S.L. Lewis' writer's haven as she transverses the ups and downs of the writing world. With a lot of "Let's Talk..." and a lot of "Sitting Down to Write" posts, you'll find a lot going on here every Monday.
Sunday, January 10, 2016
A New Year, A New Start
Please click on it to watch. Links provided down below.
Twitter: @SLStrailo
Facebook Page: S.L. Lewis Writing
A Peek Into a Creative Mind Tumblr
A Peek Into a Creative Mind/S.L. Lewis' Writing Youtube
Thursday, January 7, 2016
2016 is my time to Write and Live!
This is actually a post on another site but I thought it would work best here to. There are some edits to it to flesh out the information and get it out.
Ear Worm: Unknown Man "E": The Most Mysterious Mummy in the World Documentary
Okay, I think that it's time for this writer to get going on some of the things that have been sitting around and mocking me.
More than time actually.
It's 11 days into 2016 and already I've been triggered into a near panic attack 3+ times, written very little due to said panic attacks, and want to drop the whole world down a hole while I get some actual sleep.
So what do I do? I go for a walk, Slipknot's "Snuff" in my ears and the cold buffering at me so I can clear my head and think of what I really truly want in my life this year.
Time to break it down into easy to bite pieces so I can learn a new routine. Which will help my mental and physical state.
1) Talk with friend about shared world (Her series A Demon's Toy and my series A Butterfly's Life) and get some kind of headway into that full on rewrite.
2) Plot out a bit more/write more on A Butterfly's Dance.
Ear Worm: Unknown Man "E": The Most Mysterious Mummy in the World Documentary
Okay, I think that it's time for this writer to get going on some of the things that have been sitting around and mocking me.
More than time actually.
It's 11 days into 2016 and already I've been triggered into a near panic attack 3+ times, written very little due to said panic attacks, and want to drop the whole world down a hole while I get some actual sleep.
So what do I do? I go for a walk, Slipknot's "Snuff" in my ears and the cold buffering at me so I can clear my head and think of what I really truly want in my life this year.
Time to break it down into easy to bite pieces so I can learn a new routine. Which will help my mental and physical state.
January:
1) Plot out a few more chapters of Honey Drops series book 1
2) Maybe actually give it a working title?
3) Plot out a few more chapters of A Delicate Thread (Don't Look Series book 1)
4) Write out at least 2 chapters of both Honey Drops series book 1 and A Delicate Thread
5) Plot out some more chapters of the book that I started of Nano 2015. Let's call the mean little bugger Mean Bunny or When My Eyes Close.
6) Figure out Bellamy (from Mean bunny) and what his story in the book will be.
7) Write out at least 2 chapters of Mean Bunny
8) Create book bibles for Don't Look series and Honey Drops series
9) Buy more composition notebooks for other book bibles.
Feb
1) Repeat without 8 and 9
March
1) Repeat without 8 and 9
April
1) Repeat without 8 and 9
1) Plot out a few more chapters of Honey Drops series book 1
2) Maybe actually give it a working title?
3) Plot out a few more chapters of A Delicate Thread (Don't Look Series book 1)
4) Write out at least 2 chapters of both Honey Drops series book 1 and A Delicate Thread
5) Plot out some more chapters of the book that I started of Nano 2015. Let's call the mean little bugger Mean Bunny or When My Eyes Close.
6) Figure out Bellamy (from Mean bunny) and what his story in the book will be.
7) Write out at least 2 chapters of Mean Bunny
8) Create book bibles for Don't Look series and Honey Drops series
9) Buy more composition notebooks for other book bibles.
Feb
1) Repeat without 8 and 9
March
1) Repeat without 8 and 9
April
1) Repeat without 8 and 9
2) Do Camp National Novel Writing Month Round 1 (might work on When My Eyes Close)
July
July
1) Do Camp National Novel Writing Month Round 2
Sometime in the next 6 months:
1) Talk with friend about shared world (Her series A Demon's Toy and my series A Butterfly's Life) and get some kind of headway into that full on rewrite.
2) Plot out a bit more/write more on A Butterfly's Dance.
3) Plot out a world I'm currently calling Magical Girls.
Please see below at the very bottom about the stories that are mentioned here.
That's about all I'm willing to plot out for this year so far, but I'll probably add more as I go along.
