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 with our writing projects—planning, drafting, revising, or polishing. This year, your RSW hosts are Alison Miller, Jaime Morrow, Erin Funk, Elodie Nowodazkij, and myself.
And now… My first update for RSW 2015!
1. How I did on last week’s goals.
1. Draft at least 30K words in my new WiP. –> This week I wrote 6520 words.
2. Read 12 books. –> I finished Something Real by Heather Demetrios, which was so, so good. Highly recommend!
3. Get stronger. –> I practiced yoga 3 times this week, did a bunch of heavy lifting to prep for our move, and paddled a kayak (see below).
4. Explore. –> Yesterday we took our kayaks out for our last dip into the waters of the Gulf. Gorgeous as usual!
5. Cross at least two items off my Thirty Before 35 list. –> In progress. I’m working on #17 as I draft my WiP.
2. My goal(s) for this week.
Draft at least 2500 words. Finish reading a manuscript for one of my CPs. Practice yoga at least three times. Make it to Virginia with my sanity intact.
3. A favorite line from my story OR one word/phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised.
He’s built… nicely. Like one of those ancient Greek sculptures, all sinuous and powerful — except, you know, his junk’s not hanging out.
4. The biggest challenge I faced this week (ex. finding time to write).
Prioritizing. I’m on a roll with my WiP, but I’m also beta reading a most excellent manuscript, and I’ve been trying to get my house in order for our move (packers are here TODAY!). I want to do everything, all at once.
5. Something I love about my WiP.
The freedom of drafting. My characters are saying ridiculous things (and dropping f-bombs unimpeded), I’m going crazy with descriptions, and I’m playing with plot elements I’ve never explored before. It’s all going to be thoughtfully revised later, but for now I’m just having fun.
Are you participating in RSW?
Don’t forget to link to your first update below!
Happy writing, friends!
katyupperman.com 
“The freedom of drafting” –> love this and so glad you’re having fun! I love love love the line you shared, way to make me smile on Monday morning! And can I just say I can’t wait for you to be in Virginia? 🙂 Lunch date coming up soon!
I can’t wait for our lunch date! It’s already in my planner. 🙂 And thanks for your kind words about my line. It’s sort ridiculous, but it makes me smile. Have a wonderful week, lady!
Ha! Love the line you shared. Junk is just funny, right? Must find a way to use it in conversation this week 🙂 Best of luck with the move!!
Ha! We should all make it a goal to use the word “junk” today. 🙂 Have a great week, Carrie!
Yay for having fun with your WIP, Katy. That line is totally snort-inducing. 🙂 Glad you the MS you’re beta-ing is most excellent, too…(*hopes it’s hers but tries not to assume*) I cannot believe you’re moving this week. I’m dying for you to be in my area and literally have excitement in my stomach that I’ll get to see you SO SOON. I hope you have a smooth moving experience and that you all stay safe ❤
Of course it’s your MS! I’m loving it! I had to force myself to close it down and go to sleep last night. 🙂 Cannot wait to be close enough to hang out regularly! Seriously the silver-lining to this northern move. Have an awesome week, lady!
Oh, I LOVE that line from your new WiP. Also, I love what you said about the freedom of drafting. It can be very freeing.
Good luck with the move! We’ll finally be in the same time zone! Woohoo!
Ha! After all these years, I’ll finally be at EST-er! We’ll have to have plenty of writing dates since our schedules will align better. And thanks for complimenting my little line. It’s a bit of needed silliness for this story that’s going to end up being pretty serious. Anyway. Have an awesome week, Alison. Let’s write together soon!
Your line is hilarious 🙂
Hope the move goes smoothly!
Thanks, lady! Have a great week!
Haha, that’s a great line!
Glad to hear you’re having fun drafting and being productive! I love the exploratory stage. Good luck with the move! 🙂
Thanks so much, Emma! Hope you have an awesome week!
Off to a good start. You can do this. I also love the quote/scene it made me giggle
Ha! Thanks, Eve. That line makes me smile, too. 🙂
Love the line you shared! It’s always nice to temper “oh he’s so hot” with a little humor ;). Good luck with your move! That’s a lot on your plate–at least you have help with packing–that’s probably the worst part!
We do have help packing. It’s a military move, so most of the packing and loading is contracted out. Thank goodness! We’ve done it all ourselves before and it’s A LOT of work. Hope you have a great week, Jessica!
