A major milestone...

 On June the 2nd I hit 1,800 days of writing in a row.  That means I wrote something every day, whether my column or fiction.  I wrote when sick, when depressed, when life threw me major curves.

That's a lot of days.  It is also a lot of words - according to my calculations, I wrote 1,083,432 words in that time.  Yup.  Over a million.

That is a lot, but it breaks down to about 593 words a day.  That's slightly over two pages.  I can usually crank that out in a half hour or so.  And I'm not a fast typist.

Let's say you only wrote 250 words a day.  For me, that's about fifteen minutes, but let's say it takes you a half hour.  And you do it every day. 

In a week, you'll have written 1,750 words  In a year, 91,000 - the equivalent of a novel and maybe a short story or two.  If you went 1,800 days of writing 250 words a day, you'd write 450,000 - almost half a million.

I tell you this to encourage you that wherever you are in a writing journey, little things add up.  Don't give up - keep plugging away and you will see your efforts grow.  And never underestimate the power of a streak.

Finally, celebrate your wins.  I went to Culver's and got a cheeseburger and a turtle sundae to reward myself for 1,800 days.  Remember - little wins count.   Be proud of them and build on them.

Keep on keeping on!

Oops...

 I have been having a few rough days due to the not-so-small issue of lacking one of my medications.

I was diagnosed with ADD/ADHD as an adult a number of years go (I'm a little uncertain if we found I had the hyperactive part of it, but I know I have the rest).  This meant going on some medication that is tightly controlled.

I ran out of this medication at the end of last week.  I didn't notice it until I went to set up my pillbox for the week.  It explained some things - lack of focus and wanting to sleep a lot.  But I had to get it filled.

My regular pharmacy is constantly out of the medication, so, armed with a paper script, I had Don take it to another pharmacy for me today.  The pharmacy called me after a bit, informing me that they were no longer accepting prescriptions from my particular doctor.  The reasons why weren't clearly expressed, and I plan to let my doctor know there's a problem.

So we tried yet another pharmacy.  This one has delayed the prescription due to - wait for it - insurance issues.  They will get a call tomorrow asking what is going on.

In the meantime, I'm having to function and get things done.  When you've been on a medication as long as I have, you grow dependent on it. It's hard for me to get things done right now.  This includes writing stuff.

I'm thankful for my 1500+ day writing streak.  That will get me to the computer and get words made tonight.  They may not be many, but they will happen.

So if I strike you as flakier than usual recently, just put it down to lack of medication.  But I'm sure I'll be fine - oo, look!  Squirrel!

Greetings post-Milton

 I live in Central Florida.  We got a piece of Milton earlier this month.  The picture below is of the drainage ditch in front of our house during all the rain that he dumped on us:

Despite the wind and rain and all that water, we came through relatively unscathed.  We only lost power for 24 hours and aside from knocked over trash cans and a couple of pieces of roof shingle we suffered no damage.

I even wrote while the power was out, maintaining my streak.  I used my phone for a hotspot (I save my documents to a cloud) and wrote enough to keep my streak going, mindful of the fact the laptop was running on battery power.

I'm praying we have no more storms to deal with this year.  This one was plenty.

Hoping you stay safe as well.  And that nothing is preventing you pursuing your passions.

Summer marches on...

 As I type this, I am between two trips.  Don and I got back from Shore Leave on Tuesday evening, and this upcoming Sunday I will be winging my way to Las Vegas for a writing workshop.  My suitcase has not been fully unpacked: I took out t-shirts and dirty laundry and added clean underwear and t-shirts about writing.  I'm a long way from pre-trip panic, but stay tuned.

Shore Leave was a great deal of fun.  Below is a picture of my table at Meet the Pros, where convention goes had a chance to meet writers and maybe even buy books from us.  I shared the table with my wonderful cowriter Rigel Ailur.

