RoW Update 8/26 - Loving Every Minute

I've now completed what was my first full week of RoW80, and I can say that my success was mixed, but overall, quite positive.

I started out setting goals that were ambitious, especially for my writing.  I asked myself to go from zero writing on my novel in 6 months to writing every day.  I asked myself to go from not having written any blog posts in 18 months, and only 2 posts ever, to writing at least 3 posts a week.  I asked myself to go from getting the occasional incidental exercise to getting deliberate exercise 3 times a week.  I asked myself to go from not really helping around the house to doing something to help every single day.

Have I made all of these goals this week?  Absolutely not!  Have I done more than I would have prior to RoW80?  You're darn right I have!

I just love the ability to say that I've written over 3000 words on my novel this week.  I can say I've been reading a philosophical book that I wouldn't normally force myself to pick up.  I've been trying to make my wife's life just a little bit easier by doing small things around the house.  I feel as good about myself as I have in a long time.

I just want to say thank you to Kait who has put together this challenge for all of us.  You've done me a great service by putting this idea forward of working toward continual achievement of goals in writing, and of life in general.

I don't know what the new week will hold, but I'm certainly excited to get into it, and find out!  Good luck to all of my fellow RoW80 participants this week!

RoW80 Detailed Goal Progress

Writing - I will write something toward finishing my as yet untitled book from NaNo last year, even if only 50 words, every day.
8/19/12 - None.
8/20/12 - While I did not get any actual words written in my novel, I was able to create a detailed outline of an additional 5 scenes, enough to keep me writing for a couple weeks, I think.
8/21/12 - None.
8/22/12 - None.
8/23/12 - Wrote 1893 words.
8/24/12 - None.
8/25/12 - Wrote 1255 words.

Reading - I will read at least 10 pages of a book each day.
8/19/12 - No books read, but I spent much time reading blog posts... that counts for something, right? :)
8/20/12 - I read 10 pages of "The Power of Paradox".
8/21/12 - I read 12 pages of "The Power of Paradox".
8/22/12 - I read 15 pages of "The Power of Paradox".
8/23/12 - I read 10 pages of "The Power of Paradox".
8/24/12 - None.
8/25/12 - None.

Blogging - I will write at least three blog posts each week, one of which must not be ROW80-related.
8/19/12 - Wrote Weekly Check-In for RoW80
8/20/12 - None.
8/21/12 - None.
8/22/12 - Wrote Mid-Week Check-In for RoW80
8/23/12 - Wrote Post on Learning about Creating and Improving a Blog
8/24/12 - None.
8/25/12 - Wrote Brief Post on NaNoWriMo looking for beta testers for 2012 website.

Exercise - I will get "real" exercise for at least 30 minutes, three times a week.
8/19/12 - My older daughter got to try riding her bike without training wheels for the first time, so I spent quite a bit of energy running alongside her. Not 30 minutes in total, but some aerobic exercise nonetheless.
8/20/12 - No exercise.
8/21/12 - I spent two hours of the afternoon playing laser tag with our high school youth group. If that doesn't count as exercise, I don't know what does!
8/22/12 - Between walking the mall for over half an hour, and carrying all our attic storage down to our basement over about 20 minutes, I definitely got my exercise today.
8/23/12 - No exercise.
8/24/12 - No exercise.
8/25/12 - No exercise.

Housework - I will, in some small way, make my house look better each night than it did the previous night.
8/19/12 - Picked up most of the disaster in our living room from the kids' playtime. They are like a tornado! Cleaned up some "debris" in our basement's finished area, and helped move some furniture for my wife.
8/20/12 - Cleaned up a little bit in the basement.
8/21/12 - Put some dirty clothes in the laundry room.
8/22/12 - Finished picking up all items in our upstairs bedroom and moving our bins in our attic to the basement to facilitate some construction/repair.
8/23/12 - None.
8/24/12 - None.
8/25/12 - None.

NaNoWriMo Website Beta Testing

Good morning, all my fellow writing-based bloggers!  I wanted to take a quick minute to post that NaNoWriMo is currently starting the beta-testing process for their 2012 website.  If you have previously participated in NaNo, and are interested, login to the NaNo site, and sign up!

A Newbie's Adventures in Blogging

In January of 2011, I suddenly became inspired by the idea of getting my ideas out to the masses, spreading my "wisdom" as far as I could to whomever would choose to read it, and so I started a blog.


Picture Courtesy of Word OfMedia on Pinterest.com

Two posts and no reads later, I decided that blogging was a royal time waster if no one would ever read what I'd written.  To quote a blogging poster, "Never before have so many people with so little to say said so much to so few."

