Friday, February 27, 2009

Sleep Time

Untouched word count @ 36,500.

Now I'm really making up for lost time! Gwen and James are so much fun to write for! I cleared more than 3K today by just letting them go on their own accord. They actually had a huge blowout I hadn't originally scripted, but it worked perfectly. They seem to know themselves better than I do-- is that weird for fictional characters? Should I be in the crazy house?

More to come tomorrow-- I'm on a roll, and I'm loving it.

-Kat

P.S. Anyone having any luck with Tom?

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Enjoy the Ride

Untouched word count @ 33,200.

Wee! Nothing like staying up all night to write, write, write, and write some more.

Although, I'm not 100% sure the last bit I wrote made any sense. :/ Guess I'll have to figure that out after a good night of sleep. Though I am getting to a part of my story where it just flows really well.

The characters have taken a life of their own! They are driving the story. In this case I find myself kicking back and relaxing.

Of course, I am a little nervous letting them take over. But hopefully they won't drive my story off a cliff.

-Kat

Sunday, February 22, 2009

30K

Untouched word count at 30,500.

I have broken the 30K milestone. Yessss!

After my post yesterday I received some helpful comments. I decided to stick with Untouched as my main project, but work on others if the mood strikes. If I take an extended break from Untouched I will lose the fire that pushes me to write it. Not a permanent loss, but it's harder to get back into the swing of a story once your mind is cleared of all the little ideas and details bouncing around. I don't want to lose my MC's voice by clouding my mind with another.

I'm still a good 6K away from the word count I wanted to be at by this date, but I have all night to write. I probably won't write 6K tonight, probably not even close. But what I do write will get me closer to my ultimate goal, and that's what matters most.

I'll update this post throughout the night as I make more progress. :p

* * * * * * * * * *

UPDATE: It's nearly 11:30 PM, and chapter six is finished, and Untouched is at 31,300 words. Time to grab a snack, a red bull, then get cracking on chapter seven.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Nerves

Untouched word count @ 29,500.

Oooh, yeah, so close to 30K I can taste it. Except not really, because you can't really taste words. Hm, or can you? What do words taste like? I guess it would vary, for example, I would imagine that purple prose would have a distinct sugary, sticky flavor, like a grape lollipop.

In other news, the first chapter of Untouched is up on CC in all it's drafty entirety. I already have one critique, but it wasn't as helpful as I would have hoped, and only the first 1/4th of the story was even critiqued. :( Hope I get some good critiques that cover the whole story- the newbie queue only allows a max of 6 critiques, so I'm a little disappointed about that.

*Fingers crossed*



UPDATE: I spent a couple minutes looking up the critter who critiqued my story and I discovered that English is not their native tongue. This makes me feel a bit better, because I really felt like they didn't understand the voice of the story at all, so perhaps my voice just doesn't translate well. Don't quite know what to make of that...

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Juicy

Untouched word count @ 28,300.

I'm still a little behind on my catch up goals- I haven't been making time to write like I ought to. But I'm not going to watch my missed goals fly by and think: "Oh well, there they go. I'm so behind now, why even bother?"

Ha, yeah right. I'm going to chase those goals down and tackle them. "Get back here goals, you can't outrun me!"

In other news, Untouched is about to get really juicy. Here's a little excerpt so ya'll can see what's up.

* * * * * * * * * *

I was almost running by the time I reached the graveyard. I ducked behind trees and tombstones as I made my way to the area where I could see a funeral service being held.

Perfect. Either someone was about to get buried alive or I was too late. I tried to push the bitter thoughts out of my mind as I crept closer, trying to get near enough to make out the faces of the crowd. Somebody's day was about to go from bad to worse.

I dropped to my knees and started crawling over the ground, forgetting for a moment that I was invisible to any onlookers. I could go sit on the coffin and no one would notice me.

But as suddenly as the thought occurred to me it dissipated and I realized how insanely ironic that would be. I stopped breathing and my stomach started to twist into knots.

