What I Learned in 2011 and My Goals for 2012

2011 was a pretty amazing year for me. I had some pretty low key goals set, the kind that would lead me closer to my big goals, and instead I ended up having some completely unexpected, life changing events.

Things I did in 2011:

EVENT: Got stranded in Branson, Missouri with a group of some of the most awesome, accomplished, and inspiring women I've been fortunate to meet.

HOW IT CHANGED MY LIFE: I've said this before, but it really is an amazing experience to spend time with people who have persevered to make their dreams come true, and who truly understand what that process is like. Writing is a solitary thing. And when you're just starting out, it can feel like you're on some crazy wild goose chase all by yourself. Meeting people who have been there, and pushed through to the other side is sort of life-altering. Even though rationally, I know that obviously, people write and sell books; sitting around talking about how hard it is some days, or that yes, they hear their characters talking in their heads too, or just you know, dancing to 90s hip hop, makes a world of difference once you go back home and it's just you and that blinking cursor trying to make your dream come true. I think if there is one piece of non-writing, writing advice I could give, it would be to get together with other writers (somewhere private, where you can be your weird writer selves) it will help carry you through the dark times when the words don't come and you're wondering why you ever thought you could write a book.

EVENT: I wrote a letter to my teenage self.

HOW IT CHANGED MY LIFE: This one was surprisingly cathartic. Really. It brought back a lot of painful memories and then forced me to look at them from the outside, and really think about what I've learned from them. It was an emotional experience I wasn't expecting, but talking to my thirteen year old self really helped me to heal some old wounds I didn't know I still had.

EVENT: I was offered the chance to be published in an anthology.

HOW IT CHANGED MY LIFE: This one still blows my mind, and probably won't seem real until I have a hardcover (!) copy in my hands and can see that yes, they really did put me in it. This is by far the "biggest" thing that happened to me in 2011. And the experience was exciting, and challenging, and scary, and awesome. It's not often that an opportunity you hadn't even dared to dream of yet appears out of the blue. I will touch more on this in a separate post, but suffice it to say that, "Write a short story on anything you want!" is both a blessing and a curse. It took me a couple of months just to decide what I was going to write, and then a couple more to figure out how to do it. I think this event more than any other made my writing improve by leaps and bounds. I didn't want to let anybody down, and so I focused and thought about every single word I used. This story was like pulling teeth, but I love it. It taught me that even when writing feels impossible, it's not. Not at all.


EVENT:I spent six weeks in Europe. Four of them, by myself.

HOW IT CHANGED MY LIFE: This affected me in so many ways. The first of which was reminding myself that I'm brave, something that can sometimes been forgotten when you spend most of your time on your butt in front of a computer. It also gave me some new perspectives on what it's like to be a stranger in a strange land. (Grocery shopping when EVERYTHING is in a foreign language is an adventure all on its own.) I also had a lot of time to just think, about my writing, my writing career, what I want out of life. I know that running off to Europe for a month isn't an option for most people, but I highly recommend taking just a weekend of alone time, somewhere other than your usual haunts. Even if it's just a hotel room in a different part of town, (hey, it worked for JK Rowling!) spending time with yourself in a new place where you can't easily fall into your usual routines is a great way to recharge your creative process and your life.

EVENT: All three of my crit partners signed with amazing agents.

HOW IT CHANGED MY LIFE: I'm a firm believer in, "if you want to know if you're on the right path, look around you." The theory behind this is that if you're headed in the right direction, the people around you will be successful and meeting the goals that you're also striving to reach. I'm SO PROUD of my cps and the hard work they've put in 2011. I know this is going to be a year of big announcements for them, and I trust that with their guidance and support, a little of that success will rub off on me as well.

EVENT: I did NOT write a new book.

HOW IT CHANGED MY LIFE: This year I managed to do a LOT of overthinking, and a LOT of second-guessing of myself. It was a total waste of time. TOTAL. WASTE. I can't stress that enough. I had the best of intentions. It was all about making the right choice and finding the right idea, and basically, that's a load of crap. I am happiest when I'm working on a story. Revising, surrounded by my characters and my world, totally focused on shaping it into the best story it can be. I am least happy when deciding what that story should be. I learned that what I need to do is just write it. So many of the best bits don't even show up until I've gotten a few thousand words in. They're never on the outline or the plan. They're the surprises that keep me going. Not the idea that this is exactly the story I should be writing for (insert reason here).

So that was my 2011. Here are my goals for 2012:

- Be a better blogger. As in blog more frequently, and more personally.

- Write a book that I love.

- Read more.

And that's it. I'm keeping it simple this year and going for the joy rather than the stress. What about you? What are your goals this year? What did you learn about yourself in 2011?

In Which I Attempt To Shame Myself Into Writing

So you might be aware, from some of my (sparse) recent posts that I'm starting a new book. Or, attempting to start one, anyway. I have an idea that I'm very excited about but it's a bit daunting in it's complexity and so rather than writing, I've been making lots and lots of notes. And staring into space. And sighing.

