This isn't something I get to talk about very often. In fact, most of the time I'm complaining about how far behind I am in all of my goals. But not today. No, today I get to tell you all about the productive day I had on Sunday.
It started out fairly well. Without the use of an alarm clock, I was up by ten. (For those of you who know me, you'll know that this really is a feat. I tend to sleep in when there's nothing waking me up). As I thought it was closer to noon or one, I started the day on a happy note.
I didn't get up right away (because, why would I?) but I also didn't go back to sleep, which I'm pretty proud of.
By eleven, though, I had already gotten to work. The first order of business was to catch up on the editing that I hadn't managed to get to the two days before. That wasn't difficult, as I'd already gone through the chapters, I just had to put the changes into the computer.
Then came the blog post, which was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be. See, I had tried to do my epiphany, and got a little stuck, so I wrote a blog post, which helped with my idea for the epiphany.
By the time I had done all of that, it was about one, and all I had left to do for the day was to do the two chapters of editing that I had scheduled for that day.
I'll admit, I slacked off a little at this point. I might have gotten distracted by gag reels of comedies. It started with How I Met Your Mother and quickly progressed on to Friends. I had a few good laughs, but eventually I had to get back to work.
When I had finished my daily editing for the day (and had even managed to polish off the epiphany for Monday and got it all set up to post) I decided that I deserved a treat for sticking to my work all day (I don't really count the slacking off. It was just a break, I swear!)
Anyway, I decided to watch Pitch Perfect, which I've seen before, but can't seem to get enough of. It was a nice little way to reward myself, and when I was done, I thought, I might as well get a bit more work done.
So I did my Monday editing, and threw together another blog post (yep, this one right here) just to give myself a kick start for the week.
Now, if that isn't a productive day, please, tell me what is!
I'm happy with the progress I made. I'm sticking to my goals for the year, which is surprising me. I'm not usually good about keeping them. Generally I procrastinate so long that it's no longer plausible for me to finish on time, and decide that I might as well just push back that deadline since I'm not going to meet it anyway.
With the way this year has been going, I'm going to accomplish all of my goals. My first novel of the year is going to be edited to the second draft by the end of the month, and I couldn't be happier!
Now I'm going to go...I don't know...maybe work on another chapter of editing that doesn't need to be done yet.
How are your goals for the year going? Have you started on any of them yet?
Showing posts with label blog posts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blog posts. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Is It Time Yet?
It's All Nano's Eve...I mean...Halloween, and you know what that means! Yep...I've been sitting around with my twitter open jealously staring at all the people who get to do sprints because my time zone hasn't rolled over in to November yet.
I've always liked Halloween. As a kid it had a lot more to do with the candy I got to collect from the people in our neighbourhood (I distinctly remember having to dump it all out when we got home so my mom could go through it and throw out anything open, and possibly take some of her favourites too.)
Now, of course, Halloween has a whole new meaning for me.
My year has suddenly shifted. I no longer think of December as the end of the year, instead, October 31st ends out my year, and the first of November starts it over again.
What I'm basically saying, is that it's New Years in a couple of hours, and I'm so excited!
This November is jam packed with things happening. I've got nano (of course) which my goal is to write 320k words this year. completely possible, by the way. I wrote 300k last year. I'm also goind down to San Francisco in the middle of the month for the ever amazing Night of Writing Dangerously!
For those of you who don't know, The Night of Writing Dangerously is a function hosted by OLL (Office of Letters and Light) to raise money for Nano. To go you have to raise at least $250, then pay for your own flight there, your own hotel room, and your own flight home. (I've already raised what I need, but I wanted to help out Nano more. If you'll direct your attention to the column on your right, you'll notice a section dedicated to donations. I would LOVE it if anyone is willing to donate. Even $5 helps.) Basically 250 Wrimos get together and have one huge write in. The night is completed with a complementary candy bar and all sorts of other goodies. I can't freaking wait.
Finally (for now, you never know what other craziness I'm willing to pack in to the month) I've got the Epic Month of Blog Posts. (Also to your right you'll see a list of bloggers who have agreed to participate this year.) The idea behind this is that you have to write a blog post a day (each blog post much contain at least 50 words). there's no where to keep track, but it's fun. We did it last year, and this year we thought we'd ask others to join in the insanity.
So now that I know all of this is coming, you'd think I'd be dreading it. So much to do, so little time! Really, there's only 24 hours in a day and I have to sleep at some point (at least, that's what other people keep trying to tell me. I just smile and nod)..
Somehow, though, it's excitement that has me staring at the clock counting down the hours until we can start writing. (I swear, the last half hour has gone slower than all day at work...) What makes it worse is watching the nanosprints on twitter. See, for some of the world it is November 1st, and they've already started. It makes me want to pick up my pen (okay, okay, put my fingers on the keyboard) and get writing!
Sadly there's another four hours before we can have that first word war. I will wait with bated breath (or rather, impatiently tapping my foot) until I can start writing the words I've been planning since July.
Expect my first Epic Month Of Blog Posts entry tomorrow! I've got to go glare at people across the world now.
I've always liked Halloween. As a kid it had a lot more to do with the candy I got to collect from the people in our neighbourhood (I distinctly remember having to dump it all out when we got home so my mom could go through it and throw out anything open, and possibly take some of her favourites too.)
Now, of course, Halloween has a whole new meaning for me.
My year has suddenly shifted. I no longer think of December as the end of the year, instead, October 31st ends out my year, and the first of November starts it over again.
What I'm basically saying, is that it's New Years in a couple of hours, and I'm so excited!
This November is jam packed with things happening. I've got nano (of course) which my goal is to write 320k words this year. completely possible, by the way. I wrote 300k last year. I'm also goind down to San Francisco in the middle of the month for the ever amazing Night of Writing Dangerously!
For those of you who don't know, The Night of Writing Dangerously is a function hosted by OLL (Office of Letters and Light) to raise money for Nano. To go you have to raise at least $250, then pay for your own flight there, your own hotel room, and your own flight home. (I've already raised what I need, but I wanted to help out Nano more. If you'll direct your attention to the column on your right, you'll notice a section dedicated to donations. I would LOVE it if anyone is willing to donate. Even $5 helps.) Basically 250 Wrimos get together and have one huge write in. The night is completed with a complementary candy bar and all sorts of other goodies. I can't freaking wait.
Finally (for now, you never know what other craziness I'm willing to pack in to the month) I've got the Epic Month of Blog Posts. (Also to your right you'll see a list of bloggers who have agreed to participate this year.) The idea behind this is that you have to write a blog post a day (each blog post much contain at least 50 words). there's no where to keep track, but it's fun. We did it last year, and this year we thought we'd ask others to join in the insanity.
So now that I know all of this is coming, you'd think I'd be dreading it. So much to do, so little time! Really, there's only 24 hours in a day and I have to sleep at some point (at least, that's what other people keep trying to tell me. I just smile and nod)..
Somehow, though, it's excitement that has me staring at the clock counting down the hours until we can start writing. (I swear, the last half hour has gone slower than all day at work...) What makes it worse is watching the nanosprints on twitter. See, for some of the world it is November 1st, and they've already started. It makes me want to pick up my pen (okay, okay, put my fingers on the keyboard) and get writing!
Sadly there's another four hours before we can have that first word war. I will wait with bated breath (or rather, impatiently tapping my foot) until I can start writing the words I've been planning since July.
Expect my first Epic Month Of Blog Posts entry tomorrow! I've got to go glare at people across the world now.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Starting Nano
Tonight was the third annual Calgary Wrimotaur NaNoWriMo Newcomers Night here in Calgary. That means that all of those nanoers who are just starting out on the nano adventure, or those that have been doing nano for a while but have never been to a meet were invited out for an evening of meet and greets, tips and tricks and basic info for nano.
Which got me thinking about what I wanted to post on my blog tonight. I talk about nano a lot. I've shared my stories, but I"m thinking that maybe it's time that I broke it down for my readers.
NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is a program that is run during the month of November. The goal of nano is to write 50k words in a month (or 1667 words a day for 30 days). Ultimately the idea is to have a finished novel at the end of the month, but let's face it, most of the time 50k doesn't create a full novel.
The basic idea of nano is to stop thinking about writing a novel and actually write one. How many times do you say 'I would love to write a novel' then complete the thought with 'but I doubt I could ever finish it'? That's not something you'll be saying after doing NaNoWriMo. Because, by the end of the month you'll have 50k words that you've written (they may not be great, but they're words), and you'll have written a novel.
Now, you may be sitting there gaping at the screen thinking '50k words, is she freaking nuts? She wants me to write that in a month? ONE MONTH?!?' But, let me assure you, you can do it! I know because I've done it, and I've thought that very thing myself. My first nano I was extremely nervous because I didn't know how I was going to write that many words while still working a full time job. I know because pretty much every single person who has ever done nano has had that thought as they were anxiously awaiting the arrival of November.
You can do it!
If you need to, break down that huge number in to the 1667 words you need in a day. That can seem a lot more doable than 50k in a month (even if they are, essentially the same number). If you know that you're not going to be able to write one day, make sure you get extra words ahead of time. And never, NEVER, stop at exactly 50k, because I can assure you that the nano counter will inevitably take away words at the end of the month because it decided that you're program doesn't count words correctly.
You can do it!
If you get stuck, there's a community out there that is eager to keep you going. Every region has a chat, and if they're anything like ours, someone is always there willing to word war, or encourage you, or even give you a plot idea to get you going again. Even better are the in person events, because you get to see all of those people around you struggling with the same goal as you, each of them sleep deprived and ready to murder their characters (which really only makes it more fun...)
You can do it!
