Posted in #weekendcoffeeshare

#weekendcoffeeshare – 2/25/2017

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Good morning! It’s nice to see you. I can offer you coffee and tea this morning. I have some wonderful green tea, if you’re brave, and some Jamaician coffee which can’t be beat. Besides that, I have morning blend coffee and English Breakfast tea. Please help yourself. We’ll be meeting in my writing studio.

I’m so glad you’ve come this morning. I enjoy our #weekendcoffeeshares so very much! Can you believe our weather? Yesterday, we had record heat. Here, at my house, it was 78F degrees in February! Then the storm last night. Right now, it’s 47 degrees here and it’s supposed to freeze tonight! That’s Kentucky, I guess. If you don’t like the weather, wait a minute!

If we were having coffee, I would tell you that I would love to hear how your writing is going? After taking what amounted to a writing break, I’m trying to get back into the swing of things. I’m writing a little on my novel every day. I have a paid writing gig that I’m working on – a guest blog post for a very interesting website. I’m also trying to keep up here, with my blog. I would like to find a few more challenges here on WordPress. If any of you know of some challenges that involve writing longer pieces than flash fiction, please clue me in.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you that I’m trying to learn to use Twitter to find writing resources and grow my business. Do any of you make use of Twitter? One thing I’ve found is that there is a vast array of writing resources out there in the ether! So many resources there is no way I can keep up but I’m making use of the ones I find as I can.

If we were having coffee, I would let you know that I’m getting ready to go back to Florida in a month and take possession of the little home I bought there. I have so much to do before I can do that like do my income taxes! It’s that time of year and I’m always late getting started. I’m gathering my material together now. I have to take household items with me to Florida this time for my home there along with clothes that I want to leave there. I’m planning on staying a couple of months and then coming back to Kentucky for the summer. No summers in South Florida!! At least not yet. I’ll go back for the winter in October or November.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you that my writing goal is to write 10,000 words on my novel while I am in Florida. It is not an unrealistic goal and it will not stress me too much. I feel like traveling enriches writing and even though the story for my novel is in my head, perhaps I can use my travels to enrich my novel. My guest blog post will also be due during the time I’m there. It will be a challenge to get my home in good shape and meet my writing goals at the same time while I’m in Florida.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you about an author, Rayne Hall, who I encountered on Twitter. He has written some very helpful books on writing. They are short, to the point. They are on topics like finding your voice, characterization, and more. I’ve found them helpful. Check him out. I found his books on amazon.

If we were having coffee, I would remind you that I like science so I’ve been really excited by the discovery of the fairly nearby Earth-like planets that scientists just discovered. The planets orbiting the star called TRAPPIST-1, in the Constellation Aquarius. I think the fact that these planets lie in the Aquarius Constellation is pretty cool, considering I’m a former flower child. 🙂 Back to the discovery! The planets are a mere 40 light years away, which is very far. Three of them, scientists say, could be ready for habitation within 10 years. The challenge for scientists is to find out if any of the planets are, indeed, habitable. For example, is there enough oxygen in their atmosphere? That’s only one question they have to answer. I’ll be following this story!

I’ll have to tell you goodbye for today. I must get to work! I’d love to hear about your writing and anything else that’s important to you in the comments! I look forward to reading your #weekendcoffeeshare!

Posted in Challenges

#SoCS – 02/25/2017

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Taxes, Moving, Reading, and Writing…and Weather!

How is it that it is already time for me to do my taxes this spring? Every year, about this time, it suddenly dawns on me that I really do have to settle up with the feds and that I need to start working on it. This year, my timetable is even more compressed since I’ll be heading back to South Florida in just one month. My federal and state taxes have to be signed, sealed, and delivered by the time I leave.

I don’t have much on my mind today except the preparations to go back to Florida and get my home set up. I’ll stay there just for a couple of months this spring. Then I won’t go back during the hot summer. I’ll wait and spend the winter there. The people from whom I bought my little Florida home vacate it on March 31. I will use the months of April and May to get it in shape to live in beginning in October or November for about six months. I’m looking forward to my spring stay even though it will mean lots of work putting it all together. Most of the furniture stays, but I’ll supply the rest of it. I’ll also move clothes when I go this spring.

Since I can’t work on the house 24/7, and don’t want to, my second priority is to spend several hours each day/night writing. My goal is to write 10,000 words during April and May on my novel. That is not a lofty goal but one I should be able to meet. I didn’t want to set a high goal and just frustrate myself. I have some paid writing gigs and, of course, my blog to keep up with as well.

Every night, I try to read just to relax. There is an author who I’m sure many of you have read but I’ll share her name with you anyway — Sarah Jio. I have enjoyed all her books.

It’s thundering outdoors right now and I’m almost glad to hear it. It’s been so very unseasonably warm here for February. We’re supposed to have a brief change in the weather pattern and the temperature should drop into the 40sF during the day. That won’t last and it seems the end of February and first of March will continue this as this unusually warm winter in the Ohio Valley. I love the hot temperatures where I go in Florida as it’s supposed to be that way at this time of year but not here. Quite the opposite. Makes me worry about things like climate change and the possibilities of global warming.

I look forward to reading your posts!

This post is part of #SoCS