Betsy Horvath

Everybody has a story.

Betsy’s Blog

  • Focus

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    focusToo many distractions can make you forget what’s important.  At least, they can make you forget what’s really important to you, to the reality of your situation and your life in all its many aspects.

    Life goes on despite massive change and uncertainty.  We work and play and love and laugh and pay bills and try to make our way.  We love our families (most of the time), have friends and coworkers, meet strangers.  We survive.

    But if we want to do more than survive, if we want to be the best people we can possibly be, then we have to focus.
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  • Keeping On

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    boulderWhen we left Betsy many weeks ago, she was staring at the shining cities of the story worlds she was creating.  Harry, the white gerbil who is the Guide on Betsy’s Quest to become a successful independent author, was with her.  Harry wants to upgrade from white gerbil to white hare or even a white stag, and he was very excited to announce that his tail had transformed from a long, skinny gerbil tail to a rabbit puffball.

    But, except for sporadic blog posts, it’s been weeks since we’ve heard from Betsy.  And Harry hasn’t heard from her at all.
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  • Distractions

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    dis·trac·tion

    dəˈstrakSH(ə)n/noun

    1. 1.  a thing that prevents someone from giving full attention to something else. “the company found passenger travel a distraction from the main business of moving freight.”

    synonyms: diversion, interruption, disturbance, interference, hindrance   “a distraction from the real issues.”

    1. 2. extreme agitation of the mind or emotions.  “he knew she was nervous by her uncharacteristic air of distraction”

    synonyms: frenzy, hysteria, mental distress, madness, insanity, mania

     

    Distractions can come in many shapes and sizes.  Sometimes they aren’t all that pleasant – “what’s going on with my health?”  “what’s going on with my job?” “what’s going on with my money?”

    Sometimes they are warm and fuzzy and very cute.
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  • Striving for Sanity

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    tornadoI don’t want to burst anyone’s bubble, but I’m kind of a neurotic mess of a girl. I’m compulsive, obsessive, obsessive-compulsive, addictive, paranoid, anxious, and fearful, to name a few of my more endearing traits.

    But other than that, I’m fine.

    I’ve been a bit more insane than usual over the last few weeks / months. The election did it to me. The news of what’s happening in the world did it to me. The good people dying.  The rising hatred and divisiveness on the Internet. The breathless flame-wars on social media. The shouts of radio talk hosts, or cable news anchors, or bloggers.  Everyone who wants to tell you what you should think, and believe, and do.
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  • The Magic of Finishing the First Step

    bloomI’m sorry I haven’t been around much the last couple of weeks. I decided to put the blog and the newsletter (have you subscribed to my newsletter yet? Hmmmm?) on hold for a little while so I could work on my current manuscript with more focused intensity. Then, last week, I had a few days off from my day job and was able to work on it with an even more focused, focused intensity.

    It was awesome. I’ve never really written much more than 5,000 words in a day. Last week. when I was off, I had three days in a row between 7,000-8,000 words – or over 22,000 words in three days (basically, a short novella). That’s not a lot for some people, but it sure is a lot for me. Better, it seemed to kick things up a notch, because even after I went back to work, I was able to keep writing at a higher level.
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  • New Frontier

    quest

     

    Welcome to a wee bit of a short story, starring Betsy–a humble author, and Harry–a white gerbil who is the Guide on Betsy’s Quest to become a successful independent humble author.  Harry is on a quest of his own–he wants to transform from gerbil to white hare or even a white stag (all of the best Quests are Guided by stags).  Thus far, he is unsuccessful.

    But today… today he seems different.  Jaunty, even.  And he’s dressed…weird.  Whatever is going on?
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  • The Third Thing

    ThreeA couple of weeks ago, I wrote a blog post about the three big things in my life and what they are. In case you didn’t read that post, my three big things are 1) family/life responsibilities, 2) work, and 3) writing (or story-telling). I hope that I will always have family / life responsibilities. I will always need to support myself and my life. Those two things are non-negotiable. But the third thing…well, the third thing is the reflection of who I am.
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  • Lost In The Underbrush

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    overgrownpathLast weekend, I found myself at a point in my manuscript that’s, sadly, very familiar. I have found myself in the exact same place in all of the other books I’ve written (whether published or unpublished).

