The Mysterious Case of the Check-in that Never Was.

So it's already been, what, ten days since ROW80 started?  It's kind of terrifying to think that 1/8th of the whole thing is already over!  Even more terrifying is how little that I've completed, but hey, the good thing about that is that I've still got SEVENTY days to write!  That's still more than twice as many as NaNo and then some.  The thing is, I don't think that I'm going to actually start writing until day sixty or so, just because my planning is just...going a little bit slower than I would have hoped it would.   That's me, though, because I keep allowing myself to get distracted by television and movies and family and driving.  Yet, that isn't so bad because I'm still doing my RP-writing, and yesterday I caught up on four of the eleven threads I have going, as well as numerous journal entries.  I think that that makes up for a lot the writing I'm not doing for my chapbooks.

Excuses.  That was basically an excuse, really.  That was my mind's way of coping with my momentary failure.  That's how my brain works!  It twists bad situations until they're positive ones.  Anyways, so now it's time to copy over my old goals and cross out what I've done so far!  Also, if any of you are curious to see past goals that I've removed from the list, just go back to old posts.  I've deleted ones that have been met for last week, since that would just add to the clutter and I'm trying to keep this simple.

RP WRITING

• -2. Make sure to do at least one long tag response a day. These threads are the ones most important to my characters and I know that. Granted, being on the iPad makes that difficult, I know it can be done. The responses don’t have to be as long, but make sure to keep the threads going.
• -3. Make sure to write at least two character journals a week. Don’t repeat if possible.
• A. Keep an excel spreadsheet of this if necessary.
• As can be seen, my RP goals are being met.  These were the last two that I needed to take care of, and because of that, I've crossed them out.  These are the two goals that are going to need constant monitoring, though, so I'm going to continue copying them over.

PERSONAL GOALS

Sadly, none of my personal goals are being met right now.  I keep forgetting about them, to be completely honest.  This week, I'm going to really start working on them.  Also, with my weight goal, I'm going to have to cross it out because I don't know if I'll ever achieve it due to the scale.  I believe it's broken, as it said that in 24 hours (8 of which I was sleeping), I gained 8 pounds.  Without eating 8 pounds of food.  So, new scale will eventually be required.  For now, that goal is being put on the back burner and the number will be lowered.

• -1. Lose another 15 lbs before my cousin’s wedding. That’s at the end of October sometime. If I lose 5 lbs a week, something I’ve done before with diet and exercise, then I’ll hit my goal before the wedding. This is an easy goal because I’ve been steadily losing weight since I graduated college. This was without exercising much as well, so when I add that in, the weight should melt off!
• -2. Meditate daily. I’ve been stressed because of graduating and being in the real world for the first time in my life, so I just need some down time when I’m doing absolutely nothing. I would say a minimum of 30 minutes of meditation a day should be good. I’ll have to spread those out, though, as I’ll lose interest in doing the meditation. Ten minutes here, five there, and I should be fine 
• -3. Free write a little at least twice a week. It doesn’t have to be much, but it should help the juices flow.
• -4. Read goddammit! I’ve got a bookcase and two boxes of books to read, as well as the numerous books on my Nook. Again, this doesn’t have to be much, but I want to finish at least a book, if not two, before ROW80 is over.
• -5. Get a job!

Week 2 (formerly known as Week 1):

• -3. Make a very, VERY basic outline of the plot and story. (Started)
• -4. Develop characters in mind well enough to have a strong main cast as well as a few important minor characters.
• A. Don’t spend too much time on this. If not doable, focus on the main character and develop others through there and through interaction between other characters while writing.
• -5. Decide on setting (time, place, etc).
• A. Again, don’t spend too much time here. Places will develop as needed outside of the main setting while writing.
• -6. Once done with these steps, make a schedule for writing.
• A. Keep it flexible. Hiccups will happen.
• B. Keep it reasonable. Don’t set goals like writing an entire chapbook every two days. Work with chapters within the chapbook.
• C. Don’t fret if the schedule is broken. Set up caveats in case a goal isn’t reached.
• D. Remember that not all chapters will be the same length and keep an eye out for points that seem to be good ending points for each chapbook.
• -7. Decide how many chapters in a chapbook and plan accordingly!

