Behind the Scenes

Tags

behind the scenes, fails, introspection, life, New Year's Resolution, share, wins, word of the Year

Little known fact about me: I love documentaries and “docu-series” about concerts. There’s something about seeing what goes on behind the scenes of performances which gives me a greater appreciation for the show an artist puts on. Seeing performers battle through all the glitches and personal issues to deliver a stellar performance adds a little something special to the pot for me. And I’m nosy. I want to know all the things that go into making the spectacle possible.

I’ve been watching Mariah’s World on E! When I heard about this show, I knew Mariah’s engagement was called off, but I didn’t know anything about the tour or what the show’s spin/angle would be. I wasn’t sure if they would address her broken engagement. I was in it for the behind the scenes peak into what makes a large production run. And to see if she hit her notes. Let’s be real. A couple of her live performances lately haven’t been up to par. Like I said, I’m nosy.

If you’re looking for a point to all of this, here it is: even in concert documentaries, everything you see is carefully curated. We rarely see the real, raw, behind the scenes action. Producers piece together story lines from the raw material. When someone you follow on Instagram posts a hi res photo of their kid having a meltdown or their face sans makeup with a thoughtful caption reminding you not to compare your life to their highlight reel, they aren’t showing you the worst moment of their day. No one stops in the middle of the truly messy moment to whip out their camera or phone and take a picture. They’re too busy trying to deal.

Indeed, we all live our lives this way to varying degrees. Despite our best efforts, all we can process is a carefully curated version of events in our lives. It’s easy to see things from our perspective and believe we are looking at the full picture. It’s easy to miss the nuances, the messages, the moments in which we messed up.  It’s difficult to be real, even with ourselves.

I have this radical goal. My word for 2017 is “share,” and I want to share with you. I want to be honest. But I realize the futility of trying to share everything. Once I start thinking about how to share information, it’s already being curated, placed into a more logical order. I’m drawing conclusions and putting more emphasis on the parts which support my conclusions. I’m thinking of ways to explain away the things which don’t fit.

This is a truth wrestling with since I read this line in The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. DuBois during D.E.A.R. in the eighth grade:

M]emory fails especially in small details, so that it becomes finally but a theory of my life, with much forgotten and misconceived, with valuable testimony but often less than absolutely true despite my best intention

If I’m really going to do this sharing thing, here, on other blogs, or in memoir form, the best I can give you is theory, a true account of my life from my perspective and what I can glean of others’. I’m going to have misconceptions about things that happen. I’m going to forget things. I’m going to gloss over things which may seem vitally important in later years. But I’m going to share, not only my life, struggles, and triumphs, but my God. I’ll share the people who are most important to me, the things I feel are imperative to say, and small things I believe will be important to remember later. Like…

I’m leading a book club. A  younger sister at church asked me to, and I said yes. We have our first meeting Saturday to discuss Make It Happen by Lara Casey.

I have a radio interview next month to talk about my books with my sister in Christ and her listening audience. More details to come.

I started C25K today, and it SUCKED. I got a cramp in my calf and my hip. I paused the program a few times. The 30 minute program took me 45 minutes, an average of two minutes slower per mile than I walk. But I finished.

This is my version of what happens when I stop being polite and start getting real (word to the reality TV show Real World).

XOXO,

Erica

Breaking Up is Good for Your Skin

Tags

break up, fired, life, moving, new beginnings, opportunity, perspective, relationships, work

Listen, Linda, listen. Things have been changing in my life faster than I can keep up.

If you’ve been reading for a while, you know one of my favorite quotes by Zora Neale Hurston is “there are years that ask questions and years that answer.” Well, 2016 was a year where questions were answered, and 2017 is shaping up to be more of the same.

I am not working for the company I had worked for since November 2008. After nearly eight years, I was canned. Yep. Don’t get me wrong; I was ready to go and was looking into other opportunities, but they were quicker on the draw than I was. I saw the writing on the wall, though. When they called me to the office, I didn’t have to do the walk of shame where they escort you to your desk while you pack your things up and then walk you from the building; I had already taken my personal effects home and took my purse to the meeting.