    I realized I didn’t know where the hell I was going.

    Until then, I had THOUGHT I knew where I was going.

    I was sure I had a plan. An outline, if you will.
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  • Three Big Things

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    meditationrocksAs you may have guessed from my last blog post, I’m once again re-evaluating how I spend my time. It’s a fine-tuning process that I’m sure I’ll be going through for the rest of my life. Time is our most limited and precious commodity, so I’m trying to spend mine wisely. Or at least not stupidly.
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  • What’s In The Center?

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    butterfly1When we last left Betsy and the others who live in her mind, they were lounging on a grassy pasture beside a large, placid lake, feeling a distinct lack of motivation. Then the Muse showed up and kicked their butts. Betsy’s companions – Harry, Skipper, Clara, Coffee, and the Blogosphere, have all run off to start doing whatever it is they do. Well, all except the Blogosphere, who has gone off to sulk in another corner of the Internet. But Betsy has stayed behind. She is still sitting in the grass, staring at the lake.
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  • Lazy

    unmotivated

     

    When last we left Betsy and her blog, she was musing about word “can’t”. But what has she done with those thoughts? Is she moving forward? And if she is, why is she lounging on a grassy meadow beside a large, placid lake in her mind? And why are the others helping her on her Quest to become a better writer, and a better person, lounging with her? Why is Harry, the white gerbil who is the Guide for Betsy’s Quest, staring vacantly off into space?  Why is Clara, the resident dust bunny, powdering her nose and draping cobwebs on flowers?  Why is Skipper, the chipmunk who is the best Habit Implementation Specialist on the Muse Council, sitting still for the first time ever?  Why is the Blogosphere, Betsy’s portion of the blogging universe, silent? And why is Coffee, the beverage of champions, looking practically decaffeinated? (more…)

  • Can’t

    can'tNobody knows the importance of words better than a writer. After all, words are the tools I work with. Visual media is all well and good, but words get inside your brain and paint pictures only you can see. And if I want you to see basically the same thing I’m seeing, I’d better be aware of the words I’m using.

    I believe with all of my heart that words are powerful. They can be powerful in a good way, or powerful in a bad way. That’s because words are basically symbols for thoughts.
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  • Trusting The Muse

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    muse2

    When last we left Betsy, she was riding high after publishing her latest book, having survived trials, tribulations, and the obsessive urge to press the “publish” button over and over again. She was even starting to think about taking control of the REST of her life. She was laughing, singing, and dancing in the privacy of her own home.

    But now Betsy is sitting like a huddled mass in front of her computer screen, keening softly as she contemplates the display. Whatever is going on? Can her Muse find out what’s wrong?
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  • Mundane Life Tasks

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    claraWhen we last left Betsy, she had just published the digital version of her newest book on all platforms and was working diligently on the print version. But publishing, as you might expect, sucks up a lot of time. What about all of the other little things you have to do in life? What about the dishes? What about vacuuming? Are those things getting done as well?

    The short answer is—no.
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  • The Third Time Around

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    learningHello, friends!  As I indicated in the last blog post, I did indeed learn many valuable lessons while publishing my latest book, Believing It.  So many valuable lessons, in fact, that I wanted to write about them before I forgot what they were (I’m dottery and middle-aged, you know). You may consider this post to be kind of a memo to my future self.  And let us hope it’s not boring for the rest of you.  Because if it is, I should probably have just written a, well, memo.
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  • Panic, Planning, and Publishing

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    HmmmPreviously on Betsy’s blog…

    Betsy has just published her third book, Believing It, and the publishing experience was more than a little stressful.  Part of that has to do with the fact she decided to put the book out right when she was scrambling to finish her taxes.

    But it was also stressful because Betsy can be something of an idiot.

