Squat

As in I have done squat today :( My laptop is on the blink. I can type for a while but then if I close it to go do something like take a break, when I get back the whole screen is white. It whites out too while I'm typing and then I lose everything I've written. So now I'm scared to write any more words for fear I will lose it all. VERY FRUSTRATING!!! So I may end up doing my story on the Alpha Smart or my desktop though I am loathe to use either one. Sigh.

In better news I got my haircut and I really like it. I also signed up for a class with Lori Wilde whom I love. She's teaching high concept writing. I took her Romance Writing class through ed2go and ended up buying her high concept book and working through it myself. But now she is teaching a class to go through the book and I'd like to see if I got the lessons right.

I might also be participating in a write a book in a month challenge again this month. So lots going on and hopefully good news will follow behind all my hard work :)

Misty

Updated Website

This year is all about goals. My first goal has been accomplished and I'm pleased as punch :) I updated my website at www.mistysimon.com. It still has a few bugs with a template issue, but I'm pleased. I realized when I was in there that I hadn't updated since July of 2006. Oops! That is way too long to go without any updates. I didn't even have info on Something Old, Something Dead on there or Reignited. Bad Misty!!! No biscuits again for me! LOL.

Today, I'm getting my hair cut and starting on rereading the Harry Potter books from 1 through 7. I've never done that before, read straight through so I'll be interested to see if I catch everything this time around.

And I'll be writing this afternoon. I started out with a good 1,000 words yesterday and am aiming for 3K a day going forward. Hopefully I can get back up to speed since it's been a while.

Wish me luck!

Misty

New Beginnings

So my on the word train thing didn't pan out the way I thought it would. I got off the word train pretty quickly and honestly just took a break. My poor brain had turned to mush, no kidding. I wrote approximately 320,000 words from Jan to Dec 2007 and it rebelled on me when I asked it to write any more. But that's okay. I got a lot of good stuff done last year and am now rested and looking forward to what I plan on doing this year. First up is finishing Frame and Fortune. I have roughly 20K on it at this point, maybe a little under that. If you read my last post you'll see that Ivy's are normally about 60K so I have about 40K to do this month. I want to have it out the door to the publisher no later than the end of January. Sooner if possible. We'll see :)

In other news, my anthology with the lovely Vicki and Vicky should be coming out here soon and I will update as I get more info. You're not going to want to miss this one since it is shape shifting domestic animals :) YAY!!!!

And finally, this year I have chosen three words that will describe my year. They are Persistent, Consistent and Focused. What are your goals or words? Let's see if we can stick with them.

HAPPY, HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL!!!!!!!!!!!

Misty

On the word train

Good morning! So I got through the first 50 pages I had written a long time ago when I thought Frame and Fortune was going to be book two instead of The Wrong Drawers. Not bad, not bad at all. A lot to work with, but some firming up and expanding to do. So now that it's all done, I'm on to completely new words! YAY! I'm determined to get this done by the end of the month if not sooner, so keep an eye out for the word count. I'm starting with 10,575 and going from there. Ivy is usually about 60,000 so that gives me 50,000 to do :)

Misty

And So It Begins

I finished Something Old, Something Dead last night, the third in my Ivy series, so I could get ready for writing this next one. I'm hyped up and ready to go. It's funny, though, how many things I set up in the third book that I can use in the fourth. I love when that happens without preplanning!!!!

Yesterday was interesting as we bought a four foot tree (fake) because I no longer have the room in my house to put up my six and a half foot one. My grandmother (God love her) gave us an organ (the piano type kind, dirty birdy). N loves it and that's great, but it sits in the exact spot where the Christmas tree goes. Hence the four footer that will now go on a coffee table. Fine with me. Less ornaments to put away at the end of the season - unless she manages to get them all on there :) Could happen, don't laugh.

I never did figure out how to put that word counter on here for a working manuscript, so I'll just have to report in with numbers and percentages. I may take a little bit to start posting big numbers, but my goal is to be done by the 31st. Keep me honest :)

Misty

Gearing up

So as I gear up to write the next Ivy, I'm reading the last one. The one that inspired the tattoo on my back :) And I'm cracking myself up! Maybe that's narcissistic, but I think it's a hoot. To still enjoy the book after I've written it, edited it, gone over it with the publisher, read it again and now reading it again, gives me a real thrill. Fortunately, I'm laughing at all the right places instead of thinking how stupid it was to put it out in the first place!

So I'm getting back into the groove and the voice of Ivy, making a point to get back into her head and gleaning some additional ideas along the way on how to make the next one richer and hopefully even funnier. Wish me luck. I hope to start writing on it tomorrow or Tuesday at the latest. I will be done by the end of the month. How about you ride along for the journey?

Misty

Let the parties begin!

I don't think there is really anything better than hanging out with a bunch of friends who have the same interests as you. Yes, parties where there are a variety of people with a variety of jobs is great. Learn something new, find out about a job or hobby you've never experienced. But then there are the parties where a group of people with a common job get together and these are also a blast.

Today was such a party as the people from CPRW (Central Pennsylvania Romance Writers) got together at the wonderful Fran's house and had a rollicking good time. I love to hear all the different conversations going on throughout the room - from writing to just getting to know each other outside the monthly meetings we have where mostly business is conducted. It was awesome and such a boost. Now I'm going to critique a friends manuscript and then tomorrow I hope to start the next Ivy. Woo-hoooo!!! I love writing Ivys and I hope you love reading them :)

Have a great day and have a blast going into this holiday season. Nothing better than enjoying the time with friends and family.

Misty - who is so proud of herself for blogging today :) LOL