All posts by NewEngland_Muse

I'm a traditionally and self published author. I write in the genre of children and YA at the moment but working my way up to adults. I'm a sports loving, photo taking gal who loves to sing/dance to my own enjoyment. I love to laugh even at myself. I am also owned by 8 birds and 2 hamsters, and yes they know it. :)
A blog about the topics of writing, Writing tips and ideas

What are your writing goals for 2024?

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So, it’s a new year. It is time to shed off what didn’t work with my writing. It is time to try new things. It is a chance to shine even further with your WIP and books.

Where do you start?

I will check my social platforms, seeing how active I was on them, if anyone interacted with me, and so on. There are always new platforms to try out. I also like to clean my office. I have a few WIPs waiting for me to do something with them.

Getting the ducks in a row helps me get started with the beginning of another year.

I have two books in the editing/final stages with two publishers. I will incorporate the things that go with releasing a book.

I told myself repeatedly last year to join contests, which I did not do once. May this be the year I do so.

There are no writing groups in my area like there used to be. I can start one, I started a few, or try one online. I have never tried a writing group online.

As you can see, I have ideas floating in my head. I am hoping to get them straightened out so I can improve on my writing career.

I hope to see in a few months changes that will advance where I was in 2023. If nothing else, I hope I will write more in 2024 than the previous year.

Good luck to me and others on this journey in 2024

A blog about the topics of writing, Writing aspect

Am I still writing?: A question from my husband

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My husband asked me recently if I was still writing. The first thought was, why was he asking? But it was the right time for him to ask.

Due to a new project, I was working it consumed me for at least a month. By the time I stopped working on it, my hands, elbows, arms, and shoulders were hurting, and to do any writing was not happening.

I hadn’t realized how long it had been since I picked up a WIP to work on. That did sadden me, for as I wrote in my last posting, I get an inner joy that I have problems explaining to someone who isn’t a writer.

I have three WIPs that are in various stages of being finished. I have notes to write volume five of my Jasper, Amazon parrot series with to the third volume of my Squirrel Mafia series.

I intend on pulling them out, deciding which one to work on, and place it on my desk so it can stare at me daily.

It didn’t help that when I asked hubby why he asked, he wanted to be sure I hadn’t put it by the waste side.

Life happens. Time flies so fast, especially as we grow older, that if he hadn’t brought it up, I wonder how long before I would have done so.

Sometimes, a gentle push is what we need to start on a project. Sometimes it is a kick in the butt as a reminder we need to move forward, regardless of how small, on something that makes us happy. For me, one of those things is writing.

A blog about the topics of writing, Writers and Support

Why do you write as an author?

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Why do you write?

When I started, I was told by others they had been writing for years, some as early as their teens. I didn’t start until my early 40s.

Why did I start? My husband told a good friend of ours that he felt I wrote well. She told me. I mean, what better way to tell your wife than to a friend, right? I mulled that over, wondering if I had anything in me to write a book of any length.

I had two surgeries within six weeks of each other and was going to be stuck recovering more or less. So, I took on the task of writing something, anything that would work. I had heard for a while that you write on what you know.

So, what did I know? What could I possibly know that I could translate into a book? I literally looked around my house to see if there was something I knew that I could turn into a book.

My eyes landed on our rescued Amazon parrot, Jasper. He looked at me, and that was all it took. At that point, he had been with us for ten years.

From that, four books written. Three are published, one is in a queue from my publisher. It has been a joy to write.

Writing is freedom for me. Anything can be going around me, but if I am locked in a scene or plot, you really have to shout if you want my attention.

Why I write is hard to explain, I feel, to people who don’t write, but fellow writers get me. They understand being lost in the words and pages that they are creating. It is a joy that is priceless and a joy that I didn’t know I needed until I started doing it.

I know I am not explaining it well. Maybe, perhaps, if you write a short story and the words fill up page after page, the utter joy that I feel might be found by you.