It's December 10th and that means I haven't written on this blog for about, oh, 18 days. I'm really bad at this.
Right now, I'm dealing with what it commonly known as post-NaNoWriMo depression. Pretty much I feel like I've totally slacked in the writing department. Productivity through November usually leads to a downswing of productivity come December. I should be able to counter this considering I can see it coming every single year.
But I always hit December and feel like I've lost my stride.
My goal is to continue writing 2000 words a day. I don't know where I picked up the 2k words as being the number I need to be at but that's what I'm aiming for. 2k sounds like a good round number and usually only takes about an hour for me to complete. I've read somewhere that "full-time" writers usually put in 3 hours a day of writing, but that's just not happening anytime soon.
So we'll do what we can and carry on.
Monday, December 10, 2012
Thursday, November 22, 2012
NaNoWriMo Complete
50k. Boom.
50,121 to be exact. And I still have a lot of way to go. I still have about, oh, 9 more days to go too. I'm hoping to hit 60k this year. I think it'll probably happen considering I've hit my stride. We'll see how long that lasts but I'm doing 2500-3500 word days now. If I can keep that up for 9 more days I'll add another 22,500 to 31,500 words by the end of this.
That would be fantastic.
It feels good to hit 50k but now I'm really shooting for the bigger numbers. 50k is really a novelette, not a real novel. I would like to pound out an actual novel length story. One of my goals in life is to eek out a 150k word novel. That's a doozy but I swear I will get it done!
In other news, Happy Thanksgiving!
I'm sitting at my kitchen counter watching a turkey roast while writing and trying to get some other work done. Work is required for one of my jobs today so I'm really not getting a Thanksgiving vacation this year but I know plenty of other people who have to do the same thing. I'm just happy my work can be done from home. Ah, the joys of working partly from home!
50,121 to be exact. And I still have a lot of way to go. I still have about, oh, 9 more days to go too. I'm hoping to hit 60k this year. I think it'll probably happen considering I've hit my stride. We'll see how long that lasts but I'm doing 2500-3500 word days now. If I can keep that up for 9 more days I'll add another 22,500 to 31,500 words by the end of this.
That would be fantastic.
It feels good to hit 50k but now I'm really shooting for the bigger numbers. 50k is really a novelette, not a real novel. I would like to pound out an actual novel length story. One of my goals in life is to eek out a 150k word novel. That's a doozy but I swear I will get it done!
In other news, Happy Thanksgiving!
I'm sitting at my kitchen counter watching a turkey roast while writing and trying to get some other work done. Work is required for one of my jobs today so I'm really not getting a Thanksgiving vacation this year but I know plenty of other people who have to do the same thing. I'm just happy my work can be done from home. Ah, the joys of working partly from home!
Friday, November 9, 2012
Day 9
Not so good in the NaNoWriMo department today...
Ending Word Count:21,376
Words Written Today: 1,090
I'm hoping to get a second wind this weekend. We'll see... I have a lot of studying to get done and I've got some more work to do to catch up with one of my jobs. Yay for getting behind!
So, supposedly we're getting snow this weekend. NOOOOOO!!!
Things I like about New Mexico:
1. Warmer weather.
2. No snow.
3. No humidity.
4. No snow.
The last couple of years, I'm pretty sure New Mexico got snow before Michigan did. Which is just disturbing.
Tomorrow's list of things to do include studying, writing, studying, and, oh yeah, writing. Yay weekends! Seriously, yay weekends!
Ending Word Count:21,376
Words Written Today: 1,090
I'm hoping to get a second wind this weekend. We'll see... I have a lot of studying to get done and I've got some more work to do to catch up with one of my jobs. Yay for getting behind!
So, supposedly we're getting snow this weekend. NOOOOOO!!!
Things I like about New Mexico:
1. Warmer weather.
2. No snow.
3. No humidity.
4. No snow.
The last couple of years, I'm pretty sure New Mexico got snow before Michigan did. Which is just disturbing.
Tomorrow's list of things to do include studying, writing, studying, and, oh yeah, writing. Yay weekends! Seriously, yay weekends!
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Day 8
Proof that my craziest days are my most productive:
University Hours Worked: 2
Library Hours Worked: 6
Online Job Hours Worked: 4.25
Words Written for NaNoWriMo: 5,731 (approximately 3 hours)
Total Word Count This Evening: 20,286
Damn.
I thought I wasn't going to get anything done today because of so much work. That was obviously an incorrect assumption because... damn. I'm pretty sure that's the most I've written so far this entire NaNo month. I'm hoping to get a 10k words day this weekend, but we'll see...
For some reason, I've found that the more pressure I'm under the better I do with time management. There's something about the urgency of "you need to do this now or it won't happen" that can really give you the kick in the pants you need.
Oh, also did about an hour or two of writing on my other two projects going on right now. Yeah, that's a lot of writing...
University Hours Worked: 2
Library Hours Worked: 6
Online Job Hours Worked: 4.25
Words Written for NaNoWriMo: 5,731 (approximately 3 hours)
Total Word Count This Evening: 20,286
Damn.
