Lydia Howe's Blog, page 26
December 28, 2015
2015 in a Nutshell
For the past three years (2012 & 2013 2014) I've written a recap of my year, so of course I followed suit and wrote one for 2015, too. This post is kinda long, so if you're only going to read part of it, I would suggest you go down toward the end where it looks like this: * * *
January
The first week and a half of the year was spent dashing around in our freezing weather and then on January 10th my sister, cousin, and I headed off to Ghana, West Africa.
Our trip to Ghana was exciting to say the least and we had a lot of amazing experiences while we were there including going out into The Bush, seeing a Ghanaian wedding, and exploring the market place. The main reason we went was to paint the house of a family we know who lived there. What I didn't realize is that the paint combined with the heat would make me rather sick (I'm sensitive/allergic to chemicals and ever since I had Lyme disease heat has bothered me greatly, so going from -6 to 100+ weather was crazy). I spent a good portion of the trip in bed, fighting off exhaustion and the feeling of worthlessness. Needless to say, it was not the trip I had envisioned but I still learned so much and accomplished a fair amount. I'm really thankful I was able to go. The best part of the trip was meeting beautiful people with incredible stories that challenged me in many different ways.
On the 26th we arrived in Florida where we met up with the rest of our family to prepare for a business get-together.
February
I spent the first week of February in Florida helping out with our business get-together and visiting family. Then on the 8th my family drove to Georgia where we had the amazing privilege of attending a Salt and Light Conference hosted by John Maxwell. The conference was inspiring and challenging and very growth-inducing.
While at the conference I also had a very needed talk with a writing acquaintance of mine. He really helped push me into gear and get back on the right course with my writing. I promptly spent the next several days (while we were visiting friends in the area) working on moving forward with what had been a rather stagnant part of WLHYL. I also got to do a book signing on Valentines day which was cool.
Then, 37 days after we left home, we arrived back on a beautiful (and stormy) Monday. I spent the rest of the month working on my writing, getting back into the groove at home, and re-entering life in general.
March
March was spent focusing on my writing. I buried myself in books and blog posts and edits and accomplished a grand amount. My main focus was on writing WLHYL, but I also spent time redesigning my blog.
The second week of March was a special one for me: I got my first pair of glasses. My headaches decreased greatly and my world was suddenly a lot clearer. Nine months later I still gasp with wonder and question how I went for so long without them.
On March 16th, my third book, Cool Critters of the Ice Age was published. I stayed with my adopted parents for a couple of days celebrating it (we co-authored it), and working on another book.
I also spent a lot of the month hanging out with my best friend (Sarah) who was expecting her first child. I co-hosted a baby shower for her and enjoyed finding a unique gift for her: Each week during her third trimester I gave her one of my favorite books from my childhood so the baby would have a library right from the start.
April
The beginning of April was, once again, focused on writing. Not only did I decide to participate in my third year of the A to Z Challenge, but I also spent three days at a hotel so I could focus all of my energy on figuring out the rest of the plot for WLHYL and finish the book. I only had about 7,000 words left on the story when I went back home and I officially finished the first draft of WLHYL on Friday the 10th.
On the 17th our family traveled to Aruba where we spent the next three weeks. During that time I was emotionally and physically exhausted from finishing WLHYL and spent a lot of time resting and reading (I read 18 books in 19 days). It was a good time to have a break.
May
The first week of May was spent in Aruba at a business convention. We arrived home on the 8th and on the 11th I headed to my adopted parent's house for a few days to help/hang out with filming for two DVDs. It was really cool and I got to man the clapboard which was a dream come true.
It was during May that I suddenly realized, much to my disappointment that, I haven't felt well for a couple of weeks now. No, wait. I haven't felt well since I finished WLHYL, no, even further back then that... When I finally realized that I'd never regained my health or energy since my trip to Africa I felt quite discouraged.
My writing world plodded along at a slow pace, but the rest of life picked up. One of the best parts of the spring/summer was Taco Tuesday. Our neighbors (who also happen to be our cousins) started it and we soon all jumped on board. Each Tuesday night about twenty of us would gather along with whatever dishes we wanted to bring to make up a taco bar and we would eat out under two big trees then play soccer afterward. I don't know when I have ever enjoyed a weekly tradition more.
On the 28th Sarah gave birth to a beautifully darling little girl, Clara. At that time I had no clue the difference a new little one in my life would mean. I'll forever look back on her entrance into my world as the highest of highlights in 2015.
June
The first week of June I spent a lot of time with Sarah and her sisters (who are some of my closest friends) who had come to visit with her after Clara was born. Then, I spent the weekend with my sisters and girl cousins, celebrating one last time together as my cousin prepared to tie the knot in July.
On Sunday the 7th I was thrilled to reach the milestone of having written at least 100 words on my WIP every single day for 1,000 days. We celebrated by going out for milkshakes.
There were several weddings I attended in June and on the way to an out-of-state one, I finally felt brave enough to begin reading through WLHYL for the first time. It was better than I had imagined.
Then my computer started fizzing out on me and I slacked somewhat with my blogging and writing as I spent a good portion of the month helping with baby Clara, attending my cousin's out-of-state bachelorette party, working at a big event at my non-writing job, and meeting my newest nephew (who was born in April) for the first time.
July
On the 5th I left to spend a week at the Creation Museum. It was very rewarding to get to see Cool Critters of the Ice Age in the Museum bookstore for the first time.
I came back home and life was overwhelming. I had an event going on with my non-writing job and I sill wasn't feeling well seven months into the year, so I decided to write a list of 500 things I was thankful for to help me regain perspective.
My cousin got married in a beautiful out-door ceremony on the 24th and on the 28th our family headed south. We spent the next several days with my oldest sister and her family, then went down to Florida to spend some time with my grandparents. I also spent July editing WLHYL.
A monumental conversation took place during July when I asked a fellow writer, who had written a difficult and moving non-fiction book, for some tips with working on WLHYL. Even though WLHYL isn't true, the story is so close to my own story that it was extremely hard to write. The writer not only gave me some tips but also prayed for me which made a huge difference.
August
The first 11 days of August were spent visiting relatives in Florida. I also had a gloriously clear mind and more energy than I'd had for ages and was able to accomplish a ton on the second draft of WLHYL. I finally reached the point where I was ready to send WLHYL out to beta readers.
I also began making blankets for crisis pregnancy centers and praying for the darling little babies and their scared and precious mamas.
On the 12th it was the 222nd day of the year and I'd been gone for 111 days (nights, actually). Craziness. We arrived home on the 13th and a lot of my traveling for the year was over. When my enthusiasm for WLHYL quickly dissipated upon arrival back at our house and my tiredness increased, I finally put two and two together and realized that my lingering health issues were due to me being allergic to our house. We moved last year and am sadly sensitive to chemicals and new building materials. Cue Operation Stay Outside As Much As Possible and Leave Office Windows Open.
Our family also started a Monday night Bible Study during the summer and that soon became one of my favorite events each week.
September
I spent a lot of the beginning of September focusing on finishing my 23 before 23 challenge. Then, in the second week I was thrilled to get to go caving with my adopted parents and a group from the Creation Museum for the third year in a row. This is one of my favorite things to do.
As the summer drew to a close, I worked on just being instead of always doing. It's a continuous lesson for me, but I like to imagine I'm a bit better than I used to be.
I spent the last half of September scrambling around trying to figure out how to write a synopsis for WLHYL and finishing up the forth draft. On the last day of the month was my birthday and I turned 23.
September was truly a monumental one for me as far as hanging out with people went. I had begun praying for the energy and desire to at least want to be with people a little bit, and that prayer was answered generously.
