5 Things I do as a Writer

Now, I am not - repeat, NOT - the poster child for anyone's writing routine. I kinda just do the writing thing and pray it works out. That's it, more or less. So please don't model yourself after me.

   I stand by that disclaimer, but I would also like to share a few things I do that I think help me. Hopefully, one or two will be helpful for someone else.

1. PULL MY HAIR BACK. Is it just me, or does having hair out of the way remove one more distraction? It also feels more serious, so I take what I'm doing more seriously.
2. I GO BACK AND CAPITALIZE  THE WORD "WAS". This is one of my favorite editing hacks. It helps me find weak sentences and really think through what I've written.
3. I LET A FEW FRIENDS READ AS I'M WRITING. My besties read as I write, and it's sooo great!! They give me my first feedback, fangirl over everything, and help with title ideas.
4. I TALK IT OUT. Writing can be lonely. But a couple of my brothers are such blessing and listen when I need it. This gives me unique brainstorming opportunities. Plus, one of them always sees things in ways I never do.
5. I READ BOOKS THAT MAKE ME FEEL HEAVY. Examples would be The Book Thief  and The Return of the King. These books have writing that is galaxies beyond even my best efforts and push me forward.

Hope someone finds this helpful. I'm off to Inkling Adventures, Book One.

Find my new blog here.

Update + Announcement

Via Pinterest

Don't know if I mentioned this, but I'm bring brave right now. I'm re-titling The Kingdom of Fire and Ice.

   See, Games of Thrones' first book is Fire and Ice. That series and my book are both medieval fantasy involving dragons. So I'm bouncing ideas for a new title back and forth with some friends. There's nothing final right now, but I like The Dragons' Stones.

   Also *cue trumpets* I have an announcement!!

There are plans for a sequel to what was The Kingdom of Fire and Ice.

Via Pinterest

The way the book ended left it so very open to a sequel that I can't resist. Plus I have a friend who's seriously a fangirl of this story and demands more. So we'll see more of Aleksander and Ciara one day.

Find my new blog here.

Goals of 2019

Via Pinterest

Apparently, wanting post regularly and actually posting regularly are two separate things. Go figure.

   Be that as it may, I do have a post for this week. It feels a little late set my yearly goals, but I find it helpful to write them out. Yes, I know I miss most of them, but still....

1. Possibly start a new blog ~ I've been toying with this for a bit. Mostly it's because I may drop my pen name, which appears at the bottom of most posts, and because I don't really do braids anymore.
2. Go to Joni and Friends again ~ I hope to volunteer at the Knoxville, TN Family Retreat again as a Short Term Missionary. This will be my fourth year, and it remains a yearly miracle in my life.
3. Start college ~ I would love to get two semesters in, but I'll praise God for whatever He brings in this.
4. Write 55,000 words ~ I wrote around 50k in 2018. That's the most I've ever done, and I'm determine to top it. 55k should get me through Lady Bloodhawk-Draft One and about halfway through Inkling Adventures-Rewrite, Book One.

Four goals, twelve months. (Okay, eleven.) Here's to God's plan

RhoXie

Find my new blog here.

Colors

Via Pinterest

Blue

of endless sky

Green

of summer woods

Purple

of distant mountains

Grey

of cloud wisp

White

of wave's foam

Brown

of garden dirt

Yellow

of moon glow

Orange

of sunset warmth

Black

of human heart

Red

of Savior's blood

Find my new blog here.

2018 Goals Reviewed

Hey, look, y'all! I'm alive.

   Retail work during holidays left me with zero energy but produced this strange thing called "money". But I'm back now, and I hope to get on top of posting regularly again. Right now, it's time to review the goals I set for 2018. Here goes nothing!

1. Graduate High School ~ Check. At least I did that.
2. Rewrite Inkling Adventures ~ Um.. where is that? All I did for it this year was some planning. That's better than nothing, right?
3. Finish draft one of Lady Bloodhawk ~ I picked it up yesterday for the first time I can even remember. So... no.
4. Publish The Kingdom of Fire and Ice ~ I didn't do that either, but I added 45k words to it. It's a better story for that, so I still consider this a success.
5. Do a short hair series ~ I think there was one, maybe two posts. And now my hair's grown out again. Oh well.

Well, that's about the same as 2017's goals.

RhoXie

D.C Trip

End of September, my parents and I went to Washington, D.C. I've never been there before, so it was pretty awesome. Also, I don't get extended one-on-one time with my parents very much (#largefamily), and this trip was probably the biggest dose of that I've ever had.

I saw a lot of neat things, and while I'm not huge on pictures or videos, I do have some for y'all. Admittedly, they are from the National Zoo, which was my favorite part.

I know the quality is horrible, but this little guy was SO cute! So watch it anyway. PLEASE!!

A Meekrat

I have more somewhere. I know I do, and it's slightly annoying because I have amazing pics and funny otter videoes. Oh, well maybe next time.

RhoXie