La-Tessa Montgomery

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.

Yes, I know it’s December 29th, and technically I still have 3 more days of working on the current wip in my mad dash attempt to finish if by the end of the year.  I can do it! (Do I hear crickets…)

Anywho, my CP (the best one in the world) spent pretty much all day Sunday brainstorming and sludging through my idea for my Urban Fantasy.  I now have a loose outline for all 3 books in this series, better character defintion, and he backstory is gelling a bit.

Oh, I still have miles to go before I sleep on this one, but I have a good starting point.  Now, if I can only NOT work on this one while I strive to finish up the contemporary…

Mary McCall, a fellow RCRW member, wrote an article on the creative process using military lingo that really spoke to me and my critique partner–don’t ask…. .

I really enjoyed the article and gained some insight. From now on, I will let my Scout have it BEFORE  I call my Strategist in for consulation (who and I kidding, I will probably have to drug my Strategist to keep her out of the process until I’m ready for her, but I digress).  And only once the Strategist has had her say, will I present my ideas to the Commander (otherwise known as the bitchy inner editor) for approval. 

if I follow this progress, I bet my Solider will by much happier once I give her the ok to do her job since the Scout and Strategist won’t be interfering nearly as much as they currently are, and the Commander won’t be inclined to make many as visits to check on progress.

Check out her post in full here.

Final Word count for 2009 NaNoWriMo effort:

I didn’t quite meet my 50k word goal, but that was 100% my fault.  I flaked out on my daily writing schedule more times that I care to admit for a variety of reasons.  I could make excuses, but I won’t. 

I’m actually proud of my progress this year, I managed to do 662% better than I did in NaNo ‘08.  Last year, I only managed 3,980 words (yeah, I really sucked). So maybe 2010 will be my NaNo year

Ok, back to the grind.  I have a manucript to finish & polish, and another to brainstorm and outline.

Oh, and ROCK ON to my 14 NaNo buddies that won this year!!!!

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.

Decided to do a NaNo check in today, so here goes.  It’s Day 6 and I’ve not written today yet (but I plan to, no worries.) 

And I will admit, Day 1 & 2 were more than a bit rocky.  For one, I’m still actively writing and polishing up my contemporary romance (Worth Fighting For), so that keeps me busy.  But determined to get a good, more than good actually, start on my Urban Fantasy, I decided to challenge myself this month and give working on two manuscripts a chance.

It’s also been slow going because I decided to undertake this challenge without a plot overview/outline or character sketches.  Apparently, just jumping in feet first is soooo not my style. 

Now, I knew this going in, but I am always trying to make myself a better, more productive writer; and that means I have to challenge my established procedures from time to time to make sure I’m not bogging myself down with unnecessary processes.

So I decided to spend time during my lunch break this week to work on character profiles for my main characters.  So far, I have 3 out of 5 done, and the story opens up more and more each time I complete one.  Yesterday, I had my best day yet, clocking 700 words on my NaNo project. 

Yes, is far below the daily word goal of 1,667, but I’m very encouraged by it.  Now that I have I clearer view on my story, I know longer have to wonder around in wide circles, waxing poetic about nonsensical things.  (Because trust me, I have.  If you could only see some of what I’ve written thus far-lol) 

I’ve been rolling along nicely, and I hope the trend continues.

I’m going National!  Well, not really… But I have been asked to be a guest blogger over at Petit Fours & Hot Tamales.  I must have made some sort of  impression on those lovely ladies while at M&M, because I have no clue why I was presented with this opportunity.  Hmm, I think it must have been  my Cha-Cha- Slide that wowed them. 

Now, in all seriousness, I consider this an honor.  I mean who am I really?  I’m a virtually unknown, unpublished writer.  So I’m really looking forward to this.  

I don’t know what I will “talk” about yet, but I’m leaning towards continuing the discussion about AA Romance  and it’s place in the industry I started the other week.  Come on over to the Petit Fours on December 4th to find out.

If any of you have any suggestions for blog topics, leave a comment below letting me know what they are.  All will be considered (except those involving anyone with the name of Cullen or Black–sorry Megan, I had to stop you before you got started- LOL)

I am more than late in posting my Qtr 2 progress report, but I’ve had a very good reason for this…. I’ve actually been writing!!!

My wonderful critique partner told me about a book she’d just purchased, Book in a Month by Victoria Lynn Schmidt.  My first thoughts were “I am NOT getting any more crafts books, I have plenty on my shelf to read now.”  But after a couple of days, her growing enthusiasm about both this book and her wip intrigued me enough to go to the book store and get it.  Since then, I’ve embarked on my own Book in a Month journey and I must stay, I’m quite pleased with the progress I’ve made in just 3 weeks.

After I recieved my contest feedback on my current work in progress, I decided to revamp the begining in order to pick up the pace more.  So basically I kept the prologue and scrapped about 7,000 words.  It was very painful to do this, being that it had taken me close to a year to produce those 8,000+ words in the first place.  But if you check my progress meter over in the side bar, you will see that I am now at over 27,000 words after only 3 weeks of concentrated effort on my story.  

WOOHOO!!!

Yes, I’m more than behind in schedule to actually produce a completed draft in 4 weeks, but I ‘m more than happy about my progress so far.  In just 3 weeks, I have more than tripled my previous word count and I’m well on my way to finishing my draft in about 2 weeks time.

I’ve also entered another contest, so I should have the results of that by the time I do my Qtr 3 recap.  All in all, I am quite pleased with my progress and growth as an author this year. 

Qtr 3 will be very busy for me.  I’ll be attending my first RWA conference in a DC in a few days.  I’m very excited about meeting several of my CP’s in person for the first time, catching up with a few old friends, and meeting all the industry professionals what will be on hand.

My writing goals for Qtr 3 are to:

1. Finish my intial draft of Worth Fighting For
2. Revise and polish my draft
3. Begin actively querying & submitting my manuscript
4. Pitch my completed mss in September to an editor that’s visiting my writing chapter

Needless to say, I will be quite busy the next few months, but I’m looking forward to it.

For more info on the Book In A Month book:

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.