#Row80 Sunday Check In and Book List

First off, I hope all of you on the East Coast are doing well. Most of you probably can't read this since your power is likely out, but I'm thinking of you as Irene does her thing. This is one of those days I'm grateful to live in the Midwest.

This has been a good writing week. I outlined the first eight scenes of The Prophet and wrote the first 2000 words. Almost halfway to my Row80 goal of 5K.

My good friend has been reading the first fifty pages of Light and Dark and called me on how the book opens. "You're a better writer than this. It reads like you're not sold on it."

And I wasn't. I never have been. The book originally opened in the middle of the action, and when I learned that broke the rules, I revised. But I never felt great about the revisions. So with the help of my critique partner, I got to the bottom of the issue. There is some character setup, but the action comes quicker and the first two pages are pretty catchy. I feel good about them, which says a lot. The first pages, synopsis, and query are with a proofer this week, and I'm anxious to hear her opinion. My goal is to start querying Light and Dark by November.

Last but certainly not least, I want your books! Besides my normal suspense novels, I love good scary, psychological novels, whether they're ghost stories, horror, criminal, etc. I would love to hear your suggestions!

How has your week been? Are your #Row80 goals on track?

#ROW80 Midweek Check-In 8/17/11

Rescued baby raccoon covering its eyes.

Did you know a baby raccoon covers its eyes when it's scared? Yep. I learned that watching Billy The Exterminator last week. He rescued a family and one of the babies covered its eyes just like a scared kid. Cutest thing ever.

I was thinking about that baby raccoon as I wrote this post. The last few days haven't been bad, just busy. Lots of work to get done on the synopsis but I think I'm getting the hang of it. Catie Rhodes directed me to this FREE lecture offered by Lisa Gardner at her Writer's Toolbox. Gardner does a great job explaining the nuts and bolts, which is all a synopsis is.

I also have some ideas for The Prophet. I haven't had a lot of time to write because we've been doing a lot of family things before school starts. Today's my writing day, though, and I'm ready to dig in.

But my confidence has been lagging. I know we all have those moments. We read someone else's work and wonder why the hell we even bother. I got down in the dumps Monday after starting Tess Gerritsen's Ice Cold. How can I ever hope to be that good? My writing isn't close to hers, blah, blah, blah.

Thankfully Catie jumped on my butt and reminded me we all start somewhere, and that even the best artists weren't great in the beginning. Practice does make perfect.

It's just annoying. But the effort is worth it.

Just to make you smile, another baby raccoon.

My parents had five of these outside last summer, eating the cat food.

They cried when they were frightened.

Anyway, I've resolved to stop covering my eyes and worrying about the "what ifs." They're bad news and drag me down. My writing suffers. Sometimes I'll go a day or two without doing anything, and that's just stupid. No one ever got anywhere by feeling sorry for themselves.

Light and Dark is in good shape for Row80. It's ready for the next edit, which was my goal. My new goal is to get the synopsis in working shape by this weekend, as well as the query letter.

I'm going to stop worrying about following "the plan" for The Prophet and do some discovery writing. It may not be the way experts say to do it, but it works for me and that's what counts. Once I get that under my belt, I'll be able to figure out my turning points and go from there. My goal is to have this done by next Wednesday. Hold me to it.

On the health front, I have something to be proud of because I've gotten in 60 minutes of exercise for the last four days running. That's big for me. I lost weight on a diet that banned all exercise but toning, and I excelled because I LOATHE exercise. But on day four of walking/running/biking, guess what? I feel better. Mind is shaper, I have more energy, all that jazz. It really does work.

I'm feeling pretty good about this week, but enough about me. How are your #Row80 goals coming? What have you added or revised?

#Row80 Check In 8/14/11 Emotional Hamster Wheel

This week has been an odyssey of emotion. First I dealt with the loss of a close friend from high school's mother, a lady that had a major influence on me growing up. Then I had to look at my own mother with her diabetes, congestive heart failure, and kidney issues and hope she wasn't next. On Wednesday, I took a break from writing and spent some much needed time with her, shopping and eating out like we used to. My mom is my best friend, and worrying about her health is a daily bother. But on Wednesday, I let all that go and just focused on her. It was just what I needed.

