One of the true benefits of semi-retirement is mental time. I find that I spend far less time reading and more time writing than I could have imagined. Right now, I have four books in progress and have just completed publishing book number two at www.dwiggie.com, The Derbyshire Writers' Guild. They are such a fun, supportive community. I have appreciated their support and comments as I've been publishing this book.
If you are interested in reading Almost Persuaded, you can find it at http://www.dwiggie.com/derby/shannag2.htm. My name on the site is ShannaG.
When I was a child, I indulged in what is now called Fan Fiction, but not by writing down my stories. Instead, I would read a book, and then create a way for my friends and I to relive or adapt the book into an afternoon of play. Once I was reading regularly, many of the books I read served as a framework for such games.
The discovery of Fan Fiction has been wonderful for me. For years, I would re-read my favorite books because I enjoyed the characters. Now, with fan fiction, I can revisit the characters in different scenarios. That is even better. Some of the authors at this site are truly great. All are quite creative. I have read so many wonderful stories. A side benefit of this is that I am not spending quite as much money on books as I have in the past. Since our budget this year is limited, that is a wonderful benefit.
Creating the story out of imagination is so satisfying. Sometimes, I start with some general ideas and build from there. Other times, I start with the idea of interesting pairings, usually when I am crating a mash-up of more than one Jane Austen novel. For my non-Austen work, I spend a lot of time day dreaming the story before actually getting it written. I do that with the Austen too, but if I am following her general plot, I do not have to work all of that out at first as I do non-Austen stories.
I now wish I had told my daughter more stories of my own when she was younger. Practice would have been a good thing. However, I am getting that practice now.
Monday, February 16, 2015
Monday, February 2, 2015
New Year's Resolutions-Already Abandoned?
Now that the first month of the year is gone, have you already abandoned those overly ambitious and vague resolutions? Many of us have. Vague wishes are not truly resolutions that drive change. So, how do we make our changes come to pass? First, they must not just be vague wishes. We have to want them more than that. And we need a definite plan on how to accomplish them. And we cannot give up.
Here is a good reminder from Zig Ziglar's Facebook page.
If you really plan to make a change, it will take time. It will take regular effort, if not daily effort, and commitment. You may make progress, then slip back for a while, then continue forward again. If you take the slipping back as the end, you will fail. You must expect that there will be set backs. Simply do a reset and recommit.
If you look at a resolution as something similar to taking a class in something, you do not achieve mastery in the first day. That day, you usually have an overview of what will be studied in the course of the class. Over the next days, weeks, months, with regular effort, you begin to gain some mastery. This is true whether the subject is athletic, academic, artistic; in short, it takes time to learn.
Is your goal to lose weight? If so, you know you did not gain it all in one day, one week, or even one month. You gained gradually over time. It will required changes to lose it again. Those might be diet modifications, exercise and activity modifications, or a combination of both. You might need the support of a group like weight watchers or a weight buddy. You might want to do it on your own. Maybe you want a journal to track your activity and food or an app on your phone. If this is really your goal, research what will work for you, and then implement that change. When you find yourself backsliding, then is the time to recommit, if you really want that goal. If it is merely something nice that you dream about, that isn't a goal and will likely not be achieved.
I have spent most of my working life saving so that I can have a relatively comfortable life in retirement. Most of the time, I have maxed out the 401 k plan, and, where available, the employee stock purchase plans as well. This meant making a conscious choice to live on less than my income. When the income was higher, this was easier than when it was lower. However, I made that choice and lived on the lower income in those years. Compound savings really can add up. I have not reached the dollar goal I set for myself, but I am fairly close.
In my own life, I have vague dreams and well as true goals. I do not consider the vague dreams to be resolutions. I try to create resolutions for the tangible goals. Thus, I have made far more progress in the latter than the former. If you truly want to change, you can find a way. There are resources available. Find them. Enlist them. Make your goals a reality. You can do it.
Here is a good reminder from Zig Ziglar's Facebook page.
If you really plan to make a change, it will take time. It will take regular effort, if not daily effort, and commitment. You may make progress, then slip back for a while, then continue forward again. If you take the slipping back as the end, you will fail. You must expect that there will be set backs. Simply do a reset and recommit.
If you look at a resolution as something similar to taking a class in something, you do not achieve mastery in the first day. That day, you usually have an overview of what will be studied in the course of the class. Over the next days, weeks, months, with regular effort, you begin to gain some mastery. This is true whether the subject is athletic, academic, artistic; in short, it takes time to learn.
Is your goal to lose weight? If so, you know you did not gain it all in one day, one week, or even one month. You gained gradually over time. It will required changes to lose it again. Those might be diet modifications, exercise and activity modifications, or a combination of both. You might need the support of a group like weight watchers or a weight buddy. You might want to do it on your own. Maybe you want a journal to track your activity and food or an app on your phone. If this is really your goal, research what will work for you, and then implement that change. When you find yourself backsliding, then is the time to recommit, if you really want that goal. If it is merely something nice that you dream about, that isn't a goal and will likely not be achieved.
I have spent most of my working life saving so that I can have a relatively comfortable life in retirement. Most of the time, I have maxed out the 401 k plan, and, where available, the employee stock purchase plans as well. This meant making a conscious choice to live on less than my income. When the income was higher, this was easier than when it was lower. However, I made that choice and lived on the lower income in those years. Compound savings really can add up. I have not reached the dollar goal I set for myself, but I am fairly close.
In my own life, I have vague dreams and well as true goals. I do not consider the vague dreams to be resolutions. I try to create resolutions for the tangible goals. Thus, I have made far more progress in the latter than the former. If you truly want to change, you can find a way. There are resources available. Find them. Enlist them. Make your goals a reality. You can do it.
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