ROW80 Round 5 - 5th Update

Family dramas have meant I haven't got as much done as I would have liked since Wednesday, but I've started to make up for it today, writing just over 800 words for my novel and cutting another 8 pages or so out of my thesis. I think one of my later chapters is almost complete, but I still haven't done enough work on the first part of my novel, which is what I really wanted to make progress on.

I also went to a writing workshop meeting yesterday - the first I've been able to attend in months - and it was good to catch up with some of my writerly friends again (and there were biscuits and cake :D). I didn't workshop anything myself, but hopefully I'll have something to submit next month (I've written plenty, just not in any logical/discernable order lol).

I'm hoping that this week I'll have more time to myself; for the last month there's almost always been someone else around annoying me about something or other, which makes it really hard to focus on anything. I still have a fair way to go on my thesis, and I want to make more progress on my novel, since my forward momentum has kind of faltered since the start of the year :(

Anyway, for your viewing pleasure, I leave you with my latest work of art (some of you will have seen it when I posted it on my Facebook account). Entitled "Rainbow Dreams", it's hailed by art critics as a daring look into the darkest recesses of the human psyche. A journey through light that brings together heart, mind and soul in a harmonious crescendo of ecstasy.

It's also the results of me scraping off the acrylic skins that dried on my paint palette after I did my children's book illustration backgrounds last year. Hey, if Pollock can make millions from making a mess with paint, so can I, dammit!

Judgemental Dog seems impatient for me to get some writing done...

See how other ROW80ers are going here.

Rex was feeling pretty poorly over most of the weekend, causing us all a bit of worry. He seems to be slightly happier now, though he still hasn't eaten much. He's due for another visit to the vet on Tuesday night.

P.S. If anyone else has Words with Friends and wants to challenge me, my user name is RebeccaJFleming. Look forward to playing :)

ROW80 Round 5 - 4th Update

I didn't write a lot on Monday or Tuesday (maybe 400-500 on each day), but today I've written just over 1,000 words. I did cut a few small bits from earlier chapters, though, as they weren't adding to the story and were dragging out over several paragraphs what could have been said in one. It feels good to have made some progress on my actual novel, even if it isn't much (I'm at around 34,000ish words. My friend who I'm unofficially racing with has more than 100,000 words of her manuscript :|). I'm still not really happy with my outline, but I've more or less accepted that I never will be :)

I've also abandoned the fairy painting for now (sorry, Nan) and started sketching a steampunk scene, which I will either colour with watercolour, acrylic (if/when I get some) or coloured pencils. The scene kept kind of appearing in my mind, so I had to start putting it down on paper. I also sent off a request form for some free acrylic paint samples; doubt I'll get them, but it can't hurt to try (I've been watching art tutorial videos on YouTube, which of course has made me want the paints even more). Free stuff = awesome. Art supplies = awesome. Free art supplies = EPIC WIN.

As for Rex (a.k.a. His Furry Judgemental Holiness), he seems to be a bit happier since starting his treatment, though that may also be due to his cortisone injection giving him some relief from his arthritis. He's still a bit off his food, but since he always loses his appetite in the hot weather (we're in the middle of summer here), we're not too concerned. However, I'm sure he appreciates all the hugs and cuddles :)

Judgemental Dog decides to get tough on slack writers:

See how other ROW80ers are doing here.

ROW80 Round 5 - 3rd Update

Another week with little writing done (until today, anyway), though I kind of have a valid reason. After going shopping (for art stuff. What a surprise) on Thursday afternoon, I got what turned out to be a dodgy meat pie for lunch and ended up with a bad case of food poisoning (it was like the Blitzkrieg on my digestive system, though thankfully the worst seems to have passed now), so for the last few days I've been too busy curled up around a bucket to be able to do any writing, and since yesterday have been bummed out because of some bad news (see end of post). However, this morning I've written almost another 1,000 words, and hope to get a bit more done before I go to work. The scene I wrote came out quite well, I think - very dark and a bit disturbing - so I'm hoping I won't need to change it too much or get rid of it once I've written more of the story (the scene doesn't appear til the last third of the book).

