Tuesday, September 2, 2014

My very first risotto

So one thing I do besides write is cook. I'm not sure which I've been doing longer, writing or cooking, but both started when I was about 7. Mostly I loved making desserts, especially cake. Which is funny because no one in my family besides my mother liked cake. My mother used to say the oven timer would ring and no one would know what was coming out.
 
So fast forward a few years and a dietetics degree later, I'm still cooking and making crazy things. This weekend I made a cornbread salad and lemon chiffon cupcakes with lemon zest on top for a draft party. Then for my dad's birthday my sisters and I made five kinds of kebabs and ten tons of food topped off by my famous cherry pie. It is made with real cherries that I picked and pitted myself. It's one of my very favorite dishes.
 
And today I made something that I've been wanting to make for some time now: risotto. I looked for some recipes, but couldn't find one I liked. And I wanted to use my rice maker as I so infrequently get to use it. So I made one up. And luckily it worked, and I was so proud of it.
 
My first risotto, I'm so proud!
It doesn't look as pretty as it tasted, but my picky six year-old ate it, so you know it had to be good! Now, if you would like to steal my recipe, here it is:
 
1 cup onions, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 cup Arborio rice
2 cup chicken broth
3 cup milk
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
3 tbsp. sun dried tomatoes, diced
2 tbsp. fresh basil, cut into ribbons
1 cup corn (I used frozen)
5 pieces bacon, cooked and crumbled
 
Sauté the onions  in the butter and olive oil for 3 minutes. Then add garlic and sauté for another 2 minutes. Add in the rice and stir until coated. Add in the chicken broth and milk and stir. I had my rice maker do the work, but you cook until the liquid is absorbed and it makes a creamy texture. Then I added in the cheese, tomatoes, basil, and corn. I let them melt in with the risotto and seasoned with salt and pepper. Garnish with bacon and some extra basil if you have it.

Sunday, August 31, 2014

September Reading List

Deception (Defiance, #2)August is almost over and I feel like a big failure. It's been a hectic month, so my reading and writing have been suffering a bit. It didn't hit me until I saw that the next book in C.J. Redwine's Defiance series came out. So now I'm attacking Deception with a vengeance. Now I thought I'd give you a look into the next couple of books on my reading list. And you get to love on the beautiful covers. Love them!




Deliverance (Defiance, #3) Deliverance by C.J. Redwine











Graceling (Graceling Realm, #1)

 Graceling by Kristin Cashore











15839984
Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge











May Day (Murder-by-Month Mystery, #1)Ordinary Grace
 May Day by Jess Lourey (A super awesome lady that I met at MWW)

 










Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger (Another super awesome instructor from MWW)

Fiona Street

 Fiona Street by Stephen Michael Loy (A fantastic writer in my critique group)











I'm still looking for some good YA dystopian based on weather related issues or racial issues. So if anyone knows a good one, please let me know!


Thank you to Goodreads for the covers.

Monday, August 11, 2014

Ready, Set, WRITE! Week 10




 
RSW is a summer writing intensive hosted by Jaime Morrow, Alison Miller, Katy Upperman, and Erin Funk. You can sign up on the linky at any of the host blogs every Monday. Remember to encourage other participants too! For more info on RSW and a link to the lovely buttons, go here.
 
1. How I did on last week’s goals
Well, I didn't make last week's goals, so I'll just update from the week before.
  • Revise two chapters in HB- I got about one and a half done then got blocked by major problems.
  • Work on SI- This I actually did. I got about 1,000 words written.
  • Revise synopsis- Still procrastinating
2. My goal(s) for this week
  • Revise two chapters in HB
  • Write a new chapter in SI 
  • Read every day
 
3. A favorite line from my story OR one word/phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised.
His only ambition in life was to own his own farm. And marry me. The man has no sense.
4. The biggest challenge I faced this week.
Life getting in the way. Two weeks ago was garage sale cleaning week. And last week was first week of school for the kiddos. I'm really hoping things will start cooling down!

