The lapse in posts is one of the drawbacks of having an office with no wifi.
Yes, I've actually been using my office! And being productive again has revived me. It really has. I'm a pretty ambitious person by nature, so when I'm moving and shaking, I'm happy.
Speaking of giggling, I'm still 19 lbs. down despite having pizza for Halloween along with an inch of a KitKat bar and two whoppers. Apparently the world didn't end, since I'm still here, but I don't think that's going to be a temptation again.
I have realized that all my eating--every bite I put in my mouth for the past ten+years, has been driven by emotion. Nothing about the joy of food. All about my entitlement to it.
And now, I'm working toward being entitled to go to Scotland, entitled to wear jeans, entitled to feel good. And boy, do I feel good. Percentage of body weight-wise, 19 lbs. isn't much. But it was an important benchmark. Lots of things have changed. And my energy is AT LEAST ten times what it was.
Since Tuesday, I've gotten two major projects off my to-do list. One project is off to my agent so she can send it on to some interested editors. That has been a dark cloud over my head for two months. Cloud gone.
I have another project I have to finish tonight by midnight and get sent off to an editor. That's what I'll be doing today instead of getting started on NaNo. And, speaking of NaNo, I'll be getting my 1666 words per day written on a new project on top of what I have scheduled for editing. And I'm going to use my dragon to do it. 1666 words can be done in about 45 minutes tops.
Having a NaNo write-in at my house on Saturday. So far, I've got 18 writers coming. If you're interested, let me know. We're in Utah.
I don't know if it's the New Moon coming or what, but Supe has been bitten by the ambition bug again and we're gearing up for another uber productive month like last August was. We're done talking and analyzing. It's time to shut up and get this stuff written. Great stories, buried in one's subconscious, do no one any good. After all, I don't get to read them either--not until they come out of my fingers.
So.
Let's play Michelangelo.
Let's get our chisels and hammers and get to work, setting these works of art free. Slow does not equal beauty. Let's take advantage of the NaNo energy that's out there, whether or not you're technically participating, and move some earth.
Showing posts with label Phylo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Phylo. Show all posts
Friday, November 1, 2013
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
I CAN SEE!! October 7, 2013
I can't believe I'm about to admit this, but after five days without sugar, I can SEE.
No, I have no vision impairment other than a little bit of dry-eye from my lasik surgery. But apparently I've had a little bit of a brain impairment from my mega doses of sugar.
But every writer has their magic snacks, right? Lots of writers do well on a sugar high. I know of one who must have chocolate covered cinnamon bears when writing new words. I know another who, like me, has to line her M&M's up in rows according to color. I personally need those rows ordered as they would appear in a rainbow. For a while, I was nuking those dark chocolate pomegranate thingees. But no more. I can't handle the hard stuff anymore.
Like everything else, though, the snacking is just a procrastination tool. So now that I've been tough for five days and the headaches are proving it's just about out of my system, I'm going to treat snacking as a procrastination tool and avoid it all I can. Of course a little ritual can go a long way to getting your head in the game, but we can come up with rituals that don't include food, right?
Let me tell you what I can see today that I don't think I've been able to see for a long time...
I can see my characters a little clearer. I can see where I need a lot more emotion, a little more setting. I can see my own words like someone else wrote them and I can see FLAWS. I feel like I did the day I had my eyes done. I could see the pine trees on the mountains! Individual pine trees. And I feel like I haven't been seeing the individual trees in my projects.
Of course this might all be due to the fact I set those stories aside to write a few more before getting back to the editing desk and looking at them again. Time gives you a fresh perspective, yes, but it's never been this fresh before.
And so, with that enthusiasm that is not unlike donning a fresh pair of contacts, I have attacked my Isobelle script with a vengeance. I am determined to make it memorable. I expect to have draft two done by the end of the weekend, even though I'll be at the conference. Drafts three and four should be done by the end of October.
So, writers, are you seeing your material clearly?
Maybe you should take a look at your snackage.
No, I have no vision impairment other than a little bit of dry-eye from my lasik surgery. But apparently I've had a little bit of a brain impairment from my mega doses of sugar.
But every writer has their magic snacks, right? Lots of writers do well on a sugar high. I know of one who must have chocolate covered cinnamon bears when writing new words. I know another who, like me, has to line her M&M's up in rows according to color. I personally need those rows ordered as they would appear in a rainbow. For a while, I was nuking those dark chocolate pomegranate thingees. But no more. I can't handle the hard stuff anymore.
Like everything else, though, the snacking is just a procrastination tool. So now that I've been tough for five days and the headaches are proving it's just about out of my system, I'm going to treat snacking as a procrastination tool and avoid it all I can. Of course a little ritual can go a long way to getting your head in the game, but we can come up with rituals that don't include food, right?
