I Can Haz Productivity: May 2013 Month in Review

Travel was the name of the game in May. See my post recappig my travels here.

Still, I was determined to bang out more of my SciFi YA so I committed to a lofty goal. In the last few months my goal was to write 300 words a day. This month, in order to finish my WIP I needed to write 1,000 words a day.

Here’s an action shot of this writer in the wild.

Again, I failed to hit 1,000 words a day. I’m not sure what I was thinking. 1k a day is a lofty goal. I bit off more than I could chew, for sure.

But it wasn’t a wasted month by any means. I was able to write. I fit words in while we were in the car, while waiting for my flights, and late nights after everyone else went to bed.

The resulting productivity is as follows:
14 blog posts, including:
2 reviews
2 author interviews
1 cover reveal
and my very first guest post on a writer blog (eek!)
4 new chapters in my WIP
2 novels started (one YA and one Adult. Para Romance – something different)

For a total of 11,625 words. What what? That’s my highest word count in one month since NANO. Check out how I did in April and March.

Woo hoo!

I feel like I’m getting better at fitting writing into my dialing life. I’m still learning what a good ‘stretch’ goal will be for words per day/month. A thousand seems too lofty but three hundred too small.

How do you determine you daily word goals?

Adventures, I've had you

What do carbs, inflatable fish, and rollercoasters have in common? You're thinking I'm crazy. Wait for it, I'm not crazy. Or too crazy I should say.

They were all part of my month of May.

This month has been a challenging writing month for me. First, because I’ve exhausted my outline and am at a loss for how to move my story forward. Second, because my month was full of mini breaks and family visits: more happy than sad, though, so that’s good.

I’m originally form the STL (yes, I still call it that) and both my family and my husband’s family still live there. This month I made the trip to STL twice (once for a funeral and again for an extended weekend to celebrate my sister’s graduation from nursing school.

But wait, there’s more! I spent the holiday weekend in Ohio for my sister’s bridal shower. I should have tracked my miles like I track my word count.

We had some adventures this month:

A trip to Arch Park – if you haven’t been, you absolutely should go (I’m not biased or anything…). It’s really cool. This pic doesn't really do it justice.


A Cardinals game in the beautiful, new, Busch stadium. Go Cards!


Here’s an action shot of my beautiful sister graduating from nursing school #proudsister


And a pic of our friendly, inflatable house bass partaking in the grad party. #likeaboss #likeabass. LOL


A trip to the King’s Island. You know it’s an Amusement Park if you can eat giant turkey legs like a barbarian.


No trip to Ohio is complete without some Skyline Chili. I’m a pescaterian, the only meat I eat is fish, but I made a special exception for Skyline. It’s the food of the gods.


If you know King’s Island you know The Beast. A giant wooden (read, rickety and terrifying) rollercoaster. I got this beautiful bruise from The Beast. #ouch Follow my #bruisewatch2013 tweets here.


*sight* I’m a little tired just recounting it all. It’s been busy. All this travel AND my Day Job daily grind. I dealt with the stress by grazing on carbs.



I was lucky to slip any words in at all.

How do you fit writing into you summer travels?

Book Review: Walking Disaster

Like a lot of people I enjoyed McGuire’s first Disaster novel. So no surprise, I was eagerly looking forward to the Travis Maddox experience promised in the sequel.

Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire



However, I was disappointed with the Travis Maddox installment for two reasons *Warning*Spoilers*:

1. Walking Disaster was literally a retelling of Beautiful Disaster. The dialogue was the same. The story was the same. It was completely, utterly boring – not because of any failing by McGuire – because I’d already read Beautiful Disaster. If I had wanted to read it again I would have.

It’s also hard to suspend my disbelief at this point. I just can’t believe hot-headed Travis remembered everything the same way as Pidge. Btw, I flipping hate that nickname. It actually makes my skin crawl. Mist people agree that pigeons are dirty rats with wings that spread disease. It’s not a term of endearment as far as I’m concerned. I only use it here because I can't remember her real name.