October
The month started out with our wonderful (sister-like) friend getting married and a good half a week of time was dedicated to helping set up for the wedding and take everything down afterward.
My main focus in October was editing WLHYL yet again. It was a growing experience for me and I learned a lot.
It was about half-way through the month when I suddenly remembered my year-long goals and realized I had left them at the wayside. It was an "ah-ha moment" for me, reminding me that no matter how good I have been at goals, unless I continually work on them and review them, they're not going to help me one little bit. I knew it would be pointless to try and accomplish my year-long goals in less than three months, so I worked on my short-term goals and made a firm decision to not make goals in the future unless I was going to stick to them (as much as possible and profitable) and review them often.
I also began making it a goal to go to Wednesday night church each week. I haven't regularly done that since I got Lyme disease, which was a long time ago. It hit me this year how much of my life I have to consciously control.
One fun part of October was learning how to start a fire with flint and steel and doing so quite often.
November
To reward myself for finishing the 4th draft of WLHYL in October I decided to do NaNoWriMo and turn November into an all-out writing and white-chocolate-eating month. I tackled a story I've wanted to write for several years now and finished the first draft at right about 50,000 words. It took me five days. (Including a 20,000 word day.) Not ready for my NaNo fun to be up, I started in on the second book in the series.
Sadly, between the writing and crocheting baby blankets for crisis pregnancy centers, I damaged my wrist and soon had to set aside typing when it became painful and I was concerned about causing permanent damage. I still had fun writing little bits at a time and consuming small (yet delicious!) amounts of white chocolate.
It was around this time that the Refugee crisis going on over in Europe caught my family's attention and our hearts. At that time I had no clue the huge changes that would soon take place in our lives as we began praying for them and seeking for ways to help them.
After a great Michael Card concert on the 20th and a big project at work the following week, Thanksgiving arrived along with family time which is always a treat. Much to my dismay my health issues flared up worse than normal and I had a bit of a hard time dealing with everything. My wrist problems also continued persisting, although in the grand scheme of the world-wide problems they didn't feel quite so big any more.
December
The first week of December was wonderful with a big project at my non-writing job that I thoroughly enjoyed. Then came our annual cousin's Gingerbread House Party and right after that my sister and uncle went to Greece to help out with the refugees there.
I spent almost a week with my adopted parents and was thrilled to get to man one of the cameras at the Creation Museum (another one of those dreams come true for me).
It was around this time that I was reading about how my body is the Holy Spirit's temple and how I'm supposed to take care of it. My health issues had been getting increasingly worse and so after thinking and praying about it I made the decision to eat only paleo for the next 100 or so days to help get my body back on track. (I did give myself Christmas off, although I made sure to be balanced.)
When I got back home Christmas preparations were in full swing and we commenced with celebrating Jesus's birth and listening to a lot of stories from Greece after my sister arrived home on the 23rd.
My wrist problems continued, despite giving myself over a month-long break with croetching and buying a special computer keyboard that is supposed to help with the issue. All in all, though, I do feel as if it's getting better and hope the healthy eating will somehow speed the healing process.
* * *
Over all, twenty-fourteen was one of the most fantastic years of my life and twenty-fifteen entered with a bang then quickly petered off as health issues came into play.
Looking back on the year I have the tendency to feel like it was wasted. I spent far too much time feeling sick and/or tired. There were situations I didn't handle well and friendships that seemed to fall apart. I didn't always treat the people closest to me with love and at times put my own desires ahead of other's needs. I spent many days feeling like an emotional wreck due to my health issues and cried enough to last me until twenty-twenty.
I spent weeks feeling distant from God and even longer feeling completely emotionally exhausted. Hardly any of my twenty-fifteen goals were accomplished. If I were offered a do-over right now, in all probability I'd jump at the chance.
Do you know what though? Those thoughts do have some merit, but over all they're rubbish. Twenty-fifteen was a good year. In fact, this summer was one of my best ones ever. I learned a lot. I grew. I made mistakes, but I learned from them. I'm not the same person I was at the beginning of the year and the stuff I've gone through is helping build me into a stronger person.
The biggest lesson I've learned this year is that I can't coast uphill. I have to work. Really work. This applies to all areas of life: My goals, my writing, my emotions, my relationship with people, and my relationship with God. (Also my health, but that had a lot to do with not knowing what the problem was.)
I would have to say that most of the problems I went through this year were because I became too confident in my ability to handle life and therefore I ended up loosing out. Once I realized that (which was a couple months ago) I began making changes and I know that even though it's a long road, I'm on the right track again.
Despite the trials I went through, this year has been filled with a large array of vastly different and yet beautiful moments and memories that I will treasure forever.
Watching Clara grow and grace those around her with thousands of smiles has created a warm spot in my heart that belongs especially to her.
Spending unique and noteworthy times with Sarah and being by her side through difficult ones gave me a far greater appreciation and love for her. I'm still amazed that she's chosen me to be one of her closest friends and I feel her non-contingent love often.
Hanging out with "my" people, my co-workers, neighbors, and church and family, has filled me with a sense of belonging and acceptance that I didn't know before and it makes life so much richer. I don't know when I've ever enjoyed my time at home more.
Reading books (and the Bible) that helped give me a deeper understanding of the Bible and who God is has helped me realize how amazing His love and patience toward me is and how very, very, very thankful I am to be allowed the privilege of having a personal relationship with Him. It's also helped me to realize that He demands so much more honor and respect than I had realized and it's my delight to give it back to Him.
Going through health problems and wrist issues has filled my thankful tank up when I realize that I haven't had to deal with this type of stuff all of my life. And yes, although they are painful and scary and at times feel like they're going to wreck my life, I can still choose to rejoice and with God's help I will.
Although I did have a few slumps in my writing, overall I'd have to say that twenty-fifteen most likely saw more accomplished in the writing and learning about writing arena than any other year to date. I stuffed my brain full of knowledge and then let it slide out my finger tips. I wrote a lot. I edited a ton. I blogged. I brainstormed. I plotted. I synopsized. I did (a few) book signings. I got a book published. And I authored. (Because that's what authors do.)
Overall, when I stop and think about it, although twenty-fifteen was not my ideal year as far as goals and health and accomplishing things go, it has been one of my best years ever as far as friendships and relationships are concerned. For one of the first times since I first got Lyme disease I continually really, really enjoyed being with people and actually chose to hang out, not because I knew I would feel guilty if I didn't, but because I genuinely wanted to. And that's huge for me. (I have of course had that happen during the last seven years, but mostly they were isolated events instead of happening one after another.) I still need a lot of time alone, no doubt about that, but I'm ok with that as long as I can appreciate the "people time" sprinkled in there as well.
As twenty-fifteen draws to a close and twenty-sixteen is about ready to dawn, I'm excited. On Sunday my pastor taught on Philippians 3:13-14, Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Do you know what that means? The goals I did and didn't accomplish, the setbacks I experienced, the times I messed up, the dreams I full-filled, the things I did and didn't do... They're all in the past. The good and the bad are both behind me. I need to learn from what happened, but I can't dwell or live in it. The glory and the pain are both in the past. Tomorrow is a new day. Next year is a new year.
And do you know what I get to do? I get to press, run, dive head-long, toward the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
He is what makes life worth living. He is the difference-maker. And I am so excited to be able to live this next year for His glory. I won't be coasting up hill, but that's perfectly fine with me because I've given the controls over to Someone who knows far more than I do and all I need to do is follow His leading.
January
The first week and a half of the year was spent dashing around in our freezing weather and then on January 10th my sister, cousin, and I headed off to Ghana, West Africa.