Because you want to. Because those words are bouncing around in your head just waiting to be put down on paper. There are characters that are screaming for their voices to be heard, and you can't just let them keep screaming.
Remind yourself every single day that you can do it. That this isn't an unattainable goal. That no matter how far behind you get, you can always catch up, even if it does take some encouragement.
If you need that extra shove, you know where to find me (here, where I'll be posting a blog a day, or on twitter). I'm more than willing to be the one to ramp up your excitement once more and put you back on the front lines of nano.
Are you planning on doing nano this year?
Which got me thinking about what I wanted to post on my blog tonight. I talk about nano a lot. I've shared my stories, but I"m thinking that maybe it's time that I broke it down for my readers.
NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is a program that is run during the month of November. The goal of nano is to write 50k words in a month (or 1667 words a day for 30 days). Ultimately the idea is to have a finished novel at the end of the month, but let's face it, most of the time 50k doesn't create a full novel.
The basic idea of nano is to stop thinking about writing a novel and actually write one. How many times do you say 'I would love to write a novel' then complete the thought with 'but I doubt I could ever finish it'? That's not something you'll be saying after doing NaNoWriMo. Because, by the end of the month you'll have 50k words that you've written (they may not be great, but they're words), and you'll have written a novel.
Now, you may be sitting there gaping at the screen thinking '50k words, is she freaking nuts? She wants me to write that in a month? ONE MONTH?!?' But, let me assure you, you can do it! I know because I've done it, and I've thought that very thing myself. My first nano I was extremely nervous because I didn't know how I was going to write that many words while still working a full time job. I know because pretty much every single person who has ever done nano has had that thought as they were anxiously awaiting the arrival of November.
You can do it!
If you need to, break down that huge number in to the 1667 words you need in a day. That can seem a lot more doable than 50k in a month (even if they are, essentially the same number). If you know that you're not going to be able to write one day, make sure you get extra words ahead of time. And never, NEVER, stop at exactly 50k, because I can assure you that the nano counter will inevitably take away words at the end of the month because it decided that you're program doesn't count words correctly.
You can do it!
If you get stuck, there's a community out there that is eager to keep you going. Every region has a chat, and if they're anything like ours, someone is always there willing to word war, or encourage you, or even give you a plot idea to get you going again. Even better are the in person events, because you get to see all of those people around you struggling with the same goal as you, each of them sleep deprived and ready to murder their characters (which really only makes it more fun...)
You can do it!
Because you want to. Because those words are bouncing around in your head just waiting to be put down on paper. There are characters that are screaming for their voices to be heard, and you can't just let them keep screaming.
Remind yourself every single day that you can do it. That this isn't an unattainable goal. That no matter how far behind you get, you can always catch up, even if it does take some encouragement.
If you need that extra shove, you know where to find me (here, where I'll be posting a blog a day, or on twitter). I'm more than willing to be the one to ramp up your excitement once more and put you back on the front lines of nano.
Are you planning on doing nano this year?
Sunday, September 30, 2012
A Brief Overture
So...I may have missed my post on Wednesday. Honestly, I don't even have a good excuse for why. I was home (having had some plans cancelled) and all I did all night was watch shows. I didn't even write. So why couldn't I get words down to post on my blog?
I think it may have been lack of inspiration. It's been months since I've missed a post, and as much as I love posting twice a week, lets face it, sometimes it's hard to come up with things to write about that I haven't already said a million and a half times.
But here I am posting today (though I actually don't have a firm topic for this post...you may have noticed already). I'm getting back on track.
In that spirit, I thought I would tell you all just what my goals (and plans) are for the next month.
October is probably going to be just as busy as August was, except that critique group is still meeting, which means that I have to have two submissions for the course of the month. The first is going to be a short story that I wrote and submitted to an online magazine. The magazine in question has yet to get back to me, and has told all submitters that if they wish to send their stories out to other publishers, they understand. I have decided that it's just been too long for them to have not gotten back to me and will be withdrawing my submission and shopping it in other markets. As I view this story as one of the best things I've ever written, I'm hoping that it will get published.
For the second submission, I have no idea what I'm going to send in. Originally I was planning on writing another short story to submit, but now that I'm looking over my month, I'm thinking that idea is going to be just about as smart as thinking I could do Camp Nano in August. In other words: that's a dumb idea...so I'm still working on that. If my month goes the way I expect it to go, I doubt it's going to happen.
We will be moving at the end of the month (lame...I hate moving). This wasn't exactly our choice, and we will be moving further away from my work, which means my drive is about to double (and take me on roads I don't particularly enjoy driving on.) But I'm grateful that we have a home and we're not scrambling to find somewhere to live. Unfortunately not only does that take a day for the actual move, but then there's the packing and the unpacking involved. Coupled with the weekend getaway to my grandmother's house and all the other random little plans I make on a week to week basis, I'm worried about getting any of my work done, never mind anything else.
Pandora, my novel that I'm trying to edit, isn't going as well as I had hoped. I have four chapters left to edit, and it's the last day that I was supposed to be working on the second draft. I have already done two chapters today, though, and I have a friend working with me online. I'm hopeful that I'll get it done tonight (and by hopeful I mean that I'm going to be frantically editing for most of the night before falling in to bed exhausted.) but I don't know if I actually will. Wish me luck!
I have been plucking away at the planning for my fourth and final novel for nano. So far my lineup is: Stolen Magick, Aliens Stole My Socks, Betraying Eden and Birth. Birth is the one I'm currently working on. I have some brainstorming done, but I'm actually ahead of schedule on that one. I wasn't even supposed to start the planning until tomorrow, so I'm not too worried. But I need to make sure I don't get behind in those goals.
This month is going to be hectic, but I'm hoping that I still manage to get everything done. Now I just need to go finish the second draft of Pandora.
What are your goals for the month of October? Are you going to join us in our blog post a day challenge in November?
I think it may have been lack of inspiration. It's been months since I've missed a post, and as much as I love posting twice a week, lets face it, sometimes it's hard to come up with things to write about that I haven't already said a million and a half times.
But here I am posting today (though I actually don't have a firm topic for this post...you may have noticed already). I'm getting back on track.
In that spirit, I thought I would tell you all just what my goals (and plans) are for the next month.
October is probably going to be just as busy as August was, except that critique group is still meeting, which means that I have to have two submissions for the course of the month. The first is going to be a short story that I wrote and submitted to an online magazine. The magazine in question has yet to get back to me, and has told all submitters that if they wish to send their stories out to other publishers, they understand. I have decided that it's just been too long for them to have not gotten back to me and will be withdrawing my submission and shopping it in other markets. As I view this story as one of the best things I've ever written, I'm hoping that it will get published.
For the second submission, I have no idea what I'm going to send in. Originally I was planning on writing another short story to submit, but now that I'm looking over my month, I'm thinking that idea is going to be just about as smart as thinking I could do Camp Nano in August. In other words: that's a dumb idea...so I'm still working on that. If my month goes the way I expect it to go, I doubt it's going to happen.
We will be moving at the end of the month (lame...I hate moving). This wasn't exactly our choice, and we will be moving further away from my work, which means my drive is about to double (and take me on roads I don't particularly enjoy driving on.) But I'm grateful that we have a home and we're not scrambling to find somewhere to live. Unfortunately not only does that take a day for the actual move, but then there's the packing and the unpacking involved. Coupled with the weekend getaway to my grandmother's house and all the other random little plans I make on a week to week basis, I'm worried about getting any of my work done, never mind anything else.
Pandora, my novel that I'm trying to edit, isn't going as well as I had hoped. I have four chapters left to edit, and it's the last day that I was supposed to be working on the second draft. I have already done two chapters today, though, and I have a friend working with me online. I'm hopeful that I'll get it done tonight (and by hopeful I mean that I'm going to be frantically editing for most of the night before falling in to bed exhausted.) but I don't know if I actually will. Wish me luck!
I have been plucking away at the planning for my fourth and final novel for nano. So far my lineup is: Stolen Magick, Aliens Stole My Socks, Betraying Eden and Birth. Birth is the one I'm currently working on. I have some brainstorming done, but I'm actually ahead of schedule on that one. I wasn't even supposed to start the planning until tomorrow, so I'm not too worried. But I need to make sure I don't get behind in those goals.
This month is going to be hectic, but I'm hoping that I still manage to get everything done. Now I just need to go finish the second draft of Pandora.
What are your goals for the month of October? Are you going to join us in our blog post a day challenge in November?
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
The Epic Month of Posts
I thought I would begin this post by telling you all the story of Nano 2011. For me, of course. I'm sure there were a million story's during nano 2011. Anyway, this is my story of Nano 2011.
It was my second year of Nano, and my first year had gone relatively well. (Okay, so I tripled the goal for the month...at the time I had absolutely no idea that I was even capable of such a thing. Who knew.) Anyway, as it was my second year and had managed to get so many words, I decided I was going to up that goal. Just by a little bit, and I decided to set it at 200k words.
So, I was on about day three, and I had already written 30k words. I was ahead of the game, and pretty happy with my progress thus far. Then I started talking to one of my nano friends online. She had decided that her goal that year was to beat me, and she already had 20k.
I'm told that this was the point where I overreacted. I disagree. I think what I did was perfectly rational, but I suppose I have to concede to the majority.
At this point, she was only 10k behind me, and I might be just slightly competitive, so I decided right then and there that 10k a day wasn't so bad, and I could keep that up for the entire month and write 300k.
I did it. The girl who got me to raise my goal, she didn't even make the original 200k. But it was a great month, and it's going to be something that I'm repeating this year.
So why am I telling you this now when nano hasn't even started? Because of what else I did during Nano 2011 that will also be happening this year.
