Monthly Archives: July 2014

Summer is going along swimmingly. Okay, yeah, I guess I deserved the groans – puns are often under-appreciated.

This week I got to spend a day at a gorgeous state park on the shores of a lake. Being out in nature inspires me. The view of the mountains in the distance, sitting on the sandy beach, looking at the rocky shore further east and smelling the pine trees behind me. Divine!

My main project for the week was to finish, edit, polish, and send in a guest blog post that was due on Friday. I’m pleased with how it came out (I’ll post a link once it’s published). I was writing for one of my favorite websites, and when I e-mailed my article, I asked that they keep me in mind if they ever need a regular writer. She responded the next day and offered me a monthly slot for 2015! I’m so excited by this very good news! I’m already planning topics to write about. Sweeeeeet!

We haven’t done any editing on our novel lately. I’ve been editing, but it’s for a friend’s book. Luckily it’s kept me captivated, as the story is terrific.

Blogging and guest blogging are both going well. I’ll be away for a few days this coming week, so today I’m writing some posts ahead of time and scheduling them, so I can keep my momentum. That’s something I planned to do when I went on vacation a few weeks ago, but I ran out of time. It looks like I’ll be able to stay on track this time, though.

I finished reading Blog to Win Business: How to Enchant Readers and Woo Customers by Henneke Duistermaat. I found lots of useful tips and techniques that I’ve already started to implement. I’ve started Rock Your Plot by Cathy Yardley, and I hope to do some brainstorming about my next novel while I’m away this week.

Yoga is still going really well, as is my healthy eating plan. I’m getting outdoors regularly, and enjoying the summer rather than pushing myself to work all the time. My spiritual practices are flourishing. I’m so thankful.

I guess that’s all I have to report. I’ll be back again next Sunday with more updates. Have a wonderful week of creativity!

This is my first check in since we started Round 3 about two weeks ago. I’ve been taking some time to get refocused, and to put my “keep it simple” plans into play.

I had to wait about a week for my new laptop – and it turns out it’s my old laptop, refurbished and good as new! I was pleasantly surprised when our computer guy said that my trusty Dell was still a good machine and just needed some work. I have it back now and I’m very happy with it. I did, as per one of my goals, re-organize the filing system on the laptop. Now my documents, pictures, and other things are much easier to access. The new filing system and the faster performance make sitting down to work on the laptop a breeze rather than a frustration. I’m so thankful to have my main writing tool upgraded!

Blogging is back on track as of this week. I posted 3 times on my Starcat’s Corner blog, and I have two guest posts in the works. I now have an ongoing list of topics for blogging, which is a huge help. I’m also halfway through reading Blog to Win Business: How to Enchant Readers and Woo Customers by Henneke Duistermaat. The title sounds a bit overly commercial, but I feel that many of the techniques will be helpful.

My spiritual practices are going well, and my focus on health too. I’ve had some new insights thanks to dreams and some thought-provoking reading. It’s all connected to my life as a whole, so it impacts my creative work too. I’m more open to the daily flow of life, and I’m seeing the bigger picture as well. That may sound rather vague, but it’s all still percolating. I’m sure I’ll write more as the insights continue to flow.

This coming week I hope to focus more on my editing and writing projects. See you on Wednesday for the next check-in!

Summer is always a busy time for me and my family. It’s one of my favorite times of year, and this round lies at the heart of this gorgeous season.

In honor of summer, and of some work on integration that I’ve been doing as part of my spiritual practices, I’m keeping things simple this time – or as simple as it gets for this Virgoan author, anyway. I’m focusing on ENJOYing all aspects of my life, and making it easy to create as the muse inspires me. I look forward to seeing how this round unfolds.

Here are my goals for ROW 80 Round 3:

De-clutter and organize my work spaces. Purchase and set up my new laptop. Save the pertinent files from the old laptop. Clean my upstairs desk, bookshelves, and filing cabinets. Create beautiful, inviting, and user-friendly working spaces.

In collaboration with BlackLion, edit, revise and polish our NaNoWriMo 2013 novel, The Door Is the Key. Have it sent out to our beta readers by the end of the Round.

Upgrade my blogging. Post to my Starcat’s Corner blog at least 3 times per week, and on this blog at least 2 times per week. Write and edit at least three guest blog posts and have them posted. Start and keep a running list of blog post ideas, drafts, and picture ideas.

Continue my craft learning. Read Rock Your Plot and other fiction-writing how-tos. Read more about ethical marketing and promotion. Keep notes on ideas to use this fall.

Play with writing and creating. Work on outlining my novel for NaNoWriMo 2014. Write something new and unexpected. Make some new pages in my art journal.

Expand my spiritual awareness and the integration of all aspects of my life. Do the assigned exercises in Evolutionary Witchcraft (a book I’m working through with my Full Moon circle). Pay more attention to my dreams and intuitions.

Enjoy my life and go with the flow. Do things I love: write in my journal, do yoga, drum, dance, and express my gratitude. Eat well and exercise. Get outdoors on a regular basis.