It has been a busy week at work. I know I keep saying that but this week really and truly was insane. Here were my goals:
1) Read two books a week in order to read
100 books this year!
2) a) change short story
draft,
b) email to Lauren with fingers
crossed,
c) submit to
competition!
3) Write a ROW80 check-in
every Sunday.
So, let's see how I have done.
Goal One
I finished book number 14 this year and managed to squeeze in a little reading time. I have a shelf of books to be read and am meant to be reading through them before I buy any new ones. But on Wednesday I accidently bought three new books. I have no excuse and I'd do it again! I am about ten books behind where I should be for the 100 books in a year challenge but I have a plan which I'll talk about later.
Goal Two
I did change my short story draft and then I printed it out and yesterday I edited it again. I wasn't expecting as much pink pen as the first edit but there is still lots of pink pen! I am starting to freak out about sending it to Lauren and the competition because I am not 100% happy with it so I am going to wait till tomorrow to send it to Lauren as I feel I need to think more on it. I know I am stalling and it might mean she doesn't have time to read it which will only be my fault for procrastinating but I need to take a step away. I am going to submit it whatever because I need to challenge myself to do that.
Goal Three
DONE!
Now as I mentioned earlier I need a plan. I needed a plan for CampNaNo and for reading so I have come up with a plan of sorts. In April I am not going to take part in camp. I am slightly gutted as I love the NaNo experience but I am completely unprepared and feel I need to look at some of the writing I have already done rather than hash out 50k new words. So I have decided April will be a month of reading. Even typing that makes me feel happy! I need to get some quality reading time in partly for my sanity and partly for my 100 books goal. But I have added a twist as I felt it was a cop out to not write in April. One of the things I must read and make notes on is my first finished chick lit novel. I have spoken about this one before and I love the premise but not the main character and it had the first 50k in the wrong tense so needs work. I also know that I don't like the way I wrote it. I was going through a tough time in my own love life (remember that? not pretty!) which I know impacted on my writing and my writing was much too serious. I was thinking of re-writing it for NaNo but I know if I don't stop, read it, make notes and sort out some issues I will end up hammering out lots of words that will need lots of work. So that is my plan for April and I'll be able to have these goals as my ROW80 goals for the new round and also jump in on some sprints.
It has been a bumpy round but I am still here and excited for round 2! Thank you for all your comments and support especially those of you on twitter who are nothing short of amazing! Here is hoping the next round is even better than this one has been!
Sunday, 24 March 2013
Sunday, 17 March 2013
ROW80 Check-in 17th March 2013
Well it has been a calmer week and I have achieved some goals but failed miserably on one. Here were my goals:
1) Read two books a week in order to read 100 books this year!
2) Finish first draft of short story in third person.
3) Write a ROW80 check-in every Sunday.
Goal One
Really struggling with this! I am still reading book number 14 of the year but I have barely found time to read this week and weekend. It is a JoJo Moyes book and I love her work but I am just not finding the time. I am about 8 books behind where I would ideally be but I have a two week break soon which means lots of lovely reading time. After posting this I am going to have a relaxing evening so will do some readng. As I always say, there is time to catch up on this one!
Goal Two
COMPLETE! I finished the draft in third person of my short story and it works a better than the first person draft so I am pleased I tried it. The first draft was 1,700 words long but I did the first edit today and whilst I have cut, re-arranged and scrawled out words I also added some. I edited in pink as it feels more positive then red and I am glad I did because there is A LOT of pink on the page!
Goal Three
Done!
So it has been a sucessful week writing wise and as mentioned I have done my first edit. It was painful but the bare bones were there. I need to make the changes on the computer but I am going to do that tomorrow and hopefully the always wonderful Lauren is going to cast her eye over it for me. I have the craziest week at work so I am going to keep goals one and three the same and goal two needs to be simple!
1) Read two books a week in order to read 100 books this year!
2) a) change short story draft,
b) email to Lauren with fingers crossed,
c) submit to competition!
3) Write a ROW80 check-in every Sunday.
