ROW80 Farewell until March!

Dear ROW80 writers. Just a little farewell until the middle of March . . .but I'll be hopefully working on my writing and thinking of you all.

If you want to follow along some of our travel adventures in Spain, check out my blog at  -- Beth Camp: On the Road at http://bethcamp.blogspot.com/

Now wish me luck that the next month brings happy resolution to all my writing goals -- and I'll wish you the same!

First View of Florida: Palm Trees!

ROW80: The Morning Before . . .

Sunday morning early. Two weeks since my last post, dear ROW80 writers.

The short story is I got pneumonia and have spent most of the last two weeks sleeping or taking antibiotics. Not writing. Luckily, the antibiotics worked. So, I've rebooted to about 80%. We leave tomorrow morning, literally at the crack (5:30 am) for a month in Spain. I am taking my netbook which has the memory of a flea (flash drive, flash drive), but is so small that it's nearly invisible.

Not really sure we'll have internet access where we're going, so I can't promise to be 'present' for ROW80 or even check in on your progress -- until mid-March. Imagine Seville, the land of palm trees and rich history, no snow, lots of musuems, tapas, a day trip to Granada, and, just maybe, a finished first draft.

Best writing moments: 1) Dear Hubby reassuring me that I will have plenty of time to write -- and energy to do so. 2) Spending a few hours with my writing partner F2F last Friday, catching up with her work AND strategizing about my goals for the coming month (finish the draft!). 3) Learning how to use the NOTE feature on my phone to plot, anywhere, anytime -- which led me to decide my heroine will rescue herself!

Cat photo courtesy of seatmaestro

May spring flowers ease these last days of winter, health and energy remain a steady part of your life, and may your writing goals be met with surprising clarity and beauty. Cherish each day! 

Click to visit A Round of Words in 80 Days HERE on our blog or over on Facebook to catch up on what other ROW80 writers are doing. Stay healthy! WHY NOT JOIN IN in setting goals and measuring progress weekly!

Weds ROW80 Check-in: Perseverance furthers!

Wish I had happy news . . . I'm still struggling with that nasty cold, and we're slowly preparing for the 'big trip' of being away from home over a month. Mending plus packing! Biggest achievement so far: figuring out how to avoid roaming charges with the iPhone. Other work done so far this week:

WRITING = Weekly goal to add 1K new words by next Sunday. So far by Weds: Actually + 535 on Tapestry, plus two hours of revision. Nothing on the memoir.
BLOG = Weekly goal = post x3. By Weds: Posted to ROW80 x2 and have working draft for writing blog with another idea for travel blog -- "How Wearing Glasses Can Save You From Being Burned at the Stake" (forthcoming, but not posted yet).
READ BLOGS x5?  By Weds: Actually read x3.
CRIT Novels_L. x2 for the month. Personal goal x4. By Weds: posted x2 and that means completed 3 so far for the month.

Best writing moments: 1) Being a part of The Internet Writing Workshop, Novels_L group. Got 2 critiques in today for chapter 5 of Tapestry, and somehow it just helps when another writer you trust gives you thoughtful insights and editing feedback that will lead to a stronger story. 2) Realizing that I like my main character MUCH better from first person pov. And 3), Well, all that and a box of Kleenix.

Click to visit A Round of Words in 80 Days HERE on our blog or over on Facebook to catch up on what other ROW80 writers are doing. Stay healthy! WHY NOT JOIN IN in setting goals and measuring progress weekly!

ROW80: Weds check-in: Here and Not Here

Trip planning is kind of our top priority. At times, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed (what to take, what to leave behind, what to finish before we leave). Intellectually, I know whatever preparations we are able to make will be fine. I will forget something (just not the netbook, or the passport, or my Kindle). Good health has nearly returned, though I'm not quite ready to hop up and down in a cold pool for water aerobics when it's snowing outside!

WRITING = Weekly goal to add 1K new words by Sunday. So far by Weds: Actually +384 on Tapestry, plus an hour of revision and +434 to memoir.
BLOG = Weekly goal = post x3. By Weds: Posted to ROW80 x2 and have working draft for writing blog with another idea for travel blog -- "How Wearing Glasses Can Save You From Being Burned at the Stake" (forthcoming).
READ BLOGS x5? Surprise! By Weds: Actually read x6 and am happily working with writing partner..
CRIT Novels_L. x2 for the month. Personal goal x4. By Weds: posted x1.

Only 21 days before we leave for six weeks on the road. I have studied Spanish x2 since Sunday and have set two goals aside until March (typing Allen's St. Remy and any serious quilting). 

Best writing moments: Finished revising Section 02 of Tapestry to first person and developed a working timeline of events and weather for Edinburgh. One example, I planned to have Neil take Sandra walking around Edinburgh, especially to Calton Hill. But until I did that research, I didn't know that Beltane , a pagan fire festival, happens atop Calton Hill at the end of April. Yes, I already have a good map of my story, though thanks to recommendations from several ROW80 writers, I'll be taking Susan Bischoff's blueprint with me to doublecheck the whole story.

