#ROW80 Mid-Week Check-In 2013/09/04

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WRITING:

The WIP work continues. Aside from my YA Fantasy Aaralyn’s Song, I have my Spec Fic Thriller Imprint to work on for my critique and revision workshops this month. Good stuff. Nice to revisit characters I haven’t thought about in some time. A happy reunion. 🙂

READING:

Meanwhile, I got caught up with all my workshops and writing that I’ve fallen behind in my reading. I’m still reading Daniel Tammet’s Born on a Blue Day. I’m also reading up on blogs and articles for my FRIDAY FORAGE series that starts this week. Squee.

NETWORKING:

September’s #wipmadness check-in started this past Monday on Kim Baccellia‘s blog.

We’re nearing the end of this round of #ROW80. Great progress throughout the community.

I’ve some more prep work to do for the official first FRIDAY FORAGE post. I think I’ve decided on a theme. It’s timely with NaNoWriMo just around the corner.

LEARNING:

So far, I’m on Level 9 in Spanish and Level 3 in French. Duolingo is quite enjoyable and makes learning the languages via other sources, including Udemy, fun fun fun. I think I might be multilingual by the New Year!

Egads! I’m already thinking about 2014. I gotta slow this train down.

September Writing/Reading Goals

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#ROW80 August Review & September Planning

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At the beginning of August, I had a string of goals listed. They can be found here. Today, I’m going to review the month’s goals and create new goals (or continuous ones) for September. Lots of stuff over the Summer. This Autumn will be a blast.

AUGUST WRITING:

1) WRITE YOUR NOVEL THIS SUMMER and AugNoWriMo were a success. I brought a new spin to the first 50 pages of my WIP, Aaralyn’s Song. I’m excited to see how the new version of my revamped revision–yep, you read that right–plays out as I continue with it this month.

2) I submitted my two short story pieces today. I planned on doing that last week, but August got away from me. The feedback helped me strengthen the narrative and tighten up the work overall. Pretty pleased with how they turned out.

3) I have a novella that I want to work on for a SavvyAuthors critique workshop as well as their upcoming Revision Hell. I was pleased with the piece a few years back and got good feedback on it, as well. It will be nice to revisit the work with fresh eyes and polish that baby up nice and shiny.

SEPTEMBER WRITING:

1) Continue with Aaralyn’s Song. The POV shifts are working, so far. When the draft is complete I’ll have it critiqued to see how beta readers like the POV shifts. I want to get it right and know that POV shifts can either work or really not. I trust in the writing community. We love helping each other become better writers.

2) My novella, Imprint, will undergo vigorous critique and revisions this month via workshops mentioned above. Looking forward to getting that one out into the world.

3) I’m always coming up with new story ideas. This month, I’ll continue to map out ideas while focusing on my top two projects.

READING:

Between June 23rd and August 23rd, I read 14 books. Given my schedule, that’s not a bad turn out. I’m continuing with my foray into non-fiction: anything about how the brain works along with writing reference. There are just too many books to read and not enough time. I’m strongly considering taking a speed reading course but wonder if it takes away from enjoying the stories themselves.

I have NetGalley ARCs and a few boatloads of books, digital and paper, to go through. The reading and love of reading continues.

NETWORKING:

Our September host for #wipmadness is Kim Baccelia.  The #ROW80 check-ins will continue each Sunday and Wednesday. Looking forward more accountability. Between the check-ins and this blog, I’m staying focused and on on point. 🙂

My FRIDAY FORAGE Series kicks off this coming Friday, September 6th. Can’t wait to dive in.

LEARNING:

Udemy has brought me all sorts of great learning material from novel writing, time management, languages, fitness and music. I enjoy the lessons and keep an eye out for those massive sales. Some courses are in the triple digits. For those, I wait for the 75% or 90% sales. While I have to wait a bit longer, the classes are worth it and the discounts are great.

I’m chugging along, too, with Duolingo. I’m on Level 8 in Spanish and will start French this month. I’ll give it a week and if learning them at the same time isn’t too convoluted, I’ll give it a whirl. Anyone out there who’s doing Duolingo, hit me up! Languages and my buddy Bilbo are keeping the creative juices flowing. Love it.

I’ve definitely dialled back on the workshop enrolment. Heck, I’m still going through downloaded lessons of workshops long since over. There’s simply not enough time to learn everything at once. I get that. However, it’s also hard to wait a full year before a workshop you know will help your WIP comes again.

I’m hoping I can catch up some more this long weekend. When I’m back on track, I aim to stay on top of the new workshops. There’s so much great stuff out there. I’m grateful for such a great learning community both online and off.

I’m ready for September. Is September ready for me?

