Wednesday, February 3, 2016

February 2016 IWSG The Crazy Coaster


Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time. Be sure to link to this page and display the badge in your post.


By the end of January I felt really good about myself, my family life, and my writing. I only accepted two substitute jobs and focused on getting back into a good mental place myself. There were still struggles (as there always will be) with my teenagers. It made for a long month of ups and downs.
However, I buckled down and finished the first round of line edits for SEARCH FOR KNOWLEDGE. It was brutal! I basically sent a rough draft quality manuscript to my editor and we had to kill lots of repetitious words--felt, something, looked, was, went, got, know, only, just, and a couple others.

My insecurities had diminished and life looked good.

Then bad news hit us.
Jan 28th--the woman who planned to buy our house (and has been renting it since November) learned her ex-husband had destroyed her credit since the divorce in October. There's no way she's getting a loan to close in February.

Hubby and I spent hours talking about our options. We had given her a cut on rent because she was going to buy the house. That meant her rent didn't cover our mortgage, much less the management fees and any repairs she requested. Which she had done a lot of! We wanted to be fair and kind to her, but we needed to take care of our family too. The best plan was to ask her to pay the full rent so we were no longer paying for her to live there. If she agreed to that, we wouldn't re-list the house for sale giving her time to raise her credit and buy the house.

Jan 29th--she refuses to pay the higher rent and will move out at the end of February. Now I'm terrified she'll do something to the house in the next month. I know that's stupid, but my imagination tells me she's angry with us and thinks we are cruel for kicking her out. However, she doesn't know us. She doesn't know that while she was living in my beautiful, fully loaded home, I was living without a complete kitchen or floors in half my house. Now that she can't buy, I will have to pay two mortgages again, and the chance of completing our renovations are pushed back again.

January 30th and 31st--I didn't want to get out of bed, but by the end of the weekend I had resigned myself to substitute teaching every day and destroying the hard earned peace of mind I'd gained in January. Sort of. Not really, but I'm trying! I also got notes back from my editor to go through one more round of edits.

My biggest fear is that I'll never finish these edits. The second book will never be released and even if it is, I'll never finish writing the 3rd and 4th books in the series. Life if trying its hardest to keep me away from my dreams. I seriously want to hide in bed all day rather than fail or get knocked down again.
Good thing I re-watched GALAXY QUEST recently.
So, I subbed yesterday and I'm subbing today. Tomorrow I'll do my rounds to visit you and edit more on SFK. Hopefully this will be the last set of edits before moving on to getting cover art and a release date. I'll keep you posted!

I wanted to say thank you to everyone who commented last month. Your good thoughts and support have really helped me keep moving forward. I'm continuing to take the steps necessary to enjoy my life and keep writing. I just wish it was easier! :)

20 comments:

  1. Really a bummer her credit is shot - and she won't stay. Hopefully you can find the right people to buy your house soon.
    Hate those repetitious words. Well, obviously not, since I keep using them!

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  2. Love Galaxy Quest. Good advice. You've had a lot to contend with, Charity. I hope "life" settles down for you soon.

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  3. I'm Queen of repetition! YIKES!!! But I'm working on it. I do hope that life settles into a good place very soon so that your worries deplete. You'll be fine with your edits, I'm sure. Keep going, Charity. You can do it!!!

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    1. Thanks Nicola. I'm taking one word at a time in the search and diversify mission. :)

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  4. I'm sorry for all of your troubles, but keep your head up. Never say never. ;) Things will work out in the end. You have to believed it.

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  5. I just said on Elizabeth Seckman's blog how much I love the words "Never Surrender!" then see them here. We are blog soul sisters today Charity. Sorry about your housing woes and hopefully you'll find a buyer soon. Jerk faced ex. Anyway if you have any completed manuscript you have not released yet or not sure who to send it to maybe you can spruce it up and enter it into Amazon's Kindle Scout contest. Win or lose you'll put your book out there and get some good promotion practice out of it. After all you did share with us your friend's book on there last month.

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    1. I've given a lot of thought to the Kindle scout contest. I have one manuscript that I need to finish after edits. That's the one I'll probably try with it. I'm just so slow. The good thing is that lots of other authors I know are trying it and I'll get a chance to see how it works out for them if they get selected.

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  6. That's too bad about that lady, but honestly, she shouldn't take it out on you or expect you to bend over backwards for her because her ex was a jerk. You have a family and you have to think of them. She should respect that because if she was in your shoes, she'd do the same damn thing.

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    1. I know, but I'm a worrier, and I do feel bad for her. My mom went through a similar situation years ago. Oh, well. I can at least feel good that I tried to be fair to her while doing what had to be done for my family.

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  7. Your renter should understand especially after you gave her a break on rent but you never know about people. Good luck with the edits and hopefully, they'll be the last.

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  8. Well, Mercury was retrograde in January, so there were going to be issues there regardless. Sorry it's gone a bit sideways. But a new buyer is going to materialize in March (or whenever you list it again) and it's going to go so smoothly, you'll know it was meant to be.

    Can't wait to read the final version of SFK.

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  9. Life is like this sometimes. I'll keep sending you good vibes so you get through it to the sunshine :)

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  10. Wishing you peace of mind and much inspiration in 2016. Know you are not alone in your struggles and those feelings of not wanting to get out of bed. I have been going through a rough patch these last 2 years, and have felt that way many times. Keep your chin up. Do the best you can one day and one step at time. I enjoyed your reading your post. It was well written.
    Happy Belated IWSG Day
    Juneta Writer's Gambit

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  11. Life never turns out the way you expect it to. We just have to keep plugging along and making adjustments and compromises were we can. If you find solace in writing, keep it up. The books and the house will eventually get sorted out - _you_ will sort them out, and feel alot better about it all afterward.

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