So yes, that is what I've done so far for my writing goals.  It's very little, but a step is a step in the right direction.  That's really the only way to think about it, right?  I mean, if I constantly focus on the negative, I'm going to end up giving up, and after my revelation last night, I know that that is the last thing that I want to do.  In fact, now is the perfect time in my life to be doing something like this, you know?  I'm just graduated, I'm just finding myself, and I still don't have a job.  This leaves me with an incredible amount of time to do this and to achieve this dream.  There's nothing better than taking a chance when it's given to you, right?

Okay, time for my goals.

PERSONAL GOALS

I'm adding in a couple more personal goals because I feel like they'll help me with relaxing and just being calmer in general.  Though some of them may seem a little bit...I don't know, silly?  They'll work for me, though.

• 1.  Play some video games every couple of days.  There's nothing more therapeutic than killing things every now and then in a virtual reality.  It doesn't matter what game, but as long as I play it for like an hour or two, it will allow me to relax more and take my frustrations out on them.
• 2.  Maybe take a nap.  I've seen things here and there that say that a 20 minute nap every day helps to increase productivity and lower stress levels.
• 3.  Maybe learn to do something new.  An arts/craft, an exercise style, the beginning of a language.  Keep the mind working.
• 4.  Write a poem once a week.  It's a different kind of creativity and keeps the thoughts flowing.  Who knows?  Maybe a poem will spark an idea!

Week 2 (formerly known as Week 1):

• -3. Make a very, VERY basic outline of the plot and story. (Started)
• -4. Develop characters in mind well enough to have a strong main cast as well as a few important minor characters.
• A. Don’t spend too much time on this. If not doable, focus on the main character and develop others through there and through interaction between other characters while writing.
• -5. Once done with these steps, make a schedule for writing.
• A. Keep it flexible. Hiccups will happen.
• B. Don’t fret if the schedule is broken. Set up caveats in case a goal isn’t reached.
• C. Remember that not all chapters will be the same length and keep an eye out for points that seem to be good ending points for each chapbook.

One question (that's a lie, I've got a couple) for all of you reading this out there.  I've made it known that I'm doing this writing in chapbook format.  Each chapbook is going to have 5-7 chapters per book, and I think I'm going to have about 20 books in total which I plan to combine down into 10ish, maybe less.  As you can all see, I've still got the plot planning to do, and I know what's causing me problems there.  I don't know how to plan out the plot.  Should I plot out each book, or should I plot out the story as a whole?  How do you organize your plot outlines or designs?  Do you have any suggestions or ideas?  Does your type of organization change with different genres?  I ask because I've always been a pantser.  I've never plotted out a story or characters, and I think that may be part of my issue, so any advice you can give would be lovely!  Thank you!

With that, I bid all of you adieu!

Sunday Check-in

So, before I get started with my check-in and stuff, I just wanted to inform people that this is the same person from over at http://mitsuraki.tumblr.com.  I decided to create a new blog so that people could actually comment on my posts since I couldn't get it to happen on Tumblr.  So yes...new blog yay!  My goal and intent posts are also here if you guys want to check it out.  Okay, so that's the news.  Ready for the check-in?  If not, too bad.  Go!

Check in for 10/7/12

So, I'm going to copy over my goals for ROW80 and I'll cross out what I actually accomplished.

RP WRITING

• -1. Tag as many threads as possible at least once a day. If all threads are short responses, try for two responses.
• -2. Make sure to do at least one long tag response a day. These threads are the ones most important to my characters and I know that. Granted, being on the iPad makes that difficult, I know it can be done. The responses don’t have to be as long, but make sure to keep the threads going.
• -3. Make sure to write at least two character journals a week. Don’t repeat if possible.
• —-A. Keep an excel spreadsheet of this if necessary.
• -4. Try to write with more of the players!
• -5. Most important rule of them all: have fun! Take a break if necessary to replenish the fun factor.