Our trip to Ghana was exciting to say the least and we had a lot of amazing experiences while we were there including going out into The Bush, seeing a Ghanaian wedding, and exploring the market place. The main reason we went was to paint the house of a family we know who lived there. What I didn't realize is that the paint combined with the heat would make me rather sick (I'm sensitive/allergic to chemicals and ever since I had Lyme disease heat has bothered me greatly, so going from -6 to 100+ weather was crazy). I spent a good portion of the trip in bed, fighting off exhaustion and the feeling of worthlessness. Needless to say, it was not the trip I had envisioned but I still learned so much and accomplished a fair amount. I'm really thankful I was able to go. The best part of the trip was meeting beautiful people with incredible stories that challenged me in many different ways.
On the 26th we arrived in Florida where we met up with the rest of our family to prepare for a business get-together.
February
I spent the first week of February in Florida helping out with our business get-together and visiting family. Then on the 8th my family drove to Georgia where we had the amazing privilege of attending a Salt and Light Conference hosted by John Maxwell. The conference was inspiring and challenging and very growth-inducing.
While at the conference I also had a very needed talk with a writing acquaintance of mine. He really helped push me into gear and get back on the right course with my writing. I promptly spent the next several days (while we were visiting friends in the area) working on moving forward with what had been a rather stagnant part of WLHYL. I also got to do a book signing on Valentines day which was cool.
Then, 37 days after we left home, we arrived back on a beautiful (and stormy) Monday. I spent the rest of the month working on my writing, getting back into the groove at home, and re-entering life in general.
March
March was spent focusing on my writing. I buried myself in books and blog posts and edits and accomplished a grand amount. My main focus was on writing WLHYL, but I also spent time redesigning my blog.
The second week of March was a special one for me: I got my first pair of glasses. My headaches decreased greatly and my world was suddenly a lot clearer. Nine months later I still gasp with wonder and question how I went for so long without them.
On March 16th, my third book, Cool Critters of the Ice Age was published. I stayed with my adopted parents for a couple of days celebrating it (we co-authored it), and working on another book.
I also spent a lot of the month hanging out with my best friend (Sarah) who was expecting her first child. I co-hosted a baby shower for her and enjoyed finding a unique gift for her: Each week during her third trimester I gave her one of my favorite books from my childhood so the baby would have a library right from the start.
April
The beginning of April was, once again, focused on writing. Not only did I decide to participate in my third year of the A to Z Challenge, but I also spent three days at a hotel so I could focus all of my energy on figuring out the rest of the plot for WLHYL and finish the book. I only had about 7,000 words left on the story when I went back home and I officially finished the first draft of WLHYL on Friday the 10th.
On the 17th our family traveled to Aruba where we spent the next three weeks. During that time I was emotionally and physically exhausted from finishing WLHYL and spent a lot of time resting and reading (I read 18 books in 19 days). It was a good time to have a break.
May
The first week of May was spent in Aruba at a business convention. We arrived home on the 8th and on the 11th I headed to my adopted parent's house for a few days to help/hang out with filming for two DVDs. It was really cool and I got to man the clapboard which was a dream come true.
It was during May that I suddenly realized, much to my disappointment that, I haven't felt well for a couple of weeks now. No, wait. I haven't felt well since I finished WLHYL, no, even further back then that... When I finally realized that I'd never regained my health or energy since my trip to Africa I felt quite discouraged.
My writing world plodded along at a slow pace, but the rest of life picked up. One of the best parts of the spring/summer was Taco Tuesday. Our neighbors (who also happen to be our cousins) started it and we soon all jumped on board. Each Tuesday night about twenty of us would gather along with whatever dishes we wanted to bring to make up a taco bar and we would eat out under two big trees then play soccer afterward. I don't know when I have ever enjoyed a weekly tradition more.
On the 28th Sarah gave birth to a beautifully darling little girl, Clara. At that time I had no clue the difference a new little one in my life would mean. I'll forever look back on her entrance into my world as the highest of highlights in 2015.
June
The first week of June I spent a lot of time with Sarah and her sisters (who are some of my closest friends) who had come to visit with her after Clara was born. Then, I spent the weekend with my sisters and girl cousins, celebrating one last time together as my cousin prepared to tie the knot in July.
On Sunday the 7th I was thrilled to reach the milestone of having written at least 100 words on my WIP every single day for 1,000 days. We celebrated by going out for milkshakes.
There were several weddings I attended in June and on the way to an out-of-state one, I finally felt brave enough to begin reading through WLHYL for the first time. It was better than I had imagined.
Then my computer started fizzing out on me and I slacked somewhat with my blogging and writing as I spent a good portion of the month helping with baby Clara, attending my cousin's out-of-state bachelorette party, working at a big event at my non-writing job, and meeting my newest nephew (who was born in April) for the first time.
July
On the 5th I left to spend a week at the Creation Museum. It was very rewarding to get to see Cool Critters of the Ice Age in the Museum bookstore for the first time.
I came back home and life was overwhelming. I had an event going on with my non-writing job and I sill wasn't feeling well seven months into the year, so I decided to write a list of 500 things I was thankful for to help me regain perspective.
My cousin got married in a beautiful out-door ceremony on the 24th and on the 28th our family headed south. We spent the next several days with my oldest sister and her family, then went down to Florida to spend some time with my grandparents. I also spent July editing WLHYL.
A monumental conversation took place during July when I asked a fellow writer, who had written a difficult and moving non-fiction book, for some tips with working on WLHYL. Even though WLHYL isn't true, the story is so close to my own story that it was extremely hard to write. The writer not only gave me some tips but also prayed for me which made a huge difference.
August
The first 11 days of August were spent visiting relatives in Florida. I also had a gloriously clear mind and more energy than I'd had for ages and was able to accomplish a ton on the second draft of WLHYL. I finally reached the point where I was ready to send WLHYL out to beta readers.
I also began making blankets for crisis pregnancy centers and praying for the darling little babies and their scared and precious mamas.
On the 12th it was the 222nd day of the year and I'd been gone for 111 days (nights, actually). Craziness. We arrived home on the 13th and a lot of my traveling for the year was over. When my enthusiasm for WLHYL quickly dissipated upon arrival back at our house and my tiredness increased, I finally put two and two together and realized that my lingering health issues were due to me being allergic to our house. We moved last year and am sadly sensitive to chemicals and new building materials. Cue Operation Stay Outside As Much As Possible and Leave Office Windows Open.
Our family also started a Monday night Bible Study during the summer and that soon became one of my favorite events each week.
September
I spent a lot of the beginning of September focusing on finishing my 23 before 23 challenge. Then, in the second week I was thrilled to get to go caving with my adopted parents and a group from the Creation Museum for the third year in a row. This is one of my favorite things to do.
As the summer drew to a close, I worked on just being instead of always doing. It's a continuous lesson for me, but I like to imagine I'm a bit better than I used to be.
I spent the last half of September scrambling around trying to figure out how to write a synopsis for WLHYL and finishing up the forth draft. On the last day of the month was my birthday and I turned 23.
September was truly a monumental one for me as far as hanging out with people went. I had begun praying for the energy and desire to at least want to be with people a little bit, and that prayer was answered generously.
October
The month started out with our wonderful (sister-like) friend getting married and a good half a week of time was dedicated to helping set up for the wedding and take everything down afterward.
My main focus in October was editing WLHYL yet again. It was a growing experience for me and I learned a lot.
It was about half-way through the month when I suddenly remembered my year-long goals and realized I had left them at the wayside. It was an "ah-ha moment" for me, reminding me that no matter how good I have been at goals, unless I continually work on them and review them, they're not going to help me one little bit. I knew it would be pointless to try and accomplish my year-long goals in less than three months, so I worked on my short-term goals and made a firm decision to not make goals in the future unless I was going to stick to them (as much as possible and profitable) and review them often.
