Brass Tacks #6

A day late, again. Honestly, I’m getting a little tired of this roller coaster here lately.

Both kids were sick this week. Every weekend this month has been busy. My work schedule keeps changing. My main computer is old and on it’s last legs, so I’m researching new ones to buy before I have no choice. My novel ending is giving me fits and starts and I can’t find the headspace to work it out properly.

Needless to say, I didn’t accomplish a damn thing this week, writing-wise.

Next week I want to work out a satisfying and exciting ending, tying up all the loose ends, then get started writing it.

That’s not too much to ask. Right?

Brass Tacks #5

Sorry I’m a day late with this post but it’s been a crazy week.

Thing 2’s musical, Shrek, was last Saturday. (The kids did an amazing job, and it was a great success.) I worked on Sunday, Monday, and Thursday. Thing 1’s been sick off and on for about a month, so finally convinced her to go see the doctor. (He proscribed an antibiotic but she’s still feeling like crap, so I guess it’s viral and will have to work it’s way out.) Yesterday was her birthday, so I cooked her favorite meal and baked a cake. Today, Thing 2 has a concert and then my husband and I have a retirement party to attend. Tomorrow, we have shopping in the city to do. Then, the roller coaster starts again.

My writing goals last week and what I accomplished:

1. Finish scene 37A and work on scenes 37B and C. I finished Scene 37A and some of 37B then ran into some problems. I needed to stop and think through some character issues and research a worldbuilding issue. The first was resolved but I’m still working on the worldbuilding issue. 

2. Write the next Brass Tacks post. Done

Goals for the coming week:

1. Resolve the worldbuilding issue and finish scene 37B.

2. Write the next Brass Tacks post.

Brass Tacks #4

Happy Friday! I’m switching my posting day because my new work schedule conflicted with posting on Monday.

I didn’t get as much writing done this week because I had paperwork and financial stuff piling up for my husband’s business and some personal and family things that needed my attention. That ol’ balancing act again.

Hopefully, this coming week will be better for writing.

My writing goals last week and what I accomplished:

1. Continue working on scene 37 and rewrite remaining scene sentences and index cards. I finished Scene 37 and a big chunk of scene 37A. I wrote out scene sentences and index cards for the new ones I added.

2. Write the next Brass Tacks post. Done

Goals for the coming week:

1. Finish scene 37A and work on scenes 37B and C.

2. Write the next Brass Tacks post.

Brass Tacks #3

What a difference a week makes.

Last week, I was a complete and utter mess. This week, I’m still a bit of a mess, but I had story ideas popping into my head and was able to actually write!

Brass Tacks #2

Ooo-boy! Has it really only been one week? It seems likes it’s been eons since my last post.

That may be getting a little dramatic, but it’s been a week of change like I haven’t had in a long time. Starting a new job feels like I’m back at school again, making mistakes, and feeling dumb. Maybe not dumb, but definitely like a beginner. But, it shouldn’t take me long to get the hang of it. Like writing, I have to trust the process.

Oh – and all of this is in public. I’ve never been good with that. I’ve really had to shove my introverted side out of the way.

Also, I don’t know about any of you, but when I have something new, exciting, or worrying coming up, I can’t sleep the night before. So, I started out this week tired on top of everything else. It got better by the end of the week and I’ve caught up this weekend, I think. Next week shouldn’t be so bad. Thank God.

It shouldn’t be a surprise, then, that I’ve gotten little done on my writing this week, despite my drastically scaled-back goals.

My writing goals last week and what I accomplished:

1. Write new scenes 36B and 37. Yeah, not really. I worked on scene 36B, but didn’t finish and wasn’t particularly inspired by what I did write.  

2. Write the next Brass Tacks post. Done. Hey, hey, I did finish something!

Goals for the coming week:

1. Keep working on scenes 36B and 37.

2. Write the next Brass Tacks post.

Until next week…

Getting Down to Brass Tacks

Now, doesn’t that sound a bit more interesting than “Accountability?”

Accountability Post #1

In Which I Prove I Can Get Shit Done

On Motivation and Planning

January is mostly gone and the time has come to finally kick my butt into gear.

First Draft Finished

I’m so out-of-my-mind excited to announce I’ve completed the first draft of my new paranormal novel with the working title Haunted Town.

One thing that just blows my mind – what a different writing experience this one has been!

I bit off way more than I could chew with my first novel. It was epic fantasy, with lots of moving parts, and it was loooong. Well, epic, right? The first draft took me over a year to write, while I was taking a writing course. I then revised for the next 4 or 5 years. I wrestled with that thing way longer than I should have, ended up hating it, and just stopped.

Haunted Town is shorter, from only one point of view, and tells a smaller story. See, I learned something! I started planning it in February, started writing in March, and 8 months, 9 days later, the first draft is complete.

Obviously, the first one was my learning novel. With Haunted Town, I already considered myself a writer (psychologically important), had developed decent writing skills (and continually learning more) and a writing habit (that may be the most important thing, actually). The subject matter is lighter, with humor, and I enjoyed writing most of it. Sure there were sloggy days in the middle. Overall, though, this was a much more positive experience.

So, now I’m giving myself some time to play around with a short story idea and a couple other things. Then, it’s on to revision.

Image courtesy of Alexandre Normand via Flickr Creative Commons

 

 

 

 

Happy Halloween!

image courtesy of Sylvia Engvall via Flickr Creative Commons