I could just insert a pointed joke about Microsoft Outlook, but instead I’m just going to forewarn you that I made a mistake in the captions at the 4:24 mark. Instead of Overlook Hotel, I call it Outlook Hotel. I blame the allergy meds, but lack of sleep might have been the culprit, lol.
Anyway.
I hope your December is going well!
Love always,
J.
Hi stranger.
Last week was… a week. I was going to stop the vlogging process at mid-Friday and leave it at that but, for some reason, I felt compelled to explain myself. I don’t owe it to anyone. Maybe it was because I wanted to be honest. Not everything is always so hunky-dory and happy all the time.
Anyway, here is this.
I promise that I’ll be much better company next week (though, I probably shouldn’t be making promises like that). Husbando has been so patient with me and he’s been my rock while everything else felt unsteady.
I’ve been brainstorming some ideas I want to write on, because it’s been too long since I’ve put pen to paper (figuratively and literally). Our fearless leader for our Saturday AM Roundtable Group once asked me if I felt compelled to write and what happens when I don’t write. My response: I’m miserable.
Boy.
I really am miserable. Just ask Husbando. lol
Love you,
J.
Helloooo.
So.
I forgot to upload my video here last week. Oops. There was one. It looked like this:
I’m also going to go ahead and upload my video for this week. I normally get them done on Sundays. Thursdays were just my bloggy days so I would upload it then. But since I messed that up last week, I’m just going to go ahead and do it now.
I hope this multi-video upload helps you procrastinate your much-neglected adulting responsibilities. For around 20 minutes anyway.
Love,
J.
Husbando and I had a successful first week of NaNoWriMo. The week wasn’t without its struggles though. While Husbando is struggling with a few character motivations, I have been struggling with my own motivation for the story.
I love my characters and both critique groups seem excited about the story (which is great). I think, though, this might not be my future series. I can see this as merely a standalone (sub)urban dark fantasy.
I’ve been dabbling in bookbinding and papermaking as well. I love being crafty so this is a great way to incorporate my love of books into my crafty side as well.
Vlog highlights:
Last Sunday’s vlog:
Love,
J.
Normally, my vlogs run from Sunday through Saturday. This last Saturday ended on a sad note, so I thought I’d continue the vlog through my entire weekend (which also included Monday).
Highlights include:
Thanks for watching. And thanks for indulging in my vloggy experiments.
Love,
J.
Last week was rough. I was going through some personal stuff at the beginning of the week, which (I assumed) would set the tone for the rest of the week. But–as it turns out–I have a great support system. With Husbando, Teddy, and some close friends, I was able to salvage the week after all.
Doing a vlog is a weird thing. For the past few weeks, I was busy enough that I spend a chunk of the weekend editing my vlog instead of working on it a little each night. What I’ve realized is that I often forget a lot about what has happened at the beginning of the week. Even important things. For example, how awful the start of my week was.
Anyway, here’s last Sunday’s vlog!
Next Sunday’s vlog is going to be full of writing stuff since it is the week before NaNo 2021!
Love,
J.
So I’m a boring human being and I do absolutely nothing all day, which is why it makes no sense why I’ve been dabbling in vlogging.
And yet, I find it therapeutic.
It’s like journaling. I get to record the things going on in my life for posterity. I also get to play in a new medium. As of right now, I’m still just using my “not so up-to-date” smartphone and the default video editor that came with Windows, so it’s not fancy.
I get over the frustration of older technology by telling myself that this is some sort of trial or that I’m “paying my dues” and will eventually level up. Then I can get a better camera (and not a smartphone that consistently tries to refocus, even though it was already focused) and a video editing program (and not one which offers me the use of 3D emojis, only to tell me that none of them are actually available to me. WHY OFFER IT THEN?!).
*clears my throat*
Anyway…
I like to think I’m getting better.
My friend and I have been trading vlogs each week. We’ve been playing with our formats and layouts, testing what types of vlogs we want to make. I’ve decided I like the format of weekly vlogs. Sometimes they all of the footage is themed. Most of the time, it is a log of the interesting things I happen upon each day. They always cover Sunday through Saturday, starting with errand day and ending with cozy critique days.
It’s been ten straight weeks of vlogs so far and I still like it, which is promising!
Here is my latest:
We’ll see how the content changes in November when NaNoWriMo starts. I may try my hand at a few “write with me” style videos.
We’ll see.
Love,
J.
Having lived through it, the past week feels hectic, but it probably doesn’t appear hectic from the outside. Here at The DeVore Business and Industrial Park, we’ve been slowly decorating our house in fall and Halloween dĂ©cor. Since we probably won’t get trick-or-treaters again this year, we haven’t really decorated our front porch.
