Year in review

Where did 2006 go?  I have finally accepted the fact the older I get, the quicker time passes.  It seems like only yesterday I was thinking about my goals for 2006 and here I am, looking at the year in review.

I am a firm believer in taking in stock in what’s come before and where you hope to be in the future.  History does have a way of repeating itself and as much as we all hate to admit it – we have habits that are really tough to break.

My year in review:

I completed one manuscript.  I sent out partials to two agents and two editors.  Rejected

I have two other manuscripts 50% completed this year.  I sent out one partial to an agent, one to an editor on one of them.  Rejected

I attended one conference.  Great experience.  I attended my local chapter RWA luncheon.  Great experience.

I’ve taken online writing classes, I started a critique group with some of the best woman I could ever hope to help me work through the trials and tribulations of this business!  I networked and worked my butt off with two other critique groups full of talented writers.    I read, analyzed and studied my craft.  I joined a group blog with a group of published authors.

Have I achieved my goal of getting closer to publication?  You bet.  Yes, I have procrastinated and wasted some time surfing the net, sending emails and playing mahjong – but I am closer to my dream than I was this time last year.

What will next year bring?   How’s your year in review – achieve your goals or not, don’t look back with regret – but only with renewed hope for making 2007 the best it can be.

What does this writer want?

Thursday morning, just a few more shopping days left till the big guy in the bright red suit squeezes down my chimney and loads up my living room with gifts for the kiddos.

What do I want?

Tough question – NOT.  What does any Mom want?  Peace and quiet after dinner.  No fighting during dinner.   Someone else to cook dinner!  I’d love clothes that washed themselves, while I being ridiculous – self-cleaning bathrooms would be nice too!

Now to satisfy the writer in me – well – I’ve got two things on my list.  The first is the wireless fold-up keyboard attachment for my Palm TungstenE2.  Create and Edit my documents on the go – without the ability to procrastinate by checking my email and popping into the groups and forums I belong to…yeah!  A dream come true.  A small enough to fold up in my purse – does life for a writer get any better than that?  I think not!

Next on my list – a trip this year to the RWA National Conference in Dallas in July.  Five days in sweltering hot Texas surrounded by the hottest names in Romance writing, the best agents and editors and many of my online friends.

Do you have a wish list this year?  What’s on it…

Manners

Just a short rant for this chilly Wednesday morning.  During this crazy, wonderful holiday season why is that people show their dark side more often than the good?  People cursing at stoplights, shoving in line and yes, I’m sorry to say – manners have gone completely out the window weeks ago.

And sadly to say, it’s not just the strangers in the stores.  It’s family members too.  Have you sent all your RSVPs for holiday parties and dinners?  I try to.

This is suppose to be the season for giving.  And not just giving presents and getting them in return.  It’s giving of yourself that matters the most.  I smile to someone who looks down, letting the woman with the screaming baby in the shopping cart go ahead of you, letting someone in front of you in that long line of traffic.  Come on folks – a smile and a nice gesture go along way.  Makes you feel good inside.  And maybe, just maybe, that someone you befriended will respond in kind.

Let’s spend the next few days – not just buying, buying, buying.  But putting our best foot forward during these busy days.  We’ve all got places to go, things to do and not enough time to do them.  Will that extra few minutes make a big deal in the large scheme of your life – No.  So – pay it forward, remember your manners and be the holiday spirit this year.

A hiccup in my system

Just when I thought I had my system and my routine all worked out (you can stop laughing now…) I’ve been moved.  Only the fact that my desk has been moved to make room for the Christmas Tree has given me the ability to embrace this change.

Okay – enough, who am I kidding?  I thrive on change, and my desk could be moved to the backyard and I’d still be here pounding on the laptap – just don’t take away my cable connection and I’ll remain a happy camper.

The truth of the matter is that this time of no new paragraphs will probably get written.  It’s a great time to edit and revise – which I’m doing with the lovely A Ruby Affair.  As you can see on the meter to the right – I wayyyyyy over my word limit for my next round of submissions – so the scissors will be coming out.  I need to chop at least 40 pages and still keep my plot intact.

I can do it – I can do it.

Forward progress

New meters on the sidebar – woohoo.  Good or bad, I love to keep my goal and my progress right there in front of me.  As anyone who has ever seen my desk can attest, I have little stickie notes all over with word counts and page counts in clear view at all times.

Do you keep track of things?  Your words, your pages, your kids schedules?  As long I can cross things off a list, my number and page count goes higher and not lower (and no matter how hard I try to write tight on that first draft – it doesn’t happen and that count drops like a rock on my first revision!), then its all good.

So keep your eye on that meter and feel free to send me a polite little prodding (okay a kick in the pants works just as well – heehee) if you don’t see that meter moving in the right direction.

Have a great Tuesday!