Ideas are Flowing

Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night and just have to write something down?

That has been happening to me constantly week. Story ideas, marketing thoughts, blog posts. They've been coming in a waterfall breaking over the rocks of reality.

Seriously, I drove out to the mid-cities on Saturday and thankfully had my IPad in the seat next to me. One of my apps is a recorder with a big red button on it. I gave it a push and started spewing out the scene that had been rumbling through my head since I woke up. Does it count as writing if it isn't down on paper? Maybe half-credit? LOL!

The same thing happened a few nights ago with a picture I found at Pinterest. (Have I mentioned that I LOVE Pinterest?) Tons of ideas spewed out of that one. I'm even featuring it in tomorrow's blog so come back!

But much of the droplets have fallen on the stone cold reality of my busy schedule. I tell folks that I homeschool and I think images of eating chocolates on a lounger float across their minds. Ha! Shows what they know - it's chocolate cake on my couch. So there!

No really, I know everyone has their own flavor of craziness. I've always been told in ministry to give jobs to busy people because they know how to get them done. I'm probably a fair example of that, but I have learned to use the word no when necessary. Still, this week has started out with the arrow pointing near overload on my busy-ness gauge, so while ideas have been flowing, only short notes and scratched out hints have been written.

But the ideas are flowing - woohoo! And I do have notes and scratched-out hints when life slows down again - and it will. Prom is 5 weeks away. I've done it for six years now. Life comes to a screeching halt when it ends and I get some of my best writing done! Can't wait!

All-in-all, as this first round of ROW80 2012 nears finality, I'm not nearly as far down my writing road as I wished. I didn't complete a novel like I did last time, but that one is taking on a whole new path with my revisions. And I expected to be able to complete those revisions, however, that expectation came before inspiration. No argument there. Can't say that I'm really disappointed about anything except my lack of exercise. Will continue to work on that, though.

One more week to go!

Wordpress Bugs

Yes, this is how the site was SUPPOSED to look!

I found out today, that the background I worked on for HOURS - nay, DAYS - only looks good on my own computer. Are you KIDDING me? Seriously. I grunted over this background - adjust, save, load, repeat. It never occurred to me that Wordpress wouldn't auto-fit the final concept. 

So I'll punt and go with a canned look. And that will be okay. (She tells herself with a growl.) I'm frustrated that I wasted almost 12 hours on setting it up, though. 

And that's where I started on this Wednesday ROW80 update. Frustrated. Not only because of my wasted time (a most valued commodity) but also because I've been constantly distracted with outside requests and issues. I haven't been able to write more than a blog article in days. And I'm burning to get to it! But thankfully, that's not where I finished this update - read on!

My WIP took an amazing turn last week, but I haven't had the opportunity to pursue it. So my writing goal hasn't been where I want it. But I have been doing some blog visiting - not as much as I wish. I have set up the new website pieces that I'll be opening sometime next month, though I'd like to be able to write more on them. And I got my exercise in this week and am eating right. (She says as she takes a bite of chocolate chunk cookie - yes, it IS sugar-free, but still.) Oh and I finally stopped procrastinating and turned in my contest piece. That's a win as well. So I guess there are more :) than :( or maybe that should be @**@.

For the rest of the week, I'd like to get ahead on blog articles again. Don't like this last minute stuff I've been doing. I truly hope to finish the changes that I'm making to my WIP so I can get back to the new story I've started. Too many scenes are running through my head. 

Now here's the rest of the story. As I wrote this, I decided I couldn't leave me blog half-done. Yes, I'm ADD and stopped to make adjustments! I had to make it look somewhat professional. So I changed the layout with the intent to go with a plain design. Well the layout fell into my current background beautifully. I added my original header to an enlarged version of it and I LOVE it. I'm so please with the way it turned out. I know it's only just for now, but it makes me smile! Go visit my new space! It is http://marjilaine.wordpress.com. (A simple change.) I'll be switching permanently soon, so bookmark it!

This post started out in a nothing's-right, rain cloud, but by talking my way through my week, I easily found some things to be happy about. (Oh, and the Dear Boy's Rugby team won the Texas State Championship!) I guess I just needed to step out of the emotion and view the reality of what's really going on. 

Where are you right now? On an upswing or down? If you're heading down, can you look for something good that you can grab hold of. Even small smiles can pull you out before you hit the dregs at the bottom of the tea cup.

Blessings!

This is This and That is That

After I explained "who is what" in yesterday's post, I was reminded about how Flounder from Disney's The Little Mermaid, (Ariel's best friend) got himself and Ariel in trouble when he tried to explain things. It's where I got my post title.

Today is another ROW80 check-in, and I promised to explain some things that I've been trying. Let me give you a little background.

Back when I was in school, I was easily distracted. My third-grade teacher, WHO I LOVED, called it rabbit chasing. Today, they would likely call it ADD. Just in case you didn't know, it's not a kid's problem. It's something folks will deal with their entire lives.

I still get distracted, going into the kitchen for something and completely forgetting about it because I stopped to get the doggies water and folded a load of laundry, answered the phone and started