![\"IMG_0126\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/IMG_0126.jpg?resize=334%2C225\")
difficulty getting my footing. Some of it has to do with adjustments in the new year. I know, it\u2019s the end of February, but I\u2019m still feeling disorganized as far as my writing life goes.<\/p>\nI don\u2019t know what it is but lately I\u2019ve been having difficulty getting my footing. Some of it has to do with adjustments in the new year. I know, it\u2019s the end of February, but I\u2019m still feeling disorganized as far as my writing life goes.<\/p>\n
Part of the problem, as you can tell from my bio<\/a>, is I\u2019m a Jill of all trades. I am a curious individual and so it’s easy for me to get distracted by all the social media. So much so, that I\u2019ve taken a break from Twitter and Facebook. Not a complete break ( I visit occasionally) but a break nonetheless.<\/p>\n So you think I’d have more time, huh? Yes and no. It’s not as if I’m not doing anything about the writing. In fact, I hired an editor and am now waiting to hear what she has to say about my novel. That\u2019s exciting and I welcome what will come. Then I hope to put it out there and get an agent (I\u2019ve had them before, but that was for my screenplays) and go the traditional route. If it takes too long, and it almost feels that way already, as I\u2019m not that young (at heart, yes; body, no), I\u2019ll self-publish. Yay! Join the others and hope mine rises to the surface, rather than ends up in a forgotten bin on the internet.<\/p>\n Quinsam River, Campbell River<\/p><\/div>\n I’m feeling the need to let go of expectations and flow like the river.\u00a0 As I ride the current, I\u2019m continuing to write my grandmother\u2019s story. Not as fast as I\u2019d like, but progress isn\u2019t always fast. And it\u2019s never a straight line up. Sometimes you go backwards for awhile or take a side trip. I think every writer knows that journey.<\/p>\n And I\u2019m about to throw my long short story out there, a coming of age story about a young girl in the 1950s. Maybe I\u2019ll enter it in the odd contest, and see what happens. Plus there\u2019s all that poetry lying around and oh yes, another novel that needs attention, my first one, the one that was originally a screenplay and got me two agents.<\/p>\n No, I get distracted because it\u2019s almost spring, and I have stuff to go through. I\u2019m not a hoarder, but I do have stuff, like old VHS tapes of family. Seven bins in all. Though they’ve\u00a0 been carefully copied on to DVDs, I feel a need to double check before we trash all those VHS memories.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve also been spending huge chunks of time with my grandson, Michael Stevantoni<\/a>,\u00a0 filmmaker, who did the Brother<\/a>, that I acted in last year. Now, I\u2019m helping him produce his next short film, and that\u2019s a time gobbler\u2014casting actors, getting costumes, props, schedules, location scouting, equipment And of course, my piano lessons and the garden. We are gardening already on the west coast, in between storms. The crocuses are up. So, I think you can see why I\u2019m feeling somewhat fragmented.<\/p>\n While I\u2019m sorting out my priorities, I\u2019ll keep meandering down the writing trail. I\u2019ll keep climbing those steps to getting that novel published. And I\u2019ll enjoy the view along the way.<\/p>\n What about you? Are you at all like me? Lots of interests fighting for your time? If so, how do you manage?<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I don\u2019t know what it is but lately I\u2019ve been having difficulty getting my footing. Some of it has to do with adjustments in the new year. I know, it\u2019s… <\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[88,4],"tags":[78,105,104,9,454,33],"class_list":["post-1293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life","category-writing","tag-diana-stevan","tag-filmmaker","tag-michael-stevantoni","tag-novel","tag-the-brother","tag-writer"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1LuVB-kR","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3133,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2017\/writing\/a-writer-takes-stock-in-february\/","url_meta":{"origin":1293,"position":0},"title":"A Writer Takes Stock In February","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"23 \u041b\u044e\u0442\u043e\u0433\u043e, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"As a writer, I've enjoyed February so far, even though the early weeks brought some disappointment. It was a rough winter by Pacific Coast standards. We normally get little snow, but this year the big snow dumps did some damage. We were lucky though to get away with just a\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/crocus.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/crocus.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/crocus.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/crocus.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/crocus.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":645,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2011\/writing\/taking-a-break-to-de-clutter-the-mind\/","url_meta":{"origin":1293,"position":1},"title":"Taking A Break To De-clutter The Mind","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"19 \u0421\u0435\u0440\u043f\u043d\u044f, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Since I\u2019ve been up to my eyeballs trying to figure out the next steps in my writing life \u2014and getting confused as to which direction to take\u2014I took a break and went for a hike. What always boggles my mind is how refreshed I feel after a walk in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1100314-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1422,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2013\/writing\/inspired-by-a-fly\/","url_meta":{"origin":1293,"position":2},"title":"Inspired By A Fly","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"5 \u041b\u0438\u043f\u043d\u044f, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019ve neglected my blog for a week as I\u2019ve been busy revising, yet again, my novel\u2014a romantic adventure with some paranormal elements. My blog topic was going to be one about Snowden\u2014the whistle blower on American spying\u2014and whether he\u2019s a hero or a villain (our family is evenly divided on\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Life"","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"fly photo (2)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/fly-photo-2-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4129,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2019\/uncategorized\/mystical-surprises-on-the-writing-road\/","url_meta":{"origin":1293,"position":3},"title":"Mystical Surprises on the Writing Road","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"13 \u0411\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0437\u043d\u044f, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Have you ever been surprised by some wonderful phrase or sentence that you've written on your writing road? Have you ever wondered how it ended up on the page? Organicity Whenever I've looked at something I've written that seems magical, inspired, or downright surprising, I attribute it to the art\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 \"A Cry From The Deep\"","block_context":{"text":"A Cry From The Deep","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/tag\/a-cry-from-the-deep\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"sunflowers under fire","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/sunflower-front-ebook-very-small-size.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3637,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2018\/writing\/if-the-dead-could-only-talk\/","url_meta":{"origin":1293,"position":4},"title":"If The Dead Could Only Talk","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"12 \u041b\u0438\u043f\u043d\u044f, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The thought, if the dead could only talk, came into my head in the middle of last night. I\u2019m not sure why except that I\u2019ve been writing a story in which so many of the characters are drawn from people who are already dead. Drawing on Family Stories My third\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Documentary"","block_context":{"text":"Documentary","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/film-2\/documentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"if the dead could only talk","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/do-not-say-we-have-nothing2-199x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1593,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2014\/writing\/jumping-into-the-fray-of-self-publishing\/","url_meta":{"origin":1293,"position":5},"title":"Jumping into the Fray of Self-Publishing","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"5 \u041a\u0432\u0456\u0442\u043d\u044f, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"It's spring! What better time to jump into the fray of self-publishing. It's a time to blossom, so I'm going for it. Yes, I\u2019ve decided to self-publish my book, A Cry From The Deep, a romantic mystery. I resisted at first, because it\u2019s a hell of a lot of work\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Magnolia Blossom by Diana Stevan","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/IMG_0295-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1293"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1293\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"IMG_0127\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/IMG_0127.jpg?resize=301%2C220\")
![\"IMG_0137\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/IMG_0137.jpg?resize=233%2C312\")
purchase, rentals, borrowing lights, getting behind the scenes footage. Huge!!! But it\u2019s all worth it.<\/p>\n