17 June 2014

Cracking the Whip...On Myself?

Today is the first day of whatever the hell it is I'm doing. My fiance and I got back from Vegas a week ago but he was still on vacation until today, so it was hard for me to really get anything done (we could really use two rooms...). I wanted to blog yesterday but we pretty much spent the whole day putting away groceries, doing dishes, and making tacos (yay!). Today I'm finally all by myself and I have to figure out what exactly I'm doing.

I know I don't want to find a job right away. But I also know I want to be prepared to get one. I need to create a resume, maybe a cover letter, and some kind of writing portfolio. If I'm checking for jobs all the time, even if I'm not expecting to find one, I should be prepared. That way if I find a job that I'm interested in, I can apply for it without worrying about getting everything together. 

I kinda don't even want to think about the *shudders* THIRD DRAFT of my novel. The second draft was more of a line by line rewrite. With this one, I don't have to do so much technical rewriting. It's more about big picture stuff, which, honestly, is even scarier than rewriting. I really want this to be the final draft that I'm going to send out, so I can't avoid any parts that I know need fixing (ugh...setting...). I did go through and highlight the entire Guide to Literary Agents and found a few good matches, and several to research further. So, fingers crossed! Now I just have to write a query letter...

I think my biggest problem is that I don't really know how to structure my work. I've never been good at giving myself a schedule. I've thought about having daily goals, like say, two hours of editing, one hour of blogging, etc. I've thought about devoting each day to one thing. I'm not sure if these ideas are going to work either. But I'm afraid if I don't structure myself I'm just going to get lazy, and without a day job to fall back on, I really can't afford to do that. I have made a list of weekly goals, which I guess is a start. I'll see how much further I want to take it. I think it would be better to start each day with particular goals in mind. 

I definitely need to blog more. And visit other blogs. And just network, network, network. I plan on blogging every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (shh...I know it's Tuesday...). I have some ideas but the thought of coming up with something three times a week is a bit daunting. I have like, sixteen blog hop posts to write. Ok, maybe just two. But I also need to find three people to pass one on to (any volunteers? Huh? You know you want to!), and pick ELEVEN for the other, although this is a bit easier because I just have to nominate people, rather than find someone who is willing to participate. 

Ok, I think I'm done. I swear my future posts will have more of a purpose. I do occasionally come up with ideas for writing tips. What is everyone else up to? 

5 comments:

  1. I gave up trying to give myself a schedule. lol I'd been making them for myself since I was a kid and never followed them consistently. And smart thinking about preparing for a job now. That and your writing is the most important thing.

    What kind of bloghop?

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    1. It's a Writing Process post, basically you answer four questions and then pass it on to three other bloggers. Here's the link to the one that's been passed on to me: http://www.bluebicblog.com/2014/06/blog-tour.html

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  2. Good luck with your third draft and for your job hunt when you start it. To me, it sounds like you're getting things together. Having a list of weekly goals is a great idea and should really help you. I know it helps me. :)

    I am also doing the writing process blog hop. I hope to have my post up on Friday, but I still have to find three willing participants. *sigh*

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    1. Finding people really is the hardest part, isn't it?

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  3. Think of it, you're on your third and possibly final draft. It's the homestretch! Woot!

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