Life is good. September 30th

Good news. My daughter is doing well and will be released from the hospital tomorrow. She'll be in pain and it will take a month or two for her to recover, but I still have a daughter. And I this close call has changed us all.

Today was also the first time I've had a chance to get together with Supe and take a look at where we are. Remembering what life was like before last week, remembering what I used to think was important, was a nice trip down memory lane. But don't get me wrong. I'm still all about getting my butt in the chair and getting the writing done. That will never change. But I'm a lot more interested in the messages I'm embedding in my writing. I think I can be much more clear with my themes. I think my end products might be a little more meaningful.

Who knows if it will last? We all change a little after we lose someone, or come close to losing someone from our lives. But how easy it is to forget the wake up calls and fall back into our same old mind-sets.

What I'm interested to see is what changes I might see in my daughter. She's only 24. A little young for a wake up call. A little young for a second chance.

I think this is a great lesson in how to make one's characters change. See if you've given them a slight nudge or a life changing wake up call. We've got to do our part, right? We can't just expect these people to change their attitudes without proper motivation.

As for word count, I'm just hoping to get a peek at my manuscript tomorrow. It's The Rock's birthday and we'll be bringing my daughter home, to our home, to stay here until she can take stairs again. On top of all that, I'll be watching the three Mousketeers. But I have to learn how to make room in my busy day for my own work.

I showed Supe some lovely wood sheds tonight. I'm thinking of putting one in my backyard and calling it my office. After all, the house is about to be invaded on two fronts and a baby crib is going up in the room I now call my office. I'm a little desperate for private space and if there were a couch long enough for The Rock, I'd consider kicking him out of the bedroom to make Custard's last stand in there. But alas, no couch was ever made to fit that man. So I'm stuck.

Other than space and time, everything is in my favor. But for writers, isn't it always that way?

Thursday, Sept. 26

Sorry there was nothing yesterday. My daughter had a pulmonary embolism and the world turned upside down. I'm the only grandma, so I had her two-year-old twins and the newborn.

It's been pretty crazy here, but at least my daughter is still with us. Looks like I'm going to be taking care of her and her 3 daughters for the next month, during the day. Working writing and editing into my day is going to be hard, but I'm still determined to do it. I can't be too adamant about my deadlines, however, until I know just how much of my day is going to be mine.

I am incredibly thankful to God for sparing her. She has a saddle embolism, and I'm told it is rare indeed to survive one. Most people never make it to the doctor. But now that they've caught it and started thinning her blood, her chances are good. All prayers on her account can be cashed in at the Pearly Gates, of course.

Come on, people. Let's not forget we've got work to do. Life is short. Don't let those stories go untold.

Tuesday, Sept. 24, Return to real life

Our retreat cabin had no functioning internet, so I was unable to post all weekend. We went up Friday afternoon and returned yesterday, Monday. We are usually able to arrange for an early check in and late check out so we can have a straight 72 hours to work, but that was not the case this time.

And so, with a little less time and a whole day's worth of just messing around in the pine trees around Brighton Ski Resort, I ended up with half the 20k goal. I did walk the dragon many times, and dictated for an hour once after I'd crawled into bed--that was a surprising 2900 words in 76 minutes. I never hit that kind of production again, but I did get a lot of walking in. A LOT OF WALKING. I probably got a total of about 3 hours of walking in Saturday and Sunday, and for me, that's phenomenal.

As for projects, I did finish the first draft of Kiss This, the new Christmas novella. And I got 6000 hard won words added to the Wicked/Wickham project. I also changed my mind a few times about whether or not to even finish that one since the story line is more about the characters themselves than the romance, so while it is an exercise of different muscles than usual, it is an uncomfortable task. In the end, it was yet another email from a patiently waiting reader that tipped the scales. I will finish the book.

I also took a hard look at what I've been able to accomplish during August and September, and the end result was not what I was expecting. I thought I would have been able to edit much faster than I have. And so my stacks are uneven.

My pile of stories to be written by the end of October consists of one title left unfinished--Wickham.

My pile of stories ready for editing includes Isobelle, Mrs. Wiggs, Scavenger Hunting, and Kiss This.

You see? I'm so lopsided I'm going to be walking funny for a while.

The solution is obviously to stop writing new words and start edits on the ones I already have. Otherwise I'm going to have to start storing them in proverbial shoe boxes under the proverbial bed.

So from this point on, probably until the end of October, I'm switching to page counts instead of word counts. I'm going to try to edit at the very minimum ten pages per day. But my average will have to be double that if I'm to get these four books to my editing friends and out of my hands by November. Wickham's last chapters will have to be worked in here and there when I need a break. Hopefully, it will be ready for edits when these four move on.

I also have a new personal focus plan. I'm going to work on simple, basic self-control. And I'm not talking about diet and exercise. I'm talking about the ability to force myself to do whatever it is I need to do when I need to do it. I'm not sure, but there is every possibility that I have never possessed this capacity before. I think it's high time I cut myself open and see if those muscles exist somewhere beneath my skin.

How are your self-control muscles doing? Any tips will be appreciated.

Thursday, New Moon, Sept. 19th

Big fat moon.
Big fat ideas.

I had great breakout ideas for three projects on my plate. For the day book, the night book, and the next day book. I can't remember how long it's been since I've had an ahah moment, let alone three on the same day. This bodes well for the retreat that starts tomorrow.

It is interesting to note that all three epiphanies came while I was doing physical work around the house, not sitting at the computer. So I'm going to make sure the weekend has a lot of physical movement for me too.

If Rock hadn't been so  wiped out from his day job, he might have noticed that he got a home cooked meal--the first one in ages--and homemade chocolate chip cookies when he got home. I'm ashamed to say I can't remember the last meal I cooked for the three of us. I seem to only prepare special things when all the kids are here together. My bad.

