Here we go again . . .

Though I’ve been working on my novel every day, it doesn’t seem like it when this is my current word count:

It looks like I haven’t done much at all, but in reality I have . . . honest! This word count doesn’t reflect the nearly 10,000 words I ended up cutting and all the revising I did in the first few chapters to incorporate a new aspect of the novel.

Though I love the new direction the novel is taking, it meant I had to do some major reworking/editing/cutting. Several scenes were reworked, and a few had to be cut out entirely! I’m not sure they’ll be able to be recycled. While this makes me sad for all the time I spent writing them, in the end, this new dimension will add more depth and is worth it!

So, while I’m not going to reach my goal of being done by the 23rd, (I’m still going to write like crazy and get as much done by then as I can), I’m happy with the progress I’ve made.

And, I’m setting a new goal of being finished by September 11th (one of my sister’s has a birthday then).

I’m actually hoping to be finished before then, but decided to give myself some leeway since I don’t often get much writing done over the weekends (needing to spend time with the kids and all that).

I’m still playing around with my scheduling and trying to find out what works best for me. Right now I write while my kids are in school (like now . . . but I’m on a lunch break). When they get home, we have homework, dinner, and then it’s time for bed when hubby likes to relax in front of the TV.

I’m not very good with writing while the TV is going so it ends up that what I write during the day is pretty much what I get written.

But, I’m thinking of changing things around and writing at night after the kids have gone to bed (going in the living room) because I get a lot of inspiration then and there aren’t as many distractions during those hours. Plus, I can try to sleep during the day when the kids are in school . . . right? ;-)

Anyway, my lunch break is over (I only give myself 1/2 hour), so I must get back to writing.

How are things going for all of you out there?

Write on!

Blogger or LJ Blog? A Write On Con Conundrum

During the Write On Conference, there were suggestions on author branding that included making your online presence consistent with they type of author you are/type of books you write. This “theme” or “mood” should carry from one online endeavor to the next from websites, to blogs, to Twitter, etc. Basically anywhere you can customize, you should, but keep it consistent.

As you may have noticed, I took that to heart and have been working on customizing my blogs and twitter. The topic of creating an online presence came up often during live chats and I was amazed to learn there were industry professionals who declared they didn’t like LJ because it wasn’t as easy to customize and was restrictive. I’m not sure what they meant by this (though it’s not as easy, you can still sort of customize the look of your blog), but it got me thinking.

Are Blogger and other online blogging options better than LJ? Is LJ a moon being paled by the much brighter sons in the webosphere?

I happen to like LJ. I’m not sure if it’s because it’s the first blog site I joined and it’s like an old familiar security blanket, or if it’s because I get notifications of my friend’s posts in my email. Granted, I can get email notifications from some Blogger friends as well, but not as many offer this option. Besides, I have many more LJ friends than I do Blogger (or other journaling sites).

Yes, it’s easier to see the Blogger followers if a “follow” gadget is put on the blog so knowing the popularity of your blog is easier (though just because you have followers, doesn’t mean your blog is popular . . . the commenting is what counts), and I do have to agree that Blogger is much easier to customize (I was able to make my own background for Blogger and fairly easily put it up using the CSS feature, but I was also able to add a background to my LJ using the CSS, just not as easily and as completely as on Blogger).

Blogger also has a new Template feature for editing your blog which makes things a bit easier . . .

And yet, I still love my LJ and all the connections I have there (though I love the “look” of my Blogger more).

I’m wondering . . . how many of my LJ friends also have another blog they frequent . . . maybe even more than they do LJ?

What is your choice of platform for blogging?

Though I suppose it doesn’t matter what platform you use if you aren’t consistent with your postings and keep things interesting (this was mentioned quite a bit at the conference too). I’m going to work on the being more consistent thing . . . but I make no guarantees in the “interesting” category.

AND . . .There must be an easier way to keep in touch with my Blogger friends, so if someone out here can tell me how it’s done, I’d really appreciate it!

Blog on!

What’s Up?