5. Something I love about my WiP.
I love having two WIPs. When I get annoyed or discouraged with one, I move to the other. It keeps me from getting so stuck.


How did you do this week?
I'd love to hear from you!

  
 

Saturday, August 9, 2014

5 Adjectives: Passion, more than just the fruit

flirting awkwardlyOne of my favorite questions to ask on interviews is: Give me 5 adjectives to describe yourself. To me, it is always the most telling of the questions. If you're worth anything then you come to the interview prepared for most questions, but this one always seems to get people. Everyone usually has no trouble with the first three, you pick the easy, generic stuff- hardworking, dedicated, loyal. Adjectives that tell us really nothing, it's those last two that you sit there and struggle with, but it means that those are the ones that are real. Those are two that you just had to examine yourself right there on the spot and say, I am: blank.

Over my fantastic time away at Midwest Writers Conference I got an opportunity to do a pitch, with a super real agent, which actually seemed silly to me. I got three minutes to go in to an agent who has been at it all day and try to get her to fall in love with my book. So you work really hard to put together this beautiful, quick blurb about your book and why it is so awesome. But what if it were a job interview? What if I had to answer that question and give that agent 5 adjectives to describe me as an author? And on that not-really-that-long drive home I thought about me and what makes me special.

So here's my first adjective: PASSION

Disney named a princess after me and made her
act just like me.
And yes, Disney making a princess named after me that reminds me so much of myself. This is what I looked like talking to people about my book and my planned books and their books and learning about how to write books and books in general and, well, let's just leave it at I was excited. I am passionate about writing. I buried it for a while, trying to get out from under the "artist" stigma and worked towards a real profession so that I could do the fluffy stuff on the side. But it burst out of me, when I least expected it.

Once I embraced my passion, things started to fall into place for me. I feel like myself when I'm writing or thinking about my stories. I remember the first time I was explaining a new story to my sister and I could barely sit still. People sometimes think I'm a little off my rocker, but to be fair, they thought that before I started writing.

So whatever you do, writing, knitting, or making spreadsheets, make sure that you feel that passion. It's what motivates you to get up in the morning and gets you through the day. So find your passion, embrace it, love it, live it, and share it with others. And then maybe have some of that fruit. I hear it's really good.


I'll be posting the other 4 adjectives next. What adjectives best describe you?


Thank you http://www.reactiongifs.com/ for the wonderful gifs. Especially of Anna, she's my favorite.


Monday, July 28, 2014

Ready, Set, WRITE! Week 8


RSW is a summer writing intensive hosted by Jaime Morrow, Alison Miller, Katy Upperman, and Erin Funk. You can sign up on the linky at any of the host blogs every Monday. Remember to encourage other participants too! For more info on RSW and a link to the lovely buttons, go here.

 
1. How I did on last week’s goals
 
Laughable, but amazing. I did not revise my synopsis, I printed all the copies and left them on my computer desk. I felt like a total failure.

But what happened at Midwest Writer's was so much better than any of that. I learned so much in those few couple of days. I met so many other amazing authors and we got to share our passion.

And I did write, just not what I had intended. I worked on a new WIP, a YA apocalyptic I'm calling SI, that really began flowing during classes. I used the exercises to write my opening and I mapped out the world building.

2. My goal(s) for this week


Revise 2 chapters on HB. 

Finish synopsis for HB.

Continue world building and character development for SI.


 
Read at least 30 minutes each day. My booklist has gotten way too long!

3. A favorite line from my story OR one word/phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised.


Of all the animals that survived that winter, Daisy had to be one of them. She laid there, lifeless, as I tiptoed down the hall. Worst guard-dog ever.

4. The biggest challenge I faced this week.

The conference was so busy, that I didn't have a whole lot of time for free writing. Now I just have so many great ideas I hardly know where to start!
5. Something I love about my WiP.


