Chicken by Chicken: Writing Every Day

Hi, folks,

Thanks for all the congrats for my upcoming novel in May 2014 PLUMB CRAZY from Swoon Romance. I hope that my personal journey will give you some needed encouragement as you move forward with creative endeavors. My title "Chicken by Chicken" is a play on Anne Lamott's book title, BIRD BY BIRD, a helpful writing book.

Chicken by chicken is how I roll as a writer.  I'm chatting about my instructions for writing and life.

First, a sample day: the alarm at 6:30 a.m., I lay on the floor thinking wishing I could cry beccause I was so tired, but instead I got up and make French toast to ensure the teenager popped out of bed. A lifetime of study has taught me that the male teenager will wake up on time for school if food is provided. No other method of waking up the male teenager is viable.

Next, I headed to jury duty for HOURS (was selected), clipped off to an interview for a job (which I bombed), then topped off  the evening with several hours scurrying around the high school for a parent teacher night. During the day I had 4 asthma attacks, one migraine, and began to run a fever (pretty sure I had a sinus infection -- was right.) At the end of this day, after I made dinner and cleaned house, I opened up my computer and worked  for a COUPLE of hours on my work-in-progress.

Then I turned on my alarm around midnight for another round.

Writing is not convenient. It doesn't happen in a vacuum. There is the occasional glorious day where there is time and major progress, but mostly writing is part of the grind. It's the sum of the work that matters to me. That moment when I write the end, is like topping Everest. The hope that some day my book may offer a moment of clarity, a moment of laughter, a sense of connection, and more -- I live for this.

I also live for the art of writing. I love to up the stakes, find the tone, define the characters, bring the setting to life, delve into the themes. I'm this triptych of sorts: the creative, the emotional, the connector. I'm also in the business of fostering who we are and what we want. Every day. Chicken by chicken. For me, writing is worth fitting in.

I like this book by Leo Tolstoy called What is Art? You might check it out. Hope you write this week with more fervour. Back next week with more Chicken by Chicken.

Here is the doodle. My fav superhero: "Thor Chicken."

Here is a quote for your pocket.

 A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work. Colin Powell.