The last few days have been spent working hard on the synopsis for Light and Dark and getting back on a healthy eating plan. I'd been pigging out the past few weeks, so I'm nipping that in the bud. Cut out the carbs and most of caffeine. This is the third strict day, and I'm feeling more energy and less like I want to rip someone's head off.

And the first draft of the synopsis is done. Yay! It's got a long way to go, but it's a start. I can definitely see the benefit of writing your synopsis before writing the book, as Roni Loren suggests.

I haven't been able to do much on The Prophet this week, but I do have some ideas rolling around my head. I hope to focus more on them in the next few days.

Here are my favorite links of the week:

Allison Brennan's View on Editing

The Expert by Amber West at A Day Without Sushi

Or Not To Blog About Writing by Laura Pauling

Self-Publish or Small Publishing House by Roz Morris

And the funniest post of the week? You've Got to Change Your Evil Ways by Annie Boreson

How was your #Row80 week?

#ROW80 Midweek Check-In 8/10/11

This is how I'm feeling right about now. My best childhood friend's mom passed away, and yesterday was the funeral. I spent a lot of time of time with her growing up, and she was a great lady. She did a lot for all of us kids and put up with even more. She was only 65, and losing her is very sad. She died in her sleep, so we're grateful she didn't suffer. Still, the experience is exhausting, and I can only imagine how my friend is feeling. Losing my parents, especially my mom, is my greatest fear. I have no idea how I'll cope. My thoughts are with her family. We were all blessed to have had her in our lives.

Sad stuff aside, I've been focusing on my query letter for Light and Dark. *Grumbles, stomps, and throws stuff.* It's going better than I thought, and I've been learning a lot. Catie Rhodes has given me a ton of advice, including some cool exercises. The first one is writing about your book in three sentences or about 70 words: story set up (inciting incident) in one sentence, the major disasters are one to three sentences, the ending is one. Character gets one sentence, the conflict one sentence, and your book's unique aspects get one sentence. It's challenging, but it's a great practice.

The second trick is to write about your book in one sentence - 25 words or less. No names. It's tough, but again, great practice.

I'm also working on the synopsis. Even more stomping and grumbling about this one. Hate writing these with a passion. But Kathryn Craft from the Blood Red Pencil and TJ Proofs gave me some great tips: go through your book chapter by chapter and write down how each chapter moves the story/character arc along. Summarize the main theme of each chapter and then go from there. This has really helped me from being all over the place with my synopsis.

I also have to thank Donna Galanti for reading my query letter and giving some great feedback. She's had some experience with queries and is able to give some great advice.

My goal is to have a draft of the synopsis and query letter ready for critique/editing by Friday.

On The Prophet front, still in planning phase but getting closer. Working on the setting: a picturesque historical town in Mississippi, deep in the heart of the Bible belt. Very excited!

And on the way down to my parents yesterday I came up with an idea with another story. Thank goodness for voice recorders on cell phones. This one's definitely going in the to-write vault:)

Thanks to you all for your support of my blog and on Twitter. How's your #Row80 week going?

#Row80 Sunday Check In and Sharing

Happy Sunday, everyone! Remember Calvin and Hobbes? They are my all-time favorite comic, and I so wish Watterson had continued.

Anyway, I chose this pic for today's check-in because I have lots of reasons for the happy dance.

First off, Sammy's doing well. He's got a lot of meds to take and is going very slow on food, but overall I'm happy. We are very lucky we didn't lose him. He has a big, nasty scar, and he's just going to take some time to heal. He's been showing signs of his old self, barking at the door and hovering around when I'm cooking, if only for a few minutes. He's still pretty tender, so he has to be carried up and down the steps to go potty. Trust me, it's not bothering him. He's loving all the attention.

My awesome critique partner Catie Rhodes returned the last of Light and Dark chapters, which means I'm going to end up finishing the first round of edits well ahead of schedule. And Catie really likes the book, so I'm feeling pretty giddy at the moment.

I'm getting close to querying. Thinking about that makes me nauseous, but that's another blog post.

Even better, I've gotten some serious work done on The Prophet. I spent a lot of time Friday and Saturday researching locations and brainstorming my characters. I have to give an enormous shout-out to Jessica Patch for answering all the questions I had about Bible verses, passages, etc. She's saved me a ton of time.

Thanks to Kristen Lamb, I know that the antagonist is the driving force behind any book, so I've been focusing on his character. His motivations are chilling, and he's driven by some radical religious beliefs. The more I work on The Prophet, the more excited I am.