I was attending my own funeral.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Just Write

So, I have been wondering something lately; how do you find the time to write?

I came across some good advice recently: time is not 'found', time is made. I think this is very true. You can't just go through your scheduled day hoping that a free hour or two will pop up and you can finally settle down in front of your computer. You have to make time to write- writing should be part of your schedule, not something you shove into the "free time" around it. If you are serious and dedicated then you should be able to make some time for yourself to work on your writing.

Look at it this way: writing is an investment. Your manuscript isn't going to magically improve and be flawless. Like anything else, you need to put in the time and effort to really make it work. Yes, it's hard. Yes, it's really, really hard. But nothing worth having is going to come easy. It's just not realistic.

If you invest enough time and effort into your work, it will pay off. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not this year, but eventually, you have to believe that it will. And the payoff isn't necessarily getting published, though that's what most of us hope for in the end. First and foremost you should be writing for yourself, and even if your manuscript ends up tucked into a drawer somewhere, it'll still be worth it. Finishing a novel is an incredible accomplishment, and while it may not be "good enough" or "marketable enough" you should still be proud over what you have done.

So schedule yourself an hour or two each day to write. Turn off the TV, turn off your instant messaging, and whatever you do stay the hell away from Youtube.

Just write. And in the end, all your hard work will be worth it. Promise.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Getting Closer

Untouched word count @ 26,800.

I'm getting closer to my 'catch up' goal! Woot! And I'm also getting closer to the part of my story where the love interest is introduced, and that is going to be very fun to write. I already have a lot of scenes written down, scrawled into notebooks as great dialogue came to me and I had to find some way to preserve it. Now I just have to find all the notebooks scattered around my house and try to decipher my hurried writing to see what I actually have to work with.

But I have a question: Is 28,000 words (out of a projected 90,000 or so) a bit late in the book to introduce the love interest?

In my mind I am writing a love story, but I feel like the first 1/3 of the book is not a love story at all, but very important for the main character's development.

Here's the gist of it:

A young girl named Gwen has been stuck in a hospital for most of her life. When an angel of death comes for her soul, she doesn't want to let go. She tries to bargain with the angel, and ends up striking a deal: Gwen will act as a death angel and take three souls, after those three souls she will be given a second chance at life.

Gwen thinks this is easy and she's all for it at first. She's sure that a second chance at life is all she's ever wanted. In the first 1/3 of the book she goes after the first two souls, and by the end of that she's convinced she doesn't want a second chance at all- she wants peace, she doesn't think the world holds anything more for her, she finally accepts the natural cycle of life and death and is ready and willing to move on. But she doesn't know how to get out of her bargain.

When she can tell that the third and final soul is ready for her to take, she has already convinced herself that she doesn't want anything to do with that. But she still finds herself drawn to this final person. And when she finally lets herself go to where the person is (at her own funeral, no less). She discovers that the soul in question belongs to James- her childhood crush, her best and only friend from her past before the illness stole her life from her.

Without thinking, she breaks the biggest rule of being a death angel: she intervenes with death and saves James' life. And of course there's a catch. Since she was the death angel specifically assigned to James, if she so much as touches him, he will die instantly. James doesn't know this; he's convinced that Gwen faked her death, and he's desperate for answers.

The last 2/3 of the book revolves around James looking for answers, and Gwen trying to avoid him, despite the fact that she never got over him (and he never got over her). She finally reveals the truth to him, and warns him that he cannot touch her at all if he wants to live. But they are dangerously in love, and despite common sense they embark on a perilous courtship.

But Gwen's rule-breaking catches up with her, of course, and she is forced to choose between moving on to an afterlife that will possibly separate them for an eternity, or taking James' life in exchange for her own and starting over, without the love of her life- a love so strong death couldn't even stop it.


...er, well that little question kinda turned into a mini synopsis for my story, but oh well. :p

What do you guys think of the story? Do you think the concept works even with the first 1/3 of the book lacking the heroines love interest?

