I thought, if that's okay with you, I'd make that a theme to this months check-ins. Reminding ourselves to slow it down at some point in the day-enjoy a view, enjoy a song, play around with a sketch book and doodles. Read a book, allow yourself the time play on Pinterest, visit some blogs you've been missing. One of my favourite Sunday blogs is Brain Pickings. Haven't had much time to read it. So! Following my own advice today and going to read this:
Neil Gaiman's 8 Rules of Writing | Brain Pickings
Is there anything else you'd like to talk about or see me post? I'm all blogging ears and looking forward to offering support and a place to check-in, share your goals, voice your frustrations on days when you are think "gaaaaaaah, why won't my characters do what I want them to." "what the heck is wrong with the middle of this story?!?!"
Here's my month:
- Reading for Cybils
- beta read YA novel for friend
- Explore writing a novel on grief, get Denise Jaden's book (this is a subject I know a fair bit about, but am always afraid to write. When I started reading about Denise's book it got me thinking maybe now is the time
- Revise ZIP ZOOM JAKE IN THE NIGHT TIME
- Including a course I am taking for work. Have to finish that this month.
What is your month like? Do you have goals set for the first week? How do you slow yourself down so you can take a breath, enjoy the moment, fill that writer's well?
I'll leave you with this quote from Susan Uhlig's quote section on her site:
The smallest actual goal is better than the most magnificent promise of impossibilities.
And this bit of quiet might and one of my favourite places in the world, Castle Mountain. Think I'll pause a while and imagine myself there.
Awesome idea Deb to focus on slowing down this month. I could sure use to do that. Sounds like you've got a lot going on this month. I'm finishing my revisions on my MG fantasy and then working on my query and my new manuscript. And blogging a lot, working, and going to a lot of swim meets. And I'll try to slow down too.
ReplyDeleteI'd say you have a lot going on this month,too! Good luck with those revisions...and maybe we can be kindred spirits in remembering to slow it down every now and then.
DeleteLooking forward to another great month of #wipmadness! First off, the winner for the last week of September's #wipmadness:
ReplyDeleteGHOST GIRL! DM me your addy and I'll get the last book out to you. :-)
Deb, thanks so much for a pointer to the Neil Gaiman post. I especially love this one:
Remember: when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.
I had exactly this problem with the novel I'm currently querying--a lot of people gave me their vague sense that something was wrong with the overall picture but no one could actually pin it down, so I knew it was serious. I sent out a few fulls as-is and ended up having an amazing brainstorming session over email with a wonderful agent, who asked me the right questions to get me to figure out what I needed to do (and who now has the revision in her inbox!). Even if she doesn't end up taking it on, I've been sending out this much stronger manuscript to others too, and feel so much better about it.
In the meantime, I went from 28K to 51K on my WIP last month, and am shooting to finish the draft this month. Just five chapters left with a pretty detailed outline, so it seems doable even though ...
I'm starting a new part-time job! I'm excited because it's in my field (language technology) and I get to do it from home, so it's a win-win, but I am definitely a little worried that I'll lose my writing motivation by losing so many hours a week. I will need all of you to keep me on track!
Here's to a great month!
Congrats on the new job - working from home is awesome!
DeleteSo many wins Kip!
DeleteWow! So many positive things, Kip! Congrats! :)
DeleteOh, squeeee! I didn't know I won it! YAY!
DeleteAnd congrats on your brainstorming/epiphany with the agent! Fingers crossed for more...
I envy your working from home. I used to day that and I really miss it. Enjoy!
Thanks so much, everyone! You guys are the bestest. :-)
DeleteCongrats on the new job and for getting in so much wordage last month!
DeleteWe can so be here for you! Way to go on the job and the wip and finding out what was up with your other ms!
DeleteI love the idea of slowing it down :)
ReplyDeleteMy goals are sorta up-in-the-air for this month because I'm going to start querying in the next few weeks. Right now I'm doing some last minute tweakings and a final read-through. It's hard to find that balance between polishing it and pulling my hair out over it.
I neglected my new WIP last month, so I want to get some words down, but I'm not going to set an actual goal. I'm going with the flow!
Have a great week, everyone!
