by Kelly Carey It's June and so it is time to assess how your annual writing goals are progressing. Use June Year's Eve to take stock of your accomplishments, reinvest in those goals that need more attention, and set yourself up for success in 2016. To that end, I am re-posting a blog from June of 2015 and wishing you a Happy June Year's Eve! In January, bubbly with champagne excitement and intoxicated by the shimmering crystal ball in Time’s Square, we all set down our writing goals for the year. Since writers are ambitious dreamers, we probably set very lofty goals. To that I say, good for us! That drive and stamina to succeed will get our manuscripts published. But did you over promise? Did some unforeseen event steal time and attention from your writing? Did your January va-va-voom sput-sput-sputter somewhere in March? Then I would like to be the first to wish you a Happy June Year’s Eve! June marks the mid-year point and is an excellent time to track our progress and make sure we are well positioned for writing success. In June, writing goals and resolutions everywhere can be given a solid scrubbing, and REVISED for success. You set New Year’s resolutions, now is the time for June Year’s resolutions. As writers, we are not only intimately aware of the power of revision, but we are also experts at revising. It is time to apply that skill not to our manuscripts, but to our writing goals. Read through your goals, keep what is working and toss those goals that just don’t fit or make sense anymore. Maybe that middle grade novel whispered to you on a cold day in March (which frankly could have been any day in March since they were all cold) and you put aside your picture book plans. Perhaps you had a light bulb moment while attending a conference, reading a blog, or while brushing your teeth (true story, just ask Amanda!). Great! Time to make your writing goals match that reality. Just reminding yourself of the promises you made and the plans you had will refocus your energy for the next six months. This is not a bash session. Do not beat yourself up over missed goals. You are not giving up, you are revising. What writer would forsake revision? I’d like to clink a glass with you on New Year’s Eve in celebration of hitting our writing goals. The best way to make this happen is with a serious mid-year goal revision. Happy June Year’s Eve and happy goal revising! I took a peek at my 2016 writing goals and was thrilled to see that I am ahead on some of my benchmarks. For example, I've already hit my target goal for the number of workshops and conferences I had hoped to attend this year. Cue the big smile, the feeling of accomplishment, and the internal "you go girl". Then I noted some areas that I hadn't even realized were being neglected. I am way behind on writing query letters, and - what do you know - I had set a goal of revising a middle grade novel in progress. I had totally forgotten about that lofty goal. Lucky for me I celebrate June Year's Eve and can use the fizzy euphoria of this wonderful holiday to reinvest in my goals for the next six months of the year. Pop some champagne and set yourself yp for writing success this year!
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by Annie Cronin Romano Like working jigsaw puzzles? White Mountain Puzzles has a few jigsaws with a literary flair. This book "Best Sellers" puzzle will keep you busy with 1000 pieces of literature's favorites. How many have you read? The bookplates below are just a few samples of the designs you'll find at Gone Reading, a web store for reading enthusiasts. Ever wished a perfume could capture the aroma of libraries, leather-bound books, and Mr. Darcy? Well, a few claim to have done it! Check out Sweet Tea Apothecary for their "Dead Writers" scent (hey, I didn't name it!) or head over to Demeter to discover "Paperback." Okay...do NOT tell me you wouldn't love walking into that next critique group meeting with your appetizer served on a book-shaped platter! I mean, how fun is this? You can see all the size options at Gone Reading. _ Wish you could wear a favorite book around your neck? Don't we all? Well, you can if you web surf your way over to Uncommon Goods. They've got scarves featuring passages from Jane Eyre, Alice in Wonderland, and Wuthering Heights. I hope you enjoyed (and try) some of these suggestions for writing rewards.
