February's Challenge...

As you can see from my little word count bars-yes, they're a bit self indulgent but they motivate me in a 'you can do it' way- I didn't meet my January challenge. I planned to write 25k and ended up a little short of 20k...because I spent most of the month jumping from one wip to other, even considered a third one for a while....I've set myself the same goal for February and this time I have to meet it, because come March 1st, I'm going to know the fate of my SYTYCW full and I know it is going to send me into a downward spiral of dejection...so better to get as much written this month as possible...

I'm still pulled by doubts about the current ms, but I'm bracing myself to ignore them and carry on....

How about you? What are your goals for February?

JUST Pick one....

Yep, that's me, shouting at myself...In the last week, I've written about 4500 words and they were on two different WIPs..and then started eyeing WIP #3 this morning..

Like a monkey jumping from tree to tree, I keep switching WIPs for two major reasons...

• I think there's not enough conflict, hook, character growth, sizzle, glamor etc.  to the idea...
• That other idea (which felt like utter crap only yesterday) is absolutely the best..

Part of this might be because I haven't spent enough time mulling over either idea before I started writing....And this is a direct result of the high from subbing the full to SYTYCW..I loved writing this WIP, tearing it apart, writing half of it over and over again until I was satisfied with it..I so want to recapture that sense of accomplishment, that sense of having learnt so much that I jumped into the above WIPs..

And having admitted to myself that first drafts are getting harder for me to write, spending time to let the idea brew before I jump into writing is probably plain common sense.

So I'm picking idea1, stepping back from actual writing (at least for 3 days) and let my mind think over it...what it will do to my January goal is another thing altogether....

Waiting....

Only 5 days into the new year and I'm kind of resigned to the fact that my word count is not going up, at least over the next few days as I try to make sense of the words I have done now...The worst case- I might have to ditch them and start over again....

But I'm determined to not jump into another tempting, fresh idea before the end of the month...

So while I slog through the mess I've created, I thought I would post the picture of the fabulous love triangle and especially one man that I can't wait for to come back to my tv....Damon Salvatore....

That's where I will be at eight tonight...;-)

We're off..

It's a shiny, bright new year and we're off...

Keeping in line with my resolutions to plan what I want to accomplish in a given month, I'm setting a goal for January..especially as I wait for good, something, any news on the full submitted to SYTYCW. The month will definitely be a lot of highs and lows of it's the best ms ever written on the planet to it's utter crap, I wonder if they stopped reading after ch1...

The other reason I need to focus on just writing this month is that, every time I finish something, I fluctuate so much over which idea to focus on next that I waste invaluable time...Even now, I've been vacillating between 4 different ideas, favoring one over the other each day, and am really giving myself mental a headache just switching from one to the other....

My goal for January is to write 25 k on one manuscript..so it's on...

Any takers?

Looking ahead again!

Am sitting here while kiddos and Smart Guy (for once) are napping upstairs, reflecting on the past year and looking at the next year....
I've done more than I did the year before but it's not enough....I need to write more, and write efficiently...but as always I am optimistic about the coming year so here are a few of my goals..

1. Plan what I want to work on each month writing wise and try to meet that goal...
2. Exercise more so that I can lose the #$ pounds that are still hanging on from having the now 16 month old
3. Live in the moment and enjoy life--with princess 1 turning four in a little over a month, it seems like time is flying by and it's another reminder to cherish every moment, and fight the stress and crazy demands of everyday life....

With that, a very happy new year to all....

Looking Ahead

I'm one of those eternally optimistic people who always thinks the year ahead will be a better one. I always sit down and write my resolutions, and seeing that life is only getting busier and busier, it is even more important this year I think to note down what I want to accomplish this coming year.

And before that, a quick look at the last year:

I started a new job last year and got a new baby in August :-) , so it was quite busy. But writing wise,I definitely did better than previous year so not too bad. I had resolved to complete two manuscripts in the year but I did only one though I have to blame my estimation powers, because after the little girl came in August, I had barely any time to write since I also went back to work when she was 8 weeks old.

So there.

This year, I'm going back to basics. As the Smart Guy likes to say, life is only going to get busier. And the stress just piles up if I let it. So, it's very important to keep my peace of mind or I'm going to get lost in everyday life, forget leaving any energy for writing.

So this year, I'm resolved to:

• Enjoy the present moment whatever it is and not stress out about what's coming after this one as I have a tendency to.
• Remember every day that I have a wonderful husband, two beautiful little girls and all the good things that actually matter.
• Not resent the everyday menial tasks that have to be done. Don't laugh - this is a big one.
• Finish two new manuscripts and learn more about my craft.

Have you made any resolutions for the new year? Good luck anyway and hope you have a very fruitful happy new year.

In my world...

I thought I would come out of my world for a little while and post something on my blog.. well to say that I'm alive and busy.

Second princess now being almost 9 weeks, I'm off to work today and feeling pangs of separation already.

The comp. I entered, New Voices, was interesting if nothing else. Obviously,my chapter didn't get picked, I didn't win the free critique, nor did it end up on the list of chapters they wanted to see more of.

But what is shocking is neither did any of my fabulous CPs' chapters get picked, nor some other fantastic chapters I read.

Anyway, surprisingly, I don't feel too bad about myself.

I redid the chapter and submitted the partial of Alessandro and Rachel, which is written except for the last two chapters and am really glad that I did.

Now to see what happens...

In the meantime, I'm mulling over three different ideas and wondering which one to start..

Alexandra and Nicolas?

Lauren and Zafir?

Or

Emma and Lucas?

Will let you know as soon as I decide...

What about you guys? How are you going to show them that you're not giving up?