Jessica Conoley's Blog: LitUP

My body told me it’s time to take a week off by giving me a lovely illness, so I will not be at coworking tonight but hope to be back on Friday

I don’t trust my ability to channel when I’m sick so there’s not a fresh 7 cards this week.

However, I want you to trust your intuition. Look back through the archives and click on a past 7 cards that catches your eye. That’s what you’ll need to hear for the week. (& for the person in coaching this week, here’s your reminder to grab a pen & paper as you watch)

Report back in the comments how that went. Should be a fun experiment.

Hopefully all will be back to normal next week & happy end of soccer time to everyone.

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I went to a friend’s book launch last week. I was feeling anti-social and meh, but I like to show up for my friends so I put on pajamas that look like not-pajamas and dragged myself to Rainy Day Books.

I used to avoid Rainy Day Books like the plague because their old owners were snobby and exclusive and just felt yuck; but, a while ago they sold the place and I figured I should probably give them another try. I was hopeful about the new owners because the book that was launching is My Name Is Baby: An Intersex Memoir by Chris Arnone. I figured if they were willing to promote & launch Chris’s book they were at least LGBTQIA+ friendly.

It was a wonderful event, and the energy of the store has improved for the better under the new ownership. Chris is charismatic, a phenomenal writer, and very comfortable on stage. His moderator, Bodi Takacs, had infectious energy in the best of ways. Their questions were well thought out, their knowledge of the book and subject matter unparalleled, and they were one of the best moderators I have ever witnessed.

Chris’s book is engaging, educational (without being boring or too technical), and important. It’s unlikely I would have picked up an intersex memoir if I didn’t know Chris personally, but I’m glad I’m his friend because it’s a good book and deserves a read– it would have been a shame for me to miss his story. (I’m glad I’m his friend for other reasons too! BTW we met at the Nebulas when I went to CA a few years ago.)

So if you want to read outside your normal genres this is a great choice; and if you haven’t been to Rainy Day Books in a while check it out under the new ownership–they still carry Andre’s chocolate almonds too so you can also have a delicious treat while browsing.

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This week’s 7 cards is out. For those of you that watch it I’m open to feedback about the new camera set up. Better? Worse? Too close? Too far? Let me know. Change is hard, but I am capable of learning new things even when it’s mildly frustrating.

Have a good week.

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Once a quarter I order an intuitive reading from someone for myself. Normally I find them on Instagram. I don’t know the readers personally; they live all over the world. I like to see how they do their readings and also learn from their booking process/business flow as their client.

I find it very difficult to do readings on myself and remain objective–and a person who doesn’t know me often reflects situations in my life back to me in a much clearer way than I can individually. (It’s the same as writing; it’s very hard to be objective about my own writing which is why editors and beta readers are so helpful.)

This Saturday I had a reading scheduled, and I sat down to meditate (as I do every morning.) About 15 minutes into meditation I SEE a very large eye, zoom in close up.

I meditate with my eyes closed, and it’s very rare I get visuals. But when I do they are very clear, and it’s not like when I imagine something–it’s actually a visual image like a movie or still picture, most of the times it’s in a deep purple.

Well this giant, open eye pops into meditation accompanied by a very serene feeling. I thought Oh, I bet she’s prepping for our reading and meditating right now.

45-minutes later I jump onto the reading, and she says, “I prepare for readings by meditating before our session and seeing what messages come in.” I laughed, told her I had seen her pop into my energy and off we went.

This week’s 7 cards is up.

I hope you had a happy solstice, and a reminder to rest because it feels like some very good stuff is already heading our way & it’ll be way more fun if you aren’t so tired.

J

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I finished transcription of the notebook last week and it came in at 39,000 words. Which is definitely enough for a novella, and will likely push to novel length during the next draft.

For shitty 1st draft/transcription I did not correct typos or edit in any way. I did type the info into scrivener & color-code it according to the themes that became self-evident as I worked through the notebook. 5 main themes came out, and now I get to figure out how the puzzle starts to come together.

This is officially second draft stage, and I will work through each scene correcting typos & editing as needed. I know the opening of the book and the close, but how all the middle fits together is a mystery. Initially I felt daunted at the process; but as I started, my Managing Editor brain kicked in & I remembered how fun it was for me to pull a magazine issue together and that I actually like this part.

Last week my body told me to take a break and take care of myself, because it remembers dates/times better than I do & it was a week of complicated anniversaries. I have no regrets about taking care of myself, stating what I needed from others, and maintaining boundaries until I felt my energy come back. Sleeping is magical.

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I recommend everyone watch the preview of 7cards this week. We’re stepping into a new adventure & it feels exciting.