Looking at my calendar, if i continue to write at least 250 words/day, I will hit the 1,500th day on August 6th.  I am bemused at the fact I've kept this streak up this long.  It has meant writing when I didn't feel like it or I didn't have a lot of time or I was tired.  

I plan to celebrate somehow.  I will be in Vegas but will probably get some decadent dessert that night.

More on the workshop later this month.  Try to stay cool out there.

Greetings from South Carolina!

 As I type this I'm sitting in my oldest son's home in South Carolina.  My husband Don and I are taking a few days to visit with him and his precious family.

There's his wife Amanda, who is the best daughter-in-law I could ask for.  She and John make us feel welcome and she does all kinds of sweet things to make us comfortable.  Just one example: even though she doesn't drink coffee, she bought a Keurig coffeemaker for me and her parents so we can have coffee when we're here.

Of course, there are the grandbabies, though "babies" is misleading.  Lavinia is six and has just completed kindergarten.  Her brother Matthias is four.  They are both adorable and the high point of our visit here, and certainly two of the most wonderful children in the world (yes, I am biased).

We've had a great time so far this trip.  While I intend to continue my writing streak while I'm here, I'm also letting myself have some down time.  We all need that occasionally.  I'm grateful to have the opportunity to spend such time with people I love.

I hope you also have a chance to rest and recharge at some point.  What works for you?

Greetings From South Carolina!

As I type this, I'm sitting in my oldest son's home visiting him, his wife, and two perfect grandchildren.  Don and I will be here a few days spoiling aforementioned grandchildren and enjoying time with their parents.

I plan to keep my streak going while I'm here.  It may be slow, but I will get words in.  I already know my upcoming column will be about this trip, so that makes planning easier.

I have a few projects in various stages, but nothing coming out before April or May.  Will let you know more about them as those dates get closer.

In the meantime, I will take time to enjoy a break from the routine.

Blew Past a Couple of Milestones...

 At the end of June I hit two milestones and forgot to mention them.

First, "Laura's Look" is officially 25 years old.  That's a lot of columns and a lot of patience and grace from the Highlands News-Sun.  My thanks to them for continuing to run it.

I'm working on a special way to celebrate this 25th year.  Stay tuned for more information.  For now, if you'd like to read the earliest columns, you can pick up "Laura's Look: 1998-2000" at Amazon:

The second milestone has to do with my writing every day.  At the end of June I passed the three year mark.  That's three years of putting word down every single day, with no breaks.  I'm kind of proud of that streak and hope to continue it for some time to come.

I'm hoping to share some big news at the beginning of August.  Stay cool, stay safe, and I'll see you then.

Aloha!

 Don and I got back to Florida a couple of days ago after spending nearly two weeks in Hawaii.  It was a marvelous time and great to get away for a bit and see something new.

We cruised around the islands, ate too much good food, and bought a ton of souvenirs.  It was a lot of fun and worth the jet lag we're both experiencing.

And, to my amazement, I kept up my writing streak of at least 250 words a day.  The count was often closer to 250 words than 500 words, but the fact I wrote despite fatigue and numerous distractions is a win.  Credit goes to Don, who made sure I got to the laptop even when I wasn't feeling it.  He knew I would be glad he did.

Hoping your summer is kicking off to a good start.  Until next time!

Grandbabies, Publications, and Writing Streaks

 Lots to talk about today.  

1) First, I had a WONDERFUL time in South Carolina near the end of March visiting my grandchildren.  Lavinia is going to be 5 in a few days and Matthias is 3.  They and their parents love having us visit and we made some good memories.

2) My latest novel Death on the Air is now available as an ebook and will soon be in print.  You can purchase the ebook from your favorite site by clicking here  (if your site isn't listed, let me know and I'll make sure it's included).  Here's a look at the cover:

3) On March 25th I hit a milestone - my 1,000th day in a row of writing.  That means I've made new words every day for nearly three years now.  It feels like quite the achievement, and now I'm looking to see if I can bump it even higher.

