4.13.2011

Keeping up

Wow, it's almost the middle of April!! We're Keeping up with the A-Z challenge and with our personal challenge of naming a book/author for each letter. What we aren't Keeping up with is visiting new blogs. Parent-teacher conferences took up the end of March and the conference took up the beginning of April. Now we're on the home stretch and hope to find lots of new friends before the month is over - let us know in the comments if there are any MUST SEE blogs you've found lately. 

This summer we are focusing on our WIPs. They will become completed first-drafts. They MUST become completed first drafts. Since we're both teachers, we'll have more time once June gets here. Since we're both stay-at-home moms to 2 boys (who never want to stay home), though, time can really fly and before you know it, a day week month summer is gone. We're definitely going to need some time-management.

We were thinking of setting aside 30 minute segments of our day for some free writing/blogging time (aka kids watch movies or play together nicely, please let the nicely part happen...). Since there's two of us writing this blog, it works a little differently than it might for you. One of us will take 30 minutes to write a blog post and the other will take 30 minutes to visit other blogs and comment. Then we'll carve out another 30 minutes where we can only open our document to write or edit at least twice a day (or, if we're lucky and the kids are content playing, sleeping, bathing, etc., we can combine it into one-hour segments). Again, at night, after the kids are in bed, we'll commit to a half-hour for blogging or emailing and a half-hour for writing. That's the plan, anyhow!!

How do you Keep up with it all??


here we are

I (christy) tried to find a K book, but the first K that popped into my mind was Kiersten,
as in Kiersten White
I hope I'm not kicking myself when P rolls around.

19 comments:

  1. So nice to see your lovely faces! DOn't worry, I'm not keeping up very well either. But it's supposed to be fun so I'm not stressing over it.

    I've heard many good things about Paranormalcy, but haven't read it yet. :)

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  2. Great pic! I loved Paranormalcy! And as for keeping up - I'm struggling badly these days - just not enough hours in the day. I'd love to come up with a schedule, but every time I do that, something gets in the way - right at the moment I'm supposed to sit down and write, or visit around to everyone's blogs, that's when the dog barfs something nasty up on the rug or I have to rush off to child #3's school with something she's forgotten and needs desperately - you know the gig :)

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  3. I"m terrible and thinking up names and facts on the spot too. I'm sure there are plenty of K books out there!

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  4. I handle it by getting up at 5 am to blog for a few hours MWF.

    Summers are the opposite for me. That's when I have less writing time because the kids are home. And they DON'T always play nicely together. My goal is to be finished my novel by then so that it's just doing the rounds with my final beta readers.

    (psst Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles starts with P, if you get stuck).

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  5. I do the blog evening before and schedule, then promote before work. Getting around to visit is mostly a snuck from work thing... Writing is later evening in the tub...

    I want to cordially invite you two teacher types to do BuNoWriMo this June--it is like NaNoWriMo but smaller and in June (you'll hear more) We chose June though, because we have two teachers among the Burrowers.

    And in the pic, Erica is the tall one, yes? Am I making that up?

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  6. That's okay, Christy, the only thing I could think of was Stephen King.

    Apparently when I combine being tired with trying to crouch down and look smaller, I end up looking like I'm drunk and tipping over. Oh, well...
    erica

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  7. oh! Yay!!! Look at you GUYS! ((squeeze)) That's a great picture, and you all look like you're having loads of fun. As for keeping up? Oh, lord, by the skin of my teeth. I swear. Every day this week I've been saying to the girls, "This is (insert day name), right?" It's tough~ :D <3

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  8. All my blogging takes place on the weekends and all my regular WIP writing takes place during the week while the kids are in school. I need my quiet time when I write! Thanks for dropping by the Sisterhood this week!

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  9. What a great picture! Love it. As for organizing, OY! Your schedule is making my head explode. Whenever I try to schedule like that (which I do every once in a while) it backfires on me and I end up turning into a couch potato within a week. So I've learned the art of sneaking up behind myself to surprise me with some snippet of manuscript or blog post that I just can't resist. No mean trick! But it doesn't always work, which is when I go back to being organized.

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  10. I keep seeing that book around and keep saying I need to read it and somehow it hasn't made it onto my TBR list yet.... adding it now!

    Some days I tell myself I'm only going to blog for a half hour and before I know it half the day is gone. But I try really hard to make a schedule and stick to it.

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  11. It's not really possible to keep up with it all. Just do what you can, and things will eventually level out.

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  12. Such a cute pic! :) (and I got my mug, btw. very cute - thank you!) I don't always keep up, but I always do my best to. That counts for something, right?

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  13. I like your 30 minute chunk plan. Since I'm having problems with timing right now, I think I'll do that.

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  14. YAY, a pic! Christy you still have your TAN! Erica you look great! You should have seen me and christy. I'm your height and about twice as wide.

    Thankfully since I've seen Christy, I have slimmed down some. I still need more, but I'm on the way. By summer I should be acceptable for your keen eyes.

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  15. Keeping up with it all is tough. It will probably take me until July to get through the blogs on the AtoZ challenge.

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  16. Well, this is going to sound completely stalker-y (or something), but you guys do look remarkably like how I've been picturing you. Guess you write like you look? Impressive!

    Another trip to my bookshelf, and... 1&2 Kings. That's all I have. (It's a commentary written by one of hubby's profs at college. And a good one, too.)

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  17. I like the schedule you have put together. It makes me want to dump my one-manned blog for a two-man blog. I'll be on the lookout for someone to pair up with. I can write the posts, no problem, but then catching up with all the other bloggers eats away at my prescious free time which I love to write with. Ahhh! That's why I desperately needed my month off of blogging. It's good to be back now though.

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  18. You guys look fabulous! Sounds like you have a good time management plan in place for the summer. We'll be here to cheer you on.

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  19. erica, you don't look drunk. you're only leaning over because that's what people do in pics. people lean in becuase they forget the lens is actually capturing a wider area than the subject. the only reason i'm standing so straight and not leaning toward you is because i'm standing on my tiptoes, trying to look taller. :0)

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