Posted by Sara Ramsey Feb 22 2012, 12:01 am in check-in Wednesday, motivation, Pep Talk, perserverance, Winter Writing Festival
Where has the winter gone? It’s already time for the Winter Writing Festival Week Six check-in, and we’re entering the home stretch. There’s ONE WEEK LEFT (said in a British “Mind the Gap” voice, so as to incite calm progress rather than screaming panic).
Some of you have been plugging away at your goals and making consistent daily/weekly progress. If you’re one of those people, stand up and take a bow! I wholeheartedly applaud you (even while wondering how you did it, since ‘making consistent daily progress’ has never been one of my traits). You only have to keep it up another week. And once this week is over, hopefully you’ll carry those great habits into the rest of the year and achieve more than you thought was possible.
Some of you have been working in fits and starts, catching up some weeks and falling behind in others. That’s fine too! I’m a big believer in celebrating all progress, whether you technically hit your goal or not. If last week just wasn’t been your week, for any reason, don’t be shy about checking in anyway. No matter how much or how little progress you made, you’re still moving forward. You’re still eligible to win some of the book giveaways below (and get some encouragement/commiseration/motivation in the comments section). And you still have a week to catch up. There will be more sprints to help motivate you, and I’m sure you’re not going to be alone if you’re chained to your desk writing frantically this weekend.
We’re in the home stretch. The best part of this week is that it’s not quite the end — so you still have some time to catch up, wrap up, and end on a high note! And no matter whether you “win” or not, I would encourage you to think about what worked for you over the past few weeks and replicate it whenever you write, not just during the festival. If you love sprints, use Twitter to meet up with other writers and sprint there. If you like the accountability of a points system, suggest doing something similar with your critique partners. I would love to hear any strategies you’ve found useful for meeting your daily/weekly goals, whether you’ve applied them consistently or not!
Anyone who checks in today (on the Ruby blog – check in there if you’re reading this on the WWF site!) is eligible to win one of the following:
In addition, if you report in and say I MET MY WEEKLY GOAL (in all caps), you’re eligible for the drawing for any of these awesome prizes:
- 1 chapter critique from Liz Talley (chapter of winner’s choice)
- 1 chapter (up to 20 pg) critique by Vivi Andrews
- $10 Amazon Gift Certificate
- Audiobook of Georgette Heyer’s Sylvester read by Richard Armitage and a copy of Elizabeth Essex’s The Danger of Desire
Best of luck, everyone! Here’s hoping we all meet our goals by February 29!
Posted by Kim Law Feb 8 2012, 12:01 am in Winter Writing Festival
One…breathe…two…breathe…three…breathe… *sigh*
Who’s like me and has hit that sagging middle part of the Winter Writing Festival? If only a few crunches would right our world real quick, huh?
Because that’s right, just like our stories, we can also suffer from a sagging middle during the festival. And I’m not talking about our wasitlines! I’m talking about that gung-ho, all-fired, let’s shoot out of the gate at full-speed excitement for the festival and all that we can accomplish in fifty days thrill. Yes, even that can sometimes begin to drag about this time. Drag. Droop. Crumble. Collapse. After all, we are at week four of seven. Right smack dab in the middle.
Posted by Anne Marie Becker Jan 25 2012, 12:01 am in perseverance, Winter Writing Festival
Winter Writing Festival WEEK TWO Check-in
 Congratulations! You’ve made it to the second checkpoint in the writing marathon that is the Winter Writing Festival.
I have the privilege of hosting the second-week check-in. And it is indeed a privilege. I’ve *met* some awesome new friends and hung out with some *old* ones in the Chat Room. Whether you’re producing new words or editing old ones, come join us for some writing sprints. The link to the chat room, as well as the times, are listed at www.rsswwf.com. The energy there has encouraged me to produce some major wordage this past week.
It’s also a privilege because I love to see how many writers are hanging tough out there. Those who met their goals in Week One, I applaud you. Good job.
