ROW80: Another Weds & Goals

I'm feeling a little like a slacker. Call it spring. Perhaps. Here are my goals for the coming week with YELLOW high priority, BLUE important, with other goals for this week listed just in case I have more time/energy.

WRITING: MINIMUM OF 1 HOURS DAY/6 days week on The Seventh Tapestry.

BETA: Fallon Brown’s Flames of Renewal, 1 hour/day. DUE end of May.

NEWSLETTER out by end of April.

Post April A-Z Challenge T-Y and use 750words for min 2,500 words.

READING: Read ROW80, A-Z bloggers, and declutter e-mail <50. Post 1 review.

MARKETING: 

   Follow through on 2 ways to promote audiobooks. 

   Set date/place for launch party.

   Update Amazon’s Author Central (way too many blank paragraphs here!)

UPDATE on The Seventh Tapestry. My writing group reviewed the latest plot summary positively (and the summary looks fairly complete to me). So, now to work on blocking scenes, do more research, and jump more deeply into character sketches. Can't decide whether I'm a gardner or an architect, but I'm on a quest to improve my writing productivity. Wish me well!

For the next while, I'm planning to check in once a week. What makes ROW80 useful is to have that weekly check-in. Twice a week sometimes seems overwhelming. But I'm wishing you a great week of writing. Check in either at the website for A Round of Words in 80 Days or on Facebook. See you there!

ROW80: Weds/Thurs Check-in

Arghh!  I missed yesterday's deadline again. Probably influenced by angst, the currently running free watchathon on Comcast (which is fun with DH but quite the distraction), and a sore foot. How can I sit down when I'm attending a grandkid's soccer game and she got a goal?

So the "quick" update of progress so far this week:

WRITING: Printed out the single-spaced 22-page working summary of The Seventh Tapestry and rearranged/edited scenes. Decided (finally) on gender of heroine/hero. Decided that 2 hours a day is too intense for working session just now. So resetting goal of 1 hour daily on writing (will be happy to do more). 

Keeping current with daily posts for April's A-to-Z Blogging Challenge. Today's post, Q is for quandary was very helpful because I confronted whether I should continue to write.

MARKETING: Took the plunge and ordered 45 books (over $300) to prep for readings and launch party. Being an indie writer takes courage! 

Uploaded the audio sample for Standing Stones's audiobook to a new account on SoundCloud. Want to post my audiobook for Standing Stones to GoodReads' audiobook group, but got sidetracked when I checked reviews on GoodReads. Goodness! What a resource. I had so many comments to read. Some readers were happy, and some gave very pointed feedback on ways to improve my storytelling. As my mother would say, "Oofta!" STILL PENDING: Add link to Goodreads for audiobook. And draft that Newsletter before month end (which means plan launch party theme and decide on treats).

COMMUNITY: My writing group will meet again this coming week (2 other writers). We may only meet 2x/month, but this is good news. REVIEWS: Have two books to read (#1 = 40% complete and #2 = 0%) and review by end of April, plus a beta read (10% complete). Doesn't sound like much but my TBR pile is threatening to spill over. BEFORE SUNDAY: Reading and commenting on others' posts? Aaargh! I'm falling off a cliff.

DECLUTTERING: Got my e-mail inbox down to 40 from over 300 to find it back up to 92 this morning, so I'm rigorously unsubscribing to e-mails that I don't really read or need.

And that's the update for today. There's more, but I want to get to work on the writing. Have a great rest of this week. Saw hyacinths yesterday on our walk. Check in either at the website for A Round of Words in 80 Days or on Facebook. See you there!

ROW80 Round 2: Sunday check-in

Not quite sure how to check in this Sunday. We're just home after one week away, about 850 miles of driving down to Oregon and back, a wonderful reunion with friends. Despite my best intentions, little was done (except that daily post for April's A-to-Z Blogging Challenge).

1. WRITE. The Seventh Tapestry: Complete plotting, character sketches, and begin drafting scenes. UPDATE: Not much progress here except I'm excited about mapping out what's next, especially because this story will NOT take three years!