I also began making it a goal to go to Wednesday night church each week. I haven't regularly done that since I got Lyme disease, which was a long time ago. It hit me this year how much of my life I have to consciously control.
One fun part of October was learning how to start a fire with flint and steel and doing so quite often.
November
To reward myself for finishing the 4th draft of WLHYL in October I decided to do NaNoWriMo and turn November into an all-out writing and white-chocolate-eating month. I tackled a story I've wanted to write for several years now and finished the first draft at right about 50,000 words. It took me five days. (Including a 20,000 word day.) Not ready for my NaNo fun to be up, I started in on the second book in the series.
Sadly, between the writing and crocheting baby blankets for crisis pregnancy centers, I damaged my wrist and soon had to set aside typing when it became painful and I was concerned about causing permanent damage. I still had fun writing little bits at a time and consuming small (yet delicious!) amounts of white chocolate.
It was around this time that the Refugee crisis going on over in Europe caught my family's attention and our hearts. At that time I had no clue the huge changes that would soon take place in our lives as we began praying for them and seeking for ways to help them.
After a great Michael Card concert on the 20th and a big project at work the following week, Thanksgiving arrived along with family time which is always a treat. Much to my dismay my health issues flared up worse than normal and I had a bit of a hard time dealing with everything. My wrist problems also continued persisting, although in the grand scheme of the world-wide problems they didn't feel quite so big any more.
December
The first week of December was wonderful with a big project at my non-writing job that I thoroughly enjoyed. Then came our annual cousin's Gingerbread House Party and right after that my sister and uncle went to Greece to help out with the refugees there.
I spent almost a week with my adopted parents and was thrilled to get to man one of the cameras at the Creation Museum (another one of those dreams come true for me).
It was around this time that I was reading about how my body is the Holy Spirit's temple and how I'm supposed to take care of it. My health issues had been getting increasingly worse and so after thinking and praying about it I made the decision to eat only paleo for the next 100 or so days to help get my body back on track. (I did give myself Christmas off, although I made sure to be balanced.)
When I got back home Christmas preparations were in full swing and we commenced with celebrating Jesus's birth and listening to a lot of stories from Greece after my sister arrived home on the 23rd.
My wrist problems continued, despite giving myself over a month-long break with croetching and buying a special computer keyboard that is supposed to help with the issue. All in all, though, I do feel as if it's getting better and hope the healthy eating will somehow speed the healing process.
* * *
Over all, twenty-fourteen was one of the most fantastic years of my life and twenty-fifteen entered with a bang then quickly petered off as health issues came into play.
Looking back on the year I have the tendency to feel like it was wasted. I spent far too much time feeling sick and/or tired. There were situations I didn't handle well and friendships that seemed to fall apart. I didn't always treat the people closest to me with love and at times put my own desires ahead of other's needs. I spent many days feeling like an emotional wreck due to my health issues and cried enough to last me until twenty-twenty.
I spent weeks feeling distant from God and even longer feeling completely emotionally exhausted. Hardly any of my twenty-fifteen goals were accomplished. If I were offered a do-over right now, in all probability I'd jump at the chance.
Do you know what though? Those thoughts do have some merit, but over all they're rubbish. Twenty-fifteen was a good year. In fact, this summer was one of my best ones ever. I learned a lot. I grew. I made mistakes, but I learned from them. I'm not the same person I was at the beginning of the year and the stuff I've gone through is helping build me into a stronger person.
The biggest lesson I've learned this year is that I can't coast uphill. I have to work. Really work. This applies to all areas of life: My goals, my writing, my emotions, my relationship with people, and my relationship with God. (Also my health, but that had a lot to do with not knowing what the problem was.)
I would have to say that most of the problems I went through this year were because I became too confident in my ability to handle life and therefore I ended up loosing out. Once I realized that (which was a couple months ago) I began making changes and I know that even though it's a long road, I'm on the right track again.
Despite the trials I went through, this year has been filled with a large array of vastly different and yet beautiful moments and memories that I will treasure forever.
Watching Clara grow and grace those around her with thousands of smiles has created a warm spot in my heart that belongs especially to her.
Spending unique and noteworthy times with Sarah and being by her side through difficult ones gave me a far greater appreciation and love for her. I'm still amazed that she's chosen me to be one of her closest friends and I feel her non-contingent love often.
Hanging out with "my" people, my co-workers, neighbors, and church and family, has filled me with a sense of belonging and acceptance that I didn't know before and it makes life so much richer. I don't know when I've ever enjoyed my time at home more.
Reading books (and the Bible) that helped give me a deeper understanding of the Bible and who God is has helped me realize how amazing His love and patience toward me is and how very, very, very thankful I am to be allowed the privilege of having a personal relationship with Him. It's also helped me to realize that He demands so much more honor and respect than I had realized and it's my delight to give it back to Him.
Going through health problems and wrist issues has filled my thankful tank up when I realize that I haven't had to deal with this type of stuff all of my life. And yes, although they are painful and scary and at times feel like they're going to wreck my life, I can still choose to rejoice and with God's help I will.
Although I did have a few slumps in my writing, overall I'd have to say that twenty-fifteen most likely saw more accomplished in the writing and learning about writing arena than any other year to date. I stuffed my brain full of knowledge and then let it slide out my finger tips. I wrote a lot. I edited a ton. I blogged. I brainstormed. I plotted. I synopsized. I did (a few) book signings. I got a book published. And I authored. (Because that's what authors do.)
Overall, when I stop and think about it, although twenty-fifteen was not my ideal year as far as goals and health and accomplishing things go, it has been one of my best years ever as far as friendships and relationships are concerned. For one of the first times since I first got Lyme disease I continually really, really enjoyed being with people and actually chose to hang out, not because I knew I would feel guilty if I didn't, but because I genuinely wanted to. And that's huge for me. (I have of course had that happen during the last seven years, but mostly they were isolated events instead of happening one after another.) I still need a lot of time alone, no doubt about that, but I'm ok with that as long as I can appreciate the "people time" sprinkled in there as well.
As twenty-fifteen draws to a close and twenty-sixteen is about ready to dawn, I'm excited. On Sunday my pastor taught on Philippians 3:13-14, Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Do you know what that means? The goals I did and didn't accomplish, the setbacks I experienced, the times I messed up, the dreams I full-filled, the things I did and didn't do... They're all in the past. The good and the bad are both behind me. I need to learn from what happened, but I can't dwell or live in it. The glory and the pain are both in the past. Tomorrow is a new day. Next year is a new year.
And do you know what I get to do? I get to press, run, dive head-long, toward the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
He is what makes life worth living. He is the difference-maker. And I am so excited to be able to live this next year for His glory. I won't be coasting up hill, but that's perfectly fine with me because I've given the controls over to Someone who knows far more than I do and all I need to do is follow His leading.
December 23, 2015
And, We're Back in Business
It was last week when I felt a little twinge and I thought "Humm... I would like to work on
When Life Hands You Lymes
again." I didn't think much about it because I was in the process of writing a book in a totally different series.
Then, a day or so later I felt the urge again. That's when it hit me, Oh my goodness! I WANT TO WORK ON WLHYL! I was amazed and excited and enthusiastic and promptly sat down to begin the sixth draft.
Why did this evoke so much emotion from me? Well, ever since finishing the fifth draft of WLHYL at the end of October I have not wanted to see or hear or even think about anything to do with the book or with Lyme disease. It was to the point that I would immediately switch to a new train of thought if the story entered my mind or else I would feel like crying. (Drama much, anyone?)
