On June 17, the day before I leave, I will announce a contest for One Significant Moment at a Time followers, old and new. The prize? Something cool I pick up in France! I'll be on the lookout for interesting, regional souvenirs, things that represent la France but which are impossible to buy here in the States. Both my State-side and international follower-friends are eligible to win. Be sure to check in on the 17th for full details!
I haven't written a word for my WiP in a couple weeks. However, I have printed all the chapters and organized them in a ring binder, along with a copy of the outline and blank pages for notes. After a little break from the project, I'll have fresh eyes when I read it over on the plane. I won't be editing, but brainstorming ideas on how to make the story stronger and outlining future chapters.
My daily writing has taken on the form of entries for a two-week long creative writing contest at Writing.com. The contest is called "15 For 15" and runs from June 3rd to June 17th (finishes up just in time for my trip!). Each day for fifteen days the contest judge posts a photo prompt. Contestants are challenged to write off-the-cuff for exactly fifteen minutes, producing a flash fiction piece, vignette, poem, song, letter, article, etc. based on the image.
Timed writing is a wonderful way to stretch my writing muscles, and believe me, fifteen minutes is not long when you're trying to get a cohesive piece of work finished. Once I've posted my daily entry, I love reading all the entries by the other contestants. It's fascinating how many interesting and creative directions writers take with the identical prompt. (Should you be interested, here is a link to my collection of entries.)
My writing goals have also included preparing a series of blog entries that I'll schedule to post on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays while I'm away. Each post looks at a facet of French culture and discusses the most jarring differences with American life, which caused me culture shock when I lived there. I'm having a blast writing them, and I hope you'll enjoy reading them. And -- they will play into the contest I'm announcing on the 17th!
How have you been tweaking your writing schedule to adjust to summer vacation plans? Have you packed your journal yet? :D
36 comments:
Yay Nicole!!! I'm so excited and a bit jealous that you are going to France! I look forward to pictures and shared memories! Make sure to have that notebook packed!
Good Luck on continuing your writing goals and contest. I too haven't worked hard on my WiP in quite a few weeks. Summer is hard to wrap your head around, at least for me! I'm slowly working it out!
Have fun in France! Tell them all you're Canadian, though ;-)
I've been battling with myself to get the last 12,000 words written, but it's more to do with procrastination than summertime :-)
Enjoy your trip!
No real summer vacation plans here but I have stepped up my writing and cut back (a bit) on blogging and blog reading/commenting so that I can give all I've got to my crit group ... which has been great.
So excited for you to be returning to France. I imagine it as a kind of homecoming for you, that is, if France is as special to you as Spain is to me. I wish you a safe journey and a glorious adventure au francais ;-)
Wow, France. That sounds really fun! Enjoy!
I have one vacation planned this summer and it's mainly for my daughter: Breyerfest. I'll be bloggin about it soon enough. Summer is actually a better time for me to write. Weird, right?
~JD
I've never been to France. It would be so cool to go. I know you still have a week, but I hope you have a great time!
I wish I had to pack my journal! But alas, I'm going nowhere.
I'm so intrigued by this 15 in 15!! I'm bummed that I missed the beginning. I haven't checked my writing.com account in ages...
Have fun in France!! Can one of the prizes be bread? Please let it be bread!! :P
Oh I'm going to miss you when you're gone! But I'll read your posts because they're about France and I want to go someday. Oooh and a contest! What fun.
It sounds like a wonderful trip and I can imagine the excitement mounting.
I love summer and I find I'm at my most productive. It's the sun and the long days really help.
Good luck with the contest. And have tons of fun in France. Like you need me to tell you that. ;)
I'm cutting back on my writing and blogging this summer. I plan to finish the outline and preplanning of my new wip for then, so that I can start the first draft when school starts. My wip is out with the last round of beta readers. I've been getting some chapters back every week or so, and will edit as they come in. But otherwise, my only plan for the summer is to catch up on my reading. I keep buying books and now I have a huge pile to read. Plus, there's tons I want to reread before the next book in the series comes out.
I LOL'd at Palindrome's request for bread. If you had a way to keep it fresh, then definitely bread. :-)
No plans for me, thusfar. There's a weekend in July when one of my college friends is coming to stay (he's been living in Michigan since we graduated, but he's missing GA something fierce) on his way home. I haven't seen him in a year and a half now, so I'm pretty excited.
Summertime is uber-busy for my husband at the college, so vacation time is hard to come by. We're hoping to go somewhere this fall, though!
