Tag Archives: Planning

Less than two weeks to go

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NaNo-2015-Participant-Badge-Large-SquareThe launch of NaNoWriMo 2015 is less than two weeks away and I can’t wait for it to start. Thirty days of insanity, at least that’s what I experience, but it’s not something I plan on passing up. I enjoy the feverish pace with which I write, a pace I really should get into the practice of doing on a daily basis. There’s a joy to be found in giving yourself permission to just let go and create without allowing the inner editor – or the voice of doubt – hold you back.

I’m joining the Lubbock NaNoWriMo Region once again, since they seem to be the most active, but I’m trying to find a group in Amarillo as well. Since I work in Amarillo, that region would make sense and would be the most convenient for me. Their Facebook page only has 15 members and the forum on the NaNoWriMo website isn’t very active, but I’m trying to get something started. I guess we’ll see how that turns out.

Regardless, I’m ready to get started on this project. I have an idea, a working title, and a vague sense of what I want to say. It’s the story of two ex-lovers who are forced back into each other’s lives, one who is self-centered and clueless, and the other who still harbors a lot of resentment over how the break-up took place, even after more than twenty years.

I like the story, I’m excited to write it, and all I’m looking for is a group of writers who share my enthusiasm. Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t get excited about much. I’m excited about this. I’m even considering planning out the story, at least loosely, so that I can have an idea of where I’m going.

Another plan bites the dust

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I had it all planned out. Today was my day off, and I was going to sit and write. I’m almost at the end of my book, and I had hoped to be done today, or at least almost done. Instead I washed dishes and started to deep clean the kitchen. It’s amazing how dirty a kitchen can get!

It wasn’t a matter of procrastination, at least this time. The cleaning needed to be done. I got done. I feel so much better now that I got it out-of-the-way. Then I started on the windows, putting in the framing around the windows we installed but never finished. Got too much going on. I hope to finish that project after work tomorrow and start staining the frame and putting several coats of urethane.

As for my book, rewriting a story line wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. On the one hand, it’s difficult because it entails reimagining the plot to get me to where I want to go, but on the other, I already have an idea of how I would like to write the closing scene. I just need to sit down and write it. I believe that the changes will make for a stronger story.

I’ll write a better update later. I just wanted to check in before bed. I’ve been neglecting my blog lately. I need to do better.

Hi! Remember me?

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Happy Friday to all you gorgeous people out there. I hope you’re staying nice and dry today. It’s been a heck of a week in the Texas Panhandle and South Plains. We’re being inundated with rain, with places about an hour or two south literally under water. I know Lubbock has experienced some flooding and Tulia some impressive hail. I woke up to see a few tornado warnings and we’re under a tornado watch. Ah, springtime in Texas!

I have to say it’s better than the alternative, drought. I know the farmers in the area are thankful for the rain. It saves on irrigation, though they aren’t able to go out and work on the crops. Knowing our climate, the typical high-pressure systems that dominate during the summer months will set up, drying us up quickly and we’ll be praying for rain very soon.

But enough banal talk. I’ve been quiet the past two weeks. I haven’t had anything to say, not that I have any new worth sharing at the moment. I got to the point where I was repeating the same tired message, I’m working on it, I hope to be finished soon, yada yada yada. So where am I now?

I’m working on it. I hope to be finished soon. Yada yada yada.

I have found someone to edit my book. That’s exciting. We settled on a price, which is more than I want to spend but is in reality an extremely reasonable price. The editing process will consist almost entirely of proofreading my work, checking for grammar and punctuation. I wish I could afford a content editor to check for continuity, story line development and whatever it is they do. I’m still very much a novice at this. I think I need a mentor.

I’ll get it. I’m in no hurry. I’m enjoying the leisure of the journey, though I do eventually want to get to my destination. I’ll spend my day off today working on my copy. I’m halfway through but have a ton left to correct. Honestly, I wish I would have planned this novel to begin with. I’m beginning to so the advantage of being a planner vs. being a pantser. Also, I want to be done so I can work on other projects.

 

 

How do I let go?

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How ’bout them Cowboys? Holy hell, that was a brutal game to watch. I can’t believe they came back to win it, but I’m extremely happy that they did. Understandingly, I just now got back to work on my WIP, and I’m ready to get this finished, and find a few readers to give me an idea of what works or doesn’t, and if it’s even worth trying to save.

So I’m back, reading and rereading, writing, and rewriting. I’m stuck at this stage, of being unable to let go. I think I need a coach, someone to take my hand and guide me. Maybe what I need is a nun to whack my knuckles with a ruler. I don’t think I would like that all that much.

My main problem is that this is something I’ve never done, and I’m horrible at doing new things. I’ve just never been this bad at it. What do I need to do first? What’s my plan? Is there a plan? Can someone just tell me what the plan is? Why am I so bad at this?

My tendency is to make a bigger deal out of things than I should I need to relax and just let go. Who want’s to teach me how? Is there some class I can take? Enough obsessing. I need to get to work. Have a good night, and have an awesome week.

My NaNoWriMo Synopsis

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Here’s the synopsis of my story. You can find me on the NaNoWriMo website at Joe Hinojosa.

Having survived a tumultuous childhood, Giada wanted to escape the life of poverty that had defined her young life. Seduced by the promise of easy money, she began to cater to the rich and powerful of Rome, never imagining the depraved appetites of the elites. To her surprise, she found that she enjoyed every moment of hedonistic bliss.

Now in her mid-twenties, she had given up on the notion of love, especially after witnessing the loveless marriage of her deceased mother and the man who dared call himself her father. Instead, she embraced each new client, allowing herself to be used to gratify whatever desire her client would want, satisfying her own lust for life.

That is until he came came along….

Fearing for her life, Giada turned to the one organization that she had rejected after her mother’s tragic death. Repulsed by the hypocrisy of the eunuchs running the sacred institution, she is forced to make her peace with the church, finding safety in the most unlikely of people, a humble priest from America. Through him, she is confronted with her past and the ghosts that threaten to consume one of the hingemen of the church.

With the priest, she finds that she has to make a choice, one that will either lead to salvation, or to eternal damnation.