Happy Writers Wednesday! As promised last week, I’m here to show you all some of the touches I incorporated into my office to turn it into my creative chamber of sorts.
I finally cleared out some boxed items, putting them into their proper places. I began sorting out my desk and improved the lighting situation (there is no overhead lighting in this room, so I have to incorporate floor and desk lamps). There are some more minor aesthetic changes I want to make, but for now, I’m satisfied. I finally have a space I can work and create in.
I decided to add some inspiring decorative touches, like these pretty inscribed rocks I purchased for my garden (that I didn’t work on as much as I wanted last year . . . ). I put them on a few of my bookshelves fora little color and whimsy.
I also put some of my lovely thrifted pieces on a few of my bookshelves.
There’s more to do, but I’m pacing myself because I don’t want to get overwhelmed during the process of getting everything “in order”. Nothing sabotages progress like overwhelm, which is why taking my time has been crucial to arranging my creative chamber.
That’s it for now! I’ll add more photos as I finish decorating in the weeks to come. Take care, and I’ll talk to you all tomorrow!
Welcome to the last Writers Wednesday of 2021! Can you believe we’re already wrapping up this year’s activity? I hope that all of my fellow writers completed one of their works or, at minimum, made some progress with one of their works. If this year wasn’t the best for your writing practice, I hope you find more inspiration in 2022.
In 2021, I accomplished a lot of my writing goals (all of them, except for NaNoWriMo). It was exciting to see so much of my work completed and in print. I also am really proud of how much energy I put into my writing, instead of letting my passion languish unused and unexplored. Sometimes, it’s not about the finished product but, instead, it’s about the dedication to our practice.
So of course, now that I’m at the end of the year, I’m starting to plan for next year. I have some pretty simple writing goals. Daily writing, publishing at least 5 more books, and getting more attention to my writing business (both the blog and my publishing company) are a few of my objectives for 2022. But, to help with the planning portion of my writing goals, I decided to go a step further.
I’m hereby designating each Tuesday as my writing day. This week, I’m setting up my office so that I can sit down and start writing, without having to even think about it. I have my spare laptop in place, my favorite books on the small bookshelf next to my desk, and a few things that I found helpful when I wrote daily at my desk in DC (basically, a makeshift inspiration corner with things I find beautiful, interesting, and, well, inspiring). I’m still putting the finishing touches on it, so you’ll see that beautiful space in next week’s Writer’s Wednesday, after I take some pics that I like.
On each Tuesday, I’m dedicating at least two hours of time (probably more, so long as I don’t experience any major schedule changes) to immerse myself in my writing practice. Sure, I’m writing daily nowadays, but I currently write everywhere: my dining room, living room, bedroom, entertainment room – it doesn’t matter to me. By dedicating this space and this time to writing, I aspire to bring a sanctified aspect to the practice which, I hope, brings in the muses like never before. It’s no guarantee that the inspiration will come flowing in, but it certainly can’t hurt.
So, that’s my plan: weekly writing in my dedicated space, daily writing anywhere, lots of publishing, and growing business. I’m so excited to see what this year brings me!
Do you all have any plans for your writing practice in 2022? Please let me know about it in the comments below!
Hi friends! I hope you all are doing great. You all already know how much I love the new year: it is literally my favorite day of the year (even more than my birthday!). The energy of the new year inspires to do retrospective, introspective and future-gazing exercises. In the spirit of looking forward, I asked myself a simple question,
What do I want to do with Bronze Butterfly?
This blog has been my pet project for several years, and I want to set a theme for 2022 that will guide and inspire my writing. I thought about the things that matter to me right now, and what I want to explore more in the future. I think of my previous posts as reflecting a sort of larva stage (staying with the butterfly analogy here): I consumed a lot of information, engaged in a lot of activity, and I had a chance to use some of that knowledge but not to the maximum expression. I want to enter a bit of a chrysalis (cocoon) and eventual butterfly phase with this blog: reducing information consumption and instead being focused on using my energy stores. I will use this energy to actively craft the life of my dreams, instead of simply theorizing and experimenting here and there.
On that note, here are some of the things you can expect from the blog in future posts:
More interviews and deeper conversations – I had one incredible interview this year, and I want to add more to this space. I want to get the actionable tips, wise counsel and pure inspiration that comes from interacting with people that have done “hard things” and succeeded. So look out for more interviews in the upcoming year.
More Kibbe discussion [with a twist] – I think of how much our wardrobe reflects the times we live in, the things we value, as well as how we want to be perceived by the world. I really want to explore what certain Kibbe-verified celebrities expressed through their wardrobe, both pointedly and inadvertently. So that’s another topic I’ll be sharing more about in the months to come.
More book chats and writing tips – This is a continuation of the past couple of years of Writers Wednesdays, but here’s hoping I can share even more about the writer’s life and events that are relevant to writing. Also, I’ll be going back to doing book reviews (which I put on hold over the past couple of years, for the most part). I’ll be focusing on books that impact my life significantly, not just reviewing books simply because I read them.
Diving deeper into curating a beautiful life – This is also a continuation of the past few years, but I want to go deeper than the surface, and discuss the underpinnings of high quality living and all of its components.
More finance discussions – This is a topic that I’ve touched on briefly here and there, but I really want to dive more into this, exploring how to live well regardless of your current income, as well as how to increase your income to the level that you desire.
On a side note, I’ll be incorporating more of my previous blog content, my other active blog (which is finance centered) as well as my YouTube channel content into this space, as some topics are best explained via video.
