Typing With Stuffed Paws: Anything That Doesn’t Look Like An Umbrella Edition

March 15, 2019annabowling Leave a comment

Greetings, foolish mortals. Sebastian Thunderpaws Hart-Bowling coming at you, with some of the stuff of the week that was, with special guest, Writer Chick. Why is Writer Chick here on Friday? Easy. She went to what Skye’s notes refer to as the people vet, and there was apparently medicine involved and she forgot what day was what day, and here we are. Anyway, what that means is that she did most of my work for me, so I will drop her link to last week’s Buried Under Romance here, and hand it on over.

Writer Chick also read this book, and will be reading these:

I will pause (or paws) here for some fur-sonal maintenance, while Writer Chick has her say. Here’s the picture she had as her header:

Interior, coffee shop, day.

Two women, A and N, sit in a booth, with hot beverages and various art materials. Both hold pencils in hand, blank pages in front of them. A traces around the base of a plastic to-go lid, then sections the circle into pie-like sections.

N: (peers at A’s page) Is that your umbrella?

A: Hopefully.

N: Do you know how to draw an umbrella?

A: (deadpan) Yes. Erase everything that doesn’t look like an umbrella. :flips the lid, to add small arches to the inner edges of the circle, then erases parts of outer circle that do not look like an umbrella:

Annnd scene. :curtsies:

This scene, as you may have guessed, comes, as the best dramas do, from real life. Real life, in this case, meaning my real life, and my weekly breakfast with N. This week, it was an artist’s date (artists’ date, as there were two of us?) N brought the wrong paper, so ended up doing her sketch on regular notebook paper (spoiler: it looked fabulous anyway, and I want real versions of the dresses she sketched, please and thank you.

I, as promised, brought my new water=soluble crayons and watercolor paper, along with a pack of baby wipes (for the smushing around of colors) and mechanical pencil (for the drawing of things,) metal ruler (for the drawing of straight things) and fancy eraser (for erasing of drawn things that are in the wrong place.) The umbrella thing was a passing mention. IT’s for the cover image of my April monthly planner section, so, really, all I needed to do was sketch, and N wanted to see how the water-soluble crayons worked, and the background kind of happened on its own. The black blob in the corner was supposed to be another umbrella, but that didn’t work out so well, so now it’s…a shadow? Ominous cloud? Artistic license? Yeah, I’ll go with that.

We both drew, as we talked about writing, and both put some color on the pages. N had woodless colored pencils. These are new to me, and I am guessing they are colored pencil guts without the usual casing. I paid attention to the way she held the pencils (she is an artist of some years’ standing) and how she lay down the color, while I scribbled and glopped crayon onto my paper, then attacked it with baby wipes, turning aimless scribbles into soft washes that built on each other. We talked about stories we’d both like to write, vague terms for me, more specific ones for her, and the domestic tornadoes whirring through both our families, thankfully at lower levels.

When Mr. N came to retrieve us, he asked, as he always does, if we had a good meeting. N, as she always does, said that we did. She waxed (pun intended) rhapsodic about the crayons, and the store at which they might be purchased. Mr. N is, himself, an artist, so this is relevant to his interests as well. In time, they dropped me home. I touched base with Real Life Romance Hero, then dug out marker paper, to try the same design on another surface. Yep. Still works.

N did suggest that I could tilt the umbrella, to show it from an angle instead of straight on, and I may try that, later, but, for today, I am content to say that yes, I do know how to draw an umbrella. At least this umbrella, and that’s all I really need to know. Okay, except for the size of the monthly divider, but I can tackle that one another day.

TL:DR: Yes, I can draw an umbrella. Yes, this applies to writing. Yes, I am being purposely vague because I have to be out the door in five minutes. I have a picture of an umbrella, though, even with color, and a mood, from a certain perspective, and I am confident that I can draw it again. I can also write books. This is very useful, because I am a writer. Tell the story and don’t worry about all the fiddly other stuff.

Yeah, so that’s about it. I will direct Writer Chick back to one of her multiple calendars, and, hopefully, things will be back on track next week.

Peace Out,

Sprouts, or An Author’s Eye View

March 12, 2019March 12, 2019annabowling Leave a comment

Monday’s post on Tuesday, once again, which I am going to blame on Daylight Saving Time. I am not a spring or summer person, although I live with two of them (four, if I count the boys, aka our miniature roses, Lancaster and Tudor) so focusing on writing is always a good thing. I have switched the colored pencils in the beaker on my desk for some clicky ballpoint pens, the better to brainstorm (and click absently, in the process.) At some point in the marathon weekend, I cut down black and printed cardstock to make dividers for my writing planner, then cut down some super smooth dot grid paper, and added embellished paper clips for easy access (the debate of whether to purchase pre-made tabs that may not exactly match my aesthetic, or to bite the bullet and purchase a tab punch (at which point I will become the type of person who buys tab punches, which should not surprise me, because I have been used as a pole in “how much do you love planners, on a scale of “hate it” to “Anna?””

