#ROW80 Final Round 2 Check-in 6/24/15

Sniff, we’re at the end of the line now (well, tomorrow, but I consider today the end as it is my last check-in). It’s been amazingly productive and I will definitely continue on to Round 3.

Here are my amended goals from after Grave Touched’s release:

~Survivor Sundays – Did as many as I could when I wasn’t camping or on a deadline. Making slow, but steady progress.
~ Finish Fireborn OR add 5k (depends on the muse) – Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into it in time to put a dent in it. I think I wrote maybe 1,500 new words? Well, better than 0 new words!
~Freewrite on Ever Touched (need to get a handle on a few things) – Didn’t really freewrite, but started a project file in Hiveword for Ever Touched and have been outlining, figuring out characters, and names. So far, so good!
~Write Changeling: The Faerie Dance – Wrote and revised! Needs a final edit pass before I post it on 7/1.

I think the main thing was getting Grave Touched ready for release and then the release itself, plus promo and reviews and all that jazz. It really burned me out for awhile, so it took me some time to get the muse back into work mode, and then to start with said work after a hiatus…yeah, not so easy. But I am very happy with my progress.

Over all, I’ve written since 5/3 a grand total of 8,196 words across three projects: Survivor, Fireborn, and Covenant.

I’ve had two good Survivor Sundays.

I am heading into the climax of Fireborn (and I had a revelation yesterday about the ending!)

Covenant was a happy surprise, and it’s going well.

I want to start writing Ever Touched sometime this year. Maybe for Nano in November?

My chocolate consumption report: Today I had a small bowl of chocolate ice cream and a chocolate-caramel WW snack. My plan is to limit myself to one thing instead of a bunch. Hopefully I can stick to this.

Here’s to a great end to the round! How did you do this time?

#ROW80 Check-in 6/21/15

Annnd here we are again with another check-in. I’ve been more productive, which is really good. 🙂

Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers out there!

I’m still going slowly wordcount-wise so my muse doesn’t get spooked. I haven’t been able to work on both main WIPs every day, although I think I managed it once. So maybe it’ll end up being a back-and-forth thing, and that’s totally okay. I’m being gentle with myself because things have been rough on me as of late, and I don’t need to hear my Inner Slave Driver screaming at me about low wordcounts. Nope, my ears are plugged.

Here’s the run down:

Survivor – Worked on it today and last Sunday. I’m on page 10 of 831 (!!) but I realized that I messed up a few scenes. Oh, yes. It would have helped to take a glance at my outline and notes beforehand, but now I’ve got it straight. It is SO overwhelming, rewriting this book. But it will be better for it, and I still believe it is worth the work to make it saleable. I also need to distill some of these scenes into the core idea, because I can see how little some of them accomplish story-wise. I’ve learned how to identify that kind of stuff, whereas 11 years ago, I knew nothing. So, progress.

Ever Touched – More work in Hiveword (it is Hiveword, not Hivemind! I frantically searched for it last night — didn’t bookmark the site, duh — and discovered this. Oops? But now I’m straight.) Got some characters named and identified, got a few scenes added to the outline. It’s coming along.

Fireborn – No new words here. I got a bit stuck on where to go next. I know the what, just not the how. I thought about it and I think I have a direction now.

Covenant – 646 more words for a total of 4,810 in draft.

Changeling part 2 – I got feedback and have revised/edited it. One more pass for typos and such, and it’ll be done.

I think that’s it for today. Going to try to get more work done today if I can, in between Father’s Day stuff.

As for the chocolate consumption report, been craving it MADLY and have been eating ALL THE THINGS which is really bad for the waistline. I may need to cut back at some point. 😦

How are you doing on your goals?

#ROW80 Check-in 6/17/15 – Quick update

Quickie update as I am dizzy and exhausted. 😦 This week’s been a killer for no apparent reason other than to be killer. But I persevere!