But Week Two… well, the marathon gets tougher as we hit the middle. Did those who didn’t meet their goals in the first week give up? Or did they persevere and say “well, it’s a new week, I can do it this time.” I’d love to hear how you’re hanging in there, or, if you’re not starting off so well, how we can help you plan to get back on track.
Third, it’s a privilege to host today because I get to hand out some fantastic prizes. Here is the list of offerings for Week Two:
Anyone who checks in today can win:
- Kismet’s Kiss or The Source of Magic (eBooks), PLUS the novella Swords and Scimitars (eBook, due out Feb 2012), Cate Rowan
Swords and Scimitars is a novella about the immortal founders of verdant Teganne and desert Kad, two rival realms divided by magic—and bound by blood, mistrust, and love. The chronicle continues in the award-winning fantasy romance novels The Source of Magic and Kismet’s Kiss.
- 1 signed set of all three hardcovers in Darynda Jones FIRST GRAVE series: First Grave on the Right, Second Grave on the Left, and Third Grave Dead Ahead (out Feb 2012) by Darynda Jones
  
Those who met their weekly goals (earned at least seven points this past week) are ALSO eligible to win:
 Diane Kelly writes romantic mysteries featuring feisty heroines, quirky sidekicks, and sexy leading men, with humor that leaves readers laughing out loud. Diane’s manuscript for Death, Taxes, and a French Manicure won the Romance Writers of America’s prestigious Golden Heart award. Her manuscripts have received more than two dozen RWA chapter awards as well. Diane’s fiction, tax, and humor pieces have appeared in True Love Magazine, Writer’s Digest Yearbook, Romance Writers Report, Byline Magazine, and various other publications.
Bev Pettersen is the author of award-winning romantic suspense novels, including: Jockeys and Jewels, Color My Horse and Fillies and Females. When Bev broke her leg galloping at the track, a friend brought a Dick Francis novel to the hospital and she was hooked. Horses had always been a integral part of her life, from Pony Club as a child and later within the dynamic world of horse racing so the combination of books and horses was irresistible.
- A 2012 Writer’s Diary / illustrated weekly planner
- $10 Starbucks card and pretty mug (with Godiva Dark Chocolate French Vanilla Truffles!) (Donated by the fabulous Ruby Sis Danniele Worsham, a.k.a., Dani Wade)
And here’s the really good news… if you didn’t make your goal this week, there’s always next week! Happy writing, everyone. I hope I’ll see you in the chat room sometime. Good luck to us all as we embark on Week Three – we can do it!
Please check-in in the comment trail of the regular Ruby site (if you’re on the Festival site, scroll back up to the top of the page and click the blue title line “Winter Writing Festival WEEK TWO CHECK-IN” to jump to the right place) and let us know how you’re doing – whether the result is good, bad, or ugly. And if you’d like to be eligible for the awesome swag and prizes, make sure you start your post with “I MADE MY GOAL.”
Posted by Liz Talley Jan 17 2012, 12:01 am in History of Ruby-Slippered Sisterhood, inspiration, liz talley, Winter Writing Festival, writing
Long, long ago in a galaxy…well, right here in the Milky Way…calls went out from the National RWA Board that would knit a group of women together in a way very few can ever experience – in the quest to procure a little golden heart, the symbol of the best of the unpublished writers, along with all the wonderful accolades and opportunities such an accomplishment would bring. Little did those 59 women know that the knitting together of a group in 2009 would lead to such joy, inspiration, and dare we say, the hottest red shoes to hit RWA Nationals in Washington, DC?
Posted by Elisa Beatty Jan 10 2012, 12:01 am in inspiration, Ruby Slippered Sisterhood Winter Writing Festival, Winter Writing Festival
The Festival starts tomorrow! The Festival starts tomorrow!!
I’m so darned excited, I could spit. Not very ladylike, but true.
