personal

Typing With Wet Paws: May Day Edition

annabowling 5 Comments

Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. April is gone, and we are now in the merry month of May. Since this is probably only my second time doing this May thing, I am not entirely sure what this means, but I am here for it.

The big news around here is that my days at Chez Grandmere are no more, because Grandmere is selling the house, but never fear. Aunt Anna and Aunt Linda are saving my favorite chair and headboard, to put in our next apartment. They packed some other stuff, too. Some of it belongs to Grandmere and will go to her apartment with her. The rest of it will get stored until our moving day, and Aunt Anna made sure to label everything so that she can find the stuff she needs when she needs it. This largely means stationery and planner stuff, as well as books. Speaking of which…

Some of Aunt Anna’s buried treasure

There is a little storytime required here. When Aunt Anna and Uncle Rheuben moved out of their apartment in CT, and into the first NY apartment with Aunt Linda, they put some of their stuff in the dungeon at Chez Grandmere. Aunt Anna was not aware that one of those boxes, in fact the one on the very bottom of the stack, held a whole bunch of books. Like really a lot of them. A whole long box full, two or three levels deep. These books are from a while ago, the 1990s and earlier Most of them are historical romance, but some (the Janelle Taylor books, for example) are futuristic romance.

Aunt Anna did a bit of sleuthing on the matter, and she is still missing one book out of the four in the Saar series, number three. This will require some scouring of eBay and related sources. If you are interested in finding our more about the books that Aunt Anna uncovered in her digging, and what they mean to her, hop on over to Buried Under Romance tomorrow, because that is what she is going to talk about then. The Virginia Henley books are medieval, the Mary Baloghs Regency, and the Laura Parkers, three different eras. Aunt Anna loves when a series covers multiple eras, so she looks forward to rereading these.

Speaking of rereading, rereads absolutely do count when it comes to the Goodreads reading challenge, so let’s go on over there to check on Aunt Anna’s progress. Right now, Aunt Anna has read fifty-seven books out of her goal of ninety, which puts her at sixty-two percent of the way to her goal of ninety books read in 2020. Not too shabby, and she has been killing it on the historical romance front as of late, especially with her discovery of all those classic books like those pictured above. If you are thinking that lit a fire under her when it comes to her own writing, you would be right.

Whoops, I forgot to link you to last week’s Buried Under Romance post, because there is one. Click here if you want to check in about quarantine/isolation/social distancing. There’s no social distancing for those who have cuddly cats, though. There’s a reason cats and books go together.

The big important part of this week’s doings is that I found something game-changing. I love catnip! I mean I really, really love catnip. My humans were not sure if they want me to know what catnip is, and my mom confirmed that she never gave me any of that, but I found a way around it all. Here is what happened.

One of the things Aunt Linda brought back from their travels was a bag full of old papers that belong to Aunt Linda. Well, mostly old papers. Down at the bottom of the bag was a catnip toy! I don’t think the humans knew it was in there, but I could smell right away that there was a wonderful thing, and I dug for it. Oh bliss, oh heaven. The humans say that it was originally a gift for my big sister Skye, who is at rainbow bridge, but she was a straight edge kitty and did not partake of catnip, no matter what form it might be. Even bigger sister, Olivia, who was the kitty before Skye (also at Rainbow Bridge) loooooved catnip, and so did biggest brother (Sir) Ginger, who was the kitty before Olivia. The humans wondered how I would like the nip, and now they know. I LOVE IT. I guess you could say that Aunt Anna and I both found some wonderful things from her archaeology trip this week.

Next week, they are going back to Chez Grandmere for the final time to move everything out of that place and into storage. I wonder what else they will bring back when they return.

Headbonks!

Typing With Wet Paws: Almost Out of April Edition

annabowling Leave a comment

Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. Lots of mews duty for me this week, as Aunt Anna had a couple rounds with the anxiety monster, but I think things are under control now. That’s a good thing, because that means she can take care of some overdue stuff, like writing things and keeping new content up on Buried Under Romance.

