JaNoWriMo

So Far, So Good

2010-02-17T08:04:00.003-05:00

Okay... I've been writing every day this week -- not a lot, but something. I'm only about 2000 words into my story, but I really do like it. The best part is that I can't stop thinking about it and have come up with some really fun ideas for scenes.

The "write every day" goal is a good one for me. If I had a word count goal (say ... 1000 words) and I only had a spare 10 minutes, I wouldn't bother to open the document and write, because I'd know I wouldn't make it. But, giving myself permission to write 5 words or 5,000 -- well, that works for me.

How's everyone else doing?

Miles to go

2010-02-12T10:56:00.002-05:00

(Also posted on my personal blog.)

I have one thing to say today:

It. Is. Finished!!!!!

Okay, what is actually finished is this round of revisions. Unfortunately, “It is revised!” doesn’t have the same ring to it.

I still have miles to go before I sleep--or rather, before it’s ready to go. But I think/hope I have the main restructuring slog out of the way. This is really a “my reach may exceed my grasp” kind of story. So for now, I’ll let The Fine Art of Holding Your Breath compost.

Even with the all the work ahead of me, I can’t help feeling a little bit like this:

This leaves me free to revisit Dating on the Dork Side, which I’m also very excited about. Although, I accidently opened one of its files yesterday. As I told Darcy: it reads like I downed half a bottle of NyQuil before I sat down to write.

So. Miles to go there as well.

Think I’ll go list to Ode to Joy one more time.

Because really, when you finish any draft of a manuscript, the skies should open, light should pour down, and all the animals of the forest should burst into song.

And the Berlin Philharmonic should personally come to your house.

I am a failure

2010-02-10T08:11:00.001-05:00

I haven't written in two days. Sob. I just can't get into it some days. sorry.

What They Said

2010-02-10T08:06:00.002-05:00

Everyone is talking (well, a few people are talking) about their February goals. Here we are, ten days into the month and I don't think I've posted mine. Of course, I could be wrong, but I'm not going to go back to find out.

I think I'll join Marianne's goal and just write. Every day. Edit when I can (because Forever Home is in the place right now where I can't edit every day) but otherwise work on some of my unfinished projects, starting with my wip Going Going Gone (which I hope will be HQ Blaze worthy).

There, that's simple, concise. To the point.

Everyone have a great and productive month!

Learning what I already know

2010-02-08T11:16:00.000-05:00

You know, I always wonder why we (and when I say “we” I’m actually talking about myself) need to learn the same lessons over and over again.

Marianne’s new goal mirrors the conclusion I came to in early January. I need to work on my fiction projects every day. I need to give my writing the respect it deserves as a second career.

Writing is also very much like exercise for me. No matter what other outcomes, it always makes me feel better. I’ve removed the drama from getting my exercise in. I simply pull on my shoes and get it done. Same for writing. I’m making it something I do every single day--no drama, no fuss.

That said, my goals this month. I’m in the home stretch of The Fine Art of Holding Your Breath. But … I’ve done so much writing on it, so it’s not something that’s ready to go out the door. Once it’s complete (maybe by next week), I’m going to let it compost for a bit.

Then I’ll switch gears and work on the proposal for Dating on the Dork Side.
And that’s it. So for now, my February looks to be filled with words and snow--lots and lots of snow.

New Goal

2010-02-07T07:08:00.002-05:00

My goal for February is somewhat ambiguous but I think it will work for me:

WRITE.

Every day.

I don't care how MUCH or how LONG or ON WHAT.

But I must do some fiction writing every day.

..........

What about you? What goals do YOU have for this month? Let me know so I can add them to the sidebar.

Yoo hooo...?

2010-02-02T08:29:00.002-05:00

Anybody here?

January's over, but anybody still hanging around? Hmm?

Me? I started a new book yesterday. February first, you know...

Hope everyone feels good about January, and that you all had as much fun as I did. Happy February!

Wait...January's OVER??!!

2010-01-30T15:39:00.002-05:00

I thought it just started! Oh well.

I am in a stage of my life where I seem to be out straight all the time. This month including emergency farm sitting, 2 search and rescue training classes, much grandchild babysitting, and endless errands with GrammaJ - all in addition to the usual housework, homeschool, 4-H, biology (I teach!), and nursing home ministry.

I confess that I got very little writing done. However, I did start a new habit that will serve me well from now on. I keep paper and pen with me at all times and when an idea barges into my head, I immediately jot it down. (Though sometimes I do wait until I've stopped the car first.)

Because of that I have outlined a goodly portion of the ending of Molasses Swamp and gotten starts on two other stories, Gramma Wars and Split.

It's not what I'd aimed for, but it's more than I would have done sans JaNoWriMo.

Good Week

2010-01-30T14:10:00.003-05:00

It's been a good week. I have a friend who's been helping me with a line by line edit of Forever Home and she's helped me knock out 1150 words in 9 chapters. The story is getting nice and tight. And of course all the feedback from the Getting It Write forum is excellent! I'm feeling pretty good about this manuscript.

Now whether or not it'll be done by... um... tomorrow, well that's unlikely. But I still have to be happy for what has been accomplished.

Now, out of curiosity, I'm rereading the story I attempted to do for NaNo. I like it. Wish I had gotten further into it though.

Here's to February!

L to Forehead

2010-01-30T07:36:00.001-05:00

Yep.. I'm a "Loser"! LOL

I got almost nothing done on my JaNo project. I hate real life... there are days...

In any case, I'm moving forward into Feburary with the same goal. I'm determined, dang it.

Anyone else?

Done!

2010-01-29T17:37:00.000-05:00

Just finished One Grand Season, and boy am I thrilled to be done! Whew!
I had my doubts a couple of times this week about whether or not I’d find my way to the end of the book before the calendar page turned to February. When push came to shove, I just stubbornly put my head down and kept writing. Early mornings, late nights and sore fingers have marked this week but it’s paid off.

I’m done!

Now, to find a bowl of ice cream to celebrate…

I Missed You!

2010-01-26T10:22:00.003-05:00

I've spent the past few minutes catching up on blog posts. I didn't comment on all of them but you all rock! I love the way everyone has been pressing on these past weeks, and I love hearing about all the progress being made. January is a very productive month!

Me? I've spent the last two weeks elsewhere but I'm back now. I hope to begin working on One Grand Season again today. Honestly, I hope I can recall just what I was thinking when I put it aside. That is a problem for me, finding my way back into my characters' heads after being separated from them. I do eventually find the threads...it's just that it sometimes takes a bit. The good side to that is that I generally get to read through what I've written previously, and fiddle with some silly errors while I read. Makes the final reads much simpler, so it's all good!

I've got to dash. The book calls and the end of January is right around the corner, isn't it?

Have a nice day! And I'm glad to be back--I missed you all!

Here I am....

2010-01-24T14:46:00.002-05:00

I've finished rereading my manuscript. Honestly, I can't find any place to cut out a substantial number or words. I've looked. Got rid of 2k+ but that's about it.

So, it'll have to be for someone else. I think I'll send it out to Kensington first (even if they don't send rejections if they don't want it). But not until the crit group has its way with it.

I'm beginning to look at a wip in my files for a possible HQ Blaze. I was working on it last summer but I think if I finish it off it would easily be within the word count and it's spicy enough.

So, thems my plans.

Now off to make manicotti.

Ahhhhh....

2010-01-22T08:03:00.003-05:00

Today is slated (God willing) as "just a quiet day at home". I'm hoping to get in a couple of hours of solid writing. It is time that Jason and the girl next door get to know each other better. I'm envisioning another goat catastrophe and a daring rescue! Tee-hee-hee!

