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Archive for September, 2014

Tuesday Share: September New Releases

I was going to post this yesterday, but ended up doing the cover release instead. So, instead of posting it as part of a Monday Mentions, I’m sharing it on Tuesday.

First World Problems by Leigh Ann Kopans – I’ve loved everything Leigh Ann has published so far. Haven’t picked this one up yet, but it’s on my list(of over 200 books I want to read).

Sofia’s had a really rough year – busted for cheating at prep school, dumped – dumped! – for the first time ever, and her new non-profit working stepmother is turning out to be an uppity bitch.

She deserves to treat herself. But when she throws herself a birthday party with 20 of her closest friends in Paris and (accidentally!) maxes out her dad’s credit card in the process, he’s had enough of her attitude. As punishment, he switches her planned gap year touring Europe to one doing community service work with the evil stepmother’s relief organization in Guyana.

The rural village of Dabu needs help in every area from education to getting safe drinking water. But Sofia’s more concerned about her roommate Callum, the gardening expert, who calls Sofia “Princess” and scoffs at her distaste for sweaty, muddy, iguana-eating, outhouse-using life in Guyana.

Eventually, life on the equator, her work in the village, and especially Callum – with his brooding eyes and bewitching New Zealand accent – start to grow on Sofia. Life is rough in Guyana, but it’s roughest on the girls, whose families are too poor to send only the most promising boys in school. They’re trapped in a cycle that will keep them from ever making a better life for themselves, or for the village. Worse, Callum doesn’t seem to think any of the changes Sofia envisions are actually necessary.

Determined to change the girls’ futures, she comes up with a strategy to help them and, ultimately, the village. But what starts out as a plan to convince Callum and her father that she’s fallen in love with Guyana, turns into the realization that maybe she’s falling for Callum, too. And that by changing these girls’ lives, she might also be changing her own

Melt for Him by Lauren Blakely

I read the prequel to this, Burn for Me, and enjoyed it. I’d planned to just add it to my wish list, but then I saw that proceeds were going to go to a firefighter’s organization. So, instead I pre-ordered it right at that moment. I haven’t read it yet but hoping to get to it soon.

He knows exactly how to make her burn…

Fire captain and bar owner Becker Thomas usually spends his nights alone, trying to escape painful memories from his past. When he meets a sexy, free-spirited brunette outside his bar, he knows he’s found the perfect way to forget for one night. But when he later discovers the woman he’s itching for another night with is his best friend’s sister, everything comes to a halt.

Just out of a toxic relationship, Megan Jansen is only in Hidden Oaks to visit her brother, photograph the firemen’s calendar, and then slip off to another adventure. The brooding man who gave her the best sex ever is an unexpected surprise. The problem is, he’s her brother’s friend and a fellow fireman, and Megan’s rule is no firemen. She knows she’s going to get burned …but keeping their hands off each other is easier said than done

All Good Deeds by Stacy Green

I just finished Stacy’s Delta Crossroads trilogy recently and loved all of them. I’m looking forward to reading this one as well.

Lucy Kendall lived her life in a strange mixture of carefully calculated moves and impulse decisions. Cracking the skull of the man who molested her sister and attacking her was impulse. Spending half her teenage years drinking and acting out were calculated cries for attention from her narcissistic mother followed by impulsive rages at her lack of concern.

The decade spent working in Child Protective Services before becoming a private investigator taught her two truths. One, CPS failed miserably in protecting children. Two, Lucy was more than willing to do it for them, meting out her brand of dark justice in spite of her own fear of death. But Lucy’s crusade is compromised when a self-proclaimed sociopath offers to help — and leaves her no choice but to accept it.

When eight-year old Kailey Richardson is abducted, it sets off a chain of events linked to Justin Beckett, a suspect in a life-changing case in Lucy’s past. The path she’s chosen since dealing with Beckett has been dark and terrifying — but she has no idea just how deep she will go or where the twisted road will take her.

She’s about to find out.

