writing | Jennette Marie Powell

by Jennette, March 29, 2020

That’s pretty much what everyone is doing right now, with what’s going on in the world. I have been fortunate so far, as I still have a job, and it was already work-from-home, so that part has been figured out for a long time as well. So I’ll leave commentary on that to others. One of my commenters last week noted that she’d spent too much time reading news about the pandemic, and I got caught up in that, too. I dialed it back a little this week, which helped.

Most of my figuring-out had to do with my writing. I already have a good routine for work, and had been settling into one for taking care of the house (a.k.a. cleaning), since we moved away from the friend who cleaned for us. But I never developed a good routine for writing.

One thing I noticed recently is that I tend to put off the writing until the very end of the day, after I’ve done everything else that needed to be done (and taken necessary breaks). I suspect this mostly comes from the fact that writing is fun (or it should be), and like many, I grew up with the mindset to “do your homework first, then you can go play.” The problem was, by the time I got to the writing, I was tired and didn’t feel like it (or care enough to push through). Something needed to change.

My husband wound up going out of town for a job last week, so it was the perfect time to develop a new routine: doing my writing right after dinner, and giving it enough importance to be okay with it. Even if I spent 1/2 hour to an hour on the writing, that would still leave me with time to relax and spend with my husband afterward on most days.

Well, it WORKED! I spent at least 1/2 hour every day on my writing, right after dinner, and also wrote about 3300 words of notes. Even better, my husband was gone for three days, and I kept this up after he got back. I also enjoyed it more, I think because I wasn’t trying to pressure myself into doing “real” writing, but just made notes.

Which is where the other part of “figuring it out” comes in. The act of making notes helped me tons with figuring out what needs to be changed in what I already have, and where my story is going. I haven’t figured it all out, but at the rate I’m going, I should be good to spend another week making notes and doing some rough outlines (with the caveat that it all can change!), then I should be good to get back to the actual writing. And since I’m no longer bored with it, that should be fun as well.

What I’ve Been Reading

I didn’t finish anything this week, but I have been enjoying a novel that I will write about here next week.

What I’ve Been Writing

A lot of notes! ROW80 ended for the quarter on Thursday, so I guess it’s time for an end-of-ROW wrap-up. I changed my goals midway through when I started bogging down, but that was still not enough. I made my January writing goal, but got next to nothing in February or March. But hey, next week is a new Round, so time to start back in then. I’ll have a better idea of what I can do for Round Two, so I’ll blog about that next week. This week, I want to continue making notes to get the rest of the story figured out, and either start back on the WIP, or be ready to next week.

I am almost done with my learning goal, too. Since I set my goal for three months, and we still have a couple days left, I should be able to finish that online workshop by Tuesday, and meet my goal. I also wanted to learn something about copyright once a month, so I also need to get on that if I want to meet my goal–I sort of forgot about it last week, when it was on my to-do list. So this week for learning, I want to finish the online workshop on Secondary Plotlines, spend a little time reading about copyright, and start another online workshop–still not sure which one.

So that’s a wrap for ROW80, Round One! Tell me, how are things going for you? Have you been affected by the pandemic? I hope you’re staying healthy and employed! How are you doing on your goals, whether writing or something else? Please share in the comments–I 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.

by Jennette, March 8, 2020

This past week, we finally sold our house in Ohio! We actually got a contract on it a month ago, but we knew not to count on it until closing. That happened Wednesday, so we are now free and clear of it–and its bills!

The other good thing is that I finally made a writing goal. More on that below.

What I’ve Been Reading

This is a book I’ve been waiting to see published for a long time: Torn Between Worlds by Linda Chalk. Linda is a writing friend, and her book is pretty unique: a Native American historical romance where it’s the heroine who’s a Native American. Except in a way, she isn’t–brought up by white settlers from a very young age, she knows nothing of her heritage. She gets a chance at finding it when she joins a wagon train to California. The story is set in 1848 and covers the journey on the Oregon Trail, along with Lydia’s many discoveries, starting with the sexy trail boss Joe. I really enjoyed the historical detail that really brought this story alive–highly recommended!

What I’ve Been Writing

My goal this week was small–only 1000 words–but that did the trick. I met that goal, and also completed the next week of my online workshop on Secondary Plotlines. I also got a book about one of the time periods in my WIP, and started reading that.

This week, I’m going to keep my writing goal small, as I still don’t know where this book is going and that slows me down. So I’ll go for 250 words/day, for five days, or a total of 1250 words. I also want to read my research book, and complete another week of my online workshop.