Revisions Off

2010-01-18T11:24:00.003-05:00

I met the first part of my JaNoWriMo goals! I emailed my revised manuscript last night so it would be in my editor's inbox when she got in this morning. She's in London so I use midnight as my deadline!

Now to get busy on the second part...a new proposal. Just wanting to hear back from my editor on which idea she wants to see or if I need to send her new ones.

Have a great Monday!

I Am Working... s-l-o-w-l-y

2010-01-17T06:59:00.001-05:00

I've been working on edits.. I HAVE. I'm not going to make it through the end of my book by the end of Jan, but I am making progress, which is something.

I also posted my first chapter to my newly organizaed crit group.

Forward movement of any kind is good. :-)

Slow Progress

2010-01-14T05:28:00.002-05:00

Although I'm editing on a daily basis, I'm not getting as much done as I'd like. Seems like every day something is happening to keep me away from my editing. Yesterday my DH was home sick from work. His computer (the newest in our bunch) died so I was in an online chat with a rep from Dell to get it fixed. That took nearly an hour and ended in defeat. They're sending us a new graphics card (thank goodness we still had the warranty-last 10 days of it).

This morning I had an alarm clock malfunction (my cat sometimes walks on it and changes the time) so I was an hour late getting up.

And now it's time to get ready for work.

Today after work I have to grocery shop.

Will it ever end??

But the good news is that I like the story just as much as I did before (thus far) and I don't understand why the editor at Samhain didn't feel the connection between the hero and heroine.

Okay, off I go. Everyone have a great day!

I am really trying

2010-01-12T08:46:00.002-05:00

I am writing, but slowly. I have a lot of catch up to do. This afternoon I am devoting entirely to writing until I have caught up. How are you all doing?

Inspiration Comes From the Strangest Places

2010-01-11T18:06:00.003-05:00

I spent most of the day Saturday in a boring meeting and then FREEZING training session for a local Search and Rescue group. So while we're on the way to church on Sunday I was just zoning out (my hubby was driving) when *BAMMO* I suddenly got this total search and rescue training scene for the novel I'm working on.

Here's the thing - this scene will wrap up one of the conflicts that has not been fully developed yet. Sooooo. Do I continue to develop my story and add this in later, or should I go ahead and write this all out, then back track to fit it in?

Either way, I'll sketch it out today so I don't forget it.

Thanks for your expert advice!

*******************
Edit:
*******************

As usually happens, just by typing out my plea, I developed an idea of what I needed to do. I went ahead and typed up all my ideas regarding this particular character - and as I wrote I got MORE ideas! Now I'm so excited about Sarah's resolution I don't want to stop writing!

Where I'm At

2010-01-11T06:24:00.002-05:00

Utter insanity has been the definition of life the past week or so. The LASR/WC reviewer Yahoo groups somehow picked up a really nasty virus, and after having one of my reviewers computers get fried, I decided we had to move.

So I spent three days moving our groups and getting an entire new system set up. Needless to say, this cut into my writing time a bit. It cut into my EVERYTHING time, actually, and put me well behind on nearly everything.

BUT...

I did get some editing done. Only a few pages, but I was determined to do something. I'm on page 54 of about 150 pages in Stiller Creek. The further in I get, the harder the changes become, and the slower the editing goes ... but slow is okay. It's the dead stop, big zip-zilch-nada that I have to worry about.

This week, with any luck at all, I should have at least a FEW moments to work. I want to get this done so I can work on one of my other pieces, "The Possibility of Forever" (formerly Camilla's Critters) has been calling to me. What's more, I think if I'm careful and really polish that thing until it shines, it'll fit Dorchester.

::::fingers crossed::::

Anyway, that's my week. How are YOU doing?

Increasing Word Count

2010-01-10T09:32:00.002-05:00

Yeah yeah yeah.... I'm supposed to be LOPPING OFF words on Forever Home. But today I added nearly 2500 back in. Don't get excited, they weren't new words. I added back in the two scenes I cut out originally (modified a bit).

I have a feeling I won't be able to remove 30k from the story, so I'll just have to look in other directions for a home for the story.

Of course I still have the critique phase to go through. Maybe there'll be suggestions to lose those words.

Now I'm off to the in-laws for the day.

Wow, Late AND MIA... sorry

2010-01-09T01:47:00.002-05:00

I know, I've been completely missing lately. And I apologize. Between the holidays, the boys in adn out of school and illnesses that run rampant this time of year (even though we all got the flu shot... can you imagine how bad it would be otherwise? :::shudder:::) and now my own issues, it's been rather difficult to do anything but the bare minimum online. I didn't get much writing done, per se. I've been fighting a pretty nasty migraine for the past three days, it comes and goes but when it comes it hits like a freight train and I'm fighting just to keep my lunch down with each loud noise... and in a house full of boys you can imagine how noisy it gets.

Okay, so I did some writing of ideas which usually include at least a scene or two that I want to at least get fleshed out so they stop tormenting me until I can get to them later. That was only a couple hundred words though. Then last night when I couldn't get my brain to shut down past the pain I pulled out my notebook (in the dark) and wrote down what I wanted to fix and edit on my Cowboy story and on my "Appearances" story (which still needs a better title... just saying). I think I got some good ideas down and that will take care of what I think I need to get Cowboy done and submitted somewhere else.

I swear, I'm to the point of hiring a sitter just to come and watch my kids while I write... the only problem with that is that I'd then have to explain to their parent WHAT I write... may not be a good idea if I want to keep my sitters. LOL

So, at least I got something done this week, when it's been pretty barren for the last month or two. I'm not crossing my fingers for the time to finish... cuz that just seems to jinx me. So... I'll... put it into my calendar to remind me to do it and hope THAT works... maybe if y'all cross YOUR fingers it won't jinx me. LOL

I hope everyone hits their goals, and that I'll at least get closer to mine. Have a great weekend and see y'all next week.

Thanks for asking...

2010-01-08T17:28:00.003-05:00

...but I'm not sure you really want to know. Really? Are you certain? Okay, but remember you asked...

My butt feels like it's growing into the chair.

See? I told you it might be TMI. But it's the truth; I've been hard at work on One Grand Season and I feel like I'm part of the chair. Thank goodness, it's a comfortable chair!

That's about to come to an end because I am about to begin two weeks when I won't hardly write at all. I've got a commitment coming up so I'll be mostly away from my desk which means--you guessed it!--my tush might forget about being part of the chair. See? A silver lining to everything.

Anyhow, One Grand Season is coming along just as I hoped it might. Word count is 21,684. As I said, that won't change much for about fourteen days. Then I'll have to become part of the chair again if I hope to finish the book. I'm a little behind where I wanted to be but I think I'll be able to finish by the 31st.

In the meantime, I wish good writing mojo to every JaNo-er! Have fun, and write on!

Is It The Middle Of The Week Already?

2010-01-06T19:59:00.002-05:00

Well, I've knocked out just over 4000 words from Forever Home. I've been trying to figure out where I can cut all these words out (30K) and realize that's a whole sub plot. Problem is that I like all the subplots. I really don't want to cut any of them.

Of course there's a lot of narrative I can get rid of to tighten it up. But 30K? Yikes!

So this makes me wonder where else I could send this baby. It doesn't have to go to Harlequin. I'd love love love love to see it in print. I'd love for it to go to a NYC publisher. There must be plenty out there who want more than just 60K stories.

