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Posted by Moira on Jan 6, 2012 in
Goals,
Writing Yes I'm bucking the tradition! There will be no resolutions made for Moira this year. Not a single one. Nada. Zilch. Zero. That's it, I'm putting my foot down.
Every year people rush to make their resolutions. I resolve to get in shape, to lose weight, to finish that manuscript from 1988 about the robots from outer space who come to Earth because of Boy George and Cindy Lauper.
You know what happens to about 98.7% (a figure I made up just for this post) of those resolutions? They get forgotten. The pressure becomes to much and they barely make it past the first month. We forget about them.
No longer will this be the case for this zombie slaying, faerie loving, kilt obsessed author. Oh no. Starting with the year 2012, this will now become the time that I set goals. Small or big it matters little. I know I can hear you back there. "But Moira aren't goals the same thing as resolutions?"
To that I say… bah! The word resolution seems to be steeped in a cloak of negativity. They seem destined for failure. In all actuality, the word just seems to damn big. Perhaps resolution needs to go on a diet?
Okay I'm off my soapbox. My goals for the year have been set. They aren't huge. They are attainable…for the most part. Some might need a little push from cupid, others might need the every present and helpful support of my PC Girls to see come to fruition, but all in all they are goals I can live with. Goals that can be reached. So who's with me? Who is bucking the Resolution tradition and climbing on the back of the Goal Bandwagon with me? Bethanne's got the coffee back here. Silke brought-well if you want to know what everyone brought I guess you will have to just climb aboard and share!
Moira spends her daytime hours as a typical 9-5 slave chasing the almighty dollar, and raising twin zombie sons. During her evening hours, she can often be found steeped in homework, watching an episode of the Walking Dead, or penning her latest novel. She is an author of urban fantasy with a romance kicker, a woman with a penchant for men in kilts, lover of shoes, and connoisseur of Guinness! In other words...Moira is a complete mess.
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Tags: goals, Moira Keith, New Year, Resolutions
Posted by Bethanne Strasser on Oct 18, 2011 in
Books,
Goals,
Movies,
Research,
Writing Craft Think Ghost, right?
Or Pearl Harbor…
So, I pulled out an old story to work on, and I'm sitting here wondering how to create some emotion, but not too much emotion that I might tick off my readers when I kill one of the good guys. And not just any good guy, but the heroine's husband. I just don't have it in me to make him bad. You know, like he cheated on her or he only seemed like a good guy and as the mystery unfolds, we see an evil side.
Nah. I don't want that.
Unfortunately, that means I have to kill a good guy.
Key elements to killing a good guy.
- Make it worthwhile. None of this killed-in-an-accident or innocent-bystander bull.
- Make it good [a little drama never hurt]. Bullets, knives, torture. Don't make it slow. And never kill them with a coma!
- Highlight at least one flaw. When we don't want them to be bad guys, we have to be honest with ourselves. Even a hero has flaws. Maybe he was annoyingly organized or perhaps he didn't want children.
- Keep the backstory short. I hate this one, but you don't want your reader to love a dead guy more than the new guy.
What I've learned and gleened from years of letting this manuscript stew.
So, give it to me straight… what are your rules for killing a good guy?
Mother of FIVE smarty-pants and married to her Love for twelve years, Bethanne spends her time writing stories that always--without a doubt--end happy.
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Tags: Death of a Hero, Ghost, Killing the good guy, manipulation of the story, Pearl Harbor
Posted by Jennifer on Feb 9, 2011 in
Challenges,
Goals,
Writing 
HI, all! Jennifer here!
Well, I'm happy to report that I'm doing great on my Book in 3 Month Challenge! Granted I had a wee bit of a head start, but so far I have a good chunk of my manuscript written–35% to be exact. 
You might not know it, but I'm remaining calm and collected about this. Thus, the "logical and calm" word count meter below.
