Tristi's Challenges

Where's Tristi?

2012-01-30T01:26:00.000-07:00

Has looking for me become somewhat like a game of Where's Waldo? It's true - I have been noticeably absent this challenge, and I'm sorry about that. Life has really gotten out of control for me these last two months - getting hit by a semi will do that to a person - and I've been struggling to keep my head afloat.

We only have two days left in this challenge - let's see what we can possibly pull off in the time we have remaining. Pour it on!

Saturday Night

2012-01-14T21:01:00.000-07:00

So!

How are y'all doing?

I'm discovering that recovering from a car accident is kind of harder than I thought when I first set my goals ... I got so thrown out of whack that I'm still trying to catch up with my December clients, and I'm seriously doggy-paddling right now. I've done very little on my own goals this week.

But I did get my edits for Targets in Ties done, so I feel really good about that.

We're halfway through the month, and at this point, I always suggest a reevaluation to see where we are and where we need to be. I'm going to sit down and adjust my goals to include my client work, and also to be more realistic with what I can accomplish, given the state of things.

Monday Night

2012-01-09T23:35:00.002-07:00

You know that sound you make when you rub your finger over your lips? That's the sound my brain is making right now. I'm working hard, playing lots of catch-up, and wondering when I'll have the speed I used to have before I got hit by a semi truck.

Tonight I'm also feeling a bit stiff and sore - my back is really acting up. In comparison to being dead and stuff, though, I'll take a sore back. It does slow me down even further, but I know it's getting better and just needs time.

I'm sorry to report that I did break the chain. I was so busy on Saturday running needed errands and working for clients that I didn't get any personal writing done. Arrrrgh!! But I've started a new chain and I'm going to keep it going as long as I can. The first one was six squares long - we'll see if I can beat that by twice.

I hope you're all doing well tonight, and I hope you are achieving your goals and feeling really good about your accomplishments.

January 5th - I'm Exhaustipated

2012-01-06T00:46:00.000-07:00

I'm now 19 pages into the cookbook I'm writing with my doctor, meaning that I've taken articles he's written and handouts from his office and organized them, retyped them (editing them while I type them), inserting explanatory phrases, Googling to learn word definitions in case something's not clear and I need to explain it, and writing a chapter on my own weight loss journey. About half of that was done tonight, and I'm totally wiped out.

However, I feel really good about my progress, and I put another X on my calendar.

From here on out, I will have probably another twenty pages of articles to rewrite, and then the rest of the book will be the recipes. Those are time-consuming, but not as brain-frying.

Thanks to those of you who have checked in - you sound like you're doing really well. I'm excited to hear from you each day and to cheer you on in your accomplishments.

Talk to you tomorrow!

January 4th - The Secret of My Success

2012-01-04T11:57:00.002-07:00

Last night, I got some good work in on my Secret Sisters cookbook. I'm sorry to say, the healthy cookbook has been a bit ignored so far this challenge, but I'll rectify that. In the meantime, I have three X's in a row on my calendar, and I have no intention of breaking the chain! It feels too good to be successful.

Today I've been thinking about the changes my life has undergone in the last year, and believe me, there have been a ton. I've gone from being a Coke-guzzling, sugar-scarfing computer addict to a carrot-munching, water-drinking computer addict. :) I've gotten my author services company off the ground in a major way - I sometimes have to refer potential clients to other companies, I'm so busy. I also published three books last year, and will be publishing four or five this year. I stopped to think for a minute - why have I been able to be so productive lately? It's not that I necessarily feel productive - since the car accident, I feel like a complete slug - but when I compare my accomplishments in 2011 to those I've had in the past, things have really picked up for me. I'd like to share with you what happened.

Near the beginning of 2011, I read a blog post by Karlene Browning where she talked about a goal-setting/organization challenge she was taking. It sounded too good to be true. It sounded awesome. I signed up for the next month, not really sure what I was getting into, and I have to tell you, from the first day, I saw huge changes in my life. It wasn't a magic potion to be swallowed or some thing where you burn incense and chant. No - this program teaches you how to set goals, set priorities, and then work toward them. I was absolutely amazed at the end of the first day to see how much I accomplished, how good I felt about it, and how motivated I was to do it all over again the next day. That was the real beginning of my company. I had clients before, maybe two a month, but on that first day, I got two clients, and ever since then, I've had at least four editing clients and two virtual book tour clients every month, and often more.

I would really like to encourage each of you to take this same challenge (click this link). It's broken down into really simple steps. The teacher, Chalene Johnson, shows you how to think about your life in terms of what is most important to you, and what things you would not sacrifice for anything. Then she shows you how to keep those things at the forefront of all you do, as your motivation for success. She breaks it all down into little chunks that take maybe five minutes a day, and at the end of the month, you know how to make an awesome to-do list that only shows what you must do that day - and you don't worry about the rest until tomorrow. It's simple, easy, burden-lifting ... and it's how I've been able to do what I do. The amazing thing is that it's free. Absolutely free.

Give it a try. It's only a couple of minutes a day for a month, and if you do what she says, you will see amazing results in your own life.

So, that's what's up over here. I'm getting ready to head out to the doctor/physical therapist, but I should be able to update my progress before I go to bed tonight. I forgot to post last night, though, so I wanted to talk to you this morning and let you know I'm still here. :)

January 2nd

2012-01-02T23:35:00.000-07:00

Hey, everyone!

When I counted up our long list of esteemed participants, I came up with 50 names. How amazing is that? I've never had so many in a challenge before, and I'm glad you're all here.

Some of you have already checked in and left your totals on yesterday's blog post, which is excellent. Any time I'm later in posting, that's exactly what you should do - I work at night, and so my new posts will be up late. Like this one, being posted at 11:30 my time.

I spend three days a week at my doctor's office (there was this semi truck, see ... ) and so on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I'm pretty worn out, but I did get some good progress done today. I edited/reformatted the first ten pages of the Secret Sisters cookbook, and went through about twenty of the e-mails from my test kitchen and incorporated their comments. I'm going to have to kick this in gear to hit my goal of submitting on the 20th, but I can work more on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

And I crossed off the first square on my Don't Break the Chain calendar. I decided to start it today, after the holiday. I really liked crossing off that square. It was very empowering. :)

I'm excited to see what we accomplish this month - keep up the great work, everyone!

For your motivational quote, click here, and then click on the poster to see the caption: http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Grow-Posters_i3173660_.htm

Welcome to the January Challenge!!!

2012-01-01T01:53:00.002-07:00

Hey, everyone! Thank you so much for joining me for the January Challenge! I'm so glad to have you here - we've got a great group and I can't wait to dive in and get going.

I hope you all have quantified your goal. It should be tough enough to make you stretch and grow, but not so tough that you'll never accomplish it. If you are a Blogger, go post your goals on your blog and chart your progress there as well as here. Or put it on Facebook. Or Twitter. Just someplace where you have a little additional accountability and an extra cheering squad. We will definitely cheer you on here, too!

Here are my goals for the month of January:

1. Finish reorganizing my Secret Sisters cookbook and get it submitted by January 20th.

2. Write a cookbook with my doctor and get it ready to publish by the end of January.

3. Continue to work on the novel I'm taking through critique group - this one is rough drafted out, but needs some polishing, so the polishing part is the goal for January.

If I can get these three things done, I will be really getting 2012 off to a good start.

Those of you who haven't yet, I'd like to invite you to head on over here to download a free writing calendar. Christy B recommended it when she signed up for the challenge, and it's simple, yet awesome. Run on over and get it - I for one intend to completely fill it out this year.

Please check in daily, but if you can't make it daily, check in as you can. Expect my updates to come in late at night - that's when I do most of my writing. I don't post on Sundays (typically - I scheduled this one in advance :) so if you swing by and don't see a new post to leave your comment, just leave your comment on Saturday's post.

Thanks again for signing up - we're going to see some amazing things happen this January!!

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."
Mark Twain

The January Challenge is ON!!

2011-12-28T11:07:00.000-07:00

We're staring the New Year in the face, and I bet we all have a lot of writing goals for ourselves in 2012. Let's kick it off to a great start with our January Writing Challenge!

As always, the rules are flexible. You decide what you most want to accomplish in the month of January, and you write it down. Then, for thirty-one days, you work diligently toward that goal. It could be researching your book, rough drafting your book, editing your book - whatever you need to get done, that's what you focus on for the month. You come here and report in, cheer each other on, and have a lot of fun all at the same time.

If this sounds like something you'd like to do, just leave a comment in this trail and tell me that you're on board. Also give me a summary of your goal for the month. Then, starting at 12:01 am on January 1st, get busy!! Well, you don't actually have to stay up past midnight ... but you can if you want to.

I hope to see lots of you on here - I have some pretty hefty goals of my own, and I'll need my own personal cheerleading squad!

The End of the Challenge

2011-10-31T18:50:00.000-06:00

Hey, everyone!

How did your October go? Did you accomplish your goals? Do you feel good about your progress?

I only accomplished about half of my goals, and I could feel glum about that. Instead, I'd like to celebrate what I did get done.

1. I lost seventeen pounds.

2. I finished some big ol' client edits, including one that was huge.

3. My WIP is now over 80% done.

4. My cookbook is getting more done by the minute.

5. I survived eight weeks off my feet without going totally insane, including a trip to the Salt Lake Temple carried out entirely by wheelchair (that was kind of wild) and I have now been fit for the orthotics that will hopefully keep me from ever having to go through all this again.

6. I survived my husband's 51st birthday without having a nervous breakdown. (And that wasn't easy.)

If I stay focused on the good things that came out of this month instead of focusing on all the stuff that happened to throw me off track, I'll feel a lot better about it.

How about you? What are you most happy about that happened this month?

Avalanche!

2011-10-28T02:06:00.000-06:00

Isn't this a cool picture? It's an avalanche that took place on Mt. Everest. I use it as a visual to help explain what's going on in my life right now. I've had the best of intentions, I really have, but this week a whole big load of metaphorical snow got dumped on me, much of it in the form of new opportunities I needed to jump on immediately, and much of it in the form of stuff that bogged me down, plowed me under, and left me panting for breath.

Here's my goal list:

1. Edit a manuscript for a friend.
2. Add 3,000 words to Turning Pages.
3. Catch up on all my critique notes on Turning Pages.
4. Figure out just how those chapters got accidentally rearranged and arrange them back.
5. Do the edit for Client E.

To all of this, I simply say ... *snort*

Not going to happen.

I need to concentrate on finishing up some projects I thought were done, but weren't, and doing some that just barely came my way. If I can get those things under control, I can then focus on NaNo, and maybe, just maybe, get some significant work done on the book I'm working on. The manuscript for a friend is coming ... I promise.

But here's the thing - no matter how well we're doing, or not well, in my case, we should all be buckling down right now. We've only got until Monday night. We alone have the power to make it happen for us. What's it going to be? Should we go skiing, or die of frostbite? We determine how avalanches effect us.

Monday Night Check-in

2011-10-17T20:48:00.000-06:00

It's been very quiet over here, and I take full responsibility for that. I haven't been posting every day, like I should. But here I am now. :)

Here's the status of my current to-do list:

~~1. Finish edit for Client B by 10:00 tonight.~~
~~2. Draft out Chapter Two of serial story by midnight tonight~~.
~~3. Edit for Client C, complete by Wednesday night.~~
~~4. Draft out Chapter Three of serial story by Wednesday night.~~
~~5. Draft out Chapter Four by Thursday night.~~
~~6. Edit and polish all chapters and e-mail on by Friday night.~~
~~7. Edit for Client D, finish by next Monday night~~

Phew! So, the revised to-do list has been completed, and it's time for me to look at the rest of the month.

