Tag: Writing

To Do … What Should I Do?

by eileentroemel, posted in Life, Writing

It is errand weekend.  This means I have a list of things to get done that is somewhat extensive.  It also means I should not be staying up until 5:00 am writing.

Yesterday I was on track.  I came home, paid bills, took care of all the payroll stuff I needed to.  I was tired and cranky so I tried taking a nap.  It didn’t work.  Ken and I watched a movie – Erased – it was pretty good.  He went to bed and I started writing.

I wrote until 10:30, coming to the end of a scene.  I figured okay good place to stop.  I turned out the light and couldn’t sleep.  The next scene I wanted to write kept playing in my head to the point where after 45 minutes I gave up trying to sleep.

Of course the next scene needed prep, this meant of course additional scenes.  I worked on it until almost 5:00 am this morning.  I came to the end of the scene and knew EXACTLY what the next couple of scenes were going to be.  I did not write them, they are still bouncing around in my head.  The problem is I couldn’t sleep.  I’d been up almost 24 hours and still my brain would not shut down.

I forced myself to sleep through sheer willpower I think.  It took a while but I eventually got to sleep.  I slept for an hour or two and woke up.  I took one look at the clock and made myself go back to sleep.  I dozed for an hour before I fell asleep again.

I’m freaking ridiculous.  I got up a little after 10 this morning and I’m trying to get a pile of tasks done including getting the coupons organized.  I have a novel ready for production including cover.  I still have to settle on a title which is driving me crazy.  I have ideas but none of them click really for me.  It is going to be a series and ironically I already know the title for the second book (it’s the one I worked on all night).

I’m setting aside my urge to write in order to get a few of the business type things done.  Coupons, grocery list, and errand list all need to be made up.  Ken is being amazing and running the errands this weekend so I can work on production.  When I get all of those practical things done I’ll see what I work on.  Being tired, my brain will have to dictate what I’m capable of doing.  There are three strong contenders with a fourth possibility.  I could clear the table (it is clearer than it has been in months) in my office and finish organizing.  I could work on production of two novels I have ready for production.  I could write.

As tired as I am all three sound appealing because they all accomplish different things I’ve been working on.  I have the feeling it is going to be a weekend of little sleep and lots of stuff done.  At least I hope so.

A Dozen Projects

by eileentroemel, posted in Writing

My daughter read on of my stories on Sunday.  I worked on editing the story this week.  She has been nagging me about getting her the next installment with these characters.  She enjoyed the story that much. 

I told her she had to wait as I had eleven projects in the works (different stages of writing, editing, production).  She of course was insistent that I do the next installment, there was even mention of bribing with cookies and from scratch pumpkin pie. 

As I’m editing the first book, all the ideas I had for more in the story keep coming up and a theme of sorts starts to come clear.  It was 11:00 pm when I finished editing the manuscript for the first book.  I was going to go to bed but I couldn’t sleep so I took a few moments and jotted down outline like ideas for the next book. 

I woke up yesterday with the first three scenes in my head just dying to get put on paper.  Yesterday, I put the edits for the first book on the computer and started the second book.  I have 6100 words and about five scenes done.  This morning I woke up with the next series of scenes in my head.  I wrote the first book in ten days (or so).  I’m hoping the second book works up as quickly.  Classes started this week at my job so the work has picked up.  It will be interesting to see how well the writing goes while I’m busy at work. 

Unusual for me, I have a cover in mind for the first book.  I’m going to play with my idea and see if I can get something I like.  I have so many aspects of all projects to work on it is sort of crazy and I feel a bit schizophrenic with jumping between projects.  At the same time when I need a break from a project, I’m able to move to a different one while the one stews in my head. 

It will be fun to see what adventures my characters get up to.  I’ve been enjoying writing about them again.  It’ like sitting with old friends and hearing about their lives – except that I’m the puppet master of their lives. 

Movies Instead

by eileentroemel, posted in Life

No organizing got done which isn’t a big surprise.  Ken and I watched movies most of the day.  Elysium, True Grit, and Mud.

Elysium is very much my style of movie – post apocalyptic how has the world survived, Matt Damon – one of my favorites.  Unfortunately I was watching the clock on this one.  It was slow and when it picked up, I was not invested in them.  It was predictable as well.  All in all, I would have preferred organizing my office.

True Grit – the new one.  I’m a HUGE John Wayne fan so deliberately didn’t go see this one in the theaters.  John Wayne played that role amazingly and Jeff Bridges just didn’t do it justice.  Matt Damon was a better LeBoeuf character than Glen Campbell.  The story followed almost exactly what the original was and I’m sure some people enjoyed the new version.  I did not.  When we were done watching it, I wanted to go back and watch the John Wayne version.  It was a disappointment.

