BAD ASS...NO, SERIOUSLY

This blog (and writer) have been many things, okay, maybe not many but certainly a few things. None of which were any one thing -- you know what I'm talking about?

Jack of all trades master of fricken none. Dang.

So, I had a mini epiphany, and believe me when I tell you, I know -- I've had them before. And, again with the dang. I don't feel confident to give writing advice, sheesh! I stumble upon most things that work for me. I'm not always up on cool blog posts, I get behind. My life can be sort of interesting, if you're me. Which you aren't.

What I can do -- I think -- is find really awesome books, books for research, maybe even books for writing. Very cool books come across the service/circulation desk at ye old library, from whence I receive my paycheck. And I want to share those with you. They might not even be books that I would need for research. They might be awesome books on...covert ops for the CIA, or wine making, or Inventing the Century...right? Right? And if I happen to find a cool website or, you know, real life site, I'll share that too.

So, I'll start off with two books that go together, because they were written by the same person! And are ridiculously entertaining and educational. Warning: really foul (hysterical) language.

The first is: BADASS. I love history (not so much when I was in school, but now I do) I especially love history that is written without the goal of putting me to sleep! So, not only is this a book on pretty wild historical figures, it's written in such a smack in your face, laugh your ass off way that you can't help but want to keep reading.

The second Ben Thompson book is: BADASS The Birth of a Legend. This book, written in the same way, is about...you guessed it Legends. From mythology to literature, From the Mighty Thor to Professor Moriarty to Captain James T. Kirk. Serious awesomeness.

Check out these books -- if for no other reason than entertainment (but you will learn something, I promise!)

Got research? Tell me about it, what and how, I'd really love to know!

#GUTGAA Tag! You're It! Me! I'm It...

Tamara One Magic Bean Buyer tagged me! First, I still love tag -- I played every tag ever invented (don't quiz me on this) so this is super cool to be tagged, now if only I can come up with some answers to these questions!

What is the working title of your book?
I hope it's not just the working title! GODDESS IN THE MECHANICA. It felt like a long route to it, but once I got it, I did a forehead slap.

Where did the idea come from for the book?
I sort of touched on this in my Meet & Greet, but, once I got the time-period and setting and main character (actually, only her circumstances, none of her powers or foibles).

The short answer is, Thor.

And then what if  a genius scientist (mad, of course) was obsessed with alchemy, bio-metal alchemy, changing base metal and infusing it into living beings, and what if gods and legends were a part of this world's real history, and what if he used artifacts of legends and gods and experimented on babies...which all takes place before the story, but I had to get there to understand the young people at the school.

The other short answer is, what if the person you loved was the person responsible for your parents' death? How do you reach a happy ending from there?

What genre does your book fall under?
YA Paranormal/Steampunk...maybe I should call it Mythpunk.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in the movie rendition?
This was hard! I can see my characters in my head...so to figure out actors that would translate, well:

Princess Merida was the first person that comes to mind for Tess, I know she's not real, but since Tamara got to change ages of actors I get to change reality!

Alex Pettyfer is almost perfect, if he were a bit sharper in his cheekbones...or:

Tyler Hoechlin (younger, of course) I really like his pissed-off look.

What is a one sentence synopsis of your book?
A young woman thinks she needs one thing to avenge her parents' death; an ancient artifact, stolen and in the hands of an evil genius. With help from her classmates, she must retreive the artifact, save the world, and exact her revenge. (Mine's two sentences too!) And probably will change after all the feedback from the query.

Will your book be self published or represented by an agent?
An agent would be ideal. But I'm not averse to self pubbing it either. Right now I need to concentrate on finishing!

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscrpt?
I'll let you know when I'm done...

What else about the book might pique the reader's interests?
PIRATES! Air Pirates that is, and one in particular: Captain Arkady Flint...

Anson Mount, practically perfect in every way for Arkady Flint.

What fun! Thanks again to Tamara for tagging me -- link to her site at top, check it out, she is cool and funny and I love her premise for her book.