Please, please, please let me know what you think!

<3 Kat

Friday, February 13, 2009

Catch Up

Untouched word count @ 25,600.

Every time I post a blog I like to start off with my updated word count, because I'm very proud of the progress I am making. So right now you might be thinking, "Wait, you haven't posted a word count update in, like, three days. What's up with that?"

Nope, it's not a mistake. I didn't forget. I was SLACKING OFF. Which was really, really bad, because not only was my manuscript not getting any love, but I felt bad about not writing and not meeting my goals.

So I grabbed a red bull, kicked my boy friend out of the house so I would have peace to write, and settled down in front of the computer screen. Five hours later, after many distractions involving Youtube and CC, I have pounded out 2,600 words that aren't utter crap! (I think.) Yay!

I still have a bit more to go. According to my goals I should be at 27,800 by the end of today, so we'll see how that goes.

But really I'm just glad I'm getting back into the swing of things. Since I've been feeling a little sick lately I haven't felt that my brain was working at full capacity. Hopefully that has changed. And hopefully I didn't just come down with an insane fever and hallucinate writing so much.

And now I'm contemplating what is real, and what is a dream.

Is life just a dream? A beautiful, horrible, elaborate dream?

AHHHHH!!! LEAVE ME ALONE, PHILOSOPHY!!!


<3 Kat

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Nightmare

Me: "Hello dream agent/editor! Do you like my manuscript?"

Dream agent/editor: "Are you effing kidding me? I wouldn't publish that piece of crap with a ten foot pole!"

Me: "Ouch. But wait, that doesn't make any sense!"

DA/E: "Neither does that horrible thing you're calling a novel!"

Me: "..."

Me: *Cries*

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Fears

Untouched word count @ 23,000.

Which is great, sort of. Well, yes, I mean it is very good, but writing 1200 words does not quite make up for skipping out on several days. At the end of Jan I was at 14,800 and at 1K-a-day (hey, that's pretty catchy) I should be at 24,800 by the end of the 10th (today). Hopefully I will be able to complete that- hey it's *only* like 2K words. And yes, I am slightly obsessive when it comes to my writing.

Speaking of being obsessive, I might just be scaring myself, but many fears have manifested in regards to my writing, this manuscript in particular.

***This list is very long, and I probably just wanted to vent my fears. Feel free to not read my paranoid ranting. It's probably excessive anyway :p

I'm afraid I use way too many adjectives. I don't like reading something and being confused about what is going on, so I think I over compensate and describe my scenes in a bit too much detail. And by 'a bit' I mean way too much. I'm also worried about trying to sound poetic, or eloquent, and ending up sounding cheesy instead. Like this sentence:

"I drifted into a dreamless state; my mind as empty and black as death itself."

I'm torn between thinking that sounds great, and thinking it sounds emo and cheesy. It's hard to tell how the individual will perceive it.

I'm afraid my MC is not likable. I don't want a whiny, melodramatic YA heroine. I think my MC is fighting for something she believes in, and she is flawed, and tends to blind herself with dreams instead of facing reality, but I really, really hope her battle is something a reader could support her with.

I'm afraid my dialogue isn't natural sounding. I think it is, but maybe I just talk like a weirdo. I'm starting to realize how hard it is to see your own work with a clear eye. I used to believe I was very objective when it came to something like that, but now I don't know what to believe- what if that isn't the case?

I'm afraid the story is too morbid for a YA audience. Or any audience, to be honest. It's about a dying girl playing grim reaper- so of course, I have her reaping souls. But is all this death too heavy for teens? Do people want to see my perspective of a grim reaper's job- the gritty deaths that show the harshness of reality? People want to escape to happiness, not a morbid truth.

And along those lines, I'm afraid I might be getting too philosophical at some points with sentences like:

"The world would function just fine without me; my existence was in no way pertinent to the well being of the universe. Why was I so convinced that I even mattered?"

