Today is 3/11…Wait… Isn’t that the name of a Reggae Rock band?
“Whoa, amber is the color of your energy.”
Oh I’m just being silly!
How was your week everyone? I was sick last week, so I didn’t check-in. Did ya miss me? Well I missed all of you! This week flew by fast. Unfortunately we are still dealing with Hubby’s back so that makes things a bit stressful around here, but life goes on.
And no I will not break into another song!
So are we ready? Okay, here we go…
The dreaded check-in
Let’s take a look at how I did last week, shall we?…
Goals for Round 1:
1- Work on my current WIP.
This really could be combined with goal number two. But I am in the process of moving forward with both WIPs and also plotting a new story for my third novel.
Yep, still plotting and developing character arcs.
2- Check in with Donna Newton at WWBC once a week.
Check. I did converse with Donna via email this week. As you know, Donna is now reading my number one WIP. She says she is a slow reader. LOL! So she is not finished yet. Hurry up Donna! I’m waiting here! Just sayin’. 🙂
3- Participate in my online class to help authors balance writing and business with Bob Mayer.
All done. 🙂
4- Blog at least once a week.
Yep, posted on Wednesday. I wrote a blog about how a horse can give us inspiration for our writing. Say what? I know it doesn’t any make sense, but go check is out. I guarantee you’ll walk away feeling good about yourself! I have to say that this once a week thing is working for me. I also think that it makes it easier for those who follow my blog to visit and comment. And I can’t thank you enough for all the support and wonderful comments that you leave on my site. You guys are awesome!
5- Visit and support 5 bloggers per day.
I am happy to say that I have read actually more than 5 bloggers per day. I have been reading them until my eyeballs fall out! And since I have now visited everyone from WANA1011, I thought it would be a good goal to try to go visit everyone from WANA112. Although I’m trying to figure out how to get a list of those bloggers. If anyone has a list or knows of a list, please let me know. Thanks!
6- Tweet at least once per day.
Yep, I was able to meet this goal and I’ve been busy all week tweeting to support others. And I would like to take this time to thank these awesome people for all their support and Twitter love!
@Angela_Peart @DianeCapri @_FabioBueno_@Judythe2 @DebraKristi @PrudenceMacleod @GeneLempp @DebraEve @jenjensen2 @ElaineSmothers @MarcyKennedy @MDragonwillow @SSchroeder @jenmariepowell @jhansenwrites @MelindaVan @crothhobsen @AugstMcLaughlin @BMcDowellOH @Suesan0814 @RickBylina @GingerCalem @DeborahJHughes @alanasaltz @MikeSchulenberg @RchelFunkHeller @JBLane @StacyGreen26 @MSMillerAU @AprilPlummer @SusieLindau @Ali__Dent @MerryFarmer20 @DebraEve
Thank you for your Tweets and Re-Tweets! I’m sending you all a big Hug!!!!
7- Exercise during the week.
Nope, I fell down on this one. I was sick at the beginning of the week and then, well, I just didn’t exercise. I have talked to Ginger Calem about this over at #writersbutt (I know, clever name eh?). Ginger said that she would partner up with me and kick my butt into gear. LOL! 🙂
So now I’m looking forward to a fresh new start to this week.
Oh, before you go be sure to check out these awesome blog posts from the past week that caught my eye:
Even though we all know that breaking up is hard to do, August McLaughlin put a new twist on this particular subject with her post, “Beautiful Breakups: What the Revision Process Can Teach Us.”
Rachel Funk Heller takes us all on a ride with her amazing post, “From Reader to Writer: The Driving Metaphor.” Rachel found that learning how to write is a lot like learning how to drive. Let’s just say that she’s giving us the spark that will start our engines so we can really go somewhere when writing our stories.
Then across the pond Jennifer Jensen take us for another ride. This time she’s “Driving on Irish Country Roads” with her family and it comes complete with a vlog of those perilous country roads. All I have to say is watch out for sheep and cows Jennifer! It’s all in great fun!
