Conjunction Junction
by Lynn Daniels on Sunday, February 7, 2010 at 7:32 am
Previously at LynnDaniels.com: We had a server failure in my household. Unfortunately, it was the server containing all my photographs and my writing. While I did have a large portion of both my photographs and my writing backed up elsewhere, I didn’t have all of it backed up. Yes, I’d become a slacker. Until my husband takes the server to have my information pulled off it by a professional, I’ve taken to retyping my most recent ms, Saving Wonderland, into my computer so that I can finish writing the story. This is taking a very long time (heck it took me 30 days to write what I’ve got so far!), and is still a work in progress.
———————
What's your function?
My biggest problem word, the scourge of my mss, the bane of my writing existence, is just. Just for me is akin to like for a teenage girl. It sneaks in everywhere. Like ants on a rainy day. It’s my crack cocaine. I know I don’t need it, yet I can’t stop myself from using it. The good news is I know I have a problem and I’ve admitted there is a problem. Every first round of edits the first thing I do is a search for just, followed by deleting at least 97% of them. I’ve actually found five sentence paragraphs that use just five times!
With this ms, a new plague has emerged. It’s actually always been there, it just seems to have multiplied lately. Like dust bunnies under the bed, this new pest has begun to drop in more and more frequently. It taunts me, laughing in my face. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it’s the dreaded sentence beginning with a conjunction.
And, but, and or may get that old train engineer in the old Schoolhouse Rock cartoon pretty far, but the only place they’re taking me is straight to Crazy Town. I’m retyping this ms and repeatedly groaning louder and louder at each sentence I come across beginning with and and but. I do occasionally start a sentence with or, but not disgustingly frequently like the other two.
♫Conjunction Junction, what’s your function?♫
As I type the ms, that’s the song I hear in my head. Actually, it’s just that one line from the song because those are the only lyrics I remember clearly. I remember something about hooking up phrases and clauses, and and, but, and or getting you pretty far, but it’s that first line I still hear over and over.
♫Conjunction Junction, what’s your function?♫
Apparently, its function is to drive me absolutely batty. It does its job remarkably well, although my children do help it along. But I know I’m not the only one who goes through this (See there? I did it again!). What are the words that give you a one way ticket on the Crazy Train?
Excerpt!
by Lynn Daniels on Monday, January 25, 2010 at 9:52 am
I’ve been frustrated this week. We had communications go down on my storage drive, and I can’t access any of my photographs or writing. I have much of my writing saved elsewhere, but not my most recent project, Saving Wonderland, which is the story I was writing during 2009’s NaNoWriMo. I have since become frustrated enough to pull out my hard copy of the story and retype the entire thing.
I’ve had so much fun, I thought I’d share a little with you. A reminder: this is from a 1st draft NaNoWriMo project, so it’s completely unedited and in the form it came out during my stream-of-consciousness writing spree.
A little backstory: My main character is Dinah Brockton. She’s a middle-aged housewife who has been so unappreciated by her family, she goes on strike and takes a little “me time” vacation. While on vacation, she is sucked into Wonderland via faerie magic, and is now on a quest to fulfill The Prophecy, which will topple the evil House of Green and restore light and happiness to the land. She is accompanied on her journey by a talking blue zebra named Zippo.
The following excerpt is a conversation between Zippo & Dinah. She has been receiving a lesson from Zippo on the history of Wonderland and previous “Otherland” visitors. Zippo just shared that much of Alice in Wonderland came from Wonderland, including Rodrigo the Cheshire cat who hates his name and demands to be called Roddy.
——————-
Saving Wonderland
Unedited excerpt
“The Brothers Grimm have been here? Did their stories come from here, as well?”
“Some were loosely based on events from Wonderland. Many were based in the time when the Royal Houses were still in power, before the Dark Times when the House of Green rose.”
Dark Times? House of Green? Royal Houses? It sounded like I was already in a fairy tale. “Loosely based?”
