Busy, Busy, Busy

So busy, I've fallen behind on goal updates. Since the last time I posted, I signed a contract with Cobblestone for Wickedly Ever After (release date sometime in May, unless something changes), completed the first round of edits on According to Luke, and started the first of several planned shorts for the new Wicked line. It's almost done now:

Wicked 1 (Contemporary)


The goal is to finish that one up today and start on the next one, so that I have two to submit when the line opens to in-house authors on February 7. It may be tight, since I expect the second one to run a little longer.

Wicked 2 (Regency)


And what about my full-length request from the agent? Honestly, I just haven't been able to contemplate tackling it. I may decide it's just not worth the effort, but I'm still thinking about it. We'll see.

These will be my last words for the day...

I added 5,297 new words to the novel.



Yeah, I'm all outta words for now.

Goodnight.

Back to school = writing!

Yes, that's right. I got back into writing today. But I'm not going back in with revision or a short story. No, I'm embarking on the adventure that is writing a novel. And baby, we have a progress meter:

Okay, so I was (secretly) hoping to get past the 4,000 word stage. But you know what, after not writing a single new word for several weeks, this is awesome! And I'm loving the darkness of this story already.

There you have it, guys. I'm back. ;)

Fast Draft

Not that some of you need speed demons it, but Candace Havens is doing a Fast Draft (next week I think), if you are interested.

150 words or less

I also write Flash Fiction under my "other" name...and am preparing a submission today (i,e, I hand wrote the story yesterday and it came in over the word count by a bit...so I'll be typing it in, editing, and polishing today. Has to be under 150 words ~ it'll take me as long to finish 150 words as it does some days to write 500. Strange but true...

So, that's what I'm up to today. What about y'all? Got lots of good goals for this week to share? Finishing up goals for the month (there's still a few days left)? So spill...

Gotta Fiinish it

Ok, so I've been working on this story for over a year and only have around 3000 words written. I keep editing the part over and over. So I'm gonna quit and just finish it. I'm thinking this story'll be around 10k. I'm gonna try to at least write 2k a week

Losing It...

Yep....my WICKED is done. I wrote 5000 words in 3 days and feel rather brain dead. Now it's out for crits so I can find out just how horrible it is! Eek!

And on to the next one...so much to write, and so little time

Screwed

That would be me. I left my thumb drive at home today. Man I HATE IT when I do that!!!! Luckily I brought the hardcopy/line edited version with me so I can just retpye it and add to it. I need some pages today.

DONE (with a Title Change)

So, I putzed and plotzed and found my way to The End in about 2,000 fewer words than I originally projected. The final wordmeter looks like this:

Wickedly Ever After


It's out for a round of crits now. Woot!

Now, the big 'un. Eek!

Something WICKED this way comes...

My muse is working overtime...I just put Song of Seduction to bed and was facing a lovely day of working on my website (which I hope to have up by February), when I got an idea.

I didn't think it was going to work until I started on it this morning....1300 words into it, I think I can wrap this little package up in just over 5K and may even have it done by Friday. Woot, woot...

Then, I have to get cracking on the website AND the sequel to The Werewolf Whisperer...and....and....and..... So much to write, so little time....

Holy Request for a Full, Batman!

So, on Saturday, I got word that a final round judge for a contest I entered with the manuscript I'd put in mothballs has requested a full. The requestor is an agent with a large, respectable agency. To say I feel I have to take advantage of this opportunity is an understatement. But it means doing a complete revision of the manuscript between now and March or April. Eek!

One way or the other, I have to finish my historical first. Today is a holiday from work, so I'm going to do my best to push through to the end. The word meter currently looks like this:

Carnally Yours


Wish me luck!

Update:

Didn't quite make it to the end, drat it. But so, so close!

Carnally Yours


Unfortunately, I have a feeling I'm going to wind up tossing about 500 of those words, as I'm not happy with them.

The week of no new words

Yeah, that was last week for me. At least I just got through the edits for Selkie Skin. That's always a good thing. There's too much real life stuff going on at the moment. And my daughter's school holidays seem to be going on forever...

Maybe this week. :/

Siren Song (or Song of Seduction)

Or whatever the title ends up being is FINISHED! I typed THE END on the first draft earlier today.

I had a huge writing stint very early this morning (finished the big action scene at 2 am!). Then, while my hubby went to the hardware store with the boys this morning, I put in the HEA.

Wow...does it feel good to be done, although I loved writing this. The huge action scene is one of the scariest I've ever put together. I'm just hoping I did it justice. And the ending...oh my, I got shivers when it finally all fell into place.

And the final word count?



So....go me!

I'm going to start incorporating the edits that have drizzled in from one of my crit groups as well as start thinking about trying another WICKED? Do I dare?

Good Day (updated)

Well, I think I'm pretty well caught up to where I needed to be today to meet my goal.

Carnally Yours


Things got rolling a little better when I realized I'd already reached the black moment. Final word count may be 28K instead of 30K. We'll see.

Jan 18

Wordmeter now looks like this:



Considering I was at the office and/or the school for 8+ hours today, not bad!

Updated Word Count

Yep...definitely NOT a WICKED...sigh...


1/16/08 -- Another update (didn't want to open a new thread when I didn't have much to say)...still writing like mad...However, this will be it for the day as I have my IRL crit group meeting tonight.



1/18/08 -- yet another update, I'm sooo close I can almost taste the ending. I would have finished today if I hadn't had to give up my computer to my "other" daughter so that she could apply for another job (as if two isn't enough!)...Being a single mom is really tough these days. We're hoping she can find something full-time with benefits.

