But I did see something recently that inspired me to crack open a new blog post here on my writing blog.

I am a participant on goodreads.com, love writing book reviews for the books I read. Well, I read this fun (yet silly) romance novel called Hard & Fast. It has a chiseled guy on the cover, wearing jeans and nothing else–and it turns out it is 20th out of 338 on a list somebody made up entitled ‘hottest guy on the cover’.

I don’t know why, but the very thought of such a list has tickled my funny bone. I knew marketing was important…back blurb, title, cover…but this seems to be taking it to a whole new level. My book doesn’t just need a splash of colour, a unique design. It needs…

EYE CANDY!

RIPPLING ABS!

PANTS BARELY HANGING ON AT THE HIP BONES!

So it made me wonder…my novel’s a historical mystery with a dash of romantic quirkiness. A year ago, I would have said, put Colin Firth on the front in his Mr. Darcy uniform & it’s good to go…but now I wonder. You can’t see his abs beneath that button down jacket and his ruffled shirt!

Mr. Darcy, where are your chiseled abs?!

So now I’m picturing…a younger, leaner Colin Firth type-look-alike, sans cravat, waistcoat, ruffled shirt, totally shirtless with gleaming, hairless, muscular chest, standing cockily against a Palladian manse, in a pair of white button down pants (teasingly unbuttoned at the top, barely held up), with gleaming knee high leather riding boots, holding a horse whip in one hand and a bottle of Madeira in the other…

Well? Would you buy my book now?

HERE ARE THE TWELVE CONTENDERS…

I spent two weeks at the family cottage up north and was able to break through some serious plot points. KERPOW! I had been struggling with these various knotted, tangled plot nubs for some time, trying to massage and release them, and all of a sudden, they literally unfurled in my hands like rose buds. I got it!

And what was my secret, you ask?

Well, I simply hopped in the kayak, and paddled around the island to the marsh. There I would float, looking at all the water lilies bobbing on the water, listening to the wind in the trees, watching dragonflies land here and there (most of them copulating, one on top of the other) and slapping away the occasional horse fly…

The family cottage is quite remote and on a lake with only a few cottages. In the middle of the week, it’s dead quiet. Quiet enough that you can float in the water, hear nothing but nature, and think nothing but…plot.

The question is…now that I’m back in the big, bad city, how do I recapture that sense of stillness so that I can focus and work through the writing issues I need to work through?

Sure, there’s nature around here. I have a garden. The city has parks. But its just not the same. For one thing, it’s…noisy.

I know I am able to tune the noise out. In the past, I’ve proven myself an excellent mutli-tasker. If you need someone to cook, clean, come up with a character for a scene in 19th century Bath, while simultaneously writing an entry on Facebook & Twitter, reading a library book about a crime in ancient Rome, stopping a fight between a 4 & 6 year old over an old Happy Meal toy that neither really wants and asking the hubby what colour to paint the bathroom…then I’m your woman! I have done it. I CAN do it.

But sometimes I can’t. And locking myself in the bathroom with my laptop while shouting at everyone to BE QUIET just isn’t the way to solve the problem.

If only the kayak would fit in the bathtub…?

Well, there you have it. I wanted my novel finished by June 1st, 2011 and it didn’t happen. I wrote like a mad woman during the times I could carve out for writing in the month of May, but it wasn’t fast enough. I wasn’t able to shout out over Twitter that I’d met my #writegoal, as I’d hoped.

Sniff. Moan.

Yeah, I feel guilty. I probably should have stayed up all night or gotten up at 4 am every morning to give myself consistent writing time. Unfortunately, I’m one of those people who needs regular meals & 6 to 8 hours of sleep. I’m a mom and a teacher and I couldn’t show up in those roles with bags under my eyes, mumbling about regency rakes and onomatopoeia. I’m trying to strike a balance here…

Sometimes I can make time for writing, and other times I can’t! (Um…and the nice weather of late isn’t helping, encouraging all kinds of outside family fun!)

I did, however, make it from ‘the  middle’ of my novel into ‘the beginning of the end’–round of applause please. Last count, I had 12 scenes left to write…(trouble is, I keep adding scenes in! The stepping stones I need to skip across to the finish line keep growing in number like some fantastical dreamscape!).

I’ve also beat that whole ‘perfectionist’ tendency, not letting myself go back to revise or rewrite, just writing it down, just getting it down and done…

So I did make progress, more than I’ve made in any other year and in any other month. And for that I think I deserve to celebrate! (Raise a glass, if you please! Oh, and pass the cherry cheesecake!)

As to my writing goal…I’ve set another one. BY THE END OF THE SUMMER!

So, if you’d kindly keep your glasses raised, I’d like to make a toast: here’s to the endless writing pursuit, here’s to not giving up, here’s to getting back on the horse after falling off it, here’s to setting another writing goal, here’s to having *only* 12-ish scenes left…and here’s to the end of the summer!

CHEERS!

PS. Have you set writing goals? And met them….or not? I’d love to hear about your experiences! Leave a comment below!

I gave myself a deadline of having my first draft finished by the time I turn 40–June 1st. That’s about one month away.

ONE MONTH!

