July Writing/Reading Goals

Posted on 2013/07/01 by Tonette dela Luna

It’s checklist time again. Let’s see what’s in store for me this July.

WRITING:

Camp NaNoWriMo and JulNoWriMo. Tweeting updates with @JulNoWriMo and #CampNaNoWriMo. Every Friday until September 21st, I’ll be writing update posts for WRITE YOUR NOVEL THIS SUMMER.

The Fractured Tales continue.

Current WIPS:

BOOK ONE: HAMELIN

BOOK TWO: THE CURSE OF BRIAR ROSE

Brainstorming ideas for:

BOOK THREE: AND THEN THERE WERE SEVEN

READING:

I read three books in the last week of June and am currently on the fourth and fifth. I’ll be updating my progress with reading each Sunday in my Week in Review blog posts. I didn’t officially enter the mammoth reading challenge I blogged about previously. However, I already see my efforts proving fruitful. This self-imposed challenge gives me the opportunity to study other writing styles and genres while allowing myself to enjoy the art of storytelling.

BLOGGING:

Awesome accountability resumes with Angelina C. Hansen taking over the hosting duties for #wipmadness on her blog. Round Three of #ROW80 begins today and I posted my goals last night. There will be the mid-week and Sunday check-ins for that, too. good stuff.

I know I’ve only written one post, so far, in my new column FRIDAY FORAGE but I’m hoping I can continue that beyond the summer writing challenge. I’m considering posting a round-up of notable writing/story/craft related posts to share. I still have until late September to sort that out.

How was your June? Did you meet your goals? Make new ones? What’s your plan for July? Share your thoughts below. I’d love to hear what you’ve been up to in your neck of the interweb. 🙂

Week in Review – 2013/06/24 – 2013/06/30

Posted on 2013/06/30 by Tonette dela Luna

WRITING:

JuNoWriMo and Kiwi Writers SoCNoC. Also tweeting word count updates using #JuNoWriMo and #SoCNoC hashtags.

Fractured Tales Series Word Count Grand Total: 88,403 words (June)

Sleep. Does wonders. Chugged along and got splendiferous results. This total can join the 75,416 words I wrote in April. Not too shabby. I’m also pleased that I was able to exceed the 6K in a day challenge twice this weekend.

I have updates for WRITE YOUR NOVEL THIS SUMMER every Friday. More on that below.

I have some solid material to continue with for JulNoWriMo, Camp NaNoWriMo, and possibly Savvy Authors Boot Camp that starts on Monday. Already giddy because I’m enjoying the scenes I’ve written lately, pleasantly surprised and complete with oohs and ahhs.

READING:

Already the non-conformist, I’ve read books outside of the list I posted last week. Here’s what I read this week:

Currently reading:

I’ll continue reading non-fiction because it helps in my prep for next month’s writing challenges.

BLOGGING:

The third round of #ROW80 starts on July 1st. My goals are pretty straight forward for the next eighty days.

1) Continue to work on my Fractured Tales Series with all the WriMos and writing challenges I can find (see above).

2) Working simultaneously on BOOK ONE: HAMELIN and BOOK TWO: THE CURSE OF BRIAR ROSE.

3) Outline and plot BOOK THREE: AND THEN THERE WERE SEVEN.

4) There are some submission call-outs I’m considering with due dates on July 31st and August 31st. I’ll get those sorted.

5) Continue reading and blogging because I think all of this has helped me become a better writer.

6) Try to keep up with the supportive #ROW80 family and meet knew writing buddies on the blog hop.

7) Try super-duper hard not to edit as I write. That’s always been something that I need to work on (or not, as the case may be).

I’ll also be checking in with the #wipmadness community. To share my progress with WRITE YOUR NOVEL THIS SUMMER I started a new series of posts entitled FRIDAY FORAGE. Those posts are going to be fun.

OTHERS:

Treadmilled my brains out only to follow it up with both TKT having fevers. I’m also considering Urban Rebounding. It was a long week so I finally had the chance to unwind and catch up with my word counts this weekend. Duolingo still waits in the wings, but I’ll get on that.

A busy June. Can’t wait for July. Good thing I won’t have to. 🙂

FRIDAY FORAGE – 2013/06/28

Posted on 2013/06/28 by Tonette dela Luna

WEEK ONE: WRITE YOUR NOVEL THIS SUMMER

Last Friday began another writing challenge for me this year. Oodles of words have been read and written thus far, but I’m enjoying the process.

My project this summer, in tandem with all the WriMos I can count, is to continue my Fractured Tales Series.

It all began with an idea.

I saw an anthology submission call for a retelling of any fairy tale. I stormed the brained and ended up coming up with more than one idea–sound familiar? I ended up with so much story that couldn’t be contained in 7500 words or less. Of course, when April came along with challenges such as Camp NaNoWriMo and Savvy Authors Boot Camp, I decided to make it a full-on novel. I already had one story being written for Boot Camp and when I couldn’t decide on the Pied Piper themed story or Sleeping Beauty, I decided to do a mash-up.

