I bought a book today featuring essays from many famous writers. It’s called The Time to Write or something like that.

I love reading blogs from other writers but sometimes curling up with a non-fiction book is just what I need in order to resource myself.

How do I find the time to write? I’d love to say that I have such discipline that, no fail, I’m up at 5 am and write my 1000 words daily. That’s the plan but it doesn’t always work.

I try though, I try hard. I try half of that which means that for the last 5 months I’ve gotten up at 6 or earlier everyday. I’ve written, yes, anywhere between 500 and 1500 words. But sometimes, I’ve brainstormed and sometimes, when I was so drained from the stress of life, I just wrote in my journal.

The discipline of waking up an hour before everybody is there. I don’t succeed everyday but I do go forward.

I noticed that during the holiday I wrote about 7000 words in 2 weeks. I could not write at all during the day, but I squeezed writing in that one hour alone in the morning.

I try so hard to be perfect and set my goals so high that I’m always bind to fail but sometimes I can look back and say that good enough is not bad, it’s not bad at all.

500 words today and a good constructive time planning the third and last act of Ancient Secrets. I hate writing in the dark, not knowing what next, so now that I know what I want to happen and the motive behind my characters’ actions, I feel much better. I now know I have a novel.

Passion gothic by =Senderosolvidados on deviantART

Some latest publishing industry news had me in upveal today (you’ll find out soon enough) and I am quite struck by how important it is to keep a schedule that keep you going when you lose your cool.

No matter what, today I wrote my words and went for my short run. Both were tough to do but I promised myself I would do it and with each promise fulfilled comes the good habit ingrained in us, easy to sustain.

Bob Mayer suggest to keep a to-do/done daily list and he has his daily non-negociable. Margie Lawson suggests a winner/superstar to-do list where if you do all your winner tasks your are doing pretty good, so no need to beat yourself for not being a superstar everyday.

I like the non-negotiable thing. A while back, when my kids where little I read all kinds of housekeeping books. I should have known then that I’m more of a reader than a housekeeper! But I came accross the concept of Minimum Maintenance (MM). Basically not to feel overwhelmed, it means to spend 5 min in each room of the house, tidying up, starting with the room where visitors are most likely to come in.

It does work. I do MM twice a day, usually while the kids are around and I can’t work anyway. I don’t always get to all the rooms but it does keep the chaos away.

MM is a small non-negotiable thing after the writing.

So I feel that even if I get stressed over news, I just have to stay the course, calm down. I have a big plan.

I’m not just reacting to events but acting towards a big goals. Yes I may take tosses and turns but I’ll get there.

Added 1400 words to Ancient Secrets today.

Blessed Be.

GOTHIC WINTER by ~JTphoto on deviantART

I’m thinking a lot about courage today.
It takes a lot of courage to stay the course, to ignore the criticisms and the inner voice that seeds doubts.

It takes a lot of courage to face rejections after rejections and to keep going regardless.

Oh how easy it would be to just lay back and forget this business of getting up before dawn to do what means so much to us. So easy to do as everyone wants, please them while ignoring our own inner light.

So easy to coast. Yes, so easy in the short run, in this difficult moment. But at what cost? What is the cost of giving up our dreams because we are tired or weak.

The courage it takes is huge but it’s in all of us. I know. It just takes a little time, a little space, and we find it, there, within us.

Don’t give up.

A very short two pages added this morning to Ancient Secrets but those few words put me over 40,000 words in total. Slow perhaps, but steady.

Blessed Be.

A Gothic Romance by ~LadyDarkRaven on deviantART

Habits die hard, good ones too. Spent all last night up with a sore stomach and thought there would be no way I would get up and write.

Well I still got up. I’m so used to it. Did some brainstorming and again, another habit was hard to shake, instead of a run though, I walked. But I still needed to be moving.

I added two short scenes to Ancient Secrets and did a huge amount of outlining/plotting today. Mostly for action/battle scenes. I’m not bad at those but they really scare me at first.

Regardless, I’m at that point when if I just keep pushing, I won’t shake those good habits of daily writing and exercise.

I’m very anxious though, tomorrow my friend and writer Candi Wall will find out if she made the cut in the top five finalist at the Dorchester contest. And there are others like Saranna who I hope make it too. But I’ve been with Candi since day one of her writing and we’ve grown as writers together so I’m anxious.

Tuesday, I find out if I got accepted into the Masters of Teaching program. I’m so nervous about that. I’ve got more degrees and passion then anyone out there but I am older and I felt it at the interview two weeks ago.

I try not to worry and believe that what must happen will happen but it’s not always easy.

I guess we all have our anxieties at time. As I told Candi today, as long as we can look back and know we did our absolute very best, we’ll be fine. Right?

Blessed be.

Winter Tears by ~Gilraen-Ar-Feiniel on deviantART

Do you ever think of taking the time to enjoy the small joys in your life?

I woke up to produce about 700 words today. Such a slow writer. But the scene I wrote was a complete unit. A complete mini story. Hopefully starts with a hook, progress with enough drama, then end in a way that make the reader want more.

Those 700 words should expand to maybe 1100 words or so at edits when I add the things I’m not good at such as, for today, the description of a lush bedroom and some French history to weave into the dialog. So not too bad for a Sunday where I would have rather rolled over and fall asleep again than get up at 7:00 to write.

