A Round of Words in 80 Days came into my life at a very strange time. I’ve been grappling with my writing, what it means and where I want to take it; lost in transition with little time to find my way. My daughter is an amazing and wonderful little girl, but she’s given Daddy very little time to focus on his work. In fact, Saturday marked the first morning in more than a week that I managed to do enough to feel productive.
Still, I’m feeling much better about my goals. At least on average.
The New Novel
Let’s get this goal out of the way first. Progress? Nope. Nada. Nothing. Nyet. After careful consideration–which only looks like procrastination–I’ve decided that a novel has to wait. Making the move from horror to freelancing, social commentary and something that vaguely like journalism is going to take time.
I’m shoving this goal into the next round of ROW80. It’s off the list.
This Site
I’ve made several changes to this site, mostly updating a few of the pages to reflect my new writing direction. I also broke out all the mad ravings about my writing adventures on their own page. Maybe I’m just kidding myself about how interesting that all is, but some people seem to like it.
Reviews have taken a back seat, mostly because my reading time this last week has been spent on non-fiction and non-indie books. Indie book reviews will continue, just not at the pace they have been.
Other changes are in the works, but I don’t yet have a solid grasp of exactly how I want to proceed so they’re on hold for now.
Freelancing
I’ve made some great progress here. I submitted an article to one place, and they came back asking me to re-write the title to be more “search engine friendly.” Other than that, they like it. I’ve also jumped into another site which helps connect writers to people who want stuff written. Good vibrations there, too.
My daughter gave me a nice chunk of time alone yesterday so I could get some articles written and some research out of the way. If we can work out the same arrangement for the next few days, I should be rocking this goal for Wednesday’s check in.
There’s that creepy optimism again.
Creepy optimism rules! I love your attitude. And congrats on them loving the work… I mean, gosh, if only all we ever had to change up were titles..
And very wise of you to know what you can and cannot do as far a the novel goes… honesty with ourselves is often so difficult.
Nice job.
Darlene Steelman recently posted..ROW 80 Update – Keeping in Stride
Thanks. Yeah, I’m not going to complain about having to change a title. Well, not too much anyway.
Jeff recently posted..Sunday Check In, Wherein My Goals Take Flight
Keep at it, Jeff. And good luck!
Thanks!
Jeff recently posted..Sleep Deprivation at the Hands of a Seven Year Old
I admire the fact you don’t use that quiet time you get to fully decompress (that’s how I usually waste mine, though I end up getting mad at myself for it). I wish you the best with your goals, even the one that has to wait.
Gloria Weber recently posted..Writing Music: The Bad Sun
I think the raw reality is I’m a closet workaholic.
When I get down time, with any energy left in the reserve tank at all, I can’t sit for more than five minutes before panic starts to set it. If I was able to get a lot done earlier I can usually fight off the urge to work, but I still need to do something. I’ll take a walk, read, cook, learn to juggle–anything as long as it feels productive.
It’s only when I’m truly past my limits that I can just drop and decompress. So far it seems to be working, though it doesn’t sound like the healthiest lifestyle to most of my friends.
Jeff recently posted..Sleep Deprivation at the Hands of a Seven Year Old