Mud with Matthew McConaughey.  Best part of the movie was when McConaughey decides to take off his lucky shirt and go without it.  It was a nice view.  The story line was predictable though somewhat touching.  The connection between the two boys and McConaughey’s character was interesting.  The dialogue was unbelievable.  The way the two boys talked seemed unrealistic.  I checked with Ken because we have girls and he said no as well.  I watched the clock on this one too.

All three of these had good parts to them.  We didn’t pay to see any of them so it was a horrible way to pass the afternoon but I watched a couple of old episodes of Adam 12 that I enjoyed more.

After Ken went to bed I worked on a story.  I had been uncertain what direction I wanted to take the story in and last night it just hit me.  I also pulled up another story to work on after I was done playing in the first one.  It’s a story I’ve been drawn back to numerous times.  I’m going to work on these two to see if I can finish them off – move them from the slush pile to the edit pile.  I also got the first Defenders novel into production and got some the front matter and back matter in place.

I kept thinking yesterday I had to be at work today and then remembering that no I didn’t.  Today will be a writing day I think.  It is gray and dreary which means my joints ache, a day in the recliner with a warm blanket seems to be the right course of action.

Organizing or Writing?

by eileentroemel, posted in Life, Writing

I have absolutely no motivation for cleaning my office.  I worked on it on Friday when I got done with work and got through a couple of piles but gave up once Ken got home.  I’ve sorted and resorted.  I need to make decisions and get things organized but mostly I look at the piles and think I’d rather be writing.

I have these great intentions of getting through all the mess and getting it organized.  I’ve bought the right things to help me with this but somehow I am still struggling with getting the work done.  My mind wanders from where do I want this to whatever scene I’m writing and pretty soon I’m off writing rather than organizing.

Today I’m going to attempt to work on cleaning.  Reality is my office will probably still be a mess and I’ll wander off to work on one of the stories I’ve been writing.  I am struggling with one large scene which involves several villages and about two hundred characters (not all named) and I know some of the people on the good side are going to have to die.  There are so many questions in my head about who, what, where, when and so on that I’ve not been able to put it down on paper.

I did map out how the villages and encampment look.  They are ridiculously horrible.  However, it gives me a visual and I’ll spread out these maps to figure out how I’ll be using them once I’m writing the scene.

I’ve also been playing with a character development which may be turning into an actual story.  It seems like every time I wake up or put it away another scene or a fix to where I’m at comes to mind.  I currently have five manuscripts that I’ve finished writing.  I will shift them to the editing phase but I need a bit of time to be able to edit thoroughly.  If I edit too soon, I get more involved with writing than I do with actual editing.

This is why I get distracted from cleaning and organizing.  It is much more interesting to work on the writing then it is to work on the cleaning.  I have to get both done and stop stalling I guess.  Anyone want to take bets on which will get done today?  Stop laughing – I know it will be more writing than organizing.  

More!

by eileentroemel, posted in Writing

I’ve got a poem called Take a Moment and it is about rushing around dealing with the chaos of daily life but remembering to stop and take a moment to enjoy what is and what you have.  I’ve been feeling very unproductive when it comes to my writing.  I know I’ve been writing up a storm but for some reason I’m not feeling like I’m accomplishing all that I should. 

It sounds silly, even as I write this I feel a bit foolish for feeling this way.  However, I have been feeling like I’m not getting myself out there enough.  I’ve not been submitting articles, stories, or poetry as much as I would like.  I’m also not marketing my work as much as I would like. 

I work my day job and come home to spend a little time with Ken before he goes to bed.  I spend the rest of my evenings working on writing of some sort.  I’m just not getting the things I mentioned done.  I’ve been writing and editing like mad. 

A couple days ago, I was feeling pretty negative about my writing and my accomplishments.  I had to “take a moment” because I have been so busy dealing with the chaos of my life, I’ve forgotten to look at all that I have accomplished. 

Here is my poem and my reminder to be gentle with  yourself and take a moment to realize how much you do… I think we all need a reminder of that – I know I do.