Housemate suggested that, if I got the tab punch, then I could create planners (or dividers; she wasn’t clear) and sell them. On the one hand, that sounds fun, and, on the other, it sounds like a bunch of work. With a new book coming out, and more in the works, writing fiction has to be the first priority. I would say “especially at this time of year,” but it’s really at every time of year. Even so, there is a special emphasis that comes with the turn of the seasons.

Camp NaNo’s spring session is almost upon us, and I am still thinking about whether I want to participate. Playing with a new idea would be lots of fun, and, let’s be honest, I am going to do that anyway, whether or not I count the pages or even put any of it on the pages. That stuff is always going on in the back burner of my story brain. Always. There’s also the chance to use the time to buckle down and reclaim lost ground from Her Last First Kiss second drafting, but then there is the fact that April will also mean I will be on the other side of the as yet unwritten historical short story I will be submitting for Z Publishing’s upcoming anthology, unless I mine the story graveyard for that project, in which case I may be a smidge farther along than I think I am. I still have the first fifty pages of my Hogmanay story, that I wrote during last year’s Camp NaNo. Last year’s Camp NaNo coincided with Turbo Move 2018, so there are feelings involved with that anniversary. Right now, it’s in the “we will see” category.

Speaking of seeing, I have set myself an Instagram challenge. At the time I’m writing this post, I have eight hundred and two pictures posted. Most of those, I would bet, are of the late, great Skye O’Malley Hart-Bowling. I always loved taking pictures of her, and look forward to taking more pictures of Future Kitty, when they join the family, which will be after the next move, which sometimes feels farther away than it probably is, but, right now, I get to pick another photographic focus. Pens and paper do photograph more easily than cats, in that they do not walk out of frame, or engage in personal grooming while that is not the desired pose, but, on the other hand, they are not as great for cuddling, or petting, and they have absolutely no response to laser pointers.

To get my instamojo back, I have set myself a goal; reach one thousand posts. This means under two hundred pictures still need to be taken. N asked me how long I expected that to take, and I don’t know. I have not yet crunched the numbers, but I look forward to the challenge of finding subjects for these photos. This should be interesting. Thee only time I will ever be comfortable being between cats is if I have a cat on my left side, and another cat on my right side. That, too, is a goal. When it happens, I will take a photo, and post it.

Until then, there are pictures to take, of other aspects of the writing life, of stationery and planner pages, computer screens and mugs of caffeinated beverages, of cover reveals and Scapple screencaps. There will be a new website coming, for Melva’s-and-my work, and more features here, as well. There is another journey to be had, as I get back to A Heart Most Errant, and send it out into the wide, wild world. John and Aline aren’t done with me, and I am not done with them, so I think this bodes well.

What sprouts are popping up in your lives this spring?

Springing Forward

March 7, 2019annabowling Leave a comment

Quick drive-by post for today, because A) I’m writing, and B) missing two posts in one week bothers me, and getting a post up, no matter how slapdash, will eliminate B, and allow me to focus on A.

Yesterday, N and I had our weekly meeting, talking over our plans for the coming season, frustrations with the same old things that keep us back, and the requisite geeking out over paper and pens. I made her pet the Rhodia dot grid pages I had cut down for use in my new writing planner (they are insanely smooth, and take fountain pen beautifully) and we threw around some ideas for what cardstock to use to make new dividers, while lamenting that there were no non-month-bearing extra dividers included with the planner kit. I would have used the heck out of those.

This morning, Melva and I talked so long over Skype, that my phone’s battery drained. I don’t blame it. We had a lot of excited babble about how we may actually already be at the midpoint for

This morning, Melva and I talked so long on our weekly Skype chat, that my phone’s battery drained. I don’t blame it. According to Melva’s count (she is the Keeper Of Records in this regard) we may already be at the halfway point in the first draft of Drama King, even if we’re not entirely sure how that happened. Okay, we know how that happened: we wrote it. That’s not what I’m talking about. Part of our writing-together process (a big part) is excited babble and saying the same thing at the same time. One of us is known for going unintentionally blue, and then realizing it a beat later, which happens frequently, and one of us did make the other one laugh so hard today, that said other one dropped out of frame for long enough for the first one to now have bragging rights, but there is a sobering thought here.

