fast and furious

No, I'm not talking about that silly car movie- I'm referring to my writing habits last week!!

Total Words Written: 5,043
Total Hours Spent Writing: 6
Total Word Count Overall: 41,393

That's right, over 5,000 words were pounded out over a 6 hour span. That's pretty impressive, if I do say so myself. I mean, considering I wasn't writing for 6 hours straight, but an hour or two here and there. If I had a 6 hour span of time to write NONSTOP...man, I would get SO MUCH done. Sigh. But anyway, I never even set a goal for myself last week (I don't think- did I?). It's sort of become unnecessary. Now that I'm making sure to set aside an hour or two here and there when I have free time, I'm not so worried about meeting any specific word count goal anymore. Looks like my average is right around 3k anyway, with some weeks a little less and some a little more.

That said, this week ahead is a crazy one. But I've said that before and still managed to set aside some time to write, so hopefully this week won't be any different. I've got my workout tonight, tomorrow Dan and I are going to go shopping for floor tiles for our basement, Wednesday is happy hour for Barra's birthday, Thursday is TVD night as per yoosh, Friday we're getting a new couch delivered in the midst of cleaning up the laundry room for the mentioned floor tiles, Saturday my parents are coming over to help with redoing the laundry room, and Sunday I'm going to the Browns game. Whew. I'm a little tired just thinking about all that. I will do my best to cram in at least a couple hours to write the WIP!

a good problem

I simply cannot write the WIP fast enough. Seriously. And I just don't have enough time in the day to spend writing it. It's killing me a little bit because it's sort of all I can think about right now. I have notes going about things I want to add or change or develop more, and I'm just constantly thinking about this story. Like, seriously, constantly. I think about it as I fall asleep at night, when I'm blow-drying my hair or brushing my teeth. When I'm at work trying to concentrate on, well, work. It's like Anna is starting to haunt my dreams the same way she's haunting Riley's (my readers will know what that means, heh).

This story is so much more complex than IMME. I feel, anyway. I'm really focusing on developing my character's voices as well as the setting. The characters have more layers to them, more troubles, more doubts and fears. Also, the historical aspects, while pretty minor at this point, take a bit of researching which I barely had to do for IMME. If at all.

Last night I only meant to write a couple pages. I planned on writing for an hour, stopping at reasonable time, calling my mom and then relaxing with Dan and the new Modern Family episodes. Except the problem with this story is that I just CANNOT STOP WRITING. I suppose it's a good problem to have, but it's starting to seriously cut into my time at home. I feel like I'm neglecting Dan, like, a lot. I ended up writing for two hours last night, finishing a chapter completely. After about an hour and fifteen minutes, I was about to shut it down, but I was SO CLOSE to finishing the chapter, and I knew exactly how I wanted it to end, so I just figured I should keep going. So keep going I did. I'm already over 2500 words for the week, just between yesterday and Tuesday night.

I will make it up to Dan this weekend. Sunday is our second anniversary (already!) so we're going to have a nice fancy schmancy dinner out on the town on Saturday, then Sunday we'll have a lovely meal at home. My plan is to spend a little time writing on Saturday morning, then trying to keep the lap top put away the rest of the weekend so we can focus on "our" time. We'll see how that goes, if I can keep Ella and Riley and Anna away for a day or two...

The case of the missing flash drive

Before I get to this post, my word count stats for the week:

Total Words Written: 3,467
Total Hours Spent Writing: 5*
Total Word Count Overall: 36,082

*Part of this time was spent creating a family tree that spans six generations for my main male character, Riley. That's a lotta dates, people. I think it makes sense now the way I have it...I think. I always meant for this story to have some historical aspects to it, but sometimes I feel like I'm getting in way over my head. It's turning into a paranormal/historical/mystery/romance young adult novel. Go figure. But I have to say, it is SO MUCH FUN to write. There's so much I still need to get to, so many ideas I still have, so many twists and turns to create. I hope it's as fun to read as it has been to write it. ;o)