Forever Starts Tonight by Roni Loren

The latest in Roni’s Loving on the Edge series. I love this books. And this one was released on my anniversary, so it may have been bought as a gift to myself 😉

The wait is over. They fell in love in Melt Into You, but that was only the beginning. Now New York Times bestselling author Roni Loren dials up the passion as three lovers reinvent the meaning of togetherness and find out if love is truly enough…

Two dominant men, one beautiful woman. Jace Austin knows he doesn’t have what you’d call a conventional relationship with Evan and Andre, but it works. Boy, does it work—until Evan starts acting strangely and Andre’s ex-fiancée pops back into his life, unbalancing a perfectly happy threesome. Jace is forced to face the unthinkable: that the two people he cares most about in this world are in danger of slipping away from him.

So Jace plans a surprise getaway to a secluded mountain cabin for the three of them. And he knows exactly what he needs to do: give both his lovers a fantasy week they’ll never forget. And the possibilities for pleasure are endless. But when they get snowed in and the heat between them reaches a fever pitch, secrets come out. And Evan has one that could change all their lives forever

What new releases are you looking forward to reading?

Cover Reveal: Lower Education by A.M. Leibowitz

A special Monday Mentions today for a cover reveal. I met the author through WiPPet Wednesdays. And always willing to help out another author, plus Mondays are for sharing.

Lower Education
By A. M. Leibowitz

Publisher: Supposed Crimes, LLC
Publication date: November 1, 2014

Synopsis:
Phin Patterson is an educational consultant dissatisfied with his job and his life. On a mission to complete one last assignment before escaping his unfulfilling career and figure out what he wants, he accepts a commission from Donald Murdock at the New York State Education Department. Suddenly, he finds himself on his way to evaluate a tiny school in New York’s Southern Tier, not far from the town where he grew up. Now his only goal is to get in, do his job, and get out before anyone from his past remembers him.
That turns out to be easier said than done. Dani Sloane, the sharp-witted administrative assistant to the principal, learns the truth about why Phin is really there. With the help of her friends, she sets out to unmask him and force the local board of education to stop the plans that could ruin their school. Discovering that her sometime-lover is an old business associate of Phin’s only complicates both the situation and their relationship.
Meanwhile, Phin, who has committed himself to keeping his emotional distance, can’t resist the charm of the town and its residents—especially the school psychologist, who turns out to be an old friend he hasn’t seen in over twenty years. While Dani works to take him down and save her school, Phin wrestles with learning how to do the right thing, including telling the truth to the man with whom he’s already falling in love.

And the cover:

Lower Education

And to whet your appetite, an excerpt:

Alex spun around and threw his hands in the air. “Why are you still here? Go find someone else
to bother.”

“What if I think the information you have is more valuable?” Phin crossed his arms and tilted his
head, jutting out his chin.

“And what if I think you’re wasting your time? I have nothing here that would be of interest to
you.”

The corner of Phin’s mouth curled upward. “I would say you’re mistaken. There’s plenty here for
me to take interest in.” His gaze traveled downward slowly, making Alex feel exposed.
Heat spread across his face, followed by a surge of anger. Placing his hands on the table and
leaning toward Phin, Alex replied, “I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but it won’t
work on me. Is this how you’ve handled your other clients?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, you do.”

“All right, you got me.” Phin chuckled softly. He moved in closer and lowered his voice. “I once
signed an entire multi-year textbook contract on my appeal alone.” His smile faltered, and he
looked away briefly. He snapped his attention back to Alex and narrowed his eyes. “You’re not
the most difficult client I’ve ever worked with, though it’s close.”

“I’m not your client. There’s no reason for your behavior.”

Phin licked his lips. “I didn’t make a mistake in the bar the other night.”

You can pre-order now:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Lower-Education-M-Leibowitz-ebook/dp/B00NCA48TE/

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/473664

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lower-education-a-m-leibowitz/1120325979?ean=2940046149760

Author bio:

A. M. Leibowitz is a spouse, parent, feminist, and book-lover falling somewhere on the Geek-Nerd Spectrum. She keeps warm through the long, cold western New York winters by writing romantic plot twists and happy-for-now endings. In between noveling and editing, she blogs coffee-fueled, quirky commentary on faith, culture, writing, and her family.

