DAWN BONANNO

I know when some weeks are impossible for completing anything, and I’m glad this was one week I did expect it. That said, I was able to not stress out over my lack of finishing anything I started. And, I was able to continue writing in dribs and drabs, keeping my projects alive. So what did I do this week?

* Once A Thief – Realized the main character is poking her head up in about three different short story ideas right now, and that I need to give her some free writing time next week to find out who she really is, and what problems she’s really having. Once I know that, I can fit her into the correct story, and move the two others back into worldbuilding/plotting and come up with appropriate main characters.

* Sunguard – did some market research and found an anthology I believe is appropriate which sparked a revelation that my ending was all wrong.

* Crit – read a story for crit, and will try to get the crit done this evening. It’s a short story (flash fiction) so it shouldn’t be a days-long project. I just need to sit down and do it.

The one bad thing I did was daydream about my submission being accepted. I wasn’t getting anything done anyway, so that’s not the issue, but it’s silly to get my hopes up. There are a lot of writers out there who are as good as me, and some better, and I have lots of practicing to do. That said, I do have a lot of faith in this story, and I want it to have a home like I’ve never wanted it before. But that will come in time, not on its very first venture out of the house.

I’ve been toying with the idea of writing a workshop on Time Management for writers to participate in S.L. Viehl’s workshop week, but ironically enough, I don’t think I have the time to write it up this particular weekend. Maybe I’ll set it up and just post it when it’s ready. It’s not that I’ve mastered time, I think I’ve come a long way in understanding where it is, and where it isn’t in my life, and I’ve gotten pretty effecient at determining how to use it. My July goals are near completion. The last item, writing a short story, is complicated because of the character issues. I hope to get it done, but like I said, this last week and a half of July promised distance from my writing. Maybe tonight, after the crit…

Here’s a link to the workshops for next week. If you’ve got any interest in writing, go check it out Monday – Friday. Paperback Writer

Considering the level of exhaustion we experienced from our ultrapacked three day weekend, I’m surprised I accomplished anything at all. I was not in an editing mood and couldn’t get there no matter what I did (exahustion, I’m sure) so I started the new short story (urban fantasy, untitled) and started getting my submission package together for Treischan Strength. The final edit will start over my lunch tomorrow, and hopefully I’ll clean it up enough to mail on Tuesday.

Time is not my friend. I need to harness it, maybe bottle it, and portion it out as I see fit. Actually, I do prioritize my tasks based on the time I have available, but it just doesn’t always fit into my imagined schedule.

I’ve been continuing the Sunguard edit. I tried to work on Once A Thief, but the character changed the rules on me as I got to know her, and the story is an entirely different idea than when I started. I’m keeping the old idea for future writing, and going with the new one this upcoming week. I completed a critique this week, and will try to do one more this next week.

Goals for this week are aggressive, but I’m giving it a shot. I have my priority items including a final edit and submission (Treischan!!!). We’ve had way too much fun with the holiday, so it’ll be nice to get back into a normal routine where writing fits into my preplanned schedule. 😀 Hope your week goes well!

I used my lunchbreak to do some market research, focusing on anthologies this time. None of the listings on www.ralan.com really jumped out at my before, but I wanted to give myself a second chance. I looked at the themes based on what I’ve already written and what I’d like to write, but this time, I really looked at the themes.

I selected two based on partial writings I have saved. There’s a celtic anthology that I can use to help complete Nighthunter’s Bite, which I’ve been stumped on forever. There’s another one that didn’t have the theme listed on Ralan’s site, but which I discovered on the direct website specifying “radio” and “alternate worlds”. It reminded me of a scene I wrote for an exercise a few weeks ago, a scene I can now morph into a story. Both have December deadlines, so I have enough time to write the first drafts and edit them to my heart’s content.

My only fear with anthologies, is that everyone else will be writing these themed stories, and if mine doesn’t get accepted, then all those people will be sending their stories to the same markets as I will be. I suppose I can always tweak them to be different so they don’t look like antho-rejects. . .

That’s a lot to be worried about without the stories being written though, so I’ll add these little projects onto my August and September plans. Wish me luck!

Interesting find today. I googled “Sunguard” to make sure no one else had recently published a short story by that name and came across a company named Sunguard with an interesting product. Would you use a laundry aid to put UV protection into your summer clothing? It requires a 15 minute soak and is good up to 20 washes. The company claims dermatologist recommended as well as approval from the Skin Cancer Foundation.

http://www.sunguardsunprotection.com/

It’s even affordable.

And for Star Wars fans — http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Thyrsus. Who knew?