Wow. That sounds like a fun time! I haven't been to the tweaking and read-through stages yet (just about done though, so soonish), but it sounds like you've got a good perspective on it. I'm excited to get to that point. I can only imagine the thrill of both joy and fear that happens when you are ready to send your baby out into the world. I hope the finishing touches go well! Oh, and 'get some words down' has got to be my favorite goal! Good luck with the new wip too! :)
DeleteEnjoy that flow! Sometimes you just have to let it all hang wherever it wants to. :-)
DeleteSounds perfect! Hope you have a great month and a great start to querying!
DeleteGood luck with the queries when the time comes. And I hear you on the balance, knowing when enough is enough and it's time to leave the ms alone.
DeleteGo with the flow...I like it!
I've had an amazing September, of which I hope to be able to tell you all about soon. But the bottom line is, I need to get my first draft finished as soon as I can.
ReplyDeleteOn the taking it easy track. I began Weight Watchers at the beginning of September and as a result, have been walking to the river far more than usual, even on school afternoons. I live in such a beautiful place. I've scared up turkeys and deer, but with rifle season around the corner I'm going to have to stick closer to home. (and I've lost 4 pounds!)
Congrats on all fronts! Love hearing good news, even if the details can't be shared yet. ^_^ I've got exercise goals for the month and am hoping to get this body back on track. Three cheers for beautiful places to live!
DeleteCongrats on the amazing month! I'm looking forward to celebrating something with you when you can share! I started a couch to 5K thing a couple weeks ago and it's been good, but hard. I did WW a few years ago, and it worked well for me. I hope it works well for you also. (Yay! 4lbs!) :)
DeleteHurray! Oh, how I would love to go on some of those walks with you. Can't wait to hear more exciting news...
DeleteSqueeeeeeeing in advance! And congrats on the WIP and Weight Watchers progress!
DeleteSeptemer was a banner month for you, Jaye! Looking forward to all the details of your good news!
DeleteWay to go on the the weight loss and the walking to help achieve it! Really looking forward to hearing all about September, I must say!
DeleteI need you all SO MUCH right now. I started querying my MG last week and my inbox flooded with fast form rejects. Shattered my confidence. I realize I've written on another taboo subject that most are prejudiced against, but hey, it's a really fun story that I believe kids will love, even if grown-ups frown at the idea. I've got to think things through before I send another batch of queries out. In the meantime, I'm taking one last trip through my YA historical before giving it to CPs. October has to be a no pressure writing month for me. I'm spending lots of time getting to know the people and landscape of my beautiful new home here on the Continental Divide. Seriously, we've seen every aspect of the song HOME, HOME ON THE RANGE this past week. Even buffalo roaming!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you've had a disappointing response from your queries. I'm glad that you still can say 'it's a really fun story that I believe kids will love'. That's what it's all about. Keep believing in it.
DeleteOh, and I'm super jealous that you're in CO now. I miss it. We lived in Windsor (near Ft. Collins, Loveland, and Greeley) for 8 years. I'm sure you'll love it as much as I did. It's beautiful there! :)
Soak it in, Angelina. I'm so sorry you've had those hits this month. I go through that same process...take some rejection and then re-evaluate. Sending ((hugs)) and thoughts of inspiration your way...
DeleteOhhhh, querying. It is so hard. Sososo hard. It makes sense to re-evaluate but hang in there. Feel free to send me your letter if you want other eyes on it, and take some hugs while you're at it. I believe in you!
DeleteI think you just have to super carefully target those queries. You need an agent who reps really fun MG humor. And even though my former agent and I split prematurely - he does sell a lot of MG if you want to e-mail me.
DeleteThose R's never get easier. Someday, I'm going to count up all mine--lost track long ago. Hope you can find some serenity and perspective in your new home. Also hope that you find the right brave agent to take on a book that might be controversial.
DeleteHang in there. It really is tough getting those rejections and yeah it totally messes with your confidence, sigh. Here's a cyber hug and a boatload of you can do this.
DeleteWow, Deb! I absolutely love Neil Gaiman's advice (better than Elmore Leonard's!) and am inspired by your goals. I am so close on this WIP, so my primary goal is to finish the revision and redrafting of the manuscript (3 more chapters to go) by October 19th. Why? Because I am taking myself on a little retreat in the mountains that weekend and I want focus on that last big run-through revision. I also plan to take some time for photography and finish reading a couple of ARCs.
