Category: change

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challenge change goals Who I Am

A Quiet Note (Nightmares, Catch-up, etc.)

Since Friday, I’ve been having nightmares, and I already know the reason why they’ve been occurring. A lot of things have been unsettling in my day-to-day life, and I’m under a considerable amount of stress trying to make decisions.

I fell behind on the whole Poem-A-Day Challenge this past week due to other things going on (excuses, excuses). Yesterday, I managed to catch up to Day 16; most of the poems have been tepid still, but just have to keep writing. I had also fell behind on my Cinnamon Juice Blog, but I caught up for the most part. Yesterday was the only day all weekend that I was able to sit down properly and write for quite a bit. I have a feeling days like yesterday may be far and few for awhile.

And that’s about it for now; April will wrap up in ten days, so I wonder if I’ll be ready for May’s challenges by the end of next week. These past two months have been difficult in terms of producing new stories/motivation for rewriting. But, can’t feel any regret from the “time lost”; just keep moving forward.

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change Work in Progress

Shaking up the routine.

Since Sunday, I’ve been working out of The Write-Brain Workbook, which I checked out from the library. I’ve had this book in my possession for a month and a half now, but only got the chance to actually peruse the book this week. I hadn’t been too familiar/enthusiastic about using workbooks/prompts (sometimes they don’t really help me anyway), but so far, all the exercises I have completed from this workbook have been enlightening and inspiring.

Yesterday, I wrote a piece that lasted more than the recommended ten minutes; I could have stayed writing much longer, but I had to cut it off at thirty minutes since I had to get ready for work. Soon, I’ll have to go back and add to it; it’s an interesting piece about sampling sodas at a fair in the middle of nowhere.

Lately, I’ve been feeling like a lot of my daily life has become too routine and predictable, and I’m wanting something dynamic to either happen or for me to go and do something dynamic. I made some small “progress” towards changing things up this past weekend by amusingly buying completely different items for my weekly groceries (read my food blog post about this incident). A lot of my daily life does revolve around routine; we all go through it, I suppose. My schedule is like a ticking clock, constantly: this is when I’m supposed to eat, when I’m supposed to work, sleep, et. al…. It’s comfortable to have a routine, but sometimes, it also becomes mind-numbing.

So when things are shaken up, it gives new life to my days…although most of the time I end up feeling so tired/exhausted from the new adventures that I quickly return to my tried-and-true routine. I’m not sure why that’s the case; but right now, I am yearning for something different yet again.

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#amwriting change Internet Twitter

Get the word out: New URL, Twitter URL, etc.

It’s already Sunday, but I feel like a lot happened over the course of the past couple of days: a lot of brainstorming, planning, etc. I have decided that I will not use a pen name, since I realized I was having trouble signing the pen name I had decided on (silly reason, but it’s important, isn’t it?). I have also decided that, instead of starting a whole new writing blog, I will simply use this current blog as my writing one.

You may notice that there have been some changes with this blog and my Twitter account–both have been “rechristened” with my name. No longer hiding behind my Internet moniker; I think I’ve grown out of that phase as well.

So please, update your bookmarks for this blog; the new url is http://helenekwong.blogspot.com/

I’m hoping by the end of today I will also have purchased my domain so I can begin building my website and getting the word out there. Oh yes, and I have also decided that I will self-publish my first book instead of going through an agent. Thank you to everyone for the additional insight, and I hope that you will join me along this journey of getting the word out on my works.

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change Facebook Internet Myspace NaNoWriMo Work in Progress

Clicking in; completed novels.

Yes, yes, I know, it has been awhile since I last posted. I had meant to post during the month of November to keep you all updated on my NaNoWriMo progress, but, due to the extreme amount of words I was typing every day, I guess I didn’t think to post blog entries in my spare time.

Well, it is hard to believe, but already the end of the year 2008 is upon us all. I had tried to keep with Blog365 the whole year, and I suppose I should pat myself on the back for keeping up with a post-a-day for more than half of the year (through July). That’s a big accomplishment, so..can’t be sad that I didn’t post so well during the rest of the year.

Besides, a lot of things ended up changing and causing some turmoil from August up until now. Even now, though, changes continue to happen, and I find myself lacking a lot of free time. But, I cannot complain really, since these days life is much more enjoyable than before.

Something exciting to share, by the way: I recently completed the novel that I had begun in January of this year, which means I am up to three completed novels. Granted, these novels are all still first drafts, but I would like to see them all published soon. Since I have completed these projects, the next step is to start the editing/revising phase of Novel 1.

Word has spread that I write novels, so it seems like I already have a small core of a fanbase going. I can’t quite decide how I should go about in establishing an “online presence” for my writer identity; I used to have Myspace and Facebook, but of course, we already know what happened with those accounts. I’m not sure if I should create new accounts at either sites (or at any social networking site for that matter) for my professional identity; I’m wondering if I will become tired of the scene again if I do so. I’ve heard some suggestions thrown about on the NaNoWriMo forums about creating blogs for my protagonists, to keep fans excited/at bay before the initial release of my completed work.

I definitely don’t want everyone to lose interest if too much time passes. So, I would like some feedback from others about what would be the best way to go about doing self-promotion for my books and my general identity as a writer.

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change

And that was that.

The process of getting my old apartment inspected and turning in my keys was quick and painless; however, I felt like it all “ended” so fast. There wasn’t any time to lament or be nostalgic about saying good-bye to the first apartment I lived in this past year; I just found myself turning my back and not looking back at the place.

It treated me well this whole past year; now it’s time to look forward to another place.