Category: NaNoWriMo


Zoom and YouTube Day


Do any of you have a Wattpad account? I have had my first book, Haven, up for critique there. It can also be found here on this site. That is only the first four chapters. The whole novel is on Wattpad. I would love to get constructive feedback.

Anyway, the reason for this post isn’t to plug said novel but to tell about my day. You see, Wattpad and NaNoWriMo had an editing tutorial. It was called Edit Smart, Not Perfect: How to Polish Your Best Work Yet. I don’t know if this link will work, but I got to watch the Zoom here.

It was quite informative, and I hope they will put it on YouTube, so it is more accessible for all. If any of you find it at another site, let me know, and I’ll fix what I put here.

Anyway, that is how I started my morning. About the time that was over, I got to Zoom with my friends for our usual Friday meeting.

After a fun long chat, I decided to go watch the DuoCon. If you have Duolingo, you might be interested in watching this:

So I am even more motivated to edit my novels and keep going on my multiple languages. I have so many things I am into right now that I am trying to figure how to fit everything in a day or week. Life is exciting and quite the adventure!

Bitmoji Image

Tasks Tuesday


Remember the goal of CampNaNo writing and editing? I haven’t forgotten. I just couldn’t deal with the laptop or heat from laptop. Since I’ve been writing the blogs on the cell lately, I decided to see how I could write on my smaller gadgets.

Well, I do use a system using my Fire to do what I can’t do on the phone.

I don’t know how others do it but to postย  a YouTube, picture and all, I need to copy and paste URLs. If I try from the phone I end up with just the URL no picture. On my Fire, on the internet, I do the same thing and get a picture.

Weird!

Anyway, as I get ready to take my little trip, I knew I would want to write and edit for CampNaNo. I spent today organizing Word for my cell. I made sure I could access my writer project through a couple ways. And I learned the mobile version of Word will read to me. For my poor eyes that is a blessing!

So, there’s a task done and so, no matter what, I can blog or write! Yay!

My company comes tomorrow!!! Many tasks set for the morning! So grateful that the next two days are to be cooler. It was supposed to be 98 today but I don’t think we hit 95. Tomorrow and Thursday predicted temperatures 95. Let’s hope it never gets out of the 80s!

Time for music playing then on to bed.


I escaped coloring and left June undone.

Center Fold
Unfinished

My addition to the Escapist Coloring Club will span two months.

Since it started getting either busy and/or hot my Camp Nano has seen no progress. I’ll continue in July.

This then was my One-liner Wednesday, etc. post.

Badge by Laura @ riddlefromthemiddle.com

For a while now my son and I have wanted to go into Bend (two hour drive) to shop and to visit the last Blockbuster video store.

Many times we have planned it and things happened that kept us from it. Last night we were sure that today would be the day. Then, a year after breaking my right pinky toe I rammed my left pinky toe into the coffee table. Yep, broken. But I refused to let it stop me. I needed to get out of the house and see something besides these four walls. Even if we couldn’t do all that we wanted to, we did go to town. I wrapped my toe. That foot isn’t needed in our automatic truck. We’d just have to stay safe and take it easy.

We hit Target and Best Buy. Then the most important part of the trip, Blockbuster Video. During lock-down we saw the movie on Netflix. I couldn’t wait.

It certainly brought back memories. If my toe wasn’t hurting I think I might have taken more time to get some memorabilia. There seemed to be a lot of business so I don’t think it is going away. I look forward to our next visit.

Regardless of IF/keto I went ahead and had Del Taco. For lunch I do the 8-layer burrito with no beans or rice, extra guacamole, extra sour cream, extra cheese. I also ordered for my dinner a spicy jack quesadilla and a small fry. That’s bending it a bit but since it doesn’t happen but once in a few months I think that is fine.

My son was having a bit of problems with his digestion so he wasn’t having a good day either. Still with masks we hit all the stores including Walmart. I got a new pair of PJs and he found all the things he needed to buy.

The highlight of the trip was the Blockbuster. The trip itself was beautiful. The weather was perfect and the scenery gorgeous. Hopefully. we will remain healthy and get to go again soon. There were so many things I wanted to do but the toe was having none of it.

