Row80, I'm Back!

Fellow ROWers...I'm back!  Dun dun dun!  I took a break from Round 1 since I'm revising my manuscript and since I didn't have specific goals for the revising process (except to get 'er done) and I figured my updates would be pretty boring, I figured I'd save you from that.  You're welcome.

BUT....

I'm ready for the next stage in my writing and in need of my ROWers' and blogging buddies' support.  For my blogging buddies who don't know what ROW80 is, it stands for A Round of Words in 80 Days.  In every 80 day chunk (AKA Round) you come up with your own writing goals.  And they can be changed at any time, based on circumstances in your life or progress with your WIP.  I love ROW80!

So, without further ado, my writing goals for ROW80 Round 2:


1) Research agents to send query letters out to and submit first batch of queries before April 12th.  Continue sending out queries and requested materials based on responses.
2) Continue revising my manuscript based on beta readers' feedback.
3) Write a chapter a week for my new writing project.  More is awesome.  At least one chapter is doable.
4) Comment on fellow ROWers update posts. :)

That's it!  Anyone else participating in ROW80?

Overcoming Idleness

"When we use the word idle, we usually think of inactivity. We assume that an idle woman has lots of time on her hands. But “inactive” is not exactly what idleness means. The Greek word refers to someone or something that is not in good order. It means “careless” and “out of line.”
An idle woman is often busy. Perhaps even excessively busy…Women are idle when they have the wrong priorities. They are idle when they fail to stay at their post of duty, and busy themselves with other things instead. An idle woman’s life is undisciplined and out of order. She does not do what she ought to do."  -Girls Gone Wise by Mary Kassian (page 78)

Hmm, how convicting.  There's a lot of things I've been idle about, wasting my time with things that don't really matter in the grand scheme of things.  Areas I've been idle:  Spending quality time with my son and hubster.  Writing.  Cleaning my house.  Reading the Bible.  Cooking.

To fight my recent idleness, I've created a list for each weekday.  Each day of the week is a certain task for cleaning the house, a task for writing, etc.  I won't go on Facebook or check out other blogs or watch TV or do any other lazy/procrastinating thing until after I've accomplished my goals and my priorities are met.

Sounds restrictive, but wow is there freedom in it!  I tried out a new recipe for dinner last night that my hubster loved and is still raving about.  I've done three loads of laundry, cleaned my closet and gave a bag of stuff to Goodwill, and tidied the kitchen.  I wrote two new scenes of my book, revised a chapter, and critiqued three chapters for my CP.  I spent extra time reading to my kiddo and going on a walk with him while the weather was GORGEOUS.  And the hubster and I got to go on a date. :)

All because I've been spending less time on Facebook or surfing the net, and I don't watch my recorded TV shows anymore while the little one is napping but use that time for writing.

This overcoming idleness thing is awesome!  Anyone else want to overcome idleness with me? :)

ROWnd 4!

'Tis the final ROW80 of 2011!  I'm so happy to have participated every single round, though I've been such a slacker about posting my check-ins.  In fact, I don't really check-in (sorry fellow ROWers) but just know that I'm working on my story while taking care of other things going on in my life.  Like numerous weekly appointments for my little man.

Anyway...

ROW80.  I'm finishing up my manuscript which I hope to have completely done by Christmas!  And I also want to begin a new writing project, so I've broken down these goals by month.  Goals will be updated as the rownd progresses.  Here goes:

October:  Continue revising.

1. Continue getting feedback from my critique partners.
2. Revise at least 15 minutes every other day.  Every day is ideal, but every other day is manageable.
3. Outline next writing project.

November: Continue revising manuscript and begin new writing project.

1. Enter NaNoWriMo.  I have for the last four years and never finished, but I always write more than I would otherwise, knowing others are plugging away at their stories.  I have a story idea that's been tugging at me for so long I can't wait to get it out on paper.
2. Continue revising based on feedback from my critique partners.  15 minutes a day every other day.
3. Send to beta readers.  Revise based on feedback.

December: Finish revising and begin the querying process begin sending to beta readers.

1. Get feedback on query letter manuscript from five or more people.
2. Begin querying.  Scary, yet exciting!  Begin querying in January.
3. Finish Continue revisions based on feedback of beta readers and critique partners.

Good luck to my fellow ROWers!  Rock that writing boat!

Building a Page Turner

I'm still in those revising stages.  And I must admit, I used to hate revising.  It used to be a necessary evil.  But now, I'm enjoying the process.  It's like my manuscript is a little piece of dirt in a shell and every time I cut and change entire scenes I'm adding a layer of polish and shine.  And each revision is leading me closer and closer to that finished pearl.  Yes, sometimes it's dull, but sometimes it's very exciting to see the story get molded into a better, shinier, more intriguing story.

I've learned a lot about the craft of storytelling through the revision process.  I've got to raise the stakes, make the story more intriguing.  Here's what I've learned:

1. Build up the conflict.  There should be conflict in every chapter.  It could be teeny tiny, like a moment of self doubt within the hero.  Or ginormo, like when the hero finally confronts the villain.  But there must be continual conflict to keep the story going.  My rough draft only had a few conflicts.  With the climax being the biggest one and boy was it lame.  Up the stakes, Jenn!  Up the stakes!
2. Build up the character.  Who wants to read a story if they don't like a character?  I've realized I didn't fully understand a character's motivation in my first draft.  But by understanding where they're coming from and making that clear, wow does that change the story!  And this part is hard, but I've had to build up my characters by not being so nice to them.  I mean, I love these characters, I created them.  But if nothing bad happens to them, they don't grow and change and it's rather boring.  So I had to consider, what is my character's worst fear?  And then BAM!  I have to make it happen.  Or at least the threat of it happen.  Hard to do but so worth it for the story's sake.  And the characters. ;)
3. Build up the pacing.  And I do that through building up the conflict and building up the character and balancing that with describing everything.  It's all about balance while moving forward.  Hard to explain but super important if you want a compelling story.  Which is what I'm trying to write.  

