Monday, January 16, 2012

Resources, Or Getting My Act Together

Posted by: Loribelle Hunt
I'm so much in 'it's a new year I have so much to do' mode that I'm having a hard time focusing on much other than working, but I'm trying to do it smarter than I have in the past. I start off with great energy and huge plans, peter out by summer, and end up taking off/wasting two months before I can get motivated again. Burn out is not fun lol.

Part of my problem is I write in spurts, part that I'm a pantser, and part that I have that dreaded author disease, WADD (Writer's Attention Deficit Disorder). Actually, I'm pretty scatterbrained under the best of circumstances so I guess I can't blame WADD. I'm trying to find ways to at least manage these issues.

1.Daily word count. I have to admit, I am not good at this. When I'm 'on' I write about 10k a week, but that's 2 or 3 days of a lot of writing and the rest of the week procrastinating. I'm aiming for a more consistent spread. 2k a day for 5 instead of 5k a day for 2. That's just exhausting. I stumbled on this spreadsheet on Twitter and hope it keeps me honest.

2.I don’t know if I can fix the pantsing "issue". I'm trying to do a very simple and vague outline. Wish me luck. I've found some useful tips in some of Holly Lisle's articles.

3.Which leaves me with the dreaded WADD. I don’t know if there's any hope for a cure for this affliction. There are too many stories to tell, too many characters whose voices are loud and demanding. This year I'm going to try to work on 2 projects at a time instead of flitting from one to another and back again. Unfortunately, I haven't found any helpful suggestions for pulling that off yet lol!

And since I'm talking resources (and organizing mine) here's a few cool links:

reference.com
etymonline.com
10,000 Words A Day
idiomsite.com
Most Common US Surnames

And just for fun:
6 Ways Crows Are Smarter Than You Think

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Kiss of Twilight
Dark Bonds 2


Dupree Jackson is everything a senior soldier of the Order of Templar should be. Cold. Unbreakable. A master at arms in the fight against demons. But as a hybrid, Dupree is beginning to lose himself to the demon half of his soul. One woman has the power to save him. If he lets her.

Kara Stone wants two things in life: to be merged with a demon so that she can become a full member of the Order; and Dupree Jackson. She knows they are meant to be together, if only Dupree would love her back.

Though his desire for Kara is undeniable, Dupree’s need to protect her is stronger. Not wanting to see her merge, to face the internal struggle he deals with every day, he refuses to bond with her. But when Kara becomes a target and uncovers a dark secret about her past, Dupree may no longer have a choice…

Available at Carina Press, Amazon and Barnes & Noble

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Loribelle is a former Army MP who traded in her combat boots for motherhood, flip flops, and all the Diet Coke she can drink. (She almost misses the combat boots.) She’s the author of more than 20 books, herder of three energetic children, and an occasional sun worshipper.

Loribelle can be found at her website, Twitter, or Facebook.

2 comments:

  1. It's such a hard balance to strike. As writers, we are constantly told to focus on a project. But then, once we sell, we don't get that luxury anymore. We're writing one project while revising another to submit, and then edits come in on a third.

    For me, the biggest challenge has been learning how to NOT put down a specific project unless I was absolutely certain it wasn't working. Right now I have a few in various stages of completion that I abandoned when the going got tough. They are stories I love, but because I put them down and moved on, I'm not sure if or when I'll ever have the chance to get back to them. :(

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think if every day had another 24 hours I'd actually manage to fit in all the writing I want to do.

    ReplyDelete

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