[darshana Posts: 321 Status: Offline WWW]

I'm here working on homework. Taking a Character Building in PB for the next few weeks.
Good luck with the queries JFriday. 

Hi Melissa. 

[Melissa K Posts: 716 Status: Offline]

I'm up earlier than usual and feeling rested. Not sure why, but I'll take it. Happy writing, querying, and homeworking!

[darshana Posts: 321 Status: Offline WWW]

Good Morning Melissa. Hope you got some good writing in.
I'm doing homework. :-)

[JFriday Posts: 601 Status: Offline]

I've sent out some queries and now I'm going to the Jersey shore for a few days with my sis.

Happy writing, everyone!!

and when I go in the water:

[darshana Posts: 321 Status: Offline WWW]

Have fun JFriday!
I'm here homeworking. :-)
Also nervous/excited about getting some paid editorial feedback on a PB today.

[Melissa K Posts: 716 Status: Offline]

Have a good vacation, JFriday! Hi, Darshana. I'm checking in.

[Melissa K Posts: 716 Status: Offline]

Checking in.

[Melissa K Posts: 716 Status: Offline]

I'm here today.

[Tori Posts: 513 Status: Offline Italy...Intrigue...Limoncello...a Bit of Romance.. WWW]

Good morning, fellow scribblers! It's good to be back, and it looks as if everyone has been productive and enjoying the end of summer and beginning of fall....Time to 

Aloha,
Tori

[Melissa K Posts: 716 Status: Offline]

Welcome back, Tori! Hope you had a great time. I'm checking in.

[Melissa K Posts: 716 Status: Offline]

My husband is running errands with our son until lunch, so I'm sitting in a luxuriously quiet house in the middle of a Saturday. I'm going to spend a few minutes just enjoying this, and then I think I'll write.

[Cali Posts: 220 Status: Offline Twitter: (csuefrye) WWW]

Hi, I'm back after a long time playing hooky.  So good to be home. 


Cali

[JFriday Posts: 601 Status: Offline]

Well, I don't give up summer until October, but it's definitely gone now. Hope no one along the east coast has been flooded out.

Back to work...

[darshana Posts: 321 Status: Offline WWW]

I'm here. Having a hard time starting this revision. Feels like one of those pivotal moments along the career path. I just need to get out of my head and push through it.

Happy Writing to all of you.

[Tori Posts: 513 Status: Offline Italy...Intrigue...Limoncello...a Bit of Romance.. WWW]

Back, as well, and  must tackle a revision....le sigh!
Happy writing, everyone!
Aloha,
Tori

[Melissa K Posts: 716 Status: Offline]

I'm here too.

I'm having trouble focusing on my new YA project, which is one that I've started and failed at several times. I'm excited about the story. I finally have a handle on the voice. I finally have a clear idea of where I'm going. But for some reason I'm avoiding doing the work.

Maybe it's because I've been at this point so many times over the years I've been writing. I'm all optimism, but I know now what inevitably happens to that optimism. I'm on the top of a roller coaster with a lot of bottoms--writer's block, hard critiques that send me back to the drawing board, long slogs of uncertainty, rejections, more rejections, more rejections. No wonder I'm reluctant to get moving.

Sorry to dump this on you guys. I'm just figuring it out. I'm going to see if I can get a few words written. Hope all your writing is going well!

[darshana Posts: 321 Status: Offline WWW]

Hi Melissa - seems like we are in a similar boat. Sorry to hear.
I am going to try and force myself to make at least a few line edits every day, starting with the easier ones working my way to the additional scenes I have to add in. Of course mine is a PB, but maybe you can make small goals for yourself. If you are interested we can be accountability partners through this rough spot.
My goal for today: easy word cutting, free-write for Didi's diary (practice time at home)

[Melissa K Posts: 716 Status: Offline]

Definitely, Darshana. It already helped me a lot just to articulate what was going on in my head, but an accountability buddy would help more.

I switched to writing in a notebook because for whatever reason I feel less pressure when I don't have a computer in front of me. I wrote a couple of paragraphs to finish up a short chapter. My goal for tomorrow is to start on the next chapter.

[darshana Posts: 321 Status: Offline WWW]

Thanks MelissaK! I did some free-write,brainstorming for a new scene that i'll write later.
Didn't do much of word cutting, instead re-wrote two scenes to be more of the MC's personality into it.
Don't have much time today so the goal is to re-write one more scene.
I agree on the notebook thing. I glance at my typed stuff and then re-write the scene in my notebook with pencil, plenty of scratch outs.

