September Recap: I feel the need to start gathering some synonyms, because I have a feeling every monthly recap is going to begin with X-month was “busy”… Usually, my day job doesn’t interfere with my writing, blogging, art etc. But in September, our usual staff of eight went down to six, so I’m actually picking up some overtime. Good for my bank account, but not so good for getting anything done during my lunch break. The Salsa Rueda group that I dance with performed three times in September. I had a blast, but it did impact my usual weekend work time. My Butterfly-of-the-Week has been put on hold for now and I missed a couple 7-Butter-Flydays. It looks like I’ve finally reached my maximum obligation capacity. On the writing side of things, I’ve completed around 50 pages and 14,500 words of the 2nd draft of Dragon World Book One: Tree Dragon. For those of you that follow the hero’s journey for plot development, I’ve finished with the ordinary world stage through the crossing of the first threshold into the special world. Hopefully, October will be a little kinder to my schedule, but whatever may come, the novel will go on.

What I’m reading this week: I’m enjoying Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series. I’ve read Storm Front, Fool Moon and will start Grave Peril on tomorrow morning’s commute. I actually found Jim Butcher through a non-fiction book called The Fantasy Fiction Formula by Deborah Chester. She is a prolific author in her own right and Jim Butcher was one of her students and wrote the foreword to this book. She uses examples from her fiction as well as from Butcher and others as writing samples and I found her book very helpful. But after reading his foreword, I knew I wanted to read his stories. And after Storm Front, I was hooked. What I love most about the Dresden Files series is not simply the urban fantasy Butcher has created but his mystery noir, dark sardonic yet completely vulnerable voice through which the stories are told.

My favorite dream interpretation this week:
Dancing
1. A universal symbol for joy.
2. If the dreamer is feeling good about life, that feeling will continue. If things aren’t going well, then that should shift very shortly.
Astrological parallel: Pisces.
Tarot parallel: The World.

My favorite Abraham quote this week:
“Rather than wanting to hold to the past longer and slow things down and stop the aging process — just revel in the power of now! You can’t stop time, and you won’t stop the recycling process that is taking place upon this planet, nor would you want to — but you do not have to suffer the moving through time. Every moment can be more wonderful than the moment before.” —Abraham
To learn more about Abraham (channeled by Esther Hicks), the Law of Attraction, or to sign up for Abraham’s daily quote visit: http://www.abraham-hicks.com/lawofattractionsource/index.php

My favorite writing prompt this week:
“The characters from one of your abandoned stories find out that you have given up on them.”

My favorite writing quote this week:
“The more you try to pin a word down, the more you realize that it has its own cape, sword and little hat.” –Roy Blount Jr.

My favorite from the inter-webs: Here’s a classic tool for writers. You may have this one bookmarked already, but if not I highly recommend it. Thesaurus.com gives you a few more levels of synonyms than the built-in thesaurus in your word processing software. Now that I’m working on a Mac for half of my writing time, I’m finding that the thesaurus that comes with my Office 365 Word is even less helpful. Thesaurus.com will color code your synonyms, highlighting those that are most similar in definition darker than those less exact. Also, you’re more likely to get up to four or five pages of results which is helpful if the word you’re trying to find is close to the word that’s stuck in your head, but not quite. Hope you find it as helpful as I do.
Find it at: http://www.thesaurus.com

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Names in Writing: I recently read an interesting post by Philip Athans on the blog, Fantasy Writer’s Handbook, where he discusses the capitalization of a common word being used as a proper name. As in: the Tower, the Witch, the Magician, the Chancellor, the Mountain, the City etc. I’m guilty of this myself in my WIP. And, that’s okay if I’m using it as a placeholder until I come up with something better. He goes on to say that to elevate a common word is a missed opportunity for creative world building. And, I agree. Looking back on my choices of the Alchemist and the Sorcerer, the Broadsword and the Amulet, I realize that these were cop-outs on my part, choosing the easiest solution. But all is not lost, now I have a new world-building challenge to name my characters, cities and weapons in a new way that adds depth, meaning and magic to my world.

