The Joys of Moving ~ A ROW80 Check In

Well…we did it. We found our new home. In fact, in just a few short hours, we’re going to go sign the papers and get the keys.

Goal. Met.

Most of you are familiar with the trials and tribulations of moving, so I’m sure you’ll understand why in the next few weeks my posts will be even shorter than usual

• Writing ~ Not a lot of words on paper this week, BUT I was able to outline a fourth book in this series. That’s exciting!
• Reading ~ Made progress on Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell. Words cannot describe his genius.  I’ve held off on Shadow Game by Christine Feehan, I just cannot get into it. Instead, I’ve been reading Women’s Bodies Women’s Wisdom by Dr. Christiane Northrup, M.D. I believe I’ve made years worth of progress normally achieved through 1 hour therapy sessions on the couch in 1 week of reading her wisdom a couple of hours each night. A must read for every woman.
• Exercise ~ the sinus headaches are getting better, I only missed one night at the gym. I’m noticing changes in my abs that I’m quite excited about. 2 babies and about 10 years of eating like crap with very little to no cardio is finally starting to improve – woohoo!!

So talk to me. For my writing pals, how are your goals coming along? Are you in ROW80, and if so, how’s that goin’ so far? For my non-writing buddies, what goals have you set for yourself and how are you making progress?

Falling Apart: A ROW80 Check In

This week has been a doozie on all fronts.

A week and a half ago, my allergist said I had a sinus infection, so he loaded me up with all kinds of meds to knock it out.

Well…they knocked out the infection, which is great, but they also took me out! I’ve been going to bed with migraines and waking up with them, which means I’m not sleeping well – as usual – and not getting my hour of writing in the morning. I missed 3 days at the gym because my head felt like it was going to explode every time I tried to use a machine.

My follow-up appointment went something like this:

Doc: So, Kate, how are you feeling? Everything good now?

Me: Not great, nope, I’ve had headaches all week. This is pretty much the worst I’ve felt in a while.

Doc: Really? What happened? Tell me about it, what’s going on?

Me: Well…*explained about the migraines and the gym experiences*

Doc: Hm. *stares thoughtfully at me* We could just put you down.

And that is why I see this man. He thinks outside the box

One highlight, though, is a friend recommended a book titled, Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom by Dr. Christiane Northrup, M.D.  I’ve been reading it all week, and she has opened my eyes! If you haven’t had the experience of reading her wisdom, I encourage you to do so immediately.

No new news on the home-finding front ~ still looking..

So talk to me. For my writing pals, how are your goals coming along? Are you in ROW80, and if so, how’s that goin’ so far? For my non-writing buddies, what goals have you set for yourself and how are you making progress?

Life, and ROW80

One downside to renting a house is that when the owner decides to move home, you lose yours.

So that’s what’s goin’ on with me right now. Going to be less writing and posting, and more home-finding

It’s not a total loss though:

• In writing, I made more progress with my plot and outlining
• I got farther in Plot & Structure, by James Scott Bell, and started reading Shadow Game, by Christine Feehan. I haven’t decided what I think about SG yet; it has an excellent premise, and I’m liking the characters so far, I’m just not sure about all of the POV hopping. Has anyone else read this book?
• Still going strong on the exercising. I had to miss one night for my daughter’s Open House, but that’s excusable

So talk to me. For my writing pals, how are your goals coming along? Are you in ROW80, and if so, how’s that goin’ so far? For my non-writing buddies, what goals have you set for yourself and how are you making progress?

ROW80 Check In

I’m sitting here, in a post 4-birthday-party-weekend stupor, trying to remember what happened over the last week. Pretty difficult considering I cannot remember what happened only a few hours ago.

Alright, I’ve got it now…a pretty good week this time around:

• Writing: Not as many words per day as I’d want, but a helluva lot more than last week. Plus I was able to get two very important pieces of my plot puzzle in place, which is exciting!
• Exercise: Still going strong here…missed Tuesday night for my daughter’s birthday, but I figure that’s an acceptable excuse.
• Reading: I finished Envy by J.R. Ward!  AH-mazing!! I stayed up ’til 2am to finish that sucker…worth every minute late I was to work the next day I also made great progress on Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell.

There you have it. I’m off to rest my brain and enjoy what’s left of the Oscars.

So talk to me. For my writing pals, how are your goals coming along? Are you in ROW80, and if so, how’s that goin’ so far? For my non-writing buddies, what goals have you set for yourself and how are you making progress?

The Domino Effect and ROW80 Check-In

And so here we are, one week after I took the plunge and decided to state my goals to the world…

I’m not proud to say that I did not have a good week, friends. No I did not.

Thanks to unforeseen powers, and my lack of self-control, I did not get one single word added to my wip this week.

Not. One. Word.

How did this travesty happen, you ask?