But I digress. My point is this: I’ve been married for 7 years and my husband and I never, EVER, remember things the same way. It’s beyond implausible that Travis and Pidge would remember the events the same way – especially the dialogue. I could not suspend my disbelief.

2. The mystery is gone. Abso-freaking-lutely gone. Part of the thrill of reading Beautiful Disaster was always wondering what the heck Travis was thinking. Now that I know, and the knowing was nothing earth-shattering amazing, the mystery has fizzled out.


Walking Disaster wasn’t terrible. It just wasn’t new or exciting.

What did you think? Share your thoughts here:

Writefully Shamed: Nice trip, see you next fall

By now you know I'm exploring vulnerability as a way to improve my storytelling and, in general, my authenticity in daily life. If you're new to this series check out the history here.

So let’s begin this share session with a question:

Have you ever known someone who is cookie-freaking-cutter-perfect? She or he is successful in business, respected among their peers and in their community. This perfectly annoying person always says the right thing and does the right thing. In this business they have an agent, a publishing deal, and a million fans. They roll out of bed with a thousand words just falling out of their perfectly quaffed hair. Yeah, that’s right, because it’s not enough for this perfect person to be successful and respected. They're obviously beautiful too, with perfect hair, perfect skin, perfect style, and even perfectly manicured nails.




They're at church doing more good than you. They're at school having more friends than you. They're at work with more friends/respect/authority/seniority than you. They can probably even make 'fetch' happen.




These people never get drunk in public, they never act-a-fool, and they certainly never use their powers for evil.

Yeah, you know someone like this. People like this seem to pop up like mosquitoes in the summer – they’re everywhere and they'll suck your blood if you let them.

As a rule, my way of dealing with these perfect people is to by beating the crap out of befriend them. Maybe it's a little bit of 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer' and maybe it's a little bit of 'perfect people are people too' but I almost always try to befriend these people.

Don't get me wrong, they're intimidating. And I’m not immune to that fact. I try not to let my fear get between me and a potential learning opportunity.

So when one of these walking manicures at my day job asked me to lunch I was elated. I must be cool if a perfect person is asking me to lunch. Right?

We decided to walk to a restaurant and when we were crossing the street, I thought to myself 'gee, how much would it suck if I tripped right now?'


Well, I’m sure you can guess what happened next.

Immediately after I cleared the cross walk, in the middle of our conversation, the heel of my pump got caught in the cuff of my pants. The resulting stumble/grunt/face-plant on the sidewalk was not my finest moment. My chin was scuffed, my teeth hurt, and my coat was torn.




This perfect person just stood there while I wallowed in my humiliation.




Luckily, nothing was seriously injured except my pride. That doesn't stop my douche bag brain from replaying the fall over and over and over again adding hateful commentary like 'I bet she thinks you're dumb for falling,' 'you looked fat when you bounced off the concrete,' or even'you don't deserve to be an adult if you're going to fail at walking.'

Ultimately, I limped away from that chunk of sidewalk knowing I'm not perfect. Never will be. And as humiliated as I was on that day I’ve slowly come to terms with my lack of perfection. In fact, I’ve learned over the years that the perfect person who witnessed my shame is actually far from perfect (like a million light years from perfect).

I may have tripped and it was embarrassing but it was an accident. Accidents happen and generally can’t be prevented which is why we call them accidents. Whether we’re driving our car or shooting an email to an agent addressed to the wrong name. Crap happens. The measure of our character is not in how perfect we are – it’s in how we recover from mistakes when they occur. Because they will occur.

Embarrassing events in our life need to be relegated to a funny story instead of cycling through our douche bag brain. Here's to sharing shame and releasing its hold over you.