So, many of my Facebook friends already know that I seemed to have misplaced my flash drive last week. Yes, THE flash drive. The one with over a year's worth of writing, including multiple drafts of IMME, outlines & the first, unfinished draft of the WIP, research on literary agents and my query tracking list. YEAH. Go me! Thankfully, I have everything backed up on my laptop, but still. I have looked EVERYFREAKINGWHERE for it, too. I've looked in the couch cushions and under furniture. I went through the trash cans in our kitchen- twice. I've ransacked drawers and emptied my purse out about five times, hoping it will magically reappear. I'm at a complete loss. I remember using it last Tuesday night, and I swear I put it back in my purse as I always do, but when I went to get it Wednesday night it was not there. Poof! Disappeared into thin air. But I am convinced it has to be in my house somewhere. IT HAS TO BE.

I've now purchased a new flash drive, so I'm really hoping the old one will show up at some point now that I've taken the new one out of its package. Sometimes Murphy's Law needs a little nudge, right?

RIP, trusty old flash drive...wherever you are.

Work it

Last night I attended my first spinning and pilates classes in about a year. Eeeek, a year?? I honestly can't even believe it's been that long. Last fall I gave up the fitness classes to take ballet, which turned out to be a bit of a mistake. Don't get me wrong, I will always, always love dance, but the ol' body just ain't what she used to be. My knees, which I have never had trouble with, started bothering me to the point where getting up out of my chair at work became difficult. I quit going after about 6 classes to give them a break, and then the holidays came around and I quickly lost any motivation to go back to class. I tend to hibernate in the winter. And I also tend to gain like 5-10 pounds, shockingly enough.

Spinning is a fantastic, incredible workout. I feel like I get into this weird zone when I'm on that bike pedaling away. Is it hard? Yes. Do I feel like I want to die sometimes? Absolutely. Do I sweat like a hog? You betcha. But I actually kinda love it. It's the one workout where I feel I really do push myself to do more. And I have always been a huge fan of pilates. But last night for the first 20minutes of pilates class I just could not for the life of me get into a groove with it. I felt clumsy and unflexible and kept falling over, until we finally did the floor work. Then things started going better.

Today I feel pretty good. My sit bones are incredibly sore from that damn bike seat, but otherwise I'm all right. So far, anyway. I'm sure at some point I'll start to notice my stomach muscles are sore, too- that will probably happen tomorrow. I'm just glad to be getting back into the swing of working out.

Exercising is a lot like writing for me. Once I stop for a while, it's extremely hard to get back into it. Falling out of any routine always sets me back. Just like I have to make time for exercising, I have to make time for writing weekly to keep myself in shape creatively.

P.S. I forgot to mention my word count goal for the week in yesterday's post. I'm going to set it at 2500, because I'm not entirely sure what this Sunday will bring, and that's usually my most productive day.

Stayin' on it

Maybe I'm underestimating my own abilities these days. My word count goal last week was 2000, right? Well, after spending only two days writing last week, my results are:

Total Words Written: 3,678
Total Hours Spent Writing: 4.5
Total Word Count Overall: 32,575

I know, right? I came close to doubling my original goal! What can I say? I'm really on a roll with this one. I'm so much more focused and organized than I was when I was writing IMME. I never kept track of my word counts with that one, I just wrote and wrote. And I definitely wasn't as strict with allowing myself a couple days a week to write no matter what. I wrote whenever the mood struck, really...which is probably why it took me well over a year to finish it. I really hope to stay on track with this one, and hopefully finish the first draft by the end of the year.

I did allow myself a very lazy Saturday night this weekend, though. I hadn't been sleeping well last week- this just happens to me from time to time- and I did the Race for the Cure on Saturday morning, walking 3.1 miles in just over an hour. By Saturday afternoon I couldn't remember my name or how to boil water. So, since the husband was out with his friends for the night, I sat on the couch and watched a lame Zac Efron movie (I'm sorry, that boy is PRETTY) and vegged, dozing off around 10:30. Yeah. Don't be jealous of my rockstar lifestyle. The thought to do some writing did cross my mind. I even went as far as to bring my laptop up from the basement, but I never even turned it on. Sometimes I just need nights like that though, to sit and not think about anything. And stare at a pretty boy. I made up for it on Sunday, at least.