I’m not going to bash the company. At some points I loved working there. They gave me a lot of opportunities, paid me a fair wage and provided me with great benefits. But in the end, while it was a “good” job, they position I landed in wasn’t right for me. My only regret is I didn’t get to leave of my own accord, not because I wanted to show out when I quit, but because it makes finding a new position a lot harder when you have to check the box that you’ve been fired from a position.

Out with the old and in with the new, right? Except there is no new yet. I’ve had ample time to work on new books and products for Serious Season Press, but I haven’t found a full time job yet. Luckily I had some money I could use in the interim, but the interim needs to end soon. I’ve had the opportunity to do things I never thought I would be able to do with my extra time, and I’ve committed to making the most of it.

Another major life change is I’m single. After nearly nine years, Mr. Perfect and I have broken up. I can imagine your shock, but it’s been coming for a while. It’s been over two months ago now, and I’m doing fine. I’m getting back the bits of myself I lost in my relationship.

People have noticed some changes in me. “You just look so happy.” “Your skin is looking really good!” “You look like you are losing weight.” “You’re glowing.” “You seem more like yourself.” I’ve made a lot of positive changes which have resulted  in many of these good developments people are noticing aside from breaking up, but the break up was…freeing. I don’t have the pressure of when are we going to move forward or why aren’t we moving forward hanging over my head. I don’t have to police being me to suit someone or consider someone. I haven’t been single since I was 22/23, and I’m definitely not that girl-woman anymore.

Another major life change (I know, you’re like really Erica? We can’t stand any more) is I’m moving–again. Somewhere. As yet to be determined. But in the new few months. You see, my roommate is getting married in April (congrats Tasha!) and doesn’t want my team Super Single self underfoot when her boothang moves in (I totally made that up. I knew I’d be moving long before I was Super Single, but it might be true now). So I have to move.

It’s going to be super weird to be single, at a new job, in a new place. Weird but exciting.

There have been some positive changes, too. My relationship with God has grown so much in the past year or so. I have been praying more (using my Serious Prayer Journal which I’ve redesigned), using a quiet time journal (this awesome Give Me Jesus Journal from Life Lived Beautifully), and listening to Christian podcasts, music, and sermons. It may sound weird, but my own book, The Season for Getting Serious, has been a big help to me in this season, especially the chapter on grief, “Bitter, Broken, but Blessed” and the chapter “On the Run”. I’m pumped to dive back in to Altered before the Altar with a fresh perspective, and I’m working on the follow up, which is going to be refining in a way you may not expect!

I’ve gotten more writing and business planning done. I have a mission statement for Serious Season Press. I created a few prints which have been really popular. I have some exciting releases lined up for this year. I’ve been able to focus on what’s next with my writing in a new way. I have an accountability partner I trade writing with again. My pen has been moving swiftly.

I’ve traveled on my own. I have gotten in my car, thrown on a playlist or podcast, and covered hundreds of miles to share my work with other women who want a deeper relationship with Christ. I’ve heard some inspiring, convicting messages and connected with some women who are just as on fire for what God is doing in their lives. I’ve wanted to travel more for a long time, and it’s happening.

Maybe I’m just weird, but this has been a great season to me. Not for nothing. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone and I would rather have not gone through ALL THE THINGS, much less at the same time. But for a long time, I’ve seen what many call failure as opportunity. I now have the opportunity to find a career instead of a job, a man who is just as exciting about marrying me and building with me as I am about it, and a place I can make into my home. I have the opportunity to discover who Erica Denise, 32 (in a month and ten days!), Christian, single, no kids, is. I have a feeling this is going to be a wild ride, and I’ve never shied away from that.

Hands Up (lap bar down,

Erica

Paring Down and Ramping Up!

