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| Elephant Talk by Gina (Flickr) |
Zorba replies: "Am I not a man? And is not a man stupid? I’m a man. So I married. Wife, children, house, everything. The full catastrophe."
Zorba's response surprised me, made me read the book by Greek writer, Nikos Kazantzakis, and filled me with awe that a writer could turn such an ordinary question into an opportunity for philosophy that challenges us all to live each day as fully as possible.
Maybe that's why each year, I jump into NaNoWrimo, with all its obsessive craziness. But, I did it!
Today I'm a day late checking in for ROW80, and I'm probably all over the place for meeting this round's goals which I haven't looked at for over a month, BUT I really liked how Denise Young organized her reporting so I'll try it.
Goals for the coming week:
1. Make measurable progress on Rivers of Stone. Move scenes over to actual draft. Develop timeline.
2. Prep for two presentations (luncheon speaker, library panel).
3. Blog at least 3x. Work on memoir. Post a pic on travel blog x2.
4. Read and review indie writer 1x. Jackie Ley, ANGELS OF THE JARDIN MASSEY. Report on current reading, no matter how escapist. Include at least one writing craft book.
5. Participate in other writing communities (ROW80, Wednesday WIPpet) by reading what others have written 5-10x.
6. Revamp marketing/research plan for 2015. Seriously.
7. Keep decluttering . . . quilt a little, rescue those 'lost' digital pictures, and resume life post NaNo. My e-mail's number 260 this morning (those buggers reproduce right in the IN BOX).
Currently reading Chimeras: A Medical Mystery by E. E. Giorgi and loving every gritty detail of Track's cop life in Los Angeles. The character twist? Track has a throwback, predatory sense of smell.
And the writing. Giorgi describes a minor character as "her talk was as sharp as a paper cut and as stinging as a double shot of whiskey." I'm reading this on my well-traveled Kindle, page 12 (who else hates that we can't know what 'real' page we're on?). Maybe I'm loving this book because it's well written, amusing, serious, and reminds me of living in LA, as well as just luxuriating in characters that pop off the page and routinely get into trouble. I like dark and gritty.
This morning feels full of 'what if?' when what I really want to do is jump into editing. Sundays for ROW80 are about thinking ahead to the coming week, and we are at the beginning of a new month. So, to work! And I'm not talking about laundry.
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| Graphic by Kriss Morton |
Remember indie writers as you plan to survive the holidays. Good reads for a break. Good reads for a gift.
Take a moment to check in with other writers who are a part of ROW80, A Round of Words with 80 Days, the writing community that has us setting goals, checking in, and sharing our progress. Jump in HERE.
You have some good goals coming up, Beth. I know you'll strive to reach them all, but don't kill yourself for them, okay? :-)
ReplyDeleteI so need to work on my to-do list. I keep forgetting so much of what I tell myself that I need to do, but without a to-do list that I actually USE, they don't get written down, you know?
Great goals for the week. Congrats at completing NaNoWriMo. I did as well - now it almost feels like a let down. But I started a new novel last week and am really excited to write again. All the best in the week ahead.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the NaNo completion. It does feel good, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteI am not taking a huge break yet, break from the novel until January at least. I have a bunch of stuff to occupy myself this month still, not counting holidays.
Have a great week, Beth!