Category: Musings

Updates April 25-30

Hello,

Thanks for the likes and follows.

The third week of April, got kind of overwhelming for me and it was too much. I didn’t post anything on the website. It was like a mini reset. I knew that signing up for Camp Nanowrimo was going to be a struggle. I actually thought I was prepared. I am not sure if the terms I have used in the past to talk about my life when it is not about writing are understood or not. There is the writing life and everything else. It is slightly different from the term day job because I’m not being paid to live. Just calling it life seems so generic. I had made an agreement to complete a job. It took up more time than I thought it would. Something had to suffer and it turned out to be the website. Last week was when I finally came out of denial.

I was a little disappointed in myself. I make promises to maintain this website all the time. I miss my goals more than I reach them. I thought that by the second quarter of the year I would have my stuff together. It is hard to remember that it is the process, not the destination, that truly matters. The silver lining of writing is that there was progress in Connection lost. I have moved on from part one to part two of the story. On average I write about 500 words every couple of days. I will continue to write this story until the first draft is complete. I won’t make any predictions but I will prepare for the miss.

I wrote about relistening to the Bedwyn saga by Mary Balogh in my last update. I am going through the historical romance slowly. I am up to book 3, Slightly Scandalous. The female lead was a jilted fiancee in another series. One of the reasons I was intrigued with Mary Balogh’s books was how she treated beta characters. I once had a large number of her books in hard copy. I bought the Bedwyn saga ebooks the first time I bought a nook. I liked her books because although the female leads were beautiful they were not diamonds or described as such. They were usually older than 18 years and sensible. There was a time in historical romances when all the female leads were too beautiful and wild women yearning to be tamed by the right man. I know what that sounds like. All my feminist hackles are raised. I think my love for these stories speaks of the skill of the author. I should be jealous. hose were stories I liked at one time.

The other series that I got interested in is called Fractured Faery series by Helen Harper. The comic urban fantasy is also set in the United Kingdom. It is funny and unlike anything, I have read before in the genre.

Before we know it this week will be over. I will have to make some adjustments for May. It looks like I will be acquiring a day job. I’m not sure yet how it will affect my writing. I am hoping it will be positive.

That is all I have for this update. I hope this finds you all doing well. Remember to be kind and be ready for the next opportunity.

End

Updates April 11 – 15

Hello,

Thank you for the likes and follows. I really appreciate them.

I apologize for not posting on Monday or Wednesday. This month is different for me. The first month of the second quarter. I was reviewing the last three months. Trying to figure out where I did get stuck. I still don’t have answers. But as usual, I have not given up. I love writing and I love stories.

With that sentiment in mind, I watched Bridgerton season 2 on Netflix. It is loosely based on the Viscount who Love Me by Julia Quinn. Well, the whole series was created and written by Julia Quinn. I don’t remember what I wrote about season 1 or if I did. I’m not going to look it up. My feelings about it are the same. The Bridgerton show season 1 and 2 are romance stories but they are not the stories I loved written by Julia Quinn. Some of the changes work well for live-action and some don’t work for me. Instead of watching it all at once, I’m watching the 2 episodes at a time. I like this Kate and Anthony, the actors did a great job with the script they were given. I prefer Kate and Anthony in the book a little better. To be completely honest, my favorite books in the series were Books 2, 3, and 6. The others were fun and I was able to enjoy them all on Audible for the subscription fee. Audible/Amazon tries to trick you into thinking that the audiobooks are free, but that is the case as long as you are a member.

Watching Bridgerton strangely lead me to re-watching episodes of the 12 Monkeys on Hulu and Fringe on HBOMax over the weekend. The two shows are similar in their fantastical psuedo-science and premise. Only these chosen few can save the world. The question might be why the Bridgertons and these two science fiction shows are completely different. All three shows have a romance thread flowing through them. In Fringe and 12 Monkeys you could say that the romance was the secondary or third plot. I would disagree. Many of the characters are motivated by love. It may not be the one true partner but there is love. This is one of the reasons I like writing romance because it is in all the stories. When it is not blatant there is always fanfiction.

In writing news, you may have noticed the Camp Nanowrimo picture. I signed up after believing for most of the year that I was not going to participate. The story I am working with is still Connection Lost. The good thing about Camp Nano is that you can set your own goals. My goal is 25,000 words. Connection Lost is not going to be 25,000 words. There are 3 other short stories in development connected to Connection Lost. Some authors don’t like the competitive nature of Nanowrimo. I am on the fence about it. I am aware of many authors have won Nanowrimo as much as others who have lost and are still successful. I find that when I am participating in the events I put in more effort. I don’t get stumped on small things like, what city in California will my characters show up in. The sentence goes likes this “the west coast city’s weather was better than expected.” The sentence does two thing boost my word count and set a reminder for edits, win-win. I have not written every day but I am already over 3000 words. So gold stars for everyone.

For this week, the goal is to complete this story and move on to the next in the series. I will be also be writing notes on a the books, I’ve listened to. I am strongly avoiding listening to the Viscount Who Loved Me, until after I have watched Bridgerton season 2. I have always compared the Bridgerton series to Bedwyn series by Mary Balogh. That is a project for a later date.

That is all that I have to write for now. I hope these words are entertaining. I encourage everyone with creative or self improvement pursuits to not give up. Please remember to be kind.

End.