What I Wrote 2015 - Week 10

This Week I...

Wrote 2,811 words
Wrote 5 new scenes
Prepped 2 scenes for my critique partner
Planned the next 5 scenes
Will probably write another scene tonight
Rewrote 2 scenes from 2 of my favorite novels, then looked at their balance of description, narration, dialogue, and introspection. I also looked at how they use inferencing and other techniques.

I've realized just how important it is, for me, to make sure I write every day. Taking a break for even one day makes it that much harder to get back into the groove.

Current total word count: 48,256

What I'm Reading Wednesday - The Martian, Red Queen, Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, Rich Food Poor Food, Mindset, and Days of Blood and Starlight

Somehow, I'm currently reading six books.

The Martian by Andy Weir

I'll admit, I was wondering how the author was going to keep this interesting since there was only one character, but so far he's been successful. I'm also really loving all the science and engineering in this book.

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Finally! I've been waiting to read this since I read the query on the agent's blog as well as the first few pages. 

Hashimoto's Thyroiditis: Lifestyle Interventions for Finding and Treating the Root Cause by Isabella Wentz

I'm actually reading this as a paperback book! It was the only copy the library had. 

Rich Food Poor Food by Jayson and Mira Calton

I'll admit, this one has fallen a bit to the side, especially since I have a deadline to turn in the Hashimoto's book. 

Mindset by Carol Dweck

I've gotten back into this one! I'm looking for some ways to teach my students about growth mindsets vs fixed mindsets and help them develop their own growth mindsets. 

Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor (audio)

So different from the first book yet I still have to know what comes next.

2015 Resolutions - Update 1

It's been two months (9 weeks) since the New Year! Time to check in on my resolutions and see where I am.

Resolution #1: Finish the first draft of TGITP

I'd like to be further along with this goal than I am, but I've definitely made progress. I have a mini goal right now to finish the second half by March 14th. That means I need to write about 13 scenes in 2 weeks. I might change my goal to be Saint Patrick's Day, first because then it will give me the few extra days I need, second because I love Saint Patrick's Day (I can wear ALL green and not get any weird looks!).

Resolution #2: Read 70 books

So far I've read 14 books, and according to Goodreads that's 3 books ahead of schedule, so yay! I'm currently reading about 6 different books though, so I really need to focus on about 3 at a time...

Resolution #3: Write at least 1,000 words a week

Out of 9 weeks, I only missed this goal twice! (Though a couple of weeks were pretty close...) I even had one week where I wrote 5,346 words! I've realized though that I'll need to be writing closer to 5,000 a week if I want to finish this draft before June. I'm not changing my resolution, however, just pushing myself to surpass it.

Resolution #4: Play an instrument once a week

I also have only missed this goal twice in 9 weeks. I've been learning The Mountain by Ludovico Einaudi and working through a workbook to get back into reading music as well.

Resolution #5: Do 5 pull-ups a week  

Again, missed this twice in 9 weeks. The pull ups are getting a little easier! Of course I usually end up doing all of them on Saturday...

Here is the spreadsheet I've been using to keep track of whether or not I met my goals each week.

That's it! I'll check in on these again at the end of April. 

What I'm Reading Wednesday - The Knife of Never Letting Go, Rich Food Poor Food, and Days of Blood and Starlight

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

I literally had to get out of bed the other night and go into the living room so I could cry. I won't spoil why, but let's just say that this author is not afraid to hurt his characters...

Rich Food Poor Food by Jayson and Mira Calton

Just started this one last night. It's about time for another non-fiction on nutrition. 

Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor (audio)

I of course had to find out what Karoe would do next, so I started the sequel. 

What I'm Reading Wednesday - The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Rising, The Positive Trait Thesaurus, and Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Back from my vacation in Colorado and break from writing!

Here's what I've been reading:

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

This book is most definitely different and I'm loving it so far. Of course, I will always <3 dystopias. 

The Rising by Kelley Armstrong

This was the third in the series and a perfect end, though I hope to hear more from Maya and Daniel, and Chloe and Derek in the future :). 

The Positive Trait Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman

It's taking me awhile to get through this one because I'm reading every entry and thinking about how and if it applies to any of my characters. I plan on then doing the same thing with The Negative Trait Thesaurus. 

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (audio)

I love the way this book has changed in the second half and am sad that I'll be finishing it in the next few days. Now, off to find out if it has a sequel...

What I'm Reading Wednesday - Ender's Game and The Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Update on my goal to write 5 scenes this week: it's going well! I wrote one scene, each about 1,000 words, on Monday and Tuesday night. I'm about to make it three in a row. So far the trick has been pushing through the difficult parts and just getting SOMETHING down. I can fix the small nuances later.

On to books.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

I first read this book as an assignment for school when I was in eighth grade. I remember that I liked it a lot, but I also remember missing out on a lot of the nuances. Since the movie came out last year and I'd like to see it, I decided to go ahead and reread the book. It's even better than I remember so far. 

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (audio)

I kid you not, I find myself jonesing for this book. About twenty or thirty minutes before I leave work I start thinking about listening to it in the car. I kind of wish I'd checked it out as a regular book so that I could zoom through it, but I guess there's something to savoring it too :).

(Just realized I used the word nuance twice in this post. Decided to leave it be. If the word fits...)

What I Wrote 2015 - Week 5

This week I...

Met with my critique partner
Edited the first 4 scenes of the second quarter of my WIP
Laid out the entire second quarter, including every subplot and scene, on an excel spreadsheet.
Made some pretty lofty goals.

After this week, I no longer have an excuse not to write. I have the next 20 scenes plotted out, ready to go. Because of that, I made the goal to write 5 scenes a week for the next four weeks, in order to finish writing the second quarter by March 1st. I plan to spend Sundays summarizing each scene, so I know exactly what I plan on writing. Then Monday through Friday (this will be the hardest part) I'll write one scene a day. Then on Saturdays I'll do any editing, update my excel sheet and plans for future scenes, and edit and post the next scene for my critique partner.

This is the plan, we'll see how it goes. I plan to post a short update on Monday about how the first day went. Remember, you can also follow my writing goals at My Write Club.

Wish me luck!