I did get a few notes jotted down for background info about the world politics and magic structure, so at least I was a bit productive, and it has prodded my brain towards writing a few actual scenes, which I've tentatively started to type up on my computer. My main sticking point is a royal character, who is important to the story, but I'm having trouble making her feel like she 'belongs' there, or at least that her actions/motivations are believable. I've also been sketching a fairy picture, which my nan requested to put on her fridge (she used to put my paintings on her fridge when I was five; twenty years on and not much has changed), but it's become one of those projects that just refuses to turn out right.

I have to admit I did spend a fair bit of time this week looking at paint sets (I really want some acrylics, but it doesn't look like I'll be getting them for a while), which most likely distracted me from writing. Still, now that I can't buy art supplies anymore, I should be able to focus more on writing than on browsing online art supply shops.

I've also been trying to finish off the last of the workshopping feedback since I have a meeting with my writing group next Saturday, so even though I'm not doing much of my own writing, it is at least something writing-related. Haven't done much on my thesis, though, which is kind of bad; I really need to get that sorted over the next week or so in order to send it to my Honours supervisor for feedback, but finding the motivation to open that document is a real struggle :(

In not-so-good news this week; poor old Rex had been a bit down lately, so yesterday we took him to the vet, worrying that he'd relapsed into a serious condition he had three years ago (a genetic disease common to German Shepherds where ulcers/furrows form in the bowel/intestine, causing bleeding, lack of energy and loss of appetite, and eventually death if untreated or if treatment is unsuccessful). Our fears turned out to be correct. We've started him on the medication again, so all we can do is hope that it works this time as well. We caught it earlier this time, and he's desexed, which works in his favour, but since he's male, old and has had the condition before, his chances are lower. We're giving him lots of cuddles and he seems in good spirits, even if he's a bit more quiet than usual, but hopefully he'll return to his happy, bouncy, psychotic self once the medication kicks in. Since the treatment will cost around two and a half grand, I won't be splurging on new books or paints or coloured pencils any time soon (or even chocolate and energy drinks, most likely), but if it means I'll (hopefully) still have my doggy in a few months' time, it's a sacrifice I'm more than happy to make (of course it had to happen right when my hours at work have been reduced by more than half).

Give Judgemental Dog a cuddle for good luck.

See how other ROW80ers are going here.

ROW80 Round 5 - 2nd Update

I've been a bit naughty. Not only did I miss the last check-in (I hadn't done anything worth checking in about anyway), I've barely done any writing on my actual novel over the last week (though I opened the Word document. That counts as work, right? Right??). In my defence, I've worked most days the last week, and the time I did have off was spent with my Nan (and she made me more chocolate fudge, SO THERE), but still, I would have liked to add a few words to the novel. Though I did get a bit more of my thesis edited, so there's that. I also managed to straighten out some bits of the dog's breakfast that is my outline in an attempt to iron out a few inconsistencies. I think the main things I have to work on are a) research for the medieval time period, particularly living conditions, government structure and weaponry/warfare, and b) the backstory/magical structure and rules for the Underworld and the immortal antagonist, since the more I dig through my plot, the more little things I discover that either could be done better, or that just don't make sense.

My Nan bought me a painting book on Monday, and it's given me a lot of ideas for illustrations for my novel characters. I've been doing a few sketches and I'm hoping to do a drawing/painting of one of them sometime this week. And I'm kind of looking forward to next week as well; I'll be starting my new roster with fewer hours now that the holiday rush is over, and though it will mean less money, it will mean more time for procrastinating - er... writing and painting. >.> As I mentioned in my goals post for the start of this round, I really want to get back into painting and drawing. I want to become a lot better at it than what I am, and the only way I can do that is with practice, but I also want to do it for the sake of the art itself, because I've always found drawing and painting to be relaxing (at least until things start going wrong, and then I turn into a homicidal maniac armed with sharpened pencils and paint-smeared brushes).

Also, for the love of whatever deity you believe in, will someone PLEASE drag me away from the online art supply stores before I spend any more money? (actually, wait til I order this really cool thing I just found... Okay, now drag me away) Yes, I have an art supply addiction. Don't judge me! I get enough of that from the mutt :|

Finally, I just had to share this awesome video, which I'm sure all readers and writers will love; What Happens in Bookstores at Night:


Judgemental Dog was a bit camera shy this week, so his deputies, Spot and Dash, have taken over cheer squad duties:

See how other ROW80ers are going here.

