Roaming About

A Life Less Ordinary

Tag: lifestyle (page 1 of 2)

What’s on the Horizon? – Roaming About Blog & Lifestyle Changes

This post is not about resolutions, goals, plans, or gratitude. It’s not a bucket list (a word that is wrongly and over used in my opinion). It’s about what I have in mind regarding this blog, my online presence, and our upcoming adventures.

But first, I would like to wish everyone a healthy, prosperous, recovering, and adventurous new year. I truly hope that we will turn a leaf in 2022, on many fronts. Have a rewarding and happy one!

Roaming About blog

Like my previous website, It’s Irie, which I maintained from 2007 until 2015 to document our sailing adventures and which is still active, this blog (started in 2015) was initially meant to keep friends and family up to date about our whereabouts and whatabouts. But it turned into so much more than that! Thanks to you, dear reader.

It’s Irie blog

My blog’s main theme is travel related, so I want to get back to those roots. I hope to write more compelling posts – entertaining and informative – with a smaller selection of photos. This will be a work in progress. As always, I’ll update our current location in the sidebar.

While my writing journey has been a big part since I started this blog, it should not take up 25% of the content anymore. I wrote a book, edited it, published it, and promoted it. Not everyone is interested in all those details or experiences. I will still post updates, but not monthly anymore; maybe every other month or quarterly. January is the first time I skipped this tradition since the mid-2016.

The expense reports are fun to compose and seem to be well received. They also give me an opportunity to display places, occurrences, and photos that didn’t appear elsewhere, so I’ll keep them.

Income from this blog

Ever since I became a nomad in 2003, I’ve been very good at working for free or for a pittance. Yes, earning money should be fun too, but there has to be a balance. I’ve never placed ads or pop-ups on this blog (and never will as they annoy me as a reader) and only recently added a couple of affiliate Amazon links for my book, which offers pennies when used.

Most of you have purchased Plunge already, left a review, and/or spread the word. My tremendous gratitude for all this support! I do hope new and future readers of Roaming About will (eventually) buy and read my book as well, so I’m keeping the little “prompts” on the sidebar of the website and bottom of certain post. As mentioned in my writing update blogs, I earn US$3.50 from every book I sell online.

Our hosting and domain fees total about $400 every three years. This month, it’s pay-up time again. We have always fronted this money, but because our living costs keep increasing, I’ve added a little “tip jar” on the sidebar in the form of a donation button. Followers have been encouraging us to put some kind of “support system” in place. Of course, unless on a laptop or with devices in the desktop setting, nobody will probably see the button. Can you find it? We have no need for contributions to a pizza, coffee, or beer fund; we’d just like to cover the cost for keeping this blog alive and maintained. We are also considering writing product reviews (like this solar panel one), being sponsored by companies, or becoming brand ambassadors as we embark on our next epic trip.

My blogging interactions

This blogging hobby, and especially reading (and engaging on) other blogs, is very time consuming. I think it’s safe to say that I follow about 50 bloggers and have been adamant over the years to read most of their posts and leave a comment. Since I’m curious about the host’s reply, I mark the checkbox to receive all comments, resulting in a flood of emails in my inbox. I’ve become pretty effective at deleting the masses and singling out the reply I was waiting for. Still, blogging is taking precious time away from real-life adventures, reading books (my current average is six a year!), writing, and trying to earn money. If I was retired and/or living in a stable home with not much going on, it would be different.

Rest assured, dear blog readers, my Roaming About website remains a priority. I still plan on posting about once a week and I always, always reply to comments (eventually) and react to legitimate emails sent my way.

Rest assured, dear blogging friends, I will keep following along and reading the articles that interest me. When I give your post a “like,” it means that I read it, and – well – liked it! My internet availability might prevent me from interacting much, but know you are still a part of my life.

My social media presence

And, what to do about social media, that other time-sucker? I’m taking a step back from Instagram (after three years of having an account, I gained a “whopping” 338 followers), hope to engage more with Twitter (how long have I been saying that?), and will keep using Facebook as my main “channel.” I also wonder if we shouldn’t try YouTube one day, but that is opening a can of very different, technical, timely, non-stop, and even more time-consuming worms!

