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Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Remember Me? Here's What I've Been Up To.

Why, hello there. Not sure if you remember me, but you look lovely today. I love the way you're wearing your hair, and that outfit is so fetching. And .... and ... please don't hate me!

I'm not going to say the last time I've posted here because I'm way too embarrassed. I have been on Twitter! But yeah. I'm sorry. You know when you haven't called someone is soooo long, and then you start avoiding it because you're afraid they might be mad at you? Or you're just a wimp and the task seems more daunting than it really is? Guilty. Some of my awesome writer friends - Anita Grace Howard, Melanie McMcCullough and Lisa Ritter Cannon - are calling me out. So, I am biting the bullet and posting for the first time in quite a while. Here is what I've been up to, and my lame excuses reasons for not blogging:
  • I started a 6-week fitness challenge (seriously, I did). This is the biggest excuse reason. I devoted most of my evenings to exercise, and by the time I finished it was dinner, shower and maybe some snuggle time with Hubs, it was bedtime. The challenge finished a week ago and I made 10th place out of 30 people. Woo! I also was the leader of the sit-and-reach challenge (+23 inches, baby). I only failed the push-up test because I have no upper body strength.
  • This goes hand-in-hand with the fitness challenge, but I also ran a half marathon! It was the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon and I did this with my mom, dad and sister. We ran all 13.1 miles and I was barely sore the next day. Working out really paid off!
  • I've been spending more time with Hubs. Our marriage has always been good. Lately though, we've been hanging out a lot more and it's awesome. My happy place is snuggling with Hubs watching an awesome movie or reading a book. I feel like our relationship is even stronger. Ahh, mi amor.
  • I haven't been writing very much. With all my exercising and regular daily stuff, my writing time has been very limited. Any time I had to write I felt should go toward my WiP. Not that I've written much of that, either. I definitely need to prioritize my time better. I told Hubs yesterday that I need to take some weeknights to write instead of watching our recorded TV shows.
  • I thought I didn't have much to say. With my lack of progress on my WiP, I felt like a poser. I see a lot of writer blog posts with this same sentiment so I know I'm not alone. I did have an awesome Saturday (a few weeks ago) when I spend all day writing and added more than 3,000 words. I want to have more of those days! Then I see Kiersten White's post about writing and book in 9 days and I feel inadequate again *sigh*.
I hope that I will be a much better blogger friend in the future. Like my Hubs says, excuses are like butts. Everyone has them and they all stink. So again, I'm sorry :(.


WiP Update
  • I love my story! The more I think about it, the more I realize that I would love to read a book like mine. Everyone says their first manuscript is rubbish, but I really hope that's not the case. I love the story and my MC too much.
  • I have 40 completed pages. 100 pages is my first big milestone I want to reach and it always seems so close yet so far away.
  • Yay, crit group! We had a critique group meeting a couple weeks ago with some people who hadn't read any of my story before, and they immediately liked my MC! They said they were rooting for her in just a couple of pages. My group also caught a mistake in my logic that would have made some embarrassing scenes later. Oops. Also, I'm somewhat of a pantser, so I created a minor character on the fly and then totally forgot about him when my crit partners gave me feedback. I was like, who are you talking about? Oops again.
  • I crack myself up. I have this scene where my MC is at a karaoke bar and has, well, several drinks. I added more to it after my critique group read it and I was laughing so hard! Then I got all gushy and proud of myself for being so funny.
  • I'm reading a lot for inspiration. I find that reading certain types of books is ginormously helpful in getting me motivated to write. I recently read CLARITY, which has a similar voice to mine. I couldn't wait to finish reading the book so I could work on my WiP. That was the day I banged out more than 3,000 words! My TBR pile doesn't have many books with my same voice, but I think I need to find some.
So how have you all been during my hiatus? How are your WiPs? I did keep up with reading your blogs and commented occasionally. You guys are awesome and definitely inspire me!

10 comments:

  1. There you go! Congrats on the fitness challenge. Wow! That excuse, um I mean reason, is totally acceptable.

    I loved my first novel too. I still think about the characters and get all sentimental.

    Unfortunately for me, I think it suffers from poor writing. Maybe I'll take a look at it again someday.

    I'm glad you're liking your WiP, because after all we have to write for ourselves first.

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  2. Yay! I'm glad you're back. First of all, way to go with all the fitness stuff. As someone who spends way too much time just sitting around, I gotta say, I'm impressed.

    Also, yes! Dang that Kiersten White, being all amazing! Let's hope that's a fluke and not the requirement for being a professional author, yes?

    I'm glad I'm not the only one who goes through dry spells with my WIP. Also, I'm still working on my first manuscript, and I LOVE it! I think it will be a great story, but I can also see how my writing and the way I present it has a ways to go.

    Also, I've been reading a ton, too. I love when I find a book that's in the same voice or same mood or the sameish concept, but I also find inspiration from books that are just really, really good (although they sometimes depress me), and from books that are so dumb that I think, "My story is way better than this one! There's hope for me yet!" So, yeah, I've been reading a lot.

    All of this was just a roundabout way of saying, "Me, too!" Maybe I should have just gone with that :)

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  3. That is awesome! Congrats on your ranking. It's nice to spend time with your hubby like you are. Especially once you get going on your WIP again. It is hard to set time for different things, never enough hours in the day! It'll take time, but you'll get it. And I know what you mean on recorded shows. Luckily there are not as many during the summer!

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  4. Melanie - Thanks! I'm glad you love your first MS too. Maybe you can resurrect them someday.

    Jeigh - Beginning writers, unite! I'm happy you live your WiP too. I totally do the same thing while reading. Most of the time I aspire to be more like those authors, though sometimes I'm totally like "Ha! Mine's better."

    Mandie - Thanks for the encouragement. The TV people are smart because now they have new shows in summer too. I love So You Think You Can Dance especially! Just need to MAKE time to write instead of waiting until I have nothing going on.

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  5. Ugh, sorry for the typos. Posting from my phone.

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  6. YAY! I'm so glad to see you again! I was wondering about you. :) I saw your tweets today but haven't had a chance to answer. I will tomorrow. As to reading things that inspire your WIP, I'm the same way. I tend to read things that are the same "theme" as what I"m writing. Like, if it's a vampire book, I read everything vampire. I even go so far as to watch movies in that genre. I really do think it helps motivate the muse and whet your appetitie to write.

    Congrats on all of your awesome physical accomplishments! That's something to be proud of. :) And your hubby sounds like a sweetie.

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  7. Congratulations on your fitness challenge! And on happy marriages--yay!

    I loved my first manuscript too. If we don't, who will? :)

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  8. You shouldn't listen to the 1st manuscript dissing. While it is true that -most- firsts are not... well, we'll just say publishable, that's definitely not always the case. Look at Eragon. Not just a first novel but a NYT best selling first novel.

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  9. Fitness and marriage are laudable goals...we poor writers have to live, too! Nice to find your blog.

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  10. Yay! And no worries, you know how many times I've felt that way? How about every single week? Haha. Yeah. Blogging is HAAAAAAARD. *whines*

    But I'm glad you're still in love with your story. NOW GO WRITE MORE PAGES, MISSY!

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