A Deadline of Sorts

Okay, so now I have made a commitment and promised to finish this thing by Feb. 1. Backing off so there's time for a beta read/crit, I need to have the first draft done by the 23rd. That works out to a little over a thousand words per day, not counting the weekends (when any writing time I get is strictly a bonus).

Carnally Yours


Must.Do.It!

statcounter

Desperately Seeking A Title

My word count is up....but so is my total "estimate" for how long this book is going to be....



Okay...the premise of the book -- I really need to work on the blurb, but this is it in a nutshell.

Maera is a charter boat captain hired by some researchers (three men) to take them out to "The Island" (no, I don't want that as the name of the book, bleh). The researchers are looking for mythological creatures -- namely Sirens (Siren Song is a potential title, but not very "sexy"). Maera knows that once they get to the island, the men will be spellbound and killed by the creatures they are trying to capture. The problem, she's got the hots for one of the men and decides to try to save him. However, the main researcher, Dr. Strong, has a hidden agenda that might just get them all killed.

Slow Going, but...

Well, I only managed a little over 1,000 words on Saturday, but hey, it was something. Wordmeter looks like this:

Carnally Yours


Today is looking more promising than I thought because originally, I was supposed to go into the office to teach, a task that eats up about five hours of the day. Lucky for me (in a way, at any rate), two of my three kids were too snotty with the crud to go to school today, so I had to cancel the class. Of course, I'll be interrupted by them a million times over the course of the day, but at least it's not a work day any longer!

Wicked but Untitled

I took off to the library yesterday and churned out some great words. My Wicked story now looks like this:



I honestly think this is the first story I've written that doesn't have at least a working title...I'm trying NOT to worry about that as I write. But geez, titles are really important...they are the first 'hook' you have to catch an editors eye (along with your query letter)!

I'm hoping that once the boys go to bed tonight, I can churn out another scene or two (or three)...I recharged my alphasmart and "santa" got me a lap desk for Christmas...so even with the TV on tonight, I can retreat to the bedroom and write, write, write. I'd so love to get the first draft done by Tuesday.

Today Is the Day!

Now that I know I can't submit my Wicked until February and realized I'll probably actually end up with a series of three stories, I'm noodling on that for a while while working on another project.

Since hubby and #1 son are gone camping until tomorrow, this is my day, which means I have to get as much written as I possibly can. In theory, it ought to be possible for me to get 3,000 words. Realistically, I'm aiming for 1,500.

Right now, the wordmeter looks like this:

Carnally Yours


I have to admit, I'm a little daunted by this story. Before I reread it, I was afraid it wasn't any good and might not be worth the effort to finish it. Now, I'm afraid it's so good I won't be able to finish it with any justice. (Does this ever happen to anyone else? God, I'm neurotic!)

Back in the saddle

Goals:
TBD - Due Date: n/a
I <3: - Due Date: February 14th
EC: - Due Date: March 1st

So best course of action I'm thinking is get I <3 done and polished since it's gonna take a tiny bit of research and it's something I've never written.

Then I think I can write the EC sub and TBD at the same time.

I Didn't MEAN to...

Like Yolanda, I wasn't planning to write anything for the new Wicked line (in answer to your question, QB, click here).

But then I was driving into the office this morning and an idea hit me. And damn, it's HAWT. I mean, smokin' to the point of scaring me. I may actually be too shy to submit it, but shoot, I have to write the blessed thing anyway!

House Party


I also MUST finish this one. I'm soooo close. I started rereading it last night and fell back in love with it.

Carnally Yours


Got my work cut out for me, especially since there isn't much time left today. But I'll be back!

I'm taking the Wicked challenge

I wasn't going to take it at first. But who am I turn down a challenge? So, I got started on it yesterday and got about 1,500 words written.

Today, I finished it:

I was aiming for 5k, and expect the word count to go higher during revisions. Yay.

ytd word count: 16,618.

Fresh WIP

Smell that? That's fresh wip.....t'aint nothing like it boys...er girls.

New Year, New Novella

I spent yesterday plotting out my WICKED submission...

Then I opened a new word document and started writing and what came out is nothing like what I'd started with...I love it when that happens!

So, I'm going to type like mad for an hour and I'll be back to post my word count.



Bleh....not as many words as I would have liked. Maybe later today...

Okay, I'm back

After the writing slump I had during December (Jackie, Ericka, don't laugh. Lol) I think I might finally be back. Well, considering I wrote 7,386 new words today, I think I am. Got my novella finished too, which feels great. Yay!

Anyway, just wanted to check in. This is my first 2008 post over here.

Oh yeah, and I've decided to keep tabs of my word count during the year. Here's what it looks like at the moment --

ytd word count: 10,238.

Happy weekend!

Happy New Years

Happy New Years to my fellow Goalies!!!
I've been plugging away at this book and I'm on the home stretch. Frankly it's the hardest part for me. The kids are gone so I'm going to try and stay up until they get home and write. I'd love another ten pages. I need twenty.

I also got the gift of edits on Nailed on Christmas Eve so I waded through the first 100 pages last night!!!

Sa-weet!

Woke up this morning to find a contract for The Gospel of Love: According to Luke in my inbox. Woohoo! What a nice way to end Christmas week.

Deanna asked when she can have the other three, too. So, now I have a nice incentive to get cracking on According to Matthew.

Eked out a Little Something

It's not much, but any progress during this hectic time is extra good!

According to Matthew


I hope everyone is having a fantastic holiday season!