#MAYkingItWork

#AccountaClub Friday, #MAYkingItWork Edition, May 24, 2019

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Back for this too, I guess, though it’s pretty clear how I’m feeling lately. Especially if you saw yesterday’s photo prompt.

Writing has been at a minimum, though I’ve been thinking about projects. I may dig into one of them later today, so that counts, right?

It’s been one of those weeks where I try to to do little things and big things and everything goes at least a little bit wrong. So there’s that.

Exercise front, five days, five workouts, though it was tough this week, a real grind. I didn’t even enjoy today’s yoga-ish workout, it was essentially three moves over and over, slightly altered, and that’s not my favorite.

So I’m a bowl full of sunshine in general, then.

How was your week?

Check out  my full-length novels: 
Aunty Ida’s Full-Service Mental Institution (by Invitation Only)   
Aunty Ida’s Holey Amazing Sleeping Preparation (Not Doctor Recommended) 
Her Cousin Much Removed
The Great Paradox and the Innies and Outies of Time Management.
And download Better Living Through GRAVY and Other Oddities, it’s quick and weird and FREE!
Peruse Montraps Publishing
See what I’m writing on Medium.

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#AccountaClub Friday, May 10, 2019, #MAYkingItWork Edition

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In case you’re wondering how my week went, I started the year with a 1. Which seems apt given the news of this week, and honestly it doesn’t feel like the second number would be a 9.

Given the news of this week, I have spent more time on twitter than doing my visits or comments (sorry again) but next week is another week. Trust me it’s not you I’m ignoring, it’s everyone and I’m not even ignoring you, just time is what it is.

So not great on that goal.

I had a new project vault into my mind this week and I’ve started. I had a hard time deciding on format, but I think it’s going to be fun. The whole idea is for it to be fun. Writing this week: there’s a check.

Fitness has been great, five days, five live workouts. And now I have to go run around and get things done, so let’s throw that preemptively into the mix.

How was your week? Are you #MAYkingItWork?

Check out  my full-length novels: 
Aunty Ida’s Full-Service Mental Institution (by Invitation Only)   
Aunty Ida’s Holey Amazing Sleeping Preparation (Not Doctor Recommended) 
Her Cousin Much Removed
The Great Paradox and the Innies and Outies of Time Management.
And download Better Living Through GRAVY and Other Oddities, it’s quick and weird and FREE!
Peruse Montraps Publishing
See what I’m writing on Medium.

#AccountaClub Friday meets #MAYkingItWork

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So before there was an #AccountaClub, we had #MAYkingItWork, a follow-up to the A to Z Blogging Challenge and other April challenges where we picked one of those projects that is irking us, no matter the stage it’s in, and work on it during the month of May.

No pressure, no frizzled deadlines, just give it a go. That easy.

Fridays, like #AccountaClub, we check in.

For my #MAYkingItWork, I’m going to try to catch up on comments and visits, because I’ve been terrible. I will revisit something that needs a ton of editing and possibly get started on another idea.

How about you?

Check out  my full-length novels: 
Aunty Ida’s Full-Service Mental Institution (by Invitation Only)   
Aunty Ida’s Holey Amazing Sleeping Preparation (Not Doctor Recommended) 
Her Cousin Much Removed
The Great Paradox and the Innies and Outies of Time Management.
And download Better Living Through GRAVY and Other Oddities, it’s quick and weird and FREE!
Peruse Montraps Publishing
See what I’m writing on Medium.

#AtoZChallenge: Yay!

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(Is it just me or does this yak have great hair?)

So I had to fax something today. Fax. As in information sent over a telephone line. Woo. Hoo.

And before that, I called to verify the fax number. It required maneuvering past two different computer systems and two different people just to verify, and when I got there, the woman I spoke to didn’t have this number on file.

But she was able to verify the correspondence.

And then the attempt to fax. And for some reason my printer which also has fax capabilities because why not, didn’t give me a confirmation.

It’s hard to live in 1999 while simultaneously in 2019.

Back to the yay.

We’re one day away from finishing A to Z! I’ve only been half a challenger this month, as I’ve been a terrible visitor but I’m going to still try to catch up, perhaps as part of #MAYkingItWork, which will be #AccountaClub, essentially, but in May with a focus on finishing up some nagging projects.

Feel free to hop on board!

And that’s Monday, soggy, rainy and technologically challenged. Hope yours runs smoothly.

