Thursday, July 31, 2014

July Roundup

What happened in July? Quite a lot. I'm proud about the things I have achieved and I'm still striving to tackle more next month. Here's a roundup of what I've been up to:

Camp NaNoWriMo:
I participated in another round of camp this month. Starting from scratch on an outline I couldn't stop writing during last November's competition, I aimed for 25,000 words. I managed to get 11,534 words, which isn't a bad start, though one of these days I would love to win this competition. I've been competing way too long to not have a win yet.

I'm looking forward to meeting the NaNo challenge again in November. 

The Novel in Question:
This novel that I still can't quite categorize and still spend moments agonizing over the name of the fictional island--it's still totally alive, which is more than I can say about some of my previous NaNo novel projects. I don't think [#] is even a third of what the novel could be, so there is plenty of more first-draft writing in my future. 

My Next Challenge:
That whole pesky "real job" talk? Yeah, I think it's time to get one. I know what I want to do, I'm just not surrounded by opportunities I can take advantage of. I'm currently writing cover letters for editorial assistant positions. However, the stress of the massive amount of planning is getting me down. I'll be the first one to say my cover letters are probably not the best I can do (yet), but I know that I am perfectly qualified for this position.

All of these jobs are in New York. That's the hard part. I'm still debating on whether I should just suck it up, take a chance and go first, then submit the letters; submit the letters with a specific date of arrival; or simply leave it open and throw together a quick travel plan if I'm lucky enough to get a call back. I know which option will give me the best chance, so taking a huge risk on a relocation may be just what the doctor ordered.

Ultimate Dream:
Ooh... that's easy. Getting the editorial assistant job and living it up in the city. Living it up may mean free days at museums and spending time people watching in a park, but it still works.  Achieving this within the next month would be AWESOME, but I probably need to think in smaller steps. Although, this surge of positive energy does make me feel like I can do just about anything right now.

Other Goodies:
Money is an evil necessity.

That's not technically one of the goodies I was talking about, but it relates. I still have plenty of books to sell on half.com. I've reduced the prices a bit to make them even more appealing. I need them out of the way, and it doesn't hurt to get a little pocket change in the process.

Of course, you could always take a chance on buying my haiku book, too.

Okay, that's about it. Let's see what August brings!

2 comments:

K R Smith said...

You could always try crowdfunding for the travel expenses. A plane ticket alone can be several hundred dollars. And New York isn't a cheap place to stay. I'd be more than happy to make a donation!

Whatever happens, good luck!

Terri said...

@KRSmith: Crowdfunding is an idea... I'm still considering that.

I do plan to travel on the cheap. I'll most likely be taking the train. Takes longer, but the savings is worth it. And the discount I have for losing out on this year's Amtrak Residency writing program helps. ;-)

And seriously--thanks for your support! Right now, the biggest help really is encouragement.