The many levels and intensities of confusion. This is something I went through this last weekend and is the reason I missed my Row80 update on Sunday. I am making up for it today. Unfortunately, it will bump the intended post on Chocolate out another week. So sorry chocolate lovers. đ
Why confusion you ask? Well, hereâs the thing – I adore blogging for you all. I wouldnât change this experience for the world, but something needs to change. I need more time for my book as I donât get enough now and also a little creative “me” time to recharge my batteries. That means spending less time blogging. After all, you want me to turn out the best possible book I can, donât you?! Plus, my kids like to see me every once and awhile. The confusion was trying to figure all this out and how it would work.
What does this mean for you? It means the posts I put out will have to be less in-depth. Immortal Mondays especially. If you can wait it out with me, I have a lot of stories in my head so there is potential for a lot of books. I just need to get them written. So⌠on with the update.
Who loves movies? I saw two this weekend! It has been a long time since Iâve seen two movies in one weekend. I used to do that sort of stuff all the time (back when I worked at a movie theater âstory for another day).
Saturday night was date night with hubby and it had us sitting comfortably at Muvico (love that theater) for a night showing of Chronicle.
We both found this movie entertaining with moments of drag. But, hey! Itâs a chronicle. You know, found footage film. Itâs not advertised as an action flick. We both gave it a thumbs up.
On Sunday my eldest and I caught Ghost Rider: Spirits Of Vengeance in 3D, also and Muvico. Did I tell you why I love this theater? Because I can reserve our seats and show up at the last minute if I want. I hate lines and waiting. A movie experience with him is something else. He educated me on all kinds of things and characters during the movie and previews. He is one bright boy.
If you love action, fire (fire, fire!), and a high body count, then this movie is for you. My son says it is EPIC! I asked him he would like to review action flicks for the blog on a scale of one to five Yoda heads (May the Force be with you), but he wasn’t interested. I’ll give you this, there isn’t a dull moment.
At home I watched via Netflix the AMAZING film Secretariat. Wow, did I love that film! I watched it alone, but still give it two enthusiastic thumbs up. If you havenât seen it, rent it!
Have you seen any films that you place on the âMust Seeâ list that I should make time for?
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⤠Write forward everyday: No
â¤Edit book one of my WIP: I turned 6 chapters into 5 by cutting one chapter out completely. But I only cut 1669 words at this point as I had to weave in important material lost from the cut chapter and other material I realized (now in book 3) needs to be introduced a little earlier in the story.  I continue to move forward in the editing process. Hopefully faster from this point forward. I set up Scrivener the other night and am importing the newly edited chapter in as I go.
⤠Complete & fully participate in Bob Mayerâs Write It Forward Workshop. Current!
⤠Blog 3x a week, plus one Row80 update. Missed my Sunday Row update but had 3 blogs last week and already have the 3 for this week done.
⤠Comment on/visit/retweet at least 12 blogs a week. Ah yea, and then some. Sorry if I missed you. Chances are good I was on your site and didnât comment though.
⤠Discover at least 1 new blog a week. Discovered some beauties, but they wouldnât know it because they are on blogger and it wouldnât let me comment. đ
⤠Read 2 new books and finish the one I am on by the end of the 80 days. Finished the one I was on. FINALLY â YAY! Change of schedule should allow for some reading time now. đ
⤠Exercise 3x a week: This might sound crazy, but Iâve been getting up at 5:30 most mornings to fit in a workout. Donât like what I see happening around the belly. NO!
⤠Make more time for the family â Yes, I really it this weekend. đ
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How are you doing? Rocking and Rolling or struggling to get by? I hit a bad batch on the home front, stepped back, re-evaluated with my partner in crime (Hubs) and think I have a new plan that works. We will soon see going forward. He will keep me in check. đ
Since I got off kilter with my Row80 updates, Iâll see you for the next update on March 3rd. Until then Row teamsters. đ
Thank you for stopping by. I always appreciate your time and comments.
I can’t wait to see what you have in story for us Debra!! Shortened posts will be short and sweet and will adore them, I am sure. You need to take care of you and you priorities always first and for most and you know we are behind you 100%!!!
Great ROW80 week! Keep up the FAB work and here’s to finding that better balance you crave.
