Well, this is a blast from the past. I don't even remember writing much of these posts, and I really don't remember writing the ROW80 challenges. All I can say is my health took a turn for the painful, and I pretty much gave up any kind of schedule.

Turns out I don't have RA; I have osteoarthritis. I may have psoriatic arthritis, but I don't have a confirmed diagnosis for that.

What I do have is a new hip. The right hip, which had been painful for years and years, literally, years, was down to no cartilage at all. Took hitting menopause and having an elevated temp for months and asking if maybe I had a septic hip to get it x-rayed. And then, bam...sort of...a new hip in December 2015. Best thing that I've ever done.

So writing. I still do that. I still have the same two clients I'm reading about from 2013. I have had others, but those two are still my mainstay clients. I have another woman I write for who loves really dark and creepy erotica, and she's fun to work with.

The space opera is still an outline. The Gothic horror got a few pages written and never went further. That idea was a non-starter. I do have plans for my own writing though. And I actually do now outline my stories. Makes the clients happier and makes my life easier.

I do have my first rejection email though. That's a wonderful thing. Alex and I collaborated on a story for Fireside Magazine. It was flash fiction, semi-horror paranormal, and rushed in the writing process. I know that. But it was so much fun working with him. The story has potential and can be made longer, and submitted somewhere else. Or, what I suggested to him is an anthology of short horror stories and self-publish them.

So, that's the news from 2013 to 2016. Short and semi-sweet. Wonder if my next update will in 2019?

I did start a gardening blog simply to record my accomplishments there, because as I've come to realize, all I see are the weeds and the holes where things should go, not the plants that are growing and thriving. I have a tendency to start and not finish all my projects (as evidenced by this blog) and I'm trying to reverse that habit. So in words and pictures I'm trying to keep my gardening on track. As far as writing? Who knows.

Till next time...

ROW check in Sunday July 21

I'm happily writing upwards of 5000 words per day, but still not writing my own work. Not sure if it's because I don't see an immediate return on investment. If I write for a client, they pay me...if I write 5000 words for myself...well...

Maybe I should pay myself. And not with chocolate...but in cold hard cash. Hmmm....have to ponder that idea.


(I also had a stupid redirect virus for a week that sends me off to strange sites when I try to access my Blogger blog...I think I have that removed now. At least I can, I hope, copy the URL and post this update.)

ROW80 Sunday July 7 Check in

Off to a rough start with the holiday. Hoping to get back to a routine now...

I have done more than my goal word count per day...one day I did 7000+ words. BUT I'm not hitting the 1000 word count for MY story. So, need to work on that before next check-in.

But it is very nice to get work done for clients, make them happy and get paid. :) And it all works out in the end...it always does.

So, starting Monday...my work comes first. Although my work had decided it wants to be written in 1st person, from the POV of the heroine, who decided in mid-sentence to rename herself as Kate. Gotta love feisty women who take over stories! I think I'm in good company with her. :)

ROW80 Mid-week check in - July 3

No writing on July 1 - Rheumatoid arthritis flare put me to bed for the day.
July 2 - 2850 words typed, painfully (most for a client but some for my own work)

Based on how I feel, I'll take what I can get. I hope the flare is short-lived...otherwise client work comes first, my work second. Client work is still writing, and still work, so it's all still more or less okay.

Decided to focus on the 30k novella for the anthology submission call...Gothic Horror. They say write what you know, so the setting is the sticky, oppressive, bug-laden atmosphere where I live...Kentucky.

I really love Kentucky, even though I've been here less than a year. But it is humid, and there are bigger bugs than I have ever seen here...huge bugs! We'll see how it goes... :)

The day before the ROW80 starts...and the story has changed. It's no longer the space opera, which is still in progress, but it's my NaNo Summer Camp story.

This project is a romantic time-travel story...with somewhat of an outline. But I really want to use this story as a chance to write the way I want to write...just put it out there and not edit as I go.

My client work doesn't always allow me to do that. There are tighter deadlines and the push to get the first pass a good-to-go story (the longer stories...the novella-length ones...the shorter ones don't even require much planning. They just happen.)

I am probably ill prepared for this but I don't want to use that as an excuse not to do this. I'll make it work...set my goals and work toward them. There is always time to edit...and revise...later. I mostly want to get the story on the page before it leaves my head.

There is also a call from a publisher I've been following for a 25,000 - 30,000 Gothic horror story. I have started that and might add that project to my goal here. The deadline for submission is mid-September. I have started that and have a semi-outline to work from. That needs to be completed before ROW80 ends, edited and submitted.

Hopefully my goals will be a little more concrete and organized when I actually start reporting them.

ROW80 starting in like no time at all....

I finally...finally started the outline for the story I plan to write during ROW80. I'm not a pantser; I like outlines. But for some reason it's escaped me that I should have one for this story.

Still...

ROW80 ... Round 3 Goals

Something new...after a long hiatus.

Goals for the July #ROW80:

4000 words daily (M-F) split between client work and my own. At least 1000 of those words should be on my own work, not for clients.

A bit of history: I ghostwrite erotic romance; I've been doing this for a year, full-time for the past six months. I have two clients at the moment, actually three. One requires longer pieces, up to 70,000 word stories. The other is 2000 short stories (less on the romance and more on the erotic). And the third I just acquired, who wants a historical romance of 100,000 words. That story I'm a little behind on, but have no worries it will all work out. They almost always do.

I find that's a good balance for me. The longer stories have character development, plot, story arc...all the things I strive to improve on daily, that require plotting and 3x5 cards with scenes, have projects in Scrivener.
The shorts are just that...a quick burst of creative energy, no outline, just a situation and people...usually two, sometimes more. I still provide characters, plot and a story arc, but it's condensed. And it's mostly erotic, as I say. They're a good release, a palate cleanser sort of, between longer pieces for my other clients.

And then, finally...finally, I want to start my own work, for publication under my own name. At this point, for the July ROW80, I have a space opera in my mind. Not an erotic romance...a space opera, fantasy, something as far removed from romance and erotic as I can get. Should make for an interesting 80 days.