Have you every embarrassed yourself in front of someone you admired? Share your stories here:

Cover Reveal: MAVEN by Starla Huchton

I'm always excited to participate in a blog tour or cover reveal. So when Starla Huchton, author of The Dreamer's Thread, allowed me to be a part of the cover reveal for her newest novel I was elated.

Starla is active on twitter and her blog. You may know her debut, The Dreamer's Thread, which went on to become a double-nominee and finalist for the 2010 Parsec Awards. Since her debut, Starla’s voice has appeared in other podcasts including The Dunesteef Audio Fiction Magazine, The Drabblecast, and Erotica a la Carte. She is also a voice talent for Darkfire Productions, and narrates several of their projects, including The Emperor’s Edge series, This Path We Share, and others. Her writing has appeared in the Erotica a la Carte podcast, a short story for The Gearheart, and an episode of the Tales from the Archives podcast (the companion to Tee Morris and Philippa Balantine’s Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series), which garnered her a second finalist badge from the 2012 Parsec Awards. Her second novel, a Steampunk adventure entitled Master of Myth, was the first place winner in the Fantasy/Science Fiction category of The Sandy Writing Contest held annually by the Crested Butte Writers Conference. Maven is her third completed novel and the first in a planned series of four.

Maven is the first book in The Endure Series, A NA SciFi-Romance scheduled to be released June 3rd, 2013. I'm intrigued immediately because it's NA and it's SciFi. Yes please!

Here's the blurb:

How far would you go for love?

Since losing her parents at 14, young prodigy Dr. Lydia Ashley has focused on one thing: an appointment on the Deep Water Research Command Endure. Now 21, she's about to realize that dream, but nothing is how she imagined it would be. Her transitional sponsor forgets her, her new lab is in complete chaos, and, as if that weren't enough, she's about to discover something so horrific it could potentially destroy all life on the planet.
Daniel Brewer, a noted playboy and genius in his own right, may be exactly what she needs... Or he may make everything worse.

Has she finally found a puzzle she can't solve?

I like the sound of that: adventure, underwater mysteries, and romance. Pretty cool!!

So now, let's take a look at the cover for Maven:




*ooooo* *ahhhh*


It's pretty. Right? It will be available for purchase on June 3rd. To tide us over til then, Starla has been kind enough to allow me to share an excerpt:

"Yeah, there's one or two of the guys you'll want to avoid here, but..." Cordy stopped mid-sentence, staring at something over Lydia's shoulder. "What is he doing here?"

Curious, Lydia rotated to see who she was talking about. She immediately regretted it. Daniel Brewer locked in on her like a homing beacon and strode across room to her table. "Crap," she muttered when she turned back.

"And he would be one of those.” Cordelia smirked. "Good luck." She stood, lifting her tray of dishes.
Lydia's panic level rose. "You're leaving?"

Cordelia shrugged. "Hate to abandon you, but I've got a call scheduled at 1845 I can't miss. I expect a full report on this later, however." She grinned and headed for the exit.

Lydia willed her hands to be still and her breathing calm. Her throat was scratchy and dry, but she didn't trust she could pick up her glass of water without spilling it everywhere.

"You're a difficult woman to track down," Daniel said as he plopped down on the bench across from her.
Not difficult enough, she thought to herself. "It's dinner time. People usually eat around now. Or are you skipping meals again?" She fought back a flinch, realizing what she gave away.

His eyebrows lifted, but he didn't comment on the remark. "I see you were talking with Ms. Orietti. Interesting choice in friends."

She sniffed. "I hardly think you're qualified to judge. My personal life aside, did you hunt me down for a reason?"
"I saw your request."

Lydia feigned surprise. "The one I sent at 1700? I assumed you wouldn't see that until whatever time it is you remember to go to work in the morning."

He frowned. "Despite what you think, I actually work quite a bit. My regular hours extend until 1900, and then I'm on call until 0700. I take breaks for meals, of course, but I have several high level projects going on at any given time."

