This page is a compilation of all of the posts about Betsy’s Quest, listed in order from most recent to oldest. The Muse, Harry, Skipper, Coffee, and the rest of the cast of characters are all here and talking.
The Quest went on hiatus for a little while, but never fear. It shall return.
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Moving Forward
Author’s Note – I debated whether or not to write a blog post this week. The events swirling around all of us, combined with a very sad loss for me personally, seemed so much more important than anything I could possibly have to say. But then I realized that was exactly what I had done in 2020. I held off on my creative journey and kept waiting for a good time to move forward again. Except there never was a good time. Something always—always—happened. The result was a creative paralysis that I’m still trying to break.
So I decided that I had to keep moving regardless. Like a shark. Even if my little creative light is feeling kind of dim at the moment and all of us are dealing with much bigger things.
And thus, a blog post was born.
This post features Betsy, of course. Also present is Harry, who a White Rabbit and the Guide on Betsy’s Quest to become a successful independent author. Better still, The Muse, who needs no introduction, has decided to show up to offer some guidance. Thank heavens.
Let’s see what’s going on… (more…)
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The Quest Continues…
Oh, my goodness, but hasn’t it been a while since we’ve checked in with the crew living in Betsy’s brain! As you may, or may not, know/remember/care, these are the ones helping Betsy pursue her Quest to become a Successful Independent Author. Or perhaps they are just disembodied voices who speak to Betsy night and day, whispering suggestions for her to follow. Perhaps we should all be afraid.
Very afraid.
But no! Nay! These are good voices, mostly! Fear not! Instead, let us meet them again and become reacquainted. (more…)
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Running Uphill
Betsy is climbing the mountain of her aspirations, again, struggling to reach the summit. Again. Except this time, unlike in the past, she isn’t carrying just ONE boulder that is her work in progress, she is carrying TWO of them! TWO works in progress! What the heck! (more…)
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Finding the Beginning
When we last left Betsy, she was actually doing pretty okay. Well, she was doing something anyway and that alone is a step in the right direction. There was much rejoicing in the land.
But Betsy would like this streak to continue, which means she not only has to finish what she’s currently working on, she has to figure out what to do next. (more…)
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Optimistic Voices
As it’s been a little while since we’ve had this conversation, this might be a good time to remind everyone (including Betsy) that she is on a Quest to become a Successful Independent Author. She has made some strides in the right direction, but she definitely has a long way to go! Fortunately, Betsy has a Guide on her Quest—a white rabbit, who used to be a white gerbil and is named Harry. (more…)
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Unknotting The Knots
You may be interested to know that one reason there hasn’t been a blog post for a few weeks is because, amazingly enough, Betsy actually IS working. But it turned out that the work she was doing had gotten all tangled and snarled, like a ball of thread that had become hopelessly knotted. (more…)
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Stuck and Unstuck
When we last left Betsy, she was shouting the plans she had for her writing business from the rooftops. But then…nothing. (more…)
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Over The Edge
When we last left Betsy, she was pushing the boulder of her work in progress up the mountain of her aspirations. She’d been doing that for quite a while. Quite a while. But the last time we all got together, we found that Betsy had almost made it to the top! In fact, she was on the verge of pushing her boulder over the edge! The end was in sight! (more…)
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Almost There
When we last left Betsy, she was busy facing her doubts and fears, pushing the boulder of her work in progress up the mountain of her ambitions. Harry, the white rabbit who is the Guide on Betsy’s Quest to become a successful independent author, is nowhere to be seen. The Muse is absent, too. It’s just Betsy and Boulder, mano a mano, as it were. (more…)
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Fear at the Finish Line
When we last left Betsy, she had fallen while trying to climb the hill of her aspirations, tripped by an unexpected mundane world disruption. This was a disruption she should have seen coming—in fact, she DID see it coming—but she tripped on it anyway. And when Betsy face-planted on the hill, she dropped the boulder of her work in progress which she had been carrying to the top. The boulder flew into the air, landed on Betsy’s back, and broke into a hundred pieces. (more…)
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Disrupted
When we last left Betsy, she had climbed the first mountain—well, hill—on her road to regaining her lost momentum. Not only that, but the Muse had returned! Everything was coming up roses! Hoorah!
But then the blog went silent for a few weeks, and you know as well as I do THAT’S not a good sign. So now let us rejoin Betsy, struggling writer, Harry, the white rabbit who is the Guide on Betsy’s Quest to become a successful independent author, and the Muse, who needs no introduction, to find out what’s been going on. Has it been good? Bad? Indifferent? None of the above? (more…)
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Top Of The Hill
When we last left Betsy, she was pushing a boulder up a hill, struggling to gain some of the momentum she’d lost over the last few difficult and stressful months. Harry, the white rabbit who is the Guide on her Quest to become a successful independent author, was pointing out yet again that she would not be doing herself any favors if she decided to stop, no matter how hard it was to keep going. (more…)
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Moving Forward In Spite Of Fear
When last we left Betsy she was with Harry, the white rabbit who is the Guide for her Quest to become a successful independent author. Because being a successful independent author means, well, writing, Betsy was trying to regain her momentum, trying to get moving again, trying to push a boulder up a very steep mountain. Harry was watching her.
