It’s been a long time since I’ve written. Sleep deprivation is a real thing, yo. My baby, this past week, has finally decided to sleep through the night (again). He took about 6 weeks off of sleeping through the night. I’m hoping this sticks for him because I really miss writing and spending time in the writing world. I feel so far behind.
I was supposed to have a book written and ready to go for release on October 1st, and I honestly haven’t even finished outlining it. It’s halfway outlined. I’ve given up on getting it written for this year, so it’ll just have to be on my list for next year. In the meantime, I feel horrible about not writing. It’s my number one stress reliever, and I haven’t written properly since NOVEMBER OF LAST YEAR! Such a scary thought.
Anywho. I decided to jump in on this round of ROW80 to try and get back in the swing of things. As I was laying in bed this morning at 5:30 because my spouse insisted on waking me up to tell me about an awesome thunderstorm, I came up with a short story romance series that I wanted to write. It’s called “Kansas Beatitude” which means I already have built in titles & series name. haha! I love when it works for you.
There are 8 short stories in this series based on the 8 beatitudes in the gospel of Matthew. And by based, I mean loosely themed on them. I’m writing the second one right now because I couldn’t come up with a good idea for the first one. (Poor in Spirit is a HARD topic to figure something out on). The characters are all different in each piece, though they will probably interweave to some degree once I get going. They will all be set in Western Kansas, where I live. The goal is that each short story will be about 15k words long.
Since there are 80 days in ROW80 and I have 8 short stories to write, I figure one short story every ten days. Which means, I’m already behind if I don’t finish this one short story today and I’m only 1500 words in, so I’m guessing I’m not going to finish it today. It means I’ll have to work hard to catch up.
Here’s my goals:
SHORT STORY TITLES: Poor in Spirit, Mourn (the one I’m currently writing), Meek, Hunger & Thirst, Merciful, Pure in Heart, Peacemakers, Persecuted.
DATES TO FINISH BY: July 14, July 24, Aug 3, Aug 13, Aug 23, Sep 2, Sept 12, Sept 22 (if I counted correctly)
I’m going to need some serious accountability on this to accomplish it. Even if I just make it through one short story at this point, I’m going to be so happy because it has been so long since I’ve written.
Like I said earlier, I skipped Poor in Spirit (Kansas Beatitude #1) and opted to start work on Mourn (Kansas Beatitude #2) because I had an idea pop in my head for it. I will have to go back and write the first one if I want to start sending this off to publishers to try and get it out into the real world because self-publishing for me does not go as well as it should.
I have 3 more short stories to come up with ideas for (including the first one), and I have about 12,500 more words to write on Mourn. Guess I better get to pecking at this keyboard in a more productive manner. Anyhow, catch you later! I’m off to write.
Babies and writing: I think you’re doing well to get any writing done with a baby in the house, especially one who doesn’t sleep when you need to. I’ll be looking for the Kansas Beatitudes. That’s a great idea for a collection..
Good for you! I’m inspired and can’t wait to see your new story come to life! Keep me posted! 😄
How exciting for you! The new series sounds great. Best wishes on meeting those goals!
I managed a few lines scribbled here and there in notebooks, from the time Jeremiah was born to the time he was 8 and Annalise 5. I’ve still got some of those notebooks; nearly all fan fiction, because it’s the only thing I could really wrap my head around.
Last Friday, Lise turned 12 (I’m still having a hard time believing it, despite the abundant evidence that 0 little kids live here anymore).
And I have oodles of time to write, because both kids have their own things going on. Lise even asked me to stop checking in on her while she’s asleep!
Even finishing one of those stories a round would be an accomplishment with a Very Little One. I love the idea, and am eager to hear how you get on with it. (August 23, incidentally, is my 19th anniversary!)
I’ve missed you. Writing TnT stuff this month, and that always makes me think of you. =)
Welcome back to RoW80! And good luck with the little one sleeping. I got back into writing when my boy was about 2 months old(NaNo ’10). I actually found that easier than once he got mobile, since he mostly stayed where I put him. Though the lack of sleep can be a problem(or quality of sleep. Always worse getting interrupted sleep than the same amount straight through. At least for me).
Good luck with your short stories.