I’m excited to present this weeks Weekly Wrap-up. Nothing but positives that I can think of. Sunday night I ended on a high as I looked back and saw how great my week has been.

Mood

Balanced, balanced, balanced is how I’d describe the week. It’s the first time I felt this good in a very long time. No depression – no mania…just felt good. I smiled and laughed a lot and was productive.

Of course, being the bipolar person that I am, I keep asking myself when it will end. How long will I be able to maintain feeling this good? But, even that isn’t occupying my head as much as normal. For now, I’m going to savor every second of it.

Weight and Fitness

My weight was down to 263.6 lbs. That’s a 2.4 lbs loss since last week. I didn’t get as much exercise in as I’d have liked, but it was more than I have been getting in. There were 3 days in the week that I walked more than 10,000 steps.

This week my goal is to go to my favorite Starbucks for at least 4 days. It’s not on a bus line and the walk from the closest bus stop to the store involves 3 very tough hills to conquer.

Writing

I love the writer’s critique group I meet with every Saturday morning. I have learned so much from them and each week my writing improves. This past Saturday they critiqued Chapter 5 of my novel and it was very well received. It was pointed out that the concerns they had in the past were clearly taken to heart.

There are many books out there on novel writing and most give advice on the writing process, such as what to look for in each draft, and so on. One of the best was written by Stephen King. He said he decided to write it because there are so many bad books out there on how to write. One challenge with these books is that each author gives their method of writing and imply their way is the best one. The most important info that I’ve gained from these books is that there are many different ways of writing.

My writing method is definitely unconventional. I write one chapter each week and assuming I believe it’s ready, I share it with my critique group. The reason I like this method is that I take what I learn from the group and use the new knowledge to writer better the next chapter and beyond. It will require I go back and do extra drafts of the earliest chapters, but that’s okay with me.

That’s it for this Weekly Wrap-up. Hopefully next weeks will be as positive as this one. Keep your fingers crossed.