Author Journey: February 10, 2023 - Memories

 Another week has come and gone. Welcome back fellow writers and readers. I hope you're ready for the run-down of how things played out this week. It's been interesting getting back into our normal schedule again. 

Author Journey: Things I Miss & Things I Don't Miss

You know, I've been thinking back over the years that I've been writing. I don't have a ton of awards or several books displayed on various bookstore windows. But I believe I have accomplished quite a lot over those years. 

I have written two rough draft collections of short stories, as well as complete manuscripts of three fantasy novels. Two more full-length novels are started and include some good material to work with. 

One of the longer short stories took my fancy, so I refined it, readying it for publishing. The refreshed cover art for the Children of Y'Dahnndrya series is in the works with two covers complete and another in progress. And the idea for the short story covers and title pages is set with the completion of the cover art for The Tale of Outh'n Durr. 

Overall, I think I've done fairly well for working with such a strict budget and with so many set-backs. After all, I have very few connections in the publishing world. 

I do have several author friends who've published their work as indies and are doing amazingly well. Knowing they are pressing on and consistently putting their work out there makes me wonder where I'm going wrong. But I have to try to look at the whole picture, so I don't let it bring me down. 

To be honest, I really miss those connections I made on Instagram. It's not enough to send me running back to the site, especially since it's more ad-oriented. There are other things I really don't like about the service, too, which make me certain I made the right decision to leave. But I wish I still had a way to connect with other writers. 

What's your favorite social media site and why? What do you dislike about that site? Let me know in the comments below. 

Writer's Life: 

This past week...has been interesting. We got back home from visiting family. Two days later, I've got whatever the newest crud is that's going around. It is what it is. Other than making me tired, annoyed, and congested with a sore throat, I've taken comfort in the fact this is all in God's capable, all-knowing hands. I'm still kicking and I'm going to do whatever I need to do. 

I didn't get to do much writing because we came home to a bunch of drama which threw my brain into a kerfuffle. Then we had some other, more normal things to take care of. It was good to get those things done and have some peace of mind.

Spartacus got startled this week and knocked over a bunch of things. In the process, he injured one leg enough so that he favored it for a couple of days. He's doing much better, thankfully.  He was back to his normal, playful movements yesterday. 

Our trip to visit family went very well. I often wish we had more time with the whole bunch of them because we all share such varied experiences. There's never enough time to sing all the songs, or share all the stories, or catch up with each person you really feel connected to. It was nice to make some new memories, though. And for a person who loves music as much as me, it's always a pleasure to have a jam session with a guitarist who actually played and worked in the music business in Nashville. 

Just Keep Writing: Friday Fascicles

If this is your first time participating in this kind of writing exercise, you're in for a treat. If you've done this with me before, just keep scrolling for the prompt.

Rules:

1. You can use any/all of the words and/or the photo in the prompt below to create a unique written work. Fiction or nonfiction, poetry or prose, even lyrics are acceptable.  
2. Please keep the material you write clean (ie. nothing R-rated or worse) if you wish to share the link to your work here, as well as if you link back to my site. I strive to keep my site free of such things. My readers know and expect this. I respect your right to write whatever you feel you need to write. And you're free to use my prompts. But if your material is graphic, I'd rather not view it, and most of my readers will not wish to. 
3. Have fun! This type of exercise is perfect for growing in the writing craft, or for helping through a rough patch in your current WIP. If you're looking to push your author limits and you normally write in nonfiction prose, try a whimsical collection of lyrics. If you normally write poems about real life events, try your hand at a fanfic. Give yourself some room to explore.

Don't forget to leave a link to your creation (unless you're writing graphic material) so my readers and I can check out your work. I'd appreciate a link back to this post to help me reach more readers, but it's not required. 

Photo by Simon Berger

Please take a moment and visit Simon's gallery at Pexels.com to check out his other wonderful work. You won't be sorry.

I'm so thankful you stopped by today. Please accept my apologies for not having a story for you this time. I hope to have one ready for next Friday's post. I just felt too worn out to tackle even the light editing I've been giving these short stories before sharing them with you. 

The plan for next week's writing prompts is at least set down. I hope to get it all together on time. I guess it depends on how I'm feeling tomorrow afternoon and Sunday. Prayers appreciated!

Until next time,
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