Anne Blackburne

I’m working on the second book in my Willow Creek Amish Kittens series, Mary’s Calico Hope, and I’m pleased with my progress. I like the people in my story – even those who might be hard to like in ‘real life’. After all, they serve the purpose of moving my plot, so how can I help but like them?

It’s not always easy to sit down and write, though I attempt to hold myself to something of a schedule. I try to write at least something every day…but I’m firm about getting in a good three days a week. What’s made this fairly easy for me is something my writing group does.

They call it Sprints, and they do it three nights a week. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday night from 7 – 9 p.m. anyone who likes can check in to the group’s Facebook page and join the sprints, which are generally led by one of the group’s officers, although we’ve all taken turns leading from time to time.

You boot up your computer, open your document, find the place you want to write or edit, and when 7:05 hits, off you go on a 20 minute sprint, trying to write as much as you can in that time. At 7:25 there is a 10 minute break, and most people check back into the Facebook page and comment on how many words they wrote in that sprint, or problems they’re having with plotting, editing, etc. The members give each other helpful advice, or maybe just a sympathetic ear. At 7:35 the second sprint begins, ending at 7:55. From 8:05 until 8:25 the third sprint goes on, and the final sprint takes place from 8:35 until 8:55.

I can churn out a couple thousand words in two hours, and I confess that if I’m on a roll, I don’t stop for the 10 minute breaks. You can do one sprint, or all four, joining in whenever is convenient.

There is also a document available through the group’s website called the Magic Spreadsheet, which allows members to keep track of how many words they write each day in a particular WIP. The person who writes the most each month wins bragging rights, and if they attend the monthly meeting in person, they get to take possession of the coveted stuffed Emu for a month.

I’m pretty competitive, and this stuff motivates me. During Covid, when there was little to distract me, I churned out two complete novels by sprinting three times a week and competing for the highest word count. I won a couple times, too – though since we weren’t meeting in person, possession of the Emu remains an unfulfilled dream for me.

I took a break from sprinting during my querying period, but now that I’ve found a wonderful agent and publishing my first Amish novel, “Ruth’s Ginger Snap”, looks like a real possibility, I’m back at it, writing hard with a self-imposed goal of having a first draft done by Memorial Day.

I’ve found that if I sit my tuchus down at my computer and start banging out words, ideas soon follow. Sometimes they’re terrible ideas, and I end up deleting whole scenes. But sometimes they work out very well, and I feel buoyed up by my accomplishment, small as it may be.

Writing is like a job – currently one I’m doing for free, admittedly! You have to show up to work and WORK if you want to get anything done.

The fact that I work as a newspaper writer and editor all day every day can lessen my thrill in sitting down again to write at night – but I just remind myself that the thrill will be very real should I publish, and especially should I get paid for all this hard work.

That is my ultimate goal; and it’s looking as if it may be attainable.

So Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it’s off to write I go!

It’s April 3, and that means it’s the third day of the 30 day challenge I accepted from a co-worker. Each day of this month, I must fling an increasing number of THINGS out of my house, and out of my life.

So far, I’ve gotten rid of some old toys, a blanket, a theater prop, a huge bag of cereal we didn’t mean to buy, a file cabinet, a big suitcase and a bunch of gifts I’ve been meaning to mail since CHRISTMAS! (Is that cheating? They’ve been sitting in my house for months, so I think it counts.)

This gets harder each day, and by the last week of the month, it should prove interesting finding 26, then 27, then 28, 29 and finally 30 items to fling out of my house. I’m counting heavily on clothing donations to get those big numbers moving late in the month. How many items fit into a 13 gallon trash bag?

Mustn’t forget my junk drawer(s), and it’s possible I have too many kitchen items. Marie Kondo wants me to start with clothes, then move on to books, papers, komono (misc), and finally tackle sentimental stuff. But I’m an out-of-order kind of person, so I’m going to go out of order some. Don’t give up on me, Marie!

More tomorrow as I find four things to toss.

While I declared 2022 to be the Year of Decluttering in my home, and got off to a pretty good start, it will come as no surprise to most that I’ve slowed down a bit. Life happens, right?

That won’t do! So yesterday I accepted a 30 Day decluttering challenge that fits right into my goals for the year.

The 30-Day Minimalism Game:
The idea is to motivate yourself to get rid of STUFF you no longer use. It works even better if you can talk a family member, friend or co-worker into decluttering with you, as you’ll egg each other on.

You can donate, trash or give away your stuff. Just get it gone!

Try not to give up; it gets harder with time. I’ll be on a mini-vaca for a few days this month, so I’ll add the totals for those days to the following week.

On Day One, which was April 1, I actually gave away six items I no longer use. And today, April 2, I stuck to the program and put two items into my car. One went to its new owner, and the second will go to its new owner later today.
The idea is that at the end of the day, the items you are flinging are out of your house and out of your life. Since this isn’t always handy, I’ll accept out of my house and into my car . . . where they may ride around for a few days or weeks, but will NOT reenter my home.
Who wants to join me? I’ll post some photos in the days to come.

The Agent Contract is Signed!

Yesterday I passed an exciting milestone in the process of publishing my first book. I signed my agent contract, and returned it to my agency! Now my agent is hard at work trying to match my book with the right publishing house. It could take days or months. I’m hoping for days, of course! But it’s already been a three year process to this point, so a little more “hurry up and wait!” isn’t going to kill me.

What boggles my mind is the idea that, should a publisher pick up my book, they’re going to want to see a sequel in a much shorter amount of time than it took to write the first book. Of course, I had no pressure for that one, so I dawdled along. And I’ve always worked well under pressure!

But I believe I’m getting the buggy before the horse, to switch up the old saying to fit my Amish romance genre! I need to give this one to God, as they say, and concentrate on the next one. More on this soon!