Oh, hang on. Simple goal three has ended up with three parts! But they are necessary as the deadline is on the 31st March. I aim to be at the sprint tomorrow to do my editing and then the rest of the week is going to be a wash out apart from hopefully some reading time. Next Saturday will hopefull be the day I submit the story. Deep breath. It is also a huge thing for me to let the lovely Lauren read it as no-one has really read anything I have written before. Two deep breaths! But I know she will be honest but gentle!
I hope you are all smashing your goals and have a wonderful week!
1) Read two books a week in order to read 100 books this year!
2) Finish first draft of short story in third person.
3) Write a ROW80 check-in every Sunday.
Goal One
Really struggling with this! I am still reading book number 14 of the year but I have barely found time to read this week and weekend. It is a JoJo Moyes book and I love her work but I am just not finding the time. I am about 8 books behind where I would ideally be but I have a two week break soon which means lots of lovely reading time. After posting this I am going to have a relaxing evening so will do some readng. As I always say, there is time to catch up on this one!
Goal Two
COMPLETE! I finished the draft in third person of my short story and it works a better than the first person draft so I am pleased I tried it. The first draft was 1,700 words long but I did the first edit today and whilst I have cut, re-arranged and scrawled out words I also added some. I edited in pink as it feels more positive then red and I am glad I did because there is A LOT of pink on the page!
Goal Three
Done!
So it has been a sucessful week writing wise and as mentioned I have done my first edit. It was painful but the bare bones were there. I need to make the changes on the computer but I am going to do that tomorrow and hopefully the always wonderful Lauren is going to cast her eye over it for me. I have the craziest week at work so I am going to keep goals one and three the same and goal two needs to be simple!
1) Read two books a week in order to read 100 books this year!
2) a) change short story draft,
b) email to Lauren with fingers crossed,
c) submit to competition!
3) Write a ROW80 check-in every Sunday.
Oh, hang on. Simple goal three has ended up with three parts! But they are necessary as the deadline is on the 31st March. I aim to be at the sprint tomorrow to do my editing and then the rest of the week is going to be a wash out apart from hopefully some reading time. Next Saturday will hopefull be the day I submit the story. Deep breath. It is also a huge thing for me to let the lovely Lauren read it as no-one has really read anything I have written before. Two deep breaths! But I know she will be honest but gentle!
I hope you are all smashing your goals and have a wonderful week!
Sunday, 10 March 2013
R0W80 Check-in Sunday 10th March 2013
I wouldn't say I have been consistent this week but I think goal wise I have done ok! My goals were:
1) Read two books a week in order to read 100 books this year!
2) Finish first draft of short story.
3) Write a ROW80 check-in every Sunday.
Goal One:
I finished book number 13 this week and started reading another but it was a crazy week at work and I didn't get a lot of reading time. I want to get more reading time in this week and next weekend should be quiet so I will hopefully get to read lots! Hopefully!
Goal Two:
I DID IT!!! I finished the first draft of my short story. I wrote 833 words on Monday and 541 words on Saturday so it is complete at 4,011 words. I now need to write a first draft in third person as the more I think about it the more I think third person will work better. The only issue is I need to write and then edit it by March 31st. Eeeek!
Goal Three:
Done!
So this week my goals are pretty much the same with a tweak to goal 2!
1) Read two books a week in order to read 100 books this year!
2) Finish first draft of short story in third person.
3) Write a ROW80 check-in every Sunday.
That's right! I am going to try and write an entire first draft this week! I need to if I am going to have enough editing time and this week is calmer (hopefully!) at work then next week so I need to get cracking!!
Now, before I go we need to talk about CampNaNo. I found out that they were holding a Camp in April and July as opposed to August. July will be NO good for me because work will be crazy so that is a no go. April is......soon! I have no idea if I am going to do it but you can set your own word limit which would be good and lots of my ROW80 buddies are taking part and I want to be in the gang! My issue would be with the short story deadline being prepared and ready to write anything. But I was thinking I could re-write my first chick-lit novel. I love the premise of the story but the first 50k words were in the wrong tense and I told the story all wrong. I told it too seriously and the main character needed some work! But I feel I could pick that up and write it with the notes I have. I need to think more on this but I think I am in. Even for a few thousand words.
