Wandering at the Shadows' Edge

exploring potential and possibility

Archive for the category “Writing”

05 Nov 2019

Making Things Happen

I’m working on doing rather than wishing. I’m good at planning, at seeing possibilities, and dreaming. I’m not so good at following through. But I’m getting better.

I started with my writing and publishing. I’m making deadlines. I’m writing at least a blog post everyday. I’m getting had written stuff into the computer. I’m even writing and revising short stories for submission to anthologies.

It means I’m not watching much TV. I’m not reading as much as I’d like. I’m playing games on my phone less often. I’m making time to do writing and writing related things.

I’m making time to get in better shape, to get healthier, too. It means setting an alarm instead of sleeping until I wake up. It means taking walks during my breaks at work. It means taking the time to prep vegetables and fruits, to cook grains and meat or poultry. And packing lunch to take to work instead of going out and buying lunch.

As making time for these things becomes habit, rather than something I have to think about, I’m starting to find myself with more time. I’m organizing and scheduling things better and getting more accomplished with my time. I still don’t have time to do everything I want to do, but I’m getting to more of it. Can I keep it up when I go back to a day shift? I don’t know, but I think I can keep closer to it than I have been able to in the past.

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29 Oct 2019

Tiny Steps

I think I’m starting to get a handle on my writing schedule at least so long as I’m working nights. I’m writing at least a bit every day – usually a blog post and at least 400 to 500 words on fiction. Lately it’s been short stories. I want to do more writing, or at least get more words in, but I am making time in my schedule to write. I am making it a priority.

There are other things I want and need to do and I haven’t done so well in making those things happen. Admittedly, most of them don’t get added to my planner. I don’t block time out for them specifically, or add them to my to-do list.

What kind of things am I talking about? Donating, selling, or otherwise getting rid of stuff (It’s all sorted out, I just haven’t gotten it out of the condo!), finishing the weavings on my rigid heddle loom and my inkle loom, practicing my calligraphy and illumination so I can get some projects finished, sewing new clothes – both for daily wear and for costumes.

There are other things too. I know I can’t get them all done at one time. But I need to start getting them done. I need to start checking them off my list. I want to better my skills, I want to get the clutter out of my house.

Most importantly, I want to stop feeling overwhelmed. I know it affects my ability to use my time wisely. When I feel overwhelmed, I procrastinate and choose to do nothing at all. I’m working on that part – I’m making it point when I feel overwhelmed to pick one small thing to do, or to spend just 15 minute doing a specific thing. It gets me started and gets at least part of something done. I usually end up doing more than that one thing or 15 minutes.

These are all little steps. But the only way to get anywhere is to put one foot in fromt of the other. And to keep doing it. Each step may not get you too far, but when you put htme all together, you may find you’ve reached your next mile marker. That’s what I have to reminding myself of.

Posted in Calligraphy & Illumination, Fiber Arts, General Wandering, Modern, Rigid Heddle Weaving, Writing | Leave a Comment
08 Aug 2019

Revisiting the Shadows

Sometimes you just have to travel back to someplace you’ve already been. That’s true when it comes to places, projects, stories, and many other things.

At the moment, I’m traveling in the shadows I’ve already mapped, going back to things that are familiar and, in some cases, comforting. I need to start exploring again soon.

Work has been taking a lot of my mental energies, so I’ve been reading old favorites. They’re fun and easy since I’ve already read them at least once. That leaves my brain cycles available for other things.

What are those other things? Revising the second and third Double Helix books into to drafts I can give to an editor is part of it. I’ve also been doing some editing on Secrets and Shadows before I release it wide and in print. And I’ve been working on the short stories my mailing list gets for free. And then there’s the zero draft of the fourth Double Helix book. That’s most of the writing related stuff that’s not new.

I’m re-exploring the fiber arts as well. I need a new lanyard for work, so I warped up my inkle loom. I got a couple of inches dones then set it aside. I need to finish it because there are other weaving projects – new techniques – I want to try. Of course, I need to finish balling the yarn for some of those projects too!

I’ve been jotting down ideas and steps for completing some older SCA projects too. I need to practice specific calligraphy and illumination styles and figure out some fairly extensive blocking. I need to make a test batch of gesso, test some gilding options, and do some more research and practice on book binding.

I’m considering pulling an old project here out of the shadows. There’s a lot of negativity in the world and on social media right now. And there are a lot of people doing their parts to make things a little better, a little easier, a little nicer. They need to be seen though, and all too often they aren’t. So I think I may bring the spotlight back. There’s light in the shadows, though we usually only see the dark.

Hmm….

It looks like I’m not quite ready to start mapping new paths in the shadows yet. But I’ll get there.

Are you revisiting old maps or exploring new ones?

Posted in Bookbinding, Calligraphy & Illumination, General Wandering, Inkle Weaving, Modern, SCA, Spotlight, Writing | Leave a Comment
10 Jan 2018

Practice Practice Practice

What do you do when you have some projects in mind that are above your current skill level? Either you choose to let those projects go, or you start practicing!  So I’ll be doing a lot of practicing over the next couple of months. If I do enough, maybe I’ll even feel confident when I start working on the actual projects.

