Tag: creativity

Too many ideas

I’ve decided that the reason I’ve been having such trouble with the 20th CONFESSIONS OF A SLIGHTLY NEUROTIC HITWOMAN story is that I had too many fun ideas I wanted to cram into it.  Unfortunately that meant I wasn’t giving any of them their due, so I’ve been on a slash-and-burn kick to pare things down to what is truly essential to the story.

Constraints don’t necessarily hinder creativity, they often enhance it. (at least for me)

Now it feels like I can finally move forward.

 

Oh and if you’ve been following along, here’s Day 4 of my #100HappyDays Challenge.  Little gifts I received from two friends.

Screen Shot 2019-03-15 at 4.24.01 PM

100 Happy Days — Day 1

Ugh, I know, I’m terrible about blogging.  Sorry!!!!

I decided to take on the 100 Happy Days Challenge, where I’ll try to share something that makes me happy every day.

Here’s DAY 1 of 100

Hiking through a nature preserve…despite the fact my shoes ended up covered in muck.

Spending time in nature helps to recharge my creative juices. (Coffee does this too, but fresh air does it without the jitters.)

Screen Shot 2019-03-12 at 9.51.00 PM

Something else that’s making me happy is the work I’m doing on my secret PCM project. I’d been stuck on it for quite a while, but now I’m busy writing it.

What do you have planned for 2019?

I’m not one for making New Year resolutions, but I do believe in setting goals and one of my goals for 2019 is to post here regularly.

I have A LOT of goals, but I’ll stick to the writing ones here…at least for today, lol.

My goals for 2019 include more CONFESSIONS OF A SLIGHTLY NEUROTIC HITWOMAN books, my new (still semi-secret) series and a couple of passion projects. I’ll be talking about those more on Fridays.

But on Wednesdays I want to talk about WHAT I LOVE … or at least really like.

It’s only fitting that I start with my planner. This year I went with a Happy Planner since the business planner (which shall remain unnamed since it’s just not cool to wait until the last week of the year to release it) wasn’t available. At first I wasn’t happy that I was being forced to make a change, but now I think it’s all worked out for the best.

I LOVE how customizable the Happy Planner is. I got the “big” version because it works best for my needs.  Isn’t it cheerful?

image1-28

I removed the pre-printed calendar pages of April thru December to cut down on bulk and added a bunch of personalized pages that work best for my work and lifestyle.

(Of course to do that I had to invest in Happy Planner’s paper puncher…which is pricey for a paper punch, weighs a ton and can only punch three sheets of paper at a time….that’s got to tell you how much I’m loving this planner.)

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR 2019?

Do you use a planner?

Creative October

When I lived in New Jersey, Autumn was my favorite season. Cooler temps and changing leaves were my groove. Now I live in Southwest Florida and despite the Pumpkin Spice everything in the stores, there’s really no such thing as Fall.

I miss the changing of the seasons if only because they forced me to look at the world differently.  Feeling like I need that little jolt of inspiration, I, one of the least artistic people ever to roam the planet, has signed up for Creative Sprint.  So I’ll be “making” something every day for the next thirty days. I’ll be sharing my creations on Instagram so follow if you think you’d enjoy laughing at my creative endeavors.

October will be a busy month as I publish THE HITWOMAN AND THE GOLD DIGGER, finish writing book 20 in the Hitwoman series (so far, it’s soooo much fun!) and work on my secret PCM project that will be published next year.

Also, on the days the heat index is less than 100, I’ll be trying to find fallen leaves with my mutt.

IMG_1254

 

 

Straddling

I sent Hitwoman 19 to my editor on Monday and now I’m working on Hitwoman 20, which is both awesome and anxiety-inducing.

I really love how 19 turned out, but I’m worried that she’ll see something horrible in it (or not in it) that I missed.  I was excited to start working on 20, but since it’s the next in the series, the events of 19 (there’s a BIG event in 19) have a significant impact on what happens in 20.

So it may end up that I’ll have to scrap my work on 20 if she finds a major problem in 19.

In addition to straddling the space between two hitwoman books, I am working slowly and steadily on PCM….which, by itself is also both awesome and anxiety-inducing, lol.

8/6 Jack’s back

If you’ve read the CONFESSIONS OF A SLIGHTLY NEUROTIC HITWOMAN series, you know reporter, Jack Stern (he of the gravelly voice and black leather jacket).

Jack never resonated with readers the way a certain redhead did or a mobster’s nephew has, but I’ve always had a soft spot for him. I keep bringing him back because, being a straight arrow, he’s one of those characters who is challenging for Maggie on many levels.

I spent most of my writing time today trying to get a scene right that takes place with not only him and Maggie, but Delveccio and God. It’s been a little complicated to get the voices and timing right. It’s ALMOST there, but not quite done.

What is done however, is the fused glass bowl I mentioned a week or two ago. I have no artistic talent, but it was still a fun project to do.

image1-17

 

8/2 Delete Delete Delete

Imagine a heavy sigh here.

((SIGH))

Yup, that’s me today. 

I ended up deleting more words than I wrote for Hitwoman 19 after realizing I’d gone off on a tangent  (a FUN tangent) that didn’t help drive the story forward.

Sometimes writing days consist of using the delete button…A LOT.

(And to make matters worse, I made no progress on PCM.)

((SIGH))

Tomorrow is another day to try, try again.

8/1 New beginning and chaos

Today I started writing PCM with the line, “I don’t think she meant for us to die doing it.”

It took me almost two years to write these first two pages. Almost two years of the concept rolling around in my head. Almost two years of daily anxiety that I can’t successfully bring the vision in my head to the page.

But I set a start date of today and wrote two pages. I’m both excited and nervous. It’s a strange place to find myself and I wonder how long it will last.

 

I also wrote two pages of Hitwoman 19. Not exactly the most amazing progress, but it’s been a busy day with various obligations. Tomorrow I’ll have more uninterrupted flow and catch up on word count.

A friend did my Tarot cards for me this afternoon. I pulled “CHAOS” for my present card. (You can’t quite see it since it’s under The Fool.)

 

image1-15

 

Maybe tomorrow won’t be as calm as I’m hoping for, lol!