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Typing With Wet Paws: Weekend in New England Edition

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Hi, Storm Troopers! Your eyes do not deceive you. It’s me, Storm, coming at you on a Monday. That’s because Aunt Anna and Aunt Linda took me on an adventure for the weekend, to Aunt Linda’s mom’s house, the same place where we spent Christmas. We got to see Uncle Bob and Cousin Kristen again, and this time, I got to explore the kitchen and living room. So. many. Smells. I even found the kitchen window that was a favorite sunbeam spot for many cats who came before me. I cannot tell you the importance of that kind of tradition. That was also the traditional place of food bowls, but mine were still in the bedroom I shared with Aunt Anna. Go figure. Maybe next time. Aunt Linda’s mom has moved to an apartment, so we are helping get the house ready for its next adventure.

Right now, there is no interwebs there, so that is why no updates over the weekend. The humans may be working on that. I am not allowed in the place called “basement” which I hear has really cool stuff in it, like cardboard boxes, shelving units, and the washer and dryer. It is also the place where Michelangelo, a kitty who came long before me, once famously got locked in overnight, and made a BIG MESS until Aunt Anna sprang him and rescued him. It is a historic site. Maybe I will get to see it next time.

Anyway, we are all back in NY now, and Aunt Anna is ready to get back to work. Part of this can be attributed to the benefits of a good digital detox, part of it to a notebook sale, and part of it to feline inspiration. Okay, also wanting to get moving with the writing thing already. I guess that’s a thing.

Please note that the unicorn book is cat-sized

Buried Under Romance was also buried under maintenance (see what I did there?) this weekend, but don’t fear, Aunt Anna will be back there this week with some fun questions for you.

Since we are now in a whole new year, it is time for a new Goodreads challenge. Aunt Anna is already trouncing it this year. She is four books in already, which is not only four percent (is that right? I am still learning math.) but one book ahead of schedule. She is going to the library this afternoon, to pick up some more books, so that number is going up. Right now, all four titles are YA, but one look at her currently reading shelf will show that she is still gobbling the historicals. I will help by sitting on her and doing my loud motor purrs. I think that helps her read faster. I think it helps her write faster, too.

Anyway, that’s what we were doing all weekend, but we are back in business now, so Aunt Anna will probably be writing her own blog on Wednesday. I’m still here if she needs me, though. The only thing on my schedule is a bunch of naps, and my daily midnight Parkour session. Other than that, I am at her service. Furvice? Purrvice? Eh, I’m up for all of it.

Headbonks!

Plan as We Go January

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Hey. Hi. Hello there. Here we are in the second week of January, first full week, and for those of us who are into the whole planning thing, this is the big show. This is where the rubber meets the road, or rubber cement meets the paper. At the very least, where the pen meets the paper. While some aspects of planning tick all the tried and true boxes, this year, there is also some uncharted territory.

Last year, I waffled between ring binders and traveler’s notebooks (rings vs strings, the eternal struggle) and was admittedly snobby about discbound systems, including but not limited to Happy Planner. This year? I am actively designing my own discbound planner. Probably printables at first, because manufacturing these things is far outside my pay grade at the moment, but the fact that I am researching tools and costs and components, that’s a very new thing.

That kind of makes sense, because this year is full of a lot of new things, so doing new things the old way is probably not the wisest approach. I have one notebook for current projects that are active: my contemporary romances with Melva Michaelian, my historical romances on my own, and the uncharted (for me) wilds of starting a Patreon. How much time do I have, how can I best spend it, and what has the chance of being a decent return? Since my chosen field is that of commercial fiction, there is a real chance that the right answer is “ahaha, none of it,” but it could also be “never try, never know,” and that’s the view I naturally take.

2019 was, in many ways, a dumpster fire. That’s in the past. 2020 is only six days in, and the better I plan, and carry out those plans, the better I feel. It’s not so much finding a system that works for me so much as creating it as I go. That means paying attention wo what comes naturally versus giving myself headaches trying to shove myself into some sort of box that I think I’m supposed to do. Beginner’s mind is essential in endeavors like this.