“You are aware of the story of Little Snow-White, are you not?”
“I am. At least, I think so.”
“You think?”
“The story I know is Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”
“Yes. That would be the one.”
“What about it?”
“It is very similar to an historical event which occurred in the early years of the Royal Houses.”
This was getting interesting. “Similar.”
“Similar. There were some significant differences.”
“Such as?”
“Such as the dwarfs.”
“How were the dwarfs different?”
Zippo found a piece of grass sticking up bright and green between the leaves coasting the forest floor. He pulled it and chewed it thoughtfully before answering. “They were not dwarfs. And there were not seven of them.”
“They weren’t dwarfs?”
“Dwarfs do not exist in Wonderland. There have been stories. Legends, really. But that is all.”
“So if they weren’t dwarfs, what were they?”
He smiled. “Four short guys and a turtle.”
“What?”
“The brothers did not believe that sounded romantic enough, and they asked me if the Wonderlanders would be offended if they changed the men from four short guys and a turtle to seven dwarfs.”
“And you told them they could make that change?”
“Certainly. What would the Wonderlanders care of a story in Otherland? Most Wonderlanders are not even aware Otherland truly exists beyond legend.”
I shook my head. Four short guys and a turtle? This couldn’t be real.
“But they helped Snow White hide from her evil stepmother, right?”
Zippo nodded. “Aye. That they did.”
“And they were miners?”
“No, they were not. That was another detail Jacob and Wilhelm chose to change for publication.”
“You mean mining is more exciting than what the dw—er short guys actually did? What could be less interesting than that?”
“Leaf, Bark, Root, and Twig owned and operated a fruit and nut stand on the edge of the forest.”
——-/end excerpt
Covering Saving Wonderland
by Lynn Daniels on Sunday, November 1, 2009 at 11:14 pm
NaNoWriMo has officially begun, and I’ve managed to get a pretty good start. Of course, I got a good start last year, then tanked for the following two weeks. Then again, I did win…
The good news is that over the past few days of playing ideas, my plot evolved and expanded, and I think I’ve got some great ideas that are going to be fun to write. Plus I finally settled on a name for my main character, which is a major weight lifted. I know the absence of a name doesn’t bother some people, but for me, it’s hard to hear a character who doesn’t have a name. Once the name appears, the personality becomes better developed and the appearance is easier for me to see. Overall, the character becomes more tangible to me.
Yes, I’m very happy I finally found her name.
ANYWAY — last post I promised to show how my covers developed. I went through four different covers before finally settling on my fifth and current one. Me? Indecisive? Bite your tongue!
My 1st cover try
This was my first attempt. It was a quickie; I just wanted to get something up on my novel information at the NaNoWriMo site. The photograph is one of my own, taken during one of my family hikes. Even though the photo had the fantasy feel I was looking for, it didn’t seem to reflect the more lighthearted tone of the story I had in mind. I barely had this cover posted before I was already working on a new one.
Attempt #2
My second try got closer. I found a couple stock photos at stock.xchng (with thanks to the talents of Sanja Gjenero and Jonathan Bydendyk) that came closer to what I saw in my mind for the cover. Through the magic of Photoshop, I was able to blend the two photos, change the zebra’s color so he more closely resembled the mentor in my story, and present a feel that to me was less fairy and more fun. But it still wasn’t quite there.
My 3rd try
Since the blue zebra didn’t quite represent enough of the magical-type out-of-the-ordinary elements I had planned, I went a little further with the cover. Sparklies and more color appeared in this incarnation, but it didn’t last long. It was looking too busy for my liking.
Number 4
Fourth try. The colors went, but the sparklies stayed, because to me, the sparklies said fantasy. Not that the blue zebra is an everyday sight, but you know what I mean. This is the cover that stuck for quite a while.