Our lifestyle

If you know us and/or have read Plunge, you will be accustomed to our attitude of not planning much, going with the flow, and being a tad impulsive. As we get older, however, it feels like we need to be better prepared and organized. Gone are the days that we bought a truck camper – or a sailboat – and set out on an international adventure within months. How long have I wanted to take a small camper to South America? Plunge readers might remember…

Ready for new adventures

So, our big incentive is to get this open-ended adventure started in 2022. Of course, a lot depends on the pandemic situation, our choice/change of mobile living quarters, and preparing ourselves, our vehicle, our camper, and our dog for extensive and indefinite travels again. Stay tuned!

Plunge – One Woman’s Pursuit of a Life Less Ordinary

Available on Amazon and elsewhere

eBook: US$ 5.99

Paperback: US$ 13.99

Gratitude and Reflections of a Stranded Nomad

For the last seventeen years, I haven’t owned or rented a house or an apartment. While this doesn’t mean I was homeless, it does boil down to living alternatively, in a moving home on hulls or wheels or one that belongs to someone else. House and pet sitting gave Mark and me a welcome break from life on the road. And, when we were sailing (from 2007 to 2015), a multiple-week visit to family offered the same reprieve. I ALWAYS soaked up and enjoyed the luxuries found in a house, which are taken for granted by so many.

For example, we didn’t have to catch, collect, or grow some of our own food.

(Unlike my usual photos, these ones are flashes from the past, where modern convenience was lacking and “back to the basics” was favored. Click on or hover over them to read the captions.)

These “luxuries” were so profound to me that I touched on them in my upcoming travel memoir. Twice. But, once seemed enough, so I deleted the second mention. This is what I wrote in chapter eight, Hurricane Force, which is set in the Dominican Republic:

Continue reading

How and Why Do I Travel?

Coralie of the inspiring travel blog Grey Globetrotters interviewed me for her insightful “travel chat” series.

Travel interview with Liesbet Collaert, full-time traveller and blogger

Travel Chat With Liesbet from Roaming About

In today’s travel chat with Liesbet from Roaming About, mature full-time nomad Liesbet Collaert shares how she has been travelling for a lifetime and blogging about her travels for thirteen years.

Her travel stories are rich, detailed and always leave me wanting to read more, so I was excited to interview her and get to know more about the woman behind the blog!

Hi, I’m Liesbet, I’ve been a full-time nomad since 2003!

I’ve been blogging about my travels for thirteen years – eight years on my sailing blog It’s Irie – Cruising the World, the Way It Is and the last five years on Roaming About – A Life Less Ordinary

As a nomad, originally from Belgium, I document our life and travels on the road (currently in a 19ft camper van in the US), my writing journey, and random thoughts and photos to inspire readers.

Q1. When did you start travelling?

As a child and teenager growing up in Belgium, I joined family vacations to France, Spain, Italy, and Norway and a school trip to Morocco.

Q2. Where did you go on your first trip, and why?

My first two trips without adults happened in the same year – the summer of 1993 – at age seventeen. One was by ferry and bus for a weekend in London, UK, with a friend. The other was a multiple-week hitchhiking adventure, with a different friend, to and in Italy.

Why? Adventure, freedom, and independence lured. 

Liesbet at The Wave, Vermilion Cliffs, Utah, USA

Q3. How would you describe your travel style?

Low-budget, impulsive, 100% independent, flexible, adventurous. I’m curious about cultures, languages, and sights – architectural as well as natural. In general, light on luggage, but that doesn’t quite fit the bill when travelling with your own house (campers, sailboats, cars), which I have been doing now for seventeen years.

Q4. What do you love most about travelling? And what drives you crazy?

Being in nature with its peace and beauty, especially interacting with or observing wildlife, and being immersed in different cultures while meeting fascinating people are my favourites. 

While I’m generally a flexible person, if nothing works out, consistently, and Murphy’s Law keeps following me, that drives me crazy! Also, not being able to get comfortable (or sleep) for days or feeling disrespected or taken advantage of diminishes my spirits.

Q5. How do you most like to travel? (mode of transport)

This really depends. While I like to say a small RV because that’s our current mode of travel and transportation, there are times I preferred our catamaran, and we both look forward to “no responsibility” travel in the future, as “backpackers” with just carry-on luggage.

Q6. Are you a planner or a last-minute traveller?

