ROW80 2013:3 3rd Update

It has been a couple of weeks since my last update, but I have been busy in that time. I've been keeping up with my writing goals and my art goals, as well as plodding away at my research. I picked up the keys to my new office today; it has my name on the door and everything :)

In other big news, I resigned from my contract at my retail job a few weeks ago, so last night was my last night. I am still a casual there so I will get the odd shift every now and then, but since I'm essentially doing more than a full time load at uni already, something had to give.

Anyway, progress:
Creative Goals 

• Write at least 500 words per week: Yes, and have managed closed to 1,000 words in the last two weeks. Most of that was for my main WiP, but there were a few hundred words added to a side project as well.
• Do one painting or drawing each week: I do have a painting in progress, which is almost finished; all it needs is the shadows from the objects on the table and background. I've reached that point of a painting where it's actually turning out quite well and I'm terrified I'll screw it up, so I'm practicing glazing on scrap bits of canvas before I do it to the painting (hoping to finish it this week). This is acrylic on a canvas pad:

I also hit up the local art supply shop when I saw they had a big special on... I couldn't help myself :)

Academic Goals

• Begin research on PhD topic: Have started reading academic articles and jotting down a few notes. Also started doing some reading for my coursework units.
• Teaching stuff: Have started looking over class material since tutorials start next week.
• Research assistant stuff: Not much to do this week (still need to get software on my computer)

Health Goals

• 20 minutes slow exercise-bike riding per day: Yes :) Have also been trying to eat healthier a well, which has mostly gone okay except for today (I had fast food for lunch AND dinner).

I don't think Judgemental Dog approves of my art supply shopping spree: 

See how other ROW80ers are going here.

ROW80 2013:3 2nd Update

Not a great deal of progress since last check-in, but I did catch up in the city with some uni friends I hadn't seen for a few years for a night of drunken retro gaming (Super Smash Brothers on Nintendo 64 for the win!), and since it was my first social outing in more than a year (yeah, I don't get out much aside from the odd lunch haha) it was good to have a nice break from anything work/study-related. I spent Saturday afternoon writing so I have already met my weekly quota, and should be able to do more before the next check-in (I know that once uni really gets into motion I will have a lot less time).

Anyway, progress:
Creative Goals 

• Write at least 500 words per week: 700 words of actual novel-writing on Saturday, plus a few hours spent re-reading the WiP and the outline. Even if I wasn't actively adding as many words, I feel like it was helpful to get some more ideas percolating in my brain for when I have another good run at word-slinging.
• Do one painting or drawing each week: I did a few watercolour exercises, but no full paintings.

Academic Goals

• Begin research on PhD topic: Not as such, but I have been trying to refine what my research question is. Basically at this stage all I have is a bunch of semi-related questions, but it's more than I had last week...
• Teaching stuff: NA.
• Research assistant stuff: Not much to do this week.

Health Goals

• 20 minutes slow exercise-bike riding per day: Every day except today. For some reason by the time I got home from work my knee was really sore. I did try doing some exercise but only made it to about five minutes before I had to stop.

Sorry, Judgemental Dog, I'll be good next week :)

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ROW80 2013:3 Goals and 1st Update

Here I am returning to ROW80 after sitting out for the last Round and a half. I know, I know... I crashed and burned back in January and pretty much fell off the face of the earth in ROW80 circles. For the first half of this year, I did very little writing, aside from a few small bursts of intense productivity. Some of that was probably due to increased workload from both jobs, but some was because of the Self Doubt Monster rearing its ugly head. But now I am hoping to change that by starting to write regularly again, even if it's only a small amount. I've written 4,000 words today, probably spurred on by the fact that this is my first full day off in months, but I need to keep that momentum, or at least some of it, if I'm ever going to get this manuscript finished.

So, here are my goals for this round:
Creative Goals 

• Write at least 500 words per week: Yes, this is a pretty small amount; some might say too small. But in light of what will be a much higher work load this year, I'm wary of setting too high a word count in case I can't reach it, which will make me feel all guilty and self-loathy which will probably affect my academic progress in a vicious circle of suckiness. 500 words is probably doable in an hour or two, which shouldn't make me feel too guilty about writing when I should be researching/studying/marking or whatever.
• Do one painting or drawing each week: This is a tentative goal, but I'd like to at least try to re-hone my artistic skills, even if it's just with small sketches.

Academic Goals

• Begin research on PhD topic: I officially started my PhD last Friday. I sort of have a rough idea of what I'm doing for my thesis, but need to refine it and put together background research, as well as clarifying my actual research question. Because I am doing my PhD full time I am expecting my progress in other aspects of life to be be relatively limited due to time/energy constraints.
• Teaching stuff: We finished exam marking earlier this week and the next semester doesn't start til the end of July, so no goals here yet.
• Research assistant stuff: Ongoing work where I'm doing some new graphics for an educational website. Still need to get the necessary software on my computer, though. (actually, need to upgrade computer because this one is on its last legs)

Health Goals

• 20 minutes slow exercise-bike riding per day: My knee is still crap, and it looks like it always will be (at this stage the surgeon has essentially said, "Yes, your knee is buggered, but not quite buggered enough to warrant an operation at this stage"). I'm limited to non-weight-bearing types of exercise but I still need to maintain my fitness somehow. I can at least walk (mostly) normally, though I still have to wear the knee brace and use the walking stick, and slopes give me a lot of grief.

