Writer's Rebel Creed 2014 & How to Achieve Your Writing Goals article links

This year, I pledge to renew my commitment to writing and to stay accountable to myself as far as my goals - writing and otherwise.

And so, I, once again, take the Writer's Rebel Creed commitment. If you'd like add your name to the Writer's Rebel Creed 2014, click on the image below.

And to help you with achieve your writing goals this year, here are a few links to articles that can give you an extra boost of inspiration and motivation that you need:

How To Meet Your Writing Goals in 2014

How To Set Achievable Writing Goals for 2014

Setting Effective Writing Goals

On Virtues and Struggles of Perseverance and Discipline - (previous article from this blog)

True Grit (For Writers) - (previous article from this blog)



What are you writing goals for this year? How are you planning on achieving them? Know of any other good articles or motivational resources? Please share.

My Unnofficial NaNoWriMo

November is well known in the writer community to be the NaNoWriMo month (the National Novel Writing Month). It is a time for writers, novice and experienced, to push themselves forward and try to write a first draft of a novel in a month. Or, as the creators of NaNoWriMo say, it's "30 days and nights of literary abandon."

This is a great way for writers to unite in the common goal of producing words and to feel they have a mission to accomplish. I love the idea of it!

I have never done NaNoWriMo officially myself, for various reason. November is often a hard month to dedicate completely to this pursuit. Last year, I did a blog a day when I signed up for NaBloPoMo. I was excited when I was able to accomplish that goal and it had me writing a least something every day.

However, this is not enough anymore to keep me going, to keep me writing. This year has been a bit tough, as a lot has been going on and I was not always able to dedicate the time to writing as much as I wanted to. This stuff also often sapped my energy, which in turn sapped my inspiration, creativity and motivation. And I hated the feeling.

Lately, I seem to have gotten that inspiration and motivation back, and have been actively pursuing creative efforts. So when November rolled around, I decided I need to use it to push forward, to get the momentum and keep it going.

So while I did not sign up for the official NaNoWriMo, I decided to do an unofficial one. I told my husband, so he could keep me accountable and put pressure on me if I slacked off. My goals are not necessarily to finish a first draft of a novel in a month, but to write as much as I can during the month and see how far I get. Instead of word count goals, I'm making daily time goals that I have to keep or raise up. I'm also occasionally doing Word Wars with writers on Twitter (#wordwar), and other times plant myself at my desk and make myself just write without over-analyzing or editing of any kind for a period of time.

And I finally feel happier about where my writing is. With a short story that is going to be published in an anthology, coming soon, and two novel projects (one with my writing partner and one individual), things are looking up.

Those of you who are no participating in NaNoWriMo, keep in mind that you can still benefit and be inspired by the resources at NaNoWriMo. Check out their articles, follow them on Twitter (@NaNoWriMo) and connect with people who are participating to see what they're doing and how.

Rebel Writer's Pledge 2012

Even though I posted my goals (writng and non-writing) for 2012 last month, today I'm posting them again due to joining an amazing group of writers in the Rebel Writer's Pledge 2012! 



 As every year, 2011had its ups and downs. The highlights, as far as my writing is concerned, was signing with the awesome Jennifer Mishler and Frances Black of Literary Counsel. My writing partner Tina Moss and I couldn't be happier about that.
Tina and I also started on the sequel, book 2 in the Keys Series.

I also started an individual project (as has Tina) but more about that in the new year's goals.


So what's ahead?

My writing goals for 2012 are quiet ambitious, and I'm going to start the year with the sense of optimism that all of these goals can be reached successfully. So here's the list of the goals and how I plan to achieve them.

1. I pledge to  finish my WIP. It is very important to me to finish my novel within 6 months. It will be a challenge but a welcomed one. In order to do this, I will change my method of writing a bit. 1) I will start making brief outlines of each chapter to have an idea of what I want to include in the chapter and the general direction it will take. This has proved to be very helpful when I work with Tina (my writing partner) on our Keys Series. When working on my individual project, I tend to just sit down and write, but that is not always an optimal way of doing it. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Making an outline of chapters assures that I can always sit down and know what to write (even if it's in more general terms).

