Enough Already

I could be speaking of the weather. Really, winter, you may exit my neck of the woods anytime now. Not only did you interfere with my recent trip to Boston, you visited a blizzard on us there, and then a surprise white-out conditions on the way home. We managed to have a fun visit but we didn't get to do everything we had planned. Though Boston University did a wonderful job cleaning snow from their walks, just about every other sidewalk was a mess. I think people are just giving up. Winter, you win.


Beacon St. outside my daughter's dorm

Harvard Square

But the 'enough already' I'm wondering about is the many different things I've taken on in the last year. I've joined in a group blog and signed up for more blog hops and fests in the past six months than I have all put together before then. Not only have I signed up for the A to Z blogging challenge but I volunteered to be a minion this year. And I signed up for a few online classes. And now I'm considering taking on another duty with my one writing group. I don't think it demands a lot of time, but it's still another responsibility. All these things are about the writing business but none of them are helping me get words on a page. So I'm wondering if I'm doing too much.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow at Your Daily Dose as Robin host me in a brief discussion where I'll talk about how we define science fiction. Join me, please.

Don't forget to visit the Monday post on IWSG blog for some new, great advice.

So how many 'other' writing things are you involved in besides the writing part? Have you ever held an office in a writing group? Have you had enough of winter yet?

Best Job

If you've been with my blog for any length of time, you know I retired from teaching last fall. I highly recommend retirement. It's the best job I've ever had. I miss my students but not enough to wish I was still teaching.

The other best job I have is writing. I'm busy working on the last book in The Recon Marine

The old and the new side by side in Boston

s Series. I have goals for finishing up though the deadline is of my own making. What's better than being your own boss.

With another storm in the forecast, I very glad I won't have to worry about all those makeup snow days this year. It could mess up with my Valentine Day's plans. My husband and I have a date with my daughter and her roommate in Boston for dinner. Now if only we don't get that foot or more of snow they're predicting and even more for the Boston area. I think there's a glacier forming in my backyard.

And another word of wisdom from my Old Farmer's Almanac Planner. It's appropriate for Valentine's Day if you're wondering if you love someone. From English poet George Meredith, 1828-1909, "Kissing don't last, cookery do."

Don't forget that today is Abraham Lincoln's real birthday. When I was in school, we always had this day off. Now I have it off again.

I won't be posting on Friday as hopefully I'll be traveling. I'll try to visit everyone over the weekend. What are your plans for Valentine's Day? Are you in the path of the next white-out blizzard mega storm? Is your job as wonderful as mine?

Back in the Swing

For those of you with college age children or those who aren't so far beyond the college years, you know those winter breaks fly by. As of today, both my college children are back at their respective schools, Penn State and Boston University, and getting back in the swing of learning. I don't even have to add I hope to that because I know they'll both work hard. Their absence also means my house has settled back into calm and quiet, with a thin coating of empty.

My son is starting his last semester at PSU and has two required courses he put off until this late date. One of them he is taking as an online course. Sign of the times that a student attending such a huge university would seek out such a course with no face to face meetings. It led me to think about all the online education available out there for free.

RWA, of which I'm a member, offers a plethora of offerings having to do with anything you need to learn about this business. My own local chapter, CPRW, offers inexpensive classes for our members. The other writer's group I belong too, offers online courses at very inexpensive rates. It's amazing what is out there. The website, IWSG, has links to so many places where a writer, new or experienced, can find help and encouragement. It's very different from when I started.

The very first conference I went to was at Penn State University and run by one of their departments. I think it was the first time I considered myself a professional writer. Since them I've been to numerous conferences and also attended a few one day workshops. One day workshops are a little more difficult to come by these days. Now such courses are offered online. It saves everyone gas money but also the expense of renting a meeting area to hold the class. And they don't have to be held on a Saturday. It's smart and efficient to use modern technology, but I miss those face to face gatherings.

There is something very inspiring I get from those real people gatherings that I don't quite get from taking a class online. But the old days have to make room for the here and now, and I'm not one of those who think the old days are better than now. The holidays are over and I'm back in the swing of being a full time writer.

Speaking of online learning opportunities, next Monday is the What Works Symposium, a chance for a bunch of bloggers to share what online marketing works and what doesn't. You can sign up on the list over at Alex J. Cavanaugh's blog where he introduced this great idea along with the co-hosts, Arlee Bird, Yolanda Renee, and Jeremy Hawkins. We can all learn something and help others also.

So have you taken an online workshop? Have you led one? Are you back in the swing of things after the holidays? Are you joining What Works next Monday?

A Day In Boston For a Writer

I recently spent two days in Boston for my daughter's orientation at BU. I took along books to read, my B&N gift card since their college book store is B&N. But I left my computer at home and took only a notepad along to jot any information I might want to remember. Well, when you've already seen five previous children off to college, there's only so much a parent can get out of those parent sessions at orientation.  So I skipped out on a few and ended up sitting at an outside table at a cafe and people watching.  People watching is always a constructive exercise for a writer, especially when you're in a new place.

