BIAW - Evaluation...

The end of BIAW - whew, I'm exhausted. Yesterday's attempt was filled with distractions, interruptions, and blinking cursors. I managed, when the day finally ended, to have added 2343 words to the Jane and Ryan's story. That makes a total of 16,960 words for the week. Not bad, not bad at all!


A few things to note (edit - I hate blog formatting):

• Leaving the word document open during the entire day forces me to add to the story when I get a few minutes of down time. The minimized window constantly in my viewing range at the bottom of the screen reminds me of my job, what it is I'm supposed to be doing. And at night, when I'm getting ready to shut everything down, I maximize it to do a final save only to get caught up where I left off and continue for another couple of paragraphs.
• The story is becoming more about Jane than it is about Jane and Ryan. Not sure how this will play out since I'm supposed to be writing romance, but I'm going to go with the flow and figure it all out later.
• Make every week a BIAW week. OK, not really, but I need to make writing a priority. As discussed both on this blog and over on The Prairies yesterday, if writing doesn't come first, then it will come last on those days when life is crazy. I may not be able to pound out as many words per day that I did here, but I need to write. Every day. Always.
• Do. Not. Go. Back. And. Edit. This is more of a warning for me right now. If I start to look back, I'll start to make changes. If I start to make changes, I'll lose the momentum of the story. Yes, the final first draft will be an absolute mess, but the important thing is it will be finished. I have discovered, after a couple of years of BIAW, that if I go back before the work is finished, I am doomed. Hey, it only took me four years to figure it out - no one ever said I was quick!
• Trust my instincts. A couple of days ago I wrote about the worry gene. If I had listened to that, Jane and Ryan's story would look much different today. I wrote through the distraction of those nagging voices and trusted Muse. And with my inspirational quote this week to guide me, I have come to realize that I love to write. For me. If others enjoy, so much the better, but I will not compromise my story for a 'what if' scenerio that doesn't exist right now.
• Those that support my writing are the best people in the world. This pretty well means everyone I know because everyone has been and continues to be supportive. Propping me up when I fall, reading my writing and liking it (yes, Sally Field comes to mind - "You like me, you really like me."), offering advice, and believing in something that some days I find hard to believe in myself (if that makes any sense at all). To those people - thank you!

OK - this is getting to be sentimental and tear-inducing. BIAW was a great experience, again. And now I have to figure out what needs done on the day job (did bare minimum this week), clean the house (anyone want to buy some Dust Bunnies - going cheap?), and look at rescheduling my days (see comment section over on The Prairies). Oh, yeah, I also need to keep writing Jane's Story!

Question for the day - not really a question, use the comment section to thank those people in your life who've supported you and urged you to continue to pursue a writing career. We'll have our own mini Academy Awards acceptance speech (oh, that would have made a cool post - too late)!

BIAW and a Poem...

Ode to Dinner - Janet S. Corcoran

I was going to write a poem about dinner last night,
But my brain is tired, and the first line was a fright.
I wanted to pay homage to a succulent meal,
A starter, a main, a dessert so surreal.
But how to describe in rhyming verse,
And keeping in mind it has to be terse -

Baby greens with fried eggplant and celery root,
A soft vinigrette flavored with fruit.
Sweet potato gnocchi in a red pepper sauce,
And velvety ravioli with parmesan tossed.
Chocolate orange cake with strawberry glaze,
Pistachio gelato; the fusion amazed.

So I'll just have to say, in my own special way,
The food was amazing, wonderfully arrayed.
My taste buds rejoiced with the very first bite,
And every bite after was filled with delight.
My tribute is over, and I've managed to rhyme,
I'll leave you with this - the meal was sublime.

Oh. My. God. That was way too hard this morning - and now I'm late getting this post up! Serves me right for trying to write a poem so early in the morning. For a look at how my mornings are usually spent, check out Prairie Chicks Write Romance today - I'm talking about a writer's 'magic hour', the best time for creative output.

