Something Shiny & New
Welcome back to the scenic route! I’m taking a break from vocabulary help this week because I had an idea. Rather, my husband had an idea that sounded epic to me. To be fair, my ideas are more imagination-based and not usually so helpful IRL. My husband is so much better at reality-based ideas that are practical. So glad for that! Check it out…
Author Journey
You guys know by now that I write two short stories per week (barring accidents…)
I missed one story because we were on vacation (traveling on a Thursday and busy the day before that.) I technically posted a story yesterday, but didn’t have time to write it yesterday. I’d written it several months ago under similar circumstances, i.e. time constraints and with just a basic thread of an idea, written all in one sitting.
In any case, I’ve been writing.
Every week.
It’s keeping my creative juices flowing. I’m getting practice and having fun with it most of the time. And the main point is that it was my husband’s idea.
Earlier this week, he sent me a link to this really cool online tool (free to use), called Dirty Little Zine. It’s a quick-add template for creating a tiny, printable magazine you can use to advertise your photography or art. I loved the idea of it, but my stories take up far more space than the tool allowed.
It did spark an idea for my subscribers, though. What do you guys think about voting on your favorite subscriber story each month? I’d take those favorites and compile them into a better edited, downloadable, printable pdf magazine, strictly for subscribers. Let me know how this sounds to y’all in the comments below.
I want to do this regardless, but I’d really like to have input from readers as to which stories y’all would most enjoy having a printable copy of.
Something else to note is that these would be registered with the copyright office and not for resale. I might eventually make a large enough collection of them to put into an omnibus POD (print on demand) copy, but that’s something for future consideration. It took all day yesterday just to craft a basic front and back cover for the first edition of the magazine. I plan to send it out in December.
Subscribers (Robin’s Readers-You guys have a name now. LOL)! Look for the poll coming with the next subscriber story! If you want to vote, you need to be able to read the stories. To read the stories, you need to subscribe. It’s free and I do my best not to overload my readers. There are three emails per week (two subscriber stories and one author journey/writing help related blog post, and every now and again, I’ll send out an extra email for things like a member password change, etc.). I do try not to overwhelm folks…
Don’t Forget!!
The Smashwords sale is still going on. It runs through the 31st of this month, so you have until then to get my books at 25% off. To go directly to my books, you can click here.
Share the links, please! Thanks!
Writer’s Life
As you know, my family just returned from vacation last weekend. We had a blast just chilling in Florida and came back with a rip-roaring cold from the Negaverse. I’m still fighting congestion, but finally starting to improve. It was still worth it to be able to spend some quality time with our family.
Our son-in-law doesn’t swim and had never been to the beach. So we made sure he got the opportunity to experience both those things within safe parameters. He had so much fun and it was a joy for the rest of us to be able to share those moments with him.
L to R: Yougest daughter’s boyfriend, oldest daughter behind youngest daughter, and son-in-law
Our youngest daughter got to experience Disney World for the first time as an adult. She and her boyfriend spent a day park hopping and having a blast.
Youngest and her boyfriend at Disney
The house we rented had a pool and a hot tub (which we weren’t paying extra to have heated, so it was cool…because water outside in Florida in the middle of summer isn’t cold.) We took advantage of that every day of our stay. I’m not a great swimmer so I usually avoid crowded swimming areas, which usually means no hotel pools for me. It was great to be able to swim at my leisure and not have to worry so much.
Family taking advantage of the pool
Life experiences like this shape a writer’s perspective in so many ways, lots of them unexpected. Don’t you think?
I’ve been working on writing for at least two hours now, so I’m going to conclude. I don’t even have time to proofread, so I apologize in advance for any typos. There’s still much work to be done and I’m determined to see it through.
Thanks for joining me at the scenic route today. I hope you have a fantastic weekend. I’m certainly aiming for that.
Until next time…
Keep turning pages.
