I’ve been away! Actually, I’m on Hive every single day as an admin of The Ink Well. But it has been quite some time since I blogged regularly.
To make a long story very short, I broke my foot really badly a year and a half ago, and it um (pardon the pun) crippled my writing schedule. The reason being that my m.o. was Actifit. So that was the end of that, with the long-term prospect of getting broken foot bones melded back together and aligned.
Plus I published a book — which was a very time consuming, life-devouring project. But yes! Yes I did that. It has been a very exciting adventure, and I’m very happy about it. (And yes there’s a “but” coming… eventually…) It’s a collection of short stories called Somewhere in Minnesota and you can find it on Amazon in paperback, Kindle or Audible. It's even on international Amazon sites.
But… (there's the "but"!) I had NO idea what I was getting myself into with regard to getting this thing promoted, getting it placed in book stores, getting the Audible version done, etc. etc. It’s the most time consuming project I’ve ever taken on.
So that’s what I’ve been up to.
Oh! About the foot. So it was a mess for a full year — never fully healing, and keeping me from being active. Then at the very end of 2023, I had another surgery to remove the metal pins they had installed to get the bones to heal correctly in the first surgery, and then it finally started to really heal. Now at last I’m back to my former level of activity. I’m walking, biking, working out, playing pickleball, and living life again. Which means... when do I sit down and blog??
And how do you break back into a habit like regular blogging when all the mechanisms you had in place have gone dormant? I look at this platform where I used to have a voice, and used to be very interactive (as me, not just as a member of an admin team) and I feel like that kid at the edge of the field wondering how to ask if I can play!
But here’s how I decided it’s time. I realized that almost every day I take a few pictures or have something interesting happen, and my inner voice says: Hey, that would make a nice blog post!
Alrighty then. Let’s do this.
Photo credits: All of the photos in this post were taken by me and belong to me, unless otherwise noted.
My bio: I am a fiction writer and photographer based in Minnesota. I have had a lifelong love of fiction writing. I earned my MFA in writing from the University of New Hampshire. My short stories have appeared in a range of literary journals and anthologies, and my first short story collection, Somewhere in Minnesota is available on Amazon US as well as international Amazon sites., Barnes & Noble or from the publisher.
Want to know what I'm publishing and where? Visit my website, www.jaynalocke.com, or follow me on X, aka Twitter, at www.twitter.com/@jaynatweets or on Instagram at www.instagram.com/authorjaynalocke.
Join Hive at Hive.io
Hive is a social blockchain where you can join communities, blog about your favorite topics, curate content and earn cryptocurrency.
Get Started on Hive
Sign up an account by clicking this referral link: HiveOnboard.
Join Our Writing Community
Are you a creative writer? Visit us in The Ink Well!
Welcome back! We both decided to blog in this community today! Must be thoughtfulness in the air :)
Habits: William James was a firm believe in habits, in leaving off old ones and establishing new ones. I think you have the muscle memory of blogging and it will become second skin to you again very quickly.
Yes, that's a great way to put it, @agmoore. I absolutely think I have muscle memory working for me! And that's so great we both decided to blog in this community on the same day! I'll find you!
Awesome, good luck with your book!
Thank you, @slobberchops! It's crazy, but darn fun. I'm doing lots of author interviews, podcasts, etc. Did not see that coming.
Blimey, what a lot you have had going on! So pleased to hear your foot has healed and you are mobile again. Congratulations on the book, too, that's a great achievement. I can imagine the work, though! Look forward to your blogging, I love photographs of other, far off places.
Thanks for the kind words, @shanibeer. With blogging, I just need to carve out the time and make it happen. Like all things, there's time, if you schedule it!
Broken foot, yikes! I'm glad you're doing better and that it is all healed, and you are back to being active. Getting back into blogging or anything you haven't done in a long time just requires that push for consistency and hard work, which you've clearly already shown with publishing your book and having to go through all of the promotion. I can't imagine—rather, I don't want to imagine—how much work it is to get promotion and audio done for Audible.
Thanks @bostonadventures.
So true! I agree 100%. Plus I have to limit the time I spend playing games on my phone. 😄
What games? I spend too much time playing games on my phone after my kids sleep!
Awesome job
Congratulations on your new published book ma'am. 😊
Thanks very much!
You're welcome. 😊 Enjoy your day.😊
I'm sooo sorry to hear you've been through such a tought time @jayna, but glad you've finally recovered so well!
AND, that you published a book during this period, that is just awesome, well done!
I wondered what happened to you!
I take photos of anything that catches my eye, often sit down not quite knowing what to write about. So, I look through my images, have a vague idea on a topic but once I start tapping away at the keyboard, ideas pop into my head and the 'story' changes altogether.
Glad to see you're blogging again.
I love it, @lizelle. I do exactly the same thing! And I love how pictures help to give a blog post a focus and a theme. I could literally write 200 blog posts — actually probably far more — just by blogging about little collections of pictures.
Funny, the hardest part was just doing the first one. I thought "What do you say when you have ghosted your online friends? Where to begin?" Like all life hurdles, you just do it.
Exactly 💯
We appreciate you taking the time, to either use #ThoughtfulDailyPost, or otherwise help this Community grow. So...
Thank you!!
Congratulations @jayna! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain And have been rewarded with New badge(s)
Your next target is to reach 21000 replies.
You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPLove it! Just dive back in 🤗 You'll find your rhythm soon enough. So glad that your foot is finally healed and you are gaining back your active self in your life! The body doesn't always like foreign objects, even if they are medical grade and designed to strengthen and support after a bad injury. A similar thing happened to one of my cats years ago. After being hit by a car, he lost one leg and had a rod inserted in the other, The remaining leg would not heal. My cat physically pulled the rod out using his mouth😱. Thereafter, he healed up nicely😂🥰 How did you break your foot in the first place??? I don't think I ever heard the story. Oh, and I need to dig out my Kindle and read more of your short stories. Outside of TIW I haven't read any fiction for a while 😭 LIFE has been busy again. By the time I climb into bed, I'm usually exhausted. But the first few I read of yours were outstanding! You inspire me, Jayna! So I need to devote some time each day to something I love doing - reading great fiction! 💗💗💗 !LUV !LADY !PIMP
You must be killin' it out here!
@samsmith1971 just slapped you with 1.000 PIMP, @jayna.
You earned 1.000 PIMP for the strong hand.
They're getting a workout and slapped 1/1 possible people today.
Read about some PIMP Shit or Look for the PIMP District
Holy crap, he pulled the rod out himself?? That's a wild story, @samsmith1971. Yeah, metal is just wrong inside our bodies. I guess some people don't really notice, but my foot was like: "This foreign object is not going to be assimilated! Get it out!"
I cannot read at the very end of the day either, my dear. I just fall over. So I listen to audio books. Constantly. I read about three books a month that way. When I'm walking, gardening, biking, doing laundry, etc. etc., I'm listening to books!
p.s. @samsmith1971, here's the blog post where I told the story of how I broke my foot: https://peakd.com/hive-193552/@jayna/actifit-jayna-20221010t050718839z. And this one shows the X-rays before and after the pins were put in! https://peakd.com/hive-106316/@jayna/i-get-by-with-a-little-help-from-my-friends
Wes...
Thank you so much for that, @wesphilbin! You made my morning. Yes, you get it, all too well. I feel incredibly fortunate — more than I can say — to have had an ailment that healed. Life is good. As always, you are an inspiration, and your positive energy is infectious!
It's great to hear that your healing is coming along well, and congratulations on your publication 🥳 After all that hard work writing and putting it together, it must feel thrilling to see it published. ✍️🏵️🌅