Anyway, hope you have had wonderful weeks and the next week is even better than the last!
1) Read two books a week in order to read 100 books this year!
2) Finish first draft of short story.
3) Write a ROW80 check-in every Sunday.
Goal One:
I finished book number 13 this week and started reading another but it was a crazy week at work and I didn't get a lot of reading time. I want to get more reading time in this week and next weekend should be quiet so I will hopefully get to read lots! Hopefully!
Goal Two:
I DID IT!!! I finished the first draft of my short story. I wrote 833 words on Monday and 541 words on Saturday so it is complete at 4,011 words. I now need to write a first draft in third person as the more I think about it the more I think third person will work better. The only issue is I need to write and then edit it by March 31st. Eeeek!
Goal Three:
Done!
So this week my goals are pretty much the same with a tweak to goal 2!
1) Read two books a week in order to read 100 books this year!
2) Finish first draft of short story in third person.
3) Write a ROW80 check-in every Sunday.
That's right! I am going to try and write an entire first draft this week! I need to if I am going to have enough editing time and this week is calmer (hopefully!) at work then next week so I need to get cracking!!
Now, before I go we need to talk about CampNaNo. I found out that they were holding a Camp in April and July as opposed to August. July will be NO good for me because work will be crazy so that is a no go. April is......soon! I have no idea if I am going to do it but you can set your own word limit which would be good and lots of my ROW80 buddies are taking part and I want to be in the gang! My issue would be with the short story deadline being prepared and ready to write anything. But I was thinking I could re-write my first chick-lit novel. I love the premise of the story but the first 50k words were in the wrong tense and I told the story all wrong. I told it too seriously and the main character needed some work! But I feel I could pick that up and write it with the notes I have. I need to think more on this but I think I am in. Even for a few thousand words.
Anyway, hope you have had wonderful weeks and the next week is even better than the last!
Sunday, 3 March 2013
ROW80 Check-in Sunday 3rd March 2013
Ok. Here is the honest truth. I have been rubbish this week. Let's just get straight into it.
My goals were:
1) Read two books a week in order to read 100 books this year!
2) Spend 30 minutes a day, five times on short story for competition. Prep, reading notes, research and writing all count.
3) Write a ROW80 check-in every Sunday.
Goal 1
Ok. So goal 1 has not been great. I barely read last week. I started two different books but couldn't get into either so stopped which is very unlike me. I was tired and not feeling great and I didn't have the energy to read. Very, very unlike me. I am now reading 'A Passionate Love Affair With a Total Stranger' by Lucy Robinson and I am loving it so hopefully I will finish it soon. I have read 12 books so far this year so I am behind but there is lots of time to make it up!
Goal 2
On Monday I wrote 735 words in 30 minutes of the #row80 sprint and Thursday I wrote 552 words in 30 minutes. So I managed an hour of writing which falls well short of my goal but I guess an hour is still an hour? Words are still words? My short story is now at 2,637 words and this week I really need to finish the first draft. I am writing in first person but I am going to try a draft in third after this and decide which one to edit for the competition. 28 days and counting until the deadline!
Goal 3
This one is done! So it isn't all completely bad!
Goal 1 is on track and 3 should be fine for next week so goal 2 is the one I need to focus on.
I have a crazy busy week this week. Lots of meetings at work and things that I need to do which which take up a lot of my time in the evenings. Work friends are staying on Tuesday and Wednesday nights so I won't be able to do anything then and I have plans on Friday. So I am going to tweak this goal.I am going to make my goal for this week - finish draft 1 of short story. So by next Sunday draft 1 in first person WILL be done. I am not going to worry about amount of time spent or number of words. I just want one draft finished! I feel calmer not thinking of trying to fit in lots of time, I just need to write when I can.