For many reasons my writing goals have slipped. Today I officially lowered my goal to a possibly more reachable realm, 25K instead of 50K. I still like the story, I just don’t want to overwhelm my senses with something that won’t be fun to reach. I would rather have to chance to go do outings and hit all my fun new musical goals than get discouraged in any way.

I will probably do Duolingo after publishing this and spend a little recorder time. Writing and piano will have to wait until tomorrow. I’m tired!

Fast Friday


That’s how today has gone. Fast! When days like today happen, I remember when my kids were young. I remember being so busy the whole day and when my then husband got home the house was a mess and I was exhausted yet it looked like I didn’t do anything at all. I learned a little trick. Rather than write a list of tasks I wanted to achieve, I would list what I actually did. That made me feel so much better.

In fact, I think this blog is a bit like that for me. It is a way to help me not think that life has just passed by while I just lived it. You know what I mean? And it does help. If I want to know when the last snow happened, when the last pair of socks finished, what was I doing last year this date, I look it up here and say to myself, “See! I did do something.” ” Oh look it snowed bundles more last year,” etc.

So, I don’t have writing numbers for today as I haven’t written yet today. With yesterdays numbers I have Pandamapocalypse just 1,001 added. Marina’s Mission 5,360. As soon as I have this blog published I will go spend the time to make about 500 on Panda and 1,667 on Marina.

I did run through the Prelude from yesterday, not nearly as well. I think the light was worse for me at that time of day. Then I played a few bars ofย 

ย 

No, I didn’t play it one handed. I have in the past but right now I just want to make music. Lesson learned, do piano things earlier in the day while the piano is in the living room. When we move it, it will be lighter longer as it will get a southern exposure.

I did play with the recorder a bit. I will be using this YouTube to help for a bit.

Then when I just wanted to make the music I went to practice on this website.

Then I did a little playing by ear just to work on breath control and moving stiff fingers.

Speaking of stiff fingers I did a few rows on the newest pair of charity slipper socks. Working on ankles then cuffs, yay!

Now it is close to midnight and I have some stories to write before bed.

dont stay up too late

Busy day. The muses have given me a workout. I’m not done even now. But I thought I should report how amazing these Muses are.

First of the day I sat an played a couple songs by ear on my soprano recorder  I did find  a wonderful webpage to help me until I can get a few books. From that website I learned to play Lightly Row. That was fun.

I ran to my piano and played Prelude.  Why yes, that is a sticker (just above the Allegro) that I tried to rip off the page as I am embarrassed that I learned to play this way back when I was a teen or less. Now at 71 that sticker makes me want to cry. I learned so much from Mrs. Skinner. The first teacher out of church that I knew most of my early life.

I found the playing fun and I got up immediately so that I could remember music as fun.

I went back to the recorder for one more play-through and then looked up YouTubes. I ran across Kalimba lessons.

Hey! I have a Kalimba! So now I am on a kick to learn Kalimba, too.

Why all this musical attentions? Mrs. Skinner. I remember when I hated piano. Never Mrs. Skinner. But she told me not to play the piano for a while. She gave me her ukulele to go home and play with. She had a tuning whistle and a book. When I got pretty good at that she made sure I had piano music for voice and let me learn to sing to my playing.

So I am playing with music again to start to love it. Again. And the recorder, I hope will increase my breath control.

Oh! I nearly forgot, I spent time on my next page on the Dragon Coloring Book.

Now to get back to what I haven’t finished for the night. My JuNoWriMo projects. So far I have (not counting todays) 827 words added to Pandamapocalypse and 3594 added to Marina’s Mission.

Now to get back to work as the story is coming around!


Yep, I’m at it again! JuNoWriMo. I didn’t finish, or even do much with last months editing. So I am combining the editing and rewriting that needs to happen to finish Pandamapocalypse. But a new book was calling to me so I have started on Marina’s Mission. So my count for Panda is 510 words added as the story still hasn’t finished. Yet MM is the second part of Panda. So this is going to get complicated. Even so I managed 1870 words. Yeah! 

