Summer’s Over

Yup, Summer’s officially over and the kids are back in school and that means I have more time to myself again. How can they both be in middle school already?

Despite appearances to the contrary on the blog, I have actually been doing some writing related work. You know you’ve neglected the blog for too long when your mother points out the only new posts have been these Excerpt Monday things. So… since the next Excerpt Monday is coming up in about three weeks on September 14th, I figured I better get some posts written between now and then.

I’m part of an accountability group. It really helps to know that others are out there working toward similar goals and will call you on it when you fail to mark yours off the list. Currently, we’re reassessing out Long-Term Goals while the new members create theirs and I still need to finalize mine before this weekend’s over. I can do daily and even weekly goals, but have never had much luck trying to do things much longer than that.

I think the most important questions Bria posed to us last week were these: “What did I do this week to work toward my LTGs?” and “What can I do this week to work toward my LTGs?” I just need to sit down with those in my head as I create my weekly goals list and hopefully I can knock off some of these longer projects.

One of my mid-range goals is to attend a writing workshop in late September. I’ll need a writing sample if I want to fully participate that includes bringing: a one-page synopsis, a query letter, and the polished first 10 pages of a project.

Yup. I have nothing of the sort as a complete package right now. Guess what I’m going to be doing the next month. Scrambling. Sorta. I’ve started working on the synopses for the four projects I’ve been flipping between.

I’ve got one right about where I want it and then three that are just way too long and packed with unnecessary details at this point.
It still surprises to me with as much as I worked on the plot outline for BHT over the last two years, how much of a mess it remains. While the progression of events seems logical, there’s not much coherency between them. Why do certain things matter? Why do I need to show this and not that? So much of it is still this huge jigsaw puzzle where I’m not sure that all the pieces are even from the same puzzle, but they all seem to be painted this hazy grey.

The one for Revealed is in better shape, but it’s got these big huge gaping holes where the picture of Barrington (the hero) should be. He’s merely reflected off the heroine right now, not standing clearly on his own yet.

I know I have no idea where to begin FQD yet, but that story actually seems to be the best delineated of the four. Yes, it helps I started with an established fairy tale, but even with the gaps that synopsis has, they don’t feel as disconnected and jarring as the others.

The sweet story I’d started last year and never finished also seems to be in decent shape. It’s just going to be a matter of focus and effort at this point, but I still want to finish this one. I love the characters and I love the rom-com feel of it with its concealed identities and the role reversals in it. It’s just fun.

I’m hoping to finish those up this weekend and next week work on query letters. Then I’ll work on polishing those first pages. Before too much longer, I suspect I’ll know which one to take with me and that I’ll be working to finish by the end of the year. Yes, you heard me right, finish, by December 31st. So hold me to that, ‘kay? 🙂