Final...for now
Just days before the start of NaNoWriMo, I came up with a few new plot elements and plot twists that really brought the whole story plan together for me. Additionally, I finally found my main character’s name. This constituted the need for a couple changes to the cover. First, the logline had to be amended. While there would still be oddities, I didn’t want that idea to be as prominent. And to me, Fantasies made it sound very romancy. While that wouldn’t normally bother me (and truth be told, it still really doesn’t), the story I have in mind is not a romance in any way shape or form. So that logline went from Fantasies, Oddities … and Dianna to one that’s more fitting: Fantasy, Prophecy … and Lois. I love it!
When I came up with the whole ancient prophecy plot twist, that changed the nature of my main character’s journey. It changed what she was working toward. And it also changed the story title. It was more of an amendment, actually, but still a change. So my story has gone from Wonderland to Saving Wonderland. Who knows … before I’m done, the whole thing may change again. But since the writing has started, I’ll be concentrating less on the cover and more on the story.
If you’re curious, I’ll leave you with the current blurb I have posted at the NaNoWriMo site:
What’s an overworked, unappreciated mom to do when she goes on strike and nobody cares? Why, she goes on vacation, of course! At least, that’s what Lois Brockton does when her husband and kids disregard her strike and continue to take her for granted. She hops into her minivan and leaves, intending to drive across country for a little “me” time.
Everything changes at the Victorian bed & breakfast she chooses for her first night’s sleep on the road. A sudden vacancy following a discussion with the owner gets her the key to an enchanted room that turns her entire world upside down.
When Lois stumbles through a hidden portal, she’s thrust into Wonderland, a fantastical world ruled by dark forces. Ancient prophecy says she alone will restore this once regal land filled with fantasy and fairy tales to its former glory. But it’ll take more than enchanted texts and the word of her talking zebra companion to convince her she’ll be the one SAVING WONDERLAND.
The Madness Begins
by Lynn Daniels on Monday, October 19, 2009 at 3:57 pm
~.~
After my success with NaNoWriMo last year, I’ve decided to take the plunge yet again. Especially since my writing bone hasn’t been working much lately. This time, I’m not going completely off the chain like I did last year with a story written entirely for fun and nothing else (remember Chester & Rube?). I’m taking an idea I’d started and stalled on, and reworking it.
The concept is this:
Dianna Brockton (still a placeholder name — I don’t have her permanent name yet) is overworked, unappreciated, and completely taken for granted by her family. When her husband Russell tells her to quit complaining, that anybody could do what she does, she decides to go on strike. She aims to teach him a lesson — if he thinks anybody can do it, let him do it. Except her family gives her strike the same degree of respect they give her. Strike day arrives, and each family member wants something from her and they want it now.
When Russell demands she drop everything to plan a dinner party for his boss, it’s the last straw. Dianna stands up to him (something she’s never done before), tells him he’ll have to do it himself because she’s leaving town for a while, then hangs up on him. She makes arrangements for her children, packs her things, and leaves.
Now here’s where my current NaNoWriMo concept for the story diverges from my original concept. Originally, she went to an Asheville, NC-like place, indulges herself, finds her self-worth, and returns to her family a stronger woman who demands — and gets — the same respect she’s expected to give. While that concept is great, I started really losing interest in the story once I got her to the day spa and the transformation began. I’m not sure what the problem was, but it completely stopped flowing. So I’m changing it. I’m scrapping everything I wrote and starting all over again.
And I’m adding a magical/fantasy element.
NaNoWriMo (and another visit to the NaNo Dares thread) has given me fresh ideas and newfound enthusiasm for this story. I can’t wait to write it. Because now, instead of going to Asheville, Dianna doesn’t make it to her planned destination (RATS! I suppose I should come up with a planned destination, shouldn’t I?). She stops at a little hotel/motel for a night’s sleep. While she’s checking in, the clerk asks her a few questions that seem innocent, but change everything. The clerk gives her the key to a “perfect room for her”. When Dianna asks about check-out time, the clerk tells her she’ll return when she’s ready. Dianna doesn’t understand that, but too tired to worry about it, she gathers her things and leaves the office anyway.
