WiP Wednesday

So I answer a lot of interview questions. One I get quite often is "What are you working on now?"

Well. Remember that post a couple of months ago where I had a dream about a guitar-playing, resistance-inspiring Beth Revis?

Yeah, I'm writing that.

Sans Beth, of course, but still.

I'M WRITING THAT. It's dystopian. It's fantasy. It's YA. It's fun to be writing again.

Who knew? Here's a little WIPpet:
I finger the scrap of paper in my dress pocket. It speaks of something I’ve heard rumors of. Whispers. I’ve seen a pamphlet once or twice, and immediately torn it up or tossed it in the incinerator.

This time, though, I kept the paper. Sure, I was about to throw it aside when my eyes caught the word “music.”

I’ve been carrying it for days. Tonight’s the night of something called a sing-in. I still haven’t decided if I’ll go or not. A deep gulf inside of me desperately wants to. The sensible girl inside says, Forget about it, Echo.

I listen to her too much.

But I don’t have the strength to override her.

What are you working on right now?

Whatever (WiP) Wednesday

Today I'm just throwing my hands up and shouting, "Whatever!"

• To the millions of No Kiss posts I haven't read. Whatever!
• To the tens of millions of tweets I miss. Whatever!
• To the crops that are withering. The cheesecake going to waste. Okay, okay, that's not really happening. No matter what, I'm tending to my Facebook games. But I almost had you, right?
• To having a home-cooked meal. What. Ev. Er.
• To bathing. Whatever.
• To going to work. I mean, srsly? Do I even need to say it? (*whatever*)

Because, dude, I have other things to do. More important things. It's called rewriting an entire book. Ever heard of it?

• To going bald due to rewrites. Whatever.
• To Pandora, who still only allows 40 hours of listening. Don't they know that rewriting can only take place with a Glee song screaming in the background? What-ev.
• To the three red pens I've already run dry. That's right. THREE. Whatever, Bic. I think I got defective pens. Oh, wait. I am rewriting an entire book. On paper. By hand. Whatever.
• To things like "bedtimes" and "new year's resolutions." Whatever. When you're rewriting a book, you don't notice how the hours silently (well, not silently. There is Pandora.) slip by. You don't notice you've eaten an entire bag of Reese's peanut butter cups by yourself or drank the 2-Liter of ginger ale. I mean, srsly. Oops. I mean, whatever!

So there you go. What I'm working on. And pretty much how I feel about it right now. How are you doing? What are you working on? What do you need to shout, "Whatever!" at? Do it! I'll yell it with you.

Ready? 3...2...1...

Have Not Written a Single Word

Since November 15. That's right, in over 30 days. I've been editing and revising like crazy. My second novel, ELEMENTAL HUNGER, is undergoing a major makeover. And I'm not like Kurt on Glee who thinks makeovers are like crack.

More like cold-water torture. Self-inflicted, because I wrote the novel so suckily (it's my blog and I say it's a word) the first time. In fact, I have since realized why it's not as polished as some of my other third drafts.

It's a NaNo novel.

2008, to be exact. And I "finished" it earlier this year. The last 100 pages are in far (far far) better shape than the first 200. Why?

Because I wrote them over a span of two months instead of two weeks.

Go figure.

So, I solemnly resolve to get this bad boy whipped into shape.

Problem? I have a shiny new idea that wants to be written. And since I haven't penned any new words in such a long time, my resolve to revise EH is waning.

How long has it been since you've written? Do you miss it when you don't write? What keeps you from writing?

Ambition, I Haz It

am-bi-tion (noun): a strong desire to do or to achieve something typically requiring determination and hard work

Why do we feel this "strong desire"? I amaze myself sometimes. Don't get me wrong, I'm like the queen of sitting in front of the TV watching tennis or whatever. I also spend a lot of time in front of the computer. However, I found one of my lists from last week, and I nearly cried just looking at it. (Just FYI, I'm a list person, and I sometimes make a list AFTER I've done most of the items on it. This makes me feel accomplished. Please tell me I'm not the only one who does this.)

Anyway, here's my list:

• Fill out DH's graduation papers.
• Fax graduation papers.
• Pay for graduation.
• Grade 90 sixth grade essays.
• Launch ebook.
• Prepare brand new Query Ninja blog.
• Boy kidlet - soccer practice/games.
• Boy kidlet - flag football practice/games.
• Boy kidlet - rockets on Friday. Build, glue, sand, paint.
• Go to work.
• Farmville on Facebook. Crops are dying! Animals need harvesting! Trees are going to seed!
• Pick up T-shirt for writing conference (Oh, my heck, you guys, it's SO. CUTE.)

• Mop floor.
• Write - deadline for WiP is this Friday!
• Check email.
• Clean 3 bathrooms.
• Grocery shopping.
• Change laundry.
• Girl kidlet - dance.
• Boy kidlet - piano lessons.
• Re-fax graduation papers for DH.
• Pay bills.
• Obsessively check to see if the tax return has come yet. (It hasn't.)
• Write - deadline for WiP is this Friday!
• Blog.
• Read blogs. Comment. A lot.
• Facebook.
• Rally Storm.
• Critique 70 pages.
• Vacuum.
• Dishes.
• Go to work.
• Watch tennis.
• Update website.
• Create banner.
• Find the perfect blogger template.

And on top of all that, I wrote the two best words in the English language: THE END. That's right, bloggy friends! I finished my WiP early! Four days early, according to my self-imposed deadline. I wrote those words on Monday and haven't looked back. It feels amazing.

I know there's more hard work ahead of me. Editing. Rewriting. Bleeding over the critiques. But, hey, ambition. I haz it.

How do you find time/energy/willpower "to achieve something typically requiring determination and hard work"?