"Of course.” She swallowed. Perhaps she had crossed the line a bit with that last one. "That was uncalled for. I apologize. What did you come to ask me, Mr. Brewer?"

"You can call me Daniel," he said, his grin returning.

It was easy to see why he was so popular with women, but that he still thought that was going to work rankled her. She steeled herself. "Mr. Brewer," she said, standing and lifting her tray. “It's been a very long day, so if there's a business matter you wanted to discuss..."

He kept pace with her as she crossed the room to dump her dishes. From her peripheral vision, she saw several heads turn to follow their progress. “Well, I thought we could discuss the specific project needs you have and do some outlining so I can show you my skills.” He winked at her.

The subtle emphasis he placed on the word caused her to miss a step. "I'm sorry, did you just..."

"What?" Daniel looked at her, the picture of innocence.

Lydia sighed and kept walking. "Nevermind. Mr. Brewer, I--"

"Daniel."

She stopped outside the SAT station and punched the call button. "Mr. Brewer, if you refuse to conduct yourself in a manner appropriate for someone in your position, I will withdraw my request. I would prefer to have your expertise on this, but I will not tolerate immaturity."

"Dr. Ashley, I assure you I can be nothing but professional--"

"Good," she interrupted. "Then you can prove that at 0730 when you meet with me and my lab staff to discuss the necessary details." The SAT car arrived, and she stepped inside. "My coworkers are crucial to the lab's success and they will all have input in the needed software." The door closed. The last thing she saw was Daniel's stunned expression.

_______________________

Want more? Be sure to add Maven to your TBR shelf on Goodreads here.

Query Fear: to send or not to send

I’m going to let you in on a little secret. I’m freaking terrified to query. When it's time to hit send I freak the heck out. Pretty much exactly like this kid.




Yeah, seriously scared.

Dark thoughts get the best of me and I start down the familiar road of self-doubt: 'what if those agents I admire think I’m a flake?' I don’t want to be a joke. I don't want to...fail. *Gasp*

Now, I'm not completely paralyzed by my fear. I have dipped my toe in the bottomless slush pile a few times this year. I've sent three or four ‘test’ queries into the wild. But I’ve never actually sent my novel out into the world in any real, meaningful way.

I procrastinate like so many of us: endless hours on Twitter or YouTube. But I do productive stuff too, like a lot of research on Querytracker and Publishers Marketplace. I know that this process is meant to be a learning experience. I also know I can’t succeed without this process.

If I chicken out now I’m at risk of pulling a Gordon Bombay. You know, form the Mighty Ducks (an awesome movie, btw):




“You’re not a has-been, you’re a never-was.”

So what's a scaredy-cat writer to do? Well, for starters, I can put on my big-girl-writerly-panties and start sending queries to real, living, breathing agents. I could actually hit send.

For some kick butt motivation to query check out Mark O’Brien’s recent pep talk post here.

Or this great post on defeating query fear by The Renegade Writer, here.

How do you combat the query fear?

Author Interview: Katie Teller re: Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh part 2

Welcome back Katie. Yesterday we introduced Katie’s debut:


Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh.





Check out the book trailer here

The book is available now at your favorite book retailers:
Amazon
B&N
Kobo

Today we are talking to Katie about craft and her writing process. First, releasing your first novel is a huge deal! Congratulations.

What did you do to celebrate the release? *throws confetti* *shares cupcakes*

My mum came in for Australia for the release, and I also had friends and family come over to eat my famous peanut butter choc-chip cookies, talk about the book and watch the trailer. It was a lot of fun and great to spend time with people who have supported me throughout my journey.

Do you have any writing rituals or superstitions? (I for one can't write on the third full moon of the solstice...)

Ahh... can't say I do. I don't like my hubby looking over my shoulder when I write, does that count? :-)

Why did you choose the indie pub scene? What do you like about it?