1. Edit a manuscript for a friend.
2. Add 3,000 words to Turning Pages.
3. Catch up on all my critique notes on Turning Pages.
4. Figure out just how those chapters got accidentally rearranged and arrange them back.
5. Do the edit for Client E.

Hopefully, once I've completed items #2, 3, and 4, it will just be a matter of plugging in some connecting scenes and then doing another read-through to make sure it flows. Notice I said "hopefully." One never knows, does one?

So, how are all of you doing tonight? I hope you're well. And keep this in mind ...

The fact is, that to do anything in the world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in and scramble through as well as we can.
Robert Cushing

Is That You, Auntie Em?

2011-10-14T03:12:00.000-06:00

I arise from the ashes and look around me at the wreckage that started out as a pretty regular week and then went splat in a mighty splat-like way. I have a hairline stress fracture in my right foot and have been told to pretty much stay off it altogether until the day I die (okay, not that dramatic, but it feels that way) and my laptop, where my editing files are, took eight hours to download some updates today and threw me totally off schedule. This is why I couldn't post today's progress report until now - 3 a.m. But here I am now!

Okay, let's look at the to-do list:

~~1. Finish edit for Client B by 10:00 tonight.~~
~~2. Draft out Chapter Two of serial story by midnight tonight~~.
~~3. Edit for Client C, complete by Wednesday night.~~
~~4. Draft out Chapter Three of serial story by Wednesday night.~~
~~5. Draft out Chapter Four by Thursday night.~~
~~6. Edit and polish all chapters and e-mail on by Friday night.~~
7. Edit for Client D, finish by next Monday night

I'm a day late in completing item #3, but it's complete now, and I'm right on time with item #5, except that I didn't just draft it. I drafted, edited, and submitted.

This just leaves one item on my list. Tomorrow I'm going to take stock and reassess, and get myself a new, updated list for the rest of the month.

This is actually a good idea for all of us. Take a look at your goals vs. your calendar. Is it possible you could accomplish just a little bit more in the time we have left? Are you pushing yourself too hard and need to scale back? Assess honestly so you can get the most out of this without crashing and burning. Trust me, being in ashes isn't too fun. But then we get to be like phoenixes and rise up out of our ashes.

See you tomorrow with my new, revised list.

Monday!

2011-10-10T20:12:00.000-06:00

Hey, how was your weekend? I spent a lot of time yesterday resting and gearing up for the week ahead. Hopefully my oomph will last.

Let's check out my to-do list:

~~1. Finish edit for Client B by 10:00 tonight.~~
~~2. Draft out Chapter Two of serial story by midnight tonight~~.
3. Edit for Client C, complete by Wednesday night.
~~4. Draft out Chapter Three of serial story by Wednesday night.~~
5. Draft out Chapter Four by Thursday night.
~~6. Edit and polish all chapters and e-mail on by Friday night.~~
7. Edit for Client D, finish by next Monday night.

My story took off faster than I thought, and I decided to edit them and send them in a little faster so I wouldn't feel rushed. I just one chapter of the four left to go, and then from here on out, I only need to submit one a week.

Today's been crazy, so I haven't been able to start the Client C edit yet, but I will after family home evening.

I hope you are all doing well! Please chime in and let us cheer you on.

Saturday Afternoon Fever

2011-10-08T15:54:00.000-06:00

I actually sort of wish I had a fever. I'm so cold right now, I can hardly type. I don't adjust well to sudden weather changes, and we went from nice and warm to really cold. Snow in the mountains, flurries down here, the whole bit. At least there's nothing on the ground yet.

Okay! So! I need to totally revamp my goals for this month. I've just picked up an opportunity to publish a novella online, as a serial, and I only have the first chapter written as of yet. The good news? They loved that first chapter. The not-bad-but-time-consuming news? They need three more chapters by the 15th. Which is in one week. So I'm putting some different priorities in place right now, and rearranging my schedule a bit, and giving myself some deadlines. My goal list now looks like this:

1. Finish edit for Client B by 10:00 tonight.
2. Draft out Chapter Two of serial story by midnight tonight.
3. Edit for Client C, complete by Wednesday night.
4. Draft out Chapter Three of serial story by Wednesday night.
5. Draft out Chapter Four by Thursday night.
6. Edit and polish all chapters and e-mail on by Friday night.
7. Edit for Client D, finish by next Monday night.

The book I was planning to work on, Turning Pages, won't be published until roughly next fall, so it's not a big deal to delay it. I do want to get it finished, but it's not the priority right now.

So! Today, I finish up with Client B, and I draft out the next chapter of my story. That is definitely doable.

I hope you all are doing well, and I hope you're not as freezing as I am. I shall now turn on my laptop, put on some socks, go climb into my nice warm bed, and get to work. Talk to you on Monday!

A thought as we go ...

1. “If you wait for inspiration to write; you’re not a writer, you’re a waiter.” – Dan Poynter

2. When asked the secret to finishing his 500 page masterpiece The Power of One, author Bryce Courtenay growled, “Bum glue!”

3. “If my doctor told me I had only 6 months to live, I’d type a little faster.” – Isaac Asimov

4. “Inspiration usually comes during work, not before it.” – Madeleine L’Engle

5. “I write when I’m inspired, and I see to it that I’m inspired at 9 am every morning.” – Peter DeVries

6. “I think I did pretty well, considering I started out with nothing but a bunch of blank paper.” – Steve Martin

7. “I made a startling discovery. Time spent writing = output of work. Amazing.” – Ann Pachett

8. “Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see to the end of your headlights; but you can make the whole trip that way.” – E. L. Doctorow

9. “Ever tried and failed? No matter. Try again and fail better.” – Samuel Beckett

10. “It’s never too late – in fiction or in life – to revise.” – Nancy Thayer

11. “The way to resume is to resume. It is the only way. To resume.” – Gertrude Stein

12. “Best advice on writing I’ve ever received. Finish.” – Peter Mayle

13. “When I am writing, I am doing the thing I was meant to do.” – Anne Sexton

14. “You can sit there, tense and worried, freezing the creative energies, or you can start writing something. It doesnt matter what. In five or ten minutes, the imagination will heat, the tightness will fade, and a certain spirit and rhythm will take over.” – Leonard Bernstein

15. “I went for years not finishing anything. Because, of course, when you finish something you can be judged. I had pieces that were re-written so many times I suspect it was just a way of avioding sending them out.” – Erica Jong

16. “Once you’ve done the mental work, there comes a point you have to throw yourself into action and put your heart on the line.” – Lakers basketball coach Phil Jackson

17. “The faster I write, the better my output. If I’m going slow, I’m in trouble. It means I’m pushing the words instead of being pulled by them.” – Raymond Chandler

18. “When you speak, your words echo across the room. When you write, your words echo across the ages.” – Chicken Soup for the Writers Soul author Bud Gardner

19. “Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.” – Carl Sandburg

20. “I don’t wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work.” – Pearl S. Buck

I borrowed these from this blog, if you'd like to check it out.

Tristi's Challenge? Being Tristi ...

2011-10-06T12:44:00.001-06:00

Okay!! As you recall, here are my goals:

1. Finish the edit for Client A.
2. Edit for Client B.
3. Edit for Client C.
4. Edit for Client D.
5. Edit for Client E.
6. Finish the rough draft for Turning Pages
7. Carry out self-edit of Turning Pages.
8. Continue to add recipes to my Secret Sisters cookbook.

Now my list looks like this:

1. ~~Finish the edit for Client A.~~
2. Edit for Client B.
3. Edit for Client C.
4. Edit for Client D.
5. Edit for Client E.
6. Finish the rough draft for Turning Pages
7. Carry out self-edit of Turning Pages.
8. Continue to add recipes to my Secret Sisters cookbook.

Hooray! One major thing crossed off. Last night I got right to work on Goal #2, but I'm having a health issue right now - the bones in my feet like to go out of alignment, and they feel broken - and my right leg was hurting so much, I couldn't get comfortable in any recognized editing position. So that idea didn't work. Today, though, I'm feeling mostly better, so there will be some good work happening today.

I'm excited to hear how things are going for you - please be sure to post your updates so we can all cheer each other on.

And before I take off ...

This made me chuckle, but I say, let's all learn to do it well, and enjoy the feeling of satisfaction that comes along with it. This is why we hone our skills - so we can be truly proud of our accomplishments.

Talk to you tomorrow ...

Tuesday - The Challenge Continues

2011-10-04T14:56:00.000-06:00

So, my goal was to finish the edit for Client A and to add some new recipes to the cookbook. How'd I do?

Not so good.

My computer started having issues, and I've spent some time trying to figure it out. And then my body started having some issues, so ... ditto.

But I will have the edit done tonight, and some recipes probably tomorrow, so I'm not too far off track.

How are the rest of you doing?

In the comment trail, Kristy said, "I'm not sure I can do this for a whole month." You know what - there's nothing wrong with reevaluating goals. If you realize that the goal you set is making you stretch too far, you can pull it back. We want to be challenged and we want to grow, but we don't want to put our goals so far out there that we become overwhelmed or discouraged. And keep in mind how a tree grows - it puts down good roots, and then it grows slowly. Then it can stand forever. Weeds put down shallow roots and then grow really fast, and that makes them easy to destroy. Unless they are dandelions. In your yard. And then they never go away. But that's beside the point. The point I'm making is, do too much, too fast, without a good root system, and you'll crash and burn. Sometimes you do need to take it more slowly.

Talk to you later!

The First Day of the October Challenge!!

2011-10-01T16:52:00.001-06:00

Hey all!

Are you ready for a challenge? Are you ready to get some great writing done? Well, I hope so, because that's what we're doing for the whole month of October. Thank you for listing your goals in the comment trail of the previous blog. I'm excited to see all that you're going to accomplish.

My goals are a combination of things. I have some client edits I need to finish, and I have some of my own writing to do. By lumping them all into the same challenge, I can (hopefully) double my fun and get twice as much done.

My Goals:

1. Finish the edit for Client A.
2. Edit for Client B.
3. Edit for Client C.
4. Edit for Client D.
5. Edit for Client E.
6. Finish the rough draft for Turning Pages
7. Carry out self-edit of Turning Pages.
8. Continue to add recipes to my Secret Sisters cookbook.

Yeah, that's a pretty stiff list ... but I can do it!! Especially if I break it down.

So, tonight and Monday, I'm finishing up the edit for Client A, (I'm on page 62 out of 303) and I'm adding some new recipes into the cookbook. I shall report how I do!

And in the meantime ...

As authors, we didn't choose to live simple lives. But we also haven't chosen to be average. Put in the hard work. You'll never regret it.

See ya Monday ...

Hey, Gang!! October Challenge Time!!

2011-09-24T21:56:00.000-06:00

After completely spacing off the July writing challenge (sorry about that ...) I'm ready to dive back in and do the October challenge right. I'm looking at my goals, creating my game plan, and I'm counting down to the first of the month. Do you want to join me?

The rules are simple.

