“Rules, Shmules”

Lately I’ve seen some discussions on loops about breaking the “rules” of writing. I use parentheses because I’m not convinced there are hard and fast rules—more like guidelines. Everyone has an opinion. Not everyone agrees. Writers have their preferences. Readers their own. And certainly agents and editors have their special sets of rules and expectations. Some things are universal. But what about the rest?

Writing is so subjective.

I’m not necessarily talking about grammatical rules—though I have had one contest judge tell me I couldn’t have my heroine say “Let. Me. Up.” The punctuation was too contemporary for an historical. Really? You don’t think a person living in 1815 could enunciate each word while being ground into the cobblestones? Not even a possibility of rigid speech? I for one choose to believe that speech patterns haven’t changed that much. Unfortunately that contemporary “blunder” was egregious enough for me to lose points in the grammar category . . . See? Subjective. It’s not as if I went completely out of period and had my heroine say, “Yo, get up off me, jackass.” Though, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, jackass would technically be period appropriate. LOL!

The debate I personally find the most intriguing—and the one that can get my blood pressure up—is about historical romances and whether or not the heroine should behave like a woman would have in the 1800s or if it’s acceptable to have a more contemporary heroine. Frankly, it’s not the opinions that get me riled, it’s the opinion that there is only one right answer. I like reading Jane Austen. I love her heroines. But I also really, really like a slightly more contemporary heroine. Why? I like to read a story and see myself in the heroine’s shoes. I like to connect with her. I like a sassy heroine—hello, I’m Sassy Mama for a reason! I don’t want the ordinary, I want the extraordinary. What I find so intriguing about Regency-set historical romances, is that you are bound by the rules of society. There were strict rules, and there were rules for everything. Seeing those rules get stretched or broken by a sassy heroine and her rakish man is fun for me—maybe because I am not much of a rule breaker myself? Hmm. Something to explore later.

Does that mean I don’t ever like breaking the “rules” of writing? Well, sometimes it just has to be done. How much history should be included in an historical romance? How much can or should history be bent? How much research can you possibly do without time traveling? Again, this is another example of “to each his own.” Personally, I like the story to be as historically accurate as possible, but sometimes I don’t mind if something has been changed a little. I’m not talking about changing the outcome of Waterloo (unless it’s an alternate history story—which I happen to love!) I’m talking about letting the bride and groom kiss at the end of the wedding ceremony (something that WASN’T done in England during the Regency.) I suppose I have a line I’ve drawn somewhere in the sand. Not sure exactly where that is, but it’s there. Some research I’ll let slide, but some lack of research can drive me insane because it feels like the author either didn’t do their homework or they decided it didn’t matter because it would have ruined their entire plot, like, when a storyline calls for a bastard son to inherit the title (not possible.) I guess I like my books the way I like my basketball refereed—don’t call the ticky-tacky fouls, but don’t ignore the blatant ones.

Fiction is fiction. Pure and simple. But the amount of criticism I see for historicals is interesting. Where does history take a back seat to the story? Can it? When I set out to plot my current work-in-progress I was very careful to mark pages in my research books. I did this because I could see someone telling me that what I’ve plotted never could have happened. Uh, yes it could have, and often times it did. I just have to make sure it will work for my story and the Regency. Create plausibility! Plausibility—and explaining how and why—goes a long way with me.

Not historical related is point-of-view. One of the first things an aspiring writer learns about is head-hopping, and that it is never okay to write using it. (Unless you’re universally loved and accepted for doing so.) Most writers have the “rule” that if we’re changing from one character’s point-of-view to another’s then we have some sort of break—a chapter break, a couple of blank spaces, ***, a transition sentence, whatever. I for one like the distinction and don’t care how it is made. When I suddenly hop into someone’s head and then jump right back to someone else’s it really is confusing. But even having those designated breaks can be jarring. I recently read a popular author’s book and he had an action scene where he jumped between three different POVs. They were all separated with a symbol similar to ***, but what the author did differently was write very short sections. There were two or three sentences, and then they jumped to the next person. Result? There were something like eight POV changes on two pages. Eight. Technically, the “rule” had been followed, but the sheer number of transitions felt, to me, a bit like bending the rules. A bit like head-hopping. Did it work? I guess so, though it pulled me out of the story enough that I had to interrupt my husband’s Excel-spreadsheet-making-fest to point it out and get his opinion. Kind of takes the wind out of the sails of a good action scene . . . But that’s MY problem. I’m sure for others it wasn’t a big deal. His editor obviously wasn’t bothered by it. And it certainly didn’t get in the way of my loving this newly discovered author! I can’t wait to read his backlist!

