Challenges | BulgingButtons

February 1, 2017
by BulgingButtons 9 Comments

Welcome to the Tiniest Month Challenge

February is so short it seems like it begins and ends in a flash.

What better month for a challenge, then?

So here’s my challenge to myself, and by extension to all of you:

Pick something and stick with it. Every. Day.

At least for this tiny month of February.

Some ideas that have rattled around my brain:

hit my Fitbit steps goal everyday
take time to read for pleasure
eat vegetables
mindfully give a compliment
write
avoid social media
stay out of Starbucks
call Mom

We all have things that we “should” do that we neglect. Since this is such a short month why not pick one and stick to it? It’s only 28 days, after all.

In an ideal world I would do ALL of the things on my above list everyday, but I don’t. I’m going to pick ONE and stick with it, but what to pick?

I see my ideas in roughly 3 categories: mental health, physical health, and social connectedness (which, really, is a part of staying mentally healthy I suppose). For me, physical health is the most urgent of those needs at the moment. To that end I choose the first goal: to reach my steps goal each day.

I would love to have company on my tiniest month challenge. If you’re interested please comment with your tiny month goal, and don’t worry if the month has already begun, you can start anytime you want!

October 14, 2016
by BulgingButtons 3 Comments

To Nano or Not to Nano? 2016 Version

NaNoWriMo is coming up… soon. Before we know it November 1 will be on the calendar and National Novel Writing Month will be upon us. It’s a beautiful thing, this challenge to write a novel in 30 days, and it can be done. I know. I’ve done it.

Well, sort of. I’ve written a draft of a novel. The whole thing, beginning, middle, and end. There are characters, settings, conflicts a plenty, and even a resolution. But is it done? Not be a long shot.

When did I write this manuscript? crest-bda7b7a6e1b57bb9fb8ce9772b8faafb

2013.

Gulp.

Yes, it’s been three years. It was a glorious time, really. The ideas were flowing, the words jumped out of my head and through my fingertips onto the screen. Not all days were like that, but overall it worked! I tracked my progress diligently, and worked hard to deliver those 1,600 words per day. Some days I didn’t make it, but other days made up for it. By the end of the month I did it. I finished!

Now I’m in revisions. Still. To be fair, I didn’t touch it for a long time, but also to be fair, I’ve been really slow about revising. Good thing I belong to a terrific writing group which forces me to bring material for review from time to time, or I might not be working on it at all. So why do I keep doing it?

First of all, at this point I have a lot of time invested in it. Sure, I haven’t worked on it every minute of the past three years, but it’s been part of my life for that length of time. I’d hate to just cut it loose and say that it doesn’t matter.

Secondly, and more importantly, I think there’s something to the story. Each time I work on it I’m surprised by how much I actually like the story. My writing group is encouraging (and they are NOT a smile and nod type of group, they tell it like it is), and frankly if I can figure out a little bit of a plot hole I think I could be done with it soon(ish).

The problem is that plot hole seems like a canyon at the moment. When I wrote the draft it all made sense, but when I reread that section (a very pivotal scene) I realized that the motivation for the characters actions was completely missing. The action simply doesn’t make sense without some type of explanation, and silly me, I forgot to include it. At the time I know why he did what he did, but now for the life of me I can’t remember, and it’s causing a problem. I need to figure it out so I can move on!

All that leads me to November. Am I ready to start a new project? I have ideas, and I think I could commit the time, especially now that the boy is in college. It might be the spark I need to get me going creatively, and maybe as a result I’ll come up with a stellar solution to the plot hole in manuscript number one. Maybe.

What do you think? Is this a challenge I should face or a burden I’ll regret?

November 1, 2014
by BulgingButtons 8 Comments

Welcome to the Crazy that we Call November

The trick-or-treaters are all gone, and only a few candy wrappers were blowing around the empty street this morning. I’m debating whether to put away the Halloween decorations today or wait until Monday. It seems like they should stay up through the weekend. I even hit the half price section of my major discount retailer this morning for a few strands of orange lights and a three foot tall monster yard decoration. Oh, and a couple of bags of half price candy. We ran out last night and I’m a candy addict, I admit it.

So now that another holiday is officially in the books, the craziness that is November begins. We start the month with the vestiges of Halloween, and the candy and mess (think rotting pumpkins) it leaves behind. As soon as we get that all put away, we turn our attention to Thanksgiving. Who will be coming over, what dishes should we serve? And if you live at my house, how shall we prepare the turkey? Fried, smoked, or roasted? Decisions, decisions. Then, the day after that’s all done, as we’re enjoying leftovers, we turn our attention to Christmas. Up goes the tree, and out go the crazy black Friday shoppers. No offense, but I enjoy sleep way too much to get up in the middle of the night to fight crowds and spend money. No, thank you.

Mix into all of that a little thing called NaNoWriMo, where you challenge yourself to write a whole novel in November, and another little thing called NaBloPoMo, where you challenge yourself to blog everyday, and you have a recipe for madness. The really weird part about it all? I did it last year (oh, and threw in a very early Chanukah to boot) and honestly, I LOVED it! I blogged everyday. I wrote a manuscript of over 50,000 words. I cleaned up from Halloween, celebrated Thanksgiving, celebrated Chanukah, and prepared for Christmas. I also taught full-time and parented a teen and maintained a relationship with my fiance. I rocked it!

So here we are back at November 1. I’m in a new home, but everything else is the same. Do I think I can do it again? Why not! I won’t know unless I try, so by golly I’m going to try. Hang on to your hat, because November is here!