Days of Spontaneity

From the Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition:

spontaneity /ˌspɒntəˈniːɪtɪ; -ˈneɪ-/ noun (pl) -ties

1. the state or quality of being spontaneous

2. (often pl) the exhibiting of actions, impulses, or behaviour that are stimulated by internal processes

I am not spontaneous by nature; my usual creative method is to think/research/plan/test/check/recheck and only then do. I don't think it's a bad thing; I tend to get lots accomplished and nearly always finish what I start. For example, I generally plan, write and schedule for publication all the posts for PBW two weeks in advance. That gives me a forever floating fourteen days to add/change/delete things, and it keeps the blog automatically updating every day if/when I'm offline working.

It's not always a positive, however, The past few months I've been so busy with building my client list that I've been neglecting to adhere to my two week advanced posting method, which is why there were no posts when I went off to write last week. I suddenly ran out of pre-written posts, didn't have time to restock my post inventory and couldn't think of anything in the short time I had to work on the blog. My lack of spontaneity suddenly became more of a hindrance than a help.

Since I want to change that (and I still don't have time to restock) this week I'm going to write my non-feature posts the day before I post them, with no advance planning, and see if I can be a bit more spontaneous with my content.

Here's what a planner I am: as I was writing this post I opened another window so I could search for articles to read on how to be more spontaneous. About two-thirds of what I found before I realized what I was doing related to sex, and while I love you all that's simply not helpful in a blogging situation. Being addicted to research is an occupational hazard as well, but I think I've programmed myself to research anything I'm not sure of because I'm self-educated. I've read enough about artistic writers to know that to be more spontaneous you have to set aside your fears, forget about planning and organizing, and try new things. So for the next few days PBW will be my hub of spontaneity, and we'll see how I do.

To kick things off, let's talk about books. I just finished Consumed by Fire by Anne Stuart, which was an interesting American spin-off of her popular Ice series. I'll have to go back and try to read the last Ice book that was released as a Kindle-only e-book, as I never finished that one due to the pre-surgery eye problems. My next book is a re-read of Derelict by L.J. Cohen, as the sequel, Ithaka Rising, is coming out next week, and I am planning to write a revisited reads post about it because I can't not plan everything.

I've been very restless with my reading this summer, and currently bouncing all over the place with what I'm buying. The owner of the indy bookstore I frequent recommended one of her book club titles, The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Swedish author Jonas Jonasson, so I grabbed a copy of that. I have one more Jack Reacher to read and then as it's never going anywhere but in cookie cutter circles I think I'm done with that series. Because I'm missing Europe I invested in Bella Tuscany by Frances Mayes and new copies of all the Peter Mayle books someone borrowed from me and never returned, may a million silverfish infest their library. And finally, I bought a remaindered novel titled Happily Ever After about a housewife/single parent who secretly writes erotica and meets a hunky stranger in Target because of how it absolutely shrieks realism. Kidding. I bought it because I'm apparently a masochist.

So what are you reading, and why? Let us know in comments.