What about you–what good things are happening in your life right now? Have you read any good books lately? How are you doing with whatever goals you might have, whether writing or otherwise? Please share in the comments–I love to hear from you!

by Jennette, February 23, 2020

…to follow and uneventful one, of course! Mostly this was travel–no wait, it was all travel. I had to go to Ohio for work, so that pretty much consumed my week, and as you might guess, no writing got done.

Work went well, and my teammates and I accomplished what we’d planned to do during my visit, so that was good! I got to spend a couple of evenings with my parents, one with friends, and also got to see my daughter and her partner. So overall a great time! It just didn’t leave much time for anything else–and that’s OK.

What I’ve Been Reading

I finished a novel before I left, The Babbling Brook Naked Poker Club, Book 4 by Ann Warner. This is a cute, cozy mystery series about people who live in a retirement community. In this book, the main characters are handed several valuable pieces of artwork that were stolen in an infamous heist decades before, and now must return it while avoiding being charged with the crime themselves. A fun and delightful installment in a series I really enjoy! Highly recommended!

What I’ve Been Writing

Ummm…. nothing. Just too much going on this week. I also didn’t have a chance to watch any workshop videos, so that too is a big fat zero. I don’t regret it because family and friends are more important, and I don’t get to see them often, since our move. But this is a new week, and I’m going to fall back on the same goals: for the writing, make a list of 20 things that could happen in each of the next three scenes; for the learning, I want to watch the first week’s videos and do the assignment for a WMG Publishing online workshop in Secondary Plotlines. Actually getting into the writing will be a bonus.

What about you–ever have one of those weeks where you make no progress? Have you done any traveling lately? How are you doing on whatever goals you’re working toward, whether writing or otherwise? Please share in the comments–I’d love to hear from you!

by Jennette, February 16, 2020

This has been another of those weeks that were largely uneventful, but unfortunately, not one of those where I got a ton of writing done.

What I Read This Week

I am currently reading a cozy mystery that I’m really enjoying, but haven’t yet finished, so I’ll post about that next week.

I did finish a nonfiction book, Fair Play by Eve Rodsky, that was entertaining and really interesting. It’s a solution to the outsized mental load that most wives/moms carry in their households, by basically making a card game of it, the main purpose of which is to shine a light on all the “invisible” work we do, open up discussion, and ultimately, help couples work out a way to divvy this stuff up more fairly. While I definitely bear more of the mental load in my household, this book also made me realize that I have it pretty good compared to a lot of people, so I don’t know if I’ll suggest playing the game or not (printables of the cards can be downloaded from the author’s website). But next time I have a ton going on and my husband asks what he can do to help, maybe I’ll try it! If this is an issue in your home, I highly recommend this book–good food for thought, if nothing else.

What I’ve Been Writing

Ehh, not much. My goal this week was only 1,000 words, and I didn’t even hit that. I did finish out the scene I was working on at just over 500 words, then I needed to do some research. While I figured out a few things, I did not find the inspiration I was looking for to figure out what happens next–and this applies to the next three scenes, so I really need to figure it out. Looks like it’s time to make some lists of 20 Things.

This coming week is going to be a busy one, as I will be traveling for work. I never know if I’ll have the time and space to get to the writing. So I’m going to go with an easy goal: make a list of 20 Things that might happen for each of the next three scenes. I was also going to start back in on a workshop this week for my learning goal, but due to the travel, that might not work so well, so I’ll consider getting anything on that a bonus, as well as any writing beyond figuring out what comes next.

What about you–do you ever have trouble figuring out what comes next, whether in writing or something else? What do you think about dealing out household tasks like a card game? And how are you doing on whatever goals you might have? Please share in the comments–I’d love to hear from you!

by Jennette, February 2, 2020

This week, we finally got our wet basement issues fixed (we hope, but so far so good). We’ve had moisture on the basement walls with a big rain since before we moved in. At first, the builder passed it off as from not having final grading done. But even after that was complete, the front wall of the basement still got wet whenever we got a good rain.

We also had leaky gutters, and when the gutter guy no-showed for a fix, my husband took care of it with some extra caulk. We thought that might fix the basement issues, but no.

Given the builder’s disappearing act, we went right to the waterproofing company. They responded quickly, came out and took a look, dug down a little… and found a big ledge of concrete along the front porch wall about a foot below ground level–right where the moisture was appearing inside. They eventually determined that when the front porch was poured, the concrete crew just did their cleanup right there, dumping the remnants of the concrete right next to the house instead of taking it away, like they should have. Or at least dumping it a little distance away! There were also punctures in the waterproofing layer, caused by using too-large gravel beside the house.