Update:

Fireborn – 785 new words, bringing my total to 15,303 words in draft
Covenant – 1,070 new words for a total of 4,162 words in draft
Survivor – unchanged, waiting till this Sunday
Ever Touched – unchanged but have been pondering stuff

I’m waiting on feedback for Changeling part 2, and once I get that, I’ll be editing/revising. Deadline 7/1.

That is basically it. Eye pain eased off a bit today so I feel a bit better, but work exhausts me. Oh hey, today’s my 14-year anniversary with the company I work for. Longevity FTW. 😉

Chocolate, oh man, the chocolate. And hubby and I discovered s’mores flavored Oreos (and I am an Oreo hound) so we’ve been eating those. I also had some Milky Way bites (okay, a bit more than some), and my usual WW chocolate goodness.

How’s the week going for you?

#ROW80 Check-in 6/14/15

I’ve made some progress since my last check-in! Yay!

Things have been a bit dicey with my eye and now having dizzy spells. I think it may be my ears, so looks like a visit to the ENT doc is going to happen.

Here’s the rundown:

Fireborn – Nothing new since last check-in, but have been pondering the next scene.
Survivor – Finally restarted it today. 941 words, a rewrite of the current scene.
Ever Touched – Nada, but thought about it this weekend. Leaning toward the clone/psychic connection angle.
Covenant – Up to 3,091 words. Yesterday’s scene was a tough one.

I’ve found I can handle about 3 active novels before my brain turns to mush. I’m really good at keeping things separate — it’s the same reason why I can read 4 books at a time with no problem. Everything has its own place and nothing merges together. It’s great.

Whether I can keep this going remains to be seen. I haven’t done this in years…almost ten, if I’m figuring it right. Sure takes me back!

That’s really about it. I got hit with a freaky mermaid plot bunny and I had an equally freaky dream that might become a story. It’s just that freaky. And, of course, I need to get it out of my head and onto paper. I woke up and was glad it was only a dream. It was scarily dystopic and a bit out there. My kind of thing completely. Thank you, brain and muse. You’re conspiring against me again.

Chocolate consumption has been, as of late, through the roof. Most of it I’m ashamed to admit is stress eating. I gained a few pounds, so I should cut back but damn it, I NEED my chocolate!

#ROW80 Check-in 6/10/15

Getting down to the wire now! Holy crap!

I’VE STARTED WRITING AGAIN AND IT FEELS AMAZING

Granted, I’m doing maybe 500 words a day at the most, and I’m keeping a low goal so I don’t scare off my muse. Here’s what I’ve been working on:

Fireborn – Restarted this one today. 267 words, just getting back into the swing. Draft up to 14,510 words.
Survivor – Sadly, was on hold while I camped and did other things. This Sunday I plan on jumping back in.
Ever Touched – Started a file on it in HiveMind. Planning on doing some loose outlining soon.**
Covenant – The new project. Again, few hundred words a day, no pressure. Draft is up to 2,234 words now.

Is that it? I think so.

**Something’s hanging me up on this. Without getting into too many details…I have two directions I could go with this. One is having the protagonist and a clone, and have them be connected and be sort of…psychically sensing each other? Then later the clone will have to cope with the fact that she’s a clone and why she exists. Or, I could just have the protagonist experiencing everything without a clone or psychic connection. Thing is, the clone idea is much more complex, but intrigues me in a few different ways (she is also the love interest of the hero). The other way is less intriguing, but…cleaner I guess? I’m trying to figure out if it’s just a matter of CLONE ZOMG COOL MOAR SCI-FI STUFF or if it’s a valid (and good) idea. Anyone care to weigh in?

The FT books are sci-fi but also fantasy, so a clone would fit into the mix (and with genetic engineering, yeah!) but this is the first time I’m using a psychic connection and precognition which is both sci-fi and fantasy IMO. I believe it still works within the constraints of the FT world. (I had scrapped the original idea due to not fitting, and the 2nd idea…this is my third.)

So once I nail that down, I can proceed.

(I would like to at least start this book this year. Trying to avoid a 3-yr gap between books.)

