#TisTheSeason – #MerryChristmas – #TakingABreak

/ Marcia

It’s that time of year again, folks. Yes! It’s time for LoDeWriMar, and I aim to take full advantage of it this go around. What is that, you ask? Well, simple. Local December Writing Marcia. Yes, I can hear you groaning clear down here in Florida, but I decided what I’m about to do needed its own name, even if it was a total rip-off of another, far more well-known event that generally has WAY more than one participant. Mind games, for sure, but whatever works, right?

So, the bottom line is, I’m about to do something I’ve never done in about 20 years of blogging: take a full month off to focus on my WIP. I admit, I’ve never even been tempted to do such a thing, but then again, I’ve never hit a roadblock on one of my books before. And the roadblock coincides with a month wherein I have NO local wildlife talks to get ready for presentation. So, being the quick-witted soul that I am (once in a great while), I decided this was the right time for me to give all of my attention to this WIP with as few interruptions in my daily writing regime as possible.

Therefore, I will not be present around here for the whole month of December, if all goes well, and my draft starts growing again. I do have two previously scheduled guest posts coming up, and will drop in to keep an eye on each of those, but otherwise, the  plan is that I won’t be doing any blogging from today until January 2, 2022. Whew. Just typing that gives me a weird feeling, but I know that you guys all understand needing some time to focus on what we love doing most: writing!

If you need me for something between now and January, please feel free to email me, and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. In the meantime, I wish each and every one of you a wonderful and blessed holiday season.

See you on the other side!

 

65 thoughts on “#TisTheSeason – #MerryChristmas – #TakingABreak”

  2. I know myself—I’ll never try NaNoWriMo, but I do like the notion of turning off the outside world for a month. I like your approach better because reducing writing to a certain number of words per day makes me think of an assembly line.

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    • Yes, my way just might work for me. I’m with you on setting word counts, or being compelled to write for a set number of hours. But since I’m totally in control of LoDeWriMar, I think I just might be able to sit undisturbed and write exactly as much as I feel like each day. Yeah. That could work. 😀

      Happy Holidays, Pete! 😀

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    • Thanks, Darlene. And this year, we aren’t having any company for Christmas, so I think this will be a perfect time to focus on my book. Glad you like the sound of LoDeWriMar, haha. Thanks for the Christmas hugs, and back atcha! Happy Holidays! 😀

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  4. I am seriously thinking of joining you, Marcia. No, not actually, but I too have a stubborn, wilful and downright ornery WIP that is refusing to toe the line. It would be lovely to start the new year with a clean slate and a finished book!
    See you in 2022, and we can compare notes!

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    • Thanks, Yvette. It’s either this, or just toss the draft on a shelf and move on to something else. I’d rather give it one good, solid effort before giving up on it, so we’ll see how it goes.

      Happy Holidays! 😀

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  9. YAY, Marcia! This is the perfect time to focus on your work and the season. I wish you all the best and can’t wait to read your soon-to-be masterpiece. 💗

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    • OH, wow! I like how you think, Gwen. Masterpiece? Love the sound of that! I’m gonna give it a good try, anyway, and will let you know in January how I do. Thanks for the encouragement!

      Happy Holidays! 😀

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    • Aw, what a nice thing to say, Joan. Thank you! And I’m going to do my best to make substantial progress on this story. We’ll see how it goes. In the meantime, hope you have a very Happy Holiday Season! 😀

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    • Well, since my life consists mostly of writing and blogging, I’m really only giving up the one thing. But it should free up a pretty large chunk of time to devote to my book, so we’ll see how it goes. I’ll report back in January, and in the meantime, hope you have a wonderful Christmas, too! Thanks!

      Happy Holidays! 😀

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    • Got what usually takes me 2 weeks to put up in the way of Christmas decorations done in four hectic, back-breaking days, just so I could focus all month on this book. We’ll see how that works and if my back ever forgives me. 😁 We aren’t having any company this year (sadly), so I figure I may as well make this time count! Hope you enjoy your holiday season, too, thanks! See you in January!

      Happy Holidays! 😀

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        • I took 4 ibuprofen last night (the prescription strength dosage) and my back is much better today, but I’m going to go easy on it, too. Thanks for the recommendation, and I will look into Voltaren if it flares up again. (Have to check with my doctor, as so many things react with my medications.) Happily, my computer chair is very easy on my back, though, and quite comfy. Good thing, since I’m planning to spend most of December sitting right here. 😄

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    • Thank you so much, Suzanne. It’s going to be a quiet holiday for us, as neither of the kids & their grandkids can make it down this year, so it seemed a good time to get as much writing done as possible. I’ve got the decorating almost done, and Mark and I will enjoy some down time over Christmas, but for now, starting today, I’ll be plugging away on Riverbend 4. Hope I have something good to show for it by January!

      Thanks for your well wishes, and see you next year!

      Happy Holidays!

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  19. This sounds like an excellent plan and I’m really looking forward to the finished result! Here’s to a happy and successful LoDeWri Mar and the merriest of Christmases doing the things that make you happy. xx

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    • Thanks so much, Trish. I’m kinda excited to be doing something this (for me) daring! A month blogging break? Whoa. But a finished book sounds good, and this just might get me there, or close. I’ve been gone today getting my booster shot and running some errands, but should be able to settle right down to writing tomorrow. Might even get some done yet this afternoon. (And I’ll post on the Beta blog as I go, too, as always.)

      So glad you’re looking forward to me finishing this one. Happy Holidays to you! 😀 ❤

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    • And that’s why I decided to name it LoDeWriMar. 😂😂😂 Because as I said above, everything’s easier if it’s got a name. 😉 Thanks for the well wishes, too. Happy Holidays, and I’ll see you in January! 😀

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    • Thanks, Kass … and why not? Go for it, I say! Hit it with some determination like I’m aiming for, and stick it out. Who knows how much great progress you might make just by eliminating distractions? I’ll cheer you on, and we can compare notes in January. 😀 ❤

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        • I might have chosen the same timing, but I simply ran out of steam, and decided my body was telling me breaktime couldn’t wait. Doh! And I’m fine with that. Looking forward to making some real progress. Going over more notes and ideas today, and may or may not start actually turning them into sentences and paragraphs later. Or I could wait for tomorrow, and start first thing in the morning, with all my notes in hand. Either way, I’m going to DO this, but I am NOT going to stress over it. *shakes a fist at the sky in my best John Cleese impersonation, and shouts “So there, Stress! Be gone!” 😂

          Happy Holidays and good luck in January! 😀

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  23. Fantastic. I’m thinking of doing the same. Though I don’t blog much anyway but taking the month off from the blogging world and social media to focus on family and writing.

    Good luck with your WIP and have a wonderful break! Happy Holidays! 🎄

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Thanks so much, Sue! And I hope you are doing better at both than I am! I quit decorating after 4 days (instead of my usual 2 weeks) and only put up about half of what I normally do. As for the writing, I’m still struggling with this Riverbend story, which I’m beginning to suspect is because something in me does NOT want to finish this book. I may end up putting it on the shelf for now and working instead on what I hope will be a fun Wake-Robin Ridge spinoff novella series of called Cole, Cole, and Dupree. Rabbit can pull anyone out of the doldrums! And their new Investigative Services (Motto: We Can Help) aims to be spooky and fun. We’ll see.

      In the meantime, I wish you holidays filled with peace, love, and joy, and I’ll see you on the other side! 😀 ❤

      Liked by 1 person

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