Once in her room, she drops her suitcase on the bed and does what everybody does when they first walk into their hotel room after a long day of driving. She heads for the bathroom. But when she flips the light on, something’s not right. Something’s just…off. She closes the bathroom door, turns to investigate, and is transported to Wonderland, a world filled with oddities and fantasies fulfilled.
At this point, the story becomes a little Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, and The 10th Kingdom. She sees things that her mind knows are impossible. She experiences things that make no sense. She goes from searching for a way back home to wondering why she even wants to go back home to never wanting to go back home to figuring out her place & role in the world, understanding how to exact what she needs and deserves, and being ready to go back home. And along the way, she’s mentored by a black & blue striped zebra named Zippo.
I’m planning to work in a few homages to the stories from which I drew my inspiration, with my own odd twists, of course. But those are still in the planning stages.
So when I’m asked Are you doing NaNoWriMo this year? my answer is a resounding YES, I AM! And I’m really looking forward to it.
Next post: I’ll introduce the cover I made for my story and show you how I made it!
How Will They Get There?
by Lynn Daniels on Thursday, June 18, 2009 at 12:12 pm
~*~
I’ve been dying to do some writing. Not romance or women’s fiction, but I want to finish the crazy story I started during NaNoWriMo. I want to finally close out Chester & Rube. Problem is I’ve hit a wall. 
They’re close. Chester & Rube are so close to the lair of the evil Centipig, they can feel it. Centipig’s footprints are too small for giant Rube to follow, so little Chester has been wandering in what seems to be aimless circles through Thorny Thicket, following prints he hopes will end at the doorway to Centipig’s headquarters. To the place where he’s secretly plotting his coup of Feckerson Forest with the pigapedes. We’re thisclose to the big battle scene that I’ve already decided MUST end in a squish.
I know the entrance can’t look like the entrance to an evil lair. It has to be a place most critters would walk right past and never notice.
My problem is how do my heroes find this entrance without it being a total letdown? Does Chester trip over something… oh, wait. Hey, that might work. Chester trips over something and falls on his bill, his blue felt fedora goes flying. Which makes Chester mad. So after he retrieves his hat, he goes back to kick the offending object. A tree root maybe. Which they probably should have noticed since there aren’t any trees right there. But he kicks this tree root and it moves and reveals the entrance to the lair.
Hm. I should have blogged about this sooner! I can write this scene while LittleDude’s at his doctor’s appointment today.
Maybe tomorrow I’ll complain about how neither Chester nor Rube can actually get into the lair because they’re both too big…
The Hodge and the Podge
by Lynn Daniels on Monday, March 9, 2009 at 5:49 pm
~*~
While my Chicken Cacciatore is simmering (tonight’s dinner), I thought I’d hop online and post a quick update while I had the chance. So, here’s what’s been happening here:
LittleDude had his first sleepover with a friend from school. He’s slept away from home before, but it was always with neighbors who were really good family friends. This time, LittleDude spent the night at the home of a boy he calls his “very best friend”.
It was a little tough for me — I didn’t get my usual Sunday morning LittleDude wakeup, but I didn’t fall apart. And he had a wonderful time, so I guess that all worked out. Unfortunately, they didn’t sleep much, and it was the night of the time change. He was still excited last night, so he couldn’t get to sleep. You know what that meant? Yup, we were miserable this morning. SoudGuy and I finally gave in the the “upset stomach” and let him stay home. But he wasn’t allowed to play video games. So there.
I hit the Publix Buy One Get One Free sale today. Between coupons and sales prices, I paid $87, and saved $100. WOO HOO!
I got some writing done today, which is very exciting for me. I finally figured out the secret to fitting it in. I add writing to my To Do list.