Last week, the internet wasn’t working so great, but things should be better now. Aunt Anna is glad for that. She is a little salty about the Will and Grace finale, but gives it a grade of incomplete. If it’s pass/fail, pass, which is better than fail. She also hit her loan limit for library e-books, so there is going to be a bunch of reading ahead. She has now read fifty-four out of ninety books, putting her at sixt6y percent of the way to her goal.

She is well aware that a bunch of the books in her currently reading sidebar have been there for a while. Some are even from before me. At least one is. part of her says she should really get on that, but another part says that putting should in her pleasure reading takes the pleasure right out of it. I am not sure which is right. I’m only two, so I don’t have a lot of experience with this sort of thing (or a lot of things, really.) What do you think?

Aunt Anna thanks everyone for their patience with the Buried Under Romance stuff. She hasn’t forgotten or gone away. It’s this whole life thing, but romance novels are a happy place. What ones are you reading? Aunt Anna is mostly reading e-books now, as we are still in for-now lodgings. I can tell you one thing: when we do move into our new apartment, I am going to have a lot of book scenting to do. Her tablet and Kindle cases already smell like me, so we are all set there.

Anyway, I am being a good girl, if you don’t count 4AM Parkour sessions and systemstically knocking things off Aunt Anna’s nightstand (and only her nightstand. Uncle Rheuben doesn’t have much smackable on his, nor does Aunt Linda. I also like sleeping right above or next to Aunt Anna’s head. That’s not at all creepy, right? I want to make sure she is okay.

The big family news around here is that Chez Grandmere has sold, so it is time for Aunt Anna and Aunt Linda (Uncle Rheuben will stay here with me) to go out in that direction and load the stuff we are keeping onto a truck and drive it back to NY, where they will put it in a storage unit. From there, once lockdown is lifted, Aunt Linda will take one box of Grandma stuff every time she visits and let Grandma decide where it all goes. I am very happy to report that when it was time to put labels on things, Aunt Anna put Storm labels on my favorite chair and headboard. Well, every chair is the cat’s chair. You know what I mean, but this is the one where I hid in the boxspring. It’s special.

Let’s see, what else? Aunt Anna and Aunt Melva are putting together a real official draft of Drama King to date, with Aunt Anna searching her files for scenes that go in particular places. When they wrote Chasing Prince Charming, Aunt Anna numbered all the scenes. She is probably going back to that because it made this kind of thing a whole lot easier. She’s still working on finding the writing routine that works for the current arrangements, as in no door to close, and can’t go to a coffee shop to write. She’s smart, though, so she’ll figure it out. Trial and error, a good pair of earbuds, and some creative scheduling should do the trick.

I think I’ll wrap it here, and see if I can give one of the humans the big eyes so they will play red dot with me. I love red dot. I will catch him. I will.

Headbonks!

That Time of Year Again

annabowling Leave a comment

Even though the calendar has said it’s been spring for a while, and even though this is probably March the Blur-ty Second, my sure shift occasions happened a couple of days ago. I was getting into Housemate’s car for a grocery run, and that’s when it hit. Time to switch out my everyday carry (EDC) planner. Can’t force these things. They happen on their own.

Since fall, I have been using and loving my black Pen + Gear B6 travelers notebook cover, with a mini Happy Planner for guts. Still looking for my B6 mojo, insertwise, but that’s another story. For planning, this works. I’ve been carrying it in my burgundy tote bag, the fall and winter version of my beloved blush tote, which I will be busting out of stuff jail as early as the end of this week. Carry burgundy faux-suede in May? Perish the thought.

current EDC

First world problems, definitely so. Not saying that having anxiety and depression and being in between permanent addresses during a pandemic is a picnic, but the fact that I am having strong opinions on stationery and stationery accessories, well, I am going to file that under signs of life. The more chaotic life becomes, the more I want to organize it.