I've also been keeping up on my blog posts, and I've even been able to get ahead on a few of them, so #Row80 is back on track for me.

Favorite writing post of the week: If you normally blog about writing, how will you promote your fiction? A great discussion at Nail Your Novel.

Looking for some great new blogs to read? Check out The Red Dress Club's weekend linkup.

How's your #Row80 going this week?

Finally, it's time for a little Sunday Sharing. What were your favorite blog posts this week? You can share your own or someone else's. Did you read an awesome book or short story? I want to hear all about it!

#Row80 Midweek Check-In 8/3/11

I'm celebrating today! Light and Dark is on track to have the first round of edits complete well before my goal of September 19. There's still a lot of work to do, but things are moving along nicely.

I finally sat down and started working on The Prophet yesterday. First off, Scrivener is wonderful. I'm making my notes/character and plot outlines, and it's completely awesome. Organizing and keeping track of scenes and plot points are so much easier. If you haven't tried it, you need to download the trial version. It will totally change the way you write!

Anyway, I'm back to being excited about The Prophet and looking forward to writing it.

But the real reason for the celebration is that Sammy's coming home tomorrow! He had solid food on Tuesday and kept it down, and there's been no signs of infection. There's always an outside chance, but looks like we're out of the woods. Thank you all for the kind words:)

Now for some links you need to check out:

Juliana Haygert has created an amazing list of links for book bloggers, agents, editors, cover artists, and much more. It's a great resource whether you're self-publishing or going traditional.

Kristen Lamb's Twitter Tuesday post is my favorite of the week so far. Only she could coin the phrases "Twittah Playah" and "Tweep Scout."

For laughs and great writing, check out For the Love of Writing by The Sarcasm Goddess and Annie Boreson's Atoll Annie and the Non-Specific Rim. Both are fantastic writers with a great sense of humor.

How are your #Row80 goals coming?

#Row80 Check In 7/31/11

As some of you know, it's been a rough week. Turns out my doxie Sammy didn't have a bug. He took a turn for the worse Thursday afternoon, and after a series of blood work and x-rays, a foreign body was discovered. He had surgery on Friday, where the vet found a lot of his bedding (an old towel, because they chew everything up) wrapped in his intestines like rope. She spent over three hours getting it out. There were also ulcers on his bowels from the mess going on inside him. He made it through surgery fine, but we're not out of the woods yet. There are chances for infections and other setbacks, so we're keeping our fingers crossed.

We went to visit yesterday, and he was happy to see us as well as his bestie, our other mini doxie Maggie. Seeing him after the surgery helped.

Needless to say, the worry didn't play well for my writing. I was feeling down anyway, so Sammy's issues were like icing on the cake. I feel so guilty because I knew he was chewing up the bedding, but I didn't realize how much he was actually eating. I found scraps around, so I just assumed the vast majority was being left out. Should have known better.

I did manage to get a fair amount of editing done on Light and Dark. I'm working on some of the more in depth suggestions from my critique partner as well as really focusing on 'show, don't tell.' And dialogue tags. Those are a biggie of mine.

The Prophet is still stalled. It's an exciting idea I know I can write, but I'm having trouble getting started. I have notes all over the place, and it's like I've forgotten how to organize. Hopefully I get that straightened out soon.

Just wanted to say thank you for all the support on Twitter and Facebook this week. Having you guys to talk to has really helped, and it means a lot:)

Special thanks to the wonderful Tiffany White for pimping my blog on Jenny Hansen's great post. Check out Tiffany's post about the Texas Kiss and Kill Murders - a creepy true story!

And if you're looking for new blogs or a place to promote, stop by the Red Dress Club's Weekend Link-Up.

How did your week turn out?

#Row80 Midweek Check-In 7/27/11 and Doggie Sickness.

My poor, sick puppy.

What a day! As some of you following me on Facebook know, one of my dogs got sick on Sunday. What is it about dogs and getting sick on the weekends? Anyway, he was throwing up so we had to go to the vet. She thought he got into something, gave him fluids, etc. So on Monday I'm suddenly sick as a dog - literally. I never get that kind of sick. And I forget to give Sammy his meds, then Rob feeds him regular dog food instead of hamburger and rice. He keeps it down though, and I think we're all good, so I gave him some more yesterday. Starts throwing up again. Back to the vet today, same old, same old.

