Git R Done

Sometimes as a writer, you have to yell at yourself. Not out loud, because then you just look crazy, and lets face it, some of us already give off that vibe. :)

No by that I mean, we have to set schedules. Set boundaries. Make a list of goals for the day and stick to it. Turn of the twitter, turn off the Facebook. If you are a writer you have heard that before. For me many times I have to remind myself to post on here.  I generally have to list out, at least mentally, everything I need to finish in a day. And while I can write a blog with Facebook and twitter still open, I have to close them while writing.  One thing I discovered during the first draft of Mistaken was WriteOrDie. I  paid the 10 bucks and got the desktop version that goes full screen while I am in it. It makes it much easier for me to get in 1000-2000 words in one sitting. It also makes it harder to do anything else while it's full screen.

I like the fact that it forces you to just write. Plenty of my first draft has to get revised, but at least I am getting the story out. Fine-tuning is for revisions. Now that I have gotten half of my writing goal in for the day, I allowed myself sometime to blog and check facebook, but I already know I need to do one more WriteOrDie session before I can call it quits for the day.  On my list of to do's today is also:

• Finish print format of Mistaken (final edits aren't done, but taking care of this now so it isn't a headache later).
• Catch up on blogs I follow (getting back to being an active member of the online writing community)
• Work on fliers/posters for book release
• contact Cafe owner where book release party will be
• go to work (booooo)

In the meantime, here are some good blog about forming good writing habits you should check out. Both have some great ideas to keep you on track to your word count.

Zoe Winters: I'll JustCheck Email Real Quick

Yarn-A-Go-Go: How To Write A Novel

Silver lining?

Despite all the poo connected with having to switch departments at work I am now looking on the bright side. While my pay cut suck (I'm talking nearly a 30% cut in pay), it could be worse pay for the work I do.Honestly for the most part, I usually enjoy what I do.  I get to sit in an office and most days have very little human interaction besides the couple of co-workers, my boss, and occasionally her boss. Sometimes I get  pissed off, but usually my work days are not too bad.

Before my current role I did several months as a supervisor, which I did like, but it consumed my life. I was easily working 50 + hours, rarely taking lunch or breaks (except for the occasional potty break which even then was hard to come by). When I wasn't at work, I was worried about work.

And suddenly I wondered why I had no energy to write anything. Or just do some leisurely reading. While I can't blame everything on work, I can say this was a big reason I fell off the face of the blogosphere and twitterverse.

Where I am now at work, I generally only work my 40 hours. I get my hour lunch, and I take my breaks. When I go home,  I am home and my mind is free to think about other things.  Not all the stress in my life is gone, but I am able  to get back to what really matters.

First and foremost, my family.
Secondly, my writing (Hell, I even have time to read again!)

And thirdly, I am sorry but I have to add it... roller derby is also a big part of my life right now. (Got to keep myself physically fit and this certainly does the job!)

I am doing my best to bounce back with everything and look on the bright side.

Sure my work schedule generally isn't ideal, I rarely ever get a weekend night off or even 2 consecutive days. But on the bright side, I am usually home during one week day which allows me to be alone to work on things such as writing. Also working late nights on the weekend, things are generally slow and it affords me some time to work on ... you guessed it ...WRITING!

Another thing, being in the predicament I am in...with money being tight now that I am no longer the big breadwinner I was, there is a bigger fire under my ass to accomplish my goals for my writing career. And to keep writing.

Do I want to sit in my office at work, making what I make, or do I want to get my writing out there and try to make a living (be it  part-time, or eventually full-time) as a writer?

Worst-case scenario... I don't make diddly squat. I am in no worse shape than my current situation.

So thanks job...Initially taking the cut that I did felt like the equivalent of being trampled by a herd of elephant after six years (almost seven) of working my butt off for the same company. Because you have inspired me even more so to get my ass out there as a writer.

Who knows? Maybe one day I won't need a job...maybe one day this will be my job full-time.

If that's what this all leads to, dealing with all that crap will have been worth it.

You Say I'm A Dreamer, But I'm Not

I loved Dinner for Schmucks. Hilarious movie. Steve Carell's character was loveable yet drove you nuts at the same time.  There was one scene in the movie that although it makes me laugh because he misinterprets a great John Lennon song, it also makes me think.

"You say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not."

Really the line from the song is "You say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one." While I love this song. Maybe the schmuck got it right.

I've been trying to prep myself for this headlong dive into finally publishing. It seems surreal, exciting and at times somewhat terrifying. I remembered I had downloaded Smart Self-Publshing: Becoming an Indie Author by Zoe Winters a while back. And while I had read a good portion of it, I went back this past week and started re-reading it. She has some great advice and is definitely someone I find to be a decent role model in this indie world.

Among all the good advice Zoe has managed to pack into this book one thing stuck out in particular. Something that really can be applied to anyone, not just a writer.

Dreamers are those that think about all the what if's and wouldn't it be nice. They don't actually DO anything, but dream...

But those that set goals...well they work toward them. Not to talk about the all-mighty roller derby again but, I set a goal to be able to play in games. I passed my tests...and now I will probably be playing in a game soon!

For the longest time I always said I wanted to be a writer. I wanted to publish something and have people read my books. Dreaming about it didn't get me anywhere.

It wasn't until I got off my lazy ba-donk-a-donk, finished my drafts, finished all the initial edits and started actually working towards publishing it that anything got done.

I know this is sort of a well  DUH post, but I just thought sometimes we need a reminder to stop dreaming and start setting goals. Things feel so much harder to obtain when we are dreaming about them. But they become a reality when we start striding toward them.

So my goals right now are finish the final edit, get Mistaken to the publisher and formatted and uploaded for electronic sales.

As I finish reading her book I plan to set some more goals as well as figure out more my road map.

It is sometimes hard for us to actually grasp when one of our goals is within our grasp, and I feel like that is where I am now.

Just a few more steps...

Check out Zoe winter's blog here  .

Critiques & Improvements

I finally got up the nerve to join a writing group. I got my first critique today and I have to say it was helpful and really insightful. Some of the things I was told, I had sort of been aware of but all in all it was nice to get an unbiased opinion on my writing and to hear it wasn't completely horrible. Though, as a writer I think we usually have some level of confidence in our abilities, otherwise we would never try.

I just purchased "How Not to Write A Novel" so that I can read it on my kindle. I have heard so many good reviews about this book so I thought I'd give it a shot. I will probably post some of my thoughts and comments from it on here.

Speaking of writing tips, there are tons of great writing blogs that I have been lucky enough to find. In the list of blogs I follow you should definitely browse through some of them.  One of my particular favorites has to be Jodie Renner's blog. She is an editor and a retired teacher. She has great advice and tips on her blog.

I don't have much to say today, I have been a little bit under the weather this week, so you may not hear from me til Episode One of  Tales In Midtown. I can promise this first episode should fun....twisted fun.

-Rayvenne