• APRIL (next 2 weeks): commitment to drafting storyline and characters for THE SEVENTH TAPESTRY. Most difficult? Deciding on locale and gender!
• MAY: Draft overall scenes and organize into STORY OUTLINE with 4-8 scenes drafted. Divide story into three files for tracking of word count. 
• JUNE: Commitment to drafting the entire story. 
• JULY: Finish drafting entire story. 
• AUGUST: Edit. COVER. Blurb. 
• SEPTEMBER: PUBLISH!

2. BLOG. Revamp and post weekly on Writing blog. Post 2x/weekly for ROW80. UPDATE: So far, ON SCHEDULE.

3. COMMUNITY & READING. Connect with readers by sending newsletter monthly. Participate actively in ROW80, Insecure Writers Support Group, GoodReads, A-Z April Blogging Challenge, The Internet Writing Workshop. Read x6 books/month. Review x2/month. UPDATE: Read other posts x5 this week, and read 3 books. No reviews yet. Send newsletter by April 30.

4. MARKET. Continue learning and applying new skills, including social media. Learn Instagram. Refine overall marketing plan. Time price break incentives. Identify 2-3 action steps for each month: presentations, readings, ads, launch party, media kit, blog hop, recruit reviewers/reviews. Maybe: Learn how to podcast. UPDATE: Action step for this coming week: Clarify status of contest entry with PNWA. Submit audiobook to two review sites.

5. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT. Improve writing productivity through daily writing on 750words.com Keep current with writing magazines. UPDATE: Currently reading James Scott Bell's Just Write (ideas + exercises), more slowly than I wished. Did write 4 out of 7 days this week, for a total of 1,477 new words on 750words.

AND OTHER: Mostly recovering from that 400 mile drive home yesterday with today spent on laundry and grocery shopping. Did make some progress on Ruthie's Owl Quilt while away (she's 3-1/2 years old now). This is supposed to be an easy quilt with top stitching, but it looked way to raggedy for me, so I'm hand-basting and then top stitching all the pieces. Each block is different and brightly colored. Fun.

Ruthie's Owl Quilt 
12 blocks, 12x12

Still trying to define how much I can walk and what kind of help I might need (cane? wheelchair for museums?) as I adjust to all these new shoes. OK, have a great week. 

Let's report good progress by Wednesday, right?

Check in either at the website for A Round of Words in 80 Days or on Facebook.

ROW80: Sunday & Ready for the Road

Here's my early morning report for ROW80 as we leave for Portland around 8am:

DAILY WRITE: 750words: 3514/2500 words 😊 Not making 750 words a day, but writing every day. GOAL: Persevere.

WRITING: No progress at all on The Seventh Tapestry on paper. GOAL: Keep reading Bell and working his exercises.

😊 BLOGGING: x9 posts to ROW80 and Writing Blog. Embarked on April's A-Z Blogging Challenge. Main theme writing, some poetry mixed in. GOAL: Draft some topics and continue blogging each day!

MARKETING: Nada. GOAL: On hold for the coming week, but I did discover two ways to request reviews of audiobooks (follow-up next week). The voice actor who narrated did a fabulous job with the audiobook for Standing Stones. LINK Since we're on a royalty share, he deserves more marketing support.

😊 ROW80: Checked in Weds & Sun (always an achievement!). Read others' posts x9.

😊 READING: I can always tell when I'm distracted by real life as my reading goes up! As a subscriber to BookBub, I'm constantly tempted to download interesting reads. So, this week I'm reading: James Scott Bell, Chap2: Just Write 😊. Finished Christopher Greyson, Jack Frost. 😊 Elena Aitken, His to Protect (paranormal shifter) 😊, Jeff Carson, Alive and Killing 😊, started Bill Crider, Texas Vigilante (27%). Now reading Peggy Henderson, Come Home to Me (time travel west 78% 😊).GOAL: Write 3 reviews while on the road (I don't delete books off the Kindle until I've posted something but I also follow Thumper's rule for reviewing books.

SASP: Very intense week with board meeting and my presentation on audiobooks. Not sure I can talk directly about what I'm learning from working with this group, BUT I discovered some truly helpful project management strategies from my daughter which I shared in my post for this month's Insecure Writer's Support Group.  GOAL: Undecided for the coming week. Maybe my desire to help others is running into that wall of how much energy/stamina I have and how does this particular commitment affect my own writing.