For my EDC, this will probably mean slipping my HP mini out of the black cover, sliding it into the blush one, and moving over decorative ephemera. My current planner, last year’s eighteen months version, ends in June. I will replace it with a new 2020 mini, with different layoyt, and th current cover (and some dividers) will find their way back into the black cover, with filler paper in place of planner pages. Et voila, notebook.

Feeling spring-y

These things work best for me when they happen organically (odd for planning, but it works.) Forcing them generally does not work at all. Funny enough, there are similarities to writing. I would like for there to be more writing, and there will be, and one day I will look up at the screen or down at the page, and the most recent line will read “the end.” Huh. How’d that happen ? I

Bit by bit, usually. One step at a time. Days when scrolling blankly through Facebook or Overdrive are the pinnacles of productivity, and says when writing hits a roll. Neither, in my experience, is anything I can force, but things like “time to switch covers” or indie pubbing book x makes sense, ” those show up when they will, and give a solid foundation for the next phase.

Typing With Wet Paws: Mid-April Edition

annabowling Leave a comment

Tails up, Storm Troopers! It’s halfway through April, I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. The humans are almost done with their side quest with Chez Grandmere, so Aunt Anna is confident that she will be back to a regular blogging schedule. Yesterday was actually a “regular” writing day that felt pretty darned good, from where I was sitting (on the table behind her monitor, if anyone wants specifics. I take my duties as mews very seriously. Feline supervision is crucial.)

Goodreads challenge report first today because I’m a cat and I do what I want. Apparently, Aunt Anna also does what she wants because she is currently twenty-five books ahead of schedule, with fifty-one read out of her goal of ninety. I will be waiting to see if she can continue this pace, because we are no longer in residence at Chez Grandmere, hence access to interwebs, and Uncle Rheuben bought Aunt Anna two new stuff packs for the Sims 4 yesterday, so it’s really anybody’s guess. Also there is apartment hunting to be done, but Aunt Anna can listen to audiobooks while she blogs, journals, or -most importantly- cuddles me, so she may well be able to maintain. Also, she keeps finding new stuff to read.

Segue now into Buried Under Romance. Four new reviews went up this week, thanks to the amazing Amy. Aunt Anna is still finding her way around all the technical aspects of the site, but she’ll get there. In her latest post, she talks about some reading goals that challenge the status quo (for her) and will probably involve some hunting on eBay, because going to in person used bookstores is kind of not a thing right now. When it is, expect Aunt Anna to be alllll over that. So am I, because if the humans take me, then I get a car ride, and I looove car rides.

I have my own banner now.

That brings us to the me part of this post. From the first day I came to stay with these guys, I have been surprising them with what a good traveler I am. In short, car rides = awesome and I frequently chill in my adventure cave even when we aren’t going anywhere. It makes a pretty good stay at home cave, too. Since the hauling of one beautiful calico girl across state lines will no longer be happening on a regular basis, and roots will soon be, well, taking root, the humans have had discussions on what will happen when the resident feline gets wanderlust. They already agree on what to do about the regular lust. I will be getting fixed when the human virus thing is past. Sorry in advance to all the disappointed boy cats.

Where the humans landed on are a few facts:

  1. Storm loves car rides.
  2. Storm loves new places.
  3. We have a travel cat.
  4. We will need to take her on pleasure trips.

This means they are looking into getting me a harness and leash once we are settled-settled, and maybe even a kitty stroller, so they can take me on walks. I would have to practice the leash stuff inside and the humans will definitely consult with a vet before any of this happens. I am also looking forward to going to the stores where cats (and dogs) are welcome and can pick out their own toys. I already told them I want the yellow flappy things that go “chirp” and anything in the fish department, but I am told those are actually other pets. Who knew? Anyway, if you ever thought of Aunt Anna as the kind of human who looks forward to walking her cat while conferring with her imanginary friends, you are a human of great vision. She totally is.

Headbonks!

Typing With Wet Paws: Signs of Spring Edition

annabowling Leave a comment

Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. Human stuff is settling down, at least a little bit, so Aunt Anna expects to be showing her own face on the blog once again, before too long. Once she sorts out the password stuff, that is, but that’s another story.

