Promises Not Made, Can't Be Broken

I am not going to promise myself or anyone else that I am going to blog everyday, or even every week. What I am going to say is that I am going to try and blog a little more often.

There...that's done. Now, on to other things.

Life is still hectic. Taking care of family will always be a priority, but I am trying to live my dreams in between those moments of priority.

I will be in my first craft show this year. YAY!! I have been crafting for over 20 years, and have always wanted to be in a craft show. So, that means one dream will now be accomplished. Go me!!

But, my biggest thing is my writing. I am now working on a new zombie series (I love zombies, don't you?).

The "Until The End" series will be comprised of three books: "Outlive", "Outlast", and "Outlove". I am currently about a third of the way through "Outlive", and am hoping to be finished with it by November. I am super excited about this book series, and am finding it one of the easiest things that I have ever written...and here's why.

I have always read writers tips by famous authors, and tried to apply those tips to my writing. Well, I'm here to tell ya that that is not the thing to do!! It left me in a constant state of chaos.

If so-and-so said that you needed to plot your book ahead of time, well then I tried to do that. If another one said that you can't write until you find your voice, and this was how to do it...then that's what I did. If an author that I admired was to say that they key to writing was to whistle Dixie, while standing on your head in the middle of the train tracks, then I would have tried it.

Well, guess what folks?? It ain't like that!!!

The one that made the most sense, but stumped me the most, was "write what you know". Heck, I don't know 'nuthin' 'bout 'nuthin', so what the heck was I gonna write about?? I stumbled over this one for years. Then it came to me - I knew ME!!

One evening, I was sitting in my chair watching some show on tv, when an idea hit me out of the blue. It was about a farm girl in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. That farm girl was ME! I had grown up on a large dairy farm in the Missouri Ozarks, and I knew exactly how my character would behave. I knew the things she would know. And, I knew the things she could do.

Also, for the first time, I did not spend weeks and months plotting out this book. I took it from day one, with a handful of characters, and just started writing. And, ended up completely blown away by the ease of how my story was flowing, how my characters just knew what to do next, and how much I was enjoying writing it.

It dawned on me then, that for me, plotting out the entire book was like already telling the story. Once the story was told, I had no need to write it. With this book, the zombie apocalypse WAS the plot. I was not being held back by anything, and I could let my story go anywhere it needed to go.

Hmmm, kind of like reading a book.

So, here I am, in all my writing glory and ready to shout to the world that I am finally going to have a book ready to publish by the end of the year. Woo Hoo!!

One day soon, I will start posting a little about the book (no promises made on exactly when..he he). And, when the time is right, I will start on a promotional campaign to start reaching readers.

Until then...

Love and Hugs,

Denise

I'M BACK!!!!

Has it really been more than two years since I last wrote on my blog??

Seriously??

Wowzers!!!

Well, okay then. Here is the scoop on the last two years.

Many changes have occurred since I last wrote on this blog and I hardly know where to begin.

But, I guess the main thing is my illness that started a year and a half ago.

I really don't want to go into details, but I would like to review some things that I have learned.

1. Live your DREAM!!! No matter what happens in your life...LIVE YOUR DREAM!!!

2. If you can't live your dream, at that particular time in your life, then PLAN FOR YOUR DREAM. Eat, live, breathe, and dream about your DREAM!!

3. You can have more than one dream. Just make one of them a priority. One for now, and the other for later. Or, pick the one that you are the most passionate about. OR, evaluate both of them and see which one fits your current life status. (I have two, but one of them is currently unattainable due to health reasons.)

4. NO DREAM IS UNACHIEVABLE!!! If you want to climb a mountain, but are afraid of heights, you can teach yourself to overcome that fear. Point being...YOU CAN, AND WILL, CLIMB THAT MOUNTAIN!!!

5. Learn that FEAR is just an emotion, just like happiness is, and emotions can be either crippling or motivating. Just learn that your fear-frown can be turned upside down!!! :)

6. AND THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON OF ALL IS:

YOU ARE WORTH IT!!

YOU ARE WORTH TAKING A CHANCE ON!!

YOU ARE WORTH ACHIEVING YOUR DREAMS!!

Well, I seriously hope my point has been obvious. LOL!!

I have let fear keep me its B**ch for way too long.

I AM going to live my dream. Fear will not win anymore!!

I AM going to write and publish my books. If you don't like them, then don't read them.

I think that non-writers do not understand that writers have stories and characters running through their heads, living in their lives, whispering plots in their ears, and bug the living crap out of them, until they put them on paper and tell their stories.

Hey, the stories may not be great, but that doesn't mean the writer is a bad writer. They just need to listen harder to their characters, and keep writing until they learn how to get their stories out in a better way. Practice makes perfect!! :)

Because, being ill will teach you one thing..., you only have one life to live...so, you had better get busy living it!!! THERE ARE NO JUSTIFIABLE EXCUSES!!! (see previous post)

Hugs,

Denise