Reading

Typing With Wet Paws: Family Weekend Edition

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Hi, Storm Troopers! Twice in one week. I could get used to this. I’m going to be quick this week because our weekend is full of family stuff. Don’t worry, it’s good. Aunt Anna has her local RWA chapter meeting on Saturday. It will be an important meeting, with some serious stuff and some fun stuff, too. Aunt Anna loves that the membership is varied, that there really is a love story for everybody.

Talking about love stories is a pretty good segue, because that’s basically what Aunt Anna does. Buried Under Romance is sorting out a few things, moving to a new host, and getting ready to unleash some fun new stuff including but not limited to getting to know the staff and what kinds of romance novels they like and recommend. Aunt Anna is also looking for other romance authors who would like to be interviewed for the blog. because talking to writers is one of her very favorite things, especially if it pertains to the writing of romance. Also cats. Lots of writers have cats.

On to the business of Aunt Anna’s Goodreads challenge for 2020. Right now, she is two books ahead of schedule, with five books read out of ninety. This is partly due to the trick that she learned from Miss Lisa at Buried Under Romance, about making any book into an audiobook if she reads on her Kindle app, but I do have to include a cat-viat on this one. Sometimes, Aunt Anna finds the computer voice reading to her so relaxing that she falls asleep. When that happens, I curl up next to her head and purr. I think that helps. Maybe not her, but it helps something. Mostly me.

Really tiny notebook, perfect for feline use

Other than reading and writing, Aunt Anna is usually planning, and one of the things that she did this past week was to use something she has had for a very long time, but had not used for almost that long. That is the stamp that you can see above in the really tiny notebook. This reminds Aunt Anna that her goal is to remain true to her own voice and write the storts of stories she most wants to read, and leave all that marketing stuff ifor later. She is still figuring out what this tiny notebook is for, but right now it is pretty good for keeping the most important tasks for the day. I still think it is more cat sized than human sized.

Anyway, that is about it for right now. I need to herd Aunt Anna to bed because it will be an early morning and a big weekend. Stay tuned, Storm Troopers, because more news is coming.

Headbonks!

Typing With Wet Paws: Weekend in New England Edition

annabowling Leave a comment

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!

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!

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…

Let’s Call It Market Research

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Only me today, but Storm insisted on being in the picture. Such is life with a beautiful calico girl. She has a thing for the Happy Planner paper. If it’s open, she must sit on it. Must. Even, and perhaps especially when I am opening the planner or notebooks to do Important Writer Things.

Very important Writer Things in this case, mean taking a look into the future, and making a road map to get me from where I am, to where I want to be. Real Life Romance Hero is on the new apartment case. As much as I love the perks of motel life (and there are some, housekeeping most of all) we are all more than ready to put down roots and settle into a real home once more. That will bring regular writing with it (yes, yes, I know, that can happen any time, any place, but it’s a heck of a lot easier when some of the basic things are more reliably covered) and I would like to have an idea of how that will look.

Which is what brought me to the open notebook that Storm claimed for her own. Okay, any paper is hers, but this paper is a clear favorite, above all. The notebooks I had open today were two dedicated solely to writing life stuff. One, not pictured, is for mapping out the current historical and contemporary projects, and a place to record potential future stuff, because the day will come, probably sooner than I think, when I’m going to have to start a new document and begin writing a new book.

In today’s market, that is more likely new books, plural. Series sell. They’re not how I naturally think for my solo work, but I’ve hit a vein of “yeah, but what if I tried it anyway?” and riff on some stuff that might be interesting to try at some unspecified time in the future. There’s a freedom in that kind of thing. No commitments as of yet, current work is still on track, and these particular pages are a place to ask myself what might be fun, how I might like to stretch, or if, maybe, it’s time to let ideas that have been in my head for years or even decades (yikes!) out for a meander.

This dovetails rather nicely with my determination to come from behind on my Goodreads challenge, targeting historical romance novellas (bonus if they are Christmas related) via Kindle Unlimited (because economical measures are win) means that I get to see stories I might not have found if I didn’t have this particular goal. Time travels for instance. Not a lot on the brick and mortar shelves (at least where romance fiction is concerned, but checking on the e-book front? Alive and well, from what I can see. Not saying if this means there is life in my own personal time travel (firmly on the back burner, until I figure out how many ten pound cats I was trying to fit into that particular two pound bag.) but definitely food for thought.

