Life Experience

I'm 43 years old and I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.

I've just accepted a new position within the company as a Project Manager on the Digital Marketing team. I'm excited to be starting a new "career" at this time of my life, but I'm also nervous. Almost every other member of the group is younger than I am. But I can bring a lot of "life experience" that they won't have for many more years. So it should even things out a bit. lol

I've been a Carhop with Sonic, an ER Clerk, a Waitress, a Secretary & a Classified Sales Rep. And probably a few more things in between that I've forgotten about. But now I'll be a Project Manager. No more working off commission, no more sitting & waiting. It's straight pay, more than I'm making now, and I'll be busy every day so I don't have to worry about being bored.

It's time to begin the next stage of life. Come on May 1st.

One Down, A Million More to Go.

Last night I did something I've never done before. I let another, more experienced, writer read my work; first scene of Rebel Union. Talk about terrifying. What if it really is crap? What if she tells me it really is crap?

Luckily she's not that kind of person. She really liked my opening and said the flow worked well. A few suggestions on form and a few questions with suggestions to help ground the reader in the story and I went home after to revise again. And she's completely right. It works much better this way.

Now on to Scene 2. *happy face*

Revising & Critiques

I pulled out Rebel Union again yesterday and started revisions. I've thrown out the first two chapters to be woven in as backstory later and will write a completely new Chapter 1 based on Chapters 3 & 4. Putting it aside for awhile was the right thing to do. Now I can start with a fresh perspective & hopefully get somewhere with it.

I had dinner last week with another member of MCRW who will hopefully be able to help me improve my skills as a writer. She's working on her 4th book in a series and she's already finaled in a couple of contests. She's farther along than I am so she'll be able to help me understand what I'm doing wrong and how to fix it. I'm not sure what she'll get from me, but hopefully we'll be able to help each other out.

I have a feeling it's going to help me a lot just to have someone who is not a friend or family member to be accountable to. She won't care if she hurts my feelings and she'll tell me exactly what she thinks. That's gonna be a good thing.

Writing

I had dinner last night with another writer from the MCRW group who lives in the same part of town I do. It was awesome having someone to talk to about writing who understood what I was talking about and whose eyes didn't glaze over when I was trying to explain something.

I think we're going to try to get together a couple of times a month to exchange scenes or chapters and write. I'm excited to have someone who may be able to help me become a better writer by telling me in a constructive way what's wrong and how to fix it. I'm not sure what I'll be able to give her in return except maybe a different perspective. She's already so much farther along than I am. But I have a feeling we'll get along just fine.

Tomorrow's the MCRW monthly meeting. I missed the retreat last month so I'm looking forward to hanging out with these talented women. It makes me feel like I might actually have a chance with this whole writing thing.

Wow!

What a busy two months, but it's winding down now.

I went to Phoenix last week to finish up the project I've been working on. Well, Scottsdale actually. Phillip from AtTask was there to help and we made it through with everything intact. Whew! I wondered there for a bit, but thankfully things smoothed out and we were able to finish on time.

Scottsdale is a beautiful place. But it was a bit confusing in places. A road on one side of town is also on the other side of town, but you can't get from one end to the other by staying on that road. The GPS kept telling me to turn and turn and turn just to get to the end of that street. It didn't make sense, but it got me where I needed to go.

And stopping at the end of a ramp before continuing onto the interstate was a little disconcerting. Red lights for both lanes, you stop until yours turns green then you go. When the other light turns green that lane goes. It's supposed to help with congestion by regulating the amount of traffic coming onto the interstate. It makes sense, but it was weird to stop then pull out onto the interstate.

The mountains look like someone took a bucket and poured out a big pile of dirt on the horizon. No green and very few trees. They were pretty, but brown & prickly. I can't imagine anyone wanting to go hiking up there. There's nothing to see on the trails.

I really enjoyed my first (and probably only) foray into business travel. And I've really loved working on this project. With any luck a new job will come of it. Now that people know who I am and what I'm capable of. I'm more than just a call center rep. We'll see how it goes.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Wow. What a busy 3.5 weeks it's been. I've been on loan to a different section of our department for a major project at work and have been busy, busy, busy. I love it!

The first week was training via conference call & Adobe Connect. The 2nd & 3rd weeks were filled with configuration, creating, testing & group training. And this week will be used to finish up any outstanding tasks.