My FlyLady To Do list is comprised of Post-It notes stuck to the front of one of my kitchen cabinets. It’s a system that works well for me; as something is completed, the Post-It is removed from the cabinet and thrown away — that way, I can see my progress.
Everything on the cabinet is allocated 15 minutes. Today I added writing and coupon clipping, and actually got to both things! So from now on, writing and coupon clipping go up on my FlyLady To Do list cabinet.
I actually got to write twice today, so it was doubly good. I snuck some George Randy time in while waiting for the end of MiniMe’s soccer practice. Unfortunately, that’s also when I got my BIG SCARE. You see, I had done my timed 15 minutes of writing earlier, then put George Randy back in his case. When I took George Randy out at the fields, I turned him on and was faced with a readout filled with EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. I think there might have been a stray SSSS in there, too, but mostly it was all EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. That, and a 1/2 sentence.
I quickly hit the “home” key to back to the beginning of the file, hoping the EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSEEEEEEEEEEE was just tacked onto the end and I didn’t lose anything. I might have sworn out loud when I saw the beginning of the document was solid EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. I panicked. Switched files.
George Randy has the ability to hold eight separate files, so I checked each one. I’m only using three of the others, and those all looked fine. No EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. So I went back to “file 2″, the file holding Chester and Rube. You know what I saw?
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.
Eventually, I decided to try hitting the “end” key to take me to the end of the file. You know what I saw? My file! Apparently the EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSEEEEEEEEEEEEE was tacked on to the beginning of the file, not the end.Chester and Rube are safe. Whew!
This may make people in colder climes upset, but I had to turn on my air conditioning today. I didn’t want to. I held back. I prayed the temperature would drop again before I had to hit the switch. It didn’t happen. I finally went to SoundGuy about an hour ago and told him I was going to have to break down and do it. He laughed at me. Nothing new there.
The high temperature’s hovered around 82 here today, and it wasn’t much cooler indoors. It supposed to stay pretty much the same for the next couple days. But come Thursday we’re back to the upper 60s, and my air condition goes back off. I just wish I could open the windows, but it being springtime with LittleDude’s allergies… that ain’t gonna happen.
There you go. The hodgepodge that is my life. And the timer for my Cacciatore just went off. Talk about timing! Gotta go uncover it. Have a great week!
Thinking Random
by Lynn Daniels on Tuesday, March 3, 2009 at 3:09 pm
~*~
The snow’s melting. The kids went back to school today, and SoundGuy and I ran a couple errands. During today’s travels, we could clearly see that our area was more seriously hit than others; one town we went to had almost no snow left at all! But then we came home, turned in to our subdivision, and it was like entering a different land. Suddenly there was snow everywhere. At least the roads are clear. Life is slowly returning to normal, and this weekend will be a warm one.
There’s so much normalcy returning, I’m even back on the ‘net! Is it weird that once I manage to stay off the internet a couple days I start to think of it as a badge of honor to wear proudly? I’ll look at Frankie, think about opening him up, then decide I can make it another day. And another. And another. And another. I start to test myself. Then I start to feel bad.
I feel bad for not blogging. For not posting my Project 365 photos (which I have continued to take, BTW). For not tweeting. For not updating my Facebook page. It’s sad. Yet still happy.
It’s a blessing. And a curse. (Sorry — I had to add that.)
The good news is that during my time off the internet, I learned a couple things. The first one I just discussed. (Seriously, is it really weird?) The next thing is writing related.
Even though I’d set a daily word quota, I’ve discovered that my schedule doesn’t allow for it. Some days, I don’t get the opportunity to write at all. Other days, I’ve got plenty of time to dedicate to my story. So I’m changing my quota thing. Not 500 words/day anymore. For the month of March, my quota will start at 3000 words/week. We’ll start there and see how it works out.
And I did discover what that conversation between Chester and Rube was to be. I’m still in the process of writing it, as Chester can be quite daft at times. But it’s been great fun.