For my personal life...I just have a general list. And I'm sure you've seen some of these in my post New Years Resolutions of a Creative Mind
1) Go back to therapy for the depression and see if I can't find something to help me when I have panic attacks.
2) Get rid of the toxic people in my life.
3) Ignore the idiots. They cause me stress. I have enough stress.
4) Put in SSI paperwork (I'm unable to work due to a variety of reasons)
5) Go in to the doc to find another type of pain killer that will help me control the chronic pain and won't cause more problems.
6) Get new asthma rescue inhaler since the ones that I had I have a 50/50 chance of having a reaction to. Which send me into panic attacks. Which is just a nasty cycle.
7) Get a desk.
8) Get a new chair.
9) Recreate my safe space. I need to do this for my health and sanity
10) Clean my safe space. *nudges aside notebooks*
Let's just hope that I can do this yes?
I have word goals of about 5k a week, if not more, and editing and/or rewriting once a week.
Let's see how this goes.
*rolls up sleeves* *pulls on comfy clothes* *gets to it* Charge!
For my personal life...I just have a general list. And I'm sure you've seen some of these in my post New Years Resolutions of a Creative Mind
1) Go back to therapy for the depression and see if I can't find something to help me when I have panic attacks.
2) Get rid of the toxic people in my life.
3) Ignore the idiots. They cause me stress. I have enough stress.
4) Put in SSI paperwork (I'm unable to work due to a variety of reasons)
5) Go in to the doc to find another type of pain killer that will help me control the chronic pain and won't cause more problems.
6) Get new asthma rescue inhaler since the ones that I had I have a 50/50 chance of having a reaction to. Which send me into panic attacks. Which is just a nasty cycle.
7) Get a desk.
8) Get a new chair.
9) Recreate my safe space. I need to do this for my health and sanity
10) Clean my safe space. *nudges aside notebooks*
Let's just hope that I can do this yes?
I have word goals of about 5k a week, if not more, and editing and/or rewriting once a week.
Let's see how this goes.
*rolls up sleeves* *pulls on comfy clothes* *gets to it* Charge!
Honey Drops series: This series is a kind of fantasy sci-fi with elements of romance. It's slated to sprawl over about 6 books, 3 of those books about brothers, two about family connected people, and the last one is to wrap things up. I have a 7th but that's going to be all the side bits that didn't make it into the actual books but help fill in details.
That book shall come out around the second book when I get around to putting them out.
When My Eyes Close: This one is just horror and death. I grew up on a killer killing off the stupid people kind of movies. I wanted to see if I can translate this into a book. It's going well so far.
Magical Girls: This one actually started out as a Sailor Moon Prompt fic for a friend (she love's sailor moon just as much as I do), but it kind of took on it's own life.
I'm currently thinking out the plot, how to change things around, and characters. It'll be fun, to say the least.
Don't Look: Another series that started out as something else and turned into a full on story line. I have 3 books thought of with the possibility of more. I hope to get things going on this one but it does take time. Here's hoping.
A Butterfly's Life: Dream is book 2 of the series but I'm working on book 1 right now so I can figure out where I'm going with this story. It'll be interesting, to say the least. *sighs* *headdesk* We'll have to see how it goes.
I just might take the plot and create a new world based off of it while keeping this story line as an online thing.
We'll see how it goes in the long run. Cross your fingers.
Monday, January 4, 2016
New Years Resolutions of a Creative Mind
Theme Song: Song of the North by BrunuhVille
Today's Date: January 4, 2016
As I sit here and think about the world as it is and all that is going on, I find that I have to remind myself to just...stop.
Stop and look at myself.
Stop and think about myself for once.
Stop and put myself first before others when it comes to my life.
I think that, 4 days into the New Year, that I am doing pretty darn good all things considered.
But I'll be figuring more out as I go along to. I'm still young even though I'm in my early 30's. I have time to really figure out who I am without worrying about others for once.
Because I am S.L. Lewis. And I'm an writer.
And I like that.
But I'm not really here to talk about that now am I?
No, I'm here to talk about what I'm going to do one way or the other this year.
My New Years Resolutions.
Let's go over them shall we?
2) Remove the toxicity in my life and get past it.
3) Finish at least one rough draft.
4) Write at minimum 5,000 words a week.
