Gee, don't these look familiar?


Finish BSD
Get 2nd 3rd to Da Peeps
Get 3rd 3rd to Da Peeps
Mss crit for mentoree
Finish Before I Die
Finish News Blues
Continue with my 2008 theme of No Regrets
Maintain family and household schedule
God time each day
Stay positive
Blog at least two days per week
Comment on several f-list blogs each day.

Oy! Sorry to be sooo late with these!

Goals for this week:

Maintain goal wordcount on BSD
Get 2nd 3rd to Da Peeps
Mss crit for mentoree
Finish The Last Days
Finish Before I Die
Continue with my 2008 theme of No Regrets
Maintain family and household schedule
God time each day
Stay positive
Blog at least every other day
Comment on several f-list blogs each day.

Update on last week:

Maintain goal wordcount on BSD WOOT!
Dance Dance Revolution x5 Nope!
Finish The Sweet Far Thing WOOT!
Finish Breathe My Name Nope!
Continue with my 2008 theme of No Regrets WOOT!
Maintain family and household schedule Mostly!
God time each day Mostly!
Stay positive Mostly!
Blog at least every other day Not so much!

Just as our mc's have both internal and external conflicts, so we as writers, experience both types of struggles when writing.

I've found that oftentimes when I set a writing goal, especially if I happen to verbalize it, external conflicts pop up. Like magic! Evil magic!

Case in point: Get my completed, fairly pretty, wip to my agent by Feb 8. This isn't a random goal, btw, my birthday is the 12, my kids have that entire week off, and I had hoped to have the mss finished and to Steve by the beginning of the year. So...

Because external conflicts also present in the lives of Da Peeps, my lovely crit partners, instead of sending the mss entirely and expecting them to turn it around with their amazing insight included almost overnight, I sent them the first 3rd, and will send the remaining thirds as I finish. The 2nd third should be going out on Friday. Will it?

Since last Friday I have been beset by external conflicts. Bank errors, BPTeen issues, kids home for holidays, kids home sick, kids with friends over. What was a clean house is now a... yucky, messy house.

And if I let my mind dwell on it, I get cranky. I feel put upon. Why can't they be sick during that week in Feb when they're OFF school? Why is there nowhere else in the house my office can be, other than the eating area/kitchen/walk in the front door and there you are?
Why don't I own a laptop so I can ESCAPE and write, even if it's just to sit in my car? Why are we this old and still too poor to afford one? Why does my normally calm and even possibly lazy Lab suddenly have to be on my lap or in my face every 5 minutes?!

All external conflicts. All either out of my control or in need of my attention. So do I throw up my hands and say, okay, another goal I won't achieve, another self-imposed deadline I won't meet?

Not really. See, although this isn't an editorially imposed deadline, I know that these same external conflicts will arise when I have one. Sure, by that time I'll at least have a laptop and be able to move away from the more... slobbery, persistent ones, but I'll still have to dig deep and find the zone, the inner peace, and that wellspring of creativity and ambition to drive me forward to meet that goal. For myself. Because like our mc's, fighting those obstacles grows us. And because it is okay to succeed. Even if you do it with a messy kitchen, and dirty windows.

Good luck fighting your own external conflicts this week!

I got this for Christmas, and it continues to kick my arse. But in a good way :)



I have lots of goals for 2008, but I don't feel a need to list them :) I do have a theme, though, and it is The Year of No Regrets. And so far, it is going well.

We got hit with a pretty wild storm last week and were without power for several days, in fact, most of our town lost power and even some schools weren't fully up for the return from vacation today. I haven't taken pics of the bit of damage we took yet, or the ravaging of the
neighborhood.

BPT found a stranded gnome and gifted his mum with it this morning. I think he's quite smart, and apropos as we're fans of The Amazing Race.



Okay, BPT is having a meltdown. Must log off.

Will post goals for the week later!

Bring it on! (But bring some caffeine and chocolate and an offer with it, eh?)

A bit of research for So Fresh and The Brown Shoe Diaries DONE!

Finish incorporating last draft of BDL with current and remove all lingering scenes that will not be in the final version of the novel. DONE! Finish scene summary. Nope.

Write 1400 words on Brown Shoe Diaries. Some words, maybe 200, so nope.

Continue reading Tips on Having a Gay (Ex)Boyfriend, which I am LOVING!!! DONE!

Read Da Peeps pages. Started but not finished, but love it, love it, love it!

Finish paying bills. Done, but it is neverending, isn't it? And this is a particularly tough month with medical bill up the wazoo, an unexpected puppy adoption and the associated vet bills (Teen brought her home from the farmer's market) and the new-ish lack of my income. Boy wouldn't a sale be a boost to my confidence in that decision right now!! But really, it was all about ethics anyway.

Stretching and short walk. Yes, and back seems to be on the mend!! Thank Heaven!

Start reading Madeleine L'Engle's A RING OF ENDLESS LIGHT to the kids. They were all about the stall yesterday: homework, etc. so our reading time was taken up with trying to get them to finish homework. Meh!

Comment on LJ's, keep on top of emails etc. Stayed on top of email and will move that lj goal down to today.

God time. Again, not as much as I would like, but yes. We have small group tonight, so that will be good although Teen will have to go with us and sit in the car so he doesn't terrorize his siblings.

