20 Weeks to a Book - Week 2

(If you'll note the calendar, this should be week three. I had a brain lapse and forgot to read my chapter last week. We'll just continue on as if nothing happened.)

Writer's Groups

This week Maeve encourages the writer to join a writing group. In a Writer's Group you can learn from others mistakes, sharpen your skills, speak with people who do not think you are crazy, and be kept accountable. Maeve does warn that Writer's Groups can also be discouraging and devolve into gossip sessions. Still, she thinks they are worth the effort to find and be involved in a Writer's Group.

I have tried to be involved in a local Writer's Group, unsuccessfully. I did learn a lot and enjoy the other writings. There were many difficulties with this group. None wrote in the same genre as did I. Which shouldn't be a problem, but they had a difficult time grasping my stories. Fantasies of talking dust bunnies and habitable planets other than Earth eluded them. While their comments on my grammar and word usage were helpful, their overall critiques of the story were mean and nasty. While they were encouraging to the other members, they ripped my stories apart as being unclear and nonsense. I also ran into the fact that none of them were looking to be published. They just wanted to write and meet together with other writers and have their words read and praised.

Maybe I'll find another Writer's Group that will be more helpful, but for now I'll write alone. I still need someone to keep me accountable with my writing though, so if anyone wants to help, let me know!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

My son did not loose out on another week of playing the Wii because of talking back and ignoring his parents when they spoke to him.

My son did not loose out of having his cousin over for the whole day because of harassing his sisters.

My son and his cousin (who came over later) did not loose out on playing together for two weeks because the threw rocks at each other, nor did they try to get into our un-opened pool.

My son did not loose out on spending the night at Grandma's house because he continued to talk back, harass his sisters, nor ignore his parents.

My son did also not loose out on the first day he was supposed to be able to play the Wii again because he ignored Mommy when she told him not to do something.

What did your children/child not do this week!

Kid Quotes

I love the sayings my kids come up with. The Big Princess is very good at sounding very grown up, but being very funny at the same time. Here are some of my favorite sayings from my kids, at least the three that can speak full sentences!

The Big Princess - (Said to me while we were driving home one night in the summer) Mommy, the stars are singing!

Little Dude - His reply to Daddy when Daddy said, "I like your shirt." Little Dude's reply, "It's stripped, like Thunder Ball!" (For those of you who don't know this is from a James Bond theme song which actually says, "...strikes, Black Thunder Ball")

Mini-Me - Her reply when Daddy noticed her hair was getting long "You're looking very shaggy." Mini-Me, "No, I Daphne!"

20 Weeks to a Book

Maeve Binchy's "The Maeve Binchy Writers' Club" takes you through 20 weeks of lessons that once were presented at the National College of Ireland in Dublin. I picked up a copy of this book while at Borders, hoping for motivation to complete the book I started more than a year ago. It continues to haunt my dreams and many of my waking hours. Maybe if I actually finish it, I can have my thoughts to myself again.

Here we are at week 1: "Getting Started" - This week Ms. Binchy discusses making a plan and being disciplined to stick with it for the next 20 weeks. She also offers advice on organizing your space, or lack there of in my case. She recommends writing 5 hours each week. I'm going to do this, for at least the next 20 weeks. I'm off to a good start, I wrote for about an hour last night. I've also decided to include another goal. I need to have 30 pages edited to send out for a professional critique, to be mailed by the beginning of June.

Check back next week to find out the next step to writing a book in 20 weeks and my progress on the book I'm currently writing.

Not Me Monday!

I did not run the washer (with soap and fabric softener), and forget to put the laundry in...

I did not eat 3 ice cream sandwiches in one sitting...

I did not spend Mother's Day afternoon at my Aunt's house, and leave my children with my husband at his mother's house...(I would never feel the need to be away from my wonderful children!)

I did not stay up late trying to finish Little Women...(I've read it dozens of times, why would I need to rush through it!)


Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.