Later today, as my brain was spinning and I saw everything so dark, I caught myself as I saw the mountains in the background of Seattle. What are my small joys? It’s funny how you sometimes forget, or you let external forces affect how you are inside.

Those words I wrote this morning were my small joys and also the words from my son who told me today that I was a good mum and when I asked why he said because I loved him.

Seing my youngest on his skateboard today, this tiny boy surrounded by the concrete of the park and teenagers twice as big as he is, my son rolling down those ramps like he was born to do it, that made me smiled.

The music which I know is so close to me, my favorite bands ready to take me somewhere as I listen, that is joy, that can’t be taken from me.

The art work I post here, they are small joys too and I understand how the artists had something to share by creating, how sometimes emotions need a way to channel themselves.

I leave you with another art work today as a Steampunk Sunday inspiration.

And if you ever pass by my blog, please tell me, what was the last thing that made you smile, what was your small joy?

Blessed Be

Steampunk Ivy by *iKink on deviantART

I had a great writing morning today. Woke up really early and while the household slept, I cranked up that one song I like from NIN and wrote 1200 words just like that. The words getting out more easily as I wrote more.
At first, the scene between my hero and heroine was to be set during a simple walk.
How boring. I switched the setting to the alchemy lab and it is now so much more fun to write.

I wrote a start of a cover copy as well, a quick summary for the back of the book.

Here is how is starts, as a first attempt:

Meet Phoebus Callan, cursed alchemist and sorcerer, member of an ancient Celtic brotherhood, The Priory of Callan. Haunted by a terrible secret, a cruel act he committed in 15th century France, he carry his guilt like a shadow.

It’s a secret that now, centuries later, brilliant climate scientist Dr. Brooke is determined to uncover. Fated as his soulmate and with her natural thirst for knowledge, she will not give in to him until he reveals the deepest part of his soul, until he reveals to her his…
ANCIENT SECRETS

So that was fun!

I walk alone by =WCS-Wildcat on deviantART

I found it hard these days to just wake up and write as I used to do. Had to wait a little today and this time I found that perhaps the only way to focus was to listen to music to get me going.

I always daydream about the book with music, but this time listening to it did wonder while I write and yes I added another 4 pages or so to Ancient Secrets today.

The song I like for it these days is NIN The Great Destroyer, the remixed version. I just love that whole album indeed. In This Twilight works great too.

Regardless, I’ll see if it works again tomorrow.

Still working on the Warrior Writer course. This time we had to ask ourselves why? Why do we want to accomplish these goals.
Here are some of my answers:

Stragetic Goals – Why

Why the solid carreer writer:
To leave a legacy, to leave my two boys a series of books written by their mom, so they have a legacy when I am gone; to have a sense of accomplishment, to have done a solid tangible body of work, acknowledged by the traditional publishing world, when I look back as I get old.

Why the paranormal/steampunk genres:
For the “wow” factor I feel in that genre. I am totally boring in real life but I can be in those awesome worlds when I write. I control it and it is just so so cool to be there. Keep that feeling of awe with me all the time.

Tactical Goals (Books) – Why

Series one (Ancients)
Because I was heart-broken by the fate of tragic lovers from old legends passed down, told and sung in my family. I felt compelled to reunite these lovers in modern day time using paranormal elements. A way to connect with my family and roots especially after my father died, which is what prompted me to start writing.

Series two (Steampunk)
The wow/cool factor. I just want to be in that Steampunk world so badly (I want to live in an Abney Park song! LOL) It just fascinates me and reconnects me with the really cool side of my science background (climate, gadgets, being at sea, exploration, ect) The series is been with me for over a year now.

Blessed be

last of the wilds by =WCS-Wildcat on deviantART

Ancient Secrets is progressing slowly but surely. I’m getting into the second act now.

I made it easy on myself by changing location for each act. I didn’t really plan it but it just kind of splitted itself that way.

The first act, set in Paris, is done and now I’m working in the French countryside. I’m hoping lots of gothic undertones there. It’s been a while since I’ve been in France, 10 years or so, so I’ll need a little work to get the feel of it again.

I spent some of yesterday working on the exercises for Bob Mayer’s workshop: Warrior Writer. Used a big spreadsheet to write down my goals and plans for the next, oh what, 4 years.

If funny how a year ago, I had this big 5 years plan road to publication, and now, I need to redo it all again, honestly wondering, besides writing the next book, where am I heading?

Bob’s workshop is really good that way. It seems all simple but writing it all down was really worthwhile for me.

He kept mentionning the obvious goal of becoming a NYT bestsellers in 5 years. I thought that was my goal, but no strangely it isn’t. My writing goal is to become a solid career writer with two series (2 books a year) within 4 years. I dont want to quit my day job. I want yo do both, hoping a part time High School Math teacher will let me do that.

Realistically I don’t know if I’ll meet my goal. The list would be nice, of course but when I daydream I see that pile of books, with my name on the spine, a pile growing slow and steady.

If it doesn’t happen, well there is the one book coming out and there is always Kinko for the other ones!

Winter Nights by =WCS-Wildcat on deviantART

by Marie-Claude Bourque

I am at Musetracks today and delighted to have host  historical romance author Anthea Lawson aka writer couple Anthea and Lawson.

They share the FIVE ESSENTIAL STEPS ON THE PATH TO PUBLICATION.

They are kind enough to giveaway a copy of their first novel PASSIONATE.

Please visit and comment at Musetracks

My current inspiration for Ancient Secrets