Cut to May. 75K for this mash-up but the subplot started to creep to the forefront. It demanded its own story, so I figured, why not?

Along came JuNoWriMo. I was planning on using the month to prep for July’s Camp NaNo and JulNoWriMo, but I’ve never been one to turn down a challenge. I’m a masochist, that way. I extracted the subplot from Book One and it’s now the main plot of Book Two. This month has been me reconstructing Book One and I hope to continue the Series. At present, the flow is as follows (titles pending):

Book One: Hamelin

Book Two: The Curse of Briar Rose

Book Three: And Then There Were Seven

More to follow.

I’d like to wrap up 2013 with a series I can be proud of, spend the holidays polishing and start the New Year with a publishing twinkle in my eye.

So, here’s the deets for Week One on this summer writing adventure:

Wrote just under 20K this week, but after a lengthy assessment, I found about 7K of it Series worthy. I can always put the other words to good use later.

My beautiful Keysmashing Tots had fevers this week. It’s hard to write on a daily basis when your nephew and niece compete for your attention–with each other or as a distraction so they can climb onto your lap and have a go at the computer. The duo was aptly named. But the amount of sleep I haven’t had this week put a dent in my creative plans. As I’ve said before, TKT trump everything, so my writing time, though diminished, still happened, but my three hour window was cut in half. Sometimes I just had an hour to get the words out.

I’m home for the long weekend to recharge my own batteries and it’s odd (though hardly surprising) that I now find their absence to be a greater distraction from writing. I have two days to keep adding to my June word count–hoping to break 70K–and prep for Camp that starts on Monday.

It’s a long road ahead but the journey is the best part, don’t you think?

Week in Review – 2013/06/17 – 2013/06/23

Posted on 2013/06/23 by Tonette dela Luna

WRITING:

JuNoWriMo and Kiwi Writers SoCNoC. Also tweeting word count updates using #JuNoWriMo and #SoCNoC hashtags.

Fractured Tales Series Running Word Count: 52,999 words

I’m not including today’s total yet because I still have some scenes I want to churn out. My weekend was on the higher end of the blerg scale and my super writing marathon didn’t end up happening.

Speaking of…

The WRITE YOUR NOVEL THIS SUMMER Facebook page has been quiet since the challenge started on Friday, June 21st. I’m hoping that it’s just because everyone’s busy writing. Even if that challenge doesn’t end up happening, I still have JulNoWriMo, Camp NaNoWriMo, and possibly Savvy Authors Boot Camp in July to keep me busy for at least the next six weeks. That’s triple the accountability. Good stuff.

My word count may not have poured forth, but I’ve done some plotting and more character sketches that will prove useful in the longrun. It’s a writing journey, after all, so I’m looking for that silver lining.

READING:

So, I’ve been psyching myself up for this 30 Books in 90 Days challenge that started today. Of course, I was finalizing my flexible reading list–which kinda makes it anything but final–and forgot that today was the start date. Haven’t read anything from the list yet, but hey, I’ve got 90 days. I suddenly went into panic mode for no reason so I think I’ll just post my list here and do the challenge unofficially, that way, I’m still reading without the added pressure. Here’s the list so far, but I’m willing to make changes and shift the order around.

1) THE GIVER – LOIS LOWRY

2) GATHERING BLUE – LOIS LOWRY

3) MESSENGER – LOIS LOWRY

4) THE STORYTELLER’S DAUGHTER – ONCE UPON A TIME – CAMERON DOKEY

5) BEAUTY SLEEP – ONCE UPON A TIME – CAMERON DOKEY

6) SUNLIGHT AND SHADOW – ONCE UPON A TIME – CAMERON DOKEY

7) GOLDEN – ONCE UPON A TIME – CAMERON DOKEY

8) BEFORE MIDNIGHT – ONCE UPON A TIME – CAMERON DOKEY

9) THE WORLD ABOVE – ONCE UPON A TIME – CAMERON DOKEY

10) BELLE – ONCE UPON A TIME – CAMERON DOKEY

11) WINTER’S CHILD – ONCE UPON A TIME – CAMERON DOKEY

12) WILD ORCHID – ONCE UPON A TIME – CAMERON DOKEY

13) THE FORT – ARIC DAVIS

14) THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER – STEPHEN CHBOSKY

15) THIRTEEN REASONS WHY – JAY ASHER

16) THE SELECTION – KIERA CASS

17) THE PRINCE – KIERA CASS

18) THE ELITE – KIERA CASS

19) THE SUPERNATURALIST – EOIN COLFER

20) LEAPING BEAUTY – GREGORY MAGUIRE

21) WHAT-THE-DICKENS – GREGORY MAGUIRE

22) SHELTER – HARLAN COBEN

23) SECONDS AWAY – HARLAN COBEN

24) THE EYRE AFFAIR – JASPER FFORDE

25) BEASTLY – ALEX FLINN

26) BEASTLY: LINDY’S DIARY – ALEX FLINN

27) BEWITCHING – ALEX FLINN

28) CLOAKED – ALEX FLINN

29) ANGELFALL – SUSAN EE

30) OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE – NEIL GAIMAN

I might read more than one at a time, I might stop reading one altogether, if I lose interest, but the point is, I want to increase word counts both written and read for the rest of the year.

