Brandy Woldstad

Storyteller, Artist

building a writing career

What I’m Working On – September 8, 2022

I had an exciting thing happen to me this week. I hiked just over half a mile up and down and on the side of steep hills. To some of you, this doesn’t sound like a big deal. For me, it totally is.

For the last ten years, I’ve had a debilitating ankle tendon pain that stopped me from hiking. (I’ve seen 13 health practitioners about it and tried all their suggestions – except surgery.) There was a small window of time where I hiked around Colorado with no pain, but eventually the pain grew so bad I was limited to roads and flat dirt trails. Uneven terrain triggered a burning sensation so intense that I’d have to stop immediately, drop to the ground and wait 15-20 minutes before I could continue. A few times I’d hike with my forearm crutches, but it’s not as relaxing because I’m more focused on where to put my crutches than on seeing the beauty around me. Standing for longer than fifteen minutes is excruciating.

I read a book titled: “Fixing You: Foot and Ankle Pain” by Rick Olderman after having a terrible meeting with a chiropractor who told me I needed to treat the symptoms of my ankle tendon, take some enzymes, wear orthotics, and accept that my ankle will never get better. The only reason I didn’t believe this chiropractor was because I had seen one that had helped me immensely before we moved from Eau Claire, WI area.

The author Rick Olderman is a physical therapist who specializes in helping people heal from chronic pain. The book is short and reminds me of reading the anatomy chapters from my biology books in high school. He goes into a lot of detail about his observations working with a variety of injuries and pain points. I figured I had nothing to lose and approached the book with an open mind. 

The most surprising thing I learned was that I lock my knee when standing and walking, which caused discomfort in my ankle. I also walked with a 100% heel strike (a normal heel strike should be around 50-75%). While I waited for the support tape to arrive for the exercises he advises, I focused on walking with less heel strike and keeping a bent knee. Those two things got me to where I hiked the half-mile trail with no pain. I think I could’ve gone further, but my husband worries about me overdoing things (rightly so) and advised we celebrate the small win. 

This week the support tape arrived, so I’m rehabbing my foot. I hope to rebuild the strength so that I can hike anywhere and workout without worrying about triggering severe pain in my foot.

The one advantage with my ankle issue is that I have time to write and create art. 

Writing Update

I’m still writing my romance novel. It’s fun to see the twists and turns it’s taking. I’m excited to get it finished because I have a few ideas for other stories bouncing around in my mind. 

I also started a short story for a market that invited me to send them something. I expect to have it finished by tomorrow.

The novel that’s finished is just about ready to publish. I need to make the cover and assemble the book.

Other than that, I plan to enjoy the warm weather we’re having before the temps plummet. The high temps here are below 70 degrees. The other day I dug out a sweatshirt because it didn’t get above 60. It’s a little strange coming from the high desert in Idaho where they still have temps in the 80s.

Have a great weekend.

2019 in Review

2019 was fun. I learned so much about writing, telling stories, and publishing. I challenged myself in new ways. Many times I found myself energized by the pleasure of jumping in and figuring out things as I went.

What I accomplished:

I published four novels.
If there was a word for the super, huge, mongo smiley face that is on my face right now, it would be here. All of my current books are available in any e-book format or in print.

I wrote thirty-seven short stories.
I love the format of short stories. In April, I entered Dean Wesley Smith’s Short Story Challenge. The goal is to write one story every week for a year. As of today, January 28, 2020, I am finishing short story number #42.

I submitted twenty short stories to magazines; multiple times.
Submitting is something I tend to procrastinate on because I love to write more. So my submissions go in bursts (something I plan to adjust in 2020). I’ve received quite a few “try again” letters and have noticed over the last few months many of the letters I receive are more personal in responses. I figure I’m getting close to getting something accepted and published.

I received two honorable mentions for the Writer’s of the Future contest.
So far I have entered three short stories. The third one I won’t hear the results for until sometime in March 2020. The Writer’s of the Future contest is a quarterly contest open to amateur writers. If you love writing science-fiction, fantasy, and/or horror you should enter too.

I graduated my oldest from homeschooling.
While I can’t take full credit for this one, since homeschooling is a team effort, my teaching duties for our oldest shifted from making sure the checklist was checked, to advisor for navigating the adult world. The high school years are a bit more challenging because their interests are different than mine (almost complete opposites) and the way I taught had to change.

I finished a couple of paintings.
Writing took most of my focus for the year, but I found I felt more balanced when I gave myself a break to play with my paintbrush. I will post pictures of my favorites soon.

I had fun.
This one should maybe be at the top. I had fun navigating the waters as a writer. I learned how to format books, design covers, and use some graphic programs that I always meant to master when I worked as a web designer. I also experimented with many genres of writing.

Those were the highlights for the 2019. At the beginning of February I will post my goals for 2020. One of my goals is to keep my blog updated more regularly.

I hope your year went well and that 2020 is filled with fun.