ROW80 Round 5 - 1st Update

It's 1am, I've just got home from work and am cracking open an energy drink to make the most of the sudden spike of writerly inspiration to frazzle my brain. SUGARSUGARSUGARSUGARSUGAR! *bounces off the walls a bit*

... Ahem.

I've worked almost every day over the last week (as well as having to help my dad as he goes on his annual obsessive-compulsive house-cleaning spree), but I had yesterday off. Even though most of it was spent bludging and wasting time with my iPod, I did get some writing done; enough to nudge my word count for my novel to just over 32,000. I tried editing my thesis today before work, but that pretty much consisted of me opening the Word document, staring at it balefully for half an hour and then closing it again. I'll set that aside for when I have a full day or two to myself (and when I'm in less of a foul mood). I also started outlining some other random idea for a story I had, getting about two pages of character junk and vague plot lines. And when I say random, I mean random; this story seriously doesn't know what genre it is. It's like fantasy, science fiction, steampunk, Western, historical fiction (Feudal Japan) and war. I think the Genre Fairy just hurled one of everything at me and left me to do the cleaning up (bitch).

Anyway, back to my fantasy novel: Though I've written heaps over the last fortnight or so, I'm still struggling to finish the damn second chapter. I know what needs to happen, but the two or three scenes that still need to be written just refuse to translate themselves into words. I'm one of those pepole who would love to be able to write in chronological order (and theoretically I should be able to with this novel, since it has a full outline), but generally my brain just picks a scene at random and decides that's what it will write. Plus, I've been looking over my outline, digging through it like a chimpanzee looking for fleas, and I can't shake the growing sense of dread that I've tried cramming too much into several of the chapters. The way it stands, I think that if I try writing according to the outline, several important scenes will be rushed, so I'm thinking a good chunk of outline revision is in order (consider that added to this round's goals). Also, my third chapter (which is more or less finished) is basically taking a giant expository dump on the reader's head, so it's going to need a serious rewrite.

I'm having the writers' equivalent of a mid-life crisis (mid-novel crisis?). Send chocolate.

Two bits of good news, though. One: Boris (my car) has not yet exploded or attempted to kill or impoverish me in any way (I suspect he's trying to lull me into a false sense of security). And two: After next week my rosters will be changing, so I'll no longer be working on Saturdays. Which means I'll be able to go to my writing workshop meetings again! Yay! :D

I know we're only two days into this round of ROW80, but it seems like time is already rushing away from me. I wrote almost 10,000 words in the week or so before New Year, so maybe I've just burnt myself out, but I feel like I could have got more done over the last few days, if I'd had more time to myself. In fact, I'm convinced the Time Goblins have been sneaking around behind me and stealing all my spare time when I'm not looking (Time Goblins are distant cousins of the Desk Goblins, who are responsible for making sure I'm unable to locate a specific piece of stationery on my desk when I need it). I read most of the goal posts by other ROW80ers but didn't get a chance to comment on nearly as many as I would have liked. Still, I'll try to get around to more ROW80 blogs later in the week. But for now, time for writing O_O

Judgemental Dog resorts to bribery to get some more writing out of his mistress:

See how other ROW80ers are going here.

ROW80 Round 5 Goals

WHEEEE! Time for ROW80 Round 5! *cue trumpet fanfare and obnoxious fireworks display*

My novel's word count as of the start of Round 5 is 31,202. In my previous post I decided that if I got to 30,000 words by the end of 2011, I would buy myself something expensive that I didn't really need as a reward (for those who don't know me, this is a big thing; I'm usually a complete tightarse and will avoid spending large amounts of money where possible, to the point where I literally waited for my old phone to fall to pieces before buying my current one, and the last tech gadget I bought was my Nintendo DS back in 2008 or so).

After a sugar-fueled writing bender last week, I discovered I'd passed my goal by 400 words on December 29. I decided to reward myself with a new iPod Touch. Needless to say, I spent the following few days playing with it and loading music, apps and eBooks (including some by fellow ROW80ers) onto it and not doing any writing at all, but now I'm once again ready to write (as long as I don't get distracted by Angry Birds and Sudoku).

