Late IWSG

Yep. I forgot about Insecure Writer's Support Group. I knew two days ago that I had to do a post then but figured I didn't work today so no big deal. Well here it is, almost midnight my time and I'm late. So yeah, enjoy the little song from Alice in Wonderland.


Speaking of late. I can state "running out of time" as a fear because I have self imposed deadlines and oh so often I procrastinate. I am one of those. I will do things at the last minute almost every time. But it's even hard without a deadline because then I won't get anything done.


Do you worry about being late on deadlines?
Are they self imposed or did someone else make them?

Guest Post - Healthy Trails to You

Today we have a nice guest post from Mike Manning from mikemanningmusings.blogspot.com. 

He has health tips for people who travel. Enjoy.

Healthy Trails To You

Traveling can be fun and exciting, and it's often tempting to throw all of your cares out the window for the duration of your trip. However, if you decide to skip the healthy habits you've worked so hard to establish, you're not doing yourself any favors. If you're able to get around the minor inconveniences and disruptions in routine presented by travel, you should make every effort to maintain physical activity. Here are some ways to facilitate that.

Pick a Healthy Hotel

You can make things a lot easier on yourself by being choosy about your accommodations. A lot of hotels available today cater extensively to the health and fitness crowd. Most hotels now boast fully-stocked gyms, indoor jogging tracks or even fitness classes. Make sure to do some research before booking a hotel. On a recent trip to San Francisco I used a travel site/app called Gogobot in order to get a list of hotels in the San Francisco area that I could scroll through and see what amenities were offered. There is sure to be something for everyone. Before you book your reservations, find out about their menu as well. While many serve a free breakfast, not all of them have healthy options. If the hotel offers a reasonably healthy menu on top of their exercise facilities, you can save a lot of time and effort.

Portable Workout

If there are no ideal health-friendly hotels in your location or price range, then consider bringing your own gear along. Some basic, portable items like resistance bands, yoga mats and small dumbbells enable you to work out at any place and time that's convenient. They're also great for when you just don't feel like leaving the hotel room. Items from around the room, such as chairs and tables, can also be useful.

En Route

If you're driving to your destination, you'll likely feel the need to get out and stretch occasionally. If you see any roadside rest stops, these can be a perfect fitness opportunity. Many of them possess hiking trails that run through appealing woodland areas. Besides getting some much-needed exercise, you'll also be able to enjoy the fresh air and beauty of nature.

Take Advantage of the Airport

With more airports recognizing the health needs of their customers, some have made impressive additions. San Francisco International's Zen room and Minneapolis International's walking paths provide those waiting for their flight with a healthful way to spend their time and pent-up energy. To get the most out of your workout, consider hauling your luggage with you.

Pack Some Good Shoes

To many people, the best piece of fitness equipment to have is a pair of dependable running or walking shoes. Even if there are no fitness facilities in your hotel and no hiking paths nearby, you can always use the sidewalk or a bike path. A twenty minute walk or a ten minute jog keeps your body and mind in good working order, plus it keeps the extra weight at bay.

Thank you Mike for the information.

How do you stay healthy when traveling?

Beta Reader Edition of IWSG

Yep, it's that time of the month: Insecure Writer's Support Group bloghop time. Make sure to check out the others over at the blog hop. Blog Hop Link

For those that have followed by other blog, Dawn Embers, I had a post recently where I discussed beta readers. And I'm getting closer to needing a few. I'm finally on chapter 18 of the novel edit with the hopes of finishing the process by the end of the month. It's a challenge because with each chapter edited the novel gets a little longer (or in chapter 17's case, 1000 words longer). After I'm done I will take a break and focus on something else for a few weeks but the trouble is now I'm almost ready for some readers and I don't have any. Not for the huge favor I need to ask.

How does one get a few readers to read an entire book within a month or two and provide overall feedback for a 60,000 word novel? The word count is a guess, might end up a tad long though last draft was 51,000. But that's aside from my general point. It's bringing on a different level of uncertainty because I'm reaching a point I've never been at before. I've been working on this novel since 2007 and while I know it's not going to be perfect and I want to hear the truth, it's nerving wondering what anyone would say to reading it because the story makes perfect sense in my head. But what will a reader say? I don't know.

The novel is essentially about a young teen boy who has a genetic mutation and has to report to a government agency when he sees anyone who might have abilities from a mutation for identification. He starts to question his role of a tattle when one of his few friends turns out to be a mutant too. Then when the new kid in school befriends him, he becomes faced with a bigger struggle. As his life starts to crumble around him and he begins to question his own identity, he has to decide whether he should tattle on a rogue mutant boy hiding from the government or end his role as a tattle tale, risking his own freedom in the process. It's supposed to be YA but borders on MG.


So, I'm nervous about how to find the right beta readers who have the time and with what they will have to say if I find them. And while I know a fair number of writers, it's hard finding the ones for the exact role of beta reader. It's a challenge and I worry if it will affect my submission goal because I want to at least send to 1 person this year because I've never done that with a novel and it's time. Yep, got some insecurities going on in here.


How about you? Insecure this month or have a confidence to share?
Let us know. 