As always, Judgemental Dog will be along for the ride:

To see how other ROW80ers are going, click here.

ROW80 2013 Round 1: 1st Update

This week was fairly uneventful in terms of progress; I managed to stay just ahead in some areas and fall just behind in others. I would have liked to make more progress, but it was a bit of a trying week, so I'm happy with what I did. The dog crashed into me while trying to escape from the vacuum cleaner, so that screwed my knee up a bit (more than it already was), and it seems like my car has decided that this is the year it will go to the great big garage in the sky. It likes to stall when the petrol kicks over to gas, though I have managed to device a series of tapping revs that seems to (barely) prevent it from doing so. I did get a delivery of art supplies from America on Friday, so that made the week a bit better :)

Anyway, goal progress so far:

Creative Goals

• Write at least 250 words per day: Most days I have doubled this for Dark and Silent Waters, and have generally managed as many words on my other untitled project as well.
• Do at least one painting or drawing per week: Nope :( All of our kitchen furniture was moved into the lounge room while we had new lino put down, and since the lounge room is the only place I have room to spread out my art supplies at the best of times, I had nowhere to paint.
• Maintain writing/art blog: One post done, another in progress.

Academic Goals

• NA.

Health Goals

• 10 minutes slow exercise-bike riding per day: Monday and Tuesday only; my Dad moved the exercise bike out of the kitchen while we were getting new floors done, and when I went to the garage to use it, he'd piled heaps of other crap on top of it.
• 30 minutes swimming per week: Nope :( That will earn me a nip from Judgemental Dog...
• Go through one sheet of physio knee exercises per day: Every day except Friday and Saturday (knee was too sore/unstable).
• Only one piece of chocolate and one energy drink per week: On track so far.

So, no actual drawing this week, but to make up for it, here's a photo of my furry art studio supervisor examining my new art supplies (judgementally, of course):

The house is more or less back to normal now, so this week I should actually be able to get some proper drawing done. Though Tuesday is out, since I'll be going in to uni for a meeting with one of my PhD supervisors. Need to try to ask a few questions about my scholarship etc, since the amount of time I'll need off following knee surgery could complicate things.

Judgemental Dog wants everyone to succeed this round:

See how other ROW80ers are doing here.

ROW80 2013 Round 1: Goals and Grievances

Here I am, slinking back into ROW80 with my tail between my legs. Yep. I crashed and burned in Round 4 last year, and I bombed out of NaNoWriMo with only around 11,000 words. I managed to juggle all my academic goals but by the time I did that, I often found myself with no creative energy; as a result, I'd stare at my sketchbook or blank screen on my computer and accomplish nothing but feeling guilty over my lack of progress.

The main problem, however, was my knee. About a month after I'd injured it in the bus/truck accident - it was just starting to get better - I returned to work and was ambling around in my department, minding my own business, when some woman's psychotic kid crashed into my knee full force and caused it to dislocate again. After another two weeks off, I returned to work again, but I am on modified duties and can only work limited hours. I also have to wear a knee brace and I need a walking stick to get around, as my knee still gives out on me at times and cannot be trusted to reliably bear my weight. As someone who used to do karate (I was training for my 2nd Dan Black Belt when I had to quit because of my knee in 2007) and used to be fairly fit in general, this is incredibly frustrating. You don't realise how much you take basic things like the ability to run for granted until you can't do them anymore. I can't even take Rex for a walk.

I have seen a surgeon already, and though I have to wait until I have an MRI at the end of January before I can go back and get a better idea of the costs/procedure etc required, it looks like I am going to require fairly significant surgery on both knees (the right one will be first as it is in much worse condition). Basically, my bones are out of alignment, which means the back of my kneecaps have been wearing the wrong way, my kneecaps are too small and my ligaments are too loose, so there's pretty much nothing to hold everything in place. The surgeon estimates I'll be looking at a recovery time of six months, so organising that around my uni commitments will be fun...

I will be starting my PhD this year and I was lucky enough to qualify for a scholarship, which will be a huge help; however, since both academics I've chosen as my supervisors are on leave for semester one, I probably won't be starting until June. I know I must be crazy to be taking on full-time research - it will cut into my writing and painting time even more - but what is life without some craziness :)

So... Goals.

Though I won't be starting my own studies until mid year, I will most likely be teaching in first semester, which begins in early March. This means that, though the last month of Round 1 will be focused more on academic goals, it will still give me nearly two months before that of just working on my creative goals. I also want to add in some health-related goals. My main desire, though, is to get back to writing regularly. As so often happens, I have fallen out of the habit of doing a small amount of writing every day and have somehow ended up doing a few days with intense word counts (2-3,000) and then going several days or even a week without writing a single word.

