I’m finally on a roll!

I’ve been writing steadily for the past six months and so far I’m on target to meet all my goals for the year. Unfortunately I won’t be headed to RWA Nationals this year but I will be back in Georgia to meet up with the ladies from Georgia Romance Writers come October.

See you soon!

Chudney

I know I’m sending you away from my blog but I promise it’s worth it. Take a gander at Pattern Play: Indian Silver in Virginia  over at Style Court.

So I’m putting on an Independence Day Celebration for our International Students today and it’s raining! Originally it was supposed to be a pool party, yeah that didn’t pan out with Debby downer sitting in the gulf. Now we have flooding in Florida, tragically people have lost their lives and there have been tornadoes. So I’m thankful that we only have rain.

We’ve moved the party indoors and the show will go on. Perspective it comes to us all!

On the writing front I’m most definetely finishing this story this week if it kills me. It’s time to start submitting again.

Last week I got knocked on my behind straight into bed by a virus/sinusitis! (imagine not being able to breathe, move or talk, sometimes without crying) And this week is catch up at work and the short story I’m working on. Last night was the first time I’ve written in two weeks. So I’m in the cave sorry I know I made promises. I’ll be back next week.

So I wrote out my five year plan the other day. I borrowed my goal setting method from my husband. When we met he was a average sized guy with the very beginnings of a beer belly. The pursuit of an MBA, finishing our daughters food  and a lack of sleep when the second kid rolled around helped him put on weight.

He’s lost a lot of weight since then, he’s practically back to his old high school weight. When my sister in law decided to ask him how he did it the other day, this was his reply: “I decided I was fat and so I made up my mind not to eat so much.”

Now mind you he started exercising twice a week and watching his calorie intake. By this time we’d already decided to go veggie for most meals and eat whole grains. But that’s beside the point. He made up his mind to do something and he did it.

What he also did was do something that most of us are afraid to do. Break our goals down to their simplest forms and stick to them. It was so simple once I’d heard it out loud  I realized that I had vague goals.

I want to be a writer isn’t going to help you get published.

I am a writer and I want to be making a living at it in five years, gets me closer.  (This is about doing something I love and being able to do it for a living)

But do you know what my actual goal breakdown is?

I’ll tell you. In order to achieve my goal I have to sell books.

How do I sell books you ask? I have to submit books to publishers/ agents and  have them offer me a contract. (There’s more in there but I’m keeping it simple, think promotion after a book gets published.)

I have to get an agent or a publisher to be willing to read the book first before they offer me  contract right? So what does that mean. It means I have to have a polished novel, a polished synopsis and a great query letter ready.

Do you know what that means. It means I have to write and revise the book before I can get to that point (I’ve been doing this all along. Editing however is something you have to learn along the way and I recommend taking a class)

See really simple, I have to write, revise, edit,and  submit my work. Repeat as necessary for my goal to happen. My idea for goal setting be realistic and ask yourself Why/how? like an inquisitive five year old who won’t leave you alone, because the reason we hate asking these questions is because we don’t like digging around for the answers.

I saw this on Isis Rushadan’s Blog this morning and it applies  to every goal you ever had and intend to have. I also reminds me of a couple I know (you guys know who you are)

I know I’ve posted a lot of photos of me at 5k’s lately. I’m recycling this one because I don’t have any of me crossing the finish line.

For me, running is determination in motion.

I came to this conclusion when I was on the track at the gym when I realized that I ran continuously for 20mins no walk run, just a steady jog (slow as molasses I tell yah) but I did it with a minimal of huffing and puffing.

It dawned on me then, what I was seeing was my determination put to motion. In the same way I approached life and writing , it was the same way I approached running. I’ve had a few bouts of the what ifs with my writing, paralysis brought on by fear. Same goes for everyday life.

When I decided to go back out into the work place I took the very first job offered to me because it was safe. I didn’t have to face rejection. I enjoyed it, but it payed less and I spent three years in a position that ultimately ended up burning me out.

I learned from it and I learned things about myself but I was afraid to jump. It took this new job and reconnecting with old friends and connecting with new ones to remind me that hidden under all that fear was determination that kept me moving ever forward, even when it didn’t feel that way.

It took a new friend to bring up the subject of the gym and running on a treadmill to lead me eventually to my epiphany.

My aunts have always said I’m stubborn. They’ve always said that I’m strong and I’ve always countered that with  “I just put one foot in front of the other”. To me that’s just what you do. But you see, it’s a lesson I learned from my mother, in fact my entire family.

Never stop moving. Never stop striving. Even when life gets in the way. Even when you get knocked down. Keep your determination in motion.

Chudney