I thought I wasn't going to get anything done today because of so much work. That was obviously an incorrect assumption because... damn. I'm pretty sure that's the most I've written so far this entire NaNo month. I'm hoping to get a 10k words day this weekend, but we'll see...
For some reason, I've found that the more pressure I'm under the better I do with time management. There's something about the urgency of "you need to do this now or it won't happen" that can really give you the kick in the pants you need.
Oh, also did about an hour or two of writing on my other two projects going on right now. Yeah, that's a lot of writing...
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Day 7
Total Words Written: 14,258
Words Written Today: 1,916
And it's only 2:15PM. I'll probably get some more work done today but probably not on my NaNoWriMo novel. So we won't count those!
I feel like I've hit a bit of a wall on the NaNoWriMo novel. At this point, it's just me following random points in an attempt to get all the words down. It's highly discouraging. I should probably go over the outline again and see if I can pick up the thread of my story again.
Last year I didn't have an outline when I did NaNoWriMo. This year, I decided to try the outline thing. I'm not sure how I feel about it. I like having the outline to look at but I've already deviated so much that it's kind of pointless. I think it also sort of stifled my "fluidity," if that makes sense.
I felt like last year I was able to do whatever I wanted, no matter what it was. But now I feel like I have a script to follow. We'll finish this NaNoWriMo with the outline and then re-evaluate. I might never outline again...
Words Written Today: 1,916
And it's only 2:15PM. I'll probably get some more work done today but probably not on my NaNoWriMo novel. So we won't count those!
I feel like I've hit a bit of a wall on the NaNoWriMo novel. At this point, it's just me following random points in an attempt to get all the words down. It's highly discouraging. I should probably go over the outline again and see if I can pick up the thread of my story again.
Last year I didn't have an outline when I did NaNoWriMo. This year, I decided to try the outline thing. I'm not sure how I feel about it. I like having the outline to look at but I've already deviated so much that it's kind of pointless. I think it also sort of stifled my "fluidity," if that makes sense.
I felt like last year I was able to do whatever I wanted, no matter what it was. But now I feel like I have a script to follow. We'll finish this NaNoWriMo with the outline and then re-evaluate. I might never outline again...
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Day 6
NaNoWriMo Updates:
Total Word Count: 12,342
Words Written Today: 1,833
If you count the other writing I've done today for another project (not this blog): 6,758
Holy moly!
That's a lot of writing. Dang, I don't know how that happened.
I'm ahead (right now) for NaNoWriMo but I'm not sure how long that's going to last. I've got my NaNoWriMo project going, and a second project in the wings, as well as a fanfiction that I'm being pestered to finish by a friend. So, needless to say, I've got my fingers in quite a few pies. And priorities are shifting somewhat.
I guess the good news is I'm writing every day. And I'm writing quite a bit every day. This isn't just a few piddly pages. This is pretty decent in volume and relatively good quality (says my second glances I'm taking every night).
The whole point of NaNoWriMo is to punch out a (really) rough draft of a novel. It's a good motivator to be able to get 50k words down in 30 days. It gives your whole mindset a good boost. A writer can use that every so often, especially when it feels like you're making little to no progress in the authoring department.
I know I always feel much more invigorated after the madcap dash that is November. I'm hoping to keep that momentum going a little longer than I did last year. I think the momentum died out sometime in March last year. So, I'm hoping to keep up the productivity all year round this year.
We'll see...
In other news, this election is giving me an ulcer. CNN is going off now.
Total Word Count: 12,342
Words Written Today: 1,833
If you count the other writing I've done today for another project (not this blog): 6,758
Holy moly!
That's a lot of writing. Dang, I don't know how that happened.
I'm ahead (right now) for NaNoWriMo but I'm not sure how long that's going to last. I've got my NaNoWriMo project going, and a second project in the wings, as well as a fanfiction that I'm being pestered to finish by a friend. So, needless to say, I've got my fingers in quite a few pies. And priorities are shifting somewhat.
I guess the good news is I'm writing every day. And I'm writing quite a bit every day. This isn't just a few piddly pages. This is pretty decent in volume and relatively good quality (says my second glances I'm taking every night).
The whole point of NaNoWriMo is to punch out a (really) rough draft of a novel. It's a good motivator to be able to get 50k words down in 30 days. It gives your whole mindset a good boost. A writer can use that every so often, especially when it feels like you're making little to no progress in the authoring department.
I know I always feel much more invigorated after the madcap dash that is November. I'm hoping to keep that momentum going a little longer than I did last year. I think the momentum died out sometime in March last year. So, I'm hoping to keep up the productivity all year round this year.
We'll see...
In other news, this election is giving me an ulcer. CNN is going off now.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Day 5
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!
I just got home from my first ever NaNoWriMo write-in session at the Page One Bookstore here in Albuquerque. It was fun. I got a lot done.
Today's ending word count is: 10,509 (3,458 words written today)
Pretty good! I'm ahead of schedule.
I'll probably attend the next few write-ins just to get the social interaction but I didn't find myself to be anymore productive while being around people. Sure, it's a good way to block out a chunk of time to do nothing but write. And I tend to not putz around online as much when I know people are watching my every move. But, I think it can also produce sub-par work because some of it is competition against the other people in the room.
