Life happens.

But its beginning to feel like this is my go to excuse, like its no longer a reason for not getting to whatever it is that I planned to accomplish.

I was talking to a friend a few days ago about the difficulty of working in law enforcement full time (a job that seems to last well past 5pm most days) and turning on my creativity or even having the energy to create. My day job is not conducive to my creativity. I’ve been trying to figure out why I don’t write stories that involve crime. Honestly, once I leave work, I really do not want to think about it. I mainly write about everyday people and their relationships with one another, the idiotic things we sometimes get ourselves into, and their determination to be better.

For the past few weeks I’ve been reading (or trying my damnedest to) and re-evaluating the direction I want to go with a particular story. At the same time, I’m trying to figure out what type of writer I am and how to maximize my output with limited time. I’m still trying to work through Story Engineering by Larry Brooks and I’ve been hopping
blog to blog getting inspiration from others. One thing I noticed that I do not do well (because I tend to get lost in cyberspace) is link back to the blogs that I visit and have been helpful. Well, today I read a few of Dawn Montgomery‘s posts that have helped me think and rethink a few things.

(BTW, Dawn if you’re reading this I think you’re funny… not sure if that means much because I think I’m funny too and I KNOW some of my jokes are distasteful -to some- but mostly corny as ever! LOL!)

It sometimes seems as if I am not doing enough in terms of writing. This may be undo pressure that I am applying to myself or it could be reality. Yes, learning the craft is very important and worth spending time on but do I do so in lieu of actually putting words on paper. As I learn more about the craft, I question whether I should chuck the thousands of words I melded together so far in several WIPs and start from scratch. Or should I continue with what I have so far, apply what I’ve learned from this point forward, and deal with everything else during the edits?

I have been accused of thinking too much. THIS is a problem? Umm, it can be. I know I should just get the story out but I’d like NOT to feel like I’m spinning my wheels, wasting the little “free time” that I have.

Here’s another dilemma (dun dun dunnnnn): I may also be doing too much, in terms of everything else. I covered the full time job, I’m married with one bio kid and four stepchildren- full time. AND I’m trying to help two friends build their businesses which, if successful, would bring in some residual income for me. Add to these duties the more-than-occasional life-in-the-city crap that lays itself at my doorstep, sometimes literally, and there you have the makings of a barely productive writer. PHEW!

I tired of THIS being the norm so I am working to change my norm. I realize I’ve been lackadaisical about my schedule so I can improve there. And I can turn my phone off (Twitter will steal your time if you let it…), stay away from my computer, and get back to the love of this thing called writing by doing just that: WRITING!

A Good Pen. Journal. Headphones.

Simple.

Oh, you’re here for the ROW80 update?

I’m still working on Story Engineering.

I will get back to my 250 word daily minimum starting tomorrow.

Today, my son has a playoff game. DCCC vs. CCP at Widener University. Dom’s playing (Owens #10) and I’m Dom’s mom so where else would I be?

Happy Writing!

When I get a few moments, I plan to continue reading and, at some point before next check in, work my way through Triberr and put pen to paper or rather BICHOK.

I’m still working on a schedule that actually works with the little girl. I truly applaud those of you who have one or more little ones and a writing schedule that’s working for you.

Happy writing!

No new words added to my WIP.

Just reading.

I’m not downplaying the need to read at all. I do however feel the urge to put words on the page. But I’m fighting through it for the greater good: BETTER words on the page.

I’m reading Story Engineering by Larry Brooks. I posted this on Twitter (@wordsXdesign : Good morning Tweeties! I want 2 b #amwriting but its #amreading time for me. Right now Story Engineering by Larry Brooks #row80) and received pretty good reviews from others who had read it.

So not much to report. Life is still crazy and not yet conducive to the writer lifestyle I long for. Tomorrow is MiMi Monday. Yep, the little girl is back and we have a Chuck E. Cheese party to attend at 6pm tomorrow so… how much reading or writing do you think I’ll get done tomorrow? *heavy sigh* ….such is life.

For now, I’m still reading.

I hope to get through Parts One and Two by next check in and Parts Three and Four by the end of the week which will bring me to the middle of the book. I also have a few novels waiting for me (of course!) and just added Gathering of Waters by Bernice McFadden. I won a copy of her novel in an online contest and received the paperback in the mail. I rarely win contests so of course I was hella excited! LOL!

Hope you got everything done you planned to do! If not, there’s always tomorrow….
Happy Writing!

(PS.- I wrote this post then opened Kait’s email so I could get to the linky tools and what do I see? Kait urging everyone to read Story Engineering! LOL! Kait, I’m on it!)

I can’t stop smiling I’m so excited.

What books? Oh.

On Monday, I read a few of Kristen Lamb’s blog posts which lead me on a book ordering frenzy.

Not really. I only bought three: Story Engineering by Larry Brooks, Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell, and Bullies, Bastards, & Bitches by Jessica Page Morrell. I started reading Story Engineering already! LOL! 

I’ve been on this research/learning kick and I have not written a word this week. 

And I’m okay with that.

Oooooh! Here’s something- I did let my husband read a few pages of a rough, ROUGH draft of my work today and by doing so I got exactly what I asked for. If you know anything about men born under the sign of Sagittarius then you KNOW I got it straight, no chaser! Anyway, it was not as bad as I thought it would be. I was not as sensitive as I thought I would be. He was not as harsh as I know he could be. He gave me honesty. And very constructive criticism. He gave me some things to think about as I continue writing and for when I begin to edit.

