Author: Lynn

My husband and I live in beautiful Nova Scotia, Canada, and now that we are empty nesting I again began pursuing my dream of writing for children. I am privileged to have met and/or corresponded with Canadian and US authors,; among those are internationally known Canadian author Budge Wilson who wrote many MG and other books, Laura Best, Darlene Foster; US author Drew Lamm (originally from Canada); US author/novelist Sue Harrison - all whose books I've reviewed on my blog, Amazon and other sites. It's my joy to be in contact with other writers and professionals of all stages of the process. Life brings change, and for me that meant the opportunity to pursue a decades old dream - to learn to paint. I now join other painters weekly and we paint and learn together. You can check out my paintings at https://www.instagram.com/lynn.a.davidson2019

Distractions, distractions .. umm, what was I doing?

Just a little sidetrack here. Of course. I am supposed to be NaNo writing.

But ..

did I ever mention I think my middle name was supposed to be ‘Procrastination’ with a nickname of ‘Distracted’? Yes, it is true. I procrastinate. No surprise, if you know me at all.

And look at what I found at http://badger.dinorodeo.com/

Yep! That’s me, like a moth to a flame.

Is the computer on, did someone comment on my blog? write me an email? tweet something interesting?

Is there another appealing book close by to read? A website to visit? a link to check out? a new post to read on someone’s blog that I follow .. or that someone tweets about? (I’d hate to miss something good.)

Is a friend waiting to chat?

Oh dear.

Like a moth to a flame.

Now, what was I was doing?

NaNoWriMo!

Oh, wait! Someone just tweeted me a recipe for …

oh yeah. distractions, distractions.

NaNo novel, here I come!

How about you? Do you ever have this problem?

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings. 🙂

My embarrassing NaNoWriMo confession

It started out with the right thought – that since I ‘won’ in NaNo last year I should try to finish my novel started last year. Reasonable, right?

And since I kept a running update last year, posting every day for the month of November to keep my readers informed of my progress – and to keep myself motivated – it seemed right that I should do the same thing this year. Makes sense, right?

Problem.

Last year I ~~knew~~ believed I could do it. I was ~~determined~~ ~~stubborn~~ determined enough to keep at it so that I DID do it. This year my motivation is not the same, but I do have a goal — to finish writing my 2010 NaNo novel.

~~Interruptions~~ Procrastination ~~got in the way~~ took over. Well, that’s a little harsh, Lynn, don’t you think? Life happens. … tap tap tap … oh alright! I didn’t take it on with the same sense of motivation this time. There, I said it. I let myself ~~fail~~ ~~flounder~~ face plant. (And, yes, I ~~talk to myself~~ give myself pep talks.)

Okay, here’s the thing. If I keep an ongoing record showing my ~~progress~~ lack of adequate progress in 2011 NaNo, I will both embarrass myself and risk being a disappointment to anyone possibly believing in me. (um, is there really anyone out there fitting that description?) *sigh* It really is not that hard. All you do is write! Right?

Who am I kidding? When one’s muse just doesn’t want to play, then … it’s not happening! (yes, okay, when one does not commit whole-heartedly to the project it is already ~~doomed~~ at serious risk.)

So, what to do? It is in the early hours of day 25 of NaNoWriMo 2011. I am ~~ashamed~~ embarrassed to admit that I have enough words written to equal a tally for day … 5. (hangs head) Yep, day 5.

Want to read something really funny? Here are my stats on my NaNo page, especially note the estimated date of completion:

Your Average Per Day .. 363

Words Written Today .. 1,321

Target Word Count .. 50,000

Target Average Words Per Day .. 1,667

Total Words Written .. 8,722

Words Remaining .. 41,278

Current Day .. 24

Days Remaining .. 7

At This Rate You Will Finish On .. March 16, 2012 <— Hilarious! 🙂

Words Per Day To Finish On Time .. 5,897 <– Yikes!

~~I. am. in. trouble.~~ (note to self, don’t write that way often, it disturbs some writers.) I am in trouble.

So, what to do? Easy. Just WRITE!

Get some sleep, then write. nap, then write. do what you have to do, then WRITE WRITE WRITE.

The crazy thing is, I still believe I can do this! Isn’t that crazy? And I am going to make a new page for my 2011 NaNoWriMo progress report. Now THAT is ~~crazy~~ motivating, but ..

I. am. going. to. try. (oops! refer to note to self above.)

If I manage to complete with 50000 words, please don’t expect to hear from me for awhile. I will be ~~celebrating~~ sleeping. 😉

Comments, anyone?

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

I’m a NaNo Rebel

Yes, you read that correctly. I’m a NaNo Rebel.

Last year, November 2010, I participated in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and met the goal of 50,000 words, going over by about 265 or so. I started with nothing and got the main part of a novel written .. if it can be edited to be suitable as one, that is. I even kept track here on my blog by making daily reports. This year, although my available time has changed considerably, I decided to try again – but as a Rebel.

What’s a NaNo Rebel, you ask? Someone who is participating in NaNoWriMo and bending the rules a bit. (There is actually a category for rebels, so it’s not considered cheating.) Instead of starting from scratch I am picking up where I stopped last year with the purpose of finishing the story I left unfinished. I ‘won’ last year by writing over 50000 words, but the story itself has not been completed. I would like to finish it during this year’s challenge, otherwise I may never get back to it.

You also may wonder how I am doing this time. Not well, I’m sorry to say. I got off to a slow start, not writing anything until day 7, and then I wrote less than 500 words. That is not good at all, seeing as by that time I should have had over 11000 words down. The ideal is to write 1667 words a day, so for day 22 (today) I should have over 36600 words written, but .. you guessed it! I’m nowhere near that number. I have over 5000 words written but much less than where it should be at this late date in the 30 days allotted. I’m in big trouble if I want to ‘win’ NaNoWriMo this time. Or should I see it as a HUGE challenge and try to get ‘er done anyway?