Sure, it makes you output a lot of words but the quality, I'm not so sure of. So, I think I'll continue doing most of my writing at home or out in public somewhere like a coffee shop. I do enjoy being out in public writing: it takes away the distractions of home (ie: dog, cats, husband, the pile of laundry that needs doing).
The upside: I got some good input as to whether my plot even sounded interesting. It's always nice to get other people's opinions on the matter.
In other news, I'm pretty sure I know what my next tattoo is going to be! I just need to figure out where I want to put it... Oh the complications in life.
I just got home from my first ever NaNoWriMo write-in session at the Page One Bookstore here in Albuquerque. It was fun. I got a lot done.
Today's ending word count is: 10,509 (3,458 words written today)
Pretty good! I'm ahead of schedule.
I'll probably attend the next few write-ins just to get the social interaction but I didn't find myself to be anymore productive while being around people. Sure, it's a good way to block out a chunk of time to do nothing but write. And I tend to not putz around online as much when I know people are watching my every move. But, I think it can also produce sub-par work because some of it is competition against the other people in the room.
Sure, it makes you output a lot of words but the quality, I'm not so sure of. So, I think I'll continue doing most of my writing at home or out in public somewhere like a coffee shop. I do enjoy being out in public writing: it takes away the distractions of home (ie: dog, cats, husband, the pile of laundry that needs doing).
The upside: I got some good input as to whether my plot even sounded interesting. It's always nice to get other people's opinions on the matter.
In other news, I'm pretty sure I know what my next tattoo is going to be! I just need to figure out where I want to put it... Oh the complications in life.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Day 4
I know, I'm writing this post at night. And it'll be a short one with just one thing to update:
Word Count: 7,051
Whew, I'm caught up.
And exhausted. It's bedtime!
Word Count: 7,051
Whew, I'm caught up.
And exhausted. It's bedtime!
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Day 3
For those of you keeping track at home, my final word count for yesterday was 3448. This puts me on schedule to finish my 50k words on time.
I'm hoping to get a burst on the word count this weekend considering I'm realizing exactly how HARD it is to write while working 50 hours a week. It's much more complicated than I thought it would be. But it's forcing me to arrange my time accordingly and cut out some things that I might otherwise have wasted my time on (ie: YouTube).
Though I still am wasting about 30-60 minutes a day on random YouTube crap. I'm trying to learn to multitask with it: listen to podcast WHILE writing or working.
It's a work in progress.
The rest of my day today will consist of writing, a few hours of work, and studying. Sorry I didn't get this post up earlier today as I should be doing. I "slept in" today, meaning I slept until 8:15am.
Being an adult is hard work...
I'm hoping to get a burst on the word count this weekend considering I'm realizing exactly how HARD it is to write while working 50 hours a week. It's much more complicated than I thought it would be. But it's forcing me to arrange my time accordingly and cut out some things that I might otherwise have wasted my time on (ie: YouTube).
Though I still am wasting about 30-60 minutes a day on random YouTube crap. I'm trying to learn to multitask with it: listen to podcast WHILE writing or working.
It's a work in progress.
The rest of my day today will consist of writing, a few hours of work, and studying. Sorry I didn't get this post up earlier today as I should be doing. I "slept in" today, meaning I slept until 8:15am.
Being an adult is hard work...
Friday, November 2, 2012
Day 2
Yesterday I got my word count up to 1837.
I haven't done any writing today sadly. Doc in the morning, work in the afternoon, working currently for another two hours.
I'm hoping to pound out my required 1667 words in a couple hours. But we'll see!
I can already tell that this is going to be a challenge. My brain is already fighting the "get up early" aspect of my plan which makes things reasonably possible. For example, I didn't get up until 8:45am this morning. And I needed to be at the doctor's at 9:30am. Yeah...
Then I wasted an hour in the waiting room which I could have been using to do something like WRITE!
I need to plan more. More planning is required!
I haven't done any writing today sadly. Doc in the morning, work in the afternoon, working currently for another two hours.
I'm hoping to pound out my required 1667 words in a couple hours. But we'll see!
I can already tell that this is going to be a challenge. My brain is already fighting the "get up early" aspect of my plan which makes things reasonably possible. For example, I didn't get up until 8:45am this morning. And I needed to be at the doctor's at 9:30am. Yeah...
Then I wasted an hour in the waiting room which I could have been using to do something like WRITE!
I need to plan more. More planning is required!
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Day 1
Welcome to the first official day of National Novel Writing Month.
Things I learned in the last couple of days:
1. 5 hours of sleep a night is not sufficient for me not to feel like I'm dying the next day.
2. 6 hours of sleep a night is a little better but not much.
Hmm, maybe I'm a pansy when it comes to sleep or maybe I need more caffeine. But we're going to have to play around with scheduling to see if I can get more around 7-8 hours a night. That's wasted time, in my opinion. Sleep is a wasteful experience but it is vital for my, you know, not dying or going crazy.
