Update

For everyone wondering what I'm up to...

Yes, I am writing. But I've had to put aside the WIP I was working on. Again. Even though I love the characters and their story, and have introduced some really fun elements, there are some aspects of the story that I just don't seem to be able to write well at the moment, so I'm giving myself a rest from it. Another rest.

I'm sure that mojo will come back in its own good time, but for the moment I'm tinkering with a different story. One that I'm really writing just for fun, as an experiment and to keep the writing muscle exercised. I refer to it as 'thing' and I'm not really sure what genre it is, and I'm not sure I'll ever publish it. It certainly would never be accepted by a publisher, as it's not commercial or in a hot category. If pressed, I'd say it's sort of romance, but with a side of very light women's fiction. It's just a 'thing'. :)

At the moment, I'm enjoying 'thing' and just puttering along, writing a few hundred words a day in this new world. Which is better than not writing at all, as I did on my recent 'hiatus'.

In other news, I like to think I'm being creative in another way. For a long time, I've talked online about the Dumpster Office of Doom, my office which turned into an episode of Hoarders, more or less. Well, I finally decided to do something about it. I mean, really do something rather than pick at the edges of the horrible mess of books and papers and general crap. I've been filling black rubbish bags, and bags of books/bric a brac etc to send to charity, and bags of paper to recycle. I've also bought a swishy new shredder, which is doing sterling service with the more sensitive stuff ie stuff with addresses and drafts of copyrighted work.

And I'm really making progress! I can see huge areas of floor that haven't been visible for at least 10 years! I got rid of one of the 3 large tables that were taking up space, and I'm roaring through the heaps of paper and magazines and whatnot. I'd estimate I've maybe done 40% of the job so far, and my goal is to reclaim the office as a usable space by the end of 2016. It's very tiring work, especially for an oldie like me, who also has fibromyalgia and some arthritis. But it's like the writing. A little bit of meaningful work each day on the task will get me to my goal eventually. :)

I'm also keeping up with my Mini Habits of reading each day, and journaling each day, and I'm delighted to say that my calendar with glittery stars for each achievement has never been lacking. I've always been able to stick on my full quota of stars each day. I've also added a new 'habit' of one promotional/online presence thing per day. It doesn't matter if it's the tiniest, most unobtrusive item, maybe just one Tweet, but it's just a way to let people know I'm still around, and even if I'm not publishing much, I'm still working towards it, in my own way.

This blog post is today's promo/presence 'habit'. :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

January Roundup

January has been a reasonably productive month. Not stellar, but at least I've made some progress on a variety of fronts. THE BOSS'S SECRET is moving forward; fairly slowly, but at least it's moving. Which it wasn't at all for the last third of 2015. I'm not sure how long a story it's going to end up being. Probably between 40K to 45K words, which is a chunky sized novella.

I've also done a lot more reading in January 2016. I've read quite a few Jean Plaidy novels, but I'm taking a rest from them now. Historical novels very often feature figures from history who had very imperfect lives that do not end up happily. And while this makes for fascinating reading, it's also a bit depressing too. So sue me if I like happiness and good outcomes! That's why I like romantic stories with 'happily ever after' endings.

I've also been reading non fiction, especially the Mini Habits book, and another book from that author, How to be a Perfectionist. Both these have been enormously helpful to me in my outlook on productivity and life in general. They both promote acceptance, rather than being hard on oneself. And help one to develop a realistic and more contented way of dealing with the past and moving forward. It's all so simple, and many thanks to Stephen Guise!

I've also been thinking about redoing my web site. I decided that I'm not going to pay ridiculous annual license fees to Adobe in order to continue using Dreamweaver, so I've had to look for alternatives. Mac alternatives now that I'm a thoroughly committed Mac user. In the last week or so, I discovered Rapidweaver, and this seems to be the solution I've been looking for... and fun to use! I'm only footling about with test sites at the moment, but sometime in 2016 I hope to produce a new Portia Da Costa site. It won't be swish and glamorous like some author web sites. Not a 'cult of me' site. One of the reasons is that I don't have much in the way of author photos, and I won't be getting any new ones. I'm a fat, haggard old blob now, and due to allergies, I can't wear the makeup that might make me look marginally more presentable. That means the only pix of me going forward will be the horrible truth, in the form of goofy selfies, taken with my iPad! LOL

Things I'd like to do in coming months are finish BOSS, hopefully start something new, and maybe get some of my self published work into a print format. Maybe by bundling short things together. I've also got stuff I really, really need to get out there. It's no good to anybody just festering on various hard disks of mine.

I'm sure progress will still continue to be snail like compared to most writers, but I do feel positive and optimistic, and I hope to enjoy myself. And that's what's important to me! :)

My spotless record!

Here's my progress chart for Mini Habits so far in 2016! So far I've hit my tiny targets every day, sometimes only just, sometimes by a mile! Go me!

W = writing
R = reading
G = getting rid of an item of junk/clutter

Mini Habits

In 2016, I'm trying to motivate myself by using a system called Mini Habits. This amounts to setting ridiculously tiny goals for myself each day. They're so small that it's almost impossible not to achieve them... and once they're completed, kidding myself that I might as well just do a little bit more, while I'm about it.

The system is outlined in this book and on this web site. I read the book recently, and immediately knew it could help someone like me, who's struggling with motivation. It's one of the most useful books I've read in a long time!

As part of the Mini Habits adventure, I'm reinforcing them by awarding myself stars on a Mini Habits calendar each day, if I manage to:

1.  Write 100 words
2. Read for 15 minutes
3. Throw away one piece of clutter/junk

See, I told you they were very small and achievable! And I've got my three stars already today, and it's only 2.24pm.

ps. blogging isn't included in my Mini Habits, but I'm going to try and do that a bit more often too. :)

Edited to say.... 'it's almost impossible not to achieve them'. Mind you, there will still be days when I'm so useless I can't even meet those minuscule goals! LOL