Winter view of Edinburgh from Calton Hill

ROW80: May you have a great week. Click to visit ROW80 HERE on our blog or over on Facebook to catch up on what others are doing. Stay healthy!

ROW80 Sunday Check-in: Ooofta!

Since last Tuesday, I've been sick. Usually I bounce back in a day or two. Not this time. Yuck. I slept in until 8:30 am this morning. DH checked on me to make sure I was still breathing. Thank heavens for Sudafed and Robitussin DH; otherwise, I would not be functional at all. Naps seem to interrupt the day despite my best intentions. As my mother used to say, "Oofta!"

ANY PROGRESS SINCE LAST WEEK?

WRITING  = goal to add 1K new words.  Actually added 980 words to 7th tapestry and 400 to the memoir.
BLOG = Post x3. Yes, posted to ROW80 x2 and to my writing blog x1.
READ BLOGS x5? Surprise! Actually read x8. And connected with my ROW80 writing partner.
CRIT Novels_L. No progress.
Type Allen's St. Remy. No progress.
OTHER: Full stop on exercise, quilting, and studying Spanish this week. And that's OK. My Spanish books are too easy, so tomorrow I go to the library to check out a few bilingual stories (the kind that have Spanish on one side and English on the other).

WHAT'S NEW? On January 28, we leave for Seville, Spain, for 6 weeks, healthy or not. I hope they let us on the plane. So, these next few weeks will see me focused on getting ready for the trip -- and planning how to bring my writing. I typically travel with a netbook (light, invisible, limited memory) and a journal. Meanwhile, I'll try to get healthy and stick to the above weekly goals.

ROW80: May you have a great week. Click to visit ROW80 HERE on our blog or over on Facebook to catch up on what others are doing. Stay healthy!

ROW80: Point of View AND FIRST CHECK-IN

Trying to find a quick way to summarize work completed so far this week.

WRITING GOAL = 1k. Sun +230. Mon @200. Tues sick day. Total so far 430.
Memoir = 1K. No progress.
BLOG = Post x3. ROW80x2 yes. Insecure Writer's Study Groupx1 yes.
READ BLOGS x5. No progress.
CRIT Novels_L. No progress.
Type Allen's St. Remy. No progress.
Exercise x4. No progress.
Quilt x4. x2 so far.
Study Spanish. x3 so far.

WRITING CHALLENGE THIS WEEK:  Decided to switch my story from third person to first person for more immediacy. Which version is more appealing?

Sandra (and the tapestry) have been kidnapped. She wakes up in a storage room in a large warehouse in East Edinburgh. Opening scene:

THIRD PERSON:

     Sandra opened her eyes slowly to total darkness. She blinked but could see nothing. Where am I? Who were those men? The back of her head throbbed, and something tickled her hand. A spider. She jerked her hand to brush it off, but both hands moved. They had been tied together in front of her.

     She squinted in the dark and tried to sit up. She bumped against something. The tapestry? It had been rolled-up and propped against a wall. She shivered, tried to stand, and then paced off the dimensions of the room. Twenty steps by twenty steps and bloody cold. Where am I? Sandra used her hands to feel for a door. She found an immense door; its iron handle wouldn’t move. No surprise there. It’s cold, dark, I can’t see, and I’m hungry. She settled on the floor and leaned against the tapestry. Well, somebody has to come some time.

FIRST PERSON:

     I opened my eyes, but I couldn’t see anything. I moved my head slowly. Side to side. Pain sliced across the back of my head. I opened my eyes wider. Nothing but blackness. I sniffed the air. Musty, damp. Something skittered over my hand. I jerked to brush it off, but both of my hands moved. Someone had tied my hands together. I should be grateful they tied them in front. I brought my hands close to my face, but I couldn’t see anything. I brushed my face over the knots. Could I chew the rope off? I squinted, but I still couldn’t see. I tried to feel the back of my head. Just the edge of a bump. I shivered. I am not going to panic.

     The concrete flooring was cold. I pushed myself against the wall and tried to stand up and stumbled over something that had been rolled up and propped against the wall. The tapestry? My feet hadn’t been bound, so I stood up and paced the length and width of the room. Twenty steps by twenty steps and bloody cold. I giggled, the sound a surprise in the dark. I felt along the wall for a door. Nothing until I found an immense iron handle. Would it open? I couldn’t move it. Locked. It’s cold. I can’t see, and I’m hungry. What else could go wrong? I felt along the wall until I found the tapestry again and slid down to lean against it. After a long time, I closed my eyes. What happened to Neil?

ROW80: May you have a great week. Click to visit ROW80 HERE on our blog or over on Facebook to catch up on what others are doing.  Stay healthy!