Yes, my blog is more than about writing now I suppose…

It’s interesting to me, that the less time I have available, the more I accomplish. For instance, until my daughter was a year old, her bedtime was 5:30pm, based on her needs for sleep. I had from 5:30pm to about 11pm every single night to fit in dinner making/cleanup, laundry, game playing, and writing. I even pushed it to midnight some nights. The writing got done sporadically, the game playing was too much fun, and dinner was eaten in peace every night. Over time, my daughter’s bedtime has moved up to about 7:30pm, and since I’m pregnant, I need to be in bed by 10pm. I give myself a half hour to read/unwind at that point, but it must be done in bed. So I went from five and a half hours every night to do these things, to about two and a half. And somehow, I’m managing better now.

Maybe it’s because we’ve managed a nice evening routine with the two year old where even if we have separate dinners, we’re all together for it. Meals tend to be gobbled down, and cleanup doesn’t always happen to completion. (Thank goodness for the dishwasher and a husband who knows how to use it!). By 8pm, I’m usually on the computer. That leaves two hours to enjoy my time, do some laundry, and prep for the next day. (Is it any wonder I haven’t done my nails in a few years?)

I have lists to thank. Yes, you read correctly, lists. I make a series of lists that keep me organized. No more too-tired-brain wondering what the heck I had to do. Now I look at my lists. There are three, really, that tie into each other. One is a Writing Goals (Monthly) list. Based on the time I predict I’ll have and what I feel most needs to get done, I make my writing goals on the front page of a notebook. The next pages follow with a Home list that lists home/finance/family related things that need to be done over the next month that isn’t part of the normal weekly chores. Then there’s the weekly page. One page for seven days of tasks. I break down 3 – 5 tasks for each day, a balance I hope of writing and home needs. At the end up the week, I tear out the weekly pages and make a new one.

My intention is to accomplish something writing related every day, however minor. This helps me do that. My notebook, by the way, goes everywhere with me. Whereever I am, I know what I need to fit into my day, so on those lucky days when someone else offers to pick up the two year old from daycare, I can complete an item on my list — early. 🙂 I feel almost sane!

So tell me. How do you stay organized?

I made a bunch of goals for myself this week, but I wonder if I didn’t overcommit. I put the Sunguard edit on the back burner to thnk some stuff over, but I think I’m ready to get back to it. I gave Treischan Strength another look at (with some comments from the Roving Crits boards on FM), and marked that up to be edited again. It’s in good shape, and should only take one night to work out the details. I’m just waiting for feedback from two other folks I emailed it to before I finalize it. (Either that or when the mood strikes). I’m also working on The Lonely Orchard which posed more of a problem because of backstory issues. I think I have those mostly worked out, so it’s just a matter of putting in the time and getting a few scenes rewritten.

The two year old’s birthday party is this weekend, so we have house-cleaning and party prep (and monthly bills) to get to this week. I’m hoping for a high energy week so I can keep up with my Wish List. 😉

Here goes nothing!

I’m holding myself to high standards right now, so the edit is taking a while. I took a new approach to find the Voice this story seemed to lack, and was drawn in by the freewriting. I enjoyed the results so much I was tempted to rewrite the story in First Person, but I got some feedback and — I agree, btw — it wasn’t enough to hold the story. So I will stick with my original 3rd person viewpoint.

I’ve been reading a lot more lately, focusing on short stories. I have a tendency to subscribe to several fiction magazines a year, and not touch them until the bug hits. I usually end up devouring 6 months of magazines in the span of just a few weeks. It’s good though. I’m reading some quality stories and then hitting my stories for editing and I’m learning that my stuff does not yet compare with these published stories. Yet. I’m learning from them. It’ll be my turn someday. 🙂

It’s pretty easy to read a first draft and pinpiont what’s wrong with it. It can sometimes even be simple to decide how to fix it. The hard part is getting your brain to move into fix-it mode and making those changes. It’s a challenge, and it’s rewarding once I get it done.

I worked on Sungard tonight, contemplating a name change to The Fallen Sun, but we’ll see after I make it through this edit pass. I only got through 1.3 pages out of an orriginal 7 pages, and 1 page of that was new material. A few more nights of this and I should be able to make it through safely. 😉 I’m looking forward to getting it all fixed!

I wrote three stories in May, and have another two in the works. It wasn’t quite the success I hoped for, but I am very pleased that I completed those three stories. This particular May was very very busy, and I feel like I’m lucky to have completed anything at all.

On to June… I’d like to complete those two in-progress stories (Eve and Queen’s Diamond). Then I need to choose which stories should be edited (I’m aiming at 4 for the summer), and choose markets to submit them to. It’d be nice to get 1 – 2 edited before the end of June, despite the father’s day holiday, the daughter’s birthday, and all the weekend fun we’re planning. 🙂