Last-minute traveller. We are quite impulsive and flexible and hate for anticipation to turn into disappointment. It’s better to have no or few expectations – pleasant surprises will await!

Liesbet & Maya – Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP, Colorado, USA

Q7. Are you a full-time or part-time traveller?

Full-time since 2003. Before that, two stints of a year at a time, and part-time.

Q8. Do you travel differently today to how you did in your 20s and 30s? What’s changed, and why?

Yes and no.

  • As a 20-something, I mostly backpacked on an even tighter budget than now and I explored the US and Canada in a small RV.
  • In my 30s, it was a slightly bigger truck camper and two smallish sailboats.
  • Now, in my 40s, it’s a 19ft campervan. It’s shorter than our last RV, but, in a way, more liveable and “roomy”.

With age comes the desire for comfort (I won’t call it luxury). The solution for me – and my past and present partner – was to travel with our own home, on the oceans and overland. We always knew we’d have a place to sleep at night (our own bed) and food to cook and eat (in our own kitchen).

And, we figured out a way to always carry enough water for showers and create our own electricity.

Q9. Has Coronavirus made you think differently about your future travels?

That’s a resounding yes, as travel is our life. The biggest impact for me is not being able to see my friends and family in my home country. It had already been two years since my last visit to Belgium and this year, that trip won’t happen either.

Here in the US, it affected us back in March and it will do so in the future. We will still be able to roam about, but facilities might be hard to come by, national parks entries might be restricted, and certain attractions will remain closed.

We usually boondock (camp for free) in nature and away from other people. But we still need access to dump stations to empty our tanks and fill with fresh water. If those facilities close (again), we are in trouble.

Q10. Tell us about the most memorable place you’ve visited so far.

There are many memorable places; their influence depends on personal interests.

In the last decade:

  • Wildlife – Galapagos Islands and French Polynesia;
  • Culture – Guatemala, San Blas Islands in Panama and French Polynesia
  • Happy Hours & Socializing – Eastern Caribbean; Beaches – Barbuda and the Tuamotu Archipelago
  • Snorkelling – Bonaire, the Gambier Islands, and the Society Archipelago.

Sailing on Irie in the Caribbean

Q11. Is there anywhere you wouldn’t go, or a type of travel/experience you wouldn’t be comfortable with?

I’m open to pretty much any experience as long as it doesn’t affect the environment or local people in a negative way. Hey, I went sailing for eight years while being prone to seasickness.

Q12. If you could live in one other country, where would you choose, and why?

Very difficult question and one my husband and I have been debating for fifteen years. If there was a perfect country, everyone would live there, right?

We contemplated living in Belize, thirteen years ago, but changed our mind. At the moment, while being mobile, we kind of live in the United States, but we are ready to take our travels and lives abroad again. More tropical locales await.

We do think becoming expats in a place like Mexico, Grenada or Bali might be in our (distant) future.

Q13. What’s the worst travel mistake/regret you’ll admit to?

Being too frugal when it comes to splurging on a meal or visiting a site. Yep, I’ve skipped many an attraction, encounter, experience, and activity for this reason.

Q14. What do you do first when you arrive somewhere new?

Check whether there is WiFi. I sure hope this will change in the near future. Maybe whenever we retire… In our camper, we actually check if we are level first (or make that happen as best as possible) and on the boat, it was making sure the anchor was set. Safety and comfort are still more important than internet availability.

Q15. How do you stay healthy when travelling?

We walk most anywhere, go on hikes in nature, and eat a plant-based diet. Most importantly, we now have a dog that needs exercise, so taking her for a few walks a day is part of our daily routine.

Q16. What wouldn’t you leave home without in your cabin bag?

My diary (now on my tablet), my camera, my laptop.

Q17. Which movie(s) or book(s) have inspired your travels?

None. As a (young) adult, I travelled before I read books or watched movies. If I have to answer something, I guess it would be guidebooks and documentaries.

Q18. What are the best and the worst things you’ve eaten on your travels?

Eating fish tacos in Mexico

I like to try new foods and love rice and noodle dishes with loads of vegetables and non-bony seafood. I’ve also come to like spicy food as I started traveling. Mexican fish tacos along the street are cheap and to die for and you can order me anything in a restaurant in Thailand…

The worst? Probably Chinese street food (very different than what you eat in Westernized Chinese restaurants, as I’ve never seen fish eyes and chicken feet on the menu there) and fried insects.

