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Graduation

Posted on by Diana Lesire Brandmeyer

Why I haven’t started on the next 30 days.

Apr13^03
Graduation. This is Josh. He graduated May 21. He’ll be leaving in August for Concordia River Forest to begin as a freshman in Presem/Business. In eight years he’ll be a pastor.
Ed and I bought a house to rehab and sell. We’re hoping to make enough to pay tuition! Instead of writing I’ve been stripping paint and tearing out carpet.

But…I have to get back to work. I’m thinking of stretching my 30 days into three months. 🙂 I think it will still take 30 actual days to do the work. I guess my goal is to have the first draft finished by September 1. That will give me time to work on the house and get Josh off to school.

April 30

Posted on by Diana Lesire Brandmeyer

D-day, deadline day did I make it? YES! I actually finished the rewrite and emailed it my agent yesterday. Now the wait begins. I’m taking a week off to do things I’ve let go, like cleaning and grocery shopping, and then I’m going to start drafting my next book.

Writing plans

Posted on by Diana Lesire Brandmeyer

I’m still using Karen’s book First Draft in 30 Days and I’m actually ahead! Not by much but one day ahead! Thanks Karen. One thing having a calendar has done for me is give me more time. That sounds odd but I would spend the entire day at my computer working or thinking about it or emailing friends. In my heart I felt I couldn’t leave because there was still writing to be done. Having a calendar gives me a goal to reach each day and when it’s reached Yahoo! I can run to my sewing room and quilt. Or maybe since it’s warm outdoors I’ll take my book to the front porch and snuggle in my swing while I read. My husband’s glad as well because now I seem to have time to catch one or two shows on the food channel a week which means new meals for him to try.

Reverence for God adds hours to each day. Proverbs 10:27
So by respecting the gift God has given me to use I plan how to accomplish the tasks for the day. Then I’m rewarded by the blessing of time. Thanks God!
Diana

Friends and rewrites

Posted on by Diana Lesire Brandmeyer

How does any writer get through this process without close friends? If it weren’t for the friends I’ve found through ACFW ( www.americanchristianfictionwriters.com ) I would be buried in wet tissues. My critique group has helped me with major problems and minor ones. Each one of them has brought me something unique to add to my story. Today I emailed a Heartsong author for help with a chapter by chapter synopsis and within minutes she sent me a copy of one of hers. I was on the right track but not sure. Thanks to her I can proceed with less anxiety.

I’m editing scene 31 today. I’m over half way now.

scheduling

Posted on by Diana Lesire Brandmeyer

I played in Works today and published a calendar for April. I’ve written down which scenes I want to work on each day. I loved checking off things when I finish them so I’m hoping this will be an added incentive to reaching my self-inflected deadline for my current WIP.

Progress is slow

Posted on by Diana Lesire Brandmeyer

I bought my friend Karen Wiesner’s book, Frist Draft in 30 days to help me organize the mass of papers on my desk. So far it seems that I made a good choice in my purchase. I’ve made folders and filled in worksheets. I’m further along with this book than I thought. I had to change a few critical details in this book and it changed a lot of chapters after that. But using this system I realize I should be finished before the end of April.

Or would be if:
my mother-in-law hadn’t tried to move her furniture alone. She has fracture in her back. I will have less time to write now but that’s okay. I don’t mind helping her. It’s having her in pain I don’t like. 🙁

You can find Karen’s book at www.karenwiesner.com click on First Draft.

https://amzn.to/30Vf232

Rewriting

Posted on by Diana Lesire Brandmeyer

Starting over with the same plot sort of…it’s hard but I’m finding it’s not impossible. The difficult part is changing my character Randi’s life. It’s like looking back at my own and thinking what if I had decided to become a lawyer instead of a teacher. What would my life have been like?

Rewriting for me would start with being a better mom.

What would your life look like if you could rewrite it?