1. Leave a comment in this trail and tell me you'd like to join.

2. Include your goal. It can be anything from finishing the research for your book, finishing your outline, finishing your rough draft, finishing your self-edit, finishing your final draft, to working on your marketing. Whatever your career needs most at this moment, that's what your goal should be. Decide what you want to accomplish in the month of October, and write it down. It should be a big enough goal that you have to stretch to reach it, but not so big that you overwhelm yourself and feel like you'll never achieve it.

3. Post your goal on your blog and link to this blog.

4. From October 1st to 31st, spend time every day to reach your goal.

5. Come here and leave comments to let the rest of us know how you're doing so we can cheer on your success and also cheer you through any slumps.

And that's it! You determine your pace, what you want to accomplish, and what your reward will be at the end.

So, come hang out with me ... we'll have a lot of fun!

Um ... Ooooops!!!

2011-07-30T15:31:00.000-06:00

My life has been so crazy busy the last couple of months, I totally forgot all about the July writing challenge. That's just as well - I wouldn't have had time to participate. I apologize, I really do.

But we are on for October. I will have some serious writing to do then, and we're going to push it till it breaks. So get geared up ... October, you belong to us!!

End of the Challenge

2011-05-02T09:09:00.000-06:00

So, you remember in my last post where I said I was taking the rest of the week off and would be working on my own writing and would get those last words written?

Yeah. It so didn't happen. Turns out life had other plans, and I was every bit as busy the second half of the week as I was at the first. I did add 2,000 words to one book, but I missed my writing goals by 14,000 words. I did, however, meet my editing goals, so that's good.

I've found, though, that I'm a much happier person when I have a balance between working for other people and working for myself, and I want to make my own writing a little higher on my to-do list. That's something I hope to accomplish in May - and in fact, on the 14th I'm holding a writing marathon, and you're more than welcome to join me. Here's the link if you want more info.

So, tell me - how did you do this month? I know Traci and Anna rocked it - share some totals and let's see how we all feel about the month of April.

It's Tuesday, and I'm Tired ...

2011-04-27T00:20:00.000-06:00

I have an announcement to make ...

Client E is done.

It wasn't easy. I had a huge computer problem with Client D - I was working on the laptop, saved it, and then went back to get it, and it was gone. Sixty pages. Now, let's not start talking about backing up files, because I double save everything and I e-mail stuff to myself all the time. Fact is, the laptop malfunctioned, and I had techie helpers online with me for an hour and a half trying to retrieve my file. I ended up redoing those sixty pages, making me late for Client D and also behind where I wanted to be for Client E. So then I poured it on with every speck of engine oil I could muster. But then we had a sleet storm yesterday that knocked out my Internet, and I can't edit without my Internet. I use it constantly. I double check dates, facts, figures, spelling, the meaning of words - and without the Internet, I can't do a good job. Finally, finally after pack meeting tonight, I was able to send the client his manuscript.

Phew.

I'm taking the rest of the week off and will be working on my own writing, which is where the 10,000 on one book and the 6,101 on the other come in to play. It will be nice to get those crossed off my list.

You guys inspire me - keep up the good work with your success. Your enthusiasm is contagious!

Friday ... At Least, I Think ...

2011-04-22T10:27:00.000-06:00

Hey, All!

I'm sorry about my lack of checking in - it's been one whale of a crazy week. We won't even mention how my laptop dumped sixty pages of an edit and after talking to a kazillion people and trying a kazillion things to retrieve it, I ended up redoing the whole file, thereby throwing off my editing schedule and making me very perturbed. Yep, no need to go into that ...

But I do have updates for you on my goals for the rest of the month. Here's how I stand right now:

1. Add 10,000 words to Turning Pages and 6,101 words toMarigolds and Murder.
~~2. Finish Client D's manuscript by Monday night.~~
3. Finish Client E's manuscript by Wednesday night.
~~4. Finish Client F's evaluation by Monday night.~~

The "Monday night" thing didn't happen for goals 2 and 4, but they are finished and out the door. Goal 3 will now be completed by Saturday night, if at all possible, which would bring me back on track, sort of. :)

My ultimate goal is to have next week off so I can spend it writing, thereby completing goal #1. Plus, I think a week off would be wonderful in a lot of ways. So if I can get #3 done by tomorrow night, life will be very sweet indeed.

I love reading your comments and hearing how things are going for you when you get in your groove. May the force be with you - the writing force, you know - and we'll chat with you later!

Thursday Check-in

2011-04-14T15:11:00.000-06:00

Hey, everyone!! Tomorrow is the 15th, the halfway mark of this challenge. Are you still on target? Are you meeting your goals? Or do you need to revisit and make a new plan? The 15th is the perfect time to see what you need to do in order to reach your target. I encourage you to sit down and make a list of ways you can be sure to finish on top.

My goal list for this challenge is looking pretty jumbled up, so I'm going to revise. I've accomplished several things from the original list and added a few more, so here's what I'm looking at for the rest of the month:

1. Add 10,000 words to Turning Pages and 6,101 words to Marigolds and Murder.
2. Finish Client D's manuscript by Monday night.
3. Finish Client E's manuscript by Wednesday night.
4. Finish Client F's evaluation by Monday night.

So that's what I'm doing for the remainder of the challenge. I believe most of my time from now until Wednesday will be spent editing, and then I'll have the rest of the month to write. It should work well.

Okay, I'd like to hear how you are - and how you're feeling about your progress!

Monday Morning Check-in

2011-04-11T06:26:00.000-06:00

Happy Monday, everyone! Did you get some rest over the weekend? Are you ready to hit the ground running and accomplish your goals for the week? I definitely am - I'm excited at the progress I'm making and I feel good about the direction my story is taking.

Here's what's up with me -

I added 3,434 words to Marigolds and Murder, bringing my total for the manuscript to 16,511 and a total of 3,899 for this challenge, meaning that I need to write another 6,101 for my goal of 10,000 on this challenge.

I did start Client C's manuscript, and my goal is to have it finished on Thursday night.

Then I need to crank out 10,000 words in my other work in progress.

So those are my plans for the remainder of the challenge. How are you doing? What do you hope to accomplish by the end of this week to keep yourself on track for the month?

Thursday Night Check-In

2011-04-07T22:48:00.001-06:00

So, how many times can you use the phrase, "blow this thing wide open" in one chapter?

I can use it three times. That's right. In one chapter. Are you jealous? Well, I can't blame you, really. It's a talent, a gift ... and don't try to emulate me. It's just not going to work.

Yeah, guess who just got home from critique ... but it gave us a good laugh.

However, I wish to announce that the changes I made to the first part of Marigolds and Murder are now much more FBI-appropriate and my agents are doing what agents are supposed to do.

And early this evening, I accomplished another of my goals. This is where I stand right now:

~~1. Incorporate all my critique group's feedback into my two current manuscripts.~~
~~2. Rewrite the first part of Marigolds and Murder to bring it more into keeping with the FBI's actual rules.~~
3. Add 10,000 words to each of the two manuscripts. (Added 465 to Marigolds and Murder)
~~4. Have client A's manuscript back to them by this Saturday night.~~
~~5. Have client B's manuscript back to them by this Wednesday night.~~
6. Start client C's manuscript on Thursday.

#5 is crossed off. Woohoo!

The sad thing is, I couldn't cross it off yesterday. My Internet was down so I couldn't access some files, and for some dumb reason, my computer decided to hide my edit file. I had to wait until my handsome honey came home to fix it all for me, so I was a day behind on that goal, but now I'm up and running again. I only have two goals left ... it's just that they're both big. :) I'll keep you updated as I go.

So, how are you doing? Are you keeping up the pace, or are you lagging a little bit? Are you struggling with writers block?

You are not alone.

Cows get writers block.

So do chickens.

So, I'm told, did Charles Dickens.

(Did you see that, how I rhymed "chickens" with "Dickens?" I'm brilliant! Brilliant, I say!)

Sorry ... back to my point, which is that we all go through it. Don't beat yourself up - pull up your socks and get on it with. The muse will return, but only if you don't give up.

See ya tomorrow!

Tuesday Check-In

2011-04-06T01:27:00.000-06:00

Lately, my life has been all about doggy paddling. Things just keep getting thrown at me, and I can make my plans and schedule my days and be determined to stay focused and on target, and then something will come up and totally derail me. But as long as I keep my little paws a-goin', somehow we come out all right. Just keep swimming, right?

Okay, so, here's my update. Yesterday, I was on the computer almost all day long, getting this job and that job and the other job done, but I got a lot done. Today I got ... a little less done, but still not a shabby amount. Then in the middle of all of it, I said to myself, I need to take a minute to work on my own book. I'm always grumpy when I don't get writing time. So I worked for a little while and accomplished the following:

~~1. Incorporate all my critique group's feedback into my two current manuscripts.~~
~~2. Rewrite the first part of Marigolds and Murder to bring it more into keeping with the FBI's actual rules.~~
3. Add 10,000 words to each of the two manuscripts. (Added 465 to Marigolds and Murder)
~~4. Have client A's manuscript back to them by this Saturday night.~~
5. Have client B's manuscript back to them by this Wednesday night.
6. Start client C's manuscript on Thursday.

I got to cross off #2 and in the process, I added 465 words. Now, I also deleted about five hundred, so I really wrote around a thousand tonight. And yes, I'm feeling much happier and calmer now. I printed off my new beginning to get it ready for critique group, and my sense of equilibrium has returned.

How are you all doing? Did you have a good Tuesday?

Monday Night

2011-04-04T21:39:00.003-06:00

Hallo!

It's great to hear how awesome you guys have been doing. I'm excited to hear about your progress and hope you continue to feel successful with the steps you're taking - every step forward is a huge success and I hope you feel that way.

Here's my update:

~~1. Incorporate all my critique group's feedback into my two current manuscripts.~~
2. Rewrite the first part of Marigolds and Murder to bring it more into keeping with the FBI's actual rules.
3. Add 10,000 words to each of the two manuscripts.
~~4. Have client A's manuscript back to them by this Saturday night.~~
5. Have client B's manuscript back to them by this Wednesday night.
6. Start client C's manuscript on Thursday.

That's right - I got to cross off #1. Woohoo!

And now I'd better get cranking on #5 or that's never gonna happen.

As a fun side note, a friend had this on her blog today and I stole it:

See ya tomorrow!

Early Monday Morning ...

2011-04-04T01:18:00.000-06:00

Hey, all!

How was your weekend?

All I can say is that my brain feels fried. General conference was beyond awesome ... what I got to hear, over the bedlamites. And I'm excited to report some progress on my goals. Here they are as a handy-dandy recap courtesy of the magic of copy and paste:

1. Incorporate all my critique group's feedback into my two current manuscripts.
2. Rewrite the first part of Marigolds and Murder to bring it more into keeping with the FBI's actual rules.
3. Add 10,000 words to each of the two manuscripts.
~~4. Have client A's manuscript back to them by this Saturday night.~~
5. Have client B's manuscript back to them by this Wednesday night.
6. Start client C's manuscript on Thursday.

So you'll notice that I got #4 crossed off. Woohoo!

But then I remembered that I had another project to finish up ... we'll call this one Client D. But Client D was actually in existence before Client B, so maybe this one should be Client A 1/2 or something like that. Anyway, I got that one finished too. So that's two things accomplished ... even though Client A 1/2 wasn't on the list ... but now I'm tempted to put him on the list just so I can cross him off!

And I'm rambling!

