5 things I'm learning about my own writing quirks...

5-Chapter plotting really helps me keep the story moving. As much as I love the idea of being an organic writer...I know where my weaknesses are and keeping the middle moving works best if I have it plotted out.

4-Sometimes voice comes easily and other times it doesn't. When it comes, be thankful...when it doesn't, I'm learning that I just need to keep writing. I can always go back and fix voice issues...but if I sit on it and expect to fix it right then, it just holds me up too much.

3-Talking (and more talking, restating, & repeating) out loud about the current book I'm writing really helps me work out the kinks. I'm fortunate to have a husband and mom who both enjoy brainstorming...and they are both really good at it! This is sometimes the only way I can work out a plot issue.

2-I need to have realistic expectations. I tend to put way too much pressure on myself and then feel completely let down when I don't meet up with them. A goal to challenge me works...but it needs to be realistic.

1-The only way I can finish a book is by writing a lot...like 80,000 to 90,000 words of writing. This may require a certain amount of crying, rolling my eyes (at myself), a fair amount of deleting, and a really sore hind-end. That's actually happening right now...I need to get a new office chair.

Exciting News: For those of you who don't know yet...I will be writing a 3 book Amish series set in World War 2 for Howard Books (imprint of Simon & Schuster). I am beyond thrilled and so very thankful to my agent Natasha Kern. I feel especially blessed by God for this opportunity. This is really a dream come true. I cannot wait to be able to share more details with all of you lovely readers.

Cheers,

Elizabeth

Your turn: I'm learning about my writing quirks...what are you learning about yourself? I'd love to hear about it in the comments. 

5 things...I will blog about...

So, I'm a list-maker. I don't know why but while The Major was deployed I didn't write 1 measly list...except for a grocery list. I have no idea what came over me but I didn't have a to-do list anything like I usually do.

I have been so list-deprived that I am just in the mood to write lists about everything! So, with that, I am starting a series of lists for my blog. I will probably only be blogging every Monday. I know, I should do it more than that, but I am going to do what I can.

Here are the 5 things I will probably blog about...

Here's one of my little DIY projects.
Crayola Air Dry clay of my sweet, little family.

5-Random things I am learning about whatever. Okay, don't laugh. What might some of these topics be? Health. DIYing. Baking. Cooking. Mothering. Marriage. Military life. Goal setting. Random tips!

4-Homeschooling! Yes, I am a homeschooler. I love it and I'll post occasionally about it, I'm sure. My oldest is doing K5 right now and I'm excited to say her reading skills improve daily! I am amazed! I love watching her learn.

3-Books and Authors I love! To include, but not limited to: Allison Pittman, Lynn Austin, Nicholas Sparks, Tricia Goyer, Siri Mitchell, Susan Meissner, Ted Dekker...etc. There are many more!

2-My writing career and the direction I am heading...to include my spiritual journey as well! I finished a book these past few months and I'm very excited about it! I hope to share more with you soon.

1-Writing and publishing in general. The world of writing is constantly evolving. From ebooks to publishing houses shifting and merging. I am pretty new to this world but I hope to take you along for the ride!

I really don't know if these are in order of importance or frequency of what I'll post about...but listing them backwards gives so much more suspense and mystery...I am such a mystery, aren't I! Ha!

Do you have a blog? If so, tell me about it in the comments and what you like to blog about!

Cheers,
Elizabeth

Encouragement from the Trenches

I've been reading through Ephesians with an online Bible study from a great site called Good Morning Girls. You should google it.

This week I was struck by a message I needed to hear in chapter 4.

1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Get it?

Let's follow our calling...not someone else's. Let's not compare our calling to anyone else's calling. Our focus should be on our calling and on our ONE God...another repetitive message in this passage.

Okay...ready...set...go! Your calling is waiting.

Cheers,
Elizabeth

Bettering My Skin

So, I'm sticking to my focus goal of healthier me...

I had a chemical peel last week for my skin. I have a lot of scarring from years of acne issues...from puberty all the way until, like, last week. {grin} Okay, I'm exaggerating a little.

I bought new products that are amazing from the Aesthetician that she created herself. She was so amazing with my skin and may as well be a nutritionist. I've always had a dairy issue and in the past 2 years or so have been off and on again on a low-gluten diet...knowing that I feel better with less gluten & wheat in my system. She was so knowledgable I left with better skin & more wisdom!

I met the Aesthetician through my sister (who has a great website on fitness: http://embodyfitness.wordpress.com/...it's awesome) and she's also going through a similar skin issue as me...she has also experienced amazing improvements. I wouldn't recommend just any aesthetician, but if you find one that works with as natural products as possible, might be worth a shot!

I also bought an exfoliation brush. My skin seriously is already looking WORLDS better.

My running slipped a bit while I was away and then the kids were sick, delaying our trip home for 2 days. But got back on the treadmill today and ran...and let me tell you, it wasn't pretty.

I'm now searching for the right natural makeups that will enhance my skin rather than re-clog it all...will let you know what I find. ;-)

BUT...I am already starting to become a BETTER ME! ;-)

Some of you may ask why all the focus on "skin-deep beauty" perhaps. Maybe some would even consider me vain? Well, all I can say is that I've lived with major acne or acne scarring for over 20 years and I've just had enough of it. When you've lived with it for that long, I think it's okay to try to see what can help. And, a lot of skin issues have to do with the health of your body & system...including sticking to a healthy diet. I want to improve it all. And, rest assured, God is working on the deeper stuff, too. ;-)

Cheers,
Elizabeth

A Better ME????