Tags

catching up, life, moving, progress, updates, writing

In the month since I’ve written, I’ve been laying the groundwork to reach a few of my goals and to get things moving in the right direction overall. Sometimes life has intruded and kept me from writing, sometimes I’ve felt I have nothing to say, and other times, I’ve been so busy doing that I haven’t been writing. But rest assured, I am committed to getting back into the swing of things and writing here and elsewhere much more often.

For the last couple weekends, I’ve been moving. Moving has been a really big chore for me, mainly because only myself and Mr. Perfect have been doing all the heavy lifting. Yesterday was the day we rented a truck from Budget Rental and got the big things taken care of. When I say the big things, I mean two desks, a bookshelf, a large DVD shelving unit, a file cabinet, a chair, a futon, a queen sized pillow top mattress and its box spring, a dining room table and chairs, two coffee tables, an end table, an office chair, and probably something else my brain isn’t remembering but every muscle in my back, arms, and legs remembers intimately.

I gave a bunch of things to Goodwill and have a lot of things to go through and give away. It feels so freeing to go through my things and get rid of what I don’t use or need. I needed to get rid of some things because I’m now living with a roommate and have less space, but I didn’t realize how good it would feel to have less of certain things. I’ve gone through shoes and furniture; now I have to go through clothing to see what I have that needs to be trashed or donated. If you have the opportunity to do so while you’re spring cleaning, I encourage you to donate and pare down your possessions.

I’m still not done moving, but everything else can be accomplished with a couple more car trips and storage totes. Then it’s on to changing my address on a million forms and getting more settled in a new morning routine. Then it’s on to the financial goals.

In non-moving related news, I entered the first page of a new story in Harlequin’s Book to Blurb competition for their Love Inspired lines. It’s a story in a series that I’ve been working on for over a year now. It’s not the first book at the moment, but it’s turning out to be one of my favorites. I’m hoping to advance to the next round, which consists of the first three chapters and a synopsis.

I commissioned a cover for my NaNoWriMo 2013 story, to be released under a pen name. I’m waiting to see what the artist has come up with. It’s the first book in a romantic suspense series that I’m testing the fiction self-publishing waters with this year. I love this story and can’t wait until it’s available. I have the second and third books in the series on the go, on the back burner while I work on book to blurb, but very much in process.

Of course, I’m working on my second non-fiction book as well. I have two possibilities–a follow up to Altered before the Altar and my book focused on the Wilderness experience of the children of Israel. There’s still a lot to muddle through on both fronts, but both are developing well.

I received permission to sign up for a class to get my claims adjusting license in April. This will better position me in my current role and lead to opportunities to be promoted to a new role. The goal is a higher position and salary in the department I currently work in. We’ll see how well this strategy works.

I’ve signed up to review a ton of books and have interviews, guest posts and other fun book related posts over at Copywrite1985. Please join me there if you like romance/romantic fiction, suspense, writing related books and posts, and any literature/literary news that strikes my fancy.

30 for 30

Tags

Birthday, goals, introspection, life, reflection

In about 32 days, I will be 30.

Yeah, I’m still processing that myself. In all of this day to day hustle and bustle of life, time has been marching on. That makes me sad to think about all of the days that I was just trying to get through, all the weeks I was looking forward to getting over and done with. It makes me want so much more for myself, to be so much more fulfilled.

I know what you’re thinking. “Of course you feel that way now. Thirty is just one of those birthdays where people have another quarter life crisis. You did the same thing at 25, and you might keel over from the crisis when you turn 40. Get over it.” It’s just another birthday, another day on the calendar. My life isn’t that bad, blah blah.

Here’s the thing, though. I didn’t sign up to live a life that’s “not that bad.” I didn’t sign up to live a life of mediocre days that I just wanted to be over so I could reach the weekend, my payday, my vacation time, etc. I am tired of wasting days that should be spent doing something that I feel adds to other people’s lives and pushes them closer to Christ.