What seems to be working best for me when I start a new notebook or planner, is to carry the thing around, empty, for a few days, and then take note of what I wish it had inside it. Using a system that I have never used before, aka discbound, fits well with that mindset, at least for me. I love that the pages aren’t stuck in place, and if I want to move something to a different section, or a different book, I can do that, no problem.

Yesterday, Housemate came to the conclusion that she is a mini size Happy Planner person, and gave me her classic size planner from last year, mostly unused, and the classic size Happy Notes (same system, notebook paper instead of planner paper.) I sat there, looking at them for a minute, with a little bit of a Christmas Morning feeling (what planner geek doesn’t want this sort of thing dropped in their lap?) before I started to think about possibilities.

What was I going to do with a notebook that has twelve sections? Well, take the old planner pages out, obviously (and set them aside because there is this cool tutorial by Sarra Canon) and then stare at the empty tabs and think about what I want to have in there. At the moment, I’m thinking it could be a catchall for future projects that are still in the idea stage, where I can put notes, pictures, etc, as they come to me, and then they’ll be there when it’s time to actually start the writing.

That’s the thing that’s newest about how I want to approach writing this year. It’s time to Get Stuff Done, push past the Hypercritical Gremlins as best I can and remember what it felt like to throw the movies in my head onto the page, without paying attention to what could go wrong. That’s still kind of scary, but it’s scarier to think of never getting the stories and characters who are as real to me as people I can see and hear and touch, and introducing them to readers.

Since I do well with this kind of structure, my plan (hah) is to focus on one slot per month to give a closer look into what I’m doing, planning/notebook-wise. Some of that may end up on Patreon, and we’ll figure out what works, together. One area I’m keeping in focus for this early stage is to record the ideas that I’ve been carrying around for a while, that I would like to see all the way through. Something tells me I may surprise myself along the way.

How about you? What systems do you use for reading or writing? Pull up a chair in the comments, and share.

Typing With Wet Paws: Welcome, 2020 Edition

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Happy New Year, Storm Troopers, and welcome to the very first Feline Friday of the new year and decade4. This is very exciting, because this is my second decade I have ever experienced, and maybe my second year, period. My mom said I was two when Aunt Anna got me, but I am noticeably bigger than I was back then, so the humans think I may be actually a little bit younger. That’s pretty cool, because that means more adventures ahead.

First, I will tell you about our Christmas adventure. We went to Aunt Linda’s family home, which is in a different state. I met Aunt Linda’s brother, Uncle Bob, and his daughter, my Cousin Kristen. They are both grownups. They are visiting from far away, and missed their kitties, who were home, so they poured all the attention on me. That was pretty awesome. I got lots of presents, like a whole new set of food bowls, toys, and even a litterbox that can stay there, so they will be there when we visit next time. Because I am a really good traveler, this means that when the humans go to visit, I can come, too. I am all for that.

I was very young for last Christmas, but I caught on with the traditions for this one. On Christmas morning, I brought Aunt Anna a lightbulb. Nobody is quite sure where I got it (and I am not telling) but bringing Aunt Anna presents is kind of my thing, and she had not unpacked my toys yet. I couldn’t show up for Christmas morning empty-pawed. I’m not an animal. Oh, wait, I am. Nevermind.

Aloha, Johanna Lindsey

Okay. Moving forward and getting back to business at the same time, Aunt Anna is back at Buried Under Romance, though with a bittersweet topic. Last week, romance lovers heard the sad news that Johanna Lindsey, an important writer of historical romance for many readers and writers, had gone to Rainbow Bridge back in October. She will be missed, though there is a little bit of her in all of the books she left for her fans.

As for Aunt Anna’s Goodreads challenge, I am very proud of her, because she did it. Ninety-nine books read out of ninety-five. She wanted to make it an even one hundred, but ninety-nine is still pretty impressive. If you want to follow her challenge for 2020, she is going for ninety books once more. We will see how that goes, but I have faith in her. I will cheer her on by sitting close to her and giving my best, loudest motor purr.