Take A Moment
Alarm rings, crawl out of bed,
Rush through a shower, breakfast, last minute chores
Scurry out the door, dropping kids at school or work
Charge through the day, watching the clock wish it to be
Break time, lunch time, quitting time
Hurry home to make dinner
Mother and wife the family,
Dishes, bills, homework, college info, counsel kids
Be everything to everyone.
STOP!
Take a moment to watch
The squirrels scamper and chase
Across the yard
Take a moment to hear
The birds singing with joy
For the new day
Take a moment to smell
The soothing scents of flowers
Blooming in season
Take a moment to feel the breeze
Toying gently with your hair
Twisting and tangling it
Take a moment to taste
A crisp green apple picked
Fresh from the tree
Take a moment…

A Night Off

by eileentroemel, posted in Life, Writing

It may seem shocking but last night I did nothing more than watch a movie.  I am at a place in editing that I’m trying to figure out the next step to put between two scenes and none of the other stories I’m working on drew me in.  I didn’t even want to watch tv really but I watched the new episode of Dr. Who.  Not sure how I feel about the new doctor.  After I watched Ever After.  It is one of my favorite Cinderella stories. 

It was relaxing and non-thinking.  The stories that bounce around my head were quiet for a couple of hours.  The Cinderella story is one of my favorites.  The Ever After version of it shows a strong woman not willing to take crap from anyone who overcomes a lot.  Instead of the Prince rescuing her, she rescues him – many times – and in the end they rescue each other.  Plus it is a bit of a sappy love story and I like those.

Instead of working non-stop, it was nice to take a break from constant working but at the same time I feel like my brain didn’t really take a break.  I think I figured out what the scene I’ve been mulling on will be.  I’ve had one story in my head just hanging there stuck in trying to figure out what it wants to be.  It may have developed into a story of sorts – it needs a bit more mulling to see what the overarcing plot will be.  I’ve got the opening dozen scenes but more than that I’m not sure.  Until I am it will probably just stay in my head.

A night off was helpful in giving my brain a break but it didn’t help me sleep any better.  I still woke up several times and didn’t get a lot of sleep. 

While I can’t sleep, I’m just going to keep plugging away.  Right now I have three novels to edit, one to finish (well more than that if I look at all my projects) and one novel to do a final read through before I start production.  The artist is working on the cover and interior pictures.  In addition to all of these, I need to get some time in on marketing. 

So much to do and so little time.  I love almost all of it and even the parts I’m not thrilled about don’t annoy me over much. 

Here are links for all five of my books:

Secret Past

Available on Barnes and Nobles:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/secret-past-eileen-troemel/1119169953?ean=9781499159868
Available for sale at:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/426548
Available on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Past-Eileen-Troemel-ebook/dp/B00JL38Z7C/ref=la_B00JL4PEJ8_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1398097355&sr=1-1

Moon Affirmations  Daily Meditations Using the Moon Phase to Focus Your Energy

Moments in Nature

Available at Barnes & Nobles:http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/moments-in-nature-eileen-troemel/1119566668?ean=2940045940085
Available at:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/437602
Available on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Moments-Nature-Eileen-Troemel-ebook/dp/B00KBFOWSK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1400077630&sr=8-1&keywords=moments+in+nature

Moments in Spirit

Available at Smashwords:  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/461839
Available on Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Moments-Spirit-Eileen-Troemel-ebook/dp/B00MDKBO5A/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1407857733&sr=8-3&keywords=Eileen+Troemel

Moments in Life

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/469684
Available on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Moments-Life-Eileen-Troemel-ebook/dp/B00MZ82ERW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1408850545&sr=8-2&keywords=eileen+troemel

Slush Pile and Editing

by eileentroemel, posted in Writing

I’ve been rereading starts to stories I’ve done in the past.  After I got the poetry book back in shape, I ended up working on one of those stories and it is now a short novella.  It will go in the edit pile.

It was such a good night for me.  I listened to music.  I wrote.  I edited.  I got through several chapters of the Defenders second book.  I have two more to finish the first round of edits.  It will have to sit for a bit and I made a couple of notes of larger changes I may want to make.  I have to think about them and let them mull.  My biggest question is if I add these proposed scenes how will it add to the story?

I also have another story idea grumbling at me.  It thinks it wants to be a grown up full fledged story but there are too many questions in my head for it to be a story yet.  I’m making it work its way into a story.  I have two characters and several scenes but no overall plot.  Also it would involve world building as it is a science fiction story.  It takes a lot of effort to do that, if the idea wants to become a story, I need more of the world to become clear to me before I settle into writing the characters and scenes, no matter how much they entertain me.

Sleep was nearly non-existent last night.  As I edited I discovered two things.  If I write a scene that makes me cry, when I edit it I will probably cry too.  This makes it difficult to edit.  They were good scenes though and I’ll have to figure out a way to get over the emotion of the scene to get to the nitty gritty of it.  The other thing I learned is that once my eyes start giving out, editing become difficult.  Unfortunately, this doesn’t guarantee sleep.

