Of Vision Boards and Writing Goals

It’s been years since I’ve had a vision board. I used to use them regularly, and then I took the one I had down because it didn’t go with my decor. I had actually forgotten about them until two things happened: 1) I was cleaning out my basement and found my last one, and 2) I saw this Lily Singh video on how and why to make one.

When I looked at my old one, I realized how many things on it had come true: travel, awards, opportunities, etc. (And this was from before I started taking my writing seriously.) I also realized that right now is the perfect time to begin a new one.  I mean, we can use all the hope and positivity we can get during quarantine, right?

Plus, now that I am working from home (until at least August 15 – I hope they make it permanent), I have an office and a place to put it where I will it every day and it won’t mess up the rest of my interior design style.

So here’s a little peek at what I think I’m going to include:

Pulitzer Prize – I am determined to win one for my biography of Virginia and Francis Minor. No one really knows what they look for in the winners and finalists, but I’ve read several of both and can see some common characteristics. I’m still hoping to get a traditional contact for it, but if I don’t, how cool would it be to become the first-ever self published author to win a Pulitzer?

#1 New York Times Bestseller List – Of course I want to hit this. I’m going to Photoshop an actual list with the title of the current historical fiction I’m working on in the top fiction spot and my biography in the top non-fiction spot.

Poster for film/TV version of two of my books – I don’t have time to do this today, but I’m going to Photoshop this. Given that one of my books was already optioned and another is doing well in a contest to get this very kind of deal, this might actually happen.

Winning the 2020 Launchpad Manuscript Contest – As mentioned above, Daughter of Destiny is already in the Top 75 of this contest and I am manifesting a win for it, along with a major publishing deal and successfully produced movie or TV series.

$100,000 check – This amount is enough to pay off my debt and enable me to move (once COVID is over). I feel like it is enough without being greedy.

 

Book contract – Since I’m hoping to get a traditional contract, why not draw one up with the names of my dream agent and publisher? And fill in the advance amount I want?

 

Oxford – I really, really want to go back. This is the Old Parsonage Hotel, where I want to stay again. It is so nice and the food is fabulous. Plus, I want to research in the Bodleian Library.

 

 

Chicago – I want to move there (post-COVID). It’s been my dream for more than a decade now. Time to make it happen! (I had a photo for this one, but it wouldn’t align correctly, so out it went!)

Celebrities I really want to meet/work with: Lin Manual Miranda, Angelina Jolie and whoever else I think of. Angelina has been on my vision boards since my very first one. I really admire her humanitarian work and acting. And Lin Manuel is just a genius!

Beyond this, I’m not really sure. I’m considering a few broader things like healing for the earth and something to do with an end to COVID, but those aren’t really in my control, so I don’t know if they count. I may end up adding more over time as it comes to me.

What would you include on your vision board? Have you ever made one?

What’s In A Name?

Oh, naming. You fickle beast. I want to cuddle you close yet curse you to the ends of time. For you have caused me many a sleepless night.

Naming people, places, and things in my writing is an interesting element of my work, in that it’s really important to me. Now, I happen to know this isn’t the case for all authors. Some writers name their main character Emma, name the love interest Jack, have them go to Ridgeview High, and get on with it. (There is, of course, nothing wrong with any of these names–they’re solid, straightforward names and I respect and envy them.) I know other authors who don’t bother naming their characters or places anything at all in their first drafts, simply using X, Y and Z and filling everything in later. (This is some chaotic evil energy, if you ask me, which no one did.)

Neither of these methods work for me. In my writing, a character’s name is integral to who they are–how they grew up, how they see themselves, how others see them, where they’re from, what they believe in, et cetera. To name them something offhand would be to deprive me of insight into their character, and to name them nothing at all would be chaotic evil. (I’m a true neutral, okay?) And although not quite as important as character names, naming places and things is also really important to me. As a fantasy author, I believe place names should evoke the story’s aesthetic, world-building, and possibly even give hints about the history and purpose of a place. Objects should be named in a similar vein. (For example, Excalibur has a real ring to it. That Sword Over There really doesn’t.)

The problem is, I’m kind of terrible at naming, well, anything. With character names, I usually have a sense of what kind of sound or feeling I’m trying to evoke–for a healer, I’d want something soft and lyrical, while for a warrior, I’d go for something stronger and sharper. But that’s usually all I have to go on. And not just any name will do–I need the right name. A name I’ll only know is right when I hear it. A name I need to know before I can even start writing.

Place and object names are even worse. For some reason, my creative brain leaves me totally in the lurch when it comes to these, and I go wayyyy too literal. If there’s a place where people gather, you know I want to call it the Gathering Place. A sword with a destiny? Sword of Destiny it is.

So, I’ve developed a process. Since character names are most important to me, I usually start with online baby name lists. (Nameberry is my go to, although it’s only one of many.) You can usually sort these lists by gender, style, popularity, and sometimes geography. This helps me narrow down what I’m looking for, and what I’m definitely not looking for. Sometimes I even find a few unicorn names here!

Then, I move on to random name generators. I quite like this Character Name Generator, which allows you to sort by Language, Gods, Archetype, et cetera. As a fantasy author, this really starts to get my gears turning, and even if I don’t find the exact name I’m looking for, it often inspires me.

