Pinterest is Awesomely Evil and a Kindle Giveaway

First of all, Pinterest will be my undoing. Seriously, what was I thinking joining this site? Having said that, have you joined Pinterest yet? Why not?! It's so awesome! I can almost convince myself it's productive procrastination. ;)

Second, have you heard about the official launch of K.M. Weiland's book Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success? 

She's giving away a Kindle and over $100 worth of craft books, plus a bunch of other prizes to celebrate!  

I know I'm a pantser and you're probably wondering why I'm promoting this, but through her videos featuring the first chapter of her book, Weiland has convinced me to give outlining an honest try. Maybe if I can master it, my next book won't take me a million years to finish. ;)

Want more info about the book? Here are links to the videos that reeled me in:

Should You Outline Your Novel? - Book Trailer for Outlining Your Novel, Pt. 1 of 3  

Misconceptions About Outlining - Book Trailer for Outlining Your Novel, Pt. 2 of 3  

Benefits of Outlining - Book Trailer for Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success, Pt. 3 of 3 

And a link to the giveaway: Win a Kindle and over $100 in writing craft books! 

In addition to the book, K.M. Weiland's blog is awesome. You know that short list of blogs you check every single day regardless of how much time you actually have to blog? If you're a writer, her blog should be on that list.

How I Procrastinate

So we talked about the importance of contact buttons and how to install them on your blog here. Then I held a little contest for a custom button, which Angela won. (Yea, Angela!) And since I was supposed to be working on my writing, I made these:

I set up a page here with code for each one, if you'd like to use one for your blog. And if you decide to use one and you want to leave me a link in the comments, I'd love to see them out there in the world. ;)

So, what do you do to procrastinate? Any exciting happenings that I missed while I was unplugged?

And there's still time to enter my Awesome Followers Giveaway. Don't miss it! :)

Bad Blogger

Today is The Great Blogging Experiment, and I have no post. I know I signed up to participate, and I had every intention of doing so, but it's been a long week and a long day, and I just don't have the energy or the brain power to write something coherent today. Sorry!

Be sure to head over to Elana Johnson's blog to check out the other entries. :)

Have a great weekend, everybody!

WIP Wednesday

So, I've whined a bit over the last couple months about being stuck. Like really stuck. First it was because I didn't know how my story was supposed to end, and when I figured that out, it still didn't feel quite right. There were actually four endings I came up with before finally settling on the one I have now. And this is the first one that hasn't felt like something was lacking. So I knew the ending about a month ago. So what's been my problem?

Action scenes.

Well, and perfectionism, but discussing that could make this post excruciatingly long.

Action scenes are the hardest for me to write, and it was that niggling fear of failure that kept me from even wanting to look at it. I kept trying to write it in my head before sitting down at the computer--which I can do with pretty much any other scene--but this one just wouldn't form.

So last week I decided that I would have to sit down at the computer and force my way through it, regardless of how awful it turned out. And then I procrastinated. My Google Reader and I have been very cozy this past week. And very unproductive. Apparently, I needed an intervention.

It came yesterday. In the form of a very long power outage. Now, I know that doesn't really seem like a good thing and (as my friend, Tere, put it so perfectly) my kids threw sticks and bones at me from the other side of the cave to stave off boredom while I huddled around the glow of my fully-charged laptop. Seriously. Power outages are so not kid friendly.

Anyway. Without the distraction of email, blogs, and all things internet, I finally wrote that dreaded scene. And it is indeed awful, but it's done! Yea! It's so nice to actually have some progress to report. :)

What about all of you? How are your projects coming? Anything exciting to report or share?

Procrastination

I have several HUGE projects I should be working on, but of course, this is what got done instead. :) Though I did write 900 shiny new words last night. First new writing I've done in over a month. Woohoo!

Just A Reminder...

Tere Kirkland had a great post the other day that inspired me to make this badge. What? No. It was not just another way for me to procrastinate. I don't even know what that means. ;)

I've been drafting, and I hate how crappy it all sounds. I'm constantly obsessing over every word I put down. So I thought a little reminder that it's okay not to get it perfect on the first try would help. If not, it gave me something to do this morning besides stare at a blank screen. :)

And of course, I wanted to share it with all of you. I think we can all use that reminder once in a while.

Happy Friday! Have a great holiday weekend, everyone!

WIP Wed... Wait. Um, Tuesday?