After a six and a half week break I felt refreshed, renewed, and eager to tackle the project again. Reading the book has been rewarding this time through. Yes, there are still issues and who knows what all a professional editor will say when they get it in their hands... But it's come so far from the first draft and even further from the seed that was planted in my heart when I was on my way home from an out-of-state specialist who finally diagnosed me with Lyme disease three and a half years ago.
This isn't my story, and yet in a way it is my story. That is what makes it so hard and tear-inducing and rewarding. That is why I want to make it the best that I can. That is why it's taken me so very long to complete.
Wanting to immerse myself in WHLYL again feels like a gift and I'm so very thankful for it. I think within a few weeks (maybe months?) it will be time to move on to the next stage of getting the book published and I think at long last I'm ready for that.
* * *
What about you? Do you have a project that is hard to work on because it's so much a part of you? What stage are you on with your writing?
Then, a day or so later I felt the urge again. That's when it hit me, Oh my goodness! I WANT TO WORK ON WLHYL! I was amazed and excited and enthusiastic and promptly sat down to begin the sixth draft.
Why did this evoke so much emotion from me? Well, ever since finishing the fifth draft of WLHYL at the end of October I have not wanted to see or hear or even think about anything to do with the book or with Lyme disease. It was to the point that I would immediately switch to a new train of thought if the story entered my mind or else I would feel like crying. (Drama much, anyone?)
After a six and a half week break I felt refreshed, renewed, and eager to tackle the project again. Reading the book has been rewarding this time through. Yes, there are still issues and who knows what all a professional editor will say when they get it in their hands... But it's come so far from the first draft and even further from the seed that was planted in my heart when I was on my way home from an out-of-state specialist who finally diagnosed me with Lyme disease three and a half years ago.
This isn't my story, and yet in a way it is my story. That is what makes it so hard and tear-inducing and rewarding. That is why I want to make it the best that I can. That is why it's taken me so very long to complete.
Wanting to immerse myself in WHLYL again feels like a gift and I'm so very thankful for it. I think within a few weeks (maybe months?) it will be time to move on to the next stage of getting the book published and I think at long last I'm ready for that.
* * *
What about you? Do you have a project that is hard to work on because it's so much a part of you? What stage are you on with your writing?
December 22, 2015
Manning the Camera
Last weekend I got to do something I've wanted to do for a while: I helped man the camera's at the Creation Museum during a couple of the programs. Last year they had asked if I could help but I sadly had other plans so they had to find someone else.
I've been hanging out with the AiG film crew as they work with my adopted parents since back in 2010 when they were working on I Dig Dinosaurs, which is the first DVD in the Amazing Adventures with Buddy Davis series.
Although I'm generally only around for a few days during the filming of each DVD (and I'm not really needed, I mostly just watch and do a few odd-jobs), it's still so cool to at least be a tad bit involved. So far I've been a "part" of the process for six DVDs: I Dig Dinosaurs , Swamp Man, Extreme Caving, Alaska!, Ice Age (which isn't released or titled yet), and Homemade Music.
This weekend when I got to help with the camera I had tons of fun being a "part" of the process again. Having never worked a camera before, I was slightly freaked out that I was going to do something horribly wrong and mess everything up, but thankfully it didn't take me long to settle in.
One of the guys showed me how to pan, tilt, zoom, focus, etc... and then I wore the headsets and throughout the entire program the guys up in the control booth told me and the other camera guy what to do.
"Lydia, zoom in on Buddy and then follow him while he's singing." "Joel, stay on Ken." "Switching to Camera one.""Switching to Camera two.""Alright, Lydia, zoom out now so you can get everyone. Go a little further... A little more... There!" "Switching to Camera three."
There were actually times when it was really amusing because a few of the people on the stage walked around a lot and so it was a bit of a challenge to keep them in the center of the camera. The film crew is so much fun and are amazingly easy to work with. I appreciate them (and the work they do) a lot. They are really talented and good teachers; I'm thankful they allowed me to help them.
Overall, manning the camera was the highlight of my week and I'm incredibly grateful I got to experience yet another new thing. I don't know if I'll ever get to do something like that again in the future, but I hope I do.
* * *
What about you? Have you ever manned a big camera? Is that something you would like to do? If you have, isn't it so much fun to get to listen to all the comments the control guys make?
I've been hanging out with the AiG film crew as they work with my adopted parents since back in 2010 when they were working on I Dig Dinosaurs, which is the first DVD in the Amazing Adventures with Buddy Davis series.
Although I'm generally only around for a few days during the filming of each DVD (and I'm not really needed, I mostly just watch and do a few odd-jobs), it's still so cool to at least be a tad bit involved. So far I've been a "part" of the process for six DVDs: I Dig Dinosaurs , Swamp Man, Extreme Caving, Alaska!, Ice Age (which isn't released or titled yet), and Homemade Music.
This weekend when I got to help with the camera I had tons of fun being a "part" of the process again. Having never worked a camera before, I was slightly freaked out that I was going to do something horribly wrong and mess everything up, but thankfully it didn't take me long to settle in.
One of the guys showed me how to pan, tilt, zoom, focus, etc... and then I wore the headsets and throughout the entire program the guys up in the control booth told me and the other camera guy what to do.
"Lydia, zoom in on Buddy and then follow him while he's singing." "Joel, stay on Ken." "Switching to Camera one.""Switching to Camera two.""Alright, Lydia, zoom out now so you can get everyone. Go a little further... A little more... There!" "Switching to Camera three."
There were actually times when it was really amusing because a few of the people on the stage walked around a lot and so it was a bit of a challenge to keep them in the center of the camera. The film crew is so much fun and are amazingly easy to work with. I appreciate them (and the work they do) a lot. They are really talented and good teachers; I'm thankful they allowed me to help them.
Overall, manning the camera was the highlight of my week and I'm incredibly grateful I got to experience yet another new thing. I don't know if I'll ever get to do something like that again in the future, but I hope I do.
* * *
What about you? Have you ever manned a big camera? Is that something you would like to do? If you have, isn't it so much fun to get to listen to all the comments the control guys make?
December 21, 2015
The Sparrow Found a House by Jason McIntire: Book Review
The Sparrow Found a House by Jason McIntire
Find it on: Amazon Goodreads
Third person; OmnipresentFiction205 Pages
About the Book Back cover Blurb
What if your new stepdad was a Bible-toting Army Sergeant?
Fifteen-year-old Jessie Rivera is living every teenager’s nightmare. Her widowed mom has married a man who wears his heavy Christian values like his sergeant’s stripes – on both sleeves.
Glenn Sparrow is persistent, immovable, and not afraid to be firm. Worse than that, he’s loving, kind – even fun – and he has Chris, Moe, and Katie completely won over.
But Jessie is determined that she won’t be won over, or give up her “freedom” without a fight. She knows what she wants, and it isn’t what they’ve got.
Or is it?
Why I Choose this Book
Jason McIntire, the author of The Sparrow Found a House, contacted me back in June of 2014 asking me if I wanted to be a part of the book launch. At that time it didn't work for me to do a book review, but I did host him on Noveltea. Then, earlier this year I read and reviewed Flight School, the second book in the Sparrow Stories series. Ever since then I've wanted to go back and read The Sparrow Found a House (referred to from now on as TSFAH).
What I Thought about this Book
I'm not sure if it's because I already "knew" these characters, but I enjoyed TSFAH a lot more than Flight School. The main character in this book is fifteen-year-old Jessie, although she shares stage time with her three siblings, Mom and new step-dad. It was easy to see that Jessie is conflicted by the changes going on in her family. She loves her mom and of course has a bond with her siblings, therefore she wants life to run smoothly for them but she can't stand her new step-dad. I could feel her struggle and although I didn't personally connect with her very much, I thought she was well-written and that a lot of people would be able to connect with her.