But the best news is that within the first week I was asked to fly out to Phoenix this month and work the same project for the paper out there. How exciting! So, I head to Arizona on the 20th & will stay for a week to help implement the same project management system there. A week away from work for work. I'll definitely be enjoying that!

Of course, once I get back from Phoenix I'll go back to my normal, boring job, but at least there'll be another notch on my resume.

I'm a Loaner

I've been loaned out. Yep, that's right. My manager has loaned me to another department. For the next few weeks I'll be learning a new system, configuring that new system with the information the department will need to run smoothly, then I'll be testing & implementing the new system & training the employees who will use it.

This is a big project and I'm proud that my name came up in the discussion on who would best be able to help. But I'm also a little nervous. I'm not an IT person and I'm not a systems person. What if I screw this up somehow? I don't know the first thing about configuration or systems administration.

But hey. What the heck? I know I can do it because I can do anything I set my mind to. And this will be one more thing to add to my resume if I should need it anytime soon. Let's just hope I don't need it anytime soon!

Join the Fun!

I joined the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood's Winter Writing Festival this year. I'm hoping having others to account to for my writing will help boost it along. I usually only write in fits and spurts so having a goal to get so many words per day is going to be a challenge. But I'm up for it. Surely I can handle the paltry goals I've set for myself during this thing.

Write 500 new words per day
OR
Brainstorm for 30 minutes per day
OR
Edit/Revise 1 scene per day (either current WIP or last MS)
OR
Keep Butt in Chair Hands on Keyboard (BICHOK) 1 hour per day

That last one will be the hardest for me to do. It always is. But I plan to give it a try. And with any luck I'll win this thing and have 25,000 new words by the end of February.

There's still time to join. Head over to www.rsswwf.com and get started.

New Year. New Novel.

I've started writing a new novel. And this one seems to be going much faster and better than the last. I'm not sure yet what genre it will fall into, but there is a bit of contemporary, sci-fi, paranormal & maybe a little historical. I'm writing this one in first person because it seems to flow that way. Not sure yet if I'll change to third after the first draft or not, but so far so good.

Have you started anything new yet in 2012?

Welcome to 2012

Well, it's a whole new year again. Welcome to 2012. I've decided I'm not doing resolutions this year since I usually break them all in the first week anyway. Instead I'm going to try new things & see where it gets me.

Vacation was great. I relaxed, I read, I wrote, I shopped. And now I'm back at work. I can't wait until next vacation. Maybe June for a week? Maybe I'll take my birthday off just for me. Hmmm...now there's an idea.

How about you? Already looking forward to another vacation?

Twas the Night Before

Christmas Eve! Not a creature was stirring, except us little mice who have to work today!

But at 5 o'clock this evening it will be VACATION!!!! I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve & I'll be on vacation until after the New Year.

It's 5 o'clock somewhere. Can I start vacation now please?

Wrapping: Check

Yep. The wrapping is done & the gifts wait under the tree for Christmas morning. The last cookie is baked & the only thing left to do is clean the house & get ready for Christmas dinner. Then all next week I'll be sitting back, relaxing, & enjoying a week's vacation before the new year begins. Ahhh...I can't wait!

Shopping: Check

Yay!! I got all my Christmas shopping done!! Now I just gotta wrap it all & put it under the tree. And wait till Sunday to see everyone's face when they tear it apart.

How's your Christmas shopping going? Have you finished or are you waiting until Christmas Eve to make a mad dash for what's left on the store shelves?

Aaaaggghhh!!

Well, Christmas is almost here & I haven't bought a single gift. But that's not unusual for me. There are only two things I seem to procrastinate on with any regularity; Writing & Christmas Shopping. They do get done in the end, however ,so I'm not completely without hope.

Since this is the last full shopping weekend before Christmas I'll get it all done on Saturday. I know what I'm getting, mostly, so it shouldn't take all day. Thank goodness for that because I hate fighting the crowds. And you know there will be crowds. It is Christmas after all.

As for writing? Well, I'll work on that this weekend, too. Saturday morning is MCRW's annual Christmas Party & Book Swap. I can't wait!! I love this group & "book swap" is a mild term for the "give me that book or I'll pour punch in your lap & smear frosting on your head" dirty Santa game we play every year. It's all in good fun & we always leave with a good book & an even better memory.

I love this time of year!!

Weekend

Check out my little helper. Isn't he the cutest thing ever?!

Wow. What a great weekend. The house is clean (a feat in itself), the tree is up & ready for Christmas, my stove is working again (for now) and my baby girl turned 20. I'd say I accomplished quite a bit over the past two days. Now back to the old grindstone!