I have complained that we get no spring or fall here. But this year the weather has been more of a springy feeling. I love my mesquite bushes just outside. They blossomed up and became nearly yellow with all the flowers. I finally got out to take a couple pictures.

Can you see the pods? Those are what makes the mesquite the most fun. In the summer when the pods turn brown they start popping open. If you are lucky, as you stand an look at these huge bushes, the sound of popping corn happens. It is so much fun to stand and hear a bush make noise!

It wasn’t really quiet as I took the pictures. There were so many bees that the buzz made me very nervous. I got away as soon as I could.

My newest socks are coming along.

The practice on the recorder was slight but I did manage to finger out Mary Had A Little Lamb, and Twinkle Twinkle. But I would love a book to read the music as I go. Tomorrow I promised myself to play one song on the piano just to reconnect.

For those that are curious as to how the Intermittent Fasting/Keto are doing. I’m managing OMAD (One Meal A Day) and that is a very healthy meal. I am rarely hungry later and if so water or tea will do the trick. My pants are getting loose enough to pull down without unsnapping or unzipping. I don’t weigh myself but at the end of the month I have a doctor’s appointment where I know they will weigh me. I think I will be happy with the result.

Today has been the warmest day all year. I think we hit 92. It is suppose to cool off the rest of the week. I think this was to help us get used to what is coming. Fans were running in every room all day.

Midnight is creeping up so I best get this published and head off to bed.

sleep well

Last time I saw this picture was in July last year. Oops! I haven’t colored in a long time! But today I finished using pens and crayons. I didn’t like the story they presented. I have a Marina in my latest Haven book so I rewrote the bottom. Which is nudging me to make the next story about Marina. I really like her and I think she has a lot to offer. My Marina has short blonde hair but I suppose she enjoys wigs or can grow it out now that she has been gene-popped with the other Havenites.

So now I have the beginnings of an outline for JuNoWriMo! Thank you Linda, for tickling the muses and getting me back to enjoying the escaping!

Here’s the next pic in that book. I hope I can hit this before mid-month for a change! It really helps to play with the crayons and colors!

I don’t like the idea of swords or knights or other things attacking my dragons, but this may well happen in the next book! Woe be to those who attempt to kill my Haven dragons!

Thank you, Linda G. Hill, for this fun prompt. I am always happy when I join in the fun of the Escapist Coloring Club


Have you ever had a thing call you to do a something and suddenly you are doing it? No, keep it clean, you all! My music shelf needed sorting. My memory of singing in the truck last week finding I needed more air. Two things crashed. If I started playing the recorder again, I might make my breath stronger. I have recorder teaching books. At least that was the stream of thoughts. But straightening all those books, no recorder books. Darn! I did find my nice soprano recorder in my piano bench. There’s a plus. 

Then I decided to try and find an app to teach myself recorder. I don’t like the app at all. I spent two hours tapping our rests and whole notes on just the key of B and A. My fingers are hurting and I need more movement than just those two notes. I can’t imagine anyone liking that kind of lesson. I think I will go look for books on Amazon when I get paid. Meanwhile, I’ll just play around and see if I can keep the notes sounding pure and not squeaking. 

I think I am getting a music bug again. I miss it. And I miss coloring. And I miss writing. Well, JuNoWriMo is calling but I need to finish the old book before starting the new–or do I? What if I start something completely new?

Well, that is how my Sunday went. Muses are crashing into each other trying to get to me. I’m loving it!

Bitmoji Image

A to Z Challenge, W


What day is it anyway? Two days have had me mixed up. Sometimes I knew the day; other times, I was so caught up in what I was doing I lost all sense of time or place.

Where was I? Editing! Word and I were working together. Sometimes well, sometimes worse. And guess what? I surpassed my goal of another 25K. I wound up with 30,214 words edited! Woo-hoo! I still have a bit to go but not enough to start a new project at CampNaNo.

Pandamapocalypse is shaping up! Want to see the cover again? I do!

Yeah, it’s kind of creepy but I now know how this scene becomes a reality in this sci-fi book. I can’t wait! I have over 75K in the book right now. But how many will disappear in editing? Wonder if any more will populate the page? The story is still fun for me.

Well, I have been on the computer all day for two days. See you in a while!

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