Wednesday ROW80 Check In (11.02.11)

First of all, thanks for all the comment and great feedback! It's been another busy week, but since my #1 writing client slashed their budget for freelance writers, I've been scrambling around looking for other ways to pay the bills, part of which has been taking on more chess classes (I teach chess during after-school programs for the local chess club), so I've not had as much time to devote to ROW80, but I have been writing. In fact, this morning I have an appt with a research clinic to see if I qualify for a hair loss treatment study. No kidding.

Before updating my goals I wanted to address a few comments:

Ryan King mentioned how the color coding reminded him of project status sheets. BINGO. That's where I drew my inspiration.

KH LeMoyne mentioned something about grouping related tasks together and I've found this to be true, too. Most of the blogs I read, query letters sent (and those take more time than I thought especially if you want to do them right!), and writing are done the same day and unfortunately, I don't find much time to read except at bedtime, when I'm already tired.

Tia Bach asked about organization. I am ADD so what I do is break up my day into mini-tasks and make sure I hit all of them equally. I actually list different areas (income, home projects, scouts, writing, etc) and tally when I've completely an actual task under that area or goal. I include rest (DVR catch up mostly) and hobbies to make sure I find time for them as well. After I complete a task or mini-goal I do a little chore around the house.

Thanks for all the other comments, especially Robin McCormack for mentioning my Zen of Customer Service blog (I have more posts ready, just have to find time to write them!) and Kerry Meacham who I am beginning to believe is a figment of my imagination. Will we see you back at the critique group after the Titans season maybe?

Here then is an update on my goals:

1) Read three writing magazines each month: I've read one so far this month and am in the middle of another. YELLOW.

2) Participate in Three Writer's Digest On-Line Seminars: I attended a local writer's workshop so I will count that toward this goal. The workshop was on incorporating our demons into our writing to make our writing come alive more. It was good and helped me get inside the mind of "the other," but I was thinking it was going to be about making our characters more human. My protagonists seem to be above reproach. I need to change that. YELLOW.

3) Write One Short Story or Article Each Month: The workshop generated some ideas and I am anxious to work on them. YELLOW.

4) One Submission/Query a Day: I only sent out one query this week, related to my proposed article for Parents magazine. YELLOW.

5) Three Blog Entries/Week for This Blog and My Customer Service Blog: I haven't kept up on this as much as I should have. I'll have to do more entries this week. I have a few sketched out. See also Zen of Customer Service. YELLOW.

6) Sign Up For a Spring Semester Class: Nothing yet. YELLOW.

7) Customer Service / Techno-Thriller Book: Wrote a few more pages of my techno-thriller and sketched out a few more chapters. Looking good so far and it is being well-received by my critique group. It's funny that the sections I wrote recently get less criticism than those I wrote a year or so ago. It's encouraging since I believe it reflects my growth as a writer. YELLOW.

8) Read Three Craft Books: Reading The Art of Compelling Fiction. Good so far, but very detailed, making it a slow read. GREEN.

9) Read More Fiction: Reading "The Lost Symbol" by Dan Brown since his work is similar to what I'm trying to write. I also read a short story by Raymond Carver and can see how his writing is similar to mine - or should I say mine is similar to his? GREEN.

10) Read More Blogs/Emails: Haven't done as much of this as I would have liked, but I will try to get caught up this week. YELLOW.

That's it for now! Something else I'd like to do is send out more twitter/blogger love. Feel free to follow me (tweets should be showing up in the side bar) and I'll follow you back!