Writing Goals

Well, I did not reach my writing goal of 12 chapters this week. I did manage to rewite 8 though and am quite proud of that. This was the first week in months that was not filled with doctor visits for either people or pets so I was able to dig in and work regularly. What an amazing feeling that was. My stack of printed scenes did go down slightly and I even put a new one in. This weekend I am scheduled to work on my historical novel tentatively titled, Charlie. I should probably fit in a little housecleaning before things get too bad.

I will not set such lofty goals for next week as one day is slated for 'on the road again' with 2 doctor appts for hubby. I wish I didn't get car sick, I could write while we travel since it is a 2 hour trip one way. But I am determined to finish this novel by the end of the year, or die trying among a mountain of dirty dishes, laundry, and pet hair.

Back to work week

September 19, 2006 7:30 am

This is the first week in months that we have no outside appointments to go anywhere. It is heaven. I started my work week off great. Yesterday I finished three chapters of my novel, which is my goal four days a week. I’m in the middle of what I call my ‘puzzle’ rewrite. I took all my written chapters and scenes, printed them out and put them in chronological order. Now I am connecting the scenes to flow together into chapters. I have ten chapters completed as of yesterday and am set to do my goal of three more today.

We went to my parents’ house yesterday afternoon so hubby could do a little plumbing work for them. He had a special helper, our one and a half year old niece Gracie. She is such a sweetheart. We stayed for dinner and had a deep conversation on religion and theology afterwards with my dad and sister-in-law. Then last night was the beginning of the big television week, a lot of the new shows start this week. We only watched one new one, because FOX’s Prison Break and Vanished have been on for a few weeks and they are both keepers for me. We watched Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and hubby decided it wasn’t for him so that goes into the ‘me only’ column of TV shows. I liked it well enough to keep watching for now, but from now on I will tape it and watch CSI Miami instead. I haven’t seen last night’s episode of CSI-M, but will get to it as soon as I can. All the CSI’s are on my to watch list, hubby only likes the original.

Well, I’ve had my first cup of tea and am ready to get to work.

Chemo Day

The following was typed on my laptop and then transferred here when I got time.

September 13, 2006 12:45 pm

Another day away from home. Today is my mother-in-law’s second chemo treatment so here we sit in the new cancer building.

Last night I suffered through the Big Brother finale. That is the perfect example of why I gave up reality television. The producers of such shows put some of the most annoying personality types together and people actually flock to watch them act like idiots. Kaysar was the only reason I watched this years Big Brother to begin with. At least we enjoyed Rockstar Supernova afterwards. I just hope they don’t choose Lucas to front their band. I don’t care for his voice and would not bother to buy their CD if it was him I had to listen to. I’m still pulling for Toby but would be just as happy with Dilana. That woman can sing anything!

Before the live shows started I did some catching up with Nightstalker and SG-1 from the Sci-fi channel. I watched Nightstalker when it was on the first time and was disappointed that it was cancelled. I have been an avid watcher of the Stargate shows for a few years now. I was disappointed when Richard Dean Anderson left the show, but thrilled with his replacement. Ben Browder is one of my favorites and I loved him in Farscape.

I got back into my novel today while my MIL gets her treatment. I finished Chapter 7 and am working on another chapter. They both involve the heroine, so I would like to do one in between with the hero. Well, I better get back to work while my battery is still working.

Fall TV Season

I picked up my Fall Preview TV Guide today, it is one of 2 issues that I buy for the year. I am looking forward to the new season of television and thanks to FOX am already enjoying it. My three VCR's are ready to go after a pretty quiet summer, I've got my stash of yarn for crocheting and have recently learned to knit. (Wow aren't I exciting) I'm a drama lover and try to watch every new hour long show to give it a chance. So far this season I have watched Vanished and Standoff on FOX. Vanished has my interest, I still have to watch this weeks episode which I taped last night. Instead of TV I opted for a quiet night working on my writing schedule for the week while hubby surfed the net. It made for going to sleep easier, perhaps I should rearrange my daily life?? Anyway back to my thoughts, hubby and I both watched the first episode of Standoff and neither of us cared for it. He is a much harsher critic than myself and his list of shows to watch is much shorter than mine. I will still give it another chance before I write it off for good.

As usual some of my good shows to watch from last season are gone, like Commander in Chief, Surface and Invasion to name a few. But I'm looking forward to quite a few of the newbies for this year. Tonight we are going to suffer through the finale of Big Brother, once one of my favorite reality shows, but like last year the ending is nauseating. At least we have Rockstar Supernova to end the night with. What an amazing group of singers that are left. I knew they wouldn't keep Storm Large, she was the only one of the performers who would have made the band itself fade into the background, what an entertainer she is. I'm personally pulling for Toby but would be happy with anyone but Lucas. Tomorrow we will find out who they pick.

I'll be taping Dancing with the Stars, Men in Trees, House and Standoff. House is one of our favs that hubby likes too. I'll let you know what I think of the rest when I get around to watching them.

We got the car serviced today and had to get some dohicky thing replaced that made the ABS light come on. That is hubby's department, I just drive the thing. The hour and a half that we waited allowed me time to go through some of the Round Robin work I have stacked up to do. At this stage of the day, I doubt I'll be very productive other than the few loads of laundry I'm working on. Maybe I'll break out the knitting and pop a tape in the VCR before the live stuff comes on later.

Escape

Real life is always knocking at my door, so I am always looking for an escape route. Time travel novels are one of life's greatest escapes for me. There is just something about leaving life as you know it and finding yourself in a strange time and place that sends real life out the door.

I am writing my first time travel historical romance novel along with many other projects. If you have an interest in time travel both real and imagined welcome to my twilight zone and enjoy. I will periodically let you know what I have read in this genre and what I truly think.

I will say if you find yourself too interested in my life I would wonder if you need to see a specialist for that problem.

Today is a new week and this one so far has only two days of disruptions. I don't like disruptions, I am a homebody and like to be in my space doing my thing. The occasional trip out is fun, but I prefer to schedule them myself. I started out my day with my pot of tea, Lady Grey was the flavor for today, and got right to work on chapter three for my critique group. It is headed out today with the lastest installment of the Word by Word Writer's Society mailing for September. Hope all you WBWWS members enjoy this month's offerings. We are up to 10 members of our little group and all is going well. Just a day late on the mailing this time hopefully we can get back on track next month.

Well, I have some organizing to do for the rest of the day. Hope you all have a great one.

Tracy