Checking in with my critique partners and posting our daily word total has really kept me from slacking. (Somewhat, anyway) I find when I'm writing, it helps to take small breaks every 30 or 40 minutes, where I quickly check Twitter or email, throw a load of laundry on, or make myself a cup of tea.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As far as P90x goes, I can't believe this is week FIVE already. I am definitely noticing a difference in what I can do now from when I first started (which wasn't much) LOL
The Yoga X was my most dreaded routine. Not because it took up an HOUR AND A HALF of my time but because I found it the most impossible, ridiculous exercise routine on the workout plan. And now I can say that after all this time…
I finally did a session on Saturday and actually enjoyed it. I know. Weirdo-rama. But I bought a yoga block on Amazon and that really helped a lot with some of the moves.
Just like in my writing, where I'm checking in and comparing goals, I'm checking in with my hubby on the P90x plan as well. It really helps to have someone doing it with you because whenever I'm tempted to just skip a day, I have him giving me a look and guilting me into doing it. (The hubby is much more goal oriented than I am) So I'm grateful to have someone else suffering with me. LOL
Accountability. That's the key word that's really really me reach my goals this year. And so far, so good.
Do you need that extra "push" like I do? How do you reach your goals?
Jennifer fancies herself a more prolific writer than she really is and has an unnatural tendency to use words like "fancies" and "prolific" when describing herself. Please feel free to check out her ebook, The Role of a Lifetime from Samhain Publishing and her recent Avalon romance Georgie on His Mind--where she promises she didn't use either of those words in her stories.
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Tags: goals, Jennifer Shirk, work in progress, Writing
Posted by Bethanne Strasser on Nov 22, 2010 in
Challenges,
Goals,
Writing It's that time of year again…
New Year's coming and changes are inevitable. My husband is leaving for a long time. [
Oh crap. I just got a little teary-eyed.] I want to get ready for something NEW–new experiences, new emotions to deal with, new schedules… more time to myself, more time for my work. But I need to clear my desk of any current projects.
So I've come up with Pre-Goal Goals… New Year's Resolution Resolutions. 
With two novellas, both rejected by two different publishers, I'm going to finish some revisions and edits first, then attend that Swingers party with them and send them both off to the other publisher… ha!
GOAL: January 31st, complete revisions and edits and submit
If I can get those submissions out the window, my new year looks good for the next big project. I've been putting off starting another single title. Gun shy, if you will. The last one I did went through agent submissions and failed, not miserably, just in the normal, this-is-life kind of way. 
But I do need to get off my hesitation and have another go of it.
No matter how many novellas I sell, I'll never find myself on display at B&N if I don't write a full-length, Single Title novel and submit it.
Would love to hear how you're getting ready for the New Year. Or do you sit back and wait for the new year, using the new year as a chance to clean house? Tell me everything!
Mother of FIVE smarty-pants and married to her Love for twelve years, Bethanne spends her time writing stories that always--without a doubt--end happy.
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Tags: Resolutions, revisions and edits, Romance, Writing
Posted by Bethanne Strasser on Oct 1, 2010 in
Challenges,
Goals,
Research,
Writing I recently took an online course on time management that used the Four Quandrants featured in Stephen Covey's book, First Things First.
I'm on a deadline, so this seems like something I should take to heart. What about you? Have you been on deadline or just plain dead on your feet, trying to figure out what is the most imperative task at hand?
Highlighting the four catagories for my own use, I find that I'm not always keeping my time management in sync with my goals.
Where do I spend the most time? 
In the not important URGENT catagory. Interupptions, emails, kids… Okay, so there are times for the kids to be in Quandreant II, but there are other times, the kids don't have to be there. Next, I'm in quadrant four with my busywork, my book reading, and my favorite shows.
How can I [we] learn to utilize time management?
For me, Identification is key. I'm not the most disciplined person, but I fare well as long as I acknowledge my needs and my shortcomings.