Since I've been invited to join a super cool blog chain, I'll be posting for that tomorrow. But I wanted to share something I discovered to help me with my procrastination issues. Now maybe I'm a little slow and all of you are already doing this. Feel free to shake your heads and walk away. :)

For the last WIP report I posted, I set a goal to write 1000 words a day. Which of course didn't happen, because I'm too distracted and not very good at following through on my goals in general. So over the last week I set some restrictions for myself to make sure I get my writing done first thing in the morning, and I started a log. Being such a numbers freak, you'd think I could've come up with this idea sooner. Apparently not. Always before, I just kept a rough idea of my progress in my head.

My log is very simple. Everyday, when I'm done writing, I write down my total word count. Then I subtract the previous day's total to figure out how many new words I wrote. It's a little ridiculous how excited I get over those numbers, especially when they're over 2000, but it's working, so that's all that matters.

Since my last WIP post, I've added close to 13,000 words--most of them in the last week. :)

What about you? Do you keep a log? Am I the last one to figure this out?

WIP Wednesday

First, the important stuff. :) Last week I posted about a contest over on The Bookshelf Muse blog—enter the first two lines of your novel for a chance to win a 2, 5, or 10 page critique. Winners were announced on Monday and I won first place! And this is after getting second place in a similar contest on YA Highway in January. So, I think I finally have my hook set and solid. Now, if I could just get the rest of the story to fall in line, I’ll be perfect. ;)

In other news, I actually have some progress to report. Over the last few weeks I’ve managed to glue all my random scenes together into what is now the first 36 pages of my story. Plus, I added an additional 5000 words. Not as much as I would’ve liked, but progress is progress, right?

I read somewhere recently that people who are very busy are more likely to find time to write. I can’t remember where I saw it, but I’m finding that it’s so true. Never before have I had so much free time, and never before have I found so many ways to procrastinate. I should have no problem churning out 1000 words per day minimum. Just last night I sat down and pounded out 500 words in about 10 minutes. Granted, I’d been thinking about that part of the scene for an hour while I cleaned the kitchen, but 1000 words a day is not an unrealistic goal.

So that’s what I’m challenging myself with. That should give me close 30,000 more words by the end of the month, and 60,000 if I push myself to double that. That would put me very close to done, and done is something I’m definitely ready to be. I’m getting anxious to work on another project I have brewing.

What about all of you? Do you find that you seek out more writing time when you’re busy? Or does endless amounts of free time sound like writer’s heaven?

But... But... But... (Repost)

Since it's technically unplug week and I have a few things I need to get caught up on, I'm going to be unplugging this week, but I thought I'd repost some of my favorites so the blog doesn't feel too lonely this week. Have a great week, all!

--------------

Original post here.

A couple of years ago, I was shopping at Target, and I kept running into this woman whose son, maybe three or four years old, cried the whole time she was there. I remember smiling to myself, so happy to be alone in the store with no one pulling on me and begging for everything in sight. I love going to the store alone. It's like going to the spa for mothers of small children. I'm sure some of you can relate.

When I got in line, this woman and her wailing child got in line behind me. He was begging her for something, and I could tell, he really, really wanted it, but Mom remained steadfast and immovable, never giving in to his demands. Something that's very difficult to do when you just want your kid to shut up already. ;)

After another firm denial, the poor, picked on little guy looked to his mother with a beseeching expression and wailed, "But I'm AWESOME!!!"

Mom quietly reassured him that he was awesome, but he wasn't getting that toy he wanted.

Since then, this has been a bit of a joke between my husband and me. When we notice that someone is acting particularly picked on (usually one of our kids), one of us will whisper to the other, "But I'm awesome!" Then we'll have a little laugh, because we're so amused by ourselves.

Now, as much I enjoy using it to mock my children and all their preteen suffering, I think there's some wisdom in it. We're all pretty awesome in our own ways, even when we're feeling otherwise.

So, since I'm feeling pretty good this week, I think I'll aim to follow that little boy's example. When I'm feeling like everything I write is crap, and my life is just one giant rejection, I'll yell from the rooftops, "But I'm AWESOME!!!"

Okay, maybe not from the rooftops. I'm not good with heights. I'd probably get stuck up there. Maybe from my front door.

And since I should be revising my novel right now, I decided to make another badge. What can I say? I'm pretty awesome at procrastination. ;D Enjoy!