Working out the next few scenes for Drama King, meant tying a few aspects into the idea soup for the next book, which we are tentatively calling Queen of Hearts, which lead into a discussion on something we hadn’t intentionally given Jack (Drama Kings hero) and Heather (heroine of Queen of Hearts, and sister to Dominic from Chasing Prince Charming) Jack and Heather have not met yet, but they will, and it’s very easy, very natural, to envision all three of our couples from this proposed series, maybe with some supporting characters tagging along, gathered around one big dinner table, no agenda, lots of good food (Jack, our actor-turned line cook-turned actor again would insist upon it) a toddler or two on somebody’s lap, maybe a kids’ table off in the corner. It would be loud and it would be messy, and I like the idea of it, very, very much. I would say something here about a historical equivalent for my historical characters, but, since I write in different eras, that would probably involve time travel, and the less said about em and time travel, the better.

For longtime readers who know what I’m talking about, I do fully intend to write Angus and Summer’s story in full, one day. They’d come after me and take me down, if I didn’t, but I have a sneaky suspicion that it’s not going to be exactly the way I envisioned it, mumblecough years ago. Which is perfectly okay. The only constant is change, they say, and this very well may prove to be true. Angus and Summer will go down in my Future Projects section, along with scouting markets for A Heart Most Errant (if all of my historical characters were in one room, I am pretty sure Aline would still be doing most of the talking) and brainstorming ideas for this year’s submission to Z Publishing’s anthology.

Speaking of which, I have some outlining to do. See you next time.

State of the Planners March 2019

March 5, 2019annabowling Leave a comment

Monday’s post on Tuesday this week, because that’s how the week is starting out, but Tudor offers two red roses (filing that one away for a future novella title, maybe a second chance at love sort of historical thing) to welcome the new month:

First Monday post of the month now belongs to a dedicated post on planners and/or planning, so let’s have a look at what’s doing it for me this month:

Pouch, sticky notes, and notepad by Papaya Art
Binder and Traveler’s Notebook covers by Webster’s Pages

One thing I have come to learn about myself, and this applies to planning, reading, and writing, alike, is that, if a page is not working for me, that means there is probably not enough on it. This all coalesced earlier this week, while I was turning over my dissatisfaction with the current everyday carry…or everyday not-carry, because what I had thought was going to be smooth and streamlined, and all of the stuff that I go through periods of thinking stripped down is going to be easier than giving in to my natural maximalist tendencies. One would think I would have learned by now, but apparently not.

I like the idea of traveling light, and there is a practicality to that, but, for me, it’s not enough. I like to have a lot to look at, which carries over into my preference, especially in historical romance, both reading and writing, to have lots and lots of details, and lots and lots of layers. Give me lots and lots of colors and lots and lots of layers, and I will stay on that page, and the ones that come after it, all the livelong day, which is kind of the thing we want to have happen when writing, or planning for writing. . This is where I am currently learning that I need to bottle this kind of thing, or stick a (literal) sticky note on it, and add it to the metaphorical toolbox.

Right now, the picure below is the setup I have for the weekly section of my writing planner. I am fast coming to the end of the stickers that came with the planner kit, which means time to hunt down some more stickers and ephemera that have the same aesthetic. This part of the hunt also serves as some delicious nibbly treats for my idea hamster. Links to or recommendations for Etsy shops, Instagram accounts, etc, where I might find unusual, pretty things for my planners, are greatly appreciated, so drop them in the comments.

While I love having one binder dedicated to writing schedules and writing schedules only, having a separate notebook for more in-detail writing notes, as in actual writing about writing, listmaking and such, does not have the same appeal. What feels much more natural, though, is putting the blank monthly and weekly pages, and pages from months past, in some other sort of storage, and using that space for abovementioned notes.

This means that I have some work to do. First, I need to decide how I am going to divide that space. Fortunately, that was easy. I need four categories:

Historical Romance
Contemporary Romance
Future Projects
Blogging

Incidentally, Li’l Pink happens to have four inserts right the heck now. Hm, could this be an answer to my question above, even if it isn’t in the same binder? Only one way to tell on that front, and that is to jump right in, throw things at the page, and see how it goes. Which is kind of like writing, which is very often a sign that I am headed in the right direction.

TLDR (Too Long, Didn’t Read) version: The most-most natural way for me to go about planning, and about writing, and about keeping track of how things are going with both planning and writing (reading, as well) is to notice to what areas/themes/flavors/etc I find myself naturally drawn, and then go toward that in the way that feels most natural at the moment. Of course, this is also where discipline comes into play, which, again, is a lot less tedious when the page has lovely things on it already. Maybe the first layer isn’t enough on its own, and that is okay. Let’s add something else, and see where that takes us. Soon enough, it’s less thinking and more instinct, and hey, look how far we came. How’d that happen?