I put the editing up about 1:30 and fell asleep fairly quickly.  Ken came home about 2:45 from the game.  At 3:30 my eyes popped open.  I tried dozing for a couple of hours but no success.  Ken is still asleep and I’ll work on production of the poetry book.  Hopefully I’m more successful in getting it done today than I have been for the last two weeks.

Hiding Out

by eileentroemel, posted in Writing

Ken is off to Green Bay for a football game with his sister.  She won tickets and invited him.  He was thrilled.  I am as well.  Not because I’m going to a football game – yuck that wouldn’t be any fun for me – but because I will have the house all to myself for several hours.

I’ve had a couple of days of high pain levels thanks to the lovely humid weather.  However, I’m going to push that all to the back and work on projects.  I came home from work today and tried to take a nap.  Sleep still doesn’t like me so that didn’t work.

Projects it is.  I realized I copied over my latest version of my poetry book with an earlier version.  This means I lost several hours of work.  My own fault, I did things in the wrong order.  This means I have to go through and reorder the poems, set up sections, copy front and back material and a myriad of other things – AGAIN.  (Sometimes I just want to kick myself.)

I’m going to work on that.  If I get it all done and can still manage to be on the computer, I will work on the production part of the book.

I’ve been editing the second book in the Defender series I’m working on.  I realized I didn’t like where I ended it.  The best place to end it is nearly 30,000 words later.  This means I’ve got to let go of the idea that I am trying to write the story in a set length.  It means the second book will be about 1 1/2 times longer than the first book.  Unless I decide to change where the first book ends but I like where the first book ends.  It seems appropriate.  Once I start questioning, it is not a good sign.  The question I have to ask myself is am I questioning because I am feeling under confident in my work or is there a problem with the work.

Poetry book first.  Defenders books second.  Editing third.  This is what my plan is for hiding out.

No Errands Equals Lots of Writing

by eileentroemel, posted in Life, Writing

Yesterday I spent a good portion of the day working on my story.  The other things on my list did not get done.  I’d be disappointed but I added 10,000 words to my story and got a general list of scenes that will lead to the end of the book (I think).

Pain level is still high so instead of working in my office today I’ll be in the recliner.  My classical music is on and I’m going to work on my story.  If it goes well I might just finish it today.  I noticed last night that I had discoloration on my left knee and a red spot on my right ankle.  This is a good indicator that my gout is being obnoxious.  I put a heating pad on my ankle and took a second dose of my arthritis medicine.  Today I’ll take it easy and see if that will help ease some of the pain and flaring of the gout.

Like reading a book, I got to a good stopping point last night and opted to try to sleep.  Mostly I was successful.  I actually got a large chunk of sleep.  This usually helps the pain level.

Ken watched football and I wrote.  That will probably be our day today as well.  It felt really good to write for a good eight or more hours yesterday.  My mom and one of my sisters stopped in and then I drove my van to pick something for them that wouldn’t fit in their car.  That took an hour out of my writing time.  I also chatted with one of my daughters.  Maybe there was a bit of balance in my life.

Playing on the teeter totter

by eileentroemel, posted in Life, Writing

Balance is important in life.  I know this but like most people I struggle with finding the time to do all the things that are important.  Like a teeter totter, balance is difficult to maintain.

It was a good day yesterday stepping out of writing mode and hanging with friends to do a double feature of movies and dinner.  I got a bit of everything yesterday.  I ran errands, worked on writing production, had fun with friends, and talked to my girls.

Last night while Ken watched football, I opened up a file of a story I’m trying to get finished.  I have two books done and am part way through the third.  The intention is to finish the story in the third book.  With all the tasks on these books, I get lost in the work and don’t make time to write.  Since I seem to be in a writing mood, I’ve started reading this series again to get back to telling the story.

I also took time out of writing mode to talk to my girls.  I video chatted with two of them and talked on the phone with the third one.

In my head, I know where I’m going but I just need to get it down on paper.  To do that I need to be less concerned with editing the second book and more concerned with finishing the third one.

Ken is working around the house today.  I’m going to work on the production of the next poetry book.  When I’m tired of that (or get stuck or my legs hurt too much) I”m going to switch to the recliner and either watch tv and crochet or work on the story.  I’ll see how the mood goes.

I’m trying to incorporate a little of what is needed in all aspects of my life.  Yesterday was a good day for balance.  I know that balance is a momentary thing.  With all that was scheduled, I managed to have some balance.  Who knows what today will bring.

The full moon is tonight and for the next three nights.  I’ll be trying to maintain some balance during this time.  I’ll also be thinking of what I need to let go of with the waning moon.  The waning moon decreases a little each night until the dark moon.  My question will be – what do I need to let go of by small (or large) increments during the harvest time?  I’m not sure I have an answer but as normally happens, I’m sure something will present itself.