Janis I. Monroe's Blog, page 10

CampNanoWriMo Day 7

Today is day 7 of CampNaNoWriMo! How are you doing on your novel so far?

I haven’t been making a post every day here like I had planned. The weekend was far busier than expected so no writing of any sort got done on Saturday and Sunday. Trying to do some catch up now.

It’s a little after 4AM and I’m sitting in front of the pellet stove with a raging fire and a my Chihuahua Brie at my feet. KLove is playing through my headphones while my hubby and daughter sleep. I have an hour before the hubby has to be up for work so what better way to spend time than to write when you can’t sleep. Well, I could sleep if wasn’t restless legs kicking in. Just one of the many fibromyalgia symptoms that are annoying. Oh, well. I’ve learned that when symptoms keep me awake it’s best to be productive than wallow in the “Why me?” phase and be upset that I can’t get the sleep I want to. What’s the point? Getting upset will only make me feel worse and can increase my symptoms. Yes, this is a topic for one of my next books after the one I’m currently writing, Secret Anguish: Discovering Celiac Disease.

With Secret Anguish I am currently working on chapter two and I believe I am almost finished with it. It’s exciting to see progress and that makes me want to keep on writing. I will be working on chapter three soon, perhaps today!

What about you? How are you doing with your novel? Are things flowing easily, or are you struggling with writer’s block? Do you listen to music when you’re writing? If so, what do you listen to? I’d love to hear from you! Feel free to leave comments.

Have a great day and Happy CampNaNo Day 7! :) Good luck on today’s word count!

Camp NaNoWriMo: Day 2

Here it is just a few hours shy of Camp Nano Day #2! I didn’t make much progress yesterday. I had typed up a few paragraphs but I just didn’t like how it was turning out. It was one of those instances that you have to correct because you struggle to move on with your book. So, I revamped what I did and now I am loving the way my story is going so far.

Here are the opening lines to my novel:

Food…it is essential to our lives. Our bellies demand it, or it rumbles incessantly. Who doesn’t love the smell of freshly baked bread or cookies, or a meatloaf cooking in the oven. My mouth waters thinking of those foods, especially desserts. But what if the food you’re eating, more specifically gluten containing foods, are harming your body and you didn’t know it? Such was my case for many years before I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 2007 at twenty-four.

I have over 5,000 words so far. So grateful to God for helping me out today. I am really trying to keep with this. You know how Self Doubt likes to butt in and try to ruin things. When I feel that way I stop and pray for as long as I need and take some deep breaths, do some positive self talk and when I feel pumped up again I hit those keys, or write long hand, whichever is working best that day.

What do you do when you experience self doubt and are tempted to just stop writing and throw it all out the window? I’m curious to hear what you have done that has helped.

So far so good on my end. How are you doing?

Feel free to leave a comment or send me an email at jisoucie@hotmail.com.

Camp NanoWriMo day #1! It’s here!

Yes it is that time of year again! Camp Nano Wri Mo is here! Are you participating this month? If so, what are you writing about?

Today I begin writing on my book Secret Anguish… Well, okay so I did start writing a little on it already, so I can’t count those words toward this month’s word goal, but I can start writing new content today that will count. I’m feeling confident about this book though I know fears always rise like “Is this good enough?” “Is this in the right order?” “Am I REALLY sure about this?” “Did I do enough research?” ect. Do you have these kinds of thoughts? If you do, what do you do to get past them and to writing?

I find I have to do a bit of positive self-talk to get through those questions and then put those thoughts behind me and move forward. Fear and doubt can so often stop us from doing what we are meant to do, writing included! I have not published a new book in years but it is because fear, doubt and having lost sight of the value and significance writing can have. But today I make a new commitment and that is to focus on my writing and break through all fear and doubts. If I don’t do this now, I never will. With God’s guidance and strength I can do this and I will. I will not give up!

So without further ado I’m off to start up Scrivener and get writing!

I would love to hear your thoughts. Please feel free to comment or send an email to jisoucie@hotmail.com. Have a great day!

Creativity In Full Swing!

I am just buzzing with creative enegery lately and so many ideas. Oh, I can hardly keep my mind focused and my fingers taping on one project at a time! But I love feeling so creative. 

About a month ago I joined Hope Alive Ministry’s team as the Program Manager and we are putting together a documentary about what “hope” means to people. I plan on recording my bit today.

