The writing challenge that knows you have a life.

How often do you find stuff in your life that you do NOT need? All that junk can slow you down. It’s even been known to slow the creative process. Of course, I’m not just talking about the physical items around you, but let’s not go there.

This week I read through a WIP I wrote last summer. I definitely put enough distance between writing and revising, lol. The end eluded me last summer. This week, I cleared away the junk and found a way to the end I’ve had in mind. Now, I just have to finish writing it.

As I clear away the cob webs in my mind and get rid of the junk in this story, I’m finding it’s fast past and has fascinating characters. Score! By the end of this round I want this WIP to have a finished ending, but I also want it to shine. I want a crisp and clean manuscript that’s ready to be sent.

It’s SYTYCD season. So, I went there looking for some inspiration and I have to share what I found. Makenzie and Paul performed a piece choreographed by Sean Cheesman and it’s the epitome of crisp and clean. If they can do this after just a couple days then I can clean my WIP this summer. The dancing begins 1 minute in. Enjoy.

http://youtu.be/ZyJO-zUQnXg?t=1m2s

The Goals – week-1 results

• Spend at least 1-hour a day with my characters – done.
• Daily progress in writing craft, word count, editing, and/or plotting – done. I moved my blog feeds over to feedly about a month ago, but this week I categorized things. It’s so much cleaner. I haven’t read Writing Love since May, but I got back to it this week. Nice. I also edited everyday this week.
• Workout a minimum of three times a week and round it out with plenty of water, sleep, and my calorie limit – done! The last couple rounds I’ve done the minimum here or less and I’ve been slowing gaining weight. Boo! For the last eighteen days I’ve been back in it and I’ve lost weight two weeks in a row. 😀 I got in 5 workouts this week.
• Weekly Nia study (i.e. studying the song/movement structure) – 1/2 way done. I did a practice teaching session and it went okay. WEEK 2 PRIORITY
• Stay on top of my co-op preschool Treasurer responsibilities – done. The new fiscal year has begun and this year I have a co-Treasurer. 😀 She has a degree in Finance and has experience in QuickBooks. Sweet. Every month I’ll teach her something new and slowly this task will go away. Wahoo!! 😀
• Organize something in the house each week & clean something in the house every day – not done. WEEK 2 PRIORITY
• Spend time in the garden – done. I cut back my rose bushes, staked my blueberries, snacked on some early raspberries, took Lavender cuttings before they bloomed and hung them to dry. I also took lots of pictures. I’ll continue to share them each Sunday.

The writing challenge that knows you have a life.

From plot bunny to first, second, third… draft we toil over our manuscripts. It takes a whole heap of courage to come back day after day and write your heart out and a ton of commitment to edit it.

Then, there comes a time when you’re no longer helping your MS. Don’t stop. Bring in the big guns. Sure, sending your baby to be critiqued is nerve-racking, but the end result will be a cleaner manuscript. *happy place*

Courage, commitment, and a big dash of nerves isn’t enough however. At some point, it will be time to hit send. This is usually when I want to vomit, lol. I’m not sure how I got brave enough to go for it this week, but there was certainly a feeling of fearlessness in the act. I may have shut my eyes when I clicked send.

Are you one of the brave? Have you hit send lately or are you planning to hit send soon? Tell us how you do it. What gets you to push send?

The Goals – week-9 results

• Spend at least 1-hour a day with my characters – done.
• Daily progress in writing craft, word count, editing, and/or plotting – done. Although I wish I could do away with my evil day job, unless it’s pay day, I’m very thankful for its flexibility. Thursday I was able to spend almost the whole day on my WIP. After reading the notes from my brilliant beta, I cut all kinds of darlings. It was painful, but I sure do like the result. The MS moves much faster now. Whee!! 🙂 I hit send and moved on to my new WIP, adding 1k.
• Workout a minimum of three times a week and round it out with plenty of water, sleep, and my calorie limit – done! I got in three workouts and kept to all my other goals here.
• Weekly Nia study (i.e. studying the song/movement structure) – not done. WEEK 10 PRIORITY
• Stay on top of my co-op preschool Treasurer responsibilities – done. I worked on several reports, paid several bills, and attended a parent meeting.
• Organize something in the house each week – not done. WEEK 10 PRIORITY
• Spend time in the Garden – done. It was a  beautiful week here and I spent most of it inside editing, but by Friday, the day after hitting send, I spent several hours in the garden and yesterday too. Lots more weeding to do, but I’m making progress.

What you might have missed here this week:

The Trifecta: Liebster, Sunshine, and Versatility

Writing Wisdoms: 3 Tips for Improving Your Creative Writing Skills

The writing challenge that knows you have a life.

I used to think getting started was the real hard part. The truth is, it’s all hard. Finding the time to write while you juggle kids and work is hard. Fighting writers block and getting the first draft down is hard. Editing is hard. Analyzing your story and fixing what’s not working is hard. Knowing when to keep working or when to just hit send is hard.

It’s all hard, but that’s partly why I love it.

Each time I pass another hurdle, I feel a little bit of accomplishment and lately it’s been just enough to get me to start the next hard part. Today, I’m going to show up for another hard part. I’m going to take this tiny piece of perspective, show up, and work through it.