Yes. I’m a stickler for following the rules. And I get really angry when others don’t follow them too. But with writing, it’s a whole other story (ha!) I like seeing all the different styles of writing. All the different ways people bring their characters together and play out their plot. Along the way I learn what I like and don’t like. What I would like to try, but tweak to my own specifications. It all helps me mold my writing into the style I see for myself. Some rules I follow to the T, and others I either ignore or bend. And I’m okay with that. Hopefully someday an editor will be all right with that too!

How about you? Are their “rules” you love? “Rules” you hate to see broken? “Rules” you’ve heard about that make you laugh or cringe? I’d love to hear about it!

“Hmmm, the Plot Thickens”

Life as a stay-at-home mom with dreams of being a published author can be a lonely existence. Sure, you have the voices in your head—those imaginary friends you simply must capture on paper/computer—but otherwise, it is a solitary business. That’s one reason I go to the gym at least four days a week. If I didn’t, I would lose my sanity. I crave adult interaction. But what do you do if you’re struggling to write? Or, if you have questions about writing?

My WIP! As messy as it might seem, it looks organized and beautiful to me!

One thing I like to do is attend my local RWA meetings. I always feel motivated and reenergized afterwards. But the Greater Seattle RWA and Eastside RWA meetings are only once a month. What about the rest of the month? Or during the summer months when my groups are on hiatus? Or what about those times when I can’t make it to the meetings due to family obligations?I know I’m not alone in experiencing problems with staying motivated. Sometimes writing seems to come in spits and spurts. Sometimes the desire to write feels like it has completely fizzled out. I swear I go through these cycles on a monthly basis. Luckily, I realized I needed more help and then did something about it.

I helped start a plotting group. I like to call them my Plotting Sisters—maybe because one of them actually is my sister (in-law.) We’re a relatively new group, but I’ve known these ladies for years. The more we work together, the more I’m enjoying writing and the closer I feel to the writing community. I am learning so much from them. Hopefully I’m able to offer up some words of wisdom from time to time, too.

Everyone has their preferred way of plotting. Heck—some writers don’t plot at all! They just work with a guideline of sorts, or a vague idea of where they’re going. I need extensive plotting. I need to know where I’m going and where I’ve been. That means I need to do a LOT of work when it comes to plotting a new story idea.

As I’d hoped, these gals have pushed me to be more thorough and to really think about what I want to accomplish with my writing. They have challenged me far more than I could have done on my own. That might not sound appealing to some, but to me it is a rare gift. Every once in a while I try to take the easy way out, but then one of them will call me to task and remind me that I have always wanted to write about social issues in the early 19^th century and I can’t just abandon that objective.

I’ve mentioned here before how I’m working on a “new” manuscript. I use the quotations because while the storyline is new this is actually a rewrite of my first manuscript. The hero and heroine are the same—though with the help of my plotting sisters I feel like they are more fleshed out, more real, and therefore, a little easier to write. That means they are also easier to plot. It also helped me realize some of our preliminary plotting just wasn’t going to work. It was all wrong for my characters. My hero would have come off as an unredeemable jerk, and my heroine wasn’t rooted enough (or really at all!) in the social issue I’m writing about.

Over the last month I’ve rewritten the opening 3 chapters a few times. Don’t get me started on the opening paragraph. I’m sure that will change at least a dozen more times before I let anyone read it. After spending so much time on it, I was ready to move on. I was ready to have my characters move on. But I didn’t know how. So I reached out to my fellow plotters and luckily we were all ready to meet again. I wasn’t the only one in need of plotting out the rest of a book, either!