This week, Aunt Anna actually scoped out some new electronic doodads that will be helpful. in the whole Patreon thing, because that is totally happening. She’s working on content even now, and I am keeping a close supervisory (and slow blinkey) eye on the whole process. I have already volunteered to review cat toys, so Aunt Anna can save all her reviewing energy for books and stationery. I think that’s the most efficient division of labor. Also, I will do most of the napping. Leave it to the master, amiright?

One sure sign of spring is the planner clearance sales that provide Aunt Anna with a chance to try out new notebook systems and get a few of her metaphorical writing ducks in a row. It also helps her get ready for April’s Camp NaNoWriMo, which she is heavily leaning toward doing this year, probably but not definitely getting Her Last First Kiss all the way to the end of draft number two. It’s also about time to um, stuff of get out of the litterbox about getting My Outcast Heart and Orphans in the Storm back out there, where readers can find them. She’s still overthinking about the whole submissions versus indie route thing, but if there is a paw that hits “send” sometime in the coming week on one of those submissions, well, I was in a sunbeam the whole time. You all saw me, right?

Spring is a time of changes, and Aunt Anna is on them. Buried Under Romance will be back ASAP, and if anyone doubts Aunt Anna’s devotion to romance, I direct them to her Goodreads challenge, where she is kicking tush and taking names at 30 books read out of 90, which is fourteen books ahead of schedule. Yeah. She’s like that. Channel that energy into writing and publishing, and this gal is going to be unstoppable.

Now we come to the important part of this entry, which is to say the part about me. We spent a few days at Chez Grandmere this past week, where my beloved Blue Chair lives. I love Blue Chair. He is mine, and I am a very smart girl. I am so smart, in fact, that when I saw the humans getting ready to pack the car and head out, before I was done with Blue Chair, I was not about to let that happen.

I made a beeline for the master bedroom, where I hid inside the box spring (that is my go-to hiding place. My mom laughed super hard when Aunt Anna first found out the hard way) Aunt Anna and Aunt Linda teamed up to flush me out of the box spring, but I was not done yet. I zoomed into the living room, and then poof, disappeared into thin air, or so the humans thought. Everybody looked in all the closets, the big dark basement where I am not allowed, the washer, the dryer, the refrigerator, all the cabinets, even outside in the rain, under the shed and everything. No Storm. I made Aunt Anna cry, but she also Googled about hiding cats, and then the humans looked in Blue Chair.

Aunt Linda found me inside that box spring, looking quite comfy and un-budge-able, but then Uncle Rheuben turned the chair on its back and he and Aunt Linda got me out while Aunt Anna grabbed my adventure cave. That’s when it hit me that we were Going On An Adventure, and I love adventures, so bloop, I went right in without question, and off we all went. The ride back home was great. It rained the whole way, so my view was incredible. Aunt Anna loves rain, too, so that probably helped her mood

Headbonks!

Cautiously Optimistic

annabowling Leave a comment

Today is a very Monday-y Tuesday, but that has ceased to phase me. Internet may be spotty this week, but blogging feels normal, so I want to get an entry up on as regular a schedule as possible. The offline times are good for writing longhand, so I am not complaining at all. As much as I love winter, this has been a tough one, and I will not be that sorry to see it go. I am ready for a new season.

The title of today’s post comes from a discussion Real Life Romance Hero and I had earlier this week. We are pretty sure that the light at the end of the tunnel is not, this time, a train, so we are moving in that direction. That also means that the Patreon will indeed be a go, and, for the first time, setting up tiers doesn’t seem as scary as it once did.

This past weekend, I presented Play In Your Own Sandbox, Keep All the Toys, at Capitol Region Romance writers. I learned a couple of things. First, I really do need to use visual aids, for myself as well as the people taking the workshop. A dry erase board usually does the trick, and I probably should learn PowerPoint. I will add that to my list. The second thing I learned is that, when visually impaired, and knowing darned well one needs high contrast, do not attempt to work, in front of a group, from handwritten notes, if the only inks available are pink and turquoise.