5) Get at least 260k words for the entire year.
6) Get in some much needed paperwork.
7) Do at least one blog journal a week about various things.
Today's Date: January 4, 2016
As I sit here and think about the world as it is and all that is going on, I find that I have to remind myself to just...stop.
Stop and look at myself.
Stop and think about myself for once.
Stop and put myself first before others when it comes to my life.
I think that, 4 days into the New Year, that I am doing pretty darn good all things considered.
But I'll be figuring more out as I go along to. I'm still young even though I'm in my early 30's. I have time to really figure out who I am without worrying about others for once.
Because I am S.L. Lewis. And I'm an writer.
And I like that.
But I'm not really here to talk about that now am I?
No, I'm here to talk about what I'm going to do one way or the other this year.
My New Years Resolutions.
Let's go over them shall we?
- Find my mental stability stability again.
- Remove the toxicity in my life and get past it.
- Finish at least one rough draft.
- Write at minimum 5,000 words a week.
- Get at least 260k words for the entire year.
- Get in some much needed paperwork.
- Do at least one blog journal a week about various things.
Okay so I have a list, but what does this all mean?
1) Find my mental stability stability again.
Unfortunately for me, 2015 was not kind to me. I've fought depression for many, many years, since back in...Gah, about 1998 actually. This year was just not happy with me so I need to head back to Therapy again.
And find a place that doesn't have people who I want to vent about following my every move. Disparaging everything that I say.
I might actually start another tumblr blog with that in mind. We'll have to see how things go in the long run.
2) Remove the toxicity in my life and get past it.
This is connected to Goal one actually. I can't get rid of some of it right away due to the fact that I need the person (as much as I hate to say it) but I can limit contact and the amount of time that I actually spend with them.
But there is other toxicity that I can remove.
And I shall.
3) Finish at least one rough draft.
I actually just found a wonderful site and I'll be talking about them more later on this year, but it's because of the wonderful Jennifer Amriss that I found this site just as I restarted my love affair with a good romance book.
So I'm trying my hand at romances again, but I need to finish off a few stories first though. I'm actually thinking of working on Book 1 of my Honey Drops series. Here's hoping that I get that going yes? *crosses fingers*
4) Write at minimum 5,000 words a week.
I do this every year. It's a thing that I like doing. I did hit the goal, mostly, for 2015, but I'm hoping to keep it going this year.
5) Get at least 260k words for the entire year.
This ties in with number 4. I got well over 260K in 2015, but I'm going to keep going for as many words as I can this year. I'm actually hoping to reach closer to 300k. Who's with me in doing this?
6) Get in some much needed paperwork.
Personal goal since I can't physically work. Which sucks but eh, it happens. Between my body not liking me and my mind screwing me over in every which way, I need to get this stuff in.
But, nice thing, my insurance has labeled my asthma as a chronic illness. Hurrah.
7) Do at least one blog journal a week about various things.
This one will be fun and MOSTLY easy since I can sit there and work things out as I go along. Set up scheduled posts and the such. Edit said posts before they come out.
Doing my thing on various series.
Which reminds me, I need to get things ready for my first series.
Either way, everyone, THANK YOU. For everything. It's nice to know that I have friends who are willing to help. Thank you all. Seriously.
Thursday, December 10, 2015
An Update on a Tired Writer
December 11, 2015 (Just after Midnight here actually)
Today's Soundtrack: Mariah Carey "Obsessed"
So what has this writer been up to so close to the start of the New Year?
I've been busy, is what's been going on. If you watch my Facebook or watch my Youtube, you know that I've been busy at work putting up Christmas decorations and the such. It's hard work putting them up since I haven't been feeling very good lately.
Seriously just run down and exhausted. So tired at the moment. All I want to do is curl up and ignore the world as it is. Just so damn tired.
But I have to push through this. I'm actually able to just stop and relax finally. I still have things to do but not as much as I did.
Okay, so let me break down the last 10 days for you guys.
Dec 1: I went with my friend to Wal-Mart. She does her banking there since it's local and it's right there in the store, so we pulled the needed money and broke up what we had to. She had people to pay back, bills to pay and stuff to buy. We spent the next hour picking up things that both her and I needed. I got the last of my mother's presents and bought my friend some things. Which was fun.