Now, go treat yourself to that hard earned carrot! And keep striving to meet your upcoming goals. I'll share some more carrot ideas in a few months! ~Annie by Annie Cronin Romano Every writer needs to be out there on social media. We hear it time and time again. Build that platform. Facebook. Twitter. LinkedIn. A personal writer’s website. Blogging. And what about those online writing classes? And then the online groups which inevitably spring from those online classes? Maintaining your social media presence as a writer is important. It's helps with networking, honing your craft, getting advice and support from other writers, and marketing. But online presence often has a domino effect. It can send you flailing into a black hole of tweets and posts and blogs…and far, far away from your manuscript. Uh oh. That’s right. Your manuscript. Remember that? The one you mention in those hashtag comments? The one you joined that online writers’ group for so you could get some feedback? That work-in-progress? Have you been working on it? Or just tweeting about it? How much social media is too much? I’m not really sure, to be honest, and it’s certainly different for every writer depending upon where you are in your writing journey. But I’d venture to say if you’ve spent time checking your Twitter and Facebook accounts today and haven’t touched your manuscript then it’s too much, because it’s keeping you from writing. Don’t neglect your online presence. Most agents and editors want to see writers have some established social media platform. But try to balance it, placing a priority on your writing. Some tips:
Writing and social media: It’s a balancing act. Try to maintain your equilibrium. Keep your mind on your writing goals, first and foremost. You’re going to teeter. You’re going to totter. And, yes, you’re going to fall. Just remember: you’re building a social media platform to enhance your writing, not to smother it. So head up and eyes focused on that manuscript. And find your balance. And before you ask...YES! The irony of presenting this topic on this blog, Twitter and Facebook is not lost on me! ;) ~Annie by Kelly Carey In January, bubbly with champagne excitement and intoxicated by the shimmering crystal ball in Time’s Square, we all set down our writing goals for 2015. Since writers are ambitious dreamers, we probably set very lofty goals. To that I say, good for us! That drive and stamina to succeed will get our manuscripts published. But did you over promise? Did some unforeseen event steal time and attention from your writing? Did your January va-va-voom sput-sput-sputter somewhere in March? Then I would like to be the first to wish you a Happy June Year’s Eve! June marks the mid-year point and is an excellent time to track our progress and make sure we are well positioned for writing success. On June 1, 2015 writing goals and resolutions everywhere can be given a solid scrubbing and be reset, recharged and REVISED for success. You set New Year’s resolutions, now is the time for June Year’s resolutions. As writers, we are not only intimately aware of the power of revision, but we are also experts at revising. It is time to apply that skill not to our manuscripts, but to our writing goals. Read through your goals, keep what is working and toss those goals that just don’t fit or make sense anymore. Maybe that middle grade novel whispered to you on a cold day in March (which frankly could have been any day in March since they were all cold) and you put aside your picture book plans. Perhaps you had a light bulb moment while attending a conference, reading a blog, or while brushing your teeth (true story, just ask Amanda!). Great! Time to make your 2015 writing goals match that reality. Just reminding yourself of the promises you made and the plans you had will refocus your energy for the next six months. This is not a bash session. Do not beat yourself up over missed goals. You are not giving up, you are revising. What writer would forsake revision? I’d like to clink a glass with you on New Year’s 2016 in celebration of hitting our 2015 writing goals. The best way to make this happen is with a serious mid-year goal revision. Happy June Year’s Eve and happy goal revising! by Francine Puckly “We can’t control the fact that we’re going to leave here today older than when we arrived. But what we can control is that we will leave here stronger.” This little gem of wisdom came from a friend’s Spinning® instructor. His words have become my mantra, guiding me as I attempt to regain internal and external balance and strength in the many roles I play each day. While I want to crawl into bed each night being physically stronger than when I awoke, I also want to be a stronger writer. To be sure, physical exercise has regained its place of priority in my life, because I've realized I cannot sustain my writing schedule without it. It took me months without a regular exercise regiment to acknowledge that. I walk long distances each morning, resulting in a stronger body, true, but also a stronger, clearer mind. With that stronger, clearer mind, I can point my energy toward seeking out the skills I need to complete projects. Last weekend I attended the NESCBWI spring conference. New experiences, new topics, and new approaches. I came away with an arsenal of tools to rejuvenate and strengthen my writing--my arms laden with books and my brain sloshing with information to outline my manuscript, query the next agent, and convert my novel-in-progress to Scrivener. Besides acquiring skills, conferences provide the opportunity to be richly supported by the people around me. By now, you know how important my 24 Carrot Writing peeps are to me. I leave our monthly check-ins older, yes, but also rejuvenated from the various tidbits of craft information we share. As each minute passes, I’m aging. I will finish this blog older than when I started writing it. And I can’t control that. But I can make sure that with each passing hour, each passing day, each passing event in which I partake, I leave those experiences stronger. So, yes, we will finish today older than when we started. But the most important thing is that we must leave stronger! - Francine by Amanda Smith Let’s face it: Sometimes it is hard to actually sit down and write. Even if it is what you really want to do. Even if you have blocked off time just for your writing. Even if writing is the thing that fills your cup. Sitting down and actually WRITING can be pretty darn hard. There are just too many distractions. That is why giving an account is essential to my writing process. And progress. Here are a few practical suggestions for finding accountability partners: A Writer’s Group: Recently Annie wrote about the importance of integrating in the writers’ community (http://www.24carrotwriting.com/-blog/the-importance-of-a-writing-community-conferencestwittercritique-groupsoh-my). More than support, our writers’ group offers me accountability. Here is how it works. Every month we say, “Last month I did _____” and then we offer praise and support (and always some awesome jokes) and then we say, “This