Winding Down With the Year
Biding My Time
When you write a lot, the flow lets you write even more. This goes on happily until something comes along to stop it in its tracks, whether it is writer’s block, a life event, or little things like a leaking roof or a sick cat. Trying to get back into the flow can take a while, especially if the interruption occurred during the crucial early parts of a new project or a new phase of an existing project. But that’s okay. When it happens often enough, you come to realize that the flow does indeed come back, and it’s best not to worry about it too much. A good way to wait it out is to just touch base with your people, writing an update like I’m doing with this post 
I spent November participating in the National Novel Writing Month, and am happy to say that I reached my 50,000+ words, as the badge at left attests. I was also pleasantly surprised to learn that winners also had the opportunity to purchase the writer’s software called Scrivener at half price, and to get five print copies of one’s novel for free from CreateSpace, both of which I plan to take advantage of very soon.
Scrivener has a one-month trial download, complete with tutorial, which I’ve done and it is pretty comprehensive. When my “flow” comes back, I plan to use it for the second draft of the novel that I wrote in November, and hope that it doesn’t cause me to lose my flow all over again in the midst of the learning curve.
The Minimalist Woman’s Guide to Having it All is selling like hotcakes over at Amazon, and my cookbooks are gradually increasing in sales, too. I’m planning to have another book or two up for sale in the next few months, but will not commit to their topics at this time. (I thought I would have my latest cookbook done eight months earlier than it happened, because I set it aside in favor of another project–so now I know better than to announce something before it’s imminent.) Other projects that are humming long with this blog include ghostwriting and generally raising hell on social and economic justice issues.
Also on the selling side of things, we finally, finally, finally sold one of our two 13-year-old vehicles, after going back and forth about which one to sell for at least three years. We sold the car and kept the SUV, as every time we turned around we needed to haul Steve’s large paintings or things like a new water heater. It is also a great vehicle for getting through snow drifts and I find it easier to get in and out of on creaky days. And it’s red. People often just did not see the car, which was pale metallic grey, leading to some nerve-wracking near-accidents. I do have to admit it is weird to not see that car hanging around after owning it so many years. On the up side, it’s nice not to worry about the car that is parked on the street all the time, or to worry about having two major old-car repairs happening simultaneously.
On the buying side of things, I have acquired a Kindle Touch, and am enjoying it immensely. Too many hours on a computer screen has of course caused eye strain. With the Kindle I can read tons of things, not just books, on an e-ink screen, complete with control over the font size. I have a lot of RSS feeds of others’ blogs, and use Readability to select posts, as well as articles from online newspapers and magazines, and send them to the Kindle.
I chose the Touch over the non-touch model because it was easier for me to type in the search bar, as opposed to a sort of scrolling. You can even access your home pages and email service via Kindle, and the Touch keyboard is sufficient to write and send brief emails, as well. Awesome. My one complaint is the cost of covers for this device. Decent covers average $30-$40, and one with a built-in light is $60. Reviews of these products are mostly positive–but nearly unanimous that the price is too high for what you get. If there are designers out there looking for a new competitive product niche, now’s your chance!
The holidays are blessedly quiet at Chez MinWoman. In many ways, Christmas doesn’t seem to have anything to do with us, because we are not religious, there are no small children in our circle of family and friends, and we have all stepped back from the insanity of shopping. In addition, I’ve been sticking to my diet pretty well, so making lots of baked goods and eggnog and Chex mix isn’t happening this year. I’ve promised my husband a batch of chocolate chip cookies, and that will be the extent of the baking.
Here’s wishing you and yours a lovely holiday, with a minimum of strife and insanity, well within your means, and with plenty of time to just breathe and do it your way. The “flow” will come back in its own good time ;D
And thank you so very much for being a reader, for all your support.
16 Responses to “Winding Down With the Year”
Comments
Read below or add a comment...
Leave A Comment...
-
RSS Feed
Subscribe in a reader Books
- An ebook full of thoughts, tips and photographs from the Minimalist Woman's resident photographer. Available as a Kindle book from Amazon
Merry Christmas, Meg! ~ and to Steve and Cat, as well!!! So glad to hear the writing is flowing. Much Joy and Jingle Bells
daphne DeLaurier recently posted..The Lure of the Jigsaw Puzzle
Merry Christmas, Daphne! Steve and Tabby the Cat are waving hello back (for real). So glad you’ve landed someplace comfortable and hope your winter is cozy and cheerful
Yay for the Kindle. My library, which I visited frequently, recently began to offer library books on the Kindle. I know this isn’t good for my anti-social tendencies, but getting my library books via the internet on the Kindle has brought me, and continues to bring me, no end of delight. I realize that I can actually forgo dragging my children around the adult section of the library and agonizing over every tiny peep they make.
