One of my writing goals this year was to set up a website.
My writing friends keep telling me I need one.
Now I have one. I didn't see the need to have two blogs, so I won't be updating this site.
I hope you'll come visit me at ajdurrant.com.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
MS150 Update
Okay, so because I have awesome friends, I've met and exceeded my MS150 goal. Because there's time, I think I'm going to increase my goal. This is a great cause guys, let's not stop just because we hit the minimum! New goal: $360 - that's $100 more with more chances to win a necklace/bracelet set made by me :)
The link to make a donation is in the previous post!
Thank you!
The link to make a donation is in the previous post!
Thank you!
Riding in the MS150 - first time!
Hey guys! I need your help :D
Some of you know I'm riding the short MS150 ride on the 17th. It was a last minute decision leaving me with only two weeks to raise $200. Right now, I still need $190 to ride. Eek!
If you don't know what the MS150 is, it's a bike ride that spans two days and 150 miles. Participants can choose to do the whole ride (and those people are amazing) or, if they're new, like me, can choose to do less distance. Either way, each rider is tasked with raising funds for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) research. Personally, I can think of two women off the top of my head who deal with MS everyday of their lives. They're my friends, and this is one way I can help, but I can't do it alone.
I need you. Every little bit helps. If you'd like to make a difference, use this link to make a donation.
https://secure3.convio.net/nmss/site/Donation2?idb=1456457572&df_id=32802&32802.donation=form1&FR_ID=16072&PROXY_ID=10124157&PROXY_TYPE=20&JServSessionIdr004=pxf1cu1rn3.app323a
Also thinking about raffling off a necklace and bracelet set for each $25 donation you make, your name goes into the drawing. What do you think?
Some of you know I'm riding the short MS150 ride on the 17th. It was a last minute decision leaving me with only two weeks to raise $200. Right now, I still need $190 to ride. Eek!
If you don't know what the MS150 is, it's a bike ride that spans two days and 150 miles. Participants can choose to do the whole ride (and those people are amazing) or, if they're new, like me, can choose to do less distance. Either way, each rider is tasked with raising funds for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) research. Personally, I can think of two women off the top of my head who deal with MS everyday of their lives. They're my friends, and this is one way I can help, but I can't do it alone.
I need you. Every little bit helps. If you'd like to make a difference, use this link to make a donation.
https://secure3.convio.net/nmss/site/Donation2?idb=1456457572&df_id=32802&32802.donation=form1&FR_ID=16072&PROXY_ID=10124157&PROXY_TYPE=20&JServSessionIdr004=pxf1cu1rn3.app323a
Also thinking about raffling off a necklace and bracelet set for each $25 donation you make, your name goes into the drawing. What do you think?
Monday, June 20, 2011
Crazy
I can't reply to a comment a couple posts ago. :( blogger keeps kicking me back to the google sign in page. It's crazy, because I'm already signed in...
Anyway, thank you Deirdra for your awesome comment! I'll be heading to your blog real soon!
Anyway, thank you Deirdra for your awesome comment! I'll be heading to your blog real soon!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Managing Time, Part 2
Yesterday went well. I'm very happy with it.
I divided the day into before dinner and after.
Before: I worked from 1-6, so five hours. I was five minutes short of working four of those hours. I like those numbers. I'm up and down multiple times, and had to go pick up a child from one of his activities. That means, that when I was working, I was working.
After dinner: I worked from 7-11pm. That's four hours. I worked three hours and 12 minutes of that. I took a break in there for a family walk. Again, pretty doggone happy.
To look at the day as a whole, I worked from 1-11pm. I worked a little over seven of those 10 hours, compared to the day a week or so back that showed me logging in in the morning, then logging out 12 hours later, but only having three actual hours to show for it.
I think, even just comparing these two days, the unplugging experiment is working, so I'll stick with it. Shortly, I'll be shutting down my email, and turning the wifi off on my iPod so I can concentrate better on the work in front of me.
I divided the day into before dinner and after.
Before: I worked from 1-6, so five hours. I was five minutes short of working four of those hours. I like those numbers. I'm up and down multiple times, and had to go pick up a child from one of his activities. That means, that when I was working, I was working.