Movies. Ok, Chronicle was just “ok” for me. I did NOT like Ghost Rider 2 – to be honest, I thought it sucked hard. LOL!! And I loved the first one. And Secretariat – OMG sooo good. I own the movie and have watched it a dozen times…love that!
This weekend we hope to go see This Means War – I hear it’s FAHHHHBulous! đ
Ha! It cut off the beginning of my comment. It should read… My son loved it soo much he wants to see “Ghost Rider a second time. He can go with daddy on the second round. The effects and fights inspire me and send my imagination into hyper drive, but as far as story goes, it wasnât there. It was very predictable. But you donât go to see that kind of movie for the story. If you do, you are fooling yourself. There was something about Nick in this one that almost made him cartoonish.
âChronicleâ falls into the âokayâ category because it moves slowly and there isnât a whole lot to it. But based on the ads we didnât go in expected that much. Of course, we may have been more pleased with the experience over the simple fact we got out kid free. LOL
âSecretariatâ amazed me. My husband was watching it last night and standing in the room, watching it a second time I was almost brought to tears
But I am still my dad’s daughter and I like action flicks and cheesy popcorn movies so I’ll go see all those big films, good or bad and find less fault with them than most. I just like to be entertained.
Netflix (especially if you stream them): 1. Five Minutes of Heaven (Liam Neeson, Irish film, INTENSE), 2. Good Day For It (Robert Patrick, Hal Holbrook, Somewhat violent, but great story), 3. Convicted (Aiden Quinn), 4. Edmond (William Macy gives an outstanding performance, violence, but violence is not the point), The Crossing Guard (oldie/goodie [like me] Jack Nicholson, Intense), 5. Blackthorn (Sam Shepard, who’s also a fantastic writer), 6. Red (Brian Cox, best man & his dog movie ever), 7. Not yet on Netflix; I streamed from Amazon: J. Edgar (Leonardo Di Caprio is perfect as Hoover).
And Debra, Your book & your family are far more important than your blog (so are you). Pace yourself, gawjus.
Thank for the great movie suggestions. I am writing those down. We have spring break coming up real soon. That means we’ll get some movie time. đ
And thank you, Anthony. I am now pacing myself.
What a good progress! I’m jealous. I’m way behind on Bob Mayer’s class đ
As for movies: I loved “The Tree of Life” I’m rooting for it at the Oscars. It’s “2001” with heart.
But I lot of people disliked the movie, so I don’t have many hopes for a win.
Have a great week, Debra!
I think a lot of people are behind in Bob’s class. If it helps, there was nothing to lesson 9 other than reading. That helped me catch up. It’s when I have to think and evaluate myself that I fall behind. I haven’t seen “The Tree of Life.” I’ll have to check that out.
Sounds like you have a good plan, Debra. There are only so many hours in a day and, unfortunately, some have to be devoted to sleep (I could get SO much more done if sleep wasn’t necessary!). But I’m glad to hear you’re spending more time with your family. đ
Best movie I’ve seen in awhile was We Bought a Zoo. I’m buying that when it comes out on DVD.
Yes, I wish I didn’t need sleep. That would be a big help. You are all bringing up so many movies I haven’t seen! This would not have been the case five years ago (pre-monkey). Someone in my family mentioned they wanted to see that movie. I think it was my son. There’s another I’ll have to add to the list. Looks like I’ll be spending a lot of time in front of the screen (big or small). đ
I don’t think you’ll be sorry if you watch We Bought a Zoo. I can’t remember another movie where I spent so much time smiling from start to finish. I was just such a NICE movie. No car chases, no guns, no elaborate fights, no cussing that I remember…just a fantastic family movie. Probably the best I’ve ever seen. And it has Matt Damon…jeez he’s sexy! đ
You know, I didn’t used to like Matt Damon. Not until the Borne movies. That changed my mind about him. Is my mind totally ruled by action flicks? LOL But seriously, I do want to see that movie.
Good for you Debra! You have to take a time out girl!
You fit so much into your life and family comes first. So glad you got out of the house and two movies? How many of us do that these days? But I remember when. How fun!
