The End Of March

Another month has gone by. Are they going faster and faster? Seems to me they are. I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or not.

Anyway, it was an okay month. I definitely went past my goal, finished a short story and put a good dent in my 2007 NaNo leftovers, plus got lots of editing done on my 2008 NaNo story. No complaints from me. Still no word from the publishers who have two of my manuscripts (Kensington and Samhain), but I'll still be patient and put my mind elsewhere.

Anyhue, my final word count for March is 25076. I'm very tempted to up my daily writing goal by a few hundred words. I'm not sure I feel very challenged with only 500 words per day.

Okay, off to watch American Idol.

See ya'll next month~

Monday Morning Word Count

This was a good writing week for me. Between revising my synopsis (it's been resubmitted, too), rewriting chapter one after getting some great feedback from my critique partner on Saturday and adding new stuff, I had a grand total of 6449 words for the week. I surpassed my weekly goal of 5000 words. Finally!

Now to keep it up!!!!!

Have a great Monday!

Checking in a day late

Although... I don't think I checked in last week, but that was when I was in excruciating pain. So, didn't do much writing this week except for in my head and if I remember to write it down it was long hand as I couldn't sit at the computer for any length of time without causing further pain. I did some more editing on my short Cowboy story, including some major rewrites because my heroine was not very likable. I'm about 5000 words into the edits, not sure how many more words as I'm rewriting the ending... isn't it fun when our muse pitches a hissy fit and demands changes?

My other short story that I did as a challenge from Mysti is sitting in an inbox waiting for a second set of edits so I can do those and move on to the painful process of editing and submitting. That one ended on a whopping 12,723 words. I know that some of it will be rewritten, add some here, subtract some there, but I'm really proud of this one, even if it is a first draft.

My Alpha story that started this whole enterprise didn't get as much work done, but I did get quite a bit ironed out in my head and really feel that I know these characters so well. Hopefully, that will translate into easier writing once I'm able to finally sit and focus more intently on it. Right now it's sitting at 4,490 words, and two of my characters are stuck in a compromising position... but they're not complaining so I guess they can wait.

That brings my March grand total word count to: 22,109 words. That's not including the first attempt at a synopsis and query. Not bad, even if it didn't meet my 1000 word a day goal. I only missed it by about 9,000 words. Hey, I still technically have two days, but not sure I'll be able to sit long enough to write that much. Still, a word count that I can be proud of.

It's been fun, and I hope we keep it up, but if not I greatly enjoyed getting to know everyone here. I even have another story idea that I'll be entering into a contest brought to my attention by a friend. Yes, I can do more than one story at a time, sometimes I have to or I get stuck. All in all, a pretty darned good month!

Changing Things Up :)

Last Monday, this was waiting patiently for me in my inbox. :) 

The cover of my new sporty YA novel, CHANGE UP: AN ASHLEY CLARKE NOVEL (SCREWBALL series, Book 2) has arrived! 

After I wrote a fictional series based on a freshman fastpitch softball fanatic for FASTPITCH FOREVER magazine, two years ago, the publisher asked me to turn the magazine series into books. Hence, the SCREWBALL series was born. As a teen and tween, I loved to read and searched bookstores for girls' sports books and found absolutely nothing. Sports were a huge part of my life and I had a hard time relating to tween and teen main characters who didn't play sports. I was forced to either read boys' sports books or book adaptations of sporty movies. 

I'm so proud every time I see another girls' sporty novel in print, whether it's mine or another author's, and the SCREWBALL series is super special to me.  :) 

After I received the fabulous new, summery cover, I was in celebration mode and spent the first half of the week promoting CHANGE UP and wrote zero words. However, I was able to squeeze out 2000 words yesterday.

Have an amazing week, everyone! :) 

Last Nag of the Month

Hey all... March is nearly over. Check in is today. Truthfully, I'm beginning to think that JaNoWriMo may have run its course. Only a handful of the group check in -- despite my nagging, lol, and truthfully I'm kinda tired of riding herd. Despite what my DH says, nagging is no fun.

Still, I'm up for more if you are. But, let me get an honest count of who wants to keep on keeping on, okay? You can leave a comment or email me offline.

Great month, folks. Some of you really astounded me.

FYI... I'm at about 10,000 new words. Didn't meet my goal, but I'm quite pleased with the result.

Have a great rest of the weekend!

Wonder of Wonders

I really didn't think I'd make my goal this week. I took two days off and I had one really lousy day. But I rallied and had a few days that made up for it.