Moving on to Instagram, Can you believe that not one of Aunt Anna’s top pictures is of me? Hmph. Granted, she only got me in October, so that may have something to do with the slight, but I will reserve judgement for next year. She does plan to keep posting stationery pictures, but never fear, I will be in some of those, as well as being the star of my own shoots. Csn Aunt Anna double her Instagram subscribers by this time next year? Only time will tell. Since there will be more pictures of me, I can only imagine so.

Now that the holidays are past, Aunt Anna is back at work. She wrote a scene for an upcoming novella yesterday, and is going all in on this whole Patreon thing. She has been researching what other creators she likes are offering, and deciding on tiers and a lot of other fun stuff. Watch this space for the big announcement when she opens shop. There will probably be some growing pains, but that is okay, because Aunt Anna and her patrons can grow together. If you have any ideas of what sort of content you would like to see her offer, leave your idea in the comments, and I will make sure it gets to her. Maybe along with her usual morning present.

Headbonks!

2020 Vision?

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Yesterday, I didn’t mean to spend the entire day on Patreon work, but that’s how things worked out. I started out making a spreadsheet for my TBR for the coming year, and things kept going. One list for favorite lush historical romances, another for favorite contemporary YA, and a batch of ideas for more. I love making these sorts of lists, and I love connecting readers with favorite books in favorite historical eras, with particular themes, etc. Current plans are to make requests for such lists available on one of the tiers., If the list is for something that isn’t quite my taste, say wallpaper Regencies, I can still do some educated guessing, as in what’s popular, has received high reviews, or looks interesting in some aspect. I could pick out books all day long, seriously, and be happy to do it.

Today is the first day of my one page a day writing schedule. One page of fiction -doesn’t matter what- bare minimum. More if I can, more if I want to, but that first page, those first two hundred and fifty words, they don’t have to be perfect, don’t have to be even good, but they do have to be. That’s easy enough. I will proably lump those in with Storm’s weekly blogs, along with other progress reports. We will see how it goes, and I am more than likely going to make some sort of paper tracker because that’s how my brain goes.

Speaking of paper planners, I plan (see what I did there?) to share more about what I do with that, as well. There is a beautiful black version of Spinebreaker headed my way, to hold my everyday carry bullet-y journal-y commonplace-y notebook. Spinebreaker’s lovely pink self will hold some different inserts to help me manage the writing projects I have on tap for this year. I will figure it out as I go.

Both yesterday and today, I have been listening to YouTube videos analyzing episodes of Black Mirror. I have seen exactly one episode of that show, “San Junipero,” but I’m still getting a lot out of the commentary. My tenure at Heroes and Heartbreakers gave me the chance4 to ramble on about my favorite TV ships, and the moments that worked, as well as the ones that didn’t. I’d like to bring some of that to the blog, and/or Patreon. This amy involve another attempt at making video blogs. We will see. Some of that will depend on where we land, Stately Bowling Manor-wise, but it’s definitely on the table.

The thing that has to happen before any of this other stuff can occur, though, is the writing. The putting of the bottom in the chair and words on the page, paper or virtual, one page at a time, one after the other, on and on until Once Upon a Time reaches And They Lived Happily Ever After. It’s a new year, and there are stories to tell. There is no section on Amazon or in Barnes and Noble or any other brick and mortar store, for great three chapters or excellent outlines. Only. Full. Books.

That means moving forward, even when there’s no gaurantee that t hings are going to turn out on the page the same way they are in my head (can they ever be?) That means tapping back into the girl who set up a makeshift desk out of TV trays, and typing out stories that couldn’t possibly go anywhere on an electronic typewriter. Only, they did. Maytbe not those exact pages, but the were needed to get me one step further down the path to where I am now, and where I am going next.

For today, that’s going to mean this blog entry, one page of fiction, and probably planner therapy after. Doesn’t have to be perfect, does have to be written. That’s doable. Let’s see where it goes.