Take some photos. Nope. Thought about it, but nope.

Unify that fusion piece, or at least start trying to unify it. No, but again, I thought about it! lol

Spend 30 minutes doing something completely frivolous and relaxing. Yes!

Don't allow myself to be baited by Teen. Better. Held it in and cried when no one else was around.

Bring it on!

I'm finding weekly goals not well-suited to my process, so I'm gonna do daily goals and check-ins instead, as possible.

I decided to try a variation of Walter Dean Myers schedule, because I enjoy multi-tasking and do it fairly well.

September 17, 2007

A bit of research for So Fresh and The Brown Shoe Diaries

Incorporate last draft of BDL with current and remove all lingering scenes that will not be in the final version of the novel.

Write 1400 words on Brown Shoe Diaries.

Continue reading Tips on Having a Gay (Ex)Boyfriend, which I am LOVING!!!

Read Da Peeps pages, request remainder.

Bills etc.

Stretching and short walk. Look ahead to when back is healed and I can actually get on work out schedule.

Start reading one of Madeleine L'Engle's books to the kids... which one? which one?

Comment on LJ's, keep on top of emails etc.

Laundry. Other chores. God time. (not in that order)

Do something in the studio that makes me feel good. One small thing. I'm feeling like an art loser right now.

Spend 30 minutes doing something completely frivolous and relaxing.

My quote for the year, taken from a postcard in a friend's office of a little kitty looking in the mirror and seeing the reflection of a lion :)

"It's who we are on the inside that counts."

Goals for the week:

Family: Maintain boundaries, while providing opportunities. Be positive and encouraging!

Okay. Not great, but okay.

Movement: Bike at 6:30, taking it easy until breathing issues/cold has been whipped. Stretching/yoga in the late evening before bed.

Nope. The chest gunk turned into something that then caused me to throw my back out resulting in pain that was totally debilitating and landed me in the prompt care and then the er for an ultrasound where they found a cyst on my ovary. Due for recheck in 6-8 weeks, but am still unable to sit at the desk for more than a few minutes or move much at all. Bleh!

Spiritual: Continue to get with God daily. Be real. Think before acting.

Did well here, for the most part. :)

Writing: 1400 words per day on The Brown Shoe Diaries Secret Agent Man on Thursday to touch base, watch one research video this week, comment and update LJ, maintain email management.

Maybe 100 words a day instead of 1400. Talked to Secret Agent Man :D Managed email, but failed to watch research video or respond to LJs. Ugh!

Reading: Finish Sea of Monsters, and A Crooked Kind of Perfect.

Finished Sea of Monsters.

Art: Two hours per day. Post pics no matter how bad I think the work is. HAVE FUN!

I did manage to make some art this week, but the back thing then made further progress impossible. I'll post pics when I'm able to be at the computer for longer stretches.

I might be losing count, lol! I'm mathematically challenged...

I need to update each night before bed rather than the next day, that would help.

So! Received crits from da peeps and implemented necessary changes.
Started adding scenes to ch 3.
Went through my agent log just to make sure everything was updated and current and organized in a way that was easy to read.
Contacted several agents who had indicated either an overt or implied interest in LTS if it was revised. Already got one request for the full from those emails. YAY! So that's five due to go out, plus another very likely as she specifically said she wanted to see it again. (But I don't want to count my eggs, yet.)

Saw an absolutely AWFUL movie last night. Bleh. Bleh. Bleh.

June Goals:


Networking/Business/Friendship:

Get out more with friends.
Comment more on the LJ's I read.
Post more often to the Blue Board.

Reading:

Read daily. (Yeah, like that's a tough one!)
Blog about my reading.

Writing:

Finish revisions on LTS and get it out to those
waiting on 6/4/07.

Email those who expressed an interest in seeing it
after revision and send if they still want it.

Last sprint-through on BSD, finish to point of same
revision process by 6/10/07.

Schedule through the next novels.

Take BSD through the revision process. 6/18/07-6/22/07.

Sign with one of my top-tier agents.

Write 1k words per day on next novel in line 6/25-6/29.

Art:

Make some art daily.
Actually post to my art journal daily.
Take and share more photos.

Life:

Exercise daily.

Stick with the margins I've established.
Review areas that might need more margin.
(http://www.amazon.com/Take-Limit-DVD-Most-Life/dp/1590525515/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3/102-0913677-3502535?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1180723598&sr=1-3)

Enjoy the summer with the kids.

Started slowly.
Finished well.

Teen coyote ends up back in jr high on independent study (for which I had to come up with lessons because the admins couldn't); he'll do summer school and go to regular high school; is this a blessing or not? No idea at this juncture. But there's no room for him at the continuation or the bad boys school and really they "just don't know what to do with him".

Oh-kay. Whatever. Just gotta have patient endurance and keep praying.

No art, but I'll make up for that this weekend.

Through pg 28 on LTS, added several new scenes, and know exactly where ch2 is going, what's going into the newly created chapter between 2 and 3. Can't wait to get back to it!

Goals for Day Five: finish ch 2 and get it to the girls. Compile the new ch 3 and get it to the girls. Revise ch 3 (now ch 4) and get it to the girls. Finish organizing the studio area
and post to that blog. Start work on 3 test backgrounds for Coyotes at Midnight. Do a post on process and read/respond to LJ.