Monday, August 24, 2015

Ready. Set. Write! Check In

Ready. Set. Write! is a summer writing intensive that encourages goal-setting and accountability, and provides an opportunity for us to cheer each other on wherever we’re at with our writing projects—planning, drafting, revising, or polishing.  This year, your RSW hosts are Alison MillerJaime MorrowErin FunkElodie Nowodazkij, and Katy Upperman. All the details are HEREAlso check out #RSWrite on twitter.  

Now it's time for GOALS and CHECK IN!


Hi everyone! I've been MIA the past month for RSW because of Pitch Wars and other stuff. I've still been writing and keeping up with goals, but glad to be back!

Progress on summer goals:
  • I'm about 26k into my new WIP. I'm having fun writing it, and so far my critique group loved the first chapter. That's always nerve wracking to share a new project
  • Edits for my other WIP are COMPLETE and the wheels are turning. 
  • I attended Chicago's comic con Wizard World which just may be considered research for my WIP ... :D Bottom right corner is a Firefly panel with Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, and Summer Glau. Super fun to see them in person! (my pic is of the big screen since we were rather far back).


Goals for this week:
  • Choose a manuscript for Pitch Wars! I cannot tell you how hard this is. Valerie Cole and I are determining which writer we can help most for the two months before the agent round. These are decisions you don't ever want to make. One manuscript isn't better than the other, and no one person is more deserving. We just need to pick one. Meanwhile, I'm enjoying reading over the material sent to us.
  • Add 5-8k to current WIP
  • Read or finish a book already in progress

Also this week:

A signing event at my local indie for romance author Kristan Higgins (who I love!) and special guest Sonali Dev, a writer in my RWA chapter who's had success with her debut The Bollywood Affair, and her second novel comes out this fall: The Bollywood Bride. This should be fun :)

 Make sure to stop by the other blogs! Let me know how your week is going. 

19 comments:

  1. Good luck choosing that ms for PW! I know that can't be easy, especially with almost 1600 people entering! And sounds like you have had a crazy yet VERY FUN month. Go you! Hope you have another great week, Stephanie!

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  2. I love that you're doing Pitch Wars. I submitted years back and loved the feedback.

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  3. I've never done PW but I know some who have and it's amazing!

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  4. I'm so jealous that you got to sit in on a Firefly panel. We've been gearing up for another re-watch (this time with our son). Glad you've had a productive summer, even with all the other busyness. Best of luck with your last RSW goals and I hope you find just the right Pitch Wars ms for you and Valerie!

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    1. Chicago's con is big but not massive. I got to the panel somewhat early before the flood of people and got in. I was going to do something else and not bother with dealing with the line, but it wasn't so bad. I don't think I could handle SDCC with hours and hours of standing in line.

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  5. Oh man, I don't envy the Pitch Wars mentors' decisions! You guys are so awesome to donate your time and energy to helping other writers!

    Good luck on your goals this week! :)

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    1. Thanks! I love it, but this part is the hardest. There is no one best manuscript that deserves attention above others. It's mainly how can I (and my co-mentor, so WE) best help one author. It's so subjective.

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  6. Ooh have fun at the signing!
    I can only imagine how hard picking an MS is for PitchWars. I'm sure all the mentors are receiving tons of great entries and what a lot of time narrowing it down would take!
    Have a great week!

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    1. I've read a lot of contest material the past three years--a lot from RWA chapter contests and now some online stuff. What we got through Pitch Wars was almost all really good. Seriously, I'm impressed. Even if some of the writing might not be 100% ready to submit to an agent--which is what we're here to help with--I didn't see any submissions that were totally out there crazy like the person had never seen a written book, which to be honest, I've seen in some other contests. We all start somewhere though.

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  7. Comic con looks like it was a blast. Choosing someone to mentor for PW? Sounds stressful :)

    Hope you have a great week!

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  8. Oh my gosh, I'm so jealous of the Firefly panel!!! That is so awesome! Good luck picking a manuscript. That would be incredibly difficult. I'm sure they are all so different! Good luck on your goals this week!

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    1. The panel was fun. I'm glad we braved the crowds. Also, my opinion of Nathan Fillion increased even more. He's SO good with panels like this. He loves doing them, you can tell. Some of the fan questions can be kind of awkward and he treated every one of them seriously.

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  9. I'm mentoring in Pitch to Publication, so I definitely sympathise with the difficulty in picking just one writer! It's tough when there's so many fantastic entries and you can only choose one. Best of luck making the decision! :)

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  10. How fun to see the Firefly crew! But then, the entire event looks exciting. Good luck in finding the right MS for pitch wars!

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  11. How fun to see the Firefly crew! But then, the entire event looks exciting. Good luck in finding the right MS for pitch wars!

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  12. Sounds like you had such a busy (but good!) month. Good luck in selecting your MS for Pitch Wars.

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  13. Ahhhhh Firefly AND Sonali Dev?!?! That is nearly TOO much awesome for one summer :) Have a fabulous week and good luck with everything!

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  14. I've been hearing about these Pitch Wars recently, they sound interesting (I admit right now I'm signing the Pitch Perfect Bella finale song as I type). Good luck! Also love the skirt!

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  15. Best of luck choosing your Pitch Wars manuscript. I think it's so amazing that you mentors devote so much time and energy and knowledge to supporting other writers. Enjoy this final week of RSW, Stephanie!

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