What is ROW80?

ROW80 is short for A Round of Words in 80 Days. It was created by the author, Kait Nolan, who describes it as, “an online writing challenge that knows you have a life.”

Basically, ROW80 is a way for writers to connect online and share progress on their writing goals. Click on the aforementioned link for more information.

ROW80 Check-In

With the latest ROW80 round coming to a close, it’s time to reassess my writing goals for the round starting on July 2nd.

I must confess, this round really got away from me. The good news is that I wrote every single day and wound up with even more exciting writing projects than when I started.

As for the bad news, my day job struck ike a tidal wave and I didn’t achieve all my goals. Let’s just leave it at that!

So… my main goal for ROW80 Round 3?

Clear, concise, measurable goals. Yes, – laugh if you must – but my main goal for the upcoming ROW80 round is exactly that: better goals.

Here’s how it’s been going:  Tuesday through Saturday, I work at my husband’s boat shop. Since March, I’ve gone from knowing absolutely nothing about fixing boats to knowing next to nothing – a tremendous improvement!

Spring is always busy for the boat shop, but this year, it’s been crazy.  It’s often 8 or 9 p.m. by the time we get home, shower and eat.

Needless to say, we’re both pretty wiped out by then. Sometimes, we’re too tired to even eat dinner, so we just go straight to bed.

Yup. We’re a couple of rock stars – wheee!

My Early Morning Online Writing Partner

During the work week, I write from 5-6 a.m. each morning. My friend, Morgan, meets me on Twitter at that early hour and has been a wonderfully supportive writing partner. We’ve never met in person, but I love her! (Gotta love the internet, right?)

We use the hashtags #earlyword #wordmongering to chat on Twitter at the top and bottom of the hour. The rest if the time we write, although – full disclosure here –  I have been known to nod off at the keyboard some mornings.

What can  I say? I’m naturally quite the night owl, but I get cranky and depressed if I don’t write every day, so this is the best I can do at the moment.

If you’re a writer who is awake and writing at 5am CST, feel free to join us on Twitter! I’m @mentalmosaic and Morgan is @MDragonwillow.

Even Home is a Travel Destination

Something that surprised me about this ROW80 round is that I keep coming up with more and more book ideas! Some are more developed than others, but I’m jotting all of them down.

Now, for instance, instead of just working on my memoir about living off the grid on a tiny island with a population of seven people, I’ve started working on two travel books:

1. A book on fun day trips for the Dallas – Fort Worth region of Texas.

Since moving to Texas in the fall of 2009, I’ve been snatching up every book I can find on the subject of Dallas – Fort Worth (DFW) day trips. I’ve discovered some good books, but I haven’t found one that really digs into the overlooked-but-interesting places around here that are so fun to explore. I think there is a real need for such a book.

Even though he’s lived in the DFW area for over 20 years, Larry says I’m constantly showing him interesting places that he had no idea existed nearby, such as:

A statue of Jesus wearing Cowboy Boots, in Paris, Texas

A gazebo made of petrified wood in Glen Rose, Texas

A Hindu palace in Dallas, Texas

Just to name a few!

That’s why I’ve decided to write a Texas road trip book of my own. I’m thinking of releasing it in ebook form, with easily printable itineraries and GPS friendly addresses to save people the frustrations Larry and I have had trying to find these places. (It can be really challenging to find some of these sites!)

2. A book on interesting and/or historical cemeteries in north Texas.

There are many beautiful, historical and/or  unique cemeteries in north Texas, but they, too, are often difficult to find. Good thing that Larry is patient and I am stubborn!

Once again, I’d like to release an eBook with photos and GPS friendly addresses to these interesting graveyards in Texas so that other people can enjoy exploring them, too.

How are your writing projects going?

How is your writing going? Below are links to other Row80 writers. Check them out, y’all. I plan to!