DRIVING

• -1. Set up lessons. Discuss what needs to be done and what can be done to expedite this process.
• -2. Take lessons and make the most of them.
• -3. Take the road test and get license!!!

PERSONAL GOALS

• -1. Lose another 15 lbs before my cousin’s wedding. That’s at the end of October sometime. If I lose 5 lbs a week, something I’ve done before with diet and exercise, then I’ll hit my goal before the wedding. This is an easy goal because I’ve been steadily losing weight since I graduated college. This was without exercising much as well, so when I add that in, the weight should melt off!
• -2. Meditate daily. I’ve been stressed because of graduating and being in the real world for the first time in my life, so I just need some down time when I’m doing absolutely nothing. I would say a minimum of 30 minutes of meditation a day should be good. I’ll have to spread those out, though, as I’ll lose interest in doing the meditation. Ten minutes here, five there, and I should be fine 
• -3. Free write a little at least twice a week. It doesn’t have to be much, but it should help the juices flow.
• -4. Read goddammit! I’ve got a bookcase and two boxes of books to read, as well as the numerous books on my Nook. Again, this doesn’t have to be much, but I want to finish at least a book, if not two, before ROW80 is over.
• -5. Get a job!

Week 1:

• 1. Write down possible ideas for the novel.
• 2. Decide which idea is the final idea by fleshing out ideas a little bit then deciding which one is the most interesting and seems to be the one that will keep my attention.
• A. If more ideas than just one seem to be interesting enough and seem plausible enough, try seeing if they can be combined and if they can, make that the main plot.
• -3. Make a very, VERY basic outline of the plot and story.
• -4. Develop characters in mind well enough to have a strong main cast as well as a few important minor characters.
• A. Don’t spend too much time on this. If not doable, focus on the main character and develop others through there and through interaction between other characters while writing.
• -5. Decide on setting (time, place, etc).
• A. Again, don’t spend too much time here. Places will develop as needed outside of the main setting while writing.
• -6. Once done with these steps, make a schedule for writing.
• A. Keep it flexible. Hiccups will happen.
• B. Keep it reasonable. Don’t set goals like writing an entire chapbook every two days. Work with chapters within the chapbook.
• C. Don’t fret if the schedule is broken. Set up caveats in case a goal isn’t reached.
• D. Remember that not all chapters will be the same length and keep an eye out for points that seem to be good ending points for each chapbook.
• -7. Decide how many chapters in a chapbook and plan accordingly!

So that's all that I've done for the first week.  A lot of things came up this week that got in the way of doing what I needed to do.  It's unfortunate that the first 7 days didn't go as I had hoped they would.  However, what I have done, as I said, is crossed out, and at least one of my goals is entirely completed!  That said, here's what I've gotten done for the book I'm trying to write:

• I've got the plot.  I'm pretty stoked about the plot I came up with by myself (this has been something I've always, ALWAYS been weak with and so for the two NaNo's that I've done I've adopted some plots that seemed really, really promising [and they are, I jut need to get the motivation to continue those stories].  Not this time, though!).  It's actually the plot of an old short story I was writing years ago, but it's been tweaked to fit a novel format.  This is probably the most exciting news I've got for this check-in.
• I've also decided on how many chapbooks I'm doing.  My plan was to do one a day, but I realized that that was a bit too much (80 chapbooks?  I think no).  So I'm trying for 2 or 3 a week.  That's about...20 or so?  Which I'll then combine into 10.  As it is, I think my chapbooks will be about...5-7 chapters long, with each chapter being 5-15 pages long.  Each page is going to be 5x7 (I THINK that's the size of average paperbacks?), which will be easier to manage than 5-15 8.5x11 pages.

So that's all I've done, which is sad for me, but this week should be a heck of a lot more productive!  If not, then I guess I'll just have to deal with cutting back on my goals, like a lot.  If that happens, I'll do just that, no big deal.  Alright people, this has gotten WAY too long, so I'm going to say peace!

