RSW Update 7

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Ready. Set. WRITE! is a summer writing intensive that encourages goal-setting and accountability, and provides an opportunity for us to cheer each other on wherever we’re at in our writing—planning, drafting, revising, or polishing. This year, your RSW hosts are Alison Miller, Jaime Morrow, Erin Funk, and myself. Find the rest of the details HERE.

* How I did on last week’s goal(s).

1. Complete a revision of my contemporary-ish YA, Where Poppies Bloom.

2. Complete the first draft of my contemporary YA, The Road So Far, by the close of RSW… IN PROGRESS. I passed 50K, and wrote just over 10K words total for the week. Feeling really good about my momentum!

3. Read (on average) one YA/adult novel per week… YES! I finished Lindsay Currie and Trisha Leaver’s upcoming debut, Creed. I also read Fire With Fire by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian. Guys, this series is totally incredible! If you haven’t read it, get on that. The final installment comes out in September!

4. Read (on average) one MG novel with my daughter every two weeks… YES! We read The Space Between, a Never Girls (Tinker Bell) book. We also stared Rump by Leisl Shurtliff — so clever and fun!

5. Maintain my tan… YES! We spent last Thursday swimming at the pool, and on Friday I mowed our enormous lawn.

* My goal(s) for this week.

Add at least 6K words to The Road So Far.

* A favorite line from my project OR a word/phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised.

The four of us make our way to the room, labeled Jungle Rocks. I crack up laughing as soon as I swing the door open. The carpet’s bright blue and so is the ceiling, the comforters look like zebra pelts, the walls are made of rock, and there’s a shiny leather sofa which, I suspect, has a sullied past.

Drew nudges me. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“That we’ve inadvertently stepped onto the set of a ’70s porn shoot?”

He chuckles. “It’s like we’re riding the same wave length. And to think… I forgot to pack my 8 millimeter.”

* The biggest challenge I faced this week.

Two things… The first: Research. I’m writing a road trip book, so every single chapter is set in a different place. I’ve been combing Wiki and YouTube like crazy, which is slowing me down. And the second: Mom Guilt. I want to write, write, write, but my kiddo can’t sit in front of the TV all day. I’m trying find balance.

* Something I love about my WiP. 

I complained about all of that road trip research above, but it’s part of what makes this WiP so fun. Every scene is different and new and exciting!

In other news… July is the month of RSW giveaways! 
Congrats to last week’s winner… Jessica Leake!
(Jessica, shoot me an email with your mailing address and I’ll get your package sent out right away! katy.upperman@live.com)

During the four weeks of July, Erin, Jaime, Alison, and I will be giving away some spectacular Writer’s Care Packages. All you have to do to be eligible to win is participate in Ready. Set. Write! and enter via the Rafflecopter link below.

A Rafflecopter Giveaway

***NOTICE: We’ve changed the entry process in order to make it easier and quicker… You no longer need to provide a link for each of your entries, though we will be verifying the winner’s participation upon selection.

This week, Alison’s giving away… A journal, sage and citrus reed diffuser, Post-Its, highlighters, gummi bears, Werther’s candies, index cards, Myndology cards, a note pad that reads I am so proud and jealous of you, DFTBA plaque, and, because she hope everyone’s having one, one of her favorite boy books, Invincible Summer by Hannah Moskowitz.

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I can’t wait to read about how Ready. Set. Write! is going for you. Don’t forget to share the link of your latest post below!

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46 thoughts on “RSW Update 7”

  1. Alison Miller says:

    I am still in AWE of your 10K! And congrats on passing 50K, lady. You are rocking this draft! Also, I love that excerpt! And yes – I hear you on the balance thing. I write before the kids get up these days but mine still want to watch TV all the time. Anyway, you’ll get 6K done! Have a great week!

    • katyupperman says:

      I’m kind of in awe of my 10K too. That’s definitely not my norm. 🙂 And yay! I’m glad you like that expert. It’s part of my favorite scene I wrote last week. Hopefully it’ll work in the big picture of the story. Have a great week, lady!

  2. Tonja Drecker says:

    Wow, that a tons of words! Congrats 🙂 Writing so different scenes would be fun but draining. Still, the best things aren’t always the easiest, right?

  4. crystalschubert says:

    Wow, it’s like you wrote all the words I should have! Over 10,000 words in a week is amazing! Good luck on the writing this week, and I hope you can find some balance 🙂

  5. karyne norton says:

    Wow! Great work this week! And I totally understand the mom guilt issue. But honestly? I sat in front of the TV a lot as a kid and I turned out ok. 😉

    • katyupperman says:

      Ha! I watched my fair share of TV as a kid too. Funny how I feel bad about TV time now. We do balance it with lots of reading and outside time, so… I think we’re cool. 🙂

  7. Erin Bowman (@erin_bowman) says:

    Awesome progress this week, Katy! Good luck with the continued research. It’s always such a balance–fact-checking thoroughly enough so that you can draft the scene convincingly, but knowing when to step away. Research can become a bottomless hole, and then we’d never write a word!