    Harry, the white Gerbil who has the unenviable task of Guiding Betsy on her Quest to become a successful indie author has a few thoughts on the matter.  He’s in Betsy’s brain now, looking for her.

    Let’s see what happens…
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  • “Believing It” is LIVE!

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    My friends, I am pleased and proud to tell you that Believing It, the latest book in my “Welcome to Hardy Falls” series is LIVE!  LIVE, I TELL YOU!  Maybe I’m not alive at this point, but the book is birthed and out in the world!  And it is now available as an e-book wherever fine e-books are sold.  This is book 0.5 in the series, so it is the prelude to Handling It (book 1).

    Without any further ado, here’s the information!
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  • Categories and Key Words

    fairytaleAs I come to the end of the editing process for my new book, Believing It, I’m pointing the rudder of my wee little ship towards the rocky shore of publishing. That means getting the manuscript formatted and up for preorder on all of the various book sales sites.

    And it means I’m thinking about sales categories.
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  • Just Chillin’

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    ocean2

    As you may, or may not, know, Betsy is on a Quest to become a successful independent author / entrepreneur. Her Guide on this Quest is a white gerbil named Harry, who lives in her brain and annoys her on a regular basis.

    Betsy has been known to yammer about goals and objectives here on the blog, but today she does not seem to be in her office. Her desk sits empty, the lights in her brain are dark. Where is she? What in the world is going on?

    Let’s find out…
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  • Tiny Steps

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    baby stepsHello, my friends!  I thought I would talk a little bit about productivity today.  My productivity, to be precise (although I hope you can relate).

    Productivity has been kind of a movable feast here at the Palatial Horvath Estate until recently.  I managed to plot out my next book and, after some stops and starts, started writing it.  I have 21,000 words or so of the first draft completed, but that progress has generally been made in a very herky-jerky fashion–days of silence broken by brief productive sessions.
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  • The Next Generation

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    enterprise next generation

     

    Previously on Betsy’s blog –

    Betsy, as you may know, is on a Quest to become a successful independent author.  Harry, as you may also know, is her Guide on this Quest.  He is a white gerbil with hopes of one day upgrading to a more traditional Quest Guide form.  Maybe a white rabbit, or even a white stag.  

    Harry hasn’t had a heck of a lot to do lately, mostly because Betsy’s been in a bit of a funk.  They actually haven’t spoken all that much, which is kind of concerning, considering the fact that Harry lives in Betsy’s brain.  But today, things seem different.  Harry is bustling around his office, and Betsy is acting…happy.  What in the world is going on?

    Let’s see….
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  • Everything Changes

    tied on train track

    Nothing is certain. Nothing is forever. Nothing is written in stone.

    You think you’ve got it under control, so you let things coast along a little bit. Nothing wrong with that. You have the right to watch some damned television, don’t you? You have the right to play a freaking video game if you want to.

    And you get up and go to work. You come home. You eat, sleep, go out to dinner, go to the movies, fall into a routine.

    But something is bound to happen to shake up that safe little life. Because life is not static. It never is. Life always changes. We’re just not always ready for the changes it brings.
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  • Start Again

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    threatening clouds

    Uh oh.  We haven’t heard from Betsy in quite a while.  That can’t be good.  What in the world has been going on with her?  Has she fallen down a rabbit hole again?

    Let’s see….
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  • Trust and Rewriting

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    muse-Calliope*Betsy sits at her desk*  *Taps fingers on keyboard*  *Chews lip*  *Looks around room*  *Opens computer file*

    Whatcha doing?

    *Betsy jumps*  *Straightens in her chair*  Muse?  Is that you?

    Who else?  *Muse pets cats*  *Cats do not claw, but purr and roll over to allow Muse to pet their bellies* *Muse walks over to Betsy* *Props hip against desk*  So?  What are you doing?
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  • Commitment

    commitment1I was on vacation from the day job last week.  When I scheduled the week off, I intended to spend it writing, except for two appointments I had scheduled for my elderly mother.

    Ah, the best laid plans…
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