As my goals change, so does my catagorizing. Right now, I might stick finishing my WIP up there in Important/URGENT. Perhaps it's not life-threatening, but in perspective…it's way more important than what's going on with my FACEBOOK account. \
Mother of FIVE smarty-pants and married to her Love for twelve years, Bethanne spends her time writing stories that always--without a doubt--end happy.
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Anybody with two eyes and a decent web browser can see something is happening around here at Passionate Critters. Book release upon book release, promo tours followed by book trailer parties…the ladies are on fire! Words are flowing, contracts are getting inked. Things are happening!
In a perfect world, I’d announce my recent agent acquisition, or the foreign rights a film company snatched up last week.
Not so, dear readers. I am writing to you from a most discouraging, though very necessary place: the wastelands. This is the “neither here nor there” place we all need to travel on our road to publication. It’s where your best friends get a burst of energy and sprint into that glorious book deal while you curse like a sailor (or a Marine, in my case) at your blinking cursor. It’s the place where you follow your crit partners around the web and cheer them on through their cyber book tours, while you scribble and bleed red all over your pages, crossing out entire sections at a time and throwing objects at the wall while you try to untangle that unholy mess that is POV (and it’s demon sister, Deep POV). It’s the place where the critiques coming your way aren’t, well, the most encouraging. “Back to basics,” “strengthen the writing,” and “tighten the pages.” *sigh*
It’s where you cross out that “query Agent X” on your calendar, because you realize you, and your story, just aren’t ready yet. It’s where you put on them big girl panties and stop comparing yourself to others, wishing you told stories like they tell stories.
Sitting in the wastelands by choice is about giving yourself the right to suck at writing for a minute or two, the whole time knowing that you’re about to roll the sleeves up and get to work at fixing whatever it is that isn’t working in your writing career—books, workshops, online classes, endless rewrites, killing off characters you love, vent sessions over coffee, more time critiquing and helping others…whatever it takes.
If publication is like reaching the Emerald City, the wastelands is that creepy forest where the trees throw apples at you and your story, pointing out your weaknesses and forcing you to rethink, rebuild, and re-create. Return a stronger writer with clearer goals. Return to the yellow brick road with a purpose.
So to my PCers who’ve celebrated HUGE victories lately, I am so, so proud of you. And to my fellow (temporary) wasteland visitors, when the mean trees throw apples, make applesauce, girl. (Or make like the scarecrow and thumb your nose at the thought of stopping too long to wallow!)
On with the words…
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Posted by Clarissa Yip on Aug 27, 2010 in
Bragging Rights,
Goals,
Life,
Writing
When I was a little girl, I used to bury my head in books all the time, from Babysitter's Club Series to R.L. Stine horrors, but my favorites were still romances. With an older sister, who read as fast as she could buy them, I was always hiding and waiting for her to come home with the big bag of books. Once she had her back turned, her books would miraculously disappear, but I learned to return them to her closet before she'd notice.
My mind would always run off and hide in these magical worlds–worlds of these amazing characters, relationships, whether family ties or emotional conflicts, I had a smile for each page I turned and would fall in love all over. Immersed in my own creative wonderland, my dreams blossomed. With each word I put on paper, I grew. With each vision I saw, I foresaw something bigger.
I'm not a writer born overnight. Writing since I was a child, I forged forward. The journey is open and fate is what you make of it.
Like anything in life, perseverance and determination fuels your goals in life. If you want something, go for it. Learn from it. Everything that happens only makes a person stronger.
As a writer, I've been through my ups and downs. My bazillion rejections and I'm still going. Results will reign in as long as you have faith.
My first release, Love by Auction, comes out Monday, August 30th, by Decadent Publishing. This is one of my many milestones and I'm very excited to share it with you.
That little girl with big dreams is still a part of me. This is only the beginning.
What are your dreams? Whether writing or life in general. Sometimes when you share, it's like making a wish.
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Tags: Book Release, Dreams, Inspiration, Writing
