ROW80 and NaNoWriMo: Half Way There!

Lessons learned at the half-way mark of NaNoWriMo: I'm still pinching myself and making word count each day. What works for me is using 750words.com to jumpstart what I'm thinking about. At the end of the month, I'll pull scenes into the overall draft. If I work directly with my draft, I find myself distracted by editing when what I really want to do is to flesh out the story and my characters -- at the structural level and at the scene level. So, NaNo goals for the coming week:

1. Start first with 750words.com

2. Post 3x5 cards on my book board to track/organize new scenes.

3. Keep reading and researching as I go.

4. Accept that I don't have to write all 1,667 words in one session but I am committed each day to reach this goal.

5. Try to write a few sessions this week of more than 2,000 words (Thanksgiving is coming!).

6. Keep planning April trip to Portland's Historical Museum, Oregon City and Fort Vancouver.

Row80 update.
--Keep writing 1,650 words a day on Rivers of Stone: Done!
--Blog x3 on writing, travel, ROW80 blogs: OK 3 posts done since last Weds, including a cover reveal and excerpt for science fiction/fantasy writer Melissa Barker-Simpson's The Fifth Watcher, coming out on November 21.
--Keeping current w/reading for ROW80 and Weds WIPpet: Done!
--Continue research for Rivers of Stone: Writing craft (Larry Brooks' Storyfix) and psychology (Maslow's hierarchy) have me reassessing plot structure and character motivation, along with life at the various forts along the fur brigade express trail and 19th Century Oregon City.

--Updated/uploaded proofed version of paperback for Standing Stones on CreateSpace to correct font error. Trying to decide if I should reduce the Kindle price (currently $2.99) for December to build interest in Book 2.
--Decluttering e-mail: Still keeping to my goal of no more than 100 e-mails in my inbox. Keeping my office relatively well organized keeps me trucking right along on other projects. Finished another block for the pueblo quilt (applique) and started a flannel lap warmer quilt from scraps.

--Unresolved: When do I edit Mothers Don't Die and get it out there as a Kindle read? January? Is it possible to edit a book in one month?

Yes, this is a blog hop for that really wonderful online writing community, A Round of Words in 80 Days, led by Kait Nolan. Check out what other ROW80 writers are doing HERE.

Simplified Butterfly block for Pueblo Quilt

NOTE: Technically, in formal appliqué, all should be equally balanced, but I kind of like my little froggy's arms off balance. Should I 'fix' this? Maybe. I've had this exquisite 12-block pattern by Betty Ann Standiferd ("Bountiful Blessings") for about 5 years. Twelve blocks are nearly complete, and I'm just about ready to start what writers would call gutters and what quilters call sashing, those strips between each block that set the overall design. Another goal: Finish this quilt by January! Well, maybe April.  

May your week go well!