One of my favorite parts of the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood’s Winter Writing Festival is the fact that you can set your own goals (see details here). But of course that means you need to think carefully about what your goals should be to make best use of the Festival’s awesome productivity-boosting power.
Some thoughts on setting effective Festival goals:
 If you look at me now, you might not believe this, but back in junior high and high school, I ran track competitively. (I’ll pause for a moment here for a brief peal of laughter from those who know me today. Really, I used to be a skinny little muscle-ball. Seriously. I have pictures somewhere….probably buried in a pile of candy-bar wrappers. Sigh.)
Anyhow, as I think about my goals for the Writing Festival, I think about my track days. The wisdom I learned back then applies now.
1. Know which race you’re running.
Apparently, I have some weird combination of “short-twitch” and “long-twitch” muscles, so when I ran track, my coaches assigned me a wide range of races–everything from the manic kangaroo-style dash of 100-meter hurdles to the marshall-your-energy-for-the-very-long-run mind-game of cross-country.
If you went into a hurdles race with a cross-country mind-set, the other racers would cross the finish line before you made your first leap.
If you went into a cross-country race with a hurdles mind-set, you’d leave the others in the dust…for the first five minutes, and then they’d all have to jump over your prone and twitching body once you’d burned out your muscle’s short-term glycogen stores.
The RSSWWF isn’t a sprint, but it’s not a marathon either. At 50 days, it requires a bit more stamina than the month-long NaNoWriMo, but it’s still a fairly short-term and intensive commitment.
The toughest race I used to run was the 800: half a mile. It was not-quite-a-sprint, not-quite-a-distance-race. You really had to think carefully about just how fast you could go out of the blocks, and you had to sustain that speed for two full rounds of the track.
My advice for the Festival: push yourself, but don’t kill yourself. If NaNo’s 1667 words a day is do-able but kinda exhausting for you, maybe pull back to 1200, or even 1000. If you prefer setting an amount of time to write per day, pick a time that will pinch a little, but not make your other commitments impossible to meet. Your family / boss / pets / dirty laundry can be pushed down the priority ladder for NaNo’s 30 days, but 50 days is harder. Would an hour a day be reasonable? Can you cut out some internet playtime or a couple of TV shows to make that possible? Whatever you choose, make sure it’s something you can hang with for seven full weeks.
If you pace yourself right, you might find that your Festival goals can be sustained long after February 29 is gone!
 3. Build in some breathers!
Lots of studies have shown that the best way to build aerobic endurance is not by running constantly–it’s by running for awhile, then walking for awhile, then running again. (My track coaches built our lungs with a crueler version of this: “wind sprints,” in which you ran 50 yards at top speed, paused for about ten seconds, then ran back just as fast and kept repeating the process until your coaches felt merciful enough to let you stop. It worked, but it hurt like hell. I like the alternate running / walking thing MUCH better.)
Lots of Festival participants are including goals like “Take Saturdays off to be with family,” or “Take Tuesday and Thursday evenings off.” This isn’t cheating–it’s sound training advice! Some of you may want to write seven days a week regardless, but don’t kill yourself. A little rejuvenation can help you power up and get more done on your “on” days.
 4. Depend on your teammates.
Sisterhood is powerful! The best thing about the Festival is we’re doing it as a group.
Announce your goals loud and clear on the Ruby blog tomorrow. Check in regularly on Wednesdays and let us know how you’re doing. Accountability = big motivation!
Use the writing sprints! Many participants last year found the writing sprints (held in the chat room over at rsswwf.com) to be almost magical in their power to make the words flow. We’ll have regular sprints scheduled at all sorts of times, so keep an eye out for the schedule on the Writing Festival homepage! (You might want to make “participate in a writing sprint” one of the ways you can earn a Festival point!)
Also, check out the “Brag Blog” on the rsswwf.com site. It’s a way you can get a little inspiration and check in on a daily basis! Of course, the more the merrier, so spread the word!! Everyone is welcome to participate!