And you did an awesome job with your goals! You rocked it girl. And yes I did see that you caught up with our class with Bob. I have a lesson to work on today. I also made some adjustments to my goals last weekend and I think that will help me not feel so pushed. The WIP should come before blogging and it hasn’t. Thus I’m only posting on Wednesday and ROW80 on Sunday. Oh well.
So keep up the good work Debra! Have a great week! đ
I have taken a time out. Sometimes the body tells you what you need and you just need to listen. I’ve been doing that. (Sorry friends if I haven’t visited this week. )
Thank you so much for your continued support Karen. You are a good friend. It is my goal to get out a little more often. I will start with Saturday by having coffee with another author friend. *winks at friend*
I feel so good to have caught up in Bob’s class. I kept doubting myself on lesson 9, checking and re-checking for something we had to do. But I didn’t see anything. LOL Thankfully lesson 10 is much shorter on the reading. The reading length was what was killer for me. Well, that, and all the soul searching.
The whole point of having goals is to be able to see where you need to adjust. Sounds like it’s working perfectly!
Thank you Melinda. Adjustments have been made. I guess that means it’s working. đ
You’re so much more productive than I! I hear ya on the balancing everything front. Just past the half way point in my WIP and I’m having a hard time finding the momentum to charge ahead, and blog, and feed my children. A couple yogurts, goldfish crackers, and some pineapple count…right? …right?
Oh no! Don’t peter out now Paige. I know it’s hard carrying baby baggage and all, but you don’t want to have that unfinished MS weighing down on you as a load of regret for years to come. You are amazingling funny. You need to get that down in your book! Don’t let any mountain of goodfish or cookies stop you. And you know what, sometimes I wait till the kids are screaming before I shove a PB&J in their face to glue their noise maker shut. đ Just kidding. It doesn’t really work. They still manage to make noise.
I need to be more productive when it comes to my own writing. I’m seeing many bloggers like yourself right now talk about having to cut back the time they spend writing posts and on their blog in order to work on their creative projects. I see lots of cool blogs on blogger but ya they make it so difficult to leave comments!! PS: want to see Chronicle; it looks cool!
Funny how everyone is coming to the same realization around the same time. WIP first Emma. đ You already have a book out. You want to increase that by adding more. That means more writing time. You see, I just spent over an hour simply replying to comments on my blog. My husband would be shaking his head at me. Now visiting blogs has to wait till later because working on the #1 priority must move to the front. You should do the same.
As for those other blogs, they are a hit and miss. Some I don’t have a problem, some I can leave a comment if I go in anonymously, others I can’t comment no matter what I do. I think they should all kick Captcha to the curb. No matter what, it is a big waste of my time. I end up going through the process multiple times before it will take, no matter what, either way. I don’t have that kind of time, but I do it for the people I care about. Itâs mildly irritating.
I blame my passion for travel and theater for getting in the way of my ROW goals lately… and then I tell myself, “But they feed my creative well…eventually…” which is true…but taking a two hour morning nap does tend to slice through my writing time….
I really need to invest the time to sit in a movie theater and just be taken in by the images and story. I could learn something there, too, right?
Ohhhh I am so grateful for the ability to comment via Twitter…otherwise the wordpress blogs send me to the No-No folder each and every time… aggravating! I actually created a separate blogger account when they were being so…. finicky. AY! Have a great few days… always great to read your updates!
LOL Yes, a na does tend to slice a chunk from the writing time. đ I used to catch a whole lot more movies before I had two kids and a hard time finding sitters. Not to mention the cost involved in going to the movies with or without kids now. Are you paying for four or spending $12/hour to leave two at home? Ouch either way. What I need to do is get more reading time in, which have these past few days so I am Snoopy dancin’! đ
You aren’t getting caught up in my spam, although I have had several get caught in the spam in the past. I feel horrible because I don’t check my spam often enough. I tend to forget about it. I am trying to make a point about checking it more often. Thanks so much for coming by Julie. I love seeing you! Sorry I’ve missed so many sprints.
I hit a wall in the last couple of weeks too. I was having fun blogging, until I realized how little work I was getting done. And it wasn’t just not putting in the time for my wip, I also kind of lost my excitement about it all–which really, really stunk. I think I am on the road back though.:)
I haven’t seen any of those movies–we did watch Contagion recently and I want to see that new one with Reese Witherspoon. đ Happy writing Debra!
