Friday Five for January 17, 2014

1. I'm almost at the end of draft 2 of my paranormal romance WIP. I have less than 5k to go. I rewrote the entire final battle. Last night, the villain did something that was simple and made complete sense. Why didn't I think of this before? It was awesome. I wanted to shout "Bravo!" Then I realized that was the villain. Drat. Okay, protagonist, you need to be equally as clever.

2. I came across a book I could not finish for the first time in a long while. I couldn't get past 10% on my Kindle. I only mention this because I felt really bad about it. I wanted to finish it. Is it strange I felt guilty?

3. My little guy had his first after school special on Wednesday. It's an Animal Science class that goes for six weeks. They learned about frogs. They put sticky jelly on their fingers and felt how it stuck to surfaces. Then they ate goldfish crackers using only their tongues to pick it up. He was really excited about it. (Plus mama got extra time to write!) I'm so pleased I enrolled him in a play-based cooperative preschool. I've been reading a lot of articles lately that reported upon the benefits of this type of preschool. Now that play-based preschools have been around for a while, several studies have shown how well it nurtures a love for school and learning. It is especially effective with boys, and studies have followed students up through the sixth grade with positive results.

4. I'm doing better with finding my balance, but I'm not there yet. I still spend too much time online when I should be writing. I've been going to bed at a better time, though, and that's helped during the days. I also take a little more time at night before bed to wind down. I sit in bed and read or watch a half hour show. Maybe I should use one of those timers and kid blockers to keep myself off the internet! Hmm, hey, not a bad idea. Anyone else ever try that?

5. I have my local critique group meeting tomorrow. Other than that, no plans for the weekend. What about you?