How do you figure out what sort of planning suits your individual purpose? What’s working for you right now?

February Planner Post, Part Two

February 7, 2019annabowling Leave a comment

Wednesday’s post is here on Thursday, because it’s that kind of week. Nothing as exciting as a new planner to explain the change of posting days this time, but minor domestic tornados, mine and others’, and the second round of edits for Chasing Prince Charming landing on my and Melva’s desks. Our goal is to get those changes -there are not many- back to our wonderful editor, and move on to the next phase. That would be third round of edits, then galleys, then The Thing (aka real, live book.) Squeeze in filling out some information on cover art and such (It is a strange delight to be doing this again, after all this time) and looking at things like a joint website (Melva has a website. I have a website. Melva-and-I need a website.) Also, with setting up a new website, there are questions like what information we want it to have, what it should look like, what’s our brand, and other concerns that don’t cross one’s mind until they do, and then, well, a writer’s got to plan.

Smooth segue, huh? The image in today’s picture comes from my daily carry traveler’s notebook, which is not at all what I had expected it to be, but it’s working. I still have plans to make or purchase the inserts I originally wanted, for later in the year, but having a motley bunch of outcasts (aka most of them are from clearance sales) in my daily carry gives me the freedom to try different things, make mistakes, and step outside of my comfort zone. Which is not all that far removed from things like trying a new subgenre, writing with a partner (which I have tried before, with a different outcome) and stepping into the world of a more mainstream publisher, when my prior experience has been more boutique.

I can’t say I have a favorite amongst all that yet (maybe wait for the first royalty checks, and I may have a different story, pun intended) and I can’t say for sure for sure for sure (repetition most definitely intended) that I have a favorite planning system as of yet. My daily carry is still an A5 traveler’s notebook, though my personal size ring bound planners, for keeping on track of my daily tasks for both writing and domestic warrior queen duties, are exactly right for what I need. I still have pocket sized traveler’s notebooks waiting for their destinies, and if you notice a woman in a bookstore, placing a gorgeous premade planner back on the shelves, amd marching resolutely away from it, announcing firmly that she does not need a planner, she has planners, then that is probably me. (If in doubt, look for long, dark hair, a brown leather hobo bag, and black rimmed glasses. Red lips extremely likely.)

The page setup in the picture above is copied from the Dylusions Dyary insert that I love, but isn’t right for a daily carry, and it’s also very similar to the layout of both of my ring planners, which is one of the reasons I chose them in the first place (the next biggest reason being that they were both on tremendous discount, as well as being gorgeous.) Having the same calendar format across different planners makes it a lot easier to coordinate everything, when I need all of my information in one place. No matter where I go, in other words, I’m still me, and that applies, as well, to writing in different genres.

former writing planner, now domestic planner

Before my current writing planner and I found each other (she’s going to need a name, but she hasn’t divulged what it is, yet) I used my white Webster’s Pages personal size planner, and the setup was easy and natural, because I knew what worked for me. If, okay, who are we kidding, when, I acquire any other planner, (hopefully only for next year) odds are I am going to set up the weekly calendar pages the same way. That way, i have enough room to put in all my needed information, make my checklists, probzably on stickers or pretty paper that I glue into it, and a space to put something pretty/silly/my brand of inspirational/etc. This is what works for me, and it’s feet on the ground, when I am entering new territory.

Like a new genre, to loop things back around. Before Melva and I put our heads together to create Chasing Prince Charming, my only contemporary outings were in fanfiction, writing group exercises, and an ill-advised attempt at YA, when I actually was a YA, myself. No evidence of that last one remains, which is the best for all of us, trust me, but I consider it a badge of honor. The modern age, though, was an inherent part of the story we wanted to tell, and it’s Melva’s story home. Since mine is historical romance, that made it easy to know that historical romance would need to be part of the world in which our characters’ love story took place.

Part of the reason for this post was to share planner pron, I will admit that much up front. There’s also the fact that I am super duper tired, and promised myself some downtime after the post goes live, so that’s also incentive. It’s also to share a bit more about the writing process, and perform a virtual happy dance that Chasing Prince Charming is that much closer to being available for readers. Knowing that, soon, Melva and I will need to deal with things like cover reveals ans swag and reviews and such, not only how we handle this with a new publisher, and in a new genre. Not only how does she do it and how do I do it, but how do she-and-I do it, as two bodies with but a single mind? We are still figuring that one out. Maybe I do need another planner, after all. What are your favorite calenders, planners, agendas, and such?

