Remember NaNoWriMo — that month-long obsession with writing throughout November? Guess what? Denise Jaden has invited writers to join her for a similar project, March Madness… and I succumbed. Yikes!!
Despite all my revision attempts this past year I haven’t been happy with one of my older manuscripts. March Madness will provide the opportunity for one last (I really want it to be the last) concentrated effort aimed at readying it for submission. I committed to the goal of revising a minimum of one chapter a day, five days a week during March.
There’s motivation and accountability in joining a group endeavour so if you need a little of that to prod you toward some personalized writing goals, mosey on over to Denise’s blog and see what she’s offering.
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Any unattained goals or roadblocks you’d like to admit to while you’re here? Owning up is the first step toward overcoming, so come on, let’s hear it.
MUSINGS 
My unattained goal is getting my ms published. ^_^ Woo! I’m one step toward overcoming!
Good for you! Now doesn’t that feel like you’ve started (or re-started) the journey? Keep up the momentum.
I’m hung up on my revision. I made notes in some places to show the scene rather than tell it (not every single thing needs showed). I’m wishing I hadn’t done that because now I’m going nowhere on it. I’ve started something else and it bothers me that I’ve left unfinished business.
Sometimes we need a little distance from a wip. The one I’m revising now has been in the works for over a year but I’ve only recently had a ‘eureka’ about what’s wrong with it. Now I’m enthusiastic about working on it again.
I’m diving into my rewrite. The way I got to this point was by committing to one chapter a day. Now I’ve let it age for a while and I’m looking at it w/fresh eyes. I’ve overcome one road block–switching the POV from 3rd to 1st person. That has helped me to create a whole new book. Where it will go and if it will stay in 1st person, I’m not sure.
Good luck with March Madness!! I hope it works for you!
Interesting that you’ve switched POV from 3rd to 1st person; that’s what I’m presently doing, too. I waffled on it to begin with (changed the first chapter three times!) but decided I like seeing the story emerging from my MC’s mind.
Good luck, Carol. Keep me posted. I’ve never attempted NaNo. My DH thinks it’s probably a good thing. I’m bad for laying on the pressure. But I suspect I’m missing something too.
NaNo is pure craziness… a mad dash from zero to 50,000 words in thirty days… and I don’t know how many more times I’ll tackle it. At least this March Madness thing lets us set our own goals and I’ve set very attainable ones. I just need to keep at it. Easy to say; not always so easy to do.
Sounds interesting – 5 Chapters per week sound reasonable – Go get ’em!
It’s reasonable all right, especially when I realize that I managed to get through five chapters just yesterday! Mind you, they were ones that I’ve gone over and over before so they really only needed tweaking. The hard ones are yet to come. I’ll have some new scenes to add and some to remove since I’ve eliminated a character. In the end I don’t know if it will be a better story but it will at least be the best I can I do with it.
Thanks so much for spreading the word about the Madness, Carol! Great to have you on board – so much more fun trying to achieve things as a group.
You’re welcome, Denise. Thank YOU for hosting it. It’s amazing how the group approach helps keep the motivation up.
Good luck with the madness, 🙂
Thanks, Cher! We are a little mad, aren’t we?