Creative Goals

• Write at least 250 words per day (possibly drop this to twice a week once uni starts). The first 250 words must be on Dark and Silent Waters; anything after that can either be on DASW or on my brain poo project (a term coined by one of my writing course friends, "brain poo" essentially refers to doing a 'conscious dump' of ideas, forsaking attempts at elegance in favour of just getting the ideas out of your head and onto paper/screen).
• Do at least one painting or drawing per week. It can be any medium, just as long as I make some sort of artwork. It will most likely be acrylic, watercolour or pastel, since those seem to be what take my fancy at the moment; my coloured pencil collection lies largely abandoned.
• Maintain writing/art blog. I've done a few book reviews and a few art supply reviews, and though I've been updating some of the art supply comparisons, the blog is kind of idle. I already have some posts lined up for more art supply reviews/comparisons, but I want to be more active with my posting.

Academic Goals

• To be determined, but for Round 1 will basically just entail keeping up with class preparation and assignment marking etc., as well as PhD preparation work (maybe).

Health Goals

• 10 minutes slow exercise-bike riding per day, to try to restore cardio fitness.
• 30 minutes swimming per week (twice a week if my knee can take it).
• Go through one sheet of physio knee exercises per day. I have become lax with this recently because of the pain in my knee, but I really need to start trying to at least strengthen the muscles around my knees again, as the stronger it is before I have surgery, the faster (hopefully) I will heal.
• Only one piece of chocolate and one energy drink per week. Being the sugarholic that I am, this will be the hardest, but I look at it this way; it will save me money on energy drinks and chocolate and hopefully on dental bills as well, giving me more to spend on art supplies life expenses.

So there we have it. I will probably update only once a week, unless anything out of the ordinary happens.

And, of course, Judgemental Dog will be beside me every step of the way (especially when there's food involved).

See other ROW80ers' goals here.

ROW80 Round 8: 3rd Update

Surprisingly enough, I have actually been quite productive this week. Really, it is surprising, because a) I've still been in a lot of pain with my knee injury, b) I bought a new book to read and c) I bought a new Nintendo DS game (I wasn't going to because I didn't want to distract myself and I thought I should save my money for knee-related expenses, but they had it on sale at work and I got some extra work from uni so I had to buy it :D). Any of these things on their own would usually be enough to have me procrastinating til the cows come home (MOOOOOO!), but somehow I'm managed to ration both my reading and game-playing time and mark just under two thirds of the assignments that were submitted last week. I am hoping to get all of them finished by Friday night, as that is when all the assignments for my other subject are due, so I'll have to get started on those ones next :) And, after my two classes on Friday, the semester is over, so I'll have a lot more free time, which I am sorely looking forward to.

Also, I somehow got myself nominated for a Teaching Excellence Award, which was pretty cool and definitely helped make a crappy week less crappy. I most likely won't win since I'm sure there are other academics out there who are more experienced and/or have more nominations than me, but it is a nice confidence boost. Even though I don't have much chance of actually winning, I'm still going to fill in the application (there are a bunch of forms to fill out) just on the off chance it was a slow year for nominations, because the award money could help me pay for knee specialist consultations/MRIs/surgery etc.

On the writing front; I didn't write anything today because I was marking, but I did get in a few hundred words on my main work in progress on Monday and Tuesday night. It sucks that I am unable to go to my normal part time job because of my knee, but I suppose it does give me a little extra time for writing (on the whole, I'd rather be able to walk without the use of a cane and earn money, though). One of my sidelined WiPs (a steampunk fantasy) has also been rattling around in my head again lately, seemingly vying for my attention to be my NaNoWriMo project. At this stage I'm still planning to work on Dark and Silent Waters for NaNo, but I may still dabble in the steampunk one if my muse takes me in that direction. Provided I have finished my first lot of marking, I am going to set aside Saturday as a creative day, where I will do nothing but draw, paint and/or work on my novel (either actually writing it or fixing up the outline, both need doing).

I think Judgemental Dog approves (sort of) of my game-playing and book-reading:

Click here to see how other ROW80ers are doing.

ROW80 Round 8: 2nd Update

This week has been a bit of a wreck... Literally. On my way to uni on Monday, my train was delayed because of an accident on the line, and the replacement bus I was on got hit by a truck, resulting in a concussion and dislocated knee for me (it wasn't a hard impact, but it was enough to jolt the bus and make me lose my footing, dislocating my knee as I tried to stop myself falling and then hitting my head as I fell anyway :(  ) I still managed to get to my class, though, as well as taking my class on Tuesday morning, but by the time I got home I was in so much pain that I had to take some of my strongest painkillers, which made me kind of fuzzy-headed and reduced my mental capacity to that of a brain-damaged goldfish. Plus the concussion meant that the slightest little thing reduced me to state of incoherent rage and despair, so I thought it best to just step away from the computer lol To be fair, I've had a problem with that knee for a good ten years - this is probably the 7th time I've dislocated it since the original karate injury - and it's got so weak and unstable that someone just has to fart next to it and that will blow it out of alignment, but I was hoping to be able to put off going to the specialist for another few months...