Now, let's see...I tag
Stephsco and Talynn  ink in the book

Have fun!

Pitch Polish -- Please Help With the Shiny

I know I need some help here...perhaps serious help. So hard to distill! Anyway, thought I'd hang it out there. I plan on visiting other blogs Monday. Thanks for any comments.

New, updated pitch, after all the lovely messages, I finally sat and worked at it. Thanks to everyone who commented!

Title: GODDESS IN THE MECHANICA
Genre: YA Paranormal Steampunk
Word Count:

Tess St. Cyr, a 16 year old orphan, who sees things that aren’t there, wants answers and vengeance, and yes, in that order – fostered to a theater family affords her neither. Then she receives an invitation to a marvelous school, run by a friend of her real parents, Miss Carmilla. Now, perhaps, she’ll get what she wants.

Sebastian James, 16, knows exactly who he is, or what he is: Nephilim. Now, if only he could forget it. He spent his time searching with his Air Pirate father for the fiend who used Sebastian’s powers to force information from friends of his father’s until he too receives an invitation to a special school.

Tess and Sebastian are like magnets, at times attracted and at others repelled. But as Tess starts to learn about her and her classmates’ strange biology – an experiment with oldgod artifacts and human babies – an artifact is stolen in front of the entire class. More experiments, or something worse? Just as the class starts to train for serious battle Tess find out a terrible secret of Sebastian’s and Miss Carmilla is kidnapped.

They both want to find the mad scientist responsible for the kidnapping and their fates. But can Tess forgive Sebastian long enough to work together to save Miss Carmilla, and possibly the world.   

    

Mr. Smyth had the job of driving me to my new school and residence. My foster parents said I should feel lucky, not about Mr. Smyth, with his rickety cart and OldHorse, but about the “opportunity” to attend this school. I felt anything but lucky at this moment, as I clutched the invitation – sweat and fear ruining it for any keepsake, and wondered, for the hundredth time, why they would want me.

We left behind a bustling thoroughfare and turned onto a desolate lane. Mr. Smyth slowed the horse to a stop at the only drive I saw, an enormous wrought iron gate barring the way.

I considered this closed gate and looked back at the equally closed Mr. Smyth, he nearly smiled, and then reached behind the bench, grabbed my bag and heaved it. I watched its graceful arc and hard landing at the gates. A good aim, that Mr. Smyth, I thought as I continued to sit and fidget with my skirts and invitation.

MEET & GREET!

Questions for the Meet and Greet

-Where do you write?

Usually in the office (lucky to have an office), sometimes on the porch and sometimes late at night in bed.

-Quick. Go to your writing space, sit down and look to your left. What is the first thing you see?

A pile! Encyclopedia of the Strange, Mystical, & Unexplained (Rosemary Ellen Guiley), my book bible (three ring binder filled with names, myths, inventions, and what-ifs),  Steampunk Bible (Jeff VanderMeer), a journal, and a composition notebook. It's a good pile of stuff. 

-Favorite time to write?

Either early in the morning or late at night. But anytime I can carve out is my favorite.

-Drink of choice while writing?

Coffee! Coffeecoffeecoffee. Unless it's late at night then a glass of red wine is nice -- and helps quiet the editor!

-When writing , do you listen to music or do you need complete silence?

I like to gear up for writing with music -- I like to find my own soundtrack for the book I'm working on, but I want quiet while I'm actually writing. Now, brainstorming to music is great.

-What was your inspiration for your latest manuscript and where did you find it?

It was a long route...but my own pre-teen years and the movie Thor.

I had finished the first(ish) draft of a Contemporary YA -- and was having a hard time with one of the heroes, as in: What is he? What's the mythology? Etc. And, because I like to make things difficult for myself -- or I can't face the difficulties -- I thought, why don't I plop this in the 1800s and instead of a parapsychology center(which I really lived in for a while as a kid) I'll make it a school for "exceptional" kids...and, hey, what if myth and legend were actual history...

So, it ended up being it's own story -- nothing made it from the original YA (which is good, still need to figure that one out) 

-What's your most valuable writing tip?