Anyway ... back to business. Ahem. I hope you all had a great weekend. My goals for Monday include the accomplishment of #1. I will check back with you on how that goes.

Have a great Monday!

Bring It On!!

2011-04-01T10:19:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone,

It's April 1st, and you know what that means!

Time to play tricks on people!

Well, yeah, but that's not what I'm talking about ... it's time to kick off the April Writing Challenge! I'm excited that so many of you have joined me this time around. You're all setting your goals, making your plans, deciding how you're going to reach those goals, and that kind of momentum is really energizing to all of us.

My goals are a combination of writing for myself and editing for my clients - I can't put the clients' projects off, so I'm making them part of the challenge. Here are my goals for the month:

1. Incorporate all my critique group's feedback into my two current manuscripts.
2. Rewrite the first part of Marigolds and Murder to bring it more into keeping with the FBI's actual rules.
3. Add 10,000 words to each of the two manuscripts.
4. Have client A's manuscript back to them by this Saturday night.
5. Have client B's manuscript back to them by this Wednesday night.
6. Start client C's manuscript on Thursday.

And those are my goals!

I can't wait to hear back from you how you did on our first day, so be sure to check in. And, for fun ... here are some creative writing prompts from Writers Digest.

Talk to you later!

April Writing Challenge

2011-03-26T10:28:00.000-06:00

Do you know what time it is?

I bet you do ...

It's time for the April Writing Challenge!

What are your goals this time around? Do you need to keep working on that novel you started in January? Are you done with it and need to do a round of edits? Are you ready to research your next project? What do you need to do in April? What goals will make you feel the happiest, the most fulfilled, the most productive? Whatever they are, come do them with me!

From 12:01 am on April 1st to 12:00 midnight on April 30th, pour your heart and soul onto a piece of paper, and see what amazing things you can create in one month's time.

Signing up for the April Challenge is easy. Just leave a comment on this blog and tell me what your goal is for the month. It should be just hard enough to make you stretch, but not so hard that you can't do it. Write it in a measurable way. Don't say, "I'm going to write more." Say, "I'm going to write for fifteen minutes every night" or "I'm going to write four pages a day." If you have a blog, post about this challenge and tell your readers your goal. That will help keep you accountable. Then, every day or every couple of days, check back here and update us on your progress so we can cheer you on. It's that simple!

So look at your projects. See where you are, and decide where you want to be in one month's time, and let's get crackin'!!

Whassup??

2011-01-28T23:44:00.000-07:00

So, no, I didn't die or drown or get amnesia or any of the other things that I'm sure you're thinking must have happened to me. But I did almost crash into a school bus when my brakes failed and I had to yank the wheel to a sharp right to avoid running into traffic coming the other way until I coasted to a stop. Is that a good enough excuse?

I do have a few good pieces of writing news to pass along. I've taken the first three chapters of my NaNo book to my critique group, and they are liking it, although it is very different from my usual stuff. It's so different that I think I need to slow down a little and really get it where I want it - I'm just floundering around right now, but my group is awesome and they've been helping me get my head on straight.

In the meantime, I've written some nice chunks on my next cozy mystery series, which I'm way excited about. These characters are starting to talk to me, and doing things I didn't know they were going to do - that's when I know the book is going to work. When it takes over and I just sit here and be the scribe, that's when the magic happens. I'm at 5,879 words on it so far.

So, how are you?

Wednesday Wahoo!

2011-01-19T13:46:00.001-07:00

Phew! I just met my goal of finishing my self-edit and getting it to my publisher. That is a huge monkey off my back, not that it was an overwhelming task, but that I have so much going on right now that getting it done seemed impossible. But it's done, I sent it in, and I can cross that one off my list.

I'm down to just one last goal, and I'm making decent progress on it - reworking my NaNo project to take through critique. My group has been really helpful and I'm seeing a ton of ways to improve the story.

And how are you guys doing today? Out playing in this gorgeous sunshiny weather, or inside, hunkered over your keyboard, like I am? :)

It's Tuesday!! (I think ...)

2011-01-18T10:35:00.000-07:00

Is it Tuesday?

I've lost track ...

At any rate, we're just over the halfway mark on our challenge. It's a great time to stop and look at our goals and see if we're on track. I think I'm still there, even though this last weekend didn't see me at the computer much at all. But some of us may need to pour it on a little more, or adjust our goals to fit the reality of our circumstances. Others might realize that they can ask even more of themselves and increase their goals. Whatever is right for you, do it! But keep in mind that if your goals are too easy, you'll never grow, just as you'll set yourself up for failure if you make them too impossible to reach.

I hope you have a fantastic Tuesday, if that's what day it is, and hopefully tomorrow I'll have some seriously good progress to report.

Thursday Check-In

2011-01-13T13:17:00.000-07:00

I just hit the halfway mark on my self-edit. You'd think I'd be making a little faster progress, but I keep getting sidetracked by every little thing that comes down the pike. I need to get blinders, like horses have, that I can put on to keep myself on target.

But being halfway done when it's halfway through the month isn't terrible - it's actually pretty good progress, so I'm not going to chastise myself for it.

I hope you're all having awesome Thursdays, and I hope some of you can make it to my awesome book launch party tomorrow!

You are invited to the release

of Tristi Pinkston’s new novel

Dearly Departed

on Friday, January 14th,

at Pioneer Book

858 S. State, Orem

6 – 8 pm

Refreshments, prizes, and fun!

Bring a package of socks to be donated

to the homeless, and you'll be entered in an

additional drawing.

Hope to see you there!

Wednesday Check-In

2011-01-12T18:03:00.000-07:00

Hey there!

How are you all doing?

I took the first chapter of my new book to critique last night, and they seemed to really like it. I'd had an idea for a title, and thought I'd need to change the character's name to make it work - well, she flat-out refused to have her name changed. See, I was going to name it "Turning Paige," and change her name to Paige. But she likes her name. So the book is now called "Turning the Page." A slight difference, but with very different meanings. It's all good. The point is, they liked the first chapter. I do need to make it sound a little more young adult, but they gave me some great suggestions, and I'm excited to make the changes.

I'm also about 40% done with the self-edit on the third Secret Sisters book, so we are making some definite progress.

What good news do you all have to report?

Monday Check-in

2011-01-10T13:37:00.000-07:00

Hey, everyone!

How'd you do over the weekend?

I got a little bit derailed, but I'm back on the wagon now. I got the first chapter of my NaNo project smoothed out and ready to take to critique tomorrow, and I have now gotten forty pages of my self-edit on the third Secret Sisters manuscript done. Those are my only two remaining goals on my list, so if I can buckle down and get them done, I'll be good to go.

The main thing, of course, is to always be striving. It doesn't matter so much if we hit every single goal we set, but as long as we are trying hard and striving for the best that is within us, we will have won.

Talk to you soon - oh, and check out this great blog post.

Friday is Fun!!

2011-01-07T22:08:00.002-07:00

Hey all,

How are you feeling about your progress this week? I'm now 10% through my self-edit, and feeling pretty good about it. I've been slowed down a little by a freelance edit, but hey, that's not a bad thing to be slowed down by. :)

I hope you can all squeeze in some time over the weekend. I'm going to be working hard on my client's project tomorrow, so I'm not sure if I'll knock off any more of my self-edit, but we'll see.

I'll be talkin' to you soon!

Wednesday Morning

2011-01-05T07:58:00.000-07:00

Hi there,

I'm sorry I missed checking in yesterday. Tuesdays are often crazy around here, and yesterday was no exception.

However, I do have the completion of one goal to report. I read the conclusion of Till Death Do Us Part to my critique group, and will be implementing their changes this afternoon. They seemed to really like it, and it felt good to bring the series to a satisfying conclusion. However, I'll admit I felt a little sad when we were done. My little characters have been in my head for about three years now, and I'm sad to see them go. I do have plans for future books that just might help make me feel better, but for right now, I'm experiencing a sense of completion and loss at the same time.

I have now pulled up the manuscript for the third book in the series and will begin my self-edit. My goal is to have this done and ready to send in by February 1st - my publisher wants to put it out this summer, so I'm excited to get the ball rolling on it.

And now, I could use your help!

I need a title for this book. Can you let it simmer in the back of your brain for a little bit and tell me if you have any ideas? Here are the specifications:

1. It needs to sound like a mystery. No, I'm not looking for, "The Mystery of the ..." I'm looking for something like what I already have, like, Till Death Do Us Part. I would love it if it were a play on a common phrase like that.

2. It needs to sound a little bit Western. It takes place in Montana, on a dude ranch. The victim is a horse. So anything that has to do with horses or ranches or cowboys ... but that also sounds like a mystery.

If you could help me out, I'd really appreciate it. And if your title is chosen, I'll name a character in my current WIP after you. :)

I've really enjoyed hearing your progress reports - and don't worry if you feel the need to change your goal mid-stream. Unlike NaNo, you can do that here. :) The main thing is constant forward progression. As long as that's taking place, you can do whatever most needs to be done.

Chat with you later!

Monday Check-In

2011-01-03T12:13:00.001-07:00

Hey All!

We've been joined by a few more people - welcome aboard, everyone! I'm excited to see what we'll all be able to accomplish this month. I'm thinking that today will probably be the day most people get started on their goals. Whether it's today, or whether you started on Saturday, or whether you can't start until tomorrow - it's all good. The fact is, you're working hard and you're making it happen for you. That's the important thing.

I got up early this morning (not by choice - my body clock is completely weirded out, for some reason) and I was able to knock two goals off my list for this month. I:

1. Finished rewriting the ending of Till Death Do Us Part. I only had about an hour's worth of work to do on it, so that wasn't major, but it definitely feels major to get it done. I also had my husband read through it, and he really liked it.

2. Implemented all my critique group's changes to the manuscript. Let me head into this by saying that I used to have an awesome system. I would come home from critique and sit right down at the computer, adding in everyone's changes while the meeting was still fresh in my mind. But over the last six months or so, I got out of that habit, and just let them pile up. So, picture six months' worth of weekly segments, with four other members sharing thoughts. Yeah ... it took me a lot longer than I anticipated. It actually took four hours. But I'm done with that goal as well, now. And I'm resolving to go back to my old system of inputting the changes right away and sparing myself another four-hour session down the road.

So I'm feeling really super awesome with how I've kick-started this challenge. What I'm going to do now is focus on getting that self-edit done, and a little later in the week, I'll add the NaNo project into the mix.

I'm taking the rest of the day off from writing, but I hope to hear from each of you on how your Monday went, and we'll talk to you soon!

And We're Off!

2011-01-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here we are ... it's January 1st!! Shake off that eggnog-induced malaise and get busy!

Have you posted your writing goals for this month yet? If not, leave them in the comment trail for this blog. Mine are as follows:

1. Finish rewriting the ending of Till Death Do Us Part.

2. Take the remainder of TDDUP to my critique group.

3. Implement all my critique group's changes to the manuscript.

4. Work on smoothing out my NaNo novel - otherwise, I won't have anything to take to critique after about two weeks. :)

5. Self-edit the third book in the Secret Sisters Mysteries series.

That should keep me busy, and hopefully, keep me out of trouble. For a little while, at least. :)

All righty, my first step is to finish tweaking the ending of TDDUP, so here I go! I'll check back in later with my progress.

Kicking Off the January Challenge

2011-01-01T01:55:00.000-07:00

Welcome, welcome, welcome!