I won't totally give up on the idea of HQ but I don't want to sacrafice the story just for the sake of making it HQ length.

Now back to edits.

Wednesday, Week 1

2010-01-06T12:23:00.002-05:00

Ah, it is Wednesday, isn't it? It feels like Tuesday but I'm pretty sure it's...yep. Wednesday. I hardly ever know what day it is anymore. Snow brain, probably.

Anyhow, happy Wednesday. I hope you're enjoying the day. Me? I crept out of bed at 3am because One Grand Season just wouldn't shut up. That's right, there were people talking and doing things in my head and since they wouldn't quit I figured I'd best work with their schedule.

One of the only jobs in the world where you don't get locked up for admitting you hear voices. Not bad, eh?

Right. One Grand Season. Well, Chapter 4 was written in time to watch Good Morning America. So far, it's 16,297 words. Funny, isn't it, how a book just grows word by word? I love seeing it happen, every single time. It never gets old, and I always feel good about what I'm doing.

Hope everyone else is having fun, too!

Finally...

2010-01-06T06:01:00.002-05:00

I finally managed to sit down and work on edits for "Return to Stiller Creek". I only got through about 8 pages, and then realized it was going to be tougher than I thought.

See... I'm changing the hero from the police chief to the lawyer who handles the heroine's parents' estate (such as it is), but there comes a point where he MUST be the police chief and not a lawyer, and it's a turning point in the emotional relationship between the H/H, so I don't want to cut that scene.

What to do... what to do?

I have several ideas on how to handle it, but it's very important, so I don't want to mess it up... unless....

Oooh.... got another idea!!

::::runs off to work::::

Up and Down

2010-01-05T14:05:00.002-05:00

Had cute, adorable, noisy and demanding grandkids all day Sunday and yesterday. I could barely remember anyone's name, let alone write. Today shall be better. MUCH better. I'm looking to type for a good, strong 2 hour stretch starting..........NOW~!

Telling On Myself

2010-01-05T06:22:00.001-05:00

see more dog and puppy pictures

Oy vey... I figured I should post, but I haven't much to say except so far my JaNo is a failure. I HAVE opened the document, I have NOT done any editing!

Today, though, DD is supposed to go to her friend's house after school for a few hours, so I'm going to hunker down then. Yes I am.

Things Looking Up?

2010-01-04T21:53:00.003-05:00

I'm not going to get my hopes up too high, but I just received a request for a partial on my manuscript, That Kind Of Magic from TWRP.

Yee haw!

But again, not going to get my hopes up too high.

Still....

Well... It's A Start

2010-01-04T20:33:00.002-05:00

I lopped about 3800 or so words from Forever Home this morning before I had to allow my "regular" day take over. It was a good start and I'm looking forward to an even more productive day tomorrow. We're still not completely back to our regular schedule. My DH took an extra day off (though he's been off since the Wednesday before Christmas the lucky dude).

Tomorrow... will get back into the full swing of things tomorrow.

A Big Whew!

2010-01-04T17:39:00.002-05:00

I revised the two chapters I wanted to get done. I started on the next chapter. Somewhere in the mix of the three I need a new scene, but it's not yet clear where it should go. That's not good. No matter, I'll figure it out tonight! A new scene is my goal today. I have so much going on though I won't have time to write until tonight after everyone is asleep!

Enjoy your Monday!

Monday, Monday

2010-01-04T17:33:00.003-05:00

Oh, I do like Mondays. Even Mondays when I spend two hours blowing snow and another hour shoveling snow. I even love a Monday when I blow, shovel and then haul firewood into the house(after dumping all the snow off the top of the tarp that covers it).

I'm serious. I really do love Mondays. Today I got so much done I could just sit here and grin.

Wait...that's exactly what I'm doing. Oh boy, I think I might've done too much today. Brain seems a bit on the mushy side...

No matter. One Grand Season made its way to 10,649 words today. Yay!

I'm into chapter 3, where the heroine makes her biggest faux pas thus far. Oh, the poor girl! She's really going to step in it before she finds her happily-ever-after.

I hope everyone else is enjoying JaNo. Write on! :-)

A Sad thing

2010-01-04T08:19:00.003-05:00

I was so excited. I wrote 7 pages yesterday, then when I went back to read and possibly edit, they were GONE. Vanished. My save button didn't save them. I am very sad. I won't be able to re-do any of it until later. Hope I can remember what I wrote. sob, sob.

See the Smile?

2010-01-03T19:39:00.006-05:00

I wish you could all see the smile of relief on my face. Why is it there? It's not because of the gazillion feet of snow that's piled in our driveway, I'll tell you that much! No, I'm smiling because I stopped procrastinating and just began writing.

Now that I'm off to a good start, I'll let you in on a little secret: I was seriously dragging my feet about beginning this January book. Why? I don't know. All I know is that I would have rather curled up with the new Stephen King and read my way into the New Year.

But I didn't. Yesterday I made myself put fingers to keyboard. The first few pages came hard, but then the magic began. The story began to unwind, characters came to life and I lost myself in the pleasure of writing. I'm home again, and it feels fabulous.

So, One Grand Season is shaping up. I've got the first 8,286 words down, and now that they're there I know I'll just keep rolling along. My goal for the month is to finish the novel, which I figure for approximately 50,000 words. I've counted the actual number of days I'll be available to work on the book and calculated the word count I'll need to produce to keep to the schedule. It's going to be tough but I'm pretty sure I can handle it. I'm good at being disciplined and while I'm not crazy about chilly winter mornings, I'll write before the day officially begins if I need to do so.

The first line of the book, now that it's actually written, is enough motivation to keep my fingers on the keyboard. I realize it isn't a line that might make anyone else's heart race but it works for me. The line?

Vivian Fox detested being the family's poorest relation.

I love it that everyone else has also begun. It looks like we're off to a great start, doesn't it? Yay for us!

Happy New Year! And Happy JaNo!

A Few Days Late...As Usual

2010-01-03T09:19:00.002-05:00

Okay, as soon as the kids go back to school and the DH goes back to work I think I'll finally be able to concentrate on getting back to work. I hope.

My goal for the month of January is revising Forever Home which currently is a 91K novel. I need to chop about 30K from it so I can sub it to HQ (not sure which line). This includes a brand new opening (which is good because it'll cut out around 10K right there).

I'd like to be able to work through AT LEAST 1000 words a day, hopefully much much more.

Looking forward to getting back into the swing of things!

I did it

2010-01-03T08:07:00.002-05:00

Yep, I'm keeping up. I promised 5 pages a day and so far so good. It's more difficult than I expected. I am used to writing until I feel like quitting and now I have to keep my goal.

In which I post my intentions

2010-01-02T15:44:00.000-05:00

My goal, which is pretty aggressive, is to have a revised manuscript I can email my agent by month’s end. I guess it wouldn’t be that aggressive if I didn’t work a day job, but since I do … I’m hoping JaNo will help keep me on track.

I have a pretty good start. I was off work all last week and built up some momentum and words. So, for the week, I’m up about 10,000 words, some new, some revised, and some blended. I’m working to integrate a new subplot, remove a few other plot threads, and I’ve combined a few characters, which means the relationship vibe between many of the characters has change.

If you’re thinking, wow, she must be crazy, then you might be right.

An Excellent Start

2010-01-02T13:14:00.002-05:00

I hope yesterday was a sign of how will I'll do with JaNoWriMo. I finished my revising session with 94 pages on paper revised. I won't type it in until I get through the first pass of the manuscript.