My word count as of right now is a big ZERO. I haven't gotten anything done in the way of NaNoWriMo. I was going to hit up the local kick-off party but ended up having to work from home until around 10:00pm or so and, by then, was so tired I figured I'd be a hazard on the road if I were to go to the kick-off party.
Today consists of around 10 hours of work between the various jobs. Plus fitting in around 2 hours of writing, which is about how much I'm going to need to do per day in order to reach my goal of 75k words. It breaks down to just about 2500 words a day, which I can feasibly do in about 2 hours with a few derp moments thrown in where I get bored or distracted and mindlessly surf YouTube for a few minutes.
YouTube, the bane of my existence. I could get lost in there! I should probably find a book on improving concentration...
Anyway, good luck to any other NaNoWriMo's out there! And hopefully by tomorrow morning I'll have a good solid word count to show for my efforts!
Things I learned in the last couple of days:
1. 5 hours of sleep a night is not sufficient for me not to feel like I'm dying the next day.
2. 6 hours of sleep a night is a little better but not much.
Hmm, maybe I'm a pansy when it comes to sleep or maybe I need more caffeine. But we're going to have to play around with scheduling to see if I can get more around 7-8 hours a night. That's wasted time, in my opinion. Sleep is a wasteful experience but it is vital for my, you know, not dying or going crazy.
My word count as of right now is a big ZERO. I haven't gotten anything done in the way of NaNoWriMo. I was going to hit up the local kick-off party but ended up having to work from home until around 10:00pm or so and, by then, was so tired I figured I'd be a hazard on the road if I were to go to the kick-off party.
Today consists of around 10 hours of work between the various jobs. Plus fitting in around 2 hours of writing, which is about how much I'm going to need to do per day in order to reach my goal of 75k words. It breaks down to just about 2500 words a day, which I can feasibly do in about 2 hours with a few derp moments thrown in where I get bored or distracted and mindlessly surf YouTube for a few minutes.
YouTube, the bane of my existence. I could get lost in there! I should probably find a book on improving concentration...
Anyway, good luck to any other NaNoWriMo's out there! And hopefully by tomorrow morning I'll have a good solid word count to show for my efforts!
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Last Day of Non-Craziness
Good morning, World!
It is now 6:20am here in Mountain Standard Time. I've been up for a little over a half hour. My alarm went off at 5:00am and my brain promptly told it to go away. So I slept until 5:45am until my furry, 19-pound Corgi decided enough was enough and got me up.
Thank you, Canine Alarm Clock!
Today is the last day before NaNoWriMo starts. To be precise, I have 17 hours and 39 minutes. Before everything gets really busy for awhile. Working my jobs and writing about 1700 words a day (50,000/30=1666.666667) makes for a tough 30 days.
But, I am determined. I won it last year (while working full-time and working on classes) so I can do it this year. This year I'm prepared with an 8-page outline, multiple responses to my informal synopsis of "hmmm, that sounds interesting", and a Keurig. Huzzah for Keurig!
It's wonderful to be able to get up before the sun, pop a little cup into a machine, and get coffee/tea/hot cocoa (pick your poison) in under a minute. Best invention since sliced bread!
So, in an attempt to keep you all up to date on what is going on, I will be blogging in the mornings about my process during NaNoWriMo, updates on word counts, problems I encounter, etc and so forth. Mornings are when I need to do my bi-daily brain dump anyway, and well, this is as good a format as ever since most of my posts are random ramblings anyway.
Stay tuned to hear about my adventure through the land of National Novel Writing Month!
It is now 6:20am here in Mountain Standard Time. I've been up for a little over a half hour. My alarm went off at 5:00am and my brain promptly told it to go away. So I slept until 5:45am until my furry, 19-pound Corgi decided enough was enough and got me up.
Thank you, Canine Alarm Clock!
Today is the last day before NaNoWriMo starts. To be precise, I have 17 hours and 39 minutes. Before everything gets really busy for awhile. Working my jobs and writing about 1700 words a day (50,000/30=1666.666667) makes for a tough 30 days.
But, I am determined. I won it last year (while working full-time and working on classes) so I can do it this year. This year I'm prepared with an 8-page outline, multiple responses to my informal synopsis of "hmmm, that sounds interesting", and a Keurig. Huzzah for Keurig!
It's wonderful to be able to get up before the sun, pop a little cup into a machine, and get coffee/tea/hot cocoa (pick your poison) in under a minute. Best invention since sliced bread!
So, in an attempt to keep you all up to date on what is going on, I will be blogging in the mornings about my process during NaNoWriMo, updates on word counts, problems I encounter, etc and so forth. Mornings are when I need to do my bi-daily brain dump anyway, and well, this is as good a format as ever since most of my posts are random ramblings anyway.
Stay tuned to hear about my adventure through the land of National Novel Writing Month!
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Who Doesn't Post Ever?
This person.
Sorry. Sincere apologies.
In other news, today is October 30th! Which means that we have today and tomorrow and then NaNoWriMo starts! Huzzah?
There's a question mark because this time of year is always a yay-aww moment for me. Yay I get to be productive with writing and finish a 50k+ word novel in 30 days. Aww I have been unproductive and slobbish the rest of the year, why does it take November for me to get anything done?
