "The secret of getting ahead is getting started." ~ Mark Twain. I need to print this quote out and put it somewhere so that I see it every day. There are days when I get home from the day job that the very last thing I want to do is sit in front of the computer and write, but once I get started, the words usually flow. After I'm done, I'm really glad I made myself start.

Health news: According to researchers from Ohio State University and the University of Kentucky being "hangry" (angry because you're hungry) is a real feeling. When you're hungry, your glucose levels drop making it harder to rein in hostility. I now have an excuse to eat cookies. :o)

Random things: I've been trying to grow daisies all summer in a long trough-like pot. It's the middle of August and the plants are just now really beginning to grow. Before they were there, but not really doing anything. Because the squirrels seemed to like to dig in it at night, I put the planter out every morning before I leave for work and bring it in every evening. The last two days I've come home from work to find the squirrels have dug in the planter during the day! They've been digging up the plants and throwing them on the porch. I started out with 4 plants. I'm now down to 1, maybe 2 if I can get one of them to survive. It's so frustrating to have nursed them along all summer only to have the wildlife destroy them.

Random photo of the week:

 This is a photo from my nephew's last boxing match. He's pretty good. He won 2nd place in his weight class when he entered the Golden Gloves competition a couple of years ago. 

What's Up Wednesday

This week...

My current WIP (work in progress): Low word count this week due to the holiday. I did write every day though so I'm still going strong on the 100 day challenge.

News from the publishing world: I found this article interesting. I think it puts things in perspective when related to Ebook sales vs. Paperback or Hardcover sales. Link: http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2014/bookstats-ebooks-flat-in-2013/

Quote of the week:  "Believe in yourself regardless of what other people think. You can accomplish anything, absolutely anything, if you set your mind to it." ~ Marcus Allen.  This is a great quote when you're feeling down on yourself.

Health news: A new study in the Journal of Experimental Psychology recommends not hiding your nervousness before a big event. You should embrace them instead. Instead of saying, "I'm nervous," say "I'm so excited." Doing this reframes your anxiety as a positive emotion and boosts self-confidence. I found this interesting as I hate public speaking and always feel anxious before having to do it.

Random things: I did something this past Friday that I haven't done in months. I did only the essential things that had to be done and let the rest of my "To Do" list go. Instead I just relaxed, read a book, and took a walk in the neighborhood enjoying the day as it dusk fell. 

Random photo of the week:

 The strange plant growing in a friend's backyard that we can't figure out what is. If you recognize it, let me know.

Writing and Gardening

I spent this past weekend working in my garden. I pulled weeds, planted some Shasta Daisies that are supposed to be perennials, transplanted some flowers I started in pots into the garden. I also planted some purple flowers (I can't remember what the package said they were) that are supposed to spread each year on their own providing ground cover in those few areas I have that grass seems to refuse to grow.

As I was doing all this, it occurred to me how much writing and gardening are alike. Plants grow from a seed and, if given time and attention and care, will flourish. Writing a story is much the same. You start with an idea, a seed of a plot if you will. Spending time each day giving that idea attention and thought, it will grow page by page until you have a full manuscript.

When I see the stack of new pages grow and my seedlings become full fledged plants, I get a sense of accomplishment and at the end of the day isn't that a great feeling?

Here's a picture of part of the garden:

This I know for sure...

In today's world, it seems hard to get a child interested in anything that doesn't involve a game controller or sitting in front of a computer screen of some sort. Lately, the boy child has shown an interest in how things grow. He wanted to try and grow something so we saved some apple seeds from his after school snack. I found a packet of old flower seeds left over from last year so we planted a few in plastic cups to see what would happen.

A few days later, he was all excited to see tiny green sprouts pushing through the soil. He checks the cups every day, talks to them as he positions them on the windowsill in the small amount of sun we've had recently, and waters them as necessary. He is beyond excited that we're growing apple trees. I haven't the heart to tell him we can't plant them outside. We have a very small (about 3 x 4 ft) back yard area and planting them in the front yard would be too close to the house where the tree roots could cause damage to the foundation.

Here's a picture of his plants as of this afternoon. The tallest ones are the apple seeds.

The Benefits of Gardening

Now that the snow has melted and my yard is no longer a muddy mess, I'm looking forward to renewing my garden. I have a few perennials that come up every year (provided the lawn care guy doesn't weed whack them down to the ground which has happened in the past), but I also like planting annuals each new spring season. I have a few plants that I've grown from seeds that are almost ready to be transplanted outside and each year I buy some new type of flowering plant from our local public market to add to the garden.

I find gardening beneficial in a lot of different ways. It always lifts my spirits when I look out over the colorful blossoms. The coaxing of a fledgling plant into a thriving one is good for my soul and gives me a sense of accomplishment. I like the rhythm of digging in the dirt, placing a bulb or seedling, patting the dirt around it and moving on, repeating the process.

Working in my garden gets me outside in the sun and fresh air. It allows me to enjoy birds chirping in the trees, feel the soil crumble through my fingers. It also allows me to think, to ponder not just a weak plot or what my characters will do next, but what I should do in a tough situation. I've made some of my hardest decisions while planting flowers and pulling weeds. And in some small way, I like to think I'm adding to nature's beauty.