Find me on the Internet:

Web site: http://amleibowitz.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amymitchell29 (personal profile); https://www.facebook.com/UnchainedFaith (author page)

Twitter: https://twitter.com/amyunchained (@amyunchained)

Sunday Summary: To Break or Not

RoW80 is on a break between rounds, but of course, I keep going. I don’t seem to understand the concept of ‘break’. 😉 I’m happier when I’m working on something, and I still have deadlines to meet.

  • Law of Choice: Diving back into this one. Want to get through the midpoint. – I did this. I started the week with 6 planned scenes, ended up writing 9. I have 4 more scenes planned, but I know I have some things to fill in between those, so there’ll be more than that.
  • Healing the Heart: Revise 5 chapters – this is done as well. Only added 10 words through those first 5 chapters. In October, my focus will be on revisions, so I’ll be doing more of this.
  • The Hunt: brainstorming – brainstorming is done. will start diving into character back stories this week, which I think is one of my favorite parts of my plotting process.
  • Read: Can’t Help Falling in Love(Bella Andre), Something Strange and Deadly(Susan Dennard), City of Fallen Angel(Cassandra Clare), and Throne of Glass(Sarah J. Maas) – finished all of these(and loved them) and also read Forged in Blood I(Lindsay Buroker) yesterday, and the ending is still killing me today. So, I had to go and get the next one right away.
  • Read: Writing about Magic – Finish
  • Knit: Pumpkin Hat – finish – this is done.IMG_0220
  • Crochet: Baby Baseball Cap – also finished this Friday.IMG_0219

No list of goals for next week even though I’ll still be working. I am hoping to finish the first draft of Law of Choice this week. And hopefully through most of the revisions for Healing the Heart. Unless I get either of the MSs that are out with my CP/beta. Then, those will get moved to the top of the list. On Wednesday, I’ll have my wrap-up of the month. With my goals following next week.

 

Send me your stories!

I’ve been working on cleaning up and cutting down the story I’ve been posting on Fridays(the reason I haven’t been posting) to send in for this. Also planning on looking at a few other short pieces to see if I have something I can fix up.

L.S. Engler

This is pretty exciting for me, because I’m usually a horrible procrastinator who gets all lost in all the things she has going on so a lot of things slip through the cracks, but I’m all caught up reading through my current World Unknown Review submissions! Which is fantastic, because I’ve already got a good crop of potential stories sorted out and listed, but I need more! Don’t wait until the October 31st deadline! Send me your stories now!

What is the World Unknown Review? It’s a literary journal I’m attempting to create that will be on sale through Amazon on December 31st of every year, because this is going to be a tradition, ya’all. I’m looking for tales of any genre, any length (even looking for a novella to cap out the collection), to really showcase of fantastic talent that might be out there. I…

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2014 RoW80 Round-Up: Round 3

I don’t usually post on Thursdays, but this is the official end of Round 3, so I decided to save my round evaluation for today. Although I did my usual mid-week check-in yesterday. I’ll probably do a post on Sunday on my weekly progress even though it won’t be an official check-in. And next Wednesday, I’ll have my September wrap-up. With next round’s goals following the following Sunday. Have I ever mentioned I don’t take much of a break between rounds(the answer, I believe, is: yes)?

