Hailey Rose's Blog, page 17

Change of Plans

 

Plans have changed regarding the release date for The Old River Road. I got myself into a colossal pickle and lost a month somewhere between January and March (don’t ask how), and considering that I hadn’t contacted my cover designer or editor or beta-readers, nevermind the fact that I haven’t finished editing it myself yet, I changed the release date.

Don’t panic, I didn’t move it by 4 months though I would have liked to.

The new release date is July 8th.

And guess what? July 8th is also my 18th birthday. Isn’t it kinda cool to have my very first book released on my birthday? (I think so.)

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Pinterest: Tool or Trouble?

Pinterest.

The first thing that comes to my mind is addictive.

Anyone who has used Pinterest knows what a procrastination station it is. For some authors, (yours truly), it can be one of the worst distractions to writing. Others use Pinterest for inspiration…or so they say. Pinterest can be a death trap if it is allowed to become one. But is it truly possible to utilize Pinterest as a tool for writing, without being sucked in?

YES! IT IS!

In fact, when used correctly, Pinterest is an amazing resource for writers.

When I realized just how much time I was spending on Pinterest, and how little time I was actually writing…let’s just say I wasn’t pleased with myself. Here are some guidelines I used to cut down on my time spent on Pinterest.

Set a time limit, first daily, then weekly. I was shocked as how much I could get done in 15 or 20 minutes.
Research just one topic in one sitting(or look for photos of one character) to make the most of your time. Pinterest is famous for those little rabbit trails; “ooh, look at that! Wow, that’s cool!” Clickity clickity click. It can go on for hours (speaking from experience).
DELETE THE APP FROM YOUR PHONE!!! This was the biggest one for me. It’s so easy to just whip out the app while waiting in an office or just to kill time. DON’T DO IT!!! Just get rid of the app.

Can Pinterest be a good resource? Absolutely. One of the best, in my opinion. Just use your time wisely. Time is far too valuable to spend hours and hours looking at funny dog memes or searching for just the right photo of your beloved character.

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What thoughts do you have about Pinterest?  Do you think it can be a good resource?

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March Update/Review

 

Since December, I’ve been trying to finish the first draft of The Old River Road. Unfortunately, I ran into some historical inconsistencies that needed attention before I could continue/finish the story. After bugging extended family members, friends who knew the McDonald family, and taking several trips to the library and Spokane’s history museum, I am *almost* back on track.

 

Editing is rather slow with this book. I’ve really shirked in my duties to this poor little story over the past few months. As of Sunday, that changed. Now, my goal is to edit two chapters each day. That’s about an hour of work. I can do anything for an hour, right? Right. Tell me I can.

BTW, this is what NaNo does to me. I cannot remember the last time I confused two, to, and too. I’ve done it TWICE in this book.

 

Coming up in April is Camp NaNo. I was going to do another full 50,000 word project, but when I realized how far behind schedule I am with The Old River Road, that got pushed to the back burner. However, my goal is to do 25,000 words (though I’d be happy with 20,000). The project I will be working on is what I have been calling my Secret Story.

 

BUT!

 

It’s not a secret anymore because I’m going to tell you about it RIGHT NOW!!!! :-)

 

Here is the blurb (and a draft of the cover):

 

Chelsea is the daughter of Ralph Sanders, a respected crab fisherman and the much loved captain of the vessel Cora Lee. Named after her deceased mother, Chelsea feels a connection with the boat, and with the ocean, that no one but her dad can understand. When a sudden, unexpected proposal from her maternal grandparents sends Chelsea far inland, she fights with her desire to return home…to her dad, cousins, and everything she knows. But after taking a closer look, Chelsea realizes that though her grandparents are wealthy and not wanting of any worldly goods, they have not yet let go of death of their daughter, though she died sixteen years previous. Pulling away from self-pity, Chelsea reaches out to her grandparents and help them heal despite their obvious annoyance. Will Chelsea be able to help her grandparents move on in their lives? Or will their exasperating, constant mentions of Cora drive Chelsea away?

 

Already, Ocean Hues has 26,000 words, so it shouldn’t be too hard to resume. (Starting books is always the worst part for me.)

 

Also, I purchased a new word processing program called Storyist. Apparently, one must be a techy geek to figure this program out. It’s been rather maddening, but as I’ve slowly been understanding and working through the program, I think it is going to work very well for me. One thing I love about it is the ability to keep all my random papers and notes in one document/project. Maybe, eventually *crosses fingers*  it will actually make it so that I don’t have random pieces of paper spread all over the house with random notes written on them! ;-) (Doubtful, but one can hope, right?)

 

Something else new is this beautiful new computer monitor. It is amazing. I can now sit at my desk and work with Adobe, read onscreen, and do schoolwork on this blown-up version of my laptop. All I have to do is connect the two computers and there we go…laptop expanded. It’s awesomeness.

 

 

One of my sweet, lovely siblings came into my room and STOLE my desk chair. :-(  Well…they were given permission from mom to steal it, so I guess that makes it better. Still, I’m out a comfy desk chair, and now I’ve got to find a new one that won’t fall apart when I spin around in it. After all, isn’t that the only thing desk chairs are good for?

 

I’ve read so many lovely books this month. Just to name a few, From the Dark to the Dawn by Alicia Willis, Dare and Deny by Tricia Mingerink (and oh my goodness get ready for a RAVING review on EACH of these books), The Little House Charlotte Years, Adventures and Adversities by Sarah Holman…I could go on and on. One of the best times I found to read was the 3-hours-3-times-a-week driver’s Ed class for my BABY brother.

Notice the hair tie? Not for hair. Perfect bookmark.

 

 

Soooo….that update was probably much more involved than you would have wished but hey…

Is anyone else participating in Camp NaNo? What have you been working on? Tell me tell me…I love getting comments! It’s like candy, finding a comment in the comment box. Come on…you’ll give me some virtual candy, right?!? *gets down on knees and begs*

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