I pledge to be more diligent about keeping the smaller goals of a certain amount of time spent writing a day/a week and/or a certain amount of words written a day/a week, etc.. Hopefully, there will be a very visible rise in both the time spent writing and the words written in the beginning of the year vs. the end. For the beginning, my goal is 250 words a day or 1500 a week (hopefully going up to 1000 words a day towards the end of the year). To accomplish this, I will experiment with a few different methodologies and see what works the best for me. I'll be tracking this experimentation and the results in blog posts throughout the year.

2. I pledge to finish book #2 in the Keys Series with Tina Moss. I love the process we've established while working on book 1. We put our heads together - and sometimes bump them - and we divide up chapters and hash them out. Then we write them and come back together to read over them, then edit each others chapters. Lots of good ideas and good times ensues.

3. I pledge to keep up with the blog post schedule and expanding and developing the blog further. I would like to do another months or two of NaBloPoMo challenge. During the rest of the months, I will be happy posting 3-4 posts a week. I would like to have my features written in advance and be ready to posted when the time comes. These features are Writer Wednesday Flash Fiction and Friday Art & History Feature. I also plan to have a collection of articles on writing that I can use whenever I need to have a post up but don't have time to write it that day. This will allow me to always keep a reserve of articles and keep up with the blog posts even when I'm focusing on other work and cannot devote a lot of time to the blog. It is my intention for my blog posts to inspire and motivate other writers.

4. I pledge to read at least 50 books (various genres, the majority urban fantasy/paranormal romance and historical fiction, as well as YA). Also I pledge to read at least 1 book on writing craft a month.

These are the major writing goals I'm setting for myself in the new year. On top of the writing goals, here are a couple of non-writing goals:

1) I pledge to start to train for my second black belt degree and am hoping to test sometime during the next year.
2) During the next year, I pledge to start a couple of campaigns to raise money for the organizations that work for preservation of big cats and of wolves. Stop by the blog in the next few weeks for more information on this projects. 

Check out Failure...Use it (On Management of Goals and Plans).

Share your writing (or non-writing) goals and how you plan to reach them. How do you motivate yourself and what advice do you have for motivating other writers?

Man is a goal seeking animal. His life only has meaning if he is reaching out and striving for his goals.
Aristotle

Don't forget to check out Rebel Writer's Pledge 2012!

Keeping The New Year's Momentum going

Keeping The New Year’s Momentum Going

You’ve made the New Year’s resolutions, the way you do every year. January 1^st, you’re all primed to go. You’re psyched and excited about accomplishing all your goals. This will be the year you do it all!

We’ve all experienced this, year after year. I definitely have. The problem is not with setting goals and making resolutions. The problem is keeping the momentum going. And not just through the first week or two of the new year but throughout the whole year. That is the only way to look back on December 31^st and realize that this really was the year you reached your goals.

As all of us know, keeping the momentum is easier said than done. That is the trick of tricks. So how is it done?

One psychological trick is not to start on January 1^st. Start your resolution on December 30^th on January 3^rd when you go back to work after the holidays. This is a cheat but it works. Why? Because starting on January 1^st can seem exciting and scary at the same time. After all, it’s a special, “magical” day, the cutoff of things old and beginning of things new. This thought can be daunting. What if you screw it up, this new beginning? Purely psychological manipulations of human psyche but we all do it. The other, simpler reason for starting a couple of days later is that we’re still often in the holiday mode. We are still with family and friends, eating and drinking and being merry. We might not go back to our regular work lives until 2-3 days past January 1^st. And if we fail to jump straight into our resolutions during those days, our excitement might dim, our determination may waver.

Once you’re ready to jump into our resolutions with both feet, you have to remember to have SMART goals:

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Realistic

Timely

If these five factors are not accounted for, it is much harder to keep the momentum going. We all need smaller realistic goals and time frames to push us forward.

Keep in mind that “realistic” is specific to your life and your every-day demands. What’s realistic for one person may not be realistic for another. For example, for someone who works full time and has kids realistic, let’s say, writing goals might be very different from someone who can write at home all day. To be successful, it is imperative to be reasonable and realistic with your goals as applied to your life. And only you will know what those are.

It is also very important to review where you are in relation to your larger goals/resolutions every week or so. This serves a dual purpose – it lets you see what you have to do next and it also raises the level excitement and satisfaction at seeing how much has been already accomplished.