Writing leads to ideas, ideas lead to more writing (a tip I often forget!). And use a beat sheet! Blake Snyder or Alexandra Sokolloff -- it's like a WIP GPS.

Excited to meet people!

CONFESSIONS OF A SHOULD BE WRITING WRITER

If confessions are good for the soul, then I'm golden. I can only hope they're good for the Muse's soul as well.

I haven't been writing.

Seriously not writing. Like, doing laundry instead of writing not writing. 

Okay, (another confession) I've done some creative things, because my brain will explode into a ball of dust if I don't create something, yet even these things started to feel like resistance (no matter how cool), because I have written and created other things too -- sometimes, nearly simultaneously! But this was instead of writing.

I'd like to blame it on WRITER'S BLOCK but that wouldn't be true. I didn't know what it was, I'd nearly come up with an idea for what needed to be written next (I do have a rough outline -- I know the ending, I know BIG key points) and it wouldn't work for me.

I had Writer's Indifference. (I just came up with that term!)

And then, and then it hit me. I had too much going on. Too much! Too much para in the normal, too much story in the line, too much, too much, too much. And the stupid thing is, I thought this one was golden: perfect conflict, perfect character arc, perfect plot. I was wrong.

Last night (late, because, why would an epiphany come early) I realized I had started this book last year and it coincided with Deana Barnhart's Gearing Up to Get an Agent (an awesomely fun thing) which is, again, happening soon, and what lead to the epiphany -- because I'm still writing the darn thing! -- suddenly it hit me: mine's broken.

Okay -- maybe not broken, but it certainly needs fixing. And, I think that's why I wasn't writing -- I couldn't see what was wrong, because there were so many things going on, I couldn't see that there were so many things going on! Now, the main story remains the same -- girl wants revenge for her parents' death. I just need to brainstorm how far I should take the paranormal aspect.

I can do this. So, while I will definitely be Gearing Up to Get an Agent,  I will be concentrating on finishing my manuscript. I'm giving myself until the end of the year (seems kind of long -- I really want to shorten it, but I'm not). December 31st 2012. That is it.

P.S. Next post I'll show you what I did instead of writing.

What do you do instead of writing?

ROW80/Red Door(!) Check-In

Aack, I'm late! Probably because I did a dismal job on my writing goals:
1,417 words added. I guess it's not horrible...not horrible is okay.

Still reading both craft books.

Finished painting the entire back of the house -- porch and everything. At one point I was almost in tears -- transitioning from high ladder to porch roof...gah! I don't mind the roof, especially ours, with a nice little pitch -- I was on a high ladder all day and I think my adrenaline got the better of me.

Extra added bonus of a shiny newly painted door -- red! I have always always always wanted a red front door.

But nothing else is painted on the front of the house yet.

I go back to work tomorrow, plan on stocking-up on all the research books I need. Which gets me more excited than I can tell you.

How's everyone else doing?

ROW80 Check-In the Second

Feeling pretty positive about my goals.
Pages/Words: 
Added 2581 words to my first draft (150 pages goal -- knocked off 10+ pages). woot!


Craft Reading:
The War of Art (have been for the last month  (I read and re-read and re-read) by Steven Pressfield. Pressfield is lyrical and persistent. He continually opens my eyes to Resistance.
The War of Art

250 Things You Should Know About Writing by, Chuck Wendig.
Chuck Wendig writes in your face, laugh out loud, reallyreallyreally no holds barred stuff we all need to hear, or read.
 250 Things You Should Know About Writing
Here's a sampling of one of the categories:
25 Things You Should Know About... Writing a Novel
1. Your First And Most Important Goal Is To Finish The Shit That You Started
{{{One of my favorite lines (because I'm so freaking guilty of it:}}}
Your hard drive is not a novel burial ground. {{Okay, two lines}} It's like building your own Frankenstein monster -- robbing a grave, stealing a brain, chopping up a body -- and then giving up before you let lightning tickle that sonofabitch to life.
A link to Chuck Wendig's blog: Terrible Minds

That's about it for now. Hope everyone is doing great.

ROW80, My Goals, My Plan, My List

Driving home from work the other day, I saw a bumper sticker that read:

A goal without a plan is just a wish.

Wow. Um, you mean all those goals of losing 10 pounds and writing more were just wishes? No wonder they didn't come true. Except, when I actually had a set plan of writing so many pages a day, or running a mile three days a week.

Plans are good, lists are good -- I love lists, I can write lists all day -- love checking off items from the list, love seeing what's left on the list. So, here's my goals, my plan, my list:

Goals:
Finish First Draft of GODDESS IN THE MECHANICA
by writing150 pages by September 19th

Write 14 posts for Those Kennedy Women
(convince co-bloggers to do the same) complete by August 1st
Blog grand re-opening by September 1st

Plan:
Write 2 pages a day, every day
by planning out the scene before I write it


Meet with Mom and Sister 2nd or 3rd week in July
Brainstorm ideas for blog posts.
Write 3 posts a week in July


List:
Research late 1800s in Minnesota
Research/invent cool Steampunkish gadgetry
Research Alchemy
Research Nordic, Greek and Irish Mythology
Read craft books


Read lifestyle books
Visit other lifestyle blogs
Take pictures of every house/craft/garden project I undertake


Unrelated to writing goals:
Re-stain porch railing, base around screens and stairs
Paint exterior trim
Paint exterior house


 Phew. Here's to plans and lists and I'm reallyreally happy to back in the saddle again! Can't wait to see how everyone else is doing!

VIVA LE RESISTANCE! Er, PERSISTENCE! Yeah, that's right..

So a group of us are starting a Fast Draft session starting... Now! Jenny Hansen started the ball rolling and I am 100% committed to this thing. Just as soon as I can fight through all this underhanded sneaky resistance. I am home sick, like, can't talk sick, tired, sore throat, coughing sick. I could have been lounging all morning writing, but I noticed the dog had dropped clumps-o-hair, so I vacuumed.

Then I realized dirty baseball uniforms

needed to be washed...along with towels and unmentionables etc., etc., etc.

Now, I'm exhausted, and I can hear "resistance" chuckling. Chuckling I tell you. So, I thought I'd write about the damn thing and hopefully exorcise it: Out evil editor and saboteur and maker of doing dreaded housework, when I could totally get away with doing none! BE GONE! No really.

Steven Pressfield wrote a book to save us all, called: The War of Art

I know, in your brain, you're going, no she's wrong, it's called The Art of War, and was written like a bajillion years ago. Yes, but Steven Pressfield has made a lovely play on words with his title and a valid point:

Sometimes producing art feels like war.

Only in that you have to battle yourself and your well-meaning -- or not so much so -- loved ones.

So, if you've never done Candace Havens' Fast Draft or even heard about it. Check it out. Plus, read The War of Art, it will change something inside of you -- but the trick is to keep the change.

I think I've tucked-in resistance for a nap, and I'm off to write.

How does resistance rear its bulbous head in your life, and can you beat it into submission? Tell me how you do it.

MY "GIRLS IN THE BASEMENT" *

* I first heard this term from Jennifer Cruise, a long time ago, but here's a cool video current video link


So this has to do with my personal "girls" in the basement, the subconscious trio of story idea mongers -- I can see them and I want to share them with you:

None of which are what I see in my mind, but they come close

The top pic is clearly the bad-ass, I am not a bad-ass, yet, sometimes I wish I were, also, my writing NEEDS a bad-ass, to get things done, no matter the cost. Also someone to blow things up. She likes it when things blow-up.

The second pic is the thinker, she too helps in getting things done, she views the carnage of things gone horribly wrong...and figures out how to move the story forward in between "things getting worse-er."

The third is my dreamer, listening to her own voices and taking leaps of faith and coming up with implausible plots in story-land. Preferably without explosions.

When I stay out of their way, cool type things happen, the story moves forward, things explode, surprises are revealed, characters pop up -- the Master of Swords? Who the hell is this and what does she do? She?... See what I mean?

My foible is refusing to give up total control. I over-think to the point of Not Writing Anything.

Nothing.

If I could get out of my own way and let the girls rule for even a tiny bit, I think I could get so much more written.

I took Candace Havens Fast Draft workshop a few years ago... I have never, ever, everer, written so much in so little time as then. Why didn't I continue to use it? It scared me. No control, I mean things, words, sentences, plot twists came out of my fingertips (certainly not my brain) from nowhere. It was scary.

Which is why I need to try doing it that way again. Just let the girls drive.

What stops you from getting things done? And who are your girls?

GLORIOUS WRETCHEDNESS

It was a town of machinery and tall chimneys... It had a black canal in it, and a river that ran purple with ill-smelling dye, and vast piles of buildings full of windows where there was a rattling and a trembling all day long, and where the pistons of steam-engine worked monotonously up and down like the head of an elephant in a state of melancholy madness.


                                                                                           CHARLES DICKENS  Hard Times, 1854


You can see it, hear it, smell it -- if this doesn't inspire, what would?

While my steampunk expedition is not full of squalor and stink, I may have to re-think this and add more of have-nots. Showing the great differences of wealth. I just don't know if I have the expertise for this...of course, I'll never have it iffen I don't try.

My heroine is a "found girl," young girls who are either abandoned or orphaned -- foundlings -- left to their own devises. People can bring them home, and put them to work. Yet it is a way to ensure a roof and some food on a daily basis.

I don't go into it, her fortune changes soon after the opening, but maybe it needs to be shown...hmmm. Or, maybe I could incorporate found girls into her new home.

See? I told you that Dickens was inspiring!

What, who inspires you?

ROW80 CHECK-IN... IT'S ABOUT TIME, SHEESH!

Things have been interesting. Not with writing, gosh, no. Just everything else. Of course, that's why it hasn't been interesting with writing. But, I grow tired of excuses and whining. My own, that is -- anyone else, I'm right there for you. What I have been doing is looking -- with new eyes -- at things I've written. I know, past tense. Yet I feel, is this avoidance? Hell yeah. But, is it lesser avoidance to, at least, read and consider past writings, or, not do anything at all? Perhaps this is just another excuse...I don't care, it's what's getting me to sleep at night. So, I've decided to re-think a couple of my pieces. I re-read a few things and these things did not suck...shocking! Not sure, yet, what to do with these, but, they've got me thinking. So, this next week, my plan is to figure out what my plan is. YIKES! Not measurable...at all. Except in my own mind. So, where's your mond at?

WHY PAINTING IS LIKE WRITING, PLUS ROW80

It sounds like the start of a bad joke:
Why is painting a room like writing a book?
I don't know, why is painting a room like writing a book?

 I hope you weren't waiting for a punch line -- I'm fresh out of punch lines, too tired from painting.

Okay, okay.

WRITING A BOOK      

What should I write?
Idea!
PREPARE
Research/Brainstorm
GATHER THE RIGHT TOOLS
Notebook, notecards, sticky notes, whiteboard, pens, computer
WRITE
Halfway through your idea changes
Suddenly in a tight corner -- how do you write out of this?
Move things around
Want it done so badly, it's all you do in your spare time
First pass -- done!
Needs fixing
Re-write
Think you're done, until someone else looks at it!
Fix the misses
Done! Still, it never matches what you first envisioned

PAINTING A BIG ROOM


What should I paint?
Chose colors
PREPARE
Tape baseboards, remove wall plates
GATHER THE RIGHT TOOLS
Paint, brushes, tape, rollers, ladder, screwdriver, hammer, cloth, newspaper
PAINT
Halfway through, you realize you have to paint the room 2 different colors
Suddenly in a tight corner -- how do you paint behind the weight machine?
Move things around
Want it done so badly, it's all you do in your spare time
First coat, in certain lights it looks done
Needs second coat
Think you're done until your husband comes in w/ the mega light
Fix the mixes
Done! Hey, it looks better than what you thought it would.