I think there was another thing I’d discovered about myself, but since I took a break in writing this post, I’ve long since forgotten. 
Ah, well.
Life is back to normal. I’ve got a crochet project to finish. Photos to process (Cub Scout Pinewood Derby was this past Saturday!). A story to finish writing. A house to clean. Laundry to wash. Dinner to cook. And a budding headache to stem.
Excedrin, here I come!
Writer’s Lesson #263
by Lynn Daniels on Tuesday, February 17, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Photo: Kriss Szkurlatowski
When planning to put a project aside for any length of time, be sure and stop at a point that will make for an easy restart.
In other words, don’t stop at a point where, when you pick it back up to work on it again, you look at it and say What the hell? For me, this is yet another lesson learned. The hard way. But let’s be honest here. Is there really any other way to truly learn a lesson? Even if it should have totally been common sense?
How did I learn this lesson, you ask? Besides the hard way? Well, I’ll tell you. As I mentioned in yesterday’s Do-Over post, today would be my Do-Over start day. The day I’d read through Chester and Rube, and my first day to add 500 words. So I pulled out my printout to get started.
A quick glance at my print out immediately told me something was wrong. 37 pages in lovely Lori Devoti’s ARC format. Since this was a NaNoWriMo project, and I’d won NaNoWriMo, I knew I’d written more than 50,000 words. And something told me 50,000 words would work out to more 37 pages. So, being the logical human being I am, I opened my original file, converted it to ARC, and discovered I was absolutely right (no surprise there — just ask SoundGuy — I’m always right ::snork::). I didn’t have 37 pages worth of story, I had 86. 86!
Next step: print, print, print. Print, print. Print.
As the story was printing, I took a peek at the last page. Just so I’d have an idea of where I’d been planning to go. And suddenly, I had a major What the hell? moment. I had that moment because I had not obeyed Writer’s Lesson #263 (a totally arbitrary number I pulled from the sky, by the way, I really don’t know if there are 262 lessons that should come before). I had not left off at a good stopping point. I had, in fact, left off at a completely crappy stopping point.
In my own defense, I have not done my full read through yet. It’s entirely possible that once I do the read through I will know exactly what I’d intended to come next, which would make the stopping point not so crappy after all. But as it stands? Fragrant, fly-attracting crap. (Not the writing, just the stopping point.)
How ’bout I share?
When Rube the giant dinosaur finished his breakfast, he reached a giant purple dinosaur hand out and halted Chester the duck with the smart blue felt fedora’s spinny time. Chester stumbled around a little bit, nearly falling forward onto his little ducky bill. He saved himself at the last second, then turned to look at Rube with nearly crossed eyes.
“Please sit down, little buddy,” Rube the giant purple dinosaur said. “We need to talk.”
“Oooh. You’re so serious,” Chester the duck with the smart blue felt fedora said, deepening his voice so he could be serious, too. Yet at the same time, he could tell Rube the giant purple dinosaur really was serious, so he went ahead and plopped down onto his little ducky butt.
“Yes, Chester,” Rube the giant purple dinosaur said. “I am serious, because what we’re about to talk about is a very serious subject.”
Chester the duck with the smart blue felt fedora was about to have a little more fun with his giant purple dinosaur friend, but then he looked into Rube’s eyes. The look in Rube’s eyes didn’t welcome any cutting up. The look in Rube’s eyes said he had something very important on his mind, and that Chester seriously needed to sit down and listen. So Chester did just that. He clamped his little ducky bill shut and listened to what Rube the giant purple dinosaur had to say.
I’m off to start my read-through — all the while praying I’ll figure out what Rube the giant purple dinosaur was about to say to Chester the duck with the smart blue felt fedora. 
I Demand a Do-Over
by Lynn Daniels on Monday, February 16, 2009 at 1:04 pm
~*~
I had a plan. I had plans. I knew exactly what I was going to do. But, as usually happens in a marriage, SoundGuy had plans, too. And because I try to always put my family first, my plans got set aside.
