I can NOT believe it's almost June! When did this happen?

Last week I started a brand new WIP. I'd forgotten how hard first drafts are for me. I always have a vision of what I hope the completed final draft will look like, or what I hope it will look like, and that never, ever meshes with that first crappy draft. I'm starting out slow with a goal of 200 words a day, trying not to delete, because I never know when a gem might sparkle, even later.

That being said, my crit partners have sent me their feedback on my other WIP and I'm excited (and nervous) to read them. I'm waiting till next week so that I have 4 weeks away from that WIP. I need that time to gain some distance from the project, to gain some objectivity. Then, I plan to get right back into another revision.

How are you doing?

After finishing a draft of my WIP, I took a week off from writing. It meant catching up with housework, financial stuff, errands (out of toilet paper!), and de-cluttering. Bob has been so supportive during my "must only focus on writing" weeks that he took over cooking. I think I've forgotten how to cook, now! ;) (Bob usually cooks just the weekends, while I make dinners during the week.)

A funny thing happened while I took a break from writing - I was BORED! This week I plan to dive into a brand new project.

How are you doing?

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I've been doing a lot of reading about mindfulness and meditation these past six months. Here are some of the books I've read that I've loved, enough to know that I'll keep reading them over and over. LiveJournal is not letting me post images (grrr) so I'm providing links instead.

1. Beyond Happiness by Ezra Bayda

2. A Gradual Awakening by Stephen Levine

3. Peace Is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh

4. Touching Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh

And I'm currently reading:
5. Path With Heart by Jack Kornfield

There's something so peaceful about learning to be mindful, of learning to live in the present, of feeling emotions without analyzing or trying to fix things. NOT that I'm an expert, far from. It's a process - a practice.

Have a great weekend!

I hoped to post this here today but LJ is giving me trouble over posting pictures. If you'd like to see our before/after Japanese garden project: here. :)

Hello out there in LJ-Land! Seems awfully quiet here. I admit that I've been away for a bit, but hope to ease back into reading blogs here. I wish LJ had a subscription feed like WordPress provides - it's nice to get all the blogs I want to keep up with in my inbox. That way I never miss anything.

Last week I finished draft 4 of a WIP and sent it off to my writing partners for comment and critique. :) YAY! I'm looking forward to getting feedback because I'm at the point where I know it needs work but can't really see where and HOW to fix it. These are smart peeps, writers I respect, so I know they'll have good and smart suggestions.

This week I'm taking off - mostly to catch up with everything I let fall by the wayside while focused on revising. It took me literally ALL day to clean the house on Monday - our house is NOT big. Sigh. Today I'm tackling the filing. WHY do I hate filing so much?

I'm also going to read, A LOT, this week and next! And next week I'm going to start playing with a new story idea.

How goes your writing?

Oops! I've been absent here on LJ but I have a really good reason. I've been writing! ;) Or more accurately, revising. This is draft 4 and the version I'll be sharing with my writing partners this week. This will also be the first time I get feedback on the full ms. I know my draft is far from perfect so I look forward to the wise insight of my readers and to getting helpful suggestions on how to improve my story.

I'm looking forward to taking about a week and a half off from writing - just taking a breather, AND catching up on the housework and other responsibilities I kind of let slide these past 5 weeks. Just ignore those dust bunnies nesting under the couch, please. ;) I also look forward to reading! Three books I've been looking forward to are being released on May 8th. I blog about my reading here: DEBtastic Reads!.

I'll be diving into a brand new project (I seem to get new story ideas when I'm deep in revision) next week!

How are you all doing with your writing? I want to hear about your progress and cheer you on!

On Saturday, Bob and I went to see the movie Jiro Dreams of Sushi at the independent Aquarius Theater in Palo Alto. The documentary is about 85-year-old Jiro who runs a sushi restaurant. (The movie is in Japanese but with English subtitles.) Learning about how much he cares about the food he prepares from choosing the fish at Tsukiji and requesting a special rice blend just for his restaurant to the painstaking detail of preparation and the demands he makes on his staff was absolutely fascinating. But, there was much bigger take home for me.

He talks about always loving your job and never complaining about it. To complain would be a form of disrespect. I thought about my writing, and how much I do love it - the process - but how I spend energy complaining about sales (or lack thereof). How was that productive? How was that good for my energy? (I've been reading a lot about mindfulness and practicing meditation.) I'm lucky because I do know what I love to do. Some people go through their entire lives never finding their passion, or not being able to devote time and energy and love to it. Jiro's obvious dedication to his craft is inspirational. And that he gives credit to his staff for the quality of the food is admirable.

One of his apprentices talked about how he spent 4 - 5 months learning how to make the special egg/tamago for the sushi dish. Time after time he was told "no good." Over 200 of his egg dishes were tossed out, not good enough. When Jiro finally told him that his egg was good, the apprentice said he cried because he was so happy. Jiro strikes me as a tough boss, and it's possible he may yell at his staff (though I can't see it), but that the apprentices stay and want to please him shows how much respect he garners. Anyway, I was thinking about the apprentice and those eggs he tried to make, over and over, and the pride and happiness he felt when he finally made one to the chef's liking.

That's me. I'm making eggs. Each novel I write, I learn something new. With each critique or rejection or suggestion, I learn something new. I just hope I won't have to write 200 novels before I sell one. ;)

I highly recommend seeing this movie - even if you're not a fan of sushi or food or restaurants. There is much to learn from this wise man.

Feeling very accomplished about last week - I met my goal, finished draft 3 of my WIP and now starting in on draft 4. Draft 3 was a plot draft and I finally feel good about the story arc and the plot. Now I'm focusing on character development and getting her voice right, and clear. I've cleared off my calendar for the entire month, for the most part, canceling social engagements and even postponing a (gasp) hair appointment! All so I can give as much time and energy to this revision as possible. What's the push? A good friend and an author I respect very much has offered to do a crit of my WIP and she has a small window of time to do this. I hope to finish this draft to a point where I won't be mortified to share it with her in the time allotted. Rest assured, if it's not ready enough, I won't waste her time. ;) I'm excited about doing this revision!

How are you doing? I"m cheering you on!

Wow. Yeah, I know. I've fallen behind here. I must confess that these days I am spending more time on my two WordPress blogs: DEBtastic Reads! and RadJams. I feel very Multiple Personality, but it's actually helped me feel more organized having definite themes in separate blogs. This remains my personal journal as well as my writing blog. The DEBtastic is my reading blog and the RadJams is my travel blog. None of the blogs are getting full-time attention, though. Sigh.

Anyway, I'm here to keep honest about my Year of Writing. I felt like I wasn't making much progress, but as of today (Tuesday) I finished another draft of my WIP! It's in no way ready to share as I feel like I've done three first drafts at this point, but at least I'm finally ready to do a proper revision. I'm determined to make April a serious month of writing. I've already rescheduled/canceled appointments and engagements and have explained to my supportive hubby that the house may be a bit dustier and messier this month. My biggest frustration so far this year as been with the starts and stops I've been dealing with due to travel. I love the travel, I appreciate the travel, but at the same time, it's not conducive to my writing. I'm hoping for NO travel this month. I'm just back from a week in Wilmington NC visiting my father-in-law. It was the first time we visited since Bob's mom passed away almost 2 years ago. I missed her. I was also happy to spend time with my father-in-law. That being said, I'm now turning my full attention to my writing. Really.

How are you guys doing?