I've come to the realization it's time now for me to man up and start putting real words on the page so I've decided the best way to make sure that I do this is to announce my goal publicly so that my fear of humiliation will keep me on task.

So here it is. This month, starting today, I intend to write a minimum of 1000 words every day on my WIP PARADOX (see, doesn't that title just sound complex?), for an end total of at least 30,000 words on May 31st. I'm putting up a little counter on my sidebar so that I can keep tabs on my wordcount each day.

Please feel free to harass me on twitter or facebook and ask if I've done my 1000 words for the day. I'll try to post on my progress, but I'm not sure anyone wants to read the melodrama about all the hair I'm tearing out while trying to get this done.

If any of you out there are looking to do something similar let me know. Maybe we can support each other.

2011 Writing Goals & What I Learned in 2010

I don't make resolutions. (Um... anymore.) I think they're too broad, and they don't bend to real life situations. I'm the kind of person that needs to feel like they're making progress, and I work better when I have a set of conditions to meet, so for me it's all about setting goals.

Last year I was coming off the high of finishing my very first complete draft of a novel. I set some HUGE goals that I now know were not just overwhelming, but also misguided.

2010 was a difficult year for me in many ways, and an amazing one in many others. A death in the family left me unable (both literally and emotionally) to write or revise for about two months. I entered into that long dark tunnel called "revisions". Where I learned that no matter how good you think your first draft is, there are always thousands of ways to make it better. And some of those ways take a full revision before you can see the path to them.

So where am I as I start 2011?

After an extremely busy holiday season I am FINALLY reaching the end of what turned out to be an almost complete rewrite. I have learned A LOT about story structure, plot, and character arcs. Much more than I would've thought possible in a revision.

From my revisions I've learned a lot about myself as a writer, my tics, and ways to make my next first draft a much better starting point. (Also, Scrivener changed my life when it comes to story, plot, research, and chapter organization!)

I have felt the pain of killing my darlings and the joy of having a CP fall in love with my favorite character.

I've fought the pull of shiny new ideas, found ways to stay focused (although this will be a continuing battle for me, no matter how excited I am about a project) and discovered that I CAN write on demand and turn out something I'm proud of (thanks Tangled Fiction!)

I have made some truly awesome friends who get my obsession over writing and YA.

And I have been humbled and honored by some very kind and encouraging words about my writing.

So what are my goals for this year?

Last year I wanted to bang out the really rough first drafts of two novels. This year that's not good enough for me. I want to complete one really well thought out, solid first draft.

I want to make my current ms the absolute best it can be before it goes out into the world.

I want to write more short stories and on a regular basis, which okay, is a given thanks to Tangled Fiction. But I want these to be stories I'm proud of, not stories I make excuses for like "well, if I had more than a couple days, this would've been awesome!"

As a whole, I just want to keep getting better at writing by actively pursuing ways to do so. Whether it's conferences, retreats, challenging myself to styles/genres I've never written before, whatever.

And of course, I want 2011 to be the year I sign with the perfect agent for me and my book!

What about you? Are you going full steam ahead with a list of resolutions? Setting small goals? Did 2010 turn out like you thought it would?

Success - It's All About Attitude

Today I bring you a Note from the Universe to remind you that even when you're stuck in what feels like limbo, waiting for someone to request your ms, sign you as a client, or buy your book, you're not powerless. No matter how much it feels like someone (or something) else has all the control, only you have the power to create the life you live.

Here's what The Universe says about achieving your most daunting goals:

Invariably, when big dreams come true, and I mean BIG, there is a total metamorphosis of one's life. Their thoughts change, their words change, decisions are made differently, gratitude is tossed about like rice at a wedding, priorities are rearranged, and optimism soars.... Yeah, they're almost annoying.

You could have guessed all that, huh?

Would you have guessed that these changes, invariably, come before, not after, their dream's manifestation?

Isn't it amazing how sometimes things are so obvious but we never think about them that way?

The Universe has spoken! Now, go! Dream BIG!

Epic! Fail! February

So some of you might remember this post where I declared that February would be the month that I Got Stuff Done(!). Namely revisions on my WIP Whisper. Such big plans I had. Like finishing revisions, working on my query and synopsis, maybe even wrapping up my other WIP. Two hours after my Focus February post, my grandma died. What followed was a month of physical and emotional exhaustion taking care of my grandma's stuff. It's been difficult and what free time I did have I was just too drained to revise.

But I did manage to do a few things. I posted my opening on Secret Agent and got some great feedback. And this week I posted a section of dialogue over at Miss Snark's First Victim's Talkin' Heads crit roundup. My entry is (#48) here if you're interested. I've already gotten some great feedback and done some revising again. "Mutual Attraction" is not really a good description for what's going on in that scene but I was in a time crunch and couldn't think of anything better. Still, it's one of my favorite scenes in the book. With one of my favorite characters.

Anyhoo. I've declared February a loss as far as revisions go, but I'm all set for some of my own personal March Madness! I have to get my WIP revised because the one good thing that came out of my time away from writing is a very Shiny New Idea that I really really want to start working on. It's so different from anything else I've written and I can't wait to get started on it, but I won't let myself until I finish my WIP revisions and get it out to my Crit group.