I'm excited to see so many of you participating, and I know we'll be joined by a few more as we go - that's how it works, and it's always fun to see what kind of group we get going. I'm also excited to have such an enthusiastic bunch - I can sense your eagerness to get going on our New Year's goals, and I love the synergy that creates.

You've all posted your goals in the comment trail - thanks for doing that! Here are mine:

1. Finish the ending of "Till Death Do Us Part." That will take me about an hour, I believe.

2. Send the rest of the manuscript through my critique group. That one will take me a little longer. We read ten pages a week, and I think I have about thirty pages to send through, so I can't cross this one off as done for a little while, but I can get it ready for them to read.

3. I have a stack of changes from previous critique group sessions that I need to go through and implement. My third goal is to get that pile obliterated. that will take me probably about three hours.

4. I need to finish my self-edit on Secret Sisters #3 (which doesn't have a title yet - maybe I'll hit you guys up to help me with that). My goal is to have it on my editor's desk on or before February 1st.

5. I need to start reworking my NaNo project so I'll have something to take to critique once goal #1 is complete. I would like to add 10,000 words to the project before the end of the month.

So, here I have some goals that will only take me a short time to accomplish, and some that will take me longer. They all badly need to be done, so whatever I do end up accomplishing will be awesome. But I'm going to work hard and hit it all this time - I've done too many challenges over the last year where I've been a total slacker, and I'm not going to be a total slacker this time!

I'll be back this evening with my report of how I did today. In the meantime, please post your progress for our first day and be sure to tell me if you had a good New Year's Eve last night!

Time for the January Writing Challenge!

2010-12-29T00:35:00.000-07:00

It's time for a new year! It's time for new goals! It's time for a new writing challenge, and I'm super stoked because for the first time in a year, I think I'm going to be able to focus and really get some good work done!

Do you want to join me?

Here's what you do!

Sit down and think about your current projects. What would you like to accomplish this January? Do you want to outline, rough draft, do a self-edit? Are you researching a new project? What most needs to be done? Write it out and quantify it. What is your January goal?

Post it here, in the comment trail for this blog. Tell me what you want to accomplish and how you plan to go about it. Then every day, or as often as you can, come check in and let us know how you're doing. Cheer each other on, offer words of encouragement, and be a support to the others who are participating.

This challenge begins January 1st, 12:01 am, and runs until January 31st, 12:00 midnight. I hope you'll join me in making this January the very best ever!

Tick Tock ...

2010-10-31T22:09:00.000-06:00

It's that funky time of year when there are only two hours left in my challenge, and only two hours left until NaNo begins. I've signed up to participate - I'm there under Tristi Pinkston, oddly enough, so come friend me if you're also working on a novel in November. But first, my question is, how did you do in October?

I didn't get done quite what I wanted. I did finish the book, but I wasn't able to spend time really interacting with you all, and I'm sorry about that. I pulled in some pretty involved edits this month, which is awesome, because I love clients, but my time was divided, and I'm sorry about that.

So did you reach your goals? Do you feel good about what you did? What might you do next time? And don't forget ... "next time" kicks off on January 1st! Thanks so much for participating this time - you guys are so good for me.

Tuesday is Too-rific!!

2010-10-26T10:56:00.000-06:00

We're closing down on the end of this challenge ... how are we doing? Can we kick it up a notch, put on an extra burst of steam, or are we fizzling out?

I've been exercising every day for the past six weeks, and I've discovered that if I can hang in there, even when I feel exhausted, and carry through to the end, I feel better about myself and feel healthier physically than if I give up two minutes short of my goal. I might be sweating pretty hard, and I might think I'm gonna die before I get there, but the self-satisfaction can't be beat. It's the same thing with a writing goal. Even if your writing isn't fully polished, even if you know you'll need to edit it to bits when you're done, just knowing you hit that goal brings a feeling of accomplishment that can't be beat.

So pour it on ... bring me a story of tremendous success at the end of the week!

Saturday Fever

2010-10-23T12:29:00.000-06:00

I tell you what, I'd lose my head if it weren't permanently attached. I clean forgot to tell you all that I finished my book. Wooohoooo!! I announced it on Facebook,and so apparently I thought I'd done all the announcing I needed to do. Not so! You, my dear challenge friends, need to be told as well.

So, I finished my book.

:)

I still need to send the last several pages through my critique group, and I need to polish up the ending just a tad. But for all intents and purposes, that puppy is done. And it's about time, too - I've been working on it for months on end.

How are you all doing with your October goals?

Where's Tristi?

2010-10-19T10:20:00.000-06:00

Hi there,

I'm sorry I've been so absent lately. I hope you're all continuing to plug away and crank out marvelous, wonderful words! I went out of town for my nephew's missionary homecoming, and then spent yesterday with my sisters. Before that, I was finishing up a client's edit. So I was a little distracted from my own work in progress. However, I plan to finish it before I go to bed tonight. That is the goal!!

How have you all been? Anything exciting happen while I was gone?

Monday Night

2010-10-11T22:03:00.000-06:00

I bet you all think I've gone walkabout. Nothing that adventuresome ... I've just had a wild weekend, capped off by the muffler on our van falling off on the way to church, the car behind us driving over it, it getting caught on that car's undercarriage, getting scraped along on the road and sending out a shower of sparks, to then be spit out the other side, where my husband dashed out to get it. Then hauling it off to the mechanic in the middle of the night, to be reunited with it this evening. Oh, and there was a trip to the canyon on Saturday. So I guess I have been having adventures.

I'm finishing up an edit for a client right now with a deadline of Wednesday, so my own writing is a little bit non-existent right now. But I have promised myself to finish the book on Thursday. Woot woot!! My totals on Thursday should be completely awesome.

In the meantime, I hope you all are doing well. I can tell from those that have posted that the energy is high ... that's awesome!! Keep it up!

Thursday

2010-10-07T12:45:00.000-06:00

My to-do list yesterday was a million feet long. You think I'm exaggerating? Well, okay, I am, but not by much. :) But it was rainy, and my motivation was gone, and when I asked myself what I really wanted to do, the answer was clear ... I wanted to finish this dang book. You know it's time to finish it when you start calling it "this dang book."

The first four books in this series practically wrote themselves, but when it came to this one, I felt all kinds of pressure. It's the last in a series, and so it needs to be good. The comedy needs to be there. The mystery needs to be ... mysterious. The romantic threads need to be tied up satisfactorily. And I couldn't hit on just the right story to tell. Finally, after several false starts, I hit on the mystery, and then it got even crazier as I was at first, making it too simplistic, and then, making it too complicated. But I finally feel like I hit on the right balance.

I started a front-to-back read-through on Tuesday, and I finished it up yesterday. I added in the little plot elements that were needed in order to provide the clues, and I smoothed out some rough spots. I am now sixteen pages away from where I left off writing, and this is all that remains to be done:

1. Tweak the climax to increase the tension and also to more clearly describe how it all came about.

2. Tie up any remaining loose ends in the denouement.

3. Finish up with a great wedding reception scene at the end.

I figure, another hour's work, and this puppy is done. (Well, except for sending the last several pages through my critique group.) It feels really good to just crank it out. I plan to work that hour in before this weekend.

As for what I'll work on the rest of the challenge ... I got 1700 words into a contemporary YA novel during NANO last year, and never did anything with it. Maybe I'll see if it wants to come out to play.

A writing quote for today: I still approach each book with the same basic plan in mind—to put some people under severe stress and see how they hold up. —Terry Brooks

So, how's it going, y'all?

Wednesday Update

2010-10-06T10:46:00.000-06:00

Good morning!

I've been a little bit absent ... sorry about that. My mom had outpatient surgery, and so my writing has been a little whacky, but I did get some writing done at the clinic. 474 words, is all, but I tweaked a lot of the existing manuscript, so it's all good, right?

I'm planning to get the rest of the existing manuscript tweaked by the end of the week - there are a lot of holes to fill in. From where I stand now, I think I can get this book finished with another two-three hours of solid work. Woohoo! And then to read it again start to finish.

I've been really excited to hear your reports - keep 'em coming!

In closing, here's a fun writing quote, even though I do believe we have a lot to offer on many levels: "Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don't try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It's the one and only thing you have to offer." - Barbara Kingsolver

End of the Week Check-in

2010-10-02T23:14:00.000-06:00

Hallo, all!

Tonight I squeaked in 724 words. Was it awesome? Well, it was kind of short and shrimpy, but considering how busy I've been today, it worked for me. The difficulty I'm currently experiencing is that my plot has taken so many twists and turns, it's getting a little bit out of control. I'm coming to the conclusion that I need to go back to where the mystery portion starts, read carefully, and add in those little pieces I've been missing. That will guide me in where to go next, I think. I hope. :)

I hope you all had a great first two days. I'm hanging up my writing gloves until Monday, but I'll see you then!

The End of Day One

2010-10-01T23:03:00.004-06:00

Welcome to everyone who has joined me in the last twenty-four hours! This is going to be a completely awesome writing challenge! I'm excited to hear about your goals and I'm looking forward to pulling out the pompoms and cheering you on.

Today was not a day of writing fiction for me. I've been very busy on the computer doing other things, however. First, I was working on this.

Then I spent some time working on this.

Then I was working on getting rehired here.

And I was working on this.

Are you tired yet? I know I am ...

So there was no fiction writing for me today. However, I have a strong suspicion that will all change very shortly.

Have an awesome weekend! Keep in mind that I don't post on Sundays because I don't write on Sundays, so if you have a total you'd like to post, just put it on Saturday's post and we'll all see it.

It's October!!

2010-09-30T21:06:00.001-06:00

And along with October comes ...

Our October Writing Challenge! (Thanks, Traci, for reminding me!)

Here are the rules:

1. Decide what you want to accomplish in October. Make it a goal that will require you to stretch and to put some effort into it, but don't make it so hard that you feel you'll never get it done. We want growth, not annihilation.

2. Leave a comment in this comment trail. Tell me you'd like to join us and tell me what your goal is. Are you rough-drafting this month? Researching? Doing a re-write? An edit? Whatever you most need to accomplish during this month, make a quantifiable goal and post it in the comment trail. Then, if you have a blog, post it there and link it back to here.

3. Come back here as often as you can and tell us how you're doing. During a challenge, I post here daily with my own totals. Sometimes I don't get my writing done until late at night, and so in cases like that, just go ahead and put your comment in the previous day's trail, because the post for that day might not get put up until midnight.

4. At the end of the challenge, check in and tell us how you did for the month overall.

When you swing by, you can leave writing quotes or other motivating messages for the participants, or you can just tell us how you've been. We want to hear from you, be it a short comment or long.

Here are my goals for this challenge:

1. Finish writing "...And Something Blue."

2. Read through and polish "... And Something Blue."

I think this will mean writing about ten thousand more words, and then a start-to-finish edit. I'll have to let you know as I go - this book keeps getting more complex on me all the time, and that's why I haven't finished it yet. :)

Now, just to keep things fun ... if you look over on the sidebar, you'll see the total from the first challenge I ever hosted. We hit almost half a million words written. I've never hosted a challenge yet with such an impressive word count. Let's see if we can't blow that one out of the water, okay?

We'll see you all tomorrow ... and in the meantime, keep those typing fingers all limbered up! We're going to get a lot of good work done this month - I can just feel it!

The End

2010-08-01T01:15:00.002-06:00

And that brings us to the end of our July challenge. It was fun to see how much you each accomplished, and I thank you for coming to play with me!

