July is almost out the door, and I have a lot going on at the moment. I'm neck deep in a writing project, the ever difficult book of my heart, which I've had to write and unravel, rethink and write again numerous times, until I finally hit my stride with it this month. (A sincere thank you to Mr. Review, Redo, Revise, Repeat - Mercury Retrograde. Retrogrades, and their shadow periods, get a bad rap most of the time, but they do have their benefits.)

I've since simplified my story and settled on a genre appropriate structure. Now it's finally flowing without the struggle. Pretty much, whenever writing a story is like pulling hen's teeth, it's a sign that something is wrong with it on a fundamental level, and I need to go back to the beginning stages of construction and troubleshoot the issue that's causing the hold up. 

Usually it means I've unnecessarily complicated the story. Tried to take it too broad in scope, and I need to reel it in, take it back down to the character level, and make sure the characters are on the same page (literally and figuratively) regarding what they want. The kinks often iron themselves out after that. What takes the most time is getting the characters to chase after the same rabbit, so to speak.

Change of topic... On the 30th, I'm taking a writing workshop over at Savvy Authors - as a student, not a teacher. Just clarifying that to avoid any possibility of confusion. I've been looking forward to this workshop all month. Not even joking. The topic is about category romance. I can't remember the exact name of the class or who the presenter is, but it's listed on the events page if anyone reading this is interested in checking it out. Workshops specific to category romance don't crop up very often, so I was super excited to see one on the roster and registered early on.

I like the format, pacing, and length of category romances, even if some of the tropes and elements come across as limiting to me, particularly in regards to the types of heroes that appear in them. In fiction of all types, I generally prefer anti-heroes, tough guys (no betas for me, thanks) and paranormal/supernatural heroes. I figure that even if publishers aren't looking for what I write, I can fuse what I like with what is traditionally accepted regarding the genre framework and build a story that fits my tastes. One that is self-publishable. That's the idea, anyway. 

That's pretty much the gist of it. What's going on for me at the moment. I guess the takeaway from all this is...it's going to be a wild ride with lessons along the way for the next few weeks. From the 30th, onward into August. My current project and the workshop included. Toss the Mercury Retrograde in for added seasoning. August is already a crunch month for me. It's hot, busy, requires a extra finances because back to school happens at the mid-point or thereabouts, and my birthday finishes off the month with the usual rigamarole. Whew! It's a lot to process.

Despite it all, I'm really excited about all the busywork and activity coming up. Things are finally moving again after what seemed like months of stagnation. Anyone else feeling that vibe? Yes? No?

That's all for now. Sending you my best wishes. I hope you have a good weekend and enjoy the full moon.

I hope you all had a lovely 4th of July on Wednesday! I had a great time lighting up fireworks with McBeast. We had a sparkler chase in the front yard, which was a lot of fun, but our favorite firework of the night was called The Crackling Crawfish. It spit out a loud fountain of green sparks for over a minute. Impressive! Especially given those little crawfish were only 50 cents a piece. 

Yesterday was post-4th yard cleanup day, and harvest #2 of the fig tree. I have roughly fifteen pounds of figs to take to my mother for canning. And that's just her share. It's been a good crop this year. This next harvest round I promised to take a bag to Ms. Judy. It should be popping out on the tree in a couple of days. That's about how long it takes the next generation of buds to ripen. 

Today, I'm working on the book of broken dreams again. Am I the only writer that has one of these? I've attempted writing this book at least six times and it always falls apart, but I can't let it go. I love the characters too much. In this attempt, I've moved the setting a little closer to home...which makes me want to go on a road trip to surrounding towns for photos and exploring.

That said, this is the closest I've come to a working structure with this book. I created a detailed outline, found the primary story problem that "broke" the structure early on. I've been looking at creative ways to fix the problem, and now I'm caught between two options. Once I make the decision, I'll be ready to dig my heels in with Act One. This time I'm going the distance. Pinkie swear. It's time to write this book and let it be what it is. 

No, no, no...it can't be July already. I forbid it. Hear me, world? The summer is going by much too fast. Slow it down, alright? Yes, it's hot out - miserably hot - but I'd rather deal with the heat than the dreaded back to school shopping that is right around the corner. Can it please just stay summer forever? 

Yeah, I know that's not reasonable. And I can hear all the autumn lovers out there gasping at the suggestion. I feel you. I do like fall. I love Halloween. But still, the school break goes by much too fast, then it's back to the grind: getting up early, following the weekly routine, and homework checks. 

Anyway, what's this all about?  It's not really about the heat. Or maybe it is. People tend to be less patient in hot weather, so I've heard. All joking aside, it's about switching my blog around, and possibly moving it here to my website in order to keep using it.

What's the big deal, right?  It's just a blog. I don't know why but it feels like a monumental change or something. I've been using Blogger since 2004, and I love the platform. It's so easy to use. However, my current computer doesn't love logging in to Blogger, and it's become a pain to access it. I dread jumping through the usual log in hoops to access it every time I think about posting, which makes me not want to use it at all.

Since it's a personal blog I'm talking about, not really geared toward anything in particular, I'm considering making it private and just using the blog attached to my website for bookish updates, since it would mean easier  access. 

At this point, I'm going to try a few posts here, and see what happens. If it makes a difference in my blogging habits, I'll keep using it.