Do you ever have one of those weeks where you set out with the best intentions to get a lot of stuff done (exercise, write, clean the house, write, blog, write, read a book (or two), blog some more, write some more, clean some more, write some more. Write, write, write…sensing a pattern yet?). But then life gets in the way and, before you know it, it’s Friday and you’ve hardly made a dent in your to-do list? Yeah, that was my week. I just couldn’t catch my breath and do what I needed/wanted to do (work on my manuscript). As an added stressful bonus, Denver is FREEZING. Like, dangerously freezing. We’re talking negative temperatures. On Wednesday night, I hopped in my car, and in a matter of two minutes, the temp on my dashboard plummeted from 15 degrees to this:
I’m telling you, it hurts to even walk outside right now. And everyone is dealing with frozen/breaking pipes, icy commutes, and drained car batteries (yesterday morning, I was 45 minutes late to work because a neighbor asked me to help her jump-start her car).
Normally I’m comforted by the fact that I can play catch up over the weekend, but the NYC Midnight Short Story Challenge starts tonight and runs through the 15th. So now my manuscript will likely go untouched for at least the next two or three days (maybe more if I can’t get a solid draft for the contest knocked out tomorrow/Sunday). *frustrated sigh*…Now, don’t get me wrong, I am excited about this short story contest. I’ve been waiting months for it. I just wish I was in a better place with my manuscript. Oh well, oh well. (By the way, I’d appreciate your prayers, positive vibes and crossed fingers for this contest. I really, really, really don’t want to get assigned romantic comedy as my genre. I had to deal with that in the first round of the Flash Fiction Challenge last fall, and ick!).
Anyways, in honor of this week’s frustrations, and my inability to get my story out of my head and onto paper, here is today’s funny:
How was your week? I hope it was less frustrating (and a lot warmer) than mine.
Jen’s Weekly Roundup
In case you missed my other posts this week, here they are!
Happy Book Release Day – Cress by Marissa Meyer
The Devil’s in the Details–taking your fiction to the next level
Jen's Pen Den 
I think this was just a frustrating week world-wide. Crossing my fingers that you get a good category for the contest!
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Good to know, lol…And thanks!! I’m already trying to think of basic concepts just in case I do get rom-com…So far, I’ve got nothing. Zilch. Nada! Ugh. Stay away, rom-com. Stay. Away!
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If you get Rom-com just grab a notebook and pencil, get comfy on the couch, turn Netflix on and then browse through the romantic comedies. Watch one till an idea comes, write it down and move on to the next. Then when you think you’ve got enough ideas turn off the tv and brainstorm your favorite ones.
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Great tip! Thank you!!! I got rom-com during the flash fiction contest and just about keeled over, haha. I wrote a whole blog post about the experience. It was just awful (great for my writing, yeah, but sooo bad, lol).
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I’m sending best wishes, warm thoughts and incredible bursts of creativity for whatever comes your way these next few weeks. On a side note could you do / or have you already done a post about how you manage writing a book and participating in contests??? Lol i cant seem to wrap my brain around how to do it.
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Thank you! I actually did write a post about creatively multi-tasking back in early December. I’d realized around that time I couldn’t/shouldn’t creatively multi-task, haha. Here’s the link: https://jenspenden.wordpress.com/2013/12/09/confession-i-cant-creatively-multi-task/
However, I might do a follow-up post, because I DO think it’s important to expand your horizon and challenge yourself by participating in flash fiction/short story contests (occasionally). They’re awesome learning tools and definitely make you a better writer. And I love NYC Midnight’s challenges, because you get to post your story on a forum and the other participating writers provide you with feedback. I know that sounds scary, but it’s amazing; and the people on the forums are really nice, even when they’re criticizing your story, haha. I’ve also found that after I finish these contests, I suddenly have a lot more energy and motivation with the manuscript I’m working on.
If you want to be random, you still have a time to register for this weekend’s NYC Midnight Challenge! (http://www.nycmidnight.com/competitions/ssc/challenge.htm). And now might be a great time to do this since you just finished your manuscript, and they say taking a week or two off between drafts is always a good idea to refresh yourself and see the story in a new way when you return to it.
Thanks again!
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Lol i might just do that. Thanks for the tip 🙂
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I THINK you can still register. I don’t think they’ve cut it off yet, lol…Let me know if you do enter! We can be writing buddies this weekend, haha.
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I’ll check it out and let you know.
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I just checked it out. $49 is way to much for this one income family to throw at a competition I’m really not prepared for but i’ll definietly work my short fiction muscles and register for next year. Thanks for letting me know about it. It sounds exciting!
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Totally get it! It IS pricey. I was able to get in on the early bird deal back in December, so it took some of the sting out, haha.
If you ever want to challenge yourself for free, I recommend Chuck Wendig’s blog (terribleminds). Almost every Friday, he posts a flash fiction challenge. They’re usually a lot of fun. Here is this weeks: http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2014/02/07/flash-fiction-challenge-voicemails-from-the-future/
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