It took a few weeks to get the fix done due to the rain, but they finally came out and dug up the yard along the front porch. Fortunately, we had not done any landscaping, because we knew this was an issue and it could come to something like this. They removed the concrete, reapplied the waterproofing, and later came back to replace the dirt. Now we need to let it sit and compact for a few weeks before we replace the stone slab steps. At least it’s done! And yes, the builder will be paying for it–the waterproofer does a lot of work for him, so they’ve been in contact.

*Coming back from walking the dogs required using the side door that day!*

What I’ve Been Reading

Finally finished the fantasy box set! And I really enjoyed that last story. I will probably buy the next in series from several of these authors, and when I do, I’ll include those here.

What I’ve Been Writing

Not as much as I’d hoped–my goal this week was to write for five days, 500 words/day. I did write five days, but only hit that wordcount twice. I just couldn’t get myself to keep on writing. Luckily, I figured out why last night: I’d taken a wrong turn with the scene I was writing. As in, it wasn’t needed at all. I was bored writing it, which was why I struggled to get to 500 words. And if I was bored writing it, readers will be bored reading it, so it has to go. No big deal, I will just work the necessary information in elsewhere and start in on the next scene, which I am looking forward to writing.

The good news is that while I didn’t meet my goal this past week, I still met–and exceeded–my January goal of 8,000 words. I’ll take it!

This week, I want to shoot for 500 words/day again, for five days.

I did meet my learning goal, and completed the week 5 videos and assignments for my online workshop. This week, I want to complete week 6’s materials, which will complete the workshop.

What about you–any unexpected setbacks lately, whether with your writing or something else? How about your goals? And have you read any good books recently? Please share in the comments–I’d love to hear from you!

by Jennette, February 9, 2020

Today is the first day in a week that we’ve had dry weather. It has rained since Monday, only stopping on Thursday and Friday to switch to snow. Our driveway’s a mess, and I’ve had migraines all week, thanks to the weather. And yes, we’re still getting water in the basement, now in different places than before. DH has already been in contact with the waterproofing company, and the owner says they’ll be back out to work on it once it stops raining on a workday (it’s supposed to start back up tomorrow).

I can’t complain too much–our basement water is just some seepage through the walls. But our area got over 5″ of rain in two days, and some people have had their homes flooded. DH is out on the tractor fixing the driveway now, I don’t have a headache now, and we have a lot to be grateful for.

*The freeze we had a couple weeks ago didn’t hurt our wild daffodils*

What I’ve Been Reading

Fellowship, by Lynette M. Burrows. This is a prequel to her debut novel, My Soul to Keep, set in the same alternate-history, dystopian world, about four newly-orphaned kids on the run in Appalachia. I loved the first book, and loved this one too–the characters are engaging, and the theocratic U.S. in an alternate 1960’s fascinates me. Highly recommended! I’m looking forward to the next book in the series!

What I’ve Been Writing

Once again, I did not make my goal (sigh). The headaches are part of it–I just haven’t felt like doing much. I did manage to write four days this week, and got about 1800 words in–so not a total bust. But I am also again at a stuck point. This time, it’s a need for research. I have characters in three different time periods, and two different places, neither of which is Dayton, Ohio. So it’s time to do some research and figure out what could happen next in these time periods and other places. So this week’s goal is to research at least 15 minutes a day or until I figure things out, and to get 1000 new words, whether that’s 200 words five days, 500 words two days, or something in between.

I did meet my learning goal, and finished the WMG Publishing workshop on Teams in Fiction. Definitely helpful, and a topic I’d never given much thought to before. I am going to take a week off of workshops while I focus on my research, then will probably jump into another one next week.

What about you–how’s the weather where you are? Has it impacted what you do? Have you read any good books lately? And how are you doing on whatever goals you might have, whether writing or otherwise? Please share in the comments–I’d love to hear from you!

by Jennette, January 19, 2020

…because I couldn’t think of a better title. This has been another uneventful week, aside from a lot of rain earlier in the week (and hoping those up north in the really bad stuff are staying safe!). Of course for me, rain means migraines, as my trigger seems to be falling barometric pressure. I’m thankful the rain let up midweek and was brief yesterday, so I felt better since then.

Almost every morning, my husband and I walk our dogs down the ridge line that bisects our property. Earlier this week (when it wasn’t raining), I saw that we already have daffodils coming up (there are a bunch of wild ones on our property). It’s normal for this area, though maybe on the early side even here, with the mild winter we’ve had. Still, seems remarkable to me because they don’t appear until a good month later in Ohio! Ohio is not a bad place, but we really love it here.

