Feeding My Soul Feeds My Writing: ROW80 Check In

I wrote this post twenty minutes ago only to lose it to some young hands playing on my computer. I had a small heart attack, tried to recover it... but it was gone. Completely wiped away. This will teach me to type directly into blogger. I wanted to cry, but I decided to pick myself up and try again. Here it is, rewritten to the best of my panicked ability.

*****

Yesterday was a cleaning-writing marathon. I made a deal with my family. Work on Saturday, play on Sunday. At first, they were uninspired. But I told them I would alternate between cleaning and writing, get it done and focus on them. It worked. Everybody chipped in, divided up chores, and the house is pretty darn clean. And I wrote quite a bit to boot.

Today, I ran a 5K with my 9-year-old daughter. I love one-on-one time and proving to her she can accomplish anything she sets her mind to. After, we joined the rest of the family for a well-deserved lunch followed by a trip to a bead festival. Each girl spent $9 and walked away with a one of a kind piece of jewelry. They were thrilled. It was a lovely day. Worth every second of our manic Saturday. Feeding my soul, spending time with those I love, truly feeds my writing.

Plus, the day came with a precious story. My 6-year-old daughter was modeling her new necklace when a nice salesperson asked if she'd like to see herself. She bounced over to collect the 5x7 mirror.

Me: Please be careful, you don't want to break the mirror.
Daughter: Why?
Me: Because you'll get seven years of bad luck.
Daughter: Who said that?
Me: It's a superstition, something people just believe.
Daughter, after thinking for a second: Well, I don't believe it. You want me to try it and find out?

The nice lady behind the desk gently took the mirror away. I love my daughter's spunk, but it can sometimes be a bit embarrassing.

*****

A brief ROW80 update

Writing: Inspired. Wrote quite a bit just on Saturday. I need to polish up some edges, but in a good place. I didn't keep track of words, but I'm proud of the progress.

Blogging: Thanks to NaBloPoMo, I've blogged here daily. Yesterday, I posted a fun piece about superstitions with some help from Mom and finally posted my Henrietta Lacks review on Mom in Love with Fiction. I look forward to adding another 5 star review, Melissa Luznicky Garrett's wonderful Turning Point, on Tuesday.

Commenting on blogs: Keeping up pretty well, but I want to get around to more of my NaNo friends and do some cheerleading. Rah, Rah! Hope everyone is doing well.

Miscellaneous: Still reading, but having to put it aside for some editing projects. I love what I'm working on, so it's like reading. I'm a few pages into Stephen King's On Writing and hope to make some progress this week.

Exercise: Still no sugar. Although I must admit I wanted a lot of it when my post went missing. I resisted. Exercise is going well, including the 5K today.

All in all, a nice week. I even wrote this post twice, so that's got to say something!

Check out some great writers, and fellow A Round of Words in 80 Days participants, here.

Dr. Seuss, Cheerleaders, and Writing: ROW 80 Check In

Looking for encouraging words for a new cheer for my ROW80 NaNo buddies, actually for all who are writing, I found this:

"I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind.
Some come from ahead and some come from behind.
But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see.
Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!"

~ Dr. Seuss

 

I've been a fan of Dr. Seuss for years, so I'm glad he's cheering us all on. My big bat is ready, so may no troubles deter your writing, or mine, this week.

 

I've also recruited two super cute cheerleaders to Team NaNo:

 

 

Go, Team, Go!

 

My progress this week:

 

Writing: Slow but steady. I worked several hours on both novels, but each needed outlining and tweaking work more than words. It still felt like progress, but adding words always feels better. My goal this week: write! The framework is there, so it's time.

 

Fellow writers, especially those participating in NaNo: please share your best tip for staying in writing mode.

 

Blogging: Thanks to NaBloPoMo, I'm posting daily. I even posted twice a couple of days. Plus, I've fallen into a nice 3 posts a week groove on Mom in Love with Fiction. Goal this week: Post my Henrietta Lacks review and finish Turning Point to review.

 

Miscellaneous: Ditching Becoming a Writer for now to join Nicole Basaraba in reading Stephen King's On Writing. I'm excited to read it and pick the brain of a fellow writer.

 

Exercise: I met my minimum of 4 days a week for 45 minutes. Same goals for this week. I've also given up sugar. Only two days in, and so far the cravings have been manageable. My Dr. Seuss bat is prepared in case sugar needs rear their ugly head. But, we'll see how it goes.

 

Check out the other A Round of Words in 80 Days participants here.

NaNo Cheerleading: ROW 80 Check In

It's important to be up front, I've never been a cheerleader and fear poetry. Still, I want to be the best darned NaNo cheerleader I can. Today's attempts at a NaNo cheer (particularly for my ROW80 friends taking a stab at it):

You're doing great
out of the gate
Hoping words flow
Go Team Go! 

I promise to keep the cheers coming, which may scare some of the poets out there. I'm even planning a little photo surprise involving my sweet girls and some cheerleading outfits. Anything to help my fellow writers.

I am participating in NaBloPoMo... daily blogging in the spirit of National Novel Writing Month, better known as NaNo. Seeing so many of my fellow writers excited about writing has been encouraging. I wrote 1500 words on my new young adult novel since Sunday, and I'm excited to get it moving along.

I also spent a couple of hours outlining this new idea, Sherry's Tale. It's a working title, but I'm the lady who named my child right after the ultrasound appointment because she (in all three cases) needed a name. I stuck with those names, but I usually call a book something the whole way through only to title it differently in the end. Depression Cookies was Harbor of Disillusion for many years and our original publisher suggested Angst. Ouch!

For my fellow writers, what's your process for deciding on a title? Readers, how much does a title influence your decision to buy/read a book?

Cheerleading is bringing me a lot of joy, so I hope it's helping the NaNo writers. I look forward to hearing everyone's experiences and seeing what writing projects develop.

I'm reading more and more which always has a positive influence on my writing. I just finished The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. Amazing! Nonfiction is not usually my choice, but Skloot did an incredible job weaving personal stories and science. A must-read. She inspired me to be a better writer. A complete review should be up this week on Mom in Love with Fiction.

Hope everyone is having a good writing week, NaNo or no. I'll be stopping by to check on you with all my Go-Team-Go spirit!