One Little Elephant

Three years ago I made a resolution to get completely out of debt before my oldest started college. Between several cars, a mortgage, plenty of medical bills, too much credit card debt, and The Great Recession which was increasing the cost of living while significantly reducing our income, that was no small resolution. But I figured why not dream big?

The medical bills are paid. The cars are ours. And the rest will be put to rest before the end of the year. Barring anything unforeseen we should be totally debt-free soon.

But my eldest is completing his freshman year at A&M Galveston in two weeks, so by the time I'm debt-free I'll have missed the original deadline by 16 months. Which means technically I didn't succeed.

Yet I failed in a positive way.

I try to keep that in mind when I set big goals in writing. Even when I don't hit the target as planned, I often fail in a positive way and find myself better off than when I started.

Something that's helping me write today: Crushed ice. I know you were expecting something more profound, but I love crushed ice.

p.s. Jen Probst has a wonderful post up at Four Bad Mommies. Check it out.

In the April issue of Romance Writers Report an article by Kris Kennedy and Courtney Milan titled The Treadmill Desk details how to set up your computer so that you can write while walking on a treadmill. Probably works well for some, but for me this would be DANGEROUS.

When I write, I'm not in the here and now. I'm Otherwhere. Deep, deep in Otherwhere.

I have good balance and coordination. But I'm a person with the ability to concentrate intensely. So intensely that in the past I've tumbled off a treadmill simply because I was watching tv or listening to music and got so mentally engaged I forgot where I was and what I was doing. Ouch!

No, a treadmill desk is not a safe option for me. But it started me thinking about multi-tasking writing with exercise.

I already do this to some extent. Agatha Christie once said she did her best plotting while handwashing her dishes. I do some of my best plotting while taking a bath, folding laundry, running errands, and preparing dinner. But exercise and type at the same time? Could I make that work?

Maybe. I have an exercise bike. I have a wireless keyboard. I'm used to sitting while writing and even during my most intense visits to Otherwhere I don't fall out of my seat. It's worth a try.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Something that's helping me write today: having my April posting for my Four Bad Mommies blog complete. Visit me there if you have a minute.

Last week I volunteered two scenes of my work to my RWA chapter to dissect publicly for problems with tags and pacing. At the time I offered to be a sacrificial lamb, I was thinking "growing experience". Now I'm thinking, "Oooops!".

One scene has been thoroughly critiqued by a writing buddy. It was later much-praised for its pacing by a best-selling writer during a workshop.

The other scene is from the first draft of a new novel. It's never been critiqued. The folks doing the public examination of these two scenes have no knowledge about them. As far as they're concerned they could both be first drafts or both be polished products. I'm curious to see what the verdict will be for each and how those verdicts will compare. That's the "growing experience" portion.

The "Oooops!" portion is simply my inborn reluctance to be naked in public.

Wish me well or wish me courage.

Something that's helping me write today: this quote from Will Rogers - Don't be afraid to go out on a limb. That's where all the fruit is.

This past week I attended the Dreamin' in Dallas conference where Allison Brennan was one of the headliners. What a wonderful speaker - funny, energetic, interesting. Her workshops No Plotters Allowed and Breaking the Rules to Break In or Break Out, were wonderful and during lunch she gave the keynote on her general writing journey and some things she learned along the way.

None of her talks were directly about how to write three novels a year while raising a family. But I admit, I was listening specifically for that information (the woman is raising 5 kids and writing 3 novels a year!) and found tidbits woven within her talks. So, the information below was gleaned from Allison Brennan's three speeches. My advance apologies to the marvelous Allison Brennan if I misheard, misinterpreted, or got anything wrong, but here is what I learned:

1) All five of Allison Brennan's kids are in school and she works the entire time they're gone.

2)She writes new material at least 6 hours during the day. Then she works again for a while in the late evening when the kids go to bed and the husband is catnapping in front of the tv.

3) She has her kids trained to be independent/self-sufficient and to respect her work time.

4) She doesn't cook. She does healthy, but easy meals.

5) She doesn't clean. She has a maid in once a week.

6) She doesn't watch tv - she'd rather write.

7) She limits her volunteering. She does volunteer but she considers herself a full-time working mom and doesn't try to volunteer like she's a stay-at-home mom.

8)She attends her kids events, but isn't above working when her kid isn't "up at bat" so to speak.

9) And, like Candy Havens, she works the bits and pieces of time she finds - traveling, waiting in the car to pick up kids, etc.

Something that's helping me write today: taking time to learn a few tricks of the trade by attending a conference.

P.S. Over at www.4badmommies.com today, Amy Carson is talking about Guilty Pleasures. Come on over and join the discussion. I confessed to one. How about you?

I'm off to the Dreamin' In Dallas Conference and I'm on a mission. I'm really looking forward to hearing Allison Brennan speak. I'm dying to know how a woman with five (5!) kids writes three best-selling novels a year, promotes, promotes, promotes, and still manages to look great all the time. How? How? How?

I feel like the orangutan in The Jungle Book who was demanding Mogli give him the secret of man's red fire. I want the secret! Of course I don't plan to hold Allison Brennan upside down and feed her bananas like the orangutan did to Mogli. It's unlikely I'll even speak to her, but I do plan to listen with orangutan-sized ears.

Anyway, I'd better go stock the cupboards around here before I leave so the family doesn't starve while I'm gone.

Something that's helping me write today: optimism and the song The Bare Necessities from the Jungle Book that seems to be stuck in my head.