These pages are from the first four chapters though and really didn't need a lot of work. The biggest thing, and what took me the longest as well as phone calls to my critique partner, was giving my hero more of a conflict. I think I have it. Fingers crossed.

Today I want to tackle chapter 5 and 6. It's going to be a lot of work so I'll be happy to get through just one of the chapters today. The night I was emailing the manuscript to my editor I realized my original chapter 5 was 31 pages so split into two chapters. I cut it in half and put different chapters on the remaining part of the book. But now that I have the time I need to go back in and fix the two chapters. I think each needs more and somewhere in there a point my editor suggested should work well.

Happy New Year!

A Good Start!

2010-01-01T16:28:00.003-05:00

Even though my husband was home all day and staring over my shoulder ;-) , I blocked out a full hour and made some good progress on "Through the Molasses Swamp". I'm still working through Jason's feelings about his mom's new boyfriend...

What Are Your Goals?

2010-01-01T05:54:00.002-05:00

Hey all... I've updated that box on the sidebar with goals to include those of us participing this month, but I don't know specific goals (if you have them). Would you post a comment or post a POST about what you specifically intend to achieve this month? Then I'll add those to the bar.

I've decided to work on editing Stiller Creek, as much as new pieces are calling to me.

Happy New Year and Happy JaNo-ing!!

I am ready

2009-12-31T08:17:00.001-05:00

I have decided to give it a go this year. Wish all of us good luck.

I'm Baa-aack!

2009-12-31T06:39:00.002-05:00

Howdy Folks!

I have been on an oh-my-word-my-life-is-a-crazy-merry-go-round writing hiatus. There's no indication that the insanity is slowing, much less stopping. Nonetheless, my 2 young adult novels are calling me. Loudly. AND a third story line has been bubbling and brewing...

Must. WRITE!

So here's my plan: Every day in January - come Hell or highwater or grandkids or homeschooling or biology classes or Search-and-Rescue training or 4-H creative flashes of genius or needs/demands from GrammaJ - I WILL write at least 30 minutes on one of the two WIPs. Hopefully I'll be able to work longer on some/many/most of the days. I'm just going to sit and focus a few moments, then set the timer and write like there's no tomorrow.

In order to insure (ensure?) my ability to stick to this lofty plan, I will enforce the following:

A. Limit Facebook to 15 minutes max per day. Yes, I WILL use a timer and no, I will not check on my friends again later in the day.

B. If I am away from home overnight (like on the search-and-rescue training jags) I will take a notebook and start outlining my new story idea.

C. Blogging does not count as part of my writing time.

D. I will post a brief report here at least twice a week so you all can hold me accountable and can cheer me on or help me out when I write my characters into a corner.

In order to prepare, today is reading day! I need to refresh my memory on how my people think and act!

Thanks for being here for me!

Through the Molasses Swamp and Linear Equation, HERE I COME!!!!

Me Too!

2009-12-30T20:54:00.002-05:00

I have edits to work on, trying to take Forever Home, a 90+K manuscript and shorten it to 60K. Should be fun! I'd also love to finish last year's NaNo project The Staying Kind.

Looking forward to it!

Count me in!

2009-12-30T12:46:00.002-05:00

I have revisions due on a 50K manuscript mid-January so my JaNoWriMo will be condensed why I revise the manuscript! I'll write a new proposal (three chapters and synopsis) for the second part of the month!

I'm in!

2009-12-30T06:42:00.002-05:00

I'll be working on edits, not on something new... Maybe. I'd planned on editing Return to Stiller Creek, but the sequel to Kitchen Matches (working title is Drive Me Crazy) has been banging against my brain the past few days with ideas on how I can make it funnier and better than it was (for a romantic comedy, it was awfully dry and boring).

This is assuming I have power on January 1st (though I suppose I could write on paper -- it's just that Stiller Creek is on my computer in its entirety and Drive Me Crazy is about 13,000 words on my computer).

In any case .... I'M HERE, I'M HERE!

Who else?

Here I Come!

2009-12-29T08:54:00.001-05:00

I'm in!

I've decided to write a Regency romance called One Grand Season. I am psyched!

What's everyone else working on in January?

Me, too & a Question to All JaNo-ers

2009-11-15T04:40:00.001-05:00

I, too, am giving up the ghost. My NaNo story just wasn't cooperating, and I refuse to waste my writing time on a story that isn't useable. So, I'm back to editing "Return to Stiller Creek" and working on the new "A Jewel For Geoff" instead.

Good luck to the NaNoers out there!

Also, to the folks here at the JaNoWriMo blog -- is there any reason or interest to keep this blog open? If not, I'm going to shut it down. Though I do admit to having a January NaNo on my mind...

Please let me know?

Throwing In The Towel

2009-11-14T07:48:00.003-05:00

Yeah, I know the month isn't even half over, but I'm so far behind that I don't think I'm going to catch up. I've thought a lot about Marianne's post and I think she's right. At least for this year, I don't think I need to prove to myself that I can write the 50K.

It's not that I don't like the plot I've come up with, or the characters, but right now I feel like I have a big dissembled puzzle in front of me and not enough time to put it together in a way that's going to make me happy in the end. Meanwhile, I have a finished manuscript that needs editing and another that's almost finished that I really like.

I only got to about 11500 words, but for now I'm just going to put it aside and take a look at it sometime down the road. Maybe I can make it into a novella or something.

Good luck to everyone else who are still hanging in there!

Bowing Out

2009-11-11T09:56:00.002-05:00

My NaNoWriMo journey is coming to an early end. I need to focus on getting the book completed by December 1st and don't have time to be counting words and thinking about anything else but submitting the best manuscript I can. Good luck to everyone still participating! No matter if you hit 50K or not, you're a winner!

URGH

2009-11-11T05:44:00.003-05:00

So... I started writing on my NaNo book again yesterday and ... it sucks. It's boring, it has almost no conflict, and the characters are wooden.

Yes, really.

And, I contemplated and considered and realized -- I HATE editing. HATE it. Especially when there are major plot changes. So the question I asked myself was: do I push through (because I know I can get 50,000 really sucky words) or do I stop, breath, and brainstorm a little bit so that when this thing is done, it's actually something I can use.

Truth?

I want it to be something I can use. So, for the next couple of days, I'm going to stop writing and start thinking. I'm going to consider what my real conflict is (because the one I thought I have isn't one as it turns out), what the black moment will be (because, oddly, I never had one in mind) and how I can flesh out my characters a little better.

I know that's not what NaNo is about. I know I'm supposed to say "Damn the torpedos (or in this case, the plot) and full speed ahead!", but the last time I did that, I got 50,000 words and a story that was shelved, never to see the light of day.

That's just a stupid waste of time. I don't need to prove to myself I can write a novel -- I've done that. I need to use my time wisely. Do I hope I can jump back in and still make my goal? Absolutely. If I know where I'm going, then writing 2000 words or more a day shouldn't be out of the question.

So... that's where I am. Wish me luck.

Hanging on....sort of

2009-11-10T18:50:00.003-05:00

Well, I'm still at it. I'm so painfully far behind though, that I'm doubting my ability to finish this.

I revamped the characters, started it fresh and like the story much much better, but there have been so many distractions that it seems impossible to write. Everyone seems to gather in the dining room (ie the office) and they chat and sing and have a grand ole time.

Or I'm running errands. Today it was groceries. Tomorrow it's laundry. Never can catch a break! But at least I can bring a notebook with me tomorrow over laundry. At least I can find some quiet at the laundramat.