After dinner: I worked from 7-11pm. That's four hours. I worked three hours and 12 minutes of that. I took a break in there for a family walk. Again, pretty doggone happy.
To look at the day as a whole, I worked from 1-11pm. I worked a little over seven of those 10 hours, compared to the day a week or so back that showed me logging in in the morning, then logging out 12 hours later, but only having three actual hours to show for it.
I think, even just comparing these two days, the unplugging experiment is working, so I'll stick with it. Shortly, I'll be shutting down my email, and turning the wifi off on my iPod so I can concentrate better on the work in front of me.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Trying to Manage Time
The saying is true, time just slips away. Before I know it the day is gone. I look at the writing goals I've set for myself and realize I didn't get as much done as I'd hoped.
Our crit group leader has been encouraging us to keep track of our progress. One of the ladies even created an online place for that. It's a great idea. I flopped terribly with keeping the daily log on line. In my defense, I'm jumping between projects, and logging word count for edits is much harder because most of it is by hand right now. On the flip side, I need to keep track. I need to know how long it takes me to do something so my goal setting, and later, book commitments are accurate. Here's what's working for me.
A couple weeks ago, I started logging in start and stop times, which have turned into in and out times - they're easier to abbreviate with one letter- on the pages I'm editing. Here's what I found out one day.
I'd worked from about 11am to 11pm, with interruptions throughout the day, remember, I have four kids and it's summer vacation. I added up all the in and out times. In that 12 hour period, I got about 3 hours worth of work done. I don't like those numbers. If it feels like I've been working all day, I want more than three hours of work to show for it.
So, I think I need to try some things. Obviously there will be distractions, but I may be more easily distracted - oh shiny! - than others. I need to limit the distractions I can.
My first experiment to find what works, will be disabling things like email, and the wifi on my iPod (that could be tricky. I use the thesaurus app). The same goes for FB and text notifications. My phone will be on so the people who have my children can get a hold of me. So, if it's important, please call.
We'll see how this works. It might need some tweaking, but it's a start.
Our crit group leader has been encouraging us to keep track of our progress. One of the ladies even created an online place for that. It's a great idea. I flopped terribly with keeping the daily log on line. In my defense, I'm jumping between projects, and logging word count for edits is much harder because most of it is by hand right now. On the flip side, I need to keep track. I need to know how long it takes me to do something so my goal setting, and later, book commitments are accurate. Here's what's working for me.
A couple weeks ago, I started logging in start and stop times, which have turned into in and out times - they're easier to abbreviate with one letter- on the pages I'm editing. Here's what I found out one day.
I'd worked from about 11am to 11pm, with interruptions throughout the day, remember, I have four kids and it's summer vacation. I added up all the in and out times. In that 12 hour period, I got about 3 hours worth of work done. I don't like those numbers. If it feels like I've been working all day, I want more than three hours of work to show for it.
So, I think I need to try some things. Obviously there will be distractions, but I may be more easily distracted - oh shiny! - than others. I need to limit the distractions I can.
My first experiment to find what works, will be disabling things like email, and the wifi on my iPod (that could be tricky. I use the thesaurus app). The same goes for FB and text notifications. My phone will be on so the people who have my children can get a hold of me. So, if it's important, please call.
We'll see how this works. It might need some tweaking, but it's a start.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Facing Fear, Act Two
I got my critique back that I was worried about. Lots of good stuff. Lots to work on to make the story better. It was a great perspective. This friend has never read any of it, so it was all sorts of new to her.
I know she worries about hurting people's feelings. It's a tough job being in her shoes. She's trying to be helpful, but at the same time hoping she doesn't crush the budding writer's spirit.
Got some great comments from her (I'm keeping those emails forever), but my favorite was when she told me that she didn't take it easy on me. I will thank her for that for a long, long time. No one ever improved by taking the easy road.
Still scribbling all over book two, because I need the break, but I'll get back to those 75 pages soon :)
I know she worries about hurting people's feelings. It's a tough job being in her shoes. She's trying to be helpful, but at the same time hoping she doesn't crush the budding writer's spirit.
Got some great comments from her (I'm keeping those emails forever), but my favorite was when she told me that she didn't take it easy on me. I will thank her for that for a long, long time. No one ever improved by taking the easy road.