What I’m reading this week: Private, by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. “Former Marine helicopter pilot Jack Morgan runs Private, a renowned investigation company with branches around the globe. It is where you go when you need maximum force and maximum discretion. The secrets of the most influential men and women on the planet come to Jack daily – and his staff of investigators uses the world’s most advanced forensic tools to make and break their cases.” Readers are given three intense and unrelated mysteries. Forensics are used to prove guilt for the largest case of the three and it’s not overly technical. We’re in Jack Morgan’s 1st person POV with other POVs in 3rd person close, which is a technique I’m hoping to borrow. Patterson and Paetro work so well together it’s hard to tell there were co-authors on this novel. The prose is crisp and fast paced. The narration is strong and all the characters, even the minor ones are memorable. The writing style paints a vivid picture with very few strokes, keeping our focus on the story. Well done.

My favorite dream interpretation this week:
Clock:
A symbol for time passing.
1. If you dream of watching a clock ticking, with the hands moving steadily, this is a warning that you need to stop wasting time.
2. Winding a clock or watch indicates that you are taking control of the situation.
3. Hearing a clock strike indicates that the time has come for some positive action.

My favorite Abraham quote this week:
“You are the vibrational writers of the script of your life, and everyone else in the Universe is playing the part that you have assigned to them.” —Abraham
To learn more about Abraham (channeled by Esther Hicks), the Law of Attraction, or to sign up for Abraham’s daily quote visit: http://www.abraham-hicks.com/lawofattractionsource/index.php

My favorite writing prompt this week:
“Having lost a bet, he was now tasked with turning a class of school girls into secret service agents.”

My favorite writing quote this week:
“Exercise the writing muscle every day, even if it is only a letter, notes, a title list, a character sketch, a journal entry. Writers are like dancers, like athletes. Without that exercise, the muscles seize up.” –Jane Yolen

My favorite from the inter-webs: So, perhaps you’ve found that you have a few capitalized words that are common in your work. Where to begin though? If you need help getting those juices flowing, there are lots (and I mean lots) of random names generator websites out there. Even though the results may not initially be right for your world, they may spark inspiration that will lead you on a name-making journey. I’ve cruised through a few sites and the most prolific one by far is Fantasy Name Generator. The creator is obviously fond of role playing games, but there is so much more. Hovering over the “Fantasy Name” tab, you get a drop down list 5 columns wide by 26 items long. Yes, that’s 130 different random name generators from Alien Names to Zombie Types. I could write forever on the possibilities, so you’ll just have to check it out.
Find it at: http://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/

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August Recap: This month has been full of creative endeavors. I’ve added a new daily kaleidoscope post that is finding interest and appreciation. Thank you to everyone who has liked my digital kaleidoscope posts and my new followers!
On the writing side, I’ve completed my novel’s outline and have started writing new pages. I’m meeting with new critique partners this Thursday and am very excited to move forward on my novel again. I finished my first draft in May 2016, but it’s taken me this long to rework my plot and define my heroine. I’m more of a panting-plotter, only taking time to work out a plan when I got stuck. I have to say, the knowledge that I know where my story is going before I start writing is very reassuring. Second draft, here I come!

What I’m reading this week: The Never Ending Story was and still is one of my favorite childhood movies. I love the idea of magical worlds that rise from within us, fueled by our wishes and dreams. The concept of a story within a story mesmerizes me. It reflects how as we live our lives we are also observing ourselves and are being observed by others.  So, when I saw the audio version come up in my Audible recommendations, I couldn’t resist. What surprised me most is that the movie only covers the first third of the book. Hollywood took some creative license (especially with Falkor, changing him from lion-like to dog-like) but overall the movie didn’t diminish my enjoyment of the book or vice-versa. Michael Ende does a lovely job with the world-building too, not overdoing it which can often happen in fantasy. I also enjoyed the running catch-phrase. At the end of any unfinished side-story Ende teases us with “that is another story and shall be told another time,” which had the writer inside me yearning for a notebook to jot down my ideas on what that story could be.

My favorite dream interpretation this week:
Maze/Labyrinth
1. A portent of uncertain times ahead, when you literally won’t know if you’re coming or going.
2. If the dreamer found his or her way out and wasn’t particularly concerned about it, then whatever problems you face will be set right and you can get on with your life.
3. But if the dreamer was frightened, panicked, and kept running into dead ends, then the dream is telling him or her that it’s vital to calm down, try to relax, and face whatever appears to be stopping him from doing what he wants.
4. A change of direction is likely to be necessary.