February Planner Post: Part One

February 5, 2019annabowling Leave a comment

Normally, I would say that Monday’s post on Tuesday was the result of some domestic tornado, but, this time, it was a planner. (Note: this is not a sponsored post. I babble because I love, that’s all.) Sunday night’s weekly Michaels stroll led to the discovery of possibly the most Anna-est personal size planner I have seen to date, on serious clearance. Meet Magnolia Jane, from Heidi Swapp (I think the planner is discontinued, but look at those gorgeous other things in the line) I tried to reason myself out of it, as I already have my Webster’s Pages planner, which was also on serious serious clearance, but I have come to recognize this as The Sign. Planners find me. I don’t fight it anymore.

Needless to say, a bunch of Monday was spent putting this beauty together, moving into her (yes, my planners have genders) and us getting to know each other. Mostly. I still have no idea what I want to do with this page, that starts off every month:

The black washi tape is my addition, but, from top, left, we have a blank section, a dot grid section, and bottom left, gridded section, then the stripey section. Right now, I got nothing, but Housemate, who was actually the one to find this beauty, said it looked like my historical romances, and I have to say she is not wrong. So, home it came, and it is now my writing planner. The white Webster’s Pages is now for household use.

The washi tape is my addition (also another serous bargain; it’s from the three rolls for a dollar bin at Michaels) and I do want to find some prettier way of marking off the days than bare X marks. Possibly a good place to track progress on various projects, once I figure out a decent legend for that. I’ve found these things work best when I let them happen organically. Carry it around naked (the page, not me; it is winter in NY. I will be wearing many, many clothes) for a while and then, bloop, I’ll know what belongs where.

This section, I have mostly figured out. I clicked with this sort of weekly layout in my Dylusions agenda (repurposing as an art journal, now) but wanted some better use for the extra space, as I tend to write vertically. These are better suited to how I work, with half blank, and half gridded sections on each day.

This planner is only for writing tasks/habits, so the weekend, which is not a workweek (not to say that I won’t write on a weekend, and my CRRWA meetings are always on Saturdays) gets blocked off. I’m still figuring out what I want to use to record the daily tasks for the rest of the week. Right now, scrap paper “stickers” are fitting the bill, and the circular sticky notes are for writing related dates/appointments. Both the white circles and pink flags came with the planner kit.

For this planner, I will be using the Uni Ball Signo pens in blackened colors. Very, very dark versions of red, brown, violet, blue, and green, make my heart happy. The outside pocket of the pen pouch has white, gold, and rose-gold pens, for writing on dark backgrounds, so I am set to go on that part. I have not yet figured out the highlighter situation, but probably will use Zebra Mildliners. in curated colors.

This does not by any means imply that I have the whole thing figured out, or that having certain planners or pens or ephemera will magically make me a better writer (cool if that would happen, but that’s not how it works.) For some, a plain ballpoint pen and blank white paper would work much better, and, for them, I say an enthusiastic “go for it!”

What does make me a better writer (yes, of course, writing; I’m getting to that) is that, since I’ve become involved in the planning community as a whole, I want to write more. Playing with the pretty paper and pen toys combines beautifully with wanting to play with my imaginary friends, and, if I am going to be spending hours a day staring at a page or screen, they may as well be pretty pages and screens. This may have something to do with why I like writing heroes and heroines who are creative in some way; write what you know and all that. After all, I’ve already had one hero spring to life (Bern, from Her Last First Kiss) thanks to my fountain pen obsession, and his heroine, Ruby, would be all over the whole bullet journal thing. Maybe she was actually there first, because, hey, she’s in the eighteenth century. Who knows who else may be lurking in my stationery stash?

Watch this space for part two, and a closer look on how I actually use these pretties.

Typing With Stuffed Paws: Marathon Weekend Edition

January 11, 2019January 11, 2019annabowling Leave a comment

Greetings, Foolish Mortals. Sebastian Thunderpaws Hart-Bowling coming at you with all the stuff on the week that was. 2019 is in full swing, and Writer Chick is meeting it head-on, because all of her mucking about with various notebooks seems to be paying off, but more on that later. For now, it’s time to dive into the compulsories and getting those out of the way.

May the reading odds be ever in your favor…

First, as always, Writer Chick was at Buried Under Romance, on this past Saturday. This time, she’s all about the reading games many people play at this time of year. The link in the caption above will take you there, or, if you’re lazy like me, this works, too.

