Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing,  running

Already Feeling Better

Very Annoying…

But since I started eating very healthy, lower calories, more protein, and got my exercise going again, I feel better. I knew that would happen but every time I am shocked.

I am over 5 miles walking per day (10,000 steps for my stride), a new streak starting, and have run at least a half mile two of the last three days. And the weight has started down. Shock.

This is sort of like I feel with writing, and what I hear others expressing as well. Starting is hard, but once you start writing regularly, you feel so much better, so much more joy at the world. And I know I do that as well.

So I will keep you appraised on how this new streak is going with the 10,000 plus steps. And the increase in running.

One thing I have learned so far, even though I was cooking while on the coast in Oregon, it is a ton easier to eat healthy here. And even though the temps are over 105 every day, the gyms here have running tracks that are air-conditioned and soft surface and nice. And they are flat!!! There isn’t a flat ten feet in Lincoln City on the coast. So this is heaven.

Bet you can’t tell I’m really settling in here just fine. (grin)

And I like my new office. It’s perfect for me. I am surrounded by computer screens. Six to be exact. Large ones. What fun!

Reminder Last Day or So!!!

August Regular Workshops Have All Started…

And I will have up the September workshops in a day or so, then the August workshops will vanish from purchase view on Teachable, so don’t miss out on them.

There are very few signed up for these August workshops. Remember, the workshops only take a few hours a week of your time, so even for a month like August it should be possible.

And September there will be a new workshop or two announced. And some new lectures as well coming in September. And the reading list will go out for the first Study Along Workshop in September as well.

And September starts the new short story and novel challenge. Still spots in both if you are thinking about it. The goal is thirty short stories in sixty days or three novels in three months. You get two regular workshop credits for even giving it a try, so basically you get me reading your work for free.

To sign up for the challenges with me, write me directly. Information is a few posts below.

So lots of stuff coming up and it all starts with the August Regular Workshops. Just sign up on Teachable.com.

Class #13… Aug 7th … Think Like a Publisher
Class #14… Aug 7th … Endings
Class #15… Aug 7th … Point of View
Class #16… Aug 7th … Writing Mysteries
Class #17… Aug 7th … Speed
Class #18… Aug 7th … Teams in Fiction
Class #19… Aug 8th … Depth in Writing
Class #20… Aug 8th … How to Edit Your Own Work
Class #21… Aug 8th … Character Development
Class #22… Aug 8th … Writing Secondary Plot Lines
Class #23… Aug 8th… Information Flow
Class #24… Aug 8th … Magic Bakery

On Teachable you can also sign up for a lifetime subscription to all the Online Workshops, a lifetime subscription to the Lectures, and a lifetime subscription to the Study Along workshops. Write me if you would like more information on any of those and the advantages of being a lifetime subscriber.

 

6 Comments

  • Linda Maye Adams

    Bigger cities seem better if you have food issues, or just plain want to eat healthier. I’m gluten-free, dairy free, processed free, and sugar free. About a month ago, I went to a small town for a family reunion. Extremely hard to eat. The average restaurant might have one grilled option, but many places bread everything, put flour in it, or turn it into a sandwich. But we were going to all these places as a family, so I didn’t have much choices about where. I ended up making the choice that I would have to go hungry rather than eat. At a Chinese buffet, all I could eat was the ice berg lettuce. Not even dressing. By the time I came back, I needed to detox with leafy greens!

  • Jennifer

    One of the things I appreciate most about being able to read your blog is that you admit when you have to re-learn things, or don’t finish challenges and start new ones, without any evidence of shame or self-blame. It’s one thing to read how ego and fear ate intertwined, and how shedding both can help boost one’s writing prospects significantly; it’s another thing altogether to see it demonstrated so matter-of-factly.

    • dwsmith

      Oh, heavens, Jennifer, I fail all the time. But when I fail, I still move forward. Fail to success I call it, or others call it falling forward. I have no fear of failure because I know it is a part of the natural process of learning and getting better. Never have understood the fear of failure I guess.

    • dwsmith

      Just depends on the challenge. A chart, a list, my blog, totally depends. As far as long-term writing goals, I just keep track of what I write and add it up near the end of the year.