I spent most of yesterday and this morning alternating between staring vacantly at my screen and catching up on various admin tasks for uni, though I did squeeze in an hour or so of writing yesterday and half an hour this morning, which produced about 700 words and 300 words respectively, so at least I've made the weekly limit I'd set for myself. Rex keeps nudging his leash and then standing beside me and staring at me with guilt lasers in his eyes, but unfortunately the goal of walking him twice weekly will be on hold for a while; even with my walking stick, I'm not capable of much more than an awkward, shuffling power-waddle, so I wouldn't be able to keep up with an impatient German Shepherd :) The rest of today will be spent formatting a sample exam for students, and after that, it will all just be a blur of assignment marking.

And there's a new Nintendo DS game out today that I really want (Pokemon Black 2) and because I'll be spending money on physio, I won't be able to buy it for ages >:( I know I probably won't have time to play it anyway, but still... Bugger #firstworldproblems haha

Judgemental Dog seems to have let the power go to his head:

 See how other ROW80ers are going here.

ROW80 Round 8: 1st Update

Well, it's been a hectic first week of this ROW80 round. It feels like I spent most of the time either at uni or marking uni assignments. Luckily there are only two weeks left of semester, so even though I'll have assignments to mark, I won't have classes, which will free up some time (and energy). After I'd finished marking assignments, I ended up on YouTube (the great procrastination tool of the Internet) and, as usual, found myself watching music videos that bore no relation to whatever I'd gone there for originally. One of those videos was this one:

Yes, I know it's full of 90s pop-music terri-bad (though that black sequined outfit is equal parts bizarre and epic), but strangely enough it got me thinking about my novel (normally I'd feel that gothic/symphonic metal matches the plot better, but apparently my brain has other ideas). Leaving aside the video's laughably awful 'plot' (eg. I'm pretty sure the life support machine would work better if it was actually attached to the dude in some way haha), the characters almost echo the three key players in Dark and Silent Waters; we have the bat-shit insane evil lady/ruler of death who is determined to steal the soul of an innocent man, with his life depending on the strength and determination of the woman who loves him. I also like the 'monologue' from the Death character, which sounds like something the antagonist of DASW would say, if she were in the habit of bursting into 90s pop songs.

In other news, Rex is still on his medication for his bowel disease, but he seems to be responding pretty well, his dose has been lowered to three times a week instead of once daily. He is his normal happy, bouncy self, even if he's starting to slow down a bit with age, and we're hoping that this round of medication will knock his disease out entirely, though more realistically - as the vet says - we'll probably have to keep him on a low dose for the rest of his life.

Anyway, goal progress so far:

• Write 500 words on Wednesdays and Thursdays: Didn't write on Wednesday or Thursday because I was marking assignments and I had to do preparation work for my Friday classes. My old man deciding to renovate the kitchen (and being as noisy and disruptive about it as humanly possible) has delayed me a bit, as it is impossible to concentrate with him hammering and pulling things apart and swearing every five minutes. (update: managed to write about 300 words today, better than nothing)
• Come up with PhD idea: Sort of. Have been discussing it with lecturer and have been throwing a few concepts around, but still haven't really settled on one. Really need to sort this out quickly. Have started putting together a vague document for my research proposal.
• Do 1 painting/drawing each week: No artwork done, but I have done another colour chart for some new pastels I got, which will be used in a review on my other blog.
• Keep up to date with assignment marking: Yep :) Have marked all submitted assignments to date. This week my students are all doing presentations, which means less preparation work, but both subjects have large assignments due at the end of this week and next week, so after that I will be snowed under with marking.
• Keep up to date with research assistant duties: So far yes, though admittedly there hasn't been that much to do at this stage.
• Walk Rex twice a week: He got a walk on Wednesday but not on Thursday; my knee injuries were playing up and I thought that being dragged along by an impatient German Shepherd probably wouldn't help :D

Judgemental Dog lays on the guilt trip:

See how other ROW80ers are going here.

ROW80 Round 8: Goals and Musings

I can predict with almost 100% certainty that I will get off to a pretty slow start this Round, but I'm hoping to get a lot more done in the second half. Next week will be a bit better since the students for both subjects are doing presentations, which means I don't have nearly as much preparation work to do for classes, but at the end of the week, both subjects also have (large) written assignments due, so the week or two after that will be consumed by marking (kill me now haha), as well as bits and pieces for the usability testing I'm helping out with as a research assistant (which should be good experience for when I'm doing my PhD). After that, things should get easier.

Anyway, my goals will be broken up for the first and second parts of the round, ie. The first month, when I'm still busy with uni stuff, and the remaining months, when things should hopefully have settled down with uni (though it will be getting busier at my retail job).