Chocolate consumption update! Wowza, I can really pack it in! Lots and lots of chocolate. And olive oil. (Don’t ask. It’s work-related and not that exciting).

Eye has been yucky today and yesterday, coinciding with a storm front coming through. Yay. (Working on getting answers.)

I think that’s it?

Heard this lyric and the muse is chewing on it: I will burn the sky.

#ROW80 Check-in 6/7/15 – getting back into the swing of things

I’m back from vacation (camping FTW) and I’m getting back into the swing of writing again. I did write a bit while on vacation, on a totally different book because my muse wanted to. This idea actually hit me a few years ago about ghost marriage (a Chinese custom where a person is married to a deceased person for various reasons, usually to give the deceased a lineage)  and Egyptian mythology, but never could figure out the details. So I set it aside. While on vacation I was reading a book called The Ghost Bride about ghost marriage — and suddenly it hit me, the details and everything. So I started writing it and it’s going well so far. It’s called Covenant and it will be a trilogy.

As for my other projects, a bit fat zero. Fireborn is still rattling around in my head. I’d intended on brainstorming and/or outlining Ever Touched while on vacation, too, but that never happened. I have been pondering it though.

On Survivor, my intention is to start working on it on Sundays again. Today I’m devoting to Covenant, since the urge is there, but after this, it’ going to be Survivor.

I’ve found that after a book release I need time to rest my body and mind. I’ve never really been able to jump into another project right away, which is both good and bad. I feel like I lost a few months there, and that sucks, but I needed the break. I have the tendency to work myself into the ground, and I have to remind myself that I’m not a machine. But now the muse is waking up a bit, and I’m starting to get the urge again.

That’s really about it. Vacation was absolutely wonderful, and of course too short. I’m back to work tomorrow and I am dreading it. Can’t I just be on vacation forever?

On the chocolate front..um, lots. We had a birthday party a few weeks ago and the birthday boy wanted a Sanders Bumpy Cake. We had butter pecan ice cream and brownie ice cream…and leftovers for a few days. 😉 I’ve been eating mini Twix bars, WW caramel chocolate and wafers, and today I’ll get to have chocolate donuts. Oh, and s’mores while camping, because that’s required (and a white chocolate kit kat. Yummy!) I think that’s about it. Chocolate makes everything better.

#ROW80 Check-in 5/20/15 – Stories and computers and camping oh my!

I haven’t been around much, mainly because my 2-year-old computer’s monitor died and could not be saved. Alas, poor computer, you have now joined the 6 others that came before you. RIP.

Yeah. So I decided to buy another one, because I need a computer, and the one I had before the one that died is 7 years old and a mess. I stopped using it after 2 days of fighting with it. Not my idea of a great time. I basically got the same type of puter I had except with a bigger hard drive for HALF the price. SCORE. It finally came on Friday (after being sent to the wrong post office) and naturally, because this is MY life, I couldn’t touch it b/c hubby and I were leaving for a camping trip.

(Also? About 98% of my info was backed up in various locations…except my GT book cover. I have the JPG but not the original Photoshop file. I have an online backup service which backs up everything continuously, but the zip file I downloaded is not working so I’m a bit worried. Everything else is fine, though).

So. Camping was nice. We were only about an hour away from home. Had a bit of an issue pulling out one of the beds in the pop-up — it kept getting stuck! But hubby took care of that, and all was well. I did a TON of reading and even wrote! Handwrote no less! (That’s another story). Since I had almost no internet service, I had to get creative. I’d hoped to at least keep up on my email, but no go.

So I finished the rough draft of Changeling: The Faerie Dance, which needs to be typed up and revised. Due June 1st, first day of my vacation AND the first week-long camping trip we have planned (second is in August). I also worked on an older project that wasn’t gelling for like, over a year (no kidding!) and somehow it finally came together and I wrote about 1k. It’s called Covenant, and it combines the Chinese custom of ghost marriage with Egyptian mythology. I love it, but could never quite figure it out until last weekend. So that’s a thing. 🙂

As for everything else, nada. Still in a funk due to my eye, and still feel too frazzled. I had to put off a bunch of promo commitments due to the computer dying and I’m still trying to get caught up. That’s about it.

