Monday Must Do’s 21st to 27th January

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Thank you to everyone who voted in my poll on the last post šŸ™‚

I’m behind, way behind šŸ˜¦ Because I went away for the weekend and I promised myself no blogging, no FaceBook, no e mailing and no, wait for it…..writing! I managed it, and although it was nice to get away, chill, I’ve found that coming back has me stressing when I look at my inbox (300+ e mails) and I’m beginning to think that something has got to give. But what? How on earth do I fit everything in and not feel that I’m chained to the laptop/iPad?

I also had an e mail from Faber, telling me all the things I need to have done and sent to them and deadline dates *gulp*

Just ignore me, I’ll be the mumbling heap in the corner while you read this post.

Last weeks list was ok:

1. Edit first 5000 words of The Last Word Cafe. Done, well, kind of, it’s still a mess so I’m going to give it another edit this week.
2. Faber homework, 3 pieces to critique. Faber was cancelled on Saturday, and I think it will be today too. So I didn’t read the 3 pieces (make that 4 now inc Mondays one).
3. Keep up with 1000 words a day. Yes and no, but only because I had days off when I wanted them. I’ve been away this weekend so had 2 days off, which has stressed me out, but I’ll make it up tomorrow.
4. Catch up with 300 odd e mails and about 4 days of blogs. I did, but going away for the weekend has meant I’m behind again šŸ˜¦

So this weeks list looks like this:

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So nothing too bad I guess and not much in the way of appointments next week. Hubby has a county match on Saturday so I’ll be having another mini writing retreat. I should be able to get it all done, shouldn’t I? Especially as this is now the view outside my window, so I won’t exactly be going anywhere lol šŸ˜‰

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Photo taken last night whilst I was writing this post. It snowed all day yesterday.

I think Faber will be cancelled again tonight so expect something un-Faber-like tomorrow.

What are your writing plans for the week?

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46 thoughts on “Monday Must Do’s 21st to 27th January”

  1. My writing plan for the week: Get around to editing War of the Devices, and, hopefully, get some solid writing down for this modern fantasy YA novella. I’m aiming for 1,000 – 2,000 words a day, seeing as how I have Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday off from work. I should be able to get some solid writing done.
    Good luck catching up! Sounds like you need a secretary!

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  3. Great work on all that editing! I’m finding editing to be so much harder than I thought it would be. You see, I actually like to edit, but I haven’t anticipated how sloooo…wwwlly it goes …
    Sigh. This week. I’d like to be fifty pages closer to another editing pass on my revision. Wish me luck. šŸ™‚

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  4. Congratulations on the mini getaway! I’m sure once you sit down and start plowing through things you’ll find little gems that make all the work worth it.

    As for me, I’ve finally made it far enough into the novel to be able to calculate how many words per day I need to write in order to finish on time and it’s a scary but doable (if I stay disciplined) 2,597. And that’s not counting a writing binge on Friday and Sunday (my only two days off for the rest of the month). That’s more than a little scary!

    Good luck with your to do list! And please, more videos! Your cats are lovely and I’m sure they’ll be much more accommodating with sharing your desk if they get some more attention on your blog šŸ˜‰

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  5. No snow. Looking at that makes me want to migrate. My suggestion on the emails is read the blogs you really like and forget the rest. Sounds harsh, but if you can’t devote time to reading them all, just don’t. Take the pressure off that says you have to. I won’t be upset if you can’t stop by mine.

    My goals? Work on my leg of the fiction relay (which I’ve done), resume a WIP wasting away in my doc file, work on the short story I need to pass to a co-writer. Other things, but that’s enough at the moment.

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  6. Beautiful view. My writing goals are to try to sort things out and make a plan. I really need to get to work trying to earn some money writing. I’m not able to work right now as I must stay home with my husband. Also,I’m working on ideas for my blogs. My main goal is just to get back into writing again(I’ve really been making up for it today šŸ™‚ ). One goal, which has already been accomplished, was to catch up on reading blogs.

