Must Do’s 10th to 16th June

Posted on June 10, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

This past week has been hectic. I’ve got a couple of things going on at the moment that are rather exciting, but I can’t say much more, now, because I don’t want to jinx it 😉 Will tell you soon though, I promise!

The problem is, I’ve had so much on my mind this past week, and because of that I’ve found it really hard to focus. Still been writing everyday, just not doing the things I should have been doing *frowns*

So the list last week looked like this:

1. Submit 1st assignment to Writers Bureau & start 2nd. Nope *deep sigh* but I did work on it.

2. Continue to work on Faber 25 word pitch & reading. Yep, but it’s still not finished.

3. Edit at least 1 chapter of Tangled. Nope, but I’ve decided to send it off to the RNA in first draft form.

4. Declutter the dining room. Started….it looks even worse now than before I started lol

5. Sort out outfit for Faber event. I have decided what I’m going to wear. I don’t want to look too posh lol….so I’m just going to go as me! I will need a new pair of shoes though.

6. Look at Adult Ed classes for September. Nope, but, there is a good reason why I didn’t do that….I just can’t tell you about that at the moment lol

Sooooo, a disappointing week, but I guess I should have known that I wouldn’t be able to focus. The Faber event where I have to read in front of 30 agents is this coming Friday (14th) and the nerves have set in already. I’m feeling a bit stressed and looking at my diary for next week it’s no wonder lol

I’ve tried to keep my To Do List very simple this week because I feel that anything I add won’t get done anyway lol

So what are your writing plans for the week?

Must Do’s Monday 27th to 2nd June

Posted on May 27, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

I’ve had a hectic week, not helped by a few days of feeling rough. But I didn’t do too badly all told on the ‘To Do List’ which was…

1. Work on the synopsis for Tangled Ummm, ok, well this didn’t happen lol. I have a rough one that I did a couple of weeks ago, but it sounds like a blurb at the moment.
2. Edit first two chapters of Tangled Ok, I did the first chapter, but as I need to submit the whole novel to the RNA New Writers Scheme before the end of July I really need to step up a gear lol
3. Start planning some blog posts Done 🙂
4. Start going to the gym Didn’t happen, but as The Hubster’s chess is winding down now we’ve agreed to start going next week.
5. Plan my week every Sunday Yep, did that last week and used my new Paperchase pad. Really useful having my whole week on one sheet divided into AM’s and PM’s. I’ll be doing next weeks one after I finish this post.
6. Do at least 1 writing exercise every day Ahhhh, now this has been great, I’ve really enjoyed it! And at the moment I’m using Natalie Goldberg’s Wild Mind 🙂

So next weeks another busy one, but I’m looking forward to writing (thank gawd!). I’ve got a couple of opportunities for writing in coffee shops and then there’s Happy Club. The sun has been shining today and I’m feeling pretty goddam good 🙂

I’m loving filling in my ‘Experiences’ book, but I think I need to carry it around with me because I keep remembering things when I’m out and forgetting them by the time I get home lol.

What are your plans for the week?

Must Do’s 25th to 31st March

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Sorry for the lateness of this post….I’m having Internet problems *mutter grumble* which should be sorted tomorrow….yeah, we’ll see!

Well, last week was a bit up and down. A mixture of highly productive and complete procrastination. On the plus side I now know all about the first ever legal brothel in America and what the expression “Bugger Bognor” means lol….don’t ask!

Highlight of the week was a luncheon on Friday with some RNA ladies 🙂

So last weeks list looked like this:

1. Continue to work on Still. I’ve been using prompts fairly successfully recently. To get me back into writing as I was really struggling. What I’ve been doing is using the prompts to prompt (lol) scenes for the novel, some of which will never actually appear in it. But I’ve found it good practice and its got me back in the mood. So no official word count as such, but I’ve probably written 5000 words that are fragmented scenes. I’m pleased with that 🙂

2. Finish 250 word Synopsis for Faber. Done, but it still needs work (thank you Jane!).

3. Do some work on the A-Z Challenge – Research. Nope, I must confess, I didn’t. No, actually that’s not true, I did have a look at some web sites, and bought a book, but that was as far as I got.