Anyway, I'm at 7624 words (sorry, no cute writopia potato guys). I've got a loooong way to go to catch up!!

But one bit of good news... the girls (2 of them) are going over for a sleepover at a friends tonite. So it'll be somewhat quiet.

Back at it

2009-11-09T10:18:00.003-05:00

I had surgery on Thursday so haven't written in days. I'm not even sure where I am, but I'll try to figure it out. I'm hoping to write today. I did some revising on paper this weekend, but it hurts to sit at my computer too long so haven't done much typing at all. The book is due December 1 so I'm a bit panicky.

Day Seven: By the Skin of My Teeth

2009-11-07T07:23:00.001-05:00

I'm barely hanging on. Am about 1000 words behind again today, but will try to make it up this afternoon, with any luck, plus more. Tomorrow is going to be a long, rough day, so I need to do all the computer work I can today, which will cut into my writing time. *sigh*

NaNo Tool of the Day

2009-11-06T08:56:00.002-05:00

This is a great site if you're stuck and want a little something to get your juices going again! It's called The Seventh Sanctum, and has a zillion prompts, ideas, name generators, scene generators and more. Be warned, it's addictive and could be a time waster, but it's also VERY helpful.

Have fun!

Day Six: Let's Play "Change the Hero"

2009-11-06T08:51:00.002-05:00

I was writing in my story today and realized I wanted to refer to one of Cori's other brothers, so I pulled up the character list from "Kitchen Matches" -- and it hit me: there was NO possible way Zach could be the hero of my story. See, the whole basis of my H & H's relationship is that they shared a kiss in high school ... and Zach is almost seven years older than my heroine!! So, um, they weren't in school together.

And, to be honest, Nick (the brother who is closest in age to my heroine) fits my hero's character profile much better anyway. So, this morning, I went through and changed all the "Zach's" to "Nick's" and then added in some scenes of Nick being his usual flirty, playboy self.

I didn't get my entire total yet for the day, but hope to hit it again this afternoon. I'm only 500 words short, so it should be easy enough!

Hmmm.... It could work

2009-11-05T15:58:00.002-05:00

I had a thought about this wip. I could actually blend it with another idea I had though it would completely change my heroine's personality.

Okay, what do people think of bad girls who are trying to get onto the straight and narrow?

I think that was my problem, my heroine was just a little too nice.

But then I'd have to work everything else around the personality change.

Might be worth it.

Houston.... we have a problem

2009-11-05T15:40:00.002-05:00

Okay, I'm psyched that I made it over the 10k mark, but honestly I'm not happy. I have no idea how I'm going to continue with this story. It's like I've hit this big void and I'm asking myself "okay, now what happens?" I seriously don't know. I thought I knew where I was going with this, but for some reason I just don't.

So, even though I'm nearly a week into it, is it too late to dump it and go in a different direction? With a new wip?

This is such a cold cold feeling.

NaNo Tool of the Day

2009-11-05T13:56:00.002-05:00

Okay, this isn't so much a tool as a prompt help. Getting stuck and don't know where to go? Then challenge yourself to use the "word of the day" -- and get a giggle from reading it via "Word of the Duh" blog!

I've challenged myself to find a way to use the daily word somewhere, somehow in my WIP. It helps my brain work in a different way, and sometimes encourages me to brainstorm new scenes and new possiblities.

Have fun!

Day Five: Still Hanging in!

2009-11-05T13:50:00.002-05:00

I had a LOT of catching up to do, and didn't figure I'd be able to do it. DH got up early this a.m. again (though not as early as he had been, thankfully), but I got about 500 words this morning before that happened.

Then... a miracle. He left to go to his uncle's place for a couple hours, and DD left to do school. I HAD TIME ALONE. Shocking, but true. And I closed all my email windows, closed my website software, told myself it was okay not to do LASR work for a couple of hours and I wrote. And the moment my NaNo Excel report card said "Way to Go!" in the little comments column instead of "Get on It!", I stopped. I am currently just barely at the word count I need to be for NaNoWriMo (1666 words per day), but that's okay. I'll just keep plugging along no matter what. Slow and steady and all that...

Day Four

2009-11-04T11:17:00.001-05:00

I wrote 1481 new words and revised 9 pages. I wished I'd done more, but oh, well... Today is another day.

NaNo (fun) Tool of the Day

2009-11-04T06:27:00.004-05:00

Wordle!

Wordle is fun and serves a purpose -- words you use most show up the largest, so you can see if you're overusing something (for instance, if "it" or "was" is one of the biggest words, you know you've got a problem!). I did a Wordle on my NaNo novel as it is so far, and this is what I got:

Thankfully, "it" isn't one of the huge words, lol! In any case -- enjoy :-)

Edited to add: First off, I didn't realize, but Wordle is set to ignore common English words, so "it" wouldn't have shown up anyway.

Second, Judy posted her NaNo Wordle here.

Day Four: Chugging Along

2009-11-04T06:24:00.001-05:00

Okay... I made up my word count yesterday, but then this a.m. DH and DD were both up early, so I only got a little over 600 words. Hopefully I can get at least another 1000 later today.

On my way!

2009-11-03T09:53:00.003-05:00

I didn't write as many words as I'd hoped for the first two days, but I suppose anything is better than nothing. My goal is to finish the book by November 16th. At this rate I'm behind 23 pages (bad writing weekend) so need to crank it up a few notches. I may skip around a little rather than write in order. There are a couple of scenes I've been itching to get to!

NaNo Tool for the Day

2009-11-03T07:09:00.002-05:00

Help yourself along with a prompt!

Go to this site at least once a day and use the sentence generated (or something very close) in your writing that day: http://watchout4snakes.com/CreativityTools/RandomSentence/RandomSentence.aspx

Or go to Wikipedia and click on "random article" and use that in your story.

Have fun!

Day Three: A Work In Progress

2009-11-03T07:05:00.002-05:00

This a.m. was not a banner morning for writing... I hope to get more in this afternoon. But for now:

Calling It A Day

2009-11-02T20:48:00.002-05:00

Not bad at all but I better stop before I fall asleep on my keyboard.

So, my total thus far is.....

So, that leaves 42959 words to go. I need to average 1535 a day for the rest of the month.

So far so good.

Off and well, sorta writing...

2009-11-02T10:46:00.002-05:00

My goal for NaNo is to finish the manuscript due December 1. It's a sequel to my November 08 release, Rescued by the Magic of Christmas, and will be published in late 2010.

Of course I had an Irish dance feis yesterday and we got a new kitten named Yoda last night so I've been writing on my Alphasmart with no idea how many words I have. I'll be sure to download tonight so I have a word count for the first two days. At least I have a few words. Just need many, many more!

Good luck to everyone!

Melissa

NaNo Tool for the Day

2009-11-02T06:43:00.002-05:00

I may not post these every day, but will do what I can.

One of my favorites (though it scares me, too) is Write or Die. I have to admit to being too scared to use it for more than a few minutes at a time, because that way I won't lose TOO much if I mess up, lol.

It's a great site. Check it out.

Day Two: Still Hanging In!

2009-11-02T06:38:00.003-05:00

Well.. things aren't going *quite* how I had planned. My DH is getting up at 4 a.m. to go hunting, so my writing time is getting eaten up a little. He's off all week, so I expect this will be the norm. I'll just have to deal.

Even so, I'm still (barely) keeping up with the needed word count:

Uh oh... my word count meter picture isn't showing. So, my word count total is: 3,478!