coming month I plan to do _______.” The sheer thought of having to look these three women in the eye and say, “This month I wrote nothing. Nada. Zilch. I was out chasing squirrels.” makes me quiver in my boots. Of course, if that were the case, they would be completely understanding and supportive, but I would feel like I didn't keep my end of the deal. Online Partner: Your accountability partner does not have to be a fellow writer, though. On a particularly unproductive morning, a dear friend sent me a quick message. As I lamented my lack of productivity to her, she challenged me by saying: “I’m setting my timer for 20 minutes. You do the same and see how much you can get done and then we’ll check in with each other.” I got to work like a squirrel in fall. Because I did not want to tell her in 20 minutes’ time that I am still browsing the internet. And then I got so involved in what I was doing, I didn't check in until an hour and a half later. Now, she wasn't writing. She spent her 20 minutes cleaning her kitchen counter and her dining room table. But knowing I had to check in with her got me writing. And it felt wonderfully productive. Timer: Yip, the old timer can also be your accountability partner. You can do 20 minute miracles like Francine (http://www.24carrotwriting.com/-blog/20-minute-miracles). I like the hour bucket principle. You write for 45 minutes and take a 15 minute break. Honestly, though, sometimes I ignore that timer after 45 minutes and work until I get to a natural break in my work. But the timer certainly helps me to START. Writing challenges can also be wonderful accountability partners. And November most definitely is writing challenge month! NaNoWriMo: For the novel writers out there, the challenge is writing a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. Even though I have not participated in this challenge, setting a word goal and tracking your words are great ways to provide motivation and accountability. PiBoIdMo: The premise is simple. You write down at least one picture book idea for each day of November. This is about as low key a writing challenge as you can get. You don’t have to develop those ideas, they don’t even have to be complete ideas. They just have to be. But this is one of my favorite challenges, because I find myself LOOKING for stories in everything. This challenge has taught me to think creatively, to always look and listen for stories (and to write those ideas DOWN before they disappear into the land of lost stories). It keeps me in “writing mode” every day. Few things feel better than having those 30+ ideas at the end of November! Hurry, you can still register for PiBoIdMo 2014! 12x12: 12x12 flowed out of PiBoIdMo for those who wanted to develop their ideas. The concept is to write one picture book draft a month. The end of each month brings a check in and one can earn cute little badges on one’s profile for each draft. I covet those badges. I work for those badges. Those badges keep me accountable. I have 10 colorful draft badges under my name. That is 10 picture book drafts that I did not have in January!!! Because 12x12 kept me accountable. Sign up for 12x12 is in January. Critique Groups:
Our critique group submits picture book manuscripts to one another once a month. We have a week to critique and return the stories. Knowing I have to submit something “share-able” to my critique partners each month keeps me writing and revising. A rose by any other name… Not so much, Shakespeare. I am a writer. That, right there. That is my biggest accountability partner. Because when I say those words, the inevitable follow up question is, “So, what do you write?” I want to have a timely answer to that question. Not what I wrote last month, or even last week, but what I am working on right now. Because I don’t say those words lightly. Who keeps you accountable as you pursue writing? Tell us in the comments section if you have found some particularly motivating accountability partners. ~Amanda by Francine Puckly January is the most notorious month for making resolutions and setting goals, a practice that has been in place since Roman times. But autumn is also steeped in the tradition of reevaluation, readjustment, and recommitment to life-sustaining behaviors and goals. In modern times, summer vacations—with their blend of frolic and leisure—leave most of us with refreshed, relaxed minds and bodies as we head into the final months of the year. The crisp air of fall brings an energy that was lacking in the sultry summer months. So it doesn’t surprise me that November has become a month of creative pursuits and challenges for writers and illustrators alike. Whether it’s NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), WNFIN (Write Non-Fiction in November), PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month), NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month), or an illustrator pursuit such as SkADaMo (Sketch-A-Day Month) or a “30-Day Illustrator Challenge" (such as 30 paintings in 30 days), creative goals abound for every writer and illustrator out there. We join together from the far corners of the earth with the help of website sponsors and social media to journey through the month together, cheering on one another during this 30-day sprint. I am hesitant to join challenges I don’t feel I can complete, as it is debilitating for my creative soul to miss goal after goal. I have never participated in NaNoWriMo, the challenge-of-choice for the young adult fiction writer I am, but that has never stopped me from setting—and achieving—a month’s worth of writing goals each November. November is rich in creativity. I lay the groundwork for my current project in September and October after my kids return to their school routines, and the daily focus in November blows open the work. It is a time I cherish, and I am able to face the energy drain of the holidays because I have fed my soul for weeks. This year will be no exception. I will be participating in the November challenge by continuing my daily 20-minute longhand writing practice and topping that off with an additional objective to complete the revision of my latest manuscript. A friend is joining the creative push by dividing the month into four one-week buckets. She will sketch out one project a week. Another friend, who isn’t able to commit to the 50,000 words of NaNoWriMo due to the demands of her full-time job, is modifying PiBoIdMo. She is developing new ideas for her latest fantasy novel—world building, characters and plot—each day of the month. Consistency fosters creativity. Whatever your muse, whatever your project, whatever longing you feel with respect to your craft, I am certain that November holds something special for you and your creativity. Won’t you consider joining the thousands of other writers and illustrators by setting specific, achievable and realistic goals this November? Grab an accountability buddy, set your plan, and give yourself the gift of time devoted to your craft. Let’s try it together…for 30 short days. Francine |
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