Resolved to be Resolute

Well, we are one week away from New Year's - which means...resolution time *dun dun duuunnnn* (and yes, we are still a week away but I'll be out of town next week so I figured I'd start thinking early :D )

I'm trying to keep it simple this year. I have generally tossed my resolutions out the window by midnight of the 1st...sometimes sooner :D So for this year, I'm going pick one simple thing that I should be able to stick to. One thing that should make everything else easier to accomplish.

Use my time wisely - I fritter away a lot of time. And I will continue to fritter away lots of time. BUT I will try to do so less :) There are things I want to get done and that just isn't going to happen if I don't get on the ball.

The two main goals I have for this year are to keep up with the house, and to WRITE - even if it's a sentence a day, I want, I NEED, to write. So many things I want to accomplish but if everything stays locked up tight in my head it's not doing anyone any good...especially me. :) And both of these are more than doable if I just use the time I have wisely.

There are lots of other things I want to do....lose weight (as always), be a better mom and wife, learn a couple new languages, organize my house from top to bottom, read lots and lots, finish my cross stitching projects, and a million more things. But I'm hoping if I focus on just that one thing, everything else will follow.

What are your writerly resolutions for next year?

NaNo Wins Again...

Ahhh NaNo, how I hate thee, let me count the ways.....

:D

Seriously, I don't know why I try. I think I must have some subconscious aversion to this activity. Last month, I wrote almost 40,000 words without really trying that hard. I'd write anywhere from 1000 to 7000 words a day. This month....I maybe managed about 10% of that.

And now that NaNo is just about over, with the last day looming tomorrow, my motivation to write has jumped into overdrive and I can't WAIT to get to my manuscript. I already have my file open and am forcing myself to go get dressed and write this post before I dive in.

I find this odd...Maybe I'm allergic to NaNo :D

Ah well, I guess as long as the words get written that's all that matters. But I don't know that I'll be attempting NaNo again. I seem to do much better when I don't put a label on my productivity :D

How did everyone else do?

Creative Goal Tackling

Sometimes unexpected (and unwanted) things occur and you just have to find a way to deal with them. For example, when we moved to PA, our moving truck (through a series of irritating and sometimes tragic circumstances) ended up being a month and a half late.

So, instead of getting our house set up, and putting our previously outside dog outside in her kennel where she belonged (the kennel was on the truck), she got to stay in the (empty) house with us (much to my dismay...and the cat's).

Now, I love our dog. But I don't like her in the house. She sheds like crazy. It's a pain. But after a month and a half of indoor living, our dog decided the outdoors was no longer good enough for her and pretty much has a stroke every time we try to put her in her kennel.

So...she now lives inside. A circumstance I really didn't want. But, I found a way to live with it. Instead of sweeping my kitchen (where she stays), I now vacuum it. It keeps the hair away and allows us to live in peace with each other. (Before I figured out the vacuum thing, I was sweeping up enough hair to build myself another dog every day. I was not having fun).

What does this have to do with writing? Well, sometimes we come across things we aren't expecting, we don't like, and we don't want to have to live with. And we don't always have a choice.

If you want a better story, sometimes you have to add in that new plotline thread that is going to take FOREVER to weave in. If you want an agent, you are going to have to query. If you want your book to sell, you are going to have to help market it. Sometimes, in order to accomplish your goal, you have to do things you might not want to do.

So do what I did. Find a way to make it not so bad. Find a way to do what you need to do in the most painless way possible. Take those revisions a small chunk at a time and set up a fun reward system for yourself. Gather a group of also-querying writer pals and help keep each other sane. Find aspects of marketing that you enjoy (or at least don't hate) and focus on those. If you don't like public speaking, maybe set up online workshops instead of school visits or pre-tape presentations instead of doing live chats. Facebook instead of blog or Tweet instead of Skype.

Bottom line: there are things that you are going to have to do to succeed in this business that might not be things you want to do. So find a way to accomplish your goals that you can live with. Do I enjoy vacuuming my kitchen every day (and sometimes twice a day)? Nooooo. But...it sure beats sweeping it 4 times a day and I get it done a lot faster.

Sometimes you just need to get a little creative :)

Have you found any creative ways to get a not-so-fun goal accomplished?