I didn't add to my word count today, but in fact, I shrunk it. I've been needing to go back to the start and do some condensing, so I did that in the first six chapters, reducing it by 941 words. I took out more than that, but I had to add in some stuff, so that is what I did. The first part is now a lot tighter and we get to the point faster. Hooray for getting to the point. :)

Please be sure to post your final progress report if you haven't already, and we'll see you in October for our next challenge!

One Day to Go ...

2010-07-31T02:27:00.002-06:00

I've been a completely terrible host this challenge, and I apologize. Thankfully, you guys are all awesome and have carried on without me, often encouraging me instead of the other way around.

I wrote 1,367 words tonight, bringing my total to 33,343. I wish I knew how many of these words I will end up keeping. I have the sneaking suspicion that next month, when I go back to the beginning and pull out all the stuff that shouldn't be there, I'll be under 30,000 again. Honestly, I've never worked so hard to get above 30,000 words, and this is the tenth book I've written. I'm just trusting that it will all lend to a better story in the end. Right?

I'm going to see if I can't crank out a few more words tomorrow, being the last day and all, but I'm not guaranteeing anything. In the meantime, I wish all of you the very best of luck in finishing up your goals, and I can't wait to hear your progress reports!

Friday Night

2010-07-23T23:03:00.001-06:00

Well, that was respectable! I just wrote 1,708 words. Now I just need to write the bridge between where I left off this time, and where those 1,708 words belong. :)

Hope you all have a great weekend, filled with lots of good writing time!

Monday Night

2010-07-20T01:29:00.001-06:00

And that is how you break out of a rut! I just wrote 2,359 words and finally crested 30,000. Sadly, some of the previous stuff in the book is gonna go, so in reality, I'm not at 30,000, but I'm not going to take out that previous stuff until I've written a little more. I just can't drop below the 30,000 mark again ... that number has been far too elusive for far too long!!

I hope you all are doing well. We are entering the home stretch - let's set some new goals and see how much we can get done by the end of the month!

Saturday Night

2010-07-18T00:23:00.001-06:00

517 words. Big whoooooptidoooooooo.

But it can only get better from here, right?

Rumors of My Death ...

2010-07-16T22:41:00.001-06:00

... have only sort of been exaggerated. I'm sorry for not posting for a while. The first half of the week, there was nothing short of pandemonium. That's right - it was full-fledged, grown-up pandemonium. Then the second half of the week, I've been fighting the flu. I think I can blame the pandemonium for that. Only, not pandas. The pandas are innocent.

Carry on. I shall rejoin you soon.

July 7th

2010-07-08T00:20:00.002-06:00

The writing thing ... it was not so much happening for me today. But then, I'm weaning myself off Coke, so my energy is going to flag for a while.

I've been so impressed by the progress reports you all have been leaving. Isn't it great to push a little further, achieve a little more than we thought?

Tomorrow I have to get a wee sprecken more done - I have critique group and I want to shock them by bringing something that's actually good. We'll see how I do at that ...

See ya tomorrow!

July 6th

2010-07-07T01:04:00.002-06:00

Oh, the unfairness of it all!

I wrote tonight, I really did! I started out at 28,827 and wrote and wrote. Then I discovered that for some reason, I had written the same scene three times. I took the one I wanted, deleted the other two, and found myself with a new word count of 27,181. Um ... I didn't think the point of this was to go backward ...

But I've reached the end of the stuff I've already written and I'm back into charting new territory, so the word count should only go up from here, right?

We've had a few more people join us since yesterday. Welcome aboard, everyone! I'm excited to see how much we can accomplish this month.

Summer can be a hard time to write, with school out and vacations and the like. But I find that I need to stay in the groove so I don't lose it entirely. Just do the best you can, sneaking it in here and there if you need to. We will succeed, fantastically.

July 5th

2010-07-06T01:36:00.003-06:00

Yes, you're in the right place. I just like changing blog templates. I'm weird, I know. Enjoy this one while you can - it won't be with us for long.

So. Why did I not jot down my word count before I started writing tonight? Sheesh! So, like, I wrote. And, like, I have no idea how much. It was spread out over a few different sections, so it's not like I can just highlight everything from here up. Lesson learned - pay attention if you're trying to track a goal!

Right now I'm at 28,826. The 30,000 mark is laughing at me. See, I have to go back and do some condensing, and I know full well that by the time I get that done, I'm going to be back down around 25,000. I feel like I'm dog-paddling. Shall I ever hit 30,000? Shall I ever get this book drafted? Will I ever learn to write as fast as Heather Justesen or Traci Hunter Abramson? Only time will tell ...

We've been joined by a few more participants. Welcome! And remember, if you'd like to Tweet, the hashtag is #tristijuly10

July 2nd - The Very Second Day

2010-07-03T01:34:00.002-06:00

Writing, in the cosmic sense, was not happening for me today. First I hosted a birthday party for my daughter, and then I did this:

http://www.tristipinkstonbooktours.blogspot.com/

I guess you can count that as writing ... there was a lot of typing involved.

We are joined by several new participants. Welcome, everyone! So glad you're here.

Now, I hope the writing fervor is not cooled by the holiday. Keep up the momentum, everyone! And if you'd like to Tweet about your progress, the hashtag is #tristijuly10

July 1st - The Very First Day

2010-07-01T17:12:00.003-06:00

I'm excited at how many of you have joined the challenge. We're going to have an awesome group this time around. Please post your participation on your blog - your friends and family can cheer you on too - and at Don's suggestion, we can Tweet about our progress, too. The hashtag is #tristijuly10

My goals for this month are as follows:

1. Finish the rough draft of this book.

2. Rewrite and tighten the beginning so we get to the mystery faster.

Please come back here and report your progress. I post here daily as well, but keep in mind that I often don't write until late at night, so if you don't hear from me by bedtime, don't worry. :)

Talk to you later tonight, and may the muse be with you!

Checking In:

Tonight I wrote 379 words, which isn't screamingly good, but there was a lot of edit tweaking going on. I'm in a section where I need to go through it before I know what needs to come next, so I'm counting tonight as a success.

Talk to you all tomorrow!

Sign Up Now!!

2010-06-30T14:48:00.001-06:00

I bet you thought I forgot ... well, to be honest, I almost did. :) But tomorrow is July 1st, and therefore, time for the July writing challenge! Post your goals, blog about it, and let's make this the most productive month ever!

That'll Do It, Folks!

2010-05-01T00:16:00.002-06:00

Wow - I've never had a challenge where I spent so much time running around chasing my tail. I didn't know what I wanted the book to be, and I was getting lost in all the "it's supposed to be this way" without letting the characters have their say, and to think of all that time I wasted. If I'd just asked them what they wanted to start with, I might have accomplished 10,000 more words than I did.

But, I am glad to say that I finished out tonight with another 1800 words, which brings this manuscript up to 20,251. Yeah, I know - that's not as high as it should be, but I did a lot of deleting because things just weren't going well. I'm much happier with the 20,251 that remain.

Queen 'Bina posted her exciting news that she smashed her goal - how did the rest of you do? I'm excited to hear all about your successes, and then we'll close this puppy down until July 1st.

Wednesday is Wild!

2010-04-29T00:50:00.001-06:00

Hey, I just managed to squeak in 1,050 words!! How cool is that?

I still haven't gotten to the mystery yet, though. I'm still laying the groundwork. Something tells me this is going to be the longest book in the series.

How are you all doing? Are you going to pour it on these last few days of April?

It's Monday, Right?

2010-04-26T22:46:00.001-06:00

Wow. I'm still a little hung over from the awesome, amazing LDStorymakers Writers Conference this last weekend, and therefore, very little of any use has gotten done by me. However, I do plan to accomplish some marvelous things before the clock strikes midnight on April 30th, so I'm not out for the count yet.

I'm glad to see that you all are still marching bravely forward. Let's each put on an extra burst of speed and see what we can crank out in the time remaining!

Friday

2010-04-16T10:15:00.002-06:00

The writing of the yesterday was not so much to be found by me. But I have great hopes for later ... and with tomorrow being Saturday, hope loometh there as well ...

How are all of you doing?

Later: I've put the WIP on hold for a little bit so I can do a final read-through of the second Secret Sisters book before it goes to typeset. I've read through 66 pages today and added one scene and a sentence here and there, for probably about 800words. A pretty good day, all in all.

See ya tomorrow!

Wednesday ... The Light Has Come On!

2010-04-14T12:32:00.004-06:00

I feel like a total dope right now. Have you ever had one of those moments when you realize something, and it makes sense, and it solves all your problems, and you realize that you had that realization before, and if you'd just remembered it, you wouldn't have gone through all the grief you just went through?

Yeah, that's me right now.

I've really been struggling with this fifth book in my Secret Sisters series. There's added pressure because it's the last in the series, and so it has to be really good, and keep people's interest, and have a satisfactory conclusion. Pressure! Pressure! Because of this, I've rewritten the beginning a ton of times, and never even hit midway. I've just been running around in my maze, trying to find my way out, but I can't smell the cheese.

Last night, around midnight, it hit me like a brick of cheddar.

The magic in my series is the relationship the three little old ladies have with each other. In this book, Ida Mae is getting married, and so I was giving her some adventures separate from her friends, because when you're meeting your fiance's family, you don't necessarily take all your friends with you. Last night, it dawned on me that's exactly what I need to do. In order for my scenes to flow, each little lady needs to be there.

I feel like a dork because I realized this before. I was writing another book, the third in the series, and I had intended to send Ida Mae on a trip by herself. It just wasn't working, so she invited Arlette and Tansy along, and pow! The book took off like a rocket.

I have some rewriting to do (again) and restructuring (again) but now I feel sure that it will work this time. I'm just going to stop trying to separate my little ladies and keep them as a unit. I'll let you know how it goes.

Later: Rockin' the house!!

I wrote 1,940 words this afternoon. I'm a very, very, very happy girl. :)

Tuesday

2010-04-13T03:30:00.003-06:00

I thought you guys might get a kick out of something I wrote the other day:

The three ladies climbed into Arlette’s van and pulled out into traffic, heading up to Omni. They had just reached the windy part of the canyon when Arlette pulled over and said, “I can go no further. This is a dumb book. Why is Tristi even trying to write it when she doesn’t know what’s going to happen?”
“I agree,” Ida Mae said. “Let’s sit right here and not move until she gets a grip.”

Yes, even our characters know when things are going awry ...

But I'm back on track now. See you tonight!

Monday!!

2010-04-12T18:37:00.002-06:00

Guess what? I'm actually going to write tonight. And I'm actually going to post a progress report. And I'm actually going to increase my word count.

This will all take place late tonight, so come back in the morning and see how I did. 'Cause it's going to be awesome. I have it all planned out.

Later: Woohoo! I wrote 1,038 words, and I think I'm going to keep at least most of them. That feels really good!

So, Rumor Has It It's Thursday ...

2010-04-08T17:41:00.000-06:00

How are all of y'all?

Things have been a little slow for me, writing-wise. I did go through a few chapters and sort of polish them up and prepare them more for what I'm thinking now ... which may or may not be what I'm thinking tomorrow. :) We'll have to see how tomorrow goes.

In the meantime, I hope you all are feeling some spring writing fever. I have critique group tonight and I always come home fueled, so I'm excited to get on the next chapter.