It seems ungrateful of me, and downright stupid, for Christ to come so that I can have this more abundant life and I’m just…existing. Just…trying to make it. To just see glimpses of what it truly means to be living out my purpose. To see other people stepping out on faith and doing these great things and yearn for a chance to follow my dreams and ambitions that way.

I say none of this to negate the things I have accomplished and do enjoy in my life. God blessed me to write an amazing book. I’m starting to get requests to speak at events and have secured spots to be a vendor at others. I’ve been working on other writing projects and working to get more of them out into the world. I’ve been focusing on deepening and improving my relationships. I’ve seen a lot of growth within myself.

But sometimes, when I look at the complete picture of my life as an almost thirty year old, I feel like I’m behind. It can be difficult to restrain myself from trying to “catch up,” to believe that I’m right on time for my life. Things haven’t happened when I wanted them to, but they are happening when they are supposed to happen.

I have to be honest: sometimes it sure doesn’t feel that way. I could bury myself in I should have been statements. I read a story at least once a day of someone quitting their job to pursue their dream or their calling, or someone who decides to get married and plans this beautiful wedding in two months because they don’t want to wait to start life together. I see people who have fought their way into their dream jobs, who finally found homes to buy, who have birthed babies. I see all of these people who are where I thought I would be this close to thirty and far beyond. It’s not that what I had planned was so impossible, so unattainable; it just didn’t happen for me.

The other day after a particularly bad day at work, I sat in my car so frustrated. I longed to be able to listen to someone coming down on me for something so ridiculous and say, as calmly as you please “That’s cool. Consider this my two weeks.” But…bills. Responsibilities. Obligations. Necessities like food and water and lights. I don’t get to quit my day job to chase my purpose. If I don’t do whatever it is, there is no one else. If I’m ever going to be able to write and speak full time, it’s going to take a lot more time and planning.

As I’ve been examining every nook and cranny of my life, there are so many things that need to change, many of which are coming to a head. The time to act on them is at hand. I’m not going to worry about the things I can’t control, only those I can. In the next 30-ish days, I’m going to share what I’m going to be working on the year that I am 30.

XOXO,

Erica

Freestyle Friday: No Comparison

Tags

comparison, Freestyle Friday, goals, life, rejection, writing

It’s been a while since I’ve done a Freestyle Friday, and today felt like a great day to do one. The sun is shining (and hot), I’m off work, and I just received word on a contest entry (and it was a rejection/pass/other words for no thank you).I was going to wait until later in the day to check my email, but I’m glad I got it out of the way. Now that I know what’s going on there, I can go on with my day off. I follow the message thread for the contest and have seen the yays and nays rolling in all morning. I posted my first page on my writing blog here and invited others to do the same and share the links. I didn’t get any feedback in my email and wanted to get some on my page, and I figured others would like to do the same.

One thing I’m making sure not to do, though, is go into reading pages and giving feedback with a mind to compare. Competition brings out the desire to compare like nothing else. Every time I watch Four Weddings I notice how the other brides size each  other up and tear each other’s weddings down. I can’t imagine having anyone at my wedding whose main objective was to critique my every choice and make themselves feel better or worse based on the wedding I throw. But back to this writing competition.

I know how raw and open a rejection leaves me feeling (I’m three for three in the rejections game now). The last thing I want to do is read what others have written and start comparing. There’s no future in it. Either I’ll think mine is better and wonder why they got picked and I didn’t or I’ll think I could never write something that measured up. None of those are constructive. We each have our own voice. Editors pick and choose stories based on several factors, some of which have nothing to do with the quality of your writing. Maybe your story doesn’t fit their line or they have something very similar coming out soon. Maybe they would love it if they had more than the first page.

I’m also trying to keep my growing cache of rejections in perspective. I’m not use to being unsuccessful, especially when it comes to writing. It’s hard not to take rejections personally–I mean, I wrote it; that’s kind of personal. I know that the rejections don’t necessarily mean that there is anything wrong with my writing, but it does call into question my abilities to write for this publisher, to write in this genre, to be successful in this market. Yes, friends, the doubt crows are circling.