Dec 2: Went food shopping with my other friend. Her money comes in on the first, food stamps the 2nd. We hit Sam's Club first and seeing as it's snow bird season (and if you don't know what that is, you don't live in no-snow country), so it was busy and packed. Tweaked me enough to send me into a slight panic attack.
Dec 3: Decorating.
Dec 4: First day of Physical therapy for my shoulder. It wasn't all that fun okay? I was sore.
Dec 5: More decorating.
Dec 6: Food shopping for my household. Funs.
Dec 7: I would have had PT but they didn't have any openings so I went with a friend across the Cali border to do some shopping. Giant hams, nearly three hours on the road, and no tablet to read things on. I was exhausted.
Dec 8: And yet more decorating, cleaning and trying to just SIT for ten seconds. Didn't happen and I took pain killers.
Dec 9: Yep, that's right. PT. They added two more exercises onto what I was already doing. And I was still drugged from the night before. I came home and proceeded to have the worst panic attack that I've ever had in the last two years. I called my friend and someone who has become a touchstone long ago.
She helped me calm down. Along with the cup of Sleepy Time Vanilla. I was sore, shakey and on uneven ground after it. But I got past it.
I also got a hug from a wonderful friend who also shared her chocolate with me. The chocolate was gone in the hour after she left but the hug helped me focus.
Dec 10: FINALLY I got to just stop. I spent most of the day writing actually and plotting.
So what's on today's schedule?
Well, I'm going to PT today, later in the afternoon. But beyond that I'm pretty much just going to relax and enjoy myself. And talk with friends on Forward Motion chat because they give me such lovely ideas.
Now, what am I working on writing wise?
Well, outside of When My Eyes Close (Nano 2015), I'm working on Book 1 of The Honey Drops Series, which I'm tentatively calling Just a Little Taste. I have about 6 books planned out for this series, plus a 7th book to hold any side stories that don't fit into the books themselves. So far, I have one story that's set around book 3 or so.
When My Eyes Close is actually book 1 in a duology. Bellamy, one of my main characters, decided he wanted his own book so I'm going to follow that line and do so. Just need to plan that out.
It'll be fun. I hope.
I pray.
I've also been fuddling around with Follow Me Down, which is a fantasy something that I'm not sure as to what I want to do with it. But it'll be fun. I hope.
So that's what I've been up to. I'm going to go game some more and then crash out.
Merry Christmas.
Happy Yule.
Happy Holidays.
Whatever.
May the world shine bright this holiday season for you.
Today's Soundtrack: Mariah Carey "Obsessed"
So what has this writer been up to so close to the start of the New Year?
I've been busy, is what's been going on. If you watch my Facebook or watch my Youtube, you know that I've been busy at work putting up Christmas decorations and the such. It's hard work putting them up since I haven't been feeling very good lately.
Seriously just run down and exhausted. So tired at the moment. All I want to do is curl up and ignore the world as it is. Just so damn tired.
But I have to push through this. I'm actually able to just stop and relax finally. I still have things to do but not as much as I did.
Okay, so let me break down the last 10 days for you guys.
Dec 1: I went with my friend to Wal-Mart. She does her banking there since it's local and it's right there in the store, so we pulled the needed money and broke up what we had to. She had people to pay back, bills to pay and stuff to buy. We spent the next hour picking up things that both her and I needed. I got the last of my mother's presents and bought my friend some things. Which was fun.
Dec 2: Went food shopping with my other friend. Her money comes in on the first, food stamps the 2nd. We hit Sam's Club first and seeing as it's snow bird season (and if you don't know what that is, you don't live in no-snow country), so it was busy and packed. Tweaked me enough to send me into a slight panic attack.
Dec 3: Decorating.
Dec 4: First day of Physical therapy for my shoulder. It wasn't all that fun okay? I was sore.
Dec 5: More decorating.
Dec 6: Food shopping for my household. Funs.
Dec 7: I would have had PT but they didn't have any openings so I went with a friend across the Cali border to do some shopping. Giant hams, nearly three hours on the road, and no tablet to read things on. I was exhausted.
Dec 8: And yet more decorating, cleaning and trying to just SIT for ten seconds. Didn't happen and I took pain killers.