Now if you happen to have a techie question then Jenny Hansen’s your girl. She is a wiz on all things technical and last Tuesday she wrote a post on Linked-In called “Social Media Madness.” My sentiments exactly Jenny! It is madness, but thank you for talking some of us off the ledge!
And last but not least I want to include Donna Newton’s post “So You Want to be an Author?”—Part Two. In her post Donna helps break down the confusion by educating us on all the different genres that exist so we know where our writing fits in and what the rules are. Rules? I hate rules. But okay Donna, only because you say so. 🙂
Okay I did it. I got through another week and I’m not alone. There are others that are right beside me to help me along the way. So that I don’t irritate my wonderful supportive subscribers, feel free to delete my ROW80 posts if they start to irritate you. They probably won’t be all that interesting, unless…
Unless I can temp you all to join us over at the party at ROW80! Feel free to jump in anytime. See you there! 🙂
So what do you think? How did I do? I know I can still count on your support, right? Or you have my permission to come and give me a swift kick in the butt! Uh-oh, it looks like Ginger Calem has already beaten you to it! LOL! 🙂
If you enjoyed this, I encourage you to run right now to the top of the page and hit the follow button to receive future posts!
Thanks guys! I knew I could count on you!
Karen.
How’d you do? Much more organized than I was. I just found you through Marji Laine’s blog and it was a fun find.
I’m posting my answers to Marji’s questions here in a few minutes — are you going to play?
Hi Deana! Thank you for making the effort and coming by. I’m sorry but I cannot participate with you all at this time. I’ve got my hands full with taking care of my husband at the moment. I’m sorry, but I do hope you all understand. Thanks for thinking of me! 🙂
You’re kicking, ROWing, writing, visiting blogs, tweeting, and linking, Karen. Yay, you! I’m glad you beat sickness and am sending out positive thoughts re your husband’s recuperation.
Okay Pat, yes, I’m out of breathe now that you said all that! Whew! LOL! And thank you Pat for your kind considerate thoughts about my husband. It has been quite stressful and I think part of the reason it’s been hard for me to concentrate on my writing. But we’ll keep trudging through all of this. Thanks Pat for all your support! 🙂
Thanks for the links–there were some I missed.
Good job on your goals Karen–hope you have an awesome week (don’t forget to push those eyeballs back in!!).
Happy writing 🙂
Coleen Patrick recently posted..For the Love of Food and Nostalgia
LOL Coleen! I will definitely be pushing my eyeballs back in! You’re so funny! I hope you enjoy those posts and find them helpful. Take care and thanks for coming by! 🙂
You are doing wonderful, Karen. You have the three stories on the go — utterly awesome. Hopefully you are on the mend from that nasty flu and that this week, you’ll make even more progress. Go, girl! 🙂
SheilaSeabrook recently posted..ROW80: Week 10 Check In
Why thank you Sheila! Uh, yes I am on the mend. I felt miserable. But it has passed and I am happy to be up and running. And I hope to have a productive week. The same with you girl. Have a great week Sheila and thanks for stopping by to support me! 🙂
As others above have said, the fact that you accomplished as much as you have this week whilst being sick is to be applauded. I always just curl up with my blanket and my hot water bottle and wish the world would all go away!
Emily recently posted..#ROW80 Check-in – Ups and Downs but Mostly Ups
Hi Emily! Thanks so much for coming by! I think I met you earlier at your post. You’re doing great by the way! And yeah, I tend to push myself and work at something. I hate to be idle. But when your that sick, the blankie does sound comforting and there’s really not much you can do at that point. I hope you don’t catch what seems to be going around. Stay well and have a great week Emily! 🙂
Don’t forget something else important you accomplished: you got out of bed on the “spring forward” day. Feel better–you’re doing great.
Hey Sally, you’re right! Getting out of bed did take some doing though this morning! LOL! I got up late. But I did spring forward! Thanks Sally and thank you for coming by and giving me your mcuh needed support! Have a great week! 🙂
Sorry to hear you’ve been fighting being sick Karen. There’s nothing worse and I am hoping you are feeling much better!!! Take care of you!