But my favorite all-time naming tool is Fantasy Name Generators. Seriously, this site has everything! No matter what you’re trying to name–Dwarf, Motel, Motorcycle Gang–this site probably has a generator for that category. My only caveat for using this site, is that sometimes the names generated are quite silly! I’ve had more than a few good laughs while playing around here (no, I’m not going to name my fantasy character’s horse Malibu.) But that said, I’ve found it’s the absolute best at getting my own naming gears turning in the right direction. Even if I don’t use the precise suggestions from the generator, variations and similar names have definitely wound up in both my published and unpublished works!

In my opinion, that which we call a rose by any other name would not smell so sweet. So if anyone needs me, I’ll be over here naming the leaders of my Barbarian Horde Ulskath and Hirtmaurbes. Or, y’know, something along those lines.

Do you have trouble naming character, places, or things? What tools do you use for inspo? Share your thoughts below!

Maybe it’s going to be okay

It’s okay to not be okay. I think we’ve all seen that commercial lately. We’ve all heard it a lot lately. Maybe it makes you feel better, maybe it doesn’t. But the fact remains, it is okay to not be okay. And it is okay to not be writing right now.

I’m saying that for myself as much as I’m saying it for you.

Last NaNo I started working on a new book and I won NaNo with it, but that’s about it. It’s still sitting around 50k words, waiting for me. And that bitch will wait. I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to finish it or not, mostly because I’m not sure I actually like the direction I took it, but also because focusing on writing has been so difficult.

When I finished NaNo, I ended up taking some time off for the holidays, because, the holidays. But then the beginning of the year was very financially stressful for us so I just couldn’t focus. Then, the day after Valentine’s Day, we started working on a very labor-intensive landscape project, which took nearly a whole month for us to finish. We worked on it literally every day, even if it was just for a couple of hours after clients and all day each day of each weekend. So there was no way I was able to actually write because I was so physically exhausted I couldn’t even watch TV, let alone decipher what my characters were up to.

We finished working on that project on March 9^th, muscles aching, bone weary, overly tired. Yep, ten days before our state shut down. So we had been, inadvertently, self-isolating except for going to Lowes to get supplies for a good 30 days before the stay at home orders went into effect.

At least we finally have a nice place to sit outside in our own little quarantine bubble, right?

Sure, but that didn’t help the panic attacks that happened when I realized what the shut down meant for us, being self-employed who saw clients, face-to-face on the daily.

Do you think I could even think about writing?

I mean. I did think about it. With extreme guilt that I hadn’t written since NaNo and now all those excuses of why I couldn’t muster the words seemed flimsy and weak.

I know, people are talking about all the work they were going to get done during the quarantine but, let me tell you, anyone who can be productive during times of trauma, they are special. Because this is a trauma that we’re going through and not everyone processes the same way.

In high school and college, I was the queen of productivity during hard times. Give me a good, long, dark depressive state and I would churn out some of the best poetry of my life. Give me a stress and anger and a looming deadline and I’d write three A-quality final essays in one night. But now?

No.

I don’t know if it’s maturity or just exhaustion that comes with age or if I didn’t have the proper anxiety that I have now, but in times of stress and anger, I do not produce well.  So I haven’t been. And you know what, maybe it’s okay, but it also sucks.

I miss writing. I was so damn burned out because I’d written too much too fast that I had to take time off, but now all the time and the reasons and the issues feel like dominoes that have no end. I miss writing. I miss weaving together characters and their adventures. I want to get back to it. June Summer Camp NaNo is coming up and, by now—before—I would have already been working on a outline to get myself ready to dive in. And maybe I can, still. Maybe I can actually use Summer Camp to help me finish that story I started, even if it’s just going to be a trunk novel. Maybe, if I finish it, I can move on and work on something else. Something that makes me excited again.

See? It’s okay not to be okay because maybe just talking about it, blogging about, journaling about it, you’ll come out the other side feeling a little bit better about where you are. I’m looking sideways at my WIP and wondering if I can’t hear the characters whispering now that I’ve gotten this out of my system.

The garden in spring…

This week totally got away from me. Like, today is not Thursday. Did you know that?

Sigh.

Anywhoodle, I haven’t posted about my garden in a while, and since it’s feeding my soul in a very real way, I thought I’d share some of what’s blooming. Keep in mind I’m a better writer than I am a photographer…

The view from my front door, about a month ago.

Looking at my front door, last week, with a guest appearance by Ed-the-dog. My tulip game has been strong this spring.

Tequila Sunrise Rhodedendron, 10 days ago, just starting to bloom.

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  Today…

My new favorite tulip, Antoinette, about 2 weeks ago.

Antoinette turns pinker as she goes

Tulipa Antoinette today, along with a pretty perennial geranium (blue flower).

Veggie bed – peas and lettuce and herbs…

Chives just starting to bloom.

Burnsie “helping” with the apple tree.

The front bed, a week or so ago.

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  The back porch

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  Enkianthus Red Bells

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  Japanese maple

The back yard hasn’t seen as much love as the front, but I do love my back porch, and the little Enkianthus Red Bells is so pretty when it’s in bloom. Those are perennial geraniums blooming under the Japanese maple. They’re hardy as hell and so lovely when they bloom…

Earlier this spring, the husband and I consulted with a garden designer, who made some fantastic recommendations for how we could better utilize our outdoor spaces. We loved her ideas, but figure we’ll have to take it on the five (eight? ten?) year plan. I’m looking forward to what we come up with, though.

I hope you’re all hanging in there and washing your hands and staying safe. Oh, and if you like my garden pix, follow me on Instagram, because that’s where they hit first. Thanks….

Here’s a close-up of the daffodils that bloomed along the front walkway. They look like a bunch of ladies in their Sunday best, chatting after church.