Wednesday, December 07, 2016

IWSG December, Life, Its Curve Balls and Happy Christmas!


Welcome to the December volume of IWSG, Life and its Curve Balls. I’ve been thrown a big one with a steep learning curve, and am trying to keep my eye on the ball and my arm in a smooth arc as I learn the rules to this new game!
I’m learning what life as a Construction Project Manager is like. The only time I get for writing lately is in my head. However, it is for a worthy cause and is only for a limited time so I’m not complaining. My favorite saying is “Life is what happens when you’re busy planning something else.” This project involves renovations of about twenty buildings and the construction of a brand new one on a 100 acre camp in the mountains! I am in charge of the money so am following the PM around and working with him to understand exactly what is going on.
I have found that this job feels much like editing does. One is constantly going over the same ground to make sure all the “little” things are taken care of, shaped, and checked on to make sure they make sense. I never would have compared the two, but managing a construction site and editing a novel have a lot in common.
I’m in over my head, but am enjoying the learning, just as I feel/do with writing/editing. 
Have you ever compared what you do for a “day” job to your writing?



The question of the month for December is:
In terms of your writing career, where do you see yourself in five years
 and what’s your plan to get there?
I see myself having published at the very least four more novels, one family drama and three historical fiction. I plan to, after I finish this latest construction project, spend whatever time it takes to get that done. Then I want to go on a road trip and visit friends while holding readings/signings all over the country. And I’ll start attending local and regional “art” fairs/annual festivals and book fairs to market my wares…

 Merry Christmas!!!
See you in 2017


Please visit and thank the awesome co-hosts for the
December 7 posting of the IWSG

 Jennifer Hawes, Jen Chandler, Nick Wilford, Juneta Key, JH Moncrieff, Diane Burton, and MJ Fifield! 




Images from:


10 comments:

  1. Most enjoyable to read, Likewise you have a wonderful Christmas.
    Yvonne.

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  2. Yes, I have compared what I do to a day job and can say your description about your temporary job in construction suits to a tee. Especially during an editing process.
    Good luck with your job as Construction Project Manager. You will come out of it much wiser.
    All the best.
    Shalom aleichem,
    Pat G

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  3. Very ambitious! I hope you make it happen.
    Managing that project will probably help your writing in ways you can't even imagine right now.

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  4. Such a great comparison!

    Those sound like excellent goals. Keep at them!

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  5. That road trip sounds marvelous. I would love to do the same, but my back wouldn't allow me.

    Merry Christmas!

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  6. Hi Lisa - sounds like life is very full ... can't be a bad thing, but would be nice to have some space for writing ... still the head and a tape recorder could help?! Good luck with all things and here's to the road trip in the future ... Happy Christmas and see you in 2017 .. cheers Hilary

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  7. What a project. It's sounds like one of love. Super! Best wishes with your 5-year goals. You can do it. What fun that road trip sounds.

    Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and your family.

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  8. You definitely have your hands full with this construction project. Good luck with it.
    I was a computer programmer before I started writing, and the two processes are almost exactly the same: 1. Write it (the code or the text). 2. Test it or let your critic partners do it. 3. Fix the bugs (edit). 4. Repeat steps ##2 and 3 as required. And like a computer program, a piece of writing is never completely done, just abandoned at some point, when you deem it 'good enough'.

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  9. Little things can be far more important than they seem and can be difficult to find if they are overlooked when most of a project is done. Since writing is a job then I can see correlations between ones outside job and writing. Not that I've ever necessarily thought of it that way, but then again I've seen just about everything in my life as part of a bigger story.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

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  10. Well... I'm a NICU nurse and a freelance editor, so I guess I'm a detail person all around. LOL

    Merry Christmas!

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