...Which is also borderline emo. But the heroine flips back and forth between thinking that life is all she wants, and worrying that it doesn't matter- so I think the message that life and love are worth fighting for is still solid. But I am unsure.

And then I am afraid that I ask too many questions- there's even a question in the sentence above. It's probably something I will have to edit, but I feel like these are important questions the heroine would wonder to herself. The MC is very, very curious, she's lived a very sheltered life, and she's always questioning everything- but when is it too much? (<- QUESTION! See, I can't stop myself)

I'm afraid that I made her grim reaper/angel of death abilities too powerful. She can teleport anywhere, instantly; she can make herself visible or invisible to the world at her discretion; and when she is sent after a soul she gets visions and knowledge of the person dying so she doesn't have to look far for answers. Maybe that much is expected.

So is it too much to allow her to manifest what clothing she might need (jacket, proper shoes) whenever she wants? Is it too much to give her an endless supply of cash? She doesn't use it frivolously at all- just when she wants to eat or do something in the world. She always has the money needed. And she knows that the real world doesn't work that way, and she worries about what she will do for money when she receives her second chance. Does that make it okay?

And then, of course, I worry that the story itself isn't good enough. My biggest fear about that is that the beginning is too different from the ending- it's almost like it's two different stories. See, the MC is given the abilities of an angel of death, and goes after two souls in the beginning. And by beginning I mean the first THIRD of the book. I think that at it's core it's a love story, but the love interest isn't even (properly) introduced until, like, page 100 (standard MS format, prob 30K words or so).

And the love story is the true plot, so that worries me. I don't want it to be a Twilight-esque story: slow, slow, slow, OMG VAMPIRES! WAIT, LOOK- I think the plot is happening now and er, wait, it's over.

So maybe I compare it more to Jumper (the book, not the big budget Hollywood movie that doesn't resemble the book at all)(And by compare I don't mean to imply my writing skills are that good, I mean story/plot style). Jumper starts off steady, he discovers his powers, he establishes his life, then the plot kicks in- romance and government douches and terrorists, oh my! Then again, it doesn't really start off slow, it's more like story establishment that leads into the ending plot- there's always a plot, there's always a purpose. You can always tell the story is going somewhere, you just don't know where exactly.

But maybe I'm worried that the beginning is misleading as to what the overall plot is. And if you're reading it for the overall plot, I'm worried that 100 or some odd pages is too long to wait for the real action to kick into gear.

Ack, alright, I have now confused and discouraged myself enough for one evening. Not to mention that I just wrote about 1,000 words right here in this blog- and those 1,000 words would have served a much better purpose had they been in my MS instead.

So time to get back to writing.

Despite all my fears, I'm not about to give up on the story that I love so much. It might need some fixing, it might need some polishing, but I'm willing to work hard enough to make it work.

Now leave me alone, obsessive paranoia, I have to write 2K words...

Monday, February 9, 2009

Break it Off

My little break ended up being waaaaay extended. Since that last post, I have written one more sentence on Untouched. One sentence. One.

I feel a little sad that I missed my 1,000 words/day for a couple days, but I needed the break. I was really sick one day, then the next day was my birthday (yay, I'm older now! Er, maybe 'yay' is the wrong word...) Then, because I made the dumb mistake of drinking on my birthday, I became more sick. But, come on, it was my birthday!

So I will need to make up for lost time. I had a couple days for my story to marinate in brain juice, and it is time to be written.

As soon as I comment on all the blog posts I've missed for the last three days! (Which is a lot. Man, you guys can post!)

<3
Kat

Friday, February 6, 2009

Day Off

Untouched word count: 21,800.

Woot! Now that I've made it through the first 20K the rest doesn't seem nearly as intimidating. My goal of having this novel polished and pristine by May is seeming more and more likely every day. Sometimes it's a pain to drag myself to the computer and write when I don't quite feel like it, but man, it's paying off. I feel great about the progress I am making.