What gets you past the hard parts?

The Goals – week-8 results

• Spend at least 1-hour a day with my characters – done.
• Daily progress in writing craft, word count, editing, and/or plotting – done. I wrote or edited everyday, adding 1k and sent the MS to my CP. She’s already gotten it back to me. I’ve only reviewed her notes, but I can tell you my MS is about to get so much better. I’m a lucky girl. Love that CP of mine. Wahoo!! I also went through two of her short stories.
• Workout a minimum of three times a week and round it out with plenty of water, sleep, and my calorie limit – done! I got in three workouts and kept to all my other goals here.
• Weekly Nia study (i.e. studying the song/movement structure) – not done. WEEK 9 PRIORITY
• Stay on top of my co-op preschool Treasurer responsibilities – done. I worked on several reports and made one deposit.
• Organize something in the house each week – not done. WEEK 9 PRIORITY
• Spend time in the Garden – done. Sunday I weeded the veggie garden and start on the perennial garden. It then rained the rest of the week. There was a short window yesterday of no rain, but that’s when I went to support my niece in the state volleyball championship. She did great and I blocked my head twice from getting hit. Good times, lol.

What you might have missed here this week:

Spotlight: Picture Perfect by Leslie C. Ferdinand

Daily Picspiration – Lyrics Required <– my new biweekly flash fiction endeavor.

A Visit from D.C. McMillen author of The Wedding

Spotlight: Knowing His Secret by K.C. Falls

The writing challenge that knows you have a life.

My mini challenge continued this week. I’m still behind, but I typed two lovely words. The End! 😀 I’ve also done a couple read throughs and am now digging into the hard part of my pre-CP edit ritual.

There are only four chapters in this little story and each time I finish a around of edits on one, I’m getting outside to spend time in my garden. It’s such a good reward. I love getting my hands dirty, pulling the junk, trimming away last years branches, and making way for the beautiful things to come. Gardening is a nurturing activity, one that requires patients and persistence. Not unlike my writing. In the end, let’s hope their both sublime.

Are you rewarding yourself with anything this weekend? What are your favorite kind of rewards? Mine is usually spa treatments. I might need a massage after this weekend, lol.

The Goals – week-7 results

• Spend at least 1-hour a day with my characters – done.
• Daily progress in writing craft, word count, editing, and/or plotting – done. I wrote or edited everyday, adding 3k and typed THE END!! Yesterday, I utilized the find feature over and over and over. I hope to have the WIP sent to my CP by the end of the day Monday.
• Workout a minimum of three times a week and round it out with plenty of water, sleep, and my calorie limit – not done. I got in one workout, destroyed the calorie limit, but I got plenty of water. WEEK 8 PRIORITY
• Weekly Nia study (i.e. studying the song/movement structure) – not done. WEEK 8 PRIORITY
• Stay on top of my co-op preschool Treasurer responsibilities – done. I finished several deposits and paid several bills.
• Organize something in the house each week – done. Nothing too exciting, just readied the house for company.
• Spend time in the Garden – done. The overnight frosts are usually done by this time in Michigan. So, this is my big gardening weekend of the year.  The weeds come out and annuals go in. I finished the front of the house yesterday. So pretty. Today, I’ll tackle the veggie garden and start on the perennial garden and my roses have some training to do. Which means I better get another chapter edited asap. 😀

What you might have missed here this week:

Spotlight: Bella Key by Scarlet Chastain

An Interview and then some with Elodie Parkes author of The Last Time

Spotlight: To Catch A Spirit by Carrie Pulkinen

The writing challenge that knows you have a life.

Last week I took on a challenge, to write and polish a 10k novelette by the middle of June. Of course, this is when the evil day job decides to roar, but I was on a deadline, self-imposed, but a deadline. A decision needed to be made. I could either walk away from my challenge or I could postpone other items on my to-do list.

I decided to postpone. I wrote everyday.

Everyday. 😀

The novelette isn’t done yet, and my week-6 results might be kind of sad, but I have less than 2k to go before I start my first read through. Wahoo! I need to give a shout-out to Julie Glover. She kept me going this week. Thank you, Julie. You rock.

The Goals – week-6 results

• Spend at least 1-hour a day with my characters – done.
• Daily progress in writing craft, word count, editing, and/or plotting – done. I wrote everyday. Yes, I’m pretty happy about that. I added over 4k this week to my challenge WIP.
• Workout a minimum of three times a week and round it out with plenty of water, sleep, and my calorie limit – not done. WEEK 7 PRIORITY
• Weekly Nia study (i.e. studying the song/movement structure) – not done. WEEK 7 PRIORITY
• Stay on top of my co-op preschool Treasurer responsibilities – done. I prepared for/attended the last parent meeting and scheduled the budget meeting for the next fiscal year.
• Organize something in the house each week – not done. WEEK 7 PRIORITY
• Spend time in the Garden – not done. I didn’t make any progress, but I took time to admire the new blooms. There is a wall of Lilac bushes at the back of our yard. So pretty. Wish I could share the fragrance with you and the Lily of the Valley. Their quiet beauty always makes me happy. WEEK 7 PRIORITY

What you might have missed here this week:

Cover Reveal: Pieces of You by Kharisma Rhayne

Spotlight: Make Me Stay by Ella Jade

Spotlight: Destiny’s Chance by Cara Bristol

The writing challenge that knows you have a life.