The rest of my life is as uneventful as my inactivity on this blog suggests. My five year anniversary at the day job is this Sunday. My relationship is pretty much the same and in the same place. I’m still planning to self-publish my Christian non-fiction book for teenage and young adult women. I talked to a graphic designer about designing a cover and formatting the book for me. I’m still looking into a proofreader for the project. I’ve been editing through the book and am amazed all over again at the things God wrote through me in this book. Prayerfully, soon I will be able to do a title and cover reveal for you guys and set a release date. Thanks to everyone who has supported me in the writing of this book. It’s almost here!!

Freestyle (I Wish It Was) Friday: The Wordless Edition

Tags

fast, fasting, focus, friends, goals, life, perspective, Social media, time management, writing

Posts here have been severely lacking. I would love to say it was because I’ve been putting a colossal amount of words into my Works in Progress (WIPs), particularly my Christian relationship book that I’ve been working on forever, but that’s not really the case. Sigh. I’ve been reading through what I have, though, and figuring out where the holes are that I need to fill in within the chapters I’ve yet to finish. I know what I have to finish. That’s progress.

I sent off the revised first four or five chapters of Pleasure’s Payne to my critique partners to some positive feedback. I’ve loved this story for years, so I was pleased that others love it as well. Now I just have to finish the story. Yet another sigh.

On to non-writing related things? Well, not much to report there. Mr. Perfect and I went to lunch and dinner on Sunday with friends. I enjoyed having girl time to go shopping and play with makeup while Mr. Perfect and my friend’s husband watched the game. It’s been a while since I’ve gone out and done girly things like that. It was so much fun. I came home with a new dress, necklace, makeup and a little poorer.

I’ve been feeling a need to pull away from social media. I think it would help to refocus my energy on getting some of the stories I’ve been working on out into the world, along with freeing up my time to do a few other things I wanted to do. I still have a bunch of posts I need to do here and on my other sites, though–reviews, etc. I’m going to schedule those tonight and spend the next two weeks or so fasting from social media (starting tomorrow–gulp!) You will still be able to email me; I have to check my email (I’m waiting on thing. Exciting things. Things I can’t tell you about). Drop me a line at mz [dot] zeyzey2 [at] gmail [dot] com. But I will not be on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook (though you will see my blog posts posting to those sites during that time as they post automatically).

I can’t wait to come back recharged with so much more to say about my word of the year (submission), news on my WIPs that is better than “I ain’t wrote nothin’,” and some clarity on some things that I need clarity on. Maybe some other things–we’ll see.

What are you needing to pull away from lately? What are you doing with your time?

Sunday Samplings

Tags

goals, life, progress, update, writing

I’ve been a very busy bee this month. I’ve moved book reviews to my writing/reading website, Copywrite1985.com, and posted two reviews last week alone. Since I finally bought the domain, I decided to do a bit of redesigning, as well as reaching out to publishers and book blog tour coordinators to bring a little bit more to the site. I still have a long way to go, but I think it looks a lot better so far.

In continuing with the writing theme, I also went to my first meeting of the local RWA affiliate (second was yesterday), went to the Harlequin Love Inspired luncheon, entered Cupid’s Lit Connection’s Blind Speed Dating Contest to catch the eyes of some agents (hopefully–I have to get past the bouncers first), and started on the follow up to my NaNoWriMo novel. Go me! Check out Copywrite1985.com if you want to know more about my writing related endeavors.

In the non-writing related arena, you all know I’ve decided that my word of the year is submission. Hopefully the January posts on the subject have given you guys a bit of insight into what I’m studying. This month (or however long it takes me), I’m going to be reading the book of Numbers. I studied in Matthew about the Devil tempting Christ, and found that the verses Christ used to respond to the Devil came from Deuteronomy and were instructions to the Israelites in the wilderness before they were to enter Canaan. I was fiddling around with the concept of the wilderness for a memoir I’m doing, so I wanted to see more of their time in the wilderness and settled upon Numbers (more stories than a swift look at Deuteronomy revealed; Deuteronomy seemed more focused on instruction. I will look at that book next). I’m continuing with the submission study as well.