Thanks babe!

By baby I mean my 20-year-old son.  He plays basketball for Delaware County Community College and the awesome game he had Saturday was enough to get him top billing.

Of course, I had to tweet about it.

Check it out:

See, I have this horrible habit of beginning projects and not completing them. I come up with a new idea and the piece I had been working on gets tossed into the to-be-continued pile, many times, never to be seen again. At first, my goal was just to finish something, anything. Didn’t matter if it was good or bad. I just needed to finish.

But something happened during this row 80 round…I started to care about the finished product. As my ‘short story’ morphed into a novella because of the amount of time and energy I’ve been focusing on it lately, I realized that it DOES matter whether or not its good. I began to think about other people actually reading it and criticizing the piece.

Now I have started to regroup and redirect my focus a bit. I’m half way through Kait Nolan‘s From Pantser to Plotter compiled blog series. I am a pantser and hit a brick wall- HARD. I see now that I need to incorporate some advanced work on the piece that I’m currently writing so my writing will be a lot more focused and my story line will be tighter.

I had to go back to the basics, my comfort zone- ye olde trusty pen and paper. I pulled out my pen and paper and begin to write write as opposed to type write to get my thoughts out. I wrote out what I would like to happen in each month of the year that this story takes place. I also wrote out some background on characters that I hadn’t previously focused on.

Overall, this week could have been better but I was able to add over 1600 words to my WIP, get in some research, and actually read a few pages of two novels. I was a little under the weather so no exercising at all.

I always hope to have a better week than the last, so here’s to having faith that things will improve! *raises glass*

But I’m fighting through it.

I changed my Sunday routine a bit. I usually write my update, post it, then look at other ROWers’ updates. But, today, I read a few of the updates of the ROWers whose blogs I follow. I got a few ideas of some changes that I can add to my weekly goals.

This week, I have written 2,256 words so far (and I still have the rest of today to add to that count) but I did not reach my goal of writing daily, a minimum of 250 words daily.

This coming week I have to adjust my goals. I although I would like to write daily. My draining work schedule and “toddler week” makes it challenging to meet this goal. I’ll actually have to scale back my writing for the rest of the month because I’m doing on something extra at work to ease my hectic work schedule.

ADJUSTED GOALS:
1. Write 1000 words per week (Monday-Sunday): I’ll write when I can, maybe via wordsprints with fellow ROWers…
2. Research a few topics to help with my WIP. It started out as a short story and it is getting longer and longer.
3. Get BACK on my workout schedule. I will go to the gym 3-4 times per week and follow my workout video on off days from the gym.

And, in a perfect world I would add these two goals also:
4. Read at least one chapter per week of the Jodi Picoult novel, Sing You Home, that I’ve been “babysitting” forever. I am really pressed for time but I love to read and have to satisfy that need.
5. Read one chapter per week of Secrets of Success by Sandra Anne Taylor. I’ve been carrying it around in my very out-of-season Vera Bradley backpack for weeks.

Next Sunday we’ll see how perfect my world is….

Hope you all are having an awesome time with your writing!

Here’s a recap of the last few days:
Sunday: added 404 words to last week’s word count
Monday: Struggled all day but managed to get out 1021 words.
Tuesday: wrote before and after work… 915 words
Wednesday: a big fat donut!

BTW- I’m trying to get back on my gym schedule, write regularly, and come up with a schedule for this up coming “toddler week.” I appreciate the feedback on “How to Write with Children in Tow.”

OH… AND, I am currently watching Grey’s Anatomy.

Hi. My name is Jeneen.

And I am an addict.

Okay. Not really. I tried to blame my lack of productivity on everything and everyone except me.

I think I suffer from A.D.D.

This week, I got severely sidetracked by old seasons of Grey’s Anatomy. They’re all on Netflix. Did you know that?! They’re just right there. On demand. And they’re so good, I could hardly turn away.

Enter the toddler: She cute. She’s playful. She’s needy. And she’s here every other week.

Needless to say, I did not meet my goal this week.

My goal is simple: Write everyday, a minimum of 250 words per day.

I did get some writing in this week but I did not write everyday. Here’s a snapshot:
Monday – 25 words
Wednesday – 78 words (and no ROW80 check in)
Friday – 130 words
Saturday – 1382 words

My weekly word count so far is 1615 words. That’s pretty good given my weekly minimum word count is 1750 words.
My week is Monday – Sunday so I still have today to add to the weekly total. However, my focus is not only to complete my project and meet my word count but also get into the habit of writing daily. I clearly have to re-evaluate some things and pull my own reigns in tighter during “toddler week.”

I also have only been to the gym three days this week. I am feeling bad about missing my workouts but I’ve been working hard not to beat myself up about it and/or fall back into my old habits: horrible foods and zero exercise.

I thought about this all week: How do parents of multiples and/or toddlers get any writing completed? She wants all of my attention (even when others are around) and I have to participate in every activity with her. Where’s the independence? (LOL. Joking.) Remember, my son will be 21 years old in March. So I’m waaaaay past this stage.

I know what I’ll do during the weeks she isn’t here. I’ll write everyday. But I have not figured out how to tweak my schedule during the weeks she is here.

Any suggestions? I have a week to get it together….

Look at this face. This is what I’m up against.