As a pre-published author, I do a lot of writing and studying and waiting. While I wait in submission land, I’m working on the next MS I’ll submit. This pattern could really go on forever. This is good and bad, right?

A benefit of the pre-published is no deadlines, other than the self-imposed. The downside of no externally imposed deadlines is that you can stay in a comfortable pattern and that does not prepare one for the post pre-published days. Sometimes a new challenge can put a skip in your step too. Challenges are exciting. They’ll push you past your comfort zone and this is what I need.

Between now and the middle of June I plan on writing and polishing a 10k novelette. Eek! I took a look at the schedule and it’s going to be tight. I need to finish the first draft and the first couple of read throughs well before Memorial weekend. Everyday I need to write just over 2k. Everyday. 2k.

I don’t know if I can do this, but I’ll never know unless I try.

Have you stepped outside your comfort zone lately? If not, pick something and go for it. If you have, please share what you’ve learned.

The Goals – week-5 results

• Spend at least 1-hour a day with my characters – done.
• Daily progress in writing craft, word count, editing, and/or plotting – almost done. This was one of those weeks filled with extra tasks and they took up all my writing time on Monday and Tuesday. Grr. I could have gotten some craft study in the evenings of these two days, but I chose to read a book instead. I started my new challenge on Wednesday. I spent most of of my writing time on Wednesday and Thursday doing character development and plotting. I ended up writing a little over 3k by the end of day Saturday.
• Workout a minimum of three times a week and round it out with plenty of water, sleep, and my calorie limit – not done. The sinus cold did go away. The weather was beautiful here midweek and I went for a walk/run. It felt great, but my calf muslces were not happy the next two days. WEEK 6 PRIORITY
• Weekly Nia study (i.e. studying the song/movement structure) – not done. WEEK 6 PRIORITY
• Stay on top of my co-op preschool Treasurer responsibilities – done. I handled all kinds of things this week from paying bills, deposits, and lots of reports.
• Organize something in the house each week – not done. Other than cleaning the house for company I didn’t get to this goal. WEEK 6 PRIORITY
• Spend time in the Garden – done. I’m continuing with my garden tour with the pictures in this post. Each week, I’ll try and share what’s blooming. I started weeding the beds in the front of the house. My husband finished the job and mulched. Score.

What you might have missed here this week:

Spotlight: Her Master’s Kiss by Vivien Sparx

The writing challenge that knows you have a life.

I’m taking this week off from Weekend Writing Warriors. I’ll be back with a new 8 next week.

Spring has sprung here in Michigan. What a difference a week makes. Last week was cold and depressing. This past week the sun came out and everything came to life.

With the arrival of spring my to do list is going to start growing as well. I love my gardens, but this time of year there is a lot to be done. I’m not sure how I’m going to keep up with everything. Note the new goal down below.

It’s important to take the time for all your interests. By feeding my green thumb, I’m bound to put a spring in my step. Now, more than ever it will be important to remain focused. Time to put my ROW80 skills to the test.

Do you have any new challenges coming your way?

The Goals – week-4 results

• Spend at least 1-hour a day with my characters – done.
• Daily progress in writing craft, word count, editing, and/or plotting – done, except for Friday. My oldest had a half day of school. We had a good time, no regrets. I’ve recently figured out that my WIP needs a few extra scenes in the third act. I finally got it plotted this week and I started writing. Yeah! All I need is another sprint or two and I’ll have it done.
• Workout a minimum of three times a week and round it out with plenty of water, sleep, and my calorie limit – not done. My sinus cold just would not go away this week. I let the exercise part of this goal lapse in favor of extra rest. WEEK 5 PRIORITY
• Weekly Nia study (i.e. studying the song/movement structure) – done. My new way of tracking worked again this week. I found time for this goal, but I’m leaving it as a priority for now. WEEK 5 PRIORITY
• Stay on top of my co-op preschool Treasurer responsibilities – done. Finally an easy week. I just answered a couple emails.
• Organize something in the house each week – done. There were a couple places in my pantry that were getting messy. I picked up a bunch of small baskets this week, problem solved. Also, my email inbox has been out of control with unread blog posts. This week I finally got moving with Evernote and the inbox is slowly shrinking. Yeah for getting organized. Feels good.
• Spend time in the Garden – done. I started small this week. Years ago, I planted a bunch of daffodils and tulips for the sole purpose of cutting the flowers to bring in doors. There’s been a few years I’ve forgotten to bring them in. They look so pretty in the garden. This week, I brought the tulips in doors and I think they look fabulous on my table.

What you might have missed here this week:

The Patented Nonsense of Donna Cummings author of I Do… or Die

Review: The Cat’s Meow by Stacey Kennedy

Flash Fiction #42 A Ridiculous Dress