Also, the cookies are not as innocent as they looked. I packed them up and hid them for the big rivalry game on Saturday. I'll be away, but I'll take a minute to call home, to make my six Ute fans sing "Rise and shout, the Cougars are out," or I won't tell them where they are. Cougar cookies. And they'll want them in spite of the name, I guarantee it. I used to work for Mrs. Fields once upon a time. Heh heh heh.

So, it's time to get the suitcase packed and get some major words written. We typically try for 20k for these three day retreats, that is, when we're not trying to write an entire novel in 3 days. (Yes, we do that sometimes.) So I'm hoping to come home with the 20k and with the first drafts of two projects off my plate.

And from now on, no pussy footing around. I'll keep an edit count and a new word count from now on. So help me. It seems to help. Accountability and Shame are my best friends this year.

Cheers!

Wednesday, September 18th, 2013 The Reboot

I don't know what it is about the first cool day of autumn, but I feel like a dam has just broken inside me. Or maybe I was the damn dam. Who knows. But the point is, I'm ready for change. I'm ready for action. I'm ready to get off my butt and...get back in the chair. I'm ready to make things happen instead of just thinking about them and planning them.

But I'll get back to that.

I should first address my absence.

I took the weekend off for a family reunion. We had a great time that ended with some serious car trouble on the other side of the mountain. Then I spent the first of the week trying to get the vehicle situation resolved. It's a bowl of spaghetti I won't  share with you here. My husband should have his truck back by Friday, so everything will work out in the end. Blah, blah, blah.

Besides all that, I made a grave mistake.

I allowed myself to take a break from this blog. There was no need, since we did have wi-fi at the cabin and I could have posted. But since I also need to earn the right to post here, I should have set aside a half hour SOMEWHERE and got some work done so that I COULD blog about it.

But no. I took time off. 

Here's a little insight into me. I'm an all or nothing kind of gal. I always was. And that alone is what causes my husband stress from time to time, though he rarely complains.

Knowing this, the last thing I should ever do is take time off. Of course I piddle around like everyone else does on the internet. I get distracted by movies and family, and family who want to watch movies together. I'm normal. But if I get off the wagon, I wander off. I forget the wagon, the road, and the friends who are on the wagon waiting for me to catch back up. 

But I'm back now. And I hope you'll forgive me for flaking on you.

What I have found interesting, when chatting with a few other writers, is that they've been having a similar problem. Getting their butts back in their chairs has been nearly impossible for writers who are usually the most disciplined among us. I'm wondering if it is, in fact, the season change coming upon us instead of, say, the phases of the moon.

I've watched the moon phases for the past 2-3 months now and tracked my production and focus and believed there was a distinct pattern. I was counting on the moon telling me when I was going to be at my best. But this past week or so has shot that all to Hades. I'll keep watching, of course, to see if that pattern returns, but for now, all bets are off. Hopefully it's just the seasonal shake up. 

But whatever it is, I think we're in for some amazing productivity, and a spurt of creativity that I hope will last a while. I feel like the very ground is rumbling beneath my feet, and what breaks out of that ground might just be a Godzilla version of me. 

(I have no evidence that I am manic depressive, but if I am, get ready for a helluva manic stretch. And you're going to need one massive net when I start to fall.) 

In any case, the writing is back on. The goals remain the same. A few days behind. Since it doesn't involve actual physical running, I expect to catch up without too much trouble. I'll post in the early am and let you know what I get done tonight. I'm focused on getting one project edited, so no new words are in the plan for tonight.

Also, I'm headed to a writers retreat up in Brighton this weekend. We all plan to get grundles of work done before we come back down the mountain on Monday afternoon. Minds can be blown in three days, you know.

What I would really like to know is how the rest of you have been dealing with this disturbance in the force. Have any of you cranked out some awesome word counts lately? And what has your last week been like? Have you been waiting for the ground to rumble? Waiting for a Get Out of Jail Free card? And do you feel like you're done waiting?

Tell me.

Thursday September 12, 2013

Same editing. Different day. Nothing exciting or enlightening to report other than the face that Supe is going nuts with her dragon and leaving me in the dust.

I'm leaving town--again, leaving the pit bull to watch over our worthless possessions--and won't check in again until Sunday or so. In the meantime, I expect you all to stand on your dining room tables and announce to your families that you are going to write from X o'clock to X o'clock and you are not to be disturbed.

Let's see what you can accomplish this weekend!

Wednesday, I'm sure

I know it's Wednesday because I asked people all day long. For the past two days, I've been thinking it was Friday. Not in a hurry for Friday, but just felt all Fridayish.

It was another strangely emotional day today. All my work was editing. No new words, but with my emotions out of control, any new words might have gotten me in trouble, or ended up in the trash.

I am behind schedule by 2 days on both my day book and night book. Somehow, screwing up on both somehow seems okay. Symmetry is always a good thing, right? Well, I am symmetrically behind. But I worked today. For six hours. And I got some edits behind me that I've been putting off for a long time--so long I was beginning to think I might never get them done, that I might be suffering from some editor's block. But it turned out I was just lazy.

Tomorrow, I hope to start edits on Isobelle.

I have a writers retreat Sept 20-23, so I've only got a week to get a lot of stuff out of the way so I can write something big at the retreat. Taking my dragon with me. Plan to write in the hot tub a bit. And I have my own room, so I can also dictate in there. I wonder if it will work in the sauna.

Hah!

Real life has already promised to mess up tomorrow. I am going to need some deep breathing and some happy thoughts to make it through.

Tell me your Thursdays are going to be great days that will make you smile when you look back on them.