ReplyDeleteRight now I'm fighting with the "go big or stay home" mentality. I seem to be staying home a little too much. I've got to smack my inner editor on the head and remind how big life really seems to the YA reader...
Rock it out, wipsters!
What an awesome plan you have! I took my ms on a retreat this summer and it was time so well spent. Good luck getting ready for it!
DeleteThe chord that has struck with me this year is "real life is not story life, in fiction you must tell a story." (Cheryl Klein) It's allowed me to make stakes higher, crazier, wilder and then tone down if necessary. You've really poured your all into this!
DeleteNice nice and nice on the retreat! We'll be hear cheering you on to get those revisions done!
DeleteOh...and here is a smack for your inner editor.
Hey! I'm checking in! I wrote almost 6K last week (my highest week EVER!) which brought me to 16,149 words for the month! WOW! I'm so excited about this! Also, I'm at 135K for the wip so far and I'm sure it will be done by 150K. I'm hoping I can do that in two weeks (before we leave for vacation on the 11th). So, writing goals for the month of October are:
ReplyDelete-Finish WIP!
-Complete first (major) edit
-TRY to plan some scenes for next WIP (I'm a discovery writer, so this may be impossible, but I would love to have a little bit of a head start for NaNo)
And that's it! It feels surreal to say 'finish' my WIP...it's my first one and it's been a long time coming... I'm THRILLED about it (obviously) and I'm excited to share this time with you all.
Oh, and I'll be having my fair share of relaxing this month too. Seeing friends and family for a couple weeks and just playing games and hanging out and awesome stuff. Plus a wedding. It'll be great! :)
CONGRATS ON THE MAJOR WORD COUNT!!! Woooooo!
DeleteFantastic word count. Excellent. What genre is your book?
DeleteWheee!! So exciting to be thisclose to finishing your first novel. That's awesome!! Congrats, and GO GO GO! :)
DeleteThe book is a YA heroic fantasy. At least that's what I'm going with at the moment. Sometimes I say YA high fantasy. It's got magic, prophecy, Elves, Dragons, Demons, and the whole saving the world bit...from a 1st person POV that deals with themes of love, grief, worth, and what it means to be a hero. I'm SO excited to finish!!!
DeleteBoy oh boy....LOVE the sound of your wip. Way to go on that word count, that is crazy good!
DeleteThanks for hosting, Deb, and THANK YOU for reading my new book!! That made me squee out loud when I read it last night. I hope you get some revelation and inspiration out of it!
ReplyDeleteSo WRITING WITH A HEAVY HEART is officially out today. I didn't plan a blog tour or anything, as I don't know how to do that sort of thing for a non-fiction self-published book. But if any of you would like to spread the word, or if you'd like me to visit your blog for an interview or whatever, that would be awesome.
I finished my Nano outline and I'm still slowly plugging away on my second non-fiction book. I'm keeping quiet about the subject of it, but I will tell you this...I've already typed in the dedication page, and it's to all of you #wipmadness peeps. I'm excited to share more about it as I have more done!
Another non-fiction?! Sweet! Good luck with it, Denise. Curious to hear more when the time comes. :)
DeleteLooking forward to hearing about your next non-fiction. And _really_ looking forward to reading Writing With a Heavy Heart! YAY on finishing the NANO outline. I may be pantsing it this year.
DeleteEnjoy your busy October, Deb! I LOVE LOVE LOVE Neil Gaiman. Especially love his rule #5. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteFunny. You picture yourself in the mountains and I imagine myself at the beach.
Me to on Neil Himself...he. is. amazing.
Deletelol on the beach....now you have me thinking the next photo should be a mountain beach!
September was crazy for me. Launched my debut book with a flurry of blogosphere activity that took lots of time and effort. Now I'm trying to find a sane balance between ongoing promotional activities and completing revisions for the next book by the end of this month. I've got the first draft done as of today, but there's still a long way to go.
ReplyDeleteYour advice to take some time out to enjoy nature and quietude is much needed. My sleep has been terrible and one of my eyes has even started twitching. Must make some serious adjustments or people will think I'm winking at them. :)
Ack! Got so busy I totally missed your book coming out. Have it now...whipped over to KOBO and bought the e-book. Looking forward to reading it.
DeleteOh dear on the twitching eye..yes, winking at the people may not be a good thing depending on the situation. Sounds like taking in the quiet is going to be an all around good thing!
