December 1, 2016 Thoughts about yesterday's post.

    So, I figured out the dilemma I was experiencing last night.  I realized this morning while I was painting, that I may have sounded like I was whining yesterday in my post.  Oh, whoa is me, I have to try to get a magazine interview.  :/  Why is success so hard?
    But that's not what it was.  It was more frustration in myself and the decisions I make in my life.  In almost everything I've done, it's at this point that I say: Okay, I've figured it out.  Now it's time to go figure something else out.
    I've done this a lot.  With my crocheting, I very rarely finish a project.  I figure out the pattern and how to make the pretty design and then I move on to another challenge.  This is only one example.
    Another would be my Geology degree.  I'm 18 credits away from having a Bachelor's of Science in Geology.  What did I do when I got to the last semester?  I looked at everything and asked if it was really what I wanted.  Did I really want to be a geologist?  Did I really want to make that kind of commitment?  There are other things that interest me.  So, I changed my major and tried some other things, eventually dropping out completely.
    Real Estate, Nursing, dare I say marriages as well, they have all fallen victim to my apparent fear of success.
    I've gotten some of them figured out.  I have finally found a man (actually, we were put together) I can be with, who challenges me and refuses to give up on me.  I went from Real Estate into being a stay-at-home mother which I found really satisfying.  Finding something to do with my time is what led me to pick up an old interest of writing.
    I prayed about this whole thing this morning.  So far, I've stayed on the easy side of things.  Whether I succeed at producing a book is totally up to me; it's all under my control.  Getting people to buy it, putting it out there for people to see--more people to see--that's not under my control and introduces risk.
    This is the point where I usually decide to pull up stakes and move somewhere else.
    I have a problem, however.  I love my characters.  This is a story I NEED to get out.  I feel like I'm being inspired to write this.  This is beyond me.
    If I'm going to be an agent of my Heavenly Father, if I'm going to do what he asks me to do--and I feel this is something he's inspiring me to do--then I have to do what it takes to get it out there.
    I have to call the magazine... and the t.v. stations.  I have to make the appointment for the book signing and the library reading.
    Then I have to remember my own advice from just a couple weeks ago and ask myself:  How bad do I want it?

    I've painted this morning.  My living room is shaped like a fat 'L'.  The walls are painted what I describe as a Dijon mustard yellow.  It's not horrid, but it's not spectacular either.  What makes it worse (and most of the houses I've seen in California have this downside) is that the paint is flat.  You can't clean flat paint.  When you have four teenagers, this is not a good thing.  What boggles me, is that the couple we bought the house from raised three kids here.  They should know this.
    The one side of the living room is very dark.  There is 80's style track lighting which isn't very bright and the room is dark.  So, I'm painting it a white satin and putting some color into the trim.  This is what I've done so far today:

Before

After one coat.  It's still wet in a couple places.

    I only taped off about a fourth of the floor in this section.  I didn't want the kids tracking paint through the house, that's why I'm not doing the whole thing all at once.  Besides that, I also want to be working on the book during the day.  This way, I paint for two or three hours and then write some as well.
    I think there will need to be three coats with the roller and two with the brush.  That seemed to be what the situation was when we painted my daughter's room.  So, tomorrow, I'll start with the second coat of roller, trim in the edges again and then hopefully I can to the third coat and be ready to move the plastic to the next section.
    As far as writing is concerned, I'm going to get a couple chapters in Part 2 read and edited.  I hope to get them through a grammar program that ISN'T Word.  If I still have daylight, I hope to begin the third draft of Part 3 and get the first two chapters rewritten.
    Those are my hopes and dreams.  The kids will be home soon so I better get started.
    Talk to you tomorrow.

November 30, 2016 Why is success scary?

    I didn't write anything today either.  I'm totally okay with the 176,000 I manged to get over the course of the first 24 days of the month.  Totally.
    My burnout is wearing off.  Today, I was spontaneously thinking about my characters and some things.  I had a few small revelations, but I didn't get them down.  If they're supposed to be there, they'll come back.
    I did get some plot work done.  It's not all of the story line, I'm missing a bit, especially towards the end.  Some of it might need to get moved around.  I do have enough to get through most of the book and plug things in as I go.  That's major.
    Tonight, I'll get Part 3 mapped into my overall plot line Excel sheet.  It's a handy thing.  On the left, I have the days of the week listed.  Across the top, is each of the two main and several major characters.  The events are then plotted out so they lace together.
    Tomorrow, I'm going to do a little bit of painting in the living room.  Then, I'm going to read and grammar-ize two chapters in Part 2.  If I have some time left over, I'm going to come back around to the beginning of Part 3 and start the third draft with the new timeline.  There's no sense in finishing the second draft.  I've changed enough of Part 2 that only the skeleton of the last half of Part 3 remains.
    I also met with one of my alpha readers today and gave her a copy of Part 2.  The last one will go out tomorrow.  That's exciting.  I'm moving along. 
    The lady I met with today, her husband has worked for one of the local magazines.  He gave me contact information to get a hold of someone there to see if they'd like to do a local piece on me.  He also told me to contact the local t.v. stations.  It's kind of intimidating.
    I talked with my husband about it tonight.  He told me that if I want this to do really well, I need to jump in and swim in the deep end.  Why is success scary?  It's not even success at this point.  It's potential success.  And it frightens me.
    I still haven't locked down a book signing with the local Barnes and Noble.  That's been out there since August.  I also had an offer from a local librarian to do a reading.  I told both of them I'd have to think about it.  Why didn't I jump at them?
    My hubby has a good point.  I can continue to be a stay-at-home mom who paints her house and writes/publishes OR I can be an author who paints sometimes... and still stays at home.
    I'm sitting here crying because it scares me to death.
    I'll let you know what happens.

November 29, 2016

    No writing done yet today.  I don't think that it will happen, either.  Neither will painting.  I fell this morning and twisted up my knee.  Having it elevated and under ice is what the plan is.  Beyond that, I don't know.
    Maybe, I'll get some plotting done.  Get the timeline for Part 3 hammered out.  That sounds like a plan.  We'll see.
    I have also had thoughts of reorganizing this blog and making it a little neater.
    I'll check in tomorrow.

November 28, 2016

       I'm done with NaNo 2016.

        So, Plotting.  Yeah.  That's what I was going to work on to help spur me into the last week of NaNo.  So, I did and then did nothing else.  Actually, I really didn't need to plot much.  It's basically already there.  There's some nuance stuff that's not but it can really only come out when I'm writing/rewriting/editing.  Only about half of Daniel's stuff is written, but I'm not sure where it goes.  It's dependent upon what day of the week it is, so that will depend on where things fall timewise.  That's what needs to get figured out.

        I suppose sitting down, putting the events on cards and mapping it all out will be what I need to do.  I'm too locked into the timeline when I look at the plotlines I have mapped in Excel.  But it's set up on a daily basis, locking things into specific places.  What I need to do needs to be more fluid than that.  I need to get it all pieced together without the day to day in my line of sight.

        I stopped writing for NaNo.  I didn't do any writing for the last two days and what I did on Friday was only my blog and my journal.  That's it.  A very teeny portion of me feels guilty for not finishing the month, but I was burned out.  Completely and totally.  I spent the weekend playing on Sims.

        That was good.  I was able to clear my mind.  I started having spontaneous thoughts about the book a little here and there.  Not what it has been but it's coming back.

        I can do these last three days but I'm not sure if I'm going to.  I'm looking forward to the editing process of Part 2.  I'm planning for that… and to paint the living room.  I'd like to have the painting done so I can put up the Christmas tree.  But, I'm going to work on both of them.  I'm not in a rush to paint nor to edit.

