#ROW80 Mid-Week Check-In & May Writing Goals

Posted on 2013/05/01 by Tonette dela Luna

April was busy, crazy, hectic, awesome, draining, exhilarating and… over? 😦

Got some pretty badges for my efforts:

I ended Camp NaNoWriMo with 75,416 words. I had my ups and downs but writing sprints were super helpful. I also met fellow writers online. We supported each other through the sprints and gave moral support during times of brainstorming and times of utter frustration at getting those word counts! What’s great is that these writerly connections will continue on to future NaNos and other challenges in between. We’ll be beta-reading for each other, and maintain accountability for our goals throughout the year. I think that’s an even better prize than exceeding my word count targets. Mind you, I have many words to go in my Camp Nano fairytale mashup, but I’m excited at the prospect of worldbuilding and writing something outside my usual fare. I’m taking workshops to help write something this grand and hope that by the next Camp NaNo, I’ll have this story polished and will be ready to tuck in to Book Two in the series.

I also exceeded my word count targets for my Savvy Author April Boot Camp. I ended up with 75,145 words. I have more to go on this story, as well, and I can see heavy revisions for both in the near future. The Savvy Authors website is going under a revamp, so I’m not worried that we don’t have badges yet. I’m actually excited to see the new site that will be up soon. This story was also out of my usual genre, so I’m proud that I tried new writing projects in April.

A through Z. Done. That was an interesting challenge. I started off ahead of the game but ran into some RL issues that kept me from hopping as much as I’d have liked. The blog topics themselves were interesting to brainstorm. As this is my first attempt at a blog, I think I got off to a great start. We’re asked to write a Blogging A to Z Challenge Reflections Post. Since today is a check-in for a pre-existing challenge and I have the next several Sundays, Mondays, and Wednesdays devoted to challenges, as well, I think I’ll do a special Reflections Post this Friday. I read that there is also an upcoming A to Z Road Trip Challenge. I’ll keep my eye out for something new like that. It’s a great way to use the alphabet as writing prompts and has helped me work on creative non-fiction. I’d say that’s an added bonus from this blogging challenge experience.

And now today, the first day of a new month of writing opportunities. Let’s have a run-down on what’s ahead for me:

1) Round of Words in 80 Days – Each Wednesday and Sunday I’ll be checking in to make sure I’m on track with my writing goals. Aside from the 100 Pages Challenge I’ll continue throughout the month with a focus on the fairytale mashup. If I can write more of the contemporary fic draft, I’ll do that, too. Camp may be over but the writing continues.

2) 100 Pages in 7 Days Challenge – 25,000 words from May 1st to May 7th. Today I wrote 3,872 words. If we count the standard 250 words to a page, that comes out to 15.488 pages. Just for fun, I’m going to round down and say I got 15/100 pages today.

3) Work on the blog. Blog at least twice a week. With these new challenges, I’ll be blogging at least three times a week. I might hold off on the aesthetics of the blog (i.e. web hosting, theme upgrade, etc.) and just work on building more content.

4) Read. READ MANY BOOKS with a focus this month on MG Lit. I had the good fortune of participating in March Madness, two years running. The hashtag and support continues throughout the year under #wipmadness. Last month, Ghost Girl (a.k.a. Mary Ann) hosted the weekly check-ins every Monday. After daily check-ins during March, I felt less pressure but just as much accountability, so it was a good thing. This month, Deb Marshall is hosting and she also has a reading challenge for Middle Grade books. This is perfect to keep me motivated as I catch up on my reading. I’ll be posting and tweeting about that using #middlegrademay and it should be exciting. I miss reading fiction. I’ve been focused on writing reference and it would be good to dive back into the fictional world again.

So, this is me. May 1st, 2013. A lil’ bit o’ this. A lotta that. Writing, reading, and loving every minute of it. What’s your plan this month?

Week in Review – 2013/04/22 – 2013/04/28

Posted on 2013/04/28 by Tonette dela Luna

Two days left in the month of writetasticness.

Updated stats. The deets of my original goals can be found here and here.

Camp NaNoWriMo April, 2013 – Current word count, not including Sunday’s totals = 67,474 (I wrote 14,154 words this week.)

Savvy Authors April Boot Camp – Current word count not including Sunday’s totals = 65,876 (I wrote 14,919 words this week.)

