Carrots – The art of rewarding good work
So it’s Saturday, and I have a lovely long weekend. And I’m still procrastinating, although I think I’m getting closer to doing what I need to do.
Just read a post on Word Wenches about Risk and Reward. And I suddenly remembered this nifty little notepad I bought from Kikki K in late June this year. Read more
Sleepless in Seattle, Sleepy in Australia
Oh lord. Make them stop.
I am struggling to keep awake. I don’t think I can do much else tonight apart from checking what’s new on Twitter, reading another chapter of Janet Evanovich, and then snuggling into my husband’s neck, breathing him in like a drug, and sleeping till the dawn.
Sleepless in Seattle is on, and I just can’t take the mush anymore. How did all of us get so suckered in when it was first released? It’s sentimentalism caked in mush, topped with soppiness. Or have I shrivelled into a calloused, bitter old thing over time? Have all our palettes gone all sophisticated? Will we look back on the romances of today in 20 years’ time, and snort with derision?
Probably.
Anyhoo – writing group tomorrow, and I think one of the writers will be giving a short presentation on her recent experience at a writers retreat. And then hopefully I can knuckle down and actually get some work done.
First deadline: decent effort
So my first deadline came and went, and how did I fare? Better than expected in some ways, although I still have a few more characters to go before I finish off the planning stage proper.
But it’s close!
This evening, I finished off 3 middle-to-major characters, and was planning to polish off the last two but I’m just too knackered. Also doesn’t help that I’ve been scouring the net for free ebooks this evening (downloaded Anne of Avonlea and Anne of the Island! Haven’t read them in years!)
Also figured out how to place books that I’m reading on my WordPress blog. And even did some very basic coding to make the books appear as they do! And then because I was working on my bitchy character today, I spied a book delightfully titled, “Bullies, Bastards & Bullies” through Writer’s Digest’s tweet, and promptly bought it online.
So all in all, a good day. I’ve got 2 other characters to flesh out, and then the rest are really quite minor. Also have to work out which scenes form my chapters and in what sequence, but that can be worked out by the end of the week as well.
So here’s what I intend to do.
- Wednesday (today) – no good. Choir practice, and I will be home past 10pm, so my brain will be quite fried and useless…
- Thursday – Remaining 2 characters and polish off the rest of the very minor characters (and who they were inspired by.)
- Friday – Scenes assigned to chapters, and sequencing
- Saturday – Choir performance (and I’m doing a solo!)
- Sunday – Possible movie with person from writing group. And grocery shopping. And hanging out with my much-neglected real-life romantic hero…
Monday next week, perhaps about 5 days late but what the hey, I will finally start writing proper. And I can hardly wait, to be honest. I have had dialogue swimming around my brain for weeks, and am just dying to sink in and start typing like the demon.
But until then… I have to finish these characters. *nod*
Crisis of confidence
Maybe it’s ’cause I’m absolutely knackered tonight, despite sneaking in a two-hour nap after dinner because I was that exhausted. Maybe it’s ’cause, like the rest of my life, I really have packed too much into the task at hand.
Whatever it is, I’m very aware that I have exactly a week before I am to finish with the character analysis and plot stage. Which is why it’s very frustrating that I fell asleep in the first place, and only managed to put together half of a sub-plot, broken down and integrated into my master list of scenes. That’s the problem with deadlines – they can take the absolute fun out of the job when they turn out to be stressful. But that’s sometimes the only way to push through difficult bits.
Currently, I’m petrified that I’ve got too many things going on in my book and it’s just going to all fall over. And it probably will. But I’m going to push on anyway, and see how I go.
Tomorrow, despite knowing I’m going to be home crazy-late from my day job, I will endeavour to
- finish off this plotline I started
- add a few other scenes for Carmen (one of my piggy villains).
If you feel like cheerleading a bit, feel free to send me your bestest wishes that I manage to follow through…
