Progress

471486781_3564bca14d_o
Originally uploaded by mariecoppla

Well, let me say that I didn't quite meet my goals.

I did write the letter of rec, BUT not until the girl came and sat next to me and waited until I finished it, which was around 2:45.

I did write some more pages, however it was more like 3 total in 3 days instead of the 12 I originally had proposed - BUT Friday doesn't end until midnight so technically, I still have time and I'm going to write from 5:00 until 8:00.

I didn't do anything with the travel query BUT I did become Facebook friends with a girl I met while traveling, so that cancels out my failure to send submissions - I mean, people are more important than words, right? And I can eventually write about how we met and then I'll have two travel articles to shop around. Brilliant.

I didn't print any of my manuscript BUT ink is expensive and well, it was Earth Day a few days ago so I can justify not printing because I was, um, conserving paper and saving trees.

Hmm. What will my excuses be today?? I had to Tweet? I had to update my Facebook status? I had to write this blog?

Excuses, friends, are everywhere if you look for them and procrastination is more enticing than a candy aisle, which is why it's no wonder we often do not meet our own deadlines or the deadlines of others.

So, what's the secret formula, the magic trick to turning on inspiration and motivation at the exact same time?

There isn't one. You just have to suck it up and get to work (although I do think working on a computer that does not have access to the Internet is as close as some of us are going to get to an elixir).

Which is why in 14 minutes, after I look at pictures of flowers that could possibly work with my wedding colors, I'm going to pretend that the Internet just died and start writing and I'm going to write for 3 hours and at the end of those 3 hours, maybe I'll have met my goal.

Then, I'm going to curl up on the couch with Pinkerton, some sushi delivery, and watch Grey Gardens as my reward.

Remember - you are the only thing that you can control.

Today's Writing Check List

Self Critique Checklist
Originally uploaded by changeorder

1. Start a new Scotland chapter - write MINIMUM of 3 pages. DO NOT open up the ongoing document for fear of editing and revising instead of writing.

DEADLINE: Friday. 12 pages by Friday.

2. Begin printing manuscript, 20 pages at a time?

3. Letter of rec. - get this done by 2:10

4. Mass mail travel article query - revise to mention status as a simultaneous submission

5. Draft weekend writing schedule - another Scotland chapter, 12 pages, by Sunday evening.

Chapter Length

Chapter One, Stroud Green, N4
Originally uploaded by Ewan-M

At this moment, my YA novel is 172 pages which contain 53,130 words, and are divided into 13 chapters. I'm trying to alternate chapters back and forth between 2 concurrent plot lines; one takes place in Central PA and the other is occurring in Scotland.

I have a few issues currently:

1. I have 7 PA chapters and only 2 Scotland chapters.
2. I have 2 prologue chapters containing backstory (the remaining 2 chapters are PA/Scotland interaction chapters ie. phone calls, IM sessions, etc between the PA/Scotland characters
3. My chapters range from 8 to 24 pages. Most are in the 10-11 range but two fall into the 20 - 24 range. This can easily be solved by dividing those 2 into 4 chapters, which would take me to 15 chapters.
4. I need to add 5 Scotland chapters, which would push me to 19 chapters and approx. 230 pages.
5. I then need to finish the novel - perhaps 6 additional chapters? which would put me at my goal of 300 pages

Lost of work - my big question is, what is the perfect chapter length?

My Writing Life

Write Your Self
Originally uploaded by renmeleon

So, I've decided to add a function to this blog because, well, I'm pragmatic and economical. I've kept several blogs over the course of the past few years, but most of them have fallen to the wayside or I'm no longer interested in maintaining them.

Plus, I just have too many forums in my life right now and I need to consolidate. That's why I'm going to use this blog not just to keep you up to date on assignments and news related to reading, but also to chronicle my journey as a writer.

2009 is the year I've dedicated to finishing my YA novel (hopefully by June) and perhaps my other writing project, which I'm not quite ready to talk about yet, for no other reason than it's barely underway.

So, if you're interested you can follow along on my journey and I'll keep you in the know about my progress, my frustrations, the creative process, the editing process, the publishing circus, etc.

I read an article in Writer's Digest this past weekend on getting published and one of the tips it gave was "to establish an online presence". Well, I don't think it was referring to my Facebook account or even my Twitter feed, so I'm going to use this to get that going.

Feel free to send this link to anyone interested in writing, reading, publishing, or good ole fashioned voyeurism.

Did I spell that right?