Happy New Year.

Random Blabbery Post

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Leftover picture from Monday’s photoshoot is a good indicator that I this is going to be one of those posts where I open the document and start throwing down random brain droppings, because the plans for the original post aren’t going to work. Where are we going with this one? I have no earthly idea.

I am now only six books behind on my Goodreads reading challenge, which gives me a nice boosts. I have a mental sticky note on the books that I am turning to while pushing for my reading goal this year. Right now, I am both absolutely thrilled to be reading Broken Things, the fourth book in Jessica Cale’s Restoration era Southward Saga of historical romances, and itchy that there is only one other historical romance by this author, set a couple of hundred years later. I need moar. There will be a Buried Under Romance post on this sometime in the future.

Though making my reading goal for 2019 has become personal, something I am going to do, goshdarnit, last night, I DNF’d a book. Yeah. A historical romance. No, I will not give the name or author, as it might work better for me at another time. This book was a novella, so it fit my desired length. It was a time and setting I usually like, and I very much liked the premise. So, what wasn’t working for me? Ehhh, I don’t know. I will say that I might have liked more detail, more showing rather than telling, but it could also be that I had not been in the right frame of mind. I’ll try again later.

I’m not sure what the reading goal will be for 2020. Real life is still sorting itself out, and my educated guess is that all of the attendant stress/depression/anxiety/lack of energy has had a big hand in the lack of reading that led to the big reading lag. Being behind does create its own stress, but since the remedy for that is to stick my nose in a book, paper or electronic, I am not going to complain and consider that a self-solving issue.

According to Real Life Romance Hero, the snowstorm we got this weekend is the eighth largest in city history. I take that as an indicator that snuggling in bed with a hot beverage, purring cat and hand knit afghan (thanks, Housemate) diving into a good book. There is also some TV viewing backlog, and I may have figured out how to fix the snafu with my Sims 3 installation and engage in some retro-gaming. There could be an art journal or notebook on hand to keep me occupied during loading times. I’m not sure yet.

The calendar says we’re in December, which is getting ready for Christmas season. The snow should be helping but not feeling it quite yet. Still time, though. Maybe some Christmas novellas will help, possibly helped by a traditional fireplace video on You Tube. I haven’t watched any Christmas videos yet, so that may be another thing to try. I haven’t done much seasonal decorating in my planner, so that might play well with movies or music. We’ll see.

Got any favorite romance novellas? Bonus points if they are on Kindle Unlimited, and/or Christmas themed.

maybe I could read this book…

December Planner Post – Non-Planner Edition

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The view from the motel lobby

Yesterday, I busted some old friends out of jail. Still dealing with adult-y things, which is progressing, and also demanded that I go to a sure-fire mood booster; stationery. Housemate and I swung by the storage unit, so I could get my Papermate Flair pens all in one place.

Pretty, but lonely. I think they need friends, aka colors I don’t have yet. Not bothered with having a few duplicates, as that means readily available backup. All the fun of pen shopping, without the sticker shock, because they are already mine. Some days, a pen lover needs a fix. Yesterday was such a day. I have not yet had a chance to actually play with these pens since their jailbreak, but they are meeting up with my planners later on, as we are now in a new month.

I also busted out Big Pink (standard size Websters Pages traveler’s notebook) and Spinebreaker (B6 size Pen + Gear traveler’s notebook) both of which I have used as planners in the past. Neither of them are planners right now. I didn’t know if I had any concrete plans (hah) when I grabbed them, but I did know I couldn’t see them and leave them there. I’m using mini and classic size Happy Planners for actual planning, but I could not in all good conscience leave the girls alone

First thing I did when I got back to the motel was to ensconce myself on the bed, and rip everything out of each cover. Everything. Every insert, every accecssory, pouch, piece of deco, etc. Everything. Doing that, one finds that one has a heck of a lot of…stuff. Stuff one may not remember what it was doing there in the first place. Clear the decks, and then start adding.

