Making A New Plan

It’s Monday.  I’m awake, I’ve worked out, and I’m caffeinating.  That would be the first step back to normal.  Of course I am also in serious house lust, which is not normal, so I’m finding it hard to think about anything else but 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, a super kitchen, and CLOSET SPACE.  Still, I have hopes of getting back into Red today.  It’s been 2 weeks.

Round 1 of ROW80 is drawing to a close this month, and I feel like I don’t have a whole lot to show for it from a productivity standpoint.  I’ve averaged 338 words a day this year.  Of course that’s much higher on the days I actually wrote because, I think about half of those 65 days we’ve had so far, I didn’t write at all.  So I guess that’s not too bad.  I think I’ve proven that (mostly) when I do write, I can comfortably hit 100-250 words higher a day than the 500 a day I shot for last year.  So that’s good.  That’s pushing the envelope.  Since the entire point of A Round of Words in 80 Days is being the writing challenge that knows you have a life and that life sometimes interferes, it seems fitting that I give myself a break.  It’s what I designed this challenge for.

I’ve got one lecture left to write, after which I have two course proposals to write up–not for new courses, but for two of the courses I’m already teaching–I’ve passed the grace period, so if I want to teach them again, I’ve got to get that finished.  But short of that, I don’t THINK I’m going to be writing any more NEW course material this year, which would be a GODSEND.  I’ve written a new course every semester for the last 3 years.  BRAIN IS TIRED.  I’m hoping to finish that last lecture over the next 2 weeks, get it and the others recorded, edited, and posted, and let the rest of the semester pretty well coast.

So okay, in the name of getting back to normal, I am approximately 17kish into Red. I’m 1 new scene away from finishing Act 1 and I need to make some modification to, I think, 3 scenes, and fully rewrite one other.  I think this week, I’ll work on those modifications, as I need to get those ducks in a row before I move on to the rewrite or new stuff, I think.  The new projected finish date will be the end of May, leaving June and the tail end of Round 2 of ROW80 to finish up Riven, which I don’t anticipate taking more than a month.  There, I have a plan.  I feel better.

6 thoughts on “Making A New Plan

  1. A plan is always good. Whether it’s for a book or anything else, it’s always nice to have an idea of what you’re going to do. I’m very good at making plans. I’m hopeless at following them, but I’ve got the making part down pat. 50% is a pass, right?

  2. Because of all that’s gone on, I’ve had to really revise my ROW80 plans. But that’s okay. I just love how this challenge is changeable as our lives change. I know I’ve thanked you before, but I want to thank you again for starting this ROW80 writing challenge. I think it’s really been great for those of us that have kept on trying even when life gets in the way.

  3. Wow, you took the average productivity of each day?

    OMG do I feel my writing has a serious lack of structure. LOL

    My planning stops at outlining a plot. After that, it comes out in little bursts of 5000 words, heavily influenced by caffeine consumption and how many gummy bears are hiding in my cabinet. Good thing I’m self-published, because a deadline would totally smash my little creative heart into a million billion pieces.

    Nice blog

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