June Goals

May seemed like such a long month, yet I didn't really accomplish much writing-wise. About 25 more pages of MMG revised and 25 pages of TNN in pretty good shape for submission this month. Not a lot. But I did a whole bunch of other good stuff. Got back into the habit of writing Morning Pages daily. Started practicing banjo again, complete with sore fingertips on my left hand as I get used to holding down the strings. Really cleaned out the writing room, even the scary closet. And moved the chest of drawers downstairs so there is now room to set up bookshelves. All in all a productive month.

Plans for June? A lot of the same old/same old with a little twist:

--Rewrite of MMG with new-old structure (75/??)
--Rewrite 2nd 25 pages of TNN for CWC
--Prepare short story for submission to magazine
--Do CWC critiques (0/2)
--Finish writing room makeover

I've been flirting with the writing room redo for two years now. There has been this niggling around the sides of my mind saying that I shouldn't get a new writing room until MMG is ready to send to agents. Well, that's horse hockey, as my mother used to say. If I want a redecorated writing room, then wanting it is all that's necessary.

The extra challenge is in getting a short story to a point where I feel it's ready to submit to a magazine. Regular blog readers know I'm not comfortable with shorts, nor am I ever really happy with any of them. So this is a biggie for me.

What do you feel you don't do well that you'd like to do better? How about working on it this month?

CWC Rocks

Once again the anticipation was worse than the actuality. Everyone had the same problems with Vesta as before (and they really, really, really don't like Zack), but there were so many great suggestions that I'm excited about the possibilities. I especially like when someone suggested a change that I'd already thought of. Or when I said, "I know that I need to have this person at this event," and the whole table would bounce and say, "Yes!" Jenny said the bones are there, they just need fleshing out (which is how I tend to write). Mary said she likes the toys I've chosen to play with. How great are those comments?

Jenny posted about our critiquing in the dark. It seems crazy now that no one suggested we stop, but why would we? We still had a critique and a half to go. How could we short change Mary and Shane like that? I think it says something about why I love this group so much. Although there is friendship above and beyond our writing, when we're at CWC, it is all about the writing. There is a bit of small talk, but when it's time for business, that's it. We have Pirates and Sunday dinners and other gatherings for the other stuff.

Now it's time to start revisions of TNN so I'm ready to submit next month. Be aware of my usual shortcomings in the back of my mind, but let this one be what it needs to be at the same time. I'm just glad I'm not submitting a first draft this time around.