And for anyone keeping score - I squeaked out 1004 (wasn't going to bed without getting past the 1000 mark) yesterday. Way below my goal, but I'm now sitting at a total word count for the week of 14,517. Today, hopefully, will be more productive, if I can recover from this poetry business.

Feel free to discuss whatever in the comments - your memories of a great meal, your attempts at poetry, when you function best (creatively speaking), whatever. I'm going to find some more coffee :)

BIAW and This and That...

I'm going to ramble today - be forewarned - as I'm very tired and really have nothing big to say!

BIAW - pounded out 2758 words yesterday for a total word count of 13417. Something clicked and a path cleared, which is good because I truly felt as if I were writing in circles. Then, when I went to bed, I couldn't sleep with the ideas racing around my head. But, I was so tired and the room was cold, I didn't get out of bed to write them down. Mistake! The ideas are still there, but fuzzy and just when I think I've latched onto one, it races away to hide behind a tree (not sure why there's a tree in my brain) and I can hear it giggle. I'm sure with another 2 or 3 cups of coffee, I'll be able to lure them all out and take some notes. Not sure where I'm going to put those notes - the top of my desk is covered with sticky notes and my notebook that I keep beside me is full of scribbles. Now that might be harder to decifer than remembering my ideas from last night!

We're off this morning to look at a house. Just one house. This will put me in a decorating frame of mind and I'll be sitting at my computer this afternoon thinking of where furniture can go and what colors I could paint the walls. It doesn't matter if the house is not what we're looking for, I'll decorate it anyway. That's just the way the mind works. Hey, maybe when I'm moving furniture, I'll uncover a couple more ideas (and dust bunnies, I'm sure).

Tonight, it's into town for a gourmet meal at the college. That sounds rather odd, doesn't it? The college's student chefs present meals in January, February, March for the public to attend. I've heard it's very, very good and am looking forward to a full course Italian (yep, chose Italian - Momma Mia) meal. It's pricey and I really don't need to eat any more carbs in the month of January, but since my heroine is dealing with food issues, I've convinced myself that I'm doing research. It's amazing what you can get away with when you're a writer - there's a lot of research to do when making up stories, you know.

And I have a blogpost to prepare for tomorrow's Prairie Chicks Write Romance. As of right now - nothing. I'm sure something will come to me during the day - while I'm house-hunting, imagined decorating, searching for elusive ideas, or gorging myself on pasta and bread. Yikes, I better find time to work on Jane and Ryan's story, too. Busy, busy day.

So, People of Blogland, a couple of questions for the day - do you move the furniture in your house when you get bored with the same old? What's your favorite Italian food? How do you uncover your elusive ideas, the ones hiding behind the trees in your brain? Do you meditate, free your mind of all thought until they pop up, wondering what's going on and where all their playmates went? Or do you busy yourself with other things until they come out, complaining you aren't paying enough attention to them?

EDIT - I've just re-read this post looking for errors and must say that when I don't have anything to say, I really am verbose. And, I might be just a little insane - a little :)

BIAW - Write Through the Doubt...

• Worry runs in our family (mother's side) and for all I've tried to curtail the bad habit of "What if...?", I still find myself playing out kinds of scenerios in my head that lead to nail-biting anxiety. Here's just a taste of what my Worry Gene is working on this week as I struggle to get the words on the page for the first draft of Jane and Ryan's Story:
  
  You haven't introduced the hero in the first chapter - that's not going to work.
  She's eating again - no one's going to want to read a book where the main character is always eating, or thinking about eating, or talking about eating.
  Too much inner dialogue - how am I going to fix that when it comes time for revisions?
  This is sounding very 'Bridget Jones' like.
  What if she's not a scientist? She could be an accountant, still precise, still focused on spreadsheets and data, but not as much of a chance of getting your research wrong.
  The hero has no POV - most romances have the hero's POV.
  There's no plot - books don't sell if they don't have a plot.
  
  Sounds a lot like EE (Evil Editor) - and you're right, he is the worrier in the threesome that writes under the name Janet. And he's pretty vocal on this manuscript. So loud and bothersome that Muse is having a hard time running with her ideas. Getting the words on the page has been very difficult and I'm struggling with the reason I write.
  