My original goals for this round(with comments in blue & red):

Writing:

  • Flames of Renewal – 1st draft finished this by the end of July. Ended up being a little over 61k.
  • Law of Choice(working title for The Choice prequel) – 1st draft Nope. I’m working on it right now and am just about to the midpoint. It’s sitting at almost 18.5k, so will probably end up under 40k(which was the plan).
  • Chasing the Ghost – pick back up(about 11-12k already written) ended up not picking this back up. But, it in the plan for next round.
  • Stained Snow – get ready to publish – nope, not at all. I’m actually going to do another read through of this then decide what to do.
  • Flames of Redemption – send to betas yes, well one. Only one person offered to read it. Once I get it back from her, I’ll start working through it.
  • The Choice – send to CP and hopefully edit sent but still waiting to get it back from her. Like Redemption, once I get it back, I’ll work it into my schedule to make any changes
  • Stained Blood(follow-up to Stained by Ashes) – Outline outlined & set aside. I might pick it up before the end of the year but most likely sometime in January.
  • Flames of Retribution(Flames #3 – Mark’s story for anyone who’s read #1) – outline yes, and 1st draft written. it ended up at almost 84.5k
  • Fantasy story idea – flesh out & outline – working on the outlining right now
  • Pirates story idea – flesh out & outline haven’t even started on this yet.
  • Rick & Leann(short story) – finish finished this back in the middle of August. Working on cleaning it up right now. 

This round was mostly good for these goals. I also plotted out some other stories that weren’t on this list of goals. And worked on things I didn’t plan to. Which is pretty much the reason for what I didn’t accomplish. Next round may be more about sticking to the plan.

Reading:

  • Listen to 3 audiobooks I’ve listened to 9.
  • Read 27 fiction books I’ve read 55. Some short stories, some novellas, some full-length novels, and some collections. 
  • Read 3 writing craft/research books  I read 3.

Crafting:

  • Knit: 9 projects – Finished 8. I have 1 more I want to get to this month.
  • Crochet: 6 projects –Finished 4. One I had to set aside because I ran out of yarn. The other I plan to start today. 

That’s it for today. Like I said, I’ll have my monthly wrap-up next week(when the month is over) and next round’s goals up after that.

Writing Wednesday: Ahead of Schedule

It probably says something about how my week has gone that I’m starting to write this post at 5 a.m. on Wednesday, and I usually don’t start it until I’ve finished my writing goals for the day. *lets that sink in* Yes, I have today’s writing goals finished before 5 a.m. No, I haven’t started any earlier than usual. I just changed the way I set up my goals. Going by scenes I need to finish to stay on track. And once I’ve finished everything on my to-do list for the day, I’ve moved on to the next day’s goals. So, I’ve gotten ahead. I only had about 500 words left to write for today’s scenes. I had yesterday’s list finished before 10 a.m. I love when I can finish out a round on a high note. And now I remember what I like about doing things this way.

Before I get to my progress for this week(I’ll save the round’s evaluation for the official end tomorrow), it’s Wednesday, which means time share a little snippet from my WiP. I finished Flames of Retribution on Friday, so no more visits with Mark and Caitie. At least not for right now. Now, I’m heading back to Kurztown*, my little town in NW Pennsylvania. This is actually a prequel to the first book in the series(kind of. There are actually 2 timelines in that, and this happens between them). The Choice(book 1) was Mason’s story, but this is his best friend’s Brian, story. For today, I will share 6 paragraphs(2+4=6) from Chapter 1.

“Relax, Sharrock,” one of the guys said from behind him, leaning forward. “You act like you’re walking in front of a firing squad instead of getting your college diploma a year early.”
Brian rolled his eyes but leaned back in the chair. “You could have gotten yours a year early too if you’d applied yourself, Rogan.”
All it had taken was a few extra credits a semester and a couple summer sessions. And a serious lack of partying. He knew that would surprise people back home. He’d never really cared for the party scene. That wasn’t why he’d held those parties.
Brian sat through the speeches. Some bigshot gave the commencement address. He barely listenedd but shifted in his seat. He let himself look out toward the audience now. He could make out the people in the first couple rows. But beyond that, everyone was just shadows.
Maybe they’re just sitting farther back.
He doubted it, but he made himself sit up straight just in case. His father always said nobody trusted a sloucher. God, how he hated having that man’s words in his head.

When I first wrote Brian into The Choice, I thought he’d be in one scene and that I knew the kind of person he was. Then, I learned so much more about him and that was more behind the way he acted. Learning even more about him as I write his story.

*Kurztown is a fictional town but based a good bit on my hometown and some of the other small towns I’ve lived in.