Let me tell you what I can see today that I don't think I've been able to see for a long time...
I can see my characters a little clearer. I can see where I need a lot more emotion, a little more setting. I can see my own words like someone else wrote them and I can see FLAWS. I feel like I did the day I had my eyes done. I could see the pine trees on the mountains! Individual pine trees. And I feel like I haven't been seeing the individual trees in my projects.
Of course this might all be due to the fact I set those stories aside to write a few more before getting back to the editing desk and looking at them again. Time gives you a fresh perspective, yes, but it's never been this fresh before.
And so, with that enthusiasm that is not unlike donning a fresh pair of contacts, I have attacked my Isobelle script with a vengeance. I am determined to make it memorable. I expect to have draft two done by the end of the weekend, even though I'll be at the conference. Drafts three and four should be done by the end of October.
So, writers, are you seeing your material clearly?
Maybe you should take a look at your snackage.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
New Moon Phase--Time for new goals. October 2, 2013
Perhaps, like me, you did not hit your writing goals for the month of September. And perhaps, like me, you hope to do better in October. Maybe you think lowering your goals is the best course of action if you hope to have any success.
But what if you're wrong?
What if there is some magic in the air in the month of October? Don't you want to take advantage?
And don't forget about football.
When it's third-and-five, you pick a play and hope for the best. After all, you can always punt if you fall short of first down.
But when it's third-and-forty, with only enough time on the clock for two more plays, you throw a Hail Mary. Maybe a Flee-flicker, and if that fails, THEN a Hail Mary.
The point is, we're in the last quarter of the year. With the holidays coming, we're getting down to the wire here. If we're going to accomplish great things, we need to get them done now. We're going to have to get tricky. We're going to have to put our weight into it. Not one or the other. We're going to have to do both.
So lets take the energy the crowd is offering and go for it.
Nothing to lose, but the game, maybe the season.
And since this championship game won't require too much physical exertion, I'm all in, baby. I'm asking myself to put a lot of energy into a sit-down job. How hard can that be, really?
I'm going to look around and find the goal post--the end zone for me is to get these five projects up like I had planned to do before.
I'm playing against a lot of big players--my family obligations (caring for my recovering daughter, etc.), some house remodeling, upcoming holidays, excellent TV programs, an overworked husband, etc. And the ringer here is my sudden lack of private office space at home. IN OTHER WORDS, the typical forms of resistance faced by nearly every other writer on any given day.
I refuse to let the opposing team intimidate me. I'm going to keep my eye on the game clock--about a month and a half--and I'm going to face the ugly truth: It's time to stop analyzing and line up for the kick-off.
Tomorrow, I'm going to carve out five hours from my day and edit my brains out. Five hours. Even if I have to take five separate hours, I will make it happen. And by tomorrow night, I'm going to feel like a writer again.
So invite yourself to a bowl game and get on the field. Let me know how it goes.
But what if you're wrong?
What if there is some magic in the air in the month of October? Don't you want to take advantage?
And don't forget about football.
When it's third-and-five, you pick a play and hope for the best. After all, you can always punt if you fall short of first down.
But when it's third-and-forty, with only enough time on the clock for two more plays, you throw a Hail Mary. Maybe a Flee-flicker, and if that fails, THEN a Hail Mary.
The point is, we're in the last quarter of the year. With the holidays coming, we're getting down to the wire here. If we're going to accomplish great things, we need to get them done now. We're going to have to get tricky. We're going to have to put our weight into it. Not one or the other. We're going to have to do both.
So lets take the energy the crowd is offering and go for it.
Nothing to lose, but the game, maybe the season.
And since this championship game won't require too much physical exertion, I'm all in, baby. I'm asking myself to put a lot of energy into a sit-down job. How hard can that be, really?
I'm going to look around and find the goal post--the end zone for me is to get these five projects up like I had planned to do before.
I'm playing against a lot of big players--my family obligations (caring for my recovering daughter, etc.), some house remodeling, upcoming holidays, excellent TV programs, an overworked husband, etc. And the ringer here is my sudden lack of private office space at home. IN OTHER WORDS, the typical forms of resistance faced by nearly every other writer on any given day.
I refuse to let the opposing team intimidate me. I'm going to keep my eye on the game clock--about a month and a half--and I'm going to face the ugly truth: It's time to stop analyzing and line up for the kick-off.
Tomorrow, I'm going to carve out five hours from my day and edit my brains out. Five hours. Even if I have to take five separate hours, I will make it happen. And by tomorrow night, I'm going to feel like a writer again.
So invite yourself to a bowl game and get on the field. Let me know how it goes.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Wednesday, September 4, 2013 Planning Day
Today was the last full day of the organization phase of the moon.
