It was suggested to me by Camille LaGuire that I might think about doing regular update posts regarding my WIPs. I currently post two weekly updates regarding my ROW80 goals and while they do relate to my writing, it merely speaks to the accountability of a regular writing routine. It doesn’t go in the details of my WIP’s progress. The more I think on it the more I agree with her that such posts might be needed, even if they’re only for my benefit. Word count goals are tough for me because of the speed at which I write. Even though I have limited amounts of time to work with, time goals seem to be the best for me. There’s a downside to that though. With time goals, I’ve found that I don’t push myself as hard to go beyond what’s comfortable. I think status posts to show how far I’ve gotten might actually push me to work a little bit harder during those time slots in which I write.

I’ve looked around at other blogs and I’ve noticed people vary on their approach when it comes to these “progress reports”. They tend to bounce between posting every day to once a week. The content is just as different too. Sometimes they provide a barebones update and other times they provide thoughts about the day, thoughts about the WIP, exerts and even writing related quotes. Anyone that knows me personally will know that I’m not very chatty. I’m an introvert at heart. I tend to keep my thoughts close to my chest. A daily post would be the best form of accountability for me but I worry that I won’t have much to say outside of “Here’s the word count. Later.” Believe it or not, I have a hard time coming up with what to say on my ROW80 posts that I do. If I thought I could get away with just posting my checkboxes I probably would but even I know that’s far too impersonal of a thing to do.

Even with that in mind, I’m going to opt for the daily posts rather than the weekly. I know the weekly would take the pressure off so I could slack some one day and be really productive the next but that’s what I have now more or less. I haven’t quite figured out the format yet so that means it’ll probably shift around a bit in the first couple of weeks. For those who subscribe to my blog, firstly I’m shocked that you do so and secondly let me apologize for the daily spam you’re about to receive. I’ll totally understand if you choose to unsubscribe. How long will I be doing this? I haven’t the foggiest clue. When am I starting this? Tonight. When, as in the time of day, will I be posting? Most likely it’ll be late in the evening since that’s when I’m able to write. I’m actually rather nervous and terrified by this but I keep telling myself this is good for me and my WIP. So that’s the plan. Only one thing left to do and that’s tell you were I’m starting from:

AST (2 %)

988/40,000

It’s time for another on-the-fly check-in post. I saw Shah’s check-in post this morning on Facebook and was like, “Why is she checking in?” (BECAUSE IT’S WEDNESDAY YOU IDIOT!) Heh. Whoops. That’s twice I’ve done that this round already but at least I seem to catch my mistake early. I talked about not being an avid reader last round a bit and that sad part is I really haven’t read any new books (that aren’t cookbooks) since then. I’m not going to add an official goal or anything like that but I do intend to adding more reading into my routine. I signed up for GoodReads yesterday and, as Lauren or Juliana could most likely testify, I liked it. I actually found out that I’ve read more books that I thought I had. I still want to add more books to both the have-read and the to-be-read pile but so far, I’ve got a good enough spring board to keep me busy for a while. This weekend I’m going to go out and purchase Kenneth Oppel’s “Skybreaker”. It’s the sequel to the last book I read called “Skyborn”. Just like writing, I’m slow at reading but that’s ok. The point is, I’ll be reading. Don’t laugh but I’m aiming to read 6-8 (fiction) books this year.

So far I’m on roll this week. Exercise has been mostly walking during the day while at work instead of at night. Food wise I’ve been doing really well. I can feel the urges to eat more or eat junk food but I can recognize that it happens when I’m stressed or bored out of my head. For those wondering, yes, you can be bored and still be busy as all hell. WIP wise things seem to be going slow but steady. I envy writers that can churn out 1k+ in 30 min to an hour. My creative flow doesn’t go that speed for some reason. I found myself thinking about the blog last night and part of me wants to add a pinch of non-ROW posts to it. But when I think of things to write about, nothing seems right. I guess I’ll be pondering that a bit more until something knocks me over the head. But yes, so far so good on all fronts. Just the way I like it. Though, it’s not like I give myself a choice

Well I’ll be darn. I did it. It took me three weeks but I managed to nail a perfect week. Okay, so perfect probably isn’t the right adjective to describe the week but I did manage to meet every single goal this week (barely). I’ve made a slight tweak to my goals. I’ve dropped the “5 days per week” on my exercise goal because let’s face it, I’ve been aiming for 7 days the whole time. This week I achieved that and the week before if I recall correctly. Those 2 days were originally put in as cushion but I know I don’t need them, not when I’m being honest to myself.

I’m pretty proud of how things have been working out between the calorie intake and the exercise. In fact, I’ve lost a total of 12.8 pounds since the start of this round. It was enough of a weight loss that I can now play Wii Fit again for the first time in 2 years! I can’t begin to express how embarrassing it was when the Wii told me I was too heavy to play Wii Fit. But let me tell you, it felt REALLY good to be able to play hula-hoops again. Ironically enough, my Wii Fit age turned out to be 32. Considering that I just turned 32 not too long ago means I’m right where I should be balance wise. Not bad!

This week was an odd week for me though. I’ve gone through all my old paper copies of my poetry and shredded them (I still have a few reams more to shred). I’ve got multiple digital backups and the printed copies were out of date by at least a year or so. While I was in there reading, I ended up churning out some new poetry for the first time since the beginning of last round. I also went through my old paper copies of my previous submissions. I removed the all the rejection letters and shredded what was left. The rejection letters I intend to hang above my desk to remind me that I’m a writer, that I must continue to improve and that I must continue to submit. Going through all that made me think about my journey as writer thus far. I’ve come a long way in the last 10-15 years but I’ve still got a long ways to go.

Based on the scenes that I’ve written so far, I’ve got a really bad feeling that this novel will actually be a novella. I’m not going to worry about it though. The piece will be as long as it needs to be. I do believe that’s everything for now. Have a wonderful week everyone!

Rather than opt for a brand new design template, I went about increasing the font size, changing the font colors and making the background much lighter. I’m hoping the new design scheme will be much easier on the eyes. While I was in there messing around, I fixed some formatting, created error pages and made some long overdue content updates. I even tweaked the ROW80 logo to make it darker and gave it a transparent background. Overall, I’m happy with the way the site has turned out. Enough about the blasted site, on to the results!

I must say it was awfully close on some of those but I managed to pull through and reach all my goals thus far this week. That totally rocks! I’ve been a bad Ryan though. I haven’t made it around to all the blogs like I have in previous rounds. Much of that is due to my schedule and also partially because I haven’t been going to my twice-weekly “write-ins” at Starbucks. Sorry that I haven’t been visiting as much! I shall endeavor to do better.

First off, for all those that provided feedback on my website’s readability- a huge THANK YOU. I greatly appreciate it. Before last check-in, I had no idea that readability was an issue. Based on the feedback, I’ve already begun to work on a new design that will be much easier on the eyes. The new design should be ready later this week or next week at the latest.

Now then, back to business. As you can see from those lovely checkboxes I managed to meet my goals, well 20 out of 21. That’s good enough for me. All the plot holes I encountered have been fixed and the story continues onward. Weight wise I’ve lost pounds and that’s always a great thing. All in all, a productive week. I’m pleased. Have a great week everyone.