RABBIT HOLE

The holiday season is upon us! My tree is up, and we had a wonderful time visiting with my grandkids and their parents. Next will be decorating the house with all my favorite things and wrapping presents I’ve bought throughout the year. And with three newly published books, I can’t wait to gift them to all the people who supported my writing efforts this year.

As much as I love the festivities of the holiday season, I have to admit, I love writing more.

When I found myself faced with a few obstacles this past summer while trying to finish my novel “Vanished in Vallarta”, my normal writing routine became a frantic, almost 24/7 push to complete the editing phase of the novel.

Part of the frenzy was due to also trying to wrap up “Redneck Ranch” and polish a rewrite of “Five Golden Rings.” I wanted to have all three of these books available for the Portland Holiday Market which occurs the third week of November. All of a sudden, I found myself scrambling at the end of October to publish and order the books for an arrival date in time for the market.

Thankfully, I was blessed with some heroic efforts from friends who believe in me, and all three books were ready in time for the Portland Holiday Market. These ladies are definitely on Santa’s “Nice List”!

Prior to the book publishing craziness, I had developed a balanced schedule of work (Unfortunately, I still have a day job), write, house work, write, yard work, write, meal prep, write. You get the idea. But the pressure of wanting these books completed by a self-imposed deadline, caused me to fall down a Writing Rabbit Hole! And I liked being there!

When I would venture out of my abyss, I’d find unfinished house work, empty cupboards and a husband losing his ability to support my passion. But after a half-hearted effort to catch up on these things and spend time with Randy, back down the writing rabbit hole I would go.

Now, though, I’m anxious to find my balance again. Maybe, despite my sleepless nights and endless fretting, I liked the stress of meeting a deadline. Enjoyed being immersed in México with my fabulous characters. Adored walking the streets of Stoneybrook with Wyatt, Harley, and the rest of the townsfolk.

But equity in all areas of my life needed to be addressed. With this goal in mind, I dredged up a tried and true work technique I learned many, many years ago. Power Blocks! When I was first building my investment business, I was taught to designate two hours of each day to certain work related projects. This method helped me accomplish more during an eight hour work day, so surely it would come in handy now.

I’m close to retiring, so some days my job only takes about two hours. First block assigned. Next I knew I should do a household task or project and made a list to work from. Two down, two to go. Since I’m up early, two hours writing in the morning seemed prudent. If I was successful with the other daily power blocks, I could eek out two more hours in the afternoon before Randy arrived home from work to focus on expanding my marketing efforts. Paty Jager will be proud this task made the power block task list.

December will be a good trial month to implement my power block approach. Of course, I may have to substitute chores and projects with decorating and baking, but it is the holidays after all!

One thing I know for sure, I’m passionate about my writing! I know too that I can survive deadline related stress, self-imposed or otherwise. I also believe applying an idea generated by the 1930’s quote of Allen F Morgenstern, “Work smarter, not harder!”, will help me stay focused.

I’m excited about the three books I have planned for this year: “Chaos in Cabo”, “Whispering Willows, a Novella” and “Willow’s Woods”. Plus, I’m planning to write two short stories for anthologies in 2024.

So, if you’ll excuse me … I’m heading back down the Writing Rabbit Hole!!!

Now for my shameless promotion. “Vanished in Vallarta” is now available on Amazon: