Happy New Year! Goals for 2010

Another year has come and gone and my muse, Juliet, has been as feisty as ever. Mind you, keeping up with Juliet is like trying to tame a blizzard. I just go along for the ride and drink a lot of coffee.

Last year, Juliet and I sat down and came up with some realistic goals, so I thought I’d review them to see how I did before establishing goals for 2010.

Um, Julie, what’s with the ream of paper…?

Goals for 2009:

#1 – Realize my limitations. I’m a working mom with two kids who are six and two. My hands are full. I can write at my job, but finding time to get on the computer, well, that’s a challenge. I need to accept it and go from there without stressing myself out.

STEPH: I did really well with this. It helped to keep my stress level low and I completed several projects. I also managed to do NaNoWriMo this year.

JULIET: She was a stress case. You should have seen her during NaNoWriMo. I’ve never seen a girl drink so much coffee.

#2 Do well in the 78th Writer’s Digest Competition.

STEPH: I thought I entered several good, strong stories, but I didn’t even get an honorable mention.

JULIET: I don’t know why she didn’t. Steph’s stories rocked. After all, I was whispering in her ear.

#3 – Continue to work and edit my novel, “The Hungarian.”

STEPH: Great news! Desert Breeze is going to publish “The Hungarian” in May 2010. I’m thrilled that all my hard work and editing paid off.

JULIET: Like it was all her? I deserve a little credit here.

#4 – Read more. Read different styles. Get inspired by a few good books.

STEPH: Oh, I got out and read. I discovered the Wild Rose Press which I adore. I definitely broadened my reading horizons.

JULIET: Steph and I are hooked on Keena Kincaid’s “Druids of Duncaroch” series.

#5 – Get more social on writing websites.

STEPH: I joined a bunch of groups – Classic Romance Revival, Long and Short Reviews, Lindsay’s Romantics, the Book Spa, Romance Writers of America, and EPIC. I’ve made some great friends.

JULIET: I told her to smile a lot.

(*****)

If you ask me, I thought I did a good job with my goals, 4 out of 5 wasn’t bad. Plus, I sold a children’s story, “The Giving Meadow” to 4RV Publishing which will be coming out in the spring of 2010. That was a nice, unexpected surprise. I also was a NaNoWriMo winner at 50.2 K words. Having accomplished all that, here are my writing goals for 2010:

#1 – Continue to work within my limitations. I was very excited to participate in NaNoWriMo and finish the project, but we’ll see if I enter in 2010. It’s very demanding and the conditions have to be right. I want to grow as a writer like I did in 2009, but without undue pressure on myself or unrealistic expectations.

#2 – My sequel to “The Hungarian” is titled “The Count’s Lair.” I want to finish and edit the project, having it to Desert Breeze by April 2010.

#3 – I want to become a Wild Rose Press author. I love the Wild Rose Press and would be honored to be an author with them.

#4 – Finish my novella, “The White Rose” about Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville. Right now it’s ½ done.

#5 – Finish my novel, “Twilight Over Moldavia,” and submit it to publishers. I would consider it a paranormal romantic suspense.

#6 – Do well in the 79th Writer’s Digest Competition and the Popular Fiction Contest.

#7 – Continue to read and grow as a writer.

#8 – Continue to be social on the writing groups, websites, and blogs. Now that I’ve got some momentum, I’d like to keep it.

#9 – Write more one more novel length romance this year.

#10 – Meet Chad Pennington, the football player. Juliet thinks he’s cute and he’s a comeback kid.


Visit me at:
Classic Romance Revival
http://www.classicromancerevival.com/blog

Adventures in Moldavia
http://sgcardin.blogspot.com

The Desert Breeze Blog
http://desertbreezepublishing.blogspot.com

Lindsay’s Romantics
http://lindsaysromantics.blogspot.com

and drop me a line on all four blogs by 3 JAN at midnight PST and be entered to win a GC for Desert Breeze Publishing. I’ll announce the winner on 4 Jan.