So, it's been nearly a month since The Major left for Kyrgyzstan. It's been a month of tears but also some really sweet moments cuddled up with my girlies. We took our first road trip to see my sister and her family (3 action packed girls)...yes, 5 girls in 1 house. Consider our super-hero-mom strength being ears of steel...sometimes the house was so loud I think our brains were ready to bleed out our ears. haha Though the trip was only 5 hours one-way, that was an accomplishment for me with a 4 1/2 year old and 17 month old (who doesn't sleep in her carseat & doesn't enjoy it either!).

This month has given me some time to consider my goals...I want this time to mean something. I don't want to just X out a bunch of calendar squares without thinking to myself "Yep, I did it today!"...not just survived. I know there will be many days of pure survival & that's okay...but without a goal in mind the only goal then is ONLY survival. I don't want not live that way...not for 6 months, not for any length of time.

So, do you want to see what my focus will be?

1-Spiritual health. The Major and I are reading through a Psalm daily and then Proverbs. That will bring us within days or weeks of his arrival home. I am also doing an online Ephesian's study with "Good Morning Girls" (google it). I also, especially when I'm discouraged, I pick up the following books:

Faith Deployed by Jocelyn Green
40 Ways to Get Closer to God by Jerry MacGregor (or Chip MacGregor as many know him as)
Fighting Fear, Winning the War at Home by Edie Melson
Faith Deployed...Again by Jocelyn Green...again. ;-)

Those books are so helpful in getting my focus on my heart and God and where HE has me in the moment.

2-Physical Health. I have started running! I am running on average of about 20 mins a day on a treadmill, which is about 2 miles for me. Yes, I'm being pretty real with you all. I HATE working out but this little trick is working...what's the "trick?" I listen to great audio books when I run...and won't let myself listen to them unless I'm running. ;-) Right now I'm listening to "A Heart Most Worthy" by Siri Mitchell. Soooo good.

I am also working on finding more natural ways to eat (which we mostly do already anyway), dye my hair, and take care of my skin. I have LOTS of gray and I'm only 34 so going gray gracefully is not in the short-term timeline...but I want to find a less chemical way to do this. I know they are out there...it's time to do some research. And when I was in H.S. and college I had AWFUL skin and this carried over into my young wifehood & early motherhood. Even now I can get some seriously teenage looking breakouts. But I have some bad scarring and I really want to work toward a fix. So I started with a consultation with an amazing Aesthetician who does things naturally & works with your whole body's health...that means right eating & everything...it ALL affects your skin & hair. Today I had a chemical peel among other treatments & bought some amazing products. My skin feels like it is actually BREATHING!!!! We're on a roll!

3-Writing Health. I am in the middle of a manuscript that I LOVE! I have a deadline and I'm super excited about finishing it. I'm learning the craft through a variety of ways and working on being the best fiction writer I can. Finishing this current manuscript is the simplest goal I can lay out for my writing...and one of the hardest things to do when your hubby is over 7000 miles away & you're a single mama for the time being. BUT, I'm determined. I will be traveling to my parents for about 6 wks very soon & it seems when I'm away from home I really get "inspired" and I can get some words out. Since I've visited my sister I was able to get quite a bit done, inspiring myself to keep at it.

Those are the 3 main focuses that I have. I wouldn't consider them full-fledged goals b/c I didn't lay out the way to measure success...but they are focuses and I'm excited about each of them.

Check back & see how I'm doing. I will blog about the aspects of each of them as I feel led. So...beware...one day you might get a diatribe of info on why you should consider going on a low-diary (or NO-dairy) or low/no gluten diet...to another day where I talk about what my characters are putting me through...or why I was discouraged & what verse or book got me out of my funk.

I hope you come back!

Cheers,
Elizabeth

Making & Meeting Goals

I joined the ACFW Novel Track this month. I started a new manuscript a few days before October 1 and thought this would be a great motivation to get a lot of words down on paper...er, screen. My typical history of productivity is inconsistent. I go a few weeks with tons of writing and then I'm dry for a month or more (like way more). It's very hard for me to push through exhaustion, lack of inspiration, the muddle in the middle.

I'm kind of a hybrid of a seat-of-the-pants (SOTP) writer and plotter...so I have a few areas of the book with some great plot threads that excite me. And, where I'm at today, seriously, this is bad writing. It's part lack of research and part just not sure what should come next. A jump in time? A more detailed scene about the building of a friendship?

The good thing is that I'm pushing through it. Am I tired. OH YEAH I AM. But at night when I go to sleep, even if it's 1 a.m., I know that I wrote as much as I could that day. I sleep soundly. I hate going to bed knowing that if I'd pushed through the tiredness just a bit I would've gotten 1/2 a scene down...or even a whole one. Or even 500 words. Anything that moves forward. One day all I wrote before falling asleep at my lappy was 127 words. (sigh)

AND...I love a good bubble bath with a book (I'm reading Tricia Goyer's Beside Still Waters right now...very good, by the way) and that seems a lot more fun than writing almost any night. But I close my eyes when I walk by my big ole nice tub. {sigh} I will persevere! I'm determined!

I have a goal word count for this month...and I'm staying fairly on track. The first week I exceeded my weekly goal so that really helped. I know I need to get the overall word count to around 90k, which seems daunting, but it's just a word at a time.

In the vain of Dory, my favorite cartoon fish, "Just keep writing, just keep writing, just keep writing, writing, writing." Thanks, Dory, I think I will!

YOUR TURN: Are you good at setting goals? Did you set a goal for this month? This year? The year's almost over...keep up your motivation & productivity...and if you have any extra...please cyber-send it my way!

Cheers,
Elizabeth

PS: I just met my goal!!!!! While the words I wrote this month will need lots of editing & polishing...getting them down is the first step. I'm very excited! Now...what's my goal for next month?