Fall Fun and Challenges

I’m counting down to a self-imposed (or family-imposed depending on how you look at it) writing restriction. Soon the time available to get lost in my own little world will be very small. So, in honor of this restriction I will be throwing myself into my writing with a passion for the next month.

During the month of October I will be participating in my friend Tristi’s Book in a Month challenge. Yep, one whole book in a month. Well, okay maybe I’m going a little easier on myself since the book I have in mind is YA not adult, but it’s still going to be interesting. My goal is 50,000 words by midnight October 31^st.

Wanna join me? I promise it’s a lot of fun. It’s also a pretty good excuse to consume massive amounts of chocolate and put off housework! (More on the housework thing later in October.)

My BIAM tracker will be posted toward the top of my side bar so you can watch my progress. Don’t let me slack off! After my recent WIP break-up I’ve found a wicked-cool idea that needs to get out of my brain. Strange part is, it wasn’t even a part of the back burner projects I was looking at, just an after thought on how I would treat a certain subject. I love it when that happens!

Hmmm, what kind of hint should I drop?

Let’s just say I’m going to be learning a lot about the gods and goddesses of ancient Egypt. Trust me, it will be cool. ;)

The only weird thing is I usually know what my working title is pretty quickly when I choose an idea- it becomes my “theme” so to speak about how I want people to look at the story. This time I haven’t been able to come up with anything as cool as the subject matter yet. So, some place along the line we’ll have to have a WIP-working-title unveiling party.

Here we go everybody—

Happy Fall and happy writing!

Enjoying the Journey by Jamie Theler with Deborah Talmadge

I have a confession to make. I read a lot of “how-to” books (which frightens my husband a bit, trying to figure out which “how-tos” I might actually try). The “how-to” books that I don’t read are probably the ones that could help me the most. I don’t read “Life is great, this is how to be happy” books. Why? They depress me. Their “simple” steps to happiness are far from simple for me and I come away feeling even worse about how I’m living my life. If what they say is true then obviously it should be easier and I’m getting something major wrong that I can’t seem to fix. Make sense?

I know it’s counterintuitive to everything the gospel teaches but that’s the power of Satan. He knows me well and makes sure I notice how inadequate I am in the face of such “simple” solutions that seem to work for “everyone else”. So that’s the big confession, I don’t read books that might actually be of use to me because I’m too afraid they won’t work and I’m too far gone already.

I love and respect Jamie Theler and Deborah Talmadge, authors of Enjoying the Journey: Steps to Finding Joy Now. When this book came out, I put its title on my reading list because I like to rejoice in my friend’s successes. Sadly, it kept finding its way to the bottom of the list. Even though I knew Jaime was real person with real problems and real outlooks she obviously knew something about this whole life thing that I wasn’t getting. I didn’t want to find out what that was. I didn’t want to have to admit that even though she got it, I couldn’t.

I know that my personal struggles are nothing compared to those many men and women face, but still they are struggles because, well, I struggle with them. Just like many of you, these trials can weigh me down until I switch from enjoyment to survival mode. Sadly, I probably find myself in survival mode much more often than I find myself in enjoyment mode.

Eventually it did happen. I opened the book and began to read and I was bawling before I was half-way through the first chapter. Jaime was describing me and the way I feel when others seem to point out what I’m lacking. Jaime and Deborah weren’t afraid to talk about their own human frailties. They’d tried everything that seemed to work for everybody else and still felt a void. Their answer? We don’t have all the answers for you, but we know where you can get them. We’ll teach you how to ask God and work with Him. He’s the only one who can make things right for you.

I know it sounds weird, but for me that was the most important part of the book- knowing that the people who wrote it honestly understand where I’m coming from. I didn’t feel belittled, incompetent, or talked down to within these pages. They aren’t testifying of their own triumph over huge and seemingly insurmountable trials, just every day things we all face. They are human and understood I am too.

I love the fact that each chapter not only lays it on the line and gives valuable insight but the authors don’t leave it at that. Most of us can read a self-help book and say, “Yeah, that’s what I need to do” but not come away with any realistic idea of how to accomplish it. Enjoying the Journey really wants to help you. Jaime and Deborah not only give you the thoughts and ideas, they give you the simple (yes, really) steps and methods you can use to make it happen in your own life in a practical down-to-earth way.

