one deadline down...

....two to go....

Just emailed deadline one to the editor on the business book. It was due today, but since I'm calendar-challenged, I thought the deadline was yesterday. Sent it yesterday and got a note back from the editor that she'd like me to generate a table of contents (TOC) and resend it back so she could send it directly to editorial.

I did and learned something new! I didn't know how to do the TOC via word, but it was actually very easy. Wish I'd had known that trick when putting the thesis together last year (at about this time!). Ah well!

So the first 85 pages are done, editorial should return that draft by Friday, so I'll be editing over Xmas. Hey, I don't mind. Just plug in the iPod and gimme a red pen...

Next deadline of 160ish pages (40K words) is due, I think, January 13th. What is that, like a Monday or something?

40 and going strong....

...not my age, my page count....

Not bad for the week. Had hoped to get to 50, and I'll be there tomorrow without a doubt. I'm halfway through chapter three and will finish sometime Sunday.

I have to admit I like my writing system with this book and wish it would easily transfer to fiction. Going on my TOC, I outline one chapter at a time, then write it. Finish that, outline next chapter, write it...yadda yadda. Unlike fiction, it takes the guesswork out of where to go next. No choices on what plot point to meander down, which character trait to develop, which scene to insert. If only fiction were so definable...

If anyone knows of a good way to transition this outlining exercise into fiction, I'm all ears...

Off to keep book at a basketball game where my mind can decompress and come back fresh tomorrow. Writers need to play, too.

20 pages in 3 days...

...or, roughly 5200 words, for those keeping track. That's what I finished, not what I'm hoping to accomplish. I'm really amazed by myself!

Started chapter 2 tonight, and it has three major sections. Ambitious Beth figured she could do twenty NEW pages tonight and whip out the whole chapter. Realistic Beth had dinner ready to go when the boys wanted it (pasta...oh so easy), went to school an hour early so she could leave an hour early and come home to weight-lift before writing (to alliviate that "I don't have time to workout because I'm on deadline" guilt) and did take a short break to make some tea three hours into the writing session to avoid burnout.

And now Happy Beth is done. Even though this is my bedtime (yeah, so what? I get up before you even THINK about it!) I feel like I could eke out another half-section, but why burn my brain out? Tomorrow is another free evening, four solid hours of writing, but Weds. is yoga night and Thurs is camp-meeting night, so those will give me reprieve. Probably can do a few pages Thursday but with any luck, tomorrow night I can bang out the rest of chapter two and spend Thursday outlining three.

So way very cool. I love writing.

good news and bad news

the bad news is that I did not make my page goals last night before the football game. I managed only about 3500 words total...or roughly 13 pages.

the good news is that I didn't make the goal because I finished writing all of chapter 1. I'm chunking this bad boy into manageable pieces, and outlining a chapter at a time, writing it, then outlining the next.

even better news is that today I managed to outline all of chapter 2, right down to the sidebars and quizzes I'm including. I'll get started on that tomorrow night. 20 pages...30...? We'll see.

And the best news of all is that Oklahoma won and Pitt prevailed, which sent my Buckeyes shooting back up to #1 in the BCS. Sorry for the football spoiler but for a rebuilding year, Coach Tressel & the boys really made us proud.

Now to meet the next goal before New Orleans....

nerd!

Because I'm a total nerd and not afraid to admit it, I had to post this quick followup before lunch:

I have a little writing tracker software program I picked up years ago from Kresley Cole (still on her website) where you plug in the word count of what you want your finished work to be, how many days it will take, and it spits out how many pages a day you need (or words a day) to get to that goal on time.

Plugged in today's word count (2722) and realized that it was exactly 1000 words more than last count (1722.). Exactly. Very cool.

Told you I was a nerd. Did I say it was EXACTLY 1000 more words?

I think I need food. I'm getting a little silly here...

only 3...and Go Sooners

yeah, lofty goal those 15 pages were. Should have set that goal prior to hanging out last night until 3am for a friend's birthday celebration ...lol...

Now, though, the tea has kicked in, and I'm onto the last section of chapter 1 in my outline--one I think will be fun and fast writing....alas, as luck has it, my 2p.m. deadline has arrived and it's time for a little shopping and lunch. Should be back around 4, in time to write for 4 more hours.

(sports alert...if you don't like sports, stop here as it's time for a little Buckeye football reference)

I sacrifice a lot for my writing...I give up lunch dates, meetings with friends over coffee, chances to clean my kitchen (such a sacrifice) but I'm not giving up watching Oklahoma beat Missouri so my Buckeyes have one more shot at getting into the national championship game in New Orleans. Plus, it's the last college football game before the bowl games...another six months without college football...sigh....so I'm working to get my stuff done today by 8pm so I can get my last gridiron fix of the season without guilt for not writing til midnight.

