Good day, now it's bedtime. I accomplished everything that I wanted to do. Monday my writing will switch to something else to write about.

Things have been productive so far today. I finished the read aloud project. Now my voice can rest for awhile. Cleaned up my washer and dryer so now they sparkle. Thankfully no more snow has fallen so I didn't need to shovel today. I plan on doing a little baking this afternoon and working on my other project.

One more entry before I close up my computer time. I got laundry done. I got the shovelling done (until the next snow fall). Fed the critters and watered the plants. Worked on both of my writing projects (woo hoo!). Paid some bills. Now I will unplug the computer for its down time and I will have dinner and enjoy some popcorn and a movie on the television at 8:00 pm.

I did get to spend some time working on my two projects. Reading one outloud and reviewing the other. Hopefully I will get time to do that again today, but first things first. Laundry and shovelling snow are my priorities.

Today has been productive. I put a poem on Helium. I worked on an outline for one of my novels. I did a reading (out loud) to feel the rhythm and tone of another novel that is being polished up to hopefully sell to a publisher. I only read a couple of chapters but it was enough to aggravate my chronic laryngitis. Now my voice is raspy and feels strained. Oh well. While I was on Helium I rated numerous items for them.

I was able to work on two of my novels yesterday even though a lot of time was spent getting my blog together.

The two that I worked on were ones that were complete, but I was fine tuning them. I try to work on a different piece of work one week at a time. That way I don't run into writer's block (well, at least not often). I have had witer's block on a story and spent the whole week trying to circumvent that block. Plus working on a different writing project each week keeps it interesting.

I, also, have a cartoon that I work on as well. It's called "The Ants" and I've been doing it for twenty years or so.

My plans for today are to continue fine tuning the two novels I was working on yesterday. I usually work on Helium on Friday's so I will be visiting that site today.

My process for writing is long and old fashioned. It works for me though.

1. Have an idea or a dream to start the process.
2. I write it out in long-hand in a notebook as well as count each word for a word count.
3. Then I type it up and sometimes find that I'd left words out.
4. After it is typed I read it and correct spelling errors, typing errors, and sometimes re-writing things.
5. Next I copy it into blank books, printing it so that it is readable. Most novels take three blank books or more.
6. Once that is done I input the novel into the computer.
7. I read it on screen and make any input errors I might have created.
8. Once that is completed to my satisfaction I print off a copy with double sided pages and bind the finished product into what I call a "Big Book".
9. Before a novel is ready to publish I read it out loud and get the tone of it. I correct things that do not sound right to the ear.

My reason for doing the above steps: Back before I had a computer (yes, I'm that old) putting pen to paper was easy to take anywhere you wished. I did have a typewriter when I was an adult and not typing my stuff just doesn't seem right. Because I wanted to see my novels in print I printed them in the blank books. They look nice in my bookcase. Then the computer entered my life and that was great. The four books that I have in print out in the world I self published through Xlibris. This is a costly way of doing things, but it is a good feeling seeing your book in print and selling. The Big Books, at the beginning of my computer usage, were made to give to my daughters to read and provide feed back. Now, due to distance and other factors I only make a Big Book for me.

Children's Stories:

Grace and the Dragon - First chapter on Helium. The adventures of a young girl and the last dragon.

Brownlee's Pants - Halloween story.

A Day With Knit and Purl - Siamese cats that have adventures. On Helium.

The Adventures of Petey - A cat that take's over the house and does mischief. On Helium.

Petey Meets His Match - The cat meets someone that scares him. On Helium.

Willie - My first children story. Willie is a wood elf. On Helium.

Ravina - A fairy tale-like story. On Helium

Ready For Publishing:

Tiarra - Pre-Star Trek saga.

royalty? - My stab at humor.

Another Kind of Love Story - My first novel. About love, naturally.

Alaina's Secret - How would it be to be genetically different.

Roth of God - A woman rebels about the turns her life had taken.

Tehya's Tree - The follow up to Snow Flower, due to popular demand.

Spice - Two mini stories showing how life and recipes are alike.

B.P. (Beginning Poetry) - All my poetry from 1958 to 2000. Some good, some not so good. *

New Beginnings - After a divorce are heroine starts anew in a new town, job, and apartment.

In Progress:

Purgatory (Hell On Earth) - Life after open heart surgery and an infection.

4 D's (Dearly Departed Disfunctional Dinghies) - My family history. Mom once said we were all dingies, hence the title.

Kajika - Now I have a series. Snow Flower, Tehya's Tree, and now Kajika.

Poetry for the Crazy, Painful, and Old Aged - From 2000 to infinity! *

Poetry can be found on Helium.

Books In Print:

The following books are in print (by demand) and can be order at any of your local bookstores or at www.xlibris.com/bookstore

Snow Flower - American Indian saga. *

H.A.L. - What I call a gentle science fiction. About robots and emotions.

Hawk - Another gentle sci/fi. About an avian society.

Hear Me Roar - The travails of a woman and how she succeeds in life.

* Under Linda Munn the rest are under Linda B. Munn

Having written something from when I was a teenager until now has been rewarding and fulfilling. The first few things that I had written were children stories (to entertain my younger brother then later for my own children) and poetry (to express things going on in my life). More than once my writing has saved my sanity by letting me vent or worry out kinks in my road to life. It's like a warm, comfortable shoe sometimes, at other times the "work" has been so tied to me that it was like giving birth to a baby.

I write about things that I have a question or thought about and try to put it to paper. The subject vary greatly at times. Near and dear to my heart, however, it the American Indian and their culture. Unwittingly I think I have created a series on that theme.

I plan, in this blog, to not only give you the processes I go through, but will list works that have been created. The catagories as I see it for now will be: Novels -In Print; Ready to Print; Children Stories - Ready to Print; and In Progress.

Today is another "new" day of my life. I have created this blog. My purpose here is to let people know the joy, pain, and long process that I go through to create a novel and poem.