The Thing You do.

I must admit that I am a little obsessed with authors writing routines. Like Julia Quinn edits each scene before moving on to writing the next scene. Sarah MacLean takes four to six months to write a hundred pages. 

At the beginning of my writing career, I had this obsession because I was searching for my writing process. But that wasn’t my only reason, I wanted to feel that I was a true author (whatever that means? I still haven't figured it out) and not someone with a foolish dream, so I sought out confirmation that I was doing “it” right. 

Then one day, I reminded myself that I had never followed the crowd. Not that I’m so very odd or different but I just wanted to be me. So, why does my obsession continue? 

I’m looking for growth. Isn’t that what we all seek out? Whether you are an author or reader, we look to explore deeper, to expand. I believe that we are all ambitious. I don’t mean that we all want to be CEOs, but we all want those dreams for our lives to become our realities. 

So, how does this relate to my obsession? Because all of that is about doing the work. That work will be different for each of us and most likely, we will share the ways in which we accomplish it. 

So, I decided to do it my way (or Frank Sinatra style). Which in case, you are wondering. I create my characters including everything about them but with enough room to grow as I write. Then I outline major plot points then outline individual scenes to the point I get stuck. So, I write and that leads me to where I need to go to get to the ending. Then revisions. Revisions. Revisions. But that’s another tale. 

It's The Most Comfortable Time of the Year

 

New’s Year is over. The resolutions have probably been broken. Valentine’s Day is some weeks away  (that’s if you have someone to celebrate the holiday with), and winter has fallen over the Northern hemisphere so there is nothing else to do but settle at the home and find some comfort. 

A natural association with comfort is comfort foods. Though hot chocolate or mac and cheese may be the thoughts that come to mind, I speaking about comfort books and TV shows. 

For me, I love reading those romance novels that still warm my heart, entertain me with a laugh, and romance. Lately, I have been re-reading Julie Garwood and Julia Quinn (thanks to the Bridgerton series on Netflix that reminded me how much I love the series and the author). As for TV, I’m watching my favorites The Big Bang Theory and Family Guy. 

These favorites of mine just seem to make me melt into my favorite chair or into my mattress and burrow under the blanket. All the stress slips away and my thoughts stop. We all need some comfort especially after the times we have experienced. This is the perfect time of year to seek out that comfort even if it’s fifteen minutes. The mind and body need to recharge so we can face the tasks of daily life. 

Some might call it self-care. That might put some people off so I call it comfort. So, what are your comforts? Is it reading your favorite books? Seeing your favorite TV shows or movies? Or something entirely different? Where do you find your comfort?