Getting the Job Done: Buddy-Writing with the #FastDraft Six Pack

I recently wrote about a buddy write event, one I was invited to join by my friend SK Falls.

The purpose of #FastDraft is to get the writing done, to cheer on our team mates, to have an excuse to sit down and put our stories first.

And I am loving every minute of it.

I wear a lot of hats--I have a full-time job outside the home, I have two kids, a husband, and a dog (okay, four kids), and I've been the household deity since we signed the deed. A part of me always feels a little guilty when I sit down to write because there is always other work waiting for me.

That's why it's all too easy to come up with an excuse to avoid writing. Unfortunately, however, it's not a hobby anymore. I have deadlines.

This #FastDraft project is writing time. It's inspiration. It's fun. And it's an excuse to get the words out of my head and into the document, where they belong. I'd never have gotten so much writing done, otherwise.

And...in case you are thinking What's with all the hashtagging? it's because we are all busy checking in on Twitter. We announce writing sprints, check in on each other's goals, and pretty much just pal around. The best part is that we are all doing this around the interruptions of our lives and our responsibilities. (For instance, I had to duck out today to perform litter detail/road clean-up with our local Boy Scout troop. Yesterday, I went to see Star Trek. My eyes are still tingling from the awesomeness.)

But these "interruptions" made it possible for me to see a new potential pattern for my writing. Usually, I opt for several hours when no one else is home, then enduring long writing black-outs when I go to work or when my family is home. But these little sprints showed me something else--I can write throughout the day in short bursts, getting a scene done here and there. My word counts don't have to freeze just because someone came home.

So, I'd like to introduce you to the #FastDraft writers. These are the gals who have been helping me get the job done.

 

FAST DRAFT SIX-PACK:

Adriana Ryan @skfallssc

A.G. Henley @AG_Henley

Ash Krafton @ashkrafton

Jennah Scott @jennah_scott

Kristin McFarland @KayMcFarland

Shauna Granger @dyingechoes

If you are on Twitter, please follow these writers and even drop us a note of encouragement. Remember to use #FastDraft in your Tweet.

And if you are a writer, and we've encouraged you to get some writing done, join us in a sprint or two. The more the merrier! Make time for you and your story, one sprint at a time.

Hope you'll join us!

Whipping Out A Novel

I’m going to finish this novel.

I say that a lot these days. Right now, I’m completing Wolf’s Bane (Demimonde #3). I’ve technically been completing it for some time now, but recently I imposed my deadlines. It’s time to get down to business.

Problem is, there are too many distractions.

I can’t be the only writer holding her own horsewhip, threatening a stinging blow, if that’s what it takes to get the job done.

I’ve been getting some decent word counts done on my writing days. However, my enemy right now is time. I have a full-time job outside the home, I have a family that works me over-time, and all the responsibilities of a multi-book author that seem to be on my mind all-the-time. I’m terrified that I’ll look at the clock one day and there will be a fist-full of hands, sweeping away the precious hours, reducing my writing time in favor of duties that claim priority.

But those mornings when I’m home alone…out comes the horsewhip. Get typing! Put down the phone! Close out the Internet! And, for the love of editors, shut off the TV!

I’m a stubborn lady. I don’t like to be bossed around, not even when it’s myself doing the bossing. That’s why I spent time charting out my deadlines on my calendar. It’s not bossy; it’s simply enforcing work guidelines.

I also recently picked up a copy of “90 Days To Your Novel” by Sarah Domet. Although I am about 60% done with the first draft of Wolf's bane, I thought that this book may help me stay on track with my own deadlines (although I definitely don’t have 90 days to finish this book!) I have a subplot to flush out so I’m looking forward to re-writing my outline—yes, rewriting it, because the book had the nerve to go off on its own half-way through writing.

In addition, a few days ago I got an email from my writer friend SK Falls (she’s also published under the name Adriana Ryan). She and another author are going to embark on a Fast Draft—a summer camp buddy-write—and she invited me to join in. When I saw that the proposed dates for the Fast Draft fell right smack-dab in the middle of my first draft writing time, I could have squealed.

Serendipity, I love ya, you little muse! This is exactly what I needed. We’ll get our word counts in, we’ll encourage each other, and we’ll Tweet about the process. I can’t wait to see who else joins in.

So, this is where it begins. Currently I have 56622 words into Wolf’s Bane (goal is 90k for the first draft). I have my deadlines marked in Sharpie, I have my outlining tool (90 Days To Your Novel), and I have my buddy write that will cement it all together—because a buddy write means, above all things, ACCOUNTABILITY.

I’ve got a solid plan to finish this novel. I’m feeling confident that I can leave my horsewhip in the closet.

And, because I’m a pay-it-forward kind of writer, I’ll be blogging about my Journey to the End of the Book in the hopes that I might encourage another writer to do the same thing.

Give us a shout out—are you writing? Are you reading? Closer to the Fast Draft, I’ll let you know who else is writing it so you can follow our progress on the social media.

Don’t give up and don’t let us give up. We might just be writing the books you really want to read.

Cover Reveal: Secret for a Song by Adriana Ryan

Be sure to check out "Adriana Ryan" 

better known as SK Falls

as well as the rest of the Infinite Ink Authors!

(And if you wonder who AJ Krafton is, well,

that's just me on a good day *wink*)

~~~

The Demimonde is thrilled to welcome back our friend, Adriana Ryan. She'd like to share the cover of her upcoming release with us. SECRET FOR A SONG will be released early June 2013. Cue the trumpets...

SECRET FOR A SONG by Adriana Ryan

 Saylor Grayson makes herself sick. Literally.

She  ate her first needle when she was seven. Now, at nineteen, she’s been kicked out of college for poisoning herself with laxatives. The shrinks call it Munchausen Syndrome. All Saylor knows is that when she’s ill, her normally distant mother pays attention and the doctors and nurses make her feel special.

Then she meets Drew Dean, the leader of a local support group for those with terminal diseases. When he mistakes her for a new member, Saylor knows she should correct him. But she can’t bring herself to, not after she’s welcomed into a new circle of friends. Friends who, like Drew, all have illnesses ready to claim their independence or their lives.

For the first time, Saylor finds out what it feels like to be in love, to have friends who genuinely care about her.  But secrets have a way of revealing themselves. What will happen when Saylor’s is out?




 

ADRIANA RYAN

Bio: A huge fan of spooky stuff and shoes, Adriana Ryan enjoys alternately hitting up the outlet malls and historic graveyards in Charleston, SC where she lives and imbibes coffee. Her husband and two small children seem not to mind when she hastily scribbles novel lines on stray limbs in the absence of notepads.

 

FIND HER AND LET HER KNOW SHE IS REALLY DOING SOMETHING RIGHT.

:)

 

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Be sure to check out "Adriana Ryan" better known as SK Falls
as well as the rest of the Infinite Ink Authors!
(And if you wonder who AJ Krafton is, well,
that's just me on a good day *wink*)