Even so, I crazy love this workshop, and the CRRWA chapter, and I came away from the experience remembering how much I really do love writing romance. When I got home, a chapter was waiting for me from my contemporary collaborator, Melva, which has me excited to work on Drama King. I also need kick in the behind to get Her Last First Kiss back in action, because those pirate books are chomping at the bit. That’s part of what I’m taking care of this week.

I know how to do this. I know how to write books. I know how to write good books. This is the thing I wanted to do more than anything else in the world for as long as I can remember. It’s easy, though, to lose sight of that when life gets crazy, and boy howdy, has it ever this past year and change. I am hanging onto the “change” part. I have mad, mad, mad respect for the productivity of authors like Sandra Sookoo and Kathryn LeVeque, the staying power of Cynthia Wright and Kimberly Cates, and yes, there is most certainly a seat at that table for me. It comes by putting butt in chair (or passenger seat) and pen to paper and telling those stores. Dump from brain to page, rough and raw, and make it pretty later.

Right now, I am tired and stressed and hopeful, and very much in love with my chosen genre. I have added an ebook edition of the material for PIYOSKATT (pee-yose-cat? Pie-yose-cat?) as a Patreon perk for a middle tier, because now, it feels like a reachable goal, and actually kind of fun. Small online class offerings may also be in the offing, because I also crazy love teaching workshops, both on my own and with other talented author type people. It’s a good place to be.

see you next time

Typing With Wet Paws: Special Tuesday Edition

annabowling Leave a comment

Hi, Storm Troopers! Are you surprised to see me on a Tuesday? Wild, huh? I know, but it’s one of those weeks. Aunt Anna and the other humans will be off the grid for a couple of days, as we are off on another trip to Aunt Linda’s family home, so Aunt Anna asked me to fill in today, to cover yesterday and tomorrow’s post. I told her no problem. That’s why I’m here, right? Well, that and to spread magical fibers of love and joy.

Anyway, about what’s going on over here. Aunt Anna is having kind of an existential planner crisis, or, depending on the perspective, (let’s reframe!) a chance to try some new things and get even more creative. She wouldn’t let me take any pictures of her planners in progress, but trust me, there is stuff going on. Some of that will be going on while we are on adventure at Chez Grandmere (the mother of your aunt is your grandmother, right? I think that’s how it works. I am not sure about human family terms.) Aunt Anna is also planning on doing a lot of writing in longhand there, because Chez Grandmere does not, unfortunately, have interwebs. Maybe not so unfortunately if that means more writing time.

Aunt Anna has already started trying out a new to her plotting technique that she learned from a Heart Breathings tutorial. If this works, that will go a long way to solving the problem of what to do with a bunch of outdated Happy Planner pages. She has set up her spread for a story to be determined, and will give that a go during out adventure. Watch this space for the results. Normally, she doesn’t go in for charts and stuff, but when it’s time to get back on the horse (nobody told me there was a horse) trying new things is always a good idea.

This is also a good time to go through some stuff that the aunts and uncle have stored at Chez Grandmere, which may provide some interesting results. I find that rather exciting. I also find the place called “basement” very very very exciting, but I am not allowed to go down there. No idea why. Other cats used to go down there. Maybe they left some food or toys. How can I leave that unexplored? Humans. Hmph.

Huh. This doesn’t seem like a lot of news for a “special” blog, but that’s okay. Can’t all be rock stars, am I right? Except for beautiful calico girls. We are all automatically rock stars. I like to sing the song of my people at special midnight performances, and you should see the choreography that goes along with it. Truly a work of genius. We’ll be back on Friday, Saturday at the latest, and there will be better updates then. Rest assured that I will be in full mews mode, providing inspiration and encouragement.

Okay, wait. I remember. I was supposed to list some of the planner and notebook things that Aunt Anna is going to revamp over the next few weeks. Let’s see if I can find some pictures to go with them.