Having Christmas pass you by is kind of surreal, isn’t it? We are religious, but not Christian, and standing there watching, but not participating in the stressed out hubbub gives me a shiver of relief. Hope your holidays are peaceful and filled with rice cakes that taste like brownies.
Terra@TheSimplePoppy recently posted..In the Case of a Fire…
Hi Terra–my library is supposed to start offering books some time in March, and I’m very excited about it, too. The Kindle won’t totally take the place of print books for me, but having the option in such compact form is such a kick.
Hmmm–rice cakes that taste like brownies? I might sneak a tablespoon of choc chips when making the cookies and melt them on a rice cake, just to see what happens ;D
Sending my best wishes to you and yours, Meg! Thank you so much for sharing your talent with us. I’m always excited to read what you’ve written and look forward to much more in the new year. Keep raising hell…no one does it better
!
Hi PJ–thanks so much–notes like yours really do help keep me going
Happy holidays to you, too!
Meg, I am so amazed by your writing accomplishments. Just bowled over! How do you do it? Please let us in on your secret.
Things sound nice and mellow in your neck of the woods. I’m so happy to hear that.
I love Scrivener myself, but I’m not using it for anything complicated. I found the tutorial very easy to understand and follow. So hopefully the learning curve won’t be too step and your flow will flow unimpeded.
I found a great deal on a cover for my Kindle 3. I don’t know if it will work for the Kindle touch. And it’s eco-friendly too. It’s a Kroo Eco-Friendly Envelope for Amazon 3 Kindle. Cost was $4.49 plus $2.95 shipping. I bought it on Amazon from their seller Abacus. I’ve had it for a month or more and no complaints at all. Works well for me. The other covers they sell are made out of such toxic stuff, I would probably faint when I opened the packet!
Wishing you a peaceful slide into the new year.
Sandra / Always Well Within recently posted..One Powerful Word 2012: A Simple Approach to New Year’s Resolutions
Hi Sandra–no secrets for writing, just plodding on through and not beating myself up when the “flow” gets interrupted. It also helps a great deal that my husband handles the tech side of things, without which I would be floundering: pics, layout, uploading, marketing, hardware, etc. I get to be the creative prima donna. To balance things out I do the bulk of the domestic stuff plus the banking, budgeting, and taxes, although we shift the balance according to what works best at any given time. I do know that I could not easily do the tech stuff the way Steve does it, and for that I am everlastingly grateful.
Thanks for the heads up on the eco-friendly covers, and I will keep them in mind in the weeks ahead.
Happiest of holidays to you and yours
Merry Christmas Meg,
I always enjoy reading your work, look forward to more in 2012.
xxx
Hi Jennifer–thank you so much, and hope the new year brings interesting things to write about–but maybe not TOO interesting, hahaha!
Meg,
Very interested in reading how well your books are doing on Amazon. This is something I definitely will be looking at in 2012 – converting two of my books to be Amazon/Kindle friendly, and hopefully finding a whole other market. I’ll be seeking your advice! : )
Enjoy your break, sounds very relaxing and calm.
Dan
Hi Dan–it was SO worth it to go the Kindle route. Sales have been great throughout the holidays, probably b/c so many Kindles were Christmas presents!
Thanks for reminding me that my Kindle can be used for reading more than just books, Meg. Often I read things on the computer because it’s what’s in front of me, but the e-ink screen, as you noted, is so much easier on the eyes.
Mike | Homeless On Wheels recently posted..Photos Of This Morning’s Lunar Eclipse
Hi Mike–Readability is a great little tool, and helps with reading stuff on the computer, too!
I wish we hadn’t done a lot of baking this holiday season. It really is a killer for a healthy diet. We got lots of treats and also made some for others. I really just wanted to make some bread for people, since they are probably sick of treats too, but other family members wanted to cook some goodies. It was easier last year when we just went on a trip for Christmas!
Spendwisemom recently posted..Holiday Waste
Hi Spendwisemom–that one batch of cookies I made were incredibly tempting. This year, though, most of the temptations came in the form of terrific cheeses, crackers, olives, wine, port, and things like hard salami and bbq ribs. The high sodium content got to me a bit, but am glad to report a gain of 1 pound, mostly water. I really did miss baking, though.
A trip for Christmas sounds great, and I hope we can do that one year, too!