A Week Already? : Round 4 ROW Check-In #3

Has it really been a week since my last check-in already?  It feels like no time at all has gone by!  Writing still took a bit of a back seat to my fitness challenge this week, but hopefully I can step it up this week.

My goal report:

1) Some kind of Writing Activity at least 5 days per week
Meh.  I got the new version of Scapple installed on my computer - I've been trying it out for my NaNo brainstorming.  Not sure I'm doing it right.  And I did a little brainstorming.  I didn't enter anything into my spreadsheet for Friday, and I cannot for the life of me remember what I did with my lunch hour that day (supposed to be my writing time).  I may have done a little more brainstorming in Scapple.  Nothing over the weekend, despite having a nice quiet Sunday.  Monday I spent my lunch hour at the tech support desk as they had done something to the campus wireless that caused my computer not to connect.

Short version - NaNoWriMo is coming and I have not got nearly enough preparation done!  I am proud of myself for spending Thursday evening working on NaNo prep even though my writing buddy was ill and cancelled our writing date.  Too often when that happens, I watch TV instead.


2) Post Writing-Post Round Up weekly
Not posted.  Should have gotten this done on Sunday, but I didn't, and due to the aforementioned wireless issue, I wasn't able to get it posted on Monday either.

3) Visit and comment on at least 5 other ROWer's blogs per week
This, at least, I accomplished.  Now I just need to be better about responding to comments people leave on my blog.

Fitness:


My fit challenge is over.  I actually won a 6 month membership for being the biggest loser.  I lost 15 pounds over the 6 weeks.  More importantly, I started forming new habits of eating healthy and being active.  I feel way stronger and have more energy than I did 6 weeks ago - hopefully I can channel some of that new energy into writing!  So now I just have to keep up with those habits and not slack off just because I don't have a trainer prodding me along anymore.


So, my goals:

1) Go to the gym at least 3 times a week in addition to Saturday bootcamp
So far I've been to the gym once since the challenge ended - but that was yesterday, and the official end to the challenge was Monday night, so it's all good.  I will miss my bootcamp this Saturday, as I have a dress rehearsal for our choir concert at that time, but there's another class earlier in the day I think I'll go to instead.

2) Continue eating healthy most of the time (follow 80/20 rule)
That has been a challenge this week.  I don't think I'm doing too horribly, but I did get into the chips last night, and had cookies today at our office birthday party.  And I totally plan to have a piece of the Apple Cider Upside Down cake I made tonight.  But my breakfasts and lunches have been on track, and dinner has been mostly pretty healthy.

Anyway, that's the end of my lunch hour, and all my goals covered.  This week I really need to sit down and figure out where to schedule writing time so I can successfully complete NaNoWriMo.  Happy writing all!

ROW80 Round 4 Check-In #2

I just couldn't think of a clever title today.  I blame the cold.  I'm not really ready for the wintery weather yet.

Anyway, goals.  I still don't feel totally focused and in the game.  Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I haven't quite finished my fit challenge yet - I'm kind of a one project kind of gal, it seems.  But this is the last week for the fit challenge, and then hopefully I'll be more focused on writing.

I sort of split my goals into months this time, with a couple goals that span the entire round.  So here's where I'm at for October:

1) Some kind of Writing Activity at least 5 days per week
The purpose of this goal is basically just to get writing again after my hiatus, and also to prepare for NaNoWriMo.  I think I hit about 4 days this week, but I'm not sure.  I made a spread sheet and everything, but then I forgot to fill it in.  And a couple of those days didn't have any activity other than things that relate to my other two goals, so I'm not sure they really count.  I didn't do any actual writing this week, but I did get some NaNo brainstorming done.  Not enough, considering how fast November is barreling towards us, but there's always the option of pantsing it, I suppose.

2) Post Writing-Post Round Up weekly
Posted.  I posted it on Monday, not Sunday, but at least it's up.  Still working out the logistics of when and where to grab writing time on the weekend with a four-year-old in the house.  Also, I desperately need to spend less time on Facebook.

3) Visit and comment on at least 5 other ROWer's blogs per week
I made it to 4 other people's blogs this week!  It sounds small, I know, but it's an improvement over last round.

Fitness
My fitness goals are really to help me stay on track after the Fit Challenge ends, so those were definitely met this week since I'm still working on the challenge.  This is the last week though - on Sunday I get weighed and measured and go through the same fitness test we did at the beginning of the challenge to see how much progress I made.  Then comes the hard part of continuing to make progress without that network of encouragement.



So that's it.  This week I'm going to try to really hit the NaNo prep hard.  October's a wasting!  Happy writing y'all!