Between writing and researching, (today I studied up on the Empire State Building, Desiderata by Max Ehrmann, and La Quinta hotel) I'm in need of a break from this glaring computer screen. Maybe I'll come back and write some more after I complete my quest for something edible.

Yay, writing!

<3

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Play

I have officially reached the 20,000 word mark. Yay!

Not only that, but I have also completed chapter four in the process of reaching said milestone. Double yay!

Not to mention the fact that the depressingly morbid section of the story is almost finished, and it will be fantastic to move on to happier things! I'm getting excited about my story again- and that's always a good thing!

And now, for your reading pleasure (or pain- but hopefully not!) the ending of chapter four that helped my word count end above 20K.



It was as though I was in Howard's memory- only this was very real. The green grass swayed in the calm, night wind, and the sky was a gorgeous inky blue, so beautiful it almost didn't seem like a real color. I felt like I could see every star in the universe- scattered across the sky, perfectly erratic.

I lowered myself to the ground, laying on the cool grass and gazing into the endless sky. It was a lovely place to rest and relax, alone, with only my thoughts to keep me company.

As if I needed more of that. I'd had such a long day, that had followed such a long night, yet I wasn't tired in the least. It felt like time was endless in that moment; It felt like I was endless in that moment.

I lost myself in the universe, urging my consciousness away to give my overworked mind a rest. I closed my eyes, and dreamed of stars, and of being as endless as the sky.



* I will probably rewrite this a bit, I just really like the last sentence!


Cheers,
Kat

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Pause

I needed a break from death, so I came up with this scene from the empath idea I was playing around with. (If you look back a couple posts you can see my whole thought process for coming up with this idea.)

I don't have a character name, I don't have an opening paragraph, just this little excerpt that I thought was funny enough to keep my mind away from death for a moment. Then it's back to playing grim reaper...

* * * * *

Slowly and quietly, I walked up the steps from the basement to the kitchen. It was nearly eleven o'clock at night, and with any luck none of my neighbors would be feeling... well, anything, really.

The florescent lights in the kitchen were dim compared to the bright lights of my room-slash-office. I may live in a basement, but that didn't mean I loathed the light and the sun. Quite the opposite. It's just hard to keep my mind straight and my emotions in check when there are too many people around.

I started rummaging through the fridge, searching for the perfect pre-midnight snack. But the refrigerator was almost barren; my roommate hadn't gone shopping for a week or so. Eventually, I found a container of lasagna hidden behind a case of diet energy drinks. Score.

I popped off the lid and flipped the container upside down onto a plate. I was walking to the microwave when I stumbled to a stop, my breath caught in the back of my throat. I looked out the window and saw the neighbors there, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, enjoying a late dinner together.

Oh. God. No.

Immediately I felt the wave of emotion crash over me. Suspicion, anger, jealousy- and on the opposite side of the spectrum guilt, nervousness... and excitement.

As if Mrs. Johnson knew I was there, she lifted her head and turned toward my house. With a barely audible squeal I ducked behind the window and felt my face flush. But this wasn't my shame I was feeling.

Looks like Mr. Johnson actually felt a shred of guilt over what he was doing behind his wife's back. In the bed they shared. With their daughter's teenage babysitter. And now Mrs. Johnson's wrath over the suspicion of her husband's infidelity was echoing through my body. My knuckles were turning white as I gripped the edge of the plate and tried to think calming thoughts.

I managed to breathe, and fight away the rage that was not my own. Fortunately, the guilt was fleeting as well. Mr. Johnson was already planning an afternoon tryst for the very next day. I could feel his anticipation as he imagined sneaking away from the office on his lunch break, the excitement of driving home and throwing open the door, the desire when he thought about ripping off the mistress' shirt and...

I dropped the plate. It shattered and the cold heap of lasagna splattered across the white linoleum. I turned away, ignoring the mess I had made. I couldn't sprint back to my basement fast enough.

