All Work and No Play...

I'm in the midst of revising rewrites.  Sounds crazy, doesn't it?  I've rewritten 30,000 words of a nearly 60,000 word manuscript over the past month.  Not the most fun way to spend the first day of a new year, but it is what it is, and nobody will do it for me.

Monday is my goal to have this done and sent to my editor.  At the rate I'm going, there'll need to be an extension.  The holidays, family, and friends have taken more time than I'd planned, but I don't care.  Family and friends are important, and I won't give them up for anything.

I haven't made it through the first of the eleven chapters yet.  I've been making notes, re-reading the notes from my editor, and making more notes.  One way or another, I'll shove, pull, smash and whatever else it takes to get this right.  Or as right as it can be.

No, writing isn't always a joy.  I have a feeling of dread that the new writing I've done on this may be a bunch of dreck and not at all what it should be.  On the other hand, I know there are some things that are better than they were.  Definitely not the same, that's for sure.  I'm rethinking everything, probably more than I should.  Paranoia is rattle the door to my mind, but I'm trying to ignore it.  Final deadline for this is January 20, giving me a little more time.  But I have a February 24 deadline for another book, so...

I work weekends, evenings, late nights, and whatever small bits of time I can find during the weekdays.  Very little time for TV and fun things, although our family enjoyed Christmas together and New Year's Eve was spent playing Trivial Pursuit and ringing in 2014 with oldest daughter, granddaughter, son-in-law and my youngest daughter.  Today my four girls (and their children) went to their dad's for a grilled chicken dinner.  I'm sure they left stuffed and satisfied.  A good thing, since time to cook at my house has shrunk.

But today I'm revising those rewrites and probably writing a few more new words...to take the place of the ones that will need dumped.  Such is the life of a writer.

Daughters are back, so it's time to hear how their afternoon went.  I hope you and yours started the new year on a high note, and 2014 is filled with everything good.  Stay well, stay happy!

May your New Year flourish with new discoveries, wonderful inspirations, and happiness to fill your heart. ~ unknown

Anything Is Possible

First, a quick note that Bestselling Author Kathie DeNosky (Harlequin Desire) is giving a workshop on Harlequin's website this week.  It's part of Camp Wannabe, created especially for those who aren't attending RWA's Conference in Atlanta.  Kathie's topic?  How to Plot Your Book the Easy Way.  Those participating are raving about it!    

Yes, it's true.  Anything is possible.  There's a catch, though.  It takes hard work and something else:  A goal to work toward.

I've been working on a new project, while waiting for word on a proposal I submitted a few months ago.  One of the things that bogs me down, when it comes to writing, is the waiting.  Write and write, then wait, and wait, and...  The waiting, not the writing, is the hardest part.  I tend to do little jobs during that waiting time.  Things like rearranging my office, sorting papers, playing spider solitaire, working on websites and wondering what else there was to do, besides waiting.  I'm smart enough to know that this downtime means getting out of the habit of writing.  When the muse goes into hiding, getting started again can be torture.  The muse refuses to be found.  This time I decided to try something to tempt the muse.

New Project, New Goal

Like most writers, I have old projects that I started and left behind.  I have projects that were rejected, some because they didn't "fit" the particular publishing line.  2+ weeks after I sent off that proposal, my determination to write during the waiting time hit big time.  I pulled out an old manuscript that didn't "fit" anywhere, and decided it was time to get to work on it, if only to lure the muse back to where she needed to be: On my shoulder, whispering that it was time to write.  Three chapters were already written (as per most full proposal length), the plot was there, so I knew where I was going.  On May 10, I started writing, beginning where I'd left off.  How long would it take to write nine more chapters?  I didn't know, but I wanted to give it a solid try with a rough draft, meaning no going back and tweaking, revising or rewriting.  Just moving forward.  By May 31, I'd written 200 pages.  I finished the epilogue (which hadn't been planned) on June 1.  Surprise!  I'd proven that if I seriously wrote most days (18 of the 21 days left in May), I could actually get a lot of writing done.

