Ready. Set. WRITE! is a summer writing intensive that encourages goal-setting and accountability, and provides an opportunity for us to cheer each other on wherever we’re at in our writing—planning, drafting, revising, or polishing. This year, your RSW hosts are Alison Miller, Jaime Morrow, Erin Funk, and Katy Upperman. Find the rest of the details HERE.
* How I did on last week's goals:
My goal for last week was to revise for at least 7 hours. I only got 4 hours in. What happened is that my revisions started to have a cascade effect - each thing I changed meant more changes down the line. I got overwhelmed and just sat staring at my screen, immobolized. Tried again the next day: same frozen state (see Biggest Challenge Faced this week).
* My goals this week:
I'm aiming for 10 hours this week instead of 7. The kiddos will be away at camp! Which means more time to write! And I have a lot of time to make up.
I'm aiming for 10 hours this week instead of 7. The kiddos will be away at camp! Which means more time to write! And I have a lot of time to make up.
* A favorite line from my project OR a word/phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised.
An idea to incorporate: Slow vision versus fast vision.
(lots of stuff about vision in this story, as my MC is blinded in a freak accident. Which seems like a paradox, right? lots of vision but your MC is blind? Well, there you go, story of my life)
An idea to incorporate: Slow vision versus fast vision.
(lots of stuff about vision in this story, as my MC is blinded in a freak accident. Which seems like a paradox, right? lots of vision but your MC is blind? Well, there you go, story of my life)
* The biggest challenge I faced this week.
Getting overwhelmed with edits and "freezing up". Then last night I took a deep breath and made a list of everything that needed updated or fixed. Guess how long the list was? Over sixty things to fix/delete/add!!! But now that everything is organized (and ordered, by scene) in a list, I think I can pick up momentum again. Sometimes taking a time out to get organized helps.
* Something I love about my WiP.
I found the perfect song lyrics to match this story, Star Tripped, part of which is set in space. So I know you can't use lyrics in a manuscript without massive copyright issues, but I think I can use one phrase "my universe will never be the same" without there being an issue. Here's the part of the lyrics from "I'm Glad You Came" by The Wanted that transported me to my Happy Place:
The sun goes down
The stars come out
And all that counts
Is here and now
My universe will never be the same
I'm glad you came
What's your biggest challenge or inspiration this week?
Posts
It's true that sometimes taking a time out does help! And I know what you mean about how one change can mean more changes down the line. You can dooooo it :-)
ReplyDeleteWhenever someone gives me extra vowels, I consider that extra good luck, thank you!
DeleteLove the lyrics. And awesome you'll have more time with your kids in camp this week.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteI LOVE that song! Also, a time out is SO necessary for me - which is why I usually take two days off of drafting each week. My brain needs the time to sort stuff out! So glad you were able to get organized and I hope you have a wonderful week!
ReplyDeleteAh, high five - we love the same song and time outs!
DeleteI love this idea for the blog hop/motivation. And you're doing much better than me writing wise, Margo. It's not easy with the kids off school and with the distractions of moving/cleaning the old house and vacations.
ReplyDeleteMoving and writing definitely do NOT live in the same universe! But your house was worth the break. Can I come visit?
DeleteThat frozen state in the face of such a huge task is so familiar to me. I've been there more times than I can count. That whole taking a step back to get organized thing works wonders, doesn't it? (I should probably do that right about now.) Hope this week is super productive! :D
ReplyDeleteYup, and singing lyrics from Frozen doesn't help! :)
DeleteEek, I know exactly what you're facing with those revisions! They really can snowball sometimes, can't they? Making a nice, organised list sounds like a good way to combat it--I'll remember that for next time I'm revising. Good luck this week; wishing you lots of revising hours and no freeze-ups :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the wish (just finished reading a Jinni story, so wishes are on my mind :)
DeleteTaking time to get organized is a great idea, especially when edits get overwhelming. Good luck this week! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteI completely feel your pain! Zoning out when overwhelmed is very familiar. And I've done that a lot with this revision. I'm glad you were able to get organized and get in a place where you feel like you can go scene by scene. I'm hoping to be there in 2-3 weeks!
ReplyDeleteThis is why I love Ready, Set Write - hearing from others in a similar situation, pushing each other to keep going. THank you
DeleteI like that you plan by hours instead of word count. You can totally rock 10 hours this week! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteSome of us agreed that banging your head against the computer screen counts as work. I'm sure staring at it does too. Sounds like you did just what you needed to get back on track (making a list).
ReplyDeleteThank you! YES! I knew the effort should count for something!
DeleteNice lyrics. Best wishes with your goals this week!
ReplyDeleteThere must have been something in the water this week. I really struggled with one of my WIPs, too. I love how you decided to tackle it, though--organization FTW! Hope this week goes much smoother for you :).
ReplyDeleteThe water, or maybe it was in all the ice cream I splurged on :)
Deleteglad you're getting some writing time in this week while the kids are away. I love my children, but sometimes you need ME time.
ReplyDeleteHear, hear!
DeleteI know what you mean about freezing up- it happens to us all. Enjoy your extra time this week, I'm sure you'll do good!
ReplyDeleteUnrelated comment: but I saw your pitch for #furypitch (I think that was the hash) and I LOVED IT!!! Historical fantasy is my favorite genre (I have an HF manuscript I want to get back to working on)
DeleteEven though I'm not good with organization, I agree with you 100% Having everything you need to work on in order certainly makes the process go a little bit smoother. Good luck with your revisions!
ReplyDeleteSometimes organization really helps, but sometimes I think it's just a means to procrastinate!
DeleteI've had that freezing up feeling before and it definitely helps to organize. This week, I decided to just focus on the first 50 pages of my manuscript, which helped me feel less overwhelmed. Good luck this week!
ReplyDeleteThat's an excellent idea, too, just picking one area to focus on.
DeleteMental clutter with a story is the worst. I'm facing a similar challenge finishing a draft--I have lots of elements beginning to collide in the climax section and it can be so hard to figure out the best sequence of events. Taking a step back to organize definitely helps. Hang in there!
ReplyDeleteMental clutter, that's such a good term!
DeleteLists keep me sane. Plus, it feels great being able to cross things off. Hopefully you get to cross lots of things off this week :)
ReplyDeleteYou worked hard and deserve a rest.
ReplyDeleteI'm having a giveaway, you might get more than a rest and hard work this week. :-)
Anna from Shout with Emaginette
Enjoy your "happy place". But be careful not to acquire my problem. If I let my mind loose, it comes up with whole new scene with different characters doing different things than what I'm trying to concentrate on.
ReplyDeleteSorry that's so abstract ... but in the last two months while I was fighting to revise, I came up with four viable stories -- characters and conflicts -- in three different worlds.