I have been volunteering at the Parkside Centre here in Sudbury ( www.theparksidecentre.ca ) and am on the Board of Directors. I have written the landing page for our new website, and will continue to update it.

I am also the Vice President of the Sudbury Astronomy Club and have just become responsible for the monthly newsletter.

More to come....

Here we go! I've spent the last few months joining groups and following a few different blogs. I have articles and instruction manuals piling up in my computer, and have put the novel on the back burner to move in a different direction----Freelance Writing!

My contact list is current and I can't wait to get my first query.

Homework for tonight is to re-write an exisitng blog or ad--I'll keep you posted.

Pete

July 19th already?? Where has the summer gone? I stopped writing after April and have had trouble getting back up to speed. Each day begins with a plan, yet each evening shows no writing results to speak of.

The only way out of the morass is to use my old sales training and set up appointments with myself specifically for writing. This week has been much better, and I have updated my twitter account and FB page as well.

It is hard to evaluate how the brain lets you walk away from something that truly stimulates you.

I thought that I was writing a SF novel. It turns out that my taste is quite eclectic. Can I insert humour into the novel? How about Paranormal or Fantasy?

Other forms of fiction raise their hands and shout my name throughout my day.

I am going to need  to keep up my weekly planner so that I keep on track. I also will record all of these other voices separately---you never know when one will stand up and raise it's hand at the same time!

Mother's Day is over for another year, and the kids and grand kids all paid homage to my bride. We've been married for 40 years, and I wrote this about her.

My Wife

It should come as no surprise. Really, everyone who has a spouse should feel that their spouse is the one person in the world that is a perfect partner.

I do not know if this is true but frankly I am interested in my own personal situation.

I know absolutely positively that this woman is my partner. She always has been and always will be. If you believe in reincarnation, or believe in past lives lived, then you will accept at face value the statement that she and I have met in a previous life.

We have a good family, and a strong family. We spend our days and nights in a tangle of arms and smiles. Our best times are those spent together. Even when we cannot be together due to business, there is at least on phone call per day that is needed equally by the dialer and the receiver of the call.

We plan for the future, but enjoy the present.

This girl has my heart, and I have met no one else in all my years with her qualities----I am blessed!

We are all captivated by this amazing ability to connect with others almost instantly. The Internet and social media marriage has allowed us to share our thoughts and dreams at a level that was not dreamed about 20 years ago. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and all the others will continue to grow and change--that is progress

Captain Kirk in the Star Trek franchises tapped his emblem to speak with the master computer. Our cell phones are almost that size now. We also have voice recognition software that allows us to speak to the computer and control it in that way.

Armed Forces personnel and people who work away from their homes frequently can stay in touch via Skype. Imagine during WWII or Vietnam having to rely on the postal service to get some sense of the safety of loved ones.

Do we worry that virtually all of our data is or will be available digitally? In online storage a problem?
How do you protect your data or do you worry about it? Is your data harmful to you?

I don't know the answers, but I can tell you that there is a Science Fiction short story in here somewhere.

Why am I agitated today? I finished (almost) the MNINB Challenge in April, and have gone away somewhere odd.

I know that the feeling of contribution that I had during April is simply a beginning. I also know that I get that feeling when I volunteer ( with my wife) at one of our three groups.

But I think I am short-changing myself. Life has gotten in the way again, and I find that it has been more than a week since I added anything to Twitter, FB, or this blog.

This morning was to start a new process. Up earlier than normal and into my exercises. Normal for me is 8:30 so I cannot say that I lack sleep. Even though I set the alarm and completed the first task of the day, I found that I was challenged about my choice of when to exercise. THAT burst the bubble of self- satisfaction right away!

After  30 days, the books that I had ordered arrived this morning, and have they changed my day? A little.

Stay tuned and see if the evil time-waster has the balls to show up again!

The April Platform Challenge is winding down, but I have so much insight from this activity that I'm excited!

Aside from trying to write, I volunteer on the Board of a Senior Adults Centre, also head of the Marketing Committee there, volunteer at the local astronomy club, and volunteer with Citizens on Patrol, affiliated with our local Police.

There are tons of things to blog about and some days you won't know if you are on the correct site or not.

The thing is---that we will all learn from this experience (and will all be the better for it).

The Sci Fi novel is still burning in my brain, but I have recently followed a blog by Carol Tice. Her blog is focused on Freelance Writing.

That leads me to the question. Can a writer to both simultaneously? Or does the Freelance Writing mean the hibernation of the bigger project?

Trying to complete the #MNINB challenge, plus keeping up reading/writing commitments keeps me busy. NOT busy enough to generally set an alarm clock.

So, what's worse than a 5 a.m. alarm clock scaring hell out of you?

The answer is---my dog yakking all over the floor in the middle of the night!

Yes, it does tend to get your heart beating!

Creating a whole new world for my SF project. I have to review many different aspects before I send the reader speeding to the surface. Learning what kinds of backgrounds and issues that I have to have firmly established!

See me @pd_marshall on Twitter or P.D. Marshall on FB

This career change has been memorable already! After choosing to leave my day-job, I was finally able ot focus on becoming a writer! Now the SF gets in my head and I have two or three ideas running around in my head when I get up in the morning!

Today I have another task from #MNINB. This time it is SEO for this blog. I will work it over this afternoon and may have to go to the hospital for medication as I fight through this process!

This April Platform Challenge has been a real  eye-opener.

So many things I didn't know and since I am forcing myself to learn--Wow.

Tip of the Iceberg or what?

Feedburner completed and linked w/ 4 new folks.

Now back on track and got my 2000 words today!

Reviewed a few Blogs yesterday and this morning. One really got to me!

Carol Tice writes blogs and articles for several sources. There is an article about earning income as a guest blogger. The details she shares drive home one thing---Do your homework!

Read her blog at http://www.makealivingwriting.com/  ---

Started a new project this morning. Index cards and reference materials piling up! Will continue to slug it out!

OK, I know that I have heard it before---"it" being the idea that all great ideas are continually floating around the universe and at some point, decide to land in a receptive brain.

Not sure if I believe that or not, but then how do I explain a story idea that hits just before sunrise on any given day? Sure, that period of sleep may be more conducive to reception, or there is simply no time to forget the images.

It is kind of freaky/fun on those occasions when this happens. This morning I came down to my office and wrote some notes on index cards.

We'll see where this takes me!

The project today is to take a well-recognized plot and try to reverse the gender roles. Not likely to finish this task today, but hope to spend some time on it.

Had a dream at 5:00 this morning. I was unable to communicate at all. Is there anything worse?

Your Brand

Just read an interesting article on The Red Lemon Club about setting boundaries and keeping true to your brand. Intimidating, but probably easier in the earlier stages of a career as opposed to cleaning up some time in the future.

Trouble organizing inkstainedandhappy yesterday---ran out of time. Hopefully on the right track today.

Next steps

Today is Day 1 of my new Blog, Covered in Ink.

I have been following a challenge during April by Robert Lee Brewer and this was the task for today.

Follow me as I follow my dreams.

PD