So, Part 1 Goals (Oct 1-Oct 26):

• Write 500 words on Wednesdays and Thursdays
• Come up with PhD ideas (must be done before mid October if I'm to have time to submit a decent research proposal)
• Do 1 painting/drawing each week (doesn't have to be a finished piece, can just be a sketch)
• Keep up to date with assignment marking
• Keep up to date with research assistant duties
• Walk Rex twice a week

Part 2 Goals (Oct 27-Dec 20):

• Write 500 words every day
• Do 3 paintings/drawings each week (again, can just be sketches)
• NaNoWriMo (?) If I do this, I'm going to 'cheat' and work on my novel in progress, Dark and Silent Waters, instead of starting a new novel like we're supposed to. I just feel like that's a better use of my writing time and energy.
• Walk Rex every weekday

I was hoping to come into this round refreshed and relaxed, but that hasn't happened... Last week was the mid-semester break when I was hoping to have time to myself (which is something I really need; I can only tolerate a certain amount of human interaction and I have long since exhausted my supply for now), but as usual, the more I wanted to be left alone, the more people kept getting in my face. I also learned the important lesson of "Do Not Post Opinions On The Internet That Are Different To Other People's". Not that it will stop me - I don't see why I should respect other people's opinions if they think I don't have the right to my own - but it was interesting (and a little amusing) to see some of the reactions I got. Ah well... I suppose it keeps me from being bored, though it would have been nice to just kick back a bit :)

Also, I managed to get one more drawing done since the last Round (yep, just one... Family and academia keep getting in my way):

As always, my faithful companion Judgemental Dog will be overseeing my writing antics :)

See what other ROW80ers are up to here.

ROW80 Round 7: Final Update

I've missed the last several check-ins but I was at least able to make the final one :) I finally finished my marking after another bout of illness set me back a whole week, and I have about a week and a half before my next assignments come in. Next week is the semester break so I will finally have time to relax and do more writing and painting. I haven't done any writing or painting since last check-in apart from late last night and this evening, when I managed to squeeze in a few hundred extra words for my novel. I had one of those awesome moments where I was aimlessly browsing YouTube and stumbled across a music video that provided some much needed creative inspiration, so I've been hurriedly jotting down notes for scenes that I'll be able to write later.

I'm also contemplating whether or not I'll do NaNoWriMo this year (I know it's more than a month away, but still...). I do like the idea of just doing nothing but writing for a month (in my case it will be a bit less than a month, as I'll still have exam marking etc to do in early November), but I'm not sure it really suits the way I write. NaNoWriMo is mainly about just letting yourself go and writing and not editing, even if it's rubbish, and I can't really make myself do that; I would rather go a bit slower and try to concentrate more on quality than quantity. I did NaNoWrimo in 2010 and got 50,000 words, but I only ended up keeping about 12,000. I'd rather write slower and just get, say, 20,000 words and be able to keep a larger percentage of it. Plus, technically for NaNoWriMo you have to start a completely new novel and I'd rather keep working on Dark and Silent Waters (I have other story ideas/fragments but DASW is the one that I really care about, really want to see finished). Eh, I'll probably end up NaNo-ing anyway, if for no other reason than it will give me an excuse to consume insane amounts of chocolate and energy drinks without feeling guilty :D

Anyway, I'm off to try to do a quick drawing before going to bed. One day of uni tomorrow and then holidays :)

(edit to update: finally managed to get some art done :D This is my first soft pastel drawing, a pear drawn in Faber-Castell and Rembrandt pastels)

Judgemental Dog has his priorities right:

Find out how the other ROW80ers went this round. See you next round!

ROW80 Round 7: 10th Update

Well, I'm finally starting to feel reasonably healthy again, just in time for the nice spring weather :) (it seems weird looking out the window and not seeing black clouds and torrential rain). Fairly short update this week; I wrote 500 words on Friday and Saturday and have finished one batch of marking, though now I have a second lot to keep me busy. My students for both subjects don't have assignments due til the end of semester now, so hopefully the next few weeks will be a bit quieter, giving me more time for writing and painting.

I've also dug out my folder with all my papers in it from last year for my Honours thesis. I'm hoping that going through it will give me some ideas for my PhD thesis. The deadline for applying for a scholarship is at the end of October, which is a while away, but I'm wary of time getting away from me; plus, once I come up with my idea, I still need to write it up properly as a research proposal. I've also decided that if I do get a scholarship, I'm going to get myself a tablet PC. I know I don't need one, but I have been wanting one for a while, and it would be pretty handy to take to uni, instead of my bulky laptop or big folders of paper. Haven't decided what type I'll get, though... Any suggestions?

Words of wisdom from Judgemental Dog:

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ROW80 Round 7: 9th Update

I've been sick for most of this week, but luckily have at least managed to get some work done. I've marked all but 3 of the 15 tests from last week's class and should hopefully finish the rest tomorrow (and then I can look forward to getting 50-odd reports to mark on the weekend... *sigh*). I spent most of today just watching DVDs as I still don't feel too well (lack of sleep from coughing has left me with a general tired/headache/dizzy 'blehness'), though I did catch up on most of my admin stuff for uni. I'm hoping to be up-to-date with everything by tomorrow evening, because I'll be at uni all day Friday and won't have time to work on much after that.