I also am again participating in PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month) and have several more than the 22 ideas needed by this date. I’m not worried there, but I believe that I have fewer really good ideas this year. A scarce few of those may make good picture books, but I’m sort of pulling them from the bottom of the barrel, it seems.

I’m wondering if the way I have to divide my life now is what’s making the difference. My muse is not sure when to come out to play anymore. 🙂

Oh, well, I will keep plugging away at it.

Are you taking part in NaNoWriMo this year? Do you try any other writing challenges?

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

Birthdays and Blessings

(I have tried to post this since November 17 but WP was not working properly for me at home! Trying on other computer, so please keep in mind the time is not accurate now.)

Yesterday – November 16 – was my birthday. Do I look any older to you?
I didn’t have a big party, but I did enjoy dinner out with my sister and my dad.

I didn’t sink into a depression, either; I’ve learned that that doesn’t solve anything.

I just quietly grew one day older, but that one day stepped me over into a new year of my life.
Another opportunity to live better, do more, try harder, dream bigger … and grow another year older.

Yesterday and today I heard from a few friends and family members with greetings by phone calls, Skype, text messages, and emails. Being remembered is heart-warming. One friend, upon realizing he was a day late, wished me a happy un-birthday, my first of this new year of my life! 🙂 I enjoyed a few cards via Canada Post, and I received a few gifts which added the fun factor.

Have I changed in that one day, the day that marks the number of years I have been permitted thus far? Not really. I’m still wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, caregiver, … blogger and all those other things.
I’m still weary, I’m still trying to do more than I have the energy to do well, I’m still hopeful that I will write something meaningful enough to make a difference, I still deeply love the same people who are precious to me, I still learn something new nearly every day no matter how small, I still plan to do the occasional adventurous thing such as sky-dive, and I continue my walk with the Lord and hope for His plan for me to be fulfilled.
In short, that one day was simply a continuation of my life with a few fun extras tucked in – and with no regrets. Another day of blessings.

Am I getting older? of course! But I like to think I’m also getting better. One can hope.

Do you do anything special to celebrate your birthdays? What is your perspective on the whole ‘aging thing’?

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

Announcing the winner of A Hare in the Elephant’s Trunk!

We have finally made connections and I now have confirmation of our winner.

Congratulations to writing feemail (Renee J.) whose name was drawn from those submitted into the draw.

Renee, your book will be in next week’s mail – thanks to Red Deer Press. I’m sure you will thoroughly enjoy A Hare in the Elephant’s Trunk by Nova Scotia author Jan L. Coates.

Thanks to everyone who read the interview and those who participated in the contest. I’m sure I will be doing more book reviews and author interviews as time and books become available. 🙂

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

I entered a writing contest today!

On October 31 I wrote this blog post, but because of my review of Jan Coates’ book, A Hare in the Elephant’s Trunk, followed by our interview and the book giveaway – I decided to wait until a winner was chosen. Now that the wait is over — and I’m anticipating the winner’s reply — here is that post.

Today I submitted a story into a writing contest. *gulp*

The requirements are that it – rhyme, be no more than 300 words, and – along with some other writing specifications – would appeal to a child. So I dug out my rhyming story that I had asked my critique group to give their opinions on a few months ago, and seriously tackled the comments and advice. Then I posted it for critique again, tweaked a few little things, and prepared it for submission. Oh my…

I chose to submit it online, and it’s a good thing I did because October 31 is the deadline, which is .. um .. today! How long it took me to hit ‘send’ I’m not sure. I sat here barely breathing. I checked to see if my heart was still beating. I checked my story over a few more times to be sure it was set up the way the judges requested, then I stopped breathing, started stressing, and .. hit the submit button. Yikes!

Omigosh! It’s gone now, so if I missed anything it’s too late now! The waiting has begun. Today will end and the judges will begin reading and judging every entry that meets their requirements. I wonder how many will they receive? I wonder how many will they toss out? I wonder how difficult will it be for them to choose five winners?

Winners, what a nice word — especially if I am one! Five .. winners. First place winner is awarded a nice cash prize and his/her story will be published in the writers’ newsletter that is read by editors and publishers. (yummy possibilities there.) Second place winner receives a smaller cash prize. Third, fourth and fifth place winners each get a smaller still case prize. All five will be given a certificate, as well.

Would I like to win? But of course! Does it matter which one? umm .. if not first then I guess it doesn’t matter as much which place, does it? But I’m not kidding myself about the possibilities. I know the competition is tough, there are incredible writers out there. My writing is probably quite simplistic in comparison but I still have a chance, actually five chances in this instance. So, I won’t give up hoping.

By mid-February the winners will be notified, in March they will be announced in the next issue. Yes, I will be disappointed if I don’t place, but if my story doesn’t win in this contest I have it ready to go out again.

For now, this experience has made good blogging material. 🙂

A PostScript to this story is that last week an email notification arrived thanking me for my entry. Of course, my heart did a flip-flop just to hear anything from them. How silly is that?

I’ll let you know what happens.

How do you handle the waiting? What do you do to keep from stressing over it?

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

We have a winner! (A Hare in the Elephant’s Trunk by Jan L. Coates)

Tonight one of you became the winner of a copy of A Hare in the Elephant’s Trunk by Jan L. Coates. My dear dad drew a name out of the basket, I sent that person an email, and I will be announcing the winner’s name once I receive her mailing info.

You were entered into the contest if you commented on this post: https://lynnadavidson.wordpress.com/2011/10/28/interview-with-jan-l-coates-book-giveaway/

So, check your emails, are you the winner?