A little list of things I especially enjoyed in TSFAH: 1. The Creation Museum gets about a ten second appearance in the book which was cool2. The parents are willing to apologize when they've done something wrong 3. Ben. He was a cool friend for them to have4. Each one of the characters were their own person and had their own personalities 5. The fact that Jessie didn't change all of a sudden6. Camping. Of course camping. How could I not like camping?
Conclusion
TSFAH reminded me quite a bit to A Song for Your Honor, which is a true, modern-day story involving a homeschooling window and her struggles with the grandparents not agreeing with the conservative way she was raising her family. (I don't agree with everything in A Song for Your Honor and there are times the story drags, but over all it is very encouraging - especially in the arena of forgiveness. I highly recommend it.) I actually really enjoyed the parallels between the two books and wondered at times if they were done on purpose or not.
I didn't find a huge a mount of stuff that I disagreed with in TSFAH and I thought almost all of the "teachable" moments were done tastefully and were not overbearing which is a hard trick to master.
This book made me want to re-read Flight School and pick up on what elements of the story I might have missed my first time reading it.
Rating
I'm giving The Sparrow Found a House Four Stars and recommend it to kids and teenagers who want an interesting, God-focused read that will encourage them in their Christian faith.
About the Author
A 2005 homeschool graduate and partner in family business ventures, Jason McIntire writes as a hobby. His Christian stories are built around solidly biblical ideas, but packaged in his own light-hearted, often humorous style. (See their website here .)
Find it on: Amazon Goodreads
Third person; OmnipresentFiction205 Pages
About the Book Back cover Blurb
What if your new stepdad was a Bible-toting Army Sergeant?
Fifteen-year-old Jessie Rivera is living every teenager’s nightmare. Her widowed mom has married a man who wears his heavy Christian values like his sergeant’s stripes – on both sleeves.
Glenn Sparrow is persistent, immovable, and not afraid to be firm. Worse than that, he’s loving, kind – even fun – and he has Chris, Moe, and Katie completely won over.
But Jessie is determined that she won’t be won over, or give up her “freedom” without a fight. She knows what she wants, and it isn’t what they’ve got.
Or is it?
Why I Choose this Book
Jason McIntire, the author of The Sparrow Found a House, contacted me back in June of 2014 asking me if I wanted to be a part of the book launch. At that time it didn't work for me to do a book review, but I did host him on Noveltea. Then, earlier this year I read and reviewed Flight School, the second book in the Sparrow Stories series. Ever since then I've wanted to go back and read The Sparrow Found a House (referred to from now on as TSFAH).
What I Thought about this Book
I'm not sure if it's because I already "knew" these characters, but I enjoyed TSFAH a lot more than Flight School. The main character in this book is fifteen-year-old Jessie, although she shares stage time with her three siblings, Mom and new step-dad. It was easy to see that Jessie is conflicted by the changes going on in her family. She loves her mom and of course has a bond with her siblings, therefore she wants life to run smoothly for them but she can't stand her new step-dad. I could feel her struggle and although I didn't personally connect with her very much, I thought she was well-written and that a lot of people would be able to connect with her.
A little list of things I especially enjoyed in TSFAH: 1. The Creation Museum gets about a ten second appearance in the book which was cool2. The parents are willing to apologize when they've done something wrong 3. Ben. He was a cool friend for them to have4. Each one of the characters were their own person and had their own personalities 5. The fact that Jessie didn't change all of a sudden6. Camping. Of course camping. How could I not like camping?
Conclusion
TSFAH reminded me quite a bit to A Song for Your Honor, which is a true, modern-day story involving a homeschooling window and her struggles with the grandparents not agreeing with the conservative way she was raising her family. (I don't agree with everything in A Song for Your Honor and there are times the story drags, but over all it is very encouraging - especially in the arena of forgiveness. I highly recommend it.) I actually really enjoyed the parallels between the two books and wondered at times if they were done on purpose or not.
I didn't find a huge a mount of stuff that I disagreed with in TSFAH and I thought almost all of the "teachable" moments were done tastefully and were not overbearing which is a hard trick to master.
This book made me want to re-read Flight School and pick up on what elements of the story I might have missed my first time reading it.
Rating
I'm giving The Sparrow Found a House Four Stars and recommend it to kids and teenagers who want an interesting, God-focused read that will encourage them in their Christian faith.
About the Author
A 2005 homeschool graduate and partner in family business ventures, Jason McIntire writes as a hobby. His Christian stories are built around solidly biblical ideas, but packaged in his own light-hearted, often humorous style. (See their website here .)
December 18, 2015
Noveltea Survey Results
Well, the results from the survey are in, thank you so much to everyone who took the time to fill it out. Also, we have a winner! I've already emailed Cait her gift card (I am really working on getting better with being prompt, people!), so I thought I'd use this post to discuss the results from the survey.
Do you know what's the main thing I figured out? People have a lot of different opinions. Pretty much if one person said they wanted to see more of a certain thing on Noveltea, then someone else said they wanted to see less of it. That's good though, because it means I have quite the range when it comes to what Noveltea's readers are interested in. That makes me happy because I have quite the range of what I'm interested in.
The survey was helpful, though, despite all the differing ideals. I discovered that y'all want to see more writing related posts. In 2014 y'all wanted to see more, then in 2015 you wanted to see less, so I guess in 2016 it's up to more again. (A little over half of you voted on 3 out of 5 posts being writing related.) This is actually exciting because I have learned a lot about writing recently and I'm going to enjoy sharing it with y'all.
Also, over half of y'all said you would like it if I wrote another continuing story like I did with When Life Hands You Lymes . (Most of the rest said they didn't care.) I'm still not sure what I'm going to do about a continuing story, but I am definitely keeping it in mind and trying to figure out if it's feasible and if so, how I can make it happen. I would need a lot more story-structure than I did last time, so that would take a good amount of time at the beginning and I already have several projects I'm working on.
We had almost the same amount of answers regarding if I should make the posts longer or shorter, so I guess I probably won't change that too much... I am working at setting a plan in monition to post at a more specific time in 2016 (a few people mentioned this would be helpful), so we'll see how that works out.
All in all I'm quite pleased with the results and have tweaks I'm going to work in here and there to polish Noveltea's posts up. If you have any questions or suggestions, just leave them in the comment section. Thanks and I hope you have a great weekend!
~Aidyl
Do you know what's the main thing I figured out? People have a lot of different opinions. Pretty much if one person said they wanted to see more of a certain thing on Noveltea, then someone else said they wanted to see less of it. That's good though, because it means I have quite the range when it comes to what Noveltea's readers are interested in. That makes me happy because I have quite the range of what I'm interested in. The survey was helpful, though, despite all the differing ideals. I discovered that y'all want to see more writing related posts. In 2014 y'all wanted to see more, then in 2015 you wanted to see less, so I guess in 2016 it's up to more again. (A little over half of you voted on 3 out of 5 posts being writing related.) This is actually exciting because I have learned a lot about writing recently and I'm going to enjoy sharing it with y'all.
Also, over half of y'all said you would like it if I wrote another continuing story like I did with When Life Hands You Lymes . (Most of the rest said they didn't care.) I'm still not sure what I'm going to do about a continuing story, but I am definitely keeping it in mind and trying to figure out if it's feasible and if so, how I can make it happen. I would need a lot more story-structure than I did last time, so that would take a good amount of time at the beginning and I already have several projects I'm working on.
