Oh, boy. I had a sprawling, ambitious to-do list for the week, and I’ve utterly failed at almost everything on it. Between grading, going to class, running errands, and furiously packing my bags, I haven’t had much time to squeeze in writing. It’s late and I have to be up in a few hours to head to the airport, so this is just a short little update on progress (or lack thereof):
Thesis: I stuck to my 500 word goal on Sunday, but ended up transitioning into edits and rewrites yesterday. As we all know, word counts can decrease after an intense round of editing (which is, many times, a very good thing), but I’m not keeping a strict count right now. I had wanted to have a complete chapter ready for my advisor by this evening, but that definitely didn’t happen. Crossing my fingers that I can clean up the rest and make it somewhat presentable by the end of the week.
Fiction: Not much to report here, since the thesis has stolen the spotlight. I did a little research during office hours today (looking up the development of electric lighting in theaters, since the main character of my steampunk tale is a saloon singer), and halfheartedly scribbled a 68-word opening for tell me no lies. I added another 100 words to the first chapter of Strange Bedfellows in-between rounds of packing (and unpacking, and repacking…), but again, nothing earth-shattering.
Anyway, I’m out for the next week or so. I may attempt to update via mobile, but as my thumbs are not incredibly dexterous, this could prove to be a challenge. Hopefully everyone else has managed to stay on track this week!
November 29, 1999 at 5:00 pm
Congrats on what you were able to accomplish. You had great intentions, life got in the way, and you’re focusing on what you did do, rather than what you didn’t. The great thing with this challenge is that you have other weeks to work those goals. I wish you weeks of success 🙂 Safe travels!
Marie
July 15, 2011 at 11:07 am
Hi Marie,
Thanks so much! I really do love this challenge, for all the reasons that you’ve listed. It feels good to know that I can wobble here and there, but there’s always another chance to get things done. 🙂
jamila.
November 29, 1999 at 5:00 pm
I love your writing style. Even in this post you propel the reader forward. I can sense the hurried momentum. If you bring this to your fiction, even your thesis, it will read well.
I hope you enjoy your time away.
~ Stephanie
November 29, 1999 at 5:00 pm
At least you did something, that’s better than just totally forgetting about it, which sounds like it would have been understandable given the hectic week it sounds like you had! Have a good trip and hopefully things will calm down for you!
July 15, 2011 at 11:08 am
I was seriously thinking about not posting an update because I didn’t reach my goals — thought it might be better to sit and lick my wounds in solitude, lol! But I’m really glad I did. In a couple of weeks I’ll be wrapping up summer school and heading to my parents’ house for about six weeks, and I’m looking forward to things slowly down.
July 13, 2011 at 8:54 am
Sounds like you’re doing just fine and that you’ll keep it up. If you set small goals you might never even glimpse what you’re aiming at, so a little fail now and then only means you’re aiming high. Congratulations.
July 15, 2011 at 11:05 am
Thanks so much! I agree — for Round 2 I set itty-bitty goals, because I was returning to writing after a very, very long hiatus, and I was nervous about biting off to much. I ended up exceeding those goals to the point where it was clear I needed to step things up a bit. It feels good to be ambitious these days, though, and I’m learning not to reproach myself too badly when I don’t quite make it through everything.
July 13, 2011 at 12:32 pm
I am impressed you can work on so many projects and not get confused! I am just trying to work out whether I can do more than one or if I am an eggs in one basket kind of girl! Well done on getting some writing apart from your thesis done.
July 15, 2011 at 11:02 am
Hey Em,
Yeah, the juggling thing does get a little crazy every now and again. At the moment I feel like all of my WIPs are wee plot bunnies snoozing in their hutch. When I can, I feed them a few carrots and some alfalfa sprouts, and sometimes if they’re good, I let them roam about the grass for a while. Sometimes, though, they overtake me and go charging, and it’s all I can do to keep up!
July 13, 2011 at 6:59 pm
Trying to write your thesis and do fiction writing. Kudos to you. I know how it is. I just finished up my last semester working on Bachelor’s and it was time consuming. Ended up dedicating all writing time to class stuff. Have fun on your trip!
July 15, 2011 at 11:01 am
Hi Robin,
Oh, gosh, so you totally know what I mean! As much as it chafes my style to have to suspend my writing time, there comes a point where you just have to grit your teeth and get it done. I’m hoping if I put the nose to the grindstone, I can wrap up this thesis and move forward with my academic life. 😀
Hope your week went well!