A friend of mine (not the same girl that managed to get me to write 300k words...) told me about a week before Nano started that she was going to write a blog post a day during the month of November. I scoffed at her and told her she was crazy (I had only written about five blog posts total at this point). Then I decided I was going to join her.
I didn't quite make it. I ended up missing two days, and not all of it was good (more than a couple days was nothing more than 'here's my word count, I'm going to bed) but it was what really got this blog started. It was because of those 30 days that I even considered getting the posts on a schedule of sorts.
Of course, last years we didn't have any rules. This year we have a couple:
1) The post must be up on your site before midnight in whatever time zone you happen to be in.
2) All blog posts must be a minimum of 50 words to be considered a post (yes, this is short, but we might just up this count next year.)
This year we're also inviting other people to join us in our blogging efforts. I'm keeping a list of all those involved on the sidebar on my site, and B. A. Matthews is doing the same. So you can follow anyone whose going to be posting a blog a day and see who actually manages it.
Or you can sign up for it yourself, either by commenting on this post, contacting me via twitter (@DanniM86) or talking to B. A. Matthews.
We would also appreciate anyone who would like to spread the word. I'm calling it the Epic Month of Posts, but feel free to come up with your own names for it.
I'm excited for this year (as I've upped my goal to 320k of my own free will, rather than being goaded in to it), and I can't wait to see the posts that come out of it. I hope that we get a few of you to join, because it's going to be great!
It was my second year of Nano, and my first year had gone relatively well. (Okay, so I tripled the goal for the month...at the time I had absolutely no idea that I was even capable of such a thing. Who knew.) Anyway, as it was my second year and had managed to get so many words, I decided I was going to up that goal. Just by a little bit, and I decided to set it at 200k words.
So, I was on about day three, and I had already written 30k words. I was ahead of the game, and pretty happy with my progress thus far. Then I started talking to one of my nano friends online. She had decided that her goal that year was to beat me, and she already had 20k.
I'm told that this was the point where I overreacted. I disagree. I think what I did was perfectly rational, but I suppose I have to concede to the majority.
At this point, she was only 10k behind me, and I might be just slightly competitive, so I decided right then and there that 10k a day wasn't so bad, and I could keep that up for the entire month and write 300k.
I did it. The girl who got me to raise my goal, she didn't even make the original 200k. But it was a great month, and it's going to be something that I'm repeating this year.
So why am I telling you this now when nano hasn't even started? Because of what else I did during Nano 2011 that will also be happening this year.
A friend of mine (not the same girl that managed to get me to write 300k words...) told me about a week before Nano started that she was going to write a blog post a day during the month of November. I scoffed at her and told her she was crazy (I had only written about five blog posts total at this point). Then I decided I was going to join her.
I didn't quite make it. I ended up missing two days, and not all of it was good (more than a couple days was nothing more than 'here's my word count, I'm going to bed) but it was what really got this blog started. It was because of those 30 days that I even considered getting the posts on a schedule of sorts.
Of course, last years we didn't have any rules. This year we have a couple:
1) The post must be up on your site before midnight in whatever time zone you happen to be in.
2) All blog posts must be a minimum of 50 words to be considered a post (yes, this is short, but we might just up this count next year.)
This year we're also inviting other people to join us in our blogging efforts. I'm keeping a list of all those involved on the sidebar on my site, and B. A. Matthews is doing the same. So you can follow anyone whose going to be posting a blog a day and see who actually manages it.
Or you can sign up for it yourself, either by commenting on this post, contacting me via twitter (@DanniM86) or talking to B. A. Matthews.
We would also appreciate anyone who would like to spread the word. I'm calling it the Epic Month of Posts, but feel free to come up with your own names for it.
I'm excited for this year (as I've upped my goal to 320k of my own free will, rather than being goaded in to it), and I can't wait to see the posts that come out of it. I hope that we get a few of you to join, because it's going to be great!
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Happy 100th Blog Post
This blog post is - wait for it - The HUNDREDTH blog post I've written since I started this blog last year!
Just like with my writing this blog has been a journey for me.
It started when I read a blog post written by a friend. I couldn't imagine the concept of writing my thoughts and sharing them with the world. Maybe I just thought that no one would ever want to read what I'm thinking about. My thoughts are random and not in the slightest bit interesting.
And yet...all I could think about was how much I wanted to write one. Just one. Maybe just do a guest blog somewhere.
He told me that I should start my own blog, and I finally did. I gave in and started this very blog, using the nickname that had been given to me by my fellow nanoers.
That first week I think I wrote three blog posts. None of them, I'm sure, made much sense, but I just loved the freedom of being able to write whatever I wanted. To just tell the world what I was thinking, and not have to worry too much about what they would say about it.
After that, I pretty much forgot I had a blog. Okay, I didn't actually forget, but I definitely ignored it. I stopped writing blog posts, and I was sure it was just going to die a quick painless death. No one was too invested, so it didn't really matter.
It was nano that saved my blog. Strange, considering that's probably when most people fall behind on their posts. Another friend challenged me to write a blog post a day. We didn't have a word count minimum, and it didn't have to be about anything, so long as it was a post (our rules were rather lax, as it was our first year).
I decided I might as well. It would be fun, right?
It was freaking hard. I mean, there were days that I was sure I wasn't going to get a post up (and a couple that I actually didn't). There were even days when all I did was post my current word count for nano, because I really didn't have the brain power to think up something to write about. In the end, though, I had only missed two days, and suddenly my blog had actual posts on it. Regular posts.
In December I decided that I wanted to make sure I was posting with some kind of regularity so that I never again fell into the pit of not posting for months on end, and started with a once a week schedule. It didn't take me long to realize that once a week wasn't enough for me, and I pushed it up to twice a week.
I don't always remember to do my posts. Take this one, for instance. I was actually supposed to write it yesterday, but as sometimes happens, I ended up being too busy and not being able to find the time. There were weeks when I just completely forgot about the post. I'm getting better, though. It's been a couple of months since I've let that happen.
Every post I make seems to bring with it new challenges. New people reading. New accomplishments, and I'm so glad now that I gave in and started a blog, even if it never gets huge. I've been able to share my experiences with people, and that was all I ever wanted to do.
I can't wait to see where I am, and where the blog is when I hit the 200th post.
For the record, we will be doing the Blog Post a Day challenge in November. We'd love to get all kinds of different bloggers joining us. No sign up, but I would love to get a link if you decide to do it.
Just like with my writing this blog has been a journey for me.
It started when I read a blog post written by a friend. I couldn't imagine the concept of writing my thoughts and sharing them with the world. Maybe I just thought that no one would ever want to read what I'm thinking about. My thoughts are random and not in the slightest bit interesting.
And yet...all I could think about was how much I wanted to write one. Just one. Maybe just do a guest blog somewhere.
He told me that I should start my own blog, and I finally did. I gave in and started this very blog, using the nickname that had been given to me by my fellow nanoers.
That first week I think I wrote three blog posts. None of them, I'm sure, made much sense, but I just loved the freedom of being able to write whatever I wanted. To just tell the world what I was thinking, and not have to worry too much about what they would say about it.
After that, I pretty much forgot I had a blog. Okay, I didn't actually forget, but I definitely ignored it. I stopped writing blog posts, and I was sure it was just going to die a quick painless death. No one was too invested, so it didn't really matter.
It was nano that saved my blog. Strange, considering that's probably when most people fall behind on their posts. Another friend challenged me to write a blog post a day. We didn't have a word count minimum, and it didn't have to be about anything, so long as it was a post (our rules were rather lax, as it was our first year).
I decided I might as well. It would be fun, right?
It was freaking hard. I mean, there were days that I was sure I wasn't going to get a post up (and a couple that I actually didn't). There were even days when all I did was post my current word count for nano, because I really didn't have the brain power to think up something to write about. In the end, though, I had only missed two days, and suddenly my blog had actual posts on it. Regular posts.
In December I decided that I wanted to make sure I was posting with some kind of regularity so that I never again fell into the pit of not posting for months on end, and started with a once a week schedule. It didn't take me long to realize that once a week wasn't enough for me, and I pushed it up to twice a week.
I don't always remember to do my posts. Take this one, for instance. I was actually supposed to write it yesterday, but as sometimes happens, I ended up being too busy and not being able to find the time. There were weeks when I just completely forgot about the post. I'm getting better, though. It's been a couple of months since I've let that happen.
Every post I make seems to bring with it new challenges. New people reading. New accomplishments, and I'm so glad now that I gave in and started a blog, even if it never gets huge. I've been able to share my experiences with people, and that was all I ever wanted to do.
I can't wait to see where I am, and where the blog is when I hit the 200th post.
For the record, we will be doing the Blog Post a Day challenge in November. We'd love to get all kinds of different bloggers joining us. No sign up, but I would love to get a link if you decide to do it.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
So Little Time
My goal, as can be seen by looking at my progress before section, is to have The Commons to a completed second draft so that I can send out to my beta readers by the fifteenth. That's a whole nine days away, and guess how far I am from finishing it?
If you guessed not anywhere near close, you were right! I'm stuck around chapter 22 (in which I have to rewrite the first scene) of 35. In the last two days I've barely gotten anything done. It's a sad fact for me to admit, as I was actually planning on doing at least two chapters a day. Of course, I was hoping to be done a bit early so I could take one more look over it and see if I missed anything, but that's definitely not going to happen now.
Nine days and thirteen chapters. Which means I no longer have time to procrastinate. I can't let myself get distracted by all the shows I want to watch. I don't have the time to waste, anymore. If I do get distracted, I'll end up missing my deadline. And that's not something I'm willing to let happen. If I don't get my manuscript out to my betas on time, then they wont get it back to me on time. If I don't get it back in time, then I can't use the feedback to go through it one last time and start sending out queries.
