Random ramblings, musings and maybe a coherent thought

joannaauthor ♦ February 24, 2016 ♦ Leave a comment

I am aghast that I have been “absent” from social media for several weeks.  As a self diagnosed “Facebook junkie” (I only chip with Twitter) for me NOT to be updating my blog, my author page, and other assorted accounts means there’s something big going on.

Or that I’m sick.   That was part of it.  An Upper Respiratory Infection that got so bad I went to the doc to make sure it wasn’t strep or the flu knocked me out for almost two weeks.  I reduced my work hours, sidelined my work projects and even cancelled three patients one day (I was just too sick to keep working).  That being said, I think I came to the conclusion that I’m really a writer.  I missed it.  There were days I would come home, look at the time and think “I could really knock out a blog post or a 1,000 words on the novel” but sleep always prevailed.

I suppose I could have fought the sleep, but I think I needed it.  Since, FPWP  has been out for a few months, I’m getting used to my “new normal”.  1) Both at my office and my non-profit work I have waiting lists of clients that want to get in.  That is a new one to me.  2) I’m being invited to give a lot of talks/lectures on PTSD to a wide variety of audiences.  Some of these audiences have many more letters after their names than I do, and I feel a bit intimidated. (I do the talks anyway, got to break out of the old comfort zone). 3) Feb-April is my “busy season” when it comes to personal life and side projects.  Mom, Dad and Sis all have birthdays (2nd Christmas).  I LOVE to gift give (it’s my love language) so lots of time and energy has to be dedicated to that– even when I am two days late with a gift 😦  Sorry, tiny LT.  It will hopefully be worth it.

Also, March-April is Walk to Defeat ALS season.  7 Walks across NC and I am the chair of the committee for my hometown walk.  Lots of emails, appeals and plain old begging to get this enormous task pulled off.  Every year I tell my husband “don’t let me be on that committee again next year” as I try to pull myself out of bed after sleepless nights, and every year I volunteer.  I love it.   In a somewhat masochistic way.

That being said, when something (or things) have to get shelved and pushed to the side, my writing was one of the first to have to go.  I need to plan better, and as soon as the busy season is over, I plan to get back on my 5-9 hours of scheduled writing time per week.

I’m learning that novel writing is a completely different beast than the memoir/non fiction side.  So many opportunities to change the story line.  Then I read the current, best selling fiction and it all seems to have an awesome, epic twist in it, that I did NOT see coming.  I had lunch with a few friends a few weeks ago (one a writer) and we agreed that “I do NOT need a twist” is going to have to be my mantra for this experience.

So that’s that, followers.  No twists, unless its a twist of lemon or lime in my water (or maybe something stronger).