Monday, September 19, 2016

ROW80 Update: Change? Changing?

ROW80 is changing, and I'm not ready. Round 3 ends Sept 22, and I'm really not ready. But Chris started her update with a simple list, and so shall I as the new week begins.

GOALS FOR THIS WEEK AND LAST.

1. Write more on Rivers of Stone.
2. Continue work on marketing in various formats.
3. Support writing and quilting community as best I can.
4. Exercise and quilt and cook.

The results this week?

1. WRITE. Yep. Very, very slow. Discovered my working blurb was not centered around my lead female -- and the entire story is her story. Rewrote that. I've been doing lots of research on the Red River Settlement (today, Winnipeg) in the 19th Century. Still did add maybe 1,000 words this week.

2. MARKETING. Some surprises this week. My article was published in the Spokane paper but not online, so I'm not sure how to share it. I'm still doing a little happy dance. I could scan it and share that way . . . maybe.
--Presentation tomorrow on writing historical fiction at a local senior center. Almost ready.
--Updated this trailer for The Mermaid Quilt book. Slow on writing/designing the next edition which I'd love to do since it involves adding a few quilt patterns.

 

3. SUPPORT writing & quilting community in various ways. 
--Gave beta feedback at the structural level for a book by an online friend and, in the process, found this wonderful article in THE WRITER (October 2016), "Portrait of a Modern Novelist" by Nicki Porter, featuring an interview of Caroline Leavitt. What I loved about the article is that Leavitt profiles her writing process. Her first step is to identify THE MORAL QUESTION, a simple statement that the book must answer and that shapes the entire story. That helps me rethink the ending to my current wip.
--Working on library readings for Veteran's Day. Good progress. So far have 6 writers lined up. Maybe two locations.
--Making steady progress on Quilt Show program (interior nearly finished; final proof next week).

4. Exercise, quilt and cook? Well, the cold squashed exercise, quilting is handwork and slow (but useful to keep me awake during football games), and I made meatballs.

May your week go well, writing or otherwise. Check out what other ROW80 writers have been up to this last week of the round HERE.

And here's that article that appeared today in the Spokesman-Review (September 19, 2019), page C3, just in case you don't live in Spokane!

Click to see in slightly larger size! 



5 comments:

  1. I've tried long elaborate lists of goals and lists of short to the point goals. I do like the shorter list better, but then no one gets to learn about the 200 other things I do in a week. I think I will stick with the shorter more doable list and all those other things, that static that makes me feel unproductive? I will just have to cast that aside.

    I liked the book trailer. The music fit well, not quite the music I had expected, maybe that's why I liked it.

    Have a great week!

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    1. Thank you, Chris. Actually, you know your shorter list inspired me to check in as we reach the end of Round 3. I think it will help to keep the focus -- and let go of that static that always gets in the way. Thank you also for looking at the book trailer. It's kind of fun to mess around with technology. This is PowerPoint, but Vimeo is another option. Have a great week.

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  2. I like your list of goals. 1,000 words in a research-heavy week is pretty good. I like that you've included marketing as one of your goals. I'll have to add that in to my goals at some point. I need to find a way to get a few good, honest reviews for my stories.

    Happy writing, quilting, and cooking, Beth!

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  3. Congratulations on your article being published! Love the title of The Mermaid Quilt.

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  4. The beginning of your post sent my thoughts to some words from Disney's The Lion King: "Change is good, but it's never easy." I don't like it when things change and I have to re-examine my comfy habits. It happens though, it's not all bad, and the best we can do is adjust and move forward.

    It looks like you had a productive week. I liked the article and the presentation.

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