Fine, Then I Won’t

New Year, Day One, Big changes…

Or not.

Or, at least not yet…

I’ve gotten (back) into the habit of sleeping in until 10 or 11 am wake-up. Somewhere along the way (I can’t remember ExAcTlY why at this exact moment. Probably something I heard someone say so naturally I had to enact it as it is that time of year to reform and re-construe ourselves) I decided to get up before 10.

Seriously though, I was getting a lot of work done in those hours before everyone else was awake. Especially being back in a warmer climate, it’s nice to sit on the deck before the sun turns my porch seat into a convection oven.

So, an earlier bedtime.

11 pm second wind

So after laying in bed for an hour (I did manage to get a spectacular meditation session in, which is maybe why I’m energized), I’m up, cooking bacon as a midnight snack, and opening a project I haven’t quite got nailed down yet. Maybe it’s my muse keeping me awake…

Tomorrow is another day. Maybe if I stay up all night, my bedtime will naturally be early tomorrow and this will all work itself out.

Yeah, right…

Instagram Challenge

Hmm… I guess my pledge to blog a little more daily went right out the other ear…

But, here I am with more recaps from Instagram! As well as an update on Book Two of my Fool’s Path series!

Falling Forward Release…

…is now Thursday the 20th, rather than (instead of?) December 25th. That’s ThIs Thursday! Available on Kindle and paperback through Amazon 🙂

Back to Our “Regularly” Scheduled Posting

#merryandwrite

Days 15, 16, & 17

How’d I get so behind! (Don’t answer that)

Day 15: Do you write best in the morning, evening, or in between?

I don’t have a favorite time of day. As long as I’ve mined out distractions I’m good anytime 🤓


Day 16: How are your December goals coming along?

Killing it!! My second book’s release has been pushed up a week so you can all get your hands on it on Thursday (December 20th)! That’s TWO books this year I published!! Book three is well on its way, as well as another project I’ve decided to tackle under a pseudonym.


Day 17: what’s the favorite thing about your MC or WIP?

I love that Dee follows the Hero’s path, basically literally. Book 1 has her in this place where she has no idea what’s going on- and she’s good with that. Then, as things unfold she’s forced to figure things out or risk being a pawn for others.


📝Tell me about your WIP! 📝

And follow along with me: @author_CMMartens

The Author’s Mixed Bag

Screenshot 2018-12-06 12.38.42.png

Just a quick stop to comment on the -irony? hilarity? oddity? – that is “research” for fiction authors. Today, I found myself with a tab labeled “Top 25 most beautiful yellow flowers” and another “interrogation techniques.” Oh- the webs we spin and rabbit holes we uncover…  (I also have a tab open: “mixed bag” because I was unsure if it should be hyphenated).

  • What fun facts had you discovered on your interweb paths?

 

strelitzia-flowers

Strelitzia, or ‘bird of paradise.’ I think I found my new favorite flower. Did I even have a favorite before…?

 

The End of the Beginning

The End of the Beginning

When my editor finished highlighting the oversights I’d missed in Book One, I found myself renewed in my task of telling this story in its best possible way.

So, I set to refining those last details of my piece.

It was the first time I really felt like an artist.

 

I’d been told this craft of writing is art. I consider other writers artists, but I never brought the title to bear on myself. Through the time of turning a slew of crappy words thrown together into a coherent story, I’d never thought I was making art. But in these final steps, there were fleeting moments that I was.

In these moments, I was proud of what I was doing 🙂 Proud of what I’d done.

Chiseling away to bring forth the final details that would make this piece better than it was, I was a sculptor of words. I saw the art. I saw that art wasn’t some mystical ambrosia that spawned inside some and not others. It was blood and hurt and patience and perseverance. It was showing up every day. It was practicing a craft until I was good at it. It was practicing more until I was better.

Like a giant hurdle has been vaulted, I’m even more committed and excited to continue this journey. I feel like the beginning has ended. I’m confident to move into the sophomoric stage of this journey, where I hope to learn and grow by leaps and bounds.

  • Tell me about the learning curve in your art
  • What eureka moments have you had that kept you moving forward?