I love the way people looked at me when I told them my quick pitch and said, wow that's different.

How did you do this week? I'd love to hear from you!

  
 

Monday, July 21, 2014

Ready, Set, WRITE! Week 7




RSW is a summer writing intensive hosted by Jaime Morrow, Alison Miller, Katy Upperman, and Erin Funk. You can sign up on the linky at any of the host blogs every Monday. Remember to encourage other participants too! For more info on RSW and a link to the lovely buttons, go here.
 
 
 
1. How I did on last week’s goals
 
Really well, two goals completed and the last, well... My super helpful link for the week is from Janice Hardy's website: Living in My Head: Crafting Natural-Sounding Internal Thoughts

Revise two chapters in WIP - Actual success! I revised two chapters and started on a third. I
was really on a roll for a while.


Final revision of query letter - Finished the final revisions, I think it's good enough to take to MWW14.


Revise synopsis - I took a look at it Sunday night, but I don't think it really counts.

 
2. My goal(s) for this week
 It's Midwest Writer's Week, I'm so excited!!! So my goals are different for this week.

  • Revise synopsis by Wednesday 
  • Print copies of materials to share at MWW14 
  • Learn!
 
3. A favorite line from my story OR one word/phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised.

“Would it not have been easier to put a pea under my pillow?” she mumbled.

“Easier, but less enjoyable for me,” he said with a smirk.
4. The biggest challenge I faced this week.

Sadness. Being stuck in my chair did have it's benefits and I started the week out great. But when two big traumas hit me on Friday, I pretty much went down the rabbit hole. I think I finally dug my way out, but it was a bummer two days for writing.

5. Something I love about my WiP.


Since it's a fairy tale it's all about getting to your happily ever after. And it's a nice goal to work toward. I mean, you have to get dragged through tar and muck to get there, but who shouldn't have to work towards a happy ending?


How did you do this week?
I'd love to hear from you!

  
 

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

What's up Wednesday 7/15/14



Yea! It's time for the What's Up Wednesday weekly blog hop created Jaime Morrow and  Erin Funk. Thank you both for connecting writers together, this is great!


WHAT I'M READING

Defiance (Defiance #1)
Still reading Defiance by C. J. Redwine. I have to stop myself from reading because I had so much going on this weekend. I can't wait to finish though so I can hop on the next book in the series.

 
WHAT I'M WRITING

I did some final edits on my query and submitted to QueryDrill. If you haven't heard of this, it was started by an intern slush pile reader and they will read your query for you and give you feedback before you query to actual agencies. A wonderful opportunity for newbie writers like myself.

I sat down today and actually revised an entire chapter. I'm hitting the midpoint where things have turned in a totally different direction and both my MCs are going through massive changes. So I'm hoping to feel a little more excited with the newness of it.

WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW


I'm getting really excited for Midwest Writer's Conference and a little nervous. I hate going places and not knowing anyone there, but I'm hoping to meet some wonderful new people.

Outstanding series have been inspiring me lately. There was a Harry Potter marathon this weekend on ABC Family and I fall in love with J.K. Rowling's ability every time. The minute details in the first book that had an impact right in the very end, just amazing. I love to analyze a story and figure out each layer within the story. Wandlore, race relations, dark magic, light magic, love, family (both biological and other), culture differences, I could go on and on. Is there anything Harry Potter doesn't touch? It sets a standard for writing that I will hold, probably forever.


WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO


Monday I was pretty much in a daze after having a not-so-fun procedure. Everything went well, but I slept most of Monday. The big upside is that I get to be on bed rest for a couple of days and I'm supposed to take it slow for a few more after that. So I got to be attached to my laptop yesterday and I plan on doing more work on WIP while under the restriction. Always looking for the silver linings!

How is everyone else doing?

