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Brandy Woldstad

Storyteller, Artist

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building a writing career

What I’m Working On – January 30, 2023

A cozy bonfire at the Finland checkpoint for the Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon.

The Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon started on Sunday and goes through Tuesday. The main race is a 300 mile long trek along Northern Minnesota. I believe a majority of it covers sections of the Superior Hiking Trail, but there is a section that goes up into the Boundary Waters area as well. The race ends in Grand Portage, MN. We’ve always wanted to see parts of it in person and since the checkpoints were nearby, we bundled up for the -14 below temps to cheer the teams on for part of the evening.

What I love about watching dogsled teams is how excited the sled dogs are to race. I’m sure the musher is excited too, but with their layers of winter gear, it’s hard to see their facial expressions. The dogs look eager and happy. Some of the younger ones are often tugging in anticipation.

At the checkpoint we visited, the dogs were quiet while pulling the sled along the darkened trail that wove through the woods. Each team had a headlight that we spotted a few minutes before they reached the checkpoint. Often, when the team reached the road, one dog would yip in protest when the sled stopped to wait for volunteers to guide them across the road to their designated spots at the checkpoint. It didn’t take long for a few others to follow. I posted a video of a team waiting to cross the road below.

The last time I saw a dogsled race it was a much shorter one in Menomonie, Wisconsin, nearly twenty years ago. The race went around a park so we could see the dog teams most of the race. A retired gentleman had a team of “old” Siberian huskies (dogs are often retired when they’re around seven-years-old) and took them around the course. When the musher got to the furthest point from the start line, his lead dog laid down and the rest of the team copied her. From where we stood, we watched the man gesture and coax, but his team refused to budge.

Another musher came to the man’s rescue with his dogsled. Apparently, old Siberian huskies need competition because as soon as the new team went by, the old team started to move (just not very quickly). The guy with the Siberian husky team laughed and joked about his dogs going his speed when they crossed the finish line.

The dogs that participate in the Beargrease Marathon are much younger and eager to run (and, yes, there are teams of Siberian huskies). I’ve monitored the progress of the mushers today and they’re making good time because of the firm snow caused by cold temps. I think we’re supposed to get up to two-degrees F today.

One day I might have to write a story about a dogsled team.

Speaking of writing… I submitted a short story last week. This week I plan to continue writing the fantasy story I started last week. It’s a fun story that has me curious about what’s going to happen. I’m expecting my romance novel to return from my copy editor this week. If all goes well, it’ll be up for sale by this weekend.

The other items on my writing list include writing some handouts for my upcoming drawing class, writing a short story for another market, and to add some posts to my art blog (ArtByBrandyW.com).

I hope everyone stays warm and has a great week.

What I’m Working on – January 23, 2023

Last week, it took me a little longer than usual to fall into my normal writing routine. I took a few days to take care of household items that were urgent and touched base with friends and family since we hadn’t talked to many of them since Christmas. I also plotted out my goals for the year in writing, personal, and business. It helped me gain some clarity on what to work on next and to prioritize a few things that I let slip (such as updating the look of my website).

There were also the “required” visits to the shores of Lake Superior to appreciate the huge ways. My favorite days around here are the ones where the wind is blowing toward shore. The water is magnificent. I’ve learned since moving here that the wind shifts direction. Some days when the wind blows toward Wisconsin (which is 30 miles away) I wonder how big the waves must be on their shores. One day, I may have to drive around the lake to see. Sadly, the drive is over one-hundred miles to find out. 

For my writing, I tossed a short story that I started at the beginning of the week because the topic required too much research in a short time. Don’t get me wrong, I love to research, but it’s easy for me to chase a lot of rabbit trails about a topic, especially when it has to do with space exploration and new technology. The idea will be revisited at another time. My research will happen during my reading time so that I don’t use up my precious writing time chasing my curiosity.

I’m almost finished with a second short story that I’m writing for a market. I hope to have it done by Tuesday at the latest so I can have a few days to polish. There’s also my next fantasy novel that I started and will continue to write this week.

The drawing guide I’m writing is started. I have about three blog posts I plan to post this week on my art website about drawing, and finish the handout this week.

I hope everyone has a good week.

What I’m Working On – January 16, 2023

Jake in front of one section of the “Roots of Knowledge” mural.

We just returned from a trip to Hailey, Idaho and Salt Lake City, Utah to visit friends and celebrate Christmas with our kids. The weather felt like spring and I found myself wishing I could bring it back with me. When we got home, I discovered our weather, while slightly colder, is warm enough to bring rain. Maybe this is a lesson on being careful what you wish for because rain in January in Northern Minnesota will very quickly turn to ice. Despite this, I’m enjoying the warmer temps.

I didn’t get much writing done while in Salt Lake City. We spent our days exploring the city. One of my favorite things we came across was the “Seven Pillars of Humanity” at Holdman Studios. It’s a gorgeous story of humanity across cultures and generations depicted in stained glass. Each pillar is over seven feet tall and about three feet wide. I spent over an hour marveling at the detail in each section. The way the variety of colors of glass were used to capture the depth of the scene and the painted details of the faces were fantastic. The piece is like a painting out of glass. You can take a virtual tour of it online at https://www.rootsofhumanity.org/7-pillars. However, if you ever have a chance to see it in person, I strongly recommend you do so. Stained glass is an art medium that looks better to the naked eye than in a photo.

Our love of the “Seven Pillars of Humanity” led us to the “Roots of Knowledge” stained glass mural at the Fullerton Library at UVU in Orem. This is a permanent display that is just as incredible. You can take a virtual tour at: https://www.uvu.edu/rootsofknowledge/tour/. The mural is a timeline of historical events leading up to the future. I enjoyed the storytelling of the mural and the amount of detail in every panel. When you look at each panel, you can see how items in the past shaped the future. Along the way, there are non-glass objects like rocks and computer parts put into scenes. The mural starts with a tree that has roots that stretch through the bottom panel of every scene until it reaches the ending tree, which has a hand passing a torch to the future generation. The future tree has branches that run along the top glass panels all the way back to the beginning tree. Again, if you ever find yourself in Salt Lake City, take an hour or so to visit the mural in Orem. You won’t regret it.

This week, I have two short stories I’d like to finish and a novel I plan to start. I also have a drawing booklet that I’d like to start for a beginner drawing community education class I’m teaching in February. If you live near the Silver Bay, MN area and want to learn to draw, you’re more than welcome to join in.

I hope everyone has a good week.

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.

Copyright © 2023 · Brandy Woldstad