But now, while Harry hopped off to get a salad, it seems that Betsy has frozen in mid-push. She is part way up the mountain, still, not moving forward, balancing the boulder on her head. (more…)
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Pushing Boulders
When we last left Betsy, she was ready to start again after a particularly difficult year. But it doesn’t bode well that the blog was silent last week, does it?
As we join her and Harry, the white rabbit who is her Guide on her Quest to become a successful independent author, we find them standing at the foot of a tall mountain gazing up at an extremely heavy boulder. What is going on? (more…)
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Stopping And Starting
When we last left Betsy, she was dealing with some difficult situations in her life. These included the loss of her beloved mother, a severely broken ankle resulting in months of recovery, and the company she worked for being sold, causing an employment shakeup. It’s been quite a year!
Still, it’s been unnervingly silent around Betsy’s brain – the caverns and rooms echoing, the dust gathering. The Muse has conspicuously absent and even Harry, the white rabbit who is Betsy’s Guide on her Quest to become a successful independent author-entrepreneur, has been quiet.
But now, suddenly, there is a commotion at the deep, deep lake in the center of Betsy’s brain.
What in the world is going on? (more…)
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Starting to Wake Up Again
When we last left Betsy, she was actually moving forward in her Quest. She was medicated and motivated.
But then March happened, and everything changed.
Now things are quiet. But is this just a healing sleep? Or is it a sleep that will last for a lot longer? Will Betsy ever wake up again? The Muse has decided to take matters into her own hands.
Let’s see what’s going on… (more…)
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Planning The Trip
The Muse and Betsy are sitting cross-legged in a meadow on the top of a mountain looking off into the distance. It’s foggy all around them, with only the occasional mountain peak showing through the gray clouds. There are no paths, no cities, no evidence of anyone other than themselves. In every direction Betsy looks, there is only fog and a mountain peak or two. (more…)
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Stay The Course
Although it’s been a little while since we’ve checked in on Betsy’s Quest to be a successful independent author, rest assured her wheels have continued to spin and, indeed, run off the rails. You may remember that Harry, the Guide for Betsy’s Quest, was recently upgraded from a white gerbil to the more traditional white rabbit, and he is desperately trying to live up to his new status. Thus, he made the mistake of pointing out to Betsy the fact that, as she now actually has several books published and available, she needs to start finding more people who’d like to read said books. This includes…advertising.
As you might expect, Betsy took this idea, ran with it, and drove her train right off a cliff. (more…)
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Head Above Water
When last we left Betsy, she had just sent her most recent book off to the editor and first readers for editing and first reading, respectively. For those of you who care, this means Betsy’s scheduling and timing are for crap, since those tasks really should be done in order, as opposed to simultaneously. Which means Betsy will have a heck of a mess on her hands when she tries to sort it all out later. (more…)
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Putting Coffee In The Friendzone
As we join Betsy, she is sitting behind her desk in her office in her brain, waiting. She’s known that she needed to have this conversation for weeks, but she kept putting it off, hoping against hope she wouldn’t have to go there. After all, how can she friendzone someone she loves so very much? How can she walk away from him? How can she intentionally distance herself from him? Her heart feels heavy in her chest. (more…)
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I Get Knocked Down, I Get Up Again
When last we heard from Betsy, she was sounding very determined. And then she vanished from the face of the earth for several weeks. If you know anything about Betsy, you know that this is definitely not a good sign. Why it’s almost as if she was trying to ignore flaws and cracks and crevices that were widening and becoming catastrophic and then it all exploded in her face! (more…)
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The Search For A Blog Post
Once Upon A Time, not so very long ago (this afternoon, in fact), there was a girl named Betsy who was sitting in front of her computer desperately seeking a blog post.
Betsy strove mightily to put out a blog post at least once a week. But, alas, The Sickness had descended upon her and hit her and knocked her asunder for several weeks and so she flaileth.
And, lo, The Sickness had been a mighty and terrible foe, but Betsy had at last fought it into a corner and was now struggling to pick up her life again. Verily, she hath determined that she would in no way sink into a sea of snot and lethargy. (more…)
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Writing Everything Down
As we all know, Betsy is flailing around like a sock puppet trying to be a successful independent author / publisher. That’s not new. But now she has goals AND a production schedule. She seems to actually be interested in taking her game to the next level.
However, Skipper, a chipmunk who is a Habit Implementation Specialist sent by the Muse Council to help Betsy develop and meet her goals, has asked Betsy to come see her in her office in Betsy’s brain. Whatever can she want? Isn’t she satisfied with the progress Betsy’s making? (more…)
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The Importance Of Believing
If you’ve read the last blog post, you know that Betsy was recently wracked with doubt, uncertainty and fear – helped along by the Dark Voice that whispers through her brain. She did manage to vanquish her foe, but it was a near thing.
(more…)
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The Dark Voice Returns
As we rejoin Betsy’s blog, winds are whispering through Betsy’s brain. These are the winds of fear. Of doubt. Of unbelief. They are the winds of the Dark Voice, awakened from its slumber. They blow through the corridors, seep under doors, bang through windows, coat everything they touch with black fog.
Although the Dark Voice never really leaves, it often lies dormant, waiting. Betsy didn’t realize it was awake again, not right away. Not until the winds blew her off balance and the whispers started hitting her like bird-shot – little pellets that sting and rip. Little pellets that can shred her fledgling confidence, if she lets it.
(more…)