I’ve been buying groceries and eating at home during this paycheck. I have saved a bit of money doing this and I hope to continue. It’s nice knowing what is in each morsel going into my mouth and being able to make my food to order without any hassle or misunderstandings. I still haven’t done the bulk of the cleaning I wanted to do, but I’m working on it a little at a time. I’m developing routines. The bedtime routine needs a lot of work (I still end up falling asleep in front of the TV more nights than I would like), but my habits are improving. I rated a zero on the exercise scale (and a much weightier number on the actual scale), but it’s a new month with new possibilities.

So what do I have as goals for the month of February? I’m joining the National RWA and my local chapter. I should know if I made the agent round and if I get any requests from Blind Speed Dating by the end of the month. If I don’t get any bites, I’ll start submitting my NaNoWriMo novel around. I will decide whether or not to submit to Touch of Magic. I’ll continue teasing out the idea for a story I had driving to CFRW yesterday. I will exercise at least twice a week (gotta start small). I will wash ever item of clothing I own. I’ll spend a Saturday or two cleaning and organizing. I will establish a bedtime/bedtime routine and stick to it. I will buy groceries and cook at home more. I will be consistent in prayer and bible study. I’ll try not to take on too many book reviews and chapter swaps. I’ll post here at least once a week.

Those are the goals, anyway. It remains to be seen how many I’ll reach.

How was your January? What do you plan to do in February?

The 2013 That Wasn’t, The 2014 I Want

Tags

accomplishments, faith, goals, introspection, life, New Year, reflection, writing

In many ways, 2013 wasn’t at all the year that I envisioned it to be. I’m not one of those people who claims that any year is going to be “my year,” but I felt that 2013 was going to be a banner year for me. The way that 2012 ended promised 2013 would be my best year yet.

In 2012, I: paid off my car, traveled to St. Augustine and New Orleans, received a large bonus, enrolled in my first class towards a paralegal certification, outlined the major chapters and researched the scriptures for the marriage kit book, and heard Mr. Perfect declare that he couldn’t see his life without me and wanted to marry me.

2013 should’ve been the year I got married, traveled more, advanced in my career, attended my 10 year reunion successful and happy, started my website, self-published my book, and saved a ton of money on my car insurance. I would change the world by changing myself, and a bunch of other corny slogans.

Then 2013 happened:

My car…was totaled in January.

I  dropped out of the class to deal with the car issue and never went back.

I traveled to Alabama…for the funeral of Mr. Perfect’s beloved grandmother, a woman I liked and admired.

I went back to my high school reunion…fat and unsuccessful (I did have a great time and got some much needed motivation from it, though).

I finished major revisions on the marriage kit book, picked a name for it…but still haven’t finished it.

I managed to get off my undesirable shift, took on a ton of new responsibilities and got a title change, but my pay won’t change until January…and I *may* be back on  less desirable shift because the alternative apparently fell through.

I went to three weddings…but didn’t so much as get engaged myself.

I lost a great aunt I was close to.

You’d think 2013 was an awful year for me, but you’d be wrong. In 2013, I bought a laptop and a domain, started my own self-hosted website, aseriousseason.com, commissioned a customized header for the site, and gave my first seminar presentation, Getting Serious About Who You Are in Christ: Go Godly Early. I gave my second seminar presentation, Get Your Life, entered a writing contest, So You Think You Can Write, connected with several writers in a supportive online community, got into a regular writing routine, attempted and finished NaNoWriMo,  began revising my first romantic suspense story, started swapping chapters with my critique partners each Sunday, got someone to look over the marriage kit book, won a ton of books through an online open house hosted by Harlequin, learned about craft from writing blogs I follow, was given an excellent bonus, a really nice raise, and appreciation for my new role during my review, and bought a newer car in much better condition.

