The Sunday Showdown

It has arrived. It is the end of the week. I said - moons ago - that I was going to start writing a Sunday wrap up blog. I don't think I ever did. Well, let us correct that from now on. Sundays are for reflecting, being held accountable, for listing all that we did during the week.

I wish I was as good this week as last, but I was not. I edited fewer days. :( 

My stats:
Began editing my urban fantasy story
Words edited: 50,061 
Days I edited: 4  (so not good)
Blog posts: including this one, that makes 3 on the writer blog and 1 on the book blog.

Interesting factoid:
I also had more dreams this week and remembered them. I keep a dream journal - but it's hard to always remember my dreams. They often flutter away as if daylight burns them away... they might be vampires- who knows? 

Fangirling of Note:
Iron Man was released this week. The Thor 2 teaser trailer was finally released - after MONTHS of waiting. Loki is in a box and denied hair care products, apparently. I have also been looking at all the Sherlock filming spoiler photos. So far, I have deduced the next season of Sherlock will star a tall, pale English gentleman who wears a long coat, his short friend and uh... I don't want to spoil things, so let's just say there is an illegal ritual performed. :) Those who follow my silly Twitter will know what that means.

GAH!

Yeah. This week hasn't been so awesome, productivity wise. I am most bummed about my reading slowing down to hardly anything. :( And I need to beta something for someone, too.

I've only edited 13,300 so far this week. Only two days of editing - it is now Friday at 11:20 PM.... I am at least getting in a second blog post...

The only thing I have going for me is that the edit is going super dooper!! I am the worst editor. First off, I spend years before I actually get back to something and edit it. I am great at writing novels and finishing the first draft, just rubbish at actually going back to them. I can never get something readable in one pass. It takes pass after pass after pass of edits before I get anywhere near what I think of as readable. It's so depressing to open something you've edited five times and thought was ok, only to start reading it again and it's shite. Completely unreadable.

So that is what holds me back. The hatred of facing my inadequacy.

This particular book I'm editing has already had a beta round, but just two betas. I wasn't sure it was ready yet, I think I sent it off with a thousand paragraphs of "I hope I'm not wasting your time" - but I got good reviews back.... that said "with some work, this will be really good" - well, they were nicer than that, but it obviously had some problems. It's a relief that everything is falling into place this time.

It only took about 12 drafts.

I could never get the hang of Tuesdays

After a glorious week of editing, I kept my new resolve for only one day, and then came Tuesday. I hate Tuesday. I can never get the hang of Tuesdays. I guarantee you, if the Vogons show up to destroy the planet, it will be on a Tuesday. The work day is probably the worst. It’s not Monday, which though a difficult day to get out of bed on, it is vastly different from Saturday and Sunday and so it goes a little faster. Monday actually has something going for it. Unlike Tuesday.

Let me back up. I finished my edit of a fantasy Uny-corn story on Sunday. I fretted and futtered on Monday, not sure what to work on next. The options are: a fantasy-sci-fi mash-up in a dreadful state that’s probably unpublishable, a gothic romance I really love that needs a serious fix and an urban fantasy that’s not in too bad of shape. I decided to go back to the urban fantasy I think has some legs. I even went to the extreme of asking those on Twitter and Facebook to send up prayers and offerings to the Elder Gods that I don’t screw it up.

I went home Monday night and attacked it gamely… I edited the first chapter to within an inch of its life and lo! I was pleased with what I had done. I think it’s probably the best first chapter of anything I’ve ever written. As with most writers, I have a hell of a time with first chapters. But then Tuesday came along and I spent all night napping and watching plane stuff on Youtube. Please don’t ask. It’s a thing. I also got a really bad steam burn on my thumb while warming up some chili.

I had planned to blog on Tuesday, to rave over my fabulous doings of the first chapter… but alas, the napping and the Youtubing. Tuesday. You wretched day. Tonight was supposed to be for blogging on the book blog, but Tuesday even brought the end to the current book I was reading, and I decided I didn’t really like it. I don’t want to review books I don’t like on my book blog. Now my blog schedule is all screwy.

Damn you to hell, Tuesday.

Finished a Major Edit!

I return to you, fearless readers, victorious. I have finished editing the last 11k of my fantasy novel about the Unicorns. I took it on almost as a recharger, or a practice course. I have hopes for it finding a home one day, but I don't think it's going to blow back an agent's hair or anything. Your basic fantasy tropes aren't having a great time out there in publication land. 

I digress. I am proud of the story. I am proud that I set goals and kept them, at least over this past week. I will continue on, as I have 4 other novels to edit and no less than 4 other story ideas chewing away amidst the cogs, grinders and gears of the magical fiction machine. 

