Make it work.

#ROW80 is A Round of Words in 80 Days. It’s a quarterly writing challenge where you define your personal goals and blog each week about your progress. It’s made to be flexible and allow for tweaking.

This last week has been one whole, “Make it work,” moment. If you’re familiar with the Project Runway host, Tim Gunn, you know what I’m talking about. For the rest of you, a quick recap.

In the process of Project Runway, Tim Gunn will go around and check on the contestants, usually halfway through their projects and see how they’re doing and where they are. Often there’s a few who are fighting a battle with time or other issues. While he can offer some advice, it always boils down to the contestant pulling out some magic mojo of their own to finish the project, but it’s Tim Gunn’s catch phrase of, “Make it work,” that really sticks with you.

While NaNoWriMo just started, and most people are beginning a project, I am in that murky middle part of not one, but two books. We’ve all been here. That hard part where the end is so far out of sight it feels like you’ll be stuck there forever. There are literary monsters, editing nightmares and our own personal writing demons in every shadow waiting to trip us up.

I’ve ran into some hiccups with both books to the point that I had a real personal dark moment a few days ago. I didn’t know if I could make it work. The load was too heavy. The expectations too great. I woke up this morning and jumped into writing. I don’t know if I’m where I need to be, or if I’ll even make the deadlines, but I’m going to give it my all and make it work.

So where am I at with this #ROW80?

• Holiday Spice is still on track to release November 12th.
• I’ve finished the partial edit/rewrite of the first half of Line of Duty, Good Guys Wear Black #2, and I’m now on to writing new material for the book. I’m still a little nervous about the final word count, but at this point all I can do is finish it and edit it. I can fix anything, so long as there’s something to work with.
• Duty Bound, Bayou Bound #2 has underwent some serious alterations to the plot that is to come. I’m getting nervous about meeting my deadline for the editor here. It’s going to be longer than I’d anticipated, which is a frustrating normal for me. I’m just going to have to buckle my seat belt and make it work.
• The Midnight Ink release is right around the corner. OMG!!!! I’m going to start doing my blogs and promo this week, and hope it doesn’t kill me.
• I’ve seen cover mock-ups for How Zombies stole Christmas, but I am getting worried about having enough lead time for pre-promo. Ah, the excitement of publishing!

Alright people, go write or read something!