With my sister-in-law’s insistence we dug in and spent more than 8 hours plotting. Yes, you read that right. 8 hours. I fear I took up about 5 of those hours, but the ladies know I will be there for them, for as many hours as they need, when it’s their turn. When we were done for the day I had a fully plotted manuscript. And not just a simple outline. Oh no. We were very thorough. We followed every plot thread, made sure to get certain, seemingly miniscule, details on the board. There are often details that you know need to be there, but if you don’t start planting them early enough readers will find the ending too convenient. Or, when you start to get into the meat of your story it can seem like you tried to deceive your readers. In my case, I wasn’t getting my social issue into the story until probably chapter 5. Well, that wasn’t early enough. I wouldn’t want to trick a reader into thinking they were reading one kind of Regency, only to discover it was always supposed to be another type of Regency. A funny thing happened when we fixed that problem. I made my heroine stronger. I made her closer to the woman I have always envisioned. Such an easy tweak, and yet the change will cause a positive trickle effect for the entire story. I know to expect bumps along the writing journey, but at least I have a clear direction now and if, or when, I need to reassess something, I know just the friends to check in with.

We don’t have an actual formula for plotting, but working with a group of fellow writers has made it easier. The more I work with my Plotting Sisters, the closer I’m getting to a formula that works for me. I did learn something interesting about myself. I learned I need three plot boards when I’m starting out. I need to have somewhere to pop sticky notes up and “see” the story. I guess I am a very visual learner. I had a main story board going, a board with my internal growth arcs for both the hero and heroine and all of their goals, then a third board I plotted out my social issue. As we worked on the plot all of the stickies came off the second two boards and are now safely stuck to the main board. It might seem crazy, but it worked! Hopefully I can spend some time charting the process and then we’ll see if I can get on a plotting roll. But first things first. It’s time to write! I can’t wait to get beyond chapter 3. I can’t wait to get my hero and heroine into those crazy, sticky situations we dreamed up. I mean, why write if you don’t delight in torturing your characters? LOL!

“Learning Curve”

 

Sunset on Hawaii

The last four weeks have moved at warp speed. When I sat down to reflect on what I’d done since my last post I didn’t think I’d have anything new to report. Which is sad. And just plain wrong. The funny thing about life is it just keeps happening. I continue having new experiences and learning new things—about myself, about others. No matter what your life is like, there is always adventure to be found. Now some people would define adventure differently than I do, but I like to think that there are exciting opportunities and soul-fueling moments just around the bend, waiting to sneak up on you when you most need them . . . or when you least expect them. Not all adventures have to be grand, or even pleasant, but I try to maintain a positive outlook. Ha, I sometimes struggle with that last part. Ever since our college days my husband has teased me about my “positive-thinking-in-a-negative-way” approach to life (I’ll have to explain that another time.) 

As far as adventures go, I actually did embark on one in the last month. The hubby and I packed up the family and headed to Hawaii, where we stayed with his parents. And if traveling with children isn’t an adventure, I don’t know what is. Thinking back on those 9 days, I know I’ve learned many things.

 

Here are just a few of them:

 

1. Toddlers can and will get hives at the most inopportune time – like on your first full day in Hawaii, where they then have to be kept out of the sun . . .um, really? Sooo not fair. We’d been holed up in Seattle’s rain, wind, snow, sleet, 5-minute sun break cycle for so long that a highly anticipated trip to Hawaii got off on a bumpy start. Thankfully, by the second half of the trip, the hives cleared up and he could once again hit the kiddie pool and sandy beach. Though, my kids aren’t too fond of getting sandy, so we mostly went to the pool.

 

2. Printing out your manuscript pages to edit, writing down the outline for your next chapter, and bringing your writing notebook does NOT mean you will actually do any of those things when on vacation. Or even on the plane. I thought I could get about an hour of work done on the plane, but sitting between my two gremlins made that task impossible. If I wasn’t reaching down into the bags at our feet to fish out some toy or other, I was working on making sure they were eating what was on their tray, not crying or being too loud for the other passengers, or holding my son while he slept. Oh, and playing peace-keeper when my kids both wanted the same toy.

