Goals check up

Well, apparently I had no need to worry about the blip of only a few books in January that were read. Because I read an obscene amount in March. Ripped through several author’s entire back list too!

I’ve been blogging more regularly this year, too. Looks like I’m hitting 3 times per month every month. Not great, but so much better than the years previously that I’ll take it.

I’ve been writing more, too. Sometimes I’ll start and stop. Or play here and there. Flash and poetry are what I’m currently completing on a regular basis. But I am writing. And submitting.

One of the best things for my writing was showing up  for a writing date with Rie. It isn’t about being held accountable. It’s about having someone you can shoot a text to really quick– hey, a short female name that doesn’t start with an M or is Lily?? And get a response. It’s not being or feeling so alone in the process. Forwarding opportunities that might fit the other one’s story, feedback, heck just being “there.” We are states away, but technology is a wonderful thing. Just knowing someone is there for an hour a day, Monday through Friday with me… It’s a beautiful thing.

Now, I’m off to go write more in my silly little story. I’m calling it that because right now I’m writing it just for me. It makes me happy to write it. 

And that is enough.

For today, making myself giggle is enough.

Cheers!

Momcation

I haven’t been by myself in a house for an extended amount of time in… Years. I always have my son (15) or my dad (95) around or coming back. It’s wonderful. I love my family. But….

I used to love living by myself too. I’ve always kept myself occupied– readings writing, television. I’m not one that gets bored and stays bored. The quiet is a friend of mine- it allows a moment of reflection, a deep sigh.

Thanks to Caltrans and my Best friend I just had that. A glorious Sunday through Thursday morning where I stayed in a house all by my lonesome. Caltrans closed the freeway that I need to get to work. (Not a work vacation, alas). My BF is travelling, and offered her house. I have to tell you….

It. Was. Glorious.

I wrote and sent out cards. I didn’t cook ANYTHING. Frozen all the way. And after work, I went to the real happiest place on earth, Barnes and Noble, and bought many wonderful magazines. One was brand new to me, called Oh, Reader and I read every single article in it. Which has inspired me– to do magazine reviews. Share what I’m loving. Maybe a few book reviews in there too.

The fact is that I miss blogging. I miss sharing the things I love, and boy do I love books and magazines!

I love my family. Of course I do.

But I missed myself, and didn’t even realize what had been missing in my life was ME.

Hello, New Year

So, for 2013 I made 3 Resolutions: 2 of which I knew I would fail at and one of which was more like a personal thing.

2013

1. Write a book that Oprah loves. (This is almost impossible, because many of the books she chooses for her book clubs– cant stand. Too depressing!)

2. Write a rock opera using the music of Bon Jovi. (I actually started on this one, a monologue interspersed with music… but had to shelve it. It was based on the worst of times in my marriage, and I was angry all the time while writing it. Angry. All. The. Time. Writing may be therapeutic, but as a mommy— I don’t need that anger hounding me. I still need to let some of it go before I can write this… So it is currently shelved, to be revisited at a later date.)

3. Pray every day for the women of the world who are marginalized. (I took this up when the poor women of India were in the news so often. It expanded into other areas of the world. I can’t do a lot for them, but I can do this. And this one I have kept.)

 

Here’s what really happened, though.

1. Took a fiction class at Writer’s Village University called F2K and one of the subsequent writing assignments was submitted to the WD Short Story competition.

2. Submitted work to an anthology (and was shot down).

3. Wrote 2 new short stories and submitted them (Still waiting to hear on these.)

4. On a lark, submitted a poem to the local paper and became their “Poet of the Week.” Go figure!

Might not seem like much, but it has definitely gotten my feet wet again. So I failed on what my goals were— still made forward progress and am STILL WRITING. WOOHOO! Yay for me!

SO here goes for 2014

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS

1. Complete and submit 10 short stories.

2. Write more poetry.

3. Finish work on Novella currently working on (Not sure of title yet, might just be the first of the Soul Catcher series).

4. Plot and start a longer piece of work (we’re talking novel here, folks.) (also, might need to challenge one of my friends to this… much better than NanoWriMo for us right now. Nanowrimo is great— but I can’t devote that much time to writing in one month. My son’s head would explode or something)

5. Write on blog more regularly. Both reviews and on writing and life and everything in between.

 

So, if you’re a writer, what kind of goals do you have for yourself this year?

The Big Five Oh, and other news

I did it! I hit the big Five Oh! No! I’m not fifty years old (SHEESH)~ I now have fifty blog followers. So, a big THANK YOU to all fifty of you guys who follow me.

WOHOO! You guys ROCK!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch….

Talked with my publisher, and it looks like Dragon’s Path will go into edits next month and is currently scheduled to be unwrapped in December. Yay! I’m also up on their blog right now (see, i did write a blog post on Sunday, it was just for a different one! LOL!). It’s all about the first and only time I tried my hand at a scary story.  I’m having a hard time on WordPress with links and pictures and things, so I’ll just copy and paste right here: http://mochamemoirspress.blogspot.com/2012/10/telling-stories-by-wynelda-deaver.html

Hah!

I think I also added their link to my page, or at least the link to their blog. I think. I’m not as techno savvy as I thought I was hehehe.

In actual writing news, I am almost done with the retelling of Cinderella. I’m within shouting distance of the ending, and I found out what Fairy Tales mean to me. They aren’t about the magic, or about the prince… They are about hope, about dreaming of a different future for yourself.

I like that.

And it just sort of popped out, slapped me upside the head as a character popped off with that line in the story. It feels right, it fits the character and it fits me. Hope is always a good thing.

Till later, my lovelies!