Go Sooners...

drafts, quotes and edits...oh, and goals, too

I'm working on the book right now and have come up with a problem (not big, maybe more like an issue) and wonder how other writers deal with it.

As I write (two more pages down since noon today), I'm finding places where I need to insert some research or quotes in order to make the information resonate. I don't usually include those things in the first draft (nonfiction we're talking)--that's a second/third draft issue.

My question is...I'm writing the first draft, and normally my second draft is for content editing (changing sentences and paragraphs) as opposed to copy editing (grammar, spelling, etc--usually my last draft). I'm wondering if I should use the second draft as a "quote and research" draft only and leave the content editing for the third draft, or should I do "quotes and research" AND content editing in the second draft together? Or, hell, do "quotes and research" AFTER content editing? That almost seems more logical as the quote & research placement is meant to enhance particular text.

Or is all this talk just procrastination because I've spent 20 minutes working on one paragraph that refuses to solidify on the page? Hmmm....

Goal: page 15 by 2p.m. The hubby and I have gift certificates to spend that expire today (!!) so we're doing lunch and shopping at two. Good deadline....and since I'm hungry, I'm gonna go meet it!

More later (maybe)

patience

Just checked email before getting started on the writing today & found a very nice surprise.

My article on diabetic summer camps for Diabetes Explorer magazine was to originally be published in September. I received the check after the final draft was turned in, and the editor emailed to let me know there were some changes going on at the magazine ...my article would be pushed back for publication.

I didn't expect it to be published. I've never had an article get pushed back, and have heard only disappointing stories from other authors who've been through the same thing only to have their articles cut from publishing.

So today's email--a PDF final draft of my article to edit--was great news. It's slated for the January issue and I'm excited. This article is one with a lot of personal attachment for me. The two guys I quoted are two of the most important people in my life--my brother Richie and best friend Nate (and Darlene, the camp director I quoted, is a dear longtime friend as well). The camp I mention in the article is the one I've worked at for the past 14 summers. Makes it even more special.

Being patient as a writer is hard but it's a good thing.

1722 words...or 7.3333333 pages

Yeah, that's what I finished tonight in the business book. Not shabby at all, if I say so myself (even though the words are blending together as the evening wears on).

I have to admit I'm liking this writing a lot. I love research, love nonfiction, love being told what to do (in writing but not in life, as I'm sure my mother would agree..lol). With this wonderful :) outline I've already created, it's a hell of a lot easier than writing fiction. I know where I'm going, where I've been, and what I'm forgetting as I'm going. Since my first 20K words (about 80 pages) is due December 17th, sitting around procrastinating about whether or not I use the word "types" or "kinds" for three days in the name of writing perfection really isn't an option. I just sat down and started typing.

Took a break about three pages into it for a shower, and came up with the perfect first line for the next topic. I like how that worked. And if I get stumped by a word or phrase I know is buried in my subconscious or on the edge of my brain, I'm just putting it into parenthesis. It'll be there when I come back to edit, but more importantly, it keeps me from stopping.

Weirdly, I'm doing OK so far writing the rough draft on the computer. I did take the four big topics of chapter one and outline them in depth in the notebook, my hurried scribbles indecipherable to anyone, including me at times, but hey--it's working.

Ok...off to bed to dream of words and headings...only 64K words to go....

she liked it!

So I sent in the first assignment for my new book deal today--the outline of the table of contents.

I was a little nervous as the editor specified she wanted the TOC as well as a summary for each chapter. My brain doesn't work like that: I write extremely detailed outlines. (thanks, Mrs. Frere!) So I sent it in as it was, no summary, only detailed details with a note to the editor that I'd be glad to write an additional summary if she wanted (I wouldn't be glad but the nice Beth made me say that).

The editor emailed back to let me know she'd gotten the TOC--and it was great. Gave me the go-ahead to work on the book as the TOC says and to send her an invoice for the work. Way cool.

Shameless self promotion

It is my blog, isn't it?!

A good article for all you writer-types to consider before starting your next writing project

(a good article because I wrote it)....at Writer2Writer.com

Need Motivation and Focus?
The Art of Creating a Writer’s Mission Statement

TOC Rough Draft Down, Book to go....

First update on the work-for-hire:

Just finished writing the table of contents. Longhand, of course, as we all know (and care..hahah) that longhand helps me think better.