NaNoWriMo 2021
Last year, I was disappointed we couldn’t do the midnight write-in on October 31st, at our local diner. This year most of the restaurants in town are open again, but–for obvious reasons–they have cut back their hours. So no midnight write-in again this year. Having a virtual option is nice but it’s not the same. The turnout last year was lackluster and we were all pretty Zoom-fatigued at that point.
My project for this year has changed a few times already. I want to choose something I’ll be able to market. The first book in a series, hopefully. We shall see.
My indecision probably stems from my insecurities about publication. Part of me just wants to write what I want. Don’t write to market. Just write what I would want to read. The problem, however, is I really need to focus on my writing goals which–at this point–are twofold:
These two things don’t have to be mutually exclusive. I should be able to write something that makes people smile and can make me money. However, my genre of choice would be “weird fiction” and that’s not super marketable. So I’m having to compromise on genre to meet these goals.
Luckily, I like writing in different genres. I just need to narrow my focus on the genre that would make me happy and hope that I write well enough to meet these two goals.
WE
SHALL
SEE
🙂
Why can’t writing be the hardest part about writing?
Love,
J.
I love being able to watch a new show and feel inspired to write. Not necessarily inspired to write something similar to the show. Just something. Create something. When there’s a show that is so creative and so inspired and it forces me to go, “Why didn’t I think of that?!”
That is the best feeling.
This past week, I finished watching both Midnight Mass and Only Murders in the Building. I loved both and they both left me with that same feeling. If you feel like something incredibly atmospheric, thought-provoking, and dark, I highly suggest Midnight Mass. If you love true crime podcasts, watching things a little off-beat, and feel like you want to be a part of something bigger, I suggest Only Murders in the Building.
Only Murders in the Building made me feel pangs in my heart, I didn’t realize were there. I think the line I want to eventually speak (even now) is “It’s been the most alive I’ve felt in a decade.” I don’t want to sound morose. I’m complacent but not unhappy. I’m finding ways to try new things. I do feel alive. But I know that I will eventually fall into another rut. And I hope that I happen upon something that makes that line ring true for me too.
Aaaanyway, I hope you find something that makes you feel that inspired as well. So it’s back to the word mines for me. It’s a little early for Preptober, but I’m really excited for NaNoWriMo this year. I hope I can come up with something amazing.
Love,
J.
I like routines. I like spontaneity. I like fingerless gloves. I like old dime store novels. I like–Oh wait, there was a point to this. Routines are something I need to establish in order to be more productive. Because in order to knock out a few of those bucket list items, I need to be able to produce results.
*smacks desk to show I mean business*
Remember a couple weeks ago when I said, “This is not a vow“? This isn’t one of those either. Instead, consider this a letter of intent… which sounds much more ominous than I planned. Each week, I want to:
Now, I won’t be able to do all of those things, but I’d love to do at least two of those each week. I’d love to publish either one vlog or one blog each week, for example.
This is when my Passion Planner Daily will come in handy. I’ve been spending the last quarter getting used to it and trying to find my own system.
Tomorrow is October. It is a glorious time where I don’t have to feel guilty about doing all things Halloween. It’s also the start of a new month, which means a new 30-Day Challenge. Now, I’ve been spending most of September thinking about what to do for October. In addition to it being Preptober (the month before National Novel Writing Month, which is dedicated to planning out your NaNoWriMo project), it will also be my month to:
“spend 30 days stepping away from toxic relationships”
Why not spend my favorite season surrounding myself with positivity and people who make me happy? Instead of being around people who make me feel bad about myself, due to some misplaced sense of (blind) loyalty?
I’ve been feeling a little lonely lately and I think it’s because I am waiting for and watching toxic friends instead of focusing on myself and on the other healthier friendships in my life.
I do want to note that while I’m stepping away from these relationships, I’m not cutting ties fully. From past experience, I know that each relationship has its boundaries. Sometimes, depending on those relationships, the boundaries change. I just need to find where the boundaries of these relationships are. That’s not usually difficult but, when those boundaries shift a significant amount, it can be much harder and take more of an emotional toll. So that’s where I am now.
Since I’ve already come to terms with this, I feel like October should be easy on me. This initial realization (which happened about mid-July) was heartbreaking. But such is life.
In addition to the 30-Day challenge, it’s a new quarter which means new quarterly goals! I’m currently finalizing those so more on that later.
TL;DR – October 30-Day Challenge is to shoo away toxic relationships. Routines are hard but I have my-
-handy dandy Passion Planner Daily. Also, Q4 goals!
Hugs!
J.
Jocelyn DeVore 