Dec 9: Yep, that's right. PT. They added two more exercises onto what I was already doing. And I was still drugged from the night before. I came home and proceeded to have the worst panic attack that I've ever had in the last two years. I called my friend and someone who has become a touchstone long ago.
She helped me calm down. Along with the cup of Sleepy Time Vanilla. I was sore, shakey and on uneven ground after it. But I got past it.
I also got a hug from a wonderful friend who also shared her chocolate with me. The chocolate was gone in the hour after she left but the hug helped me focus.
Dec 10: FINALLY I got to just stop. I spent most of the day writing actually and plotting.
So what's on today's schedule?
Well, I'm going to PT today, later in the afternoon. But beyond that I'm pretty much just going to relax and enjoy myself. And talk with friends on Forward Motion chat because they give me such lovely ideas.
Now, what am I working on writing wise?
Well, outside of When My Eyes Close (Nano 2015), I'm working on Book 1 of The Honey Drops Series, which I'm tentatively calling Just a Little Taste. I have about 6 books planned out for this series, plus a 7th book to hold any side stories that don't fit into the books themselves. So far, I have one story that's set around book 3 or so.
When My Eyes Close is actually book 1 in a duology. Bellamy, one of my main characters, decided he wanted his own book so I'm going to follow that line and do so. Just need to plan that out.
It'll be fun. I hope.
I pray.
I've also been fuddling around with Follow Me Down, which is a fantasy something that I'm not sure as to what I want to do with it. But it'll be fun. I hope.
So that's what I've been up to. I'm going to go game some more and then crash out.
Merry Christmas.
Happy Yule.
Happy Holidays.
Whatever.
May the world shine bright this holiday season for you.
Sunday, November 8, 2015
Nano Day 7 - November 7, 2015
Day 7
November 7, 2015
Today's theme song: Divergence by MEJIBRAY
Got this done finally. Just enjoy. I'm to tired to deal with a long blog post. *dies*
Nano Day 6 - November 6, 2015
Nano Day 8 to 10 - November 8, 2015 to November 10, 2015
November 7, 2015
Today's theme song: Divergence by MEJIBRAY
Got this done finally. Just enjoy. I'm to tired to deal with a long blog post. *dies*
Nano Day 6 - November 6, 2015
Nano Day 8 to 10 - November 8, 2015 to November 10, 2015
Friday, November 6, 2015
Nano Day 6 - November 6, 2015
November 6, 2015
Today's theme: "The Bund" by The Shanghai Restoration Project
Hello all! I am here to share what I have been up to today. Which was quite a lot but some of it is extremely personal so I'm not going to get into that today.
What I am going to get into is where my writing stands as of now. Quick widget:
This is pretty much telling me that in 6 days I have made 21 percent of my 50K word count goal. And that's really rather good for me. :D I'm proud of myself. :D
Especially since Wednesday was just such a flop. That's where getting in some sexual bits come in handy since I tend to write them rather long.
I went shopping and got home around 3:30. Put things away and sat down, staring at my computer for a good hour and a half after I got home. Again, part of those personal bits, but still.
I decided to work on a fanfiction since my mind is rather on the mean side. I now have plans on stringing a guy up by his bits and then having one of my characters preserving them. Yes, it's not a good day to day, thus the warning at the top.
But I did want to share that I am getting words done (hurrah!) and I'm getting things done. So hopefully I will have that lovely little video done and up for you guys. Since I have to rerecord it. But that'll happen tomorrow.
For now, I'm just going to tell you guys that I am getting my words down. And for all those writers out there, that I hope your words are coming to you to. Hugs all.
NaNo Day 5 - November 5, 2015
Nano Day 7 - November 7, 2015
Thursday, November 5, 2015
NaNo Day 5 - November 5, 2015
Day: 5
November 5, 2015
Today's Theme Song: Wings of a Butterfly by HIM
Today was just not a good start for me, again. I got up at a semi-decent hour, around 12:30PM this afternoon but I was still out of it. I hate healing from over doing it. On top of that, today was just not a happy day all around with my jaw.
I still have some jaw issues going on but I'm doing better which is nice.
Tomorrow though shall not be fun. I'm going to be shopping tomorrow when I'm not writing. Whenever my aunt gets over here really which will probably be around noon as usual. Fun times.
But today, I got the first part of a story for a friend done! Yay! I started it yesterday but yesterday was just not happening. No matter how much I wanted it to happen. But I did get in some good words which makes me insanely happy with myself.
