Artistry With Words

WRITER’S BLOG

The last day of June?  Really? How is that possible?  There must be some relativity thing going on that causes time to move faster the older you get.

I won’t keep you long.  I know you’re all busy. I just thought I’d toss out a few quick thoughts, tell you how I’m doing and let you get back to your barbecues and picnics.

The novel continues.  I’m probably three weeks away from the completion of the first draft of “Shadows Over Innocence.”  I’m not sure if it’s moving quickly or not.  It’s moving at the speed it needs to move at.  I’m satisfied with it so that’s all that really matters.

It’s been unusually hot so far this summer, and that has led to diminished writing for me.  When I was younger that would have bothered me. Today it is what it is and I roll with it.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

A mentor of mine once said the following:  “Bill, you could make a typhoon out of a glass of water.”  True words when they were said ten years ago. Today, there are no typhoons on my horizon.  I’m in this writing gig for the long run.  I realize it’s a marathon and not a sprint race.  I realize I have to work diligently and not give up.  I also realize there are no guarantees of success.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

It’s so very easy to get discouraged if you are a writer.  Successes do not come often.  Hope fades all too often.  We are all aware of these things but that still does not take the sting out of continuous setbacks, and worse than any setback is the lack of response to our writings.  Weeks can go by with the same fifty people reading our work.  “Going Viral” is something that happens to other people.  We appear to be stuck in neutral and our transmission needs an overhaul.

If you are feeling these things, all I can tell you is I understand.  Remember that what you do is important.  It may not seem like it most days, but that does not change the truth.  Writers serve an important function in society.  We are the chroniclers of our generation.  We inform.  We inspire.  We give hope.

Keep pushing forward!

CONTEST OF THE DAY

A friend of mine on HubPages, Liz, is offering a contest for one more week.  Check it out here. The winner wins one of my novels, one of Shawna’s books and a book by Liz.  Three books for free…no entry fee…how can you lose on this offer? There have been very few contest entries so far, so your chances of winning are great.

THAT’S ALL THIS WEEK

I have things to do.  You have things to do.

Let’s do them!

Bill

“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”

Happy June to you all!  My goodness gracious, where does the time go?

Obviously there are fewer and fewer of these blog posts.  I’m sure you are ecstatic about that.  LOL  The thing is, I’m obsessed with writing my novels right now, so this blog continues to slip further down the Priority Ladder.

Oh well!

In fact, I recently let me website lapse without payment, so my online presence is shrinking as we speak.

Oh well!

I know, I know, this flies directly against the flow of established logic.  I hear people saying “you have to continue to grow your online portfolio,” and “how do you expect to be successful without a website or continual blog posts?”

And to those people I say this:  I am a writer.  My first job is to learn my craft.  I am not satisfied with my writing as of this moment, so I’m concentrating totally on being an excellent writer.

The horse before the cart instead of the cart before the horse.

And I continue to try to entice an agent or publisher to handle my books.  Again, flying in the face of established logic.  “Shadows Kill” just sits in my computer.  Few people have read it.  Few will.  I could make it an ebook but I don’t want to.  It’s as simple as that!

So that’s what’s happening with me.  How about you?

This will not be a normal blog entry.  All I want to do today is hear about you.  What’s happening in your writing career?  Tell me in the comments.  Share with us all how your progress is coming along.  I want to hear about you!

Bill

“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”

Happy Tuesday to you!  I’m not going to put the date because I never know which week I’ll post this.  Such is life.  I’ve been busy, and busy means priorities, and as much as I hate to say this, this blog is not a high priority for me right now….and I’m sure it isn’t for you, either.  So thank you for even being here and supporting me.

We continue to plug along in the construction of our new aviary.  We’re waiting for our order for netting to come in so we can enclose the new bird space.  Once that happens all I’ll have left to make is a door and then we can add the birds.  We’ll have quail of course.  Bev wants to add some finches, and I’m thinking a couple doves would be nice.  All are compatible, which is important of course.

It would be nice if we were done but we just have to be patient and make sure it is built as strong and safe as possible.

And I continue to work on the new novel, “Shadows Over Innocence,” while I send queries out for the last novel, “Shadows Kill.”  It’s all part of the process and again, it would be nice if I was done with it and success would arrive, but I just have to keep plugging along and do things correctly.

And that leads me to the quote of the day.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“As long as we are persistence in our pursuit of our deepest destiny, we will continue to grow. We cannot choose the day or time when we will fully bloom. It happens in its own time.”

Denis Waitley

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

We live in a convenience world.  I’m not immune. There are some things I want right now.  I readily admit to using the microwave oven much more than I should.  When I’m hungry I want to eat, dammit, and I don’t want to waste time cooking.

But there are some things in life you simply cannot have quickly, and achieving success in writing is one of those things.  Pack your bags and embark on the road of writing, but pack for a long journey.  One step in front of the other will bring you success, but if you are looking for a timetable, forget about it!

PROMPT OF THE DAY

A visual prompt for you today. We visited a farm this weekend and I thought I’d share a picture from that visit and maybe it will awaken your muse.

CONTEST OF THE DAY

Writer of the Future has free science fiction short story contest going on.  Read about it here.  Did I mention it’s free?

JOB LISTING OF THE DAY

I thought I’d mention this in case you are a gardener and want to make some spare cash writing about gardening.  Follow this link and maybe you’ll get hired.  $75 per article ain’t that bad.

TIP OF THE DAY

Reach out to a writer today.  A kind word is all it takes. I promise you that it will return to you.

MORE WHENEVER

You know how it is.  We’re all busy.  I don’t have time to do this blog on a regular basis and I know you don’t have time to read it, although you are always incredibly loyal.  Have a great week and I’ll see you down the road.

Bill

“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”