And How Writing is Like Dieting

I was going to post this tomorrow, but tomorrow is my turn on the Blog Chain. So, for your reading enjoyment, more ways writing and dieting are alike :D

4. It's easier to do when you have support

Dieting isn't easy. Neither is writing. They are both solitary journeys in that no one can do it for you. No one can force you to type out a few words anymore than anyone can force you to put down that cake (mmmmm....cake...) *ahem* However, when you have the support of a spouse or friend or crit partner, it is a lot easier to get through the bad times, and more fun to celebrate the good times.

My sis, mom, and I are all doing this diet together. We text every morning to report our weight loss from the day before, we call or text when we are feeling weak and tempted, and we celebrate with each other when we've overcome a temptation or dropped another pound. And when my mom is here, she walks the track with me. So much easier to have people to do this with.

Same with writing. I have awesome writer friends that I call, email or text every day - we report our word counts, our weak moments, our good news. We set up write-a-thon times and chat while we write. It's just easier to share this journey with those who are doing it too.

5. You can't compare journeys.

Everyone's journey is different. What works for one person might not work for someone else. My sis tried Nutrisystem. Loved it. Lost a ton. Same with Atkins (we've tried them all :D ) Me...I hated those diets. Did horribly. I did like Weight Watchers though. Did well. Now we are on the same diet. We are both doing well. But she's lost more than I have. My friend has lost more than I have also.

Does that mean that I'm doing poorly? Does it mean I won't meet my goal weight? No, of course not. I am still being successful and I will continue to succeed. It just might take me a little longer to get there.

Same goes for writing. Some people go the self-publishing route and make millions. Others do the exact same thing and barely break even. Some query and query and query and get no where even though they have a spectacular book. Others query five agents and get signed immediately. Does that make one writer better than the other? Not necessarily. Does it mean that writer will never reach their goal of publication? No, of course not.

It just might take a little longer to get there. People's success comes to them at different times. Comparing yours to someone else's does nothing but discourage you. Focus on your own awesomeness.  :)

6. If you give up, you'll never reach your goal.

Bottom line, whether you are dieting or writing, you've got to stick with it. There are going to be tough times. There are going to be temptations to quit. There are going to be people who are doing it better and faster.

But only one thing is absolutely sure....if you quit, you'll never reach your goal. Your waistline will stay the same, your manuscript will never be completed.

As long as you don't give up, you have succeeded. 1 pound or 1 page at a time, you will get to your goal. Just keep at it. :)

Do What You Don't Want To Do And Get What You Want To Get

This seems to be my mantra lately, but it's a good one. There's a lot of things I don't really want to do...but I want the end result. So *shrug* you do what you gotta do.

Diet? Not fun. AT ALL. But I've been doing it anyways and doing really well. Cleaning my house? Blech....but...it's really nice waking up in the morning to an empty sink and not tripping over piles o' crap on my way down the stairs. Doing what I don't want to do has been getting me what I want to get. A size down in my jeans and a clean (mostly) house.

So, I decided it was time to apply this to my writing.

I love writing, I really do. But sometimes, a lot of times, it just feels like work. It's daunting thinking of the days and weeks of pouring out words that need to be edited and rearranged and cut and rewritten and edited again and again...and again. :)

But the end result is so worth it. There is seriously no feeling in the world like looking at a clean, polished, finished manuscript - a story YOU wrote that you know is GOOD. It's just beyond awesome.

I want that. I want that finished manuscript. I want to sell it and see it published.

But to do that, I've got to put in the work. I need to do what I sometimes don't want to do if I want to get what I want to get.

So....I guess it's back to the grindstone :)

How are you guys doing on your projects? What do you do that you don't want to do in order to get what you want to get? (and how is that for a mouthful LOL)

It's That Time of Year Again

(My post from the OA yesterday) :)

It's a couple days after Christmas, the year is drawing to an end, and it is inevitable that our focus begins to turn to the shiny new year waiting just around the corner. I've heard the phrase "New Year's Resolutions" bandied about frequently in the last several days. It's not a term I like much. Mostly because it feels like yet another to-do list I'm going to fail to accomplish.