It is currently 8:45 PM here and I'm about to turn back to writing chapter 4 of my NaNo WIP, hoping to either finish before I go to bed or before my aunt gets here. Which ever happens.
I'm still doing much better then anticipated. And tomorrow, sometime, I'm going to be doing a "Get to Know Me" video that I will share once I have it done and up.
For now, today's story bits come from Chapter 3!
Perched in bed, computer opened before him on his laptop stand, Markus nibbled at his bottom lip as he thought about what he was going to post while his other computer ran a facial search for him. Alexander had drawn out a picture of the sweet boy that Sara had been reborn as earlier while Markus has napped off their long night. Currently his lover was working on another picture, this one of who they thought might be Adrian, five other pictures in the rough sketch phase spread over his work desk as he worked in the study.
Markus on the other hand was writing on a blog that many thought was an ARG blog with the occasional vlog that was done between him and Alexander based on their own urban legend. It amused him to the extreme but it also allowed him to get out the words that he kept deep within his very soul.
Placing his hands on the keyboards, he started to write, nibbling at his bottom lip in thought.
Ahh, but what could our dear Markus be thinking about? We'll you'll just have to wait for the story to finish now won't you?
I can tell you this, this chapter was a pain to write. So is chapter 4 to be truthful. But I shall persevere!
And that's all you can do. Power through those difficult chapters. Read some stories. Watch a movie. Listen to music. Talk with friends. Stab a stuffed animal when you get frustrated. Keep the stabbing to stuffed, non-alive animals or things please. No need to take it out on the living creatures.
But keep going. Don't stop. Don't let anything stop you. You are the writing. You have the control. So keep it and keep writing.
Widgets
Nano Day 4 - November 4, 2015
Nano Day 6 - November 6, 2015
November 5, 2015
Today's Theme Song: Wings of a Butterfly by HIM
Today was just not a good start for me, again. I got up at a semi-decent hour, around 12:30PM this afternoon but I was still out of it. I hate healing from over doing it. On top of that, today was just not a happy day all around with my jaw.
I still have some jaw issues going on but I'm doing better which is nice.
Tomorrow though shall not be fun. I'm going to be shopping tomorrow when I'm not writing. Whenever my aunt gets over here really which will probably be around noon as usual. Fun times.
But today, I got the first part of a story for a friend done! Yay! I started it yesterday but yesterday was just not happening. No matter how much I wanted it to happen. But I did get in some good words which makes me insanely happy with myself.
It is currently 8:45 PM here and I'm about to turn back to writing chapter 4 of my NaNo WIP, hoping to either finish before I go to bed or before my aunt gets here. Which ever happens.
I'm still doing much better then anticipated. And tomorrow, sometime, I'm going to be doing a "Get to Know Me" video that I will share once I have it done and up.
For now, today's story bits come from Chapter 3!
Perched in bed, computer opened before him on his laptop stand, Markus nibbled at his bottom lip as he thought about what he was going to post while his other computer ran a facial search for him. Alexander had drawn out a picture of the sweet boy that Sara had been reborn as earlier while Markus has napped off their long night. Currently his lover was working on another picture, this one of who they thought might be Adrian, five other pictures in the rough sketch phase spread over his work desk as he worked in the study.
Markus on the other hand was writing on a blog that many thought was an ARG blog with the occasional vlog that was done between him and Alexander based on their own urban legend. It amused him to the extreme but it also allowed him to get out the words that he kept deep within his very soul.
Placing his hands on the keyboards, he started to write, nibbling at his bottom lip in thought.
Ahh, but what could our dear Markus be thinking about? We'll you'll just have to wait for the story to finish now won't you?
I can tell you this, this chapter was a pain to write. So is chapter 4 to be truthful. But I shall persevere!
And that's all you can do. Power through those difficult chapters. Read some stories. Watch a movie. Listen to music. Talk with friends. Stab a stuffed animal when you get frustrated. Keep the stabbing to stuffed, non-alive animals or things please. No need to take it out on the living creatures.
But keep going. Don't stop. Don't let anything stop you. You are the writing. You have the control. So keep it and keep writing.
Widgets
Nano Day 4 - November 4, 2015
Nano Day 6 - November 6, 2015
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