        So, that is what it is.  I got 176k words logged into this NaNo.  It might be a little more if I decide to do some over the next few days, but if not, I got a pretty impressive number and it's a personal record.

        I think it's done.  NaNo 2016 for me, is done.

 

        I printed out the alpha versions of Part 2.  Here's a picture:

 

      The duck is sitting on an alpha version of Part 1 and represents 43 of the 49 chapters, less 10,000 words from the final print.  Part 2 is on the left and seems to be a little bit bigger....

      I'll check in tomorrow.

November 25, 2016

  Thanksgiving was a wonderful time.  We ate, talked and played games.  Spectacular.
  I even stayed until 8:30, which was two hours past what I had planned on.  It was all good.  I felt refreshed and renewed afterwards.  Good times, good times.
  We, as a family, talked to two of our children yesterday.  They're a good sixteen hour drive away so we don't see them often.  It was good to talk to them.  We're planning on Skyping with them both at some point this weekend.
  Yesterday was a light writing day.  I didn't quite get to 5k.  I sat down to write after we got home and I just didn't have it in me.  I'm thinking there's a week off coming next Thursday.  Or, a scaled down version of a writing work day.  I need to start editing Part 2.  At first I thought I'd go through one chapter a day--just comb through it slowly and catch all the errors that four re-throughs by myself and my editor didn't catch.  Be methodical.  Then I realized that would have me publishing sometime in September and that's too far out.  I settled on two chapters a day.  That's gets us back to the May-June time span.
  Last night and this morning, I've been thinking about Part 3.  It's a mess, they way I've started rewriting it.  A disaster.  Scenes are everywhere.  Bluh.  I'm playing with the idea of starting the rewrite over.  I don't know.  I don't like the sporadic-ness.
  Well, I should do something.  Maybe I'll get out the index cards and the markers.  I'm liking that idea.  I've already met my minimum and aim goals (150k and 175k).  Maybe a (partial) day of plotting will help the rest of the last week go better.
  And as I sit here thinking about it, my brain is screaming at me about my word count.  Lol..
  I'll talk to you tomorrow.

November 24, 2016

  Happy Thanksgiving.
  There, it's out.  Now, let's talk about writing.
  I worked on Daniel yesterday.  He's had a major event happen.  He, Brise and Peter have done big things together.  Everything I wrote yesterday was brand new stuff, which is exciting. It's nowhere near the finished product, but I wouldn't expect it to be yet.
  I got just over 10k in yesterday.  It was a really good day, but turns out to be the normal I've had for the last week or so.  Which is good!  I like getting these numbers.  I'm at just over 170k.  About 25k of that is brand new words.  Overall, about 12.5k of what I've written will never see the light of day again, but that's to be expected too.
  I pledged to do a 50k weekend, so 50k over three days, Thursday is not one of them.  I'm concerned I won't be able to pull that off.  I'd have to average around 17k per day and as I'm thinking about how my days go, I don't see that as possible.  We'll have to see.
  So, today, I'll be taking part of the afternoon/evening off to spend the holiday meal with friends and family.  It's going to be fun and a well-deserved break.  The kids are all still sleeping, so I'm going to get to work.  Have a wonderful day!

November 23, 2016

  I got another 10k yesterday.
  It feels weird to not be writing in sequence.  I'm writing by character storyline instead.  I have some good stuff and I'm looking forward to getting all organized after it's all done.  It's strange.  But there will be index cards, markers and table or bed space involved.  It'll be fun.
  I've written some new stuff.  A lot of which will be in the fourth book.  Today, I'm focusing on Daniel's timeline.  The majority of what I have written from the first draft is actually Dan's point of view.  Most of Daniel's story is in my head but not down anywhere.  New stuff.   Ooooo.
  Brise will need some new stuff too.  He's got a major storyline coming.
  Most of Norton's stuff is written, but not all.  But I don't want to focus on him today.
  My aim for today is another 10k.  That's been a pretty comfortable place to be.  I committed to a 50k weekend in one of the forums.  I don't know if I have the fortitude, though.  That almost a 17k three days in a row.  Whew.  I'm not sure my stamina is up there yet.  I'm getting kinda burned out too.  10k seems to be all I have in me right now.
  But then, I haven't done a bunch of new stuff yet.  I haven't felt that fire that burns and I HAVE to keep writing.  I'd like to feel that burn.  It's great.
  I'm off to work.  Have a good day.

November 22, 2016

    Okay, I'm solidly into Part 3.  I know why it feels thin.  I pulled enough stuff into Part 2 when I made that major move, that all that's left is the structure of a couple storylines.  And those lines aren't in the same place they are in Part 2 anymore, since I built them up in other ways after the move.
     So, what are my options?  I have to get more in there.  Whatever I built up in Part 2, I need to add to Part 3.  It's the side stories that are missing; the side stories that support--or flesh out--the main skeleton.
     The idea that came to me last night is to work on individual story lines to see what's still there.  I did that a little bit during the day yesterday, just for something to write.  I know there's at least 2400 words that WILL NOT go into the book.  But it fills in some stuff that I knew was there but didn't have details.  That brings out subtle feelings between the characters that I can pull into other interactions.
     I wrote 11k words yesterday, getting the last of them in at 11:55 last night.  The goal for today is the same, 10 - 12k, I just hope it's not at the last minute that I get those words done.  Going to bed at a decent hour is what I should be doing.
    But the wurds.  The wurds.  Wurds.
    I need to go to work.  See you tomorrow.

November 21, 2106

  This weekend wasn't as productive as I'd liked to have been.  Both Saturday and Sunday wound up being fairly lazy days word count wise.  However, I'm not too worried about it.
  Okay, so I say that with a caveat.  On Saturday, I still got over 10k in, however, I was hoping for more.  It felt like I was dragging because I was still trying to write at 10:30 at night and I just kept allowing myself to get distracted.  Finally, I gave in to the distractions and did that instead.  I could've gotten to 12k if I hadn't.  Maybe I needed to.
  On the other hand, on Saturday, I did get all the way through Part 2 and into Part 3.  YEAH!  Party dance.  The total count right now for Part 2 is 117k, which is about 40k more than Part 1.  It's hefty.  Today, I'm debating on whether one chapter needs to be pulled back out and stuck back into Part 3.  But that decision will have to wait.
  Yesterday, I got in about 5k, which is really good considering I should've really just taken the day off.  My hubby spent a couple hours with me figuring out a technical situation with me so that something that needs to happen can.  That was important and well worth the loss of word count.
  I printed out five copies of Part 2 yesterday, four for my alphas and 1 for me.  This will be December's project.  I love how 2 is shaping up.  It's solid.  3 feels thin to me right now.  I have to remember that it's only the second draft and that's why I rewrite things so many times.
  I'm dreaming about 12k days for the rest of the month.  I don't know if that will happen or not.  I'm not feeling it today, either.  I think it's because 3 feels so thin.  When I get deeper into the meat of the story, I should get back into it.  Or maybe, I need to take a nap.  It is after lunchtime.
  Or maybe I need to get out the headphones and the music, and reread my post about how bad I want this! GAH!
  See you tomorrow.

November 19, 2016

  So I didn't finish Part 2 yesterday.  I was so distracted by Facebook and the NaNo website and Facebook....  I still got 7k in, but I was disappointed in myself that I didn't get it all done.
  I got stuck on adding a new chapter.  It's not really a new chapter as it is a turn in the plot, which actually requires six new chapters to resolve.  I didn't know if the end of the book could handle the weight, if I even needed to add it, if I should add it, if  I should put it in Part 3 or completely forget it because the book really does have enough going on.
  I woke up this morning with the answer.  It will probably get added, but it'll be in Part 3.  I can go ahead and get the last three chapters done and call the sixth draft of Part 3 over!  Whoot!
  I want to have that done before I go to the write-in at 11.  I don't think it'll be a problem.  I also want to get 13k in today and make up for yesterday.  I have no idea how this next section is going to go.  I haven't been in the part of the book since April.  Now, I'm having some trepidation.  Get over it!!
  :)  See you on Monday!