Monday, July 14, 2014

Ready, Set, Write! Week 6





 
 
RSW is a summer writing intensive hosted by Jaime Morrow, Alison Miller, Katy Upperman, and Erin Funk. You can sign up on the linky at any of the host blogs every Monday. Remember to encourage other participants too! For more info on RSW and a link to the lovely buttons, go here.
 
1. How I did on last week’s goals
I got some things accomplished, but not as much as I had hoped.
  • Revise two chapters in WIP- Big fail, I got about half of one chapter. I did put the last revised chapter through critique group on Thursday. I'm glad that I waited because I have new things to take into account for the next chapter.
  • Revise query letter- Finished and critiqued, ready for final touches
  • Revise synopsis- Big fail
2. My goal(s) for this week
 I'm not really sure how to predict this week. I am having a procedure done today and I'll be restricted for most of the week. While this means I'll have isolated attachment to my laptop, I also don't know how I'll feel about writing. But I'll shoot on the ambitious side, I can only hope for the best.
  • Revise two chapters in WIP
  • Final revision of query letter
  • Revise synopsis
 
3. A favorite line from my story OR one word/phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised.
My new hook:  When Mirea meets the handsome king, she is intrigued by him, but appalled by his offer: become his mistress and all her family's debts will be forgiven.

4. The biggest challenge I faced this week.
Nerves. Preoccupation with the procedure has taken over my brain. I started off the week gang busters, but have been slacking this weekend.

5. Something I love about my WiP.
It gave me a new hope. When things are looking bad, it's the one thing I can come back to and know that it's possible for things to get better.


How did you do this week?
I'd love to hear from you!

  
 

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

What's Up Wednesday 7/9/14



Yea! It's time for the What's Up Wednesday weekly blog hop created Jaime Morrow and  Erin Funk. Thank you both for connecting writers together, this is great!


WHAT I'M READING


Defiance (Defiance #1)I had a plan, I downloaded the book and everything. And then I found an even newer, shinier book. So now I'm addicted to Defiance by C. J. Redwine. I figure the series should keep me busy for a good while.

 




WHAT I'M WRITING


Still working on edits for WiP, I can almost see a light at the end of the tunnel, but I'm still dragging. I also re-wrote my query letter with the help of Shannon Messenger's Shannon Style Series. I'm revising it to upload to AbsoluteWrite and get some feedback today.

WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW


A deadline. Midwest Writer's Conference is two weeks away, and I want to have as much as I can ready to go. That includes my query letter, my synopsis, and an edited first draft (or as much as I can manage). We'll see how much of that I can get done.

WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO


Our family got to take a fun camping trip for the 4th of July. My kids had a great time with both sets of grandparents, an aunt and uncle, and their favorite cousin Rosie! And I got to have a great time hanging out with my baby sister. The big highlight of the trip was watching her fiancé save a man from drowning. I am still in awe of how quickly he responded, with no training whatsoever, just pure instinct.

I can't wait to hear from the rest of you!

Monday, July 7, 2014

Ready, Set, WRITE! 2014 Week 5









RSW is a summer writing intensive hosted by Jaime Morrow, Alison Miller, Katy Upperman, and Erin Funk. You can sign up on the linky at any of the host blogs every Monday. Remember to encourage other participants too! For more info on RSW and a link to the lovely buttons, go here.

1. How I did on last week’s goals
Oh my, very poorly. I was very excited to have a three day camping weekend away (hence the water button). There would be tons of grandparents around that wanted time with the kids and I thought I might get some time for writing. Unfortunately, I only got one chapter revised, but a lot of time to just be (and some time to read).


2. My goal(s) for this week
Now I get to play catch up and freak out.


  • Revise two chapters in WIP
  • Revise query letter
  • Revise synopsis
 
3. A favorite line from my story OR one word/phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised."Life does not work as in the stories that mothers tell their children. This is real life and I am accepting my lot in it."4. The biggest challenge I faced this week.
My husband lovingly demanded that I put my laptop away and just breathe for the weekend. It was good for my family, but I had expected to revise two extra chapters on the trip. Now I am in a hurry because Midwest Writer's Conference is in two weeks and I want to have as much as I can ready to take with me.

