Skipped blogging last week, because when I went to post, found that an update had hosed my newsletter signup. So I spent the time I’d set for blogging, fixing that instead.
I did make progress on the WIP, however. It helped that not much else has been going on. And yesterday, I met with my writers group–actually, there were just two of us–but that’s always fun and invigorating for the writing. I came home and finished a scene and fixed some inconsistencies in another. More on that in a few.
What happened to My Town Monday? On another note, Karen McFarland, one of my online writing friends, left a comment on my last blog asking about My Town Monday, a feature I used to do where I shared cool bits of Dayton history. She said she always enjoyed these posts (thank you, Karen!) and was I going to do any more?
The main reason haven’t done one in a long time is they take a lot of time and energy I no longer have. Time to research, find photos I can legally use, and a lot more time to write. Also, they were part of a blog hop, where several writers blogged about something cool–whether historical or contemporary–about their hometown. It was fun to go visit other participating bloggers, but that died out a couple years ago. I still love local history, so who knows, I may post another some time. Just no specific plans right now.
What I read last week: Crushed, by Laura Kirwan. Normally, I space series books out more, partly because I like variety, and partly because I want to draw out the enjoyment when it’s one I really like. I read the first book of this series, City of Eldrich, a few weeks ago, and it was awesome. I couldn’t wait that long to dig into this one, and it lived up to the first! The bad thing now is that I have to wait for the third, and she doesn’t have a newsletter, nor does her blog have an RSS feed or email signup. So I followed her on Amazon, hoping they’ll send me an update when she releases the next book. Can’t wait!
This past week, I read the short stories and serial episodes in Smith’s Monthly #12, by Dean Wesley Smith. There is sometimes one short in these that just isn’t my thing, and yes, there was one I skipped here, but the rest were entertaining as always.
ROW80 Update: As noted above, I’m finally moving forward on my novella. But it took some more analysis, and last week I found the real problem: there wasn’t enough conflict. Oh, the process I was trying didn’t help either, but this was the main issue. The couple were both into each other, and there wasn’t enough keeping them apart, which made for a boring book. And if it’s boring me, it’ll certainly bore my readers. So I started over, with some conflicts hinted at in one of the related novels, that I’d pretty much glossed over in my initial version of this one. A couple scenes from the original were still applicable with minor changes, so I kept those, and wrote three new scenes. Moving along much better now! My goal for this week is to keep up that level of progress.
What about you–have you ever thought one thing was stopping you from moving ahead on a project, only to find it was really something else? Have you read any good books lately? And whether or not you’re participating in ROW80, how are you doing on whatever goals you may have? Please share in the comments–I’d love to hear from you!
Jennette Marie Powell writes stories about ordinary people in ordinary places, who do extraordinary things and learn that those ordinary places are anything but. In her Saturn Society novels, unwilling time travelers do what they must to make things right... and change more than they expect. You can find her books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, iTunes, and more.