Ramping Up Writing

As I said in my last post about all of our changes, I’ve been working to stretch myself when it comes to writing this year. The SSSFFSS was a big deal for me. I’ve never been one to really share my work and then I opened the door by writing something to specifically give to someone else.

It was writing from a prompt, which I have found to really enjoy writing from. A little idea sparks a big idea and so on. However, this prompt was wide open, which made me nervous at first. Especially since I had to try to be humorous. But, after my initial freak out, I got that little spark and a story was born. The giftee gave good feedback and the world Abigail Quinn lives in was born.

Since then, I’ve started another story featuring Abby Quinn. I’m not sure what it’s going to be yet, but this world and this character is pretty fun, so I am enjoying it. It’s relatively lighthearted, and I intend it to be mostly funny. Perhaps it will go deeper. I’m only at the beginning, so I’m trying not to think too far ahead. I find I write better that way.

I signed up for Camp NaNoWriMo, and as is typical for every NaNo I’ve ever touched, I failed miserably after real life stomped all over my plans. We had every member of the house come down with a stomach bug one weekend and another, I had a hip flare and that left me unable to function. Luckily, my husband stepped up and was teh awesomez.

Now, I’m trying to figure out the way to get more writing time in schedule. Things have been a little hectic lately and competing priorities make things hard. Once I get a little farther into this story, I look forward to working on it more.

What have you been working on lately and what struggles have you faced?

Change is Good, Bad, and Ugly (But Mostly Good!)

2014 has been crazy so far in ways both good and bad. We moved to a new place on December 28 and rang in the new year trying to get things set up to be functional enough to survive. The move was great for us though. We now have more room and a few acres, complete with a big front yard and a small bit of woods in the back. We also have an abundance of doors and a certain youngest child who likes to escape whenever he deems the weather nice enough to ride scooters on the back patio.
New Year’s Day was a sad in that my husband’s stepfather lost his battle with cancer. And after a few weeks, another relative of his was in a serious car accident. If the other driver hadn’t been paying attention, he likely would have died.
Now we are settling into a new routine. Kidlet 1 loves to ride the bus, so thanks to a flexible work schedule, I was able to shift things around so she can ride in the mornings. I think her sister looks forward to riding with her when she starts Kindergarten next year.

Then the news came that we are losing my mother as childcare at the end of this summer. I understand the reasons, but it doesn’t make the finding of a new care provider and the associated costs easier. I do look forward to my mother being able to the “grandparent things” which means it might be possible for my kidlets to stay the night on occasion, which would let the hubs and I have some time together. So it’s not the most awesome thing, but it’s not the most terrible.

I challenged myself to do the 2013-2014 Sekrit Solstice SFF Story Swap, affectionately dubbed the SSSFFSS, over at Absolute Write. I was given a prompt to write a story of indeterminate length. Then polish and give to a fellow writer. I’ve not done something like that, and I’ve not shared anything really before, so it was a new and boundary-pushing experience for me. I enjoyed it, and my giftee seemed to enjoy the story, so I was pleased with the overall experience. I’m challenging myself to write more this year, and I’ve opened up a whole new world with my short that makes me look forward to writing.

I’m trying something new where I dedicate a section to each post of something interesting in the writing arena, especially writer folks with an upcoming book or intriguing blog post. So, look no further, writer shout outs are below.

Several of my online writerly buddies have upcoming works:

Anna Zabo has new book coming out in August. Takeover looks mighty intriguing and the cover is gorgeous. You might remember I featured Anna and hosted a book giveaway when Close Quarter came out.

Tiffany Allee just had a book come out. Don’t Blackmail the Vampire is a delicious tale you can really sink your teeth into. (Don’t mind me, I’m just a dork.)

One of my favorite author teams has a THE mega book in the series coming out later this year. Ilona Andrews has the next Kate Daniels book coming out in July. Magic Breaks is the pivotal book in the series. Can’t wait! There is also a new series coming out in October, the first book titled Burn for Me. Also, the lovely duo has picked back up with the second book in their free serial, Sweep in Peace.

What new things do you have going on?