Yea, been almost two months. Guess I can't play the April Fools' Day I'm posting but really not joke - huh? *mutters* I should have waited until tomorrow! ;)
Anyhow, things have been slow going, per the norm as of late. I was sick for a week, and that also included my little one (she's 2-years-old now, as of last Friday - where did the time go!?) and my husband. There were also a couple weeks of extremely stressful, not sure what's going on, brain doesn't want to turn on until the issue is resolved time. I won't go into the details because I'd likely get upset all over again, and that's no good for me and my productivity. Needless to say, that situation has been resolved, and I am a little more at ease. Another weekend was spent up north at my in-laws, as my father-in-law was in the hospital. It hasn't been a good two months for crossing off things on the evil To Do List.
So, you likely guessed it - I haven't managed to get anything written. I did read through the old critiques of "Ode to Buses and Libraries" as well as re-read the story. I pretty much know what I need to do to revise, I just haven't been able to get around to it. I also have been chugging through a long critique. As of yesterday, I only have 75 pages left!
I did finally write up my Scholar's Discount essay and send that in, along with my acceptance. Things are still up in the air, though, since I haven't received confirmation yet if I can take the one online class at a time the next two terms and still receive the discount. My fingers are crossed because there is no way in hell I'll have time to eat, sleep, or breathe if I have to take 3 online courses and a writing term all at once.
Unless I am pretty much forced into starting my first residency this June, I intend to go to the WPF Retreat this year. It's been two years since I've gone! The retreat is open to non-graduates of the Writing Popular Fiction program as well, so I made sure to put the link in if anyone else might be interested in attending. As always, there are pitch sessions, which are always good, whether they make me nervous or not.
Forgive me for a moment, for I am about to put my usual pessimism aside. Today is a gorgeous day here. The sun is shining, I have a lot of the windows open in the house, and it's the first day of the year where the temperature has reached 70 degrees (it's 75 here according to weather.com!). Yesterday I saw a robin hopping around in the back yard - that's always been my sure sign that spring is finally here. I'm in a decent mood, and I intend to take my daughter to the park after I post this blog entry. I'm hoping, nay I'm determined, that this mood will follow me for the rest of the year.
Will I get any writing done today? No, but that's all right - a new month starts tomorrow, and I intend to make the most of it. I will scratch things off of that To Do List (actually both lists, the one for writing and the one for other things...).
With that determination and optimism (yes, so unlike me), here are my Writing Goals for April:
- Clean the cursed study so I can use it! And while I'm at it, try to figure out which herb decided to hop around all the other pots and take over everything....
- Finish critiquing Cheryl's monster manuscript. ;)
- Finish the rough draft of "Love Fades".
- Write at least one more chapter for Dead as Dreams - I am under-shooting this time, so if I get more written, I'll feel good about myself - lol.
- Revise "Ode to Buses and Libraries".
- Update my Website, and perhaps create a Facebook page (would anyone Fan me?).
- Get those stories back into slush piles! Before I knew it, all the ones I sent out are back and waiting to go out into the world again (to be stomped on most likely - sorry, can't scrub out all of my pessimism).
- 3 Agent Queries for Mind, if I can find 3 more agents to query - I have nearly exhausted that list.
- Blog mid-month! =)
- Continue reading Storm of Swords - I'm slowly plodding through.
Small steps for me in April. I need to get back into a groove, and the spring weather should help me with that!
I intend to encourage my little one's love of books consistently as well. I'm just hoping she'll sit quietly for the story time at the public library. She's fine at home, but she also insists on turning the pages herself, or she gets upset. =P
Well, I think it's time to wrap this post up and go out to soak up a bit of that sunshine. Happy writing, all!