I already do a lot of practice writing and I can see the improvement in my storytelling and style. Whether I’m writing for myself or a wider audience, every time I put words on the page (or on a blog) I’m practicing. Am I always comfortable with sharing what comes of the practice? No. But feedback, constructive criticism is how I learn and improve. I’m comfortable with that idea when it comes to my writing.

I still need to get to that point with my other projects – whether it’s weaving and other fiber arts or calligraphy, illumination, and bookbinding. But I have to remind myself that I have much less experience in those areas than I do in writing. So of course my current efforts, practice or otherwise, have a lot of room for improvement.

So, more practice it is…. I’ll find my way through the shadows of doubt and self-criticism as I see improvement in my efforts. I don’t know that practice makes perfect, but conscientious practice does make one better at the thing you are practicing.

What skill are you going to practice until it shines from the shadows?

Posted in Fiber Arts, Paper Arts, SCA, Writing | Leave a Comment
21 Sep 2016

Mapping the Shadows

One of the things I’m not good at is following up on ideas.  I get great ideas and intentions, and then forget to follow up on them. There are a couple of different ways I’m trying to map out tasks and ideas I need to follow up on.

I’ve created my own “planner.”  It won’t really kick in until the new year, but it is helping me keep track of the events and tasks that are easily planned and scheduled. Once the new year starts I’ll probably add a bullet journal into it. I’ll try to include pictures once I figure out how I’m going use it.

I also have a “creative” journal – the idea was to divide each pair of pages up into seven sections and then decorate each of the sections with something that applied to that day. It could just be the date and a freehand background design or it could include other decorative items like tape or stickers. It could include the horrible drawings that I do – because I haven’t sat down and applied myself to actually learning to draw LOL.   Great idea – execution not so great.  Sometimes I remember to decorate a section and sometimes I don’t. It really depends on how many things I have on my mental list for the day.

I got smart and put all my writing ideas in one place. When I’m ready to take one from concept-and-notes to actual story, I transform the concept card/folder into its own file. And for the series that wasn’t supposed to be a series 😉 I’m creating a “canon” book or story “bible” so that I don’t lose details about characters, places, timelines, etc.

I’m still working on finding the combination of things that will let me map the shadows effectively.

How do you map your journeying?

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13 Sep 2016
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Words That Light the Path

The past week my concentration has been writing-related. If you saw the previous post, I’m sure you’ll understand why.

As a result, I’ve been doing very little crafting. I’ve done some knitting on an ongoing shawl project, but that’s about it.

So…. I’m going to keep things writing related and recommend a few authors who inspire me.

Nathan Lowell 

I adore his Solar Clipper/ Deep Dark stories.  The main characters aren’t “heroes”. They are everyday people who make the effort to look outside of the boxes they are familiar with. In Quarter Share, the lead character’s first accomplishment is making good coffee! Ishmael’s stories go with me every time I travel. They’re old friends that I never tire of catching up on. At the same time, I avidly look forward to Nathan’s new stories – especially those in the Solar Clipper/Deep Dark universe.

Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris

From their self published and small press works to their traditionally published novels, I’ve loved everything – fiction and non-fiction – I’ve read. Both are extremely approachable on social media as well.  If you want a fun entry point to steampunk, that involves more than just pasting gears on to things, try their Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series.

Scott Sigler

If you like horror, sci-fi, or football, take a look at Scott’s works. Though he has lousy taste in beer, he’s a wonderful storyteller, and for a “Future Dark Overlord (FDO)”, he’s a pretty decent guy. I don’t know if he’ll remember the “brewmistress” after all these years, but I remember the Houston book signing for Infected and being asked what beer at the brewpub he should get.  Then there was the first Podcasters’ Pimp party at DragonCon 2007 when he learned I’d brought my own homebrewed beer.  😉

There are other authors I adore – but they have larger, traditional publishing audiences.  These authors are perhaps (Scott is a NYT bestseller) less well known. But they are all authors that I’ve personally met – back in the early days of podcasting. They’ve chosen to blaze non-traditional paths for others, including myself, to follow, and for the most part not gotten the credit or recognition they deserve. They helped to set me on the path to publication, encouraged me in podcasting, brewing, and writing. The least I can do is give them a shout out here.

These are some of the authors that light the paths through the shadows for me. Maybe they can do the same for you.

Posted in Book Reviews, For Fun, General Wandering, Modern, Writing and tagged , , , , , , , ,
09 Sep 2016

Words in the Mind’s Shadows

I spend a good amount of time wandering in the shadows of my own mind. The stories I find there, at some point, get written down – or at least notes get made about them. I have a completely different site for my writing: J Lynn Baker, so you won’t see me talk about here very often. But something sort of big is happening today.

I have a story in an anthology. Today is Cover Reveal day. And today is the day the e-version of the anthology goes on pre-sale. So I had to post something about it here.

All the details, information, and links are available at the other site, so I’m just going to post the cover art, created by the very talented Amanda Lewis.

Queens & Courtesans Cover

Queens & Courtesans Cover

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