I'll keep you update on my progress here. Along with whether or not I go crazy sometime between then and now. This NaNoWriMo will take major pre-planning on my part. I'm not good at pre-planning. My husband always says to get a routine. Routine and I are not friends.
Routine and I stare at each other for a few hours before one of us tries to knife the other in the eye.
Routine and I are like two beta fish stuck in the same bowl: someone's going to lose a fin.
Routine and I can SOMETIMES co-exist peacefully for about three days before one of us tries to choke the other in their sleep.
Yeah, routine and I tend to get along well for 48-hours before life throws in a Big Bang Theory marathon and then it goes out the window. I guess my problem is really self-discipline.
So routine, self-discipline, and I walk into a bar...
No one walks out.
Sorry. Sincere apologies.
In other news, today is October 30th! Which means that we have today and tomorrow and then NaNoWriMo starts! Huzzah?
There's a question mark because this time of year is always a yay-aww moment for me. Yay I get to be productive with writing and finish a 50k+ word novel in 30 days. Aww I have been unproductive and slobbish the rest of the year, why does it take November for me to get anything done?
I'll keep you update on my progress here. Along with whether or not I go crazy sometime between then and now. This NaNoWriMo will take major pre-planning on my part. I'm not good at pre-planning. My husband always says to get a routine. Routine and I are not friends.
Routine and I stare at each other for a few hours before one of us tries to knife the other in the eye.
Routine and I are like two beta fish stuck in the same bowl: someone's going to lose a fin.
Routine and I can SOMETIMES co-exist peacefully for about three days before one of us tries to choke the other in their sleep.
Yeah, routine and I tend to get along well for 48-hours before life throws in a Big Bang Theory marathon and then it goes out the window. I guess my problem is really self-discipline.
So routine, self-discipline, and I walk into a bar...
No one walks out.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
The Eight Hour Banana
You know you're busy when:
It takes you eight hours to eat a banana...
I started eating this banana at around 8:00am this morning. It's currently 4:15pm and I'm only about 3/4 of the way through with it.
It's gone to the Library with me to work my two hours this morning, then it came back home with me. Then it went with me to a meeting downtown and sat in my car for an hour while I chatted it up with some state reps for veteran's affairs. Now it's sitting on my desk in my office at the university looking a little dejected and worse for wear.
And there's still 1/4 of it left.
That means that's all I've eaten today: 3/4 of a banana.
My goal for the rest of the day is to finish this damned banana!
It takes you eight hours to eat a banana...
I started eating this banana at around 8:00am this morning. It's currently 4:15pm and I'm only about 3/4 of the way through with it.
It's gone to the Library with me to work my two hours this morning, then it came back home with me. Then it went with me to a meeting downtown and sat in my car for an hour while I chatted it up with some state reps for veteran's affairs. Now it's sitting on my desk in my office at the university looking a little dejected and worse for wear.
And there's still 1/4 of it left.
That means that's all I've eaten today: 3/4 of a banana.
My goal for the rest of the day is to finish this damned banana!
Monday, October 8, 2012
Back To It
My life has been a little hectic lately. Can you tell by the fact that I haven't written in this blog in awhile? Life sometimes just runs away with me and I forget to do things.
Okay, that's a lie.
I don't forget to do anything. I just have very bad planning skills. I could sit down and write a blog entry but instead, I'm tooling around YouTube watching Mass Effect videos. Not that there's ANYTHING wrong with Mass Effect (I love that series!) but I could be doing much more productive things. Sometimes I think my inability to plan ahead is the reason why I haven't completed all that much in my 25 years of life.
My list of accomplishments aren't as long as I wish they could be. Or what I dreamed them to be at this age when I was in high school. I'm not a published author. I don't have my name listed anywhere in any credits for movies, video games, or tv shows. I haven't done anymore acting.
Sometimes I look at these celebrities who are my age or YOUNGER and wonder what I've done with my life. And it feels like I have accomplished nothing.
I know, I know. First world problems. And there are many people out there who have it worse than I do. I have a college degree, I earn a decent amount of money, I'm married with a place to live with enough room to spread out, I can afford food and I eat out a lot. I have a good family and good friends. I shouldn't complain.
I shouldn't complain. I should just take the time to plan and to accomplish. Time management. I need to master it.
Okay, that's a lie.
I don't forget to do anything. I just have very bad planning skills. I could sit down and write a blog entry but instead, I'm tooling around YouTube watching Mass Effect videos. Not that there's ANYTHING wrong with Mass Effect (I love that series!) but I could be doing much more productive things. Sometimes I think my inability to plan ahead is the reason why I haven't completed all that much in my 25 years of life.
My list of accomplishments aren't as long as I wish they could be. Or what I dreamed them to be at this age when I was in high school. I'm not a published author. I don't have my name listed anywhere in any credits for movies, video games, or tv shows. I haven't done anymore acting.
Sometimes I look at these celebrities who are my age or YOUNGER and wonder what I've done with my life. And it feels like I have accomplished nothing.
