I know I owe a ‘real post’ …it’s coming

Happy Monday, everyone!

So, I’m sitting on my couch watching Drop Dead Diva, thinking about NaNoWriMo whilst pretending to write since I’ve already given up on doing any homework tonight.

I’m trying to finish two novels by hitting 100k (what a way to get me back into the swing of things, right?) during NaNo and I realize my usual pantser/organic ways isn’t going to work this time round. I need to plot things out and I need to plot it well. Originally, I thought I’d just write out an outline, do a couple character sheets, and just write. It worked all the years I participated in NaNo in the past. This year, however, is the first time I’m doubling up on word count. I’ll be bringing out the big guns for this – outlines, character sheets, world building documents, diagrams, and more. Here’s a list of resources I’ll be looking into using during the remainder of October to plot out a few novels:

Flash drive and email account: Just in case the Unthinkable happens and my laptop crashes, I want to make sure I have my WIPs backed up somewhere.

Paperback Writer: NaNoWriMo Ten

NaNoFiMo:

NaNoWriMo: I can’t forget the site itself, now can I? From articles to the very active forums, it has it all.

Who knows why I’ve spent so much time coming back to TTR? I love the plot, the characters, the setting, but who knows why it took me so long to write TTR. Who knows why I kept coming back to it? It’s the only WIP that I kept coming back to, time and time again. At one point, only a few weeks ago, I decided to offer it as an Excerpt Monday serial Free Read – even when I decided to sorta, semi give up on TTR, I couldn’t really.

Now that I’ve finished, I plan on cleaning it up a bit lot and sending it in to Golden Heart (I’ll find something else for EM). I’d honestly like to see how it does. And, if for some reason TTR ends up finalling in GH, well, I think it’d be a fantastic way to start my quest to become Published Novelist instead of Wannabe Published Novelist.

Here’s hoping TTR *fingers crossed*…

Balance, however, is a different matter. As I noted on Blueboards, I’m a full time student and work multiple jobs that require a lot of time flexibility. I try to have an active web presence by maintain multiple blogs, checking out various forums (writing or otherwise), etc.

To keep myself organized, I’ve created a writing schedule, a schedule for work, another for class assignments, etc. I take all that info and shove it all into a planner for convience. I like to make daily To Do charts the night before and plan my day around that. I figure out which times are best for writing and try to work then. I also tell myself I must write X amount of words a day (the story’s not going to write itself, after all!) – sometimes I hit my word count and even go way above, sometimes I don’t get close (this past week’s been more of a don’t). Nonetheless, I still try to eek out some words on a daily basis, be it 60 or 600.

The problem with my various schedules and To Do Lists is that Real Life doesn’t quite enjoy cooperating with me. You know, when life throws you that curveball

-you’re friends somehow ‘coerced’ you to see the midnight showing of a brand new movie with your favorite actor so you didn’t go to bed early like you had planned to prep properly for that 8am presentation….

- you meant to take a quick half hour nap before settling down to write chapter two of The Amazing Story, but ended up falling into such a deep sleep because the week’s been so exhaustive, you didn’t wake up until four hours later….

-a favorite show (in my case, True Blood) has a new episode airing tonight and you try to convince yourself you can totally multitask television, internet, talking on the phone, and writing at the same time…. (What? You think this is an example from my own life? Whatever gave you that idea?)

You know, Real Life (and yes, Real Life has to have capital letters).

As classes start to wind up again, I worry about keeping everything I have to/want to do in order. I’m nervous because school is a huge part of my life right now and I really rather not screw it up. So (so!), I’ve created a list of ways to keep myself balanced (like I said, makings lists aren’t the problem ):

-“Shoot for the moon because even if you fail, you’ll still land among the stars.” – In other words, give myself room to mess up. I’m going to try my best to do everything I set out to do, but I’m also going to keep in mind that sometimes, I can’t get to everything I’ve set out for the day. And that’s fine. I have tomorrow and the next day and the next….

-“It’s alright to make changes and/or get help” – you’re never actually alone in the world. Besides one, friends in real life currently have about 0.5% interest in my writing as far as I can tell (maybe if I became the next JK Rowlings or Nora Roberts, that 0.5% will double). However, there are a number of forums I visit where there are like minded people who have no problem talking about writing – from brainstorming to the publication process. Great communities! I love ‘em all!
In Real Life, I sometimes have issues with saying ‘No.’
Okay, let me rephrase.
I’m fine saying ‘No’ most of the time, but it’s the feeling that comes after uttering that two lettered word, that sometimes tangles me up. I end up thinking, You’re such a cool person/you’re my boss (<–maybe a combo of the two even), maybe I can fit XYZ into my schedule. I’ll just multitask there or wake up earlier here…’ More often than not, I end up falling flat on my face and things go pbbht! Even when things go well without a hitch, at the end I may breathe a sigh of relief and say “never again” (until the next person approaches me…). *Facepalm* This brings me to point number 3.