So, here's what I learned. It does eventually get done. If you have the right tools, it's a hell of a lot easier. If you prepare, it goes so much faster (sure it's a pain, but worth it in the long run). It feels damn goodly to be done.

So, yesterday, I loaded Pages on to my iPad -- it's easier to bring to work than the laptop -- I can bring it anywhere. That's part of the right tools. I'm concentrating on the re-write right now. that's part of needs fixing. Plus, the whole thing just made me excited.

That's it -- sort of a check-in.
How are you doing?

HELLO STRANGER...A ROW80 CHECK-IN

Confession: I have missed 3 (three!) check-ins. Yikes!

Mea Culpas are abounding. Of course, it's not because I didn't want to check-in, I just...didn't. Almost worse. Every time I thought I might have time, I'd already be 2 or 3 days late, thus, thinking I'd catch-up the next time.

You can see how well my plan worked. NOT ONE BIT. Hmmm.
I feel as if we (I) need a recap:

When last we left our intrepid (or, rather, procrastinating) heroine, she was bemoaning the fact that she had no time. She has yet to find the time, nor is she done with painting the basement.

She is certain that any day now things will fall into place and she'll be back on schedule.

Not the greatest check-in, I grant you, still, a check-in, none-the-less.
I'm still working on things, editing here and there and writing some new words...here and there. Nothing remotely spectacular or even mediocre.

So, Monday will be my sponsor post. Ha! I promise to be better with the check-ins.

What's your promise this next week?

SUNDAY, SUNDAY...OR, ER, WEDNESDAY, WEDNESDAY

January, 25

So, I forgot to attach this post to Sunday's linky...I don't know why. So, I'm recycling it for today
Alrighty then.
Weren't we just here? I was.

So, first, I copied Ryan King and changed the colors of my blog -- I do love to redecorate.

Second, not yet settled into this new schedule, so will change my goals.

Third, not only did I change the color of my blog, but today I painted the two doors in our foyer (more coats needed...yay?) and will start the basement this next week and weekend. It's something that I've wanted to do for awhile, and it's being done.

I think this might force me to find time during the day, like that newly forgotten "lunch" I seem to remember. 

Things I did:
Wrote 2 new scenes for BETWIXT.
Reading a couple books on mythology and monsters (not part of my goals, but it felt productive)
Started The 90 Day Novel...I try not to read too many craft books -- just stick with my faces -- this one, I don't know, it's pulled me in and made me look at things, so I'm going to try the method. We'll see.

New Goals:
Continue 90 day method, check in with where I am on that.
Continue to brainstorm for Goddess.
That's all folks... How's everyone else doing?

Time to Make the Check-In...

Wow. Time is moving at an incredible rate -- it do move quickly.

Tuesday was my fist day at new library/new position. After retrieving all the brain matter strewn about, I think it'll be good (a lot to learn). BUT, I now am the proud owner of my very own office, with a door, and a name plate, and everything. Big time.


Ha!


Sunday: checked-in, wrote some new words and had another plot epiphany on BETWIXT. Readied posts for tKw
Monday: Posted on tKw. Had granddaughter all day, but did check in with other ROWers late that evening.
Tuesday: {{{brain fry}}}.
Wednesday: check-in. Very late. Posted tKw article.

Really did not know my brain would be this fried -- and no writing over lunch for a while. Still stepping like a baby, but that's okay.

I need to step back and figure out where I have some wiggle room -- I might be a weekend novelist for awhile!

How are you all doing?

