Sunday, April 30, 2017

Weekly Goals 1-5-17

Now the house stress is (pretty much) over, it's time to knuckle down and get some work done before I have to focus my energy on packing and moving.

I had a wonderfully inspiring weekend with the subject of my ghostwriting project.  We spent part of both weekend days together, talking and I have some wonderful material to work with now.  Every story she tells me ends up spinning off into other stories and each one is more fascinating than the last.  I feel like picking the right ones is going to be the hardest part, because they are all so interesting.

And there are so many more to come…

So this week my goal is to finish the more boring parts of the book proposal and make a start on a couple of sample chapters and putting together a basic idea of the shape of the book through a chapter breakdown.

It will probably take me more than a single week to do all that, but it's a goal to start with.  I just have to hope my day job calms down a little bit so I'm not too exhausted and stressed out to sit down and write at the end of the day.

Thursday, April 27, 2017

Celebrate the Small Things 28-4-17



This post is part of Lexa Cain's bloghop, Celebrate the Small Things. Head on over there to join up!

So what am I celebrating this week?

We sold the house!

Yes, after a long, nerve-wracking few weeks, we sold the house.  And it has all worked out perfectly with the new owners wanting to take over at the same time we move to the new house.  I am so relieved!  And now I can focus on getting ready to move in two weeks.

Of course, with all that, I've done very little writing work, but I hope to be able to do some now I've calmed down a bit.

My day-job hasn't calmed down at all though.  If anything, it's even crazier this week than it was last.  And I doubt it will slow down even a little until the team going to Cannes leave in the second week of May.

So maybe I won't get any writing done…

The woman I'm ghostwriting for is coming down this weekend, and I'm hoping to get some interviews done so I can start writing some chapters soon.

On Wednesday I went to the theatre for the first time in months and saw an awesome play called Hand of God.  It was about a guy with a possessed puppet and it was the funniest thing I've seen in a long time.

What are you celebrating this week?

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Books I've Loved: History is All You Left Me


This book offers one of the most realistic portrayals of grief I've ever read.  Everything about it felt real and raw and I related to it completely.

Griffin is mourning his first boyfriend who drowned after moving to California.  The book traces their relationship in the past, from the moment they realize they are in love and through the painful, but inevitable break-up when Theo leaves for college.

In a parallel narrative, the book explores Griffin's attempts to deal with his grief and the paralyzing guilt he feels every time he takes a step forward, a step away from the past he shared with Theo.

Theo's presence is felt in every page.  Griffin addresses him as if he is still there even if he can't see him.  He imagines Theo is watching his every move, something that weighs heavily on him when he starts finding comfort in Jackson, Theo's West Coast boyfriend.

Griffin struggles with OCD, and as his emotional state becomes more fragile, his compulsions start taking over and he pushes people away, even those who love him and may be able to help him.

This isn't always an easy book to read.  Griffin's pain and suffering is so vividly evoked, anyone who has felt themselves spiraling out of control will recognize the headspace he's in and know how vulnerable he is.  But it's this that makes the book so special.

But don't just listen to me.  Here's the blurb:

When Griffin’s first love and ex-boyfriend, Theo, dies in a drowning accident, his universe implodes. Even though Theo had moved to California for college and started seeing Jackson, Griffin never doubted Theo would come back to him when the time was right. But now, the future he’s been imagining for himself has gone far off course.

To make things worse, the only person who truly understands his heartache is Jackson. But no matter how much they open up to each other, Griffin’s downward spiral continues. He’s losing himself in his obsessive compulsions and destructive choices, and the secrets he’s been keeping are tearing him apart.

If Griffin is ever to rebuild his future, he must first confront his history, every last heartbreaking piece in the puzzle of his life.

Sunday, April 23, 2017

Weekly Goals 24-4-17

I already know this week is not going to be a productive week as far as writing goes, so my goals are very small.

Wednesday is the day the tender closes on our house, so until I know the outcome of that, I'm not going to be able to focus much on anything.  If the house sells, then I'll be able to start breathing again and thinking about other things I need to do.

If it doesn't….  Well, I actually don't know what I'll do.

So for this week I'm just going to try and chip away at those 1000 words I need to cut out of my MS.  And if I get the material back from my ghostwriting partner, I'll do a little more polishing up on those too.

But basically, I'm just trying to keep my head straight and not give in to the panic that keeps creeping up on me whenever I think about not selling the house.

What are your goals this week?

Friday, April 21, 2017

Celebrate the Small Things 21-4-17



This post is part of Lexa Cain's bloghop, Celebrate the Small Things. Head on over there to join up!

So what am I celebrating this week?

It's the weekend again!  And Tuesday is a public holiday, so it's almost another long weekend.

It hasn't been as productive a week as I hoped, partly because I'm anxious as heck about the house selling.  Interest has not been nearly as high as I was led to believe it would be in this market and now I'm starting to freak out that it won't sell and I'll have to sell the new house before we even move in!  My realtor assures me that won't happen, but I'm still anxious.

But on the plus side, I have almost finished editing the project I had hoped to get finished about three weeks ago.  I've managed to cut about 3K, but still need to cut about 1K more to get it to the length the publisher I want to send it to is looking for.  I'm not cut out for 70K novels!  Mine all end up hovering around the 90K mark, even when I try to write as lean as I can and go back to cut out all my crutch and filter words.

I'm waiting for my ghostwriting partner to get back to me so we can move on to the next step with that project.  But it's nice to have had a week away from it and to focus on my own stories for a bit.

The kids are on vacation from school and I had two days off to spend with them this week as well as the long weekend.  We didn't get up to too much except multiple library visits,  but we did see the Lego Batman Movie

What are you celebrating this week?