Now, onto my progress for this week.

  • Law of Choice: Diving back into this one. Want to get through the midpoint. – I’ve written 4 scenes this week for 5108 words. I have at least 3 more scenes to write to meet this goal.
  • Healing the Heart: Revise 5 chapters – I’m through Chapter 3. On track to meet this.
  • The Hunt: brainstorming – making progress on this. Figured out the three main characters. Have 1 more I want to dive more into, then need to figure out the plot some more.
  • Read: Can’t Help Falling in Love(Bella Andre), Something Strange and Deadly(Susan Dennard), City of Fallen Angel(Cassandra Clare), and Throne of Glass(Sarah J. Maas) – I finished Can’t Help Falling in Love(enjoyed it. love a good firefighter story) Monday. Finished Something Strange and Deadly last night. Loved this. Can’t wait to read the next one. Going to start City of Fallen Angels today.
  • Read: Writing about Magic – Finish – Finished this on Monday actually.
  • Knit: Pumpkin Hat – finish – almost there. Just have to knit the leaves and attach them to the hat.
  • Crochet: Baby Baseball Cap – will start once I finish the pumpkin hat.

Sunday Summary: An Experience

I finished the first draft of Flames of Retribution on Friday morning. I’m not sure I’m completely happy with the ending. There are a couple loose ends that aren’t quite tied up. But, for now, it’s finished and set aside until I’m ready to revise(which according to my calendar right now, will be next summer. that will probably change b/c I can never stick to that calendar). Yesterday I worked from 7 in the morning until 5in the evening at the local racetrack for the Rusty Wallace Driving experience. There were classes every hour(until 3) and then you could go out and drive around the track. I got to print out the pictures of each of the people driving with one of the cars and put them in plaques. As well as setting up & tearing down and jumping in and out of the trailer. My left knee is sore today(have had problems with it since my second year running cross country in high school). It was interesting though and not too bad other than one guy who threw a fit because he apparently didn’t listen to the rules. It’s amazing how upset I can get about a confrontation that doesn’t even involve me(and how can I write conflict, when I cannot stand it in real life?).

My MIL had the kids yesterday since I was at the track and husband had to work all day. She took them to get some pictures done. I’ve only seen a couple of these. But I saw this one and started laughing, because it is a perfect one of the boy:

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And this one *had* to be posed. They never get along this well. Although he does always have his hand in his pocket.

1978528_680454158712153_3671441271569153934_oOne of just the girl. She’s always taken good pictures.

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Anyway, it’s been a pretty good week. The kids seem to be coming down with colds though. I’m just hoping they don’t get too bad. I have to finish filling out a questionnaire about the boy’s development so I can send it back to preschool with him tomorrow. Some of these questions seem ridiculous. Like can he follow 3 unrelated orders put together(Clap your hands, go to the door, and sit down). But, they don’t include a response for him smiling, laughing, and saying “no”. Which is exactly what he does when he just doesn’t feel like doing it.

Anyway, onto this week’s progress:

  • Flames of Retribution: finish 1st draft – DONE. DONE. DONE. *dances around living room* okay, not really, b/c I’d probably hurt myself. 🙂 It came in at 84,409 words.
  • Healing the Heart: Finish read through & compile notes – just finished typing up the notes this morning. Planning to start revisions tomorrow.
  • The Hunt – finish world building – nearly there. I’m hoping to get it done today then start focusing more on characters and plot
  • Read: Hanna, Hanna, One-and-Two, The Evolution of Mara Dyer(Michelle Hodkin), Until There Was You(Jessica Scott), & My Fate for Yours(Steph Campbell & Jolene Perry) Didn’t get a chance to read at all yesterday, but I’m about 40% through My Fate for Yours. I enjoyed the others. Really like Jessica Scott’s books. Of course, last time I was at the store, I saw the next one in the series on the shelf. Last night when we were there? Couldn’t find it.
  • Crochet: Autumn Slouch Hat – not finished yet. I probably would be, except I ran out of yarn. I have 2 other balls of purple cotton yarn. Neither is the same shade. I tried looking when we were shopping last night, but couldn’t find it. I’ll have to check other stores to see if I can find it.
  • Knit: Pumpkin Hat – almost finished with the body of this, then I just have do the decreases and make the stem & leaves.