Now, eighteen months later, I discover A Round of Words in 80 Days, a site where fellow writers can blog as a group about our efforts toward developing our writing careers.  As I began reading the posts of fellow RoW80 participants, I knew that I had to participate, and revived this blog like a new seed sprouting from the ashes of an ancient incinerated tree.

As I started looking around the blogosphere, I started to realize exactly how plain and boring my blog was.  I looked at the list of widgets built into Blogger, and was thoroughly dissatisfied.  It wasn't that they didn't have the types of widgets I needed, but they lacked the pizazz I was looking for.

For those of you who have been blogging for several years, this is probably a moot issue.  I've seen many polished blogs, and changes are quite possibly a thing of the past.  For me, trying to get my blog to a level that I enjoyed the look, I had to dig through the internet for help.

One site I found was Spice Up Your Blog, a blog that offers regular tips and insights into blogging, including html code for some custom modifications.  For instance, those of you with a WordPress blog get the advantage of having your links for next/previous posts show the name of the post, where Blogger does not do that.  This post has code to make Blogger do the same thing.

I also found a site called Shareaholic that has animated button templates for allowing readers to share my posts through a number of outlets.  A link to them, in case you're interested, can be found here.

Finally, I saw some blogs had a widget for following the writer on a variety of different social media sites.  I searched far and wide for code for a widget I would like, but none exactly met my needs.  I ended up taking the code from this blog and then modifying the code to add additional social sites, eliminate the text-based email button, and replace it with a stylish email button with the same feel as the social site buttons.  If you are interested in the final code for this widget, after my modifications, let me know.

I should say that I don't have any experience with html code prior to this modification.  One of my goals as I continue to develop and streamline my blog is to learn the basics of html code so I can, at least, feel confident in modifying code to my needs.

So, after all this, my question to you is this:  What part of your blog are you the most proud of?  Are you willing to share your source code for your favorite widgets?  Feel free to comment at length, as I am looking for all the creative input I can receive as I continue to develop my product.

RoW80 Update - The Balancing Act

Have you always wondered how that one person you know manages to balance a full-time job, raising two kids, keeping a house clean, managing their writing career, keeping in shape, and the numerous other things they seem to keep up with?

I do too.

I knew this wouldn't be a walk in the park, but I guess I wasn't prepared for how difficult some of the decisions I would have to make were going to be.

There are days where, as I approach the evening, I feel exhausted, and I know that I still have my daily writing, reading, exercise, and housework to do, and as I look at the clock, I start negotiating with myself to figure out which items I can accomplish that day before I pass out, and which tasks will just have to wait another day.

I tend to be one of those people that, when I start feeling overwhelmed by a situation, tries to avoid the situation altogether.  This way of living is in stark contrast to RoW80, and I'm coming to terms with this as I push past my first week of the challenge.

My progress on my novel was minimal over the past few days, but I did manage to extend my detailed outline through about the 60-65% mark in the novel, giving me about two weeks or breathing room in writing before I run out of outlined material.  I've started reading a difficult book, The Power of Paradox, a Christian philosophical text.  I've done well on exercise, and my housework efforts have been okay, but I still feel like I'm falling short.

I really appreciate all the kind and encouraging comments over the past week, and I will continue using them to push forward.

Good luck for all my fellow RoW80 participants the rest of the week!

RoW80 Detailed Goal Progress

Writing - I will write something toward finishing my as yet untitled book from NaNo last year, even if only 50 words, every day.
     8/19/12 - None.
     8/20/12 - While I did not get any actual words written in my novel, I was able to create a detailed outline of an additional 5 scenes, enough to keep me writing for a couple weeks, I think.
     8/21/12 - None.

Reading - I will read at least 10 pages of a book each day.
     8/19/12 - No books read, but I spent much time reading blog posts... that counts for something, right?  :)
     8/20/12 - I read 10 pages of "The Power of Paradox".
     8/21/12 - I read 12 pages of "The Power of Paradox".

Blogging - I will write at least three blog posts each week, one of which must not be ROW80-related.
     8/19/12 - Wrote Weekly Check-In for RoW80
     8/20/12 - None.
     8/21/12 - None.

Exercise - I will get "real" exercise for at least 30 minutes, three times a week.
     8/19/12 - My older daughter got to try riding her bike without training wheels for the first time, so I spent quite a bit of energy running alongside her.  Not 30 minutes in total, but some aerobic exercise nonetheless.
     8/20/12 - No exercise.
     8/21/12 - I spent two hours of the afternoon playing laser tag with our high school youth group.  If that doesn't count as exercise, I don't know what does!

Housework - I will, in some small way, make my house look better each night than it did the previous night.
     8/19/12 - Picked up most of the disaster in our living room from the kids' playtime.  They are like a tornado!  Cleaned up some "debris" in our basement's finished area, and helped move some furniture for my wife.
     8/20/12 - Cleaned up a little bit in the basement.
     8/21/12 - Put some dirty clothes in the laundry room.