Blogging A to Z Challenge – A through X posted

Round of Words in 80 Days – Four Mid-Week Check-Ins and Four Sunday Check-Ins (including today)

Holy carpal tunnel, Batman!

Very pleased with my word counts but I’ve found so much story in the twists and turns this month that the stories are nowhere near over. Originally, I was going to alternate NaNo months with revisions, but I’ll continue with these stories while they’re fresh in my noggin.

GOALS FOR MAY & BEYOND:

1) Round of Words in 80 Days – This challenge, as the name suggests, has 50 more days to go. I’m glad that I’ll have check-ins twice a week to keep me on track.

2) 100 Pages in 7 Days Challenge – 25,000 words in a week? Pfft. Hi, May. Have you met April? 😉 Challenge accepted and continued.

3) Work on the blog. Blog at least twice a week. Also, I’ll be looking into web hosting and switching to wordpress.org down the road.

4) Read. READ MANY BOOKS. My TBR pile is ridiculous. Also, I’m reviewing some books through goodreads and might add a review series on the blog.

5) Summer Novel Writing Challenge – June 21st to September 21st. I’ll brainstorm what stories I want to develop for the upcoming challenges.

I’ll add more goals as they come, but I think I have a fair amount to work with in the coming weeks. Thanks to everyone who’s joined me. Your encouragement and inspiration fuels my creativity.

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A to Z Challenge 2013 – U is for…

Posted on 2013/04/24 by Tonette dela Luna

~ UNSATISFIED ~

You’ve heard the saying ‘you can’t please everyone’ and it’s important to keep in mind when living the writing life. If you are lucky to gain a following, you’re sure to have your detractors. What if your biggest detractor is yourself? Don’t get me wrong. I love my characters. I love my stories. I think there comes a time when the story overwhelms me so much that I’m sometimes left unsatisfied even as I type the final word. Is it because of the rewrite? Or the rewrite of the rewrite. No, it’s the rewrite of the rewrite of the rewrite that gets me. That must be it.

I’m sure when I have children of my own someday I’ll endure a similar myriad of emotions as a writer who has birthed a story into the world. Each story I write is like one of my babies. I nurture it, sometimes smother it with good intentions, but want what’s best for it. I hope that when it goes out into the world that everything will be okay and that it can stand on its own (or maybe in a series. One can dream. ;-)) I think the pang of being unsatisfied is closely linked with its cousin, perfectionist. I don’t want a perfect story. I want a story that has its ups and downs. Of course, the only flaws a story should have are character flaws. Anything else needs to be nabbed before it gets published. Is not being satisfied because you suddenly want to change something or think there’s still room for improvement? Like any child, there comes a time when you have to let go.

Still, I think I’ll never be a fully satisfied writer. I consider it a good thing because it’ll keep me hungry to continue crafting stories but humble when those that I do write go off into the world and mingle.

Hmmm… unsatisfied with the spillage of my inner monologue, I at least have the good sense to include my #ROW80 MID-WEEK CHECK-IN with the blog entry rather than in the comments section. Score one for me.

1) Blogged A through U for the A to Z Challenge.

2) Words counts up to yesterday are as follows:

Camp NaNoWriMo – 60,969 words as of Day 23
Savvy Authors Boot Camp – 57,719 words as of Day 23

There are a couple of challenges in May and beyond that I’m considering, but I’ll look into them further and post about them in Sunday’s Check-in. Until then, many more scenes to unfold in both stories but I’m glad I’ve surpassed my targets. I almost rewrote one of them from scratch, because apparently I’m just unsatisfied that way. Fortunately, I held off. That’s where revisions come in. For now, and always, it seems, I write. 🙂

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Today’s theme is brought to you by the letter

Week in Review – 2013/04/15 – 2013/04/21

Posted on 2013/04/21 by Tonette dela Luna

Updated stats per my goals for this writerly journey. The deets of my original goals can be found here and here.

Camp NaNoWriMo April, 2013 – Current word count, not including Sunday’s totals = 53,320 (I wrote 20, 024 words this week.)

Savvy Authors April Boot Camp – Current word count not including Sunday’s totals = 50,957 (I wrote 16, 981 words this week.)