I knew right away that Spinebreaker was for the B6 notebook I received from N and Mr. N. I use that for morning pages.

The green covered insert was there when I put Spinebreaker away, and could not have gone better with the other book, so it stays. This one is dot grid, and will be used for trackers. That will probably let me play some with my Flairs, or maybe some other pens. We’ll see.

I’m liking the UK theme for the pocket deco, so we’ll see how that develops. No pen in the pen loop yet, but it will probably be a basic black ballpoint or gel pen, unless I go with a multipen, but that’s for another post.

Big pink was where I had the biggest “huh” moment, because she had been my main planner, but I am using the Happy Planners for that now, and redundant calendars make me itchy. Also, I had mis-numbered December anyway, so no calendar insert for her this time. I also have a dedicated Happy Notes set up for writing stuff, so she wasn’t going to be for that, either. :drums fingers on desk:

Since the pink elastic I had for her closure had stretched out, and my only options for replacement (on hand) were turquoise and purple, I figured this would be a great time to dive in and make her a pastel Christmas themed sort of thing. Second thought was to make her gothy. Couldn’t decide, so now she’s both.

diecut from lizzyplans

No lined paper in this TN at all, as of this point, which surprises me, but it does give me the chance to try some different art-y journal things, the kind with paint and fancy lettering and :waves hands vaguely: special stuff that isn’t only bare bones handwriting. I have pockets filled with stencils and stickers and ephemera, a washi tape sampler, and we will see what this actually turns into, but it feels right for now.

Sometimes, when “real life” gets chaotic, a little creative chaos can help put things back into focus. Play matters. There will probably be another insert or notebook section for Sims games, as I want to plot out all of my households I want to play, and in which iteration, before I actually play them, or it gets to be too muddley. There may also be a reading schedule/tracker put in place, but we will see how that develops organically as I mess about with these girls. The process is part of the fun.

See you next time!

Typing With Wet Paws: Creativity and Cat Toys Edition

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Happy Friday, Storm Troopers! It’s a beautiful grey, wet day (well, to Aunt Anna, anyway) here in NY’s capitol region, which is very good writing weather for Aunt Anna, so let’s get this blog moving, so she can have the computer to herself.

As usual, she was at Buried Under Romance on Saturday, talking about strategies to not only get through her reading challenge but maybe even come out ahead, Check over there tomorrow, because she’s found a couple of other ways since then. Keeping a notebook helps her with things like that, and, this week, we have a new notebook in the family. I find it especially important, because it is also partly a present for me.

Miss N, and her husband, Mr. N, picked this up for Aunt Anna, at a local art supply store, that they all love. This gift does some multitasking, because it covers Aunt Anna’s birthday, getting me, and just because. I do note the lack of calicos on the cover, but who could compete with all this, anyway? Aunt Anna will use this as her morning pages book. It is a B6 size, and has ivory lined pages, that are smooth and fountain pen-friendly.

Speaking of that reading challenge, Aunt Anna is making some progress. As of this post, she is only six books behind schedule, seventy-eight books read our of a projected ninety-five. That’s eighty-two percent of the way home, and only taking three books per week to cross the finish line for the win. Go, Aunt Anna, go.

This week was okay, writing-wise. Aunt Anna expects that next week will be better, because she is doing some research and taking a good look at what she likes to do most, what time she has, and how she can use it most efficiently. Work has begun on the big mess writing notebook. She will farm things out to individual notebooks as it makes sense, but for now, there are some recycled planner dividers that will keep the sections kind of in order until she figures things out. She will share pictures in a future post.

I think that is it for updates so far, so I can get to the most important part of today’s post, and that is the cat toys. While I do have Mousie (my forever number one best buddy toy, for always) I am also discovering many new toys. Aunt Anna, Uncle, and Aunt Linda do not always appreciate my choices. Can you guess out of the following list which ones the humans are okay with me having?