 

3. Flying with kids is a . . . well, let’s call it an interesting experience, but mine do a pretty dang good job at it! We call my daughter a pro. At 3 months old we took her to England for two weeks. She slept most of the flight and never cried on take-off or landing. When she was two we took her to Hawaii. At 2½ we took her to Paris for two weeks. She did so great on those 10 hour flights the crew gave her extra goodie bags for being an exceptional little traveler (LOVE Air France!) But this was my son’s first time flying, and we were nervous. Especially since every time we took him over Snoqualmie Pass to visit Mema and Gramps he would scream and holler because his ears hurt. But he didn’t have any problems on his flights. He even fell asleep on one take-off. Thank goodness, because he refused to wear the earplugs we brought along. The only problem he really gave us was of the diaper sort. OMG, a blow-out at 35,000 feet on a flight so turbulent even the flight crew had to buckle up a few times??? Yeah, not my idea of fun. I fell even more in love with my husband that day when he scooped up my son and took care of the mess . . . leaving me to enjoy my Mai Tai in relative peace and quiet. Hey! I’d earned that drink and “pass” on the dirty diaper. I sat the entire 6+ hours between two kids. While he sat across the aisle from us reading his James Rollins book.

 

4. Even when you think you didn’t do any work on your current manuscript, you probably did. I got home feeling like I didn’t accomplish anything, simply because I didn’t do what I had planned. But when it comes to writing there are other ways you can be working on your story, even when it doesn’t feel like you are doing a single thing. Something had been nagging me. There was something wrong with the plotted for the second half of my work-in-progress. But somewhere along that vacation—between lounging at the pool, stuffing my face with macadamia nut pancakes, and exploring the island—I discovered what was really bothering me. I was able to fully pinpoint my issues. And now I know what I need to do to fix the problem. At least in theory. I need to get my plotting gals together for further brainstorming, but now I can tell them what feels wrong, where the current set-up just won’t work and why. That’s much better than telling them “something feels off.”

 

5. Coming home from vacation does not make you feel energized and ready to work. On the contrary, I find it’s been tough. I’ve had to take a very slow approach to getting back to the whole writing business. Even going back to the gym has been hard—even though I went jogging three times in Hawaii. I think if I had to go back to an office job things would be different. That whole earning a paycheck and having a boss thing would have fixed my problem immediately. Something tells me a boss wouldn’t like my curling up on the couch in the middle of the day to take a nap . . .

 

6. Even when you think coming home to the rain/snow mix and temperatures that are a full 40 degrees cooler is a depressing concept, there are always silver linings. Yes, I said linings. I used the plural. For starters, there was sleeping in my wonderful bed. I love that thing. Every night I crawl in and tell it I love it. And if you don’t believe me, ask my husband. Then there was getting to see my dog. I love my golden! Even as I type this she is curled up under my desk, keeping my feet warm. She follows me around and is my constant companion, and she became my first baby 10 years ago this week. The brightest and shiniest silver lining was coming home to a surprise! We picked up the mail and there was a brown package addressed to my husband that had come via Royal Mail. Well, that immediately caught my attention. What could he be getting from the land of my fictional best friends? He just smiled and told me to open it. My wonderful hubby had purchased a book I’d been drooling over for weeks before we went on our trip. An expensive book. We’re talking more expensive than those textbooks in college. It’s the 1810 version of John Cary’s New Itinerary. It’s basically a book that lists all the roads in England, how many miles it was between different destinations, inns, stagecoach routes and departure times, and even packet ships. There’s much more to it, but unless you study the Regency like I do, you probably don’t care. Now I won’t have to worry about bugging my Beau Monde Chapter mates about miles and times for traveling by carriage. But what has me really excited is it isn’t a present day copy of the book. It is actually from 1810. It is musty and smelly. The pages are yellowing and it looks like someone used the book as a coaster once or twice. But I love it! I love picturing who might have bought that book. Where did they travel? Did they use it to get from London to Gretna Green to elope with their true love?

 

I hope you can find adventure in your everyday world and are able to continue learning about yourself and life. If you have any pearls of wisdom you’ve recently unearthed, or new adventures you’ve been on, please share them! I always enjoy learning from other people’s discoveries.

 

“I Got My Groove Back!”

What?! It’s that time again? Can’t be. I simply refuse to believe it’s my turn to blog. Where did the last four weeks go? I kept reminding myself to get it done weeks ago. I have it written in my planner in two places and two sticky notes posted like giant red flags. Did I heed any of them? Nope. I believe I mentally blocked them out. So here I am, in the last hour, cranking this sucker out.