My total this week is 3698 words, between two different wips. Now, in November I could do that in a day, but I'm not going to complain. My arm was killing me all week. Lots of data entry projects at work (where I sit at a totally ergonomically incorrect desk).

More importantly, I'm liking the story I've been working on, even though I'm looking for an editing project. I do have one, but it's going to be pretty heavy duty since it was written a long time ago and there are things I want to change.

Still, I'm up for a challenge. Just not today.

Hope everyone had a stupendous week!

Checking In

The end of the book. Yes, I'm done.

Word count for March? 42,848.

Added to the part of the book-that-would-not-be-ignored that I already had, it brings me right up to the page that says The End.

Me? I'm eating chocolate cake for breakfast!

Then, sometime after lunch, I'll sit down and decide what I'm going to work on next, what will keep my fingers flying through the next few weeks. Because we are all going to meet back here again in April, aren't we?

Hope all is going well in your writing world. And, hey, if you don't have any other plans, you're welcome to join me for breakfast. There's plenty of cake to go around! :-)

Hand writing

I couldn't sit at my computer due to my foot injury so I have 10 hand written pages to show for last week as well as a bunch of revising I did on a hard copy of my first chapter. No idea what the word count will be since a lot of it is dialogue, but I'm not complaining! It's words. That's all that matters.

I'm so far behind right now I'll take whatever I can get. I really need a proposal on this story ASAP to go with the synopsis revisions they asked for last week. I usually write the synopsis after the proposal, but since this is a continuity, they wanted those firsts. And I can't remember the last time (if ever) I've been asked for synopsis revisions so I want to go back to my normal process and just send everything in at once. I'm a horrible synopsis writer!

I'm counting the hours until I can sit down at my computer tonight and write! My head is bursting with ideas and I just want to let it pour all out!

Happy writing everyone!

Checking In

Busy week. Good week. Happy week. I finished revising my new sporty novel, VARSITY PREP, and sent it to my agent. Then, I finished the first three chapters for another sporty series and sent them to the brand. :)

Now, I'm going to start brainstorming either my upper YA/adult book or the third book in the SCREWBALL series. At first, I wasn't sure which one to tackle first until I received some valuable advice. Begin the one that calls to you... Problem solved. :) 

What do you do when you can't decide which book to write? 

Have a fabulous week, everyone! ;) 

My Check-In

My check-in is easy:

0 words

Yep.

I did much editing of "Queen and Assassin" based on suggestions from a friend (who grumbled because it's not done, and I left her hanging). But no new words.

*sigh*

There's a new week starting tomorrow!

Woo Hoo... Look: Updates!

Didn't even have to put on the nag hat.

But, where is everyone else?

C'mon show us what you have.

Checking in, but not checking out

Right up front I'm going to confess that just hours ago I was going to throw in the towel and say "see ya" to all of you. My total output this week was just about what my daily goal was, all due to family and personal issues beyond my control. I hate when things are beyond my control. And next week my dear sister in law is scheduled for a major surgery to correct another major surgery she underwent a year and a half ago. So, yeah, things aren't grand right now in my little world.

But just within the past hour I've decided not to give up. Today is only the 21st of March. That means I have 10 full days before the first of next month. I'm not sure how close I can still come to my goal--and I realize Monday may be a wash since everyone around me is going to be stressed even if I get a writing brainstorm--but progress will be progress. Just 1575 words this week is 1575 words closer to my goal.

It's a question of "how badly do I want it." Right?

Another Week Has Passed

Hard to believe that not only spring is here but March is almost over. Not that I'm complaining. Every day we get further away from winter is a good thing. Especially this winter. The Ice Storm Of 2008 will forever be etched in my memory.

Not that it's a good thing, but ironically I have a story ready for editing (or Part 1 of a story) that happens to open during an ice storm. I wrote it years ago. Now I have first hand knowledge of just how awful the storm can be. Having that experience (and that of my mom and others who were more stuck than I was) is going to help a great deal. I've thought about putting aside my current wips in order to work on this one. But we'll see. I've come to a good scene in my current and I don't want to put it aside just yet.

So, it was a more productive week than last. I met my goal daily and my weekly word count is 5591. Nothing majorly exciting (I'd love to double that every week) but nothing to sneeze at either (what a strange saying). Especially since I spent lots of time this week at dentist appointments, cheerleader banquets and making unnecessary long trips to the wrong hospital for cardiologist appointments (ugh).

So, lets see if I can have an uneventful week starting tomorrow.

That's all I ask.

Foot Dragging

I've got exactly 23,000 words for this month's total so far. Yes, right on the dot. That took a bit of wrangling, let me tell you! I added a few words, ommitted a couple, tweaked a bit, then had the number right on the head.