Writing Post Round Up – End of August & September

These are actually all the posts I’ve collected since the last time I posted a round up.  I guess I’ve been in kind of a slump.  Maybe I still am, but I’m trying to pull myself out of it.  Which actually brings us to our first link:

http://pbackwriter.blogspot.com/2013/09/anti-slump-ten.html

Lynn Viehl offers ten suggestions for changing it up to get yourself out of a writing slump.  They may not all work for everyone (I can’t do a whole lot about my writing space right now, for example), but hopefully everyone can find at least one suggestion that will help them out.  There’s a few good ideas in the comments as well.

http://writerunboxed.com/2013/08/24/uncaged-the-hottest-tweet-links-of-august/

Is it weird for a post round-up to link to another post round up?  Maybe not if it’s really good stuff. Writer Unboxed has launched a new feature – a monthly round-up of all the great posts they’ve shared on Twitter for the month.  I haven’t even managed to visit all these links yet, but it looks like some great stuff.

http://writerunboxed.com/2013/08/09/when-nothing-goes-right-go-left/

I think I’ve mentioned before how much I love everything Robin LaFevers writes, and how her posts are always like a long drink of clear water to my thirsty writer’s soul.  Like maybe I’m not a hack or a fraud after all, just someone struggling and in need of a little help.   This is another post with ideas for getting out of a slump.

http://blog.kaleidico.com/copywriting/11-essential-books-to-be-a-better-online-writer-43741#sthash.u7T4eQB6.dpbs

This list of writing books is targeted at people who want to write online, but most of them look like they’d be useful for any type of writing.

http://nailyournovel.wordpress.com/2013/08/25/how-to-deal-with-critiques-and-editorial-feedback/

I’ve saved a lot of links to posts on how to deal with critiques, but they’ve mostly been about critiques from writing groups and beta readers.  This one gives advice for dealing with the detailed critique that comes from an editor during the publishing process.  That’s a long way out for me, but I still love the suggestions.

http://diymfa.com/reading/reading-mentor-texts

I like this post because, while everyone talks about how writers need to read and learn from masters in the field, this is one of the few posts I’ve seen on the subject that breaks that advice down into concrete suggestions.

http://writerunboxed.com/2013/07/28/the-shy-writers-cocktail-party-survival-guide/

I am an introvert and also kind of shy.  Parties – especially where I don’t know many people – are not my favorite thing.  I’d much rather have lunch or coffee with 2 or 3 people I do know.  But, in this writing life, sometimes we need to attend these events so we can meet cool and interesting new people.  So here is a post with some great tips for those of us who are less comfortable with such occasions.

http://writerunboxed.com/2013/07/30/clothing-your-characters/

Fashion forward I’m not – but maybe some of my characters are.  Here’s a post with some suggestions for thinking about what your character wears, and what it says about him or her.

http://writerunboxed.com/2013/07/31/develop-voice-by-listening/

A fresh take on developing that elusive quality known as “voice”.   I’ve spent a large portion of my life involved in musical pursuits to various degrees, so the idea of using music to hone in on voice seems particularly apt to me.

http://writerunboxed.com/2013/08/28/a-handful-of-writing-truths/

This is a lovely post on the truths one writer has discovered on her writing journey.  We will all find our own truths, of course, but perhaps some of these will ring true for you as well.

So there you have it – some writing links, after about a month and a half hiatus.  See you (hopefully) next week!

Note: this is a list of blog posts and articles on writing that I collect weekly.  Inclusion on this list does not necessarily mean it was published this week, just that I read it this week and thought it was cool, interesting, and/or useful.

ROW Round 4 Check In #1

Since I just posted my goals yesterday, I don’t really have anything to report. But I wanted to start the round off right and get in the habit of posting. :)

Presently, I’m only planning to post updates once a week, on Wednesdays, but that could change. We’ll see.

And since I don’t have anything to report, here is a picture of some fuzzy bunnies:

I hope you are all having a great round so far!

New Beginnings : ROW Round 4 Goals

Already late and we're only one day into the new round.  Ugh.  Oh well - I'll just have to make sure it goes up from here.

Last round kind of fell apart for me.  Life hit me with change and chaos, and I wasn't able to keep up with my goals.  Our friend and his little boy have moved in with us for a while, which necessitated clearing out a bunch of stuff to make room for them and then getting used to having extra people and a small dog in the house.  It's been quite the adventure to have a four-year-old running around!  I also started a six week fit challenge in September, which has kept me busy with meal planning and working out.  But, we're settling into a new routine now, and I'm looking forward to a fresh new round of ROW and fitting writing back into my schedule.

Without further ado, my goals for the round:

1) Some kind of Writing Activity at least 5 days per week (October)

I've been doing a lot of exercises with paper and pen lately as I try to get back on track with my writing, which makes getting a word count a little more difficult.  I'm also planning to do NaNoWriMo again this year, so October is my prep month.  Therefore, instead of a word-count related goal, I'm planning to try and do something writing related - either exercises, NaNo prep, or maybe even actual writing (gasp!) on at least 5 days out of the week.

2) NaNoWriMo - 50,000 words (November)

It was so exciting to see a fresh new NaNoWriMo website at the beginning of the month.  I have more than enough unfinished novels lying around my computer, though, so this year I'm planning to be a rebel and write short stories.  Still shooting for 50,000 words though.  I've started brainstorming and making notes for some of the ideas I have and I'm pretty psyched for November!