I know what you mean Coleen. I’ve been there as far as the blogging is concerned. I think I wanted to put out deep meaningful posts and I’ve realized that in order for me to put that together I’d be sacrificing too much in other areas. So I have accepted that I will do what works best for me, my life and my style. Some have fallen right into their groove while I have struggled longer. Hopefully I find it soon. I think I might be close.
I haven’t seen Contagion. Every time the ad was on my son would vociferously tell us how he didn’t want to see it. LOL I also want to see the Reese Witherspoon movie. That looks like a lot of fun!
Debra, I am sooooo with you on the blogging – posts like your Immortal Mondays take so much research! I could spend all day researching mine, as I loooooove learning about local history, but like you say, the fiction writing needs to be done! These past couple of weeks, I have managed to do exactly what you said, and rein in the research. No one minds if a blog post is a little shorter. đ
I don’t know the last time I saw a movie, though my daughter said the new Sherlock Holmes is good.
My kids are young and love the movies. My husband is a HUGE movie buff. In fact, we met working at a theater so there is history there – a long one. So making time for such things is important. But a trip for the movies has gotten expensive, so we don’t go as often as we used to.
I have all of next weekâs post already done, but it’s hard not to tweak or add to my Immortal Monday at this point. I come across things and want to go back and change my post. But Iâm turning over a new leaf. Now, when I work on Sunday I can be working for the week beyond – building my buffer. I like that.
Congrats on recognizing that you need to pull back! It’s tough to do, but necessary to maintain sanity.
Of course I want to see Ghost Rider 2 since I saw the first one and love Nick Cage. I totally agree with you about Secretariat. Loved that movie! We watched the behind the scenes stuff and man, that lady is a ball buster!
I am super excited for John Carter. Like, OMG!!! excited. I’m such a dork.
I totally want to see John Carter, too! I said to my husband, “Wouldn’t it be cool to go see John Carter down at Down Town Disney?” He looked at me like I had totally lost my marbles. LOL Oh well.
If there were only as many hours in a day as we need…I get you. Something has to give – but it’s usually only a temporary situation. Figuring out how to balance it all is important, especially without losing sight of why we’re all got involved in doing it to begin with. Enjoy some time to be creative!
Thank you Lesann! I think I am figuring it out. Things seem to be falling into place. Thanks for the support. đ
Yes, the WIP should come first (I’m typing it to remind myself!), so good for you for reassessing time. I blog daily, but keep it short. I probably should blog less, but I’ve joined way too many challenges lately (something else I need to learn to curb).
Best of luck with your writing and newfound determination!
Hi Tia! Nice to meet you! I think we all need to be reminded from time to time. I admire those that blog daily. I don’t know how you do it. With my kid’s schedule I’d be pulling my hair out. đ And challenges to boot? Wow! I was at my best when it was just me and my book. I think simplest is best for me. I have multiple social media platforms to work with, YAlitchat (can’t get my widget to stick đ ) plus WAE (I havenât done anything with this yet). A girl could get a little lost with all that. Need to keep the focus. Start chanting “Serenity now, serenity now.” đ
But it will come. I see it slowly happening this last week. I’ll get there. If everyone doesn’t ditch me for my decreased social interaction (ha ha) . đ
sounds like a good plan. I have decided to blog twice a week – Mondays and thursdays. if something interesting or important comes up, I’ll add another day, but content is king and I need time to write. thanks for seconding my decisions by making good ones for yourself. movies sound good,
Thanks Louise. I was thinking about doing that. I am trying the method of getting the three written the same day. If that doesn’t work that I will drop to 2. My word count dropped, which is good. I want it to drop even more on one or two of the posts. Right now I am ahead of the game so we will see what happens. I noticed you dropped to 2. We are all trying to find our fit. Without going into that tailspin.
For me, it became obvious that the psych posts were touching people and the uplifting ones or positive ones were getting some exposure as well. so I decided to focus on those. and if something interesting comes along, I’ll post it. but my current run of material will keep me going for at least a year, and it won’t stress me out. it feels right – for now, anyway. Avoiding the tailspin is key.