Get your muscles warmed up, friends! This is gonna be great!!
Posted by Kim Law Jan 9 2012, 12:01 am in Winter Writing Festival, writing sprints
Are you ready for some sprinting????
Woohoo! I hope so! I know I am.
So okay, here’s the deal. I thought I would jump in here and do a real quick how-to for Ruby sprinting. Many of you joined us last year (and I can’t wait to sprint with you again!), but I know there are others out there who just aren’t sold on sprints yet. Or maybe you’re a little shy about joining, or just not feeling quite “techy” enough. I’m here to allay your fears.
Posted by admin Jan 4 2012, 12:01 am in inspiration, romance community, Ruby Slippered Sisterhood Winter Writing Festival, Winter Writing Festival, writing challenge
The Ruby Slippered Sisterhood’s Second Annual Winter Writing Festival begins in JUST ONE WEEK!!!
 Through the bleakest part of winter—January 11, 2012 thru the end of February—the Second Annual Ruby Slippered Sisterhood Winter Writing Festival will be here to keep your creative fires burning, with support, advice, inspiration, frequent writing sprints in our chat room, fun prizes for participants, and as much virtual hot-chocolate (and virtual cookies!!) as you please.
Unlike NaNoWriMo and other writing challenges that (much as we love them!!) have a one-size-fits-all approach, the Ruby Winter Writing Festival is designed for you.
Posted by Elisa Beatty Mar 4 2011, 12:01 am in inspiration, motivation, Winter Writing Festival
Yes, the Festival is over–so most of our Fridays will return to Free-for-All Friday format.
On Free-for-All Fridays, anybody out there can ask a burning question (relating to writing, publishing, or romance, we mean…though we’ll do our best with your tax questions and trying to determine the latest whereabouts of Elvis).
Of course, we usually kick things off with a question of our own.
Since we just wound up the FIRST EVER Ruby Slippered Sisterhood Winter Writing Festival on Monday—and those of us who participated have had a few days to catch our breath—I thought I’d start us off with some questions about your Festival experience:
-What parts worked best for you?
-What might have helped you get more out of it?
-What did you learn about yourself as a writer (or about your writing habits) that you’ll carry forward from here?
-Are you taking part in any other writing challenges going forward (NaNoEdMo, anyone??)
-And most importantly, ARE YOU GOING TO JOIN US FOR THE FESTIVAL AGAIN NEXT YEAR??
Jump right in…thanks to those still-simmering Ruby Torch embers, the water’s warm !!
Posted by Kate Parker Feb 15 2011, 12:01 am in golden heart, Spring Cleaning, Winter Writing Festival
Here in the Back of Beyond, the temperature is in the sixties, the sun is shining, and green shoots are poking their heads above ground. Bulbs will soon be in flower and buds are swelling on branches. Even what passes for grass here, a weed that spreads sideways instead of growing upward and carries the ominous name of centipede, is changing from its winter brown to spring green.
In most places, winter still has a frozen grip, and this has been the worst winter in memory. But not for much longer. Soon, everyone will be able to breathe in the sweet scents of life bursting up from the earth.
And that means -
Posted by admin Feb 4 2011, 12:01 am in Winter Writing Festival
 Happy Asian Lunar New Year, everyone, and welcome to our FOURTH Check-In Friday!!
We’re halfway through the Winter Writing Festival, and participants keep reporting that they’ve finished WIPs and amazed themselves with their progress during the writing sprints.
Since it’s Check-In Friday, we’d love to hear from you about how you did this week. If you’re reading this on the Festival website, jump on over to the regular Ruby Slippered Sisterhood blog and leave a quick comment about how things are going. Anyone who leaves a comment at the Ruby blog will be entered in a random drawing to win one of the *five* fun prizes up for grabs today!
Today’s fabulous prizes include: [note--if you're on the Festival site, click the blue title above to see more.]
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