Must have been thinking a lot as the TOC ended up being about 12 pages long. I've got two of 'em (pages, that is) typed up...through about chapter 5 so far, and only with headings and subheadings, no details (yet). Trying to cram it all in tonight as I'm heading to my niece's wedding tomorrow out of town and plan to do absolutely no work at all.

Since the TOC is due Weds, this is pretty in-advance for me. I must admit the topic matter wasn't as interesting to me when I bid on the job but the more I read (three research books), the more interesting it is.

Now if just those 85K pages would come as easy....

Off to type....

she said yes...

....to that work-for-hire the editor offered.

Call me crazy but I just want to see if I can do it. Write a book (nonfiction) on a topic (cleaning) I know little to nothing about (all research provided) in a ridiculously short period of time (90 days).

Sent in the contract. Sure, the money isn't great, but if I put my behind in the seat every day and crank out 810 words a day (between 3-4 pages) I'll have it done by the February deadline.

If not..well, we'll get to that. I'm just now about 1/3 through creating the table of contents (darn, doesn't count toward the 65K word count), so I'm still going strong.

hmm...writing...or...breathing?

You'd think that since I haven't blogged my writing progress lately that there hasn't been any.

You'd be mostly right.

Picked up a nasty chest cold early last week and unfortunately, cold and sinus medicine do nothing to up the creativity or energy levels. I know writers are supposed to persevere through everything for the sake of writing but I must admit here that being able to easily breath and not cough up a lung trumps being able to write...

So now that I'm sorta getting better (less fever, more energy, less coughing), I'm writing again. Maybe I just needed a little out-of-my-mind break (love those dreams I have on cough medicine LOL).

Tonight I added to my story. All totaled it's now 6 solid pages and comes in at just over 1400 words. It ain't a novel yet but it's still pulling my interest so I'm happy with that. For now. Until the Nyquil is out of my system, anyway....

stop screwing with me, writing goals....

What the hell is it with my writing that happens every time I try to set good, solid, reasonable goals and something always flies in about a day later to completely screw with my plans?!

I signed up for the 70 Days of Sweat Challenge with the honest intention of writing 750 words a day--at least. Figured it's a good time to start the novel rather than just brainstorming til I'm 80, plus with the short story due out reasonably soon (still awaiting the release date) I'd need to follow up with a second story to the editor.

Sounded great til I got a notice from a writing friend who mentioned an editor was looking for authors for work for hire. Basically, the publisher has titles they need to put out and need to hire writers to do a lot of writing in a short period of time. Before my brain could stop my fingers, I fired off a query to the editor only to have her send me the list of titles and prompt me to pick five. I did, and those had all been bid on. Picked three more, and those were gone. Picked three more on Friday and haven't heard back from the editor, but I do admit none of those titles were really great. But the challenge of writing a 65K word book in 90 days is too great to pass up (she says stupidly).

So, anyway, in the meantime, I'm working on this challenge. I wrote three pages today, which, added to my one page from before, brings me to four. A whopping 843 words, but I'm into the second scene of the story (dialogue always comes to me first before description) and still cranking it out. And I'll be back again at it tomorrow night unless something else comes across my email and I think I have to write it.

Why can't I stay focused? Maybe I should work on that in my writer's coaching course...lol.

And do these blog posts count into my 750 a day? I wish!

Are You Nuts?!

Since I've heard that question more than once in my life (the answer is almost always yes), I figured I'd prove it:

I just signed up (on impulse, like buying that pair of purple heels I picked up on clearance last year at Macy's and have worn only once...today...) for yet another writing challenge: 70 Days of Sweat at http://70daysofsweat.com/wordpress/archives/71

Why nuts? I just started a course on coaching writers through creative issues (12 week class), am busier in the day job than I've ever been before (7-5 most days) and am coming into basketball season (I keep scorebook for two, sometimes three teams a week..or twice a week). And now I'm committing to writing a minimum 750 words (3 little pages) a day. Wow. Even I think I'm nuts!

But I'm excited. While I'm enjoying the brainstorming process for the upcoming story, I also don't want to use that as an excuse to not write (pet peeve: writers who've been working on the same "story" for more than two years). Might as well dive in now....

Why am I here and not writing? I have 3 pages to finish.....

Back to Katy's Question

Since we didn't get to catch up (the Serious Writer girls, see previous post) for this three-week span, Katy emailed (for sake of conversation) a question I always love asking of writers everywhere: what's your process?

Katy asked specifically if I'm writing to get to know my characters or if I'm working on something else (nonfiction) while I work on the characters in my head. Interestingly enough, up to this point of my writing career, I've always gone with the latter. I always have four or five writing projects going at the same time (can't sit still...) and find that when I get stuck on one I can flit to another and find something else to work on easily.

