ROW80 Aug28 check-in: Baby Steps

This week has been a bit challenging, and I'm still trying to figure out how to report in for A Round of Words in 80 Days without getting overwhelmed.

So to keep it simple, here are my goals and progress for this week:

• REVISE 1-2 chapters for The Seventh Tapestry. 50% done. Meet with critique partner. Scheduled for Friday.
• READ 4-6 blog posts – WEP/IWSG and ROW80. 100% (Read 8 so far).
• MEMOIR: Do something! Anything! 100% Actually wrote 200 words after several months of  nothing.
• OTHER: Work on quilting comfort quilt (50%). Read 3 writing magazines by Friday (33%). Take care of Jack the Cat every day this week (100% so far). 

More on the writing: The writing is really uphill right now. My new first chapter starts in the middle of the action, making most of the first 8 chapters back story. And these 8 chapters have been revised time and again. So, instead of moving through final revisions, I'm back to reinventing the front section of my story.

What helps? Asking what comes next. Scaffolding ideas at the beginnings of new chapters. Thinking about the emotional cues that motivate my characters. Updating synopsis and chapter summaries so they are current. Cutting out scenes that don't advance the 'real' story.

Catching up on reading that backlog of writing magazines led me to a gem by Matt Bird, "The Secrets of Story" in Writer's Digest (October 2018), which led me to buy his book (it arrived today). So my progress may be slow, but I'm feeling stubborn and tenacious.

Meanwhile, have a good week. Write a lot. Share your thoughts with other ROW80 writers participating in A Round of Words in 80 Days -- also on Facebook.

And here's that comfort quilt, my first attempt at machine quilting!