5. Something I love about my WiP.
Raw emotion. Sometimes while writing/reading it feels like I am in the emotions of my characters. It's an incredible feeling.

I can't wait to hear from others. How did you do this week?

  
 

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

What's Up Wednesday 7/2/14




What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created Jaime Morrow and  Erin Funk, to help connect writers on this writing journey. Thank you both for connecting us all, this is great!


WHAT I'M READING


At the recommendation of Katie Conigliaro @paperbackplanes I downloaded Graceling by Kristen Cashore. I plan on reading that during my 4th of July camping trip.

WHAT I'M WRITING


Halfway through editing my WIP, an adult fairy tale. I just finished the pivotal scene that takes everything in a different direction. I am hoping to plan out my next MS on my camping trip or at least narrow down my choices. Maybe I'll put up a poll to ask for help!

WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW


My sucky job inspires me to finish this MS up. I need a little something to look forward to, even if it is rejection. And Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is on. Always good. :)
And the song When the Love Runs Out. It fits in really well with the chapter I'm editing.

WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO


This week has pretty much been planning and packing for camping. I'm hoping to get some writing done in the peaceful quiet, but it doesn't always work out for me. At least I'll get to hang with the family. And I'm making lemon raspberry Jell-O shots. So I got that to look forward to.

Monday, June 30, 2014

Ready, Set, WRITE! (Week 4, or 1 for me!)

So I just found out about this wonderful opportunity and thought I might try my hand at it. Thank you to the wonderful women who set RSW up: Alison Miller, Katy Upperman, Erin Funk, and Jamie Morrow.

HOW I DID ON LAST WEEK'S GOALS

I am chocking it up to a big fat failure. I had intended to revise multiple chapters and I only finished one, but it was a big one.

MY GOALS FOR THIS WEEK

Revise three chapters of WIP.

ONE PHRASE THAT SUMS UP WHAT I WROTE

 
Torture gets you answers, just maybe not the ones you seek.

THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE I FACED THIS WEEK
 
 
A sinus infection has me sleeping during most of my available writing time.
 
SOMETHING I LOVE ABOUT MY WIP
 
On of my supporting characters is so funny I get excited every time he comes into a scene.

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

My Writing Life, otherwise known as my second job


I remember thinking how hard it was to find time for writing, even when I was doing it for fun. I would write in the small crevices I could carve out of my work day. It was just write, write, write. Now, writing is a second job. 

Once I decided I was going to try and publish my novel, I went from hobbyist to author. I can no longer just sit idle and plop out some words on a keyboard and hope that Word catches all my spelling errors. Of course, it wasn't until I started going to critique group that I learned how truly atrocious my grammar actually was. Now I have so much more.

The day the first draft ended is the day the real work began. That was the day the revising began. Ah yes, the slow, painful process of revising. But then I didn't really know what that meant, so it led me to internet research. So I read a bunch of articles about how to revise a novel, and then I set out to apply them.

but wait there's more - but wait there's more  Billy Mays

 You're also supposed to find a critique group. My in depth internet searching led me to some online critique groups. I started critting, but then I found an actual, real, live, in-person group. And I met them and they are awesome. Two things came out of this group: 1. my technique sucks and 2. this was going to take a long time. The critique group only reviews 3 people per week and 1 chapter/3000 words per person. So it was going to take a while to get through the critiquing portion.
Grammar time!

It hasn't turned out so bad though because I was about halfway through revisions when I got my first real critique back and realized that I had a lot more work to do. So I started from the beginning and worked my way through again. I read more, I critiqued more, and I learned more. In a way, it is just as fun to me as the first draft was, in other ways it is more frustrating because the work keeps piling up.