End Of Day One

2009-11-01T16:36:00.005-05:00

Yup. That's me. Maybe I'll increase my word count before bedtime.

Or maybe I'll just veg in front of the tv and wait for dinner to be done.

I did spend a little time making a collage for my story.

I think it may be a horse story... Haven't written a good horse story in a long time.

NaNo Tool for the Day

2009-11-01T08:03:00.002-05:00

Since Ceri mentioned needing it -- the word count widge I use can be found at Writertopia.

And I think it's a potato.

Enjoy :-)

So far....

2009-11-01T07:13:00.002-05:00

2628 words.

But I need to stop for breakfast. I hope to add to that total later on.

I need to find my link to those cool raisen (or is it a potato) guy with the word count. :)

Day One: So Far, So Good

2009-11-01T07:00:00.003-05:00

I got up early ... thanks to the time change, and wrote!

You?

Yes, I'm Doing NaNo

2009-10-30T06:33:00.005-04:00

Okay... so my last post got two responses (Thanks, Melissa and Sarita!), so I'm guessing no one else is up to the challenge.

But, I'm doing NaNoWriMo and I'll probably post here now and then, just because it's a shame to see the blog sitting empty. If anyone else wants to post, come on over and we can support each other!

For now -- some sites to help out with NaNo in case any one stumbles over here.

The Genreality blog has some tips for Time Management and Tracking Your Writing.

Lynn Viehl is offering her Novel Notebook as a free download. It's a great way to organize your writing before you start.

Suzanne Pitner wrote an article on Succeeding at NaNoWriMo.

That's it. It's only two days away. Hoo-Rah.

Starting Anew -- and A NaNo/JaNo Challenge

2009-09-21T05:50:00.003-04:00

Hey folks -- don't know if anyone is going to read this post since it's been awhile since the blog's been active... but...

November is coming up -- and that's NaNoWriMo month. I already know I'm too overloaded to complete 55000 words in 30 days, but I want to challenge myself to do SOMETHING during November.

I've decided that writing at least 500 words a day isn't outside the realm of possibility. If I manage to do more, it's icing on the cake.

Anyone else want to join me? And... if you're going for the gold of NaNo, you're welcome to post here as well. I'd love to see posts on accomplishments, ways you work through writer's block, how you set aside time to write and reach your goals, prompts ... even the what line of yours from that day was your favorite.

If no one's up for the task, that's fine -- I'm doing it regardless. But, I wanted to see if I could stir up a little interest. If you are, either leave a comment or email me.

And -- if you happen to stumble across this blog and you're not a member but want to join us, leave me a comment and we'll add you in. The more, the merrier!!

Happy Autumn!

Writing Prompt: Humorscope

2009-06-20T19:47:00.002-04:00

I wrote one of my free reads doing this (Life in the Details, if you're interested) and I think it's fun!

Go to Humorscope.

Try to use YOUR sign to write either a scene from an existing work, or just a quick short story to flex your writing muscles. Share if you'd like to. They change every day, so if you don't like today's, you can try tomorrow -- but make sure you copy the one you use, since it will disappear!

Have fun.

Resolution

2009-06-17T21:39:00.002-04:00

Well, I think I've come to the decision that I'm going to spend my summer editing.

I've been having some issues with my manuscripts and I really need to get them fixed. Currently I have 7 finished manuscripts. At least. Two of them are submitted to two different publishers, the others need me. Desperately. The past two weeks, except for a few prompts, I've done nothing but edit. Nothing new. So much for my 500 words a day.

Until I have these manuscripts in order I'm going to halt the new writing. I'd like to see a few more submissions go out before I turn to a new project.

Of course this is going to be EXCEEDINGLY difficult because I love to write the new stuff. I generally have several different projects going at any given time, but I have to put on my serious author's hat and get these finished ones done.

But if Marianne posts any more prompts I'll be happy to play with those. I love prompts.

And I'll be checking in.

But my word count will sadly remain at 0 until I'm able to start writing queries and synopsis's.

My Prompt

2009-06-13T22:15:00.002-04:00

Okay, I think I did this correctly. But if I didn't please forgive me. I've had a long day that included rescuing a desk from the recycling center (makes my old desk look like it belongs in a second grade class), sick kids, driving a half hour for chinese food only to discover I went to the wrong restaurant and the one I really ordered from (in error) is only 2 minutes from my house.

So, I only did 4.

1) Core 2 (from my Dell tower)
2)Winter Signs (written on the top of one of my kid's school papers)
3)Surprise Return (From a TV Guide article)
4)All The Reasons- (From a Reisen candy ad)

Story Premise

1)Core 2- A team of scientists must recreate the earth's core for the survival of mankind.

2)Winter Signs-A loner in the mountains is forced to share his home with a stranded hiker during a blizzard.

3)Surprise Return-Sarah had no reason to doubt that Ted was never going to return, but when he comes back with a fiance, she has to deal with her broken heart all over again.

4)All The Reasons-There was nothing that Beth and Pete had in common, but they still couldn't imagine a life apart.

I did an exercise like this before. My group had to come up with a title and premise or hook for each letter in the alphabet. It was fun and came up with some good ideas!

My Really Bad Week-But A Prompt

2009-06-13T21:24:00.002-04:00

I can count the number of new words I wrote this week on one hand and still have 4 fingers and a thumb left over. That's it. A big fat goose egg.

Add to that the fact I got another R this week and a huge workload and that equals blah.

Actually, the R was, as usual, complimentary and encouraging and they said they weren't interested "at this time" which leaves a door open for a someday.

So, what did I do? I queried the same story to Avon. So there. And all week I've been working on the issue the rejecting editor had with the sample I sent. Passive sentences.

So, I have been working, just not on anything new.

I did manage to do the prompt though, which I'll post shortly. Right now I have to head out to pick up my DD who's returning from two days of Special Olympics.

TTFN

Writing Prompt #3

2009-06-07T14:28:00.003-04:00

Okay... I'll try not to be SO weird, lol.

I actually came up with the idea for "Kitchen Matches" from a writing prompt I found on Lynn Viehl's blog, Paperback Writer. It's fun, unique and no two people should have the same answer.

For this week's writing prompt, go HERE and do what she says. Have fun!

And, keep on setting that 10 minute timer.

Another Week...Still No Prompt

2009-06-07T05:47:00.004-04:00

Well, Marianne, I tried this prompt but what I came up with made no sense--in a bad way. I may keep going at it because, quite frankly, it's a challenge. I did do the ten minute typing challenge. I've been doing that daily. Works well, even with the added distraction of children around.

As far as word count goes, I finished last week with 5178 words, working on two different wips. Not too bad. Not as good as last week though. But I was a day short because I counted last Sunday's words last week since May was ending. That was another 1300 words. But I won't count them twice.

My daughter and stepdaughter have spent all of yesterday writing their own stories. I was busy editing SD's story while she was writing a new one. My DD wrote a very short (and rather disturbing) story and parts of three others. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I think I may have a little Stephen King on my hands. And if her writing now is any indication, she's going to be one heck of a writer when she grows up and develops her talent. If she sticks to it, that is. She's pretty good for a twelve year old!

I hope that isn't just a mother's bias.

Everyone have a super Sunday! It's cake baking day here at the Hebert hacienda. Joy.

I hate baking.

With a passion.

Whew!

2009-06-01T10:12:00.002-04:00

Thank goodness May is over. The good news is I'm alive! At time, I wasn't quite sure I'd see June arrive. The other good news is I actually managed some words. Not as many as I hoped, but with all that's going on I'll take the 3386 words. I also revised 13581 words and resubmitted my proposal.

