What’s Up Wednesday? Week 7!

I didn’t end up posting for Week 6 of Ready. Set. WRITE! last week because I was so deep in the revisions that I wasn’t doing much else. Still, it was great revising virtually with a few of you on twitter when the timing worked out. πŸ™‚
 
What I’m Writing:
 
Finally something concrete to report. I ended up finishing revisions this week! The good thing of continuing to work on a much-revised and much-critiqued manuscript is that you can watch the feedback begin to line up and hopefully see a clear way to fix those last issues because the ones that are still issues tend to pop up in more than one person’s feedback. This time, I made a checklist after combing through all the comments with a critique partner’s help (comb, comb, comb), and I *think* I’ve successfully addressed everything on the list. I’m not naive enough to think revisions are ever actually “done” until the ARC stage, but still, I’m happy that I have a pretty solid manuscript this time, and now I’m ready for a little time off!
 
What I’m Reading:
 
I managed to squeeze in some reading time in the past two weeks since posting:
 
CONFESSIONS OF A CLOSET CATHOLIC by Sarah Darer Littman. I’ve wanted to read something by Sarah since spending time with her at a writing retreat– she is every bit as smart and funny as her writing–and the concept of this one really intrigued me. Β If you’re looking for a hysterical MG read for girls, definitely check it out.
 
SERENA by Ron Rash. I finally finished this! The second half went much quicker than the first half, and I’m glad I stuck with it. Lots of thrills as he went a bit GOODFELLAS in that second half, so I’m really looking forward to seeing J-Law in the title role when the movie comes out.
 
VERY FAR AWAY FROM ANYWHERE ELSE by Ursula Le Guin. This novella was short, so a very quick read, and even though it first came out in 1976, it still felt as immediate as many contemporary YA relationships today.
 
What Inspires Me:
 
Last week, fellow WUW-buddyΒ Patrice Caldwell passed on the Inner Peace award to my blog. I’ll be thanking her more as well as posting Seven Things About Me when I finally decompress next week, but just a shout-out of thanks for now, since it was really nice to see Patrice’s post when I was so deep in my own muck. πŸ™‚
 
What Else I’m Up To:
 
Planning for our first “rustic camping” trip with the girls. We’ve gone camping in our backyard and have been taking the girls to nice,modern campsites (the kinds with showers, a pool, and even pancakes in the morning) every year, but this is the first time we’ll be doing a carry-in-carry-out campsite with backpacks.
 
Best of all, instead of arriving by car, we’ll be going by public transportation! OK, and by boat, too. I found out that you can camp on several of the Boston Harbor Islands, so we’ll be taking our gear on the blue line to Long Wharf and then hopping on a boat to the island. Hopefully we’ll get a nice starry night on the ocean and a beautiful sunrise over Boston Harbor.
 
Thanks again to everyone involved in Ready. Set. WRITE! This was a great motivation for me to keep plugging at it, and though I’m collapsing now, I’ll still be cheering the rest of you on. Hope you all has a great week!

27 thoughts on “What’s Up Wednesday? Week 7!

  1. WOW! Congrats on finishing your revisions Kip!!!!! Impressive πŸ™‚ And thanks for joining us on Twitter…I could tell you were deep into it when you missed a check-in (and that’s great πŸ˜€ πŸ˜€ πŸ˜€ :D)
    Your camping trip sounds like a lot of fun, hope to see some pictures πŸ™‚

    • kiperoo says:

      Thanks! Hehe, I definitely wasn’t the best check-in buddy, but it was still fun! I hope I get some good photos to post!

  2. Yay for finishing your revisions! You go girl!!! Ahhh, you’ll really enjoy this break…

    The last time I camped in a tent was about thirteen years ago (although when I was in the Army I camped in stinky ones many many times), but my boys are slowly convincing me I have to give up my control of getting bitten by bugs and hump it out there in the dirt. Aaagg!

    Hugs to you!

    • kiperoo says:

      Yeah, it’s so funny how I used to do Army camping without a thought, but I really prep like crazy for civilian camping nowadays. Bug spray is at the top of my list!

  3. Alison Miller says:

    YES!!! Way to go on those revisions! And enjoy the camping experience. I don’t know if I could get that rustic with my camping – keep us posted on how that turns out!

    Have a great week!

  4. Congrats on finishing your revisions! That’s fantastic!

    And your camping trip sounds like an absolute blast! I hope your girls love it. Camping with my dad kind of shaped my whole life differently than it would have been had I never experienced it, so I always love to hear when people are taking their kids camping.

    Hope you have a fantastic week!

    • kiperoo says:

      Thank you! Yes, I hope they love this style of camping too. I’m ready to pull the “what an adventure” card if necessary. πŸ™‚

  5. That camping sounds like tons of fun. I’m betting your girls will like it more than the comfy kind πŸ˜‰

    Yay for finishing your revisions! I love your check-list idea. I think I’m going to give that a try this time and see what happens.

  6. Congrats on finishing your revisions, that is so exciting!

    Also, have fun on your camping trip! I love camping. I actually bought an RV about five years ago and have taken to doing seriously soft-core campouts, but back in my younger days I had a job as a wilderness guild, so I like the idea of taking kids backpacking early. And taking the city bus to your campout, that’s just all kinds of awesome. I hope you and your kiddos have a great trip.

    • kiperoo says:

      Thanks! It is a thrill to be done, and couldn’t have come at a better time, what with the camping and all. My brother now camps with a camper, but he goes for longer stretches than I do. I can only do a day or two without getting back to civilization (and showers). πŸ™‚

  7. Congrats on finishing your revisions! I find checklists are always helpful for tackling those last pesky things that need fixing. You must be so relieved! πŸ™‚

    • kiperoo says:

      Thanks! I’m a total checklist-junkie. But it is a relief and I’m psyched for a little time off to read now. πŸ™‚

  8. Wait, there’s a camping that comes with pancakes? Sign me up! Haha πŸ™‚ I hope you have a good time on your trip!

    And high fives on finishing revisions! I definitely think the best part of having multiple betas/CPs is seeing the comments that keep popping up–then you KNOW that part really needs to be fixed! Congrats again πŸ™‚

    • kiperoo says:

      Thanks! Yes, the KOA campgrounds often have pancakes on the weekend. Fun and easy. And I know what you mean about multiple betas. They definitely help keep it real.

  9. Congratulations on finishing your revisions! That’s awesome you feel confident about your manuscript now. Good luck with the next steps in the process, and I hope you and your family have a wonderful time on your camping trip! Sounds fun!

  10. Woohoo! You finished revisions!!!

    Your camping trip sounds like it’ll be fun (and beautiful!). I don’t know if I could do that though. Me and the outdoors don’t always get along. Those modern camping sites (with pancakes) are probably okay though. πŸ˜‰

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