So–I have to make this blog entry short. No time to dilly dally or ramble on. I’ve got work to do!

BUT I did want to drop by here and let everyone know that I got over my little crisis (see my Tweets). A few days I ago I made the mistake of going back over my novel, re-reading parts–and I stumbled across (or fell into) numeorus pot holes…I mean PLOT holes. Naturally, I was horrified. I HAVE TO FIX THESE RIGHT NOW OR I CAN”T GO ON! I thought. A few days of angst ensued. Several helpful folks on Twitter gave me their reccomendations. The general consensus seemed to be to go on. Move on. Unless they are so horrible, so huge, the wholes story falls to pieces, don’t worry about them. Leave em for later.

So I’m going to.

I’m usually a very deliberate writer. I like to lay each scene down, tweak it as necessary so it fits fine, then move on to the next one.

But I don’t have time for that now. I’m going to pretend May is my #nanowrimo. I’m going to finish it in one month, writing, writing, writing, just seeing where the writing goes, just getting it done. I don’t care if it takes a strange turn, and all of a sudden my Regency heroine is an alien and she time travels with Brad Pitt to the 1930′s and has a shoot out with a gangster and dies in Brad’s arms quoting Latin.

Personally. I don’t think that ending is going to happen–I trust my vision–but if it does…I will fix it all later. LATER. Once its done.

So I’m settling into my cozy chair (see comic above) with my laptop and my cup of tea and in those times when I am not being a mom, or running/exercising (my other goal), or being a teacher, I am going to be writing my ass off, ‘write’ across the finish line.

“Get the serum to Nome. Get the Conestoga wagon to the Oregon Trail. Get the first version of your project done from A to Z as fast as you can. Don’t stop. Don’t look down. Don’t think.” From Do the Work by Stephen Pressfield.

In a few short months (like two) I will be finished my novel. At least that’s the plan. Lately I’ve been writing like a fiend to make this happen, not because anyone’s making me do it, but because I made this #writegoal for myself and I intend to keep it. It’s the whole point of setting a writing goal: so I honour my commitment to myself.

And truly, it seems quite possible I’ll do it…the end is in sight…! *applause* *cheering*

Already I’m thinking about how it will feel to finally cross that finish line, to write the last, pithy line to a 10 year labour of love. I expect I’ll cry a little, do a little dance, tweet it out, facebook it, call everyone I know and shout it to the rooftops: I DID IT!

Then, after about five minutes of that, I’ll turn my attention to stage 2. Editing.

How I wish I could just press ‘send’ and have my novel magically appear in the #1 spot of the best sellers list! But, alas, it is not that easy. After sweating and bleeding out a first draft…I now must sweat and bleed out a second draft.

Editing.

Ok. So I can do a spell check no problem, I can probably even plug enough caffine into my system to work my way though a grammar check (they’re, their, there…who, whom…its, it’s–finding these in a block of text is the best cure for insomnia, I swear!).

But as to the rest of it–I could honestly use some help!

Someone who can read it through and is willing to say more than just: great! well done! I love it! Because they don’t want to make me feel bad.

I need honest input. I need someone who will tell me great, well done, I love it–AND also pick it apart, tear it to shreds, tell me everything that’s wrong with it–so that I can fix it and make it better!

These are the things I need them to tell me:

You said he took off his jacket. So how can he put the letter in his jacket pocket later on?

I can’t understand who’s saying what in this dialogue! Is the the guy? the girl? the dog? Who?!

This scene makes no sense. Why is he telling a ghost story? Who cares?

THEN I can finally see about getting it published…!

So…who do I get to do this? Sure, I can lasso my family and friends into doing it. But there’s obvious limits to that. They don’t want to hurt my feelings, for one. And I don’t want them to feel beholdened to me to do it just because I ask, that’s two.

But if I want someone else to do it (for free), someone I’m not related to or know well…how do I figure that out? Do I randomly select names from the phonebook? Do I put a help wanted sign up at the local grocery store?!

I know Twitter’s writing community is probably a good place to find critique readers, but…and here’s the rub: HOW DO I TRUST THESE PEOPLE? No offence, but I only know you from your tweets, your twitter name and your profile picture (which could be photoshopped, for gods sake!). Yes, I’ve built up relationships with some fabulous people on Twitter …but….but…

Can I ask them for a resume? References?

My novel is my baby! It’s like the first time I sent my child to daycare. It was tough to let go, but I knew I had given a lot of thought into my decision and it was sound. I did the research, toured the facility, met everyone , got references, talked to those who also had brought their babies there before…

Does this hold true to the writing world?

Writers, how did you find your crit partners and beta readers? If you’ve been down this road and survived, can you help a sister-in-writing out here and let me in on your secret?!

THANKS!

This week on Twitter, I posted this Tweet:

tried to decorate a room for my Regency novel in my head when I couldn’t sleep last night….#amwriting#youknowyouareawriterwhen

To me, this is perfectly normal behaviour. Who wouldn’t try to decorate the main room of an 1813 Whitechaple fortune teller at 3 o’clock in the morning? But looking at it objectively, I can see that perhaps it is…a trifle odd.

