Tag Archives: writing

#ROW80 Mid-Week Check-In 2013/10/30

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WRITING:

I got an email last night that allowed me to switch from the novella imprint to the suspense imprint for November’s Entangled Smackdown over at SavvyAuthors. I appreciate how the editor gave me the option of switching imprints so I wouldn’t have to compromise the integrity of the story I want to write. I’m excited. 🙂

I’m also doubling up by entering this story for NaNoWriMo. The added accountability and online progress chart (that I’d be forced to enter each day before the cut-off) will help make November super productive.

READING:

Much of the same. My WIPs, writing reference, critiques, and beta reads. My TBR list is taking a back seat for the next few weeks, but that’s okay. It’s pretty much non stop.

NETWORKING:

Hopefully, I’ll be able to attend the in-person NaNo Write-Ins, weather and sniffles permitting. I hate drastic weather changes. I’ve got the online sprint partners via Twitter‘s #1k1hr. There’s also the online community at SavvyAuthors and the NaNo forums among many others. The world will be busy this November reaching those word counts.

LEARNING:

I’m tucking back into my treasure trove of already downloaded and purchased webinars to see what’s applicable for my WIP for November. That and my current fix of languages and genealogy should keep me busy.

 

=8=

It’s one thing to say that November is only two days away. But it’s crazy to think that November is already here. What are your big writing plans for November?

Week in Review – 2013/10/21 – 2013/10/27

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WRITING:

So, I did a beat sheet for my upcoming WIP in this year’s Entangled Smackdown over at SavvyAuthors. As I wrote in the forums, it seemed like I wrote out palpitations more than beats considering how much detail I put in. I’m not sure how the editors will view it considering my fellow writers wrote maybe a handful of lines for each beat. I think might turned into more of a synopsis, which is also okay because I need to practice doing those, as well.

On the upside of the brainstorms? Found a twist that even I didn’t see coming. My original baddie is no longer the baddie and I’m excited to get writing those scenes already. November’s just around the corner and yet my fingers are itching to get going.

READING:

Aside from the aforementioned reference and workshop lectures, I’ll definitely be reading my work for the next several weeks. However, as tempting as it might be, I’ll keep from editing as I write. That’s a big no-no.

NETWORKING:

The physical NaNo Write-Ins in the coming weeks will hopefully keep me motivated and should be good fun. The online teams for Entangled Smackdown will also have continuous support. I’m sure to look for online sprint partners via Twitter‘s #1k1hr. Should be fun.

LEARNING:

I’m eyeballs deep in languages and genealogy when not working on my WIPs. I’m thinking of contacting my grandmother–91 years young–whom I met up with in Toronto. We’d caught up on recent events in our respective lives, but I’d like to go back in time with her in hopes of learning more about my heritage. Yes, I’m still brimming with nostalgia. My love for genealogy is not going away any time soon.

How goes the last bit of October for you?

#ROW80 Mid-Week Check-In 2013/10/09

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WRITING:

I have not one but three possible ideas for Entangled Smackdown over at SavvyAuthors. Going the novella route, one option is to write five to seven 10K novellas covering a day over the course of a week. I just need to keep in mind that each novella needs to be engaging and self-contained. To do this, I have story ideas that seemed disparate at first but now have the potential to link up in an overall story arc.

EDIT: Thought of a different idea while responding to comments. Perhaps I can tell the same story over the course of twenty-four hours (or a reasonable duration for a novella) but each novella is told from a different POVs. So excited. 🙂

READING:

As part of my Coursera class Fantasy and Science Fiction: The Human Mind, Our Modern World, I have a boatload to read. Here’s an author list so you get an idea: Grimm, Carroll, Stoker, Shelley, Hawthorne, Poe, Wells, Burroughs, Gilman, Bradbury, LeGuin, and Doctorow.

If you know them just by their last names, you know it’s epic. A feast for the eyeballs, to be sure. That there is plenty of Fantasy and Science Fiction to fill my cranium for the next little while.

Dare I dream that one day you will know the name dela Luna, as well? 🙂

NETWORKING:

I like the forums within the workshops as it lends to peer-teaching and interaction which is pretty neat. I enjoy the discourse and healthy debate over plenty of subjects. That is, of course, when the forums cooperate.

LEARNING:

Three languages. One me. Duolingo offers a lot for a free app. Gotta love free good stuff.

Udemy is offering classes on learning how to learn. It might sound kooky but I’m finding it enlightening. We’re taught what to learn in school but not how to learn it. These classes help you approach new topics and pretty much takes the formation of new thoughts and ideas from a completely new and fresh perspective.

Yeah, I’m a nerd, but learning just got more fun. Bonus? No exam pressure. That was probably the worst thing about my tenure in the educational realm.

Tomorrow, I’m going on a sisterly excursion to Toronto. Haven’t been back in almost twenty years. Seeing places of old that become new again has given me an idea for my next FRIDAY FORAGE post. Stay tuned.