I'm hoping to launch my first Kickstarter this month.  Stay tuned for more information.

Hope you have a amazing April!

Random stuff...

 First off, you should know that as I am an honorary groundhog (having been born on Groundhog's Day) and did NOT see my shadow.  Early spring is my prediction.

I have been working on various projects this month, but things seem to be moving slowly for some reason.  I'd developed a cough at the end of January/beginning of February which slowed me down a little but it's pretty much gone.  I'd hoped to have Death on the Air to my copyeditor by now, but no such luck.

But I've still written every day - sometimes not much, but it counts.  My streak is at 962 days right now, which means I'll probably hit 1,000 days sometime in March.

While I catch up on my work, there's still time for you to check out my friend Matt Buchman's Kickstarter for Thrill Ride Magazine..  It ends on the 21st, so don't delay.  Go here and see all the goodies he's offering.

A Milestone Reached

 This is being posted late because I wanted to do my daily writing first.  Why was that important?

Today was a special day.  Today marked the 900th day in a row of writing for me.

That's 900 days of getting at least a few words down.  That's doing it despite fatigue, sickness, and grief.  That's squeezing it in when I've been busy and burning the midnight oil to finish a project.

It feels good to hit it.  For me, a streak is incredibly motivating.  The longer it goes, the harder it is to break.  I can look at the march of stars on my calendar and see that every day, I accomplished this one thing.

Will it last forever?  Who knows?  So far, Covid hasn't stopped it, a death in the family hasn't stopped it, my lack of discipline hasn't stopped it.  I'm not saying it can't be stopped.  But so far, it's healthy.

My next goal?  1,000 days, of course.  

What motivates you in your passion?

Sorry...

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.  We enjoyed our time with our children, and especially our two grandchildren.  Lavinia is four and Matthias will turn three this month.  I'm wondering where the time went.

 If you're here looking for my short story "Black Deeds on a Black Friday," the week is up, and I've taken it down.  Thanks to all who read it and let me know what they thought.  

I'm currently working on a holiday collection I hope to get out the first half of this month.  I will keep you in the loop on it.  

I hope the season is treating you well.  What's your favorite part of this holiday season?

At the moment, I'm in Orlando, Florida doing some Disney time with a couple of friends.  Lots of fun, but of course I brought my laptop to write every day.  The streak is well over 800 days now (I don't recall what it is exactly) and I'm not planning on breaking it now.

See you in a couple of weeks!

Life after Ian

 This will be a bit more personal than usual.  Hurricane Ian gave us a glancing blow on Wednesday night, which was more than enough to produce howling winds, downed trees, and uprooting my two rosebushes.  It also killed power to our house, never a great thing.

Fortunately, my husband Don, a physician, has access to the doctor's lounge at one of the local hospitals.  The hospital has both Internet and power and I'm taking advantage of both as I post my bimonthly blog.  

Thanks to this access, I've been able to keep up my writing streak, which is currently over 800 days.  It's comforting to be able to write even in the mild chaos our lives are in at the moment.

If you were in Ian's path, I pray you are okay.  If you weren't, please continue to pray for those of us who were.  

Are you receiving my newsletter?  If not, I'd love it if you did.  Check out the left-hand side of this page to sign up and receive a FREE short story as a way of saying thanks.

To show you some of what Ian did, I've included two pictures of my poor rosebushes.  I'm hoping we can save them.

Until next time.  Be safe, everyone!

Still plugging away...

 As I type this, I'm at 762 days in a row of writing every day.  I've managed to do this even with getting hit by Covid, which is definitely no fun.  Nevertheless, I'm still making words.

One thing I want to work on is getting those words out to readers.  I'm hoping to have a short story collection out before the end of the month.  

I'm currently reading "The Negotiator" by Dee Henderson.  My best friend recommended it to me and I'm enjoying it very much.  

What are you currently reading?  Let me know!