Check out  my full-length novels: 
Aunty Ida’s Full-Service Mental Institution (by Invitation Only)   
Aunty Ida’s Holey Amazing Sleeping Preparation (Not Doctor Recommended) 
Her Cousin Much Removed
The Great Paradox and the Innies and Outies of Time Management.
And download Better Living Through GRAVY and Other Oddities, it’s quick and weird and FREE!
Peruse Montraps Publishing
See what I’m writing on Medium.

#AtoZChallenge: MAYkingItWork

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You’re probably wondering about that jumble of letters up there. What you’re seeing is an #AtoZChallenge brainchild!

Yep. Not only do you get blogging, you could get brainchildren.

Last year, a number of people enjoyed the disciplined way that A to Z keeps you blogging. But getting projects finished can prove tricky, especially if taking advantage of more than one of April’s challenges.

So MAYkingItWork was born.

It’s a no-pressure May challenge where you take that project that’s been annoying you–whatever project that may be–and you, well, make it work.

That challenge gave rise to #AccountaClub. And Donna McNicol’s JuKnowUCanDoIt. Which, shockingly, happens in June.

We’re a punny people.

Hang around in May, if you’re so inclined!

Check out  my full-length novels: 
Aunty Ida’s Full-Service Mental Institution (by Invitation Only)   
Aunty Ida’s Holey Amazing Sleeping Preparation (Not Doctor Recommended) 
Her Cousin Much Removed
The Great Paradox and the Innies and Outies of Time Management.
And download Better Living Through GRAVY and Other Oddities, it’s quick and weird and FREE!
Peruse Montraps Publishing
See what I’m writing on Medium.

#MAYkingItWork Wrap Up! Tomorrow: #AccountaClub

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Well, that’s May. For some reason, this month went slowly for me, more slowly than the earlier part of the year.

And how did my #MAYkingItWork go?

Eh.

I did make some progress, but not a ton of progress. Forward, but not far.

It’s still forward.

How about you? Life got in the way, in know, for some; inspiration struck for others. How was your May?

I enjoyed the experience of commiserating so much, tomorrow I’m launching #AccountaClub, a weekly post where I’ll talk about how my work is going and you can feel free to do the same, whether in a blog post or in a comment here! It will be ongoing, so feel free to participate as much or as little as you like, it’s as no-pressure as #MAYkingItWork.

AND, for those of us who like an official monthly challenge, our friend Donna B. McNicol at her eponymous blog (second time today I’ve used that word) will be launching #JUkNOWUCanDoIt!

So lots to keep us on track and unfrazzled in the month ahead.

Thanks for hanging with me in May. Hope to see you for #AccountaClub!

Here’s Donna’s final #MAYKingItWork Update!

Check out  my full-length novels: 

Aunty Ida’s Full-Service Mental Institution (by Invitation Only)   

Aunty Ida’s Holey Amazing Sleeping Preparation (Not Doctor Recommended) 

 Her Cousin Much Removed

 The Great Paradox and the Innies and Outies of Time Management.

And download Better Living Through GRAVY and Other Oddities, it’s free!

Peruse Montraps Publishing.

#MAYkingItWork Friday Update: Tools

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Hey #MAYkers! This is our last official Friday in May, though I suggest we gather next Thursday too, for our final updates! Well, finalish.

Because I have an idea I’d like to float around, but we’ll get to that in a second. I mean I could go ahead with it and see if you all notice that I’m not actually updating my progress, but you’re an awfully astute bunch, so I know better.

How was that for stalling? Not bad?

I made progress on both projects this week, though not as much progress as I would have liked. I did spend some energy on a political piece at Medium; I’ve decided political opinion writing is something I’d like to get back into doing. So if you’re interested, you can check out my work there, I’m planning to publish on a more regular basis.

My new stylus has infinitely improved my editing, since it hearkens (huh, I didn’t know there was an e in there. Neither did spellcheck, by the way, it just knew it was wrong. Thanks Dictionary.com) back to my early habits of editing on paper. I’m on my third round with the completed manuscript, and that tends to be slow-going because there’s so much attention to word choice and sentence structure.

The downside is the incomplete manuscript I’m supposed to be reading is also getting edited, even though it’s not time for editing. Hmm. But I’m going forward. Incrementally. Still forward.

And now my idea. I’m really liking this reporting in on Fridays, and since I never, ever let a pun go unpunned or a portmanteau go unported, next Friday, I’ll launch #AccountaClub. (I did warn you. Didn’t I warn you?)

It’s our little accountability club–or mine, if no one else wants to play along–where you can come and brag or whine or whatever you need to do on Friday. We can also think of it as our accounting club, but not the math kind, the kind where we just talk about the week.

