It felt like just yesterday I was sitting here, thinking about my RoW80 goals, musing about how Sunday felt so far away and I had plenty of time to get things done. Then I realized it was Saturday, meaning tomorrow was Sunday, and I had to make sure I had some art to post and (here’s the big one) a story to send out. Thankfully, it has been done and done. Let’s break it down.
Goal 1: Soulless: No problems here. In fact, I’ve been well exceeding my goals for this one, which was have a chapter typed up for each check-in. I’ve been doing a chapter a day; after today, I’ll only have two more chapters (and an epilogue) to go, then it’s time to hit the ground running with editing. I plan on picking apart a chapter a day until the end of the round, and then it should be as ready as it’ll ever be for some beta readers.
Goal 2: Submit Something Every Sunday: Now, here was where I nearly had a panic attack. Figuring I had lots of time, I lost track of time, and when Saturday rolled around and I went to find the hard copy of “Dragon Rising” I had printed out to send to a children’s publishers, I couldn’t find it anywhere. Ensue chaotic tearing through the apartment, because I don’t have anything else ready to send quite yet and I did not want to fail a goal so soon. Luckily, I noticed a pile of stuff that fell off the kitchen table, and, ta-daaaah!, there was “Dragon Rising.” So it was slipped into an envelop, and I stopped by the mailbox and it’s officially on its way to Boyds Mills Press.
…or it will be. As soon as I find my stamps. Ahem.
Goal 3: Drawings:
Technically speaking, this isn’t a new drawing. I actually didn’t do any new scribbling since Wednesday; I’ve been too busy typing, and, once again, I don’t know where all that time went (typing. It went into typing). Still, I don’t think I’ve shown this piece off yet. If it weren’t for the tricky body/arm work that I still struggle with, I think it’s nearly done. This is Awngel Demarkus, who, ironically, was cut out of the most recent draft of Serpent in a Cage, though she makes her appearance in the second book, The Sun-Scorched Lands. I also think she bears a very striking resemblance to Jen the Gelfling.
Actually, Awngel shows up in a lot of my drawings. I love drawing her, because I love playing around with the Japanese inspiration of her style of dress, and I also love that her features lean a little toward the masculine side, and it’s a challenge to get her strong, broad jaw and still make her pretty.
And the other daily goals have been going along nicely, too. I’ve been reading (almost finished with a book, too!), plodding along on Serpent in a Cage (battle scene is slowing me down a little; for someone who puts so many battles in, you’d think I’d be better at writing them), and I’m maybe a third of the way through a short story that’s kind of about werewolves (question mark???). I’ve been commenting on blogs and posting on Twitter more, so everything is a-okay.
Most importantly, I’m really starting to get into the swing of writing full-time. I’m still super-paranoid about not making any money right now, despite having a hefty sum saved up, but I’m noticing the difference, I’m doing what I love, and it’s really quite incredible. I feel entirely awakened and passionate and that is one of the greatest feelings in the world.
How’s everyone else doing? Did Sunday somehow sneak up on you as it did me? Have you checked out many other RoWers yet? You can find them all here! Happy writing!
L.S. Engler 