  • Uncle’s rosary
  • Uncle’s scapular (devotional kind)
  • Uncle’s collar pin (of awesomeness at his job)
  • Aunt Anna’s pens/pen caps
  • room key cards
  • takeout forks
  • Aunt Linda’s planner cover (for scratching)
  • Aunt Linda’s purse (for scratching)
  • Craft store coupon flyer (for scratching)
  • random sweatshirt string that does not come from anybody’s sweatshirt here
  • empty toilet paper roll
  • actual cat toys (jingle balls)

Aunt Anna says I am getting a real scratching pad this weekend, and there will be a carpeted cat condo when we find our new apartment, where I can scratch any part of it that I want. That sounds pretty fun. Honestly, we cats are pretty good at picking out our own toys, but humans seem to like finding manufactured things from time to time. My mom told the aunts that I do like catnip, but I haven’t had any yet while I’ve been here. I think they are saving it for the holidays.

I also get to sit on Aunt Anna’s notebooks a lot (except when she uses the book stand, which I am still forming an opinion about) especially the disc bound ones. Those babies have some comfortable paper. I can see why she likes them. I can also play with the crumpled sticky notes she discards, but I am only really interested in them the first time. After that, they’re dead to me, and I would rather get some fresh prey. Somehow, I get the feeling that, this week, there will be a lot of that.

Okay, I think that is about it for this week, so I will see you next week.

Headbonks!

Writing Notebook: Discovery Draft

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In college, I studied early childhood education. The most important thing I learned in four years was that early childhood education and I were a horrible, horrible match. Hence several years in retail and family caregiving. All the while, I knew what I wanted to do with my life: write.

I had known that I wanted to write historical romance since I was eleven years old. More accurately, that was when I found out what it was called. I am pretty sure I was hardwired for this right out of the gate. I would not at all be surprised were I to find out my biological mother loved historical romance. Maybe we’d even have some of the same favorite books. I wrote my first historical romance, very much a pastiche of the author who first captured my attention in this genre, but that’s how we learn, right? By copying the masters when we first start?

When I was twenty=three, I submitted that first book, and got my first rejection. I was also dealing with some raging, undiagnosed depression and anxiety, so I didn’t notice the important bit about that rejection- the editor asked me if I had anything else. At the time, I did not, so that was the end of that, right? Wrong. Depression got much, much worse, real life sucked, and there were time that I thought I would never be able to write the stories I loved with all of my writerly heart. That’s when I discovered Star Trek: The Next Generation.

With absolutely no idea of what I was doing, I started writing first humor, then fan fiction, for a newsletter and fanzine. I wrote. A lot. I made friends, talented writers all, with whom I am still friends, and still a fan of, today. Even then, I described my fanfics as “historical romance with blinkies,” blinkies being a term for any futuristic equipment that had blinking lights.

I wrote and sold four historical romances after that, and even my first co-written contemporary, Chasing Prince Charming, is set in the world of historical romance, so do we see a trend here? What’s stayed the same all that time? Yeah.

When Melva and I meet, via Skype or Messenger, each week, we set out plans for what the next week should hold. Who’s writing what, if there’s anything we need to set up for the other, etc. We know we are heading to the end of draft one for Drama King, and getting the idea soup stock started for Queen of Hearts. We want to write a summer novella, and a trio of Christmas stories, and that’s probably a good 2020 for the two of us.

I want to get a similar plan in place for my historicals. I have been admiring prolific authors of late, many of whom are self-published/indie, and putting out the kinds of books they love the very, very best. That’s where I want to be. I don’t know, yet, if I want to self publish. Part of me thinks it would be an interesting experience, and part of me does not want to crunch any numbers in the outlay department, but there’s plenty of time to deal with that. What’s most important is that I get historical romance novels written and finished, before I can sell or publish them anywhere.

The how of that? Well, that’s where the whole discovery draft of a writing notebook comes into play. What do I need to get from where I am, to where I want to be? Flying into the mist with that one, and I look forward to sharing that process here. The first step? This is it, putting it out there. Next step? Setting up the actual notebook. Throw ink on paper and see what happens when I do.

