It’s Writing Wednesday! Actually on time, which is a nice advantage of not having driving lessons every Wednesday anymore.
(BECAUSE I PASSED AND LIFE IS GLORIOUS.)
What I’ve Been Up To
Things have been really, really hectic lately. Not only am I driving everywhere and anywhere at a moment’s notice, for the experience, but I kicked my exercise routine and healthy eating back into high gear as well… weightlifting every second day, cleaning up my entire food regime, all that sort of stuff. Which is fun, but also wrecked my energy levels and led to a massive immune system crash over the weekend.
So I’m still trying to find a balance between recovery, writing, and building my fitness level. This week I’ve managed to get a good handle on eating properly, so it’s time to get back to writing and carve out a space for it in my evenings.
(Once I actually feel well again, that is. Still waiting!)
What I’m Writing
With all the craziness that was the start of August, I lost focus on my writing, so now it’s time to reclaim that.
This month by focus is on BROKEN THINGS Draft #5. I’ve even turned on the progress bars at the side, that’s how you know I mean business.
I’m at the half-way point, but god, it doesn’t feel like it. I’m at the sick-of-this-project point again, and dragging my heels, again.
This happens every single time I do a big rewrite. It’s a vicious cycle!
Spot on! RT @SarahJane_Bird: This is awesome. This is shit. #writing #amwriting #creative pic.twitter.com/WYdaQV4HGO
— Jess Mahler (@MsJessMahler) May 2, 2014
So here’s what I gotta do:
1. Get to 70% by the next weekly update.
2. Get those 155 pages rewritten and shiny, or at least, shinier than they currently are.
3. Send it to the awesomeness that is Kate and a few other betas.
4. Celebrate being one step closer to querying, and then…
5. Work on a shiny new project!
What I’m Reading
My To-Be-Read pile decimation challenge is continuing at full swing. In August so far, I’ve read….
THE AMULET OF SAMARKAND, a children’s fantasy about English magicians summoning djinni. It’s like a middle grade JONATHAN STRANGE & MR NORREL, and I enjoyed it.
THE GIFT OF FEAR by Gavin de Becker, a great non-fiction book about the psychology behind dangerous people. Great reading for people who want to stay safe, or for writers who want to create more chillingly realistic villains.
THE ASK AND THE ANSWER and MONSTERS OF MEN, books two and three in Patrick Ness’s CHAOS WALKING trilogy. Oh wow, these were amazing books. Absolutely fantastic, and such a well-realised trilogy. It was definitely worth reading these, even though I’ll never forgive *certain events* from the first book.
I’m still behind on my 70-book target for the year, but I’ve gotta focus more on writing this week.
What Else I’ve Been Up To
I haven’t been up to much, all in all. (I gave the site a shiny new favicon, that’s about it!) But lots of interesting people have been saying interesting things across the ‘net.
K. A. Laity has a great post today about how writers are basically fighting for a tiny slice of their reader’s free time. Really interesting way of looking at it, and it gave me a lot of appreciation for the kind readers who spend their free time enjoying written worlds.
I also discovered the Book Butler, a pretty nifty website that compares costs of books across various UK retailers, for any readers looking for an Amazon alternative. When I used it today, it didn’t seem to link up with Hive, which is a shame because that’s my favorite UK indie retailer… but it’s still a very awesome tool.
Lastly, I found Chuck Wendig’s latest reality-check really illuminating: IT ONLY GETS HARDER ONCE YOU’RE PUBLISHED.
Laura Lam says
Thanks for sharing those articles! Very interesting.
I always find the first two weeks of getting back into good food/exercise so haaard. Then after that it starts to become habit again.
Good luck on the editing!
J. M. Dow says
Whoah! New layout! Cool.
EMaree says
Thanks dude! Still got a lot of fine-tuning to do.