So this year, I decided to make a Desire List instead....everything sounds better with the word "desire" in it....okay, maybe not EVERYTHING, but it certainly sounds better than "resolutions" which just makes me think of "requiem" for some reason, and that just isn't a fun word.

Anywho....what do I desire for next year? The usual, I suppose....to be a better mom and wife, write some books, sell some books....and of course lose 10 (+ a few dozen and a few dozen more) pounds.

There are a lot more things I'd like to do, more goals to accomplish, but really, those are the big ones for me. Spend more time with my family....continue working on my writing career. Or to simplify it even further....to keep my focus on the big picture.

I figure if I keep it simple and keep my focus narrowed on what's truly deep down important to me, maybe the stress of trying to keep up with everything else will lessen. Maybe I won't be so hard on myself when my blogging fizzles. Maybe I won't feel so guilty if I spend a few extra minutes with my kids instead of on a manuscript. Maybe I'll let my exhausted body rest instead of staying up till the wee hours of the morning plugging away on some project or other.

Maybe. :)

I think too often we allow ourselves to get so overstretched and engrossed in whatever million projects we've got going on that we forget to focus on the big picture, the main goal, the one thing we really, truly want. We allow the details to swamp us until we forget the goal we were working toward in the first place.

Operation Awesome's Lindsay mentioned Pointilism in her awesome post a few days ago....it's sort of like that....We get so focused on the dots we don't see the larger pictures. Are the individual dots important? You betcha. Without them, there wouldn't be a larger picture. But if you spend all your time staring at those dots, you'll never see the masterpiece they form.

So, next year, I'm going to try to focus on the masterpiece, and spend a little less time stressing over the dots. :)

How about you? What's on your Desire List for the new year?

Finding the Time

So, the weekend got away from me once again :) I was on the OA yesterday talking about how I find the time to write (which, obviously, I don't always lol) But here is an abbreviated version of that post for anyone who didn't see it. Happy Monday everyone!

1. Carry a notebook and pen, a recorder, laptop, etc so you can jot down notes if you think of something even if you don’t have time right that second to write.

2. Get chores and errands done in a timely manner – get them done first thing, then any spare moments that come along during the day are free for you to write. \

3. Treat it like a job. Sit down and do it every day no matter what, no matter how many words you manage. Just get something done every day. It is not always important WHAT you write – that is what editing is for. What is important is that you sit down and DO IT. Butt to chair, fingers to keyboard (or pen to paper). When you least feel like writing is when you need to do it the most. To aid in this:
• Make a writing schedule - choose a time when you can sit and write every day and when that time rolls around SIT AND WRITE
• Set goals - set a realistic goal every day and do everything you can to meet it

4. Prioritize your activities – use your spare moments wisely. Decide what is the most important to you and what can be sacrificed to get a few more words in.

Author Kenneth Atchity said:

Every human being has exactly the same amount of time, and yet consider the output of Robert Louis Stevenson, John Peabody Harrington, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury,William Goldman, Neil Simon, Joyce Carol Oates, Agatha Christie and John Gardner. How did they accomplish what they have? They weren’t deflected from their priorities by activities of lesser importance. The work continues, even though everything else may have to give. They know that their greatest resource is themselves. Wasting time is wasting themselves. When people ask them, “Where do you find the time?” they wonder, “Where do you lose it?” 

How do you find the time to write?

How to Find the Time

I seem to be having the hardest time getting back into my routine. I think I need a vacation to recuperate from my vacation :D Or maybe just a really good nap...or three :D In any case, I will get back on the ball tomorrow, but for today, I'll rerun a post from back when I first started my blog.

I have lost track of how many people have asked me how I find the time to write. The answer is easy….I just do. It’s a struggle. It’s not easy. There are some things I have to sacrifice. But it is doable. So here are a few things I attempt to do in order to maximize my writing time.

1. Carry a notebook and pen, a recorder, laptop, etc.
One thing I noticed about myself is that even when I’m not writing, I’m writing. Story ideas, conversations between characters, ideas for scenes…these are always running through my head. I tend to get epiphanies when I’m in the shower or doing the dishes. I may not have time in the middle of a load of dishes to rush to my computer and write a scene the moment it occurs to me, but if take a second to jot down a few notes, then I have something to work on when I can sit down at my computer. This both saves me the frustration of trying to remember something I really wanted to include in my book and saves me precious minutes of think time when I am in front of my screen.