It seems like my life has suddenly gone into warp speed: family commitments, a quickly approaching trip to Hawaii, daughter’s school and ballet/tap lessons, doctor appointments, and on and on and on. It never ends, as you well know. What’s making it crazier is my muse. She’s finally on speaking terms with me—yay! Now all I want to do is write. Talk about a turnabout from a month ago. Somehow, someway, I managed to get my groove back. Perhaps wishing really has made it so? Whatever the reason, I’m thrilled. It helps that my office is now officially moved downstairs to the library. All of my research and books are in the same room as I am when I’m working. I’m finally far removed from the television and no longer have to listen to Dino Dan or Curious George. I love it! I can work while my daughter watches her afternoon movie/show and she generally doesn’t shove her way between me and my muse. (Except for right after I typed this line—sheesh! Does this kid have ESP?!)

Do I still obsess over my word choices? Why yes, yes I do, but it seems to be tapering off. Do I struggle with wanting every word that comes out of my hero/heroine’s mouth to be pure gold? All the time! I’m slowly remembering how I finished the previous manuscript—by putting pen to paper and by writing because it’s fun and not worrying if what I have written is any good. That’s why it’s called a rough draft. Duh! Something so simple shouldn’t be so complicated for me to “get,” but it is.

In the last month I’ve managed to eke out 45 pages. That’s a lot for me. I only get 1-2 hours a day to write. And, in general, I don’t write on the weekends—I research, if anything. Lately, I’ve tried using my weekends to figure out what in the world I’m going to do about my plot. It’s not broken. It simply doesn’t exist beyond the end of chapter 3. I have my turning points and dark moment sketched in, but for months now I’ve known something wasn’t right about them. Something isn’t working and, until recently, I’d allowed “it” to keep me from writing. I have a general idea of where I want things to go, but beyond that, I got nothing. It’s frightening for this type-A plotter. I finally gave myself permission to write to the end of chapter three. If nothing speaks to me by that point, I’ll just have to seek help from my plotting sisters, but not until after that trip to Hawaii. Thankfully my vacation is falling at the exact time when I’ll be done with chapter 3. What luck! It’s like buying time.

I’ve always believed a code must exist, a system for plotting, something that would basically tell me how to plot and make it super easy. Yeah, I know, that doesn’t actually exist. That’s the optimist in me that sometimes pokes her head out of the dark cave. To be sure, you can read book after book and learn tricks on how to make the process less painful, but let’s be honest—if writing a book were so dang easy, then everyone would have done so by now. There is no one out there who can give you the exact roadmap, because it doesn’t exist. That being said, I think I’ve found some useful guidelines. I will still need help from my plotting sisters. Because while I have the steps, for some reason, they’re just vague enough I can’t always quite figure out what I want my characters to do, or what they need to do. Or, how exactly I want to drive them apart and push them together, how I will incorporate my history lesson/social issue for this manuscript, how it will all mesh seamlessly. That’s okay. My goal for this moment in time is to write—something I’m quite happy and relieved to be doing.

This writing thing is crazy. Some days I wonder, if it’s such a hair-pulling event, then why do I continue trying? Then I ask myself what I’d rather be doing, and the answer is always the same. I want to write. I want to tell stories. Stories about falling in love. Stories that use history not just for setting, but for discussing social issues. And hopefully, someday, someone other than my family and best friend will get a chance to read those stories and fall in love with them as I have.

I wish you success in whatever your dream is, and I hope if you’re struggling you find a quick and easy way to get your groove back!

“Typical Day At The Office”

It’s been a while since I started a manuscript, but I have to wonder, was it always like this? Writing the opening has always been difficult for me, but I seem to be struggling more than usual. For the entire month of January I feel like I didn’t get anywhere. I can’t seem to get in the flow of things. And I’m starting to get a good idea why.