Yeah, I know. It's the small stuff in life that amuses me.

The point is, I haven't written a whole lot of new words this week. Instead, I printed out the book that is now 2/3 done. I spent hours with the pages and a red pencil...need I say more? Then I corrected the file, one tedious adjustment at a time.

After that, I walked away. That's right. I just walked away. Taking a day off today, too. I just don't want to see that dratted book again. Not until tomorrow, that is.

Tomorrow I plan to sit down and make the mad dash for the page that says The End. I think I'll be able to do it this coming week. I really do. I'll make the month's word count, finish the book and experience that wonderful, frightening, weird feeling that comes with those two precious words. You know what I'm talking about. I know you do.

So, I've been dragging my feet wordcount-wise. But the accompanying annoying bits? I'm all over them.

What about you? How're things going in your writing world? I'm sending good thoughts your way, and hoping you're riding the wave. And if you're not...do you think you might need a day off? Come on, it's Friday, the first day of spring. Let's celebrate!

I know. I'm sorry. I'm a baaaad influence!

Happy first day of spring! :)

A day late!

I wrote last week (not enough though that's another story!) but ended up hurting myself and should not at my computer. I have no idea of my current word count, and it hurts too much to go figure it out. Due to hand issues, I can no longer just carry my iBook around and just type anywhere like I used to so I'll be back next Monday to report!

Have a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Woo Hoo!

I've spent the last few minutes catching up on posts. I love the way everyone is making progress! So many wonderful word counts and inspirational views on this world of writing we share. I feel energized, and am looking forward to opening up my wip and getting down to business.

So far I'm working steadily toward this month's word count. The book has gained just over 21,000 words, and has gotten a good amount of tweaking so all is good here.

Hope you have a wonderful writing week!

Is a new week starting already???

Okay, here I am checking in from last week, and preparing myself for the upcoming week. Only made 4700 words last week--far short of my goal--but am pleased since I decided last weekend to change projects and had to do a bunch of pre-writing stuff (like a rough outline) to get started, so only started the first chapter late Monday evening while I was sitting in my car in a downtown parking place. Don't ask. The rest of the week has been harried, but I've pushed on with each little snippet of time I had to keep working. I've had a few detours that came after I started (made the brother of the MC much too negative in the first pass, but feel I've found my stride with him and his history now), but that's all to be expected when starting fresh.

Have about 300 words today, need 1200 more, but I'm cutting out to make road trip to hear author Suzanne Arruda speak and sign at my closest B&N (75 miles round trip). Think I'll make hubby take me to dinner while we're in town, too. One of these days I'm going to have a book signing event of my own!

Good luck all, and I promise to work again when I get home tonight!

Okay... The Nag checks in

I wrote 8000 words this week.

Cool, huh?

Too bad it wasn't on a WIP.

For those of you who are on Facebook, you already know why I did it. I found myself losing the joy in writing. Writing had become a chore, something I did because I felt I had to. And, unfortunately, that lack of passion was showing up in what I created.

So, I went to find the joy. I wrote something just for the heck of it. I didn't care if it was something I could sell or whether anyone but me would see the thing. I just wrote.

It was wonderful.

Hopefully I can transfer that newly rediscovered joy into my WIPs this coming week.

:::fingers crossed:::

Not so hot week

Well, I still met my daily goal, but I only wrote 3789 words this week. I spent a lot of time on editing, so it wasn't a complete waste of a week. I just got stuck on my wip and the new words weren't flowing so freely.

Next week won't be as bad... I hope, though I do have two days that will probably be lost causes.

It's okay. I'll make up for it at some point.

Back to Work

After a particularly grueling couple of weeks personally, I couldn't write until I cleared my head. But, now I'm back to my list, more focused, more thankful for my writing life, more determined, and ready to push myself as hard as I can to continue achieving my goals and dreams. 

Besides my regular To Do list, I added another list this week. 

1. Join a NJRWA committee. Did anyone ever run a conference book fair? :) 

2. Attend my first critique group meeting. Thanks for the invite, Katia!  Two years ago, I belonged to one, then I moved. Meeting new writing buds tomorrow. :) 

This week, I finished polishing the first three chapters of a sporty tween assignment. I'm super psyched and passionate about this particular idea.  When I'm excited, the words flow so much easier. 

Fellow JaNoWriMoers: Do the words flow faster when you're excited and passionate about your subject or character? And when you suffer a loss or something tragic happens, do you feel more focused and determined when you return to writing? Or is it difficult to write? 

Have a fabulous weekend! :)