2. Get chores and errands done in a timely manner.
This is something I struggle with, but if I can get my household chores and errands completed early in the day, then whatever spare moments present themselves can be used to write. I can concentrate on my story instead of feeling guilty that I should be doing dishes or laundry instead.

3. Treat it like a job.
Author Rosellen Brown spelled it out perfectly. She said:

It’s a job. It’s not a hobby. You don’t write the way you build a model airplane. You have to sit down and work, to schedule you time and stick to it. Even it it’s just for an hour or so each day, you have to get a babysitter and find the time. If you’re going to make writing succeed you have to approach it as a job.

Just like a “real” job, writing is not always fun. It’s work. It’s HARD work. Editing, critiquing, rewriting, researching, replotting…this stuff all takes time and can sometimes get downright tedious. This is why treating writing like a job can really be helpful. You don’t always like your job, but you still have to do it. Approach your writing like you’d approach your job. Just Do It! Agatha Christie said:

Write even when you don’t want to, don’t much like what you are writing, and aren’t writing particularly well.

It is not always important WHAT you write – that is what editing is for. What is important is that you sit down and DO IT. Butt to chair, fingers to keyboard (or pen to paper). When you least feel like writing is when you need to do it the most.


In an effort to do this, I do two things.

• Make a writing schedule.
My children are in preschool from 8:30 to 11:00 on Mondays and Wednesdays, and my son is gone those hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays. My daughter entertains herself well for and hour or so if my son isn’t there to fight with, so those four days are my writing days. I will squeeze in writing any other time I can, but I schedule my set writing hours while my kids are out of the house or asleep. Fridays through Sundays I try to write for an hour after everyone has gone to bed.

• Set goals.
In addition to having my scheduled writing time, I set a word count goal for each day. My goal is to write 1000 words a day. Sometimes I am on a roll and can get that done in half an hour, and sometimes I will write for two hours and only get 500 words out. Sometimes I meet my goal, sometimes not, and sometimes I exceed it. I can almost always get 1000 words written in about an hour – which means an hour and 1000 words a day, five to seven days a week, and I’ve got a finished novel (first draft) in three months. Regardless, it gives me something to shoot for. You can set your goal higher or lower, depending on the time you have available, but give yourself some sort of objective to aim for.

4. Prioritize your activities

We all have spare moments in the day. What we do with those moments is what is important. If you truly want to find the time to write, you have to be willing to sacrifice. I have a lot of television shows that I love. I love to read. I play the piano and cross-stitch. I have children that want to play with their mommy (although I would like to note that time with my children is NOT something I sacrifice in order to write).

This is where having a writing schedule really helps. My writing time is scheduled in the mornings. That means when my kids come home, I can play with them, do some chores, spend some time in the afternoons reading a good book (if I am lucky enough to have the time), and watch my favorite shows in the evening. And I can spend my time doing this because I know I have already met my writing goal for the day.

If you work full time, you can try and squeeze in some writing time on your lunch break, or wake up a little early or go to bed a little later in order to get your writing time in. It IS possible to find moments to write, no matter what your schedule is….but sometimes it requires a bit of sacrifice.

During the summer, my kids are not in school, so I tend to tape whatever shows I want to watch and write in the evenings after they’ve gone to bed. Or I’ll write in the afternoons instead of reading or playing piano, or choosing some other activity. And very often (because Real Life has a funny way of intervening and throwing all my well-made plans out the window) I sacrifice sleep in order to write. Last year when I was finishing my novel, Treasured Lies, I was waking up at 4:30 in the morning and going to bed at midnight because the only time I could sit down and write, uninterrupted, was when my family was asleep. That is not something I could keep up indefinitely, but in a pinch, I am willing to sacrifice a little sleep in order to write.