There are too many voices. It’s so crowded my hero and heroine are unable to carry on a conversation. I hear my own doubts. I hear tips from other writers—both published and prepublished. In mid-sentence I recount all the information I’ve accumulated through online classes and local RWA meetings—all the “rules” of writing. Then there are those CDs from Nationals I listened to this summer. If all that wasn’t enough to stifle my creativity, I also hear Dino Dan in the background talking about a long-gone dinosaur he somehow sees. (Frankly, I think that kid needs a trip to a counselor, but my kids love learning about dinosaurs, so I deal.)

I figure I’ll eventually get my hero and heroine alone. One day earlier this week I’d hoped I’d found that day. My characters had been whispering to me all morning and my fingers itched to get on the keyboard. Even better? That particular afternoon the conditions were perfect. My daughter had barricaded herself in the bonus room. My son was down for his afternoon nap. I turned off the television. And it was so quiet I could—I could hear my own thoughts! My hero and heroine were finally alone, finally talking to each other . . . and me.

I jumped on the couch and grabbed my laptop. It took a little time to ease into it, but then, suddenly, I was there! It was 1814. I was at a house party in East Sussex County. 576 words in and it suddenly became very apparent why I’ve struggled lately. It’s not the intense editing class I’m currently torturing myself with. It’s not the fact my plot is an abyss after the 3^rd chapter. It’s not even the laundry, dishes, grocery shopping, or toys strewn all over the house. Nope, it’s something far more demanding, and harder to ignore.

“Mama, this needs new batteries.”

I looked up and saw my daughter standing next to me with her Pixter in hand. I glanced at the clock. I only had 30 minutes before I had to get her ready for ballet, wake my son, then head out the door. My hero is impatient to be heard, and she wants me to fix her Pixter? Now? I told her mommy’s busy and asked her to find something else to play with. I offered to change the batteries when we got back from ballet. I reminded her we would leave in just a little while.

She flopped onto the couch. “Mama, I wish Daddy were here . . . Mama, I wish Dada were here so he could do this. Hey! Mama, we forgot about my pink, little buggy lantern upstairs. Mama, Mama, I really want to use it someday. We’ve never used it. And I don’t know what batteries it takes. It needs batteries.” One minute pause, where I cursed batteries. “Mama, can you please get batteries for this?” She held out her Pixter and I tried ignoring her. Pout . . . Pout . . . Pout. “Mama, I would really like it if you would please put batteries in this.”

It looks nicer on the screen, but I assure you, she said it with a high-pitched whine while falling backwards onto the dog, then sliding to the floor to lay prostrate. Who is this melodramatic child? And why does she think that saying please in such a manner will make me want to help?

I told her I’m busy. I reminded her that the bonus room was crammed to the ceiling with other toys. I asked myself why she chose today, of all days, to bring me a toy she hadn’t played with in 3 years.

“Please . . . please, Mama. Pleeeeease. Mama, can you please get batteries for it?”

I broke down. I couldn’t concentrate. I could no longer remember what my heroine wanted to tell the hero. I told my daughter to get the little screwdriver from the junk drawer then opened the back of the toy as fast as possible. And cursed batteries once again. The four old AA batteries were corroded, and it was all over the springs, too. Great. I rushed to clean the gunk out then returned to my computer while she went upstairs to rifle around for batteries in my office. Meanwhile, I only rewrote one sentence. At least my heroine was finally saying the correct thing. I went to write the hero’s reply but my daughter stomped down the stairs. She couldn’t find the batteries. Aaaaaand I officially lost my “zone.”

I darted upstairs, grabbed the four batteries from the exact spot I’d told her to look, then ran downstairs. I jammed the batteries into the Pixter and got the back screwed on. Impressed, my daughter said, “Well, Mommy, at least you’re doing it fast.” She thanked me very nicely for fixing her toy and curled up next to me on the couch to play. Somehow, seeing her content calmed me.

I looked at the clock. 15 minutes. I had work to do. I had to return to 1814 long enough to find out what I’d missed. Except, when I try to get back, I can’t. My muse is no longer on speaking terms with me—and I bet it has something to do with the chaotic work environment.

Maybe, just maybe, I’ll treat myself to some noise-cancelling headphones for my birthday next week, then give myself permission to just write—write without worrying about rules or anything other than capturing the scene I keep trying to get out of my mind.

How about you? What’s a typical day at your office?

Life. It’s A Delicate Balance.