The library wanted their copy of Heartless, by Mary Balogh, back, so Writer Chick is now re-reading that book on her Kindle (which, by the way, she needs to charge, so, Writer Chick, do the right thing.) She is now on Fruits Basket collectors’ edition number five, and needs to send volumes three through five, back to H, so H can send her the next batch. Writer Chick is also planning to put an extra book in her package to H, that being a book that she thinks H will like. Right now, she is thinking maybe Wideacre, by Phillipa Gregory.

Writer Chick is charging into 2019 with her Goodreads challenge, going into the second week with four books read, out of ninety-five, which puts her two books ahead of schedule. The Fruits Basket collections are big, but they read quickly, so this is plumping her reading tracker in the page count department, as well. This brings her to four percent of the annual goal. Going into the new year, already two books ahead, is probably a smart move, because the marathon weekend is upon us, and reading for marathon weekends gets iffy.

Tomorrow is Writer Chick’s Capitol Region Romance Writers meeting. On Sunday, she is volunteering twice, Since Writer Chick is an extrovert, this triple infusion of PEOPLEis a very, very good thing, and she will be full of energy to tackle the writing week ahead. She will also have some free space in her stationery storage, because she is doing a small cull of pens, notebooks, etc, that would be happier in new homes. I can’t promise she won’t come home with new stuff, if anybody else has the same idea.

Another part of the reason Writer Chick is focusing well these days is that she has started a writing-only planner, with no other sutff allowed. More on that in the first Monday in February. There is also a bigger writing notebook, that is broken into sections, so Writer Chick can do a brain dump of what she’s going to write, before she writes it. After that, it’s a matter of following the map, plus she got to play with paper and pen, so that’s a plus. She also now keeps a written record of what she has blogged about, and when, which includes posts by yours truly.

No word count trackers as of yet, but, so far, setting task goals is turning out to work super well. The first round of edits on Chasing Prince Charming are on their way back to Editor Chick, and reading Other Writer Chick’s comments on the second chapter of Her Last First Kiss, is Writer Chick’s reward for helping me with this post. Though, let’s be real, quality time wiht me is reward enough, amirite?

Suffice it to say that the historical romance vibe is back, due to a few factors:

Chasing Princ Charing. Even though this is contemporary romance, it’s set in the world of historical romance, with a hero who is madly in love with the genre. Writer Chick also gets to write with Other Writer Chick, so this is double fun.
Her Last First Kiss. This book is once again in motion. Talking about it builds momentum, which means Writer Chick wants to spend more time with it, so getting through draft two is actually fun.
Proper reading and viewing diet. See the currently reading section above. Even though Fruits Basket is not historical, H assures Writer Chick that it is, at its heart, romance, and there are plenty of romances in it, so Writer Chick is well fed, there. Ditto on the romantic elements in Time and Agin, H assures her, and the old New York setting does not hurt one bit, either. Then there’s Heartless, which is most assuredly historical romance, in the Georgian era, and by Mary Balogh, who always delivers the emotional goods.
Art. Since Writer Chick received some super fun art gifts for Christmas, she is making it a point to do more art herself, and show that art to other people. This will mostly be taking place on Instagram, so follow her there, if you want to see that kind of thing. Also tell her you want to see more pictures of a handsome orange badbutt fella.

That’s about it for this week. Writer Chick wants to get to those HLFK comments, so time for me to find a sunbeam. See you next week.

Peacce out.

Typing With Stuffed Paws: Planner Chaos, Writing Peace Edition

January 4, 2019annabowling Leave a comment

Greetings, foolish mortals. Sebastian Thunderpaws Hart-Bowling, coming at you with all the stuff for the start of 2019. Well, where Writer Chick is concerned, that is. I can tell you, right off the bat, that part of that is going to involve a trip to the office supply store, because Writer Chick started off today’s session with placing the document holder thing that she uses to hold papers to transcribe, next to the desktop, instead of on top of it. Occupational hazard, around here, but, as a cat, I am proud of her. Knocking things off a flat surface…. ::dabs eyes: I’m getting a little misty here.

But enough about that. Writer Chick has been pretty hyped about starting the new year off on the right foot. Part of that was all about getting the right planning system in place. That is a story for her to tell, because it did not turn out the way she expected that it ight, but it did, in the end, get her to the right place. More on that after we take care of this week’s compulsories.

As usual, Writer Chick was at Buried Under Romance, this past Saturday, and surprises nobody when she talked about making a reading plan for the coming year. Well, that’s not actually true. She did surprise herself. If you’d like to read more about that, hop on over here and find out what went down. The caption under the above picture works, too.