It's the domino effect, writer style.
Now, I suppose you're asking: 'What does it matter if you get your queries out on time?'. That's a very good question to ask. The answer is, I was really hoping to do both Camp Nano sessions being held this year. I also need to plan out the novels I'll be writing during nanowrimo. If my editing isn't done, and if the queries aren't sent out, then I have to sacrifice one of those things.
In June I'll be taking part in the first session of Camp Nano, where I'll be writing Pandora, I book that I was supposed to write about a month ago. Procrastination got the better of me then too, and I only managed 25,000 words in the time I should have been able to write 100,000 words. I've been trying to figure out a way to get motivated when it's no nano...but that's another post.
The point of the matter is, I've already put off writing this novel once. I can't do that to the characters again. They've been awfully patient while I've been editing. Mostly because I promised them that I would be finishing their story in June. I'm afraid of what would happen if I tried to put it off again. There might be a riot.
In August, I'm hoping to write The Techs which is the second book in The Commons series. I've just barely begun to plan it, but I already have a bit of the story line going on, so I'm getting excited. Of course, I don't want to write the novel until I'm completely done editing the first one. I'm a little too wary of the changes that I could make which would mean far more work in editing the second one. I've done that once, and I'll never do it again.
In August I'll need to write about 100,000 words. I'll have even less time to work on the novel which should, by then, be completed.
After that comes the planning for the three novels I'm going to be writing during nanowrimo. Yes, three. I'm a little crazy like that. I'll only have two months instead of the planned three.
All of this means that I only have so much time to get my editing done. I only have so much time to get my queries out. And I don't have time to be acting like I have all the time in the world.
Nine days to finish thirteen chapters. It's going to be tight, but I think I can do it. What's my motivation? In November I'll be taking a trip down to San Francisco to go the The Night Of Writing Dangerously. And when I'm down there introducing myself to people, I don't want to tell them that I'm still working on the novel that I'm going to be sending out real soon. I want to tell them that I have queries out and waiting for responses. Or maybe, just maybe, that I found an agent
If you guessed not anywhere near close, you were right! I'm stuck around chapter 22 (in which I have to rewrite the first scene) of 35. In the last two days I've barely gotten anything done. It's a sad fact for me to admit, as I was actually planning on doing at least two chapters a day. Of course, I was hoping to be done a bit early so I could take one more look over it and see if I missed anything, but that's definitely not going to happen now.
Nine days and thirteen chapters. Which means I no longer have time to procrastinate. I can't let myself get distracted by all the shows I want to watch. I don't have the time to waste, anymore. If I do get distracted, I'll end up missing my deadline. And that's not something I'm willing to let happen. If I don't get my manuscript out to my betas on time, then they wont get it back to me on time. If I don't get it back in time, then I can't use the feedback to go through it one last time and start sending out queries.
It's the domino effect, writer style.
Now, I suppose you're asking: 'What does it matter if you get your queries out on time?'. That's a very good question to ask. The answer is, I was really hoping to do both Camp Nano sessions being held this year. I also need to plan out the novels I'll be writing during nanowrimo. If my editing isn't done, and if the queries aren't sent out, then I have to sacrifice one of those things.
In June I'll be taking part in the first session of Camp Nano, where I'll be writing Pandora, I book that I was supposed to write about a month ago. Procrastination got the better of me then too, and I only managed 25,000 words in the time I should have been able to write 100,000 words. I've been trying to figure out a way to get motivated when it's no nano...but that's another post.
The point of the matter is, I've already put off writing this novel once. I can't do that to the characters again. They've been awfully patient while I've been editing. Mostly because I promised them that I would be finishing their story in June. I'm afraid of what would happen if I tried to put it off again. There might be a riot.
In August, I'm hoping to write The Techs which is the second book in The Commons series. I've just barely begun to plan it, but I already have a bit of the story line going on, so I'm getting excited. Of course, I don't want to write the novel until I'm completely done editing the first one. I'm a little too wary of the changes that I could make which would mean far more work in editing the second one. I've done that once, and I'll never do it again.
In August I'll need to write about 100,000 words. I'll have even less time to work on the novel which should, by then, be completed.
After that comes the planning for the three novels I'm going to be writing during nanowrimo. Yes, three. I'm a little crazy like that. I'll only have two months instead of the planned three.
All of this means that I only have so much time to get my editing done. I only have so much time to get my queries out. And I don't have time to be acting like I have all the time in the world.
Nine days to finish thirteen chapters. It's going to be tight, but I think I can do it. What's my motivation? In November I'll be taking a trip down to San Francisco to go the The Night Of Writing Dangerously. And when I'm down there introducing myself to people, I don't want to tell them that I'm still working on the novel that I'm going to be sending out real soon. I want to tell them that I have queries out and waiting for responses. Or maybe, just maybe, that I found an agent
Thursday, May 3, 2012
The Necessities of Writing
A couple of weeks ago I made a post about what I use as a writer to help me do what I need to do. Music and movies, maybe a quiet place where I can concentrate, those were the kinds of things that every writer has that not everyone understands (including other writers). Today, though, I'm going to talk about something that every writer needs in order for their craft to work. A computer.
I know, you're thinking that some people write by hand. You would be right. There are some out there that do write out their manuscripts by hand. I personally think they're crazy (though many people think that I'm crazy writing 300k words in a month, so I guess it's more in the eye of the beholder.) The fact of the matter, though, is that we're no longer living in a day when books are hand written and bound. Whether writers like to write out their first draft by hand or not, that manuscript does eventually need to make it's way into the computer.
So what happens when your computer breaks down?
Last night I got home from a night out with friends, determined to either do more editing or writing a blog post. (Yeah, yeah, okay. I was actually going to procrastinate. Don't hold it against me.) Anyway, I turned on the computer, checked out facebook...and my computer crashed. I tried to wait it out, but nothing was working, and I eventually had to shut the computer down. When it restarted, windows refused to load. This continued on for an hour! One hour of turning off and on my computer trying to make it actually work. An hour when I could have been editing (or possibly procrastinating.)
I'm sure you can all imagine that I was rather pissed. A few angry texts were sent out and I swore to my computer that all the money I had set aside was going into buying a new laptop, cause I have had it!
Truthfully, I will probably end up buying a new computer. I was already planning on buying one next month, however an hour long computer crash isn't something that I can afford on a regular basis. I spend a lot of time on my computer, and it's not always about facebook or twitter. Most of the time I'm writing or editing, or even planning. I do most of that on the computer, and if the one I'm using is going to be unreliable, then I have to shell out the money to replace it.
I've never been truly serious about anything like I have been with writing. I think most of my family is surprised that I've actually kept up with it. I've told them so many ideas for what I was going to do with my life, but it's never lasted even a year. I always change my mind, or decide that it was a stupid idea in the first place. Now that I am, though, I can't just neglect the things I need in order to be successful in the writing industry.
So this weekend I will be going out and seeing what laptops are available. I'll be bringing the tech savvy boyfriend with me so that I'm not buying something that's going to crap out on me as quickly as this one did. Who knows, I may be the proud owner of a shiny new laptop the next time I'm posting on this blog. while that would make me happy, it would probably make my bank account not so happy.
But my bank account can complain all it wants to, it's going to fall on deaf ears. I need reliable tools in order to accomplish my goal. I can only hope that I find a computer that is in my price range but is still better than this one!
I know, you're thinking that some people write by hand. You would be right. There are some out there that do write out their manuscripts by hand. I personally think they're crazy (though many people think that I'm crazy writing 300k words in a month, so I guess it's more in the eye of the beholder.) The fact of the matter, though, is that we're no longer living in a day when books are hand written and bound. Whether writers like to write out their first draft by hand or not, that manuscript does eventually need to make it's way into the computer.
So what happens when your computer breaks down?
Last night I got home from a night out with friends, determined to either do more editing or writing a blog post. (Yeah, yeah, okay. I was actually going to procrastinate. Don't hold it against me.) Anyway, I turned on the computer, checked out facebook...and my computer crashed. I tried to wait it out, but nothing was working, and I eventually had to shut the computer down. When it restarted, windows refused to load. This continued on for an hour! One hour of turning off and on my computer trying to make it actually work. An hour when I could have been editing (or possibly procrastinating.)
I'm sure you can all imagine that I was rather pissed. A few angry texts were sent out and I swore to my computer that all the money I had set aside was going into buying a new laptop, cause I have had it!
Truthfully, I will probably end up buying a new computer. I was already planning on buying one next month, however an hour long computer crash isn't something that I can afford on a regular basis. I spend a lot of time on my computer, and it's not always about facebook or twitter. Most of the time I'm writing or editing, or even planning. I do most of that on the computer, and if the one I'm using is going to be unreliable, then I have to shell out the money to replace it.
I've never been truly serious about anything like I have been with writing. I think most of my family is surprised that I've actually kept up with it. I've told them so many ideas for what I was going to do with my life, but it's never lasted even a year. I always change my mind, or decide that it was a stupid idea in the first place. Now that I am, though, I can't just neglect the things I need in order to be successful in the writing industry.
So this weekend I will be going out and seeing what laptops are available. I'll be bringing the tech savvy boyfriend with me so that I'm not buying something that's going to crap out on me as quickly as this one did. Who knows, I may be the proud owner of a shiny new laptop the next time I'm posting on this blog. while that would make me happy, it would probably make my bank account not so happy.
But my bank account can complain all it wants to, it's going to fall on deaf ears. I need reliable tools in order to accomplish my goal. I can only hope that I find a computer that is in my price range but is still better than this one!