Q19. When choosing somewhere to visit, what’s most important to you?

That it’s affordable, attractive, and a new experience, and that I can stay a while.

Q20. Tell us about three midlife bloggers you follow, and why their blogs inspire you

While I read (too) many, I’ll stick to three travel bloggers I follow for different reasons:

  1. Lisa Dorenfest from One Ocean at a Time – not only is she a positive, supportive, inspiring, kind, and strong real-life friend, adventurer, and sailor, she is also an amazing storyteller and photographer.
  2. Laura and Kevin of Chapter 3 Travels – I only recently discovered this blog through a mutual nomadic blogging friend, Peta from Green Global Trek, and like following along because they also travel full-time in a camper, love dogs and have one aboard, take amazing photos, and produce engaging (sarcastic and truthful) travel accounts.
  3. Duwan and Greg of Make Like An Ape Man – This adventurous nomadic couple has a lot in common with us. They owned a sailboat, did house and petting gigs, live frugally, and they currently travel in a camper van. We hung out with them in person a couple of times and hope to meet up again soon. I enjoy following their blog as it contains great shots and practical information that might come in handy.

Q21. What’s #1 on your travel bucket list and why?

I don’t believe in bucket lists. I think it’s an over-used word that has lost its original purpose and meaning. That being said, I want to travel to so many places still, with South Africa, Patagonia, and Antarctica high on “the list”.

Q22. Where are you planning to visit next?

We are driving back to the visually stunning American Southwest and hopefully hop over the border into Mexico again this fall and winter. Our short-term goal is to find a way (meaning a suitable camper) to explore the South American continent.

A Little More Travel Chat with Liesbet from Roaming About

Liesbet, Mark, Kali, and Darwin – Samara, Costa Rica

Liesbet’s Top 3 Travel Tips:

Top Packing Tip

Only pack what you need on a daily basis, nothing you rarely use. Comfortable clothes and shoes. Anything to collect memories and retain them.

How to Survive Long-haul Flying

With plenty of water and a book or tablet.

How to Stay Safe When Travelling

  • Be aware.
  • Remain vigilant, kind, and open-minded.
  • Learn a few words in the local language.
  • Trust your gut.

Liesbet & Mark, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Final Quick Words for this Travel Chat with Liesbet from Roaming About

  • Self-guided travel or join a tour? Self-guided travel
  • Window seat or aisle? Window seat
  • Favourite thing to wear for travelling? Comfortable shoes. Shorts with deep pockets 
  • Favourite Country? Australia
  • Checked bags or carry on only? Carry-on only
  • Book or Kindle? Tablet which has Kindle 
  • Best travel resource? Other travellers

I hope you’ve enjoyed this travel chat with Liesbet from Roaming About! Don’t forget to check out her travel stories on Roaming About and do follow her on social media Facebook and Twitter.

Inside a Nomad’s Monkey Mind – What’s Next?

Today, I invite you into my mind. If you accept, you might regret it. So much is going on in there, you might get overwhelmed, or mad, or jealous. This chaotic brain activity even has a name: Monkey Mind. Although, its description appears a bit harsh to define my condition. Thank you for supplying me with the correct term, Peta, when I mentioned this busy-bee thought syndrome in my last writing update. Luckily, those mulled-over and constantly-sprouting concepts aren’t all writing-related. That being said, the idea for this post formed while I was in the shower, head-writing it. 😊

Pensive position

Some background information to help understand our conundrums in regards to… our future:

  • Mark and I met the end of 2004 and have been nomads ever since (me 1.5 years prior to that).
  • With two big dogs, we attempted a sailing adventure, which failed after nine months of prep.
  • The four of us traveled throughout Mexico and Central America in an RV for one year instead.
  • This was followed by three months in-limbo at a friend’s place in Texas, contemplating a move to Belize, a country that pleased and attracted us.
  • But, Mark’s dream to go sailing persisted: we lived in a tent and Toyota Tacoma with our two dogs for two months, in search of the perfect catamaran. We found Irie in Annapolis, Maryland.
  • An eight-year sailing journey brought us from the US to the Caribbean to the South Pacific.
  • After selling Irie in Tahiti, we didn’t want to settle but needed a break from our travels. The solution: house and pet sitting; frequent changes of scenery and the conveniences of a house.
  • Until we got itchy feet again and bought our current campervan, Zesty. Overland adventures continued, in combination with welcome breaks, house sitting.
  • We adopted Maya in June 2019 and house sitting was not an option anymore. We preferred our life on the road by then, so it all made sense to travel full-time again.
  • Then, Covid happened and we got stuck in a room above the garage in a city for many months.
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Welcome Liesbet Collaert #wouldyourather by Jill Weatherholt