  I have to take 'getting published' out of the equation or I'll never get this thing done. I have to write through the doubt, put on my big girl panties and get over the worry that I'll never be published. I write because I love to - end of story!
  
  Whew - that was some pep talk. Wrote 2892 words yesterday (yes, inner dialogue mostly) for a grand total of 9123 words! On to today - with the mantra I Love to Write playing in the background.
  
  Do you have a Worry Gene? How do you get past it? For a previous post on the "What if..." issue I have in my life, go here. To hear what an industry professional has to say about 'voice' (because you know I always struggle with that question) go here. For really great comic relief, go here (third one down). I'm going to work :)

BIAW and Writing Sampler...

I always loved the little cross stitch 'samplers' - a small offering of craft that won't take up too much of your time. Kind of like my blogpost today :)

6231 words! In 3 days! Not bad, not bad at all. Although my count yesterday was only 1975 - a little short on the daily goal!

And because my brain is tired and can't think of anything to write on this Monday morning, you lucky people are getting glimpse into the work in progress. Here's the opening to Jane and Ryan's story. Remember this is a first draft - ignore any and all grammatical and spelling errors!

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The Jonestown Journal had been so thoroughly crammed into Jane Greene's apartment mailbox that she had spent ten minutes trying to dislodge the thing without tearing it to bits. In hindsight, she should have yanked the thing until it resembled confetti then she wouldn't be standing in her kitchen gaping at the picture of her ex-husband and his secretary under the heading "Marriage Announcements". At least they were decent. The last time she had seen them Ex-husband had been in the middle of a strange form of dictation where Secretary straddled his lap wearing nothing but hot pink Victoria Secret matching bra and panties.

Jane opened the refrigerator. The can of Rediwhip caught her eye. A couple of shots later she was ready to move onto something more substantial in order to kill the pain. While digging out the leftover pizza from the night before, Jane calulated in days, hours, and minutes the total amount of time she had been single. 452, 18, 37. Funny, it seemed like just yesterday she had stood on the threshold of Ex's office and watched Secretary arch her back and grind her hips fruther down into Jane's husband's groin.

She tore off a chunk of pizza and washed it down with another shot. The newspaper drew her back like a bad reality show; it was bad, but you couldn't not watch and then have nothing to contribute at the water cooler talk the next day. Yup, they were still there, smiling pretty and looking like a black and white version of Ken and Barbie. Jane stuffed more pizza in her mouth and read the announcement:

Mary and Todd Richardson are pleased to announce the upcoming marriage of their eldest son, Todd Richardson to Rachel Penhold, daughter of Cynthis and Robert Penhold of Chicago, Illinois, on July 17, 2010. Ceremony to take place at the Garrison Inn with reception to follow.

Mary and Todd had been pleased to announce the previous marriage of their eldest son, Todd Junior, to Jane Greene at the same bloody Garrison Inn. Jane shot some Rediwhip onto the crust of her pizza before popping it into her mouth. She licked her fingers, giving extra attention to her middle one as she positioned herself correctly before the newspaper picture.

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There you have it. Now, I have to eat some breakfast, check the day job's list of things to do, and get back to my writing. Aiming for 3000 words today!

BIAW, Word Count Widgets, Lobsters...

A lot of words written yesterday - not sure if they're quality words, but words nonetheless! My total word count is 4256 (so I had about 1600 the first day, wrote 2656 words)! Not too bad considering I worked only until 3ish when I had to get some food prepped for our evening out with friends. I had hoped to get some more written afterward, but it was a late night and after roughly 6 hours of Dominoes, my brain was mush (just ask the players as I kept making mistakes matching up the tiles and counting the points).

I never thought I would use a word counter - never really had a place to use one before - but am seriously considering adding one to the sidebar. Call it a opportunity to be accountable to someone other than just me. I worry though, that at times it won't move - when I'm working on other projects, when I'm too lazy to write and the laziness becomes a habit and I already feel guilty not writing, now I have a do-hickey that reminds me I'm not writing, which could make me feel guiltier... Sigh! Stay tuned.

