Plans

Keeping up with writing has gotten away from me. Once again, the busy-work tasks of the semester have taken over. Correction: I’ve allowed them to take over. Starting today, I am following a plan that will keep me on track for writing fiction, taking care of academic work, and spending time taking care of myself. And, spending precious time with my husband. I am really not happy that I allowed writing I enjoy to lie fallow while small, easily accomplished tasks were allowed to take over, become high priorities, and create the usual stress.

I say “usual stress” because I’ve found myself getting upset and stressed over the same-old same-old. When I’m angry and feeling boxed in I tend to hold conversations in my head with those who are blocking me or antagonizing me. These conversations do serve to get out some points, remind me of issues that I can bring up, and otherwise allow me to vent. However, they also, in a weird (or maybe not, I don’t know) way cause more stress because I recognize that I’m never going to have those conversations in real life. It can be frustrating to know that the very excellent points you know need to be made are unlikely to see the light of day.

All of this leads me to neglect the work I really like to do since I feel like I really have to take care of all these little things before they become big things. This leads me to get more frustrated. So, the plan. This weekend, hubby and I decided that we are going to turn off the TV and other distractions at least two evenings a week so that he can look for a new job and I can write, edit, read, or work on covers. Anything, EXCEPT worrying about current tasks etc. We’re still working on the whole, plan not goals idea, but I think we’re getting there. There is no doubt that this time next year we will be elsewhere. That’s the plan.

One (pretty big) part of this plan is to write/post here on a regular basis. The plan now is for twice a week minimum. In addition to the ramblings of an ornery dragon, I am planning on posting some short stories and flash fiction.

Thanks for listening and happy Monday. It’s the start of a new week!

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Detours

So, we’ve hit a snag in our escape plans. Shockingly, that snag is money (I know, you’re totally surprised, I was too). Last night hubby and I came to the realization that our initial plans were conceived in anger. Righteous anger, but anger nevertheless. After a long conversation that stretched in fits and starts throughout yesterday and into the night last night, we spotted the detour (finally) and have turned on to it. A detour doesn’t mean our plans have been derailed. Not at all. It means that it will take a bit longer to see them carried out, and the path to carrying them out is not the path we originally started down.

Basically, life happened. Last month another cat died and that cost a good deal of money. The credit cards are stretched for a variety of reasons. And, living on one salary, even in a low cost-of-living state will still be less than easy. But, we have a plan to get around those obstacles. And, so we will continue on. We’ve slept on it and I think that both of us are much more accepting of this change than we perhaps were last night. Sleeping on a problem, letting it float around in your brain, really does help with perspective and with finding solutions or paths to solutions.

I will continue writing and publish my book this summer. Mid-August at the latest. There. It’s out in print. Can’t back down or procrastinate now. The plan change did fire up my motivation to finish. I WILL get this out and I WILL have the second moving by the time the first hits Amazon. My side-hustle will generate real, livable money by the end of the year. That is my promise to myself. I’m not sure how I’ll work it, but I will.

Interesting that all this happened on our 20th anniversary. Almost as if the universe is testing our commitment to each other. Believe me, Universe, that will never waiver. We took vows and we are committed to each other in perpetuity.

So, gimme about six weeks to get the book finished, back from beta readers and up. Keep an eye out here. In the meantime, I’m going to write today, run some errands, and make ready for a weekend house guest. Go enjoy your own weekend all!

Image by sdmacdonaldmiller from Pixabay