EXERCISE GOAL x5: Actually swam/walked X4. Two years ago, I completed Bloomsday, an annual run/walk of 7.6 miles here in Spokane in early May. A wonderful experience, but this is now a check off my bucket list because my feet won't let me do this again. In fact, one of my challenges is to accept that walking may not be part of my exercise program, and that aerobic water exercise may not be enough by itself. And that using a treadmill doesn't work, nor does the exercise bike (hip joint). So, I console myself with the reality that everyone, as we age, has 'something' to work on. GOAL: When we return from Portland, I focus again on healthful eating and diet as losing weight is the best way to minimize stress on me old joints.

And that's it, folks. Have a great week of writing, family time, nurturing yourself and those you love. I'm taking my 'owl-quilt-in-progress' (lots of basting) with me on the road. Hope to see you all on Weds.

Check in with other ROW80 writers either at the website for A Round of Words in 80 Days or on Facebook.

Row80 Weds: Swimming as fast as I can

Here's today's hectic (yet concise) update:

Round 2 goals: Week 1 Weds check-in. NOTE: Moved goals marked 'maybe' off current list.
Purple = Progress! Green = Making some progress. Red = Nada! 

1. WRITE. The Seventh Tapestry: Complete plotting, character sketches, and begin drafting scenes. Ongoing research. Mothers Don’t Die: Finish revisions. Publish 2018. UPDATE: No progress. Nothing to share for Wednesday's WIPpet.

2. BLOG. Revamp and post weekly on Writing blog. Post 2x/weekly for ROW80. UPDATE: Joined A-Z Blogging Challenge for April. On track with 4/4 posts on Writing Blog. Latest: "D is for Drafting 3x5." Read/commented on posts x6. On track for 2x posts/week for ROW80.

3. COMMUNITY & READING. Connect with readers by sending newsletter monthly. Participate actively in ROW80, Insecure Writers Support Group, GoodReads, A-Z April Blogging Challenge, The Internet Writing Workshop. Read x6 books/month. Review x2/month. Declutter email.
UPDATE: Too busy this week to be sure exactly, but staying steady with ROW80 and A-Z April Blogging Challenge. Did revamp my reading list to more easily track progress. Need to post IWSG tonight/tomorrow. Have read x2 books. No reviews yet. Sadly, that e-mail inbox has climbed to 300 again.

4. MARKET. Continue learning and applying new skills, including social media. Learn Instagram. Refine overall marketing plan. Time price break incentives. Identify 2-3 action steps for each month: presentations, readings, ads, launch party, media kit, blog hop, recruit reviewers/reviews. Maybe: Learn how to podcast. UPDATE: Presentation on Audiobooks tomorrow. No progress on any other marketing this week.

5. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT. Improve writing productivity through daily writing on 750words.com Keep current with writing magazines. Read one writing skills book/month. Currently having lots of fun with James Scott Bell's Just Write (ideas + exercises). Learn how to talk back to my muse (encourage her to think more positively). UPDATE: So far 1500/2500 new words for 750words this week. On Bell's Chapter 2 and absolutely loving the exercises and energy for drafting/planning/writing my current wip.

My Patchy Comfort Quilt (April 2018)

6. OTHER. Facilitated planning meeting for writers' group (pretty stressful and ++ on time spent prepping, but the meeting went well). Finished comfort quilt top and turned in. Babysitting tonight. Taxes now done for 2017. Took good care of foot (fallen arch, bruised, many pairs of new shoes). Resumed swimming.

AN ENDING COMMENT: This weekend we leave for roughly 2 weeks in Portland to reconnect with friends after a death in the family. Maybe we'll listen to some samba music and reminisce. Maybe we'll be of help.

So why do I feel optimistic about the coming week as we go on the road? My laptop is charged up and ready to go. Bell's Just Write and my owl quilt are coming along. This coming Sunday's check-in to ROW80 might be very, very short. But I'm thinking of you all and hoping all of us reach some of our goals this coming week.

Check in either at the website for A Round of Words in 80 Days or on Facebook.