Have a good week!

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I broke 30,000 words this morning on the transcription of the new project. That puts me firmly in novella territory and leads me to believe I’ll end up near novel territory. I have about 1/3-1/4 of the pages left to transcribe.

I know the writers like to hear about other people’s processes, so this is how it’s come so far:

Zero-draft = 159 handwritten pages in an old school composition book. Reverse engineered table-of-contents on the last page, to help in case I need to find something later.

Shitty 1st-draft = transcription of notebook into Scrivener. No proof reading, no fixing typos. Just transcribe to let my brain absorb what was in zero-draft. I do split up sections into individual text-cards, so I can drag and drop/re-order scenes as needed moving forward. I also categorize/color-code into folders for what I see the main story threads. All of one story line together/same-color.

A note on Scrivener. I have attempted to use it on multiple projects before, but until right now it has proved more frustration than help. It’s not the most intuitive program for me, and all the bells and whistles would distract me while drafting. But since I zero drafted on paper that technical distraction is not so problematic in 1st draft mode. I am extremely hopeful it will work well for the 2nd draft & compilation of the MS, and will likely then export to Words and fine-tune in there.

I’ve been through 4-5 working titles, but only in the last week when I really understood how all the themes/story-lines were fitting together did I find one that feels like it will stick. But that title’s a secret until I’m ready to find beta readers.

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This week’s 7 cards is out. Continue to rest and take care of yourself. We’ve been through some big changes the past couple weeks and our bodies need time to process and recover.

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I’m at 17k typed words of the secret project, and maybe 50%? of the way through the transcription process. That means I’ll have enough for a novella for sure, and may end up in novel territory.

Sunday is a Blue Moon so enjoy & if it’s not cloudy go look at it and be magical.

The new 7 cards is up. Sorry, it’s a day later than normal, but the holiday through me off and I keeping my days of the week straight is confusing at the moment. The name of the game this week is rest, recover, and take care of yourself. If others are asking for more than you can give at the moment, its okay to say, “I’m at capacity.” and put yourself first.

Have a good week.

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The typing on the clickity-clackity keyboard is very fun indeed. I’m at the part of writing where you want to work on it and you’re sad when you have to stop for the day because you have to real life–that is a very nice place to be.

I have 3,628 first draft usable words typed, but I have no idea how many words are in that hand-written notebook. (For reference, a novella is 30k words, a normal length bio/non-fiction book is 50k-ish, and fantasy novels 80k+) I guess I’ll find out when it’s all 1st draft typed done, and I’m okay with not knowing right now.

I assumed I would type the notebook in the order of the pages, but it does not want me to do that. I finish a section which reminds me of something that feels like it should go next, so I flip to my rudimentary table-of-contents in the back of the notebook and type up that section next. It is nice to have the project tell me what to do. It takes a lot of the stress off.

This week’s 7 cards is out.

Be nice to yourself this week. Take your allergy meds if you feel like you’re dying, it’s probably just trees trying to make babies. Try to have some fun, and if something doesn’t feel right don’t try to force it.

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One full handwritten notebook = zero draft of a project that scares the shit out of me is complete. But tonight I celebrate, because 160 handwritten pages makes a writer’s hand tired.

The next step is to type it up on my clickity, clackity keyboard & that should be most satisfying on the typing side of things. Stay tuned for how the 1st computer draft comes together.

This week’s 7 cards is out.

I’m going to try Wednesday night co-working from 7 p.m. – 9 p.m CST for the summer. We’ll see how it goes & re-evaluate accordingly.

Reminder coaching is this Saturday at NOON CST. Hope to see you there. I know at least one of you has some good news to share with the group so we can celebrate together

The post Zero draft done. New 7 cards, coworking hours change & coaching reminder. appeared first on Jessica Conoley.

My cats have been visiting the vet lots the last week, and that has slowed my writing game… but Monty did join me for 7 cards this week, as you can see from the preview clip. We’re figuring out a new routine & hopefully that means I’ll be filling those final 27 pages shortly.

If you’d like to join me for some consistent writing time, access all the details on co-working here.

I’m teaching in Liberty for MCPL next week, but the class is already wait-listed & live attendance only. If I get to see you there, please say hi!

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There are 27 pages left in the notebook I’m supposed to fill with hand written words before I’m allowed to type or edit them. I have killed 7 pens and bought replacements. It feels like those words will be ready for typing next week at this time. It’s a good feeling.

This week’s 7 cards is up.

Remember you can observe the chaos and stress of what’s going on around you without choosing to amplify it. A reminder to all because I feel I did not do that well at it yesterday. Just keep swimming. You’ve got this.

J

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