Now, let’s face it, Real Life is going to get in the way sometimes. It’s going to throw your carefully crafted schedule right out the window, probably on a daily basis. But it shouldn’t matter. If you want to write, write. Find the time. Eat dinner a little faster and use the three minutes you saved scarfing your meal to write a few lines. Carry a recorder around and dictate your book while you vacuum. Scribble on Kleenexes while you wait at the doctor’s with your sick child (just be careful not to use said Kleenex for said sick child’s nose). The time is there…you just have to find it and use it.

Author Kenneth Atchity said:

Every human being has exactly the same amount of time, and yet consider the output of Robert Louis Stevenson, John Peabody Harrington, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury,William Goldman, Neil Simon, Joyce Caorl Oates, Agatha Christie and John Gardner. How did they accomplish what they have? They weren’t deflected from their priorities by activities of lesser importance. The work continues, even though everything else may have to give. They know that their greatest resource is themselves. Wasting time is wasting themselves. When people ask them, “Where do you find the time?” they wonder, “Where do you lose it?”

Where Does The Time Go?

Quote of the Day:

Every human being has exactly the same amount of time, and yet consider the output of Robert Louis Stevenson, John Peabody Harrington, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, William Goldman, Neil Simon, Joyce Carol Oates, Agatha Christie, and John Gardner. How did they accomplish what they have? They weren't deflected from their priorities by activities of lesser importance. The work continues, even though everything else may have to give. They know that their greatest resource is themselves. Wasting time is wasting themselves. When people ask them, "Where do you find the time?" they wonder, "Where do you lose it?"
~ Kenneth Atchity

Time management is something I've been thinking a lot about lately. I'm one of those people that has a hard time concentrating if the house is too messy or if there are too many things I know I need to be doing. So, I've set up a schedule for myself. We'll see how it goes. I tend to not stick to these things very long. But I have eternal hope :D

I am a stay-at-home mom. I know I have the hours in the day to do everything I want (most of the time). And two days a week, both of my children are in preschool for about 3 hours. So I should be accomplishing a lot, right? I mean, I should be churning out a new novel every other month and my house should always be spotless, shouldn't it?

So why is everything, including my novels, laying around half done? Honestly, I have no idea. I will admit, that despite my best intentions, I often find myself during those 3 child free hours twice a week, simply staring off into space, or cuddled up on the couch with some hot coco and one of the many shows I've recorded over the week but haven't gotten around to watching. Often, even writing just sounds like too much work and all I want to do is vegetate.

And I really need to stop beating myself up over that. Heck, everyone needs a break...especially stay at home moms :D But, I could be managing my time better. And since I have two projects that I really REALLY want to get done in the next month or so and be querying this summer, I have put myself on a schedule that should, if I follow it, allow me to accomplish what I want to in my personal endeavors, and still enable me to take care of my home and family in the way that I want.

I write best when I am alone and it is quiet...but I have also discovered that if I get all the house chores done first thing in the morning, my day goes much smoother...I seem to have more time to do everything else, and I am much less stressed going about the rest of my day. So I have decided to sacrifice a bit of my "me" time every morning to get the things done around the house that need doing. If I can stay on top of things, the chores should only take an hour or so a day...which leaves me two hours to write or watch tv or just stare off into space until my children come home on Mondays and Wednesdays.

And Tuesdays and Thursdays, my daughter is usually pretty good about playing quietly by herself, watching a princess movie, or reading alongside me. With my notebook writing process, I can write outside or on the couch while the kids play, so, if I get things done in the morning, I should, theoretically, have a nice chunk of time to doodle a few lines here or there. And I can work on my non fiction when everyone has gone to bed for the night.

So, that is my game plan :D I will manage my time wisely so that I can fit everything into my day that I need, and want, to do.

Ooo, I just remembered that this is the last week of preschool.

That's okay...this will still work...I'll just have to get up a bit earlier and go to bed a bit later if I want some alone time :D

Hey, don't laugh...It could work ;-)

Don't forget to head to the QueryTracker Blog today!! My game, Anagram Anarchy, begins this morning and I will be taking entries until Wednesday May 27th. Remember! Entering this game also enters you in the grand prize drawing for the FREE CUSTOM DESIGNED WEBSITE! (I just love putting that in caps) :D Click the Carnival Tent below to take you to the online entry form, or click HERE for details on the contest.