ROW80 - Ahead Full Steam

I'm not even sure where to start with this post, as I've written and deleted this first sentence at least four times, so I'm just going to dive in.

It's only been four days since I started diving into A Round of Words in 80 Days, but I can already say that this has been a breath of fresh air for me.  Having a community of bloggers working together toward similar goals has really motivated me to start working toward these goals.  I can't say that this first half-week has been a rousing success, but I've made more progress in my novel these past few days than I have in the past few months.

When I last stopped writing Mage Rising (my novel's working title), I left off in the middle of a scene.  I'm not sure the reason, but I prefer to call them scenes, rather than chapters.  One of the reasons I was concerned about starting back on this project was the fear that I wouldn't be able to remember exactly where I was going with the scene.  Even more so, I was worried that I wouldn't have the same voice that I had over six months ago.

While I can't say that my writing voice sounded precisely the same, I had no problems taking off with the story again.  In fact, I was able to immediately create some items within the story that hinted at things to come in the overarching plotline, which made me quite happy.

My biggest concern for my novel at this point is that, while I have a vague idea where the greater plot will go, I don't have a feel for individual scenes yet.  I have outlined two scenes beyond the one I'm currently writing, but haven't found the specific path through the proverbial forest to the finish line yet.  This will be one of the goals for the coming week for my writing.

Even my non-writing goals have somewhat progressed.  I've spent more time than usual doing housework (although my wife would still prefer more), and I got out once to exercise strictly for the sake of fitness, which rarely happens for me.

I'm also going to add a new goal section for reading, as many of my fellow ROW80 members have.  While I love reading, I don't take the time to do it as often as I would like, so having a goal out there should help me take the time to do what I love!

I'm excited to see what the coming week will bring, so stay tuned.  Below is my detailed list of accomplishments from Wednesday, as well as a recap of my goals for the end of round three, as I'm changing one and adding a new category.

Good luck over the coming week to all my fellow ROW80 participants!

ROW80 2012R3 - Daily Goals

Writing - I will write something toward finishing my as yet untitled book from NaNo last year, even if only 50 words, every day.
     8/16/12 - Wrote 2269 words toward WIP novel.
     8/17/12 - Wrote 1168 words toward WIP novel.
     8/18/12 - Didn't get any writing accomplished today.

Blogging - I will write at least three blog posts each week, one of which must not be ROW80-related.
     8/15/12 - Wrote Initial ROW80 Blog Post
     8/17/12 - Wrote Non-ROW80 Blog Post

Exercise - I will get "real" exercise for at least 30 minutes, three times a week.
     8/16/12 - Ran/Walked for about 30 minutes.
     8/17/12 - Spent about 3 hours helping my brother-in-law build a 10' by 10' shed.  I'd say that counts as exercise.
     8/18/12 - Spent another 3 hours finishing my brother-in-law's shed.  Man, my arms are sore from all the nails.  :)

Housework - I will, in some small way, make my house look better each night than it did the previous night.
     8/16/12 - Helped get dirty dishes caught up, including gathering many of them from around the house where they had been left, and put one load of clean dishes away.
     8/17/12 - No real progress, but I was only home for about an hour (aside from sleeping time), and I spent this time writing.
     8/18/12 - Kind of another failed day, as the only help I really gave was moving furniture while my wife was cleaning carpets with the machine she rented.  Oh, and I cleaned the bathroom sink, which was starting to build up with dried toothpaste from my kids' toothbrushing.

ROW80 2012R3 - End-of-Round Goals

Writing - I will push toward having completed the first draft of my 2011 NaNo novel.  This will be exceptionally difficult, as I believe I still have at least 50-70,000 words left to reach completion, but I feel this is necessary, as my desire is to start the second book in the series for the 2012 NaNo.

Reading - I will shoot for a goal of having finished at least three or four books before the end of the round. (Added 8/19)

Blogging - I don't really have an end-of-round goal for blogging, but I would like to get to the point where I feel comfortable writing blog posts on a regular basis.  Having a few followers would also be nice!  Added 8/19:  Write book reviews of any books finished during the round.

Exercise - While not excessively overweight, I weigh more than I am comfortable with, and my goal is to lose 5 pounds by the end of this round.

Housework - Talk about running a treadmill, housework will never cease, but I want to get to a point at my house that the house is at least free of clutter every night before I go to bed, and my wife is happy with the assistance I give the household.

The Writer's Bane

I found myself sitting in my office at work yesterday afternoon, trying to find anything to keep me occupied so I could continue to avoid a bid that a potential customer was waiting on.  I had no particular reason not to want to finish this bid.  Technically speaking, the work was simple.  Yet there was this part of me, deep down, that wanted to avoid this project like the plague.  Procrastination held a firm grip over me.