I miss daily writing. I hope to start again soon.

#ROW80 Check-in 5/6/15

I’ve been taking a break from writing, but I’m starting to feel the urge again, which is great.

What isn’t great is my eye. It’s been hurting badly all week, and I just found out that the special eye institute I was hoping to get into doesn’t think they can help me. 😦 With them out of the running, I literally have no one else to go to. (Unless I want to get third opinions, which the lady at the institute suggested but…I am SO done with testing and crap. I dunno. Maybe I’ll change my mind.)

So I’ve been in a bit of a funk about this, and feeling terrible. Granted, it could be worse, right? But it feels so unsurmountable — trying to work, trying to write, trying to live — and, well, I’m letting myself feel bad. For a bit. Then, well…I’ll get back to business. I always do. 😀

I had an idea about Flamebound, my paranormal romance novella that I’d like to expand into a novel. So that’s happening along with all the other whisperings of my muse.

This Sunday I plan on working on Survivor. I may try to slip some Fireborn words in sometime, but no pressure.

Our weather over here’s been rainy, but it has started to get nicer. I’m hoping for a nice weekend for camping (next week! So close!).

How’s everyone doing this week?

#ROW80 Check-in 5/3/15

Yep, this one has flown from the nest.

I’m back! Grave Touched has been released and I’m finally able to take a breather. I’m happy with the way it turned out — I had a few snafus with the paperback cover — but all is well now. Very excited!

If you’re interested in a copy or an excerpt, check it out here.

So what am I up to now? Well, I’m trying to solicit reviews and guest blog posts. Anyone interested? Let me know! I’m always willing to return the favor.

The big priority now is finishing Fireborn and writing the next installment in my Changeling serial on Turtleduck Press. That’s due June 1st. I’m pretty sure I know what’s happening next. It’s just a matter of getting in down on paper (or screen). Also I’d like to continue my Survivor Sundays. Today’s been a bit crazy so I’ll probably start it next week.

Ever Touched is also calling my name, so that’s happening.

Hubby and I will be going on our first camping trip in two weeks. Very exciting.

Soooo let’s declare some goals (from now to the end of this round):

~Survivor Sundays
~ Finish Fireborn OR add 5k (depends on the muse)
~Freewrite on Ever Touched (need to get a handle on a few things)
~Write Changeling: The Faerie Dance

How about you? How are you doing with your goals?

#ROW80 Final Check-in Round 2

I’ve been so insanely busy that I missed the two previous check-ins. But I wanted to make this one for sure.

As you know, I’ve made some decent progress on several projects. I’ve finished just shy of 10k, which is 25k below my initial goal. Life took some big swings at me, and I haven’t been writing as much. I’ve been mostly editing, which I didn’t factor into my total numbers. I’m finally finished with Reaper Girl and all that’s left is copyedits on the other stories (and Reaper Girl at the end). After that’s put to bed, my next priority is the Grave Touched rewrite. That really, really, really needs to get going again. I think I wrote only once on it this month. I’m ~40k in, ~80k to go.

So next round, that will be the priority. And possibly a side project, just to keep my muse from gnawing on me too much.

Final stats!

Words written: ~10,000
Words remaining: ~25,000
Projects worked on: 4 (Reaper Girl, Awaken Me, Soulfire, and Grave Touched)
Times wrist was a problem: 2
Times used voice recognition: 1
Times FINIS: 1 (Reaper Girl)
Chocolate consumption: 29 mentions total, 5 mentions of “a lot” or “too much,” 2 mentions of “none.” (!!!)
Music: Adam Lambert, In Flames, Def Leppard, Within Temptation, Goo Goo Dolls, The Fray, Device, Halestorm

Annnnd that’s it for this round. Thanks for visiting.