Then I am inspired to create my outreach program under Voice 4 Society, Inc. Hope Alive Ministry is also an outreach under Voice 4 Society. I am still writing out my ideas and deciding what idea I’d like to start with. I’ve never done this kind of thing before but I am excited and energized about it.

Then, Camp NaNo is coming up and I have a book ready to go and have a book cover created for it. The title of the book is Secret Anguish: Uncovering Celiac Disease. Here is the book cover I have right now. What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

  

I have my profile and book info updated on CampNaNoWriMo.org. Just waiting for cabin assignments and then writing starts in eight days!!! Ahh! I really need to get some research done before that time. I have set a 50,000 word goal this time. I’m really going to try for it. It will give me practice for November. :)

Are you participating in CampNano this year? If so, what kind of genre are you writing in? What is your word count goal? Feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Janis

jisoucie@hotmail.com

Sun Shine & Warmer Temps

The sun i shining brightly through the south windows warming the house. The snow is melting, icicles dripping off the roof, puddles forming in the driveway. Could Spring finally be here? (or close) I sure hope so. I can’t wait to get outside and get my hands in the dirt as I plant seeds in our garden, or pull up earthworms for fishing. 

The warmer temperatures and fresh air bekon me out the door and energize me. I feel energized not only to adventure outdoors, but usually to write and to take a new book off the shelf. It’s like the fresh air and just knowing Spring is close helps to shake of the winter doldrums. 

In one of my last posts I talked about moving away from writing personal experience pieces such as my story of discovering I had Celiac Disease, or losing a parent when I was a teen, and how I want these pieces to be encouraging to those who have gone through something similiar. Well, I must say I have been dealing with self doubt because I have been away from the craft of writing for quite some time. I haven’t taken my writing seriously for so many years and I mean sitting down every day and being dedicated to one project until it is finished. It has been years since I have published anything and now sitting down to look at a blank page even though I have ideas causes anxiety. I think I have run too long and now work through the anxiety. Perhaps many writers deal with this, but this is a first for me. I had no idea that being away from something for so long could being anxiety when trying to get back into it. The fear of, “Oh, no! I forgot what front piece goes where.” or “How do I even begin?” “How should I start this, in the present looking back, or should I start from the beginning as a child?” The questions go on and on until I’d get frustrated and angry and then walk away. I had to break that cycle if I was going to be the writer I claimed to be. The writer I used to be a few years back. The kind of writer I can be again.

Take a deep breath… Relax. I can do this. Let everything go and just write. It’s the first draft and I’ll figure everything else out later. And I’ve done just that. I am happy and excited to announch I have written the first few paragraphs of my next novel tentativley titled Secret Anguish: A Discovery of Celiac Disease. 

Have you been through something simliar? How did you break through your anxiety? Feel free to leave a comment or send an email to jisoucie@hotmail.com

Startling News for Indie Authors – DMCA Abuse

DMCA Abuse

http://selfpubauthors.com/2015/03/03/independent-publishing-and-dmca-abuse-or-how-a-scammer-got-my-book-blocked-with-very-little-effort/

After reading this I was shocked! I had no idea that this could happen. I didn’t even know a DMCA existed or what one was. Thank you Nordine for sharing this post and your updates on how things transpired! 

I guess if you decide to be an independent author you really need to be vigilant in such things. The lure of being an Indie Author sounds so cool at first, but then I hear things like this that make it a little scary. I’m still on the fence of whether to Indie Publish my next book or not. :-\ 

I’m so thankful other authors are out there willing to help fellow authors. We do need to learn from each other. We are a like breed and need help each other along our creative paths. We’re teammates in a way. At least, that is how I look at it. Thanks again for the post!

Changing Tides?

Have you ever started down a path in writing and believed that was the path you should be on…or rather felt you HAD to be on because it had some meaning or purpose? Like an event from your life took you from one writing in one direction and caused you to do a 180 in another direction.

