Status Report

I'll talk in depth at some point about each of the projects, but here is where I am in each of my novels-in-progress.

Wanted -- A thriller -- This one is complete, at 105,000 words, and most charpters are in their second or third draft. Two friends are reading / editing / critiquing the latest version now, and I have my mind set on December as the month to do (maybe just begin?) the full rewrite and I dream of sending it out to agents or publishers in 2006.

Soulmates -- A light romantic drama -- This was my 2002 NANO novel, and is about two-thirds complete, now at 60,000 words. I have it outlined to the end, but have not added more than a scene or two in the last year.

Nowhere Man -- A thriller / romance / coming of age thing -- This was my 2003 NANO novel, and is also about two-thirds complete, standing at 58,000 words. I have been written a few scenes the last month or so, but am at a crux point in the plot, and might be a little worried about the next scene or two. But I know I have to just push on through.

Country Church -- A drama -- This one is about one-third done, about 31,000 words. This is my first attempt at multiple POV, telling the story from the varying perspectives of 5 people in a small church community. All of the others are more limited in the POV, so I think this structure is tougher for me, which is keeping my slowed down on making more progress on this one.

ASL -- A light romance -- This one has just not gotten far, at about 6,200 words, but I really like the story, so I keep it on my list. I am considering junking it and re-writing it as my 2005 NANO, if I do NANO in 2005. But I'm not sure yet.

What This Blog Is Gonna Be

I am thinking this blog will have three main types of entries.

1) Thoughts about writing in general; writing advice, writing books, etc . . .

2) Thoughts about my writing in particular; my plans, updates, synopses, outlines, character sketches, etc . . .

3) My actual writings -- scenes, stories, etc . . .

Looking forward.

Really? A thousand words? Every day?

Well, actually you have to do more like 1600-1700 a day during Novembers if you want to complete National Novel Writing Month, which I did in 2002 and 2003. I am considering a run again in 2005, after taking last year off. The problem with my NANO experiences is they left me with two long yet still unfinished manuscripts. So I have been poking on them since, and have to ask myself if I want to end 2005 with THREE long yet still unfinsihed manuscripts.

So with the exception of Novembers in NANO years, then this blog will not consist of 1000 words a day. But I like the reminder the name of the blog gives me that writing should be an EVERY DAY event, and that dilligent work will leave me with lots and lots of written words.

What I need to figure out how to do is balance the value of producing 1000 words in a day with the bondage of feeling that I HAD TO produce 1000 words every single day. Haven't figured out this conundrum yet.

What This Blog Was

I started this blog nearly three years ago, when I was figuring out what to do next in my writing. I had heard enough about the "Thousand-Words-A-Day" rule -- the impetus was Carolyn See, but the concept is all over -- that I thought I would give it a shot, and since the name was still available for a blog, this site was born.

At nearly the same time (within a few days of each other), I signed up for NaNoWriMo '02, and used this blog to post by writings. This was perfect, as the competition requires MORE THAN 1000 words per day, for a month. Sweet! I tried to keep it up for a few months after, then drifted away for a time until NaNoWriMo '03, where I used it again to great value. But I skipped NaNoWriMo '04, and this faded away as a priority for me.

The problem was that I felt the legalism of the rule press down on me -- if I couldn't do 1000 words a day, I wouldn't do it at all . . . I poked around at LiveJournal, where some from my first writing group people had pages. And this just withered on the vine.

But . . . . I think it's time to try it again, with some revisions and changes. I'm thinking about what this site should be in it's 2.0 incarnation. Don't know yet, though . . .

Wow, it's been a long time

It has been about 2 years since I last used this blog, but I have missed it, and others around me have picked up blogging, so it seemed like a good idea to try this again. I think I overdosed on blogging way back when, but am clean and sober now, and ready to indulge once more.

Look here for in-progress works, bits and pieces of things, musings on writing, etc . . .

Looking forward.