See you next time

Planners and Plans for 2020

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If anybody had asked me, even a few months ago, if I would ever want to use a disc bound system for planning and organization, I would have said a flat out no. They had disks. Which were plastic. A leading brand even had “Happy” right there in the name, and that is a lot of pressure for someone who uses planning to help deal with depression and anxiety as well as writing and the duties of a domestic warrior queen in transit. Fast forward to now, and we have the heavy lifters for the coming year:

That’s classic Happy Planner in the back, with a mini Happy Planner in front of it. Yellow paper is Happy Planner filler paper in an off-brand notebook, and gorgeous galaxy notebook is Happy Notes. The pages are pink, I’ll give it the happy for that. What happened? I got the planners as birthday presents and figured I would give them a shot.

This doesn’t mean that I am abandoning my travelers’ notebooks or ring bound planners or the hordes of hardcover, softcover, and spiral bound notebooks. It’s another tool in my kit, and I very, very much like being able to move the pages around at will, without snapping and unsnapping rings, or leaving paper debris all over whatever surface serves as my desk at the time. Our family is still vagabonding, so having something that I can tote around, dump everything in one place, and then farm out to the proper specific places/notebooks later makes a lot of sense.

Some of the plastic disks are actually pretty, and not all disks are plastic. I can get metal disks if I want (and I probably will, because I know me) and some of the plastic colors are actually pretty. There are a wide variety of covers available commercially, and some creative stuff on Etsy, plus the option to buy a DIY sleeve to fill with my own choice of images. (Yeah, every much going for that one, ASAP.) After a couple of weeks, and a lot of YouTube tutorials, I got the hang of the system, and picked up my first Happy Notes, the notebook version, no planner, just paper, and rescued an off-brand cousin from a clearance rack, which has become a catchall sort of book, with pages I can readily swap out if they belong somewhere else.

Organization helps me to thrive, and pretty organization is even better. I found a few designs of planners/notebooks/papers/accessories that are more on the sophisticated side than in-your-face bright and want-to-punch-their-face cheerful. I like to have a good idea of what I am going to be doing before I am actually doing it, which very much does affect my writing, especially going into a whole new year.

2019 saw the publication of Chasing Prince Charming, another thing that surprised me. I haven’t stopped writing historical romance just because I have a contemporary out there. One of my goals is to have a historical sale and/or release in 2020. At least one, as well as my contemporary collaborations. I also want to leave room in case something else that sounds fun presents itself, because one never knows.

In the past, my writing notebooks followed a very specific pattern:

  1. pick out color scheme
  2. choose binder, always letter size
  3. create four sections: hero, heroine, villain/antagonist, and history/research
  4. never touch it again
  5. feel guilty forever

in the one sense, it kind of worked, because a) I kept doing it, and b) usually worked out a few things while doing so, but on the other, it didn’t, because, say it with me now, I never touched them again, and felt guilty forever. This doesn’t mean that keeping notebooks doesn’t work for me (um, have you met me?) but that I was doing what I thought I was supposed to do, and what probably worked very well for somebody else, but not for me. For 2020, I plan to take a more organic approach, which is to say ease the heck up on myself and let things happen as they happen in regards to setting up my writing notebooks, and shut off the annoying troll in my head that says everything has to be perfect right out of the pen. Because it doesn’t.

What I have right now is a bunch of different colored filler paper, and a plan to swoop in on any clearance 2019 disc bound planners at the end of the year. Each project will get its own…thing. I’m not sure yet how I’m going to make the divisions. Maybe as broad as historical and contemporary at first, or for 2020 and after that. That’s one of the things I want to figure out as I go along; the right way will make itself known if I keep showing up and doing the work.

Lately, I’ve been admiring the heck out of authors like Kathryn LeVeque and Sandra Sookoo, both extremely prolific authors. I haven’t read much of either author, so far, but I can still fangirl over their business savvy, and owning their voices and diving in one hundred percent. Yes. That. The question is, how do I get from where I am, to where that sort of writer is? One day at a time, it would seem, and laying out a map so that I know, generally, where I am going, and approximately how I plan to get there.

