Crazy month in real life, and it was reflected in my lack of progress in my goals. Here’s hoping the worst is over.
Resolutions #1, 3, 5, &7: Keep this blog updated.
Progress report: I talked about this in my last post, one of only 2 I did all month. As always, blogging remains my lowest priority, especially when my time/energy is limited. Changing that has been hard. It’s a mental shift that my mind just doesn’t seem to want to take.
Resolution #2: Finally finish editing my NaNoWriMo novel from 2008
Progress report: After working on first chapter revisions last month, I decided to cut it completely. The second chapter was the original first chapter when I posted it for some feedback on Absolute Write years ago. Most of the feedback said it didn’t fit the genre (fantasy romance) I thought I was writing. I added the new first chapter to try to resolve that, but it turns out it was just back story. I think I’ve finally made peace with the fact that this is more like a straight fantasy novel with “romantic elements,” and am no longer trying to force it to be something it isn’t, and revising has become a lot easier with that in mind.
I’ve also cut one flashback scene, and another scene is currently on the chopping block. The manuscript is now down to 110,000 words, but I have a few new sections that have to be written out, to fill in a couple of plot holes, so we’ll see what happens. Part of me fears that this monster will grow even larger than it was when I first started editing.
Resolution #4: Finish the first draft of my NaNoWriMo novel from 2011
Progress report: It’s still sitting on the side as I work on revising some of my other manuscripts. Haven’t even done a read-through yet.
Resolution #6: Receive one rejection slip (print or e-mail) every other month, for a total of 6 for the year.
Progress report: Still waiting on a response from my flash fiction piece. Keeping my fingers crossed, though I know it’s a long shot. Also, I have a good idea of how to revise that problem novella I talked about in previous “progress reports,” and hope to have it sent out by the end of the month. I also have 2 other short novels/novellas near 1st draft completion, and hope to have at least one of them ready to send out by the end of the year.
Overall, I think of July as the month I’d prefer to forget. Hope everyone had a better month than I did, and here’s looking forward to August!
Rescuedfromthebottomdrawer's Blog 
It sounds like you’re simply learning to be true to yourself and your voice. Kudos. Set-backs are tough, but your progress report seems to be ticking along… at times, mine comes to a complete standstill. Best wishes as you move forward.
Thanks! I have a hard time seeing any progress, sometimes, so it’s nice to have someone else see it. Good luck on your own goals!
It sounds like you have your priorities straight–blogging should be lower on the priority list, especially at the phase you’re in. Once it’s time to market your book, then blogging can climb back up to a higher position. Good luck! 🙂
Thanks. I keep telling myself that, but since I put blogging as one of my resolutions for the year, I feel a little guilty that I’m not keeping up with it. Plus I do enjoy it — that’s the other reason it’s lower on the list. It feels like I’m playing hooky from my writing when I spend time on my blog. 😉
I know what you mean. 🙂
The blog should support the books, tempting as it can be to spend time reading and commenting with other writers. 😉
Don’t worry about the manuscript length too much. When you get down to serious polishing of the sentences, you’ll probably find that you need to cut a number of extraneous words or tighten up the structure.
So true! I could spend hours just reading blogs — there’s just so much interesting stuff out there. That’s why I have to be strict with myself, by not logging online until I reach my writing goal for the day. Sometimes, it feels like 24 hours is just not enough to get everything I want done!
As far as the manuscript, I think my nervousness with the word count has a lot to do with the fact that I’ve never written anything this long before, though this isn’t my first finished novel. I used to write YA — those are the manuscripts currently locked away, never to see the light of day again — and they rarely reached over 50k, which was considered really long back then.
You’ve been a busy girl! Puts me to shame. Sigh.