CONGRATS on Nerve!!!!!
Wow! Congrats on the book launch! And surviving it! I have a friend who's doing that now and she is so super busy... Finding balance is a great idea. I hope you're able to figure out what that is for you! :)
DeleteThanks, Deb and Lissajean!
DeleteAnd thanks for picking up a copy, Deb!
Hey! Welcome....really looking foward to reading it!
DeleteI'm jumping back and forth between two new WIPs right now (as the spirit moves, lol), and I expect I'll keep that up throughout the month. I'm also totally excited to be attending the Surrey writer's conference in a couple weeks! Yay! It's always so inspirational + educational. Good stuff.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty good about taking "slow down" moments -- usually in the form of a walk on the beach. :)
Oh man...sorry I will miss Surrey. I was planning on attending and then decided to wait until next year. I've only been once and loved loved it.
DeleteYou know, it's nice to jump back and forth tween mss. Change is as good as a rest!
Ooh, I'll be reading for the Cybils too! I'm on the YA fantasy/Sci-Fi panel. I'm really excited!
ReplyDeleteI also hope to work some more on my sequel plus I'm taking a self-editing on-line class with Angela James starting next week.
My goal is to write at least 500 words a day from Monday-Saturday.
Yay on the YA/Sci FIction panel! I have to decide on my nomination yet.
DeleteEnjoy your class and go go on that 500 word goal!
All I need is a place to sit and sip my tea, Deb. I trust you with the rest. :)
ReplyDeleteHm, my goals for this month? Last month was fan-freaking-tastic. I outlined and did a *lot* of research for my urban fantasy. (So much fun.) Now that I have a cohesive plot, I'm ready to get back to writing it ...
But. I have some responsibilities. I've put off looking at the beta feedback for my YA high fantasy. Some of it I know is painful. And I realized I needed some serious time away from the story in general. I could not process or compute even the good stuff. Now with SIWC looming, I want to make sure I have a complete manuscript that an agent will be happy to see. And so that's going to be my focus for the next two and a half weeks.
After that? Well, we'll see what happens.
tea and a place to sit...now that's a good start! Way. to. go. on your last month!!
DeleteGood luck with your current project.
Man, now I really wish I was heading to SIWC!
Just finished the third draft of Angel Eyes and learned that copyedits on Soul of Kandrith won't come for another two weeks so not sure what I'll be focusing on next. Probably 4th draft Otherselves (another YA, a fantasy).
ReplyDeleteHey Nicole! Good luck with your writing this week. Yay on being on the fourth draft of your YA~!
DeleteLate to the party but here! I've been a little stuck in the mud lately, so I figure a reasonable goal for my revisions is a chapter a week. Hopefully I can exceed that. I also need to do some beta reading and catch up on my book club books. I'm also still hoping to hunt down some critique partners I trust, I just haven't gotten there yet.
ReplyDeleteNon-WIP related goal? I want to read several supernatural books for Halloween, starting with FAT VAMPIRE by Adam Rex (whom I adore.)
Chapter a week sounds like a good, good plan.
DeleteLove Adam Rex, too. Have't read Fat Vampire yet. 'Tis the season to do that though!
I'm late to this check-in, but at least I'm here. I have a non-writing project on the go right now, as well as a ms that I need to work on before the Surrey Conference, along with its related synopsis and pitch. Methinks these next two weeks are going to dissolve into thin air, so I'm already feeling a bit of panic!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear you won't be at this year's SiWC, Deb. I try to get there every couple years for my dose of inspiration, education, rejuvenation, etc., and this is my year to go. It's their 20th anniversary conference, with a 'roaring twenties' theme for the social parts. Registration is still open....... Can we change your mind? :)
At the risk of getting too whiney....again I say oh boy do I wish I was now able to attend the conference. Very nice on it being the 20th. I am tempted to check out the cost.....
DeleteAnd send that panic over my way, I'll lock it up for you!
YAY WIP Madness! I did this last spring for the first time, and in catching up in reader saw this post!
ReplyDeleteI'll be using #wipmadness to GET THESE DANG REVISIONS DONE!! :D
I'm excited! :)
Go, go and GO, I say! Glad you are joining us this month...we'll cheer you on as you get those revisions....DONE!
Delete