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03 March 2013

Wooooo!! Woooooooo....

No I am not a ghost. I am just trying to get up some excitement for March and meeting March goals. April is A to Z month again. Woooo! Are you guys doing it? I'm hoping to prep a little bit ahead of time this year so I can spend April visiting people's websites. If you don't know what I'm talking about, then go over here to the blogging from A to Z April challenge site. Their countdown clock is terrifying me for some reason, but I suspect it's mostly because right now it's day 28 and you can watch the milliseconds zipping away and imagine that we are almost at the zombie apocalypse.

Are we still worried about the zombie apocalypse? Maybe we're more worried about meteors now.

 photo funny-gif-Russia-meteorite-driver_zps080f2ab0.gif

This guy isn't worried. I want to be like this guy.

Somehow I feel like I was really scattered through January and February, or maybe spread out a bit too thin, or spread out in the wrong way, or just unfocused. I got stuff done but too slowly. My constant lament.

I'm giving NaNoEdMo a try this month. This is a challenge to do 50 hours of editing in March. I thought I would give it a whirl last year, but I just sat in a stupor any time I tried to edit any of the longer projects I've got. It seems to me like the longer a manuscript is, the greater the chance that it is profoundly broken in ridiculous ways. Anyway I got myself together and thanks to the promptings and rave reviews of my friend Chris, I decided to try Holly Lisle's How to Revise Your Novel course. I'm still working my way through the first lesson, but so far it is brilliant. I am not paralyzed with fear and confusion about how to proceed. Basically the course is like someone who's been through it before holding your hand while you try to edit, and coaching you: here, don't try to do this all at once, take one baby step at a time. It is all do-able a tiny chunk at a time. The way you build your notes, you can put the down, go deal with other stuff, and come back to it. No rush, no emergencies, no fear.

What about you all? What are you writers doing these days?

14 comments:

Andrew Leon said...

Did you hear about the comet that could Mars next year?

Elizabeth Twist said...

I think you accidentally something out of your comment.

Andrew Leon said...

oops... hit Mars... collide with Mars... smash Mars up...

Elizabeth Twist said...

Is this the same comet that should be clearly visible to the naked eye in November 2013? I'm looking forward to that one, although not so much to any smashings of Mars.

Andrew Leon said...

That I don't know. It's a newly discovered comet that will be passing very close to Mars and might hit it. It's new enough that they don't quite know its trajectory, yet.

Unknown said...

I am ready for A to Z this year. I have four posts scheduled so far and hope to be done before April!

Holly's course sounds intriguing.

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

I'm working on a novel, writing and subbing flash stories, aiming to get a collection of them together soon, and prepping for the A-Z Challenge. Hmm, I think I need more coffee... :)

Deborah Walker said...

I've read some of Holly's free stuff and she really knows what she's talking about.

I'm doing the same old short bit, but this week I have been mostly writing short comedy sketches to submit to the BBC. Great Fun.

Oh and i've been editting Wikipedia.

Elizabeth Twist said...

@Andrew: cool cool cool.

@Scribbles: Yay! Holly's course is great, although as it turns out there is no magic easy way to edit a novel.

@Madeline: Good times! Yes, coffee is definitely in order.

@Debs: Wow! Fingers crossed for BBC success. I'm wondering what portions of Wikipedia you've been editing. I hope you're inserting all kinds of naughty nonsense about aliens and life on Mars.

Deborah Walker said...

I've got a feeling that we are going to find life on Mars!

Andrew Leon said...

you're getting a mention in my Monday post
just so you know

Elizabeth Twist said...

@Debs: I think it's more likely that there's some kind of subsurface bacterial life than not.

@Andrew: Okay! I will drop by.

Catherine Stine said...

I think I'm too intimidated to do A to Z this year, but I will certainly have fun reading others' posts.

Mina Lobo said...

I know what you mean about editing fear; been combating it since January, but finally got myself into it and have actually really been enjoying it, mainly, I think, 'cause I heart my characters.

I'm doing A to Z too, and fully intended to pre-write/schedule them posts, but have gotten as far as picking a theme and matching a few words to letters...gah. Got a lot to do before April. Like you, I want to be relaxed and have time to check out others' stuff in peace.

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