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Being Productive
Normally I procrastinate so much that I don't get much done. Especially when I'm editing. I find it so hard to make myself actually want to start fixing and changing my story. You all know exactly how much I love editing, of course, and I am very good at making sure I do everything but the editing that I'm supposed to be doing.
In a conversation with a friend this week (one B. A. Matthews) I started expressing my frustration with the fact that I'm really not getting anywhere with my stories. That was when I realized something. I can't be frustrated with not going anywhere, because the reason I'm not is because of all the procrastinating I've been doing. It's not my manuscript's fault that I'm looking everywhere but at it. It's not my characters' fault when they're constantly shouting at me about what they want to happen in the next book, or the one after that. I can't write those stories, though, not when I'm not even done the first book.
No, there's only one person at fault in this whole scenario, and it's me.
I've been getting frustrated with myself. I claim to want to write for a living. To want to be a published author who is taken seriously and has a following, but how can I do that when I'm playing useless games on facebook instead of editing or writing? How can I say that I want fans, when I can't guarantee that I'll be able to focus enough on the story in front of me to get it past the first draft?
So I'm making a new promise tonight. I've done this before, I know. I've committed myself to my writing more times than I can really count, but I'm still going to do it again, and I'm hoping to actually stick with it.
My first promise: I am going to stop complaining about editing. Especially on my blog. I'm sure you're all as tired to hear it as I am to type it out. Because, let's face it, complaining about editing is really just another way to avoid doing it. And that's just a vicious cycle that I'll never be rid of if I let myself continue down that road.
My second promise: Get my manuscript out to beta readers by May 15th. I currently have 2 beta readers anxiously awaiting (at least in my head) the arrival of my manuscript. Having an actual due date, rather than an arbitrary goal, I'm hoping that I can actually do it. I'm also still looking for a third beta reader. If anyone's interested, please let me know.
My third promise: I'm going to go out of my way to try and find someway to like editing. It may never work, but I'm certainly going to try. I don't want to spend my entire life hating this part of writing, so I just have to look for that part of it that I like and latch onto it.
I'm hoping that I can keep these promises for longer than I've kept most of my previous ones (for the record, I have stuck with getting my blog posts up, but none of my editing/writing promises have been stuck to.)
Now it's time for me to start putting these promises into action.
In a conversation with a friend this week (one B. A. Matthews) I started expressing my frustration with the fact that I'm really not getting anywhere with my stories. That was when I realized something. I can't be frustrated with not going anywhere, because the reason I'm not is because of all the procrastinating I've been doing. It's not my manuscript's fault that I'm looking everywhere but at it. It's not my characters' fault when they're constantly shouting at me about what they want to happen in the next book, or the one after that. I can't write those stories, though, not when I'm not even done the first book.
No, there's only one person at fault in this whole scenario, and it's me.
I've been getting frustrated with myself. I claim to want to write for a living. To want to be a published author who is taken seriously and has a following, but how can I do that when I'm playing useless games on facebook instead of editing or writing? How can I say that I want fans, when I can't guarantee that I'll be able to focus enough on the story in front of me to get it past the first draft?
So I'm making a new promise tonight. I've done this before, I know. I've committed myself to my writing more times than I can really count, but I'm still going to do it again, and I'm hoping to actually stick with it.
My first promise: I am going to stop complaining about editing. Especially on my blog. I'm sure you're all as tired to hear it as I am to type it out. Because, let's face it, complaining about editing is really just another way to avoid doing it. And that's just a vicious cycle that I'll never be rid of if I let myself continue down that road.
My second promise: Get my manuscript out to beta readers by May 15th. I currently have 2 beta readers anxiously awaiting (at least in my head) the arrival of my manuscript. Having an actual due date, rather than an arbitrary goal, I'm hoping that I can actually do it. I'm also still looking for a third beta reader. If anyone's interested, please let me know.
My third promise: I'm going to go out of my way to try and find someway to like editing. It may never work, but I'm certainly going to try. I don't want to spend my entire life hating this part of writing, so I just have to look for that part of it that I like and latch onto it.
I'm hoping that I can keep these promises for longer than I've kept most of my previous ones (for the record, I have stuck with getting my blog posts up, but none of my editing/writing promises have been stuck to.)
Now it's time for me to start putting these promises into action.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Stop The Lies!
The other day I found a link posted on the facebook page of my local nano group. I don't often follow links, but this one caught my attention right from the title, and after I read it, I felt like I had to share it.
The post was entitled '25 Lies Writers Tell (And Start To Believe)' (I would suggest that, even if you never follow links, if you're a writer, follow this one. I promise you wont be disappointed.) Of course, considering that I wrote a blog in which I talked about how writers lie to themselves (Click here to read that post) it's not really all that surprising that I was attracted to this one. I wanted to see what another writer thought we lied about.
First I have to say, I thought it was hilarious. I didn't stop laughing pretty much from the time I started reading the blog until I was done. It's fantastic! Not just what he says, but the way he says it. The fantastic sarcasm he uses gives you wonderful (or terrible?) images in your head, and you find yourself agreeing with pretty much everything.
Anyway, like I said, there were a few things that I wanted to respond to (In no specific order):
Those are the ones I wanted to comment on. I'll like to reiterate that I loved this post (even if I did end up disagreeing about a few things) and I think that every single writer out there should read it. If not to gain insight into the lies they're telling (which every writer does...don't think you're the exception), then for the pure entertainment value.
The post was entitled '25 Lies Writers Tell (And Start To Believe)' (I would suggest that, even if you never follow links, if you're a writer, follow this one. I promise you wont be disappointed.) Of course, considering that I wrote a blog in which I talked about how writers lie to themselves (Click here to read that post) it's not really all that surprising that I was attracted to this one. I wanted to see what another writer thought we lied about.
First I have to say, I thought it was hilarious. I didn't stop laughing pretty much from the time I started reading the blog until I was done. It's fantastic! Not just what he says, but the way he says it. The fantastic sarcasm he uses gives you wonderful (or terrible?) images in your head, and you find yourself agreeing with pretty much everything.
Anyway, like I said, there were a few things that I wanted to respond to (In no specific order):
3. I'll Come Back To This Story After I write This Other StoryThis is something that I do. In fact, I'm doing it right now (yes, I feel ashamed, no I'm not going to stop writing this novel...). Some of the things he says in this are fantastic. He compares this habit to "leaving a trail of half-eaten sandwiches". It certainly left an image in my head that I've been unable to get rid of since that day. This one is definitely something that a lot of writers do.
7. My Characters Are In ControlThis one I do have a tiny bit of an issue with. That's because I do, in fact, write by letting my characters take control of the story. Now, I'm not saying (as he speculates in the post) that I'm yielding all responsibilities to my characters. In fact, if the story sucks, trust me, I'm the one that takes the fall for it. (I may be guilty of being too hard on myself.) So, while I can understand that some people might use their connection to their characters to create an excuse to not write, I'm definitely not one of those writers. (Sometimes I think my characters are a little too vocal.
17. This draft needs to be perfect.Yep. I'm a perfectionist. At least, I tell myself I'm a perfectionist. The truth is that I hate editing, so I end up settling for drafts that are probably far less than perfect. At the same time, because those drafts aren't perfect, I never end up sending them out to anyone. They sit forever buried in my computer never again to see the light of day. I'm definitely guilty of this, but I'm working on it. This year I'm going to get a book out there (before November, despite how busy I'm starting to realize I'm going to be.) Just like I have to kill my inner editor in November, I guess I have to kill my inner perfectionist.
22. The (Insert System of Publishing) Is The Only Way To Do ItI understand what he's saying with this one, but I have to admit, there is a system of publishing that I prefer. That would be traditional publishing. While I don't have any kind of grudge against other types of publishing, or even think that they're not good, what I do know is that I couldn't self publish. I'm not good enough at self promoting to get my name out there without the help of someone whose job is to help me do that very thing. Now, I'm not saying that if I never get picked up by a publisher that means I'll never look into self publishing, I would just prefer it if I did get picked up by a publisher.
Those are the ones I wanted to comment on. I'll like to reiterate that I loved this post (even if I did end up disagreeing about a few things) and I think that every single writer out there should read it. If not to gain insight into the lies they're telling (which every writer does...don't think you're the exception), then for the pure entertainment value.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Hello Procrastination...We Meet Again
I love planning new novels. I think I might like the planning stages more than anything else. I love figuring out the characters and their history. How those histories will make them interact together. Where the story is going. Why things are going to happen the way they do. And even how the hell I'm going to make the things that need to happen work when all of a sudden I realize that my character actually might not do that very important plot point.
Figuring out those characters and plots is something that I love to do. I talk excitedly about it to anyone who will listen, even though half of them aren't writers, and therefore couldn't care less about what I'm saying. In fact, I've had more than one person give me that look. The look that tells me they think I might actually be a little crazy. (Other writers will know this look. It seems to be a hazard of the job.)
Some parts of it, though, can be a little hard to get through. For example, the character bibles.
Now these aren't something that every writer out there does. In fact, most of the writers I know don't do them. I find them really helpful when I'm writing, because I can glance at them quickly if I forget an important fact about one of my characters (like their hair or eye colour)
Honestly, I don't use much of the rest of the bible during the writing process, but I find the rest of it really helpful before I start writing. The bibles help me to truly get a grasp of each of my characters. I figure out their motivations. Their goals. Their quirks. And, most importantly (at least to me) their history.