Curiosity Quills is a community, and I really enjoy that. I love that all the authors support and help one another. I was finding agents just weren't interested in my work, but as soon as I queried publishers suddenly I got full requests and even a few offers. So I figured why not? And it's been wonderful and exciting. I also got some sweet royalties in my contract. LOL.

Which blogs or online resources were the most helpful as you prepared for self pub?

Well I published through Curiosity Quills so they did everything for me.

Tell me, What/who is your favorite book/author?

Oh wow... ahh my favorite book is probably Fire of the Covenant by Gerald N. Lund, and all growing up I loved Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine.

We all love Twitter and there seems to be no end to supportive authors, editors, and agents online. Who is your favorite Tweep (at the moment)?

Darci Cole! She was my first CP and encouraged me to join twitter and the writing community, and now she RT's all my stuff about my book and tweets about it herself. So supportive that woman! I just love her.

You've been a great sport so far but an Author Interview wouldn't be completed if I didn't ask the age old question: are you a Plotter or Panster?

PANSTER. Big time. Which is ironic considering all the research and structuring a story around historical theories I had to do for Kiya. But it worked, because the things I found about all the people of the time, and all the events, varied from historian to historian, so I plucked out the theories which best suited what I wanted to build into the story and filled in the gaps with my panster-ing skills.

Well, Katie, you’ve been a great sport and it’s been a lot of fun having you on the blog. Thanks for sharing and *Congrats* on your debut!

Author Interview: Katie Teller re: Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh part 1

I’m really excited to have a guest on the blog today. The beautiful debut author, Katie Teller, is here to talk about her life as a writer and her new book, Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh. *waves hello to Katie*



But before we begin peppering her with annoying questions about craft we should get to know her and her work. Wouldn't you agree?

Born and raised in Australia, Katie’s early years of day dreaming in the “bush” and having her father tell her wild bedtime stories inspired her passion for writing.

After graduating High School, she became a foreign exchange student where she met a young man who several years later she married. Now she lives in Arizona with her husband, daughter and their dog.

She has a diploma in travel and tourism which helps inspire her writing. She is currently at school studying English and Creative Writing.

Katie loves to out sing her friends and family, play sports and be a good wife and mother. She now works as a Clerk with a lien company in Arizona to help support her family and her schooling. She loves to write, and takes the few spare moments in her day to work on her novels.

Check out her blog here.

I think a lot of writers can relate to the hectic double (or triple) life Katie has been leading: Day Job, Writing, Family, etc. It’s a lot to juggle which leads me to my first question:

Katie, you are a wife, mother, student, employee, and now, an author. How did you fit writing into your daily routine? Any advice for the rest of us? :)

It's not easy! I keep a tight schedule, and write during nap times and in the evenings. My smart phone is also a lifesaver because I can get emails etc on the go. I also use time at the gym, grocery store and while I'm out and about to conjure up new scenes, get to know my characters and so forth so in the few hours after the kiddo has gone to bed I can churn out as much as possible. I keep my days very structured so I know I get everything done I need to.

That’s inspiring. I know I struggle with sticking to a writing schedule.

Now let’s learn more about the fruit of all that hard work, Katie’s debut: Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh. Look at this cover, isn’t it eerie?



And here’s the blurb:

Oh yes, Kiya. Make him love you, make him hold you in his highest regard....

When Naomi’s sisters are snatched up to be taken to be wives of the erratic Pharaoh, Akhenaten, she knows they won’t survive the palace, so she offers herself in their place. The fearsome Commander Horemheb sees her courage, and knows she is exactly what he is looking for…

The Great Queen Nefertiti despises Naomi instantly, and strips her of her Hebrew lineage, including her name, which is changed to Kiya. Kiya allies herself with Horemheb, who pushes her to greatness and encourages her to make the Pharaoh fall in love with her. When Akhenaten declares Kiya will be the mother of his heir, Nefertiti, furious with jealousy, schemes to destroy Kiya.