Anyway, so I'm sending out the latest draft to my readers today, and I'm already super antsy to hear what they think about where the story is going. It's doubled in length since they last read it, so time to make sure I'm really still on the right track with it.

Always Remember

The summer of 2001 was a tough one. Things were starting to fall apart, just when I was thinking they were about to move forward. It was a shock. I was devastated. I forgot how to do things like sleep and eat. I couldn't stand to be alone. Quite honestly, I was losing it. Depression set in, fast and strong. And the worst part was that I didn't feel like anyone could understand what I was going through. I felt like the whole world was happy and content except for me. I couldn't talk to anyone about how bad things were for me, because I couldn't bear to hear "everything happens for a reason" or "time heals all wounds" one more time.

Then 9/11 hit. I will forever remember watching footage on the TV at work of the Twin Towers falling, my hand over my mouth, a sick feeling in my stomach. After the Pentagon was hit, we were all terrified it was World War III. What was going to happen next? What city would be hit next? Could it be us? We were evacuated shortly after that, and my drive home took twice as long as it normally did because everyone was trying to head out of the city at the same time. I cried the whole way home. My own personal wounds were still fresh and new, but at least before I'd felt somewhat safe in my everyday routines. It was like my sense of security was completely ripped away from me in every aspect of my life.

Now, ten years later, my personal wounds have healed. I'm stronger than I was back then. I met and married the love of my life, which probably wouldn't have happened if I hadn't gone though that awful summer. I'm working to fulfill my own dreams now, rather than live through someone else's. I will always remember 2001 as a year of great sadness, but good things can come from sadness. Light comes after darkness. Hope can come from despair.

I'm fully aware my own pain from that year is nothing compared to what the families and friends of the victims of 9/11 went through and are still going through. But I know I'm going to get emotional this weekend, thinking about how far things have come. How I got the happy ending I was looking for.

Time does heal all wounds, as they say.

Happy September!

Ah, my favorite time of the year is just ahead...hoodies, apple cider, gorgeous colors...I love fall! Today already feels extremely autumn-like, with the gloomy skies and the slight chill in the air. I would much rather be all cozied up at home with my coffee and my laptop, but alas, duty calls.

A glorious 5 day weekend came and went, but at least I got a TON of writing done! And I do mean a ton, especially after I had that slump the week before.

Total Words Written: 4,972
Total Hours Spent Writing: 6.5
Total Word Count Overall: 28,743

Do you see that?? I almost wrote 5,000 words! YAY ME. Ah, if only I had a day or two off every week. Imagine how productive I would be!

So I'm getting closer to the halfway point- my total word count goal will once again be 70-80k, just like with IMME. Where I'm at now feels like halfway, too. I wrote a bit of a turning point last week, and I'm still just as excited to keep going. Everything about this story feels like it's flowing better. I'm sure there will be plenty to clean up in revisions, but overall I'm still feeling really good about it.

As far as IMME...I still haven't sent out any more queries. I know, I know...I should keep plugging away with it. I know it's got potential. I just think my WIP has a lot more. I'm too excited about the new one these days or something.

Anyway, being that it's already Tuesday (!) and I haven't had a chance to sit down and write yet this week (I was a complete and utter waste of space yesterday, which I'm feeling slightly guilty about. I had a little too much fun at a friend's party on Sunday and couldn't do much of anything other than eat greasy food and lay on the couch like a lump), I better keep my goal on the lower side this week. I'm going with 2k, and I'm not even totally sure I'll hit that, quite honestly. I'll just have to hope for a very productive Sunday! But at least I got a bit ahead last week. I feel really, really good about that! Maybe next week I'll give my readers another look at it, too.

Happy Fall!!