Snow Day!!!!

Winter life here in Connecticut can be a little unpredictable especially for the weathermen. While Virginia, Maryland and Baltimore are getting pounded by snow, the likes of which they have not seen in some time, if ever, we are waiting. And waiting. And waiting. School was canceled last night,
the administrative staff was called at ten pm and told to stay home (that's me! Yea!), and we were expected to get up to a foot of snow, beginning after midnight. It's currently 3:30 pm and we've had a dusting. My hope is that it starts tonight after midnight and I get to stay home again tomorrow.

I'd planned to do lots of writing today with my free time, but just started now. I did do something productive, though. When I'm on a computer away from home, I'll sometimes find an interesting or helpful writing site, and I'll email the link to myself. My mailboxes were full of sites and info that I never got around to organizing, so I made files for freelance info, contests, finished and unfinished writing pieces of mine and blog and agent info. Now I need to stay on top of it and keep it organized.

Making the contest file reminded me that contests provide the push I need to get motivated and I need to do more of them. They require me to stick to a deadline so I don't continuously put off doing the work. My blog has, as I told myself it wouldn't, taken a back seat on some days to cleaning toilets, writing bills or doing laundry. Or all three. It's especially hard for me to keep motivated when I start to question myself as to why I'm even doing this. I begin to feel inadequate and uncreative, then my inspiration and drive go right out the window. I've always been one to want everything now-instant gratification-and I try to remember to remind myself that this is an ongoing process and will most likely take a long time to see any results. I just have to continue to do it for myself. I think I might be the only one who gets anything out of it.

A little stressed

I'm feeling totally inadequate. I've not been here since Thursday. I have a ton of reading-books and blogs, and I can't keep up. I signed up for the Virtual Zen Retreat with Mary Jaksch on her "Write To Done (I can't even copy her address correctly) blog and I'm having trouble getting quiet and doing the readings.

Sara is going balls to the wall to work on "Priority" stuff, and she's got other bloggers and her fans all doing the same.

I am, as the saying goes, comparing my insides to the outsides of everyone else. Trying to keep up.

I'm going to regroup. I'll be back tomorrow with a better attitude.

Sigh.

Google docs

On the first and third Wednesdays of each month, I attend a "Writer's Support Group". I've been going for a couple of months and I really enjoy it. The group is small enough that anyone who attends and wants to read their stuff can do so, then we all critique it--nicely. The variety of writing styles amazes me. One woman who attends, Erin, is phenomenal--the stuff she can make up blows me away. Anyway-I think the woman is brilliant. I love to hear her speak-she has an awesome command of our language, but articulates herself so that I can understand what she's talking about and I don't feel like an idiot. She gives great feedback-both constructive and supportive, and I get the most from listening to her. She also seems well versed in IT (Internet technology-?? I think that's right) and has helpful suggestions about files, formatting, etc.

Last night she gave us a great tip about Google. I should have known this, but I didn't, and it's going to help me tremendously.

Google docs. I spent only a bit of time playing around with it tonight, but I can take everything I have stored on my computer and move it to Google docs. where they stay in my own little Google account, out in space somewhere, and I can call them up anytime, from anywhere and work on them. I think it's going to be a much better way to store my stuff, so now I need to transfer all my important work over there. More for me to learn. As soon as I figure it out, I'll give details. It doesn't seem very complicated.

This is never ending, and sometimes it drives me crazy, but I'm still loving it...

TUESDAY ALREADY!!!!

I have been soooo busy, I can't believe the last time I did anything with my poor little blog was last Thursday.

I was really excited to find three new comments tonight-those really help to perk me up and keep me going especially since I had a short "what the hell am I doing" moment last night. Wondering about spending all this time on the computer, sending stuff out into cyberspace, or the blogosphere, or whatever, with seemingly few who know I'm alive. Who's interested in my stuff anyway??? Boo hoo. Then I found the comments. Thanks Sarah for the tip and Allena if you're here again, thank you, too.

I'm honored that Allena commented. It's like she's like famous to me. Tons of info, thousands of topics, a veritable Fountain of Freelance... Maybe someday I'll be writing on a big site like she does.

I did spend quite a bit of time the last few days on Associated Content, and I'll go back and re-read Allena's suggestions as to why that might not be such a great idea. I was thinking it would be a way to get started making a little money, and at least having some work to show potential clients.

