July, for two years in a row, has been all about work. I remember last year, I worked my butt off in July, and this one was no exception…with the added twist of getting sick in the middle of it all 😛
But man, I will always remember July 2016 as the year that I finally figured out how and when to start writing every day. EVERY. Day. And the same time of day, too, to get that “muscle memory.” Form the habit. It’s still sinking in, but it’s definitely getting there. Today I wrote for 60 minutes straight. Didn’t even look at my timer, I just kept going. THAT was amazing, the and perfect representation of how it really does pay off to sit down every day and do what you want to be doing. That habit has to be trained and ingrained through practice, day in and day out. I’m not quite where I want to be yet, but I will be at the end of August…which is 90 minutes straight. And adding just a minute a day to this whole process has really worked. It’s so incremental I honestly haven’t noticed…I just know that I started with 30 minutes at the beginning of this month…and now I’m up to 60. And that’s 60 minutes solid, without taking a break or getting distracted by anything!
I’m also a good 2/3 of the way through revising my novel. Maybe half way…I’m not exactly sure. I’ve never done this before 😛
But, it’s going really well. I have to finish my plot, character, setting, and “other” passes still…then some brainstorming for fixes for certain areas…then write all those changes into the printed manuscript, and then actually FINALLY type in changes. Seriously…by the time that happens, I will have gone through this manuscript easily four or five times. And then another time or two for line edits! It’s cray. And I love it. I love that I go through it all so many times…it gives my brain a chance to actually grasp everything I wrote, and really work out what needs to be fixed. It’s *starting* to all come together and become clear. Like…the spots of the narrative now that are slow or aimless are REALLY standing out and it’s *starting* to become obvious how to fix those spots. I really love it. Which is a total 180 from where I was with rewriting a month ago.
So damn…cheers to July. The month I fell in love with rewriting. Actually figured out it’s something that I can enjoy, instead of just be intimidated or daunted by.
Today was a microcosm of the month: I worked my ass of today catching up on narration work. 40 narrations completed, which is about as many as I can do. I think once I did 48…but then I also remember I couldn’t hardly talk the next day, and I don’t think that will be the case tomorrow. Winning.
I also watched the A’s swept by the Indians. Eye roll. Sonny Gray just does not have it this year…and it makes me worried he’s going the route of Tim Lincecum; brilliant for the first few years of his career…and then his diminutive stature catches up with him and he loses some edge…and he’s got no backup plan to adjust to. Hero to zero. He has the highest qualifying ERA in baseball. Literally. He is the worst starting pitching in the majors right now over the line of qualifying innings pitched. Yikes. I almost *hope* that he’s injured, and that’s what’s holding him back. Because as we saw with Timmy…there’s no recovering from small-size syndrome.
Also went and got In-N-Out with the Ho for some late-night foodies. That was fun.
Anywho…after midnight now, and thinking back on a month of that work has made me tired 😛 Here’s to you, July. You were an intense month, but so have all the months this year…and this was a month that I found some stability in. And that’s huge. It’s a turning point. No doubt about it.
August…let’s do this!