Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  Revisions for Garrett's book are going slow. I'm cutting and writing completely new scenes and rewriting a lot of the others. I'm participating in Sarra Cannon's Rough Draft Challenge this month as a way to keep myself on track with the edits. I'd really like to have them completed by December 1st. 

Motivational Quote:  "Put the fear aside and do the basics." ~ Ingrid Betancourt (Colombian politician and activist)

What I'm Reading:  I'm currently reading The Steps: A Memoir by Sylvester Stallone. I don't usually read memoirs, but this was recommended to me and I promised the person I would read it. I should finish it either tonight or tomorrow evening.

Random Things:  We're forecasted to get our first snow of the season later this week. Can I say how much I'm hoping the meteorologists in my area are wrong? Laughs. I know we won't make it through the winter without any snow, but I'm hoping the strong El Nino will keep the snow to an absolute minimum. During a normal winter, we average about 110 inches of snow in my area. I'm hoping with El Nino's help we'll get less than 60 inches this year. We've also been spoiled with much higher than normal temperatures last week. One day it reached a high of 80 degrees and broke a record from 1883. As a person who is not a fan of the winter, I'm hoping we break a lot more of those records this winter. 

Random Photo:

                Somebody enjoying a Sunday afternoon nap. I think he had the right idea. 
 

 

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  I went through each chapter and wrote the important plot points and what interactions the two main characters had on index cards. It made it easier to see that the emotional connection/romance between the two characters is lacking. I wrote out notes for each chapter that I hope will fix the issue. I also wrote notes to tighten up the plot and the main female character's conflict. I'll start revisions using the index cards and notes this morning.

Motivational Quote:  "Don't whine, don't complain, don't make excuses. Just do the best you can. Nobody can do more than that." ~ John Wooden (American basketball coach quoting his father)

What I'm Reading:  I'm not currently reading anything. I requested The Steps (Sylvester Stallone's memoir) through our county's inter-library loan system. I received a notice that it's in transit to my local library so I'm hoping it'll be ready for me to pick it up tomorrow or Wednesday. Once I do, I'll be reading it the remainder of the week.

Random Things:  I don't really watch any sports other than the Olympics but I came across the above motivational quote a few days after I got the feedback on Garrett's book from my editor and beta readers. I wanted to whine and complain and I probably did for a few days. Laughs. But I knew if I wanted this book to be the best it could possibly be, I'd have to do the hard work of figuring out how to fix it and to do the work to make it a story people would want to read and would enjoy. Sometimes I think the universe puts these quotes in my path right when I need to see/read them the most.

Random Photo:

I bought a new planning notebook. It's the 6 ring binder type so I can reuse it instead of buying a new planning notebook or journal for each book. 
 

 

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  Had an okay week writing wise. I'm going to do Camp NaNoWriMo this month. It officially starts today, April 1st. I'm hoping by participating, it'll help me get between 25k and 30k written in April. 

Motivational Quote: "I believe any success in life is made by going into an area with a...furious optimism." ~ Sylvester Stallone

What I'm Reading: I finished The Boy Who Cried Bear by Kelley Armstrong last night. It's the second book in the Haven's Rock series. I'll start a new book tonight but I haven't chosen one yet. I have four books I borrowed from the library so it'll be one of those. 

Random Thoughts: My cat, Mrs. Green, likes to sit on my lap in the evenings. Usually when I'm trying to do something that makes it difficult for her to sit on my lap like crocheting. When she does settle in and get comfortable, I hate to disturb her. It's become a joke among my family that I can't do anything if the cat is on my lap. Change out "dog" for "cat" and I could be Charlie Brown in the picture below.

Random Photo: