The year is already flying by, and I have no idea where it's going! I obviously haven't accomplished as much as I hoped to by this time, in writing and otherwise.
I really do need to clean out my study so I can use it...writing at the desktop computer is getting annoying because of the sound of the water in the turtle tank. =/ Maybe that's why I have a headache - I listen to that most of the day!
Anyway, some brief updates before I go back to mommy-duty, so daddy can get some sleep for work tomorrow.
Three more queries have gone out! That means I've doubled the amount I sent out last year - woo hoo. =) No responses back from the first three yet - all in due time.
I also managed to get Chapter 16 of Shepherd of Dreams completed. My word count meter for the rough draft of that novel is slowly climbing. A little is better than nothing. Some surprises popped up too with the characters - that's what I love about not having an outline, when I write something I didn't expect, it gives me a giddy feeling.
I still haven't put some stories back into slush piles yet, and I have tons of revising of that long list of stories to do as well. I hate revising, but I'm kind of itching to get some of those stories out in circulation, so I'll have to find the time and make the effort. Even though I'm trying to get more words churned out on Shepherd, I do think it might be time to get another rough draft of a short story out of me - I need that sense of completion to give me more steam to reach the end of the novel. We'll see.
Okay, that's what's going on with me. Oh, yes, I hope to update the Links section of my website this weekend.
Baby time. =) Happy writing all!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
I Am Not Superwoman
Yes, I know that was a line in an episode of House this week, but to be frank, it's a cliche in the first place, and I have often thought of this phrase (especially after since having the little one) even before it was uttered to Dr. Cuddy.
There is no way I can take care of a baby full-time (one that is now crawling all over the house and needs to be watched to make sure she doesn't remove the pacifier from her mouth to insert some type of fuzz/cat hair/dirt/etc. from the floor into her mouth), keep the house picked up and clean, write every single day, exercise, read, cross-stitch (because the one I am currently working on should have been done before my daughter was born...maybe it'll be done by the time she's 16 and can comment how silly and childish it is), cook (OK, I really don't do much of this anyway - thank the gods my husband does), spend time with my family--this would include watching silly TV shows like House, spend a sliver of time on spiritual pursuits (I'd like to be a PRACTICING Wiccan one of these days), give the cats attention/brushing/teeth cleaning, keep track of all the finances, e-mail all my friends, keep up with writing forums/newsletters/magazines, work on various house projects (like finishing unpacking after 3 years of living here and going through 20 boxes worth of accumulated papers), and try to have enough downtime (i.e. vegging and playing video games) so I don't lose my sanity...oh, and sleeping...can't forget sleeping.
That might have been my worst run-on sentence to date. I'm not even sure if it's a complete sentence.
Anyway...I am not superwoman! And it's sad when I have to try to force myself to remember this and keep repeating it in my head when I don't seem to get everything done that I want to do. It's not possible to do everything, to be a million places at once. It took me half the day to clean the bathroom on Monday for goddess's sake! Seriously, the baby tried to eat little bits of carpeting like every 30 seconds...
So, what's the point of this statement and rambling? It's to point out that I'm too hard on myself when the house is a mess still, but more importantly when I don't get my writing done. I can't do it all, and that fact just doesn't want to stay drilled into my head. I'm frustrated that I can't do it all, that I can't write more without everything else in my life being neglected.
This evening, I sat on the couch watching TV, my little girl asleep on my chest. True, I could have attempted to put her down to sleep, in hopes that she wouldn't wake up right away, but I know those moments won't last--the moments where I can just hold and snuggle her. Yet I felt guilty for not putting her down to either clean or write. I hate feeling that way. I shouldn't feel that way, and the drive to need to get everything on my damn list done cripples me at times.
I'm not superwoman, I'm not superwoman, I'm not superwoman.
I shouldn't feel guilty for spending time with my daughter.
Okay...you're probably wondering what my point is again. NO, I'm not giving up writing (kind of wish I could afford a maid so I could give up cleaning, though) - if I didn't write I'd lose my sanity just as well as if I didn't unwind and relax (that year I didn't write, the yearning to tell stories hurt so much, it was almost unbearable at times). My point is mainly to vent I think, and to remind myself that even if I only succeed at a fraction of goals and only get a smidgen of things on my list completed - it's all right because I'm NOT superwoman. Some people might be able to be super-human, but not me.
With that said, I am not on track with my writing counts. Before this week, I had about 3 pages written total for the month. Happily I am up to 6 pages for this week alone, so 9 so far for the month. Yay me! Hey, it's a step for non-superwoman. This also puts me over a third into my goal for word length for Shepherd of Dreams.
I still have queries to send out, revisions to work on, stories to put back in circulation, among all of life's other duties.
I hope everyone else is having more success with finding time to write.
One more time, for good measure - I am not superwoman.
Happy writing, all!
There is no way I can take care of a baby full-time (one that is now crawling all over the house and needs to be watched to make sure she doesn't remove the pacifier from her mouth to insert some type of fuzz/cat hair/dirt/etc. from the floor into her mouth), keep the house picked up and clean, write every single day, exercise, read, cross-stitch (because the one I am currently working on should have been done before my daughter was born...maybe it'll be done by the time she's 16 and can comment how silly and childish it is), cook (OK, I really don't do much of this anyway - thank the gods my husband does), spend time with my family--this would include watching silly TV shows like House, spend a sliver of time on spiritual pursuits (I'd like to be a PRACTICING Wiccan one of these days), give the cats attention/brushing/teeth cleaning, keep track of all the finances, e-mail all my friends, keep up with writing forums/newsletters/magazines, work on various house projects (like finishing unpacking after 3 years of living here and going through 20 boxes worth of accumulated papers), and try to have enough downtime (i.e. vegging and playing video games) so I don't lose my sanity...oh, and sleeping...can't forget sleeping.
That might have been my worst run-on sentence to date. I'm not even sure if it's a complete sentence.
Anyway...I am not superwoman! And it's sad when I have to try to force myself to remember this and keep repeating it in my head when I don't seem to get everything done that I want to do. It's not possible to do everything, to be a million places at once. It took me half the day to clean the bathroom on Monday for goddess's sake! Seriously, the baby tried to eat little bits of carpeting like every 30 seconds...
So, what's the point of this statement and rambling? It's to point out that I'm too hard on myself when the house is a mess still, but more importantly when I don't get my writing done. I can't do it all, and that fact just doesn't want to stay drilled into my head. I'm frustrated that I can't do it all, that I can't write more without everything else in my life being neglected.
This evening, I sat on the couch watching TV, my little girl asleep on my chest. True, I could have attempted to put her down to sleep, in hopes that she wouldn't wake up right away, but I know those moments won't last--the moments where I can just hold and snuggle her. Yet I felt guilty for not putting her down to either clean or write. I hate feeling that way. I shouldn't feel that way, and the drive to need to get everything on my damn list done cripples me at times.
I'm not superwoman, I'm not superwoman, I'm not superwoman.
I shouldn't feel guilty for spending time with my daughter.
Okay...you're probably wondering what my point is again. NO, I'm not giving up writing (kind of wish I could afford a maid so I could give up cleaning, though) - if I didn't write I'd lose my sanity just as well as if I didn't unwind and relax (that year I didn't write, the yearning to tell stories hurt so much, it was almost unbearable at times). My point is mainly to vent I think, and to remind myself that even if I only succeed at a fraction of goals and only get a smidgen of things on my list completed - it's all right because I'm NOT superwoman. Some people might be able to be super-human, but not me.
With that said, I am not on track with my writing counts. Before this week, I had about 3 pages written total for the month. Happily I am up to 6 pages for this week alone, so 9 so far for the month. Yay me! Hey, it's a step for non-superwoman. This also puts me over a third into my goal for word length for Shepherd of Dreams.
I still have queries to send out, revisions to work on, stories to put back in circulation, among all of life's other duties.
I hope everyone else is having more success with finding time to write.
One more time, for good measure - I am not superwoman.
Happy writing, all!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
On the Edge of 2009
Here's hoping the astrological stuff going on tonight bodes well for 2009. It better...maybe. =/
Anyhow, it's of course that time of year where I post my goals for the year and hope I don't fall flat on my face like every other year. I know my problem is that I set too high of a bar for myself, but I just can't help it. One of these years I'm going to force myself to only have one goal - that would be a feat!