What I’ve Been Reading

I picked up a nonfiction book from the library on exercise and health, but soon realized it was written for people who don’t have my migraine and fatigue issues, so I stopped reading it. I’m also still reading the last fantasy novel in the big, box set I bought last summer, and really enjoying it. This one pulled me in right from page one, while most of the others took a chapter or two for me to get into. I want to take WMG’s”How to Study” online workshop to learn how to go back through this book and see how the author did it.

What I’ve Been Writing

My writing goal this week was to write 400 words a day, five days, for a total of just over 2,000 words. I met that, so yay! It was a bit of a challenge earlier in the week, and one day I got less than 300 words, but made up for that the other four days, so a win! Since it was a challenge, I want to ramp up slowly, so this week, I’m shooting for 450/day, for five days, and a total of 2250 words.

I did not quite meet my learning goal, as it turned out I had three more videos in the Week 3 lessons, not just one. I did complete those and the assignment, and got about halfway through the week 4 videos. My goal this week is to complete Week 4, with a bonus to begin the Week 5 videos. Before doing the bonus, I also need to do my monthly reading/learning about copyright. In any case, I’m ahead of schedule on my workshops, as my goal is to do two of these 6-week courses this Round.

What about you–how has your week been? Any signs of spring yet where you are? And how have you been doing on whatever goals you may be working on, whether writing or otherwise? I’d love to hear from you–please share in the comments!

by Jennette, January 12, 2020

And yes, it’s been an uneventful week around here–just doing the day job, writing, and living life between the two (as in fixing dinner, cleanup, that sort of thing). Yesterday a bad storm rolled through, which for me = migraine, so not much of anything got done then, but yay me! I’d already met my goals. And that’s so much easier to do when there’s not much else going on.

*My dog Skeet finds uneventful days a good opportunity to make herself comfortable on the day bed in my office.*

What I’ve Been Reading

I finished another novel in the fantasy box set (I swear I’m almost done–I started this thing back in August!). I enjoyed this one, too. I don’t like to talk about books I don’t like, because in the case of the one in the box set, it was just not to my taste, but because of it, I don’t want to name the set. But I do expect I’ll be buying more fantasy this year, because most of these books are part of series.

What I’ve Been Writing

As noted above, I met my goals this week! After not hitting my writing goals in so long, doing so twice in a row is really exciting. My writing goal was to write 375 words/day, at least five days. I did write five days, and exceeded the word count for a total of a little over 2200 words. Part of me wants to ramp up to 500 words/day (and I exceeded that one day), but it was also a bit of a push so I’m going to go for 400/day this week, again shooting for five days and a total of 2000 words.

I also met my learning goal of completing week 2 videos and assignment for the WMG Publishing “Teams in Fiction” online workshop, and I went on to week 3. I’ve done all but one video (there are five), so I’m going to set a goal to complete that and the assignment, and do the week 4 videos this week, with a bonus goal to complete the week 4 assignment as well.

What about you–do you like uneventful weeks, or do you find them boring? Do you read box sets? And if so, do you go on to buy other books in a series if you like the one in the set? How are you doing with whatever goals you’ve had, whether writing or otherwise? Please share in the comments—I’d love to hear from you!

by Jennette, January 5, 2020

This has been a nice, low-key week, very welcome after the busyness of the holidays. DH and I went to see the new Star Wars movie yesterday. It was a fitting ending to the series, though with Disney owning the franchise now, I’m sure there will be more.

For New Year’s Eve, my husband and I thought about going to downtown Knoxville for their party and ball-drop on Market Square, but decided to just stay home. That was fine with me, as I’m not fond of crowds or cold.

I’ve also been writing (TL;DR: I exceeded my goals!) and going through an online workshop, WMG Publishing’s Teams in Fiction.

What I’ve Been Reading

I finished another novel in the fantasy boxed set. It was full of fantasy cliches (like the young boy predestined to be “the one”) but also had some creative worldbuilding and I enjoyed it. Since there are a couple books in the set I didn’t like, I’m not naming it.

2020 Goals

I also figured out what I want to do with my writing this year:

Writing and Publishing:

Finish the current WIP
Complete edits on last year’s WIP and get it to the publisher

Learning/Business:

Complete two WMG workshops per quarter
Keep up blog streak every Sunday
Read/learn something about copyright once a month
Keep track of books read, including business and other nonfiction, and those not finished
Revamp website (it’s sooooo 2011!)

