 "I took your advice," said the man sitting across the table from me.
What advice was that? I inquired. "You told me I should write something everyday." Ah, yes. It's a suggestion I make to anyone working on a book project. Write something everyday even if it's only one sentence. Why? Because it keeps your head in the story or the project. When you work on your book everyday you don't lose your train of thought so easily. When you take time off, whether it is for a couple of days or for a few months you have to then go back and pick up the threads of your work and try to weave together the ragged ends again. I know this from experience. At one point, while writing my novel, Picking up the Pieces, I took over two months where I didn't even open the book's file. I felt swamped with other work and just put the project on hold until I could catch up and concentrate on it in a more focused way. What happened though, was that when I did get back to writing, I had to go back through the entire manuscript, get to know my characters again and figure out what they had been up to before I abandoned them. I spent so much time just getting my head back into that writing space that I wasted a lot of time that could have been used for writing. Now I advise my clients to work on their book projects everyday if even for a few minutes. Write a few words or a paragraph. Flesh out a scene or re-write the last one. Doing this keeps the project alive in your thoughts even when you're doing other things so that when you have time to get back at it in earnest it will be fresh in your mind. Few days are so perfect. My husband and I were on a short vacation, the pace unhurried, the weather divine. I took this photo of the marina at Hadlock Bay, WA around noon. 
Late September 2012, Port Hadlock, Washingon, US
 This might look like somebody's house with lots of parking but it's not. This is a little restaurant my husband and I discovered a couple of weeks ago while staying in Port Townsend, WA. It's called Scampi's and Halibut's and it's in the little town of Port Hadlock, WA.
I just love it when you find a gem in an out-of-the-way place and this restaurant is one of those. I promised that I would blog about it because the food was so fantastic. The building itself is a double-wide mobile home converted into a restaurant. The interior decor is cozy and tasteful. However, it's the menu that is so astounding. An amazing variety of seafood is offered and salads with ingredients that only a food artist could think up, with paragraph-long descriptions. I had the salad with huge fresh shrimp, goat cheese, candied pecans, dried cranberries and I can't remember what else. It was so good! So, if you're ever in Port Hadlock (Google map it) be sure to eat here. You're going to love it.  While staying in Port Townsend, WA, last week we did a little exploring and found the most delightful little bay called Hadlock Bay.
As you can see, the sun was shining to brightly that I had to squint my eyes nearly shut. I am so thankful for the beautiful fall weather we've had here. Though cool at night - because of the clear air - the days have been brilliant and warm. You see, I'm a lover of summer and summer took a long time to get here this year, which, to be honest, is not unusual. So to have the weather stay nice day after day, week after week is a blessing indeed. This weekend is Thanksgiving here in Canada. This gives us the opportunity to reflect on all the good things we have in our lives and be thankful. Thankfulness is a funny thing; it requires an object or personage to thank. We can be thankful to others for what they contribute to our lives but what about those blessings that are not attached to a specific person? While thankfulness alone is good for our souls, being thankful to God is even more powerful. I am thankful for so many things in life that no human has provided; only God alone. I appreciate the way the sun slides over the mountaintop in the morning and bursts into my living room. I love the way the trees turn multi-colour in the fall and burst into new life each spring. I love the smell of the sea and the cry of the gull. Only God can be thanked for these delights, these blessings that make my life so rich and beautiful. So, thank-you, God. |
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