On Creativity and projects

I'm having a hard time focusing on my current fiction project - the 2nd part to my first NaNo novel. Part of it is my need for consistency between books 1 and 2. I have a lot of plot holes in #1 that probably should be filled before I move on with book 2. I also think I need to map my book out because I feel like I'm wandering aimlessly.  In looking at some of the work I've already done for book 2, I've caught myself needing to flesh out background details for some parts and repeating myself as I write about a character as if it's the first time my protagonist (and the reader) encounters her. So yes, there's are some issues I think I need to work out before I plunge forward. 

I'm also spending more time focusing on health and diet. I like cooking, but with the food logging and calorie counting, it's important for me to write down/develop the recipes I use and figure out appropriate portion sizes. 

Then, I had this crazy idea... write a cookbook. Most of the recipes, I'm going to post on my blog. First, I'll develop the recipes and have my friends try them. Then, I'll organize them into a book with some kind of story or intro into each recipe - whether it's a family recipe, an experiment, or a happy accident. Some of the dishes might inspire me in other projects. 

On Body Language

About a few weeks ago, my husband and I were at Lowe's shopping for a washer/dryer. We were looking at some of the models I'd pre-researched online and the sales associate came to help us. She wasn't pushy and she was really knowledgeable about her machines. She was really friendly and didn't push one machine over another, but she did spend the time to point out pros/cons of one model's design over another's or was quick to mention when one was a new (therefore unreviewed) model of a trusted line.

Then we went to a showroom that was kind of like a warehouse for appliances. Again, here was a nice sales associate who was knowledgeable. He pointed out slightly different things when comparing the models and Craig and I, using what we learned, made the best informed decision. Overall, it was a pleasant experience.

However, there was a distinct difference in the body language of salesgirl vs salesguy. Aleisha naturally spoke to the two of us, making eye contact and continually shifting focus between me and Craig. She was also good about keeping her body angle in such a way that she was facing both of us at the same time, not just one or the other.

On the other hand, Marty the sales guy, would talk more to Craig. Quite a few times, Craig actively shifted the conversation to me. And when I had some questions or concerned, I could tell that Marty was surprised I was the one who asked (like my request to see the machine's manual).  He spent most of his time making eye contact with Craig and his body position was facing Craig. A couple of times, Marty turned his back to me while explaining something or demonstrating a feature - more than once I found myself moving closer to Craig so that he was facing, and speaking, to both of us.

The difference in body language was subtle, but it was there.

Encouragement and progress

Apparently, there are many people who work at Finance Company who are published authors with followings and substantial Kindle downloads. Some have 1 book under their belts. Others have several and are continuing to write. This is very encouraging.

On sacrifice and dedication

Today, at work, we celebrated the contributions of an associate who is leaving the company.  I'm sad to have not been able to get to know him much since I've only been with the company for 10 weeks. And for 6 of those weeks, I didn't really get to work with him. While I was going through my on-boarding process, he was taking his multi-week vacation. And it's not a remarkable thing that he's leaving the team and the company. In his 10-year tenure at the company, he's switched positions at least once as part of his professional growth. Life happens and there comes a point when everyone has to make a decision.

What is truly remarkable is his reason for leaving. He is a writer at heart and he's leaving his well paying, excellent benefits package, full time position to dedicate to his writing.  He and his wife are packing things up and moving to the Oregon coast so that he can attend workshops and work on his first full-length novel, aiming for 500K words written and published in the next 3 years (while living off of savings and his wife's supplemental etsy income). I admire him for his courage and drive to pursue this dream. He also plans to self publish and write as much as possible.

(He also gave me this reference, as it inspired him to go through the self publishing route and just go for quantity of work.  http://www.deanwesleysmith.com. I've yet to check it out, nor have I read and of Smith's work, so I've not garnered an opinion yet).

Besides the steady paycheck that funds a comfortable Los Angeles lifestyle, he's giving up (or delaying) home ownership. He and his wife have been saving up for a down payment on a house. Now, instead of getting the house, they'll be investing that money on his writing career. The cost of living in Oregon is apparently really low compared to L.A and will allow them to stretch their dollars.

As much as I admire him, I don't think leaving LA is my cup of tea. I do understand how awesome it would be to immerse oneself into writing. My experience doing Nano taught me that. In addition to being a writer, I've always wanted a level of security and independence that comes from earning a steady paycheck. My husband and I are in the midst of purchasing our own home, (thus achieving one of our life goals) and we have a very large, ever growing circle of friends. It doesn't seem like there's ever enough time on the weekends to connect with everyone we want to connect with.

I know a lot of writers juggled a job that earned money and writing. And I can't say I don't have the time. Truth is, I spend quite a few hours a night, every night, watching TV or consuming fluff on the internet. So starting tomorrow, I'm going to buckle down. One TV episode allowed per night, and only after I'd managed to get in a few pages of writing. Blog posts will count for the first 2 weeks.  Starting tomorrow, for the next 30 days, I'll attempt a NaNo paced marathon to writing whatever. It may turn out to be a coherent piece of work. It may turn out to be nothing. But I'll be writing.