But this time--at least with the fiction--things are different. I don't remember if I mentioned it but the hero of my current story (Christopher) has been telling me bits and pieces of himself at really odd times (you know that if you're a writer you're always thinking of your story so don't pretend like you never "hear" things from your characters...LOL) and instead of keeping them all in my mind, I've been writing them down. I've almost filled up an entire notebook with Chris and Lily (the heroine) notes. I'm not used to this--my preferred method of writing fiction is to solidify that first all-important, crucial scene in my mind 99% then settle in and write it.

The problem has come when that first scene (often first chapter) comes out easily but I've written everything i know about the character to that point into that section of the story, leaving me with little to go on. I don't always plot out all the crucial scenes (gasp...!) so I find myself lose interest in the story or it takes a wild tangent I didn't expect, which ends up being an excuse not to finish.

So I thought...what the hell, I'll try something different. I must admit it's a really refreshing feeling. I don't have that "dread" when I sit down to write that I often had in the past where I don't know what comes next. I'm having fun writing about the characters, discovering tiny details about the character or setting I think I might have missed had I just written fast from the start.

The fun will start when i finally get the real story started but the hope is that I'll have a wealth of info from my notes to draw upon and use as my map. I guess I won't know til I get there but I'm having a darn fun time trying it...

back to the notebook...

what makes a writer?

I gave a presentation earlier this week to a group of teachers and had an interesting flashback experience that shows just how my mindset toward being an author has changed since I started writing...and feel like sharing, since this is my blog...LOL

When I started grad school three years ago, first class, first day, we had to introduce ourselves and tell the class something about ourselves. As everyone shared around the class, I panicked about what to share. I finally convinced myself to share that I was a writer (yes, i said it out loud to a group of strangers...), but didn't mention that I had only a few credits to my name. I was so worried that there was some unwritten rule that I had to have a minimum two books or x number of magazine articles published to qualify as a "writer", but as it turned out, I wasn't struck by lightening.

After that, sharing that I was a writer became easier each time I did it (to strangers..lol). At the presentation, the teacher of the class introduced me and gave high compliments on my writing. She said she had no idea I was a writer until she checked out my website, and how impressed she was with my writing. I was surprised (pleasantly) to say the least, but unlike the old Beth in grad school, I smiled and thanked her without hesitation. Later, as I thought about it, I realized how, had that occured three short years ago, I'd have blushed and insisted I wasn't a real writer yet because..why? Because I hadn't met those lofty and undefinable things that qualify people as a writer?

Lori Foster, in her infinitely wise and down-to-earth way, once said that everyone who writes is a writer. There is no checklist to complete, no hoop to jump through, no group to join, no prerequisites for publishing--the act of writing qualifies you to be a writer. The difference, she said, is that some people who are writers eventually become published authors when they sell their work. It's an easy, simple distinction that works well with the writer's delicate psyche, and it's true.

Of course, it doesn't hurt to have someone publicly acknowledge that for you, either...

No Wimpy Goals

The Seriouswriter girls & I were supposed to meet on Thursday for our ritualistic three-week catch-up-drink-coffee-set-goals (and pay up if you missed the last one)but real-life stuff intervened and we set goals via email.

Katy qualified her goal by claiming it was lame as compared with everyone else's goal but I think it's the toughest at times: to work on the same writing project every day for three straight weeks.

I disagreed with her because I think that setting, establishing and keeping a true daily writing schedule (if you aren't a fulltime writer or don't have a day job/life to interfere with writing) is often much more difficult than setting a page requirement to complete. The way life unfolds daily is never the same as the day before, and working to carve out that uninterrupted period of time where it's just you and the words can be damn near impossible sometimes. But even if it's only fifteen minutes, it's a start.

Part of the challenge of setting writing goals that will help your career as a writer is taking into account one simple thing: LIFE--and structuring your career around it so that you maximize your experience with both. And since no one else can live your life the way you want, don't worry that someone else's goals don't fit your career. Your writing, your life, your goals...and your $5 if you don't meet them...LOL

ok, this time it's for real...

So that last post was on the galley...this time the post is on the FINAL galley. When I send this bad boy in (ok, good boy..), my editor says I'll get my release date. I think that means almost showtime, huh?

It's odd to think that all this time I've wanted to be published in fiction has come to (almost) fruition and now I'm a little afraid. What if someone doesn't like my story? What if only my mom buys a copy? What if it's the worst seller in company history?

What if?
What if?
What if?

It's enough to make a girl crazy. Guess the only place I really can go to escape is the fictional world I've recently created for this newest story. It's a vicious cycle...lol.