Where Have I Been?

Excuse me. I seem to be lost. Where have I been?

I know I was writing earlier in the week. And I know I've been driving a lot and had some paying work come in that interrupted things plus piano rehearsals, recital, middle-school drama and even some veterinary issues. I worked in the yard all day yesterday, and I'm freezing some make-ahead dinners today so I'll be free to write in the coming days (and I hope week or two because those groceries were expensive). But it's a little scary how I really can't report on what I've done because I guess the answer is as Ceri put it, "Writin'? What writin'? I don't know nothin' about no writin'."

I will have tomatoes. And I will have more writin'. 'Cause I might get sidetracked that easy, but I don't give up that easy. (Yes, I know it should be "easily" but "easy" speaks more to my redneck heart.)

Y'all, let's get some writin' done!

Whew! Forgot E-Mail and Password

I'm back! I couldn't get in to JaNo because I couldn't remember how. I have left bread crumbs this time to find my way back in and out.

I've been snowed under with a writing project that has had a few unexpected twists and turns, including writer's block, and as soon as I get that finished (which really HAS to be today) I am back to my real work, which is writing novels.

Notice the use of plural. Novels. Not novel. Because I am going to write more than one. Right after I finish this one.

I'm disappointed with my "progress" this year so far. I've got lots of excuses but not enough gold stars on any calendar. Though I can't recapture that time, I can learn from this experience (can't I?) and accept no excuses. Write first. Make excuses for why I don't get the OTHER stuff done, not for my writing.

Looking for that white hot streak myself. Actually, any kind of streak will do provided it is not a losing streak.

Will try to post and comment more often. We are all moving forward, even if at different speeds.

Good luck! Write much. The more there is, the better it will be even if you throw a third out.

The month is not half over. In fact, it's more than half full.

8,000 Words Behind

I haven't written one word, except for several room service breakfast orders, which puts me 8,000 words behind for our first week. My DH and I went on a seven-day cruise last week. We had two days at sea and I had my laptop. I could have written. The thought even occurred to me. But I had chocolate instead and read a couple of books.

Before I left, I had visions that I would be writing. I took everything I needed. Everything but the slightest motivation.

One night I was even showered and pajamaed and in bed with a good book by 7:30. DH went to the casino and won $24. Ah me. That's about all the excitement I can stand and it was divine.

I wasn't completely lazy -- I did lots of miles on the promenade deck. Not as many miles as I had desserts, but better than no miles.

But now I'm back. The clothes washer may never catch up with all the laundry but I will catch up on my word count by writing 2,000 words a day, starting tomorrow. There's always tomorrow, right?

Was I Supposed to Write a Novel This Month?

The hall monitor caught me goofing off in the teacher's lounge. Actually, it was at the vet's office where I had to take my diabetic cat because, to use the medical terminology, he is "out of whack." Blood sugar too high. If only my word count were as high as my cat's blood sugar.

Was I supposed to write a novel this month? Uh oh. I seem to have fallen off the wagon and landed in a puddle.

Lots of personal stuff this month, but isn't that true of everyone? Writing should have been an escape from that, but somehow that didn't happen. Instead, the farther I fell behind in my goals, the more desperate I became. The more I pressured myself, the less I could do. I've got five chapters written and I've stalled.

The good news is that while writing my chapters, I laughed. (And I also burned a couple thousand calories on the treadmill.)

I earned some gold stars but there are too many voids. The interesting thing is that pattern of gold stars. It tells me how I work -- and how I don't work. When I get gold stars, I get them every day. When I don't get them, a whole week can pass by. That means I either work every day -- or I don't work at all. That kind of self-truth is pretty ugly but what it says is don't lose momentum. Keep going!

I need to forgive myself for failing to meet my own expectations, let it go, and get back to writing. This little check-in is a good thing (thanks, Marianne), because it allows me to adjust my goals.