Writer Chick is stepping up her reading game for 2019, and her new Goodreads challenge goal is set at ninety-five, which is five more than last year. She’s already one book down, which, seeing as how we are only four days into the new year, is not a bad start. Her friend, H, is already mailing her the third volume of Fruits Basket -only to borrow; H made that very clear- so Writer Chick will be pouncing on that the second it arrives at Stately Bowling Manor. Time and Again, which fits into the historical fiction with romantic elements (and also paranormal/fantasy, as there is time travel) is also on loan from H, who has a pretty good bead on the kinds of stories Writer Chick might not find for herself, but would love. This has inspired Writer Chick to look for books she can press upon H, in return. I will keep you abreast on how that goes.

Okay, now we get to the planner chaos and writing peace part of our post, today. There is a traditional Dutch proverb Writer Chick has long liked, that says “Man plans, God laughs.” That is kind of what happened here. Yesterday, Writer Chick took her newly moved-into Dylusions traveler’s notebook into the wide world, and…she did not like it. Well, she di, but as an art journal, not an everyday carry, so back to Big Pink, albeit with new inserts, it is. Li’l Pink as well, for easy toting. Then there is the writing tracker she threw together out of stuff she had hanging around.

Writer Chick loves that thing. Loves it. The only problem there, is that the binder, which she also loves, is literally falling apart. She tried holding it together with washi tape, which worked about as well as you can imagine, so that is another reason to go to the office supply store. It is also part of her assignment from Graphics Chick, and the whole making sure everything looks like it comes from the same person deal.

Because the binder Writer Chick is using for the writing tracker is falling apart in her hands, we can safely say that basically none of her plans about planning panned out as she intended. The writing, however? Well, that’s a different story. Pun intended. Writer Chick met all of her writing goals for the first week of 2019. She is back at work on Her Last First Kiss. Other Writer Chick said Writer Chick needs to stop making her cry (chapter one is heavy stuff.) This delighted Writer Chick, who said she cannot make that promise. Other Writer Chick hasn’t even met the hero yet.

The first third of edits on Chasing Prince Charming‘s first edit round have gone smoothly, and Writer Chick and Other Writer Chick expect to have everything turned in on time, if not before. Then the wait comes for round two. While they’re doing that, Drama King sails into its second quarter of draft one. Keeping track of who’s doing what, and when it needs to be done, so far, is working smoothly, and being accountable for specific tasks on solo works also seems to be in the plus column. Not a bad start, all things considered. Now, if Writer Chick can only get the printer to talk to the desktop, that would be incredibly useful.

Tomorrow, Writer Chick will meet with Graphics Chick, to toss around some ideas. She may also give connecting the printer another whack, or she may just whack the printer. There is a reason Writer Chick gravitates toward pen and paper, and, really, that’s best for all involved. Trust me on that one.

Peace out,

Becoming Persephone

January 2, 2019January 2, 2019annabowling Leave a comment

Happy New Year, everybody. 2018 is finally in the dust, and 2019 is ready to show us what it’s got. Hopefully good things. Though we are past the first of January, and the ornament harvest (family term for putting the Christmas décor to bed for the year) is slated for Twelfth Night (okay, the morning after Twelfth Night, so Thirteenth Morning? Is that a thing? I think it should be a thing, and have something like pancakes to soften the blow) my count of Christmas romances read, and Christmas movies watched remains the same as it was before December 25th. Zero. Oh well. I’ll get them next year.

My friend, H, gave me the first two volumes of Fruits Basket, collector’s editions. This was my first time reading manga, but a lot of the dynamics of my favorite historical romances lie within those pages, so I am well and truly into this story for the long haul. The rest of my Christmas/tucked away week reading went to The Summer Wives, by Beatriz Williams, and my feelings on this book, as with most by this author, can best be summed up with guh. Emotionally evisceration via fiction is a real thing, and, here, it is very, very, much welcome. So, that’s been my holiday 2018 reading.

As for 2018 holiday viewing, it was YouTube. All day, every day, or so it seemed. Most of my viewing fell into one of two camps; Book Tube, or stattionery/bullet journaling. In short, branding was huge on my mind, this season, especially as 2019 brings new adventures ahead. Melva and I are in the process of building our brand for our collaborative work, which of course makes me give what I’ve been doing with my own brand, a second look.

Both of these interests brought me to the same question: what sort of thing do I keep coming back to, again and again? I don’t recall where I read it first, probably on Facebook, but the text of the graphic was “Why choose between a girly and a dark aesthetic? If Persephone can be the goddess of springtime and queen of the underworld at the same time, so can you.” Yes. That. What that person said.

There were two things I noticed as I watched seemingly endless videos on the two subjects, looking for places I could twine them together. The first was that there are, to my knowledge, zero Book Tube channels about epic historical romance. Searching for historical romance on You Tube brings up a lot of fun vlogs about the current world of historiccal romance, which warms my historical romance loving heart. Deep inside that fire, though, there’ is a cranky flame (we might call it spotting a niche to be filled) that crackles with a desire to talk about some of the greats that came before, some of whom are still delivering the goods. So, there’s that.