I know, I know. First world problems. And there are many people out there who have it worse than I do. I have a college degree, I earn a decent amount of money, I'm married with a place to live with enough room to spread out, I can afford food and I eat out a lot. I have a good family and good friends. I shouldn't complain.
I shouldn't complain. I should just take the time to plan and to accomplish. Time management. I need to master it.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
My Life... Is Has Gone
Pretty much...
Anyway, I'm in the midst of getting my first novel ready to ship out to some publishers/agents. We'll see how that goes. I've been sweating it over the cover letter and synopsis, oh my! It's driving me up a wall but I figure I'll get it figured out eventually. Or so help me.
I'm hoping for sometime in the next week or two and it'll be going out. But, knowing me, it'll be a little while longer. My procrastination skills are fantastic.
Anyway, I'm in the midst of getting my first novel ready to ship out to some publishers/agents. We'll see how that goes. I've been sweating it over the cover letter and synopsis, oh my! It's driving me up a wall but I figure I'll get it figured out eventually. Or so help me.
I'm hoping for sometime in the next week or two and it'll be going out. But, knowing me, it'll be a little while longer. My procrastination skills are fantastic.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Oh Mondays
Honestly, Mondays don't irk me that much. Mondays are easy days for me.
I got a decent amount of writing done over the weekend and spent some time revisiting some old writing I have done in an attempt to convert an old-style RPT (Role-Playing Thread) into an actual story! Right now it's a bunch of posts thrown together in a Word document.
It takes me back to the good ol' days. The good ol' days being 2001-ish.
Anyway... I've got some big decisions on the horizon regarding my time scheduling (or my lack of the ability to do so). Basically, my inability to get anything done on weekends next to sleep until late afternoon and laze around. So much for the 5:00am wakeups every day huh? Yeah, this needs to be rethought!
I got a decent amount of writing done over the weekend and spent some time revisiting some old writing I have done in an attempt to convert an old-style RPT (Role-Playing Thread) into an actual story! Right now it's a bunch of posts thrown together in a Word document.
It takes me back to the good ol' days. The good ol' days being 2001-ish.
Anyway... I've got some big decisions on the horizon regarding my time scheduling (or my lack of the ability to do so). Basically, my inability to get anything done on weekends next to sleep until late afternoon and laze around. So much for the 5:00am wakeups every day huh? Yeah, this needs to be rethought!
Friday, September 21, 2012
WEEKEND!
I'm sitting here finishing up my last hour of work while listening to WoW music videos (sad). One of the things I miss since I'm busy as hell. Well, not WoW specifically, but MMO's in general. I'll be happy to get back to WoW and SW:TOR. Yes, I'm one of those people.
Anyway, I'm hoping to get a good deal of writing (and studying) done this weekend since I have no work on the horizon.
The goal this weekend: to finish mapping out this FINAL fanfiction for the Mass Effect series I'm working on.
This is my last idea. I promise.
But I can't help writing it when I have vivid dreams about how it could start/continue/end. That's my brain telling me "let this idea OUT!"
And when that happens, I must write it.
I'm one of those people that I write down all ideas that come to my brain. Then if I keep dithering over one idea for a couple days in a row, I know I need to get that idea done and completed (or at least outlined) ASAP before the thoughts leave my brain and go to wherever thoughts go. Once they leave, they usually don't come back sadly.
So I'm outlining madly with this idea while it's still percolating in my brain. Because I know it'll be leaving soon. Which is a sad sad thing.
Anyway, I'm hoping to get a good deal of writing (and studying) done this weekend since I have no work on the horizon.
The goal this weekend: to finish mapping out this FINAL fanfiction for the Mass Effect series I'm working on.
This is my last idea. I promise.
But I can't help writing it when I have vivid dreams about how it could start/continue/end. That's my brain telling me "let this idea OUT!"
And when that happens, I must write it.
I'm one of those people that I write down all ideas that come to my brain. Then if I keep dithering over one idea for a couple days in a row, I know I need to get that idea done and completed (or at least outlined) ASAP before the thoughts leave my brain and go to wherever thoughts go. Once they leave, they usually don't come back sadly.
So I'm outlining madly with this idea while it's still percolating in my brain. Because I know it'll be leaving soon. Which is a sad sad thing.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Crazy Day...
My life...it's busy. I don't know how it happened.
Okay, that's a lie. I know how it happened.
Anyway, I got a little bit of writing done today. Actually, I'm working on plotting out a story right now while I'm working on other stuff. I don't know how I feel about multi-tasking sometimes, but it's nice to be able to get some work done while working. Ha!
Plus it makes my work go by a lot faster. Though I have found I can work, write, and have the TV going. But I cannot work, write, and listen to music. I don't know why I can listen to TV and not music and stay focused but that's how it is.
It also helps that writing keeps me awake, and after a late night last night and an early morning today, I'll take whatever I can to keep me awake!
Okay, that's a lie. I know how it happened.
Anyway, I got a little bit of writing done today. Actually, I'm working on plotting out a story right now while I'm working on other stuff. I don't know how I feel about multi-tasking sometimes, but it's nice to be able to get some work done while working. Ha!