4. Catch up with blogs I haven’t read yet. I did, but I’m behind again 😦

Before I forget, thank you so much to everyone who’s commented on my character sketches. It’s been really helpful to hear other people’s opinions about Laura, Ruby, Ronnie & Daniel. I’m going to print them all off and stick in my “Still Bible” 🙂

So this week is looking like this:

I’m going to work on a timetable, but rather than dividing my day up, I’m going to have specific days for specific things, and see if that works lol. I’m finding that reading is taking a huge back seat and I don’t want it to 😦 So perhaps if I can allocate different days for different things….that might work eh? Lol….wish me luck!

So what are your writing plans for the week?

Must Do’s 25th Feb to 3rd March

Posted on February 25, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Apologies to those of you who have already seen this post. They’ve changed the way the WordPress App works on my iPad, so when I asked this post to be scheduled, oh no, WordPress decided to post it instead 😦

After my mini melt down, last week was a bit more productive 🙂

1. Catch up with 100K. Sort of lol…I’m still ahead of schedule, but have missed a few days. I’m really missing my daily prompts that’s for sure 😉
2. Faber homework. Yep! lots of reading for the critiques and editing my submission. I sent that over yesterday afternoon.
3. Catch up with Blogs and e mails etc. I did, lol, but it’s so easy to get behind again 😦 What I’ve decided to do is allocate two half days a week. I think that might work lol
4. Tidy desk. Done!
5. Finish book. Done and I’ve started a new one.
6. Do some studying. I did, but I need to get into a regular routine. I still have so much to learn 😉

So what am I up to this week?

I’ve also got to send my payment off to the RNA Conference and sort out my application for Swanwick. Hubby is out at a chess match all day Saturday so I’m planning a Mini Retreat 🙂

What are your writing plans for the week?

Must Do’s 28th Jan to 3rd Feb

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

I’ve struggled a bit this last week, although the WIP (The Last Word Cafe) now stands at 24,000 🙂

But first, let me tell you about the RNA meeting I went to on Saturday. Good food, good company, and a fantastic workshop all about dealing with the media conducted by Janet Gover which was thoroughly entertaining and very interesting. Although, it will be a loooong time before I find myself being interviewed lol 🙂

If you’d like some advice about how to deal with the media (as a writer) pop over to Janet’s blog post where she gives valuable advice and tips. Part two will be posted next Sunday.

Ok, so how did I do last week?

1. Get first 5000 words of The Last Word Cafe edited. Done!
2. Faber homework (reading) Done!
3. Keep up with 1000 words a day. Have struggled a bit this week but I think that’s because I’ve been editing so much, so I’m kinda worn out lol
4. Catch up with e mails and blogs. Done!
5. Do Synopsis. Done!
6. Clear Desk. Ha ha ha….nope 😉
7. Prep for mini writing retreat. Well, the RNA meet was a last minute thing so I didn’t actually have the mini writing retreat.

This week is really busy…Faber, a book launch and then The Hubster is away for the weekend.

What will I do with myself for the whole weekend? 😉

what are your writing plans this week?

I’m An RNA NWS Member!

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Ok, that probably means absolutely nothing to most of you, in English, the translation is…

I’m a Romantic Novelists Association New Writer Scheme Member!

The RNA opens it’s doors for membership once a year to people who have previously been unpublished, under the New Writers Scheme. There are 250 places and each year they are oversubscribed. Checking their website yesterday morning it seems that all 250 places were full and they only started taking applications at 12.02am on the 2nd!

So what exactly does this mean? Well, I get a critique of my MS which then goes into a kind of competition and I’m entitled to attend all RNA events! 🙂