Lately, I have been in deep thought about that one event that changed my writing path from fiction to nonfiction, even though part of my still tried to squeeze out fiction, but it just didn’t feel the same as before. So I’d jump back to nonfiction. The experiences in my life I wanted to write about…or rather I “thought” I wanted to write about stemmed from a family member’s death. I felt that if I had known now about her situation I could have been able to help her and I felt that by writing my life experiences in a few areas, I might be able to enlighten and encourage others with my knowledge. I had the right motivation: to want to help others. But there was a question that popped up after I recognized why I switched to writing nonfiction after I once told myself I would NEVER read it let alone write it. The question was: Do I WANT to write about these stories, or do I feel like I HAVE to? Clearly, if it was just wanting to write the stories I would be done by now, but I think the reason it has been so hard to write them was because I felt I HAD to in order to spare someone else…from what? Pain, grief, hardship… I don’t know. I can know that my experiences would do anything, but I can’t believe they would do absolutely nothing for someone else.

I realized that trying to write these experiences was simply too hard from an emotional standpoint as well as the factor of feeling like I HAD to write about them, like I owed the world or something. Maybe at some point down the road I’ll write about these things, but for right now, I need to think on them. I’m sure others have already written their stories on Celiac disease, Fibromyalgia, and losing a parent in their teens. Would my stories really matter? Only God knows that answer and I’m waiting for the right time and the right way to tell my stories. Sometimes I wonder if the emotional aspects of the stories are more draining on me and more stressful than say fiction writing would be. With fibromyalgia I have to be mindful of what zaps my energy and how quickly. I need to reconstitute and focus my energy on things I enjoy and that matter such as responsibilities.

My true passion has always been in fiction. But it has been so many years since I have focused on writing purely fiction and used my imagination for this reason. I feel like I have to learn to ride a bike again, to feel things out. I wonder if I even remember my old system for planning out novels… I have to admit I’m a little nervous getting back into this, but at the same time I feel a sense of relief and excitement…a sense of freedom if that makes any sense. But maybe there is also a sense of loss, like I feel a pathway has been shut…a pathway that was familiar. And now I face and the pathway of fiction that was once familiar but now seems so strange, so uncertain. Forgive me if I’m a bit hesitant to step on this pathway and begin my walk down this old, yet seemingly new pathway. Yet, I know that the only way to get the feel for things again is to jump in and do it. How does one get past the hesitancy and get started? For me, being a Christian, my first step would be to pray. Do I NOT share my life experiences, or do I? Am I afraid to share? Oh why the conflict? Why can’t I just write for the pure joy of writing? How has it lost its vigor so?

Have any of you run into a similar situation in your writing, that at one stage in your life you were so involved in one genre only later you realize you’re not comfortable there anymore (for whatever reason) and decide to try something new? What were your feelings and how did you manage to work through the fear of stepping into unfamiliar ground? Have you lost the enjoyment to write, and how did you get it back?

I look forward to your thoughts.

Sunny, Cold, and Thinking…

Have you ever had a dream to sit down every day and write a little on your novel, short story, or poem until it was finished? Then when that book is edited and published to start that process over again? I certainly have and I have been striving to meet that goal for some time now.

I’ve had compliments on my writing in the past so it’s lack of confidence standing in my way. I can write…anyone really can, but some of us have more natural talent that is enhanced with continued learning and practice.

Yet, it seems God may either have “other” plans for me, or plans in addition to my own writing. I have gained a new position as Program Manager for Hope Alive Ministry whose outreach is to children with life-threatening and rare diseases. This is definitely a learning and growing experience for me.

I don’t plan to stop writing. Not by any means. I have continued to so working a little on Facade and reading books on plot and story engineering to help me gage the events in my book better. There is still something not quite working but I do have an idea…which if you excuse I’d better right down before I forget! brb

Okay…there. Got that down. Now as long as I don’t lose that paper I’ll be good. lol

In between getting ideas for Facade and working on the characters a little, I have been working on a personal experience story. I don’t know that it will ever be published but it will keep in the writing practice.

Have you ever had a story you wanted…no felt you NEEDED to tell but decided against it, even if it could help people, because in the process of helping others you could risk hurting those close to you? Yeah, it’s one of those. So even though I’ll be working on it, you won’t find details about it.

Now the question goes to you: What do you do when you are trying to come up with ideas to a story you have already started writing but it hits a roadblock? Do you work on something else and go back to the other book occasionally? What process do you use?

Through Blizzard Winds and Blinding Snows

Ahhh…sitting here relaxing by the fire of pellet stove, my Raggle at my feet. In case you didn’t know what a Raggle is it’s a dog that is part beagle part rat terrier. My Chihuahua has run off into the other room. Must be the heat was too much for her. Ha! And I thought they were supposed to like the heat.