On Friday, the lovely, kind, generous, and supportive blogger and romance author Jill Weatherholt invited me over on her site to participate in her fun and insightful #wouldyourather series. Check out our interview with her five unique yet tough questions and my less than ordinary answers!

Welcome Liesbet Collaert #wouldyourather

Today I’m excited to welcome friend, writer, blogger, photographer and world traveler, Liesbet Collaert. Many of you already enjoy reading about Liesbet’s nomadic lifestyle on her blog. If not, I encourage you to do so. Each visit is like taking a trip to a magical destination. She and her husband Mark are living a lifestyle that most could only dream of experiencing. Thanks so much for playing along, Liesbet!

Thank you, Jill, for featuring me on your lovely blog this week and for letting me play along in your entertaining Would You Rather series. I had a lot of fun participating!

Would you rather be able to freeze time or travel in time?

Travel in time. That way, I can keep going back to the moments I’d like to freeze and experience them over and over again. 😊 The main reason I’d like to travel in time (sometimes in the future to have a quick glance at the outcome of a decision in case it’s disastrous and I’d have to go back and change it, but most often to the past) is to investigate something that has always intrigued me. Choices.

I’m a firm believer that life is about choices and not about luck or following social norms. Yet, I wish I had the ability to experience different paths in this precious lifetime. My future, in general, can be left alone; each new day is exciting and promising. But when it comes to my past, I often wonder what would have happened if I picked the other direction at a split in the road. To be able to experience alternate paths would be most novel and satisfying to the curious mind!

Would you rather be the funniest person in the room or the most intelligent?

Continue reading the post here.

Comments are closed on this page, but I’d love to read your thoughts – and your answers if you feel inclined – on Jill’s blog. Happy reading!

IWSG Writing Update November 2017 – Just Because I Have To

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. A different question is posed each month, as a writing prompt for IWSG members. Answering it is optional. For November, the question is “Win or not, do you usually finish your NaNo project? Have any of them gone on to be published?”

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the accomplished co-hosts are Tonja Drecker, Diane Burton, MJ Fifield, and Rebecca Douglass. Feel free to swing by their sites and see what they are up to.

The answer to the question

The only NaNo I have ever heard of is the NaNoWriMo, which means National Novel Writing Month and takes place in November. I have never joined any NaNo challenge or competition and don’t know much about it. Checking out other writers’ blogs will provide you with more information. I do know that if I ever commit to such a project – if writing non-fiction is allowed – I would finish it. I hate to give up on goals and commitments.

My own book progress

Which brings me to my ongoing memoir project, which I have not given up on yet. That is the good news. The bad news – once again – is that progress has been minimal last month. After finishing a massive project for our business The Wirie, I had a couple of days left during our Colorado house sit to pick up the manuscript again. And, that was that. We had a thirteen day gap between being in the mountains and arriving at the coast in California for the next house sit. That time was happily spent exploring some National Parks in Utah and visiting with friends. Updates to follow soon.

Continue reading

IWSG Writing Update October 2017 – One Book Review; No Book Progress

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. A different question is posed each month, as a writing prompt for IWSG members. Answering it is optional. For October, the question is “Have you ever slipped any of your personal information into your characters, either by accident or on purpose?”

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the accomplished co-hosts are Olga Godim, Chemist Ken, Jennifer Hawes, and Tamara Narayan. Feel free to swing by their sites and see what they are up to.