See ya ...

Tuesday Night ...

2010-04-06T21:57:00.001-06:00

Well, in news tonight, Tristi is stuck. Has no idea whatsoever how to proceed from here. Her chosen method of attempted murder isn't logical. Sigh ... must think of a new way to kill someone.

How are the rest of you doing?

April 5th

2010-04-05T08:00:00.000-06:00

Check out this blog: http://valorpublishing.blogspot.com/2010/03/writing-tip-tuesday-speech-attributions.html

And I'll see you tonight with my report!

April 3rd

2010-04-03T08:00:00.000-06:00

A word is not the same with one writer as with another. One tears it from his guts. The other pulls it out of his overcoat pocket. ~Charles Peguy

See you tonight with my report!

April 2nd

2010-04-02T11:40:00.001-06:00

The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say. ~Anaïs Nin

I'm so excited that you've all joined this challenge. There's a certain sense of energy that is created by several people coming together to reach a common goal.

I'm hoping that this energy you're creating is enough to help spur me onward ... I hit a major plot problem today. Yeah, I know - it's pretty sad to hit a huge plot problem on only the second day of the challenge. But I can't try to kill someone in the way I was planning to try to kill them, and so now I have to pull back and reevaluate how to try to kill them.

I'm going on a long car ride tomorrow (I have a book signing in Roosevelt) so hopefully I can figure it all out on the drive. Wish me luck.

April 1st

2010-04-01T11:08:00.002-06:00

“Joy is the evidence that our gifts have intersected with God’s design.” ~~Wally Goddard

Check back later for today's Tristi update!

Posted the next morning:

Blogger would not let me in last night! It was so frustrating!

Anyway, I added 758 words to the manuscript. I don't think they're very good words ... but we'll determine that later.

April's Amazing!!

2010-03-31T13:00:00.003-06:00

Hey, everybody!

Are you ready for this year's April challenge?

I don't know what it is about April in particular, but I always do a little better during this challenge than the other quarterly challenges. Maybe it's spring. Maybe it's the Storymakers conference, which always fuels my engine. Whatever it is, I hope it works again this year.

My goal:

30,000 words into the rough draft of "...And Something Blue," the fifth novel in the Secret Sisters Mysteries series.

What is your goal? Do you have editing to finish, a book to research, a rough draft to begin, an outline to write? Whatever you are trying to accomplish this month, tell us about it and let us cheer you on.

Challenge Rules:

1. Set a concrete goal. None of this, "I want to write a book" stuff ... make it quantifiable. Word count or page count, or time spent. Write it down. Post it in this comment trail, and post it to your own blog.

2. Check in here once in a while and let us know how you're doing. You can check in every day, every third day, once a week - but we do want to hear from you. We can't cheer you on if we don't know how you are ... and if we did, you wouldn't see it, because you wouldn't be checking in. So it goes both ways, benefits-wise.

3. The challenge starts tonight at midnight and goes until midnight, April 30th. Write as much as you possibly can between now and then. Of course, if you need to sleep, that's allowed too. And children's soccer games. And day jobs. But beyond that, write as much as you can. Push yourself just enough that you feel challenged, but don't push yourself so hard that you burn out.

4. Spread the word to all your writer friends and let's make this a true party!!

I will be posting once daily, after I get my writing done. I might post in the morning, I might post late, late, late at night ... but if you come to report and that day's blog isn't up yet, just leave a note in the previous day's comment trail.

Let's kick this thing off in a major way!

Bringing Down the Curtain

2010-02-01T01:35:00.000-07:00

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the end of our January writing challenge.

I decided to let my current WIP rest, as I'll need to do some additional research before I can really write it, and instead I resumed working on my other new book. I wrote just over 1,300 words on it tonight and I'm pretty pleased with the progress I'm making, even if I did decide I liked my murder victim too much to kill her off and now I have to kill someone else instead. Funny how that works sometimes ...

I'm really proud of all of you for your accomplishments, and hope to see you back here in April!

The Final Push ...

2010-01-30T15:13:00.003-07:00

Okay, everyone!

Can you make a final push and crank out just a leeeeetle bit more? One or two more pages? A chapter more?

We're so close to the end, and I know you're feeling the burn. But you can do it, I know you can!

I'm sorry to be such a flaky participant this time around. Last year, I turned out three novels during my challenges, but my time constraints are a lot different this time around. By April's challenge, though, I'll be back in the trenches with you.

See how much you can do before time runs out. Sometimes that last burst of effort ends up being more important than everything we've done the whole rest of the race.

The Plot Thickens

2010-01-28T13:29:00.001-07:00

I couldn't decide which of two plot ideas to use for this final installment of Secret Sisters, so I finally posted it on Facebook and let my friends decide. It was a pretty clear landslide as far as which to use. Now I need to do a leeetle research ...

I'm glad you all are doing so well! Keep putting on that steam!

Just a Few Days Left!

2010-01-27T12:09:00.002-07:00

I apologize for being so completely AWOL during this writing challenge. I got slammed by the Sinus Infection of Doom, and then I got slammed by the Total Lack of a Plot. But the sinus infection seems to be doing some better, although all my kids are coughing and sniffing now. And the plot problem is working itself out in my mind. I'm so relieved that this book isn't slated to come out for two and a half years - I was starting to wonder if it was going to take me that long to figure out what to do with it.

We're pulling toward the end of this challenge - how are you all doing? I'll probably not be able to add much to my total, but I'm going to really hit it hard in the April challenge. There's just a lot going on right now, but by April, those things should largely be resolved.

Check in, let me know how you are, and let's close this thing down with a bang!

I'm Alive!

2010-01-22T12:56:00.002-07:00

I'm almost better, although the sickness has settled into a really nice cough. While that's not amusing, it is progress.

How are all of you doing? I'm much cheered on by your progress reports - thanks for leaving them!

I'm still unsure what I'm doing with my book. Maybe my brain is telling me that it needs a break. I'm sure I've fried it a few times over the last year. But as soon as I know what I'm doing with my plot, I shall let you know!

In the meantime, keep it up - you guys are doing great.

Checkin' In

2010-01-21T10:15:00.002-07:00

So, where'd everybody go ... including me?

Well, I got slammed by the sinus infection I've had since August and I've been flat down. So that's where I am. :)

I hope the rest of you are doing well. We're a bit more than midway through the month and February is staring us in the face. Right now might be a good time to double check our goals and make sure we're where we want to be. Realigning our goals isn't a bad thing - it's sometimes very necessary.

Hope to hear from you all soon ... and I also hope to get back to writing soon, myself.

Ouch ... Ouch ... Ouch ...

2010-01-16T01:10:00.002-07:00

I know I said I was going to be away for the weekend at the Valor Author Training and I wouldn't be writing or blogging, but I couldn't sleep. I was going to go to bed at 11:00, and I did, but that's really early for me. Add that to the fact that the air outside is making it impossible to breathe, and the air inside is making it impossible to breathe (a pizza got burned in the oven in my absence) and so I'm getting a sore throat, and then add that to the fact that my little old ladies are talking to me, and that equals not being able to sleep.

So, I decided to remedy the problem.

1. I have a nice tall glass of warm lemongrass tea sitting next to me. Warm = relaxing. Lemongrass = good for the throat and sinuses.

2. I'm listening to the little old ladies. Guess what - I'm not telling the story that really ought to be told.

Drat.

See, there's this problem. The book I'm now working on is the fifth of the series, and it completes the plot arc. It could be the end of the series, and so it needs to be really good. But if sales are good, we could continue the series for another volume or two. We're playing that by ear right now. But as things are in my mind, no matter which way it goes, this book needs to really be spectacular. So I started writing, and I was trotting along, and I realized tonight that it's not coming together. I'm supposed to be writing another story altogether.

So I turned the computer back on and I did some hatchet work.

I kept all the preliminary stuff, which added up to 8,476 words, and then I pulled out all the stuff that went into the other plot, which added up to 7,859 words. Ouch!! All that will go into a file and I may or may not use it later, but for all intents and purposes for right now, it's a goner. That's a huge chunk. That's almost half the existing manuscript. That's like, everything I've written in this challenge so far.

Ouch.

But, I have to listen to my little old ladies. They're the ones who got me into this mess, and I have to trust them to get me out of it.

So, I'm sighing a deep sigh and we'll just see where we go from here.

Talk to you soon, and hope your weekend is great ...

Weekend Wildness

2010-01-14T21:06:00.000-07:00

Hey folks,

I'm going to be hit and miss over the next couple of days - Valor is holding an author training and I'm going to be involved in that. So if you don't hear from me, that's why. In the meantime, be sure to cheer each other on in my absence.

Tuesday's Check-In

2010-01-13T00:41:00.000-07:00

See, this is where accountability is king. I wasn't going to write tonight at all, but then I pictured your little faces, all sad when you saw there wasn't a new post, and I got right to work. Now, don't ruin my picture and tell me your faces wouldn't be sad ... that's the only thing that got me writing tonight, and I'm glad I did it. My characters finally let me work on the mystery instead of sitting around, gabbing with them and gossiping.

My total for tonight is 1,609, and my total is 16,335. Not bad, for someone who wasn't sure she was going to write tonight at all.

Y'all are doing awesome - and I have to say, Don, way to edit!!

Monday

2010-01-12T00:42:00.001-07:00

And how was your weekend? Relaxing? Stressful? Replete with marvelous story ideas, I hope?

I worked a lot this weekend and so I didn't get a whole lot of writing done, but I did just crank out 856 words. It might have been more but my fingers are cold, and I can't type with cold fingers. :)

I hope to hear from you all tomorrow, and I plan to have a much more enticing word count. I also plan to have much warmer hands. :)

Friday Check-in

2010-01-08T20:01:00.001-07:00

Hey all!

How was your week? Did you accomplish your goals? Those of you who have checked in - congratulations! You're doing so well!

I wrote 1,022 words today, bringing me up to 13,887. I didn't get anything done over the last few days, but I think I can crank out another 2,500 over the weekend, so that's my objective.

I think it's important that when you're in rough draft mode, to just let yourself write. In the segment I wrote today, I had some repetitive words, and some expressions that weren't quite what I wanted, but I can fix all that when I go back to do the editing. When you're in rough draft mode, it's important just to get the story on paper. Then you can tweak it all you like. If you get too bogged down with tweaking at this stage, you can tweak yourself right out of a manuscript.

I hope to hear from all of you soon. See if you can't eeek out a little time over the weekend to get some writing done - it's tricky, with family responsibilities and all, but I bet you can do it.

See you tomorrow!

Guest Blog: Traci Hunter Abramson

2010-01-07T21:24:00.001-07:00

Hey, Writing Challenge Participants!

Over the course of the last couple of years, Traci Hunter Abramson has turned in some very impressive totals in my writing challenges. I asked her if she would be willing to share her secrets of success, and she took some time out of her schedule to do just that. So, without further ado, here's Traci.

When Tristi asked me to blog about how I’m able to stay productive as an author, I thought, “No problem.” Then I realized that I have no idea how that miracle of creativity keeps visiting my house and playing in my computer. Recognizing that I probably have the same struggles most of you do, here are a few suggestions that seem to get me into the writing mode:

Keep a schedule. Face it. If we wait until we have time to write, we’ll never write anything. Most of us have to squeeze minutes or hours out of our days to find that precious time to sit in front of our computers and spin our magic. Writing is how we choose to spend our free time. To write productively, this means turning off the television , avoiding long phone calls or outings with friends, and even shutting off the Internet (until we’re ready to check in with Tristi, of course.)