2013 wasn’t what I expected it to be, but it turned out to be a year that far surpassed the muted expectations I had for it after my accident in January.

Early yesterday afternoon, a scripture popped into my head that was the topic of a New Year’s sermon 2-3 years ago, Luke 4:19 in context, Luke 4:14-21. Jesus reads in scripture about preaching the gospel, giving sight to the blind, and setting people free, and tells them that they are witnessing the fulfillment of the prophecy. The acceptable year of the Lord had come. Since I believe that God speaks to us through scripture, and that the Holy Spirit had to have a reason for bringing this particular passage to my remembrance, I began to meditate on it throughout the day. What was God trying to tell me?

As a Christian, it is my duty to spread the gospel of Christ to all man, but that is every year. What do I have to do or say that would help people to see or be free? What is it time for me to do?

I planned on getting the marriage kit book published when I received my bonus in December. More well-known figures proclaiming to be led to speak to women in the area of relationships are coming out with their books soon and the window for my little book to take advantage of that anticipation was fast closing. I had the money for the cover and could get it out before the end of the year, but something didn’t feel right about it. So I asked Mr. Perfect. He thought I should wait. I won’t have the money to publish again until March, which he reminded me wasn’t that far away. The next day, God revealed to me through scripture that an area I was going to glance over in my rush to release the book had some vital material in it that women needed to read. So I was content to keep studying and wait on the book.

But the peace that came over me when I connected my book with the verses about the acceptable year of the Lord led me to the conclusion that 2014 is the year to release the marriage kit book. Not only that, but I believe this year is the acceptable year for a few other things that I’ve been waiting on to finally happen as well, including getting a book contract. I could be just as wrong as I was with how 2013 was going to go, but in the same vein, I’m going to step out on faith and trust that just like last year, God will use whatever happens to grow me and it will be for His glory.

XOXO

Erica

 

Getting Back Into the Swing of Things

Tags

accomplishments, dreams, goals, life, National Novel Writing Month, New Year's Resolutions, purpose, work, writing

I’ve spent most of this year in and out of my writing cave, much to the chagrin of Mr. Perfect and my to-do list, as well as you lovely blog readers. I made last year a year to focus on my relationship, and I wanted to do something different this year, something that focused on finally being able to cross something off of my list of life goals. I tried to go back to school and begin working on acquiring my paralegal certification, but that didn’t work. My relationship is doing well, but nothing major to cross off the life list there yet. After a few months of half-hearted commitment in a few other areas–exercise, healthy eating, staying on top of my list of chores, etc.–I finally sat down and committed myself to really pursuing writing. I am so close to being done with my relationship book it isn’t even funny, and I am nearly 43k into a romantic suspense novel (My NaNoWriMo project). I restarted a story and got really far on it while participating in So You Think You Can Write. I have really been rocking the writing goals, to a chorus of “When do you sleep?” and other admonishments. I’m not firmly in the “They sleep. We grind” camp, but I am willing to sacrifice some shut eye for a dream I’ve had my entire life.

It has taken me a long time to really get serious about this writing thing, and I can’t wait to get my first regular submission sent in. I know that there is still a long road ahead of me after that, but I’m trying to reward myself for every milestone I reach. To that end, I bought a book when I surpassed my greatest word count on a fiction project to date. Today, I’m going to look around and find another gift for being in the final stretch of NaNoWriMo with a manuscript I like. As soon as I have a little extra money, I will replace my Kindle and finally, FINALLY officially engage my wonderful graphic artist to come up with a cover for my relationship book. Once I have a cover in place, I’ll reveal the cover and title, and then it will be time to publish! I am working on some other things that I want to bring to you all in the new year, so keep watching this spot (I promise I won’t be as silent as I have been).

If I get nothing else out of this year, it’s that the circumstances won’t ever be perfect and the timing won’t ever be convenient. At a certain point, you just have to go after what you feel led to accomplish. You’ll know you’re on the right track when doors start to open and things begin to fall into place.

