Blogging

Bogged Down [and a summer break]

May 24, 2016 by Abbigail Kriebs 3 Comments

I get bogged down by the everyday.

I’m sure you do, too.

I get so focused on doing that I forget to look up and refocus on the goal from time to time.

I’m an INTJ, a high-achiever, the type that never wants to stop for fear they won’t get started again. I like routine, I like deadlines, I like checklists.

Ok, I probably love all of those things.

Needless to say, breaks are hard for me.

It’s hard to admit that something might not be working, that I might not be able to do it all. But it is time.

Scott and I are moving this weekend to a short-term apartment while we wait for our house to be built. We won’t be too far from our future home, and I’ve decided to take a break from the self-imposed blogging deadlines and let us enjoy the summer and the building process rather than drive myself crazy trying to do it all and enjoy it all.

This comes at the perfect time, really. We are wrapping up the final few episodes of Chasing Creative’s Season 1 this week (new episodes will debut through the end of July!) in time for my move and Ashley to take some time before her new baby arrives. We promised ourselves that we wouldn’t allow the podcast to make us crazy – and we’re proud of ourselves for ending the season on a high note before it does.

So no blogging (or minimal blogging – I might hop in once a month), no podcasting… it’s going to feel strange. I will have June Dairy Month to contend with, but then it’s summer and I don’t have a lot on the calendar.

I’m looking forward to a couple of months off, a handful of weeks to catch my breath.

I’ve promised myself that in the absence of blogging, I will make progress on the novel. It’ll be the only thing I’ll need to attend to for a couple of months, so it really should get a fair amount of attention.

And I hope to spend a lot of time outside, going for long hikes and checking in on our house. I want to take pictures like I haven’t done this spring. I want to get out and live so I have something to write about when I come back inside.

What are your summer plans?

P.S. I’m sure I’ll be on Instagram most every day, sharing house pictures and life. Let’s catch up over there?

My Writing Process: A Blog Hop

September 30, 2014 by Abbigail Kriebs Leave a Comment

I’ve been running behind this year.

I’ve tried to give myself some grace as I’ve moved and chaperoned and changed jobs. But, when you are a Type-A, it’s hard to let yourself off the hook.

So I’m trying not to beat myself up that Valerie Biel nominated me for a blog hop post back in May to talk about my writing process… and that I still haven’t written it. Oops.

I’ve been holding her email invite in my inbox these many months, knowing that I would get to it eventually. Well, eventually is now. Without further ado, here is how I go about writing things. All the things.

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I have no actual process.

That’s probably not what anybody wanted to hear. It’s not really what I wanted to type. I wanted to say that I get up early every morning and sit on my front porch, sipping a cup of coffee and taking a moment to enjoy the sunrise before I set to typing, never failing to write 1,000 words before I head to work at 7 AM.

That is not the case.

Right now, writing for me has been a haphazard endeavor. It’s something I squeeze in between work hours, freelance projects, and the need for sleep and nourishment.

As you can tell, I’m making tons of progress on that novel (Actual 2014 word count: maybe 14).

But, this year I have been blogging, albeit somewhat infrequently. I’m getting better. That’s progress right? that still counts as writing, right?

Right?!?

When I do write, it’s mostly because I have all of a sudden stumbled upon some half-formed idea while walking from my car to my desk, and so I hurry into work and open Evernote and jot the scrambled thoughts as quickly as I can into a note in my “Writing” folder. I’ve got dozens of little snippets of novels, poems, short stories, and anything else you can think of – just not a completed novel.

This frenzied write-when-inspired tactic is also probably why I have most of the climatic “moments” of my novel written and am now trying to fill in the details to get people from point A to point B in a semi-realistic fashion (Hint: air travel is a blessing).

So, I’m never out of ideas, just the time or motivation to execute on them.

As far as blogs go, I approach them a few different ways. Often, the blog is just about what is going on in life. I write to help me work through what is going on around me, to process life as it happens. Right now, I’m exploring “rest” a lot on the blog, as I reevaluate what is working and what isn’t in my day-to-day routine. Very often I am inspired by other bloggers – a line I read on their site will get the wheels churning and a few weeks later I have my own opinion on something. Other times, its a photo that I take that spurs a blog story – like the weekend we spent in northern Wisconsin recently.

I then usually write the words first, indicating where I will insert what images. Then I watermark photos I’ve taken or create a graphic in Canva for the post and put it altogether. I schedule social media posts about the blog, and call it done! I try to blog on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but it doesn’t always happen.

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So that is my writing “process” – a term I use here very loosely.

Thanks, Valerie, for prompting me to write this blog, even it the prompting came many months ago. You should all go check out Valerie’s latest novel: Circle of Nine: Beltany. I just ordered my copy and can’t wait to dive in! I met Valerie at the UW Writer’s Conference this spring when she was settling into another round of edits for the manuscript. I’m so happy that she has been able to focus more than I this summer and get this book launched. It’s got be a great feeling, and one that I am looking forward to experiencing myself, many months down the road.

Thanks for the inspiration, Valerie!

If you are a writer, what does your process look like?

The Stories of Others: Links From All Over

March 19, 2014 by Abbigail Kriebs 6 Comments

I’m traveling for the day job, spending a couple of days at a trade show in Atlanta, GA. In light of this, and in acknowledgement of my new-found sense of community, I’m sharing with you some writings from around the web that have fascinated me, spoke to my soul, or just made me stop and think.

Adam S McHugh Dreams Quote Wine

If you are a dreamer:

Adam S. McHugh, author of Introverts in the Church, has been writing this last year about transition as he moves from one field to another: from ministry to wine-making. With amazing honesty, he wrote last week about what it is like to try again where you once failed. Read his post Once More into the Breach for more about dreams that change.
I’m often deciding how best to spend my time: writing content, or jimmying with my email subscription service? Megan Dougherty at Paying for Life helped me sort it out a bit better with a post that starts with a rainbow loom bracelet: “Know what you can do well – and either learn the rest, or get someone to help you do it.”

If you are a writer:

What do you do when you go back and read 50,000 words of a novel that need to be redone? If you are me, you panic first and then serendipitously stumble upon a post from Mary Carroll Moore about revision and the growth your writing goes through.
This article from buffer reaffirmed for me that getting up at 5:30 AM everyday to write is worth it.

If you are a thinker:

What I wish I would have articulated about the #banbossy movement, but couldn’t find the words. Anna at Girl, Defined takes on the movement, with eloquence and grace.
Do you believe in such a thing as insignificant choices? Nate Canada doesn’t, and I might not either after reading this post.

Did any of these articles strike a chord with you? Do you have something else I should read? Chime in below!

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend stuff that is good! I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”