A ROW...ND ABOUT CHECK-IN

Last week was pretty much a no go on anything. And that's okay, not beating myself up -- just really did not know I would need this much time. Still have other issues as well, and without going into too much information, these, too will take time and energy...and prayers. I'll take my goals one week at a time -- starting the new position at the new library on Tuesday (nervous, excited). NEW GOALS: Today -- post goals. Get posting ready for Those Kennedy Women Monday -- check in w/ other ROW80 folk. Edit or brainstorm/write, either BETWIXT or GODDESS IN THE MECHANICA. Tuesday -- I'm not scheduling anything -- brain might be reeling from too much new info! Wednesday -- ROW80 check-in and check-in w/others Thursday -- evening writing 7:00--8:00 Friday -- Another day off... Saturday -- prepare postings for tKw Sunday -- check-in That's it -- nothing stunning or glorious -- baby steps, right? Just a little aside, if I weren't a part of this ROW80 community, I'm pretty sure I would not be doing anything toward my goals. The writing would stop completely -- which wouldn't be good, because writing can be so therapeutic. So I am very happy to be a part of this. Thanks. How are you all doing?

ROW WITH A SHOT OF LIFE

Wow. I've been hit. Kind of hard.

A dear, dear friend of the family (my mother's best friend for 60+ years) passed away Sunday afternoon, funeral is tomorrow.
This is my last week at this library, which I've been at for 15 years, plus, it was my library -- took my older kids to Storytime here, before I even worked here.
A big adult child crisis, is hopefully coming to a head today.

I am mourning everything.

Yet, life goes on.
SO:
Monday: did my hour of editing BETWIXT and my hour of brainstorming GODDESS
Tuesday: got an hour of brainstorming in at night on GODDESS

Today, I'm checking in, but I won't be able to get to other ROWers check-ins until much later...sorry.

Thursday: is the funeral, I'm not going to push the writing -- probably re-do my goals now that I'll have a different schedule too.
Hope everyone else is doing just fine.

A Sunday Kind of Check-In

Very happy with the specificity thing. I've noticed (and I realize it's only the first week) that even if something comes up, I never forget that I owe myself an hour of editing or a blog post. It's like starting work an hour late -- you have to make up that hour somehow.

So...when last we left our ROWer, she'd checked-in on Wednesday and checked-out a bunch of other awesome ROWers. Which was her goal for that day. Oh, and posted at Those Kennedy Women


Thursday: 8:00a.m. edited BETWIXT for over an hour. Extra added bonus of lunch-time check-ins. Brainstormed GODDESS for an hour and a half  from 7:30p.m. - 9:00p.m. -- because I knew I couldn't do it Friday morning. And I did get out the BIG wall post-it paper for cool brainstorm mapping.


Friday: Posted my mom's piece at Those Kennedy Women, facebooked and tweeted it. Then, family stuff.

Saturday: Managed to brainstorm  GODDESS for about 1/2 hour.

The only thing I didn't get to (well I have a rough draft done-ish) was my non-ROW post on living at the parapsychology study center, Harmony. Maybe, I'm over-thinking it.


On a newsy note, I'll be moving to a new library with a new position (promotion -- yay!), so, I'll have to re-do my  goals -- different schedule.

How did everyone else do?

A CHECK-IN, WITH ONLY MINOR ALTERATIONS!

Already with the recalculations?
Not quite, just some tiny shortcuts.

Forgot husband and child would be home on Monday: this changes everything. It's okay, it's  okaaaaay (is what I kept saying to myself).

MONDAY:
8-9:15 did get a solid-ish hour of editing in, with some visiting of other ROWers thrown in for good measure.
9:15-on did not get to my brainstorm...then, so I recalculated and got a good 45 minutes in at work over my lunch.

TUESDAY: 45 minutes of brainstorming/outlining/notecarding over lunch. In the evening after made-up errands (not of my brain) more check-ins with brilliant ROWers.

WEDNESDAY: Today! Checking in, yay! Also wrote a welcome post for Those Kennedy Women Blog -- and the day is definately not over. I still want to check in with fellow Rows.

I'm still going to write a non-row post this blog. I've decided on doing a series of posts about living at a Parapsychology study center -- Kait Nolan gave me the idea, not directly, but she was my inspiration. They'll be my LIVING AT HARMONY posts. We'll see...

All in all, I'm pleased -- especially with the whole specificity aspect. Plus, I love wrting and saying that word: specificity. Brilliant.

How are you guys doing?