Okay, so I’ve been offline for a few days . . . okay, for several days. Things have been busy. I’ve been restructuring my WIP, plotting out a couple of new ideas, and setting writing goals. Then, I enjoyed Write On Con Tuesday thru Thursday!

If you didn’t attend, you missed out!! It’s the best conference I’ve ever been to . . . Okay, I admit, I’ve only been to one conference (SCBWIAZ Welcome to Our House). Still, I don’t think any conference could have been better. Instead of attending one or two presentations, I got to see them all (or read them, depending on what it was). The live chats were so much fun (I even got a few of my own questions put through) and informative too.

Everything was online, and available whenever I could get to it (except the live chats). That came in handy for those moments when I had to use the bathroom, eat something before I fainted, go pick up the kids from school, move because my butt fell asleep . . . you know, things like that.

Plus, it was FREE!

I’m definitely looking forward to it next year.

I’ll be posting some helpful hints about things I learned and sharing my thoughts over the next week or so (hey, it’s much needed fodder for the blog).

I’m also going to be madly typing if I hope to reach my goal of finishing my rewrite by the 23rd.

“The twenty third of August?” my inner author asks.

“Yes. The twenty third of August,” I say.

“Why do you set impossible goals for yourself?”

“Nothing is impossible,” I say.

My inner author doesn’t think I can do it. If you promise not to tell, I’ll let you in on a little secret. Do you promise? Okay. I’m not sure I can do it either, but I’ve got a new writing strategy so we’ll see how it goes.

I’ve decided to quit trying to write the book chronologically. I’m going to write scene by scene and then put it all together after I’m done.

I really think this will keep those staring-off-into-space-while-I-try-to-figure-out-how-I’m-going-to-get-from-point-A-to-point-B moments to a minimum. That’s the theory anyway. I really hope it works.

I’ve made a list of the major scenes I need and another list of the subplot things I need to happen. I figured out how to combine some of them, and the ones that are left standing off stage I’m hoping will be the glue that puts the major scenes together.

Yeah, so that’s my plan.

What’s up with you guys since I’ve been gone?

 

Write on.

Help . . . if you can . . .

I think I’m losing my mind. In an effort to help regain some of my sanity, I’m reaching out to my friends. Help me if you can!

Okay, here’s the thing:

In speaking with my third grade daughter’s teacher this afternoon, she showed me they are working on doing Illuminations (they’re reading Igraine the Brave and doing a whole medieval section). I mentioned how I loved illuminations and had seen some at the Getty Museum when I went a few years ago (for work, but we took time to see the sights).

Then it happened . . . a little something in my brain said, “didn’t you just see some sort of blog post or something that mentioned someone’s picture book being illustrated with illuminations? Didn’t you even mention in a comment that you loved illuminations and had seen them at the Getty?”

I have wracked my brain, searched through my friend list, but I can’t find the post.

Maybe I’m completely insane. Maybe I saw it on a link on someone’s blog and clicked which took me to another blog and clicked which took me to another and it wasn’t even one of my friends.

Maybe it was on Facebook . . . maybe it was on Verla Kay’s . . . I just don’t know!

But if you know what I’m talking about, please, please, please let me know. It’s driving me crazy, and I need to concentrate on writing instead of this!

Maybe I’ve lost my mind and it never happened . . . if you find my mind, please help send it back.

 

Help on!

Word count Wednesday

So, I obviously didn’t reach my goal of finishing my rewrite by the end of July. Life happened.

Still, I’m back in the swing of things now that the kids are in school, and I managed to get some writing done today. Yay! That was with an appointment this afternoon and my husband home early from work (not feeling well)!

I’d like to do more writing tonight, but I’ve got to get dinner done and get some sleep (I was up until after midnight because I couldn’t sleep).

I’m hoping to get more writing done tomorrow before I have to go to the PTO meeting followed by the school’s open house.

Oh, and remember how I was determined not to read LINGER until after I reached the 30,000 mark? Yeah, that didn’t happen. I gave in and read it a few nights ago. I’m a horrible person. I know.

