Celebrate the Small Things-June 22, 1018

It's Friday! Let's Celebrate the Small Things with Lexa Cain! I am her co-host.

We're going on a trip today!  We're heading to central Illinois to attend my sister in law's baby shower.  Her baby girl is due later this summer, and everyone's pretty excited about that.  The drive out there should take several hours, and with three kids in the car, it should be an interesting trip.  I'll need plenty of coffee to sustain me.

My writing progress, while it will undoubtedly suffer slightly with the busy weekend we have in store, is still worth celebrating.  Are the words spilling easily onto the page?  No.  The work may be somewhat slow, but it is continuing.  The ending of this book is starting to take shape, and I know I'll get there in the end.  I just can't let myself give up.

What would you like to celebrate?

The Insecure Writer's Support Group: February 7, 2018

It's the first Wednesday of every month, and that means it's time to gather for another meeting of The Insecure Writer's Support Group!  Our leader Alex J. Cavanaugh has assembled another wonderful group of co-hosts: Stephen Tremp, Pat Garcia, Angela Wooldridge, Victoria Marie Lees, and Madeline Mora-Summonte.

Be sure to check out the IWSG website!

I'm feeling pretty excited about my writing progress lately.  My goal for my WIP last month was to reach 45k, which I did a few days ahead of schedule.  Once I did that, I decided I wanted to see if I could hit 50k by the end of the month, which I did!  My word count at the end of the month was 50,657.  Woohoo!  That means I wrote about 20k last month alone, which is really good for me.

I am now publicly stating my writing goals for February.  It worked out well by holding me accountable, after all.  My goal is to reach 65k words by the end of the month.  My larger goal is to complete the rough draft of this novel by the end of April.  I really think I can do it if I keep up this momentum.  I'm trying not to think about all the revising and editing I'll eventually have to do, because I'm worried that will hinder my progress.

Now let's move on to the question of the month!

The question for February is: What do you love about the genre you write in most often?

The genre I write in most often is science fiction.  My stories vary.  Some take place in the far flung future, or in space, or both.  Others take place on Earth in modern times and come with a super weird science fiction twist.  My current WIP falls in line with this last description.

What do I love about science fiction?  It's filled with possibilities.  As a writer, I can enter any world my brain can conjure.  I can also use those strange places and scenarios to ask interesting questions about the nature of being human and what kinds of challenges we as humans could possibly face.  I love asking these kinds of questions and exploring the answers, and it's even more fun when I can do it on a space ship or on the surface of an alien world.

What genre do you write in most often, and why does it speak to you?

Celebrate the Small Things-February 2, 2018

It's Friday!  Let's Celebrate the Small Things with Lexa Cain!  I am her co-host.

I've started setting public writing goals since that helps motivate me and hold me accountable.  My goal for January was to reach 45,000 words in my untitled WIP.  Did I achieve that goal?  Yes, yes I did!  My word count at the end of the month was 50,657.  I surpassed my word count goal by more than 5,000 words, and I'm pretty excited about that.

My goal for February is to have at least 65,000 words written by the end of the month.  I'd really love to have the first draft of this novel written by the end of April.  I really think I can do it, too.  Life has to cooperate with my aspirations, of course.

Zoe has become a real climber in the last week.  She's been driving me crazy with the way she loves to climb onto the glass coffee table and knock everything off of it.  Nevertheless, it's still good to see her grow and excel at things.  If only she weren't so stubborn, though.  She can't seem to accept the word 'no' as something she should take seriously.  I'm afraid she's inherited my own stubbornness, and if that's the case, this kid is going to keep me on my toes for a long time to come.

What would you like to celebrate?

Celebrate the Small Things-July 29, 2016

It's Friday!  Let's Celebrate the Small Things with Lexa Cain! Tonja Drecker and I are her co-hosts.

I'm nearly done writing the rough draft of the third novella in the Self-Help 101 series.  My goal is to have it finished by Monday, and I'd like to have it ready for release on September 27th.  This novella, Self-Help 101 or: How to Select a Costume to Help You Deal With People, takes place during Halloween. It has been a fun story to write.

The kids are growing increasingly excited for the start of the school year next month.  We already bought most of their school supplies, and we're busy with doctor's checkups and all the other things that need to be done before the first day of class.  How has the summer gone by so fast?

The kids have a birthday party to go to and a bunch of fun activities lined up for Saturday.  I should have some tired boys to put to bed Saturday night, which is fine by me.  I always benefit when they have a good night of sleep.

What would you like to celebrate?