It's called the EXO phase--the days of high focus but low energy. It's the perfect time to make plans, to see into the future and plan what you'll do once the energy is there. It's time for building structure.
I'm really glad there was a little EXO left after the holiday weekend because the next few weeks will go better if I've planned well.
So, this is what I've planned...
Since I already know the word count I need to hit, I also needed a plan for my editing needs. I've probably mentioned this before, but the only way I think I can get all my editing and revising done is if I'm doing it daily too. Here's the problem: I can't edit a project until after the first draft is out. I've tried. It doesn't work for me. Every book I've tried to edit along the way stalls. As in, stops dead in its tracks. I cannot edit as I go. Period.
So, if I waited until each project was finished, then edited it, I wouldn't get any writing done while editing--unless I spent my writing time on another project. So that's what I'm doing.
Instead of one stack of projects (on 3X5 cards), I have two. The projects for which I'm still writing the first draft I call my night books. The completed books that still need edits and revisions, I call my day books. I have them in order. I'm going to put in 4 hours a day on my day book, then four hours a day on my night book, writing new words.
The exciting part? I've got so many projects close to completion that in about ten days, I should have five projects sent on to editors or formatters. For those of you who know my projects, these five are: Isobelle, Wiggs, Scavenger Hunting, Wickham, and Kiss This. All of them will be out the door before the month is half through! What in the world shall I do with the second half of my September?
(Yeah, yeah. I know. Don't hate me. They're not done yet. And let's not forget what happened with the second half of August--I got little done at all. This month I will tempt Fate by declaring I cannot do worse.)
8 hour days, my friends. A full time job that I love. Surely, I can pull this off.
So far, Day 1, I got over four hours on the day book. My daughter and her hubby needed an emergency date, so instead of playing with my dragon, or Dr. Wicked, I held the baby and played with the 3 year olds. (Not all at the same time.)
Tomorrow, I shall guard my night book time a little better. I wasn't up to writing much tonight anyway. I'm still worn out from the holiday. I'm also afraid I've reverted back to human time. Since coming home, I've been going to be early and getting up at the ungodly hour of 9 am. If I'm not careful, I'm going to end up with a nine to five job.
Heaven help us all.
So. Tomorrow night starts the next moon phase, the New Moon phase, called PHYLO. Low focus, high energy. We should be able to get a lot of things done in the coming week, even if we might be a little emotional doing it. Hold onto your butts...
It's called the EXO phase--the days of high focus but low energy. It's the perfect time to make plans, to see into the future and plan what you'll do once the energy is there. It's time for building structure.
I'm really glad there was a little EXO left after the holiday weekend because the next few weeks will go better if I've planned well.
So, this is what I've planned...
Since I already know the word count I need to hit, I also needed a plan for my editing needs. I've probably mentioned this before, but the only way I think I can get all my editing and revising done is if I'm doing it daily too. Here's the problem: I can't edit a project until after the first draft is out. I've tried. It doesn't work for me. Every book I've tried to edit along the way stalls. As in, stops dead in its tracks. I cannot edit as I go. Period.
So, if I waited until each project was finished, then edited it, I wouldn't get any writing done while editing--unless I spent my writing time on another project. So that's what I'm doing.
Instead of one stack of projects (on 3X5 cards), I have two. The projects for which I'm still writing the first draft I call my night books. The completed books that still need edits and revisions, I call my day books. I have them in order. I'm going to put in 4 hours a day on my day book, then four hours a day on my night book, writing new words.
The exciting part? I've got so many projects close to completion that in about ten days, I should have five projects sent on to editors or formatters. For those of you who know my projects, these five are: Isobelle, Wiggs, Scavenger Hunting, Wickham, and Kiss This. All of them will be out the door before the month is half through! What in the world shall I do with the second half of my September?
(Yeah, yeah. I know. Don't hate me. They're not done yet. And let's not forget what happened with the second half of August--I got little done at all. This month I will tempt Fate by declaring I cannot do worse.)
8 hour days, my friends. A full time job that I love. Surely, I can pull this off.
So far, Day 1, I got over four hours on the day book. My daughter and her hubby needed an emergency date, so instead of playing with my dragon, or Dr. Wicked, I held the baby and played with the 3 year olds. (Not all at the same time.)
Tomorrow, I shall guard my night book time a little better. I wasn't up to writing much tonight anyway. I'm still worn out from the holiday. I'm also afraid I've reverted back to human time. Since coming home, I've been going to be early and getting up at the ungodly hour of 9 am. If I'm not careful, I'm going to end up with a nine to five job.
Heaven help us all.
So. Tomorrow night starts the next moon phase, the New Moon phase, called PHYLO. Low focus, high energy. We should be able to get a lot of things done in the coming week, even if we might be a little emotional doing it. Hold onto your butts...
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