Resolutions. Goals. Commitments. Whatever you call them, it’s that time of year again. It’s time to decide if you’re going to make a list of targets you’re vowing to hit in the New Year.

In general, I haven’t been much for making resolutions. Not sure why. When I worked, I was in sales. So the goals were always the same: sell more. Duh. But now I’m a stay-at-home mom with a dream of becoming published. My situation is vastly different. If I don’t come up with some goals, there’s nothing and no one to hold me accountable. No way to gauge my “success,” such as it is.

Isn’t getting published my goal, you ask? Of course it is. But that goes without saying. There are many other stepping stones along the way. For me, it’s important to document how I’m going to be proactive in my quest for publication. After I get that long-awaited, most-hoped-for contract signed, then I can start putting down the big stuff, like becoming a NY Times Best Seller. =)

Here’s a look at what my goals were for 2011. Could I have done better? Definitely. Am I happy with what I did accomplish? Ehhh, for the most part.

1. Get website up.  Nope. So embarrassing. I’ve had this on my goals for 2 years now!

2. Start blogging – but don’t overdo it or I’ll never be able to keep up. Blog once a month and keep it to social issues within my genre (Regency era.) Launch blog by March 1. Ha! This one was partially accomplished. I didn’t start blogging by March 1, but I did join Plot Mamas! So, I was able to make this goal, for the most part. I’m happy with it, and the social issues in history part will come about when I get my website going (which BETTER be this year).

3. Rewrite An Ideal Wife: Research (Start Feb 7) Plotting (Start March 15) Um…I’m not even close on this one. Because of my edits for Spies, Lies, and Alibis, I didn’t start researching until October. Plotting the dang thing is the current pain in my rear. That, and my kids who won’t leave me alone long enough to write a short email. =)

4. Continue working on Edits of Spies, Lies and Alibis – adding more emotion and tightening up the storyline. Possibly changing the end of the story. Done, done, and DONE!!!

5. Submit Spies, Lies and Alibis to various contests for further feedback. 5 contests minimum (1 being large). DONE! Though I’m not sure how valuable a large chunk of that “feedback” was.

6. Attend ECWC in October. DONE!

7. Attend some local chapter meetings. DONE!

8. Take some online classes that help with plotting and character motivation – anything that will help hone my craft. DONE!

9. Figure out which agents might be a good fit for me and query them. Nope, not quite there.

10. Start thinking about a new series idea to start in 2012. Figure out how to start working on the first in the series and how to outline what the rest of the series would look like so it is easier to try and sell. Not even close. This was me being either a) overly ambitious, or b) naïve about writing with two small children kicking around the house all day – how many years until they’re both in school all day? Oh, yeah, I’ve got another 4 ½ years to go . . .

11. Figure out a better process for writing a synopsis. There has to be an easier way than what I’ve been doing! Yeaaah, about that. I’ve taken lessons and read countless websites. Nothing seems to help. I must have an incredibly thick skull or cotton between my ears. Maybe both.

My mentor would probably spank me for not achieving all of these goals, but it’s her job to crack the whip. Me? I’m determined to do better this year. But I’m equally determined not to let my family or health suffer for my trying to meet my goals. Life. It’s a delicate balance.

I’m still working on my goals for 2012—I’ve been procrastinating working at all since mid-December, so excuse me for continuing that trend. Here are a few things I’m certain will be on that list:

1. GET MY WEBSITE UP!!! No ifs, ands, or buts. No excuses. In fact, if I was smart, I’d email my brother-in-law (my webmaster) right now and get the ball rolling . . .

2. Plot, write, finish, and edit An Ideal Wife.

3. Take more online classes to work on perfecting my craft.

4. Attend local chapter meetings (at least 5).

5. Don’t sacrifice my gym time for anything unless it’s essential, like doctor appointments or vacation. (This is a hard one, because the first activity to get erased from my schedule in favor of something else is always the gym.)

6. Get my office moved from upstairs to the library.

7. Get all of my submissions out in a timely manner.

That’s all I have for now. I know this list will be growing and my mentor will tell me I need to give myself hard deadlines, exact numbers, but for now I think this is a good start.

I’d love to read your comments! Do you make resolutions or set goals? How are you at accomplishing what you set out to achieve?