Another New Project?
With the rough draft finished, I thought, "Why not try it again with another?"  I took a day to look over an old proposal that I'd already tried reworking once before and decided the conflict was weak.  This new one needed some changes in those first three chapters that were already written, but it gained me 7 pages. I kept going.  By the end of the month, I'd finished almost four more chapters.  Then our local writing group's BIAW came up, and I set my goal at 40 for the eight days.  I wrote all but one day of those eight and ended up with 94 pages.  No, that's not a mistype.  94.  There was only one problem.  I'd planned on maybe 11 chapters, and I was now working on chapter 12, and there were more things to tell in the story.  Okay, 12 chapters would work.  Then it became 13.  I'm now working on the last scene of the book, the last of chapter 14.  I'll stand up and say that not everyone will write 20 pages or even 94 pages in a week, and that's okay.  I seriously doubt I'll repeat my all time high in this lifetime. ☺

Is this manuscript ready to publish?  Absolutely not!  It's rough.  I have the front of my notebook (story bible) covered in sticky notes.  But I know what needs to be done and where, and even how.  That "how" can be a real devil.

My work is cut out for me, but not now.  With an offer on a contract for those two submissions back in May, my attention must be focused on them.  Tonight, once that last 10 or so pages are written, I'll put the new 70,000+ words story aside.  Both manuscripts I've worked so diligently on to write will have a rest.  There's no deadline for them, but there are with book 9 and book 10 in the Desperation series.  I'll be wrapping that up, while another idea for a series simmers in the dark regions of my mind.  I'll take Friday (tomorrow) off, and start in Saturday on The Cowboy Meets His Match (that's a working title).  I won't be spending a lot of time trying to get back into the rhythm, because I haven't lost it.  This is not to say that I'll take a day or three or four break, here and there, until all is finished.  Life intrudes, and sometimes we simply need a break.  There's nothing wrong with taking a short one, then getting back to work.

Everybody needs a little time to do the things that they want to do and still do what needs to be done, whether it's a day job, being a mom or dad, or any other requirement.  Writers don't sleep, eat, and write only.  We're all human and need time to relax and do other things.  For writers, it can be a struggle to get back into writing again, after a long break.  Yes, it's tempting to take several weeks--a couple of months or more--to get away from writing.  After all, being chained to a desk isn't fun for anyone, even if it's doing something we love.  Train yourself to write on a regular basis and set goals.  You won't regret it.

By the way, there's a flip-side to this, too.  If the muse is whispering let's write and here's the perfect story in your ear, but you have other obligations, the frustration mounts.  Relax and adjust.  It's less painful.

Dreams seldom materialize on their own. -- Dian Fossey

"So it Begins."

(Correction to the December 31st post.  The third sentence should read: It's a time to reflect on the year that has passed.)

***

There it is on the left.  The blank book of a new year, waiting to be filled, one day at a time.

For me, the first four days of this new year have gone by in a blur, mostly because family has been dealing with colds and flu.  Not a pretty way to start the year.  Now that the grandkids' holiday vacation is over, they're back in school.  In fact, yesterday was the first day in almost two weeks that has been close to normal.  Whatever "normal" is.

We spent New Year's Eve playing Wii Trivial Pursuit.  My thoughts were that it was slow and boring.  That pretty much described the turnover from 2012 to 2013, too, but then we're not a rowdy bunch and missed the (rerun) of the ball dropping at midnight.  Obviously, when it comes to celebrating and welcoming in the new year, we're not the most exciting group.  It doesn't matter to me.  I've said goodbye to many years and hello to the same amount of new ones.  It's not like it's something terribly exciting that only happens in hundreds of years or even when there's a blue moon.  No, once every 365/366 days, we add another number onto the year.

Why is it that we make such a big deal of the arrival of the New Year?  As far as I could tell, there wasn't a whole lot of difference between Monday, December 31, 2012 and Tuesday, January 1, 2013.  It's not much more than replacing the old calendar with a new one.  Nothing magical happened.  I didn't suddenly lose 30 pounds or win the lottery.  I didn't even find a penny on the ground.  But I wasn't expecting anything grand, so I wasn't disappointed.  See how that works?  It was as pleasant as any other family get-together, although we did have a very small bottle of champagne to share, almost half of which was poured down the drain.

