Michele Venne's Blog, page 3

Habits

Counting today, I finally have a writing streak longer than 3 days! Yay! Because I hand write my first drafts, I’m unsure of my word count. I already know I’ll need to do some rewriting during the editing phase. Focusing on the relationship between the main characters and the reason for the plane crash had me forgetting the “holiday” part of this novella. It’s set in winter, there’s a snow storm…

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Grateful for the Easy

We’ve all had times where one or more parts of life aren’t going how we hoped or planned. If we pay attention, it makes the days when things turn out positively a time to be grateful. A yoga teacher told me, “Nothing is revealed, except in contrast.” We only know what light is because we’ve seen the dark. We know heat because we’ve felt the cold. We appreciate honesty because we’ve heard lies.

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Part of the Process

I’ve been thinking about my writing process this week. After working on my mind set the last couple of years, I’ve come to a place where I enjoy my creative process again. I intend to write each day. When I do, whether it’s a page or several, I feel good about getting some words down. I’m not pressured to meet a deadline. I find writing entertaining, and it boosts my mood to know I’ve made…

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Consistency

If we want to create a habit or make an improvement, consistency is important. This isn’t a groundbreaking idea. It is something that is subject to interference, such as distraction and procrastination. What makes something consistent? How many days or hours or weeks in a row do we do or say something for it to be considered consistent? I’ve written pages in The Lost Gift, the holiday novella I…

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A touchstone

One of the first suggestions a veteran writer may offer to a new writer is to find their why. Even if the writer only wants to jot a story about Grandma’s trip across the country to meet Grandpa, or to pen a short book to give away to potential customers, being able to state the reason why the project is being written serves many purposes. And if the writer plans to make a career from their words…

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Facts in Fiction

Last week I mentioned that I finished the anthology story. This week, I thought I might need to start again. An old piece of writing advice is, “Write what you know.” Some still believe writers should stick to this, meaning having a character who is male when I’m female shouldn’t be allowed. What do I know about being a man? Or being a doctor? Or a pilot? Or living in New York City?

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Finishing Energy

Joanna Penn, a successful indie author, coined the term “finishing energy” to describe how she feels as she closes in on completing a project. I’ve noticed I feel the same. Though I’ve often mentioned that the finish line moves, there is an internal push to keep going, to write that last word, to do one more editing check, to verify all the pieces are in the manuscript before I hit “publish.” It’…

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Time

“You never step into the same river twice.” A saying that at first seems illogical, until someone explains that the water is always flowing, so it’s never the same from moment to moment. The same could be said about time. Once a moment has passed, we can’t get it back. Time is a strange thing. Humans named components of time (seconds, minutes, years, etc.) perhaps as a way to control it.

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Attention

The saying “where attention goes, energy flows” can be used to help or hinder our days. For example, if we focus on things out of our control, negative thoughts, and worst-case scenarios, we end up seeing/having more of that in our lives. The opposite is also true. Putting our attention on habits and routines we control, on pleasant (or at least neutral) thoughts/things, and keeping a positive…

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A Light Heart

It seems that the heavy fog of January has lifted. Holly’s ankle is just about back to normal. I received positive news about a troubling issue. And my clients have returned to usual, stable behavior. Some tech struggles have been resolved. I’ve made a bit of progress on some admin tasks. As has almost always been the case, when I procrastinate on a project, and then focus on getting it done…

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