Even being sick, you got a ton done! Woot woot. Very productive so here’s to gaining momentum for another kickin’ week ahead!
Natalie Hartford recently posted..ROW80 – Round 1 – Check-in #20
Hey there girlfriend! How are you? Yeah, I was sick last week, but thankfully I am feeling better! And yes, I am getting some things done, but you know how it is. You always want or think you can get more done, right? So off we go into another week. Make yours a great one Natalie! And thank you so much for coming by! 🙂
Louis Black once did a wonderful bit that started with him sitting in a restaurant overhearing a gentleman at another table say, ” If it wasn’t for that horse I’d have never of made it through college.” Thought of this when I was reading your post earlier this week.
Looks like you have a great week and you are forgiven on the exercise – now if we could just get Donna to read faster. Have a great week 🙂
Gene Lempp recently posted..ROWstatic 3-11
LOL Gene, that story is hillarious! That’s what my post reminded you of? Well at least my post was good for something, eh? Okay Gene, Ali just brought Donna up too. Can you put a bomb under Donna’s butt or something? I am starting to freak out here. I’m afraid that my MS sucks Gene. I’m not getting a good feeling about his at all. It’s stressing me out. But thank you for forgiving me about the exercise. I did go for a little walk yesterday with Hubby. It was quite a beautiful day here. So yes, let’s have a great week, shall we? See ya soon Gene! And thank you for coming by to support me! 🙂
Karen, you were missed:) Sorry you were sick. Your work looks great. Your making wonderful progress. When do you think Donna will be finished. I bet your sitting on pins and needles waiting for her reply.
Hi Ali! Thank you for telling me that. It’s nice to know that you are missed. And that I look like I’m making some kind of progress. LOL! Donna. Yes, I am sitting on pins and needles Ali. Thank you so much for noticing. This waiting thing is starting to get to me. Just a little. But I know that Donna is super busy and she has young children too. But I couldn’t resist telling her to hurry up. I’m such a stinker! Thank you for coming by to encourage me and give me your support. It means a lot. I hope you have a great week! See ya soon! 🙂
hey there! found you on the ROW80 Facebook page.. looks like you are moving along nicely. 🙂
Glad to have you in the group. It is always nice to see new faces and read new blogs.
See you around Row Town!
Darlene Steelman recently posted..And ROWing Right Along… ROW80 Update
Hi Darlene! I am so happy you came by! You found me! Yippie! And thanks for making me feel welcome girl! Yes, see you around ROW Town! Thank you for coming by and have a great week! 🙂
Wow! You did a fantastic job. I am impressed! Since I missed SO much due to my little issue, I think you for the links! I’ve been dying to read some of those posts. I’ll be heading over right after I load a few more programs onto my computer (it’s never ending).
Keep up the good work, but don’t burn yourself out.
Oh Debra, I know you’ve been through a lot this week with computer issues and all. I’m so sorry for your frustrations! But yes, do take a peek at those posts. They were encouraging and helpful too. And thanks so much for coming to support me with all that you’re dealing with. It means a lot! Take care Debra and have a great week! 🙂
Hi, Karen. Sounds like you’re making good progress, plus getting over being sick! Thanks so much for the shout-out. It was a fun blog to write, although I’m not across the pond anymore, just wishing I was! Off to read RFH’s Driving Metaphor now. Cheers!
Jennifer Jensen recently posted..Driving on Irish Country Roads – with video
Hi Jennifer! It was my pleasure to include your Irish adventure in my post today! I’ve been there and driving on the Irish country roads IS crazy! But fun! And I know what you mean Jennifer. I loved Ireland and I want to go back! It’s just beautiful and so are its people! Take care, have a great week and cheers to you Jennifer! Thanks for coming by! 🙂
Hi, Karen! I think you’re doing an amazing job, especially when you’ve been sick. Good luck with the plotting and character arcs – those are so important. Have a great week!
