Running late with ROW80 Check-in. . .

I feel a little like Alice down a rat hole. We're hanging out this week with a centenarian, a delightful lady with stories of the 1930s oil fields to share. Internet here works but not with my computer. I'm writing every morning, but then switch to the 'big' computer in the den for internet. So here's my ROW80 check-in:

Sunday's January 28th ROW80 progress this week:

• Writing: Wrote 5 out of 7 days. Finished edits about Deidre through Section 1 for Years of Stone and caught some sequencing issues (logical lapses fixed). Happily wrote new stuff but not the 500 words a day. Reformatted the Word file entirely (copy to WordPad then back to a new Word file) to remove weird spacings. Guess I have worked over this over too many times. Wrote about writing on Weds check-in (but late one day).
• Reading/Craft: Steady progress on Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker. Ordered Peter Maas' workbook on writing a breakout novel. Read about 15 ROW80 colleagues since last Weds. Good stuff all around.
• Marketing/Publishing: Nada. Installed MailChimp on my travel blog at http://bethcamp.blogspot.com  but no 'campaign' yet. I think I'd like to set up some sort of PDF file as a freebie (this is on my travel blog, which by the way is getting double and triple the hits of my writing blog). Gave a copy of The Mermaid Quilt to an inspirational quilter, but that doesn't really count as marketing, though she does live in Connecticut.

ROW80 goals before next Sunday's February 4th check-in:

• Writing: Complete revisions on Section 1, Years of Stone, and begin revisions on Section 2. Complete all revisions by PNWA literary contest (February 22). Write 400 words a day 5 out of 7 days. Draft discussion questions for book club on The Mermaid Quilt. Draft PDF on Africa. Work on PowerPoint slide for presentation on African trip. Sunday ROW80 check-in, write about writing issues.
• Reading/Craft: Prep for Spokane Authors meeting first Thursday of February. Finish Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker. Begin the Maas workbook.
• Marketing/Publishing: Got lots of information and strategies coming in, but I'm having a hard time deciding what would help most. OK I did volunteer to do a guest blog and so I'll write that up, confirm the topic and get it out before next Sunday. Need to read Literary Cafe and this equally nice Historical Fiction blog and post there. Need to post a review of Kate Grenville's The Secret River on GoodReads (which I really did admire for its beautiful writing).

No picture this time, but a 20-second video I took in Buenos Aires, Argentina, of a couple celebrating the tango on a Sunday afternoon in the funky little neighborhood of San Telmo. This is to remind us to dance with joy -- maybe with words -- but so we dance each day.