I didn't breathe until my feet touched the cool, cement floor. I took in several deep breaths, concentrating on my thoughts and my emotions. All I felt was relief, which was my own, and loneliness, which was also my own. The relief would pass, but the loneliness was inescapable.

I looked around the basement, surveying the area that I spent at least twenty-three hours in for any given twenty-four hour day.

I was always lonely.

* * * * *

Ta da! I wonder if I can count this toward my 1,000 words/day. Maybe. We'll see how well the ideas flow when I open up Untouched and try to get to work.

P.S. This was typed in Blogger, so please forgive any glaring typos. Comments welcome- do you think this story concept is worth pursuing?

Getting Back on the Fast Track

Untouched word count: 18,600. I got my 1,000 words in after all!

I'm still not completely past this difficult scene, and I already know I will have to re-write it. At this point it's just a rough, rough, outline. But the end of the chapter is near, (I have long chapters) and I should be back on track soon enough. The writing seems to be better when the characters are interacting. See, for me, dialogue is the easier part of writing. I don't know why, exactly, but my novel is very character driven, so perhaps that is a factor.

How I Write

It's a little bit hard to motivate myself to work on Untouched at the moment. The reason is, I'm not looking forward to writing the current scene. It's sad, and I hate being mean to my characters. So the typical advice would be: skip that scene, and start on the next. Just come back to it later.

But I don't really like that idea. See, when I write I have to go straight through, from start to finish. I can't write the scenes separately then merge them all together. It always ends up feeling disjointed.

Besides, the scenes that I would be skipping are pertinent to character development in ways that I can't fully see until the scenes have actually been written. (If that makes sense?) I'd be too detached from my characters. Also, I'm right there experiencing the story with them- I can't just jump ahead of myself, these are important scenes that need to happen.

These scenes are just so sad and depressing, though; it's hard to motivate myself to write them.

Gotta suck it up. Those 1,000 words aren't going to write themselves.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Thought Storm

Untouched word count at 17,500. I'm just barely making those 1,000 words/day goals. Hopefully I'll be able to get ahead soon.


Everyone comes up with their ideas in a different way. My stories reveal themselves to me because I ask them to. When an idea strikes it is only the beginning. Usually I start with the main character. A concept for a character enters my mind- a quality, an outlook on life, a personality quirk- something that makes them an individual. Then I start asking questions. Tell me, MC, what is your story?

For example, I recently thought of a young female who was an empath. She feels other people's emotions so strongly she can barely live a normal life. So, how does she live?

She would have to live in solitude, or at least a very secluded life. But she would probably need a roommate to go shopping, buy groceries, etc. What kind of roommate could she have? Somebody happy and perky- a cheerleader type maybe. Or maybe the roommate takes Prozac, and is always numbly happy so the MC isn't tormented by her emotions. Maybe she's a cheerleader on Prozac.

Now, what do these girls do to support themselves? The Prozac cheerleader comes from a rich family- she only has a job at a fashion boutique for the employee discounts. Her parents pay her way because she's going to college.

But what does the MC do? Well, she's turned the basement into her room/office. Sometimes when she goes upstairs she can feel the neighbors' emotions and it's not always numb or happy. Jealously, envy, hatred, sadness; she feels the pain of the world and at times it's utterly unbearable. So she stays underground where she feels nothing but loneliness, for that feeling is unavoidable. She takes college classes, online of course, and she manages web sites for an income.

Now, what could occur that would be a story worth telling?

She starts feeling murders. They're happening all around town, but somehow they effect her as strongly as they would if it happened in the same room as her. She can't escape the emotions- the terror and fear of the victims, the fury and blood lust of the killer. In fact, the emotions are so strong they pull her out of the comfort of her house.

She feels the killer's drive to murder as though it were her own, and she inadvertently ends up at the scene of a crime, where she meets a detective who's drive to capture the murderer is so intense it feels like her own. She's torn between the motivation to kill and the desire to capture the killer. While she would prefer to hide in her room and continue her detached existence, she knows she can't while the killer is still roaming free. As long as he is killing, her emotions will not be left alone.