So how’s it going?

#MAYkingItWork Updates:

Donna B. McNicol

Check out  my full-length novels: 

Aunty Ida’s Full-Service Mental Institution (by Invitation Only)   

Aunty Ida’s Holey Amazing Sleeping Preparation (Not Doctor Recommended) 

 Her Cousin Much Removed

 The Great Paradox and the Innies and Outies of Time Management.

And download Better Living Through GRAVY and Other Oddities, it’s free!

Peruse Montraps Publishing.

#MAYkingItWork Friday Update

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Brace yourselves, MAYkers and non MAYkers alike. Brace yourselves. Are you braced in there nicely and tightly?

Good.

Progress has been made. More to the point, progress has been made by me. After my escape in the middle of the week, and after an extensive wrestling session with my cursor, I wrote yesterday. Words. 826 of them. Not my most productive word count day, but I’m back in it.

With a slight problem.

I’ve let it sit so long, I have no idea what’s happening in the broader story. The scene, sure. But the broader story, no. So I have to go back and reread everything I have so far. Nearly 70,000 words in.

So there’s that.

On the editing front, I just left that manuscript to come write this update. So it may have taken more than half the month to ummire me from the extremely sticky molasses of inertia, but I’m unmired.

And I have a little insight as well. Sometimes, if you take the break, if you get away from it, you can get to it.

How’s it going for you? Doesn’t Speak Klingon has a great update I’ve reposted in the comments!

#MAYkingItWork updates:

Donna McNicol

 

Check out  my full-length novels: 

Aunty Ida’s Full-Service Mental Institution (by Invitation Only)   

Aunty Ida’s Holey Amazing Sleeping Preparation (Not Doctor Recommended) 

 Her Cousin Much Removed

 The Great Paradox and the Innies and Outies of Time Management.

And download Better Living Through GRAVY and Other Oddities, it’s free!

Peruse Montraps Publishing.

 

 

**BREAKING: #MAYkingItWork Midweek Update**

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I’m a little worse for wear. Like this poppy.

**BREAKING: #MAYkingItWork Midweek Update**

There is nothing to report.

Yikes.

Still plenty of week left, though, right? RIGHT??

That’s what I tell myself, anyway. I’m still having a hard time balancing what’s going on out in reality with forcing myself into a fictional place. Writers, throughout time, have done it; it’s mostly what writers do. Rainbows and unicorns should not be required to turn to the quill.

See, maybe that’s my problem. Maybe I need a quill.

So I could spend the time trying to figure out how to write with a quill. Procrastination secured.

Though getting the ink out of basically everything probably wouldn’t be that much fun. But who knows.

I hope it’s going more smoothly for everyone else. At least it’s only Wednesday?!

Check out  my full-length novels: 

Aunty Ida’s Full-Service Mental Institution (by Invitation Only)   

Aunty Ida’s Holey Amazing Sleeping Preparation (Not Doctor Recommended) 

 Her Cousin Much Removed

 The Great Paradox and the Innies and Outies of Time Management.

And download Better Living Through GRAVY and Other Oddities, it’s free!

Peruse Montraps Publishing.

 

#MAYkingItWork Friday Update Post

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Well, fellow MAYkers, I’m going to be honest with you. Super, super honest with you. I’m MAYkingItAppearOnMyComputer, but not so much MAYkingItWork.

Ugh.

As we know, the point of this challenge isn’t so much the challenge, but still, I was hoping it would help to propel me, at least a tad. This week, not so much.

I did get a flash fiction story done with a nice little nudge from Breaker of Things and his prompt with Debs at Fiction Can Be Fun, and it got me thinking about prompt exercises and how useful they can be. A concert pianist practices scales; we writers (those among us this month who are working on our writing) should be practicing our writing exercises. So I’m going to keep that in mind, that maybe a warm-up will help. Who knows.

But we’re locked in a three-way battle of wills, me and my manuscripts. There’s always next week, right?

How’s it going everyone?

#MAYkingItWork Blog Links:

Donna B. McNicol

The Spectacled Bean

 

Check out  my full-length novels: 

Aunty Ida’s Full-Service Mental Institution (by Invitation Only)   

Aunty Ida’s Holey Amazing Sleeping Preparation (Not Doctor Recommended) 

 Her Cousin Much Removed

 The Great Paradox and the Innies and Outies of Time Management.

And download Better Living Through GRAVY and Other Oddities, it’s free!

Peruse Montraps Publishing.