My typical schedule begins at 6AM. I write for an hour before getting kids up and ready for school. When the kids are all out of the house for the day, I then spend anywhere from two to four more hours writing.

Set realistic goals. Everyone writes at a different pace. Figure out what works for you, and set a goal that is achievable. Typically my goal is to write 50 pages a week. Ideally, this means I write 10 pages a day, Monday through Friday, although I’ve been known to sneak some time on my computer on Saturdays. Within this larger goal, I follow my earlier advice of keeping a schedule each day. If a story is playing well in my mind, generally I have to find about twenty to twenty-five hours a week to create a rough draft of a novel within a six week time period.

Build some down time into your routine. Our minds need time to prepare to write. Staring at a computer isn’t always productive if the ideas aren’t flowing, but I find that building in some time to spend with family or doing something away from the computer can often make writing time a lot more productive. You don’t have to use your scheduled down time, but it’s good to know that it’s there if you need it.

Editing. I know that when we’re participating in a BIAM or some other writing challenge, we try to turn off our internal editor, but I find that I need to read through my manuscript every fifty to a hundred pages to remind myself where I started and help me decide where I’m going. Often I indulge in this ritual after my week’s goals are met and I want to indulge myself for an hour or so.

Minimize commitments. Work, family, service. We all have obligations, even if it’s simply remembering to get up a couple of times a day to fix ourselves something to eat. When I’m in writing mode, I try to keep my obligations to a minimum. When possible, I also try to schedule them around my writing time.

Exercise. I am not as good about this as I should be, but I find that I’m most productive when I give myself twenty or thirty minutes a day (or even a few times a week) to walk on the treadmill or do something active. Walking especially gives me some of that down time I need to let my ideas flow so that when I am sitting in front of my computer, I am ready to put something on the page.

Enlist the help of friends and family. It may sound like a simple thing, but having those close to you supporting your efforts can be the most important ingredient to success. Most of my friends know that when I’m writing, I’m not likely to answer the phone and I won’t be quick to return text messages or e-mails. My family steps up and helps with meals and chores to give me the extra time I need when I’m working on a book, especially when I’m rolling to the end of one.

I doubt there is any one recipe to successfully producing a novel, but enjoying the process is probably a good place to start. Good luck everyone!

Traci, thanks so much for sharing with us!

And that's all for tonight. I'll be back tomorrow with my regular updates. In the meantime, keep writing and keep reaching your goals!

Tuesday Check-in

2010-01-05T22:39:00.002-07:00

I was getting all geared up to write, and then I decided, you know what? I'm exhausted. :)

I spent two hours and forty-five minutes working with my daughter on cleaning her room. It was quite the amazing feat of death-defying madness. We've got about another hour to go tomorrow ... we need to categorize her craft drawers and get all the yarn stuff in the same place, etc. but we're really, really close to being done.

That said, it was the most brain-melting experience I've had for a long time. So I'm going to curl up with my blankie and watch a movie. There will be writing tomorrow ... I promise you that!

Have a good night, and congratulations to those of you who have reported so far - your totals are really impressive. But don't think you have to have an impressive total to report - I want to hear from you if all you wrote was your Twitter status!

Monday Night Fever

2010-01-05T00:18:00.000-07:00

Hey, Writing Challenge Friends!

How are things going for you? Have you hit your stride? Are you feelin' your groove? Are you writing until the cows come home?

I have my characters to thank for the fact that I got any writing done today at all.

This weekend has been one of many Internet troubles. I spent half the night last night wrestling with the dang thing, and then all day today. I've been on the phone with tech support from two different sources, and finally my computer-savvy neighbor came over and rewired some of the cables and presto, we're back in business. I tell you what, I was so discombobulated, it wasn't pretty. So I'm behind on all my work right now, but at least now I have the tools I need to catch up.

Anyway, here's the deal.

I didn't think I was going to be able to write tonight, but my characters took over. I just let them have their head, and I can now add 1,829 words to my total, bringing me up to 12,833 words and 51 pages. You get three chatty characters together and just watch that word count climb!

I'm off now to get some "real" work done. I hope you're all doing well and that you're back in the groove after the holidays. It is a little hard to get back to everyday living, isn't it? I always feel like I need a vacation after my vacation.

See ya tomorrow.

Day One

2010-01-01T17:01:00.003-07:00

Wow - open yourself to your muse, and watch what happens!

I added another 1,435 words to my book this afternoon, bringing me up to 11,003 words. The mystery has been introduced, the plot arc has been established, and now I just need to follow it to the end. Yeehaw!

At the same time, something else happened ... the characters from my other new novel started talking to me. Last night, before midnight, I cranked out 1,235 words on that one. I may have to add it to this challenge as well ... shame to ignore it if it's speaking to me.

I don't know if I'll get a lot done the rest of today. We've decided to take down Christmas tonight, and we're also going to do some serious furniture rearranging and house demolishing. Thank goodness tomorrow is Saturday and we can get all put back together again before Sunday.

I hope you all got the New Year off to a good start, and I look forward to hearing your progress reports as they roll in!

And We're Off!

2010-01-01T00:01:00.006-07:00

Some people ring in the New Year with fireworks and laughter, and some grab each other and smooch wildly. Me? I'm blogging. :)

Welcome to the first few minutes of our January Writing Challenge! I hope you've got a comfy desk chair and ideas buzzin' in your brain, 'cause we're going to have a lot of fun this month. I've arranged for a guest blogger - Traci Hunter Abramson is going to tell us how she pulls out her incredible totals - and I'm going to give you writing prompts along the way. Buckle up, 'cause you're in for a ride! Go to the sidebar and click on the Playlist, and scroll down to the Rocky theme. Nothing like a little appropriate music to set the stage for victory!

You've all shared your goals with me ... I have to say, Marsha's pledge to learn how to play poker was probably the most unusual writing challenge goal I've seen yet ... and now, to start us off, I'd like to share my goal with you.

Finish the rough draft for "Heaven Help Us," the fifth and final novel in my Secret Sisters Mysteries series. I'm already at 11,478 words, and my goal is 55,000, so that gives me 43,522 words to go. If I average that out to a daily total, minus Sundays, we get 1,673 words a day. Hmmm. That may be a wee bit tricky. I have a couple of books to edit for Valor, so I might be pushing things just a hair. But when I get into a groove, it flows pretty well, so let's see how we do. When we hit the 15th, if I need to reevaluate my goals, I shall.

So, why am I sitting here chatting? It's already 12:01! Time's a'wastin'! See you all tonight with my progress report, and hopefully yours.

And Happy New Year!

First Check-in:

Okay, it's 2:00 am and I'm ready to report. I took a nap this evening, so staying up this late wasn't actually a sacrifice - just wanted to make that clear before you start thinking I'm all wonderful. :)

I headed into my manuscript and realized that while I thought I had 11,478 words all ready to go, I didn't, actually. See, I changed this book's direction and what was already written belonged to the other plot. So I did some trimming out. A lot of trimming out, actually. But then I did a lot of writing, and added 2,467 new words, bringing me up to a new total of 9,568 words. That's certainly not the eleven thousand I thought I had, but these words are better, so it should all come out in the wash. This does put a new spin on things as far as my goals go, but I did write eight hundred words above goal already, so if I do that a few more times ... maybe. We'll just see. :)

In the meantime, I'm happy with the direction this book is going now, and it's flowing pretty smoothly. See you at tonight's check-in!

Are You Ready, Freddie?

2009-12-21T10:51:00.005-07:00

It's time for another Tristi's Writing Challenge! And we've got a new template ... I decided I didn't like the other one I picked. But now we're ready to cruise into the new year.

For those of us who found Nano a little intimidating this year, I bring you the January Writing Challenge. Set your own goal, your own pace, your own desired end result - it's your call, just do it regularly.

The rules: Leave a comment here and tell me what your goals are. Writing 30,000 words in January? Finishing the rough draft for your work in progress? Getting the research done on your historical novel? Whatever you most need to accomplish this January, tell me about it. Then, starting January 1st (who are we kidding - January 2nd) dive in headfirst. Check in daily or somewhat daily with progress reports, and at the end of the month, tell me what you accomplished. Accountability is an amazing thing ... you get so much done.

So are you with me? Sign up in the comment trail.

This challenge runs from 12:01 am January 1st and ends 11:59 pm January 31st.

Addendum, added December 30: I'm so excited to have all of you on board. Thanks for signing up - can't wait to hit the ground running on the first. Invite your friends, and let's make this a fabulous start to 2010!

One Day Left in the Writing Challenge ...

2009-10-30T21:40:00.002-06:00

... and I haven't added one word to my manuscript since the last time I posted. Now, that's scarier than Halloween!

I've dealt with some health issues this month as well as just simply being screamingly busy. It was my hope to finish my draft this month, and that didn't happen. I'm a little disappointed, but I'm very cheered at hearing of your successes. Some of you have reported some great totals, and I'm so proud of you! It takes the sting out of my own less-than-perfect results.

I look forward to hearing from you tomorrow night as we finish up this challenge. Happy last-minute writing, and Happy Halloween!

Hee Hee Hee ...

2009-10-23T10:59:00.002-06:00

I stayed up late last night so I could have something to blog about, and then I was so tired, I forgot to blog. Silly Tristi!

Well, last night, I wrote 1,068 words and brought my total to 43,309. My goal had been to hit the 50,000 mark this month, and I'm not sure that's going to happen, but I was very delighted to see a 1,068 come out of me. I usually write around 1,400 words a day, but as of late, that has not been happening. So, yay for me, even if I did forget to post it. :)

We've nearing the end of this challenge - I'm challenging myself to pour it on. What about you? What do you want to get done before the clock strikes midnight on Halloween?

Wednesday Night

2009-10-15T01:14:00.000-06:00

When your writing session starts by hacking off half of a chapter, that can't mean anything good, right?

Tonight I opened up my file and realized that the last 541 words just didn't work. So I whacked them off. And watched my word count drop. (sniff) So then I got to work and wrote 1,066 words that worked a little better. I'm now up to 41,903, which really isn't what I'd hoped for, but I'll take it.

I think we should have Traci guest blog about how she manages to crank out so many words in just one day. Whaddya say, Traci? You game?

Monday Check-In

2009-10-12T18:38:00.003-06:00

It's pretty sad when this blog is named "Tristi's Challenges" and Tristi can't manage to keep up. :) But hey, I'm cheering you all on!

I did manage to get a little bit done in the wee small hours this morning, and I plan to get some more done tonight, but thought I'd best take a minute to post so you don't put out an APB on me.

Since we last spoke, I have added 268 words at the end, and by fleshing out throughout the manuscript, I've added another 863 words. So I'm now at 41,378 words, and I've proofed through 56 pages. That's really a lot less than I'd hoped, but life just is that way sometimes. I shall forge ahead!

In the meantime, you all are doing great and you keep me motivated to march onward. Thanks for your support of me as well as of each other!

Wednesday

2009-10-07T23:54:00.000-06:00

Hey all,

I don't have anything to report personally today - it was my husband's birthday and I spent the evening with him, so my WIP has to wait. That's okay, though - we haven't been on enough dates lately so this was well worth it. I plan to have something awesome to report tomorrow, though!!