Goals for next week:

  • Law of Choice: Diving back into this one. Want to get through the midpoint.
  • Healing the Heart: Revise 5 chapters
  • The Hunt: brainstorming
  • Read: Can’t Help Falling in Love(Bella Andre), Something Strange and Deadly(Susan Dennard), City of Fallen Angel(Cassandra Clare), and Throne of Glass(Sarah J. Maas)
  • Read: Writing about Magic – Finish
  • Knit: Pumpkin Hat – finish
  • Crochet: Baby Baseball Cap

Writing Wednesday: Falling In

Woke up this morning to 40 degree(F) weather. I’d say Fall has arrived. On Saturday, we stopped at a local place and bought some potatoes and apples. All local. yesterday, I took some of the apples and made apple crisp. Very good. Yesterday was also our 8th wedding anniversary. Doesn’t always seem like it’s been that long. Didn’t really do anything special yesterday, but Saturday we did leave the kids with his mom and got to go out for dinner.

I’m almost finished with Flames of Retribution, so today may be the last snippet from it. Today I have 10 paragraphs(9+1+7-2-0-1-4) from the end of Chapter 6.

He dropped into a chair before looking back up at his friend. “Caitie was over there when I showed up. I didn’t want to tell Adrian about this with her there, but she wouldn’t leave. I told them, Nolan. About Deena and Erin. About my fuck-up. And she fucking hugged me. She should have wanted to run away, but she held on instead. Why can’t I make her run away?”
“Why the hell do you want to? You’re being an idiot. I told you she’s tough. And smart apparently. So, why didn’t you hold on to her?”
“I couldn’t handle it. They were all looking at me with all this sympathy and understanding. And I didn’t deserve it. Why couldn’t they just call me a fuckhead and get it over with?”
“Because that only makes you feel better and keeps you thinking you deserved it. And I did call you that last night, remember?”
Mark let out a little laugh. “And you were right. I’m sorry, Nolan. You know you are my family. You and the other guys. You’re the only family I’ve got.”
“And Maura. She’s never turned her back on you.”
Mark swallowed. He was right. His sister had been the one to welcome him home after boot camp and every deployment. Growing up he’d thought she was as cold as their mother. Then, he’d realized that was just her way of coping with their screwed up family. “She has her own family to worry about now though.”
“She’d still grieve if you went and got yourself killed. So, just remember that. There are people who worry about you too. So stop being an asshole.” His eyes narrowed. “And get some damn sleep. You look like you’re about to fall over.”
“Yes, sir,” he said, snapping a quick salute.
Nolan punched him in the shoulder. “Asshole,” he said with a smile. Then, he turned and left the apartment.

This week is going pretty well so far. Even with losing power for about 4 hours on Monday. Not sure what happened. Everything flickered out then the lights and clocks came back on, but dim. And a little while later, went out completely. I’d shut off the lights by then b/c last time this happened, we had a few burn out. Instead of worrying about what I couldn’t get done, I did the things I didn’t need power for.

  • Flames of Retribution: finish 1st draft – Almost there. Finished 5 scenes. 3 more to go. Yes, I realize this doesn’t add up to the 7 I mentioned on Sunday. I added another one in on Monday.
  • Healing the Heart: Finish read through & compile notes – Almost done with the read through. Just two more chapters to go through.
  • The Hunt – finish world building – I finished the worksheet I’d printed out and wrote up a creation myth for the world. Have a few other things about the world I want to flesh out. Still hoping to finish this part this week.
  • Read: Hanna, Hanna, One-and-Two, The Evolution of Mara Dyer(Michelle Hodkin), Until There Was You(Jessica Scott), & My Fate for Yours(Steph Campbell & Jolene Perry) – finished Hanna on Monday. Very interesting. Started Evolution of Mara Dyer yesterday. Only about 37% through it. Also finished listening to Code Name Verity this morning. Gah! Cried, laughed, & cried again. And that was just in the last 50 minutes of it.
  • Crochet: Autumn Slouch Hat – I’m about halfway finished with this. Hopefully will finish it today.
  • Knit: Pumpkin Hat – will start when I finish the slouch hat.

