Turn the sound up loud, don’t converse with anyone around you, just sit back and let the blood pump through your veins 💪🏼
In a sky full of stars, I think I see you ⭐️
Tag: goals
I lost my self-discipline, but found 34,000 words
Today I’ve really been thinking hard about the astonishing word count I’ve managed to notch up blogging since I started.
WordPress, as you know, has the clever ability to show us our stats at any given moment and I have become slightly addicted to watching the numbers grow.
In 2018 alone I have typed over 34,000 words 😱😱😱 so it cannot be said I’ve ‘lost my voice’ or had ‘writer’s block’. What I have lacked however is self-discipline because my 24,000 words sat bored and waiting on my WIP could, in theory, have been joined by these new words and effectively I would have been nearer the end of a first draft!
BeBloggerOfficial writes here about why we need self-discipline, why we don’t have it and what to do about it. Genius, and for me – timely 🥂
I’ve totally ignored my own mini goal of sharing my wordcount at the bottom of each post, yet we all agreed it was a fabulous idea! Self-discipline failing you see.
Husband joined me for the afternoon deliveries and we treated ourselves on the way home to one drink in this gorgeous river-side pub.
I had announced, while sat next to the roaring log fire which heated my wellies to a faint smell of melting rubber, that for the rest of this week I would allocate 9-11am to my manuscript. No rugs. No phone. No social media. No blogging. 😬 … its only two hours so surely I can survive without those props?
I think from the delicious taste it was a double vodka he had treated me to and I walked back to the passenger door, my cheeks a little blushed.
Let’s see about my new goal shall we? I can’t wait to share the results with you …. I’m excited now (so easily pleased 🙄) or is the vodka …
Don’t go it alone. If you love your story, give it the best start in life – have it edited by a professional 💫
Creating Perfection is a website run by a brilliant editor, Emma Mitchell. If you are writing and would like professional non-judgmental assistance, I would thoroughly recommend taking a perusal of Emma’s website as she offers a range of services and fees to suit everyone.
(Dreamstime.com photo)
The link above takes you to a recent blog post by Creating Perfection about other writer’s experiences. Patience is a virtue as we know, but essential for the creators of new stories as they need time to be born, grow and evolve.
The tutors we entrust our children to could be paralleled with a good editor for our manuscript. Let them take the sapling and help it to blossom.
🌸
<a href=”https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/patience/”>Patience</a>
Above And Beyond The Call Of Duty
‘No hurry, honestly!’ read the text from at least two clients this morning when I informed them that their horse rugs were ready for delivery; washed, re-proofed and repaired by my own fair hand.
Man of the Woods always enjoys a snow challenge and offered to drive, and as the fields are too frozen for tractor work it made sense to give him something to do.
A clear rug workshop before Portugal will mean I can mentally relax and the monk at the temple would be proud of my forward planning.
I finished this little book last night – for anyone who missed this gem, here is Shoukei Matsumoto’s version of how to keep our lives more simple than modern-day perceptions may have us believe we should be living it.
While I shall take away a few wonderful tips from these pages, there are some major differences with how Shoukei lives his life to how I live mine.
For starters, all his housemates are trained to the same high standard and approach each day with an identical desire to clean, maintain and nurture.
My fellow monks wouldn’t know a dishcloth if it hurtled across the kitchen at eye level, slapping them in the face.
Unlike the temple monks who believe every item has a place and those items are indeed returned to that place after each use, my monks prefer to leave items within grabbing distance. So we have a black finger-marked bottle of Swarfega on the kitchen windowsill and I’ve learnt to ignore it. This is a farmhouse kitchen after all.
The country roads were surprisingly passable and the Isuzu Denver with it’s BFG ‘All-Terrain’ boots coped with the drifts we did find. None the size of those in Wales I see on the news tonight 🙈.
Very surprised but happy clients thanked me for my efforts. Ten years I have run this sole-trader business and customer service is very important to me. My clients know I will always try my best for them and their horse’s comfort and welfare.
And now it’s my turn… cup (or jug so I don’t run out) of milky tea, my laptop, the woodburner and an evening ahead of words… on the WIP.
The message I shall not forget from Shoukei is that being mindful of every single task we undertake will result in a clearer heart and mind.
I sent an emailing withdrawing membership from a local book club which I had not enjoyed for some meetings and the pressure I felt to complete the reads had niggled for some time.
Life is short, sometimes shorter than we assume. I wish to spend my non-business time doing tasks I enjoy. Blogging and chatting to you is one task I refuse to give up. I’ve only really started and I adore your company.
My book and it’s progression is another task I am enjoying and hope 2018 will see its first draft completion. I know you want me to do it and now I want to show you I can. A shared goal is a great driver – something Shoukei knows all about. 🌸
<a href=”https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/above/”>Above</a>
Aim high, but remember your breathing apparatus
Travel posts from bloggers provide us with unique experiences of different parts of the world from individual points of view, and this I love. However, I found a site today while perusing short story competitions – about which I would like to start thinking – and must share the link with you.
By Friday I want to have sent my two short stories out to a handful of competitions to truly test the thickness of my skin when I will quite probably not receive a word back from any of the organisers! (Good, that’s a goal and far more effective than a vague ‘thinking about it’ statement)
This link will take you to Wilbur Smith’s Adventure Writing Prize. It is an annual competition with two categories:
- A prize for the best published adventure novel.
- A prize for the best unpublished manuscript by a debut author submitted for consideration.
A grant of £7,500 awaits the winner of the second category aimed at travel for that author’s subsequent research for their next book! They will also win a mentoring advisor from Wilbur Smith’s agents at Tabor Jones & Associates.
Wilbur Smith has written enough books to fill the walls of my reading room upstairs, so he knows what he is talking about.
I have an inkling that this competition is way out of my league, but may well be interesting to you. Right now in my writing journey, entering a competition of that magnitude would be like jumping out of a Hercules without breathing equipment. However, reading about it I found exciting and inspiring so I went on to research many more relevant competitions for someone at my stage.
Blog followers represent a true representation of readers across the globe and all genres. I feel I have had enough positive feedback to send some pieces for critical debate. I know ‘judges’ are human and will have their own favourite genres, opinions, pre-conceived ideas about how short stories should unfold, but I also trust that these judges are chosen for their fairness and ability to keep open minds. Why not take a look at a few yourself?
ABR Elizabeth Short Story Prize
Reader’s Digest 100-word story competition
What are you waiting for? I’ll see you there!