Plus it makes my work go by a lot faster. Though I have found I can work, write, and have the TV going. But I cannot work, write, and listen to music. I don't know why I can listen to TV and not music and stay focused but that's how it is.
It also helps that writing keeps me awake, and after a late night last night and an early morning today, I'll take whatever I can to keep me awake!
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Another Morning
It is another morning here in lovely New Mexico! It's starting to get cold in this state. I'm not liking it!
I started my new position yesterday and boy am I glad to be back. But boy do I realize how much time I'm NOT going to have working three jobs with the current schedule. I'm reconsidering the remaining on-board on all three jobs. One of the jobs I have isn't necessary for me to keep. I've been at the location for a couple of years and things are just... deteriorating. I think that's the polite way to say it.
Plus I had another opportunity come up yesterday evening that fits my schedule much better and allows me to have a couple of days off a week without working outside of the house. Which would be awesome! Granted, it means I'd have to work six hours on Saturday, but honestly, I'm ok with that. I'm not one of those people that needs my weekends completely free. Plus it would force me to get up earlier on Saturdays, which is a big problem for me.
Anyway... My "get up at 5:00am" dealio is failing miserably. Granted, I'm getting up at 6:30am or so which is nothing to sneeze at considering my track record of not getting up before 9:00am if I don't need to. It's nice getting up a little earlier but I still want to get up even sooner! The more time I have in the morning, the better things will be.
Oh, and I really need to start getting to the gym. I've got a photo session coming up in December and I need to be ready for it!
I started my new position yesterday and boy am I glad to be back. But boy do I realize how much time I'm NOT going to have working three jobs with the current schedule. I'm reconsidering the remaining on-board on all three jobs. One of the jobs I have isn't necessary for me to keep. I've been at the location for a couple of years and things are just... deteriorating. I think that's the polite way to say it.
Plus I had another opportunity come up yesterday evening that fits my schedule much better and allows me to have a couple of days off a week without working outside of the house. Which would be awesome! Granted, it means I'd have to work six hours on Saturday, but honestly, I'm ok with that. I'm not one of those people that needs my weekends completely free. Plus it would force me to get up earlier on Saturdays, which is a big problem for me.
Anyway... My "get up at 5:00am" dealio is failing miserably. Granted, I'm getting up at 6:30am or so which is nothing to sneeze at considering my track record of not getting up before 9:00am if I don't need to. It's nice getting up a little earlier but I still want to get up even sooner! The more time I have in the morning, the better things will be.
Oh, and I really need to start getting to the gym. I've got a photo session coming up in December and I need to be ready for it!
Monday, September 17, 2012
5:00AM 21-Day Challenge
Good (early) morning!
As of today I am starting a 21-day challenge to make it a habit to get up at the crack of dawn (AKA 5:00AM MST). I've been up now for about two hours and have been relatively productive. I've taken a shower, fed the pets, gotten some writing done, checked email, and caught up on news.
I'm heading out to my first day at a new(ish) job in about 20 minutes, then I'll be home to work online for four hours. Then I'll probably be crashing.
Busy days are busy.
I'll keep you updated to see how long I can go getting up at 5:00AM. I'm hoping that getting up earlier will help with my writing, as I'm trying to get it done first thing in the morning. For me, it's also a self-mastery thing. If I can force myself to get up at 5:00AM every day of the week, I'm getting up earlier than most of the US population. Huzzah for me! I'm one of those strange individuals who likes the challenge and the personal satisfaction of doing something most people don't do... Sad huh?
As of today I am starting a 21-day challenge to make it a habit to get up at the crack of dawn (AKA 5:00AM MST). I've been up now for about two hours and have been relatively productive. I've taken a shower, fed the pets, gotten some writing done, checked email, and caught up on news.
I'm heading out to my first day at a new(ish) job in about 20 minutes, then I'll be home to work online for four hours. Then I'll probably be crashing.
Busy days are busy.
I'll keep you updated to see how long I can go getting up at 5:00AM. I'm hoping that getting up earlier will help with my writing, as I'm trying to get it done first thing in the morning. For me, it's also a self-mastery thing. If I can force myself to get up at 5:00AM every day of the week, I'm getting up earlier than most of the US population. Huzzah for me! I'm one of those strange individuals who likes the challenge and the personal satisfaction of doing something most people don't do... Sad huh?
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Later Than Expected
Good afternoon. This post is coming a little later than expected (or what I hoped for). Weekends are my days to sleep in and I slept in until (gulp) 1:00PM before I finally got up. Though I did just get done with a 90-minute writing blast. So, I suppose that counts for something. After all, I need some time to sleep with working three jobs during the week.
For now, I'm working on finishing up a few fanfictions that I've got going on. I know, fanfictions aren't nearly as creatively intensive as, say, original work. But, it at least has me writing which is part of the point. And at this point, I'll take anything that keeps me writing. Plus, if I don't get these done, I don't think I'll be able to concentrate on original work.
A lot of writer's have varying ideas on fanfiction. I've heard some creators of worlds totally dislike fanfiction and see it as vulgar. While some creators of worlds love the fact that people love their work so much that they want to disappear into it.