I’ve noticed that the domino-effect has quite the hold on my life. For instance, one night (don’t remember exactly which it was now) I decided that I could stay up until midnight to watch some programs that I’d missed several weeks in a row, which then made me oversleep the next morning–though I was able to scrape together enough minutes to work on my outline…then the next night we had a power outage that set my evening routine back a couple of hours which meant I didn’t get to bed until about as late as the night before, and you guessed it–I overslept…only this time by quite a bit and was almost late to the DJ. Fast-forward to yesterday morning when after a week of no writing, staying up late and over-sleeping, I woke up feeling depressed and had a bad case of self-loathing.

(in case you’re wondering, “DJ” stands for Day Job)

There is this niggling at the back of my neck hinting that my lack of focus might have something to do with my habit of behaving like a deer-in-headlights any time I make progress in my writing career (you may recall the kind words from an agent I shared last check-in). Get caught up on that here.

I will say, however, that my goal of going to the gym every day (except Fridays) is still going strong. Haven’t missed a day yet – well, except for yesterday when Hubs came home, saw me in my PJs and unkempt hair at 2:30pm, and promptly decided to drag me off to Knott’s Berry Farm. Watching my toddler ride rides, and being in the fresh air (as much as can be found in Southern California) did much to improve my state-of-mind. Which, at that time, it was probably more important to spend time with my family and get out of my head. So, everything is still going well on the exercise front.

As for reading, I didn’t read any of my fiction book, Envy by J.R. Ward this week. I DID however, get quite a bit of my craft book in, Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell. I had several inspirations for my wip as well as the series I’ve got brewing. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, Mr. Bell is a genius!

Ok, well, that’s it for this week. Time to get my head back in the game and start this next week strong.

So talk to me. For my writing pals, how are your goals coming along? Are you in ROW80, and if so, how’s that goin’ so far? For my non-writing buddies, what goals have you set for yourself and how are you making progress? 

Taking the Plunge ~ ROW80 Check-In

That’s it. I’ve decided. I’m doing it ~ I’m taking the plunge.

I’m joining #ROW80

We’ve shared our fears and discussed how fear can play a role in everything we do. In opening up and baring my own fears with all of you, I’ve been able to dissect some of them and even overcome a few.

Hence my decision to finally take responsibility for my procrastination, and take the steps necessary to achieve my dream. In case you hadn’t guessed it, my dream is to become a published author. Just thought I’d clarify that

Ok, so here are my goals for Round One:

• Write ½ hr to 1 hour every morning before getting ready for work, since this is the ONLY peaceful, quiet time I have. I have sub-goals for this one: The first is finishing up the draft outline for my WIP. The second is working on revisions and the bit of research left. Finally, one more read through with revisions…then, done!

• Read 1 craft book and 1 fiction book per week. I haven’t been as good about reading the craft books as I have been about the fiction…go figure. Having set this as a goal will help me focus and get the important reading done. For craft, I’m currently reading James Scott Bell’s Plot & Structure, which is amazing…he’s is truly a genius. THANK YOU Kristen Lamb for pimping him so much!! For fiction I’m reading J.R. Ward’s Envy. Man, I’m really diggin’ me some fallen angels

• Go to the gym every evening except Friday (those are grocery shopping nights ). I have trouble sleeping, and feeling sluggish during the day, so this will help in those areas, as well as improving my overall health I’ve already had a great start on this one. And actually, getting exercise has been a critical part of all the progress I’ve made lately.

I’m SO excited I decided to do this, and SO happy my good friend Jenny Hansen pushed and shoved encouraged me to join.

Since the spotlight is still glaring above me, and while I’m uncomfortably warm under it, I may as well share some pretty exciting news, which was another poke that got me here today:

I belong to an online chapter of RWA: Hearts Through History Romance Writers. Last week, I participated in an online conference, and at the end of the week we had an opportunity to pitch to some fabulous agents and publishers.

Because I’d made so much progress the last several weeks with going to the gym every night, which helped me fall asleep, which helped me wake up early, which led to me writing every morning…I felt that I was ready to really put myself out there and have an industry professional take a small peek and let me know what areas could use some improvement.

So, Friday morning at 7am I sent in my pitch for my wip, HIS BEWITCHED HEART, to Sara Megibow of Nelson Literary Agency. A few agonizing hours later she responded by saying:

“I love how organically you’ve woven in the details about witches in your writing. Very well done. This is superior writing and an excellent concept.”

She finished by asking me to let her know as soon as the novel is finished.

I’ve had friends, family, and my husband tell me that I have talent and that they liked my writing. But to have someone of Sara’s caliber tell me I have “superior writing” is just…well, words cannot describe how I’ve been feeling all weekend.

Ah, but now, now I have a book to finish!!! As Jenny said in her #ROW80 post this morning, I’m fired up!

For you other #ROW80’ers, and for those of you who haven’t posted your goals yet, go here to use the linky tool.

So talk to me. Are you part of the #ROW80 club? Do you have a goal list that you actively pursue on a regular basis? What helps you meet your goals?