June Goals

Summer time has arrived. It's time for some new goals but first, how did May go. Well, it was quite the distracting month. Car troubles has lead to me not having a car and instead taking the bus or catching rides with coworkers. It added walking to my schedule but also turned to candy on occasion for some stress relief. Got promoted on a writing web site to a moderator, which is really cool and unexpected along with a few other things. Quite the month overall.

May Results
Read 1 book - finished reading 3 technically cause the library books were due before the car no longer was drivable so those were May 2nd & 3rd, but also finished The Thirteenth Chime. And started reading Paranormalcy.

Edit Tattle Tell - Stalled. Only finished editing chapter 16 by the end of the month. Have 17-25 left to do.

Write 5,000 words in novella - nope. This one fell due to distractions and I haven't written anything in the novella since March.

Don't sleep all morning on days off - Had a couple of them where I slept too much but now thanks to a 3-day weekend of 8 am shifts I have been getting up between 6 and 8:30 in the morning even without an alarm clock.

Lose 5lb - Well I gained a couple but am down again those lbs. Didn't quite make it but June will be better.


Current Weight: 218


June Goals

Finish reading 2 books
Come up with eating plan.
Lose 4 lbs.
Write 10,000 words in novella.
Finish editing Tattle Tell.
Blog in all 4 blogs at least once.
Get a car.


What are your goals for the month?

Get Healthy Bloghop

Howdy and welcome to my post for the Get Healthy bloghop. Make sure to check out the other entries:   blog hop link.

I had a hard time coming up with a topic, I must admit. It's partly because right now my weight isn't going down. I've been distracted with car troubles and money lacking so even with the walking and such not seeing much on the scale, but that's okay. I'm still working on getting things set in my life and it will fluctuate. So, I needed to pull deep to try and figure what to talk about for the bloghop on something that has affected my health in a positive way. And here it is...

I have found that it helps me to understand what equals a realistic goal.

Sounds easy enough but it's not always so. I used to be in Weight Watchers and lost 40 lbs there but it was hard in a way as I never made a final goal weight. We are supposed to do that near the beginning but even a year later I didn't really have a final goal. Trouble is that for my height (4'11.5") the top amount allowed (the higher weight for during older age) is listed in the lower 120's according to BMI, which is what WW follows. I just could never visualize myself at 125 even, let alone less than that. Not being able to visualize the goal made it difficult to see as possible. I have a pretty good imagination but it just wasn't working for me.

So, I have figured out some goals that are realistic for me. I'm not a marathon runner. I'm not a size 2 type of gal. And I think that's fine.

I am a fiction writer with fitness goals that will help with my fantasy writing.
I would like to be in a size 12-14.
I have a goal of weighing 160.

And I feel better.


What about you?

IWSG Can't Keep Up

Okay, if you were looking for my post earlier. I forgot. I knew today was the first of the month but I forgot it was also the first Wednesday and thus meant Insecure Writer's Support Group. Though as long as I get it posted in the next 55 minutes it'll still be Wednesday my time. lol I will go and comment on posts tomorrow before work.

Bloghop Link: http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html

(image link)

Can't Keep Up

This is a concern of mine, not just with writing fiction, but with social networking. The struggle through A to Z challenge (using 2 blogs) along with the past year of sluggish blogging and slowed twitter exposure has heightened this concern. I wonder if I can keep up with the needed social networks along with work and my other online interactions, oh and there is that novel writing thing I need to make time for (still editing novel).

I have 3 blogs. This one, Dawn Embers and a book review blog. I need to add someone to the reading blog and search for another to add. I need to post book reviews. I need to remember to blog on Dawn Embers this month. Need to do posts later on this month on this one and not just forget about it. I need to finish editing that pesky little novel and find test readers. I have to work and make money....  So much to do.

Plus I'm not on twitter much anymore. I use it more to communicate with a co-host for a contest I run on WDC and on occasion my sister. I post maybe twice a week what I'm doing. And it will be less if I can't get the new tweetdeck to work.

I'm already getting offers and suggestions on this blog that I don't know how to answer. I need to figure out my ethical boundaries when it comes to who I will promote and what I will accept. I am also going to consider how to monetize the blogging but don't know enough about that in order to make any decisions.

There is so much to do that I wonder if I can keep up with it all.


Do you worry about keeping up with social networking?
Any tips on how you manage?

May Goals

April is over and I made it through the challenge. I still have some commenting to do and will try to get to some of the blogs that I wanted to read but ran out of time as I was working and such. However, I am glad it is over. I had fun posting at times, though it was hard other days. I like the challenge but am definitely ready to go back to a less strict blog schedule.

April I had a few goals. Here they are:

Finish reading 2 books
Edit 4 chapters
Write 10,000 words in novella
Lose 4 lbs 
No fast food

How did I do?
Finished reading 2 books.
Worked on editing one chapter but not done with it.
Made it through blog challenge (it wasn't up there but it was important)
Gained a couple of lbs.
Didn't eat any fast food.

Time to re-evaluate and get some goals up for this month.

May Goals
Edit rest of Tattle Tell (or as much as I can and get rest done early June)
Write 5,000 words for Novella
Lose 5 lbs by eating healthier and moving around more
Don't sleep all morning on days off
Read 1 book.


What are your goals?