ROW80 check-in #6

Posted on February 5, 2012 by S.J. Maylee

Balance and new direction was my theme this week

Last week’s check-in was full of what is not working for me, it was ugly. A few days into the new week and a couple of solutions presented itself. First, I need to re-organize my day and fit writing/editing time in the morning. Can you say priorities people!! Second, education! I’m learning so much from the blogs I follow and articles I find via twitter (you can find what I’ve really found helpful in my Saturday posts- “Links of the week”). I also need to spend more structured time each week on my craft. “Plot & Structure” by James Scott Bell, oh yeah, each week we are going to spending some time together. I already started reading and I’m having a hard time putting it down, interesting.

I’m re-committing.

1 hour everyday with my characters is my goal for this round. This week I spent more time plotting in my head than time writing/editing, my re-balancing should help with that problem, but in my head I had some break-throughs. I’ve discovered the need for a new opening scene in WIP: I’m All Yours. The WIP now has three scenes left to be written and I’m excited about each. The novella is missing some major plots points still and I’ve been thinking about them all week. I have that feeling of a little feather poking out of a pillow. Just a little tug and I’ll have it out & in my fingers.

I’m excited about my re-balancing. I’m focusing on what is important. My boss from over 10 years ago, we had a love/hate relationship. In somethings he was simply brilliant. He liked to remind me: it doesn’t all have to get done today. you can come back tomorrow and work on it some more. It’s called job security.

No one can fire me from my writing, but me. Well, I’ve fired the old me and the new me has got the job.

Happy Super Bowl Sunday!!

ROW80 check-in #5

Posted on January 29, 2012 by S.J. Maylee

Oh it has been a rough week. The pattern that I put in place during the first three weeks of the year fell apart on me this week.

My only goal for this round of ROW80 was to spend an hour a day with my characters. Well my only goal that I have written as a part of ROW80. Two other personal goals have been in full swing for a long time now.

Since last July I have been on a weight loss journey. I’ve lost over 30 pounds and I’ve taken my BMI from just over obese to just into the normal weight category. I’ve been blogging about this journey at SimplySidney. I have 4.2 more pounds to lose before hitting my goal weight. Totally doable, right?

In my evil day job I am a self-employed certified project manager. I have just a few clients (I’m also a mom of two little ones) and I’ve known for sometime that I will be losing a client later this year, since they have sold their company. I’ve been working on getting a new client and I finally have one, yeah. Unfortunately this client will be paying much less and hour, bummer, although they are providing me with a lot more work. Yeah for the finances…total bummer for the writing time.

Mix in some personal and family issues and you get my rough week. A week that made finding time to write impossible and it even worked against me in my weight loss journey.

I met my ROW80 goal one day this week, well I guess one day is better than nothing.

For my weight loss journey I need to pull on my “can do” attitude from the last 30-weeks. For writing I’m going to take what I have learned in the previous three weeks and try to find a new way. The only way to go is to push my story forward. No wandering around, just push forward.

Here’s to a week that is better than this past week!

ROW80 check-in #4

Posted on January 22, 2012 by S.J. Maylee

3-weeks into the new year and things seem to be moving and shifting for me. I’ve been in edit land for months now and since it’s my first book I still have a lot of work to do. It seems like I will be in edit land forever. NO! Not forever, I will finish the book!

In the months since I’ve started writing I have read advice about putting the 1st book aside and starting your second. I’ve also seen a lot of authors release novellas first before longer works. Then this week Kait Nolan published her post called The Juggle.

hmmm…

My plotting mind took off and didn’t come down for several hours, but when it did I had an idea for 3 novellas. The shorter stories will take place just before or around the time of my first longer book (the one stuck in editsville) and I’m findings small ways to intersect the characters. Yesterday I spent some time charting out my scene ideas for the first novella and then I started to write. 1025 words and gosh it felt real good!!! I have not written that many words in one day since late October.

My goal this round is to spend an hour a day with my characters and this week again I have met my goal. I also edited over 100 pages. I’ve already accepted the fact that my editing process is about to start all over again, as I have several new things I need to be looking for.

Editsville doesn’t seem so terrible now that I will be juggling it with my 1st novella. If that wasn’t enough to make me smile, the new path has brought me newly written sentences…so I hope to join the Six Sentence Sunday group once again next week!! Yeah!!