P.S. Just realized that I forgot to put in my goals for this week.  So, I should do that now.

• -1. Make a very, VERY basic outline of the plot and story.
• -2. Develop characters in mind well enough to have a strong main cast as well as a few important minor characters.
• A. Don’t spend too much time on this. If not doable, focus on the main character and develop others through there and through interaction between other characters while writing.
• -3. Decide on setting (time, place, etc).
• A. Again, don’t spend too much time here. Places will develop as needed outside of the main setting while writing.
• -4. Once done with these steps, make a schedule for writing.
• A. Keep it flexible. Hiccups will happen.
• B. Keep it reasonable. Don’t set goals like writing an entire chapbook every two days. Work with chapters within the chapbook.
• C. Don’t fret if the schedule is broken. Set up caveats in case a goal isn’t reached.
• D. Remember that not all chapters will be the same length and keep an eye out for points that seem to be good ending points for each chapbook.

I know that this is basically the same goals for writing that I had for week one, but I think I'll be able to get this stuff done this week!

Goal Post! ROW80 Round 4!

Goal Post! ROW80 Round 4!

Okay! So my goal post is being set up now because if I don’t, I’ll never remember to do it. I think my goals are pretty doable since I cut back a lot on what my original plan was. I made an intentions post already, but that’s okay, because it has my idea for HOW to write this novel. I’m pretty sure it will work. At least, I hope it will work! As it is, I have things that I’m doing with my life other than doing ROW80, so I have to make sure I include them in my plan for doing this. If I don’t, I know that I won’t accomplish anything that I’m trying to get done. It’s times like this that I wish I was a freshman in college again because then I could focus on this pretty much entirely. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case, so I have to work around my life. It’s hectic, but I think I can do it without dying! I’m going to start off with my goals for things that are not related to ROW80, so if you want to, feel free to just skip down to those if you aren’t here for the other stuff in my life. Now, some of the people who MIGHT visit are not going to know who I am, which is okay, because I expect that. This is my first time doing A Round of Words in 80 Days. Like others, I’ve thought about doing this many, many times, but it always seemed like I remembered halfway through, and by that point I knew that I wouldn’t be able to get much done, not to mention I was in school for much of the first two rounds. I was going to do the third round, but I kind of forgot about it. So here I am, starting this on round four. Hello to everyone who might drop by! I’m Jon! Now, it’s time for my goals! (Yes, I ramble and my blog posts will be train of thought, but hopefully it’s not of bad!)

Ready? Go!

RP WRITING
Not many people I know in person RP like I do, so if you need an explanation, let me know and I’ll delve into my main writing source to explain it. My goals for this one are simple, short, and to the point.

• -1. Tag as many threads as possible at least once a day. If all threads are short responses, try for two responses.
• -2. Make sure to do at least one long tag response a day. These threads are the ones most important to my characters and I know that. Granted, being on the iPad makes that difficult, I know it can be done. The responses don’t have to be as long, but make sure to keep the threads going.
• -3. Make sure to write at least two character journals a week. Don’t repeat if possible.
• —-A. Keep an excel spreadsheet of this if necessary.
• -4. Try to write with more of the players!
• -5. Most important rule of them all: have fun! Take a break if necessary to replenish the fun factor.

DRIVING
At 23, I need to get my license. I have a learners permit, but that isn’t good enough, as I need a license to get a job. The goal for this one is even easier than the one for RP.

• -1. Set up lessons. Discuss what needs to be done and what can be done to expedite this process.
• -2. Take lessons and make the most of them.
• -3. Take the road test and get license!!!

PERSONAL GOALS

The goals under this task are going to be difficult to pull off, as my days are so filled anyways. However, I’m going to try to succeed. If I don’t, then I know I at least tried and it made me a better person for that.