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FRIDAY FORAGE – 2013/08/30

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The Dawn of the -BER Months

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As August draws to a close, we step into the last quarter of 2013. Let’s think about that for a sec. While I marvelled at how some stores were stocking Halloween candy yesterday, my sister told me that Costco had Christmas decorations already on sale. Where has the time gone?

I played catch up this week on all things writerly. I have the rest of the month–less than 36 hours–to map out my September goals which include the official launch of my FRIDAY FORAGE series. I think I’ll call it the FF Five and have links for five creative items, blogs, articles, or websites. I don’t want to limit myself to writing finds. I’ve discovered how beneficial non-writing experiences has had on my writing life. Anything I find that inspires me I’ll share in hopes that it will inspire you, as well. Haven’t decided yet if I want to have themes. We’ll see how it goes.

Now that eight months have blurred by, how have you gotten on with your goals? I’ve reached goals, made new ones, had setbacks, defied odds, cried, wrote, panicked, laughed, and kept chugging along.

I’d like to stick to my goals–more on that in Sunday’s post–but I don’t want to completely shut out new ideas. And boy, they just keep coming. As the seasons change–the last couple of days felt quite Autumnal–I’ve found that my writing process changes, too.

Once upon a time, I used to interpret that change as indifference or impatience, resulting in shelved manuscripts. My writing experience this year, through this blog and networking with others in the writing community, has taught me to breathe through my writing. I let things develop organically now. When I put a WIP aside, it doesn’t mean I’ve given up. Often times, I’m more energized and excited to return to a project once I’ve had time away from it. Much like reconnecting with an old friend.

I’ve made several new friends this year. The characters and worlds I’ve created are dear to me. While I’ve accomplished many goals I set for myself in 2013, many others morphed into new goals or had to be reassessed. I don’t consider these changes as limitations, but rather an acceptance of what needs to be done at a certain point in time. In an ideal world, I’d just write all day without another thought, but as we all know, life gets in the way. I’m learning to balance things out more in order to appreciate my efforts in all areas of my life, writing or otherwise.

I’m tired, exhilarated, scared, excited, and optimistic of what’s been done and what’s to come. I hope that I continue to be inspired in the days ahead.

Adiós, August. September, I’m coming for ya.

#ROW80 Mid-Week Check-In 2013/08/28

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WRITING:

Oh, to juggle. Oh, to have multiple limbs to whip these babies up simultaneously.

Raise your hand if you’re in the middle of an awesome WIP and come up with one, nay, several new ideas.

*raises hand*

Meanwhile, I’m getting my short story submissions ready for the end of the month deadline. I’ll plan the rest of the month mapping out September’s writing goals.

And no. It never ends. 🙂

READING:

I’m reading Daniel Tammet’s Born on a Blue Day and it’s fascinating. Suddenly into anything and everything about how the brain works. I have at least half a dozen more non-fiction books on the subject that have joined my ever-growing TBR list.

NETWORKING:

August’s #wipmadness check-ins on Candilynn Fite’s blog wrapped on Monday. The #ROW80 check-ins continue. I’m looking into more writing challenges for September onwards.

LEARNING:

Bilbo Watson, miss ya, buddy. I haven’t had the chance to get you restrung  yet. Soon, my friend. Soon.

Anyone else doing Duolingo? Having a blast with Spanish and haven’t decided what other of their available languages I want to tackle next. Probably going to do the patriotic thing and revisit French. The learning continues.

See ya later, August. The -ber months are about to begin.

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Week in Review – 2013/08/19 – 2013/08/25

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WRITING:

Happy fun times with my WIP, Aaralyn’s Song, the YA Fantasy wherein I’m playing with POV shifts. AugNoWriMo has been such a success. One week to go and lots more experimentation to enjoy.

Also, I’m submitting some short pieces by the end of the month. More polishing and tweaking and off they go.

READING:

I started reading The Spark by Kristine Barnett awhile ago and I got to finishing it. Such a great book. It got me looking into other inspiring non-fiction. I’m reading Daniel Tammet’s Born on a Blue Day next.

NETWORKING:

I’m combing #wipmadness, #ROW80 and other threads to look for great blog posts and websites for my upcoming FRIDAY FORAGE series. I’m excited.

LEARNING:

SavvyAuthors‘ 2013 Summer Symposium blurred by so quickly. I downloaded all the lessons but it happened too fast for me to keep up with every single thread. Great stuff to dig through.

My Uke, Bilbo Watson, is still on the injured list but I’ll get that sorted this week.

In the meantime, I’ve reconnected with Duolingo. I’d like to think I can carry a conversation by the end of the year. I’ll eventually work on all the languages it has to offer. Best. Free. App. Ever!

 

August, we’re in the home stretch. 🙂