Another someday for me might be a book, but it'd have to be a creative non-fiction/memoir type thing. I'm not good at making things up. My husband wants me to write a kid's story about one of our parakeets, and I've been tossing it around in my head, but can't seem to come up with anything really creative and catchy. I think people assume writing for kids is easy, but I'm not sure that's the case.

I was also thinking the last few days about how my original intent for here was to write about writing, but I'm beginning to second think that, also. I wanted to do something on AC about planning for our upcoming trip to South Africa in October-sort of a step by step for first timers like us. I'm saving my money to buy a laptop to bring with me, thinking I could submit to AC while we were there and also try to keep up with my blog.

I think I just have too much flying around in my head and sometimes it overwhelms me. I had a sad thought the other day that, at fifty three years old, I have have wasted so much time. The best I have to show for those years are my two kids. But what will be my legacy? I know for damn sure there aren't fifty three more years for me and I feel a sense of urgency to get moving and make the best of what remains. In her book, "Broken Open", Elizabeth Lesser speaks of the most beautiful, wrenching quote I'd ever read. Written by Anais Nin, it fully articulates where I am now, and where I want to go.

"And the time came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."

Thursday already

These weeks are flying. Tonight is a short post because I'm going to "Associated Content" to create an account for myself and see if I can get some stuff published online. I found out about the site through Allena Tapia at About.com. I receive emails from her Freelance Writing guide, and she's been a great help as I try to learn about that aspect of writing. I came across the AC site the other day after perusing some of her mail that I hadn't had time to look at and it seems like it might be a good place to get my feet wet. It's easy to understand, which is always helpful for me.
Still haven't learned the link thing yet so here's the address.... http://www.associatedcontent.com/
My husband and I are going to South Africa next October and I'm going to see if they'll accept some submissions about the trip. (In case anyone might be wondering-the elephant on my page is a countdown to the days remaining)
My daughter, Meredith, made an allusion today that I'm becoming obsessed with my blog. She ain't seen nothin' yet! (Love ya, honey!)

Learn something new everyday

Everyone has most likely heard, "Ohhhhh. Hmmmm. Well, you learn something new everyday!" It's cliche, and I don't know how true it really is, but this writing thing has really made that statement my ah-ha mantra these last few weeks. Today, I learned something about Twitter that I never knew until after I spent a few minutes reading about it on line and viewing a Youtube video. I did not know that posts (or whatever they are called) are limited to 140 characters. I wondered what that meant under the update box. I really show my age when it comes to all this stuff. So now that I know it has to be brief, I will try and Tweet everyday. I have trouble being brief. This should help. Me . Be brief.--Ha.
I'm still trying to learn how to include links within my posts without pasting the entire site address. That will be my tweet for tonight. Maybe someone can help me. I found some great stuff today for freelancing, contests and new writers so I'll include the address lines until I learn otherwise....
This one offers a variety of avenues to make and find money writing as well as contests, and consultations.
http://www.fundsforwriters.com/

This is geared toward freelance writers, but has a TON of info on it. I could spend hours just perusing this site.
http://www.freelancewritinggigs.com/

This is another page of FWJ, offering free online writing classes...I like free. I'm going to check these out as I can use all the help I can get-

http://www.freelancewritinggigs.com/2009/08/31-free-online-writing-courses/

Going to spend some time researching so I can learn more than one new thing today....

New Look

OK-It's been 3 weeks and already I'm bored with the look of my blog. Tonight I ingeniously determined that I was able to change the templates with the availability of a few blogger variations and chose this because it was vivid had some pizazz! It's not necessarily what I'd have if I could design my own, but it'll work for tonight until I can figure out something else.
I spent the better part of the weekend working on the Writer's Weekly 24 Hour contest story. In a nutshell-Mrs. Claus was cheating on her man. With an elf. That's what he gets for being so controlling. Don't know if it'll win any prize, but I thought it was rather creative.
I also came to the conclusion tonight that I'd better get on the Twitter train. I actually had created an account back in November, but never did anything with it. All I hear and read about is Tweets and Twits, and whatever else there is. Thought it might get some traffic to my blog so I'll be...
waiting.....waiting...