I'm still a WIP ? Speaking of Words, Quilts, and Life

1) My blog ? I finally updated?the ?about me? page?and changed the name of my blog. This is the third name, but that?s okay. It needs to grow with me. It?s now titled, ?Speaking of Words, Quilts, and Life.? In reviewing the collection of posts I?ve made,? most of my posts somehow address creativity in my life through writing, quilting, or even parenting, so I decided to expand the title. My goal for this blog is to write, consistently, twice and week for an audience, whoever they may be. So far, I feel good about what I?ve done here, and I?m also okay with not having a laser focus on my ?content.? If I was trying to monetize this, that might be a problem, but I?m not, so I feel perfectly comfortable writing about my writing, my creative process, my quilting, or even my kids if I feel like it.

2) My novel ? My goal for the year was to finish my first draft by April 15. I figured that is a national deadline of sorts, so I?d just join the party.?Alas, I didn?t make it. My word count goal was 90,000 words, and I?m happy to say I have met and?surpassed that goal by several thousand words, but I?m still not done telling the dang story!? I think I have about six scenes left to write which could be anywhere from 6000-10,000 more words.? At this point, I have the end written and 90% of the middle, I just have to get the two tied together. I?m almost there, and I hope to have a first, really rough draft done in two or three weeks. I?ve decided not to beat myself up over this as I?d rather start my revisions knowing that I have to cut rather than feeling like I have a lot I need to add.??For me,?cutting and tightening up language during revision?is much easier than writing more.

3) My?quilts -?this part of my life has become a big zero. I haven?t touched a needle or thread in several months, other than to sew a button on a pair of?pants last week, but that doesn?t really count. I wanted to sew this past weekend but ended up cranking out several thousand words on my novel, so?my fabric continued its lonely existence. Summer vacation is coming, however. I just need to keep that in mind!

4) WhereTeensWrite ? Another of my goals this year is to start a website for teen writers.? I am happy to say that this is in the works.? It will be a community for teen writers to share their writing, get feedback, and take online creative writing classes. I?ve had several students ?consulting? with me on it, and we?re all pretty excited though it probably won?t be live for a couple of months.? When it is, you?will be able to find it at whereteenswrite.com. ?That whole summer vacation thing really?needs to happen, so I have some time to dedicate to this project too!

5) This is not a goal, just proof that I?m still a ?work in progress.? I?ve been blogging for a year and I just discovered that WordPress has a Handy Blog Scheduling Feature! I?m sure this tool has been available since I started blogging, but somehow it escaped my notice, so I?ll share for those of you who haven?t found it yet either.?If, like me, you are busy and sometimes aren?t on the computer to post on your regular schedule, there is a solution.? The next time you finish a post, click the ?edit? button next to ?Publish Immediately? above the big blue ?publish? button.? You can then?schedule it to go out whenever you want it to and WordPress does the rest. How nice are they? This has made my life as a woman who works full time, has two teens, and tries to post regularly much easier, and I wish I had discovered it a year ago. Oh well, live and learn.

Image is Royalty Free clipart from Microsoft Office.

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