I’m enjoying my new direction. This is the second month on this path. It’s difficult to change gears from client work all day, every day to writing and writing-supporting activities every day, but it’s worth the growing pains.

For years I’ve put off today for tomorrow, I’ve selected security instead of adventure. I’ve been so busy making lists and planning and looking ahead that I seldom took proper time to look at my feet — where they were currently standing. It’s sad how little I have appreciated my life in the struggle to improve it and move it forward. I am glad that I’ve finally stopped. Better late than never, right?

There are still the usual responsibilities and dramas and frustrations, but I see them differently. Aside from the daily tasks (the menial ones that I enjoy more now than I used to) — I’m living for today. It’s scary, it’s uncertain, and it requires a great deal of self-control — but it’s so very worth it.

I’m glad I’m finally mature enough to see that — I only wish I’d figured it out when I was a little younger. But, mostly — I’m glad it didn’t happen later… or not at all.

(photo courtesy of Steve Knight)

I’ve been horribly remiss with my blogging duties here on WickedBlog. I hope to do better in the near future, but I’ve filled my schedule so full I’m not sure how successful I’ll be.

I’m going to try my hand at NaNoWriMo again this year (my previous attempt is thankfully left far, far behind since it was an abysmal failure). I’m in the midst of the final revision of my book (not a novel — that’s next) and I hope to have it in ebook format and in distribution channels by November. (Wish me luck!)

It has occurred to me that despite the horrible state of the economy (both personal and national) that I’m enviably close to having all my dreams come true. I always wanted to live in a little cabin in the woods and write for a living. *Granted!* I’ve been in the cabin for almost a year now (it will be by the end of this month) and I’ve been making my money by writing and marketing for a dozen years. The thing is, I STATED the dream wrong, and it’s time to fix that.

I MEANT to say, “I want to live in my little cabin in the woods and write creatively — preferably in the form of novels — for a living.” You have to be soooo careful when you fling your desires out into the universe. You have to be sooooo specific!

I really want to write and publish novels. My first book, Surviving Shangri-La is not a novel, it’s a non-fiction piece that traces my first two years on the farm. It’s been quite a challenge to pull it all together, write it and (especially) edit and revise it. I’m learning TONS about ebook publishing as I begin to explore the technical end of this type of formatting and distribution. It has been quite a little journey (and I’m just getting started!)

But for now, aside from doing my client work, raising my daughter, cooking/cleaning/grocery shopping… I’m committing to writing 1,000-2,500 words four days a week, two blogs per week (one here and one over on livingsmall), reading two books per week (one fiction/non-ficton and one on the craft of writing) and organizing my book collection (in all formats).

Maybe at that rate I can finally get through the stacks and stacks of writing books I’ve collected over the years, sort out the good from the bad, and toss those that don’t belong on my reference shelf. I tend to collect writing books when I’m not writing. I tend not to read them when I am. I’m ready to stop collecting and seek inspiration more actively. Besides, staring at them every day — noting that they are getting dusty — makes me feel like a lousy student of the craft.

I’m also working steadily to clean out my regular bookshelves. This one has been tough, especially since I decided to READ all the books before making a determination. I’ve read 17 books since the beginning of last month! Some were pure fluff, some were a bit more substantial. I’m keeping a list of all my “reads” over on LivingSmall.com.

Simultaneously, I’m organizing my ebook library – pulling up ancient ebook files that I’ve collected and stuffed away for years. I troll for ebooks with the same delight I look for new apps in the iTunes store. It’s sad, really. It’s an addiction. I need a 12-step-program.

Maybe the effort and work required to pull down metadata and a decent cover for every ebook I own (and the additional work of converting them all to a single format — epub) will serve to discourage future bouts of indiscriminate downloading. I’ve committed to doing this at a rate of 20 per day, five days a week. With that schedule, I may be finished organizing my ebook library sometime before the end of this decade. In the meantime, I’ll be creating a great little library where no duplicates (my GOSH I have a ton of duplicates!) will be permitted. I’ll choose the best version — like the Alice in Wonderland with the beautiful full-color lithographs properly rendered — rather than the .txt version of the same book. I’ll also have a great way to load up my iPad with the books I want.

Overall, I’m getting my “writing life” in order. I’m organizing, dedicating my time and DOING the things that a serious writer should do. I’m making it a priority, not the “guilty pleasure” it’s always been, one comprised of stolen moments here and there, usually late at night or in the wee hours of the morning.

It’s working. I’m producing. Who knows, I may even share some short pieces on here from time to time. It could happen!

Thanks for coming by Wicked Blog and have a great Halloween!