The only problem is that I figure out their story, and then I don't want to actually put it into words on the page. (Yeah, I know, I'm a writer. That's exactly what I want to do with my life.) I think it's just that these are scenes and information about the character that I don't get to actually write. They all happen before my story took place. So while I have all these ideas about their history, and love the insights these histories give me into my characters, I find myself a little disconnected with them. I didn't take part in any of the decisions they made. It's frustrating.
So, instead of continuing with the bible and forcing myself to get through those histories that I love but don't want to write, I do other things to keep myself busy. Things like watching television shows that I 'need' to get caught up on. Or writing a blog post (even though I am, technically, supposed to post one today. I told myself I would at least finish the bible I'm working on. I didn't...)
Procrastination is an old friend of mine. I perfected it in school, and we haven't grown apart at all since I graduated. In fact, since deciding that I want to become a writer, we've become even closer than we've ever been. We're like those annoying best friends you see on the street, giggling and laughing like the world is a joke. The ones who buy the necklaces that break apart just so they can show the world how close they are. How there's nothing in the world that can come between them. Because their friendship is just that strong.
I think I proved my point.
Figuring out those characters and plots is something that I love to do. I talk excitedly about it to anyone who will listen, even though half of them aren't writers, and therefore couldn't care less about what I'm saying. In fact, I've had more than one person give me that look. The look that tells me they think I might actually be a little crazy. (Other writers will know this look. It seems to be a hazard of the job.)
Some parts of it, though, can be a little hard to get through. For example, the character bibles.
Now these aren't something that every writer out there does. In fact, most of the writers I know don't do them. I find them really helpful when I'm writing, because I can glance at them quickly if I forget an important fact about one of my characters (like their hair or eye colour)
Honestly, I don't use much of the rest of the bible during the writing process, but I find the rest of it really helpful before I start writing. The bibles help me to truly get a grasp of each of my characters. I figure out their motivations. Their goals. Their quirks. And, most importantly (at least to me) their history.
The only problem is that I figure out their story, and then I don't want to actually put it into words on the page. (Yeah, I know, I'm a writer. That's exactly what I want to do with my life.) I think it's just that these are scenes and information about the character that I don't get to actually write. They all happen before my story took place. So while I have all these ideas about their history, and love the insights these histories give me into my characters, I find myself a little disconnected with them. I didn't take part in any of the decisions they made. It's frustrating.
So, instead of continuing with the bible and forcing myself to get through those histories that I love but don't want to write, I do other things to keep myself busy. Things like watching television shows that I 'need' to get caught up on. Or writing a blog post (even though I am, technically, supposed to post one today. I told myself I would at least finish the bible I'm working on. I didn't...)
Procrastination is an old friend of mine. I perfected it in school, and we haven't grown apart at all since I graduated. In fact, since deciding that I want to become a writer, we've become even closer than we've ever been. We're like those annoying best friends you see on the street, giggling and laughing like the world is a joke. The ones who buy the necklaces that break apart just so they can show the world how close they are. How there's nothing in the world that can come between them. Because their friendship is just that strong.
I think I proved my point.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Two Months Already?
Yesterday I went to our first nano meet since November. Our group is awesome, as we don't like to wait an entire year to see each other, so we meet up once a month, except for December, when we're all pretty nano-ed out (and with Christmas, it makes it hard to find a time.)
Anyway, it was fantastic. While we didn't have quite the turn out that we have during November, I got to see more than a few people who I have been missing. And it hit me while I was there...it's been two months since I've seen everybody last.
Two months. Really? I don't know about you guys, but my Christmas is always busy. December is stuffed full of shopping that no one really wants to do, travelling that leaves you tired only to see the family for maybe two days before you find yourself back to reality and trying to get back into the swing of things. For me January was nearly as busy, with me trying to keep up on the ridiculous amounts of editing I have to do for my Dangerous Waters book, along with critique group stuff. And then losing my grandfather last week and having to drop everything I was doing to go down and see the family again.
These last two months have been crammed full. They were tiring, and in some cases not all that pleasant, and I should be glad to have them done. And I am glad. I was glad that I could see the people that I am quickly coming to see as my family. I was glad to be back in the atmosphere of a group of writers just wanting to get that book done. While there wasn't the competitive nature that there is during November, just being there and seeing those people helped to remind me that just because nano is over and everything is changing, doesn't have to mean that it's all bad.
Despite how busy I've been, though, when I was sitting in that restaurant yesterday, looking around at the room full of writers that have the ability (and have managed to do so in the past) to scare waitresses and make them worry about us, I couldn't help but think 'wait, it's been two months already'?
Two months since I wrote three novels (and I'm not even done editing the one I started before nano)? Two months since I've seen everyone. Two months where I've barely written anything!
It's sad, really, that all I've written since nano ended is a single chapter that I owed a friend for a collaboration I'm doing. I try to remind myself that I've been editing, but that's not really true, either. I've been procrastinating. I've been blogging (Which I love and wont stop doing. In fact, you can start looking forward to two posts a week instead of one, at least for next month). I've been critiquing. But I haven't been doing what I should be doing, at least not with the seriousness that I should have.
So as of right now, I'm going to set this goal for myself: I am going to finish Dangerous Waters by the end of April. (Beta readers allowing, of course.) I'm going to have a new book (thus far untitled) written before the end of July (To the first draft.) And I am going to update my blog twice a week.
To be honest, I don't know if I can do all of it, but I'm certainly going to try. Because if I don't take myself seriously and force myself to do the work, can I really expect other people to take me seriously?
Wish me luck!
Anyway, it was fantastic. While we didn't have quite the turn out that we have during November, I got to see more than a few people who I have been missing. And it hit me while I was there...it's been two months since I've seen everybody last.
Two months. Really? I don't know about you guys, but my Christmas is always busy. December is stuffed full of shopping that no one really wants to do, travelling that leaves you tired only to see the family for maybe two days before you find yourself back to reality and trying to get back into the swing of things. For me January was nearly as busy, with me trying to keep up on the ridiculous amounts of editing I have to do for my Dangerous Waters book, along with critique group stuff. And then losing my grandfather last week and having to drop everything I was doing to go down and see the family again.
These last two months have been crammed full. They were tiring, and in some cases not all that pleasant, and I should be glad to have them done. And I am glad. I was glad that I could see the people that I am quickly coming to see as my family. I was glad to be back in the atmosphere of a group of writers just wanting to get that book done. While there wasn't the competitive nature that there is during November, just being there and seeing those people helped to remind me that just because nano is over and everything is changing, doesn't have to mean that it's all bad.
Despite how busy I've been, though, when I was sitting in that restaurant yesterday, looking around at the room full of writers that have the ability (and have managed to do so in the past) to scare waitresses and make them worry about us, I couldn't help but think 'wait, it's been two months already'?
Two months since I wrote three novels (and I'm not even done editing the one I started before nano)? Two months since I've seen everyone. Two months where I've barely written anything!
It's sad, really, that all I've written since nano ended is a single chapter that I owed a friend for a collaboration I'm doing. I try to remind myself that I've been editing, but that's not really true, either. I've been procrastinating. I've been blogging (Which I love and wont stop doing. In fact, you can start looking forward to two posts a week instead of one, at least for next month). I've been critiquing. But I haven't been doing what I should be doing, at least not with the seriousness that I should have.
So as of right now, I'm going to set this goal for myself: I am going to finish Dangerous Waters by the end of April. (Beta readers allowing, of course.) I'm going to have a new book (thus far untitled) written before the end of July (To the first draft.) And I am going to update my blog twice a week.
To be honest, I don't know if I can do all of it, but I'm certainly going to try. Because if I don't take myself seriously and force myself to do the work, can I really expect other people to take me seriously?
Wish me luck!
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
The Commons - A YA novel
Alright, I know that I just posted yesterday, but I have been shown a very interesting link by a friend. One that brought me to a contest. And, as I pointed out in my blog yesterday, I may be slightly competitive, and so find that I am unable to resist entering this. Check out Brenda Drake's Blog for further details. Unfortunately the contest ends tomorrow, but I'm hoping that at least some of you get to see this. Anyway, the entry is requested on the blog as well as in the comments, so here goes:
Title: The Commons
Genre: YA dystopian
Word Count: 101,000
Pitch: At the end of the Great War, the world split into two societies: The Commons and The Techs. Now the two worlds are about to collide, and neither will ever be the same again.
First 150 words:
Title: The Commons
Genre: YA dystopian
Word Count: 101,000
Pitch: At the end of the Great War, the world split into two societies: The Commons and The Techs. Now the two worlds are about to collide, and neither will ever be the same again.
First 150 words:
Once these streets had been filled with tall buildings. Large concrete structures where the people went to work every day. Streets that spanned for miles that were constantly jammed with an endless stream of cares. It was hard to believe that this was all that was left. Only one grey building stretched up to the sky, but even the top of that one was jagged and unstable. The rest of the street consisted mostly of piles of concrete.
It was an all too familiar sight to Arisa, who had been travelling to all the city ruins. Each one seemed to be worse than the last, until she had arrived here. She did not know what city it had once been, but from the remains she would guess it had been hit hard in the great war.
Arisa let these thoughts run through her head as she stared around herself.
Monday, January 9, 2012
A Snag In Editing
Before I start this week's post, there were a few things I wanted to say. First and foremost, I would like to point out that there are now six writers participating in the Epic Year of Querying. You can get to any of their blogs from the side bar, as well as find the link to get to more information about it. I'm very excited to see what this year brings, and how we will all do on this challenge. Of course, it goes without saying, any other writers who wish to join in the fun can, just give me a link to whatever site (be it blog/twitter profile/website, whatever you wish) and how many queries you have sent out since Jan. 1, 2012, and I will gladly add you to the list. You can also follow the fun on twitter using the hashtag #YEQ2012.