Granted, these are not all of them, nor does Aunt Anna expect to be able to keep all of them running for unique purposes (or the same one; boy, would that be repetitive) at the same time, and she is beginning to come around to the idea that it’s okay to move the same guts to different covers as the mood strikes. Also that there are plusses and minuses to the different sizes and formats she likes, including but not limited to:

  • discbound (Happy Planner, etc) in micro, mini, classic or big sizes
  • Traveler’s notebooks (strings) in pocket, personal, and standard sizes
  • Six ring binders in personal or A5 size
  • Three ring binders in full or half letter size
  • traditional hard or softcover notebooks, sewn, perfect, or wirebound

So yeah, that’s kind of a lot, and it does relate to writing, because that’s what she likes to do in them, so she is figuring out what format her exploration of these should take. Blogging? Vlogging? If you have a preference, leave a comment and I will make sure she gets it.

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!

Beginner’s Mind

annabowling Leave a comment

A few days ago, Housemate informed me that while she very much likes her mini size planner, the classic size, eh, not so much. Did I want all her classic size stuff? In a word, um, yes.

Housemate’s old planner, aka my new notebook

With only a few pages marked at all, this opened up a huge amount of possibilities. Ever since I’d accepted that the discbound system works really well for me, and that I want to keep one notebook to track my progress on various projects, could this mean that I had that very thing dropped literally in my lap? With a little ingenuity, I’d have a gorgeous notebook with twelve distinct section. The only setup I’d need to do would be to glue paper over the obsolete calendar page on the back of each divider (easy peasy; paper, I’ve got) and change the labels on the tabs from the names of the months to a more descriptive label of what would be in each section. I also have stickers, so this works out well.

“Beginner’s Mind,” in this context, is a synonym for “let’s see what happens.” That ties into the whole wanting to write like I did before I knew any better. Before I even knew that wordcount could apply to anything beyond school essays. Before I had a working grasp of the state of the historical romance market, and the shift from single books to series, almost all the time. Before, certainly, the romance writers’ organization I couldn’t wait to join turned into a tire fire. Before a lot of things.

If I had to pick one passion beyond writing and reading romance, it would be planning, and I have always done better with pen and paper than direct to keyboard, so plopping myself down at a motel room desk, with an old planner, a bunch of paper, and a couple of pens, really does seem like the most natural thing in the world. What could go wrong? Better question, what could go right?

Back in middle school (aka junior high) I had the ide that the only genres open to me were hard science fiction and mystery. Neither of which cranked my motor, though they of course do it for a whole lot of other people, and wonderfully so. If I’d taken that at face value, I’d still be listlessly going through the selection in that school library, wondering what the fluff I was doing this for, but knowing that hunger in my gut wouldn’t go away until I wrote my stories. What made the difference was thinking, what if that assumption isn’t true? Enter historical romance. Oh yes, motor most definitely cranked.

Now, this master notebook (mistress notebook?) has a section for viable future projects. There’s the Regency I tried to write, that I still love, but need to repot into an era that I also love. There’s the blacksmith’s daughter who becomes a duchess, by way of a stage career. There’s two historical romance that are mine once again, since their first publisher retired. There’s the postapocalyptic medieval that I absolutely love, and got really, really good rejections on, that editors/agents loved but couldn’t sell, so didn’t buy. Well, okay, what if…what if I did it myself?

I don’t have to please or appeal to or attract every reader. Nobody can do that. But get the attention of my readers? That, I can probably do. That’s why I’m launching my Patreon in 2020. It’s also why I am excited to undertake an Abundance Self-Assessment. This is not a sponsored post. I met Eryka Peskin at a local RWA chapter meeting, and we clicked instantly. Lucky me, she is an abundance coach (and writer, among other things) and her workshops are a big part of how I learned beginner’s mind means more possibilities.

How much do I know about starting a Patreon? Not a lot. About the same as I know about self publishing commercial fiction, more or less, but everybody has to start somewhere. Let’s find out together, shall we?

Plan as We Go January

annabowling Leave a comment

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.