So there you have it. Not pretty but not every week can be pretty! Hope you are having wonderful weeks and hopefully I will be here telling you I have a completed first draft of my short story next week!
My goals were:
1) Read two books a week in order to read 100 books this year!
2) Spend 30 minutes a day, five times on short story for competition. Prep, reading notes, research and writing all count.
3) Write a ROW80 check-in every Sunday.
Goal 1
Ok. So goal 1 has not been great. I barely read last week. I started two different books but couldn't get into either so stopped which is very unlike me. I was tired and not feeling great and I didn't have the energy to read. Very, very unlike me. I am now reading 'A Passionate Love Affair With a Total Stranger' by Lucy Robinson and I am loving it so hopefully I will finish it soon. I have read 12 books so far this year so I am behind but there is lots of time to make it up!
Goal 2
On Monday I wrote 735 words in 30 minutes of the #row80 sprint and Thursday I wrote 552 words in 30 minutes. So I managed an hour of writing which falls well short of my goal but I guess an hour is still an hour? Words are still words? My short story is now at 2,637 words and this week I really need to finish the first draft. I am writing in first person but I am going to try a draft in third after this and decide which one to edit for the competition. 28 days and counting until the deadline!
Goal 3
This one is done! So it isn't all completely bad!
Goal 1 is on track and 3 should be fine for next week so goal 2 is the one I need to focus on.
I have a crazy busy week this week. Lots of meetings at work and things that I need to do which which take up a lot of my time in the evenings. Work friends are staying on Tuesday and Wednesday nights so I won't be able to do anything then and I have plans on Friday. So I am going to tweak this goal.I am going to make my goal for this week - finish draft 1 of short story. So by next Sunday draft 1 in first person WILL be done. I am not going to worry about amount of time spent or number of words. I just want one draft finished! I feel calmer not thinking of trying to fit in lots of time, I just need to write when I can.
So there you have it. Not pretty but not every week can be pretty! Hope you are having wonderful weeks and hopefully I will be here telling you I have a completed first draft of my short story next week!
Sunday, 24 February 2013
ROW80 Check-in Sunday 24th February 2013
Well, what a week. I was full of plans to have NO plans and keep things calm but that never really happens. I think I am one of those people who is more productive the less time they have. Some days I have had hours to do things but waited till last minute to squeeze in half an hour. But I have been somewhat successful!
Here are my goals!
1) Read two books a week in order to read 100 books this year!
2) Spend 30 minutes a day, five times on short story for competition. Prep, reading notes, research and writing all count.
3) Write a ROW80 check-in every Sunday.
Goal 1 - Definitely achieved this this week. I have finished one book and read three. I have just started reading book number 13 so I am a few behind where I should be but have made up some ground here.
Goal 2 - I have done two and a half hours of short story things. Two half hour slots and one long hour and a half slot yesterday. I can't seem to get into a daily habit but when life calms down (ha!) I hope to do this. Here is what I did:
Monday - 30 minutes spent working on short story notes, jotting down ideas, crossing out bad ideas!
Thursday - 30 minutes writing out brief outline and brief character notes. Writing a short story is a completely different beast and I know I don't need to get bogged down in the details at this stage.
Saturday - An hour and a half of writing, yes WRITING! I tend to put this off and distract myself with such activities as nail painting so my nails look nice as I write but today I managed to sit and write. It will need a lot of editing as as usual I am unsure if I should be writing in first person or whether third would be better. I think I'll try both.
Goal 3 - done!
So there you have it, I have done well this week although not being at work I should have achieved a lot more than I have but I achieved my goals and that is the main thing!!! I hope everyone has had wonderful weeks. Time is flying so I hope you are really finding your stride!
Here are my goals!
1) Read two books a week in order to read 100 books this year!
2) Spend 30 minutes a day, five times on short story for competition. Prep, reading notes, research and writing all count.
3) Write a ROW80 check-in every Sunday.
Goal 1 - Definitely achieved this this week. I have finished one book and read three. I have just started reading book number 13 so I am a few behind where I should be but have made up some ground here.
