blogging – Page 11 – Linda Nelson

My Year Flashed Before My Eyes

May 7, 2017 by Linda Nelson, posted in Blogging, books

Where did my year go?

This year has rushed by, and I can see why with being as busy as I have been with school and work. First-year terms are coming to an end. They finish up on May 13^th leaving me with two years and two terms to go before acquiring that Bachelor degree. Microeconomics is not one of my favorite subjects. Economics, in general, are not a favorite either. I haven’t struggled this hard since taking Principles of Finance though I sure I’m going to pass.

I added to my book collection

I discovered a couple of good buys this weekend on Amazon dot com. One of which was the book, Writing Romances – A Handbook by the Romance Writers of America. I picked the book up the used book for $6. It turned out to be a sweet find. I plan on reading a minimum of one chapter a day. So far it has taught me about the functions of an agent, and now I’m learning about the duties of a publishing house editor. This book holds the nuts and bolts about publishing.

The other book I found in the used book section is the Chicago Manual of Style 15^th edition that I picked up for $10. The 17^th edition is about to release, but the used version will suffice for now, which is better than going without any edition.

I love stumbling across things, especially great deals. So what if the RWA book was published back in 1996 even though so much has changed in the publishing world, some things never change that drastically like what editors do or what agents do. Yes, we have moved into an electronic era, but print books are making a comeback. I have found electronics to be hard on the eyes, and there is still that something about being able to hold a physical book in your hands. If I have to have that book, it will be a print edition, but if I’m not sure whether or not I will like the book, I tend to go with the electronic version. Why waste a tree on paper if the book is not worth reading?

My manuscripts still sit covered with dust.

I will return to them in time. Ideas are beginning to flow, and I can feel a story brewing in the back of my mind. I should be journaling every day. That won’t happen. The next 12 weeks will be hectic with school. I will have two back to back crash courses that will contain eight weeks of work to be completed in 6 weeks each. – My summer school. What I do to try and get ahead in life all because my story ideas seemed so lame at the time. Now I barely have enough time to post to my blog.

Blog ideas for the coming year:

Journaling
Interviews – I could not only host questions and answers with writers but what about professionals in every neck of the woods. Hmm… what a thought.
Books I have discovered – books of the craft, for the craft, and arts and crafts
My pets – Keelaa and Julie
My grandbabies are growing up so fast.
Pictures of my garden
Works in progress updates

I wonder which of these will find their way to the surface the most, who knows what the coming year will bring besides being one more year closer to getting that degree.

If We Were Having Coffee – We would talk about the past year.

April 30, 2017April 30, 2017 by Linda Nelson, posted in Blogging, If we were having coffee

It’s been a while since I last posted. More like a month has passed since I wrote about the coming March for Science. How did that go anyway? I didn’t see any big bangs taking place. While they marched I planted two new trees. A Cherry and a Honeycrisp Apple after which I moved those Cherry bushes I had been meaning to move for the past four years. They are much happier for the move. The plum tree was relocated too.

Last year we had no blossoms on our peach tree. This year we have this:

IMG_20170430_110106

Sorry, I haven’t been making my weekly posts. My schoolwork has kept me busy. I really dislike Microeconomics; it’s not my cup of tea. I would say that this has been my most difficult class to date. Half the questions on the quiz were not actually mentioned. You sort of need to feel your way to the correct answers even though it is a multiple choice quiz. The course is so difficult and the text we have been using is so dry, I went and purchased a different textbook in hopes that it would help me to better understand the information. If only I had thought about using a different textbook after taking the first quiz, my grade might be a bit higher.

Bitten with Binge Watching

8866613491_4bab6f26e4_b — image courtesy of Kooroshication via flickr.com

I broke down and checked out Vampire Diaries. I loved it so much that I had to watch the entire 8 season episodes in one month. I couldn’t stop watching. The show was emotionally intense. I needed that to help me understand the elements found in romance. I’ve since moved on to the spin-off series, The Originals, and I have discovered another short lived series by the same author, The Secret Circle.

Last month we joined Netflix. I’m surprised to see the changes that were made for the streaming service. I’ve found too many programs I want to watch. A co-worker introduced me to the OA and then I discovered Haven. I really enjoy the paranormal suspenseful mysterious romantic shows.

Maybe when I have my 2 week school break in September I will be able to tackle one of my abandoned/neglected manuscripts.

School has been going great even though struggling with Microeconomics. The environmental studies are interesting. I’m working on a research paper covering the Edward MacDowell Lake in Peterborough, NH. Maybe someday I will use this lake as a setting for a story.

Surprisingly, I have finished my first year of college. This term will end on May 13 and I will be well on my way with my second year of school. The extra two terms I take in the summer shortens the time it will take to finish my Bachelor degree. It has been busy and leaves me without much time for family, fun, writing, or those hobby activities like crocheting, quilting, and knitting.

The new Grandbaby is 7 months old. She is so adorable. Meanwhile, Jasmine is going to be 7 years old. I told my daughter she is catching up to me in age.