Michele Venne's Blog, page 14

Project Completion

After six months, I finally finished Building Fluency: Math Practice! I used about half the problems in the book from sheets of paper I kept from when I was in the classroom. The rest I created to fulfill my purpose for the book (lots of practice on foundational math skills). This means that each concept and skill has between 25 and 150 practice problems. Then I printed out the pages.

Source

Progress Relies on Perspective

Two hundred words a day may not seem like much, but it adds up over time. The same can be said for the steps we take toward our 10K steps a day, or the twenty-five dollars a paycheck we add to the piggy bank, or the extra ten sit-ups/push-ups/jumping jacks we do as we aim to be more healthy. Little progress is tough to keep track of, especially if we’re used to seeing big jumps in project...

Source

Be Like Those Famous Shoes

Just like a “breakout novel” or a “blockbuster movie,” marketing slogans that hit it big and stick around are rare. I wonder if Nike knew their tagline of “Just Do It” would become an icon. Or that so many would steal those three little words and apply them to everything from asking for a first date to returning to college to skydiving. “Just Do It” implies we have complete control of our...

Source

Control

Some people believe that we’re not in control of anything in this world. Others believe that we control everything. Maybe I missed the memo about “how” to control everything, but I don’t think there’s much I can do about the phases of the moon, how slow a saguaro cactus grows, or when a Palo Verde tree blooms. One of the people I see clients for told me, when I asked to have Saturdays off...

Source

So, I’m doing it Wrong

After 14 years, I would think that I’ve got things down. I understand my process. I know what trips me up. And I know how to get back to what I want to do. And yet… since I’m part of the publishing industry, it’s my responsibility to keep tabs on new developments. Technology that makes writing and editing and publishing easier. New social media platforms where readers and authors find each other.

Source

New Ideas

I heard a few things this week that tweaked my ears. Listening to one of my favorite podcasts, the host interviewed an author that used to have her own podcast. They talked about writing and if anything will change in 2023. The author didn’t think much would change for her this year. She described herself as a “factory.” Not that she does a rapid release, but her writing process is such that she...

Source

All the Words

It takes about 3 days (10 hours) to write my monthly newsletter. I see several clients a day and find myself speaking a gazillion words. When I’m with Holly, I chat to her about how wonderful she is and how much she’s loved. With spreading around so many words, I wonder if I’ve used them all up. In random, sporadic moments, I envision the stories I’ve started. In response, scenes flash across the...

Source

A different Flow

Glancing at my calendar pages for this week, I see a lot of tasks left undone. It’s easy to get bogged down in disappointment, to feel bad because I haven’t lived up to my own expectations. In the future, I see goals unattained because I haven’t put in the work in the now. If I were in a different place, I could easily be circling in a downward spiral with negative thoughts. But that isn’t...

Source

Sometimes It’s Best Not to Question

It’s always tempting for me to figure how or why things are the way they are. Was it something I or someone else said or did, or didn’t say or do? Was it luck? Some random universal energy? What about karma? Part of me thinks that if I knew the reason why or how, then I could replicate or reverse the results. Someone once told me I was a “fixer.” I’m okay with that, except I can’t go back in time...

Source

Comfort Zone

For all her life, Holly, my horse, has gotten her winter coat starting in September and sheds beginning in January. Vets express their concern because her internal clock seems to be a little off. But not really. She waits until after the Autumnal Equinox, when the days get shorter (even though she was born and has lived all her 14 years in the Phoenix desert, where the sun may go down a minute...

Source