She has no choice but to try to track him down. She feels as though she wants to kill the victims as much as the murderer does, and because of that, she knows where to find them. And she just might be able to catch the murderer- if she can control her foreign rage long enough to not go on a killing spree of her own.


And that's how I brainstorm for most of my ideas. It's not a perfect story concept- it needs a lot more thought, but it's a decent start. Maybe someday I'll sit down, sketch out the whole story outline, and get to writing.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Good Start

Untouched word count: 16,500.

Good. Very good. I might be able to adhere to these new goals after all! :)

(Still, I'm only at 16,500. My journey is only just beginning.)

Books at the top of my "To Read" list:
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

I've already read The Lovely Bones once before, but I've been meaning to re-read it. I picked up Odd Thomas from my boss, and if I like it I will be reading the complete series (and I'm pretty sure I will- eight pages in and I'm already entranced by the story.)

The Lovely Bones deals with death, moving on and growth. Odd Thomas, (from what I can tell from the back cover) deals with death, communicating with the dead and the crossroads between life and death. I think both will give me some insight and inspiration with my story.

Now I just have to make sure I don't get so involved in the books that I forget about my writing goals!

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Goals

Untouched total word count for January: 14,800

Which isn't horrible for a month's time, but I should have been able to write much, much more. I had the time. Instead of vegging on the couch with a pint of B&J's Half Baked ice cream I should have been writing. Instead of sitting around on my days off watching House re-runs I should have been writing. Instead of making excuses about not being 'inspired' enough to write, well, dammit, I SHOULD HAVE BEEN WRITING.

Because horrible writing is better than no writing. You can spruce up horrible writing. You can give it a makeover- new clothes, new style, smooth over those blemishes, run a comb through those tangles. Yes, horrible writing (something, ANYTHING) can be improved. No writing can be... nothing'd. Yes, nothing'd.

So, clearly, I need some goals.

My current position of 'work on it- later; finish it- sometime' is obviously not moving me along at the rate I want to be going. I'm on a freaking bicycle trying to keep pace with airplane. And not one of those dinky little airplanes that fly in and out of tiny towns to deliver mail and such. I'm talking about an F-16 Fighter Falcon military plane or something. Something fast. And it's leaving me behind in the swirls of dust that are the quickly fading proof that it was ever within reach at all.

And the solution is: GOALS! But feasible, broken down goals.

Long term goal: Finish the WIP Untouched.
Specifics: Finish 1st draft by the end of March, revisions and more revisions in April. I want to have Untouched shiny and polished and brilliantly sparkling by the beginning of May. Possible? Yes. Difficult? Hell yes.

Break it down: (Mini-goals. Goalsies, if you will.)
1. Write everyday. Try to average about 1,000 words per day.
2. Don't worry too much about editing and revising. Save that headache for April.
3. Even if writing seems daunting, or undesirable, write something. Something can be fixed. Nothing can only be nothing'd.
4-15. Finish chapters 4-15. Yes, each chapter is a standalone goal. Take it one chapter at a time. It's easy to look at a mountain and feel intimidated. Look closer and see the footholds carved into the side. This mountain is climbable- you just have to breathe, and take it all in stride.
16. Prevent brain from imploding. An aneurysm would seriously hinder my dreams of becoming a published author. Like, seriously.
17. Try not to get distracted by other WIPs. It's hard to stay focused on one set of characters when others are practically climbing out of the note pages clamoring to be heard. They're not going anywhere, though- let them chill on that outline page. They'll still be there when the current project is finished and it's time to return to drawing board. (Writing board? ...Nah, not as catchy. Too bad. Drawing board it is, then.)

Good luck to anyone else currently climbing that mountain. And to those of you who have reached the top: I'm. So. Effing. Jealous. But seriously, good job. Save me a spot at the top!