Still scribbling all over book two, because I need the break, but I'll get back to those 75 pages soon :)
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Facing Fear
Today, I sent the 75 pages to a friend for the last crit before they go to the agent. I'm expecting this one to be my toughest critique. The friend is a fellow writer, and she's good. She's published and knows what it takes to make it into this world I'm trying to get into.
I value her opinion.
But at the same time, I'm nervous.
It's hard to put so much time into something, be exited about the results you worked so hard for, and then get a dismal critique back. I haven't gotten anything back yet, but I have to assume there will be plenty of work to do.
It's hard on the ego.
On the other hand, I don't feel I've got any business submitting these pages to an agent without doing EVERYTHING I can to make it the best it can be. That means letting go and letting my friend comb through it, then putting in the work that needs to be done after I get it back.
I've gotten better over the last year about receiving less than glowing feed back. I'm learning to take it professionally, and not personally. And honestly, I'd rather my friends - who want me to succeed - point out my weak spots than let an agent see them. Skipping over this step could equal lost opportunities. I don't want that.
So, cross your fingers for me!
I value her opinion.
But at the same time, I'm nervous.
It's hard to put so much time into something, be exited about the results you worked so hard for, and then get a dismal critique back. I haven't gotten anything back yet, but I have to assume there will be plenty of work to do.
It's hard on the ego.
On the other hand, I don't feel I've got any business submitting these pages to an agent without doing EVERYTHING I can to make it the best it can be. That means letting go and letting my friend comb through it, then putting in the work that needs to be done after I get it back.
I've gotten better over the last year about receiving less than glowing feed back. I'm learning to take it professionally, and not personally. And honestly, I'd rather my friends - who want me to succeed - point out my weak spots than let an agent see them. Skipping over this step could equal lost opportunities. I don't want that.
So, cross your fingers for me!
Hmmm...Where'd it go?
I actually blogged something Sunday night, but it's not here. Must not have hit the right button. Oops!
I'm 26 pages from the end of this round of edits for Claimed.
I know that doesn't sound like a lot, but for me it is. I'm dissecting sentences and paragraphs, and comparing the new one to the previous ones looking for repetitive words, redundancy, passivity, weak verbs, gerunds, and most of all, showing instead of telling. All of this makes for a much more indulgent read in the end.
With this being my first attempt at writing a novel, it's taken a lot of time. The story's been reworked a number of times in an attempt to get it right. I'm still not sure I've got it there, but that's what I have crit partners for, and my local writers' group - HeRA. As I learn more, I try to apply it. Sometimes I'm surprised, because it's something I'm already doing. Other times, I need to tweak parts of the novel. And still other times, I have to redo something. I still feel I'm lacking in his POV and responses to what's going on, but there's so much that needs to be in her POV, because she's going to have the greatest reaction to it, or it affects her more.
Back in December the agent I'd submitted my first three chapters to asked me to revise and resubmit. She gave me direction on what those revisions should include, then asked not only for the first three chapters, but the first 75 pages.
Those pages are nearly ready to go. She told me to take my time and make it shine. I've tried my best.
I'm 26 pages from the end of this round of edits for Claimed.
I know that doesn't sound like a lot, but for me it is. I'm dissecting sentences and paragraphs, and comparing the new one to the previous ones looking for repetitive words, redundancy, passivity, weak verbs, gerunds, and most of all, showing instead of telling. All of this makes for a much more indulgent read in the end.
With this being my first attempt at writing a novel, it's taken a lot of time. The story's been reworked a number of times in an attempt to get it right. I'm still not sure I've got it there, but that's what I have crit partners for, and my local writers' group - HeRA. As I learn more, I try to apply it. Sometimes I'm surprised, because it's something I'm already doing. Other times, I need to tweak parts of the novel. And still other times, I have to redo something. I still feel I'm lacking in his POV and responses to what's going on, but there's so much that needs to be in her POV, because she's going to have the greatest reaction to it, or it affects her more.
Back in December the agent I'd submitted my first three chapters to asked me to revise and resubmit. She gave me direction on what those revisions should include, then asked not only for the first three chapters, but the first 75 pages.
Those pages are nearly ready to go. She told me to take my time and make it shine. I've tried my best.
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