“Boogie fever, got to boogie down.
Boogie fever, I think it’s going around” ~ The Sylvers
How about a little disco throwback to get this Sunday check-in started? Yeah! It was a great start of the new year and of this round of ROW80 for me and I am pumped. Having unseasonably warm weather (40s) plus sun helped a lot. And my birthday is coming up later this month so that party is continuing–I started celebrating at Thanksgiving. What? My B-Day, my rules. 🙂
Writing/Craft
- 1,500 words of new fiction a week either on novel WIP or short stories. Done. A third of this word count went to my novel and then I logged 2,205 finishing a short story I’ll be sending in with a conference application. I feel a bit torn. Like my main focus should be the novel yet the shorter stories are still coming. How do those of you who write both (or write in other areas like poetry or non-fiction) balance it?
- Read at least one chapter a week of a craft book. Done with chapter one and the four exercises of “Plot and Structure.”
- Read at least one chapter of a novel each week. I’m in chapter four of “Defensive Wounds.”
Social Media
- Blog three times a week. Four done.
- Read, comment and share at least 10 blogs a week. Done. Note: After Wednesday, I kept rocking on this and got a lot more done. I keep a tab on the goal of 10 and once I go over, the rest is gravy. The time it would take to log every single read/comment/share feels like procrastinating busy work.
- Check Twitter and Facebook at least once daily. Done. Better with Facebook now that I’m remembering I can do this easily with the app on my tablet.
Healthy Happy Living
- Exercise at least 30 minutes a day, three times a week. 2/3 done on this. I hit an hour on Wednesday and 38 min. Saturday. I planned to go to Zumba Friday night, but started feeling sick at work around 2:30–hot and clammy. I ate my pre-workout snack, started sucking on zinc and then went home to rest. I’m glad I was able to still get in time yesterday.
- Finish my poncho project via crocheting one hour a week. I’ll be catching up on this tonight. The time was planned for yesterday afternoon. I ended up not feeling hot in the morning, so I postponed my workout until evening then got stuck for two hours at the car shop getting a headlight and new battery because they were behind. Such is life. Below is the poncho I’m finally finishing (the pic is a little fuzzy).
where we are to date
- Enjoy watching one movie a week without multitasking. Done.
That’s where I am. How did you do?
Barbara McDowell 
Love it! You’re rocking along on your goals, Barbara! I think that poncho is super cute ~ is it for you or a friend? If you, make sure you post a pic of you in it! Keep up the awesome work on your goals. Whooohoooo!
Thanks for your support, Tameri! The poncho design is the Martha Stewart “coming home” poncho that a friend of hers in prison made for her release day. Yeah, that was years ago. The balls of yarn perked up when I unearthed them. Ha, ha. It is for me. Since it is my first attempt at clothing, the gauge might be screwy, but finishing it will be way cool.
Girl…you knocked the week out of the PARK! Woot woot. Shaking my hot pink pompoms at you wildly. Super proud of you.
That word count is insane!!! I am not sure how you juggle writing both a full length novel with some short stories. I’d tweet that to the ROW80 crew and see what suggestions come back. You did insanely fahhbulous at social media and I have no doubt you’ll score a 3 out of 3 on the exercise this coming week.
LOVE LOVE the poncho – super CUTE!!! I will want to see pictures of you sportin’ it when it’s finished. Fantastic!
So what do you think of James Scott Bell’s book so far. I loved the first few chapters. I kind of stalled at the character chapter and the scene construction chapter because I think I need to further along in my novel to apply the techniques so I am taking tons of notes for later.
Happy WEEK 2!!!
I actually think I see those pompoms off in the distance. Heh, heh. Thanks for the support, Natalie! Means a ton. I’m not sure on the juggle of projects. I’ve heard different takes: that you should focus on only one fiction project at a time, that multiple projects are okay and that the novel WIP should come before all else. I guess like anything, it is an area where I’ll have to figure out what works best for me in terms of process. Maybe I’ll key up the writing time on the novel first and then anything else is bonus. Have to prioritize to get it done.
I like the Plot and Structure book so far. It is practical and easy to follow, plus the exercises are good to cement the learning. I’m looking forward to the advice on characters. I have five main ones in my book, plus necessary ancillaries (like their families). Since I’m used to having less people in my short stories, I’ll need to make sure I don’t lose someone’s storyline as well as make sure I’m not adding in excessive tangents that will confuse readers.
You rock! Great jobs on those goals. And boy do I remember Boogie Fever. LOL
I have a birthday coming up this month, too! Happy Birthday to us!
Whee, Lauralynn! We can crank up the disco music and dance the rest of the month in birthday celebration bliss! Thanks for stopping by.
As usual, Barbara, you are truckin’ along. I bow to your greatness. Not only can you juggle many tasks for the week, but you actually do them! I’m amazed with your ability to switch your brain power between writing projects and then to your poncho project. Not to mention all the others. Keep it going, Barbara! You are the Dancing Queen!!!!
Thanks a mil for the support, Diana! My trick is having the goals broken up into small parts (e.g., read one chapter). Somehow my brain can then balance and schedule. Plus having the mental health projects like crocheting and movie watching are way to slow down my excessive multitasking and to mandate time away from the computer. On to week two. 🙂
How could I NOT love this update?? You started with Disco, baby….You know I love me some disco!!
I’m with Natalie – you are on fire already this year and I am soooooooooooo proud of you!!!
I swear we are separated at birth. Heh. 🙂 I need to dig through my milk crate of records (yes for the younger crowd – vinyl) and see if I still have the Boogie Fever 45. I used to rock that and dance so hard sometimes the needle would skip.
Thanks for the kudos! The ROW80 goals are great because they feel like a natural game plan each day. I know what the day job requires and also know what is on tap for my writing life so I’m not trying to steal time to get writing done.
Pingback: Boogie Fever Rages On | Barbara McDowell's Blog
Lovely porch. Great work on your goals
Thanks, Louise! Glad you stopped by.
Fantastic week Barbara! You’re rocking the ROW 🙂 I love the poncho, what a great project. I’m sure you’ll hit the exercise this week. Feel better soon. Best of luck with the upcoming week!
I’m still fighting off whatever this is, Raelyn, while chanting “I shall be well.” Heh. Tis the season I guess. I did get in gym time today.:-)
Sounds like you’re doing well! 😀 So far I seem on track with my writing goals for the month and though my reading goal needs a bit more pace, I’m doing okay. Enough that I’m confident about the rest of the year. ^_^
Thanks for stopping by, Ileandra. Maybe try putting your reading goals into smaller chunks? That is working for me. Instead of saying I’ll read xyz book in a week or x amount by year-end, I’m just doing a small piece at a time.
Great job, Barbara!!
Thanks, Bridgette! I’m trying to apply what I learned from my first ROW round and form some good habits.