Second, there will be an extra special post going up on Wednesday of this week. I'm not going to give away any details (cause it's a surprise) but make sure you look out for it. I'm excited to see this blog becoming something other than me talking to myself, and this is just one of many such things I'm hoping will happen this year.
Alright, onto the post. So, I was editing today. I planned on getting about three chapters done so I could catch up with my goal. It was something I knew I was going to have to do, because I spent all day yesterday doing things like getting my hair cut and hanging out with friends. So when I finally got around to it today (instead of working on my blog like I wanted to) I sat down ready to edit.
I'll admit that I may not have been as anxious to edit as I could have been. In fact, I was rather reluctant to start. I may not have been editing as fast as I could have, and I kept getting distracted, but that's besides the point.
The fact of the matter is that after all of that, I got through half of the chapter and realized just how much I was changing, and how unhappy I was with what was left. After all of that I ended up throwing the chapter out completely and starting over.
With that realization, however, came the certainty that I had hit the point in my book where I knew I was going to have to do some major overhauling. See, I had already come to the conclusion that I had to change quite a few things in the second half of the book. I hadn't written a very important scene, and that scene couldn't be written the way the book was already done. So I knew that there was going to come a point where I would have to start rewrites.
Unfortunately this point came a lot earlier than I had thought it would. In fact, I had been hoping that I would make it at least another five or six chapters before I would have to start completely changing what was written.
Alas, I cannot change what I have come to realize must happen. Well, I suppose I could, but then the book just wouldn't be as could as it could be, and I definitely don't want that. This is the book I want to get published. The one that I already have half of out with beta readers. The one that I have already gotten a second round of beta readers for. I can't just not fix it. This is my baby we're talking about. I want it to be all it can be.
So, while editing is my least favorite part of writing (and yes, I will continue to complain bitterly about it for the rest of the time that I'm doing it) I will continue to do it. Because, you see, I love my work, and I don't intend to let it be less than what it could be only because I don't want to do the editing.
Now I've gone through the rest of the book and have decided which chapters I need to rewrite, and which ones just need editing. I've also decided what I need to add to make the story complete. I now have a clear idea of what I need to do to make this book ready for my beta readers. On one hand this gives me a sense of relief. I know what I'm doing now, and I don't feel so much like I'm stumbling around in the dark. On the other hand, rewriting is somehow so much more work than editing.
Wish me luck, because in the next month (okay...maybe two) I plan to whip this novel into shape. Even if that means rewriting half of it.
Second, there will be an extra special post going up on Wednesday of this week. I'm not going to give away any details (cause it's a surprise) but make sure you look out for it. I'm excited to see this blog becoming something other than me talking to myself, and this is just one of many such things I'm hoping will happen this year.
Alright, onto the post. So, I was editing today. I planned on getting about three chapters done so I could catch up with my goal. It was something I knew I was going to have to do, because I spent all day yesterday doing things like getting my hair cut and hanging out with friends. So when I finally got around to it today (instead of working on my blog like I wanted to) I sat down ready to edit.
I'll admit that I may not have been as anxious to edit as I could have been. In fact, I was rather reluctant to start. I may not have been editing as fast as I could have, and I kept getting distracted, but that's besides the point.
The fact of the matter is that after all of that, I got through half of the chapter and realized just how much I was changing, and how unhappy I was with what was left. After all of that I ended up throwing the chapter out completely and starting over.
With that realization, however, came the certainty that I had hit the point in my book where I knew I was going to have to do some major overhauling. See, I had already come to the conclusion that I had to change quite a few things in the second half of the book. I hadn't written a very important scene, and that scene couldn't be written the way the book was already done. So I knew that there was going to come a point where I would have to start rewrites.
Unfortunately this point came a lot earlier than I had thought it would. In fact, I had been hoping that I would make it at least another five or six chapters before I would have to start completely changing what was written.
Alas, I cannot change what I have come to realize must happen. Well, I suppose I could, but then the book just wouldn't be as could as it could be, and I definitely don't want that. This is the book I want to get published. The one that I already have half of out with beta readers. The one that I have already gotten a second round of beta readers for. I can't just not fix it. This is my baby we're talking about. I want it to be all it can be.
So, while editing is my least favorite part of writing (and yes, I will continue to complain bitterly about it for the rest of the time that I'm doing it) I will continue to do it. Because, you see, I love my work, and I don't intend to let it be less than what it could be only because I don't want to do the editing.
Now I've gone through the rest of the book and have decided which chapters I need to rewrite, and which ones just need editing. I've also decided what I need to add to make the story complete. I now have a clear idea of what I need to do to make this book ready for my beta readers. On one hand this gives me a sense of relief. I know what I'm doing now, and I don't feel so much like I'm stumbling around in the dark. On the other hand, rewriting is somehow so much more work than editing.
Wish me luck, because in the next month (okay...maybe two) I plan to whip this novel into shape. Even if that means rewriting half of it.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Deadlines and Procrastination
As any of you who have read my previous posts will know, I'm not a huge fan of editing. In fact, if I can find an excuse to not edit (such trying to decide on a new desktop for my computer...because that's oh so important...) I will do it. Take, for instance, this very blog post. While I may have to have a blog post up by midnight tonight (or risk being turned into a pumpkin...don't ask...) I didn't need to do it right now. I am, though, because I turned the page and stared in dismay at all the purple marks.
Another thing I've never been good with is arbitrary deadlines. I like to set a dead line for editing (Like, say, the first ten chapters done by the fifth of December) then let it pass by with a shrug and perhaps a comment about how I can make up the time later.
So now it's the 18th, and I'm still working on those first ten chapters. (Yes, I do realize how pathetic that is.) Unfortunately I happened to go on the ABNA site the other day and realized that I do, in fact, have a very solid deadline. One that I have been ignoring, and basically telling myself that I have lots of time to do it. When I saw that January 23rd, suddenly I realized that my math wasn't working. It may seem like a lot of time, but I have a lot to edit. And putting it off was just going to mean that I would end up with a second rate book in the contest, rather than something I can show off with pride.
Last year my submission was the first novel I ever wrote. I wrote it during nano, in the first two weeks. It was just barely over the 50k mark, and I edited it in a month before submitting it to the contest. I made it into the top 250 of 5000 in the YA section of the contest. This year, I wanted to do better.
I was doing well, too. The book was written over two months, with me giving it more thought than I did the first. It had far more planning and world building in it. I even submitted the first few chapters to my critique group and have beta readers all lined up. Unfortunately I put off the editing for so long, that I'm now in the same boat I was in last year. This is going to be one of the quickest editing jobs ever, and it's all because of Procrastination.
There's really nothing I can do about that now, though. I have to just get down to it and get this book edited. I have to stop procrastinating!
So I did the only thing I could think of. I gave myself a deadline, then asked other people to hold me accountable. My beta readers, to be precise. I told them when I wanted to have my chapters to them by, and told them they had free reign to bug me for them, criticize me if they were late, and generally make a nuisance of themselves until those first ten chapters (which will end up being 9 chapters, as two of the chapters were amalgamated...) in their drop boxes.
I think it's working. I'm not done (obviously) but I'm much closer than I would have been if I didn't know there were people who were going to yell at me if I didn't get these chapters sent out by midnight. But what I need is for someone to take away all of the things I use for procrastination. This would just be an experiment, as I'm fairly certain that, even with everything taken away, I could still find a way to procrastinate, but it might work for a while.
Any takers?
Didn't think so. Oh well, time to get back to editing now. See you all next week!
Another thing I've never been good with is arbitrary deadlines. I like to set a dead line for editing (Like, say, the first ten chapters done by the fifth of December) then let it pass by with a shrug and perhaps a comment about how I can make up the time later.
So now it's the 18th, and I'm still working on those first ten chapters. (Yes, I do realize how pathetic that is.) Unfortunately I happened to go on the ABNA site the other day and realized that I do, in fact, have a very solid deadline. One that I have been ignoring, and basically telling myself that I have lots of time to do it. When I saw that January 23rd, suddenly I realized that my math wasn't working. It may seem like a lot of time, but I have a lot to edit. And putting it off was just going to mean that I would end up with a second rate book in the contest, rather than something I can show off with pride.
Last year my submission was the first novel I ever wrote. I wrote it during nano, in the first two weeks. It was just barely over the 50k mark, and I edited it in a month before submitting it to the contest. I made it into the top 250 of 5000 in the YA section of the contest. This year, I wanted to do better.
I was doing well, too. The book was written over two months, with me giving it more thought than I did the first. It had far more planning and world building in it. I even submitted the first few chapters to my critique group and have beta readers all lined up. Unfortunately I put off the editing for so long, that I'm now in the same boat I was in last year. This is going to be one of the quickest editing jobs ever, and it's all because of Procrastination.
There's really nothing I can do about that now, though. I have to just get down to it and get this book edited. I have to stop procrastinating!
So I did the only thing I could think of. I gave myself a deadline, then asked other people to hold me accountable. My beta readers, to be precise. I told them when I wanted to have my chapters to them by, and told them they had free reign to bug me for them, criticize me if they were late, and generally make a nuisance of themselves until those first ten chapters (which will end up being 9 chapters, as two of the chapters were amalgamated...) in their drop boxes.
I think it's working. I'm not done (obviously) but I'm much closer than I would have been if I didn't know there were people who were going to yell at me if I didn't get these chapters sent out by midnight. But what I need is for someone to take away all of the things I use for procrastination. This would just be an experiment, as I'm fairly certain that, even with everything taken away, I could still find a way to procrastinate, but it might work for a while.
Any takers?
Didn't think so. Oh well, time to get back to editing now. See you all next week!
