where I’ve been and where I’m (hopefully) heading

(note: I actually started writing this post a few weeks ago but then I got sick w/ a really bad cold, not to mention I’ve been swamped w/ school work.)

I’ve been in a funk for the past few weeks (months?). I haven’t done much writing. I haven’t done much of anything (besides the bare minimum of school work I can get away with doing while keeping my grades up). I usually love summer, but this summer was kind of a downer. The basement apartment I live in was almost always hot and humid. Thank goodness for the AC we got for our bedroom or we never would’ve been able to sleep at night! But who wants to spend the whole freaking day in their bedroom to stay cool? So it’s been hot, and I’ve been lazy.

But now it’s October. It’s been 2011 for ten months and I haven’t accomplished any of my writing goals. I’ve continued to take online writing workshops, but as far as working on my manuscript goes... that went nowhere. I actually was planning on attending the NJRWA conference (which is in two weeks), but I cancelled my registration a few weeks ago. A lot of it has to do with my monetary situation (my debt is slowly increasing since unemployment barely covers the bills) – I just can’t logically afford to go to a conference right now. But also, it’s because I’d thought I’d have a manuscript ready to pitch by now, and I’m not even CLOSE.

With NaNoWriMo coming up again soon, I figure now is a good a time as any to try again. I also think I need to write a serious outline for the new novel that I want to right. I think a lot of my giving up on my past manuscripts is that I get stuck 5, 10, 20 thousand words in and I can’t figure out what’s supposed to happen next, or how it’s supposed to happen. While I usually have an idea of where the story’s headed, I tend to leave the details to figure themselves out. And, as you might’ve guessed by now, so far they haven’t done a great job of it!

I’ve been working on plotting my NaNo novel thanks to Jennifer from Procrastinating Writers. I signed up for her “Creating Your NaNoWriMo Road Map” workshop and have been plugging along with the help of her worksheets. I think my idea is coming together nicely. It’s going to be a post-apocalyptic romance, a bit different from the two previous sci-fi romance manuscripts I worked on.

(Which also explains the aesthetic changes I made to my blog. I wanted to give it a more “end of the world” type feel, instead of the sci-fi, outer space one. You like?)

NaNo is definitely going to be tough this year, though. I have two papers due soon (for one class, our first draft is due at the end of October, but the professor is going to make us revise it if she makes changes to our draft; the other paper is due the first week of December but if I wait ‘till Dec. 1 to start it I’ll be screwed).  Not to mention the usual school work and tests that come w/ five pretty hard classes (three of which have to do w/ accounting). So it’s definitely going to be a challenge, but I am gonna give it a shot!

So who else is w/ me this November? Leave me your NaNo name and once the buddy feature is working again, we can be friends!  :)

Jumping on the 'Goals for 2011' bandwagon (better late than never)!

2010 was a rough year for many people. My year wasn’t all that bad, but it wasn’t that great either. I lost my job in July, which has definitely put a financial strain on me. But I’m a whole lot happier now than I was while I was working at that job I hated with a boss that I couldn’t stand. And being out of work for five months helped me realize that I need to go back to school. While I do still hope to write and publish novels in the near future, I’ve discovered (mostly from reading blogs and websites online) that making a living from writing novels is difficult, and it can take years to make enough money from your writing to be able to quit your day job and still be financially secure.

I also discovered a lot about writing and publishing this year. Last January, I had no idea what getting a novel published would entail. Now I know all about agents and queries and synopsises. I participated in a ton of workshops to help me hone my craft. I read a lot of books, both fiction and non-fiction (the latter were mainly writing instruction). I joined a few writing organizations and attended two writers’ workshops (Pennwriters in May and RWA Nationals in July). Although I am proud of what I did accomplish in 2010, I am disappointed that I didn’t accomplish my goal of completing a (90,000 or so words) manuscript.

