Night of the Living ROW

Final ROW80 Check in for Round 2, 2012

Having reached the end of another ROW80, Mortimer decides to take a well-deserved nap.

We’ve reached the end of another round of ROW80. This round, I haven’t been as attentive as I would have liked. Of course, lots of life intervened. But all we can do is all we can do.

My plans for this round:

• Update ROW80 page, for last round and this one: I updated the page at the beginning of the round but it needs another update.
• Spend 15-30 minutes minimum 4 days a week on new novella. I’m working on expanding Postcards from Hell and its sequel, Ants in the Mailbox into a novella. My MIP is on hold for now: For the last month, I’ve tried to catch up with work projects and a big move. I put a hold on writing work until I get settled.

Hi-ROW, Hi-ROW, It’s Off to Work We Go

ROW80 Check In 5/2/12

These last two weeks have been pretty decent. I felt a little lost when I didn’t check in last week but I think I’ll adjust to an every other week check in quickly. In fact, I think the longer-term planning will help me both relax and up my productivity.

Where I’ve been since last check-in:

• Update ROW80 page: Yep.
• Open Scrivener file for Postcards (working title) novella and layout storyboard: *ahem* Not yet. But I have written tons of notes and outline points longhand.

The ROWpocalypse is Nigh

ROW80 Check In 4/18/12

At long last, I’m jumping into ROW80 Round 2. I had planned to jump in at the start and have my ROW80 page all updated. Well…the best laid plans of mice and writers and all that.

Buuuut, none of that matters.

That’s the beauty of ROW80.

Tremble in fear, mighty ROW, for I have come to conquer thee.

Without further delay, here are my plans for this round:

• Update ROW80 page, for last round *blush* and this one.

• Spend 15-30 minutes minimum 4 days a week on new novella. I’m working on expanding Postcards from Hell and its sequel, Ants in the Mailbox into a novella. My MIP is on hold for now.
• Maintain blogging schedule. Try to have all posts schedule by the night before the posting day at the latest. All posts should go out by 4:30am CA time.
• Visit Twitter 1-2 times daily
• Visit Facebook at least 6 times/week
• Continue to take Sundays off with the family
• Read at least 2 fiction novels per month.
• Exercise 3 days per week.
• Reorganize Blog Menu in light of the changes to blogging schedule.
• Revamp post tags.

Where I’m headed this week:

• Update ROW80 page.
• Open Scrivener file for Postcards (working title) novella and layout storyboard.
• Keep up social media goals.
• Start Suzanne Collins’s Mockingjay.

This is gonna be a great round, fellow ROWers. Can you feel it?

Get out your digital pom-poms and rah-rah some more ROW folk here.

What’s on your list for this round of ROW80? If you’re not a ROWer yet, what goals will you be working on for the next month or two? How’s all the goal-getting going so far?

Image Attribution (In Order of Appearance):
Squint at thee by Tomi Tapio, on Flickr CC BY 2.0

Making the ROWnds

ROW80 Check In for 10/26/11

I’m feeling good about last week. Still didn’t nail every goal but I was successful overall. The shorter blogging schedule is really working for me and I’ve fallen in love with my MIP again. Suddenly, I want to sneak off at every opportunity and dive into my story.

Here’s where I’ve been:

• Work on MIP tasks 4 days/week: Figures that when I cut back on my goal days, I’d end up doing more. I did a whopping 6 days this week. And I downloaded my free Scrivener trial 2 days ago…that’s really perking up my writing. Woohoo!
• Exercise for a minimum 5-10 minutes at a time, 5 days/week: Still hitting 4 days/week. Perhaps that’s what really fits into my rhythm and I should focus on building up the length of each workout and not trying to hit all 5 days first.

And the Writer Said, Let there be Blogs (and a ROW80 Check-In)

blog fatigue: (blawg fuh-teeg) noun

1.  the condition of being overwhelmed by one’s blog and/or the number of blogs to read, often characterized by an avoidance of blogging related activities and a loss of the pleasure previously associated with those activities

Last week, we discussed whether or not an epidemic blog fatigue was on the horizon. The consensus seemed to be that the risk of blog fatigue has indeed sky-rocketed but it doesn’t have to take any of us down.

Blogging and social media gives writers the opportunity to connect with a vast number of other writers, to see

Do the ROWky Pokey

ROW8O Check-In 10/12/11

The first week of ROW is done! I got off to a bit of a slow start but I’ll be up to speed soon. Here’s my progress so far:

• Start exercising, minimum 5 minutes at a time, 5 days/week:
  I worked out 3 days this week for an average of 10 minutes each time. Not exactly the 5 days I’d planned for but still better than 0. I’m getting into the habit now, so hitting all 5 days next week should be no problem.
• Update ROW8O page for the new round: Haven’t updated the page yet.
• Have Friday’s Life List Club guest post ready to go by Wednesday: Got this one done!

Guest Posting at ROW80

I’m guest posting at A Round of Words in 80 Days, talking about how taking my pants off helped me get unstuck with my novel-in-progress…

Taking Off the Pants by Sonia G Medeiros

Itty Bitty Baby Steps

In honor of the Life List Club Milestone Party, I’d like to share one of my favorite guest posts so far. This was originally posted at the blog of the fabulous Catie Rhodes.

Itty Bitty Baby Steps

Sail around the world. Climb Mt Everest. Lose 30 (or 40 or 50 or 100) lbs. Eat a 10lb burrito slathered in ghost pepper hot sauce. Write a novel.

All huge undertakings.

Okay…maybe writing a novel isn’t quite the same feat as the others…but it sure feels like it sometimes. Sometimes it feels bigger than that because we have to invent something that’s never existed before, our story.

Any big task or change can feel like trying to climb a mountain. We might stand at the base, look up at the vast distance between where we are and where we need to be, and just freak out.

But…maybe, just maybe, there’s a better way.