We had almost the same amount of answers regarding if I should make the posts longer or shorter, so I guess I probably won't change that too much... I am working at setting a plan in monition to post at a more specific time in 2016 (a few people mentioned this would be helpful), so we'll see how that works out.
All in all I'm quite pleased with the results and have tweaks I'm going to work in here and there to polish Noveltea's posts up. If you have any questions or suggestions, just leave them in the comment section. Thanks and I hope you have a great weekend!
~Aidyl
December 17, 2015
My Week with My Adopted Parents
I'm spending this week with my adopted parents*. The internet isn't always the best, so I'm glad to finally have a good signal and be able to catch up on some stuff. We'll be going to the Creation Museum tomorrow so if any of y'all will be there on Friday or Saturday I'd be delighted to see you.
Yesterday we had some of our friends from the Museum come over (my parents live about three hours away from the Museum) and we had a great time hanging out. They had a guest visiting from Australia so I had a lot of fun asking her what life was like there. We went to Holmes County together and got to see some cool stuff like how one of the stores makes homestyle apple butter and jellies. (Sadly, I did't take any pictures while we were there.)
My dad has been working on carving a bear out of a log. He's such an amazing artist. I enjoy getting to watch him work and am always blown away by his many talents. He can paint, draw, carve, sculpture, build, and do taxidermy, plus of course play about eight instruments and sing and write songs and books and... Well, the list goes on.
Cowboy and I hung out for a bit this morning. He's a sweet horse although he didn't like staying still for a picture. I enjoy getting to be around him. My parents are really good with animals. Mom is currently trying to tame two cats that were abandoned. Her patience is crazy. I'm the kind of person who likes to rush through everything and think I probably would have given up on the cats after the first couple of days.
We worked on a small writing project this morning and I'm hoping to do some brainstorming for another Creation Quest book later on today. And... Speaking of books, Cave Secrets of the Pterodactyl is on sale right now! When you buy it, you also get a audio book, so it's actually a two-for-one deal. Just click on the title and it will take you to the Answers in Genesis website if you want to check it out.
I hope y'all are having a great week. What are you looking forward to doing this weekend? Have you ever been to the Christmas Town at the Creation Museum? Oh yes, and today is your last day to enter this giveaway.
*I'm going to drop the "adopted" part for the rest of the post.
Yesterday we had some of our friends from the Museum come over (my parents live about three hours away from the Museum) and we had a great time hanging out. They had a guest visiting from Australia so I had a lot of fun asking her what life was like there. We went to Holmes County together and got to see some cool stuff like how one of the stores makes homestyle apple butter and jellies. (Sadly, I did't take any pictures while we were there.)
My dad has been working on carving a bear out of a log. He's such an amazing artist. I enjoy getting to watch him work and am always blown away by his many talents. He can paint, draw, carve, sculpture, build, and do taxidermy, plus of course play about eight instruments and sing and write songs and books and... Well, the list goes on.
Cowboy and I hung out for a bit this morning. He's a sweet horse although he didn't like staying still for a picture. I enjoy getting to be around him. My parents are really good with animals. Mom is currently trying to tame two cats that were abandoned. Her patience is crazy. I'm the kind of person who likes to rush through everything and think I probably would have given up on the cats after the first couple of days.
We worked on a small writing project this morning and I'm hoping to do some brainstorming for another Creation Quest book later on today. And... Speaking of books, Cave Secrets of the Pterodactyl is on sale right now! When you buy it, you also get a audio book, so it's actually a two-for-one deal. Just click on the title and it will take you to the Answers in Genesis website if you want to check it out.
I hope y'all are having a great week. What are you looking forward to doing this weekend? Have you ever been to the Christmas Town at the Creation Museum? Oh yes, and today is your last day to enter this giveaway.
*I'm going to drop the "adopted" part for the rest of the post.
December 16, 2015
Reasons Why I Listen to Music While Writing
If you were to ask me what my favorite part of being a writer was, I would probably jokingly answer that it is getting to listen to music while I'm working. I am one of those writers who rarely doesn't have music playing at her desk.
I thought I would share with y'all some of the reasons why I like listening to music while writing.
1. It gets me in the right mood for the scene I'm about to write.
2. It gives me much needed breaks when the writing gets intense. I have this crazy habit when I'm reading a book: When I get to an exciting part I have to set the book down and just breath for a few moments. This practice has carried over to my writing, although normally I can wait until the most exciting part is over. But then? Spending a few minutes howling along with my music is a great way to prepare my brain for the next segment.
3. If I'm sleepy, I turn on fast-paced music and I'm no longer so tired.
4. Listening to music in the background helps me see the wonderful "end result" of musicians which reminds me that my writing will some day be able to touch lives, too.
5. If I'm not sure what is going to happen in the next scene I simply do some "chair dancing" along with the music and that generally gets the brainstorming part of my mind in action.
6. Somehow I find it easier to tune out the rest of the world and focus when I have music on.
7. The music can be very inspiring, especially if it is a movie soundtrack.
8. I simply really enjoy listening to music.
* * *What about you? Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what is your top reason? If not, why?I am currently spending a few days at my adopted parents house (and then I'll be at the Creation Museum this weekend!), and the Internet is *very* slow. I was planning on writing a book review today but scratched that idea because I couldn't get the Internet up on my computer or look up the links I needed.
I thought I would share with y'all some of the reasons why I like listening to music while writing.
1. It gets me in the right mood for the scene I'm about to write.
2. It gives me much needed breaks when the writing gets intense. I have this crazy habit when I'm reading a book: When I get to an exciting part I have to set the book down and just breath for a few moments. This practice has carried over to my writing, although normally I can wait until the most exciting part is over. But then? Spending a few minutes howling along with my music is a great way to prepare my brain for the next segment.
3. If I'm sleepy, I turn on fast-paced music and I'm no longer so tired.
4. Listening to music in the background helps me see the wonderful "end result" of musicians which reminds me that my writing will some day be able to touch lives, too.
5. If I'm not sure what is going to happen in the next scene I simply do some "chair dancing" along with the music and that generally gets the brainstorming part of my mind in action.
6. Somehow I find it easier to tune out the rest of the world and focus when I have music on.
7. The music can be very inspiring, especially if it is a movie soundtrack.
8. I simply really enjoy listening to music.
* * *What about you? Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what is your top reason? If not, why?I am currently spending a few days at my adopted parents house (and then I'll be at the Creation Museum this weekend!), and the Internet is *very* slow. I was planning on writing a book review today but scratched that idea because I couldn't get the Internet up on my computer or look up the links I needed.
December 15, 2015
Why I Don't Edit During First Drafts
I have discovered that if at all possible it works best for me to write a quick first draft and not allow myself to do any editing until six weeks after I've written The End. When this happens I end up having to do a lot of rewriting and cutting and adding, but it's worth it, even if I do trash thousands of words and add in whole scenes to replace them.
Why this works best for me:
~Keeping the flow going while I'm writing helps my thoughts stay in tune. My brain loves to jump from place to place so sometimes I even write a note to myself on my WIP to come back in and finish a scene later on and then I skip ahead. Writing it all in a timely manner keeps me from having too many misfitting scenes.
~When I'm in the writing zone my thoughts are extremely different from when I'm in the editing zone. It messes up my rhythm to try and change back and forth.
~I thrive on starting and finishing something. Working on one draft at a time and having concrete starts and stops works a lot better then merging the two.
~I'd rather get a first draft written quickly if at all possible. I can generally (sometimes, anyway) think of other story ideas while editing, but I try to focus solely on the story at hand while I'm writing.