Stacy Green recently posted..Row80 Check-In: From celebration to determination
Hi Stacy! Thank you for saying so. I’m trying. And thankfully I’m much better now. But yes, I’m taking my time on the character’s backgrounds so that they will be more interesting. Thanks for coming by and have a great week Stacy! 🙂
You made wonderful progress and were sick too, wow. Feel better soon!
Loved August and Jenny’s posts, I’ll have to check out the others. Thanks for the mash-up.
All the best for the upcoming week.
Raelyn Barclay recently posted..Sunday Summary & #ROW80
Hey there Raelyn! Thank you so much for coming by and for all your support! Yeah, I was sick for the beginning of the week. It didn’t make it fun for me to write a post I’ll tell ya that much. My head was in a fog. But I got it done. And I’m much better now. Thanks. And enjoy the mash-up girl. You have a great week too! 🙂
Thank you for the links!
You did really well, Karen! You’re allowed to break into song any time you want 🙂
Fabio Bueno recently posted..ROW80 Update 10 + Other Updates
Hey Fabio! I hope you find those links as helpful as I did. You are welcome! Thanks for always being a great support Fabio! I couldn’t do it without your support. Well everyone’s support really. And hey everyone! Fabio says that I can break into a song anytime I want! Thanks Fabio, I think I will do that! It makes it more fun around here! Have a great week dude! 🙂
Karen!
sorry to hear you were sicky, and I think I’m coming down with a cold so we can complain together. Muchas smooches for adding me to your mash-up, I had fun writing that post and I’m pretty proud of it. Now go on, doctors orders are to sling back a few “Airborne” Margaritas and call me in the morning!
Rachel recently posted..From Reader to Writer: The Driving Metaphor
Oh not you too Rachel. So many people have this cold thing. Yuck. I am recieving and returning your muchas smooches right back at ya! You did an amazing job with that post Rachel and you deserved the accolade! And I’m gonna take you up on that “Airborne” Margarita girl! You’re such a nut Rachel, but your awesome! Take care and get better. And have a great week! 🙂
Woo Hoo!! Great job, Karen. Love the shout outs! 🙂 Now, go for a nice walk today and take in at least 3 things that made you appreciate their beauty.
You’re all ready for another great week.
Ginger Calem recently posted..WritersButt Wednesday—Buddy Up!
Yes, woo hoo Ginger! And yes I love to shout it out! You deserve it girl! Does it count that I got a walk in yesterday? I don’t think I can make it today. But tomorrow I’m definitely walking. And let’s see. 3 things of beauty that I saw yesterday was the beautiful Pacific Ocean, the sun setting while having a drink on the San Clemente pier and a nice walk with my hubby! Will that work? And thanks to you and my friends I think it will be another great week! Thank you Ginger for coming by! 🙂
You really got a lot done this week. Good job!
And thanks very much for your support on my blog. It was my first week and I really appreciated it 🙂
Mike Schulenberg recently posted..Octopus: Threat or Menace?
Hey Mike! Ah, you are so welcome! I loved your post. You did a great job! And I’ll be back soon, I promise! Hey, you don’t have a list of your class by the way? That would be really cool. And thanks for coming to support me Mike! I really appreciate it! Take care and have a great week!:)
Wow, Karen, you’re rocking it this week. All the blogs? You are amazing. Yes indeed, you have our support, no question.
Prudence MacLeod recently posted..Focused Thought
Thanks Prudence! Well girl, you’re always there for me! And you know, I just want to get to know more authors. And that’s a great way to get out there and meet them. Take care Prudence and have a great week! 🙂
You’re making all kinds of progress, Karen. Congrats!
Diane Capri recently posted..Diane Capri Reveals Margaret Maron
I love that I can always count on you Diane for support. Even on an early Sunday morning. You are terrific and always encouraging! I hope you are doing well. Thanks for coming by! 🙂