I found myself wanting to make note of this book and that, scribble down names of authors who look like they might have something I’d like. I’m seeing a lot of variety there, medieval, Vikings, pirates, Highlanders, ancient world, etc, along with nineteenth century stories, looser interpretations of the series concept, including shared worlds, and…I like it. This bears some study, and some recording of the study, so expect to see some of that here in the coming weeks and months.

This exploration excites me. It’s what I’ve always loved, and it’s something new. There’s an energy there. What if, instead of thinking about perfectly polished prose and getting everything “right,” I looked at what would be fun? What would I like to do a whole lot of, and train myself to write (to completion) faster? I look forward to finding out.

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!

Typing With Wet Paws: Midnight Yowl Edition

annabowling Leave a comment

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!

#calicolovestorm on IG

Typing With Wet Paws: Well That Was a Week Edition

annabowling Leave a comment

Hi, Storm Troopers! I figured it was about time for my fans to have their own name. I am a very popular girl around here. Housekeeping loves me, and I love going in my adventure cave. Some humans call it a carrier, but it is my adventure cave, and I love it. The soft lining is super comfy and smells like my people. I can see out of the door and little windows in the sides, so there is always something to see, unless we are in the car and whoever is holding my adventure cave holds it too low. Then, I tell them in no uncertain terms that my view sucks, and that must be remedied immediately. I want to see everything.

This week, we changed motels and then changed back. We did not like the other one, and are settled back in our for-now home. Aunt Anna has her computer set up again, and I have my towel next to it, so I can sleep…I mean supervise…while she works. This past week, and the weekend, have been for adulting, so Aunt Anna wants to buckle down and make this week a big return to writing.

buriedunderromance.com

Part of that is her weekly Saturday Discussion post on Buried Under Romance. Last week, she talked about where the site is going, and where it’s been. Click the link above to go read about that, and feel free to add your comments if you would like in on the discussion. It is never too late to talk about great books.

Speaking of which (smooth segue, right?) let’s take another look at Aunt Anna’s Goodreads challenge. It is, in fact, the dreaded ten books behind, with seventy-one books read out of ninety-five, but Aunt Anna is determined, and she is digging in to get this done on time, which will also go a long way to filling her creative tank, because there is a lot of writing yet to be done.

That’s along with that adulting stuff, of course, and taking care of me. Did you know I made some milestones this week? Well, I did. I first did something I have wanted pretty much since getting here, and that is getting out of the room and into the hallway. Aunt Linda was onto me, though, and Aunt Anna was on her way back in, so I followed her, and have not been allowed near the door by myself since. The other thing is that I can open drawers now. I taught myself. Aunt Anna was writing at the time, and she tried to stop me, but I come from a long line of determined women. My mom, Aunt Anna, Aunt Linda, that’s a long line, right? Anyway, yeah, I can open drawers now. Well, at least these drawers. I like grabbing a quick snooze in Uncle Rheuben’s drawer. His clothes are soft and he smells like food. Probably goes into why Aunt Anna picked him.

I will, of course, be on hand to provide cuddles and purrs while Aunt Anna does both the reading and writing things, and we are not supposed to go on many more adventures anytime soon, until we get new apartment. Wherever it is, it better get ready. There’s a Storm coming.

Headbonks,

Typing With Wet Paws: Post-Book-Launch Edition

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Hi, everybody, and happy November! I’m Storm, and I am not a big expert on Novembers, because this is probably only my second one, but that should make it very easy for me to have the best November yet, right? I know some cats have writers who are doing NaNoWriMo this month. It sounds very exciting. All of thst lap time, and all those warm keyboards has to be an incredible experience. I will be having some of that, as Aunt Anna and Aunt Melva are committed to getting Drama King to the end of draft one this month, and Aunt Anna wants to get a few other things under control at the same time. Maybe that’s what all those planners are for? I, of course, will be on Mews duty, to make sure she gets it all done, including taking copious breaks to pet and play with me.

mews on deck

Buried Under Romance

Aunt Anna would like to apologize for the absence of posts at Buried Under Romance this past week, but exciting new things are coming, very soon. For a while now, she has half-joked about what she would like to do if anyone ever dropped a romance magazine in her lap, and that is very close to what is going on there. There is a platform, there are some very talented reviewers and other people to make it all work, and what better time to truly kick into gear than the holiday season?