November 18, 2016

    I got 9.5k written yesterday.  It was good.  I had been aiming for 10k, of course, but it took me until 11:45 to get where I got, so I wouldn't have gotten the rest.  It's okay.  I was over the 10k on Wednesday and I'm aiming to be over it again today.
    Part of the problem I had yesterday revolved around two chapters.  I'd written a particular scene between Daniel and a minor character, Chelsea.  When I went through Part 2 two times ago, I had decided I didn't want the scene in the book.  When I went through it again the last time, I thought that maybe it needed to be back in there, but I wasn't sure.  The events seemed so miniscule to me.
    I thought about this scene a lot yesterday.  By about seven o'clock, I realized that Daniel was going to HAVE to do this scene and it was going to require him to act in a way that's not him.  I didn't want to write it, because I didn't want Daniel to go there.
    Finally, at about ten o'clock, I decided that I'd write the chapters and if I didn't like them, I'd get rid of them.  So I did.  Wow.  I was hiding from the emotions that came out.  Holy cow.  It wound up being really good chapters.  They're going to need some adjusting because the emotion in it is so raw for me.
    This is why I write.  I love that these words can pull such an emotional response.  It's awesome.
    I'm shooting for 10k again today, but there's also a second goal.  I'm almost done getting through Part 2 and it's Friday, the 18th.  There's only twelve days left.  I need to get moving.  And, if I dot get through the rest today, I can give myself another duckie!  Part 3 tomorrow!  Woot!
    See you tomorrow.

November 17, 2016

  Even with a late start yesterday, I still clocked in over 10k last night.  I have an overall total of 107,278.  I'm on track to get to 190k-ish.
  A couple days ago, I joined with a group of other overachievers.  By being in this group, I get to see their progress as well.  It stimulates my competitive streak, on an overall and a daily basis.  There's a few people at the top that I'll never reach, but I only set my sights on the three or four right ahead of me anyway.  It's an ever-changing chart because their word counts are changing as well.  It's actually helping me to stay focused on the word counts for the day as opposed to looking at getting through so many chapters, which can become tedious.
  I'm now about 90% of the way through Part 2.  I like where the book is going.  There's still a rough spot towards the end that needs some more sanding, but I think revising will take care of that.  To me, it's interesting and has good movement.  I hope that comes across.
  I can see the light at the end of the Part 2 tunnel.  It's exciting.  I think there's three or four new chapters/pull from part 3 (one total) that needs to happen.  Whether they stay or not, I'm not sure.  I'm just questioning if one event needs to happen at the end of this book or the beginning of the next.  Sometimes, the portion has to be written in order to find that out.
  I'm aiming for at least 10k today.  There's a sports meeting for one of the kids I have to go to.  Other than that, my agenda's clear.
  Well, I need to get the dog to the dog park and then get to work.  I hope you have a good day.  See you tomorrow.

November 16, 2016

   Tuesday was a good day.  I clocked in about 8000 words.  It wasn't the 14k from the day before, but I'm pleased with the number.  I was pretty brain dead yesterday.  Today, I've had a double grilled cheese sandwich with extra pepperoni and a huge glass of cardboard-tasting chocolate milk (ALL of the chocolate milk in California is 1% so it tastes like cardboard.  Partially solved this issue by adding more chocolate syrup, but that only helps, doesn't fix it.).  So, I've replaced some fats in my system so my brain will work better.  I had a good night's sleep and then I slept in this morning.  I feel good.
  Basically, I can still hit my 240k dream goal if I do 10k a day from now until the end of the month.  About three of those days, I'll have to do 11k and there are two Sundays and Thanksgiving in there.  That brings me down to 210k.  I don't know if I'm happy with that number.  And I'm not totally certain 240k will get me to where I want to be.  I'll have to think on what will make me happy and what I'm willing to live with.
  I'm about 85% done with Part 2 draft 6 now.  It's really close.  I don't think it'll happen tomorrow, however.  I'd need a REALLY good day today and tomorrow.  The day's already half over and I needed the rest so I don't see it.  Friday's good.  We'll go with that.
  Because of the resting, no walking or taking the dog to the dog park.  She's not okay with that but I am. :)  It's just the way a rest day goes.  Of course, this is Wednesday, so it's going to be busy.  Take the day as it comes, I suppose.
  See you tomorrow.

November 15, 2016

    Wow.  Today's halfway through November.  I'm a little sad.
    Yesterday was such a good day.  I clocked in 13,877 words to get my total up to 88,888.  Yes, I stopped in the middle of a sentence to get it.  It felt so good to get that accomplished.
    And today is a new day.  I'm not going to get as much done today.  I have a church activity tonight.  I normally look forward to them and I'm sure that this will be fun.  But, as with other things that pull me away from my computer, I don't want to stop writing.  But, I will.  Every time I do stop, it winds up being a good thing.  I do have a good base going and I'm on track to hit at least 180k.
    Today, I'm aiming for between 8 and 10k.  I'm getting a late start today.  I took a Benadryl last night so I had difficulty waking up this morning.  The sleep was a good thing, thought.  And I'm not feeling as mucky as I have been.  I'll probably have to take another one later this week to keep the allergies at bay.
    I'm about 80% of the way through the sixth draft of part 2.  I'm still looking at Thursday or Friday to complete it.  I had hoped the big word count yesterday would've knocked that down some, and overall, it did.  It still takes time, though.
    Okay, I'm off to work.  I'll see you tomorrow.

November 14, 2016

    Back to writing a diary about writing.

    I'm 2/3 of the way through this draft of Part 2.  I would like to be done by Thursday but I'm not sure I will be.  There'll be another duck on the mirror when I get it!  That's exciting.  Duckies are cool.
    I rewrote over 10,000 words on Saturday so it wound up being a good weekend.  I took yesterday off, except for a couple paragraphs so I could say I did SOMETHING for the day.
    With all the church goings-on this weekend, I feel like I had my tank refilled.  I'm excited about getting some work done today and stretching myself for those goals.  I've been working since 5:45 this morning.  My hubby (love that man) got the kids out the door today.  I couldn't do this without his support.  I'm so lucky to have him here, helping me.
    I'd like to get another 10k in today.  I'd be ecstatic if I could get 12k.  It all depends on how the day rolls out.  Hopefully this early start to the day will help.  The biggest key is staying off of Facebook.  I'm going to reward myself with 30 minutes after I get 5k in.  I'll let you know how that works.
    I'm off to writing.  Have a good day.

November 12, 2016 Elder Bednar says:

  Howdy!
  Last night, we had a special guest for a church meeting, Elder David A. Bednar.
  Can I just say "WOW!"?
  It was an incredible opportunity not only to hear him speak, but also a General 70, Elder Ian S. Adern.  Both men were inspirational.
  It was a different type of meeting.  They didn't do the normal talks about what we needed to do, but instead, they fielded questions.  They gave us a special phone number to text questions to and the whole thing was spectacular.
  I took several things away from this meeting and I'll share two of them with you that especially impacted me.