 Now all through this process I have been researching the publishing world. Researching agents, what they are looking for, how do you get one; in general, what makes this whole process work. And then I found out about this dreaded query letter. And oh, what a dread it is. First, I read through so much Query Shark I thought I might go blind. Then I put it all in the back of my head and got back to revising. After giving it some pause, I wrote one out myself. I have been through countless revisions myself before I decided to put it out there and get feedback. After some wonderful critique there, I re-wrote it, again. Needless to say, it still needs a lot of work. And this is just more time away from the revisions.
Sherlock Frustrated

There are so many other little nuances of the writing world that you can’t overlook either. You have to build a platform, write a blog, get on the tweeter, be a literary steward, and other stuff I’m sure I’m forgetting about. The point is, they’re all there for a reason. Because being an author isn’t just about throwing some words down on a page and calling it a masterpiece. It’s about turning your piece of crap into a masterpiece with time. 

Each little step gets me a little bit closer to my goal. And at the end, I want to put something out there that I'm proud of, not just some crap that I finished up really quick. So I guess this is my long-winded way of saying, do the work, it's worth it.

Author's Note: I forgot the most important one. READ READ READ

Saturday, May 10, 2014

My Other Woman

Alas, it is time to come clean about my other dirty little secret...

It's my garden. And she's beautiful and fun and spunky. After sitting inside all winter, shut out from the bitter cold, having a little fun outside is where it's at! Look at her, she's gorgeous.

Ok, so not really my garden, but you get the gist.

But it's hard to feel good about it when I feel so traitorous inside. I love my novel and I love writing, but at this time of year it's just too nice to not be outside. And yet every time I go outside and put on my purple garden gloves I feel like I'm cheating on my book.

She's like my wife and she's always there and she's comfortable. I get her out every night and play with her a bit, but she's the same boring screen every night. It's the same words, just reading them over and over and over.

mad

Then there's my mistress and she's calling my name. She's colorful and blossoming right before my eyes and I can do all kinds of new things. It's different and vibrant and it makes me feel alive again.

And it makes me feel like a cheater. A dirty little cheater. I promised my novel the world. I was going to have her edited by the end of April and we were going to ride off into submission world together. It was going to be magical.


And then SHE came along and ruined our plans. SHE made me go out and weed all the gardens so she would look just right. SHE made me go to Cox's and buy her all kinds of new plants to pretty her up. SHE is going to take time away each week to make sure she's watered and dined and all the mean little weeds stay away from her. SHE is my demanding little mistress and I CAN'T STAY AWAY!

sexy-rachel-mcadams

What do I get in return from my dirty little mistress? A flared up nasal cavity and postnasal drip. She gave me allergies. I had to go get tested and pricked all over my back just so they could say, "yes, you are allergic to all things green. Please stay away from outside." But I can't. I can't stay away from her, she calls to me every night.

What's worse is that it makes me lie to my novel, my poor, devoted wife. No, no honey, I'll get you finished up by May and then we'll go on submission. Oh wait, you want another chapter revised? Well, we'll see if you can get finished up by June.

But I'm going to do it tonight. I am devoted to my novel and we are going to re-write this entire chapter with a glass of pink Catawba and it's going to be fricken magical!

Unless my husband has anything to say about this. He's rolling his eyes at me right now. I think he thinks my novel is my mistress, I'm not sure how that all fits in...

Really
 
 
Thank you www.all-free-download.com and www.reactiongifs.com for the media.

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Finding inspiration in the oddest of places

So on day 6 of my April plan and I had some mixed success. But to be fair, the first week of April was much crazier than I could have imagined and I felt about this way about writing:


It's slowly coming back, very slowly. But I've accomplished a few things that are on the list. I now have a very rough query and synopsis. And I've made a lot of improvements to my plot and writing style. I just have been a little negligent on the editing part.