-“Stay focused on what you’re trying to accomplish” – I’m honored when someone asks me to work on XYZ project because I’ve “proven myself,” but between those activities (many of which are things I enjoy/honestly love doing) and my ever growing lists of Things to Do, I’d go stir crazy. Keep your eye on the ball and Getcha Head In the Game and all those wonderfully happy sayings. As long as I have clear goals in mind — things I truly want to accomplish — and am striving to reach them so that one day I actually do reach them, I’m happy.

How do you keep balance in your life?

I’ve skulked around Once Upon a Crime for a few weeks now and I know it’s quite a treasure find. I’m currently trying to write a contemporary mystery suspense novel (the plot penguin currently known as S.S.) and the OUC blog has helped me out greatly. This site has posts ranging from ‘Foreshadowing Villains’ to to ‘Bond Gadgets and Real Technology’ and so much more!

So, kudos, ladies, for a job well done and congrats on celebrating OUC’s one year anniversary!

7,022 today for a total of 14,105! I have never written so much in one day before! I am absolutely astounded!

I suppose I should be appreciative, then, of the neighborhood dogs that decided to have a barking match at the time I finally decided to take a nap. :p Because of them, I kept on writing.

Shoot, I may continue writing tonight…or I may just take a break and happily melt in front of the television between True Blood, Drop Dead Diva, and Army Wives (I watched one episode of Army Wives a few weeks ago and I was hooked; there was no turning back).

EDIT: Kept writing. Word count of 15,624 (wrote 8,541 today). I’ve got Scene I and Scene II completed for the most part (bits and pieces of Scene II -I will flesh that out on Monday).

I’ve taken a break  and I still have energy to go on, so I will in a few minutes.

And to think, this morning when I opened up a blank Word document, I felt impending doom and was quite close to just say ‘erm, maybe I’ll just start tommorow.’

My mantra for the day is: You can’t fix what isn’t there, so just get it down.

EDIT: Let’s make that 7,083. Thank you and goodnight, ladies and gentlemen!

This is what I’ve come up with:

If you’re reading this blog, please share – What are your Dream Big goals?

I enjoy writing and I enjoy living. Setting and writing down goals will help me achieve what it is I set out to do. So, without further adieu…

The Short Version:

 Daily Writing Goals = 600 words a day

Writing Life Goals = Reading books in favored genres three times a week, Blogging five days a week, Participating/Reading blogs, forums, etc two times a week

Daily/Weekly  Real Life Goals =

-Have Meaningful Employment (aka, do something that you actually enjoy while getting paid)

-Be More Fit (start off by walking two miles, two days a week).

-Continue Education (complete this year with flying colors by prepping for classes every day, being at least once chapter ahead with assignments, and stop procrastination – avoid the all nighters!)

And the Longer Version (writing wise, at least)

Sunday is my writing free pass. It’s the only day that I consistently don’t have classes and the one day I’m going to be adamant about not going into work (unless there’s a real emergency). The only things that should be happening on Sunday is catching up on/getting ahead with homework, updating blogs, editing pages from the week, and reading a book for fun….assuming I’m not snoozing the day away instead.

Sat +Weekday Schedule: Scheduling is tentative until I actually learn my class schedule. The classes I’m taking are at an intensive level, so one class can last from 3-6 hours depending on the day and the week. It makes planning other things a bit more difficult. Not impossible, but difficult. I know all classes start in late afternoon, so with the exception of T/R when I have one mid afternoon class, I know I’m available every week day before 4p. If I’m not writing or doing something work related, I’ll be studying.

Saturday classes seem to fall from 830 or 9a-3p. Before class or after, if I’m not doing something school/work related, I’ll edit pages written from the week and update my blogs. If needed, I will try to beta as I really do like giving feedback.

The plan is, since I wake up very early, is to write in the mornings, go to work and study during the day, and head to class in the evenings. I will write a minimum of 600 words for each day for 6 days…. or 3600 words/week …or 14,400 a month.

Will it suck, especially in the beginning? Hell yeah.

But will it be worth it if I achieve on my goals? Hell yeah!

Short Term Goals of 5 Months (Aug 1 2009-Dec 31 2009):

TALLY:

Written work monthly breakdown: write 21.07k in rough drafts which breaks down into 4.2k a month (~ 140 words/day)

Written work half year breakdown: write 77k in rough drafts or 15.4k a month (~514 words/day)

Edit: S

Submit: S

Order of Importance: S, TTR, MS, V

 
Long Term Goals of 7 Months (Jan 1, 2010-July 31, 2010): Part of my post disappeared Here’s a quick recap:

…So on and so forth…And through it all, continue to grow as a writer…