1. We need to pray differently.  We need to think about our roles with Heavenly Father differently.  More specifically, we need to think of Agency and Receiving the Holy Ghost differently.                                                                                                                           Agency isn't just the ability to choose right from wrong.  By choosing to be members of our church, we are agents of the Lord.  We need to use our agency to be directed by the Lord.  Instead of praying "Heavenly Father, please help those who aren't here today to be able to come to church next week", we need to pray "Heavenly Father, when I leave this building today, I'm going to seek out those members who weren't here today.  Please send the Spirit with me to help me discover what I need to do to help them."  This is us using our Agency from the Lord to do things that he wants us to do.  This was the example Elder Bednar used.                                                                                                                                           This plays into Receiving the Holy Ghost.  When we become members of the church, hands are laid upon our heads and we are told to receive the Holy Ghost.  This is where the above Agency comes back into play.  The Priesthood Authority that gave us that gift is giving us permission to use the gift.  When we're given a gift a Christmas, just taking the box isn't receiving the gift.  Receiving the gift is actually opening the box, taking the present out and using it.  So, (this is how I interpreted this) we have to go out and seek the Holy Ghost.  If we pray in a similar manner to the above, and then go out and do what we said we were going to do, that's using the gift of the Holy Ghost.  If we want to have His companionship, we have to seek it out.  That totally puts a different spin on how I've been thinking about things lately.  More on that in a minute.
2. Balance.  This is directly quoted from my notes:  "Balance is an illusion.  If you are seeking balance in your life, stop it.  Forget it.  There is no such thing."  Elder Bednar went on to say that life is full of things that we need to get done, whether it be spiritual or temporal.  Both areas need taken care of.                                                                                                                                                 It's kinda like the guy who spins plates on top of the little poles.  If you watch him, he works hard to get all of the spinning plates up on the sticks and stay there.  As he gets more plates going, he has to go back and spin some of the ones he already has up, so they don't stop spinning, fall and break.  Never, at any time, does he have every single plate spinning at the same speed.  Sometimes, there's too many plates and a couple fall. 

  This is like life.  Oh My GoodgollymissMolly.  Is that not right?  This is exactly what I've been complaining about lately.  Why can't I get everything done that I need to get done?
  We need to stop with the illusion that we are able to have all the plates spinning at the same speed.

  The reason why these stuck out to me was because they were what I needed to hear.  I thought about what I pray for almost every morning.  "Heavenly Father, please give me the strength and endurance to do the things that I need to do today."
  Sounds good, right?  Right.  So, yesterday, for example, I had this long list of things to do.  Going to the above meeting was one of them.  Walking the dog, getting gas in the car, getting a couple things at the grocery store, etc. etc., those were all on there too.  As you can guess, writing was right at the top, given the NaNo and everything.  I got up, stayed up and tried to do everything that needed done... in my opinion. 
  I. Just. Couldn't. Get. To. Writing.
  By four o'clock, I had written about 800 words.  Well, that's some, but it's not the 5k minimum that I was insisting on, nor was it the 10k that I really wanted to insist on, nor was it the dream 12k.  Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!
  At that time, I'm heading out the door to help my daughter and a couple other of the young women from church to pick up flags that we put out for Veteran's Day.  Okay, it needs done.  Tyson's at work, so we won't be able to go to the church meeting at seven like we had planned and I'll be able to sit and write, right?
  Ehhh.  (That was a negative buzzer sound)
  Tyson texts me.  He's on his way home.  He'll be able to go to the meeting after all.  WHAT!?  Instant stress.
  Picking up flags took longer than expected.  Tyson was hemming about going to the meeting because he thought it was at six and we wouldn't have enough time to get cleaned up and get across town.  I had a glimmer of hope that I would be able to write.
  But, I couldn't lie to him.  The meeting was at seven.  So, with much internal grumbling from me, we cleaned up and went.
  Yeah, here's the truth:  What I thought I needed to do and what Heavenly Father thought I needed to do were two totally different things.
  Here's what I really did yesterday:  Took care of the dog, supported my children in the services they're doing for the church, prepared my vehicle and my refrigerator for the upcoming week, spoke to one of my sons over Skype that needed loving support, spent much needed time alone with my husband and listened to the words of the Lord.
  Yeah, okay.  Thank you Heavenly Father, I needed that... like you know I did.

November 11, 2106

     Well, today is going to be a busy day.  I'm only practically calling for about 5k today, and hoping for close to 10k.  The 10k would be awesome.

    I wanted 12k yesterday and settled for 10.4k.  By the nine o'clock, I was brain fried.  But then, I felt pretty fired all day.  I unplugged the internet to help me out with my writing goals.  It worked until about lunchtime, when I wanted to update my word count.  Then it was downhill from there.  Facebook became a distraction a few times.  Once, it was over an hour.  That needs to stop.  It's hard, however, when your brain's on overload and you need a little dopamine boost.  It's quite convenient for that.
    So, I figured out what it would take to get through the end of Part 2 by next week.  If I average around 10k a day, with less than 1k on Sunday, I can be done by Thursday.  I'd rather be done by Tuesday, but I don't know how I'm going to pull that off.  I didn't pull the word counts the first week that I needed to in order to pull that off.
    So, I have to do it now.  Maybe if I buckled down today, I can get that 10k.  I'll have to really buckle down tomorrow, it's another jam-packed day.
    We'll take it a day at a time, I guess.

How Bad Do You Want It? November 10, 2016

  So, I got to 51k last night.  I posted my milestone on one of several NaNo Facebook pages.  Part of me felt like I was bragging, but I did it anyway.  I got a few thumbs up but one person was shocked and seemed like they took it very personally.  I felt bad. 
  I didn't want to be bragging.  I wanted to share my first hurdle.  Honestly, I'm only a little more than 20% of the way to my own dream goal of 240k.  But I know these NaNos are hard for this person.  They've only been able to complete one out of several.  So to them, I probably was bragging.
  I deleted my post.  I decided I didn't want to discourage anyone who was struggling.  I don't want some people to think they're not doing well because of my insane goals and my obsessive desire to accomplish those goals.
  I guess this is the realization that I've put myself into a different league.  I'm with the serious Nanoers.  Most people who do NaNo are there to see if they can do it.  They want to say they've written a novel.  They want to try and stretch their wings.
  I'm beyond that.  I already know I can stretch my wings and tromp that 50k goal, which is why I set higher goals for myself, why I've spent the last five months planning for November so when I got here, I'd be able to spend the majority of my time doing NaNo.  All so I can reach my goals.
  Maybe some others do that and they still struggle.  I get that.  50k is hard.  I remember how excited I was the first time I reached it.  It was something like 2 in the morning and I hit it, barely.  I sat there and cried as I stared at the congratulatory screen.  My husband felt like he needed to wake up and come give me a hug.  It was huge.
  It still is huge.  That's why I wanted to share it last night.  I was excited about it.  I'm doing really well this NaNo.  I'm still poised to hit 150k and a little more.
  I still have a long way to go.  I'd like to get to 240k, but I haven't figured out the discipline to hit those daily word counts.  It might take me a couple more NaNos before I get that under my belt.  As I wandered around the NaNo forums late last night, searching for something to soothe my guilt, I saw a post that really made sense.  It was on a thread called 'You know you're an overachiever when...."  One of the answers I saw was '...you set your goal for a quarter mill because you already do 50k every month of the year and if you didn't set your bar higher for November, then what's the point?'
  That's the whole gist of it right there.  If we're not challenging ourselves every month, week, day, then what's the point?
  I want this. I want to publish books.  I love writing (not so much editing).  But I love it so much, one 30 day stretch of pure creativity is enough to get me through the next three months until there's another NaNo.  I can almost taste how much I want to do this.  I can't even sleep to get away from these books because I dream about them.  And I love it.
  Anyone can do this, believe it or not.  Anyone.  How bad do you want it?