I have until July 1st to get this book written. Because of my skiing accident, I may need surgery in the next few weeks. Until I find out for sure though, I'm writing like crazy. Not even a cast on my left hand is going to slow me down.

Hope the words are flowing for you!

Writing Prompt

2009-05-31T16:19:00.001-04:00

Writing Prompt: Have a character begin misquoting literary classics at every occasion.

Writing Challenge (repeated cuz I like it so well): EVERY DAY set the timer for ten minutes and write. Do. Not. Stop. Writing. Doesn't matter if what you write makes sense, just open up the gates and go. We can--each one of us--find ten minutes every day to do this.

Everyone is Chicken?

2009-05-31T16:03:00.005-04:00

Here is my chicken story -- what... no one else wrote about chickens?

The dog moved purposefully through the room until she reached the sliding glass door that led to the backyard. She stood with her nose to the crack and woofed again.

“I can’t let you out there.” Ben laid a hand on the dogs back. Her fur was soft and clean. She clearly belonged to someone, but he knew Pete didn’t own her. “There are chickens.”

She barked again, commanding him this time, and the stern sound of her voice made him take a step back. Maybe she wasn’t as pleasant as he’d thought.

“Pete would never forgive me if I let you eat his chickens.”

The dog started digging frantically at the floor in front of the door, her claws making deep scratches in the hardwood floor.

“Well, crap. He won’t forgive me for that, either.” He grabbed hold of the dog’s scruff and hoped she wouldn’t snap at him. She didn’t, but she did fight him to stay by the door.

“No. You’re going back outside. Go home.” He shoved her squirming body back out the front door and closed it quickly behind her.

Slapping his hands together, a job well done, he turned to get back to work. He hadn’t even gotten one strip done and he was behind because of his sudden need to vacate his old home and move in here.

He sure hoped Pete turned out to be a better roommate than Joey had been. He’d been able to deal, just barely, with Joey’s many quirks: his weird eating habits, his slovenly housekeeping and even his new woman every night—right up until one of those women crawled into bed with Ben.

Not that Ben didn’t like women. He did, and quite a lot. He was just a bit more discerning in who he slept with and had no interest in taking on someone else’s sloppy seconds.

The doorbell rang before he even made it back to the breakfast bar, his current make-due desktop where he’d settled in to create the latest bit of “Hard Knocks”. He looked over his shoulder and wondered if it was the dog again. How could that be possible?

It rang again. And then the barking began. Frantic, crazy barking with a few pitiful yelps thrown in. Then clawing at the door. At this rate, the front door would look as if Freddie Krueger had tried to break in.

Ben flopped into his chair and covered his ears tightly with his hands. He wondered if he shouldn’t have just gotten a lock for his bedroom door at Joey’s instead.

About the time he had decided to call animal control, the door opened and the dog came flying through the opening, skittered across the floor to the back and cried.

Pete, sweat dripping from his slightly chunky body, stood in the open door. “Why didn’t you let Sheba in?”

“Sheba?” Ben asked, knowing his friend meant the dog, but unaware that the dog belonged here at this house. He’d never seen her before. “Why would I?”

“She visits during the week.” Pete snatched a towel off the end of the couch and wiped his face. The first morning he’d been here, Ben had tidied up and had moved the folded towel from that spot. When Pete had returned, dripping, from his morning run and found it gone, he’d read Ben the riot act.

Ben hadn’t touched anything that wasn’t his again. It seemed that Pete was particular about his things, and not the slob that Joey had been. Ben learned quickly that everything had its place, and was usually there for a good reason, even if it didn’t make sense to him.

He could live with that.

“So, do I let her out back?” Ben gestured to where the dog sat whining at the glass door.

“Sure. Why not?” Pete tossed the towel into the laundry room just off the entry way.

“The chickens? Don’t dogs eat chicken?”

“Not Sheba. I’m for the shower.” Pete thumped up the stairs and left Ben to deal with the anxious German shepherd.

“Well, okay.” Ben shrugged and felt a bit like he’d fallen into the rabbit hole, but he still walked to the back door to let the dog out.

The moment the door was open, Sheba was out like a shot. She circled the yard, herding the chickens into a group and then Ben swore she counted them. She touched her nose to each one in turn before she settled down onto the grass, curled up in a small patch of sunshine. The chickens didn’t move far from her inert body, just pecked and scratched in orbit around her.

Yep, Tweedledee and Tweedledum should be showing up at any time.

I can't believe I'm the only one....

Did anyone at least set their timers for ten minutes every day and write?

May Is Done

2009-05-31T06:34:00.002-04:00

Okay, I decided to wait until today to post my week count and combine it with my monthly total.
So, I had a pretty good week this week. Better than I thought. Maybe because I pushed to make up for last week and I didn't have much to do but write. I wrote 7438 words this week, working on three different projects. I started another young adult story, but put it aside for another one I've been working on for awhile. And last night and this morning I worked on a query for a short story. I'm planning on submitting it to The Wild Rose Press. It's an odd little story and I'm not sure what catagory to submit it under. It's about a woman who goes to bed at the age of forty-four and wakes up as a twenty-three year old, knowing now what she didn't know then. It's her chance for "do overs". It's a very light romance, but I'm just not sure if it would fall under regular contemporary or not. Any suggestions?

Anyway, my May total is 24164 words. Boy, glad I wasn't striving for 50K!

Time to get dressed. Need to get the Sunday paper.

Everyone enjoy the day!

Where Did the Time Go?

2009-05-25T19:47:00.003-04:00

I keep asking myself that. It seems like just when I think I'll have a moment to write or edit or do something for myself... it doesn't happen. Where does it go? Does anyone know?

Well, this last week has actually been pretty good. As far as writing it's been more about editing and getting some rewrites done that needed to be done so I could feel good about submitting this story. It's my Cowboy story, and I'm hoping it doesn't need much more since I had to rewrite the entire ending and parts of the middle. I think it's so much better for it now.

So, my word count for this last week is mostly rewrites, but it's all new to the story... so it counts. LOL I have 3513 new words for that story, and about half of the edits which add I dunno a couple thousand more words, but only in tweaking. LOL

Now, to see if it's ready for submission. Cross your fingers, I want to get it submitted by the end of the month... and that's Sunday.

Weekly Word Count

2009-05-24T04:37:00.003-04:00

Well, last week was much better than the week before. I think switching wips may have helped. Actually I worked on two different wips last week. I know I know... I need to concentrate on one, but I'd rather go where I'm being most productive. I started (well picked up an old wip) a young adult story on Wednesday and it's been flowing very nicely. It's not the one I had been working on earlier in the year, this one is more contemporary. I've been trying to figure out what kids want to be reading, what I would've liked to have read when I was a teen. I know vampires are big these days, but no, I'm not writing a teenage vampire story. I don't think I'd want to compete there, but my main character won't be any ordinary teenager.

So, my word count for this week is 6971 words. I can't complain. I do have to do some editing on other things, though. I'm itching to get something submitted somewhere (although I do have a manuscript with L & L Dreamspell, but no word yet).

I tried the chicken prompt but my chickens were not very spontaneous. Maybe today something scathingly brilliant will hit me. For now I have to concentrate on cute boys and an ice cream stand.

But I did the ten minute writing challenge. I like that. Works well when I don't have any distractions.

Everyone have a lovely Sunday! I'm going flea marketing soon.

Thanks for inviting me back!

2009-05-23T17:47:00.002-04:00

Marianne,

This sounds like fun. I accept the challenge but may have to wait until the holiday weekend is over to participate.