Great line, haha… I am drafting, too, and it’s so much fun being more freewheeling and experimental and not having to worry too much about getting everything exactly right. Good luck on your goals this week and your move! 🙂
I’m usually much happier to be revising, but yeah. For some reason drafting this story doesn’t feel like torture. Not yet, anyway. 🙂 Have a wonderful week, Crystal!
lol, great line! Keep it up with the word count. You did great!
Thanks so much, Martha! Have an awesome week!
Ohhh what genre are you writing???
Contemp with a twist. Or magical realism, I guess. (Is there a difference between those?) It’s set at a Dirty-Dancing-type camp, which makes me really happy. 🙂 Have a great week of writing, Liz!
I’m at work right now, and I almost burst out laughing at the line from your WiP!!! 😀 I’m in love with my drafting process lately, too…for the first time I’m not worried about having everything figured out. Letting the characters lead this one for a while!
Best of luck with the moving process! My eye is still twitching a bit from my move home last month, and it wasn’t anywhere near as big a task as I’m sure yours is.
Happy writing, Katy!
Ha! I’m glad that line made you laugh! It makes me smile too, especially since this story is mostly serious. I’m having fun drafting it, though! And yeah, moving is the pits. This is only our official first day of packing, and I’m already over it. Have a great writing week, Kaitlin!
Great line. 🙂 We are moving soon and I am terrified of the whole idea.
We’ve moved about ten times over the course of our marriage (military) and it never gets easier. Such a pain in the neck! But, the adventure of it can be fun, and I feel lucky to get be able to see so much of the country. Have a great week, Melissa!
My parents have really gotten into kayaking in the last year or so, so much so they’ve bought an orange kayak. It’s probably fun, though I’d have to make sure I could comfortably fit in the seat and not have to put my gimpy ankle in a painful position.
Good luck on moving. It’s never easy or stress-free to plan and carry out a move.
We love kayaking, Carrie-Anne. It’s really relaxing — except for yesterday, because the water was super rough! But on a good day, it’s the best. 🙂 Can’t wait to check out your update. Hope you had an awesome week of writing!
Hoping the move to VA goes smoothly! I’m in NoVa, if there’s anything I can do to help, don’t hesitate 🙂
NoVa is exactly where we’re headed, Christina, and I appreciate the offer! I might be getting in touch with you for hair stylist recommendations. 🙂
Totally laughed at the “junk” bit. 😛 Happy to hear your new WiP is coming along nicely. 6520 words in a week is awesome, Katy! Especially with everything else you’ve got going on right now. I need some of that mojo. Hope this is another great week and that your move goes smoothly! 😀
Funneling my word count mojo your way, Jaime! I’m getting more into the romance now, and those scenes are always really fun for me to write, hence the higher-than-anticipated word count. Thanks for complimenting my line. What is it about the word “junk” that is so ridiculous? Makes me laugh too. 🙂 Have an awesome writing week, lady!
I LOVE your first line! I totally LOLed.
Good luck with the move!
Ha! I’m glad you liked that line, Melanie. I kind of like it too. 🙂
Yay! You’re almost to Virginia 🙂 We welcome you here with open arms. Also, what a great line 🙂 Thanks for the reminder that drafting is about having fun, btw. That’s something that I think we all forget sometimes. Good luck with the move and the rest of your goals this week–we look forward to reading more lines like this next week.
I’m not usually a fan of drafting — I’d rather be making everything neat and lovely during the revising process — but it’s nice to just let the words fly. And thanks for the welcome to VA. We’re looking forward to getting there and getting settled!
I wish I had that kind of freedom with my drafting! Maybe that’s why I’m so slow. I think about each part too hard. Good luck with your move! Hope everything goes well!
I usually torture myself with drafting too, Karyne. But this project is so far out of my comfort zone, I’ve given myself permission to just wing in — mostly to keep myself from over-analyzing every. Single. Word. Have an awesome week, lady!
I love your favorite line. Made me laugh. Good luck with your goals.
Yay! I’m glad you liked my line, Kimberly. 🙂
I’m cackling my head off at that line you shared, and I probably will be for the rest of the day. So hilarious! I can’t believe you got so many words out this week with everything on your plate right now. It’s awesome that you’re having so much fun with your WIP. I think that’s when the writing feels the most genuine. Hope the move goes smoothly, and I’m rooting for your sanity to stay in tact too. 😉
I’m glad that line made you laugh! I kind of like it, too. 🙂 And I totally agree about writing feeling the most genuine when the writer is having fun. Hopefully my little streak lasts!
