New Projects, New Rules

August Update

Heyooo!

First of all, I want to thank you for sticking with me through my summer in-depth series on writing a novel. That was a lot of information to go through in a short amount of time, but we did it!

Second, I've been looking forward to writing another life update for several weeks now because I have SO many exciting things to share with you, and a lot has changed since the last one!

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Writing

Ahem. *clears throat* I'd like it to be known that on May 24, 2023, between 9:30 and 10:00 A.M., I finished rewriting the third draft of my fantasy/adventure novel.

FINALLY.

It only took me six months, lol.

Seriously though, I can't tell you how excited I am for this draft! It needs some editing and TLC, obviously, because part of it was written during NaNoWriMo - but details aside, this is the version I plan on publishing someday!

So after taking a couple of days to celebrate and recover from the emotional roller coaster that the last chapter took me on, I plunged headfirst into a new project! (Which I wrote the first few chapters of a while ago, but shhh don't tell anyone.)

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Blogging

As much as I've enjoyed being able to post something every week, it takes a lot of brain power to create the quality content I want to fill this blog with. The series made that easier, knowing what each post was going to be several weeks ahead of time. With all the research and reflection I did, I got an even better understanding of story structure in general and my own writing process in particular!

Heading into the latter part of the year and some new opportunities, I've decided to go back to posting once every other week (with perhaps a couple exceptions leading up to NaNoWriMo.) I'm planning some posts on topics that I'm really passionate about, so stay tuned for those!

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Farm Life

This is where it hasn't been as fun. Not long after I posted my last update, we wrapped up lambing season - and not in the way I had hoped. The last lamb to be born was small, sickly, and too weak to nurse from his mother, who wouldn't stand still long enough to let him try. After two or three days of struggling to bottle feed, the lamb finally passed away quietly, swaddled up and placed under a heat lamp alone so the ewe wouldn't step on him and he could be as comfortable as possible.

I decided then that I'm tired of fighting with animals who don't know any better, and I'm tired of digging holes behind the shop - especially small ones.

The breeding and fleece processing has served me well as a hobby, but I've realized I don't love the idea of pursuing it as a business - which I almost have to, to pay for feed and fence repairs. I've been thinking for about a year now that it's time to move on anyway. I'm not saying I won't ever have animals or even sheep again, and I still have a llama who pretty much takes care of himself, but I can't devote as much time and energy into the sheep as I want or need to right now.

All that to say, I'm hoping to get all my sheep to good homes before it gets cold again. ;D

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Theatre Business

I haven't been in as much of a theatre mindset over the summer - there's still a bit of a sting at the though of performing again - but every now and then I try to warm up my voice and work on some songs just for fun.

More importantly, though, I've been given an opportunity to teach dance classes for some kids in a local theatre group! I'll be honest, I'm a little terrified when I realize how suddenly I've moved from student to teacher, but there's nothing in me that doesn't feel ready or qualified to pass on the wisdom of my mentors. I've loved ballet since I was very small, and now that I understand proper technique and body alignment I can't wait to couple that with fun while working with these kids! I may also get to stretch my choreographer muscles, though what direction that's going in I'm not sure yet. I want to meet the kids first, and then decide how ambitious we can get.

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Something That Made Me Happy This Week:

The fact that while Eastern Colorado is not, in fact, considered part of the Midwest, some of the same worldbuilding and cultural rules apply.

We say 'ope' and 'well I s'pose', and every time the tornado siren goes off everybody in town panics for an instant before remembering it's Friday. We look at steep driveways and do not envy the person who has to navigate them in winter.

The only bane of our existence is wondering what in creation we've done to deserve getting the worst of all four seasons in one day, usually in spring. 'Tis true, a monster lurks betwixt the corn, but he minds his own business as long as our children don't revisit the same corn maze twice in one year.

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I'm not a big fan of change. My family can testify to this. Whether it's for better or worse, my knee-jerk response is to go hide in my books or my music (or both) and keep my head down until it's over.

Now that I'm older, I've actually become the instigator of some of these changes. Taking point makes it easier, but not easy by any means. I've had to make a lot of hard decisions over the last couple years, and not all of them have been the right one.

I'm still struggling with some things, decisions included. I feel like I'm on the verge of 'finding myself', and figuring out exactly what my next step needs to be, just me and God. No outside opinions. The problem is, it's hard to explain that this mental journey isn't taking place on any kind of schedule. I might spend the rest of my life in this space, just learning how to actually take care of myself and enjoy living. I don't know.

I do know that our society places far too much value on following a certain pattern for life. I'm so tired of trying to plan my life accordingly. I want to travel the country, do research, build a cabin, ride horses, lie in the woods, watch the stars, drink from a river.

I want to tune my existence to God's creation, not man's.

Maybe I'm idealistic. That's fine with me - I'd rather be naive than hopeless. There's plenty of that going around, they don't need contribution from me.

In the meantime, while I daydream about a road trip, I'm going to continue doing what I'm doing: Sharing my words with you, and working to share them with the rest of the world.

Tell me in the comments: What's your goal for your future? What makes your spirit hum?

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If you liked this post, share it with a friend or on social media and subscribe so you're notified about more like this one! I'll see you down at the docks next week!

Best of luck to you on your writing journey, mate!

- Lydia