Behind schedule but happy

I've made a lot of progress on my novel. I have to admit that I haven't been able to get up early every morning, but I do most mornings of the week. I always feel great when I do because I go through the day knowing that I have accomplished something that's close to my heart.

When I don't manage to get up, I do try my best to squeeze out as much time from my busy day as I possibly can.

Even though I did make lots of progress, I will not be able to be done by my 30th birthday as I had planned. My birthday is already on Thursday. I'm close to the end of editing, but not close enough to let go.

My new promise to myself is that I'll make it by the end of summer. One thing I don't want to do, is to rush it.

 One thing before I disappear into my life. I received a very sweet award from my writing buddy, Larissa at: A Three Way Tie. Drop by and say hi. she's amazing. I'll pass on the award as soon as possible.

Anyway, that's it from my end. I'll keep you updated as I move forward.

Liz

Not so good

This week was not as easy as last week. Not waking up early on the weekend, somehow messed everything up. Not completely, but enough. It was pretty hard waking up early the past three days. Monday was the hardest but I did follow the plan, Tuesday, I didn't, today, I did but it was darn hard. Despite the difficulty waking up, I did get some editing done, just not as much as I wanted to.

I hope tomorrow will be better because I am determined to keep going. By the way, in order to motivate myself, yesterday I started working on a book trailer for my novel (just for me). It's really exciting and inspiring.

Well, I'm planning to edit a bit more before going to bed.

Till the next update. Keep writing.

Early Bird--Day 4 update

It's day four since I decided to become an early bird. Surely I passed the test. I'm definitely still in the game. I plan to be waking up earlier only Mondays to Fridays.

I'll use weekends to catch up on sleep or else I'll end being a zombie. Sort of like a little reward.

Tomorrow I'll try to squeeze in a few extra hours of shut eye. I say try, because it usually happens that on days that I'm actually allowed to sleep longer, that's when my eyes force themselves open early in the morning and it's hard to get back to sleep.

When I have to get up early for work or anything else that requires me getting up early, that's when sleep is simply irresistible. I think it's like that for some people.

That's why I have a backup plan. If I happen to wake up early, I'll read a nice novel. I might start The Beach House by Jane Green. I read it already, but I love it, so why not again?

I'm also a digital scrapbooker, so I might cook up some designs. The point is to do something that's different and inspiring.
I'll do my editing at night on Saturday and Sunday. Monday, I turn into an early bird again.

What do you think of my plan?

Liz

Early bird update 3

The alarm rang and I got up-no grumbling, no staring at the ceiling, no discussion. I just slipped out of bed, wrapped a blanket around my shoulders and walked calmly to my work space, ignoring my heavy eyelids. Five minutes later, I was editing furiously and actually loving it. I didn't get much done, but I got enough done. That's still a great way to start the day. Later in the morning before I left for work, the satisfaction I had felt after editing crumbled. I burned three dresses while ironing (one after the other), ripped a zip off a pair of jeans and spent half an hour looking for my phone and my keys. Needless to say, I arrived late at work but my calm is back.
It's a beautiful sunny day and I intend to enjoy it. Maybe I'll start a good novel tonight. It's been a while since I had the time to read for pleasure.

In a nutshell, my morning started off well, deteriorated and brightened up again. But the important thing is, it's the third day and I'm still sticking to my schedule, still moving forward.

Hope your day started off right.
Liz

Early bird update

Sleep was incredibly delicious this morning, even more than yesterday. But I did get up and got a lot of editing done. I edited two chapters and am pleased with the results.

I have learned one thing, though.
Before going to bed I should always figure out what it is I will be working on the next day and know where all my notes are. This morning I spent almost fifteen minutes searching the apartment for one of my notebooks (with valuable information). When one only has a limited amount of time to write/edit, fifteen minutes is a long time.

I did find the notebook and in the end, I was pleased with what I had accomplished. I look forward to the end of the week when I review my progress.

If I keep going this strong, I'll easily make it by my birthday.

Happy writing

Liz

Waking up early...Day one

I did it. I woke up shortly before six a.m. (two hours before I usually do) and got a lot of editing done. I have to admit that it was not easy and when the alarm went off, I was tempted to change my mind.
As my eyes refused to open, I played with the idea of starting the new schedule tomorrow instead of today. But then I thought that if I didn't do it today, I never will.

I finally dragged myself out of bed and to the living room table, wishing I were a coffee person (that will never happen). I switched on the computer, surrounded myself with my reference books, and tuned into an online radio. Then I just dived in without wasting too much thinking about it. It worked.

When I resurfaced, I had reached my goal for the day and was so proud of myself. I even squeezed in a few minutes of exercise before leaving for the office.

I must say, I actually love this. I feel fantastic and energetic. I can imagine myself becoming a morning person after all. I love the feeling of having accomplished so much before my day begins.

Thanks for the encouragement, dear friends.

First Novel Advances

I just want to share a link i found on Average First Novel Advances. I know I'm not far enough to think about advances yet, but the information might be helpful to someone.
Here's the link:

http://justinelarbalestier.com/blog/2004/12/24/average-first-novel-advances/