The Five Year Project – a group of writers who support each other and report monthly on their progress to reaching their over-the-top writing goals.
Misha Gericke, host of this group: “The Five Year Project is a chronicle of my attempts to turn writing into a paying career, while juggling life’s ups and downs, writer’s blocks, my other aspirations and my muse.”
Feather Stone: My Goal: Forbidden Published and Rated Top Ten in Thriller Genre in 2016.
Okay, here is my April confession. No progress. Well, not exactly. A friend of mine told me about an app that helps with editing – Hemmingway. As it is dirt cheap, I bought and downloaded it. Hemmingway does have some good features.
However, when it comes to editing dialogue, it goes too far. And when I copied my entire manuscript into the editor, the program choked and froze. What I do find very good is that it points out repetitious wording. And it identifies clumsy sentences (which is a problem when it nixes dialogue).
So I haven’t been entirely absent from the rewrite project. But I’ve 
certainly experienced a work slow down.
One good reason is that I’ve got a new puppy / dog. She’s four years old, but a puppy to me. The owner decided to give her up due to health issues. Her name is Jade and she’s a gorgeous Bi-Black Sheltie.
Our first Sheltie, Sammy, and I need to spend a lot of time with her to help the transition into our home. Jade is super smart and has been well-trained. It just makes me feel so sad that she’s missing her first home and play mates. So instead of reworking sentence structure and condensing paragraphs, I’ve been hugging away Jade’s fears.
Lucky Jade! sounds like a most excellent reason to not be inside editing!
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Yes, it’s so nice to be free of the winter parkas and snow shovels. But this manuscript is not going to get published unless I finally get Captain Sharif out of his predicament. He’s really ticked with me, LOL. Thanks for stopping by.
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Jade was well loved in her original home. However, I’ve gone to battle before for animals. Even dared getting arrested for refusing to give back a dog to an abusive owner. Police told me that if I offer to buy the animal, there would be no problem. Editing a manuscript is way down the list of priorities. But I can put off the task only so long. It does nag at me. Peace of mind will be heaven when I finally finish the rewrite. Thanks for dropping by.
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Oh my goodness those puppies are gorgeous! A little time away from the ‘script to recharge is always beneficial…or so I keep telling myself as I keep allowing other things to keep me away from mine…
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Yes, gorgeous coat which is often found in my soup and butter. Vacuuming is a whole unique experience. But I don’t mind. Jade and Sammy give so much from their heart. Thanks for stopping by, Nicki. Almost finished reading Vibrizzio. LOVE IT!
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I always feel sorry for dogs who can’t live with their owners any longer. I hope Jade settles in happily. 🙂
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I think a new addition to the family is a pretty good excuse, especially when they’re that gorgeous!
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Hi Angeline: Thanks for stopping by. We’re making progress with helping Jade learn she’s in a very safe place with people who already love her. We are using baby steps and her favorite treats – she loves anything sweet. It’s amazing she still has a slim, trim figure. Thankfully, her favorite activity is going for walks.
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Hi Judy. I’ve arrived here from Misha and Beth’s ‘Five Year Project’ blog hop. Jade looks gorgeous, and I’m sure she’ll soon settle down and adapt to her new home. And I love the idea of a 30×30 Nature Challenge (which you describe on other blog posts). I’m a long distance walker and get plenty of inspiration when I’m out on one of my hikes. All the best writers were great walkers (Dickens, Wordsworth, Virginia Woolf – to name a few)!
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Hi Ruth: Wow, I’m in the company of such famous authors? I used to have the impression that artists of all breeds tended to over indulge in the spirits and other odd behaviors. Where do you walk? City parks, rural hikes? Ah, now I see you are so fortunate to have access to a coast line. Wonderful!
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Walking aids creativity, or so they say 🙂 I walk anywhere – but I try to avoid anything steep or muddy. My main project is walking around the coastline of the UK. I’ve done nearly 2,000 miles and blog about my walk on coastalwalker.co.uk
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Hi Ruth. You must find walking by the shore so very calming.
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