I've been thinking a lot about the writer thing. I have many thoughts I don't put into words, but I thought about this one last night and decided I would write it...and on the internet where it will linger forever, amidst the tubes full of cats and memes. I have taken the writing a little too seriously, maybe. I told myself a few years ago I had to treat it like a job. Maybe that's a good idea, as far as finishing things, having goals and a schedule, etc. But sometimes I get lost amidst the pressure of publishing. I fear what I produce is not always publishable, and I worry, perhaps too soon, about how I measure up to others out there in print. Rather than approach it as the joy of creation, I approach it like there's a noose hanging over the desk that will descend upon me and strangle the life from me if I dare to head hop. I think it's ok to head hop in a first draft. The first draft is the place for a multitude of sins. 

I might try and sin a little more, and then repent in the second draft. :) But for now, we celebrate this small success with memes.

Today is actually the 8th day....

But let's not quibble. I technically just edited 7400 words on the 8th day, because I got started so late. But to me, early Sunday morning is still late Saturday night.

I have a little over 11k to finish this round of edits. I make no promises, but I am going to try hard to finish it tomorrow. Er. Later today. 

Regardless, I have finished my Edit Every Day, Blog Every Day 7 day challenge. The stats are as follows:

Total words Edited: 46,792
Days edited: 6 of the 7
Average words edited per day: 6685
Blogs posts: 7
Pots of tea: 3
Cookies consumed: about 10
Avengers gifs: 4
gifs of John and Sherlock looking at each other: 1

I'd also like to say that I have made a major change. I have kept my studio (apartment) clean for a month. I am normally, and at heart, the worst of slobs. I would move myself to clean when I knew folks were coming over, and not before. I also don't go up in the air unless the floor is lava and don't run unless I am being chased. But I have changed the first personal failing for the better. I even organized my books (still boxed and in the closet, but they are organized) I have kept my clothes hung up, the sink clean, the stove sparkles, the floor is vacuumed and the bathroom is clean. All at the same time. It's nice to have no shame - that people can come over at any time (if anyone ever wanted to come over), or should anything in the apartment need fixing, I don't have to clean the place first before summoning the landlord.

It's like I'm almost a human being.

Shudder the thought.

Today is the 6th Day

And so do I! We have both risen from the ashes! Er... the shame of not editing yesterday, in my case. I have tried to edit and blog every day for a week. I edited 5 of the last 6, and blogged every day so far, admitting my defeat of Thursday. To make up for it, I got 10k edited today, as opposed to the 7k or so I've been doing.

Yay, me.

I'm also listening to Kiss. Thank goodness for Grooveshark. And Satan for iTunes. I have this thing about owning music. It's amazing to have the online music that you just dial up and listen to for frees. I love free stuff. But there is also that moment in the car, when you just really wanna listen to your jams, you know? I hate the internet  at that moment, because it's not available to me everywhere. And thus the purchasing of music I know I can't live without.

I'm still trying to summon my courage, to see if I dare top off this week of editing and blogging madness by inflicting some of my prose upon ya'll. But I never think anything is edited well enough for the populace at large, thus the year and a half of editing of four novels and not subbing any.

Sometimes, we shoot our own selves in the foot, do we not?

Today is not the 5th day....

That is Tony Stark, judging me. And well he should.

Today is made of fail. Today was not a good day. First of all, I did not edit, and that is totally on me. I could blame it on things... but it's 12:20 am on Friday morning and let's be honest with ourselves.

I just didn't edit.

I could blame it on having to go into work unexpectedly. I could blame it on the fact my door broke just as I was leaving for work unexpectedly. I could also blame it on having to run out to the CVS Pharmacy (unexpectedly) because I was not prepared for my lady parts to start doing their lady business. (Very deep euphemisms there - let's hope I don't get pR0n bots.) Then I came home, with fast food (another bad thing) ate of it and took a nap. A long nap. I was a little worn. And let's not talk about the hormonal dip of the first day of the lady business. Sorry, guys. But it's a total thing. I felt wrung out like a dirty dishrag.

I awoke at 10 PM from my 'nap' - that is when normal people go to bed. Instead of editing, I began going through Setlock tags on Twitter (if you don't know what that is, praise Moffet, and don't look. Don't follow my example) and watching airport stuff on Youtube. Again. Don't ask. It's a thing. 

So today we did not edit. And I don't know if I have to go to work or not tomorrow. But tomorrow will be a better day. We will edit. We will eat a little healthier. We will probably listen to the Kiss record we bought on iTunes. (Another bad thing). Today seems to have been full of bad choices. Tomorrow, however, is another day.