Kiya must play the deadly game carefully. She is in a silent battle of wills, and a struggle for who will one day inherit the crown. If she does bear an heir, she knows she will need to fight to protect him, as well as herself, from Nefertiti who is out for blood.

Wow, Katie, I’m super excited about your book: young romance, a vengeful Queen, and the fate of a nation hangs in the balance. Ancient Egypt has never sounded so sexy. I noticed in your bio you were born and raised down under. Did your time in Australia inspire any scenes from this book?

Kiya was actually born during my 12th grade Ancient history class while we talked about Akhenaten and Kiya. So yes, my school studies down there inspired the whole concept. The rest is purely constructed out of history and my own ideas of what could have happened.

It's available now at your favorite book retailers:
Amazon
B&N
Kobo


Your novel takes place in ancient Egypt. Were you always a fan of the rich history in Egypt? Or did you do a ton of research?

As I mentioned before, I studied Egypt in High School. But it goes earlier than that. I remember as a little girl looking at things on Ancient Egypt, as well as Greece and Rome. I think that background made the research easier, but I did still have to do a ton of research when I did sit down to start writing it.

Tune in tomorrow to see the book trailer for Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh and for more of my interview with Katie Teller.

Review: One Week Girlfriend

Like most writers, I read. A LOT. I’m not a pro book reviewer but every now and again I come across a story I must comment on.

One Week Girlfriend by Monica Murphy



This is a NA and was on sale so I took a chance. The blurb made the story sound like the classic ‘fake girlfriend/boyfriend relationship blossoms into something more’ story. Probably one of my favorite romps through romance, especially when done well.

However, I could not have been more wrong.

*Warning* *Spoilers*

The plot fell completely flat. The beginning had potential but, like many New Adult novels out there, it digressed into sex for the sake of sex which, I’m sure you’ll agree, is boring as hell.

But wait, it gets worse:

Perhaps the most offensive element of this farce is the way in which Murphy handles horribly traumatic and completely unsexy situations like incest, statutory rape, alcoholism, and loss. The ridiculous way in which these heavy, criminal and emotional items are tossed about throughout the book left me….offended.


All around, I was more pissed than entertained by One Week Girlfriend. I will not be reading the sequel.

Have you ever read a book that just made your blood boil - and not in a good way? If so, share your stories here:

Best Writing Advice on the Web

My mission in starting this blog was to create a resource library, of sorts, for myself *buffs nails on chest* because I'm a collector. But when it came time to make sense of my writing advice collection I was overwhelmed. Where to start?

Good thing fear doesn't stop writers, it fuels us.

I set about pooling all the writerly advice that spoke to me into a giant vault so I could swim in it, like this:





My vault can be accessed any time via the resource tab of my blog.

For those writers who demand immediate gratification, here's some highlights:

1. From PIXAR, 22 Tips on Story Telling

2. From Stephen King, 20 Tips for Becoming a Frightening Good Writer

3. Sage advice from Natalie Whipple a YA writer and card-carrying nerd.

What Natalie Whipple Would Say to New Writers

Pulling a Story Out of Nowhere

Natalie's thoughts on 'When the [writing] Honeymoon Ends'

4. From Raewyn Hewitt, Bridget Jones meets Tolkien, an ordinary girl, writing a story of epic proportions...

When Writing Gets Hard

5. From Chuck Wendig 25 Hard Truths About Writing

6. From Nathan Bransford, industry insight and advice.

From Twitter: Advice in 140 characters

10 Commandments For the Happy Writer

What do Agents Do Anyway?

How a Book Gets Made

Nathan's writing advice database

7. From Dahlia Adler, a founding member of the YAMisfits, Q&A compilations:

Q&A for Querying Writers

Q&A for Agented Writers

Q&A for Pre Pub writers




What sites do you like? What advice would you give someone starting down the writerly path?