Furlough

Well, we just got the announcement that there will be another furlough in the first quarter of 2012. Only this time is a little different. If you're below a certain base pay you don't have to take it. I'm barely under the threshold so I hope they don't decide to lower it just a tad.

As of right now I don't have to take one. Thank the Good Lord for small blessings!

Pumpkin Cookies

I love cookies. Chocolate chip are usually my favorite for obvious reasons. But during the months of October, November and December that favorite changes. There's nothing like a fresh from the oven, cakie delicious Pumpkin Cookie.

It's probably the only good thing I ever got from my ex-mother-in-law. They're yummy and you can add so many optional ingredients that they're really customizable to whatever your taste might be.

Ingredients:
4 cups of flour
2 tsps of baking soda
2 tsps of cinnamon
1 tsp of salt
2 cups of brown sugar
1 cup of white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 1/2 cups butter (melted)
1 16 oz can of pure Pumpkin
1 bag chocolate chips

Optional Ingredients:
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup raisins
1 cup nuts
peanut butter for frosting

Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add vanilla, pumpkin and butter. Mix until smooth. Add chocolate chips (and other optional ingredients). Spoon onto cookie sheet or stone and bake for 15 minutes.

Makes approximately 5 dozen cookies per batch.

What's your favorite cookie?

I Got Nuttin"

Hmmm...it's been a while since I posted. But then I don't lead a very exciting life so I can't think of a single thing I've done this month that's even remotely blogworthy.

I'm working on the 2nd draft of my first novel. It's slow going because I'm still getting to know my characters, but I'm hoping to finish this draft by my birthday in January so I can take Angela James' "Before You Hit Send" workshop. That's gonna be my reward for finishing on time.

What kind of reward do you give yourself when you finish a draft?

The Chains That Bind You

Writing is a solitary job. We sit alone and craft our stories and sometimes the only people we talk to are those in our heads. I’m good at talking to the people in my head. They generally don’t hurt me in the way real people have. But to be a writer you also have to open yourself up to the outside world or you have no solution when the people in your head want an answer to a problem they’re facing. So I did something drastic (for me). I joined RWA and found a local chapter where I could meet other writers.

The first time I walked into an MCRW meeting I was terrified. I’m not a social person so joining any group would have given me a nervous breakdown. But I knew that if I really wanted to get serious about my writing I needed to study the craft and find out how other writers worked. And I had to find a way to make sure the chains I had placed around my own shoulders were broken.

That first meeting taught me that my heart still beat when it was in my throat. I was welcomed as if I were already a part of the group and I’ve learned more than I thought possible from this awesome group of women. The first link fell away

Over the past three years I’ve attended almost every meeting and workshop and I volunteered last year as editor of Love Notes. I even made myself go to a retreat and play Little Red Riding Hood for “mystery night”. These things were a big deal for me because I’m not a joiner. I’m a sit-on-the-sidelines-and-pretend-to-cheer kind of girl. But I made myself step up and I’ve had a wonderful time. Now I know that I don’t have to pretend to cheer. I can shake my pom poms like anyone else. Another link broken..

But joining isn’t the only step I’ve taken. I also write. Not every day, but I do write. And I’ve finally done something I never would have done if not for joining this group. I finished my very first first draft. It’s taken three long years of rattling my chains but I did it. I think that one broke away at least two links. And layering in all the things I didn’t know I needed when I started the draft might just get me two or three more links.

Since I started this journey I’ve slowly lightened the load that held me back. I’m still sawing the links and sometimes a blade dulls and I have to stop and hone the edges. But because I took that first step I know that I can break free. And I intend to keep cutting away until I’ve done just that.

If you’re struggling to break your own chains, don’t let the fear of the unknown stop you. Pick up a saw and start cutting. Take that first step. You’ll be glad you did.

THE END!

The two sweetest words in the English language & I just typed them. And I'm so stinking excited about it I could pop!

THE END

I finished the first draft of my very first manuscript. Oh, I've written little stories just for me and I've written poems for years, but there's something about finishing a first draft on a novel that is just pure bliss.

It's mostly dialogue so I need to go back & layer in Setting/Description, expand on the conflict and add more Action. And I didn't write in a love scene because that will take some planning. But at least now I have something to work with & I'm not writing blind.

And I know there's tons of work still to be done. I'm sure I'll write a fourth or even fifth draft before I call it completely finished, but for now I'm in heaven.

THE END