I had been aiming at 500 words per day recently, but I think I'll have to drop that back to two or three days a week, especially with the load of marking coming up. I didn't get much done on Dark and Silent Waters, aside from a few hundred words of brainstorming stuff, but I did add about 1,000 words to my other WiP. So I did some writing, at least.

I also transferred my ROW80 blog to a new blog, as you can see. I figured that my proper WordPress blog has my name in it, and if/when I manage to get something published and someone searches my name looking for my writing or art, I'd rather that blog come up first than this one (not that there's anything wrong with this one, but outside of ROW80ers, no one is going to be interested in me rambling about writing and academia and Rex and not having enough chocolate lol). So I decided to make this one a bit more nonsensical :) (I know I need to fix up the header a bit, I made this one using a dodgy online Photo editor)

Nothing I do is good enough for Judgemental Dog:

See how other ROW80ers are going here.

ROW80 Round 7: 8th Update

Since the last check-in, I've managed to write at least 500 words for my novel every day except Saturday (only managed about 200 because I was under the weather). I also only got about 3 tests marked, but I guess that was better than nothing; I really would have preferred just to sleep through the whole weekend.

My progress has been somewhat slowed by me coming down with a cold. Since I hurt my back while helping Rex get around a few weeks ago, I haven't slept well. And when I don't sleep well, it screws with my immune system, and then I get sick. I knew it was coming :) Still, my students are doing class presentations this week, meaning I don't have to do much talking; if I had to get sick during semester, I picked the perfect time. I know it's just a mild cold, but I swear it's draining all my energy... This must be what it's like to have man-flu :D I still have another 12 tests or so that I need to get done before the middle of this week. Friday is the assignment due date for my other subject, so I want to get the tests out of my way before those come rolling in.

This week will be mostly consumed by test/assignment marking, but I also want to find time to do at least one painting or drawing. And I'm hoping to continue my 500 words a day streak. I also need to brainstorm some ideas for my PhD topic; applications don't close til October but I need to have at least a semi-decent idea for my research proposal if I'm to have any chance at getting a scholarship.

A little hypocrisy from Judgemental Dog?

See how other ROW80ers are going here.

P.S. His Judgemental Holiness appears to have fully recovered from his bout of vestibular disease. He hasn't had any dizziness or staggering for two days, and we took him for a walk down by the river on Saturday morning and he had a ball running through the long grass, chasing rabbits and paddling in the creek. We're still battling his bowel disease, but it's so nice to see him wagging his tail again :)

ROW80 Round 7: 7th Update

This week has been a bit better than last week, with Rex finally feeling a little more like himself. He is still fairly quiet, especially since we've just put him back on his full dose of medication for his bowel disease now that the vestibular disease has mostly passed. Dad and I took him outside today for a little play, and though he got tired sooner than he usually does, he had a good time running around, chasing us and catching his ball, with only a few falls (and he was always up and ready to go again straight away).

I managed to write 1,500 words on Dark and Silent Waters yesterday, and another 500 so far today. The next couple of weeks will probably be a lot less productive, since both subjects I teach have assignments due, so I'll be spending most of my time marking. Still, at least I've made some progress :)

Also, someone shared a link to this post on Twitter, and I thought it was quite handy since I'm writing fantasy. Though no one has magic in my novel except for the antagonist (and, for a while, the protagonist), it was still a helpful exercise to go through and answer some of these questions; some of which had obvious answers, and some I had to think about quite carefully. The questionnaire has also planted the seeds for a few other plot points, so that can only be a good thing. I'm also going to fill out the same questionnaire for my previous WiP, Exile, so that when I return to it, I'll have a clearer idea about how the magic is structured. It also reminded me of the utter car wreck that was my first novel manuscript from when I was 13 or so (it was hand written in an A5 exercise book, filling up about 2/3rds of the 320 pages). Every major character had a different magical ability, and there was no consistency to what their magic did, what limitations it had, how they could use it etc. And the sad thing was, that wasn't even the worst thing wrong with that novel haha

Judgemental Dog has decided to reassert his authority:

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ROW80 Round 7: 5th Update

Surprisingly enough, I've managed to write 500 words every day since the last check-in. Most of it has gone towards one chapter in the middle of Dark and Silent Waters. Also surprisingly, the words mostly came easily; it's a fairly dark scene, and when I planned it in my outline, I wondered how I'd fare when it actually came to writing it. I think the chapter still needs some work - could do with some tightening in some places - but I'm quite pleased that I've at least got the bones of the scene down.

