Hey, everyone! I hope your ROW80 goals are coming along smoothly. I’m going to try to check out a bunch of blogs today, so I hope to see you around! This week was pretty good for me. I definitely improved from last week, although I still want to work on my consistency. Can’t complain, though!
- Read one of my writing books for at least a half an hour each day. Done! Some days are easier than others. I’m currently making my way through Writer’s Market: Guide to Getting Published (the 2012 edition). Sometimes it’s fascinating and I don’t want to put it down. Other times I struggle to get through the half hour. I’m going to switch this goal up a little bit and say that I need to research for half an hour each day. The internet is full of great information and I’ve already bookmarked some fabulous sites.
- Do a one hour writing sprint at least three times a week, working on the WIP. Done! This week I wrote 4,208 words, which brings my total for the last three weeks up to 15,757. I’m right at the climax of my story and I’m struggling. I think I need to read some books and watch some movies to devise how they make battle scenes interesting.
- Exercise for a half an hour each day. Done! This has gone really well this week, as I’ve made sure that I have exercised no matter how late it is or how tired I feel. I really like the feeling of giving myself no leeway and then accomplishing my goals. It makes everything worth it! I’m still not losing any weight (again – that’s fine) but one concern is how often I snack and what I snack on. I’m going to try to work on this in the coming week.
- Do at least one chapter of reading each night. Done! The book I’m reading is starting to get a lot more interesting. I haven’t had a lot of time to devote to it other than the necessary one chapter per night, but I’m less than 100 pages from the end now. I should be done soon!
- Blog at least three times a week, not including my ROW80 updates. Done! The week started out promising, and then I had to fit the last two blogs in at the last minute. Oh well, they got done! I’m going to take today to write up some more and get more ideas out there. I think being prepared is a big part of the reason why I’m not staying on a schedule.
So, this week was pretty good. I’m happy I did what I did, and I’m slowly trying to work on my consistency. I’ve also got three people reading my completed novel. My mom finished it yesterday. She liked it, but definitely had some pointers for me. I really tried to take them in stride, but I also have to remember that she isn’t a writer. Just because she wants something more from a character or a scene, doesn’t mean that’s what should happen. I’m not looking forward to revising again, but I know it is necessary. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it!
Karen Rought - The Midnight Novelist 
Sounds like you did a fantastic job on your goals this week! I have the new Writer’s Market sitting on my shelf. I should really take the time to read it, since it was kind of expensive and kind of has an expiration date.
Good luck writing up your blog posts early. That’s what I like to do, too. At the very least, I like to write rough drafts of future posts that I can go in and refine the night before they are supposed to post.
🙂 Hope this coming week is just as good for you. Good luck with snacks!
Thank you! The Writer’s Market book isn’t what I expected it to be, but it definitely is a step in the right direction. There’s so much information out there that it can be a little overwhelming sometimes, but I’m really looking forward to learning more. Thanks again for the encouragement!
Damn great job this week! I’ve hit a lull myself and I may have to revise my goals and add some writing sprints. Keep up the great job!
Thank you! Writing sprints are the ONLY way I get writing done now. I’m just too busy to set aside more time than a couple of hours a week to do it. It’s really fun to keep track of your word count, too. Good luck!
Congrats on getting SO much accomplished this week!!! *hugs* on revisions and Mom’s pointers. No matter who you are, critiques of your work is like stabbing pins in all the nerve bundles of your body. The way I handle them is put the book away for a week or two, then try to look at it with a fresh perspective.
A great author friend of mine once said something that stuck with me…Writing a story is like carving. The first draft (or two, or three) is the chisel and hammer digging into the surface. You can see what it might become. Editing and revisions are the fine tuning of the masterpiece. There’s a lot of blood, sweat, and tears (Oh my…are their tears, tears of frustration, anger, etc) to make sure you get it just right, but when it’s done you’ve got the best product you could possibly create.
I hope this helps you feel a bit better about revisions. Truthfully it didn’t convince me until my fourth or fifth book. Turns out she was right. LOL! I blame my stubborn streak on that one. 😀 Good luck!
Keep Writing!
