Musings – Page 3 – Cindy Young-Turner

Snowzilla and a progress update

Well, here in Maryland we have survived Snowzilla, the blizzard of 2016, with close to 32 inches in my backyard. I’m from Massachusetts and I love snow, but even this is a bit much all at once! It’s hard to say when we will be completely dug out–and more importantly, when the kids will be back in school! I hope I’ll be able to enjoy the snow once I rest up from all of the shoveling.

I’m also excited to share a bit of a writing update. In my last post I mentioned that I have finally broken the writer’s block that plagued me for much of last year. And I can proudly say that progress is continuing! I’m still in rewriting mode, which is rewriting with quite a few additions. I just finished working on a chapter that I had wanted to revise for ages and it never seemed to turn out right. This time I feel like it worked. Next up is a key chapter featuring the new character I’ve added. It feels really good to be writing again. Maybe soon I’ll share some excerpts.

Stay warm and dry out there!

Happy New Year’s Eve!

It’s almost time to say good-bye to 2015. There were good things and bad things this year. In terms of writing, it was a bit of a struggle. The year started off positive on the heels of my self-publishing debut and I had fully intended to finish Thief of Destiny and get it out there for the public. But sometimes things happen for a reason, and after months of spinning my wheels and spiraling into the despair of not writing, I think I see the light. I finally put out a call for help to my wonderful critique group and decided to sit down and write an actual outline. Well, more of a summary because yes, I’m still twitchy about outlines. My writer friends encouraged me to think outside the box and that’s what I did. And I came up with a new approach that was an idea I had a while back but didn’t think it should be in this book. Surprise! I believe it’s going to work and I’m easing back into retooling what I’ve written so I can get to the end. I’m making a promise to myself that I WILL finish the book in 2016, hopefully sooner rather than later. With any luck it will be worth the wait!

More importantly, the events of this year have taught us that we are a global community and more than ever we need to find compassion and understanding. Hug your loved ones. Call a friend you haven’t talked to in a while. Learn about someone whose culture you don’t understand. We’re all in this together.

Oh, and go see Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It was like an early Christmas present for this Star Wars fan.

Here’s to 2016. Follow your dreams!

We stand together

I will have some writing progress updates soon, but right now I need to digress and hop up on my non-author soapbox. The attacks in Paris last Friday were heartbreaking. Too many innocent people lost their lives. But we shouldn’t overlook the attacks in other parts of the world, like Lebanon and Iraq, and the staggering amount of suffering that has been caused by so many conflicts. In this day and age, we are truly “one world.” We can’t close ranks and think that this is not our problem. I’m afraid I don’t have any answers or solutions. No, we can’t let the terrorists win, but we also can’t lose sight of our common humanity and our compassion. Here in the U.S., we seem to be divided more than ever, when we need to stand together.

As the holiday season approaches, please think of the world around you and your fellow human beings. We can make a difference. We need to make a difference.

“Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind.”
–John Donne

A fan awakens… the new Star Wars trailer is here!

It was as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in joy:

Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer

This voice certainly did!

When I first heard about Episode VII, I was cautiously optimistic. Star Wars shaped my childhood. I had many of the toys–and still do, although they are well loved and sadly not in the original packaging. But I was definitely burned by the abominations that are known as Episodes I-III. So much wasted potential.

The excitement has been building for the new movie, though. I think the actors will actually have a chance to act this time. I felt more real emotion in the new trailer than I did in the climax of Episode III. I felt like the child who couldn’t wait to see Return of the Jedi to find out whether Darth Vader really was Luke’s father. And I am counting the days until December 18! Christmas may be coming early for this Star Wars fan!

Happy new year and a 2015 writer’s wish list

Happy new year! I know a lot of people who are more than happy to see the end of 2014. There were plenty of both good and bad things for me. I was really hoping to finish Thief of Destiny, but fate seemed to conspire against me and instead I ended up re-releasing and self-publising Thief of Hope. I think that will end up being a good decision. It came out in early December and that month has been the best I’ve had in terms of sales in a long time. I’ll be self-publishing book 2 and that means once I finish, the book will come out much quicker.

Here’s my annual writer’s wish list. Some of them will be repeats of last year.

1. Better time management

I’m determined to write more and waste less time on the internet. I have little enough time as it is, so no Facebook until I’ve written a page. Doable? I think so.

2. Finish book 2

All right, I think this is the third writer’s wish list and this item is still lingering. It will NOT be on the 2016 wish list. I’ve been telling people late spring. Fingers crossed I can stick with it. I have almost half of the book written, it just needs a bit of rewriting and then the big push to finish. I even have some ideas for the ending.

3. Blog more

I’m hoping to have a lot more to post about this year. Exciting things are coming. Plus I know a bunch of people with new books out that I’d like to feature. And hopefully more of those to come during the year.

4. Attend more author events

I went to Balticon last year, but that was about it in terms of events. With my book in limbo for a while, it made sense to hold off attending events and plan for 2015. I have a list of events in mind already.

5. A copy of Adobe Creative Suites

I broke down and signed up for the trial copy of Photoshop and InDesign so I could do some basic graphic design and marketing materials, but I really need to invest in a good design program.

6. Enjoy life

It’s easy to get caught up in work and family and chores and putting one foot in front of the other just to get through each day. I want to take more time to truly appreciate life, even–or especially–the little things.

That’s it for now. Wishing you much success and happiness in whatever your endeavors may be!