While searching for something else on my computer earlier today I came across these quotes from Anne Lamott and Edgar Rice Burroughs. I figured we could probably all use the reminder; I know I certainly can. These days I alternate between procrastination and deleting more words than I write.
So go put some words on the page.
Even if they are crap.
You can buff and polish them later.
Besides, if you write enough, there is bound to be a diamond in there somewhere. Right?
I just registered the copyright for my second book, The Demon’s in the Details, and I have a few thoughts to share, along with a public service announcement.
And here’s my public service announcement:
There’s a spot where you can choose to register one book by one author for $35. The regular price is $55. This option is not readily apparent unless you know where to look:
You’re welcome.
Like some of the other ladies on the blog, this year I was a judge for an RWA contest, the RITA. I was tasked with reading seven published books in different contest categories (read: not competing against each other) and given approximately two months to complete and score them. Easy peasy. I would read one contest book per week, record my scores online, and be done in plenty of time.
Er…Um…Well, you know how it goes. I got behind on writing here, picked up books off my TBR pile there, got distracted by a shiny object across the room, and the next thing I knew, I only had two weeks left to read all seven of my entries. Goal: seven romance books in seven days, with a week of wiggle room. Outcome: seven books in ten days. Deadline, schmedline. I finished with four days to spare.
Because I’ve always read in diverse genres and like to mix it up, I’m not sure I’ve ever read that many books in a row in romance or any other single category. This unusual (for me) approach to reading allowed me to compare and contrast the books as a reader and as a writer. Three of the books were quite good. If I’d been reading them in the wild, I would have stuck with them and probably given up some sleep and, for one or two of them, possibly even some writing time to finish the stories. A fourth was also good and I would have finished it, but it would have taken me a few days and several reading sessions to do so. A fifth was just ‘meh’ for me, and absent the requirement to read it for the contest, I might have wandered away from it if I’d had another book waiting. (And honestly, who doesn’t always have another book or ten waiting?) As for the last two books, oy! They would have been DNFs for me if I’d had a choice.
Following are my top takeaways from going all romance, all the time, for seven books and ten days, starting with the good, moving to the bad, and ending with the ugly. Continue reading
Spring is here! The days get lighter, the weather improves (at least if you’re in the northern hemisphere), flowers bloom, birds sing, and suddenly everything seems fresh and new and exciting. I usually find this is my most creative and productive time of the year, and I’m starting to get that lovely buzzy, sparkly feeling.
If ’tis the season to begin new projects, it’s also the time to make room for them by closing out old ones, so I’m super-happy to report the closure (or imminent closure) of three big time-eaters that have kept me busy for the last year or more.
Please forgive me if I indulge in a little trumpet-blowing 😉
1. Last week, in my non-writing life, I made the final payment required to finish the administration of my late mother’s estate. My mum passed away in January 2018, which means it has taken me fourteen months to finalize her affairs, and it hasn’t been for lack of effort. I can’t tell you what a relief it is finally to be able to draw a line under the whole process.
2. In the next week or so, I’ll send the finished first draft of The Seeds of Power (Christal’s book) to my content editor, Karen Dale Harris. I started writing this story in spring last year as a way to get back into my fantasy world after a complete break of three months. The book is far from perfect, but it has been a joy to write. I really like the main characters, and as they all return later as important secondary characters in Alexis’s story I think I’ll be able to bring added depth to my edits when I settle down to polish that book. Double yay!
3. And on Thursday the finalists for the RWA Golden Heart contest are announced. It’s not that I’m expecting to final (of course I would love to) but that last summer I decided to make a concerted effort to polish up three entries and make them as good as I possibly could. It’s the last year of the contest, and my last year as an unpublished author, so I wanted to close that chapter of my writing life knowing I’d given it my best shot. I’d guesstimate that I put almost six months of hard work into my entries. I learned a lot, and I’m happy with where I finished up, so whether I final or not, Thursday will be a day of closure. I’ll be celebrating my efforts, not the outcome 😉 . I’ll also be toasting Jeanne’s RITA and Justine’s Golden Heart entries.
I plan to publish The Seeds of Power later this year. If I’m going to achieve that I have a whole daunting laundry list of things to do and learn in the next few months. It’s all too easy to focus on the next task, and the one after that, and to forget to take a moment to breathe and celebrate a milestone passed.
So, before I move onwards and upwards…cheers, m’dears!
What did you finish or start lately? Or what do you have planned?
Image via Wikimedia Commons
I got a new phone today! I didn’t really need one, and I could have transferred stuff around, deleted all the bad pictures and obsolete screen shots, and made room for another year’s worth of digital clutter, but my daughter was getting a new phone for college, and my husband decided I should have a new one as well.
This seems as good a time as any to provide the periodic reminder: Back up all your stuff! I was frantically saving and sending my history from my favorite texting service (unfortunately, it’s only text that gets saved — fortunately, I am a very text-based communicator!). Back up your stuff! Not just the personal stuff, but the writing stuff, as well! Continue reading
So, did you make it through the week without access to Facebook and Instagram on Wednesday?
Did you even notice they were down?
We use some related apps here at Ye Olde Day Jobbe, so Wednesday included lots of browser-refreshing and refrains of, “is it up yet?” On the plus side, we were probably more productive than usual that day.
Now that everything is back to normal (relatively), it’s time to turn our thoughts to the weekend. The persistent rain here has finally taken a break and it’s been beautifully sunny (though chilly) for a few days. I see some lawn-mowing and weed-pulling in my future.
I also see some writing in my future, though I may procrastinate my way through the weekend before I actually get to it. Like Michelle, I am a permanent resident of Procrasti-Nation. I will pull out my pen and paper eventually, however, and once I do I plan on giving today’s writing prompt a try.
Care to join me? Continue reading
Sometimes I have difficulty coming up with ideas for this blog. When I do, I start with my old blog posts to see if any of them spark ideas for new ones. In today’s case, I found one from almost exactly a year ago that sums up where I am now. AGAIN.
In November I was going gangbusters on my WIP. I kept up the progress for a couple of months and then . . . ppppfffttt. The motivation fizzled out. I think part of it came from the realization that, not only did I miss the Golden Heart deadline, but I would have to miss RWA. AGAIN. (big sigh) And part of it is, of course, life interrupted. So now I’m back living in the same place I was a year ago. Continue reading
