Writing Schedule?

A few days ago, I crashed headfirst into chaos -- a good chaos, but chaos nonetheless.  In short, I'm busier than I've been in months; every free minute is precious.  So for the first time in my life, I'm going to implement a writing schedule.  Well, not exactly a schedule, but a checkpoint:  a 750-word daily minimum.  It's not a lot, but I know I'm not going to have a lot of spare time to write -- and it's better than nothing.

What about you?  Do you stick to a writing schedule?  What do you think about a daily minimum word count?  In what ways do you make time for writing?

Query Contest at Unicorn Bell

So, Unicorn Bell  is hosting a query workshop/contest that lasts until the end of August!  They've been posting sample queries, advice, etc. and this week begins the actual workshop.

Originally I had planned to submit a query for THE LOST FIGUREHEAD, but I realized that probably wouldn't be a good idea.  As much as I'd love to, there's not a chance I'm going to have the manuscript ready to go by the end of August.  So instead, I submitted my query for THE REFUGEE.

If you have a finished manuscript, head on over to Unicorn Bell for their School's In Query Contest!

Living my own story

So I've been absent for a long time!  You know, thanks to the usual offenders:  work, household chores, a few birthdays, etc.

It's so easy for life to get in the way of writing.  Sometimes, I get bitter about it.  My fingers itch to rumble over the keyboard, so I stay up till dawn -- which makes me even crankier the next day, especially because most of the time, those extra hours produced one measly paragraph, which I'll probably delete later anyway.  (I don't work well after midnight).

But then I consider:  Yes, sometimes life gets in the way -- but honestly, that's OK.  Because every once in awhile we need to step back from our work and live our lives.  Our real lives, away from the computer.

For writers, it doesn't take much to get drawn into our own worlds.  That's fine, but when we do it for too long, we might miss out on a lot of rich, tangible experiences.  Like throwing yourself off a giant sand dune.  Or playing cowgirl in Fort Worth, Texas.  Or joining up with the friend you've known since preschool to attend bartending school together -- just for kicks and giggles.

Jockey Ridge in Kill Devil Hills, NC.  Yup, I rolled down that monster.

So am I upset that I wasn't nearly as productive as I wanted to be this summer?  No, not really -- because I've had some pretty spectacular adventures within the past few months, and I'm grateful for every one of them.

It's great to write, but let's not forget to live our own stories.

Excuse me while I sob

The Great Gatsby, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, has been pushed back to Summer 2013.

Well, at least now I can focus all my excitement on Les Misérables.