Motivation Monday...

 Hopefully, today's post will motivate you.

Recently, I had a few things happen and it's helped me focus on things more and try to keep a positive spin on it all. It's so easy to drop into the negative state of things and wallow in self pity, but that isn't productive or healthy.

I have come a long way in my writing and in my marketing of it all, and yet I still have more to learn. We all do. We don't stop learning, we keep hewing away at the imperfections of our craft to make it smooth and perfect.

I'm not the most successful of authors. Would I like to be? Yes. However, I'm damn proud of what I have accomplished in my career. I'm moving forward, I'm branching out. I honestly do not spend all my time promoting others like I used to. And that's okay.

I found myself getting burned out promoting my work as well as others. I felt as if the reciprocation was non-existent. Who knows? I don't mind supporting my fellow authors.

These days, my approach to things is much different, possibly even selfish. I don't think I will do so much promoting of others work unless I know for sure they'll help me out as well. But I am just happy getting my stuff out there and even one or two sales will make me feel good. As far as being a success goes, I consider myself lucky if I've connected with just one reader.

Leave me a comment! Are you proud of what you've accomplished in the writing world?

Insecure Writers Support Group...

 Holy cow! Can you believe it is the first Wednesday of the month? Not only that, NaNoWriMo has kicked off!

You'll see to the left of this post, I have a counter to show my progress. Here's to hitting 50K words!

But on to IWSG. This month's question is:

What's harder to do, coming up with your book title or writing the blurb?

Man. I am torn on this one. To be honest, I had an easier time naming my children. Sometimes, the book title just presents itself before I even have a story idea. It'll pop into my head and I'll be like, "Okay. Nice, but what is this about?"

Sometimes the title comes to me after I begin writing the story. Sometimes, not at all and then I'm scrambling to ask friends for a book title.

But the BLURB! O..M...G... I absolutely DESPISE having to sum up my story in a few short paragraphs that will make it interesting enough for someone to pick up. Honestly. I'd rather go have my teeth pulled again.

I know people say to pretend you have 30 seconds or less to pitch your book, what would you say? Okay, first of all, I'm becoming more socially awkward in my old age, so I'd be all over the place. I'd be telling them about the book, but then go, "Oh! Wait, I forgot! Before that happens, THIS has to happen! Oh, but so and so does such and such to get there, and then ... wait, no. That came after. Sorry!"

To pare it down, I'd be a hot mess.

A blubbering mass of confusion.

Okay, so the blurb is harder. I had to work through that, I suppose.

All right, enough about me! Go on to read more from other IWSG bloggers! You can find the list here.

Have a great rest of your week!

Writing Wednesday: NaNoWriMo 2021...

 Hey all! I don't know how many of you are going to participate in National Novel Writing Month this November, but I signed up. What better way to get back into my writing and other things of that nature?

If you are participating, you can be my buddy here.

Otherwise, just feel free to cheer me on here in the comments or on Twitter: @MelMcC7

I have a few people who are looking for buddies and I would like to connect so we can support one another.

It's been quite a while since I've ever participated in NaNoWriMo. Best thing about this time around is, I'm not terrified like I was before. I got this. Easy peasy, right? Right!

I'm hoping my blog posts won't suffer too much, but if they do, at least you'll know it's for a good reason this time, rather than me dropping off the face of the planet.

Have a great rest of your week!

Drop a comment below, are you going to participate in NaNoWriMo?

Motivation Monday...

 Coffee. I don't know about you, but I absolutely need coffee to get started on any day of the week, but especially Monday.

Yeah, I can skip a cup here or there, I don't have an IV of it in my arm, but that is a good idea. Hmm... something to ponder.

I also have to wake up my brain in the mornings, mostly I play silly games on my phone or iPad. I often feel like if I didn't waste that time playing games, I would get more done, but honestly, I stay at home, just about everything gets done.

Since Covid hit, (don't get me started on the politics of it...) staying home has been what we do. I live in a pretty rural area, so we're social distancing champions. Our entire county has only had 7 Covid related deaths since it began. I digress, though. My days blur, so staying motivated is something of a chore. It's difficult to maintain. Things that motivate me, though, are:

COFFEE!!!

Music

Just getting off my butt and doing it. Whatever "it" happens to be for the day.

I have been taking a painting class and I'm hoping to have the opportunity to teach a basic writing class. Those things motivate me to craft and write.

What motivates you? Leave me a comment and let me know! Have a great Monday and a wonderful rest of your week!

Flexing My Writing Muscles...

 I'm sure you all remember English class in high school. The days where you had to write in a journal for the first 15-20 minutes of class.

No? Just my high school? Okie dokie...

Anyway, one of my classes, the teacher posted writing prompts on the board. The one that caught my attention was "Describe a forest fire". So I did. And today I'm going to do it again.

Describe a forest fire:

The first thing you noticed was the smell of smoke. Like a campfire, but on a much larger scale. If it was just a mild odor, it would bring memories of camping on a lake or beach, in a forest or maybe just in your backyard. However, when it was so much that it made the air hazy, casting an odd color to the quality, it sent warning signals.

Depending on your view, you could see the flames licking up the trees; the leaves swirling in the waves of heat that rose from the ground, making it seem the trees are in a panic. Flocks of birds rise high into the sky, trying to stay ahead of the flames and smoke, some dropping from their flight from either sheer exhaustion or overwhelmed by the toxic air.

Animals of all kinds flee the flames that crackle at their heels, chasing them from their homes, from the lush feeding grounds and cool streams. Some made it out unscathed, others were either scorched or  devoured by the hungry fire.

Hours, maybe days, would go by before the fire was extinguished, either by human aid or just Mother Nature, casting a cooling rain down on the ravaged land. Smoke could still be seen curling up into the sky and the scent of it went back to campfire status, but the images of the charred trees and animals assured that the memory of the inferno would remain embedded in our minds. Never trust fire, never let it gain control. While fire will ravage and burn, it makes room for new growth, but at a very high cost. Always respect fire.

Okay, there we go. I'm not looking for critics, but they are welcome. I'm just trying to get back into the swing of things. Thanks!

Many Stops & Starts...

 Well, the last post I listed was back in 2019. We can all safely say that 2020 was not kind, and 2021 was about the same.

I have had many things happen over the course of the year +, as I'm sure you all did as well.

My writing has been on hiatus.

I got Covid and survived.

I became my mother's caregiver.

I've battled severe depression.

I've struggled with anxiety.

And now I feel as if I have come back full circle to try and revive my blog and my writing.

Several things have changed in the blog format: I removed the BlogLovin' link, because I don't even know what's going to happen. I've kept the author links to the ISWG Guide to Publishing & Beyond as well as updated all of the Ladies & Gentlemen of Horror and Fantasy links I could.

You'll see a Remembrance Anthology for Jenna Miller, who passed a few years ago. Not going to lie, that's one of the biggest reasons I feel my writing has lapsed. She was a friend and mentor to me. I still feel her loss deeply.

I have the opportunity to teach a basic writing class, which is why I have begun thinking, once again, about my writing and where I want to go with it. I miss it greatly. I mean, miss it like a part of me has died, miss it. So if you're still out there, if you're still interested in what is going on in my world, writing or otherwise, I'm here. I'm trying to come back.

I have a new Twitter account: @MelMcC7. I'm still on Facebook, but have no page to list. I figure I'll take this one step at a time and see what happens.

Missed all y'all. See you soon.