I've also been kicking around a few ideas for a sequel (or at least, a book in the same series/style) for Belvedere, the illustrated children's book I did for my non-IT elective for Honours last year. I loved writing the story and doing the backgrounds and character illustrations was a lot of run, but having to do it to such a tight deadline (less than 12 weeks) along with other academic deadlines made the whole experience a lot more stressful than it should have been. It also meant that some things got rushed, and though I am proud of the book I created last year, there are some aspects of it that I feel were rushed and that I could have done better if I'd had more time. If and when I do another children's book, I'll have more time to refine it. Not just the story, but the artwork as well; the illustration style for Belvedere was quite simple, with basic backgrounds of acrylic paint and various fabrics and cardboards, and characters hand drawn and then coloured and textured in Photoshop. In my next children's book, I'd like to go with a more traditional illustration method, using coloured pencils and/or watercolour paints. Then again, having two related books in the same 'world' with completely different artwork styles might be a bit jarring... Ah well, more possibilities to ponder :)

To end with a bit of bad news; Rex went to the vet today to be sedated, so he could have his paw X-Rayed and his teeth cleaned, and also got a check over to see how his bowel disease is going. Unfortunately it is no better, so he now has to have his medication twice a day, instead of just twice a week; the higher dose may make him feel sick for the next week or two. As if that wasn't bad enough, Rex has had a bad reaction either to the anaesthetic or to having his ears cleaned out, and now appears to have vertigo; he's staggering around dizzily with his head tilted to the right and his eyes are constantly flicking back and forth. The vet said he should come good within the next 24 hours, but if he's no better tomorrow, he'll have to go back to get looked at. Now he's just home sleeping on his bed, so we're hoping he gets better on his own overnight. We're keeping a close eye on him, talking to him and patting him, but I'm sure he'd appreciate any virtual cuddles or tummy rubs folks might want to send his way. I hate seeing him so miserable :(

I'm sure if Judgemental Dog were feeling better, he'd be proud of me...

See how other ROW80ers are going here.

ROW80 Round 7: 4th Update

So far I've been keeping up with uni work, though it still seems like the semester is going really quickly (almost up to week 4 already; eep!). I also knocked out two books in my to-read pile, which may not seem like a big achievement, but I've had so little time to read recently it was nice to just relax and read some new fiction. I've also been toying with the idea of beginning my Ph.D next year, though I haven't decided for sure; if I do it, I'll need to come up with a topic. Applications close in October so I still have some time to think about it. I'm torn between wanting to stay in the academic world I enjoy and get to wear the funny hat and have people refer to me as "Doctor" and wanting to go out and get a 'real' job so I can earn money and get my own house. I know that the longer I leave my Ph.D, the less likely I am to do it, although I could probably do it part time while working. I'll have to wait and see. The trouble is that either way is going to take up a lot of my creative time, and I know that's part of working like an adult and all that grown-up stuff (lol), but I have this constant worry in the back of my mind that I'll get to 60 years old and still have no finished novels or no completed art projects of any worth, which then gets that voice in my head saying, "Don't bother trying, you'll fail anyway." I'm sure I'm not the only one who's struggled with this sort of thing, but I still need to figure out a way to shut that voice up :|

Side note: Chuck Wendig posted this article on 25 Ways to Survive as a Creative Person this morning. I think it's well worth a read, and I want to try to work on adhering to at least some of those points.

I haven't got much done on Dark and Silent Waters (which is currently just under the 40,000 word mark), but I have printed out the outline for DASW and cut it up into sections so I could spread it out over the floor (our lounge-room resembled a ticker-tape parade) and work out how each piece fit into the story as a whole. I've made a few notes for a couple of sections and I think I've sorted out the plot hole/implausibility issues for at least some of the problem scenes. I did manage to write another 2,500 words or so on my other work in progress today. It's one I've had on the side for years, before I even started DASW. Aside from Exile (my main WiP for several years before I started DASW), this story is probably the one I've made the most progress on out of all of my begun-and-then-abandoned stories (and, shamefully, there are many of those scattered around my hard drive). I'm not sure what genre it is, but I guess it's somewhere between crime, horror and urban fantasy. I would rather the words have gone towards my proper WiP, but progress is progress, right? ... Right?

Judgemental Dog doesn't think so:

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ROW80 Round 7: 3rd Update

Aaaarrgghh... It's already August. Where has the year gone? D:

Short update this time, since I still have some preparation work to do for a class tomorrow. I've spent most of my time over the last couple of weeks either being at uni or thinking about uni, so writing has taken a bit of a back seat (as I knew it would). However, I have still managed to make some progress on my main WiP, Dark and Silent Waters. Most of this was handwritten in a notebook on the train on my way too and from uni, though, so I'm not sure how many words exactly, but it was about 10 A5 pages. I still need to type it up on my computer. I also wrote about 1,000 words for another story idea that I came up with a few years ago but never really did anything with; I'd always loved the concept/world I'd imagined, but never really came up with any characters or events to go along with it. I don't know why it waited til now to grace me with ideas, and I don't know how much of it I'll end up doing, but at least now I have something to potter around with when I get stuck on DASW. Haven't had time to do much painting or drawing, but I'm hoping to do some of that over the weekend.

