Performance Evaluation

It's that time of year again!

It's time to fill out my self-evaluation at work. Yes, such is the life of a corporate drone. April sort of sucks thanks to the end of that fiscal year. Boo.

I stared at the blank form, desperately resisting the urge to fill it out in verse, and began to think about what my self-evaluation as a writer would look like (my mind tends to sink into wanderlust as I sit in my cubicle...) What are my objectives for this next fiscal year? Flesh out those characters? Find my voice? Flesh out that main character? Work on that pacing? Learn some freaking grammar?

What did I do write (ha. ha. get it?) this past year? Where did I improve? What could I continue to work on? What didn't go exactly as planned?

Well, a lot didn't go as planned. But that could be a good thing or a bad thing. One of my favorites parts of writing is the unexpected. Uh, where did that character come from? How did that plot twist suddenly pop into my head? OH! OH! OH! New SHINY IDEA!

Then again, the unexpected could be bad. This, for me, usually pertains to timing.

"I'll get the first draft done in November and revise in December and January and be ready for a quick polish at the beginning of February and then query time! Woo Hoo!"

Massive amounts of plot holes poked at my writing road and rejections and life and pressure that I put completely on myself brought me down. I've taken that pressure away and I'm much happier. Why did I do that to myself?

Note for improvement: Lighten Up, Lisa. Lighten Up!

Bottom Line: As long as I keep improving and learning, everything's okay.

Note for improvement: Don't forget to go outside every now and then. Look at the sky. It's very pretty this time of year.

FONTS!

Does it matter what font you write in? Does that somehow effect your writing?

It seems like the last thing I should be worrying about. And I'm not really worrying, really, but during my massive rewrite I switched out of the oh-so-boring Times New Roman. It's much more fun now to look at the words.

But when I send this puppy out for people to read, I'll switch back to the standard. I just can't stand looking at Times New Roman anymore. I feel like I'm writing a term paper and maybe that's why my writing isn't engaging enough.

Bleh.

Love, Love, Love

I've stopped querying now. Oh, I still have quite a few on my list left but I need to focus on my writing. My writing is missing something and as much as I love my story and WANT to send it out into the world, it's too early now and I wish I had waited from the start. When we're in love, we want everyone to know it and know it NOW. But I'm not trying again until I feel it's ready. Until other people have read it and given their opinions and until...until...I don't know. But I need more time!

Until I fall in love with it all over again.

Beta Readers!

I'm reaching out for some beta readers! Woo Hoo! I'm excited to start working with some great writers.

WRITERS UNITE!

New Projects

Hey, Butler played a great game. Maybe next year. This time the giant wins again. Boo.

I've been thinking about my next project. I've been bouncing around with several ideas that range from YA Paranormal again (this would be my third go in this genre) to YA Contemporary Romance to YA Romantic Comedy to Women's Fiction to Middle Grade Fantasy to Middle Grade Contemporary...I'm all over thee place. I wouldn't mind trying a Horror novel either. I love Horror.

As I revise my last project, basically just picking at it, and write a screenplay for The Frenzy, I can't decide what I want to do next! I'm having a blast with the screenplay which I'm pretty sure I'm behind on according to the page count. I need to write 3.3 pages a day. I'm at 15. Maybe just a page or so behind, not counting today. I am not surprised by this. I tend to think bigger than I can actually do. The screenplay is quite a mess but I think I like writing that way. Just get it out. Get the events on the page, hit the main plot points, and worry about editing later. I've always struggled with this as I want to pick, pick, pick as I go along.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to this month. I love the weather. I love the weekends. And I love the possibilities that come with a new story.

The air tastes berry-sweet these days. I really can't complain.

GO DAWGS!

That is all.

The FRENZY!

I'm doing it. I'm participating in Script Frenzy, a challenge to hammer out a 100-page script in a month. Um...I think I could probably do this in about half that time. Not a GOOD screenplay but, you know, words on the page. I've written a few screenplays before I tried noveling (I enjoy making up words. BAM! It's a word now. Noveling. Use it in a sentence today).

I've participated in NaNo month for the last few years. I succeeded twice and failed once, last year when I decided to take my time. This screenplay thing SOUNDS like a piece of cake compared to 50,000 words. I've got a story. I've got my main character. I'm ready to just let myself go and write a movie! Action! Be prepared for a future whiny post about hitting that wall in the second act.

Over the next few weeks I'll also continue working on revising my WIP which is a YA paranormal comedy. I'm going chapter by chapter. Step by step. No rush at all. I've got a million ideas for other stories. I'm writing some flash fiction. Yeah. I'm kind of all over the freaking place these days.

Same with my reading! I'm reading, count 'em, FIVE books right now. I think I need to chill out.

Blame the FRENZY!