BLOGGING:

The third round of #ROW80 starts on July 1st. I need to take stock of my goals by then. The next 80 days will certainly be busy (just take a look at the challenges above).

Kim Baccellia’s blog hosts the June check-ins for the fantabulous #wipmadness community. Everyone’s working hard on their WIPs. Two more weeks until we switch hosts but the peer support continues.

OTHERS:

All my ‘gold star’ achievements have dwindled with Duolingo. Apparently, they want you to use the app on a regular basis. I get that. I suppose I was miffed that a glitch ruined my fifteen day streak. I used to get all happy when I’d receive an email saying that I’m doing well. Sure it’s automated but I thought it was super duper progress. Turns out I can learn Spanish beyond my family and my friends Dora and Diego.

No treadmill last week but The Keysmashing Tots did the equivalent of intense cross training with me. I totally believe those studies that show two football players completely spent after taking care of a two year-old for a single day.

June’s almost over. How’s your first half of the year been, so far?

June Writing/Reading Goals

Posted on 2013/06/01 by Tonette dela Luna

Say hello to 2013, Part Two.

Half the year gone already? It’s unreal. To keep me grounded in the harsh reality of the quasi-masochistic writing life I’ve got some intense goals lined up for the month of June.

(via http://bit.ly/1aMeINy)

WRITING:

1) JuNoWriMo. Like Camp NaNoWriMo but not in April or July. Go fig. I’ve written at length of how awesome WriMos are so this is self-explanatory–and exciting. I can’t believe it’s already Day 01 and I’m here gushing about it instead of writing my novel!

2) Kiwi Writers SoCNoC. Southern Cross Novel Challenge. Much like JuNoWriMo, which is much like Camp NaNoWriMo… well, you get the idea… I’m not a Kiwi but they’ve welcomed me into the fold just the same. The SoCNoC also has mini-challenges throughout the month such as 6K in a day or for those who can’t complete 50K in a month, they can do 25K. Considering the next challenge below, I don’t think this will be an issue.

3) 25,000 Words in 7 Days. June 10th to June 16th. Last time I nearly reached 100 pages in 7 Days. Since I’m doing triple-duty for my Fractured Fairy Tale Series this month, I’m sure this’ll be a cakewalk, right? Here’s to hoping.

4) WRITE YOUR NOVEL THIS SUMMER. June 21st to September 21st. This will serve as a nice crossover into July’s Camp NaNoWriMo and yes, there’s a JulNoWriMo and an AugNoWriMo in my future. Go big or go home.

5) Just kidding. Do I really need any other writing challenges? Knowing me, I’d probably find some new challenge along the way and sign-up. I’ll keep ya posted.

READING:

So I wanted to continue the awesomeness that was #middlegrademay. Sadly, it is May no longer. The reading joy, however, continues.

1) 30 Books in 90 Days. I read ten for May, so this is possible… eeps. I came up with a list last night but it’s not set in stone. The first book I’ll be reading is DREAMLANDER by the fabulous K.M. Weiland. The second book is DOUBLE VISION by the equally fabulous F.T. Bradley. I suddenly have the urge to create a penname with initials.

2) 48 Hour Book Challenge. June 7th to June 9th. This challenge laughs in the face of 90 Days and orders me to read like mad for two days straight. And I say, bring it–well, maybe with some breaks and sleep and stuff.

Two’s good. We’re good here. Remember, I’m still writing in between the reading.

BLOGGING:

1) #ROW80. It’s the last month for the check-ins every Sunday and Wednesday. After that’s over, I’ll still have my week in review each Sunday, but this has been a great way to maintain accountability. I can share my woes of reading through all my words and others and together commiserate and celebrate the beauty of storytelling.

2) #wipmadness. We still have check-ins every Monday. Another group of wonderful people to help me keep accountable and sane in all things writerly.

BONUS:

For kicks, because, why not? I’m also making use of the treadmill while the Keysmashing Tots snooze. That’s until, of course, the weather improves. But since we live in Raincouver, treadmill it is. I say this looking out my window at a canvas of greys. For instance, there is gainsboro, light grey, silver, and dark grey, so far. But I digress. On the brighter side of grey, (every cloud has a gainsboro lining, it seems), this guarantees I have a minimum of thirty minutes everyday to devote to reading. Dontcha love multitasking?

Lastly, I’ve stopped using this wonderful app, but I might pick it up again. I love Duolingo and will continue with the Spanish lessons therein. I’d like to eventually learn all the languages they offer. Linguistics falls under the reading/writing scope and it’s also another fun way to fire up the synapses.

*phew* My fingers are tired from this post. I think I’ve got the second half of the year well in hand, yes?

Barring anything too crazy happening this month such as