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20 March 2010

How else could it be?

The first day of spring, and it's snowing.

Welcome to Wisconsin.

Time to hunker down with a cup of tea and some contest entries and hope this shizzle melts by Monday.

Have a good weekend, everyone!

13 March 2010

Redefinition.

When I was 10, I started writing stories about characters from my favorite TV shows. I filled notebook after notebook with longhand pencil scrawl. I never finished anything; all my scribblings were just for fun, and centered around the immediacy of getting scene ideas out of my head and onto the page.

That's what I really miss about writing - being so into just one scene, one idea, that I can't wait to get it down on paper. Never mind scene structure. Never mind plot arc, character arc, or any other writing rules. Just pure, unadulterated fun.

When I was writing for publication, writing became a chore. Despite my best intentions, I struggled to meet deadlines. Although I produced some fine stories, it wrung me out. The joy disappeared from my life.

Now, I have very good friends for whom the opposite is true: they produce fine stories, can write quickly, and are having the time of their lives developing their writing careers. I am tickled pink for them; they deserve to enjoy every single moment.

The point of all this rambling is that I've taken a very hard look at my life, at all the angst I've been putting myself through over writing, and have come to the conclusion that I'm happy with my life the way it is right now. I enjoy my day job; I enjoy it much more than I ever did my writing career, such as it was. And I want to rediscover the joy that I had as a 10-year-old, bent over a notebook, scribbling away, oblivious to the rest of the world.

So for now, I'm content to be a recreational writer. No goals, no pressure, no expectations. When an idea strikes, I want to be able to write about it for its own sake and have fun doing it. I may never publish again, and strangely, I'm okay with that. My writing is once more my own.

06 March 2010

Better.

My back is feeling better; it's not 100% yet, but I'm no longer white-faced with pain. The weather is gorgeous; the cat is a purring bundle of happiness on her sun-drenched perch in our bedroom. I just finished ordering my DH's birthday presents, and I actually managed to find some things he did NOT suggest. Speaking of DH, he just came home from shopping and brought me a new bottle of hot pink, very spring-tastic nail polish.

And I'm working on not one, but TWO fun stories.

A better weekend all the way around.

01 March 2010

Ow.

Not sure how I did this, but I pulled a muscle in my lower back this weekend.

OMG. I'm in total pain - can't even sleep. Been taking Aleve, but all it does is dull the achy, shooting sensations that, when I stand for an extended period of time, go all the way down my left leg.

Muscle relaxants, anyone?