Writing Goals 2012 (And How I'm Planning To Reach Them)

Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything.
Napoleon Hill

Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.
Stephen A. Brennan

Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination.
Fitzhugh Dodson

Goals are dreams with deadlines.
Diana Scharf Hunt

(Instead of the regular Friday Art & History Feature, I wanted to share my goals for the new year with you)

It's that time of the year again. Wait, already? Yep, the time of the year to take stock in what was achieved this year and to make plans, resolutions and goals for the next one. As every year, this one had its ups and downs. The highlights, as far as my writing is concerned, was signing with the awesome Jennifer Mishler and Frances Black of Literary Counsel. My writing partner Tina Moss and I couldn't be happier about that.
Tina and I also started on the sequel, book 2 in the Keys Series.

I started an individual project (as has Tina) but more about that in the new year's goals.


I also feel a sense of accomplishment  about participating (and finishing!) the NaBloPoMo challenge (National Blog Posting Month) in November, in which I had to do a post a day for a month.

So what's ahead?

My writing goals for 2012 are quiet ambitious, and I'm going to start the year with the sense of optimism that all of these goals can be reached successfully. So here's the list of the goals and how I plan to achieve them.

1. Finishing my WIP. It is very important to me to finish my novel within 6 months. It will be a challenge but a welcomed one. In order to do this, I will change my method of writing a bit. 1) I will start making brief outlines of each chapter to have an idea of what I want to include in the chapter and the general direction it will take. This has proved to be very helpful when I work with Tina (my writing partner) on our Keys Series. When working on my individual project, I tend to just sit down and write, but that is not always an optimal way of doing it. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Making an outline of chapters assures that I can always sit down and know what to write (even if it's in more general terms).

I'm also going to be more diligent about keeping the smaller goals of a certain amount of time spent writing a day/a week and/or a certain amount of words written a day/a week, etc.. Hopefully, there will be a very visible rise in both the time spent writing and the words written in the beginning of the year vs. the end. To accomplish this, I will experiment with a few different methodologies and see what works the best for me. I'll be tracking this experimentation and the results in blog posts throughout the year.

2. Finishing book #2 in the Keys Series with Tina Moss. I love the process we've established while working on book 1. We put our heads together - and sometimes bump them - and we divide up chapters and hash them out. Then we write them and come back together to read over them, then edit each others chapters. Lots of good ideas and good times ensues.

3. Keeping up with the blog post schedule and expanding and developing the blog further. I would like to do another months or two of NaBloPoMo challenge. During the rest of the months, I will be happy posting 3-4 posts a week. I would like to have my features written in advance and be ready to posted when the time comes. These features are Writer Wednesday Flash Fiction and Friday Art & History Feature. I also plan to have a collection of articles on writing that I can use whenever I need to have a post up but don't have time to write it that day. This will allow me to always keep a reserve of articles and keep up with the blog posts even when I'm focusing on other work and cannot devote a lot of time to the blog. It is my intention for my blog posts to inspire and motivate other writers.

These are the major writing goals I'm setting for myself in the new year. On top of the writing goals, here are a couple of non-writing goals:

1) I'm starting to train for my second black belt degree and am hoping to test sometime during the next year.
2) During the next year, I would like to start a couple of campaigns to raise money for the organizations that work for preservation of big cats and of wolves. Stop by the blog in the next few weeks for more information on this projects. 

Check out Failure...Use it (On Management of Goals and Plans).

Share your writing (or non-writing) goals and how you plan to reach them. How do you motivate yourself and what advice do you have for motivating other writers?

Man is a goal seeking animal. His life only has meaning if he is reaching out and striving for his goals.
Aristotle

Writer Wednesday - Flash Fiction suspended for the holidays

Because of the workload I have right now at my day job, at he dojo on top of holiday stuff and, trying to stay on top of WIPs, I will be suspending Writer Wednesday Flash Fiction feature until early January. I promise that it will come back with flourish early next year though.
For now, take a peak at my previous flash fiction: The Tango, The Tiger, The Road Not Taken and Sole Survivor.

I will be posting my writing goals for the next year (and my methods of achieving them) by the end of the week.