Well, out of my two pages of 2009 goals, here are my writing ones:
- Write 4k words (about 16 pages) each week of rough draft material, continuing and finishing started novels and short stories first
- Critique one thing per week, 30 pages or less worth of material - if I have nothing to critique, spend the extra time either writing or revising
- Spend 3-5 hours each week on a combination of revising, story submissions, query submissions, and newsletter/listserv/magazine reading
- In accordance with the above listed goals, spend 10-15 hours per week doing writing related tasks
- Finish rough draft of Shepherd of Dreams by April 30
- Finish rough draft of Daina’s Dance by December 31
- Track Word Count/Productivity
- Revise 12 short stories that have been in the revision pile for ages - then possibly get them critiqued and revise again (hopefully submitting half before the end of the year)
[Ancient Ways, Cold...Oh So Cold, Dreams in Shadow, Hell Hath No Fury, Ode to Buses and Libraries, Path of One, Petals and Blood, Sunset Street, The Awakening, The Game, This is Where I Stand, Trophies]
- Complete rough drafts, get critiques, and revise 8 short stories/novella
[Blood and Souls (novella), Flaws of the Fin, Grinka 3, Love (Fate - Two of Cups), Slavery, Sorrow (Fate - Three of Swords), Tala, Unlikely Hero]
- Once above two goals are completed, work on 1 to 6 more Fate stories
- Keep all completed short stories in circulation
- Continue submitting queries for The Mind Behind the Mind
- Keep up with reading Broad Universe newsletters, F&SF, and Realms of Fantasy
- Start reading/interacting and keep up with WPF and Broad Universe listserves
- Blog every other week
- Update website every other week - maintain MySpace page once a month
- Back-up files once a week, flash drive after each writing/revising session
- Read one novel every other month at least
- Clean and organize my study by January 31 (so I have somewhere to hide when I need to write!)
- Hope I have enough money to at least attend the WPF alumni writer’s retreat this year
That's the scary list. Here's hoping tomorrow I start off running and can keep the momentum going all year! I hope everyone else has decided to make a more realistic list of goals, unlike this crazy writer. =) Happy writing!
Anyhow, it's of course that time of year where I post my goals for the year and hope I don't fall flat on my face like every other year. I know my problem is that I set too high of a bar for myself, but I just can't help it. One of these years I'm going to force myself to only have one goal - that would be a feat!
Well, out of my two pages of 2009 goals, here are my writing ones:
- Write 4k words (about 16 pages) each week of rough draft material, continuing and finishing started novels and short stories first
- Critique one thing per week, 30 pages or less worth of material - if I have nothing to critique, spend the extra time either writing or revising
- Spend 3-5 hours each week on a combination of revising, story submissions, query submissions, and newsletter/listserv/magazine reading
- In accordance with the above listed goals, spend 10-15 hours per week doing writing related tasks
- Finish rough draft of Shepherd of Dreams by April 30
- Finish rough draft of Daina’s Dance by December 31
- Track Word Count/Productivity
- Revise 12 short stories that have been in the revision pile for ages - then possibly get them critiqued and revise again (hopefully submitting half before the end of the year)
[Ancient Ways, Cold...Oh So Cold, Dreams in Shadow, Hell Hath No Fury, Ode to Buses and Libraries, Path of One, Petals and Blood, Sunset Street, The Awakening, The Game, This is Where I Stand, Trophies]
- Complete rough drafts, get critiques, and revise 8 short stories/novella
[Blood and Souls (novella), Flaws of the Fin, Grinka 3, Love (Fate - Two of Cups), Slavery, Sorrow (Fate - Three of Swords), Tala, Unlikely Hero]
- Once above two goals are completed, work on 1 to 6 more Fate stories
- Keep all completed short stories in circulation
- Continue submitting queries for The Mind Behind the Mind
- Keep up with reading Broad Universe newsletters, F&SF, and Realms of Fantasy
- Start reading/interacting and keep up with WPF and Broad Universe listserves
- Blog every other week
- Update website every other week - maintain MySpace page once a month
- Back-up files once a week, flash drive after each writing/revising session
- Read one novel every other month at least
- Clean and organize my study by January 31 (so I have somewhere to hide when I need to write!)
- Hope I have enough money to at least attend the WPF alumni writer’s retreat this year
That's the scary list. Here's hoping tomorrow I start off running and can keep the momentum going all year! I hope everyone else has decided to make a more realistic list of goals, unlike this crazy writer. =) Happy writing!
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