Now, Rob laughed at me when I said I was sure the dog got me sick. But guess what? The vet said that's probably exactly what happened and gave Sammy another antibiotic. So a big raspberry to my hubby!

Oh, and then our Internet went down today, and it turned out to be a broken modem. Our provider couldn't get out until Wednesday, so I hauled my butt over to the other side of town and exchanged it.

It does pour when it rains.

As for #Row80 ... meh since Sunday. My mom's been visiting, so I haven't had as much time. I have gotten through quite a bit of my critique partner's edits on Light and Dark, so I'm feeling good with that.

The Prophet, you ask? Yeah, not so much. It's suffering as of late, but I plan to cure that the next few days. Grace went to visit Mamaw and Papaw, so I'll have blissful silence.

Things are going awesome on the blog side. My comments and followers are growing, so thank you guys!

I want to give a shoutout to Jenny Hansen's Microsoft Word Party post over at More Cowbell. Tons of great tricks about Microsoft Word with easy instructions. Thanks, Jenny!

And for laugh out loud funny, check out Piper Bayard's post, A Time To Receipt.

How are your #Row80 goals coming? Happy writing!

#Row80 Update 7-24-11

Happy Sunday, everyone! This has been a pretty good week. I finished my run-through of Light and Dark and was really happy to see the last third of the book was much stronger than I thought. As I said on Twitter, it doesn't suck. Yay!

All the chapters are ready to go to the critique partner, and I'm about halfway done with her changes. I'm in good shape to have the first full edit done by September.

As for The Prophet, I took more notes and started character worksheets. Have to say, I'm really excited about this book, especially the villan. As dark as Light and Dark's bad guy is, The Prophet will trump him. He's even more twisted and disturbed.

I've also been doing well with my blog posts. Exceeded my goal of at least three this week and gained several new followers. The SheWrites Blog Hop has been a lot of fun and a great way to meet new bloggers.

I want to give some shoutouts to my blogger friends this week. Huge thanks to Tiffany White at Tiffany White's Ooo Factor. She gave me some great linkage in her Friday post, and I can't thank her enough. If you haven't been to her blog, check it out. Tele-Tuesday and What to Watch Wednesday are two of my favorites.

If you're still deciding on Google+, check out Amber West's A Day Without Sushi. Her post on Google+ is full of great information.

One of my favorite posts this week was from Jenny Hansen at More Cowbell. Remember to appreciate the little things in life and not get caught up in the stress of the writing world.

Last but not least, drop by my good friend Catie Rhodes blog, Full-Tilt Backwards Boogie. Her freaky Friday posts are always full of shivers and chills.

How did you guys do with your #Row80 goals this week? What were some of your favorite blog posts?

#ROW80 Midweek Check-In 7/20/11

The last few days have been a bit rough as I got back into the swing of things after our mini-vacation. But just like Domo, I'm feeling good today:)

Yesterday I was able to edit up to the midpoint of Light and Dark, which was an accomplishment. I've had to move some scenes, cut some scenes, and write some new scenes. I'm rewriting today, but I'm still on pace to have the first edit done by September.

The rewriting is a bit frustrating, but it must be done. Still, it's hard not to want to kick yourself for not getting it right the first time.

As for The Prophet, I'm slagging on that. Haven't done much since I wrote a bunch of notes in the car on the way to Minnesota. Oh, and on a napkin at Arby's. But things are shaping up, and I plan to start the outline tomorrow.

I've also got to get my interview with Matt O'Brien (author of Beneath The Neon) transcribed. He explored the Las Vegas Storm Drains, which play a prominent role in Light and Dark. I'll be posting the interview on Monday.

Blogging is going well. Have to thank Catie Rhodes at Full Tilt Backwards Boogie for the wonderful shout-out today!

On another note, the heat is STIFLING! Yes, I capitalized it because it's that bad. Heat index of 114 today. I'll be doing my exercising indoors!

How are you all doing with your #Row80 goals?

Harry Potter, Exciting News, and #ROW80 Check In 7/17/11

Hello, all! I've been absent on Twitter the last few days because I was out of town. Rob, Grace, and I went up to Saint Paul to stay with a friend and had a great time. Hit the Mall of America and the Nickelodeon theme park, Saw the Science Center, Children's Museum, went to the NKOTBSB concert (Grace's first concert, she loved it) and then to the Minnesota Zoo.

