Did I learn ANYTHING in February?
February’s Overall Goal:
Overhaul most of Eren’s POV.
Goal Met?
Meh. I guess you could say it was met. I got about halfway through the first draft. More on this down the page.
Weekly Check-ins of February
My friend Alex and I have been checking in weekly with our writing progress. It helps us stay accountable with our writing. And it has helped me to realize some of my writing patterns and habits.
Here’s what February looked like!
What I learned in February
I am most likely to write, and have a session that really “felt good,” when I do any of the following:
I decide to just write for a minimum of 10 or 15 minutes (or a sand-timer’s worth). It often unfurls into a much longer writing session. Sometimes it’s hard to even leave the desk
I write at a coffee shop
I write with an ambience video
I treasure the moments I spare to write poetry. Writing doesn’t have to look like sitting down at my novel. Writing can look like anything that is writing. That is freeing for me to remember this!
Highlights of February
I have been able, so far, to change Eren’s setting with a fair amount of ease. His setting is shifting from an army-like establishment, to a prison establishment… there are similarities (the regiment and forced asceticism) that have made the shift easier than it might have been had it been a different setting-shift.
I’m about halfway through the first draft… which means I am about halfway done with the second draft. Did that make any sense to you?
I ATTENDED A WRITING CLASS. Led by Courtney Turcotte-Bond (author: Breathtaking) and Jay Asher (author: 13 Reasons Why). First half was on Writing Well. Second half was about Publishing.
I think I will write a blog about Publishing at some point… my thoughts about which type of Publishing I am leaning toward with Ever-bound.
March Goals!
March Overall Goal:
Finish Eren’s 2nd Draft
Obstacles to overcome for March
Some obstacles I ran into last month - and which I will need to be aware of for March - included…
Emotionally / mentally drained after work
Over-crowding my week without setting boundaries for my needs.
Yeah, actually. That’s my main obstacle; not setting boundaries.
Some ways I think may help me overcome my obstacles include:
Try to be in bed by 10pm
Make sure I take breaks at work (I haven’t been)
Establish a need for silence / writing time after dinner (tv noise is not conducive)
Continue writing poetry and writing snippets through my days
Continue coffee shop, ambience video, and sand-timer sessions
Projected Highlights for March
Sending in my first 10 pages of Ever-bound to Courtney and Jay! It will be SO NICE and SCARY to have some published authors taking a look at this monster.
March 26th 10:30am to 12pm, author Liisa Eyerly will be at Vaughn Public Library! Looking forward to some more writerly talk, learning about her book, and maybe making a new connection. She’s a Christian author, which is an additionally exciting element to me; hoping to discuss how she incorporates her faith into her story-telling.
Tell me about some writerly obstacles you’ve faced - and how you have maneuvered around them, or plan to maneuver around them. Name the demons and they will flee!
I will share your answer, with permission, in another blog or YT video.