Goal 2 - I have done two and a half hours of short story things. Two half hour slots and one long hour and a half slot yesterday. I can't seem to get into a daily habit but when life calms down (ha!) I hope to do this. Here is what I did:
Monday - 30 minutes spent working on short story notes, jotting down ideas, crossing out bad ideas!
Thursday - 30 minutes writing out brief outline and brief character notes. Writing a short story is a completely different beast and I know I don't need to get bogged down in the details at this stage.
Saturday - An hour and a half of writing, yes WRITING! I tend to put this off and distract myself with such activities as nail painting so my nails look nice as I write but today I managed to sit and write. It will need a lot of editing as as usual I am unsure if I should be writing in first person or whether third would be better. I think I'll try both.
Goal 3 - done!
So there you have it, I have done well this week although not being at work I should have achieved a lot more than I have but I achieved my goals and that is the main thing!!! I hope everyone has had wonderful weeks. Time is flying so I hope you are really finding your stride!
Sunday, 17 February 2013
ROW80 Check-in 17th February 2013
I am pleased and relieved to say I have had a much better week this week. In fact I have actually achieved some of my goals!
Here they are:
1) Read two books a week in order to read 100 books this year!
2) Spend 30 minutes a day, five times on short story for competition. Prep, reading notes, research and writing all count.
3) Write a ROW80 check-in every Sunday.
Goal 1 - I have finished book number 8 and read number 9 this week so guess I achieved this one! Book number 9 was a great collection of short stories put together for a book raising money for Breast Cancer Care and includes stories by writers such as Sophie Kinsella and Jojo Moyes. I wasn't sure if a book of short stories should count in my book count but since it contains 34 stories I decided it would!
Goal 2 - I had a busy week this week what with a good friend's wedding and a weekend long hen party but I still have achieved this goal! One Monday I spent an hour reading five short stories and I emailed my lovely friend and fellow ROW80er Lauren with my short story idea as I was worried it wasn't a good enough idea but she assures me it is! She has even agreed to read it for me before I enter it into the competition. So now I need to write it! On Friday I read seven short stories in an hour on the train and today I read 20 in just over two hours. Although I was reading because I was reading short stories I am counting this as working on my short story. I have learnt so much from reading a lot of different stories by different writers so I am counting this as research. So really I spent over three hours on this goal which is wonderful and a big tick!
Goal 3 - As you are reading this, it is done!
So a successful week even though I haven't put pen to paper. But I will! I am off work for half term this week and considering how cray cray my life has been lately I am looking forward to a calm week! I am going to try and keep things clam and not make too many plans so I have time to sleep, read and write. I am hoping to properly plot my story, work on the characters and maybe even hammer out a first draft (or at least part of one) so I can start to shape it. I know the first draft will be far from perfect and knowing me I will write too much so have to edit it down but that is fine.
I hope everyone has had wonderful weeks and you are smashing your goals whatever they will be. See you next week, hopefully with good news of the writing I have done!
Here they are:
1) Read two books a week in order to read 100 books this year!
2) Spend 30 minutes a day, five times on short story for competition. Prep, reading notes, research and writing all count.
3) Write a ROW80 check-in every Sunday.
Goal 1 - I have finished book number 8 and read number 9 this week so guess I achieved this one! Book number 9 was a great collection of short stories put together for a book raising money for Breast Cancer Care and includes stories by writers such as Sophie Kinsella and Jojo Moyes. I wasn't sure if a book of short stories should count in my book count but since it contains 34 stories I decided it would!
Goal 2 - I had a busy week this week what with a good friend's wedding and a weekend long hen party but I still have achieved this goal! One Monday I spent an hour reading five short stories and I emailed my lovely friend and fellow ROW80er Lauren with my short story idea as I was worried it wasn't a good enough idea but she assures me it is! She has even agreed to read it for me before I enter it into the competition. So now I need to write it! On Friday I read seven short stories in an hour on the train and today I read 20 in just over two hours. Although I was reading because I was reading short stories I am counting this as working on my short story. I have learnt so much from reading a lot of different stories by different writers so I am counting this as research. So really I spent over three hours on this goal which is wonderful and a big tick!
Goal 3 - As you are reading this, it is done!
So a successful week even though I haven't put pen to paper. But I will! I am off work for half term this week and considering how cray cray my life has been lately I am looking forward to a calm week! I am going to try and keep things clam and not make too many plans so I have time to sleep, read and write. I am hoping to properly plot my story, work on the characters and maybe even hammer out a first draft (or at least part of one) so I can start to shape it. I know the first draft will be far from perfect and knowing me I will write too much so have to edit it down but that is fine.
I hope everyone has had wonderful weeks and you are smashing your goals whatever they will be. See you next week, hopefully with good news of the writing I have done!
Sunday, 10 February 2013
ROW80 Check-in 10th February 2013
I know I wanted 2013 to be an eventful year but some of the things that are going on are not quite what I ordered. I can't think what I have done towards my goals in the last fortnight so I am not going to look back but instead I am going to look forward.
Here are my goals:
1) Read two books a week in order to read 100 books this year!
2) Spend 30 minutes a day, five times on short story for competition. Prep, reading notes, research and writing all count.
3) Write a ROW80 check-in every Sunday.
So my goals are simple. 1 and 2 are especially simple and I am currently reading book number 8 of the year. By tuesday I should have read book number 12 but I am closing the gap! I have a couple of train journeys next weekend which means quality reading time and I determined not to buy any more books on my kindle until I clear some ofF the 'to be read' pile on my bookshelf.
My last check in was Sunday 27th January and in that check-in I talked about how I felt like I was lacking direction. I have unfinished and finished but unedited WIP's that need editing but nothing was grabbing my interest and therefore motivation was lacking.
So I have taken a different direction altogether and decided to enter a short story competition! I heard from a friend about a short story competition run by Belinda Jones and the winning entry will be published alongside 30 brilliant writers in an anthology. The story needs to be set outside the Uk and have a holiday theme and the genre is romance. The deadline is the 31st March so there is plenty of time *eye twitch* and whilst I am excited I am a bit scared. I have never written a short story so it is a whole new skill to learn but I am going to give it a go. I found a book of short stories on my shelf I have never read which contains lots of my favourite writers so I am going to read that as research and I have been scribbling ideas down for the plot.
So here is to a productive week although I have a wedding on Thursday and a hen weekend all weekend so it could be a struggle at times! I hope everyone is doing well and smashing their goals!
Here are my goals:
1) Read two books a week in order to read 100 books this year!
2) Spend 30 minutes a day, five times on short story for competition. Prep, reading notes, research and writing all count.
3) Write a ROW80 check-in every Sunday.
So my goals are simple. 1 and 2 are especially simple and I am currently reading book number 8 of the year. By tuesday I should have read book number 12 but I am closing the gap! I have a couple of train journeys next weekend which means quality reading time and I determined not to buy any more books on my kindle until I clear some ofF the 'to be read' pile on my bookshelf.
My last check in was Sunday 27th January and in that check-in I talked about how I felt like I was lacking direction. I have unfinished and finished but unedited WIP's that need editing but nothing was grabbing my interest and therefore motivation was lacking.
So I have taken a different direction altogether and decided to enter a short story competition! I heard from a friend about a short story competition run by Belinda Jones and the winning entry will be published alongside 30 brilliant writers in an anthology. The story needs to be set outside the Uk and have a holiday theme and the genre is romance. The deadline is the 31st March so there is plenty of time *eye twitch* and whilst I am excited I am a bit scared. I have never written a short story so it is a whole new skill to learn but I am going to give it a go. I found a book of short stories on my shelf I have never read which contains lots of my favourite writers so I am going to read that as research and I have been scribbling ideas down for the plot.
So here is to a productive week although I have a wedding on Thursday and a hen weekend all weekend so it could be a struggle at times! I hope everyone is doing well and smashing their goals!
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