BONUS (Stretch goals)

Any additional WMG workshops
Edit the current WIP and turn it in to my publisher

What I’ve Been Writing

My goal this past week was to write at least four days, and at least 250 words/day (ramping up slowly). I wrote six days, for a total of just over 1700 words. Yeah, I’ve written that much or more in a day before, but this is really good for me, considering the past couple of years.

This week, I want to continue the slow ramp-up, and write at least 375 words, at least five days.

Goals for ROW80 Round 1:

Current WIP – 36000 words (8000 in Jan, 12000 in Feb, 16000 in March)
WMG Workshops – Teams in Fiction, and Secondary Plotlines
3x learn about copyright (once a month)
Blog every week

What about you–what are your goals for this year? How did you do on last year’s goals? (Let’s not talk about mine!) What did you do on New Year’s Eve/Day, if anything? I’d love to hear from you–please share in the comments, or join the ROW80 group on Facebook!

by Jennette, December 29, 2019

Not much writing happening this week, between the holidays and hosting family and friends. We decided “new state, new traditions,” and started by inviting neighbors over for a drop-in open house on Christmas Eve. While we kept the menu fairly simple–a few appetizers, snacks, and cupcakes–there was still plenty to do to prepare, plus we needed to wrap gifts. And wow, what weather! We wrapped gifts outside on our deck! Can’t say I ever did that in Ohio, though we hear it was unseasonably warm there too.

We had no idea if many (any?) would come to our Christmas Eve drop-in, as a lot of people are busy that night with family, but over a dozen people showed up on Tuesday night, and we had a great fun just hanging out and getting to know our neighbors a little better. Our daughter and her partner arrived that evening too.

They love coming to our new place in Tennessee, which makes us feel really good. On Christmas, after we opened a few gifts (we kept that simple, too), we did a little hiking on the property, and DH taught our daughter’s partner how to drive the tractor and let her bush-hog, which she thoroughly enjoyed! Christmas dinner was simple as well as delicious–our usual traditional ham and twice-baked potatoes, with green beans and biscuits.

We spent the next few days with them, trying out a couple of new-to-us restaurants and a local brewery, which made for a fun and relaxed few days. On Friday night, more friends from Ohio came in, and we made use of our secondary guest space in my office. Our daughter and partner took off the next morning, and we spent the day doing some shopping and sightseeing with our friends.

We drove out to Douglas Dam, where one of our friends took this fantastic photo.

The weather has been amazingly warm and nice all week. Our friends left this morning, so DH and I went for a motorcycle ride, just doing a little exploring in our part of the county. It seems crazy to be able to do such a thing in December!

What I’ve Been Reading

I still managed to read a little every night before bed, even with guests. I’ve been reading through a big box set that I probably won’t discuss in detail, as I didn’t like one of the books in it. Nothing wrong with it, just not to my taste. I am enjoying the others–pretty typical sword and sorcery fantasy fare.

What I’ve Been Writing

I set a very low goal this week, given the holidays. I did not plan to write while we had guests, but I did get to it on Sunday and Monday, and met my goal. This week, I’m going to shoot for 250 words, for four days, as New Year’s comes right in the middle of the week and I don’t yet know what we’re doing for that holiday (if anything).

2019 Goal Wrapup

This pretty much sums up how well I met my admittedly crazy writing goals, given the move:

via GIPHY

I wanted to finish my current WIP. I got about 20,000 words written on it, most of which were written before the move. Heck, I’m just glad I got anything at all written since then! Here were my other goals, which I didn’t detail out in my initial goals post at the end of last year, but that I did write down elsewhere:

Finish writing Time’s Guardian – DONE
Finish writing Time’s Judgement – this is the current WIP. See GIF above.
Complete at least one WMG workshop per quarter – DONE!
Read The Copyright Handbook – Nope
Attend WMG Business Master Class in Las Vegas in October – YES!
Send out one newsletter per month until giveaway books are gone; at least one newsletter afterward in 2019 when there’s news (ideally, quarterly) – uh, I did one books giveaway and took the rest to the library. There hasn’t been any news to speak of on the writing from since, so no newsletters.
Keep track of books read, including business and other nonfiction, and those not finished – Yep. I read 35 books this year, plus TONS of blogs.

So, I guess I would consider that kind of a mixed bag, though better than I expected. I’ll take it!

ROW80 doesn’t start back up until next week, so I’ll post about my 2020 goals then.

What about you–how were your holidays, if you celebrate them? Did you stick to old traditions, or work in something new? How did you do on your 2019 goals? Please share in the comments–I’d love to hear from you. And have a happy New Year!

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