    • katyupperman says:

      Seriously a bottomless hole! Especially considering I’m researching all of these beautiful coastal towns and cool hotels that I now want to visit. 🙂

  8. Rebekah says:

    If I wrote 10k in a week I would feel very good about my momentum too. Congrats! Research is the thing that slows me dan the most in my Screenplay, but I also really enjoy the research and find it inspiring. But when you are trying to finish, it can feel like you jump down a rabbit hole and may never come out.

    I feel you on the mom guilt dilemma. It is the absolute worst. We do it to ourselves and we are the only ones who can undo it.

    • katyupperman says:

      Good point about the mom guilt, Rebekah. Some days it’s hard to find good balance between mommying and writing. But I think our summer’s been pretty fun so far, so I’m not going to be too hard on myself. 🙂 Have great week, lady!

  9. Stephanie Scott says:

    I love road trip books! Jessi Kirby’s is one of my favorites…I’m forgetting the title but the girl has cowboy boots on the cover. That sounds like fun research.

    • katyupperman says:

      Yes, IN HONOR! I love that book. Morgan Matson’s AMY & ROGER’S EPIC DETOUR is another favorite. 🙂 And the writing has been fun. Challenging, but FUN. 🙂

  10. prerna pickett says:

    ugh, Mom guilt! I’m right there with you. It’s so much harder during the summer when they’re at home you know you should be playing with them, but then you do and feel guilty for not writing. Finding the perfect balance is impossible. You just have to do what feels right to you. Good luck with your goals this week!

    • katyupperman says:

      You’re lucky that you get to go out to do your research! I’m researching some places I haven’t been to, but now desperately want to visit. Hope you have a great week too, Jennifer!

  13. jessleake says:

    Yay for passing 50k!! Research is fun, but you’re right…it’s a total time-suck. A road trip book sounds fabulous! Love the lines you shared. I’m right there with you with the Mom Guilt. It’s always hard to balance everything! I try to take advantage of times when they’re already entertained by something that doesn’t require a lot of supervision. Usually, that doesn’t work and I have to only rely on naptimes and bedtimes ;). Hope you have another productive week 🙂

    • katyupperman says:

      Thanks, Jessica! I usually write when my daughter’s at school, but the summertime makes that so hard. So, now I’m mostly an after bedtime writer. Not my most productive time, but we do what we’ve got to do, I guess! 🙂

  14. Jaime Morrow says:

    Wow! 10K is pretty darn great, Katy! Your lines today totally cracked me up. 🙂 I can totally picture this place lol. You know how much I love road trip books, so I’m eager to hear more about the one you’re writing. The amount of research required would definitely be crazy, but like you say, the changing settings makes it also kind of fun. Hope this is another productive week for you!

  15. Carrie-Anne says:

    Congratulations on your writing progress! My next major length milestone with my WIP will be 650,000 words, which will mean the end is finally almost in sight. It can be challenging to simultaneously write and research, but there are some aspects of a book which can’t entirely be written from the creative side of the brain.

  16. Kitty says:

    Wow, 10k is awesome! And I love the lines you shared. They are hilarious! All that road trip research sounds like fun but it would probably make me want to jump in the car and go. 🙂 Have a great week!

    • katyupperman says:

      Writing this story is totally making me want to go on a road trip, Kitty! A lot of it takes place on the OR/CA coast, which is full of areas I love. I want to go back and live in CA again! Hope you have an awesome week as well!

  18. Courtney Leigh says:

    Your word count output plus your reading rate each week impress me so much. I haven’t finished a book since May (I start and quit two), so hats off to you! Good luck with this week’s equally impressive goals!

    PS: I once got sucked into watching videos of people scuba diving in caves for three hours all in the name of “research.” Fun, but oh so dangerous!

    • katyupperman says:

      Totally dangerous! Research is a black hole for me! But I SO want things to be authentic, and it’s hard to write about places/things I haven’t experienced. Hopefully I’m doing an okay job. 🙂 Have a good one, Courtney!

  20. Erin Funk says:

    Way to go on getting out 10k this week! Hope the momentum keeps up for you because you’re on a serious roll! I can imagine there must be a ton of research when you’re writing a road trip book. Sounds like the fun kind though, so that’s good. Best of luck writing another 6k this week!

    • katyupperman says:

      Aww, thanks, Kim! My road trip starts in OR and ends in NM, though. Let me know if you’re ever on the west coast, though! I’ll take you up on your offer. 🙂

  23. Ghenet Myrthil says:

    Congrats on writing 10K last week. That’s awesome. I love the excerpt and the fact that your book includes a road trip. So fun! Good luck with everything this week. 🙂

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