A New Month and New Year!

So I didn’t even come close to my goal of 10,000 words in December.  I blame this on a few things.  First of all, an adorable little boy named Ethan, who is a newborn.  Second, going back to work only a week after having Ethan.  Third, being sick constantly!  I had a horrible cold/sinus infection, and then the stomach flu, then my wisdom teeth removed.  So no, I did not write as much as I wanted to in December.

However, not only is it a new month, it is a new year!  And a great way to start off a new year is with a clean slate.  For me, this includes a new month for writing, and hopefully, I can reach my goal of 10,000 words this month.

Speaking of a new year, however, always brings up the subject of resolutions.  I have mixed feelings about this.  On the plus side, I am all for having goals.  Without having goals written down and set, I rarely do anything.  In addition, I am a dreamer, and I love to dream of what I want to be and want to do.  However, that leads to the down side of resolutions; sometimes they are impossible to keep!  Many will plan resolutions and then a week later, completely throw in the towel because they got off track, and discouraged, and simply quit.

So I’ve been torn about what I want to set for myself this year.  Do I have dreams and plans for this year?  Absolutely!  I ran across a quote yesterday that I plan to use as a year “motivator” for me.  I often have a verse or saying that ends up describing the year, and I think this one is it:  

"Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will not die."  --Daniel H. Burnham

So I do not plan to make tiny plans, but big ones.  However, with big resolutions, one needs little, realistic steps to get there!  For instance, a big goal of mine is to lose weight.  And not just ten or twenty pounds.  I actually need to lose 75 pounds to get down to a healthy weight.  Losing 75 pounds in twelve months seems like such a huge number!  Yet when it is broken down into months, 75 pounds in a year comes down to 6.25 pounds in a month.  That is very realistic and that I know I can do.

Another resolution comes down to my business (for those of you who don’t know, we own a nanny agency).  I would like to see that grow enough to cover our “four walls” of bills every month.  This upcoming week will be spent goal-setting for the agency to try to achieve that by the end of year, though I’d prefer to see that by this summer!

I also want to see my walk with Jesus become a closer one.  These past two years I have really struggled with not only having joy with Jesus, but simply even having the desire to have intimacy and vulnerability with Christ.  One thing I’ve already started doing is reading through the Bible.  I don’t want to be legalistic about it, but as I look back, I can tell a difference in the years that I have done it and the years I have not, but I’ll write more about that later.  As for now, my 15 minutes is up and I need to get lunch going while a little guy of mine is napping.  Santa Fe Black Bean Soup, here I come!  :-)

Words: 620

A (Very) Short Story

Three things:  a baby turtle, a dinosaur, and Emily (yes, I’m going to be dorky and use my daughter in this short story)

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Once upon a time there was a very rambunctious and fun-loving toddler named Emily.  To understand Emily, you must understand her greatest love in life, aside from her parents:  the great outdoors.  Every day she begged and begged to be allowed to go outside to explore their woods, but due to the chilly weather they had fallen under, she was rarely permitted to play outside.

However, there was a day when the sun decided to push back the dreary gray clouds and shine down upon the small farm and much to Emily’s joy, she was bundled up and let outside to play.  In her elated euphoria, she almost missed the baby turtle on the bottom step of the porch stairs as she bounded down them to begin her day’s adventures.

“Oh!”, she exclaimed, stopping abruptly and kneeling down on the ground to get a better look at the little gray-green reptile hiding within its shell.  “Hi Baby Turtle!”

To her dismay, the little turtle stayed still and said nothing.

“Turtle…” Emily sang out.  “Baby Turtle…”

Still, the little turtle stayed still and said nothing.

Intrigued, Emily knelt even closer and poked the shell.  It scooted lightly across the step.  Furrowing her eyebrows, she picked up the shell and peered inside.  It was empty.