In my opinion, not that I'm a creator of worlds, but I think writing of any kind is a good thing. If it takes creating characters and putting them into an existing world to get your writing going, it's not particularly a bad thing. Now, saying that, I think there's a problem if you're writing nothing BUT fanfiction. Luckily, for me, I've got as many fanfictions going as original pieces. My problem is following through and completing anything. The only original piece I've finished is the 50k word novella I wrote for NaNoWriMo 2011. And I haven't completed a fanfiction to date.
I'm working on it! No one said writing would be easy!
For now, I'm working on finishing up a few fanfictions that I've got going on. I know, fanfictions aren't nearly as creatively intensive as, say, original work. But, it at least has me writing which is part of the point. And at this point, I'll take anything that keeps me writing. Plus, if I don't get these done, I don't think I'll be able to concentrate on original work.
A lot of writer's have varying ideas on fanfiction. I've heard some creators of worlds totally dislike fanfiction and see it as vulgar. While some creators of worlds love the fact that people love their work so much that they want to disappear into it.
In my opinion, not that I'm a creator of worlds, but I think writing of any kind is a good thing. If it takes creating characters and putting them into an existing world to get your writing going, it's not particularly a bad thing. Now, saying that, I think there's a problem if you're writing nothing BUT fanfiction. Luckily, for me, I've got as many fanfictions going as original pieces. My problem is following through and completing anything. The only original piece I've finished is the 50k word novella I wrote for NaNoWriMo 2011. And I haven't completed a fanfiction to date.
I'm working on it! No one said writing would be easy!
Friday, September 14, 2012
Good morning, World!
I am coming to you this morning (early this morning, at least for me) from 7:50AM MST. This is a change for me considering I usually drag myself out of bed sometime between the hours of 9:00AM and 2:00PM. Which is counterproductive to my goals and aspirations.
Everything I have ever read anywhere says that writers should get up first thing in the morning and write. Most writers I have read about say that early in the morning, when the world is new and waking up, is the best time in the world to get up and write.
And the inner night owl in my cried piteously about that...
I have, however, vowed to start using this tool to help up my productivity with writing. What has forced this sudden decision? My work/writing schedule is severely out of whack. My work days are spread over three separate jobs (for the time being) consisting of about fifty hours of work, plus, give or take, 2-3 hours of commuting. One of those jobs, I'm happy to say, is a work from home position (20 hours). The other two (10 hours and 20 hours) are out of the home. On top of that, I am also studying about 35 hours a week for an online course in medical transcription in hopes of being able to transition completely to in-home work.
In an attempt to get more writing done, I've started this blog and vowed to get up, early in the morning, and get my writing done first thing! Then it's out of the way and I don't have to worry about not getting it done. I'm also hoping that writing first thing in the morning will spark some ideas and get the ball rolling on my goal of being published before I'm too old!
So, in an attempt to be (somewhat) accountable, I've created this blog. Each morning, I will get up and write and I will blog for a short time about what I did, where the writing session went, and little tidbits of information/inspiration I find along the way.
So, to all you writers out there who are looking for someone to commiserate with regarding your writer's life or if you just want to follow to watch me attempt this endeavor, feel free! Feel free to send messages, post comments, whatever tickles your fancy. And I'll be sure to reply in the time I have not spent working, studying, and trying to live.
-Ziona Rhea Andreas
I am coming to you this morning (early this morning, at least for me) from 7:50AM MST. This is a change for me considering I usually drag myself out of bed sometime between the hours of 9:00AM and 2:00PM. Which is counterproductive to my goals and aspirations.
Everything I have ever read anywhere says that writers should get up first thing in the morning and write. Most writers I have read about say that early in the morning, when the world is new and waking up, is the best time in the world to get up and write.
And the inner night owl in my cried piteously about that...
I have, however, vowed to start using this tool to help up my productivity with writing. What has forced this sudden decision? My work/writing schedule is severely out of whack. My work days are spread over three separate jobs (for the time being) consisting of about fifty hours of work, plus, give or take, 2-3 hours of commuting. One of those jobs, I'm happy to say, is a work from home position (20 hours). The other two (10 hours and 20 hours) are out of the home. On top of that, I am also studying about 35 hours a week for an online course in medical transcription in hopes of being able to transition completely to in-home work.
In an attempt to get more writing done, I've started this blog and vowed to get up, early in the morning, and get my writing done first thing! Then it's out of the way and I don't have to worry about not getting it done. I'm also hoping that writing first thing in the morning will spark some ideas and get the ball rolling on my goal of being published before I'm too old!
So, in an attempt to be (somewhat) accountable, I've created this blog. Each morning, I will get up and write and I will blog for a short time about what I did, where the writing session went, and little tidbits of information/inspiration I find along the way.
So, to all you writers out there who are looking for someone to commiserate with regarding your writer's life or if you just want to follow to watch me attempt this endeavor, feel free! Feel free to send messages, post comments, whatever tickles your fancy. And I'll be sure to reply in the time I have not spent working, studying, and trying to live.
-Ziona Rhea Andreas
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)