the Spring Cleaning Tag || contains tiny snippets

Is it spring?

No.

Do I, regardless of the season, feel like doing a tag that forces me to hash out my goals and WIP status, with the extra option of actual spring cleaning?

...absolutely.

SO. The Spring Cleaning Tag it is!

I was tagged by Sarah at Dreams and Dragons - you might not remember, Sarah, as this was, uh, a full two years ago. *dies*

–{{1. Dust-bunnies and Plot-bunnies: Reorganize Your Writing Goals (Or Make New Ones)

1. Heavy investigation of a plot for Three Sisters. 

I know there's one somewhere?? It seems to have forgotten to write itself down in my notes, which is rude, but I need it so I can get onto my second goal:

2. Second draft of Three Sisters. 

Because I wrote "THE END" on my first draft.

Or was it a zero draft. It's the first time I've ever finished a novel-length draft! So I'm excited to see what this thing called "Rewriting" is. 

(My Word doc is sitting at just over 60k... how much of that is me screaming "YOU REALLY NEED TO NAME THIS COUNTRY" and "wHY DID I WRITE THAT, I HAVE NO MEMORY" and "#SECONDDRAFTPROBLEMS"? I have no idea. Guess I'll find out.)

3. Flash fiction. 

I hadn't done any of this for ages, but it's so fun and I want to. In fact, there may even be a way I can tie it in with blogging... [she says, for accountability reasons, because otherwise she'll never do it]

...honestly, I need to write these out and stick them on the wall beside my desk so I know what I'm supposed to be aiming for.

–{{2. Which Stage Are You At? Expound!

a. Remodeling layouts (planning the story)
b. Painting the walls in colorful hues (writing)
c. Polishing the windows and scrubbing the floors and putting flowers in vases (editing)
d. Blueprints (not to the cleaning or remodeling yet… just drawing up plans for the very beginning inklings of a story)
e. Some combination of those things (cleaning out a closet)

I am doing... some strange combo of (a) and (b). Planning, so that I can write a draft that doesn't have important plot points just *sparkle fingers* APPEAR half-way through. Or two-thirds of the way through. Or - actually, I think one important character/relation/plot point materialized just before the climax?? so.

I pantsed my draft, and now I have to... fix it. Somehow.

 Me, opening my WIP:

Jem "I'll fix it in the second draft" Jones, hiding inside:

–{{3. Treasure From the Back of the Closet (Share one to three snippets you love!)

...pretty sure this is too close to a zero draft to be sharing snippets from?? But what is life if you're not living close to the edge.

haha NO this is in NO WAY a motto I live by, are you KIDDING NOPE. in case you couldn't tell by the fact that I posted about how much I enjoy being told to stay home for the quarantine.

These snippets are from April's Camp NaNo and are therefore likely to be edited straight out in the next draft! :D

Rowan looked at Laszlo. "You don't even look surprised."

"I've had Miss Billie in my house for a total of four days, and in that time life has become so horrifyingly convoluted that I'm just surprised I didn't see this coming."

Uh, let me see what else isn't a spoiler... *scrolls for five minutes*

Count Laszlo snorted. "I would protest that I was the least injured party in all of this, except have you seen what he did to my ferns?"

They all glanced down at Rowan.

And the last line:

"I'll sit with you as long as you like," Rowan replied, soft. "As long as you need."

My "feel" for this story is supposed to be about one-quarter soft, one-quarter angst, and one-half snark. I'll be keeping that in mind when I start the second draft - enjoying the "feel" is half of what keeps me going (the other half is that I'm afraid of what the characters would do if I left them in their current state).

–{{3.5. Bonus: Do Some Actual Spring Cleaning of Your Writer Self! (And share a picture!)

I don't have a picture because it's not set up yet, but I've cleaned off a big section of my cupboard door, and I'm hoping to set it up as a plotting board!

• • • • • • •

I'm not tagging anyone for this, because I don't know who's done it already, and who's on hiatus, and who's taking tags, and - I may have mentioned previously? - I am socially awkward. (Still, which seems unreasonable.) But! If you want to steal it, go ahead: the rules and questions are below.

Rules:

1. Link back to the person who tagged you
2. Share the picture
3. Answer the questions (naturally…) or even pick and choose which ones you answer
3.5. Tag 3 other writers and inform them that you tagged them (via comment/message/email or hey, even carrier-pigeon or smoke signal; I’m not picky)

Questions:

–{{1. Dust-bunnies and Plot-bunnies: Reorganize Your Writing Goals (Or Make New Ones)
–{{2. Which Stage Are You At? Expound!
a. Remodeling layouts (planning the story)
b. Painting the walls in colorful hues (writing)
c. Polishing the windows and scrubbing the floors and putting flowers in vases (editing)
d. Blueprints (not to the cleaning or remodeling yet… just drawing up plans for the very beginning inklings of a story)
e. Some combination of those things (cleaning out a closet)
–{{3. Treasure From the Back of the Closet (Share one to three snippets you love!)
–{{3.5. Bonus: Do Some Actual Spring Cleaning of Your Writer Self! (And share a picture!)

• • • • • • •

What's your current Writerly Goal? Are you interested in writing flash fiction? How many times have you written THE END on a first draft?? Did you enjoy my tiny snippets? I have no idea how there's so much Rowan.

And it actually is spring in the Northern Hemisphere, isn't it.... USA friends, why do your seasons start mid-month.

(also, I have an important question. Does anyone watch Merlin, and if so, is it worth the pain?? I need to know before I commit.)