My favorite Abraham quote this week:
“People often believe that because something happened, and because it is a fact or true, that it should be focused upon, and therefore kept vibrationally active. And so, many people keep many things active that do not serve them.
If we were standing in your physical shoes we would not keep something active in our vibration just because it had happened. We would only keep things active that we want to repeat in our life experience.” —Abraham
To learn more about Abraham (channeled by Esther Hicks), the Law of Attraction, or to sign up for Abraham’s daily quote visit: http://www.abraham-hicks.com/lawofattractionsource/index.php

My favorite writing prompt this week:
“You have a special backpack that supplies you with everything you may need for the day. One morning, while preparing for your day, you take a peek in the backpack and think, ‘Huh, well this should be an interesting day.'”

My favorite writing quote this week:
“When you are describing, A shape, or sound, or tint, Don’t state the matter plainly, But put it in a hint, And learn to look at all things, With a sort of mental squint.” –Lewis Carroll

My favorite from the inter-webs: Along the lines of writing blogs, another of my favorites is Creative Writing Now. The offerings include story starters and prompts, writing tips on everything from story and poetry basics to in-depth posts on character development and dialogue help. They even offer some interesting e-courses. Good information presented in a friendly and easy to understand manner. Who could ask for more?
Find it at: http://www.creative-writing-now.com

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A little re-branding: I like the idea of a seven-item bullet list every week. It may just be me, but I’m not wild about the term “bullet.” It brings to my mind ballistics and firearms. So, I’ve decided to change the title slightly to 7 Butter-Flydays. A bit more my speed and aesthetic.

What I’m reading this week: I just finished The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis. The story centers around a mysterious death that occurred in 1952 at the Barbizon Hotel for Women in New York. The story is divided between two narrators, Rose Lewin a journalist living at the Barbizon gone condo in 2016 and Darby McLaughlin a naïve young woman from a small town in Ohio to attend secretarial school. Davis does an excellent job mirroring the two plot lines. And she skillfully diverts us with a red herring (and I fell for it, too). Overall, an interesting read, we not only compare women in society in the 50’s with current day, but we also have an interesting mystery to captivate us.

My favorite dream interpretation this week:
Horse:
A universal symbol for freedom, friendship, and for both physical and unearthly power.
1. The ability to work with others and to assume some of their burdens. If the horse is running free, then the dreamer seeks freedom from earthly stresses.
2. If the dreamer is riding the horse, someone nearby is available to assist him.
3. A dream of a dark horse implies that the dreamer is moving from darkness into the light – or it could also imply the presence of a “dark horse”, as in our modern metaphor for someone who attains success by working behind the scenes.
4. A white or light-colored horse implies the gaining of power through wisdom.
Astrological parallel: Sagittarius
Tarot parallel: The Chariot

My favorite Abraham quote this week:
“You cannot get sick enough to help sick people get better. You cannot get poor enough to help poor people thrive. It is only in your thriving that you have anything to offer anyone. If you’re wanting to be of an advantage to others, be as tapped in, turned in, turned on as you can possibly be.” —Abraham
To learn more about Abraham (channeled by Esther Hicks), the Law of Attraction, or to sign up for Abraham’s daily quote visit: http://www.abraham-hicks.com/lawofattractionsource/index.php

My favorite writing prompt this week:
“He received a call asking for 5 minutes of his time. Thinking it was a sales person, and being in a good mood, he agreed. The person on the other side immediately hung up. When he looked up at the clock, he realized it was 5 minutes ahead.”

My favorite writing quote this week:
“Words – so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them.” –Nathaniel Hawthorne

My favorite from the inter-webs: Another author blog I follow is Aliventures: Master the Art Craft and Business of Writing. Her topics are focused on writing full-time, balancing work writing and novel writing, and carving out time from your busy life to write. Her current posts are centered on organizing various areas of you life, from your desk to your social media practices, giving suggestions if you only have 5, 15, or 30 minutes to spare. All good stuff, I hope you find it as helpful and informative.
Find it at: www.aliventures.com/

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