Roaming About

A Life Less Ordinary

Category: Writing (page 10 of 11)

IWSG Writing Update – February 2017

February 1, 2017 / / 41 Comments

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) encourages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement or anything really about their writing.  Since August 2016, the IWSG offers a particular question as a writing prompt for their members. Answering it is optional. This month that question is “How has being a writer changed your experience as a reader?”

January has been a month with little progress on the book writing front for me. Mark and I wrapped up a three-month pet sit in the Sacramento suburbs mid-month, followed by a week-long house sit in Fairfax, CA. Then, we drove all the way south, past LA, for a two and a half week puppy sit in Costa Mesa. All that moving around and “re-settling”, plus the care for a 7-month pup always looking for trouble, the attraction of sunny weather to be outdoors and my commitment to writing a few articles, leaves little time to concentrate on writing a book. Sure, my memoir is always brewing in the back of my head, but I have not put down any more words, except for trying to understand what thread I should follow. As I mentioned last month, I could use your help. But first, I’ll answer the IWSG question, since it is somewhat related. Continue reading

IWSG Writing Update – January 2017

January 4, 2017 / / 28 Comments

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) encourages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement or anything really about their writing.  Since August 2016, the IWSG offers a particular question as a writing prompt for their members. Answering it is optional. This month that question is “What writing rule do you wish you never heard?”

December has been an interesting month, what with the “holidays” (do writers – or their heads – ever take holidays?) and our time in Rocklin, California dwindling down. During this recent three-month house sit, Mark and I lived in the suburbs of Sacramento. Due to the “boring” surroundings and less than ideal weather, I happily sat behind my computer every day, all day. I worked a lot on my memoir and think about it constantly when away from my temporary desk. Continue reading

IWSG Writing Update – December 2016

December 7, 2016 / / 24 Comments

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) encourages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement or anything really about their writing.  Since August, the IWSG likes to see a particular question answered in each blog post of their members. This month that question is “In terms of your writing career, where do you see yourself five years from now, and what’s your plan to get there?”

Last month, I hinted at maybe trying to add 50,000 words to my memoir in November. That would mean write, write, write, and don’t look back, don’t edit, don’t improve, don’t polish and don’t criticize. While this is a good way to “get it all out there”, it is not really how I have been working recently, so I chose to maintain my current goal of writing one chapter every week. Continue reading

In Memory of Darwin, Our Cute Boy

November 30, 2016 / / 27 Comments

My Wednesday post this week is a bit different. First, it is even less wordless than usual. Second, the WordPress theme does not resonate with me. “It’s Not This Time of Year Without..” is supposed to be the topic of our photo(s). The one thing without which my holiday season could never be complete is … my husband, Mark. I know this sounds cocky and very unimaginative. And, I am sure he would not appreciate being the center of my blogging attention this week, having his face (or both of ours) splattered all over this page. He already cringes when I take photos of him and, this week, I just happen to create a 2017 calendar for our parents and my oma with a different photo of us livening up every single month. 🙂

Why does the holiday period not resonate with me? Continue reading

IWSG Writing Update – November 2016

November 2, 2016 / / 20 Comments

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) encourages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement or anything really about their writing.  Since August, the IWSG would like to see a particular question answered in each blog post. This month that question is “What is your favorite aspect of being a writer?”

Exactly one year ago I started writing my memoir, Floating About – A Life Less Ordinary (working title) by following a one month “outline course”, organized by Christine Gilbert. I’d like to say I’ve come a long way since then, but truth is, I have come a very short way. I worked hard that first month, November 2015, creating an initial outline and pumping out 90,000 words getting there. I also started this blog, Roaming About, around then. All that extra time, unlimited internet and “free” electricity after living on a basic sailboat for so long, had to be put to good use! Continue reading

IWSG Monthly Writing Update – A Short One!

October 5, 2016 / / 18 Comments

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) encourages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement or anything really about their writing.  Since August, the IWSG would like to see a particular question answered in each blog post. This month that question is “How do you know your story is ready?”

This IWSG post will be one of the shortest I have ever written, for a very simple reason: I have not worked on my book at all during the month of September. Not a word written, not a page edited, not an exercise practiced. Nada. Nothing! The good thing is that I do not feel bad or guilty about it. Mark and I knew September would be a crazy month, what with moving out of the last house where we took care of Jenny, the dog, and the maple farm for five months, our five-day vacation in Acadia, spending some quality time at our home base in Newburyport seeing friends and family, running errands and going to doctor appointments, and an unexpected week-long house sit on Cape Cod. That concluded September!

Even writing a blog has not always been easy in September!

Even writing a blog has not always been easy in September!

Continue reading

IWSG Monthly Writing Update – Lots of Time, but Little Progress

September 7, 2016 / / 38 Comments

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) encourages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement or anything really about their writing.  Since August, the IWSG would like to see a particular question answered in each blog post. This month that question is “How do you find the time to write in your busy day?”

When Mark and I were cruising full-time on our sailing catamaran Irie for eight years, there was not much time (or electricity or internet availability) to write. I focused mainly on cranking out a sailing article once in a while, making notes about our travels and experiences, and creating about one blog a week on It’s Irie. One of the main reasons we left that boating lifestyle was to focus on our “careers”. The extra time, comfort and amenities a more settled life offers would certainly help with that. Continue reading

IWSG – Writing Articles

August 3, 2016 / / 21 Comments

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) encourages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement or anything really about their writing.  Last month, I gave a summary of my book project. The question IWSG would like to see answered this month is “What was your very first piece of writing as an aspiring writer and where is it now?” Since my only success as a freelance writer is getting articles published in boating magazines, I would like to share some insights about article writing.

Caribbean boating magazines

Caribbean boating magazines

Continue reading

My Most Cherished Object; My Daily Companion

July 29, 2016 / / 28 Comments

As a frugal, down-to-the-basics kind of girl, I don’t own much and I don’t value material goods like most people do. This has been a trend my whole life and allows me to be free. I love downsizing – from not much to even less – to keep things organized and manageable. I enjoy making my life as simple (and cheap) as possible. Decent health, love from (and for) my husband, enough money to put food on the table and live a relatively comfortable life, and the right dose of excitement and adventure is all I need. Of course, I have some clothes as well, even though most of them are 10+ years old. At the moment, we have a car which holds everything we need, and we each have a computer, which is required to make money (and post blogs :-)). My camera is my most important gadget, with my iPad coming in second. Oh, and I do have a Fitbit, but don’t tell anyone! When asked about my most cherished object, however, the answer is the one thing I have held onto and used every single day for over 25 years. It is my most intimate and valuable companion, the only one that knows me through and through, contains all my secrets and has been by my side from the age of 14 forward, for better or for worse, for richer, but mostly for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part. I am talking about my diary.

Diary old and new

Diary old and new

Continue reading

Recap of My Book Writing

July 6, 2016 / / 24 Comments

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) encourages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement or anything really about their writing. Starting this month, they have added a question as a prompt to get the juices flowing: “What’s the best thing someone has ever said about your writing?” It has been a while since my last “book update”, so today is a good day for some insights and an answer to that question.

The Background

As some of you know, my biggest passion is traveling. Since graduating at 22, I have been on the road or on the water full-time for 14 out of the 18 years. I’m not sure whether to count our current lifestyle of house and pet sitting as traveling, since we are semi-settled “abroad” (for me anyway), but still explore different parts of the country while at it.

The other thing I have been doing most of my life is write. I have always enjoyed writing and have been pretty engrossed by it since I started my first diary at the age of 10. Continue reading

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