Dawn
Thank you so much for stopping in, Dawn! I used to be very hesitant about sharing my work because of criticism, but I’m slowly building up that tough skin that all of us writers need to learn to have. The hardest thing for me right now is not changing everything that one person wants me to change. I have to back up and make sure I’m doing the best thing for the story.
That’s a great analogy, and the little art historian in me is jumping up and down. She’s absolutely right. It takes A LONG time to get your work in the right place, but it’ll happen eventually. Working on other projects is helping me get a little distance from the first one. I’m finding that’s the best way to keep things fresh, so that I don’t get too frustrated and fed up with it.
Congratulations on meeting all your goals! That’s fabulous. I usually wait till three or more people have read some of my work. Then I compare their notes and comments. If everyone makes a similar comment about a scene, character, etc., then I know it needs work. So perhaps with your mom’s comments, you can wait to see if others say the same thing.
Thanks for stopping in! That’s usually what I do, too. I’ve already been through one round where three different people were editing my work. That had more to do with grammatical errors and scenes making sense, things like that. This next “round” is more focused on the bigger picture. I’m definitely going to wait to see what the other people say before I change anything. Thanks for the encouragement!
As I wonder through the ROW80 hashtag today, I am trying to introduce myself to other ROW80ers since I am new. I love your site and you seem to be Rocking your goals. It was nice to meet you MidnightNovelist! Hope to see you soon! 🙂
That’s awesome! And we even share names! It was meant to be. 🙂 Good luck on your goals, as well!
You’re doing great! Glad to see you making such progress! If you are getting your exercise in on a regular basis now, have you adjusted your eating so that your body will burn calories continuously all day long? 5 small meals times (3 small meals + 2 snacks) instead of the traditional 3 basic meals? Also, make sure you are eating the right calorie amount for your body mass and the calorie burn you are doing daily. If you have those down you should start to see a drop in your weight. As long as you stay strong and don’t cheat. 😀
Thanks, Debra! I would love to say I’m on top of all of that, but….I’m not. I’ve never counted calories in my life (and I’m not knocking it, I’m sure it would help me a lot). I’d like to try the five meals a day instead of three, though. I feel like I’ve really hit a plateau, but if I could just start dropping again I think I’d be able to reach my goal. Thanks for the advice!
Revisions are NOT fun!
Sometimes using software that reads the text to you, is also helpful. You’d be shocked what you’ll catch when you hear your words in a computerized voice. It’s NOT the same as reading aloud to yourself. There’s a lot of free software out there that will do this. If “Microsoft Sam” sounds like he’s tripping his way through the dialog, you can bet your readers will be too. Sometimes you’ll catch dumb things too, like using the same word repeatedly. You won’t eve realize you’re doing it. Sometimes you’ll catch that you missed a word, or used the wrong word in the sentence. I also found out that I wasn’t always descriptive enough. It seemed fine when I’d read it to myself, but I’d catch it when the story was read to me in “Sam’s” monotone voice.
Just throwing that out there. Another writer gave me this advice, but it was some of the best advice I have received. It improved my writing in a HURRY! Take Care and Good luck with your goals!
That is an absolutely FANTASTIC piece of advice. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I’m writing it down on a sticky note right now and you better believe I’m going to give it a try. I know I tend to repeat words (even though this is one of my biggest pet peeves), and I can always use some more description. Hopefully hearing someone else read it will show me where the holes are in my story so I can fill them in. Thank you! (Did I already say that?)
You’re welcome! Here’s a link to the software I use. It’s a company called Natural Reader. I only use the free version…because I’m cheep! LOL You only get one voice with the free version, but that’s OK with me. I think Sam sounds a little like a Vulcan, and since I’m a Trekkie, I’m fine with it. LOL I’ve been using this software for close to two years. Take care and good luck to you! 🙂
http://www.naturalreaders.com/index.htm
You have fabulous timing. I was just going to Google this when I noticed your comment. I’m off to give it a try now!
Wowzers. What an amazing week. Your checklist of dones and your word count is fahhhbulous girl!! Keep up the amazing work.
I love how you are focused. What you said about doing the exercise no matter what and how good you feel accomplishing what you’ve committed to really spoke to me. Inspirational!!!