Being a Good Girl...

I have been a very absent blogger lately. And with good reason. I’ve been hard at work on my second book. My goal: To finish Book Two (and to come up with a dag-blasted name for it!) by the end of January.

That is to say, to have a really rough first draft that I can start to work on in February, molding into something semi-literate that I might be able to submit to my agent sometime in the near future.

This has kept me busy. Very. Very. Busy.

As have blogs. Not mine (obviously), but yours. And others’. Time sucks. I wasn’t joking when I said that I’m a Blogoholic.

So, certain rules have been put into place. Time limits, so to speak, to limit the number of minutes that I lose every day perusing the annals of Blogdom. I am now permitted to check blogs in the morning, before the kids have left for school, which quite possibly means that I may actually forget to feed one of them in favor of reading something witty I’ve stumbled across. Hopefully they will learn the amazing powers of Poptarts for sustenance. In the evening, I can check them again (the blogs, not the kids), after I’ve finished writing for the day. Email will abide by a separate, but equally painful, set of rules. My cell phone shall be set to stun…er, I mean, silent.

Strict Rules = No Distractions!

(Why can I not write that with a straight face?)

Here, let me try again: Strict Rules = No Distractions!

(Nope...still laughing!)

Seriously, who am I trying to kid anyway? I run a household of five people, I’m the mother of three, and I’m married for crying out loud. There are dishes to be washed and laundry to be folded (we all know what happens when the hubby tries to help with that!). And let’s face it, those Poptarts and Lunchables are not going to buy themselves!

So, I apologize if I appear a bit…well, if I tend not to appear at all for a while. It’s just me, trying to follow the rules.

Comments

PJ Hoover said…
Have fun with the writing! That's the best part!
PurpleClover said…
Ugh, making me feel guilty about my lack of organization or restraint on my addiction to Blogohol. ;)

I should get back to listening to the lecture I missed on Tuesday and then jump into my novel. Thanks for the jolt. (Of course, I can talk the talk...err type the type...err something.)
Heidi Willis said…
That's so cool, and completely understandable! Get that second book written... I want to read it! Us readers are not particularly patient with our favorite authors! :)

And if you can be that disciplined... well, I need to be inspired by that too!
Leigh Purtill said…
The road to where is paved with good intentions? Why, the road to publication!

Seriously, tho, smart thing to limit your blogger activities. I tried to take a week off while my parents were visiting and I lasted all of a day.

Good luck with the draft- I both loathe and love first drafts. :)
Brit said…
Kimberly, your message is a God-send to me right now.

I'm STRUGGLING to find the time to write and I noticed today, I've got all these things to do, like READ BLOGS! WRITE MINE!

*Sigh* I see serious limits being placed on myself soon. Class starts back on Tuesday and dangnabbit - I need to write! I just may become Brit - Blogger Missing in Action
Katie Anderson said…
Okay - I'm with ya. This blog stuff is a serious sickness. I shifted from Facebookitis to blogahol as Purple Clover so aptly named it.

uugghh...

I think I will try to restrain too! Thanks for the reminder. And good luck on your book! I am starting a second too, and having some difficulty getting going.

Perhaps blog-read-restraint will help :-)
Just call it "market research" makes me feel better :)
Okay, Shelli, I like the way you think!!!

I have to go do some market research now....
Leon1234 said…
Hey, how are you doing? Hope your writing is going well. I would love to speak to you sometime.
Tam and John said…
I so know what you're talking about! I can't seem to get here to write because I'm too busy reading! Good luck, Ms. Structure.
"Ms. Structure". Yes, I like it. I like it a lot. You may call me that from now on!