Monday, December 12, 2011
Christmas Shopping and Editing
I went Christmas shopping today. One thing you should know about me is that I actually hate shopping. No, this isn't something that most people would assume, seeing as how most women do. But what I hate most is Christmas shopping. The crowds, the noise. You can never find exactly what you want, and sometimes you don't even know what you want. By the end of the day, you're tired, cranky, certain no one is going to like their gifts and broke.
Today was certainly no different. I found myself growing grumpy when we could find presents for one year olds, and presents for three year olds, but do you think we could find one for a two year old? Everything was either too old, too young, or far far too expensive. It made me miss the days of a tub of play-do making kids happy, even if I was one of those kids.
If that wasn't bad enough, then there was the fact that we didn't even end up buying all of our presents because we honestly didn't know what to get a couple of people. Meaning that we will have to go back out instead of being completely done...
So why am I telling you this when I'm supposed to be talking about writing? I have always maintained the editing was my least favorite thing to do in the world. I avoid it at all cost and usually manage to put it off far longer than I want. Today I got up thinking about how I could avoid editing for even longer because I would get to go out Christmas shopping, and surely that was better than editing, as I hate editing so much.
I have to admit that I was wrong. Christmas shopping is not better than editing. By the time I got home I was wishing that I had spent the day on the computer getting some editing done. (For the record, I got absolutely no editing done, and I probably wont. This blog post was a last minute thing and didn't even manage to make it up for the deadline...I'll do better next week I promise!!)
That's got to say something about shopping, when I spent the day wishing I could be working on my book rather than trying to figure out what everyone wants.
For the record, my characters are now complaining about how I ignored them today. As if I never give them attention. Thankfully critique group starts up again next week, and I can forget about Christmas for a couple of hours while other people rip apart my writing. It'll be awesome!!
I guess I just have to learn how to balance my life better. In November I got lost in the writing, so now I'm rushing to finish everything for Christmas. Next year I'm going to have to figure out a way to not completely ignore real life during November so that I'm not stuck trying to do it all in the early days of November.
I think I'll just do all my shopping online next year...
Today was certainly no different. I found myself growing grumpy when we could find presents for one year olds, and presents for three year olds, but do you think we could find one for a two year old? Everything was either too old, too young, or far far too expensive. It made me miss the days of a tub of play-do making kids happy, even if I was one of those kids.
If that wasn't bad enough, then there was the fact that we didn't even end up buying all of our presents because we honestly didn't know what to get a couple of people. Meaning that we will have to go back out instead of being completely done...
So why am I telling you this when I'm supposed to be talking about writing? I have always maintained the editing was my least favorite thing to do in the world. I avoid it at all cost and usually manage to put it off far longer than I want. Today I got up thinking about how I could avoid editing for even longer because I would get to go out Christmas shopping, and surely that was better than editing, as I hate editing so much.
I have to admit that I was wrong. Christmas shopping is not better than editing. By the time I got home I was wishing that I had spent the day on the computer getting some editing done. (For the record, I got absolutely no editing done, and I probably wont. This blog post was a last minute thing and didn't even manage to make it up for the deadline...I'll do better next week I promise!!)
That's got to say something about shopping, when I spent the day wishing I could be working on my book rather than trying to figure out what everyone wants.
For the record, my characters are now complaining about how I ignored them today. As if I never give them attention. Thankfully critique group starts up again next week, and I can forget about Christmas for a couple of hours while other people rip apart my writing. It'll be awesome!!
I guess I just have to learn how to balance my life better. In November I got lost in the writing, so now I'm rushing to finish everything for Christmas. Next year I'm going to have to figure out a way to not completely ignore real life during November so that I'm not stuck trying to do it all in the early days of November.
I think I'll just do all my shopping online next year...
Sunday, December 4, 2011
A commitment
Now that NaNoWriMo is officially over, I have decided to recommit myself to my blog. In November I took on the insane challenge of a blog post a day. Unfortunately that it not something I can keep up with on a permanent basis. For one thing, by the end of the month I no longer had any topics to write about. And without any writing to complain about, I'm going to have even less to write about.
Instead, after coming to the conclusion that I want to post more often, I have decided to post once a week. That day is going to be Sundays, starting today. (Yes. I do realize that it's almost midnight and I should really have done this earlier, but as I was at a hockey game with my boyfriends parents, it was a little difficult.)
My commitment is to have it posted every Sunday no later than midnight. I cannot guarantee that they will all be the greatest posts in the world, but I can guarantee that they will help you to follow my incredibly exciting journey to being published. (2012 will be the epic year of querying.)
The next year will include a submission to ABNA (Amazon Breakout Novel Award), NaNoEdMo, and the sending out of my first query letters. Therefore you can expect to hear all about how much I hate editing...why I hate my characters...and the arrival of my first rejection letter.
I know you're just as excited as me, and I hope that hearing about my journey will help you to start (or continue) yours. But, if all this blog brings you are a few laughs, I'm happy with that too.
Instead, after coming to the conclusion that I want to post more often, I have decided to post once a week. That day is going to be Sundays, starting today. (Yes. I do realize that it's almost midnight and I should really have done this earlier, but as I was at a hockey game with my boyfriends parents, it was a little difficult.)
My commitment is to have it posted every Sunday no later than midnight. I cannot guarantee that they will all be the greatest posts in the world, but I can guarantee that they will help you to follow my incredibly exciting journey to being published. (2012 will be the epic year of querying.)
The next year will include a submission to ABNA (Amazon Breakout Novel Award), NaNoEdMo, and the sending out of my first query letters. Therefore you can expect to hear all about how much I hate editing...why I hate my characters...and the arrival of my first rejection letter.
I know you're just as excited as me, and I hope that hearing about my journey will help you to start (or continue) yours. But, if all this blog brings you are a few laughs, I'm happy with that too.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
The Last Day
Today is the last day of nano, and although I have already technically won, my own personal goal was 300k, and I'm not quite there yet. In fact, as of right now, I'm about 7.5k away from it. But that doesn't mean that I get to forget to do another blog post. (I don't know what it is about the end of this month, but not only am I having troubles motivating myself, convincing myself I can, in fact, continue to write at the pace I set for myself at the beginning of the month, but I also seem to be forgetting my blog...)
Anyway, I don't actually have a clear topic for this post, as I am currently writing it between word wars (In the hopes that I can actually hit my 300k). I find it easier to just not have a topic than trying to remember it while writing my story. You understand.
So, on this the last day of nano, I'm finding myself torn. On one hand, I am so happy that I can just sleep tomorrow. (Though, as my ML pointed out, I probably will start editing) but on the other hand, I wish that November was longer. That I could continue to write for hours each day and have an excuse to ignore everything else.
How is it that I can be so conflicted over something like this? I realize that tomorrow I will wake up and be oh so thankful that it is over. That I can watch my shows and not feel guilty that I'm not writing. That I can look forward to each weekend without having to calculate just how much I'll have to write each day just to catch up to my goal.
I may read an entire book tomorrow. Just saying.
Either way, while I will be mourning the loss of this month, and marvel at how quickly it went by, I will still be thankful that I don't have to keep up this pace forever. That I can take a breather. That I can stop being obsessed with a graph, and base my life around it.
Of course, my break will be short. While I wont be picking up this same crazy pace (writing a novel in 10 days?? Yep...craziness) I will be editing. One novel will be going into the ABNA contest in January. Another will need to be edited so I can start querying (which I fully intend to do next year...don't worry...you'll get to hear all about it right here on my blog!! Excited, aren't you?) And the third will be given to my critique group so they can tell me everything that's wrong with it.
I have a full year ahead of me, and I'm hoping to report back next year that it is going well. But that does not mean that I need to lose sleep over it (though really, that's more up to my characters than me) and it does not mean that I have to be attached to my computer for hours on end every day.
Tomorrow I fully intend to take a bit of a computer break. Although I may start planning for next year's nano ^.~
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Challenge Accepted
At the beginning of the month I was challenged by a friend of mine to write a blog post every day of the month. And this is on top of my goal of 300, 000 words written for NaNoWriMo. I, being someone who has a hard time refusing such challenges, of course said yes.
Earlier in the month, that friend managed to miss a day. And, I’ll admit, I might have been a little petty in my taunting of her. After all, she was the one to issue the challenge, and she was the one who had missed a day. I was having a great time, making fun of her for missing that day.
Well, last night I forgot to post a blog. I can give you my excuses (I had been trying to get some writing done and had gotten really frustrated and tired, so I gave up and decided to give myself a bit of a day off. I figured I could catch up later and I ended up watching some tv shows and just going to bed.) but the fact of it is, I missed a day.
I actually went to bed, it was just after midnight, snuggled under the covers, and my eyes flew open as I realized that I had never posted anything…it was a saddening moment. If you had been there, you would have cried. I swear it.
So now I’m am blogless on the 23rd, and I keep staring at my blog thinking ‘I’m only going to have 29 posts for November’ and there’s really nothing I can do about that. Except make two blog posts in one day, and I think that might be cheating. In fact, it is cheating, and who would be happy with that? Not me…
I’m expecting much taunting and teasing when I see her on Saturday, and I will accept nothing less. After all, we’ve both missed a day now. Neither of us can claim to have won this challenge. Perhaps it’s one we’ll try again next year. And if it is, I know that I’ll end the month with that perfect number 30 showing beside November.
What I do know is that I’ve already run out of topics to post about. Hence this post about a missed post. Who knows what I’ll write about tomorrow! Though it may involve monkeys…
Anyway, I am officially recommitting myself to this challenge. As of today I will not miss another day this month. That number will not fall below 29!
Next years New Years Resolution: Stop accepting insane challenges.
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