 

Monday Mentions: Working Hard & Kissing ‘As’

Last Thursday, L.S. Engler posted about her dilemma of whether she was working hard or hardly working. I run into this all the time. People say they think I’m really productive. And I rarely feel like it. Maybe because all I have to show for it is that word count meter going up. Although that one usually makes me feel good. But the other parts, the revising(particularly the read through) and the plotting, they aren’t quite as visible. So, while I know I get things done, I look back and go “what the heck did I even do today?” It doesn’t matter if I know I’m being productive, I don’t usually feel like it. Or I feel like I could do even more if I wasn’t lazy. And then I look at everything I cross off my to-do list, and go “okay, I did get a lot done.” It just never feels like enough.

And this post by Marcy Kennedy over on Kristen Lamb’s blog, hit on something I tend to struggle with. And I didn’t realize how much until I read the this post. So, now I need to add as, while, and when to my list of words for my search & destroy missions when I edit.

 

What about you? How do you measure your productivity? Do you work hard or feel like you should be doing more? Do we ever let up on ourselves?

 

Sunday Summary: Deadlines

 

I think I mentioned last week about my calendar I have set up. I tried doing paper calendars before, but I was always whiteing out things, so I figured it would be easier to do a digital calendar. It does making changing it easier. Anyways, last week I went through and figured out my deadlines for various projects, working with alternating drafting and revising months. And I was thinking that instead of doing my usual word count goals, or even time goals for each week, I’d figure out my weekly goals based on this schedule of deadlines. I want to have the 1st draft of Flames of Retribution finished by Friday, and I have at least 7 more scenes to write(that’s what I have plotted out. I may add more as I work through those). I can split those up through the next week in order to be done by Friday. I’ve done this before and it usually works well. At least until I fall behind and try to play catch up.

September & October Plans

September & October Plans

I made pretty good progress last week. Added almost 17000 words between Flames of Retribution & plotting the historical.

  • Flames of Retribution – 4 hours a day for hopefully around 20k(which will bring me to around 75k) – I did the 4 hours each day and managed 15,707. Friday was a 4700+ word day. I’m over 70k now. This will probably come in around 80k, which seems to be pretty standard for me
  • Healing the Heart – 1 hour a day & hopefully half way through it – got a little more than halfway through. I’m through 19/30 chapters. Planning to have it finished and notes compiled into the scrivener document by Friday.
  • GH&SF – finish character work – finished this and outlined the plot. Now, it’s sitting until I’m ready to start writing it.
  • Read: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown(Holly Black), Ashes and Bone(Stacy Green), Dare to Desire(Carly Phillips), & Hanna, Hanna, One-and-Two(Myndi Shafer) – I’m almost 1/2 through the last book on the list. I’ll probably finish it sometime today. I’ve enjoyed all of them.
  • Read: Writing about Magic(Rayne Hall) – Through Chapter 9 – this is done.
  • Knit: Bee-utiful Dishcloth – Finished this yesterday morning.IMG_0214

For next week:

  • Flames of Retribution: finish 1st draft
  • Healing the Heart: Finish read through & compile notes
  • The Hunt – finish world building
  • Read: Hanna, Hanna, One-and-Two, The Evolution of Mara Dyer(Michelle Hodkin), Until There Was You(Jessica Scott), & My Fate for Yours(Steph Campbell & Jolene Perry)
  • Crochet: Autumn Slouch Hat
  • Knit: Pumpkin Hat

Temperatures are already cooling off, so I’ll probably be switching back to heavier yarns for my crafting after this month. Also, next month means my focus switching to revision with drafting on the side.