Boston University

I actually saw someone walking their dog, and they looked alike. I never believed people could look like their pets, but his man and his little terrier really did.  Now Boston University is home to lots of really bright people, and I have to say I saw lots of nerdy attire. Some of it was so stereotypical I'm sure the people dressed that way on purpose. And age had little to do with the clothing thing. Young and old had the look going but they all seemed comfortable in their skin and carried off their wardrobe selections with poise.

Boston has a lot of brick sidewalks and I noticed lots of people trying to walk only in the cemented parts running in patterns through the bricks. I understood completely. Those bricks are really uneven and they do hurt your feet after a while.

Another stylish item that ran a gamut of types was the different bags people carried their laptops, iPads, books, notebooks and folders in.  Vera Bradley made lots of appearances but so did some really cool leather bags and plain old backpacks. I noticed the bag styles because my daughter has been searching for just the right thing.

Ipods, smart phones and other electronics were in nearly every had. I actually saw a young man riding his bike in the bike lane right alongside three lanes of bumper to bumper traffic and using both his hands to text on his phone.  I was horrified and impressed.

The city was clean and exciting but the only wildlife I saw were the sparrows pecking around my feet in search of bread crumbs. I think I prefer my back deck where I see cardinals, blue jays, gold finches and an occasional bluebird as I write. I usually hear or see the female hawk who has nested in our little woodland for the past three years.  And early in the morning or in the evening I often can watch deer grazing beneath the shade treees and maybe a skunk scampering through. Rabbits, squirrels and chipmunks abound though they're only mariginally more welcome than the skunk.

I'm a country girl forever.  What about you? Does the city energize you or do you prefer small town or country life?  

Feeling Good

After getting a few summer obligations finished, I put my shoulder to the plow lines(Yes, I'm a farmer at heart) and did lots of work on my writing. I finished edits on Book #3 of The Futhark Chronicles, Beneath the Mountain, and am sending it out for a final read through. I always need someone to check my commas.

I also sent the first book in my second fantasy series, First Dragon, off to a number of small publishers.  I like the small publishers for so many reasons.  They get back to you quickly.  They're more likely to take a real interest in you personally. They understand the hurdles you face in promotion and in being a writer with a day job. I hope I can snare one of them to take on my newest venture in the world of prose.

I'm feeling good about getting something accomplished after weeks of devoting only minutes per day to my books.  My goal of the next few months is to make writing a priority for a few hours every day.

My last major commitment this summer is a visit to Boston for my daughter's college orientation at Boston University. I'm looking forward to exploring the city together including the college bookstore/Barnes and Noble where I can spend a little time with an ice coffee.

When I return home, I have to get busy on my newest project.  Once I decide what that is.

Is summer finding you with more hours to write? What are you feeling good about recently?

Many Road, One Destination

Those of you who have been reading my blog the past few months know I've been doing numerous road trips with my daughter on college visits. We spend Monday and Tuesday in Boston, visiting Boston University.  Great school and one of my daughter's top choices if we can work out the money.  But this post isn't about colleges.

Driving the six and a half hours to our appointment, we ploughed and floated our way through driving rain and stop and go traffic.  I found the interstates from eastern New York State to Boston to be pretty much a road through one big metropolis.  Cities just kind of overlapped.  It was some tense driving in the early morning hours.  Then we get to Boston and, well, doesn't that city believe in street signs. I'm not sure if they were missing or just not there.  Thank goodness for the borrowed GPS or we would never have found the admissions office.  And parking? I don't really care for cities. Traffic. Noise. So many people! On the up side, lots of Starbucks and other coffee bars.

Then the drive home after a good night's sleep in a great hotel.  Doesn't any one work during the day? I swear the entire population of Connecticut and Massachusetts was on the road with us.  Stop and go. Frustrating.  Then we stopped for gas and asked the GPS to take us home from the gas station.  It took us over the scenic mountains and through small towns with strange names.  We saw numerous lakes in New York, farms and crossed a really cool bridge over the Hudson.  Eventually we returned to an interstate but our moods stayed high after our wonderful trek off the beaten path.

I couldn't help but thing of the many different paths writers take toward publication.  Some authors land contracts with big traditional publishers and suffer all the highs and lows of that.  Some find homes for their work with smaller publishers and though they may not make the big money with an advance, they have a chance at decent royalties and may enjoy a more intimate relationship with their publisher.  And more and more authors are taking the third path and publishing their books themselves.  Success for them varies from amazing to not so great. 

But the journey to publication is part of the adventure.  Hopefully you're traveling a path that isn't as stressful and frustrating as the interstate I was driving on yesterday.  My route over the Bear Mountain Expressway provided me with many sights and memories I'll hang onto for a while.  It was relaxing while still getting me where I needed to go. Sometimes deadlines, promotional responsibilities and the need to constantly network can leach away the joy of writing.  Find the right path and have a fun trip on your way to publication.

Are you happy with the path you're taking in your writing career? Have you ever taken a turn you wish you hadn't or that turned out to be exactly correct?