If you’re humble and open-minded, if you truly desire to make the most out of your time here on earth, there’s great wisdom to be found in Enjoying the Journey. If your like me and can’t figure out how to get a batch of laundry folded, much less establish a house of order, then just plant that first seed of faith. Buy the book; place it on your bedside table where you can see it. One day when you’re feeling brave just take a peek. Just a little one. See if you don’t feel at home within this book’s cover. If you’ll at least try, you’ll begin to figure out where your own joy in the journey can come from.

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Return to the Neighborhood

Discovering All-You-Can-Read Happy Hour

Ok, I just learned a very devastating piece of information. You see, my library has added a new feature. I can now read and listen to books from the comfort of my very own computer.

The little link was very deceiving. All it said was "e-books now available". I clicked on it out of curiosity and found literally thousands of titles right there at my fingertips. I searched for a couple of recent titles that are on my list thinking, "Yah, sure, they're probably all things like Missing May and Animal Farm. Not that these aren't fabulous titles, I really like them, but they're not on that infamous "To Read" list of mine (currently at 482 titles).

Searching was a very bad idea. I plugged in a couple of newer releases and a half second later the information would pop up on my computer screen. There were tantalizing tidbits of information like "read the first chapter here", "download e-book now", and "download audio book now" and the most important word of all "free". My fingers began to twitch. My eyes began to bug out. It was like manna from heaven! The kid who feels like she's stepped into an all-you-can-eat candy store every time she goes to the library now has free home deliver service 24 hours a day 7 days a week. I'm shuddering with excitement. I might even piddle my pants (I've had several kids you know).

So, why is this news so devastating? Four words: time management, self-control. I'm completely lacking in both. As I sat there perusing the endless choices I started arguing with myself:
If I downloaded this one I could listen to it while I do the dishes that have been sitting there since yesterday (Or was it the day before? I really can't recall).

My very weak will tried to argue back:
Yeah, but you've only got 2 days to finish your deadlines.

I have deadlines? Dang! It slipped my mind.

I had to physically get up and walk away from temptation, but see, now I know it's there. Do me a favor, if I haven't moved from in front of my computer in 2 days, somebody cut the power.

Rountines for Scatterbrains

I fully admit that I am an easily distracted spazzo when it comes to keeping up with daily routines and “to-do” lists. I can walk into the kitchen with the intent to do the dishes, make a sandwich instead and never realize I forgot to do the dishes. It’s a sad state of affairs. I try to pass it off as “too busy”, “free spirited”, “creativity embodied”, some times even just plain “lazy”, but in reality I’m just a big scatterbrain. I’m a fly by the seat of my pants kind of gal.

Sadly, that’s not how the majority of the world runs and it’s not how things get done. The fact of the matter is that I have a lot of things to get done and can’t discipline myself enough to stick to a plan or routine. May be some day I’ll be rich enough to afford one of those personal assistants who can remind me to put on shoes, dust the piano, get my deadlines all mapped out on a timeline and hound me to finish all of my daily goals. In the mean time, what’s a scatterbrain to do?

Oh, I keep the lists. My husband sees my many lists as a defining trait of who I am. I make the schedules and plot the routines. I love to get absorbed in the whole planning process of how to take control of my life. But, when it all comes down to it the lists and plans go flying out the window as I get distracted by something else entirely. My intentions may be good, but the fact of the matter is that it should have been more important for me to hem my son’s dress pants before the next Sunday and I cleaned the fridge instead. The pants were dutifully listed and scheduled, the fridge distracted me.

I’ve read plenty of books. I’ve made oodles of different plans to reform myself. Yet, here I still am: running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Then again, maybe I’m just the chicken head, aimlessly rolling around the floor wondering what could have happened to my body. It was right here a minute ago…

There has to be hope out there somewhere. I call for all the scatterbrains of the world to unite and write the how-to-book I need to save myself. Oh, wait, that would require organization again wouldn’t it? Scratch that. In the mean time I guess I’ll just keep going the way I am: living my life 5 minutes at a time. That’s about how long I’ve got to complete any given task before I’m completely distracted again.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I forgot I was running water to do those cursed dishes.