~My inspiration doesn't flow nearly as well if I'm paying attention to typos or grammar or plot holes.
~I make needless edits because I don't know where the story is actually going to end up, or the exact routes it's going to take to get there.
~It takes so long when I'm writing and editing then I lose my drive and enthusiasm for the project more often. (Meaning I take breaks from the book a lot.)
~I plain and simple like dividing the writing part and the editing part.
* * *
What about you? Do you write and edit at the same time? If so, why? If not, is it because of some of the reasons I listed? Oh, and don't forget to fill out this survey for your chance to win a gift card (and to help me out!).
Why this works best for me:
~Keeping the flow going while I'm writing helps my thoughts stay in tune. My brain loves to jump from place to place so sometimes I even write a note to myself on my WIP to come back in and finish a scene later on and then I skip ahead. Writing it all in a timely manner keeps me from having too many misfitting scenes.
~When I'm in the writing zone my thoughts are extremely different from when I'm in the editing zone. It messes up my rhythm to try and change back and forth.
~I thrive on starting and finishing something. Working on one draft at a time and having concrete starts and stops works a lot better then merging the two.
~I'd rather get a first draft written quickly if at all possible. I can generally (sometimes, anyway) think of other story ideas while editing, but I try to focus solely on the story at hand while I'm writing.
~My inspiration doesn't flow nearly as well if I'm paying attention to typos or grammar or plot holes.
~I make needless edits because I don't know where the story is actually going to end up, or the exact routes it's going to take to get there.
~It takes so long when I'm writing and editing then I lose my drive and enthusiasm for the project more often. (Meaning I take breaks from the book a lot.)
~I plain and simple like dividing the writing part and the editing part.
* * *
What about you? Do you write and edit at the same time? If so, why? If not, is it because of some of the reasons I listed? Oh, and don't forget to fill out this survey for your chance to win a gift card (and to help me out!).
December 14, 2015
The Greater Blessing
I started this morning as I always do - Thanking God for at least ten of the blessings in my life before I was even completely awake. Then I moved on to my devotions where I've been going through The Holy Spirit an Introduction by John Bevere which has been so very insightful and encouraging to me. After that I hurriedly got ready for the day then opened my computer to check my emails and blog.
There, sitting in my inbox, was a 3,300 word email from my sister who is in Greece helping with the refugees. I slowed down my rushing world so I could focus and concentrate and see life from a new set of eyes.
My sister shared stories of coloring with the young children who came in. Of showering them with love. Of being a smiling face for them to see when they entered camp. Despite the fact that these children have known terrors and fears that most of us can't even imagine, they are still children. Dreaming of love and soaking in attention.
It's at times like this when I realize how small my world sometimes shrinks down to. When the "problems" I go through dissipate and fade in the distance in the wake of the reminder of how much I actually do have. When I see my life, surrounded by safety and the love of my safe family and safe friends and safe co-works and I realize that being safe is not a given and I have so much to be thankful for.
And I want to do something. It's not an impulse of an emotional moment (although it might have started out that way), it's the long-mulled-over thoughts of how I have the ability to help. I can make a difference. I am commanded to do something, because I, as one of God's children, am His hands and feet. (Hebrews 13:16, 1 Peter 4:10, Acts 20:35)
Do you know what, though? This post isn't to guilt anyone into giving. I've been slowly learning that giving can be a gift, a blessings, to the giver as much as to the receiver. Actually even more so for the giver. Acts 20:35 tells us that it is more blessed to give than to receive. I have been blessed beyond measure with the ability to give and I am so very thankful for that blessing.
I want my world to expand and grow and explode in ways that I can't even imagine. I want to live with a dangerous love, to make a difference where I am and where I can't be. I want to follow God's will and share His love all around the world.
Being a child of THE King is anything but dull or ordinary. I want Him to fill my life in such a way that everyone I come in contact with can feel His love bubbling over. I know that won't be easy and that I'll obviously stumble at times, but we're not called to be perfect on our own. We're called to shine Jesus' love and to serve Him. And, with HIM all things are possible.
In closing I wanted to share one of my favorite songs with y'all.
If you feel so inclined to give financial aid, here's a link that can help get you started.
There, sitting in my inbox, was a 3,300 word email from my sister who is in Greece helping with the refugees. I slowed down my rushing world so I could focus and concentrate and see life from a new set of eyes.
My sister shared stories of coloring with the young children who came in. Of showering them with love. Of being a smiling face for them to see when they entered camp. Despite the fact that these children have known terrors and fears that most of us can't even imagine, they are still children. Dreaming of love and soaking in attention.
It's at times like this when I realize how small my world sometimes shrinks down to. When the "problems" I go through dissipate and fade in the distance in the wake of the reminder of how much I actually do have. When I see my life, surrounded by safety and the love of my safe family and safe friends and safe co-works and I realize that being safe is not a given and I have so much to be thankful for.
And I want to do something. It's not an impulse of an emotional moment (although it might have started out that way), it's the long-mulled-over thoughts of how I have the ability to help. I can make a difference. I am commanded to do something, because I, as one of God's children, am His hands and feet. (Hebrews 13:16, 1 Peter 4:10, Acts 20:35)
Do you know what, though? This post isn't to guilt anyone into giving. I've been slowly learning that giving can be a gift, a blessings, to the giver as much as to the receiver. Actually even more so for the giver. Acts 20:35 tells us that it is more blessed to give than to receive. I have been blessed beyond measure with the ability to give and I am so very thankful for that blessing.
I want my world to expand and grow and explode in ways that I can't even imagine. I want to live with a dangerous love, to make a difference where I am and where I can't be. I want to follow God's will and share His love all around the world.
Being a child of THE King is anything but dull or ordinary. I want Him to fill my life in such a way that everyone I come in contact with can feel His love bubbling over. I know that won't be easy and that I'll obviously stumble at times, but we're not called to be perfect on our own. We're called to shine Jesus' love and to serve Him. And, with HIM all things are possible.
In closing I wanted to share one of my favorite songs with y'all.
If you feel so inclined to give financial aid, here's a link that can help get you started.
December 11, 2015
Writing Snippets from *Echoes*
I've had a rather wonderful time this week working on and off on the second book in the Echoes trilogy. I've come up with some new ideas and can hardly wait to see what all happens in this book. I decided that y'all might like to see a few snippets of the story, so I just went through and picked out a couple to share with y'all.
These characters are so much fun to work with. I don't know them as well yet as I want to, but they are becoming more clear to me which is always a plus. If I only write three books (which is the plan for now) then I'm almost half-way through with writing the first draft of the whole trilogy. Yikes! As strange as it may sound, I'm actually already getting excited about the re-writes/editing because I know that's when I'll be able to really develop these little characters that are a bit ambiguous at the moment.
And now on to the snippets:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
* * *Which one of the segments is your favorite? I think mine is either the first or the forth. If y'all haven't then I would be very much delighted if you would take a moment to fill out this survey so I can make Noveltea a more welcoming place for y'all. Plus, you'll get a chance to win a gift card. :)
These characters are so much fun to work with. I don't know them as well yet as I want to, but they are becoming more clear to me which is always a plus. If I only write three books (which is the plan for now) then I'm almost half-way through with writing the first draft of the whole trilogy. Yikes! As strange as it may sound, I'm actually already getting excited about the re-writes/editing because I know that's when I'll be able to really develop these little characters that are a bit ambiguous at the moment.
And now on to the snippets:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
* * *Which one of the segments is your favorite? I think mine is either the first or the forth. If y'all haven't then I would be very much delighted if you would take a moment to fill out this survey so I can make Noveltea a more welcoming place for y'all. Plus, you'll get a chance to win a gift card. :)