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  9. You are really putting yourself under pressure but what to give up? Hard choice. My tasks for the week are try to think of some blog topics for this week. I’ve managed to day 20/365 and have no idea what next and actually GET SOMETHING DONE. I like sitting in front of this laptop too much and taking the dog out for a walk. Day over! šŸ™‚

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    • I know Mary, which is why I’m going to have to start cutting down, especially now I have deadlines *gulp*

      I plan a lot of my blog posts in my notebook, every time I see, hear or read something that might be good as a blog post I wrote it down. I use the WordPress App on my iPad and always have 3 or 4 posts in my draft folder šŸ˜‰

      Ha ha ha, well you know what they say about time flying šŸ˜‰

      Xx

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  12. I’m suprised your not a mumbling pile in the corner every week. I really don’t know how you manage to do so much. Hoping to get more up to speed with my book this week. Fallen back into the trap of over revising the beginning without actually writing anymore. GRRR.

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  13. Kudos to you, Vikki … you really know how to crank out those to-do’s šŸ™‚ Me? I have a draft to edit … so this week I’ll do another ten chapters (about 120 pages) and I’ll do two posts for my blog and … did I mention that after the computer died, the storage unit never got installed, and all my plans for December/January crashed and burned … on Satruday my car died. Ah yes, the wonders of electronics and the ghosts of gremlins reaking havoc in my life šŸ™‚ Now I will add car shopping to my list !!

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    • Thanks Florence šŸ™‚

      You did! You really have been through the wars honey šŸ˜¦

      Oh no! šŸ˜¦ And snap! My car died on Friday afternoon…managed to get it to the repair place before the snow hit and it’ll be back to full health tomorrow….trouble is I won’t be able to pick it up anyway lol.

      Good luck with the car shopping honey, sounds like you’ve got another full week.

      Xx

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  14. Thanks for always sharing your to-do’s. It’s a real help to all of us who are struggling to keep up with our own lists. I’m always encouraged to see your posts.
    My plan for the week: revise another section of my manuscript to submit as a contest entry due 1/31; continue to post daily to my blog; catch up blog posts missed over the weekend due to revision of my manuscript for contest entries; attempt to organize my to-do’s.

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  15. We have snow like that and I was really hoping my school would be closed today, but no! We and one secondary school stayed open while every other school had the day off. Last night I got an idea for a story and wished really hard for a snow day so I could write it. Boo hoo. I was so peed off this morning! It’s good that you got away for a weekend. I don’t think you should stress about catching up, especially with anything non-urgent. It takes all the pleasure out of writing and, if you let it stress you, writing will end up taking the pleasure out of life – and that ain’t why we write! Since I dropped my rule about having to write every day I feel much better and am so much less stressed. Bel x

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    • Oh no Bel, what a pain! šŸ˜¦

      Thanks honey šŸ™‚ I really enjoy writing every day still it’s just that when I worked out everything I need to do every day it works out at 12 hours a day! And that was being conservative! I really need to sort myself out don’t I lol šŸ˜‰

      Xx

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  17. Yo what’s going on? Oh snow in the uk. Cancelled classes. Um we just had a little January heatwave here (he, he). I see you are a Mac user now? Quick get Mac Scrivener on there!

    Those targets look about right I say. Lots to do.

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    • Hi stranger, how you doing? šŸ™‚

      Ok ok, don’t rub it in! šŸ˜‰

      I am!!!!! I LOVE my MacBook Air! Although its been hard trying to figure out working it *snigger*

      He he he, I still haven’t had the guts to download Scrivener, I really must! Thanks for the nudge šŸ™‚

      Thanks honey, nice to see (hear, read, whatever) you. Hope you and the family are good.

      Xx

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      • Doing good, had nice time off with the family.

        With the amount of writing projects you have on the go, and the need you often have to edit and rearrange things, you would love Scrivener. Seriously, the day of two of learning to use it (maybe watch a few tutorial videos, there are plenty around) will soon be gained back and more.

        Hope you had a nice xmas / new year, and the family are well.

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  18. Chin up šŸ™‚ Try not to look at the big honkin’ to-do list. Just tackle a bit each day. Measure it out. After a couple, the momentum will build and by the end of the week you’ll be back to the awesome-sauce šŸ™‚ One thing I’ve found, despite myself, is that I can only do what I can do. It is enough. It is always enough. Things work out for the best, though not always as expected. The last thing you want is to feel guilty about giving yourself that wee break.
    As for me, I’m still working days, tackling my next novel project, a shortish story (none of my shorts are truly short), critiquing, and trying to keep my head straight about it all. And, of course, taking care of the wee Nu and her bum leg šŸ™‚

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Lets chat!