What’s Ready. Set. WRITE!, you ask? It’s a summer-long writing intensive that encourages goal setting and accountability, and provides an opportunity for writers to cheer each other on at any point in the process—be it planning, drafting, revising, and/or polishing. The event is hosted by Alison Miller, Jaime Morrow, Erin Funk, and Katy Upperman.
I’ll be checking in weekly to share my progress, and if you’re contemplating joining the fun, there’s still time! Full event details HERE.
How I did on last week’s goals
Revise another 25% of SHUTDOWN — Success! I revised another 26k, which comes out to about 35% of the novel.
Read another YA contemp — I failed on this front, but I was reading an ARC for a potential blurbing opportunity which came with a time constraint. The YA contemp I’d started (THIS SONG WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE) had to be set aside, but the good news is the ARC was fantastic!
My goals for this week
- Revise another 25% of SHUTDOWN
- Finish reading THIS SONG WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE
A favorite line from my project OR a word/phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised
In SHUTDOWN, folks 13+ can undergo a simulation that predicts how/when they will die. Cole, my MC’s best friend, knows he’s not making it to his senior year. Here’s MC Matty, recounting a time prior to that knowledge:
We ended up this large, embarrassing quartet of a costume. Jillian had blisters from her red heels before the night was halfway over, which lead to Cole carrying her on his Tin-Man shoulders, and Travis roaring like a lion to cover up Jillian’s blister-induced tears. Of course the roaring only attracted more attention, and toting your baby sister around when you’re in middle school is not really something you wanted to broadcast. It somehow remained my favorite Halloween though, even now. Me and the guys were really carefree then, oblivious of the future. Cole had turned thirteen that December and everything started changing. Halloweens shifted to include binge drinking. I don’t think we ever dressed up again.
The biggest challenge I faced this week
Visitors. The inlaws were here Friday-Sunday, so I got exactly zero work done those days. Luckily, the first half of my week had been productive.
Something I love about my WIP
The tone/voice — so different from most of my mss, but that makes it a fun challenge.
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That’s all I’ve got til next check-in. How was your week of writing/revising?