I’m still debating whether to take ceramics classes at the college this semester (I won’t take any other classes right now though), but if I do, class starts on the 23rd.

So, my new goal is to finish this rewrite by August 23! I CAN DO THIS!!

Write on!

How to Procrastinate

I think I’m an expert by now. It’s not that I don’t WANT to write, it’s just that things conspire against me.

Today, it’s the squirrel’s fault.

Let me explain.

I purchased this bracelet from artistq’s (Laura Hamor) Etsy shop back in November and have worn it pretty much every day since (though I do take it off to shower). After months of daily abuse, the cord had worn through and the last threads holding it together broke today.

I tried to figure out how to tie another cord, but I’m knot challenged and failed miserably (it’s some sort of horribly complicated slip knot so it adjusts . . . you probably all know how to tie a slip knot like this, but I couldn’t figure it out).

Instead of putting it away and contacting Laura to see about a repair, I decided I’d use my creativity (which should have been working on my novel) and fix it myself.

I used black and white so it would pretty much match everything. It’s now back around my wrist, and I’ve discovered this new style has an added benefit. As I type, it knocks against the laptop and reminds me I need to be writing (I’m feeling guilty even now).

But . . . in true procrastinator fashion, as I was sorting through my endless boxes of beads to pick just the right ones for the bracelet, I was inspired to also make this:

It’s a bee bookmark for my own Etsy Shop (though I’ll resist the temptation to procrastinate further and list it on there today).

So how is it the squirrel’s fault?

The stupid squirrel came into my yard and made my dogs bark. If my dogs hadn’t been barking, I wouldn’t have had to go bring them in to keep the neighbor from complaining. If I hadn’t needed to bring them in, I wouldn’t have caught my bracelet on the fence which is what broke the last threads holding the bracelet together.

Now it’s 11:53 AZ time and the kids will be out of school in three more hours! Still, I’m taking the time to post this here instead of diving right in to my writing.

This, my friends, is how you procrastinate . . . or at least how I’ve managed to procrastinate today.

*sigh*

Now I’m going to see if I can use my remaining time to do some writing . . . although, it’s pretty close to lunch time, and I’m pretty hungry. Maybe I’ll get something to eat first and then start writing . . . unless I find something else to distract me.

Procrastinate on! =0

I Won A Contest . . . and Other Weekend Stuff!

I’m thrilled to have had the chance to enter Julie Jordan’s Alphabet Stories Contest and even more thrilled to have won! I’m not sure what my prize is (I’ll be getting a surprise in the mail), but it was a blast to write the story. =)

What was it all about? Entrants had to write a story of 26 sentences (one for each letter of the alphabet, but it began with G instead of A). It was so much fun to try to make it be engaging and not be obvious that I was starting each sentence with the next letter of the alphabet. I went with a strange story using Hel, Loki’s half dead half alive daughter from Norse mythology, as my inspiration. Anyway, if you go here, you can read my winning entry.

In other weekend news, I have sick kids again (it’s so much fun). This time, it’s the oldest boy. He’s trying to go to school anyway, but we’ll see how it goes. Hubby was also sick over the weekend. He’s still not feeling well (it’s a stomach thing), but he’s off to work anyway. I didn’t get much sleep last night, but I’m going to struggle through my day anyway. I’m spending a few hours at the school to work on some paperwork for the PTO this morning, but I’m hoping to get some writing done this afternoon . . . we’ll see how it goes.

I spent quite a bit of time this weekend making new bookmarks. I haven’t gotten them up on the Etsy store yet, but I’ll get to it sometime . . .

The most fun thing that happened this weekend?

We had a baby gecko hatch out of one of our gecko eggs!!!

We’ve been trying to hatch geckos for quite a while, but the eggs always died. This time, it worked (I added moisture to the container to keep the eggs from drying out even though the instructions for the hatching material said I didn’t need to).

I have five more eggs waiting to hatch, though I’m not sure they’re all fertile. Four of the eggs were laid on Saturday (same day the baby hatched) and I’m not sure they’re fertile yet (will check them by “candling” later today).

So that was my weekend. How was yours?

 

Write on.