Readvember

I don’t know if Readvember is really a thing, but maybe it is, now. Aunt Anna flatly refuses to look at how far behind she is in her Goodreads challenge until she finishes reading at least one book. She would rather look at the books she is supposed to be reading instead, and maybe find a way to track reading progress that will keep her motivated. Do you know of any reading challenges that are fun? Leave as link in the comments, and Aunt Anna will give them a look.

Life After Launch

Please note that is “launch,” not “lunch.” Lunch has not happened yet as I write this, and I am more of a breakfast and dinner girl, anyway. Aunt Melva is sending Aunt Anna some more pictures from the book launch, to share with everybody The pictures look like everybody had a really fun time, and Aunt Anna says they did. Now, all of the reception leftovers are gone, except for the memories, and it is back to business on all things reading, writing, and blogging related, not necessarily in that order.

So far, Aunt Anna is planning to show what planners she is using to keep her writing stuff in line, at least for the time being, at the start of next week. I suspect she will move a lot of things around before then, but as long as she settles on something that makes sense, that is all that matters.

There has also been talk of getting a real cat bed for me, to keep next to the glowy box. Anything is a “real” cat bed, as long as there is a real cat sleeping on it, but I have heard that the motel will want their towel back when we move into our real apartment, and so it’s probably best to get something in place now, so I can know it is mine when we do pick up sticks and set down roots in a different place.

That’s about it for this week’s post. Not that much to report, it’s true, but it’s a brand new month, beginning today, and Thanksgiving month, at that. For those who are curious, yes, I will get a special dinner on Thanksgiving day, but it will be chicken, not turkey, because my mom told Aunt Anna that turkey and my tummy are Not Friends. We won’t go into how my mom found out that bit of information.

Wait. There is one other development this week, which I think needs to be included. I have a new Thing that I do. Sometimes, the humans don’t immediately stop what they are doing (including sleeping) when I ask them to play, so now, to show them I am Really Serious, I bring them my Mousie toy. I also have crinkly foil balls, which are fun, but I only ever bring them Mousie. When a cat brings you a slimy stuffed mouse, trailing a long string, it is an expression of love. There is a lot of love around here.

Okay, that’s really it. Headbonks!

short-haired calico cat, eating out of a pink bowl. Handwriting font reada "love, Storm"

This is a Planning Post About Planning Posts

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Can you believe it’s almost November? Not only are we coming up on a new month, but the end of the current year and start of the next, which means the start of a new writing year, which means time to take stock of my planners, see what I have, how I want to use what, and what needs to find a different home. I am mostly talking about planners/planning, but it does apply to writing projects as well. Only so much time in the day, and finished is better than perfect.

i sm not keeping track of word count in Drama King (that’s Melva’s job) but I do know what scenes need writing in order to get to that point, and it’s pretty much the same with Her Last First Kiss. My best educated guess on how I am going to track writing on these projects is by scene, which works perfectly fine for me.

My original first draft of this post, handwritten in a mini composition book, because most of my first drafts are handwritten, was largely about how the midst of a months-long move is both not an advisable time to curate one’s planner repetoire, and turning out surprisingly well. Basicslly, where I hsbe landed on that one is that starting out minimally and then noting whst i wish I had, then filling that need, works decently in both writing and planning.

The planners in today’s deskscape are sll in current use. The Hsppy Plsnners are birthday gifts from Housemate, who has pulled me over to the Happy Plannerverse. She says thst mesns nothing, becsuse I am her planner dam, and thus anything she does in the planner world traces directly back to me. Fair enough. I had been snobbish about HP in the past, largely due to the disk binding, but I like the layouts and the artwork, and whst better way to find out if I do like the system or not than to use it.

I could say the same thing about trying contemporary romance, or submitting to e-pubs, both of which have turned out oksy, so i hsve high hopes for the new plsnners. Things will sort themselves out in time, usually when I’m not looking, rather going along, telling stories, playing with pens and paper , etc. There definitely can be more reading, especially as I craft what I am cslling my mission statement for Buried Under Romance, which may end up with a planner of its own.

All of thst is part of planning future blog posts. I do want to talk more about how I use planners as a writer, and still keep the focus on writing. We will see how this goes. Fiction writing comes first, and planning should, in theory, make that go more smoothly. In practice, well, we will see about that.