Blogging A to Z Challenge – A through R posted

Round of Words in 80 Days – Three Mid-Week Check-Ins and Three Sunday Check-Ins (including today)

I. Am. Tired.

Excited, too, so that’s good. I’m getting a kick out of the stories I’m writing and already have a series in play for the fairy tale mashup. It’s fun coming up with creative twists on familiar (and less familiar) fairy tale, fable, and folklore characters.

There’s a challenge to write 100 pages from May 1st to May 7th. I’m thinking of giving that a whirl to keep the momentum going. I’ll still blog but maybe once or twice a week (perhaps the for the #ROW80 check-ins) so I can focus on the stories I’m writing and revising.

As for the rest of the alphabet, I have pretty much all the topics covered but sometimes my inspiration for the content comes to me closer to the deadline. It’s been fun blogging through the ABCs and I look forward to doing that again next year.

We’re rounding the bases and home plate is in sight. It’s been an eyeopening experience and I can’t wait for future writing challenges and opportunities.

In the meantime, I’m taking it easy so my hands can recuperate and am catching up on some reading. I’ve also found some old stories that I’m reviewing with fresh eyes and have some story ideas I’d like to tinker with.

Though, I’ll be saying this more near the end, as well, thank you for coming with me on my writing journey this month.

ROW80Logocopy

A to Z Challenge 2013 – O is for…

Posted on 2013/04/17 by Tonette dela Luna

~ OBITUARY ~

Okay, I know what you’re thinking. Tonette, we’ve gone past the halfway point of the write-a-palooza. Why this theme? I promise, this is not a morbid post of me contemplating my own mortality. I want to share with you a talk Brad Meltzer gave on the subject, but it’s not what you think. Heck, even if it were, I’m such a huge fan of all that he does in spoken, written, and visual form, I’d listen to that, too. He is a wonderful storyteller and a writing role model that I look up to. The video is about sixteen minutes long but worth every second.

Here’s an excerpt:

“Your words to a family member, to a friend, to a complete stranger, those words are your power. ‘Good job! I like what you did here. You have a real talent for that.’ Those words are power and they’re your power and if you don’t use them, time fades and your power fades with them… Ordinary people change the world.“

When thinking about what your obituary might contain, you shouldn’t mope about death, but rather, take the opportunity to really think about how you live your life. How do you want to proceed each day? What motivates you in your chosen profession? What are your passions? What are your goals? If you’re able to accomplish some of these, how do you show your gratitude to those who helped you get there?

Despite the negative vibes associated with the word itself, Brad Meltzer has transformed the idea to help us reevaluate our priorities. We need to stop traveling through life like automatons. This life is fleeting and it’s up to us to live each day with gusto. And it’s important that we do not live each day merely for ourselves, but for those around us, whether we know them or not. Simple acts of kindness such a holding the door for someone who has too many grocery bags, saying thank you to the person who reopened that elevator door as you ran into the building, appreciating the patient bus driver who waited for you to board despite the fact that he’s been driving all day and dealing with people far less pleasant than himself. Imagine how better life would be for everyone if we all just smiled and were kind to one another.

I hope that the theme title alone does not offend people, especially those in Boston. My heart aches for them and for anyone who goes through such tragedy. Comedian Patton Oswalt said it plainly and said it well: “So when you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just garden-variety misogyny, hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye and think, “The good outnumber you, and we always will.””

We all have it in us to spread goodness around. As a writer in the global community, I take that opportunity each day. I am thankful for what I have, hopeful for what I have yet to gain, and humbled that so many others struggle when there must be a better way. I don’t want to think about what my life was like in retrospect. I want to live my life right now in the best possible way, one thank you at a time. One smile, one good deed. We all have it in us.

If there is anything that I want to be remembered for it is not the millions and millions of books I sold throughout my career 😉 or perhaps the awards won for my writing contributions to film and television. I hope that people remember Tonette dela Luna as a kind, humble, and grateful person who was willing to help people every chance she got. I’ve been blessed to have family and friends around me that share the same ideals. On a global scale, I’ve only mentioned two people out of billions that had something poignant to share about the power of humanity. If I may be so bold as to count myself in their esteemed company, that makes three. Three down, the world to go.

What is your legacy?

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Today’s theme is brought to you by the letter