In other news, I know a lot of ROW80ers are writers of (or at least, fans of) paranormal romance. My friend Samantha Marshall has just released her first self-published novel, Aislinn's Shadow (cover photography by our friend, Tony Tulloch).  At this stage it's only available on Kindle but if you have an iPhone/iPad etc you can download the Kindle app and read it that way. I'm not generally a fan of paranormal romance but Aislinn's Shadow is well-written story that kept me reading until the final page; it provides a fresh take on the concept of werewolves (and other creatures). I believe it's the first in a series, and it's definitely worth a read.

Judgemental Dog tries his best to be encouraging.

See how other ROW80ers are going here.

ROW80 Round 7: 2nd Update

I'm hoping that everyone else is doing better than I am so far this round, because aside from a few days of very good word counts, I haven't done a lot :( This was mostly because I had a nasty stomach bug last week and spent most of Sunday to Thursday curled up in the foetal position around the toilet, so I guess that couldn't really be helped, but it is still annoying that I missed out on all that potential writing time. I did have three or four days of 1,000-1,500 word counts, so at least I partially made up for it; I think since my last check-in I've added around 5,000 new words to my novel. I haven't done any new drawings or paintings, but I have been working on a coloured pencil test/comparison for my other blog, since I want to be more active with that blog in terms of reviews and so on.

Eating healthy is out the window for this week; while I was sick I lost several kilos, so now I have to try to put some weight back on to stop my pants falling down all the time :| Also, I just found out I'm teaching four classes this semester instead of two (as well as still working my other part-time job), which is excellent for my bank balance (especially with Rex still on his medication and the strong possibility he'll have to remain on it for life) but not so good for writing/art/web development time. Ah well, I'll have to find ways to get creative with my time management :) The second semester starts a week from tomorrow, so at least I'll have some time to try to catch up on my goals before I start teaching again.

Judgemental Dog is less than sympathetic about me stressing my brains out...

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ROW80 Round 7: Goals and 1st Update

I know this post is a few days late, for some reason I got my dates mixed up and thought the round started next Monday :| I blame lack of sleep, I'm still trying to get my sleeping pattern back to some semblance of normality after working midnight to 7am last week. Since the last round, I've added around 2,000 words to my novel, but have probably deleted as much in scenes that became obsolete when I wrote and/or revised other sections. I did manage to do a quick, colourful sketch in my art journal:

I also recently stumbled across Pinterest and thought it might be a good way to organise some of my novel-related inspirations (as well as other random things I like), so I set up my own account. Does anyone else here use it? What sort of things do you use it for?

This round's goals:

• Write at least 500 words every day until semester 2 begins
• During semester 2, write 500 words three days a week
• Keep tinkering with novel outline, especially the two problem areas
• Continue developing web folio
• Produce at least one decent sketch or piece of art work each week
• Visit at least 10 other ROW80er blogs each week

I'm only teaching two classes this semester instead of three, so keeping up with everything should be more doable, though I know that once I start teaching again I'll probably drop off a bit (especially considering how badly I bombed with my writing last semester).

To these productivity/creativity goals, I'm also going to add a personal health goal or two: exercise for 20 minutes every day, and start eating more healthy food. Though I haven't put on any weight, I've been lax with my exercise and eating habits over the last few months, since by the time I get home from working two jobs I'm too tired lazy to cook a proper meal or do much of anything. Exercise will have to be fairly light anyway because of my knee issues but some is better than none, and I can probably cook some decent food during the day and make an extra portion for dinner. Hopefully this will improve my general well-being and energy levels.

To finish off, Judgemental Dog seems unimpressed with my new friend, a Pillow Pet:

Good luck for this round, folks :)

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ROW80 Round 6: Slinking Back In...

... With my tail between my legs. Or I would be, if I had a tail. I know I've dropped the ball majorly this round, not just with ROW80 but with writing in general. I think I hugely underestimated how much time/energy would be taken up by tutoring (though I think it has been a good experience for me - as well as helping financially when I have really, really needed it - and I'm hoping to do it again next semester). With semester 1 finished, all that remains is exam marking. I've been pretty slack with writing lately; apart from the odd hundred words here or there, I've barely opened my novel since April, though I did write about 800 words today. Still, now that I have more time, I should be able to get more writing and artwork done. I did at least manage to keep up with all my marking though, so there's that. I have also started tinkering with my folio website. It's pretty basic so far, but I have got most of a functional shell working, so I have something to build upon now.

For the remainder of this round, I am going to try to post once a week, which should be manageable. Ideally, I'll also manage to visit a few other ROW80 blogs. As for my goals, I'll try to resume writing 500 words a day, and if I can't write those words for my main novel, Dark and Silent Waters, I'll at least write them for one of my other WiPs. I have been doing a few paintings and drawings lately, so I'm going to try to keep that up as well; practice, after all, makes perfect :D I'll start with a few simple still lifes and landscapes, but at some stage I want to do proper drawings of Rex and of my novel's protagonist and antagonist; I've already done a few pages of preliminary sketches and costume designs.

Judgemental Dog won't let me off lightly for being slack:

  

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