3) Post Writing-Post Round Up weekly

I'm going to try to get this blog feature back off the ground again.  I think I'm still going to shoot for Sundays, but I have to figure out a new place and/or time to write, since I don't have the quiet Sunday morning before my husband gets up anymore.

4) Visit and comment on at least 5 other ROWer's blogs per week

I really fell down on the job on this goal last round, but I'm going to do better this time.  I really do want to keep up with what you all are up to!

5) Revamp Blog (December)

I've been meaning to clean-up my blog design for a while (it's currently just sporting a theme I grabbed off the internet - nice, but I can't seem to make any changes or add widgets or anything), and coming down off of NaNoWriMo in December seems like it might be a good time to tackle that.  I also want to get my bio updated and do some thinking about what I want to use this blog for, besides ROW updates.

I've also got some fitness goals on my mind after participating in the Fit Challenge, and since I've noticed that a lot of folks include those with their ROW goals, I'll post mine here as well.

Fitness:

1) Go to the gym at least 3 times a week in addition to Saturday bootcamp
2) Continue eating healthy most of the time (follow 80/20 rule)

That's all folks!  I hope you all are getting a great start on Round 4!

ROW Update : Getting Back On Track

So it's been, what, three weeks since I last checked in?  Four?  And my last check-in post - I decided I needed to edit something and managed to delete it instead.  That will teach me to edit when I'm too tired to see straight.  And then I just fell off the face of the earth.

Anyway, I've mostly finished my cleaning, decluttering, packing project.  I still have some stuff to do - 3 or 4 boxes of paper to be dealt with in the living room, a bunch of clothes and things to clean out of my bedroom - but I can slow down and work on it at a pace that will accomodate other activities now.  Like writing.  Yay!

So I don't have a lot to report this week, but I'm working on getting back on track.  I've been doing a lot of reading, and I just got Bonni Goldberg's Room to Write book through interlibrary loan (I wanted to see if I liked it before buying my own copy.  I'm also kind of short on bookshelf space at the moment.) so I'm going to dive into doing some of those exercises.  I've also been thinking about adding morning pages to my routine before work, but we'll see how it goes.  Anyway, my goals:

1) Write 100 words per day.
Have not done this for a while.  I just didn't have enough mental energy with everything else going on. (I hate that - it sounds whiny and defeatist, but it's also true.)  But, this week I intend to get this goal moving again, and hopefully increase the word count in the weeks to come.

2) Visit and comment on at least 5 other ROW blogs per week
Not done.  Again, hoping to pick this back up this week.  I want to see how you all are doing!

3) Writing Post Round Up blog post on Sundays
This I actually did this week.  It's brief, but it's posted.  And I've found more time to read writing blogs this week, too, so I've been collecting material for the upcoming Sunday.


So that's it.  I know eventually I need to develop tools to help me keep going during times of business and stress.  This time I didn't make it, so all I can do is pick myself up and start again.  Here we go!


Wishing you all a wonderful and productive week of writing and life!

Writing Post Round Up - Week of Aug 18-24, 2013

Hello!  I know I haven’t posted anything for a couple weeks – that crazy life thing has been getting in the way, but things are hopefully settling down a bit now, so I can get back at it.  I’m just going to ease back into this – I haven’t been reading or collecting as many posts lately either – so today’s are mostly fun, light things.

http://www.dianapfrancis.com/2013/08/21/writing-post/

First up, Diana Pharaoh Francis shared this nifty graphic of the path to publication by Zachary Petit.  I think we can probably relate.  Plus, it gave me some laughs.

http://inkygirl.com/wwfc/2013/8/23/mimis-book-purge.html

If you haven’t yet read Debbie Ridpath Ohi’s delightful comic “Will Write for Chocolate,” I highly recommend it.  This particular one is the second in a new arc.  Mimi and I totally purge books the same way.

http://www.listchallenges.com/npr-top-100-science-fiction-and-fantasy-books?ref=share

Just for fun, how many of these top science fiction and fantasy books have you read?  I only scored 22, so I guess I have my work cut out for me if I want to be knowledgeable about the classics of my genre. J

http://www.magicalwords.net/james-tuck-2/its-not-easy-being-meh-or-sometimes-this-gig-sucks-but-its-alright/

On a slightly more serious note…  Writing is hard, and it can be easy to feel like it’s just you struggling and maybe you suck and aren’t meant to be a writer, and all of that stuff that comes up when we’re tired and discouraged.  But we’re not alone.  Hence, this comforting post by James Tuck.

http://edditto.com/sct/

And because my life would not be complete if I didn’t find some kind of instructional post on Scrivener on a semi-regular basis, here’s a detailed post on how to use Scrivener’s Structure and Content table.  This table is part of the Compile wizard and mastering it can help your compiling go much more smoothly.  Scrivener is a great program, but it’s not always intuitive, so I appreciate people who write these “how-to” posts and make my life easier.

Note: this is a list of blog posts and articles on writing that I collect weekly.  Inclusion on this list does not necessarily mean it was published this week, just that I read it this week and thought it was cool, interesting, and/or useful.