My mind feels a little bit flooded right now, which I guess makes sense. Everything here in North Texas is waterlogged at the moment. We’ve gotten some crazy weather this week, including some scary storms on Tuesday morning that brought a lot of damage to the area. Thankfully, I don’t think anyone was hurt, but everyone I know is dealing with inconveniences of varying intensity from fallen trees, downed limbs, and flooded yards, to leaking roofs, blocked roads, and power outages lasting multiple days. We were fortunate enough not to lose power, so for a couple of days, our home became the hub for family and friends to charge devices, use wifi, and enjoy the AC and microwave. As I write this, there are more storms on the way.
But I can’t blame this week’s weather for my lack of posting anything for the past month and a half. May has been weird. Life-wise, it was full to bursting. Social events, game nights, movie dates, local outings, and lots of quality time spent with family and friends. There was some sadness mixed in to the month, but for the most part, it was flooded with laughter and joy. And a lot of adorable animal encounters at the wildlife center where I volunteer.
My writing, on the other hand, kept drying up. I began three blog posts that never went anywhere. I started working on the second book of my children’s series about raccoon sisters, but kept getting distracted by revision ideas for the first book. I didn’t even put out a newsletter because most of the news I wanted to share got postponed. (Don’t worry, it’s coming soon. Hopefully.) Thwarted by my attempts to write novels and blog posts, I turned to short fiction instead, revising and submitting a couple of very weird short stories. Wish them luck finding an editor with the same strange dark sense of humor as me.
As I sit here on the next to last day of May, checking off some of the items on my monthly goals but leaving a lot of boxes blank, I’m choosing to focus on the positive rather than the THINGS THAT DID NOT GET DONE which is an ongoing list that constantly haunts me. I know myself, and I know that my productivity comes in waves. Creativity-wise, when it rains, it pours. My words may have been scarce this month, but that doesn’t mean the drought will continue. I’m looking forward to a deluge in June. Of ideas, I mean. Not rain. We could use a break from the rain.
I wish everyone a safe, happy end of May! To make sure you don’t miss my upcoming updates, make sure you’re subscribed to my author newsletter. Click on the image below to sign up.
Carie Juettner 