Anyway, I noticed it has been quite some time since I have written a post. I have to admit there have been some things going on in my life that I have been working through and trying to manage.

That aside, I pulled out a manuscript I started and dusted it off. I put it away because something just seemed to stop me from writing it and I couldn’t figure out just what it was. And part of they way I wrote some of it just didn’t fit with the first part and totally messed up my plan for the book and left me stumped without a path or even a crumb of an idea of where to go next.

Now that my editing job has wound down and the only thing left to do is publish my client’s book after the beta readers are finished with it, I will be able to do more of my own work. The manuscript I pulled out I have currently titled Facade. I’m going to brainstorm on it and try to have it ready to go for Camp NaNo. Last year for NaNoWriMo I did try to be a pantser, but in all honesty, it didn’t work for me. I like to plan things out. I have an idea I write down and then work on the characters. Granted the characters start out as meager sketches and they reveal themselves more as the story goes on and I add the new information into their “file”. I’m very excited to work on this story as the real action takes place in the 1950’s. I actually had the opportunity to dress up in the 1950’s attire for the sock hop they had at my daughter’s school this passed weekend. It was awesome! I just imagined what a real sock hop was like.

Yes, I was dressed up as the good too-shoo girl in a poodle skirt, saddle shoes, and knit top with a ribbon in her hair and make up lightly done. There were pink ladies there and I stood next to one for the costume contest. I thought it was just for kids so imagine my surprise when the adults were called to the front to be judged. Oh my!! The pink lady next to me did a great job and I thought for sure she had it, even after all my research. In my mind I had already congratulated her, but instead I was congratulated as I received the prize for best costume!! Boy, it does pay to do your research doesn’t it? And going to the sock up with my daughter dressed similar to me, was actually fun coupled with research. It gave me some experience and a time and place to use my imagination for exactly this book! Couldn’t have happened at a better time.

So while the wind whips the snow around outside, I’m sitting here contemplating the next steps for my novel.

When you get stuck on a novel, poem, article, short story, or script, what do you do to clear the block? I would love to hear your answers. Please leave your comments below.

Crisp Cold & Hiding Away

Many of you may be asking: “Where have YOU been?”

Ah yes, where have I been? Good question.

I am still here. Looking back I can’t believe my last post was in November. Yikes! My plan was to post a LOT more often. Life has given us a few hiccups which are stressful and my part time job as an editor has kept me away from my own blogging and my own writing. Between all that has been going on I haven’t been able to keep up with my work, hence, the amount of posts I’d like to make have diminished.

Christmas is almost here. I have Christmas music playing and I may wrap a few presents today. But then I have to get back to my editing job. I’m almost finished going through the book so my job is almost done. (sigh) That’s the way of it though. You have a project and can make a steady income for several months and then when the project is complete, it’s back to relying on one income, which, let’s face it, this day in age, is very hard to live on. But, looking at the bright side, I’ll be able to get back into my own writing. I’ve had ideas spinning in my head for months for like three different books. Question is: which one will I work on after this job is finished? Isn’t that always a stumbling block for us writers? Do you ever struggle with which project to work on? I’d be surprised if you didn’t. I swear if it’s not deciding which project to work on, it’s having chosen a book and once you’re into it, getting strong ideas for another book! Ugh! lol A writer’s mind is never quiet, always thinking, dreaming, scheming.

The three books I’m thinking of have to deal with the following topics: 1) discovery of having celiac disease (how it affected me, what had to change, and how I’m doing now), 2) discovery of having fibromyalgia (how it’s affected my life, my family, and how my faith has helped me deal with setbacks) 3) losing my mother at the age of 17 (how I was her caretaker, the effects it’s had, and how my faith helped me as a teen to get through that difficult time and I wish to inspire other teens who have lost parents.)

Okay, so there is a fourth about having PTSD, but, even if I wrote that one, I’m not sure about publishing it. So that one I’ll probably write for myself, at least for now.

I just have so many ideas and insights for those four topics and I feel being brave and sharing my experiences will encourage others.

That is my update for right now. I don’t have much to say about my writing because of the editing job, but I will keep you posted as this job winds down.

Have a great day!