I didn’t read through Chester and Rube. I didn’t get restarted on the writing. I put it all in my messenger bag, intending to take it along and sneak in reading whenever I could. A perfectly viable idea. In the meantime, until things got started, I puttered around the house, working to get a few other things done. I worked on projects I could stop on a dime whenever it was time to leave.
Except that time never came. Without telling me, SoundGuy changed his plans. Our plans. Instead of puttering, I could have been reading. I could have been writing. But I didn’t know that, so I was puttering. It’s reminiscent of the days when I used to find out my travel plans from the people we were traveling to see.
Those darned husbands will do it to you every time.
Yes, I’m blaming the fact that I haven’t started working writing back into my schedule on SoundGuy. The blame falls entirely on his shoulders. I can say that because I know he doesn’t read my blog.
Okay, part of the blame falls on the fact my plate’s a little full. The same week I decided to start writing again, I also started back with FlyLady in order to get the rest of my life and household under control. So even if I didn’t get started on the writing front, my house is already starting to look better. My appointments are under control. I don’t feel like everything is sliding around under the radar, making me crazier and crazier by the second. I take comfort in that.
Still, my first declaration got me nowhere. Didn’t work at all. I declare a do-over. I’m trying again. Since the family’s home today for President’s Day, my do-over starts tomorrow. Tomorrow, after I get my morning FlyLady duties completed, I will read Chester and Rube. After I finish reading, I will add at least 500 words to the story.
And this time, the declaration will take.
Chester and Rube Return
by Lynn Daniels on Thursday, February 12, 2009 at 2:14 pm
~*~
First of all, thanks for all the birthday wishes. The family didn’t forget, and I had a yummy steak at Outback Steakhouse last night (which I didn’t have to cook) followed by a quick visit to Best Buy for my gifts. All in all, not bad. Not bad at all.
Now that the birthday’s past, it’s D-Day. Or my version of D-Day. Maybe I should call it W-Day, as it’s the day I vowed to begin adding writing back into my schedule. Today is the day I promised to post my quotas and get started. So here goes nothing.
I’ve decided I’ll start this process by finishing Chester and Rube, my NaNoWriMo project. This is for a couple reasons:
- While writing may be a bit like riding a bike — something you never forget how to do — it is possible to lose the ability to do well. So I’d hate to ease back into writing by writing crap into something I want to submit for publication. Chester and Rube, while a full length story, is not something I ever intended to submit. Even if I did, I wouldn’t know where to start. But it is a fun story, and I had fun writing it, so it needs to be finished.
- Chester and Rube needs to be finished as a tribute to MiniMe. She helped me brainstorm the story, and I think we did a bit of bonding during the course of it. MiniMe deserves a finished story. Plus I promised her we’d go ahead and have it printed through the POD publisher I heard about through NaNoWriMo.
- Last, but most certainly not least, Chester and Rube just needs to be finished. I hate the idea of having yet another half-written story out there.
Here’s my plan. Today, as soon as I finish my chores (gawd — it took me 3 TRIES to type that word!), I’ll be giving Chester and Rube a good read-thru. Mostly to re-familiarize myself with the story and to figure out where I’d left off. Then starting tomorrow, I’ll write. For the first week, I’m setting a 500 word/day quota. I don’t have to stop at 500 words, but I must produce at least 500 words. 500 good words. That’s easy enough, don’t you think?
Then starting a week from Monday (that would be February 23), the quota goes up to 1000 words. Depending on how I do with that quota, I’ll either keep it there for March, or up it to 1500 March 1st.
So there’s my plan. While I’m not giving myself a deadline for finishing the story, I now have daily quotas I must meet. Who knows — that may change to weekly quotas instead. We’ll see.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got chores to finish. And a soccer game to Mapquest.
Random Photo
Twittering
NaNoWriMo
