A Novel Creation www.WatersWords.com

  Seize the Moment   Last week I wrote about “brain breaks.” We all need them from time to time. You may think this post is an extension of that one. But it isn’t.    This past week, when my husband and I had taken the dogs out to the back yard, we sat down on the swing. The weather was perfect. Sunny and warm. With the slightest breeze.   We were sitting there chatting when Mike said, “Want to do something?”  “Yeah.” I looked around.  “Want to go for a boat ride?” He smiled. “We could do that.”   I ran inside for the key to the boat while Mike headed to the dock so he could lower our sweet little bay boat from its perch on the lift into the clear lake water. A few minutes later we were heading out of our cove into Lake Henderson.    We explored a part of the over 422 acre lake we hadn’t yet checked out, sped along the glistening waterway and took note of those places only an airboat could cross the tall grass near the edge.  ...

  Go-To Brain Breaks (That Aren’t Edible)   I’m in the middle of writing a new novel. I’m pretty excited about it, but sometimes in the midst of composing, I can get so into the story I lose direction. I have to look back to see if I ever revealed to the reader an important trait of one of my characters. Or what month or season I’m in for a particular scene.    I know this can happen in any task. (“Did I wash those dishes in the dishwasher or just load it?”)  But when it happens while I’m writing, I have to walk away from the book, my computer, scribbled notes, and everything connected to the craft.    I’m pretty sure this happens in other work environments or prolonged tasks. I’ve learned a few strategies we can all use to stay focused.  They are simply “Brain Breaks.”   #1 “Sweep the Floor” …. Hmm…, sounds a bit like a  Karate Kid  move. Maybe. But in this case I am literally talking about picking up a broom and sweeping the ...

Because of the date, I decided to resurrect this blog from a few years back. I've had a few people ask me about it and since January is the birth month of a very special person in my life, I decided to share it once more. I hope you enjoy the post and appreciate your own position in your family. People often speak of “birth order.” When people speak of family, I often hear them grouse about their position in the family.  “I was the oldest so I was responsible for all my brothers and sisters. It wasn’t fair.” “I was the youngest. I never got to do the stuff my brothers and sisters got to do because I was always ‘too little’ or ‘a baby.’” But the pain and suffering of “the middles” must be the worst. According to them.  I can’t actually speak to any of this since I’m an “only.” Then again, there is  one  person I’ve known all my life who says she always thought she was the luckiest person in her family because she was…are you ready…the middle. Yep. She was smack d...

  Marmie   I met Marmalade, also known as “Marmie” in 2023 after Mike and I were engaged. He picked me up at the lake house and took me to his family home up the road where he and his sister continued the tradition of sharing a continental breakfast. Marmie, the sweet little mixed breed dog, belonged Mike’s mother who had died a couple of months earlier. Marmalade had been a rescue dog from a Louisiana puppy mill.    Marmie and I hit it off immediately. After breakfast, I held her on my lap and fed her bits of human food as well as her dog food. You might say we bonded.    Marmalade in her Protective Pink Sweater Then, on the evening of this past New Year’s Day, with some people still setting off fireworks, Mike’s sister called. Marmie was missing.  Frightened by the noise, Marmie had slipped out the doggie door unnoticed. The backyard is enclosed, but somehow she made it beyond the privacy fence. We were all worried.   A little dog out in the big...

  2024 Word of the Year If you follow my blog, you know I try to choose a word for the year. I post the word on my wall or phone and watch how it plays out in my life. I’ve chosen everything from “be” to “yield.”   I struggled finding my word for the year this year. I played with several options, rejecting them one by one.  I looked at my past word choices and how they played out for me. I prayed about it. I wanted to find just the right word for 2024.    Then, late in December, a word came to me. With Christmas celebrations, travel, and the busyness of life, I had given up on finding a word. It was the middle of the night. I woke up with the word “intentional” on my mind.    It was a scary word that late in the darkness. It sounded too much like “intense” and that meant hard work.  Hey, I’m both a retiree and a newlywed. Hard work isn’t all that appealing. I wanted to immediately reject “intentional” as my word for the year but even as I drifted ...