Michele Venne's Blog, page 7

Writing Focus

I’ve finished 3 of my 8 required college credits for my recertification. I’m almost half-way through the next class (online), working ahead in the hopes that I’ll finish early and be able to have a couple of weeks before the next and last class, a 4-credit hybrid 8-week math class, begins. During that hoped for time off, I have visions of finishing a short story for the illustrated collection and…

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Fitting Into a Box

There are parts of our lives that can easily fit into a box. Maybe our commute to a day job, family dinner on Sundays, or time at the gym four days a week. Some of the things we do fit inside our expectations. If we wanted to shake up our commute, we could take a different route. If we chose some excitement for Sunday dinners, maybe make it a potluck or ordering out instead of a home-cooked meal.

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Energy

The day has a flavor of full moon energy. I felt it in the wind blowing around smoke and dust. I saw it in my clients who weren’t prepared and had a hard time paying attention. I recognize it in my own focus. It took me a few minutes to start a flash fiction story. I thought it would go one way, and it veered hard to the left. I’ll finish it this weekend. Knowing that things can be wonky…

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Moments

This week I’ve been thinking about moments. I’m not sure if it’s the season of life I’m in, the changing of seasons where I live, or if my paid work is catching up to me. I find myself falling further and further behind on my to-do list. I wouldn’t call it “brain fog” but focusing on the present has been challenging. I’ve relied on routines for a long time to help me complete my tasks and limit…

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Maybe Progress

This has been a week where I wonder, did I make any progress? I understand baby steps and focusing on a project until it’s done and clearing tasks from a list… and even if those things are done, but there are still steps to take and more projects to do and the list of tasks continues to have items added… has there been progress made? I published a book! But I made an unfixable error.

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Finishing Energy

Joanna Penn, a successful indie author from the UK talks about beginning energy and finishing energy. She does a ton of research before she writes her thriller novels. All that builds up to support her writing the story. When she gets her manuscript back from the editor, she talks about finishing energy. She completes the edits/rewrites then publishes the book. I understand beginning energy.

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A Break

For the first time in 5 months, I get a workday off! Actually, it’s mostly 3 days. And, of course, I promptly filled the time. Today, I splurged on some self-care. Tomorrow, I’ll connect with people I haven’t seen for a while. Two of them are going through tough times, and our point of connection is gone. I likely won’t see them for a long time. I’m braving downtown on Sunday for Fan Fusion.

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Being in the Moment

I got an opportunity this week to do something I haven’t done in years. I was excited to pull out materials stored in the garage, flip through the pages, and reacquaint myself with one of the loves of my first career: teaching language arts. I’m comfortable with designing a math lesson, as I’ve been doing it for the last 20 years. But I find so many aspects of teaching language exciting and…

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A Moving Finish Line

In my last newsletter, I wrote about seasons. The times of the year when more things are happening and when there is room to relax. I see the space for, if not relaxation, at least for catching up. Part of that getting caught up is with my writing projects. I’ve been filling every available minute between client sessions with work on a math book. I’m very close to being done. Of course…

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Allowing

Just as the rocks allow the plants to grow and the water allows the rocks to contain it, life may go a little smoother if we allow (certain) changes. I agreed to change my work schedule. That means I need to allow priorities to shift. Who I help in my day job is temporary. When those hours are thick, I know I have to shift time from leisure reading and working on my writing projects.

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