Time... There's Never Enough of It!

Or is there? It's something I've been thinking about for a couple of weeks. My son came home from school one day and informed me that he had to write down what his mom and dad do. You know what he wrote down about me? That I write books (which is true) and play solitaire (also true, but this can't be what he notices about me, right?). Anyway, it forced me to take a good long look at how much time I do spend playing solitaire. And, I've come to a painful conclusion: I have a problem. Does anyone know of a solitaire support group I could join? Okay, in all honesty, it's not just an addiction. It's a procrastination tool. I find myself minimizing my manuscript and playing solitaire on the computer when I get stuck. This would be fine if it spurred some kind of creative streak, but it rarely does that. I have a feeling I'd get more writing done if I removed solitaire from my computer. Not happening, though. Instead, I'm just going to limit my solitaire playing time to after I've completed a daily word count. What about you? Do you have any crazy procrastination activities? How do you keep them in check? On another note, my blog break paid off for someone again. Many of you commented on my last post that Katie Ganshert had good news to share. I'd seen Katie's face in the comments of other bloggers, but I didn't know her. So, of course I had to go check it out. She recently sold her first book and another one to boot. Now, technically, I can't take credit for her good fortune because I didn't really know Katie, but I think it still counts toward my blog break = good news streak, don't you? Besides, I remedied the "not knowing her" part and started following her. If you haven't already, you should go by and congratulate her.

I've Got Nothing ...

My shoe box is completely empty. Go figure. I take a long break from blogging, and the day I come back, I don't have anything to talk about. I could tell you about the leak in my ceiling or the awful haircut I got while I was on break. Or, I could talk about how my kids haven't been in school for a full week since November. But, that would just be me complaining. Instead, I'm going to rely on you guys to tell me some good news. So, please share what's been going on with you. I'd love to hear.

If I Kick Out The Inner Editor...

Will she come back when I need her? Well, I think that's a chance I'm going to have to take if I ever want to finish my current WIP. I've been talking about my goals for 2011 this week. I haven't by any means listed all of my goals, only the ones I feel are most important. I was having a hard time choosing which goal to talk about today and then it hit me. One of my goals would be a step in completing a couple of others thus killing three birds with one stone. So, my third goal this year is to turn off my inner editor. I've been in revision/editing mode for so long that I'm struggling to just write. I analyze every paragraph, every sentence, every word. I'm getting nowhere with this approach. I've been doing the same when I read. I find myself ripping apart novels instead of savoring them. It's sucked the joy out of reading for me. This year (at least in the beginning), I will kick the inner editor out of my head. I will invite her back as soon as I finish a first draft and hope she forgives me for being so rude. Now, I know I've only been back blogging for a couple of weeks, but I'm going to take next week off. My mom will be in town and if I try to blog, it will be unorganized and probably a bunch of pointless posts. That would go against my second goal for 2011, wouldn't it? Besides, half of you are begging me to take a break in hopes of good news anyway! Have a great week, and I'll see you on the 24th.

Hanging Up My Shoes Paid Off Again!

(I usually use a different picture for this, but since it's like -10 degrees here, I needed a reminder that summer's coming!) And you all thought I was kidding about my blog breaks being good luck... Seriously, on my last break, yet another blog friend signed with an agent. Go by and congratulate T. Anne. Her story is inspiration to us all. Some of you may not know what I'm talking about, so here's the short version: I tend to take frequent breaks from blogging, which I call hanging up my shoes. Recently I noticed a very exciting trend. Every time I take a break, one of my blog friends gets good news on their road to publication. I guess it was T. Anne's turn this time around. Good for her! She worked hard for it. Anyway, I decided, in order to ensure a year full of agent signings and book buyings, I should make one of my goals be to take even more frequent blog breaks. No, I'm kidding. Actually, one of my goals for 2011 is to keep up with my blog a little better. I don't mean in the sense of posting more often or visiting more blogs, but I mean on an organizational level. When I first started blogging, I was much more organized about it. That's what I'm shooting for this year. In other words, I'm going for quality, not quantity. So, don't worry, I'll still be taking lots and lots of breaks, but when I do blog, I will be more organized about it. So, do you have any blogging goals for 2011?

Don't Lean Too Far To One Side

Or you might tumble and fall. Last week, I reviewed my goals for 2010 and the progress I made toward those goals. This week, I want to (for my own sake, so please bear with me) outline what I'd like to accomplish in 2011. On Friday, I talked about balancing my professional life with my personal life and how it was a work in progress. It goes without saying that this will be an ongoing focus during 2011. As I mentioned Friday, it's not my other commitments that are suffering. It's my writing. In an attempt to balance last year, I actually ended up leaning too far to one side. This year, I want to steady myself and put my writing back up in the running for top priority. (It can't and won't ever beat out my family, but it can take more of a center-stage role.) So, there you have it... my first goal for 2011 is to put more emphasis on my writing without sacrificing my other commitments. I think I can do it. No, I know I can do it! Who's with me? Are you ready to let your writing take on a more important role in your life?