Thanks!

And just what is YOUR chicken story?

Anne

Writing Prompt and Writing Challenge

2009-05-23T06:39:00.004-04:00

I only heard back from a couple of people, including one commenter (Hi, Melanie! - and yes, the "wri" sounds like write *G*) on whether prompts or challenges would be something we'd like to do here.

But, heck, since I like prompts and challenges, I decided to go ahead and start posting them anyway.

So... I will do my utmost to have one of each posted each Saturday for us to use the following week to stimulate our writing juices! I tend to be a little... er... quirky, so hopefully my prompts will work with you, even if you aren't.

Today:

Writing Prompt: Include a Spontaneous Chicken Situation. It doesn't matter what a SCS is. Just include it.

Writing Challenge: EVERY DAY set the timer for ten minutes and write. Do. Not. Stop. Writing. Doesn't matter if what you write makes sense, just open up the gates and go. We can--each one of us--find ten minutes every day to do this.

Next week, let us know how you did. Did it help you write? What was good and/or what was bad?

Folks, feel free to tell a friend about JaNoWriMo... we need to build up the ranks once more...

Happy Weekend!

I Haz a Thought

2009-05-19T06:14:00.001-04:00

Hey ... things are awfully quiet in here, and I'd like to get them stirred up a bit. Some suggestions:

1. A weekly writing prompt.
2. Timed writing.
3. Writing challenges.
4. Other (insert suggestion here).

I LOVE writing prompts... they really get my juices going. I'd be happy to post one every week if anyone was interested.

Otherwise, is it possible JaNo has run its course?

Let me know what you think!!

Not much...

2009-05-18T10:59:00.003-04:00

I've been going from crisis to crisis the past few weeks. It's been horrible for my writing output. I was hoping my daughter's illness was it. I was wrong. This past week my son got hit in the face with a baseball during Little League practice. He's got quite the shiner.

Somehow among all the hospital visits for tests and doctor appointments, I managed 1164 words. Not a lot, but something. Most likely due to my writing in Seattle this weekend. I'll take it!

I'm hoping life will be back to normal now.

Fingers crossed!

Bad Busy Week

2009-05-17T07:35:00.004-04:00

Well, it was bad for writing, that is. Seemed like I didn't have one afternoon free all week. Always on the go. So there for I only hit my goal I think 3 out of 4 days. Guess that's good considering.

My weekly goal is 3314 words. I've been working on 2 different wips. Got tired of my new new wip when I started having to force it, so I went back to an "old new" wip and it's a little better. I've also started to edit my "short" story (just over 20K).

Yesterday I spent the day burning my face to a crisp. I forgot my sunscreen and I'm one of those fair skinned kinds of British and Danish decent so now I'm feeling poofy and warm. But had a fun time at the NH Pitch Hit and Run competition my son was involved in. He's never been on a baseball team, never really did any of those things until a few weeks ago and he was up against kids who all play on teams, so even though he didn't qualify to go to the next level, he still did pretty well and we had a good time. Now he wants to work on getting on a team for next year.

Off to write. Need to do better this week!!

Mid-Week Posting...

2009-05-12T19:01:00.002-04:00

I plumb forgot to post on Saturday... some nag I am!!

I've written very little, working more on editing for now. I've also been fighting a ten-day headache (I think I hurt my shoulder tilling the garden and threw my neck out of whack), so can't spend as much time on the computer. Lots of excuses, which I hate to give.

But, I'm trying what I can. I may end up writing in longhand -- something I'm not really excited about, but I really want to get some writing down. I'll keep you posted.

What about everyone else?

No Clue

2009-05-12T10:00:00.003-04:00

I haven't written at the computer in almost two weeks. I did have words the Monday before last, but I got sick after sending out my proposal, then my youngest got really sick. I did get revisions on my proposal so I've been doing those by hand. I hope to have a word count next Monday. Well, I'd better or I won't be sleeping the month of June in order to make my July 1 deadline.

Close...

2009-05-12T07:13:00.002-04:00

but not on goal. I've got 9,780 new words this month, so I'm close to the 1,000 words a day I set for myself but, as we all know, close is not exactly there.

I hope to have a chance this evening to catch up. If all goes well I may even get a bit ahead of myself. Fingers crossed!

How are you doing? Hmm?

End of the first week in May

2009-05-09T10:00:00.003-04:00

I did okay. I forgot that I upped my daily word count, but I had one really good day that made up for my lack of words on other days.

My total for this week is 6441.

This past week I managed to finish a short story and work on a new piece. I really need to concentrate on some editing though. I have lots and lots to edit.

But working on my new piece, working on my new hero, I asked myself "could this guy be hero material?"

I've been in a The Office mood lately. I love this guy. He's adorable and his character on The Office is awesome. But he's got a goofiness that might not work. Any thoughts?

Off I go to get some groceries. I may add to my word count later. Or I might edit.

Oh, I'm going to be interviewed tomorrow on Denise Robbin's blog. She's been very helpful in the marketing department, something I'm pretty bad at.

Stop by and say hi!

Okay folks... here's who I have

2009-05-06T06:07:00.003-04:00

This is everyone I've heard from this month -- if I don't hear from you (even if you don't want to play this month), I'll go ahead and take you off the list of contributors so I don't bug you if/when I email. K?

Me!: 500 words/day
Sarita: 1000 words/day
Ceri: 750 words/day
Keri: sitting this month out
Melissa: 5000 words/week (?)
Kealie: Goal to be decided

That means that I didn't hear from:

Karen
Anne
Charity
Darcy
Jen
Tiffany
Joanie
Groovy
Amy

You guys still want to play? Take the month off and come back in June? Whatever... just let me know!

Three of us for May?

2009-05-03T07:15:00.002-04:00

I've only heard from four people, and one of those is taking the month off. So far, I have:

Me
Ceri
Sarita

The numbers are dwindling... anyone have writing friends who might want to jump on board and energize the group?

April? Meh

2009-05-01T04:29:00.002-04:00

It wasn't a super duper month so I'm not doing any happy dances right now, and I really have no excuses. I just couldn't find my spark for most of the month. I think my muse went on spring break and left me high and dry.

I managed to eek (or is that eke?) out 21949 words all month on 3 different wips, none of which I finished. I did, however, add some new words to a manuscript that's in for complete renovation, but I don't think it was more than 1000 words. I generally don't count new words added during editing (though maybe I should).

I'm going to strive to do better in May though got some big doin's this month (my sister and b-i-l are arriving this Saturday evening with my new niece. They adopted a baby girl in October and they're finally making it out our way. I'm so excited!!)

So, here's to a prolific May!!

A Hopping April

2009-04-30T18:27:00.003-04:00

April has officially come and gone ( or nearly so!) and my word count fell short of my goal. I managed 43,000 words, give or take a word or two, so I'm not upset with myself. The annoying part is that I jumped around from wip to wip, so those words are spread over three different manuscripts. It's not like me to do that, and I'm not sure I want to continue hopping about. But now I've got three partially written novels, and ideas for each of them rolling around in my head.

Ack!

I just may have to keep hopping until they're done. After that, though, no more jumping from one thing to another this way. It's just not my best method to work.

How is everyone looking for May? Me? I anticipate a very busy month, with a long-term visitor, more garden chores and truckloads of firewood that will need to be stacked, so I'm going to drop my goal down to 1,000 words a day. It should be doable, and I'm hopeful that I'll manage to get at least one wip finished. Fingers crossed!