La-Tessa Montgomery

Nina Simone said it best with:

   It’s a new dawn
It’s a new day
It’s a new life
For me
And I’m feeling good

2009 marked my first full year of taking my writing seriously and actively pursuing my goal of becoming a published author.  I started the year with a set of goals and a plan.  I looked over my 2009 writing year and I have some things to be proud of, and some things to work on.  It’s these things I learned about myself that shaped my writing goals for 2010.

My overall objective for this year as a writer is to the cultivate my strengths while depreciating my weakness.  This means eliminating distractions, excuses, and negativity (especially the self-generated kind).  Actually, as I think about it, this is no longer my goal for this year; this now is my main focus as a writer, period.

So to help me reach my goal this year, here are some specific, concrete goals I will strive to complete in 2010:

1.  Set a writing schedule and stick to it
2.  Read my top 3 craft books
3.  Complete at least 2 manuscripts this year
4.  Send least 5 queries or submissions this year
5.  Set up my office
6.  Create a binder to better track my writing activities (workshops, conventions, receipts, etc.)

So here’s to a success year.

Ok, it’s the last day of the year. My first year of actively writing and working on my novel. I set some goals Jan 1 of this year, and I’ve been updating my progress throughout the year, but it’s time to do one final recap on the year:

Goal 1: Write for one hour a day, minimum
Ahhh…yeah,  I soo sucked at this goal. I had my moments and long stretches of time where I did this, but not consistently enough for me to say I accomplished this goal with any amount of honesty at all.

Goal 2: Have at least 2 completed manuscripts by Dec 31, 2009
I gotta say no to this one as well.  At one point in time, somewhere around Qtr 2, I just knew I would accomplish this task. But alas, I fell short.  As of right now, today, I am currently reworking a plot point to my current wip, which means I have to redo and tweak all of what I currently have.  Since this change makes the story much better for me, I am very excited about this understanding and know I will be able to wrap up my contemporary romance very soon (you have to come back for my 2010 Writing Goals to see when though.)

Goal 3: Query/Submit at least one manuscript this year
Yes, I successfully completed this goal!  I had the opportunity to pitch my book several times this year and received four requests!  I’m still waiting for the results, but in the meantime, I am plugging along. 

Goal 4: Enter at least one contest
I knocked this goal out of the part by entering not one, but four contests.  I didn’t do so well on the first three, but I received some great feedback.  I make some adjustments, and more importantly decided to trust my gut.  It all worked out because I ended up placing in the fourth contest.  Woohoo!

Goal 5: Cycle through my craft books
Hmm, this one is tough to yay or nay.  The purpose of this goal was for me to continue to improve my knowledge and application of the craft of writing.   I got through one craft book, and about one forth through another.   However, I did improve my craft knowledge by attending two great conferences this year (RWA Nationals in DC and Moonlight & Magnolias in Atlanta), attending some workshops, and participating in several author, agent, and publisher chats.  So, I didn’t get through the core craft books I wanted to read through, but I still learned a lot of new things over the year.

So this is my 2009 Writing Year in review, goal wise.  Definitely didn’t make two of my goals, definitely made one, and I’m about 50/50 on the last one.

Overall, I learned a lot about myself this year.  The most important thing being that I CANNOT write at home.  I believe it was Einstein that said “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”  Well, just let me say I was more than a bit insane this year in thinking I could successfully ignore all the distractions that reside in my house (chores, the kids, the dog, the hubby, the internet-lol) and write at home.  :-)  But I can do some writing related things at home and be productive. 

Some other keys things I discovered this year is my writing “Golden Time”, a very good brainstorming kit, the fun part of writing, as well as the low part, and I’ve learned to have more trust in myself, my instincts, and my writing.  

So all in all, I had a good 2009 writing wise, I didn’t accomplish all I set out to, but I’ve come further in my journey than I was on Jan 1, 2009.

I did it. 

I pulled the trigger and hit the “Send” button this morning, emailing my first two submission packets off.

Oddly enough, I’m not feeling nervous and anxious, like I thought I would be.  Instead, I’m feeling good, confident in the quality of submission.  Now, let’s hope they see something in my manuscript and are interested.

Now, time to get back to polishing the current wip, plotting out my next one, and cracking out the words on my NaNo project as I await feedback.

After a hard & very distracting weekend, I think I finally got a hold of my mojo again. 
(Excuse me while I do the happy dance.)

Mr. Mojo, not to be confusesd with The Muse, was been elusive the past few weeks, escaping me at every turn.  Taunting me with quotes, ala Capt. Jack Sparrow, like  ”You will always remember this day as the day you almost caught Mr. Mojo”. 

LOL– seriously, it’s been like a bad super hero comic book.

But anywho, I got a great start on my chapter 1 re-write,  although due to some unforeseen issues, I did not make all 3 of my writing goals for the weekend.  But with my CP’s blessing (I think) I did earn 1 chapter from LOVER AVENGED. 

 Woo-hoo!! 

But I’m going to hold off until I’ve earned at least 3 chapters before I crack it open.  Only being able to read 1 chapter would drive me up the wall.  JR Ward is always leaving those chapters with some sort of hook and I wouldn’t be able to take it.  Although, just reading the 1 chapter would probably inspire me to push through my goals for the week though.

So I have 2 goals for this week, with 3 LOVER AVENGED chapters up as grabs as the reward.  I will report in next week on my progress.

‘Til then, lata

Today when I got home, my autographed copy of LOVER AVENGED by JR. Ward was sitting on my desk. 

Can you say “Woo- hoo”, because I know I did.

I’ve been waiting on this book’s release for more months than I care to remember.  I sooo want to tear into this book right now, but I know me.  The Black Dagger Brotherhood series is like the Harry Potter series for me in that whenever a new release comes out, I just have to devour it.

The problem, I have a whole list of things I’ve got to do in order to stay on target for the year.  And putting my energy into this book is just not the most prudent use of my time.   (And believe me,  it hurts me to have to say this.)

Now, I really need to finish the first draft of  my manuscript by July.  This goal has been made a bit tough because I’ve had  to scrap my first 2 chapters, and  do a new outline for the first 3.   So, I’ve decided to try a new method on myself.  Inspired by Jerry Oltion’s article, I’ve begun to embrace the fluidness my muse needs in order to be productive.

So here’s the deal, for each writing goal I accomplish by Sunday midday-ish, I get read a chapter of LOVER AVENGED.  I have 3 specific goals for the next 2.5 days, so that’s 3 chapters up for grabs.

I will continue, (ok let me amend that, I will try my hardest), to reward myself with a chapter for each goal, specific to my current wip, I accomplish.  Now, these books usually suck me in, and I’m done with them in a day or so.  So only being able to read a chapter at a time should be proper motivation for me to get through my rough draft.

Now, if only I can stick to this when I am about 4+chapters in, and it really starts to get good- LOL.

OK, I’m off to get a jump on my writing goals.