Supper last night consisted of lobster - the bottom-feeding crustacean that everyone loves to feast upon (except me and The Husband). I had a fascinating discussion about the fishing of lobster and learned a great deal. Like: Did you know that lobster had teeth? I know, neither did I. Did you know that the eggs, when fertilized are carried on the outside of the lobster, underneath the tail? I knew this, but only because there had been an article in the paper discussion Lobster Patrol - fishers are not allowed to harvest the lobster with viable eggs, they must be thrown back, and if a fisher is caught with such a lobster, they are fined. Did you know that a lobster can live in the trap for a great deal of time and the 'pots' now have biodegradable parts so that eventually the lobster will be freed if the 'pot' is in the water for a certain length of time? So many details - so much lobster! I think my favorite tidbit (of information, not lobster) was the discovery that the 'pots' have two rooms for the lobster - the parlour and the bedroom. So hospitable those fishers are!

...and I've just spent another 25 minutes this morning reading about lobsters! I love learning stuff. I think the most fascinating to me is the story my father-in-law tells of taking lobster sandwiches to school (grew up in Newfoundland) and trying to 'trade up' for balogne. One of the articles I read this morning said that servants in New England, back in the day, would stipulate in their indenture only lobster twice a week. The rise of popularity can be attributed to the improvement of infrastructure and transportation, making lobster easily available for urbanites who claimed it a delicious luxury.

Back to work! Tell me, People of Blogland, do you eat lobster? Is there a food out there that you will not eat no matter how many people tell you "you don't know what you're missing"? What did you take in your school lunches (I was a peanut butter sandwich girl)?

BIAW, Blog Award, Happiness...

Roughly 1600 words on a day when sitting to write was the last thing on my mind. The day job required a couple of hours of my time. A trip into town couldn't be passed up because there was discussion of stopping for something to eat (I'm all about eating out). Friends of ours invited us over for afternoon tea - and to see the plans for their house renovations. A glass of wine for supper turned into two and an impromptu movie (The Love Guru - silly, funny). It's hard to get settled down, but today is dedicated to writing. I have 400 words to catch up!

I was honored yesterday with a Blog Award (my first) from Tamika. Thank you, Tamika. I'm going to pass it on to three blogs that make me happy:

Silver James' Penumbra ~ be prepared, today is all about the hero and there are always some very hot pictures - Saturday's on Penumbra always make me happy.

Alannah Lynne's Blog ~ I love that Alannah has created a daily format to her blogging. I always know what to expect when I go there and I love the words of wisdom on Tuesdays, the recipes on Thursdays, the humor on Wednesdays, the book reviews on Fridays, and the hot men of Mondays.

Susan Crow ~ Not a writer, but a very talented singer/songwriter who journals on a somewhat regular basis. I love her humor and her conversational approach.

There are so many others that I visit on a regular basis - and I love them all, thus my visiting on a regular basis. Most of the blogs I frequent are on a strictly lurking basis - I guess I should make my presence known at some point, but until then I'll continue to visit and read and enjoy!

Now, I think I have to list 10 other things (besides my love of blogs) that make me happy. Here goes (in no particular order):

1. Flannel Sheets (I only say that because it's been a little colder here and I've been snuggling into my flannel sheets and sleeping like a log)
2. Taz (go here to see pictures of my German Shepherd whose name is the short form for Touble From A To Z)
3. Living by the Water (nothing against The Prairies, but I love the ocean - must be that pisces thing)
4. Road Trips (love getting in the car and going - last week it was to Chester Basin where I picked up concert tickets and then popped in for a surprise visit with friends)
5. Writing (nothing takes me away from the pressures of life than sitting at my keyboard creating - even blogposts. And I will shamelessly promote my latest short story that I'm very proud of - go here)
6. A Good Book (like writing, a good book can take me away - to far off places and interesting lives)
7. My Husband (no explanation needed)
8. Friends (writing friends, book club friends, friends from school - both high school and university, crafty friends, acquaintances who become friends, so many friends)
9. Skies (I know, what? I love the sky - could stand and look at it forever - and whether it's a beautiful sunrise, fiery red sunset, whispy clouds, star-studded, the sky usually can make me smile)
10. Yoko Ono Days (when I hang out in my pajamas all day - nap - read - lounge around with no agenda, no 'To Do' list - perfect)

K - today, if you're visiting and wish to leave a comment, let me know some of the things that make you happy. I have to open up the word document and get typing - have a great Saturday :)

BIAW, Here I Come...