So that is my #1 goal for 2011. To finish, edit/revise and eventually query a sci-fi romance manuscript by the end of the year. I’d like to have my first draft finished by my birthday (May 12). It would be great if I could have it revised and 95% ready-to-go by RWA Nationals in June. But I don't want to push myself, especially since I will also be going to school full-time all year. It's going to be quite a change of pace for me.

Along with my goal of a completed manuscript in 2011, I also have the usual new year goals - lose weight (I'd like to lose 25 pounds by June, which is only a pound or so a week) and get control over my spending. I also want to set and stick to a blogging schedule (I'm thinking a Mon, Wed, Fri schedule should work), and come up with more interesting topics to post about (not that my fabulous life isn't exciting enough - HAH!). And I need to get my website operational. I'm paying hosting fees but I'm not updating the site. I even paid to have someone design the backgrounds etc. for me, but since I couldn't afford to have someone handle the whole 9 yards, it's just gathering (rehetorical) dust in cyberspace at the moment.

Oh, and for those of you (like myself) who like to be part of a group that reaches for goals together,  check out Kelly Stone's 90 Day Writing Challenge. You make your own goal of how much you want to write each day. If 1000 words a day is too much for you, vow you'll at least get to 500 (which is what I did). Whatever works for you. I love one-size-fits-all challenges like this.

On that note, I have a few hundred more words I need to get written. Until next time...   :)

I've made a big decision - I'm going back to school!

Once the unemployment benefits extension was officially passed last week, I realized there could be no better time for me to go back to school for accounting than right now. NY state has a program where a person can continue collecting unemployment while going to school without having to look for a job. As anyone who's browsed the help wanted section/craigslist/careerbuilder etc. in the past few months can tell you, there are no decent jobs out there right now. The only jobs that are available want to pay you SH*T money. I'm talking $5-10 less (an hour) than what I was making at my previous job. It's disgusting. And it drives me nuts that the government and the media are trying to tell us that the recession is getting better. IT'S NOT.

But enough about that! I've realized that, as much as I love writing (fiction), it's not a career option for me right now. I don't enjoy freelance (article) writing, and even if I did I know that it's a really tough market to break into right now. I'm unpublished with two unfinished manuscripts to my name that are taking me forever to write. And I do not want to go back to working as a peon (or pee-on, which is how most of us feel), aka an administrative assistant. It's a horrible job where you get treated like crap.  You do the hard work for a sh*t salary while you watch the higher-ups get paid the big bucks for having passing off their meaningless tasks to you.

I plan on taking classes through the summer and winter breaks, so it may be possible for me to graduate (with my associates, not bachelors unfortunately) in Dec 2011. It depends on how many credits from my past college courses they will accept towards the accounting degree. What I also love about it is that the college I'm going to (the local SUNY school) offers many of their courses online now! (When I first attended college in 1996 - this same college, actually -, I don't think I could've imagined such a wonderful thing! LOL) I might be able to take 3 of the 4 classes I need to take this semester through the internet. Woooooo hoooooooo!

Of course I still plan to continue writing. I'm hoping that going back to school may actually help me get more writing done, as crazy as it sounds. Because I've been suffering lately from that problem most people only wish they had - too much time on my hands! You know how they always say so many writers wish they could quit their full time jobs and spend all day writing? (Hell, I was one of those very people before I got laid off in July!) And then those same people end up finding other things that need to be done during the day and don't get nearly enough writing done as they should? Yep, that's me! I've been surfing the web (yes, mostly looking at writing-related things, but still), reading books on craft, etc. But I still haven't been doing any actual writing.

I need to set up a daily schedule and stick to it. The cold weather has turned me into a bear over the past month - I've been hibernating! I sleep till noon almost every single day b/c it's so nice and warm under my covers and I don't want to get up. But that's not realistic, nor is it healthy. Yes I hate winter and I hate the cold, but wishing away 4-5 months every year isn't a great way to live. I'm hoping I'll be able to snap out of my little funk once the new year hits!

On that note, I want to wish everyone who celebrates a very Merry Christmas! I hope Santa gets you everything you wanted and more (a publishing contract maybe?!?  ;-)  'Till next time!