AN UPDATE ON MOMMY KAY!

Hi All!

Thank you all for your kind wishes and support. Although I wasn't able to accomplish my goal of 50 pages in a week, I DID FINISH THE MEMOIR... YAY~


It took me two weeks and I wrote 70 more pages. Now it's complete at 64k words and 258 pages. To think I was sweating to make 225... Lol, but the last chapters filled up the word/page count beautifully. I'll be sending it off to my editor TOMORROW. EEK! She won't be able to get to it until Feb 1... then the waiting begins. I'll be a wreck for sure.

I'd also like to take this time to thank my good friend and amazing author, Carol Riggs, for her help cleaning up the grammatical errors, missed words and quotes. LOL. She has the patience of a saint. You would think after writing for SO MANY years, my grammar and punctuation would be spot on by now. It is better, but I still have a long way to go. And more thanks to Denise, Renee, and Donna for their input as well.

I can't begin to tell you how fantastic I feel that I wrote another book! It has been many years since my second novel and then I just fell out of the loop. But I'm back, and I hope the momentum keeps up!

Kim and I are actually collaborating on another book. This time a fitness and health book for women over fifty. Kim, being a phys ed teacher and in amazing shape herself, I convinced her to share her secrets with other women. Since I was heavily involved in fitness for decades, this is also my chance to start over and become the healthy man I was three years ago. Men and woman over fifty need to keep fit, we have LONG LIVES to LIVE and we shouldn't have to live them in pain or with illness. Eating right and exercising can ward off so many afflictions. So stay tuned for our next book...

While I'm waiting for the editor, I have already worked out a rough for my query... I actually had fun writing this one. It is over 500 words though, so I need to trim it down, but I really don't want to... I think it's great, but the standard is around 300 words. Ugh. That's a LOT of cutting. I'll also be spending time researching for the right agent for this memoir. Thankfully, I've already narrowed it down to five top New York agents. Since this memoir heavily features the NYC, I feel a NY agent would be best for it...

I hope all my northern friends are staying warm. This winter is "biting" for sure. Even here in Orlando, our temps are CHILLY. But I love it like this. It's like early spring here and the flowers are budding and the ornamental trees are showing off their colors proudly.

Take care, everyone! I'll be dropping by to say hello to you very soon... today's my blogging day!

A NEW YEAR.... FULL STEAM AHEAD- NO TIME FOR INSECURITIES!

Happy New Year!

Can you believe it's already 2019? Where did 2018 go? It seems like a big blur to me now. One day melted into another and before I knew it, it was a new year.

I'm sure many of us feel that way. Then the regrets start pouring in. We didn't meet our goals...STOP right there! I never understood why so many people "beat themselves up" at the end of a year...THEN... they pile on another ridiculous amount of goals for the new year, only to find out they haven't me them either.

DON'T do this to yourself. Focus on the positive. We ALL had accomplishments this year. Maybe not that HUGE publishing contract, but maybe you finished your new manuscript. That is a HUGE achievement and you should be so proud of yourself for doing that! What about how much you learned last year? Every new piece of information only gets us further to our goals. That is what's important, not what you didn't accomplish.

For me last year opened up a new opportunity. After years of querying my stories, nothing happened. I came close so many times with multiple requests for fulls by top agents, yet not one picked my book up. Then I started my third novel. A memoir. Nothing like I had ever written before. SO much activity in this person's life. It has taken me almost all of 2018 to put it together, and yet, I still haven't finished it yet. I had hoped to finish by the end of last year, but I would rather have take the time to cultivate an amazing story then RUSH IT...

Like so many of us, I had times where I had left it for weeks at a time. I didn't know why. My other two novels first drafts were written in less than three months. What was my problem with this one?
I couldn't figure out why. Then, like a light bulb turning on, the answer came to me yesterday. The first day of the new year. How appropriate. It was because this story is NOT MY STORY. It is someone else's memory. So simple. I have no control over the plot what so ever. Now that is enlightening for a CONROL FREAK like me. LOL. So I want to say this to all of you, if you take on a memoir project that is not your own, remember this. You will be breaking out into a whole new dimension.

For example: I NEVER outline. After not writing for a few weeks and my deadline coming gravely close, I decided to outline the last four-five chapters...Yes.. that is all I have left. Only fifty or so pages.UGH. You would think I could just spit them out. No chance. This part of Kim's life is highly complex with SO MUCH going on in a five year period. So by outlining, it greatly help me put the timeline and story into balance. Now I just need to write the pages. I am not overwhelmed anymore. IF you are at a place such as this in your present MS, try outlining. I worked for me. Imagine the shock and surprise to a pantser like me!

So now I have about a week to finish my story in about a week. I honestly believe I can do it. All I need to do is write a chapter a day. If all those NaNo writers can write 50k in a month, I should be able to write 50 pages in a week...right?

I feel good this new year. I am blessed. Insecurities can rack our being, so we must keep them under control. Always remember we have our AMAZING community for support and LOVE.... Thanks to the IWSG and its creator, Alex J. Cavanaugh and all the WONDERFUL writers who give their time to keep this movement going, I feel I can accomplish anything.

Please pop over to Alex's blog and sign up if you haven't already. And READ all other IWSG posts for inspiration and advice...

I wish all of you a HAPPY, HEALTHY, and PROSPEROUS 2019! May we all find our way along life's pothole-ridden path!

An update follows this post!