And a Cup of Salad Dressing For Me Please...

I need it so my words taste better. *SIGH*

Remember how a couple of weeks ago, I said I would "not" have a manuscript nagging at me this summer? Well, I'm eating my words... Again. I should know better than to say I'm "not" doing something or "don't have any current WIPs waiting to be finished for a while", because the universe always seems to find the perfect way to made me realize that sometimes, things cannot be controlled.

My writing is one of those things. I had planned not to get into another manuscript this late in the school year, especially since my past experiences showed it takes me a few months to come out of one manuscript's story enough to get into a new one. "Away to Me" was finished less than a month ago, and here I am, deep into writing another first draft.

Ten is progressing better than I hoped it would this soon after wrapping up another story that had me by the throat, like "Away to Me" did for only a couple of short months. It's picking up speed, and the story itself is starting to really take over my mind, just like the other finished first drafts had when I was deep into writing them.

I thought I had three writing days this week, but due to a change in Hubby's schedule, it was only two, Wednesday and yesterday. I'm glad I set only daily goals this week, just to be safe.

Either way, I beat both day's goal of 1500 words each. I went low, I know, but I didn't think I'd be setting fire to the keyboard with this one so soon.

Wednesday was almost 3600 words and the majority of Chapter 5 was written up.

Yesterday was over 3800 words... I wasn't expecting things to go the way they did in the main file for a very pivotal scene, but geez... Once the idea hit me, I ran with it and I think it's better this way than the original way. It fits in more with the characters' personalities and experiences too. Chapter 5 was finished, and the majority of Chapter 6 was written yesterday too.

I'm also now officially on "Summer Writing Time", and anyone who has been following me for a while knows what that means. With summer vacation just about here, I don't have any days that I will be alone for hours on end, setting fire to the keyboard. This means that for the next two months, I will be nabbing whatever writing time I can get, whether it's an hour or so here and there while Son is being quiet or gone to run errands with his father, or the late nights - which wind up resulting in a rewrite the majority of the time.

I'm not feeling the effects of not having at least one day per week of writing time yet. My last official writing day of the 2013-2014 school year was only yesterday, so the "gnawing on the monitor" feeling won't hit me until either next week or after the final report cards come out on June 30th.

I'm not looking forward to going through that for the third summer in a row. 2012, it was "No Regrets", last year it was "Family Portraits", and now this year, it's "Ten" or whatever its title will finally be.

I suppose the silver lining in this breaking for two months thing is that I managed to get one full manuscript written without having to take more than a week or a few days off from writing it during a school break. I am glad that I finished "Away to Me" in record time, and I think my keyboard is still smoking somewhat from how fast I went through that one's first draft. If I hadn't gotten it done before now, I would have gone completely bananas this summer. Bad enough Ten is going to drive me a little crazy, and I'm not fully into this one - YET. I'm almost there though, and when it fully takes over my mind, watch out everyone.

"Away to Me" is still in stasis, but it may come out once over the summer, for a full read through and edit. Things are changing on one end, and it may be sent out to the Alpha and Beta Teams early, depending on what's happening over the summer in a certain area. We'll see how things go, and I'll keep everyone on both teams updated if anything changes.

Both teams can't say I didn't warn them... Buwahahahahahaha!

Anyway, I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, and HELLO SUMMER! A very happy Litha to all of my friends who celebrate it in the northern hemisphere, and a very happy winter solstice to all in the southern hemisphere. Enjoy the season, whatever it may be, everyone!

I'll post updates over the summer as things progress.

The Solstice and More

Another school year is just about over with... Only one full day left before the final report cards are sent out and the students are on their summer break.

I'd like to wish everyone in the Northern Hemisphere a happy summer solstice and Litha, which is the celebration that marks the start of summer in some circles. Namaste and bright blessings to all who celebrate it!

To all who are affected by the flooding out in Alberta and other spots... Stay safe! My thoughts and prayers are with all of you!

Well, this week was productive despite fits and starts and me forgetting to research something before I wrote about it. Oh well, it was a short scene and after I came back online today, I found the information I forgot to get and tweaked everything to fit and double checked it all to make sure it was right! Thank the stars it was only a VERY short scene that needed to be corrected and the way it was written, it only took me a few minutes to get it all just so.

I am now up to the end of Chapter 25 in the main manuscript file. Of course, things are still in "ultra rough" draft and although it needs a LOT of work, I have an extremely solid foundation to build details upon. I plan on working on those parts in Draft 2 or if I can do it in between mother, wife and housework duties, when I get a chance. Yes, I will be catching up on some reading this summer but I hope to get more added to Book 2's first draft even if it is only a paragraph here and there, or a small scene once in a while during the daytime. 

I'm now officially on "Summer Writing Time" again and although I'm too tired mentally to think about it at the moment, I'll probably start going bonkers and losing it with gnawing on the monitor or banging my head against the wall when I don't get a single bit of writing time next week... Except for any late nights that is. I plan on at least one between now and the first of July, if not two or three. It's going to be a rough two months ahead, but with a little luck, things will go the way NR/Book 1 did last year this time and I'll be able to dive right back into the writing after school goes back into session.

It's hard to believe that this past school year so many things have happened in the writing world at Samgaran Sanctuary, my mentor's forum... My mentor has published her first THREE books, I finished one double length novel that went through THREE more draft modes so it's ready for publishers, and I'm now working on my SECOND double length novel... *BLINK* 

I am in shock. Last year this time, I was hoping to finish ONE book, Book 1/NR and I've done that and more!

Wow.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!