Week in Review – 2013/09/30 – 2013/10/06

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WRITING:

I’m storming the brain for possible contingency plans for Entangled Smackdown over at SavvyAuthors. Meanwhile I’ve come up with new ideas–too many–and have even distracted myself with some fangirl ideas. I came up with a fanfic story for a 13th Doctor, a girl!

Downside, I haven’t narrowed down my plethora of ideas. Upside, I have a plethora of ideas. haha

READING:

Finished a beta read and have to sink my teeth into book reviews and critiques. And also the many workshops I’m taking now and from before. Ugh. Any word on that speed reading course yet, people?

NETWORKING:

There’s a new check-in for #wipmadness and #ROW80 this week. Maybe I can tap other creative minds on upcoming project idea whittling.

LEARNING:

Thankfully, an area that is never lacking is my edification. Along with Spanish and French, I’ve now taken up German on Duolingo. Good thing, too, my sister’s joined up and is taking French and German, as well.

Udemy has taught me in the ways of time management, writing, and new ways of thinking. I love soaking in all the innovation.

At Savvy Authors I’m taking Character Development with Mary McCall and Putting the Suspense in Romantic Suspense with Dee Lloyd. They run through to the end of the month and I hope they’ll help sort out my current Entangled entanglement.

I have a class starting on Coursera tomorrow. It’s called Fantasy and Science Fiction: The Human Mind, Our Modern World. How awesome is it that universities all over the map offer free and intriguing courses? Score one for perpetual learning!

Busy week ahead including a little romp back east. It’s going to be weird returning to places I haven’t seen in half my life. Seriously.

Excited for the zaniness ahead. How goes it for you?

October Goals

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Last Quarter of 2013: Are you Ready?

long-road

( via freimaurer32 )

 

To borrow a phrase from one of my favorite shows, here’s THE ROAD SO FAR:

 

WRITING:

This year, I came up with four new stories: Hamelin, The Curse of Briar Rose (a reframing of the story premise morphed it into Aaralyn’s Song), all YA Fantasy, A Love Less Ordinary, a contemporary (possibly Women’s Fiction), and a boatload of new story ideas.

I did the Blogging A to Z Challenge in April, along with Camp NaNoWriMo, SavvyAuthors Boot Camp.

I also participated in JuNoWriMo, July’s Camp NaNoWriMo,  JulNoWriMo, and AugNoWriMo. 

Just when I thought I was WriMo’d out, I spent September revising Imprint, a Spec Fiction Thriller.

All this writing was just for my WIP. I also had various workshop assignment, as well, as my blog posts along with my FRIDAY FORAGE series.

 

READING:

I think I’ve read close to thirty-five books this year. Lately, the focus has been on writing reference or anything to do with how the brain works.

Outside of actual books, I’ve been eyeballs-deep in critiques, beta reads, and book reviews. I suppose all the strain on the eyes was to make up for the exhaustion on the digits from the writing.

For those who don’t know, I’ve been dealing with a fractured thumb and seasonal allergies. The allergy shot regimen has made all the aforementioned tasks an interesting challenge.

 

NETWORKING:

The writing community continues to grow and now that I’m a mod at SavvyAuthors and the WFWA Forums, the reach seems to be boundless.

 

LEARNING:

I’ve expanded my horizons with Udemy, and Duolingo. More learning experiences are coming up this month with Coursera. Gotta keep the brain active. 🙂

All that plus some mad ukelele playing and I’m all set.

 

 

=8=

OCTOBER WRITING:

Major prep needed for my upcoming November challenge with Entangled Smackdown. It was supposed to be a Thriller but since that imprint isn’t included in the challenge, I think I’ll write for the novella imprint. Problem is, what word count will I focus on? The imprint requires 10K-15K words but the challenge is 50K. Do I write multiple novellas? Good thing I have a month to plan. This time, actually plan. No matter how many times I have the intent to plan for a WriMo, something happens and I end up outlining in a forty-eight hour window.

I’ll still work on my other WIPs, old and not-as-old. The writing never stops.

 

OCTOBER READING:

The reading tasks haven’t changed. In fact, they’ve increased. All good stuff, however. I’m keeping an open mind–and still looking for a speed reading course.

 

OCTOBER NETWORKING:

Modding and communicating with the writing world continues. Accountability keeps us moving forward and that’s what it’s all about.

 

OCTOBER LEARNING:

More brain boosts with Udemy, Coursera, Duolingo. I’m on Level 10 in Spanish and Level 7 in French. I’m adding German to the mix, just because. With the other learning opportunities, I’m learning about writing, time management, fitness, and everything in between. It’s an exciting time and fortuitous to have the internet. There’s no limit to attaining knowledge and bettering ourselves.

 

 

=8=

The last three months of this highly productive year are about to roll on. I’m excited to see what happens next.

Care to join me?

longroad

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