Holding Myself Accountable - 2011 Resolutions Revisited

Today I don't have a Fill-Me-In-Friday for you because I've been on vacation and haven't been surfing the web and collecting links this week.

But, in the spirit of the new year rolling in this weekend, I figured I should check back in on my goals I set here on the blog at the end of last year and report on results.

So here goes...

2011 Writing Goals:

Complete Book 2 in the Exposure Therapy Loving on the Edge series way ahead of my June deadline. [Did it!]

Draft at least one additional full length novel. [only halfway there but that's because of one of the goals below]

Sell Wanderlust (the novel I finished before CRASH). [purposely put this on hold, deciding where I want to go with it]

Attend RWA Nationals in NYC. [did it!]

Attempt to write a short piece (short story or novella) --I am totally intimidated at the idea of writing anything shorter than category length (55k), but I think writing something briefer will be a good exercise for me. [Completed and sold a 30k novella to Berkley! This is also why I'm not finished book 3 this year.]

Blogging Goals:

Continue to keep up a regular blogging schedule and hopefully not bore you all. :) [kept up my blogging, you guys will have to let me know on the boring part]

Perhaps start or join a group blog and do more guest blogging. [definitely did more guest blogging and started up separate author blog]

Reading goals:

Read 40 or more books.

[Read 31, so was close. If you're interested in seeing what I read, I kept the list here.]

Personal Goals

Potty train the kiddo [Sadly, no. This MUST happen this year. Please, God.]

Be in a size ten or lower by the time I go to previously mentioned RWA Nationals. [*snort* Yeah, uh, didn't happen.]

Have a better work/life balance. [This one fluctuated. Can still get better at this.

So I won some, I lost some. Altogether, not a bad year. Now I need to think of my goals for 2012. (If I can find time to actually think of some, lol.)

So how did you do on your goals this year? What are some of your goals for the new year? Are you joining any writing or reading challenges? What goal do you most hope to accomplish?

Hope you all have a wonderful New Year! And don't forget, CRASH INTO YOU comes out this Tuesday!!! (

See here for my dorky contest

.)

Resolution Time: Goals and Reading Challenges for 2011

Last year I made a list of personal and writing goals. Some I accomplished, some I didn't, and some kickass things I never anticipated happening...did. :)  Results were reported here. So I figured I should stick with tradition and set some new goals for the coming year. I think the power of intention and putting stuff out there really can be effective. (Especially when I hold myself accountable to the results publicly, lol.)

So here goes...

Writing Goals:

Complete Book 2 in the Exposure Therapy series way ahead of my June deadline.

Draft at least one additional full length novel.

Sell Wanderlust. (rollover from last year) --It's still under consideration at Harlequin, so if it doesn't sell to them, my alternative goal is to break down the book and rewrite it as a full length to submit to other pubs. I'm not ready to tuck those characters or their story under the bed. :)

Attend RWA Nationals in NYC. --I attended last year's and now can't imagine not going. But logistics with kiddo are going to take some working out.

Attempt to write a short piece (short story or novella) --I am totally intimidated at the idea of writing anything shorter than category length (55k), but I think writing something briefer will be a good exercise for me.

Blogging Goals:

Continue to keep up a regular blogging schedule and hopefully not bore you all. :)

Perhaps start or join a group blog and do more guest blogging.

Reading goals:

Read 50 or more books.
--Last year my goal was 100 and I failed miserably--I hit 40. So I figure this one is more reasonable. :) I'm going to do this by way of the following reading challenges:

This means I will read more books in 2011 than I read in 2010. If you want to sign up for the challenge, hop on over to The Book Vixen.

and

Sign up for Ebook challenge here. I hope to read at least 20 ebooks.

and

Erotic Romance Reading Challenge. Sign up for this one here. I plan to read 20 in this genre.

and

I need to read more in this genre since I, um, kind of write it. My books have a lot of suspense in them and I need to beef up my knowledge of suspense elements. So I plan to read at least 12 of these. Sign up here.

Each of these separate challenges will all count toward my total 50 (outdo) challenge. For a list of all kinds of reading challenges, you can go here.

Personal Goals:

Potty train the kiddo (a rollover goal from last year)

Be in a size ten or lower by the time I go to previously mentioned RWA Nationals.--I've been on Weight Watchers for a month, so I'm already started on this one. :)

Have a better work/life balance.

So those are mine. What are some of your goals for the new year? Are you joining any writing or reading challenges? What goal do you most hope to accomplish?


Hope you all have a wonderful New Year!

The 1000 Word a Day Challenge

I mentioned in a post last week that one of my goals is to write 1000 words a day.  Well, InkyGirl has made it official with cool badges and such.  The rules are simple: write 1000 words a day, 6 days a week.  I'm cheating a bit because I'm only committing to five days a week.  The weekends are my family days.  But I'm going to try to do my best otherwise to meet this goal with my WIP.

There are also 500 word and 250 word versions of the challenge if the 1000 doesn't fit for you.  

I'm hoping this will give me motivation to write even on those days where I feel stuck or nothing is coming to me.  My internal editor can get the best of  me, so this forces me to push past that.  It isn't necessarily the 1000 GREAT words a day challenge.  But writing bad ones can help me decide what direction I want the scene to go in.  So I'm going to go for it

Also, before I forget I wanted to thank Laurel at Laurel's Leaves and Katie at Step 1 for giving me the Blogging Writer Award.  Thanks you guys!  Both these ladies have wonderful, helfpul blogs, so make sure and go check them out!  

So are any of you jumping on this with me?  Do you set daily writing goals for yourself or do you find that stifling?

**Today's Theme Song**

"One Day More" - Les Miserables Soundtrack

(player in sidebar, take a listen)

What's New Year's Without A Few Resolutions?

I'm usually not one to make resolutions beyond the annual dieting thing that last until about mid-February, but this year, I'm going to do a few and try to hold myself accountable.  So here goes...

My Mostly Realistic Writing Goals

I will write 1000 words/day five days a week when I am in the rough draft phase and edit at least 10 pages a day when in editing phase.

I will continue to blog five days a week as long as you guys don't up and bail on me.  :)

I will complete and edit one category length novel and will at least write a rough draft of a full length.

My Reading Goal

I have joined the 100+ Reading Challenge.  I think I'm around the 85 mark for this year now, so I don't think is totally out there.

My Personal Goals

Eat healthier and buy organic and local when I can afford it (I watched Food, Inc. recently which got me feeling all activist-y, that's what happens when I watch documentaries.  I'm secretly a granola munching hippy--just don't tell any of my neighbors.)

Do some form of exercise that involves more than fingers flying over keys and chasing my two year old when he gets a hold of the toilet paper roll..  I just ordered a Wii Fit, so I'm hoping that actually is exercise and not just an excuse to play video games.  If anyone has one, let me know what you think.

I will not let every towel in the house get dirty before I do a load of laundry.

Potty-train my son (fun times ahead)

My Oprah-style, Positive Thinking, Vision Board, Putting the Universe on Notice Goals

I will figure out a way to attend the National Romance Writers of America conference in Nashville.

I will sell Wanderlust to a publisher.

(how cool is this, btw?)

Also, in spirit of New Years Resolutions Karen over at I'm Always Write is holding a contest.  There are great prizes involved, so go check it out!

Alright, so those are my goals, what are your resolutions for the new year?  Anyone putting the universe on notice like I am?


Happy New Years Everyone!  Hope 2010 bring your nothing but love, happiness, and success!

**Today's Theme Song**

"Don't Stop Believin' " - The Glee Cast 

(I love Journey but who can resist the Glee version ?)

-player in sidebar, take a listen-