I hope your move goes smoothly! I’m also in drafting mode, glad you are having fun. And don’t all people drop f-bombs all the time? LOL. Maybe it’s just me. Have a great week!
Uh, *I* drop f-bombs all the time. 🙂 Best of luck with your drafting this week, Suzanne. Cheering you on from my own little corner of Draftingland.
that line made me chuckle. You had such an active week and still managed to get in over 6k?!? That’s awesome! Hope you have a productive week!
Thanks, Prerna! I’ve having fun with my story, hence the extra words. Plus, I’m trying to bank words for the week that we’re on the road. Have an awesome week, lady!
Tee-hee – I love the line you shared!! 🙂 Now, how are you going to measure that your sanity is intact? I would measure by how many glasses of wine or how many chocolate bars I have to have after the trip. 🙂 Lol. Good luck with the move and with the rest of this week’s goals!
My sanity measures are in beer and jelly beans, but same difference, I think. 😉 And I’m glad my line made you smile! I kind of like it too. Hope you’re having a great writing week so far, Kitty!
Love that line! And I completely sympathize with the moving. Hubby and I are moving to Virginia this summer as well. (In the airport waiting for house hunting flight as I speak). Hoping I’ll have more time to write once this move is over. 🙂 Good luck!
My husband and I did a house hunting trip last month. It’s hard to find a house in VA! Wishing you all the luck, though, Michelle, and here’s hoping you have some downtime to write, too. 🙂
I understand wanting to do everything at once. Sometimes I wish I could clone myself and do just that. I love the line you shared! It made me laugh. I wasn’t expecting the last part. Great voice! Good luck with the move and your goals for the week 🙂
Thanks so much, Raven! Voice is one of the (VERY FEW) writerly things that comes easy to me. And yes — if you find the secret to cloning, please do share. Hope you’re having a great week of writing!
Oooo Something Real sounds really good! I’m excited that you’ll be moving up near me! Have an awesome week and good luck with the move.
Dude, SOMETHING REAL was SO good. I must’ve been living under a rock when it came out because I don’t remember hearing anything about it. Then a friend read it and raved, then another friend read it and raved, then ANOTHER friend bought it and let me borrow. I loved it so much, I want my own copy now! Anyway, hopefully we’ll get to meet up soon, Valerie!
I’m a slacker and just realized I needed to post and comment. Ugh. Loved the line! Can’t wait to hear more about this book. I’ll beta read anytime you need. And I love that I’m the friend that bought it in the comment above this…hehe.
Good luck with the whole sanity thing. ;P
Thanks! You know that offer swings both ways. 🙂 I can’t wait for you to read SOMETHING REAL now so we can chat!
I love “make it to Virginia with my sanity intact” as a goal. Moving is such a pain, I hope it goes really smoothly for you. 🙂 I love the line from your WIP too, made me laugh out loud!
Good luck with this week. 🙂
Thanks, Pax! Hopefully you’ll hear back from me next week, and I won’t have completely lost my mind. 😉 Hope you’re having a great writing week!
Love that “freedom of drafting” and your funny excerpt. 🙂 Very cool hop!
Thanks, Tyrean! Have an awesome week!
This isn’t contemp? I never thought I’d see the day… 😉 I want to hear all about it! (Also, that excerpt is great. So funny.)
Good luck handling this week’s goals with the upcoming move. I have high hopes your sanity will survive. You’re an old pro at this whole moving thing. ❤
I mean… It’s mostly contemp. Contemp with a twist, I’m calling it. And to be honest, I’ve considered pulling the “twist” all together, but for now I’m rolling with it. Also, I wish I was a pro at something other than moving! Ugh. This will be house ten over the course of our marriage. Craziness. Hope you’re having an awesome RSW week. Can’t wait to check in with your post!
Love that “I can write anything!” feeling while drafting — because it can all be fixed and cleaned up and made even better later on, so why worry about that now? And your beach/water/kayaking fun pictures always make me so SO jealous!
I’m going to miss our sunny and warm kayaking spots! Hopefully theres, like, a river or something in VA for us to hang out in. 😉 Hope you’re having a most excellent writing week, Becky!
I’m so excited to find out that your WIP is not Contemp YA! Yay for branching out and that you sound like you’re having a lot of fun with it. Your excerpt? Hilarious! Can’t wait to hear more about it. 🙂
Good luck with ALL of your goals this week, and have a safe and smooth move to VA!!
Katy, I love the line from WIP. You have me laughing out loud at my day job. Good luck on the move!