Planners are a big hep in that. I am not big on word counts, which is how many successful and prolific authors measure output. I can see why. It’s handy. For me, pages are a better bet, so I am going to try setting a page goal first. Whether or not I translate that to words remains to be seen, but a page goal, and an aesthetically pleasing way to record it seems like a good place to start. The most important part is to get the stuff in my head down on the page, all the way to the end. After that, the possibilities are endless.

I really do need a new signoff image, but this is fun.

Typing With Wet Paws: Midnight Yowl Edition

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Hi, Storm Troopers! It’s Feline Friday once more, so I am taking over Aunt Anna’s blog. I planned for that when I took over her planner. My version of helping her plan, or write, is often to lie on the paper, steal the pen, or bat it with my paw, while she is trying to write with said pen. It’s lots of fun, and I am sure has a profound effect on her productivity.

She is in hardcore planning mode right now, because this was a different kind of week. Uncle did not feel so great for a big chunk of it. He is better now, so now Aunt Anna is looking to see where she can put in some extra effort and get things back on track. I commend her for this. She is several belly rubs behind, and that cannot stand. More on that later.

First, however, I have to talk about Aunt Anna’s writing, so let’s get to that. This week, she did not get to meet with Aunt Melva, but she did get to go over a bit of a scene Aunt Melva sent her for a new thing they are playing with, outside of the Love By the Book series. Still contemporary romance, and you know Aunt Anna is going to work something historically adjacent in there somewhere. She has also been doing some longhand work on Drama King, and feeling really, really guilty about Her Last First Kiss, which means it’s getting some for-sure time this coming week. I will let her talk about that later.

As usual, Aunt Anna was at Buried Under Romance this past week. This time, she noticed a curious trend in her market research. If the picture above isn’t enough of a clue, maybe this will help. That’s right, this time, Aunt Anna is talking about Australian romance, both stories set in Australia (or New Zealand) and by Australian or NZ authors. Do you have a favorite in either category? Drop on by nd leave a comment.

How many of these can Aunt Anna get through in one weekend?

On the reading challenge front, there is actually something to report, as Aunt Anna formulates a cunning plan (she will talk about that in tomorrow’s post over at Buried Under Romance, so keep an eye open) to get up to date, and maybe even ahead, because now it is personal. As of this post, she is only seven books behind, at seventy-five books read out of ninety-five. This feels doable. It may require cutting back on Sims 4 play, but it will be worth it. Story in, story out, and all that stuff.

Happy Planner mini, horizontal layout

Speaking of plans, Aunt Anna is rather happy with the way her mini planner spread looks for next week, mostly before the pen. I helped with this one (can you tell?) and there was a minute there where we almost had an incident with stickers and my paw fur, but Aunt Anna is super fast. The spread was done without incident. We will see how that goes, when she fills it in with all of her writing stuff for the week to come.

my buddy, Mousie!

Now for the important part of this post, which is why there is a midnight yowl in the title. In case you were wondering, I was the one yowling, loud nd long. Aunt Anna was the only one (I think) who woke up, and got out of bed. She found me in the dark and asked me what was wrong. I won’t say the whole thing of what happened, but the problem was that (I am okay, don'[t worry) I wanted to play Mousie, and there were no humans up to help me with that. Intolerable! Yes, Aunt Anna did play Mousie with me, so I know that trick works, but she was not happy about it. Eh, I’m still cute. It’s all good.

Mousie is my bestest bud (besides the humans) and he was a present from my mom, so I have a little bit of her, which is nice. You can tell how much I love Mousie because I chewed off most of his face, his tail is long gone, and his string is tied around his tummy because I am a fierce hunter and catch him a lot. I mean a lot. You don’t even know how much. I do have a few balls my aunts and uncle gave me, but nobody beats Mousie.

Headbonks!

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