Hi Tori! - good luck with your revision.
Hi JFriday! Hi Cali!

[Melissa K Posts: 716 Status: Offline]

I had some time yesterday afternoon, so I sent out my MG to a couple more agents. I keep sleeping later than I should in the mornings, but I'm going to try to work on that next chapter for at least a few minutes before my day gets started. I'm trying something I've never tried before--writing the whole opening of a novel in a notebook before going back to type it up.

Your plan for the day sounds good, Darshana. Consider yourself accountable for finishing it.

Tori, JFriday, Cali--Hope you're all chugging along.

[JFriday Posts: 601 Status: Offline]

Had to be out this morning but here now. So sorry to hear of the brain stalling - happens to me too. Melissa, hope you hear something positive back about that MG. I think this is the only career in the world where we talk about encouragement from a rejection - if it has something personal. Maybe you will hit that perfect match this time. I hope so.

Tori, good luck on the revision and darshana, hope the new scene is coming along.

I'm rewriting a scene and polishing a YA. LOVE this story, I want it to find a home so bad!

[darshana Posts: 321 Status: Offline WWW]

Hi MelissaK - good luck with the MG querying! How's the next chapter coming along?
Yesterday, I re-wrote two more scenes and then started typing of the rewrites into my storyboard template, resulting in some line-editing. Don't have much time again today (i'm actually bummed) so will continue with yesterday's work. But then next need to tackle the new scenes. I'm starting to get back into the groove which is a really nice feeling.

JFriday - hope your rewrite and polish are coming along.

[Melissa K Posts: 716 Status: Offline]

I worked on a different chapter than intended yesterday, but I felt good about my progress. I missed this morning, but I'm stealing a half hour now when I'm supposed to be doing "real" work.

Darshana, I'm glad you're getting back into it. Jury is still out for me, but I feel like I might be getting there.

JFriday, I'm so glad you're loving your story!

I'm cheering for all of you. 

[Cali Posts: 220 Status: Offline Twitter: (csuefrye) WWW]

Hi, Jfriday, Darshana, Tori, Melissa!  I'm polishing a few Twitter pitches, putting last touches on some picture books and squeezing some pacing and tension into a young middle grade that I've been working on. After that, I have several illustrations to finish up this month, that should keep me busy! 

[JFriday Posts: 601 Status: Offline]

Sounds like everyone is busy!

Hope we all have a good writing day.

[darshana Posts: 321 Status: Offline WWW]

Hi MelissaK - glad to hear you got stuff done on a different chapter. so what are you focusing on with this set of revisions - character, plot, pacing. Curious minds want to know. :-)
As expected I didn't get much done yesterday on my writing since I had to finish up critiques.
Today's plan is to hand-write/scribble the new scenes.

Cali - wow you have got a lot going on. that's great. are you participating in #PBPitch on Twitter next week?

JFriday - happy writing

[Melissa K Posts: 716 Status: Offline]

I didn't get here early this morning, but I did do some writing when I was supposed to be working. (That seems to be how I get writing done lately. I just blow off responsibilities.) 

Darshana, your plan for the day sounds good. I'm drafting, not revising, so I'm not focusing on any one thing. I do jump around and revise a lot while I write my first drafts, though. Right now I'm doing a progression of the first seven chapters of a novel, trying to get them approximately right. I've written four of them, and now I'm finding I have to go back and work some more information in before I can do the rest.

Cali, it sounds like you're super busy. Good place to be.

JFriday, happy writing! 

[darshana Posts: 321 Status: Offline WWW]

I'm guilty, fell off the bandwagon a little. Didn't get much done near the end of last week. Still haven't wrote the two new scenes but have been revising some of the other scenes. My target is to get the revision done by the end of the week.

How is your stuff coming along Melissa?

[JFriday Posts: 601 Status: Offline]

I'm here too. Trying to match up some of the shorter things I've written (poetry, short stories) with magazines.

Oh, oh, I just saw this guy. I don't drink, but this is what would happen if I did... :drinking2

[Tori Posts: 513 Status: Offline Italy...Intrigue...Limoncello...a Bit of Romance.. WWW]

Hi, MelissaK, JFriday, and Darshana,

Yup, I fell off the bandwagon too, but worked on some new ideas yesterday that I'll try to flesh out a bit more, now. This is the hard part. No. Wait. They're all hard parts! 

Happy writing, all!

Aloha,
Tori