November 9, 2016

  So, staying glued to the election results affected my word count.  I got just barely over 7000 in yesterday.  Still a good day, but not what I wanted.
  And today is Wednesday.  It will be busy all day again.  And I'm tired.  I've hit my middle of the week slump.
  We have a football game this afternoon.  Before that, I need to do my volunteer work at the Family History Center.  The kids have church activities tonight.  This weekend is filling up as well.  There's a funeral I will be helping with on Saturday afternoon.  A church meeting I'll be going to on Friday night.  And I'll be helping the Boy Scouts (I have three) put out/pick up Veteran's Day flags on Friday.
  I better try to write as much as I can today, tomorrow and Friday during the day.  Looks like I'm going to loose half of Saturday and Friday evening.
  I better get to work.

November 8, 2014

     Yesterday wound up being a good day.  About halfway through the day, I started feeling better.  At that point, I think I was about 3000 words in.  By the end of the day, at 11:45 p.m., I was over 10k for the day.  I was buzzing.  It was a good day.

     I'm looking forward to trying for that number again today.  I'll be bouncing around town.  Since I went and exercised my right to vote as an INFORMED voter, I'm treating myself to Chipotle for lunch.  I'll probably spend a couple hours there, writing.  Before I go there, however, I'm headed to one of the libraries in town so I can donate a copy of my book and write there for a while.  After lunch, I'll head to the library near my house where there's going to be a write-in this afternoon.  That'll be done at 7.  Depending on what I still need to get done, I'll either continue writing or take the evening up.  But I know me--I'll probably continue writing.

    Tomorrow is Wednesday… notorious for being uber-busy.  Having a head start going into the day would be a good thing.

    We're done with week 1.  Looking at my foundation goal, 150k, at the end of week 1 I should be at 37,500.  When I went to bed, I was at 40,241!  Woot!  For my dream goal, 240k, I needed to be at 60k.  I'm a little off.  But there's still time.

    For week 2, I'm setting my goal at 75k, half of 150k.  However, I want to be all the way through Part 2, which is between 107-115k.  I've added one chapter and I know of at least two, maybe three more that I need to do.  When I was done with the 5th draft, the manuscript sat right around 107k.  I figure three or four chapters will add at least 3k.  If I want to get through Part 3 by the end of the month, that's where I need to be next Monday.  Or at least there on next Tuesday, the 15th.  Just doubling what I did this week isn't going to work.
    So, I better get to work.  I have about 80k words to write this week.  Yikes.
    It's a good thing, though.  I'm dreaming about scenes in Part 3.  That means I need to write them.

November 7, 2016

  This weekend was not a good weekend for word count.  I was sick both Saturday and Sunday.  I had hoped to get 14,500 words written over the course of the two days, intending on doing more on Saturday and only having to make up part of the difference on Sunday.
  Nope.  My stomach decided to catch a bug.  I spent most of Saturday dragging myself around, and Sunday was spent sleeping and dragging myself around my bedroom.  Not at all what I had hoped.  I got 3173 words written over the course of the two days.  Now, that's not bad and if you're looking at just getting 50,000 words written this month, I'm just over 30,000 so I'm doing really well.
  But we all know that's not my goal.  My base goal is 150k.  My dream goal is 240k to be honest.  I'm NO WHERE near that.
  And I'm dreaming about scenes that I need to add to my rough draft for Part 3.  I'm happy with what's being rewritten in Part 2.  I yearn to get into 3.  I have to.  My sanity depends on it.  So I HAVE to get more than the 150k base.  I HAVE TO.
  So, my stomach needs to cooperate.  My head needs to stop hurting and my body needs to quit telling me to go back to bed.  I have to get this done.
  My goal today is 7,500 words by midnight.  That will get me 1/4 of the way to the 150k goal.  Since today is the end of week 1, that's a solid goal.  It's also only 250 more that my daily minimum.
  But you know I want more than that.  You know I'm going to shoot for higher... if my body and mind will let me.
  See you tomorrow.  Hopefully, I won't be brain jelly.

November 5, 2016

   So, I didn't get my daily word written yesterday, let alone the make-up words.  I'm okay with that.  I stopped writing at 6 last night because some friends went with my hubby and I to see Dr. Strange.  It was well worth the 3000 words.  I needed some non-writing something.
   The movie was so good!  I enjoyed it thoroughly.
   So, I wrote a little over 6000 words yesterday.  I think I've been doing it wrong.  I've been putting in a movie during the mid-part of my day.  Even though I've seen the movie several hundreds of times, I find that I watch it instead of writing.  The movies might have to go away.
  I also find that I write more easily when I get out of the house.  Maybe I need to treat this like a real job and leave?  Go to the library or something like that.  I don't know.  I don't want to do that every day.  I'll have to experiment this week.
  This next week, I'll have to get more serious about hitting my daily word goals.  I hope today, I'll be able to make up what I've gotten behind.  I would rather take tomorrow off and regenerate.
   I'm really tired.
   I need to get to work.  I won't be checking in tomorrow.  I'll see you on Monday.

November 4, 2016

  I feel good today.  I went to bed last night at a reasonable hour.  I haven't gone back to bed, either.
  Yesterday, I did.  I was really tired.  I slept until almost noon.  I'm sure I'd have reached me word count goal if I had stayed up.
  I was close, though.  My word count goal was just under 10,400.  I got 9471 for a total of 20,834.  Today, if I'm on track, I should break 29k.  That's my goal.  The hubby and I are going to a movie tonight, so I'll have to stay focused this morning.
  The rewrite of Part 2 is going well.  I'm through chapter 8.  I love these chapters.  When you're stuck in the middle or the end of a rewrite, you sometimes forget what happened in the earlier chapters.  It's good stuff.
  I don't have too much to report.  I'm just chuggin' along.  I've made a few changes, but not major ones, only a word here or there, or changing up the sentence.  NO major moves or deletes.  Of course, it still has to pass the reading-aloud test and then the editor, but I think we're doing well here.
  I'll check in tomorrow.  Have a good day!

November 3, 2016

  Wednesday was busy yesterday like Wednesdays always are.  Still, I managed to get a little over 3000 words rewritten.  Considering the chaos that the middle of the week always brings, I think that's pretty good.
  However, that puts me behind on my word count goal for the week.  So when I just consider the weekly goal of 37,500 words (by midnight Monday, Nov 7th), I need to get 5358 words written per day.  However, when I look at the whole month and consider that I want to take Thanksgiving day and Sundays off, and I have one Saturday where the whole day is taken, I only have 25 days to write.  My overall goal for the month is 150,000 words so my daily goal should be 6000.  I think somewhere in my estimate, I figured Wednesdays would be a bugger, and my daily goal was jacked up to 7250.
  I also need to keep in mind that I'm an overachiever and I'm going to want to get through Part 3, which requires my overall word count to be up around 240,000.  Yeah... I'll have to meet my daily goals of 7250... everyday, including Wednesdays and Sundays.  That won't even get it.
  Okay, forget that.  Let's get the 7250 per day.  With that in mind, I have a buffer from Tuesday of 949 words.  In order to catch up, I need to get a total of around 10400 words.  Whew.  Okay.  I can do that, right?
  I made it through Chapter 3 yesterday.  At the 10,000 words, I think I need to get through Chapter 6 today, maybe even 7.
  That's where my sights are set.  All I can do is try my hardest.
  See you tomorrow.

