Day 4: Weekly Wrap Up

Okay so we're only 4 days into January, but I'm feeling pretty good about the goals I've set for myself.

Writing and Admin: I've gotten some words in. I've nailed down a production and release schedule. Right now I'm about 2 Weeks behind where I want to be. That means I really need to pick up my pace.

Health Wise: I'm sticking to my NO SODA rule. I'm doing pretty good too. It's been over a month. I've been tempted a lot since my family still drinks it. So go me!

I also got compression braces for both of my knees, which have been bothering me. they really help a lot. Now I can ride the exercise bike longer and faster, I hope!

Eating better is still something I'm striving for.

I've also made an appointment for a physical in June, but I'm going to see the doctor before that to get back on my meds.

Financial: Okay it may not be realistic to want to earn enough so my hubby never has to work again. But a girl can dream right? For now I just want to pay all the bills and just have enough for us to do fun stuff together.

Join Or Don't Join

That is my question of the day?
So what am I considering joining?

Here's my list:
      RWA
      New England RWA Chapter
      Some other romance focused writing group
     

What do I already belong to?
As I mentioned before I'm a member of Romance Divas.

I'm a member of a local writer collaborative. It's multi-genres and so far I haven't found it to be super helpful. But I think maybe it's because I haven't discover a way use it to my advantage.

I did just join a sprinting group on FB, so we'll see how that goes.

Since I write mainly Contemporary Romance and Romantic Comedies I need to find a support system that is going to help me become a better writer (because we all want that) and helo me promote my genres better.

Still thinking. Will make a decision and post about it later.

Day 2: Project Management, A Positive Jump Toward Rainsing Productivity.

New Years Eve I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with another author and talk. This author also wears an editing hat. We talked about goals and what I want to accomplish this year, We both laughed at some things, but she totally got where I was going.

We discussed what is realistic goals and milestones. There are some really awesome things that I have already done and things that I wish I have done. Several of the issues we discussed were having a good support system, being organized, and what direction I wanted to take my writing in. So I'm going to break those down a little here. Remember this is just my take on how I have been performing and would like to this year.

Support System: My family comes 1st. They are the ones I depend on to honest and helpful.

I have writer friends, but sadly most of them don't live close enough to see often. Which is why I'm contemplating joining RWA again. MAYBE. I really didn't get much out of it the first time, other than reaching my PAN status. But now that my local chapter meetings are only an hour away, instead of four, it might help. There's also a chapter in NH I can get to easily. And I just found out about a group in RI I might check out.

I also lurk on a few forums. Romance Divas is very valuable. I've been a Diva since 2008 and have learned so much. I really need to stop lurking and talk more. But that falls back to me getting out there more.

Being Organized: I think this is super important for me. If I have everything, notes-research-ideas, where I think it belongs I don't waste time trying to  put stuff in order before I start writing. I can just go and if I need something I know right where to find it. I also write better when my desk isn't completely cluttered. Usually with other peoples stuff.

Direction: Okay this is where it gets super tricky. I would love to get a deal with a publisher that would get my books into bookstores and maybe Target And Walmart. This is not going to be a quick or easy thing to do. I need to put some serious research into finding the right publishers and then there's no guarantee that they'll have a spot for me in their stable. So right now though I think I'm going to stick to the path I've laid out in front of myself. I'm 90% sure focusing on my Kismet Falls series is the right thing to do.

So to wrap up this post I'm going to dive into my organization and start really thinking about getting a solid support system in place. What do you guys do?

First Steps = Accountability, Productivity, Discover-abilty

Day 1: Accountability

This isn't my 1st attempt to find a way to keep track of my goals and make myself accountable for getting them accomplished. However I'm going to go harder, deeper, and longer. In fact this project is going to last a full year. I'm going to list my goals and hopefully get a lot done this year.

         : Productivity

I'm still working on Book 5 in ht Heiresses In Aprons series. This will be the final book. It's going to feature Gina Foster, Sophia's younger and wilder sister, and Wes Moreland. Right now it sits at almost 12,000 words. I hope to have it finished and out by the end of the month.

Also I'm starting a new Series called Kismet Falls. This series is going to be different from the series I normally write. Kismet Falls will actually be host town where a few series take place. Some will contemporary romances and some will be romantic comedies, so there will be full-lengths (50k words and up) and novellas(up to 35k words). I'm hoping that will allow me to get more stories finished and out for readers to enjoy.

         : Discover-ability

This is going to drive me crazy until I figure out what the hell I'm doing wrong. I may even be doing some stuff right and not knowing it. Don't consider this whining, because it's not. Really what I'm doing is learning and that shouldn't be confused with complaining. If I do complain its only going to be about me. I know I can't compare myself or my writing career (yes, I do consider it a career not just a hobby or job) to anyone else's, but I can hope to someday reach the status of some fabulous writers.

Planning, Planners & Goals= My Year Of Productivity, Accountability and Discoverability

This is it! I've been working on this for about a month and have 6 days to finalize all my plans and goals for next year. I'm starting January 1st for a few reasons. 

First- I want to give myself the full year to pull this off- I have some major plans. There's weekly, monthly, quarterly and of course the final yearly goal I fully plan to meet. I have so many personal, writing, and financial things I want- no I WILL accomplish this year.

Second- My daughter got me a Passion Planner for Christmas, but it wont be here until some time in January. I have printed temp pages to use until it gets here. When it gets here I'll do a whole post about it and how I plan to use it.

Third- I'm going to do weekly end of the week post here to keep track of everything.

I know plans don't always work out. Some goals are unattainable (or at least they seem like it). And there are a lot, I mean tons of aspects, you just can't control. But I'm determined not to let any of that get me down. I need to do something to keep myself moving forward!

Looking Back At The Past Year And What's To Come.

I'm making some plans. For me personally. For my writing. For this blog. As we get closer to the new year I'll start talking more here. Right now lots of thinking and planning going on. Talking to myself is occurring probably more than it should. Is that a writer thing? Probably not.

So for now I'm letting my mind ramble and working on a story tentatively titled Seducing His Private Chef.

Trip to Graduate School and First Day of NaNoWriMo

So yesterday was the start to NaNo. I got in 2467 words, which wasn't bad considering my day.




I guess you could blame some of it on the night before since I didn't get to bed until 5 am. So it was bed at 5 up at 7:30 am, and on the road by 8am. We drove into Boston to learn about the Masters program at Simmons College and take a tour of the campus.

We saw the common areas and the tech lab, which has state of the art equipment. They even have a 3d printer.



It was great and my daughter is sure this is the place she wants to go.

After that we came home and I worked for a bit, but honestly my brain was mush. So by 5:30pm it was nap time! I woke back up around 8:30 and managed to get in some writing.

Today however is all about the writing. I do have to take a tip to the store at some point.

Good luck to all my fellow NaNoers. Here's hoping you don't have to many distractions.