WIP Wednesday

I know the title of this post implies I actually made progress this week, but I was very busy making badges, and um, um... Crap. Okay, okay. So, I've been a major procrastinator this week. It's been a bit frustrating, but I think I've figured out my problem. I'm going to have to sit down and write an actual outline for this one, hence, my procrastination.

I'm sure I could do an outline, but my desire to actually do it, is minimal, dropping it down on my priority list. I'm going to let that one simmer at the back of my mind for a while and focus on my first novel.

I sat down and wrote the first words of that one on Sept. 15th of last year. At that point, I was a tiny bit delusional about the publishing process, and I thought for sure I'd be published by now and making lots of money. Pretty funny, huh? Go ahead. I'll wait until the hysterical laughter subsides.

Are you done now, so I can continue? Anyway. So, the upcoming Sept. 15th marks the one year anniversary of me starting this whole process. Yes, I know. It was very smart of me to figure that out, so I could point it out to all of you. I'm feeling brilliant this morning. ;)

The point of this post is more to make me accountable than anything else, because I've set a goal. And if I don't share it with someone besides my husband, my chances of accomplishing it reduce significantly. My goal is to be done with the final round of revisions on Embrol and have a big batch of queries sent out by Sept. 15th. It will be difficult, but I don't think it's totally unreasonable.

So, how's it going for all of you? Making progress? Any goals you want to share? Any confessions about your delusions regarding publishing? :D

But... But... But...

A couple of years ago, I was shopping at Target, and I kept running into this woman whose son, maybe three or four years old, cried the whole time she was there. I remember smiling to myself, so happy to be alone in the store with no one pulling on me and begging for everything in sight. I love going to the store alone. It's like going to the spa for mothers of small children. I'm sure some of you can relate.

When I got in line, this woman and her wailing child got in line behind me. He was begging her for something, and I could tell, he really, really wanted it, but Mom remained steadfast and immovable, never giving in to his demands. Something that's very difficult to do when you just want your kid to shut up already. ;)

After another firm denial, the poor, picked on little guy looked to his mother with a beseeching expression and wailed, "But I'm AWESOME!!!"

Mom quietly reassured him that he was awesome, but he wasn't getting that toy he wanted.

Since then, this has been a bit of a joke between my husband and me. When we notice that someone is acting particularly picked on (usually one of our kids), one of us will whisper to the other, "But I'm awesome!" Then we'll have a little laugh, because we're so amused by ourselves.

Now, as much I enjoy using it to mock my children and all their preteen suffering, I think there's some wisdom in it. We're all pretty awesome in our own ways, even when we're feeling otherwise.

So, since I'm feeling pretty good this week, I think I'll aim to follow that little boy's example. When I'm feeling like everything I write is crap, and my life is just one giant rejection, I'll yell from the rooftops, "But I'm AWESOME!!!"

Okay, maybe not from the rooftops. I'm not good with heights. I'd probably get stuck up there. Maybe from my front door.

And since I should be revising my novel right now, I decided to make another badge. What can I say? I'm pretty awesome at procrastination. ;D Enjoy!

WIP Wednesday - I'm back...

No. I didn't actually go anywhere. Well, crazy is a possibility.

They're coming to take me away, ha ha... Ahem. Sorry.

For a while there, I was really cooking on my work in progress and got 24,000 words down over about a three week stretch. Then life got in the way, and the next scene needed some thinking before I could write it and blah, blah, blah. It's all just a bunch of lame excuses.

So, for the last four weeks I have written NOTHING new, except for a new opening for my my other novel. Until last night. Now, I didn't get a lot done, only about 700 words, but it's all new stuff and I actually wanted to write. I didn't have to force it. YEA!!

That's all I have to report. Any news for you? Making progress on your work in progress?

Slacker Lady Central and a Friday Funny

I have to make a dress for my daughter for tomorrow. I've known about it for months, but I'm a huge procrastinator and haven't started it yet. So, that's what I'll be doing all day today. Um, yea, I think. I used to like sewing, but I added it to the discarded hobby pile quite a while back. That pile's getting kind of big. Anyway. I'll being trying to stay away from the computer today so I can get that done.

In my absence, I leave you this. It's kind of old, and I've posted it before, but it's so funny. So, so funny. Had to share again. Enjoy and have a fabulous weekend!