Set a schedule, you dolt!

The revisions for Sadie's War have fallen a little behind as of late.  The reason why isn't exactly a good one.  When it boils down to it, procrastination and a lot of distractions throughout the day are to blame.  That, in turn, makes it my fault.  I've just been lazy and unable to focus.

While I'm a bit of a procrastinator, I am also driven.  I know that doesn't make much sense.  Basically, I'm at constant war with myself.  Part of me wants to work while part of me wants to play or take a nap.  Unfortunately those two rivals have an equal amount of power so making the right choice can be difficult. 


No, I'm not complaining...just explaining what happens.  Don't worry, I figured out how to tame the beast.

I took a step back one other day and looked at what still needs to be done before Sadie's War is ready for print.  I discovered that the revisions had fallen more behind than I thought, and would only get worse if I don't kick it up a notch.  I was 3 chapters behind where I aught to be.  Thankfully, it's a small enough number to make it easy to catch up before January.

Last night I sat and thought about how it's always easier to get work done when I had a job.  I was always an efficient worker who finished my tasks on time (or early).  It's easy to see that the difference between that and working for myself is that I had an employer who told me what to do and when.  If I messed up I could get fired and that's never a good thing.  So, I worked hard.

Now, I'm my own boss.  There's no one out there who is going to kick my butt into gear or threaten to fire me if I don't do a good job.  There's just me, myself, and I.  So, I need to do what any good self-employed person would do and treat this that way I did working for another.

I've set a schedule and penciled in specific times for work.  I set an alarm on my phone that will let me know when to start, and when to stop.  I also made sure that on this schedule I had time for the things I need to do that are non-work related.  These include chores, doing things with the kids, doctor appointments, and playing.  Including the other things, and making the schedule for my whole day to fit it all in, helps me to stay on track a little easier.

I did forget to do one thing, and that is to make a list of what I need to get done for each work day.  That's the next thing I'm going to do.  Winging the rest at this point seems hopeless as I don't get as much done as I could.  To much time is spent planning in the moment instead of ahead of time.

Just keep writing. :)

Future Plans

The revisions for Sadie's War are coming along nicely.  I'm absolutely loving the changes and can't wait to be done!  The novel is still scheduled for release on February 23, 2014.  From the looks of things, we are right on schedule.

In the meantime, I've been also working on figuring out Tara's story.  That's been slow going because of the time I've spent recently on Sadie's War.  Rest assured, Tara's story will be worked on soon.  There are so many novels that I have planned to write and my mind feels as though it will explode if I don't start soon. 

My muse is a relentless Mistress who can sometimes be a fickle entity.  Yes, I sometimes think of her as someone real, standing over my shoulder and inspiring the words that flow from my fingers.  Those are times where I can sit at my computer all day and pound out several thousand words.  My breaks, then, are usually induced by my children needing something.  As I said, however, my muse is a fickle creature.  She will sometimes give me a month where I will write half of a novel and then she is gone.  I'm left sitting in front of my half finished novel and unable to write more than 100 words at a time.  For a month or two I'll agonize over my story, trying in vain to complete it.  Then, without warning I'll wake up at 5 am and the words will start to flow once more.

I mention her because lately I've felt the prose ready to dance across the page once more.  The revisions have been helping with that spark and my imagination has been on overdrive.  When I'm not working on Sadie's War, then I'm daydreaming about other stories that want to come.  Sometimes it's about Tara, sometimes it's about other stories that have nothing to do with The Supernatural Uprising Novels.

While I don't have all of the stories for the series figured out, I do know basically what I want to write.  I also know what I want for a few stand alone novels (fantasy, sci-fi, and urban fantasy genres), and a post-apocalyptic series that uses some fantasy and science fiction elements.

I thought I would show you some of what I have planned.  So, here is a list of upcoming novels...though not with the titles they'll be published under.

SU = Supernatural Uprising
PA = the Post Apocalyptic series that is yet unnamed

SU1: Sadie's War	The first of the Supernatural Uprising series of novels. This story is about Sadie, a blind traumatized teen who learns of love and then becomes the catalyst of a revolution between Supernaturals and the government.
SU2: Tara's story	Tara is a spy for the Supernatural Underground Movement. The plot behind this novel is that she, along with her boss's bodyguard, have to stop a supernatural terrorist while avoiding PSI-the government agency that now hunts supernaturals.
SU3	Still working on the plot for the rest of the series
Keenan	This stand alone book will be a supplement to the Supernatural Uprising Novels but not a part of the series itself. PSI (Paranormal and Supernatural Investigations) is a branch of the government who capture supernaturals and kills paranormals. While Supernatural people are humans with unusual powers, the paranormal community is made up of beings from other planes of existence. Keenan is an elf who came to our world to escape a war back home and has been charged with guarding a powerful and ancient artifact.
SU5
Tri-Chan	This novel's main character is another that I developed through role playing. The world I played her in will be different from the world where her story takes place. I'm working on the details however it looks as though it will be a science fiction genre book. Especially since Tri-Chan is an alien whose people are born when a star goes super-nova.
SU6
Moyra's Daughter	This is actually an old story of mine that I created back in 1997. It's a tale of Tier-Bal, an elf who doesn't know that her mother is actually the Goddess Moyra. Gifted with the ability to turn herself into a dove, an ability no other elf has, Teir finds herself on an adventure to find the truth about her parentage and save the man she loves.
SU7
Banished Goddess	This novel will bleed together both fantasy and science fiction elements. The 9 known worlds have all been destroyed by an alien intelligence known as Kor'ge. Thankfully, the people of those worlds have been spared from extinction by an ancient race of god-like beings. The survivors were placed on a planet that is saturated in magic. For generations they not only endured, but managed to live somewhat peacefully. That is, until Kor-ge learns of their survival and endeavors to finish what he started. It will be up to Allekia, a banished goddess who must find a way to defeat Kor-ge before it's too late.
SU8
PA1	In this series, the main character is Valnya. A young girl who has the power to control the weather. Such elemental mages are rare to find and regarded as high prizes amongst the war-lords that now rule what was once North America. Valnya's family are gypsy-like nomads who are known for their prowess when hunting and eradicating the mutated monsters that plague the land. In the series you'll watch Valnya grow and come to terms with her power and the many restrictions that naturally come with being born a mage.
SU9
PA2
SU10: Sal's Story	This will be the finale for the Supernatural Uprising. In this novel you will finally see things from Sal's perspective. Any questions that may arise about her in the other books will be explained fully here, or at least that's the plan. I have a lot of ideas for this book but I want to reach this point in the series before planning too much.
PA3	This series will continue for an unknown amount of novels. It may be 5, it may be more.

Please keep in mind that things will change. Basically the plan is that after the 3rd novel of this series then I will start with some stand alone books as well. The stand alones will be published in between the series.  Naturally Banished Goddess isn't the last stand-alone I'll write, but it is one that I have a plan for.  After Sal's Story then I will start writing stand alones again.

Yes, yes, yes...Jayelle is going to be very busy...forever!  lol

A writer's work is NEVER done.  :D