Back at Home

It really is one of the most wonderful feelings in the world to be back home, working productively and spending time with my husband. I've been attempting to settle back in after three weeks away and so far I've been successful. I just wish my brain would kick it into gear and let me write as much as I want to.

Tomorrow I will be back to work, updating my goals and deciding what I want/need to do with my week, month and year. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with what I need to do. Possibly I'll even post bits of my daily stories here, it just depends on how good I feel they turned out and whether or not they are appropriate to share. My mind is a much darker place than I originally imagined.

Anyway, until tomorrow.

~Krys

Back to normal soon

Just a quick little update on how I've been doing with my goals since last time.

While I am still on par for my 500 words a day goal, it has been a little tricky while I've been visiting family. Some days I don't get any writing done at all, but I have been attempting to keep up by writing extra on the days that I do have time. I have to admit that with the prompts I have been using, I feel like I have really grown as a writer. Never before would I have thought to write a scene with a hung jury, or a girl becoming a hooker to survive. It has opened my eyes to a lot of things and made me realize that I have many more stories to tell than I originally thought.

With that said, I can't wait to get back home to Austin where I have nothing but time on my hands (and a husband to cheer me on). I still really feel that this is going to be a great year.

Oh! And my new nephew is absolutely the most beautiful child I have ever seen! I don't think I've been able to cuddle him enough.

~Krys

Update

Since I found myself with a few minutes, I figured I would update everyone on what I've been up to this past week.

Even though I've been on "vacation" I haven't stopped writing my 500 words a day. I actually was given a really neat creative writing kit that has a collection of prompts for every day in the year. It is very cool because now I don't have to scramble around looking for a prompt, I have one ready made! The short stories I have come up with for the past two days have been completely different than anything I've ever written before, so this experience has been good for me so far.

Also, on Sunday morning I realized that the #wip500 group is not at all what it seemed like at first. There were too many rules to follow (most of which were unclear) and if I wasn't updating my word count or whatever correctly, I was going to be kicked from the group. Needless to say, I don't need to be accountable to anyone but myself, so I left that group and decided to join the "500 Words a Day" group that Debbie Ohi runs. It has much more freedom and a more relaxed environment. So, same goal, different priorities.

As it gets closer to the day that I head out to visit my family in Kansas and help with the new baby, I get more and more excited. Who knows what kind of exciting news ideas this will give me! I may not get as much writing done as I would like, but I'm going to give it my all.

Until next time :)

~Krys

Hiatus (Already!?)

Yes, you read the title right. Unfortunately I'm going to have to wait until February to start on all of those wonderful goals I listed earlier this week. I may have a few minutes to myself between now and then, but with a family like mine, that is highly doubtful.

Yesterday I got some surprising news. My sister-in-law, who wasn't supposed to deliver until the beginning of February, is going to be having her baby by next weekend. With some quick thinking (and even quicker budgeting) my husband and I figured out a way to get me to Kansas so I could help out with the new bundle of joy. So, while I am beyond thrilled to have this opportunity to play with my new nephew, I won't have much time to do any writing.

Don't think I'm giving up though, I'm just going to be taking a three week break so I can help out with the new baby. Is it obvious that I love children? If not, let me say it again... "I get to help with a new baby!!!!!!"

~Krys

Weekly Goals for 1-4/1-7

Well, yesterday I not only reached the 500 word daily goal for #WIP500, but I caught up on the first few days that I missed earlier this month. I'm honestly getting more and more excited about this idea. Anything that gets me writing more often is a good thing. All right, now onto my goals for the week:

1.) Figure out what the goals/tasks should be for my heroes in "Child of Three"

2.) Figure out the rules of the "game" in "Child of Three"

3.) Start getting some characters sheets put together for the cast of characters in "Child of Three"

4.) Continue to write at least 500 words a day

5.) Post completed short stories on my deviant art page (maybe on here depending on the quality)

6.) Come up with more short stories to write to fill in the gaps when I'm unable/unwilling to work on "Child of Three"

I think those are good for now and some of them will most likely even work as monthly goals as well. As for right now I have a silly sort of fluff fic that I finished yesterday that needs a bit of polishing before I post it. I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

~Krys

The Beginning of a Journey

I'm not what you would call a typical writer.

Oh sure, I sit at a computer for hours at a time, struggling over plots that I love and I let my heart bleed onto the paper. I create characters that I hope are as likable to others as they are to me. I spend weeks, months, even years sometimes, working on outlines for my stories so that I really know how everything comes together. The only thing I can't do is commit to one thing at a time.

I guess you could say that I'm flighty, that I have commitment issues, even that I don't care enough about what I'm writing to give it my full attention. None of these things are true, but that doesn't change the way other people see me.

The way I see it is that I have so many ideas in my head at one time that it isn't fair to only work on one at a time. I have so many characters screaming to be let out, begging me to tell their story. I just can't put my heart and soul into one thing and ignore all of the other ideas that I love just as much. But this is hopefully about to change.

You see, I had a dream last week that changed my life. Oh, I know that a lot of writers say the same thing. It's an interesting way to explain that idea that seems so perfect and wonderful that no one could possibly believe it just came to you. Readers like to imagine that this sort of thing could happen to them as well, that maybe they just haven't had the right dream yet. Honestly, all ideas could be said to come from dreams. After all, what is an idea if it isn't an intrusion into your daydreams?

This is all beside the point of course, because I really did have a dream. In my entire life I have only once had another dream that seemed begging to be written. This one though was louder, more clear, more perfect. Names, titles, characters walked into my head and captured my heart before I was even aware that they had done so. One character in particular was so real that I feel I already know her. Thank goodness I have a husband who is not only my biggest supporter, but a writer himself. Within hours of waking from this dream he helped me fill out so many pieces that were missing. For now, it will tentatively be known as "The Child of Three." As someone who hasn't read very many fantasy/adventure/questing type stories this should be an interesting journey for me.

With this revelation came the understanding that this wasn't just an idea, it was THE idea. I've had story ideas in the past that I knew were marketable, I knew would be big hits if I could just get them out on paper, but never before have I had this insatiable desire to give these characters a life and home on the page. I've also never before been this terrified to share an idea. I guess the two go hand in hand.

So, the time has come for me to commit myself to one project. This morning I discovered #WIP500 http://www.caramichaels.com/defiantlyliterate/wip500/#.TwKL0jmJQws.twitter and I have decided to give this a fair shot. I'm sure that I will falter, that I'll get frustrated with "The Child of Three" and need to take a break and work on other things, but I'm determined to make this my main project. As of here and now I'm declaring my goals for this year and the more people know about it, the harder it will be to fail. I'm counting on this.

My Goals for the Year

1.) Finish a rough draft of Child of Three

2.) Write 500 words a day (minimum)

3.) Post on this blog once a week (more if possible)

For right now these three goals are enough. I'll also be posting my weekly goals and my monthly goals as well. I'm hoping that by making smaller goals at regular intervals I can keep myself on pace and ultimately reach my big yearly goals.

So, is anyone interested in joining me in the #WIP500 project? I know from experience that it is much more enjoyable (not to mention easier) to achieve a goal if other people are working toward the same goals. I'll welcome any and all support on this and I promise to offer mine as well. If no one is interested, well, I'll just ask that you help cheer me on. This will probably be the most difficult thing I've ever tried to do... so wish me luck.

~Krys