What I have found is that inspiration come to me in the oddest of places. One day I was out in the garden and all of the sudden I was struck with a brilliant idea for a new scene that tied together a few things that have been plaguing me for months. This became my inspiration:



If you're asking what that is, it's a bucket of worms. One of my very few hobbies aside from writing is my gardening and part of that is vermicomposting. Which means I have two worm buckets that do all my composting for me. And in the spring I get to dig in the dirt and collect every worm I can find. It's so much fun. Ok, maybe it's just me. But it's mindless, I get to clear my head of anything except dirt and finding those ever elusive worms. And once my head is clear and I'm not thinking about work or what my kids glued to the wall or my grocery shopping list, my imagination finally come out to play. The trick is transferring that to my computer after I got inside and had to cook dinner and put my kids to bed!

Then I had another little push on my plane ride home last night. I had spent three days in DC working pretty much non-stop. (Including some drinking with clients, always important.) I was exhausted. My brain was fried.

And then they closed the cabin doors and I had to turn my phone into airplane mode and put my laptop away. I tried to sleep, but I was too wired. And it hit me. I should work on that synopsis I've been putting off.

Genius

And by the time we landed I had a workable synopsis. Every time I started to do something else, push that evil twitter button or whatever else, I couldn't. I was cut off from the online world. It was just me and my writing app on my phone. And it was glorious. Now I can't wait for the next time I have uninterrupted time to myself when I can just sit down and focus. Get this novel finished so I can get started on the next one!

Where can you find your happy place?

**Super thanks to http://www.reactiongifs.com/ for the GIFs. The worm picture is totally mine though. **

Saturday, March 29, 2014

April Plan for Success

I have been very lazy I had hoped to have this novel through the first revision by now, but I'm still not done. In order to get this finished by the end of April I have made the following chart for myself. And yes, it is in Excel because I'm that kind of enginerd. So feel free to steal if you need to or please let me know if you have good tips to add. My goal is to stay on schedule at least 75% of the time and that should get me through. We'll see how this goes...


Tuesday
4/1
List the #1st ten things a character does.
Revise at least 3 pages
Wednesday
4/2
Revise query letter
Revise at least 3 pages
Thursday
4/3
Critique Group
Friday
4/4
Do an extra critique
Revise at least 3 pages
Saturday
4/5
Revise 5 pages
Sunday
4/6
Write/revise a scene to develop a minor character
Revise at least 3 pages
Monday
4/7
Work on story summary for 1st half of book
Revise at least 3 pages
Tuesday
4/8
Find 10 adverbs issues and fix them promptly!
Revise at least 3 pages
Wednesday
4/9
Revise 5 pages
Thursday
4/10
Critique Group
Friday
4/11
Write different meals that would be served
Revise at least 3 pages
Saturday
4/12
Read 2 articles on writing
Revise at least 3 pages
Sunday
4/13
Work on story summary for 2nd half of book
Revise at least 3 pages
Monday
4/14
Revise 5 pages
Tuesday
4/15
Write/revise a scene to develop a minor character
Revise at least 3 pages
Wednesday
4/16
Find 10 adverbs issues and fix them promptly!
Revise at least 3 pages
Thursday
4/17
Critique Group
Friday
4/18
Revise query letter
Revise at least 3 pages
Saturday
4/19
Write down everything I love about writing and this book
Revise at least 3 pages
Sunday
4/20
Revise 5 pages
Monday
4/21
Pick a setting and take 10 minutes to describe everything
Revise at least 3 pages
Tuesday
4/22
Try to read 5 other writers online
Revise at least 3 pages
Wednesday
4/23
Write mini character bios
Revise at least 3 pages
Thursday
4/24
Critique Group
Friday
4/25
Play in my story world
Revise at least 3 pages
Saturday
4/26
Write/revise a scene to develop a minor character
Revise at least 3 pages
Sunday
4/27
Describe the major dress in the book for all characters
Revise at least 3 pages
Monday
4/28
Revise 5 pages
Tuesday
4/29
List every person who has been essential to my success
Revise at least 3 pages
Wednesday
4/30
Interview my main characters
Revise at least 3 pages