Movie As Research

           What do you do when you hear about a movie that sounds as if it may have some similar aspects to a book you’re interested in writing? You go see the movie! Which I did, though I’m not going to tell you which one. But it was enjoyable, maybe gave me some more ideas, but if I write what I’m considering it will still be quite different. So, I consider it research.

            Meanwhile, yes, I’ve been working on the manuscript revision I’ve mentioned before. Some progress, at least. And my sweet pups are definitely keeping me company as I work, as always, but I’m sure they still sense my somewhat stress.

           But hey, I always want my books that get published to be their best--so here we go!

Breaking Habits

 The rewrite of  the next Yarn Retreat book continues.  I'm thinking of calling it Danger Looms.  I won't go into detail, but it seems I forgot what day it was in the manuscript and the time was all screwed up.  Like things were happening out of order. Trying to fix what  I have written is not nearly as satisfying as writing.  So, I ditched a lot of what I'd written and wrote it again.  Surprises happened.  Characters started doing things on their own and interacting with each other.

I found another secret to staying in the flow.  I leave my phone in another room.   It was too easy to let it distract me.  I can't blame the phone.  I was the one who picked it up and started scrolling though whatever.  It only took doing it once to break the habit.   

I started prying myself away from my phone at other times.  It  is amazing how easy it was to do that.  The hard part is that it is not black or white.  I used to drink Diet Coke all the time and literally had a bottle of it next to my bed.  I decided that I didn't want to have anything with artificial sweeteners  anymore.  And that was it.  I stopped drinking Diet Coke completely.  I think even I was surprised that I didn't miss it or consider having it occasionally   I did the same with cigarettes. It has been over thirty-five years and I never once missed smoking.  I totally surprised myself with that.  I guess I did it with becoming a vegetarian over forty years ago.  

The trick is  to have my phone available, but not use it as a distraction.  I see how easy it is to blindly keep scrolling through Facebook posts as through there is an end.  Or even to be tempted by clickbait  half written headlines.  I will have to learn to tell my curiosity to stand down.

 In the meantime, I'm using crossword and mystery logic puzzles when I need a distraction.  At least those have the benefit of exercising my brain. and giving me the feeling of satisfaction of completing something  I thought I couldn't do..

A Lion Or Not

             It’s March, one of my favorite months partly because of family birthdays. March is said to come in like a lion, and go out like a lamb. Not sure about the lion part, especially here in L.A. where the weather has been spring-ish and summer-ish for a while. But I like lions and other wildlife, so why not?

And my writing is somewhat lion-ish, or at least my planning and revising of that manuscript I mentioned last week. I’ve been busy with it, or at least determining where to go with it.

In fact, I’d better get back to it. But in any case, Happy March everyone. And…Roar!

Now

 I have this problem.  I tend to push off things that are in the future.  It's as if I don't realize that one day they will be now.

I am always surprised at February's shortness and have to remind myself how much quicker March 1, comes so I won't be late on bills.

I am all wrapped up in rewriting the next Yarn Retreat book now.  Once I finished with all the proof reading and corrections for SCONED TO DEATH,  I looked at it as off my plate and viewed the release at sometime in the distant future that I would think about later.

Then the other day, I got an invite to an event at a bookstore in May and the bookstore owner mentioned that SCONED TO DEATH  was coming out in June.  Suddenly, the foggy future seemed a lot sooner than I had thought.  I can't make the bookstore event because it is too far away, but it got my attention. 

 I sent off an email to see if I could set up a blog tour.  I signed up for the Mystery Writers of America  online webinar about promotion. and hope it will give me some  ideas.

The truth is for me that it is all about writing the books and then they're off on their own and belong to whoever reads them.

This reminder that the future becomes the present has definitely gotten my attention and I realized those first of the month bills better get paid now.