ROW80 check-in #3

Posted on January 15, 2012 by S.J. Maylee

Yesterday was the end of the 2nd week of the year and things are really starting to move. I’m still in edit land, but I seem to be picking up speed.

My goal for this round of ROW80 is to spend an hour a day with my characters. Last weeks effort got me back into the swing of things and re-attached me to my story. This week I found the time of day that works best and in that time I’m finding my grove.

I spent at least 7 hours with my characters this week, edited over 100 pages, and added 700 words, I’m pleased!

During the last couple of months I realized my story was missing a couple of scenes. For the life of me I could not figure out where and what the scenes should be, but I knew I had a hole. Yesterday they came to me, I have ideas for both, although they are not fully thought through, I know I’m onto something!!

Yesterday I posted some links that I really liked this week, please take a look, and don’t forget about SixSunday

Have a great week and let your imagination sore!

ROW80 Sunday Check-In #1

Posted on January 8, 2012 by S.J. Maylee

My first week in ROW80 has come to an end and I’m happy to report that I’m back in the swing of things!!

My goal for this round was to simply spend one hour a day with my characters doing something to move my book forward. The holidays got me totally off my goals and away from my story and I needed to get back in the game somehow. The week started out great, I got organized and I was ready to go. Monday I woke with some neck pain, Tuesday was crazy pain day and somehow I survived the week. Finally today, after sleeping on my new memory foam C shaped pillow, I’m doing much better!! YEAH!!

My goal was 7 hours this week and I got in just over 5 hours. After considering the pain I endured this week I’m very pleased with the results. I added almost 500 words and edited almost 80 pages. Sure this is not a huge step forward, but it is progress!!

In even better news, after spending just a few hours with my characters I’m feeling re-invested. I’ve bonded once again with my story and I’m on the road to getting it done!!

Several weeks ago I started participating in SixSunday, really great group of writers (there are no restrictions on published/unpublished, genre, heat level or publisher). You simply post 6 sentences from something you have written and that’s it. Their site explains it all. It is amazing how much you can get out of 6 sentences and how quickly you can get hooked on a book. I encourage you to stop by their site, as today they have a whole new slew of posts filled with six sentences. You can also follow this wonderful group on twitter at #sixsunday. I hope to start posting with this group again soon.

Here’s to an even better week, more hours with my characters, less pain in my neck and finding more authors to enjoy!!!

ROW80 Midweek Check-In #1

Posted on January 4, 2012 by S.J. Maylee

I’ve already had 2 good days and 1 not so good day. Bad news first, I’ve done something terrible to my neck and it HURTS!! I’m on my 2nd day of icing and taking it easy. Tomorrow I hope to begin to add heat and stretching to my neck recovery, I HOPE!!!! My week started on the right foot and that is what I am hanging on to. I signed up for ROW80 finally and spent Sunday and Monday getting re-organized and I am very pleased with the results.

For the past two months I’ve been in editing mode, looking for what was missing and cleaning up as I go. In two months I got through just over 100 pages, boo. Between Sunday and Monday I got through 42 pages, yeah, and came away pleased with the pace of the book and I have confirmed each scene IS pushing the story forward, double yeah!!

Yesterday I was a mess of pain and made no progress in my ROW 80 journey. I was simply trying to do too much and I kept aggravating my neck. I’ve learned from these mistakes and I got a good night sleep. Today I plan to dig back in and get back to my hour a day goal.

Here’s to progress and healing!!

ROW80 -Round #1 2012- The Goals

Posted on January 1, 2012 by S.J. Maylee

In 2011 I started to write and write and write. I ended 2012 in the middle of editing. I lost my footing somewhere along the way and lost my daily retreat into my writers head. Goal #1 is to get back into daily writing. How am I going to make this happen?… Oh, Oh, I know!!! ROW80

It’s the writing challenge that knows you have a life! ‘Round of words in 80 days’

I’ve been wanting to sign-up for ROW80 for sometime and now is the time or else something terrible could happen…I could stop…no I wont even finish that thought, I can’t, I must finish!

For round 1 I’m going simple. Work on my book for 1 hour everyday. Everyday I will write, edit, what ever is needed, I just need to visit my characters daily. No this is not a perfect plan, but it is better than the plan that occurred in December, which resulted in a grand total of 1107 words, well that was better than November’s 874 words.

Starting today I will spend 1 hour a day with my characters. I’ll let you know on Wednesday, my first check-in, how I am doing.