How You Know It’s Summertime

Something happens when the sun comes out in Chicago - I go outside more. I’m more social. My friends and family get married (fifth wedding of the year this coming weekend! Oh my!) I feel more inspired.

I’ve also been doing beta reads for some great authors. I’ve been swimming and running more (despite what I lament here), trying to get healthy and training for my first 5K ever... And did I mention I got engaged? Because I did. :)

So, with being outside and enjoying the weather and friends and family, I clearly haven’t been around my laptop as much. This isn’t to say I haven’t been writing. Despite my page-a-day calendar falling off at 6/8/10, I’ve been writing nearly every day.. (If you don’t count the weekends away - I’ve only been in town on weekends twice in the past, oh, 2 months?) I’m keeping up on Gather, hot dogs, and even my novel, to some extent. How do I, you ask? I stopped keeping track of word counts (it takes up time!) I’ve also been staying up late, a lot. That might be changing soon too though - because I gave up caffeine nearly three weeks ago now.

Oy vey! Just writing that makes me tired. But, you know what? Strangely enough, I’ve had more energy lately than I’ve had in awhile - with the exception of the 2:30pm tiredness striking without fail most days. Maybe because it’s summertime in the city? Because, if you haven’t noticed - I love Chicago when it’s warm out. Too bad it’s not like this all year round!

But maybe it also has something to do with being busy, too... I like being busy. It keeps me on my toes, helps me manage my time even more than I usually do.

How do you manage your time - especially when it's this awesomely nice outside?

Writing Schedule, or Keeping Tabs Tuesday

It's time to hold myself accountable. If I'm going to finish this novel by the end of the year, I have to pick up (and keep up) that pace. That said, below is the consolidated schedule of deadlines for my WIP - lofty goals, I know, but the more I keep you updated, the more motivation I have.

For most (if not all) of you, these deadlines, number of chapters, etc. mean very little - I'm not giving details of the chapters away because you're going to one day read my book - so feel free to skip to the end and leave an encouraging note, or two. =)

By June 30th:
- Finish revising/rewriting chapters 8 through 11
- Do a major rewrite of chapters 12 & 13 (this is where the majority of the rewriting work begins!)
- Research the Champ de Mars massacre & the Catacombs a bit more
- Keep reading Plutarch's Lives
- Update outline and sequence of events timeline - both for 1793 and 2005 - to make sure the novel remains consistent

*BREATHE*

By July 7th:
- Rewrite/revise chapters 14 & 15
- Read more of Marat's writings... this may alter a few key scenes in chapters 14 & 15
- Keep reading Plutarch's Lives

*REMIND MYSELF THAT I CAN DO THIS!*

With each subsequent Tuesday, from July 15th to the 28th, serving as a deadline, I'll revise/rewrite two to three more chapters each week. One week will include adding an entirely new chapter that is desperately needed; let's refer to this, for now, as "Anne's second rebellion."

*TAKE A BREAK; BREATHE*
*AND MAYBE, YA KNOW, ENJOY THE SUMMER WEATHER... well, if it ever comes to Chicago*

I should be moving north to Roscoe Village about this time of the month, which will force me to take a break, for sure. I'll need to get settled into my new place!

But, then back to the keyboard, with deadlines restarting every Tuesday beginning August 11th. Again, rewriting/revising two to three chapters every week (allowing for most weeks to only be two chapters) up until September 8th.

*COLLAPSE IN RELIEF THAT THE DRAFT IS DONE*

So, that's my goal! By September 8th, I'll have an entirely new 1st POV draft of my novel that will hopefully be a huge step closer to being done...

And then PARIS! Well, maybe. Hopefully. The financial situation is not what it needs to be right now for a trip, so I might be living vicariously through Paris blogs for a few months longer. In that case, I'll re-evaluate the novel, plan what I need to do, and then maybe take a break from the manuscript.

No, not maybe. Definitely. I'm making some huge overhauls in the next couple months, and I need to make sure I have a clear head when I come back to this draft, ready to make some final revisions!