WRITING CHRONICLES #16: Finding Focus

Via: Daily Prompt – Root & Blanket

Image: Nina Matthews Photography, Flickr CC

I have decided that procrastination might be the primary vice of my writing career. I used to think I was too preoccupied with my corporate responsibilities but. now that I have switched to writing full-time, I realize the problem is that I can find ways to become preoccupied with just about anything. The burning question is how can a person who loves writing as much as I do be so out of sorts with the writing itself.

Well, I know how. Fear is at the root of my problem. I keep stalling because becoming a novelist is something I always wanted to excel in. Even with my multiple fallback plans, I have stored all my eggs in this basket. Honestly? I don’t want to have to resort to those fallback plans. The pressure is real. Hence, even though I can, in theory, believe in my writing capabilities, living by that faith is a whole other ballgame. Even when what I write seems to satisfy me, I keep wondering what if it’s not good enough.

Resulting in all the bottlenecking of my creative endeavors.

There are some ground rules I try to follow to jar me out of my whack. Mostly, it is to keep me from lulling myself into the fear sinkhole. They work too. Often enough to share the list of precautions with my fellow writers:

WRITING CHRONICLES #10: Tellin’ It Like A Texan

Via: Daily Prompt – Vivid

 

Image: WhatleydudeWhatleydude, Flickr (CC)

 

While researching the Texan way of saying things for the characters of my novel I’ll Be True, there was one thing I realized: If there’s a roundabout phrase for a statement, you wouldn’t hear a Texan telling it to you straight.

The Texan talks in more shades than the spectrum. I love it!

Of course, I uploaded only the first draft of the novel on this blog, which, in my rush to get the story written, didn’t carry nearly as many Texan sayings as I would’ve liked. I’m doing additional research at the moment on this idiomatic turn of twang to present the dialogues of my cowboys and cowgirls in a manner more befitting their race. It isn’t easy-research when you are sitting oceans away on the other side of the world but the following websites are helping [some]:

Texas Saying & More Colorful Texas Sayings… | Texas Monthly

10 Texas Sayings That Are Quintessentially Texan | Coldwell Banker

Texan Sayings

25 Words That Have A Totally Different Meaning In Texas | BuzzFeed

Texasisms: A Glossary of Texan | Wander Wisdom

If y’all have any more suggestions, feel free t’holler!

 

Lazybones (01 min read)

Via: Daily Prompt – Resist

Image: Creative Commons

Laura lay in bed, being Miss Lazybones again. She tried to blame it on the kitten curled up on her chest but knew better. Her quiescent attitude towards life, in general, had helped her procrastinate from writing that timeless romance these twenty-odd years and the kitten was just a month old. Laura had been dubbed Miss Lazybones by her mother when she was only in fifth grade and would consistently fall behind on her chores. By the time she was a teen, her elder brother had changed the epithet to Miss Lazybuns since bones had become difficult to locate in her cushioned frame. Her elder brother was very athletic. Barf. But the laptop beckoned and she should get to those targetted 2,000-words per day. The only way to do so was to resist the comfort of her downy bed and the warmth of the purring fuzzball under the covers. Sigh…

This kitten belongs to Zaireen Lupa and so does the photograph!