Have you ever been there, as a writer?

On November 29th, 2011, I validated my NaNoWriMo manuscript at 50,059 words.  I was sitting at Barnes and Noble that evening, and I wanted nothing more than to jump up in the middle of the coffee shop and scream at the top of my lungs, "I did it!"  However, I reined myself in, afraid of being banned from one of my favorite writing locales.

The feeling of success, sheer elation, washed over me.  I told myself I'd spend the next two days on a short hiatus, picking up where I'd left off on December 1st.  My best friend, and one of my biggest advocates as a writer, even offered an incentive to complete the book before his wedding on December 30th.

I didn't touch the book again until late June, and didn't actually add any writing to it until yesterday.

I wanted more than anything to pick up the book and write.  I had such a desire to reconnect with my characters that, at times, it felt nearly paralyzing as I wasted my time doing anything else but write.  Deep down, there was something stopping me, the same thing that stopped me for the past nine years since I graduated from college.  I'm still not sure that I can define what that something was, and still is, but the closest thing I can equate it to was...

Fear.

Was I feeling fear of failure?  Or was I feeling fear of success?

I think the biggest obstacle to this process for me is the fear of change.  If my writing was horrible, I would quickly realize that the dream of becoming a professional writer was just that... a dream.  On the other hand, if my writing was very good, it might mean that I could become successful, and my life would change.  I've been happy in my small city with my wife and two kids, living a relatively routine life.  All of that would change if I became successful.

It's taken many months of reflection (and counseling) to come to terms with the simple fact that I can't live in a bubble, that I must not be afraid of change, but learn to embrace it, and deal with the consequences of that change as they arise.  I'm not even close to getting there, but I'm taking tiny steps in that direction.

How do you deal with the fear of failure, the fear of success?  What drives you to the keyboard (or pen and paper), instead of away from it?  I'd love to hear your own stories about this internal struggle.

A Round of Words in 80 Days

As an aspiring novelist, you may be looking for the proper motivation to do what many state to be the hardest part of writing - applying the butt to the chair.  Life has many devious ways of pulling us from those things we enjoy the most, and instead dragging us through the dredgery of routines, schedules and the mundane.

I have searched far and wide for unique groups or programs that help writers to cut through the sludge and get back to focusing on our craft, at least as time allows.  Last November, I successfully completed my first NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month.  This event helped me to plunge deeper into my first novel's rough draft than I had ever previously been able to go, writing just over the required 50,000 words.

Unfortunately, as December rolled in, life took back over and my grandiose desires to finish my book in the next two or three months fell by the wayside.  I've fought hard with every desire to get back to writing this book, but have had zero success until this point.

Now I've found "A Round of Words in 80 Days."

For those of you unfamiliar with A Round of Words in 80 Days, or ROW80, at it's commonly abbreviated, this initiative is designed to help writers find ways to accomplish writing goals without sacrificing the requirements of life, as NaNoWriMo almost forces you to do.  You set your own goals, and change them as needed as life intervenes.

I have found, in my own life, just setting goals helps me to achieve them.  I'm more aware of what challenges lay before me, and can better manage my time to accomplish them.  I am excited to add myself to ROW80, and begin to refocus my goals toward actual completion.

Without further ado, here are my list of goals for the remainder of the 2012 Round 3 of ROW80:

ROW80 2012R3 - Daily Goals

Writing - I will write something toward finishing my as yet untitled book from NaNo last year, even if only 50 words, every day.

Blogging - I will write at least three blog posts each week, one of which must not be ROW80-related.

Exercise - I will get "real" exercise for at least 30 minutes, three times a week.

Housework - I will, in some small way, make my house look better each night than it did the previous night.

ROW80 2012R3 - End-of-Round Goals

Writing - I will push toward having completed the first draft of my 2011 NaNo novel.  This will be exceptionally difficult, as I believe I still have at least 50-70,000 words left to reach completion, but I feel this is necessary, as my desire is to start the second book in the series for the 2012 NaNo.

Blogging - I don't really have an end-of-round goal for blogging, but I would like to get to the point where I feel comfortable writing blog posts on a regular basis.  Having a few followers would also be nice!

Exercise - While not excessively overweight, I weigh more than I am comfortable with, and my goal is to lose 5 pounds by the end of this round.

Housework - Talk about running a treadmill, housework will never cease, but I want to get to a point at my house that the house is at least free of clutter every night before I go to bed, and my wife is happy with the assistance I give the household.


I firmly believe that ROW80 will be a strong asset in my life, allowing me to prioritize those things that are most important to me as a novelist in training.  Thanks for all your support in this new endeavor, and feel free to comment with your own experiences as you started ROW80.