Weekly goals: #romantic #suspense

Wow! It feels great to write again. And I love these characters. They're snarky and fun and very real and human to me. It feels great to finally be immersed in a story again...been too long! Half way finished (49% is close enough!) and I can't wait to jump back into the story.

This week my goal is to keep on writing. I hope to do another 20,000 words. My other goal is to survive those words.

New Release #writing

It's been a while since I've had anything published. A while since I've written anything, actually. Been busy with other things, other projects, other stuff. So I decided to take some time and write. This week I'm devoting my entire week to a new project, a contemporary romantic suspense based in LA.

The little writing bar on the side has held steady at 11% for months while I tried to figure out the rest of this story. Sunday I decided to rip it all out, start fresh, and begin anew.

It took forever to get through chapter 1! But once I was in there, firmly entrenched in Jules head, story plotted through the 90% mark, it was smooth sailing. Jules is a little left-of-center, stream-of-conscious woman, while Archer is a no-nonsense, ex-military man with a sense of the ridiculous and sarcasm that matches Jules.

I'm hoping my writing week will get me through the 3/4 mark of this story, and so far-judging by the % bar to the right-I'm not doing bad!

New Year--New #Goals

I've left writing for far too long, 2013 is the year I'm going to step up my writing. No more putting it off, no more doing other things.

Romantic suspense: police, Texas Rangers, FBI, and hot lovin' what more is there?

2012 new goals

Everyone make a goal for the new year? How to Keep Your New Year's Resolutions: 10 Great Tips for Keeping Your Resolutions This Year

• I resolve to work hard on all my writing. Polishing, sending things out, editing, all of it.
• I resolve to help my fellow writers by hosting them here, tweeting about them, or talking about their books wherever I am. Interested? Email me!

What about you? What's your 2012 plan?

Thursday Progress

I haven't posted much because I'm deep in editing mode. Trying to get a couple books ready for public consumption. Between that and life, it's difficult to keep up with all the social networking I'm a part of. I am reading several books now--well listening to 1, reading 2 (one on my nightstand, one on the table for lunch breaks)

Canticle for Leibowitz on the dining room table
Geek Wisdom on my nightstand
Thereby Hangs a Tail on audio

July

It's another month and I finally have story ideas! I was afraid (read terrified) that the stories I wanted to do were so far off the beaten trail they'd never be publishe (like that 1920s story I love and adore that's really difficult to sell!)

But a couple weeks of not doing any writing and I think I have a few ideas. Two are for sequels to Shadow State, which I'm in the process of self-publishing now that I have the rights back. One is a vague concept for In the Shadows (see reason above) and one is for a fun sexy contemporary.

This summer I want to plot out all of these stories so that when I'm ready to sit and write them, I can with as little trouble (read writer's block) as possible.

What are you working on?

Thursday Progress

Or why I need to settle down and plot a story!

Because it's what I do. I write. I am a writer. I need to do this in order to continue living. It may not seem as important as breathing, but that's only because breathing is an involuntary function that takes no real concentration or effort and writing takes both.

But the last couple of weeks have been hard. Life has bludgeoned me. Time has slipped away. I have a couple great ideas, one a contemporary I'm super excited to write. Plus I want to read over my two short stories I just got back the rights to.

June goals

Busy, busy, busy! And that doesn't even begin to describe what June is like for me. That's without adding in writing time. Plus there's the new Cars movie I absolutely must see. But every little writing minute counts, right?!

Picture from the Simon Dexter Blog, found from a google images search using the term 'busy'.

Thursday Progress

I'm nearly finished my dark Regency story, Dark Inheritance. I had to stop writing forward and read over what I had previously written. I'd grown paranoid that what I'd written didn't mesh with what I wanted to write, and that somewhere along the line I skipped something.

I had and I did!

I guess that's what happens when it's written parts here and there, and not looked over again in months. But I fixed it all and now plan to finish reading the last act and send the whole thing out.

It'll be a relief!

March Goals

Maybe I should start keeping track of my monthly goals rather than story word counts? Something to think of, though in this they're one in the same.

This month I have:
Bemoaned the fact that another month has gone from the calendar.
Wondered if we'll ever have consistent warm weather.
Battled head colds and sinus/allergy problems every frakkin' day.
Enjoyed maybe 3 days of sun, warmth, and teasing spring-like weather.
Wrote. Don't get me wrong there, definitely wrote!
Planned out a workshop for the 2011 NJRW Conference

Tuesday Comings and Goings

Am I coming or going?

I have no idea.

But I am writing!

What about you?

Dark Regecy novel: Back to it! Writing goal this week: 12,000 words

Head-hits-desk...

Friday? Already?

Where'd the time go? It's already one month into 2011 and I feel like I haven't stopped for breath. Work, write, work, write. It's a cycle!

But then I love what I do and enjoy playing in the imagination sandbox.

Still, January 28? Sheesh.

What have you done this month? Make any resolutions? Keep any of them? What are your goals for February?

Do More
By William Arthur Ward

Do more than belong: participate.
Do more than care: help.
Do more than believe: practice.
Do more than be fair: be kind.
Do more than forgive: forget.
Do more than dream: work.

Thursday Progress

Writing.

Editing.

Writing.

Plotting.

It's a never eding cycle of plot, write, and the self-edit.

But I love it, despite the suspicious keyboard marks on my forehead. Not so attractive but I don't seem to leave this computer so no one really notices them anyway.

ACK! And let's not forget the synopsis!

Synopsis.
'Nuff Said.

Thursday Progress: Synopsis

Synopsis.

'Nuff Said.

Working on that now.

Seriously, how do you take a 70,000 word story and condense it into a 500 word overview? How do you take the next 3 books and show enough of them to entice without adding another 1500+ words to the synopsis?

Synopsis.
'Nuff Said.

Progress

Yesterday I wrote how I spent an inordinate amount of time on chapter 1 of my new very dark Regency story.

In 3 days, I managed a polished words. I'm rather impressed. It's not as much as I'd have liked, but then I also did other things. Slept, ate, BBQ'ed, family time. It was all good.

Friday Guest: Wendi Zwaduk will be here with her newest release My Immortal, a contemporary paranormal being released from Total-E-Bound. Don't forget to stop on by!

Chapter One

This weekend I planned on writing 20-25,000 words. This included chapter one which is always the hardest to do. It has to be intriguing, progressive, captivating.

Great!

If it's just that good, people will read more. If it's not, chances are they'll never read chapter 2. Or, for that matter, buy the book. I've read at least parts of chapter one either online or standing in the book store. If I don't like it, of course I won't buy it. What's the point?

Hence the several hour chapter one tweaking marathon.

I personally think it was worth it. :) Here's hoping others do, too.

Friday Guest: Wendi Zwaduk will be here with her newest release My Immortal, a contemporary paranormal being released from Total-E-Bound. Don't forget to stop on by!

Another Day...

...Another 6000 words. Don't think I can do it? It's a goal...I did 5000 Tuesday. What's another thousand words in a day? Plus, in doing that, not only will I have a total of 12K words (my math isn't off, I had 1100 already) but the first act (10 chapters) finished.

Not a bad way to end a day...of course I have to get to it, blogging and facebook-ing is fun but ultimately not writing productive.