November 2, 2016

  Yesterday was such a good day.  I felt comfortable all day with my writing.  I didn't feel pressed until the evening, but I'll explain that in a minute.
  Things flowed well.  I'm through the prologue and chapters one and two.  That, along with the blog and the journal, added up to 8199 words for the day.  Awesome!  I love days like that.  And, I could've done more, had my activities allowed that.
  I went to the write-in at the library at 4:30.  I donated a copy of Part 1 to the library and set to work.  There were at least ten people there, if not twelve.  It was an awesome turnout.  At one point, a few of us started talking and that went on for almost an hour.  I got behind then, but that was okay.  Socializing with other writers is good stuff.
  I then went to the kickoff party.  I took my laptop, not knowing what to expect.  Well, I didn’t need to take it.  We talked and ate and talked some more.  I love meeting new people and these people were writers too!  It was great!
  But when I got home at 9:00, I still needed 1500 words to meet my 7250 word count goal.  I prayed with the kids and got them headed to bed and then got back to work.  My husband, who was out of town for the night, called in the middle.  He let me finish and called back 35 minutes later.  I had just reached 7250.  When we got off the phone, I finished the chapter I was on, which got me to my 8199.
  It was a really good day.
  Today, I'm going to work on David's journal.  The last page from that is the prologue for Part 1.  Chapter 3 delves into the journal a bit.  I want to have it all mapped out before deciding what pieces I'm sticking in there.
   My goal for the day is another 7250.  I'm volunteering at the Family History Center today from 2 to 5, but most of the time, I can write while I'm there.  The kids have church activities tonight.  They'll require me to be an attentive parent, so I need to have things done before seven this evening. 
   Whoo!  Here we go!  See you tomorrow.

November 1, 2016

  HOWDY FROM NANOWRIMO!
  I'm so stoked.  I've been waiting for this month since June, when I decided I wasn't going to be able to the NaNo in July.  And what am I doing?  BLOGGING!
  No worries, it counts.  It's words in the month of November, even if it isn't part of the book itself.  It does revolve around the book.  I'm counting it.
  So, today, I've already checked my emails and FB (not necessary except it's about the only socialization I get during the month.)  The FB does have a daily time restriction on it and I'm already past my allotment.  I won't be able to go back today.  I've gone to the NaNo website and read the inspirational threads that I'm following and the one I started.  I made some comments and I checked my chart to see how I'm doing on word count (It sits at zero currently... nothing like a blank page to inspire all the things you could possibly do this month!)  I've written in my writing journal (where I talk about plot and plans--sorry, I can't share that here....) and yes, I'm counting those words as well.  NaNo word count isn't an exact science.
  I have my document set up.  After I'm done here, I'm going to build my running outline.  As I get scenes written, the spot on the outline gets removed.  That way, I can always see what's next.  As I get an idea, I add it to the running outline.
  I also have my music up and running (I need a hero, I'm holding out for a hero).  Later on today (after I take a break and walk the dog at 9:00), I'll switch the background noise to a movie.  After lunch, I'll move up into my loft and write there all afternoon to some different tunes.
  Today, there's a NaNo write-in at the library late in the afternoon.  I'll head over there about 4.  A write-in is where other NaNos get together with whatever they're using to write (usually a laptop but I've seen paper and pencil) and we sit around a table and write.  Occasionally, there's conversation, but not much.  This evening, the area is having a kickoff/writing party at a local restaurant.  I'll be there as well!
  This is so cool.  I love November.
  I'll check in with you tomorrow!!

October 31, 2016

  The fifth draft of part 2 will be done today!
  I can't believe I didn't post on Friday and Saturday.  Both days slipped away from me.  I've been busy, preparing for NaNo.  It starts tomorrow!  I am so ready for some creative abandon.  Whooo... shivers.
  So, this morning I got up and stayed up.  I started working on the final chapters of Part 2 right away.  I've already gotten 2600 words written, composing one chapter.  Last night, before I finally drifted off to sleep, I realized I need to pull one more chapter from Part 3 and put it in towards the end of Part 2.  It needs to happen before what occurs at the ending of Part 2.  Yeah.
  That leaves me with two more chapters.  It feels good to have this draft over with.  On draft four, I realized there needed to be a major shift of an event.  I didn't get all the way through the fourth draft before I started over.  It didn't make sense to do the extra work when this move could transform so much.  So, I haven't seen these chapters since the third draft.
  It also means I'll need to do one more draft before getting it out to my alphas.  There's been too many changes and I need to make sure it all flows and makes sense.  That's what' I'm planning to do with the first half of November, punch that out.  I had hoped to get Part 2 to the alphas by today--in my original plans--but that hasn't happened.  Oh well, a good book is more important than self-imposed deadlines.  I don't think this two week timing change is going to shift the end deadline at all.
  I'm still slated to publish Part 2 by summertime 2017.  I don't think I'll need that much time.  However, I needed two and a half more months for Part 1 than I first thought so I built in extra time in case I need it.
  So, I'm going to get back to work.  I hope your Halloween is good.
  I'll check in tomorrow, from my loft and NaNo goodness!

October 27, 2016

  Happy Thursday, everybody.
  Like I was thinking yesterday, not much writing got done.  I did get all my beta's books autographed and ready to either get into the mail or deliver.  I'm hoping to have all of them taken care of by the end of Saturday.
  I did get the next chapter of part 2 set up yesterday.  It's the one that has developed from Tuesdays rewrite.  I also decided one of the chapters I have to rewrite still doesn't actually need to be in the book, so it's gone into the old drafts pile.  It's there if I need it for reference if I decide I need to put that scene back in, but I don't think it's necessary.
  I spent the morning going to the grocery stores.  There's another flag football game this afternoon.  This evening doesn't seem to be too busy, so I hope I can get that chapter done, the one I set up last night.  Maybe I'll even get to another one.  That would be nice.  Looking at it right now, there's six more that I need to finish.  Once that's done, I'll print out copies and get them to my alphas.  Then I'll be ready to dig into NaNo on the 1st!
  I'll check in with you tomorrow!

October 26, 2016

  So, I did get two chapters (re)written yesterday for a total of around 5300 words.  Some of that word count is warm-up and me 'interviewing' my characters.  That's a technique I use when I'm staring at a blank page and don't know where to go.  It works really well.
  I spent most of the day avoiding these two chapters.  I have a suspicion that I know too much in my head and I know (at least I think I do... it's possible it could change) what's going to happen to these two and I don't like it.  I had a long discussion with myself (yes... sometimes it has to happen), telling myself that I needed to be true to my story and write these chapters.  It took all day, but I finally got it done.  I feel better now that it is and the whole process produced another chapter that now needs to happen.  It's all good.
  It's busy Wednesday today so I don't know how much I'm going to get done.  I'd like to get two more chapters done today, but with my performance yesterday, I don't if that's going to happen.
  I got the rest of my shipment of my book order in the mail today.  Next week, I'm going to go talk to the local Barnes and Noble to see if they'll put them out.  Maybe there'll be a book-signing too.  We'll see.

October 25, 2016

 Good morning.  I'm starting early today. 
  I realized last night that I've been avoiding this chapter that I'm stuck on in the rewrite of part 2.  During the afternoon, I discovered I haven't written anything in two weeks.  I know I've been busy with other stuff, but the writing/rewriting is what gets me excited.  I've written beyond this chapter by about four, but I feel like I can't go too much further without filling the holes.  So, that means I need to go back and do it.
  I've known that for two weeks and yet here I am, not writing the chapter.  While, I've been finding good things to be doing (most of the time, FB prowling has increased significantly), reading, taking care of the technical parts of publishing part 1, spending time here, I'm still not writing.  That means something about it isn't right about this chapter, but I'm not sure what that is.
  As I began reading part 2 to make corrections a couple weeks ago, I came across a related chapter early in part 2.  It's an information dump, necessary, but I think I've allowed it to become burdensome.  I decided during the reading that I needed to completely rewrite the chapter.  Therefore, I need to get this early chapter done before I can get the later one taken care of.
  Or is that me just prolonging working on the chapter?
  Could be.
  Here's the deal, though.  I promised myself this morning, I would get that chapter written before I allow myself to do anything else.  The dog needs walked before it gets too late, and I'll need to take a shower afterwards because I have more parent-teacher conferences this afternoon.  So, I have to have the dog walked before lunch.
  That means I need to get going.
  I'll check in with you tomorrow!  Have a good day.