The second thing I noticed was that I kept searching for stationery/bujo vloggers who had a certain aesthetic. No surprise, colors in the dusty rose/rose gold/ballet pink/blush family, combined with neutrals figure highly in this aesthetic. Once again, There Were Questions. What kinds of stories do I love the very, very most? Not merely what I like, but what leaves me wrung out like a wet washcloth, and happy about it? What sweeps me into its world and has me chomping at the bit to make some of that, myself?

In both cases, my next thought wasn’t “ugh, that looks hard” or “I don’t know if I can do that,” but “eh, give me a couple of pens and some paper, and I will figure it out.” That, I think, is part of taking myself seriously as a writer, and a creative being. That’s a journey that takes place one step at a time. Do I have an exact map to how this will mean gauranteed success every single time? Pffft, no. What I do know, though, is that, since i started my YouTube binge, I have been more focused on planning the actual work of writing, and have been consistentlyhitting my goals.

It’s an ongoing process. Yesterday, I opened the file for Her Last First Kiss, gave the first chapter a light spiff, and sent it in Melva’s general direction. Doing that had a similar feeling as setting up my new bujo system. Little different, but good different, still with the same feeling, even “me-er,” and …yeah. Let’s see where this takes us.

What new paths are you following in 2019?

This Post Is About Planning (Writing)

December 26, 2018annabowling Leave a comment

As if the title weren’t enough to give it away, in the interests of full disclosure, this post is indeed about planning. It’s specifically about planning writing, which I hope is the way things are going to go this year, but there is always room for surprises.

Yesterday was Christmas. Normally, I like to do this holiday BIG, but this was a quiet Christmas, which was fine with me. That was one of the first surprises. What was not a surprise was that the rest of my family wanted a very very very quiet day, which left me, for a large part of it, to my own devices. Those devices, as they are wont to do, led me toward planning and writing, and planning writing.

My gift to Housemate, this year, was a bullet journal starter kit (Housemate does not write, but she knits amazing sweaters/blankets/scarves, etc) which put me in the mood to work on my own bujo stuff for the year ahead. I’ve been talking about it for some time now (apologies to those who are only here for the writing talk; the balance will soon shift) and it led me to a surprising place. Let me backtrack.

Ever since I got my planner case, I’d been trying to shove my blush pink notebook into it, with a black/white/blush/grey aesthetic, into it, and It Was Not Working. Well, boo. If only I hadn’t wasted my berry covered gridded notebook on the TV tracker that went on for precisely seven pages, before it, too, Did Not Work. :pause: Wait a minute. Did seven pages have to mean the whole thing was down for the count? A little washi tape, some markers, and let’s see what we’ve got.

One ink color for the entire year felt too restrictive, but one color for each month? That, I liked. One family of colors per season? That sounded like fun.

Umm, Anna, this is all pretty and stuff, but what about the actual, you know, writing? We have come to that part. I am the type of writer who likes to know where she’s going, so I like the whole year at a glance thing. On Christmas Eve, Melva and I got a target date for the first round of edits on Chasing Prince Charming, so that needs to go straight into my future log. That also lets us break up the work into manageable bites, so it’s less running around in a circle, screaming, and more “Okay, this is today’s bit.”

Anna. Writing. That is a picture. You have an Instagram for that kind of thing. Focus.

That is also a picture, and there is some obscuring of personal information, but what this all came down to is, this is what I want to write in the year 2019. Chasing Prince Charming is on its way to being a real, live book. Drama King is past the 25% mark. Her Last First Kiss needs to make it to the end of its second draft, and I need to pick a historical romance to follow that one. Taken as a whole, it does seem all a bit much, but broken down into small manageable bites? Okay, that, I can do.

The trick is to figure out what parts go where. Since most weekday mornings see me with the apartment to myself, that is prime writing time. Evenings when there are three bodies in a small space, not so much. I’m still not sure how I want to track my writing this year, as I did not use the tracker I made for writing, last year. What’s probably going to happen is that I’ll write down what I wrote at the end of the day, and then figure out what I’m doing from there. Patterns will emerge, and then I can set goals, to stretch and do more.

Part of that stretching will mean a few changes for the look of this blog, and keeping a better balance between the writing and planning talk, though the two do often intertwine. Is intuitive planning a thing? Maybe 2019 is the year I find out. How are you planning your writing or otherwise creative year?

Typing With Wet Nails

for the love of romance

Notebooks