I'm waiting for my car to break down now, though. Every time I do spend a lot of money on something relatively frivolous, my stupid Ford POS decides to wear out/break something or other, leaving me with an expensive repair bill. The fact that part of my steering wheel lock melted all over my seat while I was at work today (it was 40 degrees C) was not a good omen. (my car's name is Boris. Boris is a jerk.)

Anyway, my Round 5 goals:
-Finish Part 1 (first four chapters) of Dark and Silent Waters. Or, failing that, finish any four new chapters (I often have difficulty writing in chronological order)
-Revise thesis and submit for journal publication
-Present at least two pieces of writing for workshopping group
-Finish workshopping previous submissions from other workshoppers (I'm so far behind. Uni and work and novel-writing ate all my time :|)
-Revise conference paper and submit for conference publication
-Practice more painting and drawing (characters, landscapes and still life)
-Begin hunting for IT/Multimedia job

I know those last two aren't really measurable goals as such, but they are still things I really need to start doing, so I'll slip them in between my writing/revising goals. I don't know if I'm aiming too high with my goals, but they are all things that need to be done.


(Judgemental Dog doing his best to be encouraging/intimidating)

I'm hoping to do better this year. In 2011 I got a substantial amount of writing done - more than I would have without ROW80, I'm sure - but not as much as I wanted (though I completed a 20,000 word thesis and an illustrated children's book, so I guess I can't complain too much). However, this year, I don't have the excuse of academic pressures, so I *should* be able to focus a lot more on my writing.

Give Judgemental Dog a scratch. It will bring you good luck.

See what goals other ROW80ers have made here.

ROW80 Round 4 - Final Update

Here we are at the end, not just of ROW80 Round 4 but also of 2011 (where did the year go?).

When I look back at where I was writing-wise at the start of the year, I'm amazed by how far I've come. Even though I completely bombed in NaNoWriMo (which was to be expected), the amount of writing I've got done this year has made me realise that I can do this writing thing after all. I think having the ROW80 challenge has been a great motivator in allowing me to encourage - and be encouraged by - other like minded people struggling along on the same journey. Having my writing workshop group with my former TAFE classmates has been awesome as well (even if I had to miss the last few meetings of the year due to work and uni), as critiquing other people's writing and receiving constructive feedback on my own work makes me want to challenge myself to make my writing better. I'm looking forward to both more ROW80 and more workshopping in 2012 :)

As far as goals go, it's been a bit hit and miss this year, but to be honest, I think I was aiming too high in some cases. I achieved all of my academic goals, but I think a lot of that was because there were tangible deadlines for those, and tangible consequences if I missed those deadlines. I guess because there were no real ramifications if I didn't finish a chapter of my novel, I didn't always try as hard to write as I should (sure, some days I wrote heaps, but not enough to make up for the days I didn't).

As for my final check-in: I still haven't touched my thesis, and I probably won't until at least the end of December. But this week I have been smashing out more than 1,000 most days on my novel (bringing me to around the 25,000 word mark at the moment), so at least I feel like I'm getting something done. It's been one of those rare times where the words and the story just flow, and though I'm not happy with all of what I've written, it's at least enough to get the gist of the scene down on the page so I can build on it as a foundation for the better bits. I can always demolish it and rewrite it later (another issue I'm trying to get over; the need to endlessly revise and pick at a single chapter or paragraph instead of getting more actual writing done).

I've also decided to set another goal, even though it's not ROW80 anymore, and it's a fairly big one. I want to hit 30,000 words of my novel by the end of 2011. It will be a bit of a slog, but I've decided that if I can achieve this goal, I'm going to buy myself something really cool (though at the moment I have no idea what that really cool something will be). Will let you know how that goes in my goal-stating post for Round 1 of 2012 :) If I can maintain the momentum I've had over the last few days, I should be home free.

As a parting gift for ROW80 2011, I leave you a little something I made in Photoshop (while procrastinating, of course):

May His Furry Judgemental Holiness inspire you to greater creativity and productivity!

Just you watch, Judgemental Dog. I'll show you.

(show Judgemental Dog some love. Follow him on Twitter or Like him on Facebook.)

Check out how other ROW80ers fared here. See you next round!