I'm on a mission in March to Get Stuff Done(!) for real. And maybe have a contest or two. What about you? Do you have any March Madness goals?

Focus February!

So it seems I'm not the only one who has big plans for the month of February. Sara over at The Babbling Flow is doing Saradise (or in my case, I guess that would be Valedise? Doesn't sound quite as awesome...) and I just discovered Grapemo thanks to my crit partner Lacey.

My writing goal for February is going to be to finish revisions on WIP #2 so that I can start querying in March. I decided to put it out there in the universe (um, again) so that there can be some repercussions if don't achieve this. Mostly, that would be SHAME. I'm finding revising is hard because I know that if I do it, I'm going to have to send it out into the world. I keep distracting myself with Shiny New Ideas that require LOTS of research but that's going to stop. This month will be all about one book until that one book is ready. Eep! Wish me luck!

2010 Writing Goals & What I Learned in 2009

A year ago right now, I was making a list of goals for 2009 and at the last second, as sort of a joke, I threw in "Write a novel." Even though my biggest goal for the year was to focus on writing, I meant screenwriting, and the idea of writing a book seemed ridiculous. Still, I had always known that one day I would write one - I have the notebooks full of cheesy teen romance I wrote back in elementary school as proof. I just thought it would be one day when I was older and wiser and had something very literary to say about the world or something. You know, something profound. I thought I would write the literary equivalent of an indie film.

Anyway, after reading the Twilight Saga (the first books I'd read since the last Harry Potter save for a couple Kathy Reichs books - she is awesome, you should read her!) and having it reignite my love for all things YA. While at the same time having the epiphany that almost all my film ideas involved teenagers for a reason, I thought well, hey, maybe it's time to give that book thing a try. I mean, I was going to focus on writing this year anyway.

So I stuck "Write a novel" at the bottom of the list and I snorted at my own ridiculousness. I didn't just write screenplays because I loved movies. I wrote screenplays because they are SUPER SHORT and I was lazy/terrified at the thought of trying to write over a 100 pages of like, comeplete sentences. It really seemed impossible to me. I was so used to cutting stuff out to write a film that I had no idea how to put stuff in.

I won't bore you with a month by month rundown of 2009 but suffice it to say that two (great) false starts later, I had an idea burning in my brain and NaNoWriMo staring me in the face. Thanks to those two false starts I had already written over 40,000 words. 50,000 didn't seem so scary anymore. Plus, I knew exactly how this story ended, making for a much easier trip. NaNoWriMo and the awesome YA community, especially at the blueboards, made me realize that it is really possible for me to write a book.

So here I am, the last day of 2009 and I have a very, very rough, first draft of a novel just waiting to be revised. One impossible goal accomplished! And I can say with all honesty to anyone reading this and wondering if they could ever write something as big and scary as a book:

If I can do it, you can do it!

Now with trumpets and fanfare, here are my goals for 2010 that are within my control!

2010 Resolutions

• Revise WIP #2 until it's ready for queries.
  
• Write best query letter in the whole wide world.
  
• Query agents.
  
• Finish WIP #1.
  
• Write a screenplay.
  
• Shoot a film. (A short is okay.)
  
• Shoot at least one music video.
  
• Write 1000 words (minimum) a day, six days a week.
  
• Write at least a first draft of two more YA novels. (Preferably from ideas I've already got written down.)
  
• Attend a writing conference or workshop.
  
• Read 100 books. (At least 40 of these should be from my own bookshelves!)
  
• Become more involved in the YA blogging community. There are so many great YA writer blogs out there!
  

Then of course the ones that are not so much in my control:

• Sign with the perfect agent for me and my career goals.
  
• Sell my book to an awesome publishing house that totally gets my book, loves it and knows how to market it.

If you made it all the way to the end of this post, please have a SAFE and Happy New Year's Eve!

Small Victories

I wrote the end of my NaNoWriMo project last night. The first draft isn't done, there's still a few scenes that need to be written or completed, but still, I wrote the end. The scenes that have been swirling around in my brain for over three months now, just waiting to be put on paper. The end of the story is really what started me writing the book in the first place. I really wanted to write the events that lead up to that moment and I've had SO MUCH FUN doing it! I have to say that while my current manuscript is a great big lump of coal waiting to be squeezed into a diamond, there is a lot of stuff I really love about it. And the end! Oh! There was a moment there that totally caught me by surprise. It made the whole ending so much better than I was expecting. I'm so excited to get this thing finished and revised so I can get it out to my crit partners and see how other people react to it.

My New Year's resolution for 2009 was to write a book and while it's only a rough first draft, I'm calling it a win. Go me! I wasn't sure I could do it, but there's no stopping me now!

In another small victory, I finally got my facebook page up and running. Friend me if you want. It's looking pretty lonely over there. I was so nervous to put up my full name and a picture, which is ridiculous, because I'm all over the place for my film stuff, but it was still scary to put myself out there and say I write books. Even though I totally do now, because, you know, the end!