October 24, 2016

  So, I started feeding my brain for November.  I began reading The Maze Runner yesterday and finished it this morning.  I'm planning on starting the second one, The Scorch Trials tomorrow.
  I've been thinking more and more about what I need to write.  I'm anxious to start writing new stuff or even just working on Part 2.  I hope to do that this afternoon, but I have parent-teacher conferences so we'll have to see.  I'm not going to push it this week.  I'll be doing plenty of that starting next Tuesday.
  I'm getting fired up for NaNo.  I'm excited for it to start.
  I'll check back in tomorrow.

October 22, 2016

  Hello.
  I didn't post yesterday.  I took a second day off.  I don't think I've taken two days off from writing since the beginning of July.  It's been really good.
  The result of the two days off is that I have been thinking about part 2 this morning.  Part 1 is out of my hands now, there's nothing more to do with it except marketing it.  Creatively, I'm done with it.  It's time to move on.
  It's really weird to think about.  I've been working with this story now for 18 months.  I've just sent it out into the world to fend for itself (kinda).  Anyway, I have mixed feelings.  Before I released it, I still had a security buffer.  I was protected from the world and their opinions of what I wrote.  I was also still in control of changing anything I wanted to.  Now, I can't.  Everything that's happened in part 1 is set in stone now.  Everything from here forward hinges on that fact.
  I read a blog today about the Dark Moments of a story's character.  That's got the wheels of my mind reeling now.  What's Dan's dark moment?  He has one in part 2 and in part 3.  What's Daniel's?  He had one in part 1, a big one.  He'll have one in part 2 and a couple in part 3.  Brise?  He definitely had one in part 1 but a doozy's coming around the bend.  Mya has one in part 2 and another one later on, but I'm not quite sure where it sits in the timeline yet.  It's part of the storyline that hasn't been drafted.  Rita has her DM in part 2 but she doesn't see it that way, and I think she's creating some for others.  She has more DM for herself coming and she won't expect it.  Norton has a DM in part 1, but he doesn't quite see it that way either.  Is there more in store for him?
  See?  My mind is moving forward now.  NaNo starts in 9 days.  I'm rubbing my hands together, getting them warmed up.  It's gonna be fun!
  I did get the copyright registration for part 1 completed today.  That was a major hurdle to accomplish.
  I'll check in with you on Monday!  Have a good weekend.

October 20, 2016

  WOW!  I'm all over the place with my emotions today.
  Last night, I watched at midnight as my book became available on Smashwords as an eBook.  After that, I went over to the CreateSpace site and hit 'accept' and the paperback version was available.  This afternoon, out of curiosity, I searched for it on amazon.com and found it available for pre-order, shipping on Saturday.  This blows my mind.  I'm ranging between excited and crying.
  You know what else I've done today besides walk the dog?  I've slept... all morning.  Right now, I'm watching a movie while typing this.  I don't know what else I'll get done today, if anything.
  Here's the links:
      CreateSpace as paperback
      Smashwords as an eBook
      Amazon as a paperback
  Hardcover will be available in a couple weeks.  I'll let you know when it is.
  Wow.  That's all that goes through my mind.
  I'll be back tomorrow.

October 19, 2016

  Everything's approved for the eBook and the paperback.
  It's like I'm on an airplane, all buckled in.  The attendants have done their wavy-arm motions and we've taxied out to the runway, waiting for our turn to take off.
  And then you're thrust back into your seat as the pilot punches it.  WOOT!
  That's tomorrow, baby.  Tomorrow.
  The hardcover is still in 'construction'.  I've had to make some adjustments to the size of the manuscript, which is not a big deal.  It took about twenty minutes to do and then verify the chapters all ended how I wanted them to on the pages.  I have to readjust the size of the cover.  It won't be too big a deal, I've gotten that down to a science.  It just takes time.  The frustrating thing about that is there was no where on the website to get dimensions for the cover.  NOWHERE.  I had to call in.  Even then, the guy I talked to on the phone had to talk to a designer to get the numbers.  Grrr.  Just give me the formula, I can do that math.
  I have the numbers now.  Today, I'll play with that and get it just right.  Then, I need to get an ISBN for the hardcover, upload the files and then it's all up to Bookbaby.

  Tomorrow.

  Tomorrow the paperback and eBook versions will be available.

  I've been working on this for 18 months.  Isn't that crazy?  Other than my marriage, I haven't done anything for this long.
  That's a fib, too, but sometimes it feels that way.
  I'll check in with you tomorrow!!  EEEEEE!!!

October 18, 2016

  Last night was momentous!  I got both the eBook and the paperback versions uploaded to Smashwords and CreateSpace respectively.  I still need to hear back from CreateSpace but Smashwords has approved the upload.  I'm wanting it all to be available on the same day, so I have locked the eBook into being published on Thursday.  I'm certain CreateSpace will be ready by then.
  Needless to say, I got the manuscript cleaned up.  I had six pages that were double-check-necessary.  I was glad I did.  One correction I made in the eBook didn't make into the paperback version.  And then I spotted another error ('managed' on the same page three times) on one of the pages so I went back and fixed it in both versions.
  And there was no rewriting done yesterday.
  That's okay.  There's always a lot of hidden work in cleaning up and uploading a manuscript.  I wasn't expecting to get any writing done.
  I'm not planning on much today, either.  I want to go to another website, Bookbaby, where I can get a hardcover copy of my book.  I did the paperback at CreateSpace because of two reasons:  1. I don't have to order any copies for them to work with me and 2. the copies of their books are more affordable.  However, they only do paperback.  I went to Smashwords to do the eBook for two reasons:  1. they upload my book to several different platforms and 2. they don't charge me upfront to do the work.  They do charge per copy sold, but any eBook distributor that I investigated did.  Now, as far as Bookbaby is concerned, not only will they do hardcover, but they'll produce some marketing materials for me.  I could do all of it through Bookbaby, but it would have been more money upfront.  There you go.
  I also need to go to Bowker and register ISBNs for the eBook and the hardcover copy.  I need to make some time and create author's information on Smashwords.  It's not necessary, but some readers like to know the authors so having the information there is good public relations.  I'll need to find something positive to say about myself.  I think most people have difficulty with that.
  Well, I need to go get something done.  Have a wonderful day and I'll check back in tomorrow.

UPDATE:  CreateSpace is approved.  Now to get Bookbaby to the same place and we'll be good to go!

October 17, 2016

  I fell into a pool of gelatinous goo on Saturday evening.  Once I had the whole book read again and all the corrections highlighted, I relaxed.  I relaxed so much, I wound up having a tension headache that night and into most of the day Sunday.  I didn't get anything fixed nor did I upload the cleaned up manuscript.
  Therefore, that is the plan today:  corrections and uploading.  Tomorrow, I'll check the rough spots.  As I looked over the corrections last night, there weren't as many in my head as I thought there were.  I think we're almost ready.  I hope to publish by the end of the week.  EEEE!!
  In the meantime, I've posted chapter 3.  Please enjoy!
  See you tomorrow.

October 15, 2016

  Today was a good day of work.
  All I did was read.  I got the correction reading I've been doing completed.  Now to get the corrections done and upload a cleaned up version.  Like I've been saying, I feel like all I need to do now is double-check the rough spots and call the rest good.  I have made a couple non-necessary changes and I'll double-check those too.  However, the unnecessary changes outweigh the necessary ones this time.  I don't think those will ever go away.  I could read this book every month for the next ten years and still find something to tweak.
  It'll never be perfect and it's time to make the fixes and step away. :/
  I also did some editing work on the early chapters of part 2.  I still have 6-10 chapters to rewrite, toward the end.  Maybe now that I'm done with part 1, I can focus on that again.  I want to have the rewrite of part 2 done before November so I can just jump into the rewrite of part 3.  I have sixteen more days.  I can do this.
  I'm off tomorrow.  I'll be posting chapter 3 on Monday.  I hoping to publish part one (the whole week) by the end of the week!
  See you Monday!

