ROW80 Weds check-in: Spring showers but no tears.

My readers have been asking: "What happened to Moira and Dylan after Standing Stones ended?" So most of my writing work so far this week has been diving into that story. The goal? A novella that tells the rest of their story and that can serve as a giveaway. 

Usually my stories run away and wind up being three-year projects, with tons of research. And while I am looking into the fates of railroad workers in the 1840s on the Edinburgh/Glasgow line, my first step was to reread those parts in Standing Stones and start building character sketches, summaries, conflicts, and, yes, I'm using Randy Ingermanson's Snowflake method. Maybe I can just tell a little story this time. Not ready to count words, but I've got a running start on plotting.

Round 2, Week 3: Updates on this week’s goals:

--WRITING: Setting aside Rivers of Stone for next two weeks (taking a break while beta readers work). 

--BLOGGING: Writing blog 1x/week, ROW80 2x/week. On schedule.

--MARKETING: No tangible progress, but I am reading and planning. Read another chapter in Bell's book, Marketing for Writers Who Hate Marketing. Very impressed by Jen Blood's setup to entice readers to sign up for her newsletter. She embedded her freebie 'magnet' right in the opening of her Kindle book. So I'm also reading her gritty dog story, The Darkest Thread. Use the 'look inside' feature to check out her beautiful images. Her book is still listed as free as of this morning.

--ONLINE COMMUNITIES: Read ROW80/IWSG: minimum of 6x/week. So far, only read 2x.

--DECLUTTER/OTHER: Get E-mail under 200. Ouch. Right now those unreads are 285. Maybe by Sunday. 

HELP WANTED: Does anyone know about Kickstarter and how it might help an author? This is for a writer I respect. Any suggestions at all will be helpful.

And that's it for a late check-in. Finished a comfort quilt last night instead, a lovely blending of simple purple blocks with a nice flannel backing to keep legs warm. 

Quilting is kind of like writing, you know. Start with a block or two, persevere, and you have something to give away! 

Check out what other ROW80 writers are doing HERE or on our Facebook page. Why not join in?