Whew, I think that’s enough for one day! I’m so looking forward to you all joining me on this deeper journey into the Bronze Butterfly world. Thank you all so much for your continued support, and I’ll chat with you all tomorrow. Take care!
Hey everyone! There is only one more Writers Wednesday for 2021: can you believe that 2022 is almost here?
I’m still working on a few writing projects, so I don’t have any major publishing goals that I’ll be accomplishing this month. However, I did finish the last chapter on a BIG writing project that I’ve had for a while, and I’ve even done a mock cover to the book (I may end up changing it, but for now, I like it). In a way, the book is “done”, but because I’m a bit of a perfectionist, I will be editing some more and maybe tweaking the cover a bit before I publish it. However, I’m excited that the writing is finished, and I can focus on polishing it up and preparing it for publication. I’m thrilled that the book will definitely be published in 2022.
My business coach advised me to write daily, and, while I understood the importance of practicing my craft, I had been slacking and she pointed out that this needs to be a priority. So I’ve been writing almost daily and I’m enjoying how I’m making this part of my regular routine. I suspect that I’ll be done with my NaNoWriMo 2021 book before the middle of January 2022, and my edits for a previous NaNoWriMo story should be completed before the end of March.
I haven’t taken on any “new” writing projects over the past few weeks, because I really want to focus on completing the projects I’ve already started. However, every now and then I’ve gotten a book idea, and I job it down and put it aside until I have more time to work on it. It feels good to put my energy toward a project in motion and to see my current works-in-progress move steadily toward completion.
That’s all for my update, and I’m looking forward to sharing some of my 2022 writing goals next week. What are some of your writing updates? I’d love to hear all about them!
Hey everyone! I skipped the Monday and Tuesday post this week so I could concentrate more on my writing and filming (since I’m still adding content to my YouTube channel, as well). Whew, it’s been busy over here. But I’m loving it, and I’m excited to see how things go by the end of this month.
My word count isn’t where I want it to be . . . Yet. I know that I don’t have a lot of time left, but I have no issue writing huge chunks at a time, so I’ll leverage that skill and see what kind of progress I can make this week.
I did, however, want to post a quick update on what’s happening on my NaNoWriMo journey, so I filmed this video. As a bonus, I included a writing tip that may help you if you’re feeling stuck. Enjoy!
Hello friends! It’s another Writers Wednesday and I’m excited to share my NaNoWriMo progress with you all! But first, I need to clarify something.
My blog is 100% my opinions, 100% of the time. I was recently harassed by a random visitor and attacked for my stance on Harry and Meghan. The insults in the response were vile and uncivilized, which is why you won’t find the comment anywhere on the blog: it was deleted and no response was offered. I wanted to state my stance on cyberbullying and digital violence for you all, but my good friend (thanks chica!) reminded me of the goal of this space and how to address this.
I will never entertain bullies that feel entitled to my attention. I will never allow hateful comments on my platform, nor will I engage anyone that leads with hate or violence. I will always protect my readers from comments that are mean-spirited and not constructive.
Further, I have chosen to ignore the bully and celebrate YOU ALL, my regular readers that have offered kind words and good energy for years. I am choosing to turn my focus to the good that surrounds me at all times. You all have made blogging worthwhile. The comments, private messages and overall goodness that you’ve brought to my blog is much appreciated.
Now, back to the topic at hand. NaNoWriMo kicked off last week, but it took me a week to pick out a book idea. That’s why I opted out of last week’s Writers Wednesday post: there was nothing to share with you all! I prefer not to do too much pre-planning for NaNoWriMo: I like to allow inspiration to guide me from the very beginning. But, since it took so long to find an idea, I’m behind on my writing schedule. I only have 1,500 of the 50,000 words I need to win NaNoWriMo (eek!) Fortunately for me, I have some time over the next few days that I can use for my writing. I’m thinking of setting up another writer’s retreat to give myself a block of time to work on my writing. And honestly, for someone that has been writing for just three days, I’m pleased that I still have so much momentum that I can leverage for the rest of the week and, hopefully, the entire month.
How is NaNoWriMo going for you all? I’d love to hear all about it!
Happy Writers Wednesday! As I wrap up the month of October, I’m so pleased with the writing progress I’ve made. My October writing plan went like this:
Finish writing a book
Finish editing a book
Publish a book
The question, of course, is, Did I do all of that?
Yes, I did! I published Let’s Go to Kenya, my first children’s book that explores one of my favorite African countries. I also finished my first round of edits to my mystery novel, the first full-length book that I’ve ever written. This is only one round of edits (there will be more!) but it feels really good to complete those edits for the first time. Finally, I finished writing one of the books that’s been on my laptop for years, needing just a couple of chapters to be officially “completed”.
Now that I’m done with my October writing plan, it’s time to move on to November. And for November, I’ll be participating in National Novel Writers Month (NaNoWriMo). I haven’t even begun to think about what I may write next month, which is kind of the point. I want to just let my fingers fly across the keyboard and let the ideas come to me as I type. I love allowing the story to unfold as I write instead of overthinking about what to include.
During the month of November, I’m taking a break from publishing some of my books, and focusing instead on writing. I’ll also be posting weekly updates of my NaNoWriMo experience on this blog, because we all know how important accountability is.
Are any of you planning to participate in NaNoWriMo? Let me know in the comments below!
Bronze Butterfly 