As a non-fiction writer, my answer to this month’s IWSG question is easy: all the time, and on purpose. 🙂 Unfortunately, none of this has happened recently, since writing my memoir has temporarily come to a halt. Let alone writing articles. In September, just like in August, my help was needed with our business. Because of this, I have reached the “danger point” of two months of inactivity, after which it is easy to think “Why bother anymore? I have enough other projects going on.” Continue reading

Creating a Lifestyle Catered to You – Guest Post on Retirement Reflections

It was an honor to be featured on my blogging friend Donna’s website “Retirement Reflections” this weekend, as a guest in her Sunday Guest Post Series. She is an amazing woman, who just walked a big chunk of the Camino Trail in Spain with her husband and has many interesting, insightful and inspirational ideas incorporated in her blog posts. I love her adventurous, positive and caring personality and I encourage you to browse her website, if you haven’t already. Here is the beginning of the post about Mark and my past and present – how we got to our current lifestyle of house and pet sitting…

Thank you, Donna, for inviting me over to participate in your Sunday Series. It is a pleasure, and an honor, to be called one of your favorites. My ego is bursting!

A retirement lifestyle?

Lifestyle
At 42-years-old, I am not retired, although many people might think differently based on the lifestyle I have been living since 2003. It’s either that, or they think I am on a perpetual vacation, or that I am rich, or all of the above! Living an alternative lifestyle throughout adulthood causes these assumptions. Unfortunately, the reality is “none of the above.” Although I have the flexibility to sleep in and form my own schedule, that’s where the comparisons stop. I still need to make money and sacrifices to survive, and I own nothing, not even a retirement account. My husband, Mark, and I like the minimalistic approach and don’t require much to be happy and free. All our belongings fit in our red Toyota Prius and, other than our business, The Wirie, we have no burdens or responsibilities. We don’t have a home, children or pets (yet) and go wherever we find an attractive long-term house and pet sit. To us, creating memories and going on adventures is more important than collecting material goods or financial wealth.

Blogs to inspire and share?

In 2007, Mark and I embarked on an impromptu cruising adventure with our two big rescue dogs, Kali and Darwin. After a failed attempt two years prior in Northern California, because the dogs hated sailing on a monohull (which lays on its side when moving in certain directions), we searched and found a 35-foot catamaran (more stability and less seasickness for me) in Annapolis, Maryland, and named her Irie, which is a reggae term meaning “It’s all good!” I started my first blog, It’s Irie, to document all our adventures and share tips while cruising the Caribbean and the South Pacific. We ran a business from the middle of nowhere (tricky!)…  Continue reading here.

(If you’d like to leave a reaction, please do so on Donna’s site.)

IWSG Writing Update September 2017 – A Short One

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. A different question is posed each month, as a writing prompt for IWSG members. Answering it is optional. For September, the question is “Have you ever surprised yourself with your writing? For example, by trying a new genre you didn’t think you’d be comfortable in?”

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the inspiring and accomplished co-hosts are Tyrean Martinson, Tara Tyler, Raimey Gallant, and Beverly Stowe McClure. Feel free to swing by their sites and see what they are up to.

As for what I have been up to, well… a lot, actually, but none of it related to writing – or even thinking about – my memoir. During the whole month of August and so far, September, my help has been needed with our long-range marine WiFi and cell data business The Wirie. Mark and I also changed homes from California to New Mexico, I am dealing with potential future house sits, worked on a few translation projects and try to remain active in the blogging world. On top of that, we have a camper van that requires daily attention and during the weekends, we make valid attempts to explore the area around Santa Fe, since we are only here for one month. My plate is full, but at some point this month, I plan to pick up my memoir where I left off.  Still, pathetically, somewhere halfway in the first draft.

My current desk for one month

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IWSG Writing Update August 2017 – Life Distracts

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. A different question is posed each month, as a writing prompt for IWSG members. Answering it is optional. For August, that question is “What are your pet peeves when reading/writing/editing?”

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the inspiring and accomplished co-hosts are Christine Rains, Dolarah @ Book Lover, Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor, Yvonne Ventresca, and LG Keltner. Feel free to swing by their sites and see what they are up to. Don’t be shy.

Scheduled posts or repeat events/meetings/projects, whether they are weekly or monthly, are a sure way to be reminded about how fast time flies. That always happens to me when the first Wednesday of the month rolls around. Again! I am happy to reflect on my (non-)writing in July, but I am sad to see another month disappear.

My pet peeve when writing/editing is using the same words too often. Whenever possible, I find synonyms for verbs and nouns already utilized. Not sure what to do about “I”, “and”, and “to”. ? When it comes to reading, I have a big pet peeve called typos or spelling mistakes. Especially in best sellers. Continue reading

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