Hot Chicks Who Kick A$$ and the men who write about them

My brilliant bestie, @Proper_Rich, is defending his graduate thesis today which is a monumental moment in anyone's education. Countless hours were spent writing, and revising, his work so that he could get to this point. It's a huge milestone that could not have been possible if not for lots of hard work and Mountain Dew.

But this event is so much more amazing because the premise of his thesis is near and dear to my heart for two reasons:

1. It's about female empowerment (woot woot!)
2. It's about female empowerment in Buffy the Vampire Slayer!!

And in light of the recent, amazing #yesallwomen Twitter conversation I felt like roaring. And this post might need has some awesome roaring. So,*cue butt kicking*




Studying television and movies is something we writers do everyday. I can't watch ANYTHING without dissecting it into a three act structure, seeking the inciting incident, stacking the deck, and tracking the character's growth. So I think it's abso-freaking-lutely cool that @Proper_Rich got a degree doing it. (Well, he did a hell of a lot more than that, but you get the point.)

Aside from plot structure and craft, why study television? What's the value in studying that form of media?

He astutely notes that, "Fictional television programs can be viewed as a reflection of imperfect reality—human flaws are intensified and accentuated on the screen in order to provide moral lessons and entertain the masses." TV programs, movies, and novels are the mirror in which we can examine ourselves.

In celebration of his thesis defense here are some awesome quotes from his thesis and Buffy Gifs. If you don't know Buffy, or if you aren't a fan, this might just convert you. Enjoy!

Why Buffy? What makes her so special?

"Buffy did not spend her time pining for a man or primping in front of a mirror, engaging in stereotypically traditional female activities. She fought the forces of darkness while maintaining a social life anchored by her small circle of friends."




"Buffy was mature enough to realize that her abilities isolated her from her peers and that her responsibilities far outweighed the societal pressures of having the most recent blouse by a famous designer or dating the high school quarterback."




"When viewing her combat of demons and vampire metaphorically, it is clear that the monsters Buffy slays are not just present to provide antagonists for the protagonist to battle. She is battling the patriarchy that has oppressed her biological sex for centuries—she just uses different weapons, like stakes, axes, and sarcastic commentary."




"Buffy is a woman, Buffy is the Slayer, but Buffy is more than that—Buffy is a symbol of how women can take the power for themselves, elect to be a hero, and disavow the patriarchal society that keeps them from achieving their potential."

Cheers to you @Proper_Rich, on an amazing paper; a wonderful accomplishment.

What characters from TV or film have inspired you? Share your stories here:

I Can Haz Productivity: April 2013 Month In Review

It's May! Which means it's time for my monthly recap. As you may remember, my goal for March was to write 300 words a day.

And I failed. Utterly and completely.

In March I recovered by catching up on words during the weekend.

That was March.

April wasn't as easy. I was able to get some decent words during the week while my weekends were packed with social engagements.

Like a trip to NOLA for a friends wedding, so yay! As a writer and recovering workaholic I tend to spend a lot of my free time in books or attached to a laptop. Getting out and about this month was a welcomed change.

Traveling and revelry aside, April was a productive month. Here are the deets:

1. 6 blog posts written and scheduled.
2. Read 2 books (more on that later this month)
3. Edits on a few more chapters of a friends’ awesome WIP
4. Revised plot outline for current WIP
5. 2 new chapters in WIP mentioned above
6. Signed up for my first big writers conference! (RWA13 - Atlanta)


Non writing accomplishments include:

1. Ran warrior dash obstacle course 5k
2. Traveled to NOLA for friends beautiful wedding (cool town but I think I need to detox for a year - sheesh)
3. Three meetings with mentors – always a great way to recharge your motivation

For a grand total of 5,846 words!




The moral of the story:Remember last month when I talked about how important it is to be flexible? yeah, that.

Most of my words in April were in my WIP which is a great feeling; each and every one of those pretty little words is a coin in my Better Writer Piggy Bank that one day I’ll deposit at the Bank of Published Authors.

What writing habits do you have? What works for you?