Emily’s face fell.  She had wanted a companion to play with this morning.  But then her eyes lit up and as she secured the turtle shell under her arm, she raced back up the porch steps and slammed open the door to the house as she bolted to her room.  She scooped up her beanie baby dinosaur and after a few minutes of maneuvering, a turtle-dinosaur was born.

Delighted, she jaunted her way back outside to prance down the steps and out in the front yard to play.  It was going to be a great day after all!

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Okay, so it is a little hokey, but hey, I’m out of practice, so give me a bit of grace!

Word Count:  354

Chasing Unicorns

Yesterday I left off with unicorns.  Not the pretty white sparkly fantasy creatures, though the world of fantasy is a genre I love to read and write about.  No, I brought up the idea of chasing THE unicorn, the magical fantastic creature that is impossible to capture:  the original idea.

I wish I was gifted with the torpedo-effect of story ideas.  J.K. Rowley came up with the idea of the Harry Potter books on a napkin in a bookstore, I believe.  Christopher Panolini started writing The Inheritance Cycle at the age of 15.  Over and over again I hear of writers that bam! They caught their unicorn.

I want a unicorn.

Perhaps that is why I’m deliberately writing again.  Through these mangled train-of-consciousness sleep-deprived writing I’m hoping to glimpse silvery white through the dark green jungle of my mind.  I have no idea what it is and what form it will take shape in.  Yet should I be chasing a unicorn at all?  Many hold by the standard of “writing what you know” from  your life experiences.  Of course, with my life, I could write several novels!

I’ve always been drawn to the juvenile fiction genre, but have had so many people tell me I need to do a series of children’s stories.  I’ve actually tossed around the idea that Jonathan and I need to do a series together, with him as the illustrator (yes, if you did not know, Jonathan is quite the artist).  Back in college when I did live-in childcare, I had a running story for their youngest child, which was really a mix of stories from the fairy tale collection of the Brothers Grimm, with of few of my own twists thrown in.  I haven’t really started making up bedtime stories with Emily yet; we still prefer to sit and read books together.   

Maybe I will start exploring a children’s storyline… my college roommate shared on her blog (http://adventuresofmommyhood.blogspot.com/) how she writes short stories; she takes 3 random things and  uses those to weave a storyline.  I just might have to borrow that idea and try it tomorrow!

Word count:  352

I’ve been saying for years that I want to write more.  Years.  I’ve had story ideas, rambling train of thoughts, short stories I’ve started that I never finished, and even a novel that is about a third of the way finished.  But since I’ve been married I’ve unintentionally laid down the preverbal pencil and paper.  Instead, I blog quick updates about our life and what we are doing, or give status updates on Face book.  Thankfully, I am not a follower of Twitter, so no tweeting for me!

Thus, this blog was born.  15 minutes.  Just 15 minutes a day.  And hopefully by the end of this month, a new writing habit will be cemented.

I’m not exclusively blogging.  Instead, I’m just sharing what I’m writing in this blog.  In fact, I’m writing in Microsoft Word (is it still called writing when it is actually typing?) to keep a record of what I am writing, and also to follow how many words I’m writing.  I have not tracked my word count since college and want to keep myself focused.  It is my hope to have 10,000 words written by the end of this month, December 2010. 

The writing challenge is here.  Ten thousand words in 23 days.  Just 15 minutes a day.  Laptop is in my lap, decaf coffee getting sipped on, Emily is tucked in, Ethan sleeping until his last feeding.  The time to write is here.  The question is:  what do I write about?  I’m watching the clock on my screen and it seems to have slowed way down.  This feels a bit daunting… 

I am a mother, a wife, a daughter, a sister, a business professional, but what do I have that I can contribute to this world?  I’ve always felt lacking in confidence with my work; I guess that is why I usually stick with stories.  Yet then, my writing feels like copying others original ideas.  I’ve yet to have that one “original idea”, this unicorn I chased all through high school and college.  But my 15 minutes are up for tonight… I guess I have to chase that unicorn again tomorrow!

Word count:  356