• -1. Lose another 15 lbs before my cousin’s wedding. That’s at the end of October sometime. If I lose 5 lbs a week, something I’ve done before with diet and exercise, then I’ll hit my goal before the wedding. This is an easy goal because I’ve been steadily losing weight since I graduated college. This was without exercising much as well, so when I add that in, the weight should melt off!
• -2. Meditate daily. I’ve been stressed because of graduating and being in the real world for the first time in my life, so I just need some down time when I’m doing absolutely nothing. I would say a minimum of 30 minutes of meditation a day should be good. I’ll have to spread those out, though, as I’ll lose interest in doing the meditation. Ten minutes here, five there, and I should be fine 
• -3. Free write a little at least twice a week. It doesn’t have to be much, but it should help the juices flow.
• -4. Read goddammit! I’ve got a bookcase and two boxes of books to read, as well as the numerous books on my Nook. Again, this doesn’t have to be much, but I want to finish at least a book, if not two, before ROW80 is over.
• -5. Get a job!

.
Finally, I’m at my writing goals. Each week, I’m going to post a new schedule for the week. I believe that having these short term plans will make it much easier to keep on schedule, plus I don’t have to adjust one massive schedule it I fall behind. Thus, that is why I’m only posting the first week’s worth of stuff, which, tbh, is not as interesting as it sounds. Ready? Cool!

Week 1:

• 1. Write down possible ideas for the novel.
• 2. Decide which idea is the final idea by fleshing out ideas a little bit then deciding which one is the most interesting and seems to be the one that will keep my attention.
• A. If more ideas than just one seem to be interesting enough and seem plausible enough, try seeing if they can be combined and if they can, make that the main plot.
• -3. Make a very, VERY basic outline of the plot and story.
• -4. Develop characters in mind well enough to have a strong main cast as well as a few important minor characters.
• A. Don’t spend too much time on this. If not doable, focus on the main character and develop others through there and through interaction between other characters while writing.
• -5. Decide on setting (time, place, etc).
• A. Again, don’t spend too much time here. Places will develop as needed outside of the main setting while writing.
• -6. Once done with these steps, make a schedule for writing.
• A. Keep it flexible. Hiccups will happen.
• B. Keep it reasonable. Don’t set goals like writing an entire chapbook every two days. Work with chapters within the chapbook.
• C. Don’t fret if the schedule is broken. Set up caveats in case a goal isn’t reached.
• D. Remember that not all chapters will be the same length and keep an eye out for points that seem to be good ending points for each chapbook.
• -7. Decide how many chapters in a chapbook and plan accordingly!

And that, ladies and gents, is my ridiculously long goal post! I’m sure ill be able to keep up with it, though! Jon out!

80 Days of Writing Round 4

80 Days of Writing Round 4

So, you know how as a college graduate I should be spending all of my time working on finding work and trying to get my license, yes?  Well, while doing that, I’ve decided that I’m also going to be doing this thing called “A Round of Words in 80 Days”.  Basically, for 80 days you write or whatever.  It’s a lot like NaNoWriMo, but instead of 30 days of intense writing, it’s 80 days of long, drawn out writing.  At least, for me it will be.  You see, I’m doing things a bit differently for ROW80.  I’m doing chapbooks this time.  Instead of working on writing one long, perfect novel, I’m going to be working on a serialized version of a novel, with about 5 chapters per novel.  It sounds easy, right?  Wrong.  It means that I’m going to have to know exactly where to end each chapbook, and I’m going to have to set a specific amount of chapters in each chapbook.  I said 5, but I think I’m going to go with 6 or 7.  It just depends on how the first book works out.

How is this different?  Well, this means that instead of trying to plot out the entirety of all of a novel, I can work on plotting out the chapbooks one at a time, which means that I’ll be forced to work in parts.  Due to my short attention span, I think this might actually be helpful for me, especially because if I get bored with writing the POV of one person, I could always use each chapbook to write from a different character’s POV.

So what is this?  This is my post of intent to participate in ROW80.  Wish me luck, guys!

New Blog Yay!

Hi!  New Blog!