Writers are a unique bunch. In fact, we are heroically unique! In honour of writers everywhere, I have decided to expand my original list of You Know You’re A Writer When…

So, here it is:

YOU KNOW YOU’RE A WRITER WHEN…

1. You will argue the correct meaning of a word with your husband for over twenty minutes

2. You cut out pictures in magazines that best describe your setting

3. You see someone in Wal Mart and think ‘that’s what my character looks like, right there!’

4. You see a couple having an argument as you drive by and you immediately start playing the game: what happens next?

5. While grocery shopping, your characters are talking back and forth in your head. (And they’re so loud, its a wonder you can purchase everything on your list…I call this phenomenon “Writer’s Daze”)

6. You get excited when you find [insert arcane detail here]. For me, its something like a map of the Napoleon Empire or a list of plays from Drury Lane in the 1800′s.

7. Before you go to sleep, you ask your subconscious to provide you with an answer to your plot problem

8. You consult the Tarot for the same (see above)

9. It takes a while for you to proclaim your identity as “A Writer” but once you do, you can’t shut up about it

10. Even the clerk at the local gas station knows you’re trying to get published

11. All your co-workers know what you’re writing and/or your current word count

12. You work through all ‘your issues’ by writing them into a novel. (The story might take place on an astroid colony 1000 years from now but that’s your old nemesis from high school, D.B., getting mangled by a particle beam!)

Writers, am I missing any? Add your own below!

Alright. You got me. I’m lying!

I’m not taking a break! I’m avoiding the damn thing! I’m running away. I’m In Hiding. I’ve put on my camouflage, I’m ducking and covering and sneaking past the computer on tip toe, shushing everybody: Be Quiet! Don’t wake it up!

And for that I am suffering a serious bout of Writer’s Guilt. Uhg.

Come on. You know that feeling. The I-am-supposed-to-be-writing-but-instead-think-organizing-my-socks-is-infinitely-more-interesting-and-its-not-just-so-my-hands-can-be-busy-while-I–mediate-on-my-plot-problems sort of feeling.

It’s avoidance, pure and simple.

Every writer knows deep inside when they need to take a break from their writing (to let the ideas settle, to gain perspective, to mull things over) and when they are out and out procrastinating.

Why? That is the question to answer. I know I love my characters. I know I love the process of creation. I know I want to finish it. I just can’t seem to get near it right now without feeling like a skittish filly.

Why? Perhaps I’m intimidated by how much work I have left to do. Perhaps my Inner Critic is overly active right now and I’m feeling sensitive.

Still, I need to jump back in. I need to re-read where I’ve been, get back in the vibe, maybe do a bit of free flow writing, just play and let the ideas come, the writing equivalent of jazz.

The remedy? Face my fears, I guess. JUST DO IT.

And I will. I promise. Maybe once this episode of Murdock Mysteries is over…

Oops. Nope. I better take care of this now.

My novel is barking at me. I better let it back in the house.

PS. Writers,  how do you overcome Writer’s Guilt?

I’m in the middle of my novel and it’s a bit of a scary thing.

Though I’ve a point of departure (my beginning) and a destination in mind (my end), in between I’ve got great, murky swaths of The Unknown to traverse through.

I am in The Middle a.k.a. The Great Unknown.

Generally, I am using a previous scene to build the current scene and thus I am inching my way slowly forward through the dark. Sort of like building a bridge across a chasm with tiny Lego bricks. Little bit by little bit, I am stretching my way from Beginning to End–

And of course I am trying to ratchet up the tension with each small step forward (cue the Ominous Music).

It makes for an unnerving experience.

Because anything could happen. They’re sitting in a room and they could talk or they could fight or they could kiss.

Or a cat could jump out from a closet and scare them or they could hear a scream or they could fall asleep because their tea was drugged.

Or they could decide to eat oysters or ham or white soup or they could go for a walk.

Or they could discover the Professor stabbed in the back, slouched over a potted fern.

My characters and I are constantly in the present moment, never knowing what the next moment (or Lego brick) is until it appears like magic. Poof!

(Sort of like real life, I guess.)

Writer, is this your experience of The Middle? Or is it more of a Happy Place for you?

Personally, I’m finding it pretty freaky!

Recently on Twitter, @LornaSuzuki reminded me of this great Writing Truism, which I’ve come across before:

Just keep writing.

I’ve told myself those very words but had recently, once again, forgotten.

Something to stick on the fridge, isn’t it? Or the bathroom mirror. So very handy to keep around just in case one of those moment arise. You know, when:

You don’t know how your novel ends…

Your characters are dithering in circles and mumbling about…

You’ve got a zillion plot holes the size of cockroaches…

Everyone you know keeps asking you: ‘isn’t it done yet?…’

Well, now you know the appropriate response to the above conundrums!

Just. Keep. Writing.

Out of a consistent writing practise (you’ll notice I didn’t say daily–not everyone can do it daily), the solutions will arise. (And by ‘writing practise’ I mean thinking about writing as well as the physical act of writing). Just don’t give up on your goal!

Oh, and maybe grab a donut. (A good sugar rush can’t hurt!)

PS. Can you think of any other writing moments that apply? I’m sure there are tons!