Self Inflicted Deadlines

I've been a slacker.

As I wrote those words I realized I've felt them before....UGH! Too many times.

For a long time I had that early morning writing time carved out where I wrote for about an hour before work. Now, looking back, I don't know why I stopped.

So last night I mentioned my latest WIP to my husband. It's finished and in rewrites. I said I should just take a weekend and lock myself in my office and just get it done. He laughed and nodded. The kind of nod that said, "Yeah, of course, we all know that."

My office has no television. It's a good place to zone out and write. If I go in there. Since I have a lap top I can write in the family room...you know... in front of the TV, (said no great writer ever.) I don't actually watch TV, I just like the background noise. Oh, and the news. I'm kind of a news junkie.

I was over at Konrath's blog and read about doing pre-sales on a book you're about the launch. Or as I call it; Panic Your Life! I'm not sure I could take the pressure of that. What if life got in the way? What if a family member needed me for something? What if the dog needed me to take her for a walk? What if I just panic and can't write?

I think work takes up a lot of my brain time. When I get home I don't want to think, I want to veg and let my head clear. I know that's only a Monday to Friday excuse so I have nothing for the weekends.

I think its time to start locking myself in my office on weekends and only come out for tea and food. (And laundry...)

How's your writing time going?

Dear little Blog...

I'm sorry I've been neglecting you. Work gets busy and by the time I get home my eyes are bleary from staring at the computer for so long. I work in the election biz so we're gearing up to make sure November 3rd is all by the book. There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes when you walk into the polling place. The election officials have been working for months to make sure everything will run smooth and by the time you place your vote their brains are fried. And it ain't over when the returns come in. There is still more to do. Clean up work. Then it starts all over. There are lots of little elections going on around the country in little towns that you may never hear of. Special school elections, fire elections, municipal elections...
So, if I haven't been here a lot it's because my brain cells are fried. My writing is taking a back seat and I feel like it's eat, sleep, work, eat, sleep, work...
Hopefully, I'll be back before November...but it not...happy writing!

Finding Your Rhythm

I joined the Mayke It Happen challenge through Liberty Writers and pushed off about 20,000 works quick and easy then...stalled.
I saw Anna DeStefano speak and one of the things she said was that she pushes right through a new story to the end. I tried, really tried, but it's just not doing it for me.
So Caridad Pinero said she nails the first two or three chapters first and then moves on. I went back and did that and it helped alot.
One of the other things I took from Anna was that she prints it all out and puts it in a binder. Then uses postit notes to mark POV and things she wants to work on. This idea I love! Aside from the editing feature it also give me the ability to go back and look things up. Thanks Anna!
I have another writer friend, and soon to be published author, who is also in law school. How she finds the time to write I'll never know! However if she can do it do I have any chance at a valid excuse? She says she writes in twenty minute clips. So I've been doing that. Of course, those 20 mins often stretch into more but it gets me going.
Even after years of writing I'm still finding my rhythm. In all this searching I think what's helped me most is other writers. I've never met a group of people like this before. They go out of their way to help other writers. I find this amazing.
What about you? How did you find your writing rhythm?

When time is not your own...

What do you do when the best laid plans...disappear?
I had my saturday all planned out. Hell, I've had the last two weeks planned out with the best of intentions to get a lot done. Working on my WIP, cleaning out my studio (the one room in the house where people think its okay to "shove" things without a home), catch up on those mountains of laundry (how can four people generate so much laundry???), and straighten up so I can finally find things around here. But things came up, people called, errands had to be run (Mall Cop with Kevin James called--loved it) and somehow nothing is done. Nothing. I haven't even blogged for crying out loud! I think I'm in withdrawals! Not a word added to the WIP, laundry seems to be growing and the dh decided to use my studio for a carpentry shop. Sawdust city!
Tomorrow is Sunday. I'm off Monday.
I got a lot to do. Every have one of those days? Weeks? Months?