We capped it off by seeing Harry Potter: The Deathly Hallows Part 2 yesterday. No words can describe the experience. I had high hopes for the movie, and it exceeded my expectations. It was a beautiful ending to the series, and they did the book an incredible justice. Every one of the actors was suburb, and I'm already scheming as to when I can see it again. It's hard to believe this was the last movie, and it's been fun watching the actors grow into well-rounded adults.

On the #ROW80 front, I have to think everyone who commented on my last post. Your thoughts helped me so much with my plot issue, and I did manage to get it worked out. It means a lot to have an online community to go to when I run into walls.

I haven't gotten a lot of writing done, but I knew I wouldn't. But with the plot issue solved, I know the scenes I need to work on and feel like I'm back on track. I also managed to get some more plotting done for The Prophet, and I'm very excited about what I've got planned for it.

And my exciting news? The wonder Jenny Hansen held a contest at her blog this past week, and I won! I get to choose one of Margie Lawsen's lecture packets, which is awesome. If you haven't checked out Margie's deep editing analysis, you should. Really opened my eyes to some of my strengths and weaknesses. I haven't decided which packet to choose from, but I can't think Jenny enough.

Hope you all had a great week, and don't forget to check out the blog tomorrow. Laura Pauling will be answering my questions!

#ROW80 Midweek Check-In

What a week this has been! I started out like a house afire on Monday, getting through blog posts and brainstorming my next book, The Prophet.

I wrote two new scenes for Light and Dark that were needed to fill some plot holes, so I was feeling great. Until yesterday.

I hit a huge stumbling block. A key element of my book is the Las Vegas storm drains. I'd researched them and was unable to find a build date, so I went on the assumption (stupidly) that they were fairly old. I found out yesterday they were built in 1990, so one of the key scenes I've created for them won't work. Oh, and that scene is also one of the book's turning points.

I sank like a stone yesterday (apparently today is cliche day). There may have been a few angry tears, too. Now I'm in recovery mode. How can I fix it? There has to be a way. I don't want to go into the details of the book, but I basically have to use some creative license to get from Point A to Point B (the tunnels).

And that's nerve-wracking. Creative license is okay, right? It's not like the storm drains are the Statue of Liberty or something. If I jimmy some things around I'm not going to have it bite me in the ass. Someone please reassure me here. I'm a stickler for details and this is difficult for me.

So as far as the book goes, I'm still spinning a bit trying to figure out how to fix this one teeny thing that affects everything. And kicking myself for not stopping to think about this a long time ago. Stupid, stupid.

On the blog side, I've already got my post for tomorrow done, which is good because we're heading out of town tonight. I'm not going to have much time the next four days for any real writing.

I'm scrambling today trying to get this sorted out so I can enjoy my vacation without obsessing over the book. Hopefully I'll get it figured out.

Happy Humpday to you guys:)

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#ROW80 Update & Why Critique Partners Are So Important.

This week started out rough and ended well. I had to face facts that a scene I thought was fairly solid didn't work and come up with an alternative. At first I was pretty down because I'd spent a lot of time working out that scene, having already dumped its predecessor. I had a couple of days where I questioned my abilities and had a pity party. Thanks to my critique partner, I was able to pull myself up.

If you don't have someone to at least bounce ideas off of, you need to get them, stat. A good critique partner won't try to write you book, but they won't hesitate to say a scene didn't work. A good critique partner will also help you figure out what's wrong with the scene (or scenes) and brainstorm ideas to fix it. Without a critique partner, I wouldn't have known anything was wrong. I've read the book so many times my mind processes things as though they're perfect. I'm so thankful she was there to say "this isn't working."

As for my #ROW goals, I'm happy with how the week turned out. I've been able to edit three chapters of Light and Dark and work through some important issues. I also wrote 1000 words of a new scene today.

The edits are moving along nicely. If I stay at this pace, I should have the first round done by my goal of Sept. 19.

I also kept up with my blog posts and definitely RT'd a lot of blogs. I was able to spend some time commenting as well.

This next week is going to be shortened as we are going out of town on Wednesday afternoon, but I hope to get in my blogs and through another chapter before we leave.

How did your #ROW80 week go?

And if you haven't joined the challenge, you should. More about it here.