Here it is, my goal for Book in a Week - 2000 to 3000 words per day!

Yikes, that seems like a lot, but I know that I'm capable of writing that much and since BIAW is such a short haul, I know it's doable. I will be working on Jane and Ryan's story - A woman, crushed by the devasting discovery of her husband's affair, is determined to prove to him he made a mistake - a total makeover is in the works. Deadline - his second wedding to which she has been mistakenly invited. Please remember, a tagline artist I am not!

Now this manuscript has been in the works for a while, but I've always been disappointed in the direction it took. This time, I think I've done enough 'dreaming' about it, that I should be able to write past the big, black hole in the middle. As everyone knows, I am a pantser - the only pre-planning I do is to daydream the story. Sometimes I scribble down a few thoughts on some sticky notes, but most times I just slide the chair closer to the desk and begin typing away. I'm thinking of changing that - but I'm not sure just how much outlining I want to do. But that's for after BIAW!

I love hearing about other writers' processes. Today, over on Mystery Writing is Murder, Elizabeth Spann Craig is talking about her first draft writing process. What about you - what's your first draft process like? Do you outline like crazy? Are you a pantser? Does the thought of a blank screen or piece of paper scare you silly - or do you enjoy the challenge of working from scratch? And if you have any great sites or information on outlining, I'd love to hear about that, too!

Clear the Decks...

Etymology: based on the literal meaning of clear the decks (prepare a ship to fight by putting away everything that is not necessary) The Free Dictionary

There seems to be a definite military theme happening as the week progresses. I must be ready to get back to the fight - wage the war - return to my writing trench - stop with the war analogies already!

Tomorrow is the beginning of a 8 day writing marathon known as BIAW (Book in a Week), held every year by the Saskatchewan Romance Writers. I believe the premise behind the annual event was to jump start the year with some major writing time and, hopefully, have that enthusiasm and work ethic continue throughout the entire year. Since joining the group back in 2005 (I'm trying to do the math and I think that's when I started), I have participated every year and look forward to it every year.

Everyone who participates has a goal for the week. That goal is stated and every night we report to the group. In the past, we've used e-mails and our BIAW co-ordinator (shout out to Muriel) would cut and paste the highlights of those e-mails and send them out in the morning so we could all keep in touch. This year, we're using our private blog - our co-ordinator, Karyn, will post that day and we'll use the comment section to report our progress. I look forward to the reports - I love to see how everyone is doing and there's usually tidbits of information (Anita likes to include a favorite line) and rejoicing or bemoaning to be shared.

I'm clearing my decks today. Making sure all my paying job stuff is up-to-date - I've put in tons of hours already this month; so I will have only a couple of hours each day to keep up with the must-do tasks. Pulling out and printing the work I've already done on Jane and Ryan's story. Cleaning the house - doing laundry - organizing the guest blogs for The Prairies over the next two Saturdays - deciding on a goal...

Yep, haven't decided on a goal yet. I know what I'll be working on, but not a word count daily total. I do know I'm going to push myself - this is a first draft, kind of, and I want to get it finished. So today will be figuring out how much I can do each day and then posting my goal over on the private blog. I'll fill you all in tomorrow - the first day of BIAW. Wish me luck :)

So, People of Blogland, have you ever participated in a BIAW? November is NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), how many of you took part? What did you do to 'clear the decks' and prepare for a month long writing extravaganza? Ooh, I should make some cookies - I'm going to need substenance!