Phyllis Moore's Blog

Tribute to My Mother

My mother was born July 21, 1924 100 years ago.

Like most moms, she was not perfect, but she loved me with all her heart and would have given me the moon if she could.

The foundation of who I am today is because of my mother. She taught me responsibility, trustworthiness and to know the difference between right and wrong.

She taught me not to accept someone else’s “no” for my life. She taught me tenacity and not to give up just because things are tough. She allowed me to fail and taught me how to get up and keep going until I succeeded.

She showed me how to be adventurous and not be afraid to try new things.

The last 20 years have been difficult, but because of the things Mom taught me. I never gave up and now I see the light at the end of the tunnel because of her.

Most importantly, Mom set me on the path to follow Jesus Christ. I thank God for the mother He gave me.

Like so many children, as a child, I didn’t appreciate her like I should have. Now I do.

I miss you Mom and love you.

Someday, we’ll be together in heaven.

Until then, you’re little girl, Phyllis

I Write Cozy Science Fiction.

Some of my biggest fans do not like science fiction. But they love my books because there are no crazed aliens, no galactic wars, and the science is a minor character.

People in the 25th Century are dealing with insecurity and rejection while searching for love on and alien planet in a different galaxy.

Available on Amazon, Paperback, Ebook, Amazon Prime Read

Another Mile Stone

I finished this draft of my book.
My due date to finish was July 1. I wrote the date on a sheet of paper and typed it on the wall behind my computer to encourage me to keep writing. It worked.
I beat my due date and finished June 11.
Now I’ll read through the manuscript and clean it up.
Some characters’ names changed two or three times as I was writing the story. I’ll make sure each character has the proper name.
I’ll delete repeated material. To my surprise, it happens.
And of course, the needed proofreading.
I’ve written the next due date, October 1, on a sheet of paper and typed it on the wall behind my computer to encourage me to keep writing.
I’ve already finished the first chapter.

Rose Garden #7

Last year, I started a rose garden from a rose stem. I cut it into three pieces and had a nice little garden. Unfortunately, they all died. 

 I moved too fast. I learned a lot therefore I’m trying again this year.

 A friend gave me lots of cuttings. I trimmed them down and put them in water. Every day, I checked on them and either trimmed off the dead leaves or threw out the cuttings that died. I’m close to having another garden. 

 I’ll take things slower this year and see what happens.

 If this doesn’t work next year, I’m buying a miniature rose bush.

I Have 50,000 Words

Authors do not count the number of pages they have written because the specs on a page fluctuate by font size, space between lines and dimensions of a page. Therefore, authors mark their progress by the number of words written. Word count varies by the category of a book:

Fiction ClassificationWord countNovel40,000 words or overNovella17,500 to 39,999 wordsNovelette7,500 to 17,499 wordsShort storyup to 7,500 words

I’m two-thirds into my novel, Krunkie (book name for now), and I have 50,000 words, which means I’m well on the path for my book being a novel. 

A novel isn’t better than any other category, but it is my goal for this particular story. Even though I’m not finished, I have reached a milestone. I suspect by the time I am finished, I will have written around 80,000 words, which is par for me and equals around 300 pages for my book size. 

I Don’t Care!

I am recovering from Adrenal Fatigue, which means I’m limited in what I can do because of the lack of energy. The good news is I’m getting better, I have more get-up-and-go, and I’m recovering more quickly.

There are days when I know I should stop and go home, or I’ll be extremely tired the next several days. And yet, “I don’t care.” I’m having fun and I want to keep going.

Just so you know, there are far more days when I am reasonable and stop for the day. But every once in a while, I keep going. Even if I’m tired afterward, I have no regrets.

A friend and I went shopping. Once finished, I checked the app on my phone. I’d walked my limit for the day, 1 mile. It was time to go home, but I didn’t care. We were going to the park. I love parks! And I wanted to spend more time with my friend.

There was a large hill at the park. Yes, I knew I shouldn’t, b-u-t I didn’t care!

“I have to climb that hill,” I said.

“Do you have to climb every hill you see?” my friend asked.

“Yes,” I said, and we climbed the hill.

We took a few photos, rested a bit, and walked back down.

My friend reached the bottom before me. I stopped to take more pictures. He’s also faster than me, which allowed him to take this photo of tiny me on this large hill.

I am extremely responsible and know the value of “No.” But if I said no all the time, I’d be bored. I’d miss fun adventures and memories with my favorite friends. I do care about that.

I’m Finished!! 😁

The first book of my next fantasy series is finished. At least, I thought it was.

One last quick skim of the manuscript to check if the storyline was complete and all the scenes were in the correct place. They were not.

I split one chapter into two chapters. I deleted a section. I copied another scene, deleted it from where it was, and pasted it someplace else. Now I’ll reread that chapter to make sure it flows properly.

Therefore, the book is not finished, but I’m getting closer.

Rose Garden #6 Emily

This picture is my rose cuttings’ new best friend, Emily. I met her 4 months earlier. She gave me advice on how to transplant my cuttings from water into moss and eventually into soil.

For this visit, I brought my cuttings to her so she could meet them in person.

I placed them in a cardboard box with a towel inside to keep the containers stable, then I draped a towel over the box to keep the cold out.

I realized how much Emily loves plants when she delicately lifted the towel off the box as if there was a treasure inside. She carefully took the cuttings out and placed them on the counter as if they were precious babies. She lovingly examined each one and marveled over their new growth. I knew she was the perfect person to mentor me in raising my cuttings.

It took a while to find her.

I started online, then went to a nursery to speak to an expert. The store employee used his phone to search on Google to find the answer to my question. Not a good sign.

Next, I went to Bachman’s Floral & Garden and found Emily with a science degree in plants. She told me the name of her specific degree, but I forgot. Sorry.

When we first met, Emily asked if I wanted to keep them as houseplants or plant them outside. I wasn’t sure. Originally this was to be a fun experiment to see if I could successfully raise rose cuttings. I planed to give them to someone with a yard.

I’ve since decided to keep my cuttings and turn them into bonsai. And guess what? Emily can help me.

We will have our first bonsai section this summer.

Accountability Partners

I have an online creative accountability partner Chris, who is in photography. I, of course, am writing a novel.

I set a goal to write two 30 minutes sprints a day. On an average day, I write 2 sprints in the morning. On a good day, I write 4 sprints. On a bad day, I don’t care.

Then I think of Chris.

I don’t want to tell him I didn’t write that day. It’s not as if he’ll scold me because he won’t. It’s the accountability that matters.

I want to say I did at least 1 sprint before my day is over. When I do 1 sprint in the morning, I’m assured I’ll do at least one more before lunch with the possibility of writing more in the afternoon. The goal of 2-4 writing sprints a day keeps me on track to write everyday and helps me not procrastinate. Being accountable to someone helps me remember my goal.

I also encourage Chris in his goals, but that’s his story to tell.

Do you have an accountability partner and do you keep each other on track?

You are welcome to share your goals in the comment section.

My Next Book Series

I wrote an outline for my next fantasy series, which will be between 4 – 6 books.

I finished the outline for the overall story arch, then filled in the outline for the first book and started writing. When my main character had a turning point in his life, I decided to write the beginning up to that defining moment before I wrote the second half of the book. I’m glad I did.

There are important events in the second half, but I didn’t know why they were important or what led up to the events. Working on the first half helped clarify the second half of my story.

This section will be finished by the end of the year. I’ve already added scenes to the second half and have completely rewritten the ending.

I’m looking forward to January 2024, when I write the last half of the story.

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