That’s my two cents, anyway. Feel free to leave yours in the comment section.

XOXO

Erica

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• November is not a good month for NaNoWriMo (devajashewaywriting.wordpress.com)

Time Traveler

Tags

blogging, features, life, word of the month

I went back to Michigan for my 10 year high school reunion, and I had a great time. I am working on the posts of the trip’s happenings and going through the iPhone and camera to pick the best photos, but it’s a slower process than I would like. I met several people I remembered well from high school and was able to catch up on their lives since then. I will say a couple of things about the experience:

1. I was so glad that I didn’t do anything “special” and just went as myself. It was freeing to look like my normal self, without slathering on make up or getting my hair done at a fancy salon, or waxing down my trademark brows. I didn’t do Insanity in order to get in shape for the reunion, nor did I try to make my job sound more important or interesting than it is. I was myself, and I was glad I didn’t have to pretend to be someone I wasn’t, even for a moment.

2. It was comforting to know that I wasn’t the only one who went through a rough patch. Many didn’t go to our five year reunion because they were a year out of school and either unemployed or underemployed. My writer friend was unemployed when she began writing to keep her mind and typing up while job hunting. We have all been there, some worse than others, but we survived and are thriving now. It’s not over until it’s over. My struggles weren’t exactly the same as theirs, but we all had them. I am so thankful to them for being able to admit them and make me feel less alone.

I went back to work yesterday and felt like I had been hit by a truck as I slogged through my shift. God must have seen my struggle and heard my cry, because the system went down for over two hours and I got an opportunity to rest a bit.

I am nearly halfway through with the reader copy of Terry McMillan’s Who Asked You?, and I have some initial impressions of the work, but I’m going to reserve most of them for the review. I will say that I like that the reader gets to experience the story from multiple characters’ viewpoints, though I could probably do without being in the heads of some of them. I still have to write my review of Waking Up in Vegas (maybe today). I haven’t decided which of the myriad books I will read next, but I am thinking about the Richard Pryor biography, Furious Cool.

I wrote my wrapping up the month posts for April and May and posted them to The Season for Getting Serious. The word of the month for April was revision. The word of the month for May was planting. The word of the month posts seem to fit better with the purpose of The Season for Getting Serious.

I’m in the process of updating The Season for Getting Serious with blogs from my time on DearDiary.net. I will still have to integrate posts from my-diary.org, opendiary.com, and my MySpace blog, all of which are extensive, as well as from diaryland.com and Xanga. I have come to accept that I have forever lost all of my entries on both of my MyDearDiary.com diaries, as I have never been contacted and informed that they recovered either diary from when they crashed. *le Sigh* The integration is going well, but is a slow process. I need a few Saturdays and evenings to really get it done, but between reading, reviews, and trying to get some writing finished, I don’t know how I will carve out a huge block of time to finish this. I have been working on it a couple of hours in the morning on the days I go in later. You can now read posts as far back as May 2003 from a few select blogs. More will be forthcoming.

I am also considering activating the Jetpack feature on The Season for Getting Serious, which appears to make the site more integrated with the WordPress.com community. I’m hoping that activating this will allow you to follow the site through the WordPress reader, like posts, and do all the things you love to do on this site, as well as becoming a registered user, receive newsletters, and connect with me on Facebook and Twitter. If anyone has used the Jetpack feature, please leave a comment with your experiences.

I sometimes wish I could just pay someone to brand, optimize, and market the site, along with all of the technical work, but doing it myself makes me feel like this is so much more mine. Even though it gets tedious proofreading, revising, adding pictures and titles to entries, consolidating categories and rearranging the layout, I have to admit that I am enjoying being able to figure things out for myself. I’m also enjoying seeing the fruits of those editing sessions.

I will continue to update this site with all of the day to day happenings of my life, and any interesting relationship things that catch my attention, until my website is completely functional and designed as I want it.

What steps have you taken towards achieving your dreams this month?