October 14, 2016

  I didn't post yesterday.  I was working on those freezer meals I told you about for November and it totally overwhelmed me and my day.  Thankfully, when my husband came home, he and the kids jumped in to save my behind.
  So, I didn't get any work done yesterday.  I did a lot of reading on Wednesday but no writing.  I'm still sitting at 8-10 chapters to finish up for part 2.
  I hope to get the reading done for part 1 today.  I want to upload it and pull off another proof copy tomorrow.  I'm down to the last of it, I can feel it.  As I'm reading it now, I feel like I can just check on what I'm correcting and call it.
  There's a cross country meet today in Fresno and the three boys are going to a campout tonight.  My hubby may be going to Colorado this weekend, so I don't know that I'll get much else accomplished today.
  I am posting chapter 2!
  Have a wonderful day.  I will check in tomorrow.

October 12, 2016

  So, nothing got done yesterday.  With all the grocery shopping I did (four hours worth) and then the evening activities, I didn't get to it.
  That's okay.  I'm spontaneously thinking about it and over the last few weeks, I haven't been.
  Yesterday, I posted chapter 1.  I'm planning on posting chapter 2 on Friday.
  Wednesdays are my busy day so I haven't gotten much done today, either.  However, I'm going to focus on getting the reading done for the corrections.  There are some there and while there's less than last time, I'm still thinking I'll need to do read it again.  This is the monotonous part.
  I'll check in with you tomorrow.

October 11, 2016

  So, I was productive yesterday, even though I didn't get everything done that I needed to.
  I need to slow it down a little, I've got way too much on my plate writing-wise.  So, I'm concentrating on getting the rest of Part 1 read so I can get it published!!  I can't read all day, however, so I'm also going to do a little rewriting in there, but not at the pace I had set for myself earlier.
  Today, however, will be spent doing some NaNo prep.  I'm going to the store and purchasing supplies to make 31 frozen crock-pot meals.  Then, I'll be spending the rest of the day putting them together.  No, it's not writing, but it is necessary if I want to have as much time in November for pure writing.
  And I really want that.
  I posted Chapter 1 in the pages of the blog.  Please go check it out.  Feel free to leave a comment, if you wish.  If you've read the preview on CreateSpace, it's the same material.  I'll be posting Chapter 2 on Friday.
  Thanks for everything!
  See you tomorrow.

October 10, 2016

  Happy Monday!
  Okay, I have a lot of work to do on part 1 to get it read through again.  I'm through the first 100 pages and have found about 35 errors.  A few punctuation, a couple misspelled words and a few changes.  Sigh.  I'm ready for this part to be done.
  I printed what I have done of part 2 last night.  I still have 8 - 10 chapters yet to rewrite which I'd like to be done with by Wednesday.  So, I'll need to rewrite three a day to get to that goal.  :/  Might have to stretch that to Friday, we'll see.  The main reason is that I'm starting to edit it.  I want to get through three chapters a day, make those corrections and then run those three chapters through a grammar program, which is why I think I may have to stretch that writing goal (maybe even into next week).
  This is really a long process.  Now I see why it takes a year or more to write one book.  Whew.
  I took this weekend off, mostly.  I read part one on Sat. and Sun. but I didn't do any writing.  I was excited to work on it on Saturday, it just didn't happen.
  Tomorrow, I'm going to be posting the prologue and first chapter as a preview.  It's on CreateSpace right now as a preview, but I don't know if you need to be a member of that website to view it or not.  If you're interested, I'd like you to read it (on CS or here, either one).  If you're more interested, I'd appreciate an honest comment or question.  If the answer doesn't reveal plotline or create a spoiler, I'll respond!  :)
  Well, I need to get to work.  Have a good day.  See you tomorrow.

October 8, 2017

  I had another good day again yesterday.  This week has been so invigorating.
  Along with getting all the corrections made and the cleaned up manuscript loaded onto CreateSpace, I wrote three chapters.  Two of them were new and I totaled over 5000 words.
  If I can keep this pace up for the next seven weeks (oooo... that sounds really long), I should be able to meet the 150,000 word count goal I set for NaNoWriMo.  But then, I won't be working on corrections or editing.  It'll just be pure writing.  I can't wait.
  Today should be similar.  We have an activity to go to at four which should take about an hour and I need to prepare for the class I'll be teaching in church tomorrow, but that shouldn't take too long.  My hubby is out of the state right now.  So, other than those two things and probably feeding the kids, I should be free to write ALL DAY.  I'm giddy.
  I won't be writing tomorrow.  I'll check back in on Monday!  Have a good weekend.

October 7, 2016

  I'm late with my post today for one main reason:  I wanted to get the corrections done!
  Hallelujah!  I have achieved Nirvana... I think.
  Because I like numbers, here's the breakdown:
     50 Chapters, 274 pages
     Ironically, 274 total corrections therefore one per page or an average of 5.5 per chapter.

That's too high.
Phhhh.  I'm going to have to reread it.

     Necessary Changes:
        Doubled verbs - two
        Formatting -
           Dashes that I doubled but Word didn't convert - three
           Too much space inside a chapter break - two
           Soft return creating a double tab on the next line - nineteen
        Punctuation (mostly dashes, ellipses issues and adding/removing commas) -
           twenty-nine
        Capitalization (these are words that need to be capitalized in the setting of my book
           and not real life) - eleven
        General typos - sixteen
        Spelling - seventeen
        Lay vs. lie - seven
        Cot vs. bed - thirteen
        Changing words/sentences because they NEEDED changed (counting the missing five
           ending sentences of chapter 48) -  thirty-nine
        Misc. - fifteen

     Unnecessary Changes (words or sentences that didn't need fixed but sound better now):
         Changed - seventy-four
         Eliminated - seventeen
         Punctuation - ten

  I had six chapters that didn't need any changes at all!  I was so happy to have those.  There were more fixes in the front half of the book than the second half.  When I didn't find the last portion of chapter 48, I was mortified.

I am SOOO glad I bought the book proof

 

  There's too many errors to ignore the fact that I need to read it again.  Sad, but true.  But that's okay, I think.  Like I said a few posts back, this book will last longer than me.  I'm SO grateful I didn't just say "Oh, it's good.  Let's hit 'accept'."  This is embarrassing.  It would have been more so with a published book.

  I am not ordering another book proof, however.  Because of the issues with the text being wrong on the front cover, I've already made those changes and uploaded a new cover.  I ordered new proof book last week to be certain the book looked right with the fixed text and it does.  It is WAAAYYY better.  As far as the interior, I'm going to upload the cleaned up manuscript today and when they come back with the approval, I'll download a digital copy and print it off at home.  I'm going to make sure all the indents are correct, the odd page numbers are on the right hand pages, that I don't have any orphans or widows and then reread it.

  It'll be fine.

  Yesterday, I had an awesome day writing.  I got three chapters done, half of which was new material.  The chapter I wrote from scratch yesterday took off in an unexpected direction so now I'm all fired up to write again!  Yahoo!  Note:  that will mean more changes in the future and the farther I get away from this point, the farther I'll be from the draft that's already written.  Isn't writing exciting! Wahoo!

  I still need to upload stuff to CreateSpace and Smashwords so I better get to work.  Check in with you tomorrow.