I know I should be here blogging about progress made toward my goals for the year, but I'll be honest and admit that I haven't done much.  In fact, I'm trying to think of what I have done, and I'm coming up with nothing.  I'm going to blame that on yesterday being the first day and today the second day of "normalcy."  The truth is, I could use a swift kick in the backside to get me going.  I'm sure I'll soon regret not using this time wisely and making some kind of progress, even if bad.  That's pretty much a given.  Another truth is that I'm not sure what I want to do.  Or even need to do.  I'm in a state of limbo.

So instead of writing something pithy that will light a fire under us all---something I have no right to do at this point in time, considering---I'm going to share a couple of links.  The first is one I saved some time ago, but it has a lot of good information.  I have all these links of blogs and articles that I've saved, yet I don't get back to them nearly as often as I should.  I have a feeling I'm not the only one who does this.  But this particular blog post is about procrastination, and, being the Queen of Procrastination, I feel it's probably timely for those of us who are fully aware we should be making progress, but for some reason or other are dragging our feet.    Give What's Stopping You?, from the Happy Writer, a read.  You might discover a little of yourself in it.  I do.

The second link is new and came through my email today.  I enjoy reading Kristen Lamb's Blog, and today's post is another good one.  Writing Tip #2 - Writing is Pain, Learn to Take a Hit tells it as it is.  Writing isn't easy.  The business isn't sweet.  It takes hard work and tough skin, picking yourself up and dusting yourself off, and if you don't want to deal with any of those things, leave your dream of being a writer behind and find something easier.  Underwater shark wrestling is always an option.

And while I'm here, I might as well do a little shameless promotion.  My seventh Harlequin American book set in Desperation, Oklahoma, will be out in March.  I'll share a little bit about it as time grows nearer, and also about books of my friends that will be coming out around the same time.  Until then, have a wonderful weekend and smile at the fact that the first week of a brand new year is nearly gone, and we have the rest of the year to buckle down and get some words on paper.

Having used a J.R.R. Tolkien quote as the title of this blog post, it's only fitting to add another to end it.  And quite appropriate this one is.  Enjoy!

“It is the job that is never started that takes longest to finish.” - J.R.R. Tolkien

When You Just Don't Feel Like It

MOTIVATION MONDAYS

Yes, that's a picture of my crown.  My queenly crown.  My Queen of Procrastination crown.  It's on my head right now because I'm living up to my title.

For the past few days, I've been having trouble being motivated enough to get my work done.  It really needs to be done.  And I've been trying.  Really trying.  I'm getting words on paper, but I just don't seem to be making the headway I think I should.  I don't seem to be able to find the motivation I need.  I guess you could say that I'm demotivated.

We've all see the motivational posters and plaques that help us to keep going, even when the going gets rough.  I'm a sucker for them.  Pinterest abounds with them.  So does Facebook.  A day doesn't go by that several dozen of my "FB friends" haven't posted them there.  I've gotten to the point where I often scroll right through.  Some people post picture after picture, and since I'm a big sucker, I have to snag a few for my own use.  As if I actually use them.  They end up in my a folder on my computer, where they sit as I scroll by yet again.

But have you seen the demotivational posters?  Today is one of those days that I can really get behind them. The following text from the posters is found on a website called Despair.com.  These posters bear the name of Demotivators®.

• GET TO WORK You aren't paid to believe in the power of your dreams.
• WISHES When you wish upon a falling star, your dreams can come true.  Unless it's really a meteorite hurtling to the Earth which will destroy all life.  Then you're pretty much hosed no matter what you wish for.  Unless it's death by meteor.
• BELIEVE IN YOURSELF Because the rest of us think you're an idiot.

Obviously my sense of humor has taken a left turn, but there's a plus to that.  I'm laughing.  It hasn't been much of a laughing day, but these did  it.

And now that there's a smile on my face (where did that come from?), I really should take the above demotivational quotes to heart.  I need to GET TO WORK  After all, you're I'm not paid to believe in the power of your my dreams.  Talk about a wake-up call!

Because goal setting is a part of getting motivated, my goal for this week is to write and finish chapter 3 of a new book.  20 pages, give or take a couple. 4000-5000 words.  I can do it.  And when I can't I'll think of this:

PROCRASTINATION Hard work often pays off after time, but laziness always pays off now.  (Demotivators®)

 Have a wonderful week!