So Far, So Good

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?

New Goal

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.

L to Forehead

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?

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

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. :-)

Where I'm At

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?

Finally...

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::::

Telling On Myself

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.

What Are Your Goals?

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'm in!

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?

Me, too & a Question to All JaNo-ers

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?

Day Seven: By the Skin of My Teeth

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*

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

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!

Day Five: Still Hanging in!

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: Chugging Along

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.

Day Three: A Work In Progress

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

NaNo Tool for the Day

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!

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!

Day One: So Far, So Good

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



You?

Yes, I'm Doing NaNo

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

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!