Sometimes I feel like I'll be writing this story forever.  That it'll be months before it's completely done.  But I'm learning so much in the process and trying to soak in the journey as I go.  My goal of being done with revisions by September doesn't seem likely, but I have no problem changing it.  Because I'm working toward my final goal, which is a completed, compelling story.

So my measurable goal for the remainder of August?  To revise at least 20 minutes a day.  And to enjoy the revising journey.  :)

July in a Nutshell

Writing Update:

So, the end of July is here.  That was my goal to finish my story and revise it.  And...

          drum roll please....

Yay!  I'm celebrating by having the hubster take us to Dairy Queen for Blizzards.  Apparently there's a Triple Chocoholic Blizzard that I have to try.  And if you know me, I can't pass up anything with chocolate. :)

My next goal is to let at least five people read it.  That thought terrifies me.  I'd rather do another run through, make sure the story is as flawless as possible before handing it over to a person whose opinion I greatly respect and admire.  But then, I don't want to spend forever making a scene "perfect" and then find out several of my readers don't think the scene is necessary. Or something to that effect.  Fellow writers, when do you let others read your work?

Personal update:

My Little Monkey is over a year now.  Wow, how time flies!  We got back from a family trip to the beach--here's a pic of him cruising along in the kiddie pool. :)

And of him playing in the sand and using his sunglasses as a shovel.

It was a relaxing family time, though babies don't last long at the beach--at least this one didn't.  After half an hour, he was done.  But, he loved sitting on the edge of the beach and laughing when the waves came up over his legs.  It was such a blessing to be able to take a family vacation, where the hubster and I didn't have to worry about anything except taking care of our precious little son and relaxing.  I highly recommend it. ;)

So, in a nutshell, July was a good month.  Let's see what August has in store. :)

Row80, Round 3

Happy Fourth of July my fellow Americans!  What I love about Independence Day is it's a reminder of all the freedoms we have and take for granted, and a reminder of all those that have fought to defend America.  God has surely blessed America indeed. :)

So, Round 3 of Round of Words in 80 Days is here.  I completed my story in Round 2 and began revising.  So in honor of Round 3 I have 3 goals:

1)  Finish revising by the end of July.
2) Let at least five others read and critique my story.
3) Write 15 minutes a day in August.

Simple, right?  We shall see.  Good luck to my fellow ROW80ers. :)

Goals

Goals.  What would we do without them?  For those of you writers who don't know what ROW80 is, I urge you to check it out.  It's all about setting your own manageable goals for your writing.  But whether you're a writer or not, we all can set manageable goals and make the time to see them through, right?  Right?

Well then, let's just get to my writing goals for this Round of Words in 80 Days, shall we?

Round Two Goals:

• To finish the rough draft of my manuscript by the end of May.  Yep, that's right.  I have about 1/3 of my story to go, about 20,000-30,000 words.  I figure if I stay with my usual average of about 500 words a day or more, I'll be done in May.
• Actually check-in with my progress once in a while.  During Round 1 I only checked in once. Oops.  Hopefully you'll be hearing from me a little more often than that. :)
• To begin revising.  I plan on taking a few weeks break after finishing the rough draft.  Celebrate accomplishments and give myself distance from the story before revising.  But hopefully I can at least make a complete run-through, find out what needs to be changed, and (hopefully!) accomplish some revising before round's end.

Whether you're a writer or not, don't forget to set goals for yourself.  As Joyce Meyer says, "It's better to have a big goal and reach half of it then to have no goal and reach all of it."  What big goals have you set for yourself?

                           

ROW80

A Round of Words in 80 Days.  What a fabulous thing to be a part of.  If you don't know what it is, check it out.  If you're part of it, aren't you glad you participated?!

Round One is completed.  Whew.  That means we have a few days break before we make a new writing goal(s) to pursue for Round Two.  So, now you want to know how I did during Round One, right?

Well, first of all, my goal was simply to finish the rough draft of my YA manuscript.  Did I make it?  Um...no.  I took a week off to reorganize our kitchen since it was driving me crazy.  Been spending a lot more time with my lil monkey who's been sick.  Poor thing.  (And those of you from ROW80, no that's not a pet.  He's my 9 1/2 month old son.  Who I think is way cooler than any pet.)  I've been hanging out with friends more.  Scheduling play dates for the monkey.  And I've been reading a lot.  Books for me and to monkey.  Spending more time with the hubster.  Oh, and I did write 2/3 of my manuscript.

So, I don't feel like I've wasted my time.  I don't feel like a failure because I didn't make my goal.  In fact, I'm realizing more and more just how blessed my life really is and enjoying every aspect of it as much as possible.

I already know my goals for Round Two.  But I'll post those later.  The point of this post is to simply to bask in accomplishments.  Even if it wasn't all you had hoped to accomplish, celebrate the things you have accomplished and the blessings in your life.  And if you're just learning about ROW80, join in for Round Two!  I think you'll be glad you did!