I missed another Monday. What does that mean? I think it means it’s time for a summer vacation! So far this year, I’ve written thirty-five blogs—one for every Monday of the year. When I first started this journey, it seemed like a good idea. A way to keep my writing chops fresh. And it’s certainly done that. But writing a blog is a completely different animal from writing a fiction novel, and I’m not getting as much done in my next book as I would like, partially because I keep spending my writing time on this blog!
In case you’ve never read my author’s bio, I have a lot of hobbies. Besides writing, I am also an artist. I paint using a lot of different mediums: acrylics, oils, pastels, watercolors, oil pastels, gouache colored pencils, and soft pastels. One of my other artistic avenues is journaling. I have three journals—one for everyday adventures, which I decorate with artwork, stickers, washi-tape, transfers, and ephemera; a left-hand journal that contains the same kind of things, but in it, I am only allowed to write left-handed (trying to teach myself to write beautifully and quickly with my non-dominant hand); and a garden journal where I put everything about my garden, also decorated and beautified.
Music is another one of my hobbies, and I play the piano, oboe, and recorders. I used to play the guitar, but my fingers don’t enjoy that experience anymore. And if you don’t keep it up, you have to develop calluses on your fingers all over again. Not fun. It’s kind of like playing the oboe and having to build up the muscles for your embouchure (the way you hold your mouth on the reed to produce sound). It’s a lot of work, and it’s not something you can do sporadically. I’m sorry to say that lately, I have made little time for my music, and I really miss it. When I studied music in college, I also wrote music for piano and experimented with writing electronic music. I miss that too.
Another pastime I enjoy is sewing. Sewing allows me to make clothes I can’t find in any store. It’s also very rewarding to take a piece of fabric and turn it into something beautiful. You could say it’s a lot like painting. In fact, you could say that all my hobbies involve starting from a blank canvas and creating something beautiful. Or if not beautiful, at least unique!
I do have a few hobbies that involve actually getting outside. As mentioned before, I enjoy gardening. For the past few years, I’ve planted more and more tulips in my garden. This last year was an experiment. For once, I didn’t dig them up and store them over the winter like I had every other year. I’m crossing my fingers they will all come back up and bloom again. And I love to hike in the woods. We are lucky to live right next to wonderful hiking trails that quickly put me deep into the forest and make me feel like I’m in an entirely different world. It relaxes my whole being!
But I’m going to throw in a bit of honesty here. I also enjoy watching TV, YouTube, streaming videos, etc. etc. Whatever you want to call it. I am a baby-boomer baby, and TV was often my babysitter. I remember watching many shows when I was younger, which psychiatrists would probably have told my father we shouldn’t be viewing. Shows like Thriller, The Twilight Zone, and The Outer Limits. At the time, those shows were pretty scary, especially for a little kid. But they never bothered me, and I still enjoy thriller movies to this day.
As mentioned in my last blog, I’ve been enjoying the Olympics these last couple of weeks. I can’t watch everything. I would never leave the TV. My favorite sports are gymnastics and diving. But there are many others that I like to watch if I can find the time. I’ve also been binge-watching the series Dexter, which Netflix recently added to their offerings. This show was one of my favorites when it came out in 2006, and I was curious to see if it still held up today. I’m happy to say that it does. There are eight seasons of twelve episodes and it’s definitely putting a cramp in my productivity!
What’s all this mean? It means I am not getting enough writing done in my next book! So, as of next week, I am taking a break from blog writing. My plan, as of now, is to take off the rest of the month of August and potentially September. It all depends on how much work I get done in my book. I won’t promise I won’t write anything. Sometimes the bug hits me. But my plan is to spend the time I would have spent writing this blog, on finishing my next book.
November is NANOWRIMO, and I will definitely work on it then, and will take another break from this blog. So, enjoy your summer. Go outside and play in the sunshine while I’m inside in my office typing away. Or, if like me you have let other activities take the place of a goal you wanted to achieve this year, re-prioritize! I used to think I didn’t have enough time to get my major goals done. But now I know I set my own priorities. If something is important enough to you, you will make the time for it.
So, define your goals. Look at where you are spending your time, and cut out anything that is not moving the progress of your most important objective forward. Then use that newly found time to make your dream come true!
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