I'll be gone for about 2 weeks in July with no computer access. Yikes! I'm considering a notebook, and, like you, printing out the current pages to review and brainstorm, but I have no real expectations of getting it done.
I jealous of your trip. I hope you have a blast! Bon chance!
Nicole, your vacation sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun and I can't *wait* for the France posts! I'm in Ireland, just over the water from France, and I love hearing about France! (Although France knocked Ireland out of the World Cup this time out so I'm not allowed like France out loud over here at the moment. . .)
Btw, when your contest on Writing.com is over, you may want to check out this little book: http://www.amazon.com/Writers-Block-Ideas-Jump-Start-Imagination/dp/0762409487
I use it now and again - it has photos, topic words and suggestions from famous writers. It might ease the withdrawal symptoms!
I am a total francophile, and I will enter this contest, because I MUST WIN.
I'm doing the countdown to vacay too...still stressed. So many things to do, so little time. You know the drill.
I'm going to just do my posts (on my laptop) from my vacation(s). I just can't possibly imagine how to come up with that many posts ahead of time. Dude, you're my hero for being that organized and productive to have them done ahead like that. *bows down* I'm not worthy.
Knowing how organized you are, I'm sure your ducks are in a row as you do your countdown. (doesn't it seem like so much of it has to be done at the last minute? Like the yardwork? And some of the packing...)
I can't wait to hear (and see) all about your trip...and to enter and WIN your contest. :)
Love,
Lola
Oh boy, I want a prize from France!!!
I always pack a few books, me ereader, and a notebook with lots of mechanical pencils.
Good luck with your packing!
have a wonderful time!
What a great idea, a prize from France!
I was planning a summer blog vacation but I might just find time to stop by here to read about France.
I really just want a few bottles of decent Cotes du Rhone, is all. And maybe some Chanel No. 5 for my wife. See what you can do about that, eh? ;)
Have a lovely trip, good lady!
How exciting. I hope you have a great time in France, I love it.
As for me, I haven't organized my writing around my holidays so you've made me feel guilty. I should think about doing it.
I hope you have a WONDERFUL time. I just returned on Saturday, and the trip wasn't long enough. Tell us all about it when you get back.
Can't wait to hear more contest details.
Summer vacation - what's that???
You are a true writer, because printing out your story and taking it in a binder on the plane to read is exactly what I'd do, too!
So cool that you're going to France! Wherebouts? I just returned from my first visit ever there and absolutely loved it! I'm sure you'll have an amazing time. Great contests too btw, very creative. I'm working on my first novel as well, so I'm happy I found your blog. :)
Oooh! I'm so jealous. Have a great trip. And I'm impressed with your preparation. I'll probably just go MIA when I'm on vacation.
I'm impressed with all you have planned above and beyond your trip.
Viva la France!
Oooo, I'm intrigued for your French posts! I love learning about other cultures and foreign places. :)
my vacay isn't until august and will entail a cabin on a lake with fishing and boating and no interwebs or computers at all.
I'm both excited and worried...
France! Ooh la la! Lucky girl. I look forward to your scheduled posts, though. That's going to be great! I hope you'll take a bunch of pictures for us too.
I'm slowly trying to return to a schedule now that summer is here. I miss the structure, but I'll roll with it until things even out again.
Have a great time in France!
So exciting! My summer vacation is not working (teacher) as much. I'll still have a ton of planning to do of course, but I'll take lots of time for me and my writing. :)
You are so organized - I'm very impressed! Have a wonderful trip!
Oh, France! I'm excited for you (and perhaps a tiny bit jealous).
I'm mostly just staying at home and studying for the summer, so I'm hoping to write whenever I want to take my mind off science-y formulas. :)
France!!! What fun!
My summer is all about my book coming out in July, getting my blog tour ready, and working on a contest. But I love doing signings and meeting people, so that's fun, too.
Have a great time, take lots of pictures and be careful! :)
Y'know what's sad? My daughter is going to leave the country before I do! Soo not fair. She's going to France on a school trip next summer. Yeah, I'm jealous.
The contest sounds like a lot of fun! We are about to start the crazy travels for the summer. Trips to Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Chicago for starters. I think I'll print my story out and put it in a binder so I can work on it in the car. I'll probably get MORE done in the car than I do at home...fewer distractions!
Can't wait to read your posts about life in France! Have a fabulous time.
I love France, especially the Languedoc, the Dordogne and Provence. And Paris is the most beautiful city in the world. Oh heck, let's face it, I love the whole country. Have an amazing time!
I'm slowly working it out!
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