What's done (or undone) is undone. But there is tomorrow to do more and to bring fresh hope to my book. So, my goal for the rest of the month (actually, I'll have to stop January 30) is to write 18,000 words.

Did I just write that? Can I erase it? Too many zeroes in that number.

Here I go again -- starting to back down. But, oh yes I can do it. I grant myself a fresh start. And a fresh big fat number. All I have to do is Write Every Day.

Anne AKA smellshorsey, who appears to have give up but has not.

Write or Die

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lab.drwicked.com

I earned my gold stars with two visits to Dr. Wicked, one while on the treadmill, where I'm writing this though I think I'm about to make myself seasick because I sway from side to side when I walk (I'm not going to call it a waddle but that word comes to mind). Can't say much for the quality of anything but I wrote nearly 2,000 words today -- the first day I've almost achieved my word count goal this month. Kind of sad but overall I'm glad. Will keep going.

If you haven't tried "Write or Die," you might like it. You put in your word goal and your time goal then press "write." Anytime you pause the screen starts turning pink, then will get red, then will play obnoxious noises. Today's noise was a crying baby. You can also set it to kamikaze where it erases your words one by when while you pause, but I'm not that stupid. I've found it's a really good tool when I need to be forced to write.

Now, if only I could figure out how to get off this treadmill..... Burned 156 calories. There. It's off. That felt good and will continue to feel good unless I make the mistake of reading my work.

Looking forward to reading about everyone's success and strategies.

Would anyone like to do a Vanessa Grant Writing Romance book work group after JaNo? I like hanging out with y'all and would like to continue after January.

Anne AKA smellshorsey

Honesty Calendar

I am really six-years-old. I will do anything for a gold star. The more stars, the better.

I'm not motivated by public humiliation, the joy of writing, the excitement of finishing a project or even ice cream (since I was going to have some anyway). But -- a gold star. Now you're talking.

My friend Joan reminded me of Honesty Calendars mentioned in Vanessa Grant's Writing Romance book. These are calendars where you keep track of your real progress. Right there, in front of your eyes. It's either encouraging or guilt-inducing. I set the bar quite low so that it's encouraging unless I do absolutely nothing, and then I should feel guilty.

For 2009, I have two Honesty Calendars. One is on my desk for writing paragraphs or pages in my novel, the other is on my wall next to my treadmill for days I walked. I can't stand to see too many blank squares. Today was going to be a blank square on my writing Honesty Calendar. I couldn't stand it.

So I wrote. Not much. But I wrote. I got a gold sticker.

If I keep it up, maybe I'll get a whole novel.

And the best part is, that little piece of writing seems to have brought my excitement and confidence back. Now I'm all set to earn my gold star for tomorrow. Maybe tomorrow I'll even write several chapters.

But the important thing is that I get my gold star.

Walking Not Running - Day Two

After much procrastination, I finally got cranked up and wrote what I'm guessing is Chapter 2 (with holes and much babbling). It's a little too edgy for my intended market but maybe that was lack of oxygen on my part. I wrote 1,562 words while walking 2.4 miles on the treadmill. I hoped to write more but looking at the screen and walking made me slightly seasick. This is a new thing for me. There's really no reason to look at the screen. I'll have to train myself to watch the scene in my head instead. Not sure how accurate this is, but I burned 265 calories, too.

And I got a gold star on my honesty calendars. I'm like a six-year-old. I'll do anything for a gold star. I have calendar for the treadmill, and one for writing. I intend to have a whole page of gold stars this month.

(Notice I don't have a quality calendar -- not measuring that this month.)

I hope the rest of you are hitting your goals and most of all, having fun.

Anne AKA smellshorsey

Write or Die

Learned of a great tool for writing during NaNo -- it's free (and diabolical). It's a web site called Write or Die. I'm almost to the point where I can't write without it. It makes me laugh but it also keeps me on track and very productive. Wish there was an offline version.

I'll be using it during JaNoWriMo.

Anne AKA smellshorsey