Title Change

A wise, writer-friend, suggested that my title, BREAKING THE CODE - A DAUGHTER'S JOURNEY, might not be enough information to draw the readers I want to. So, though it is a bit of a mouthful, the title is now, BREAKING THE CODE - A DAUGHTER'S JOURNEY INTO HER FATHER'S SECRET WAR. I think that says it far better. It gives a hint of the secret, as well as the hint that it has to do with some kind of war.

Titles are tricky, especially if you are immersed in the project. You forget that other people don't "get it" like you do. The code I refer to, for example, has a dual meaning, but of course the reader won't know that until they read the book.

Write Now! ~Karen

PNWA conference

The conference was fabulous! I got so much more out of it this year. I did get the coveted requests for proposal/pages from a few agents/editors, which is amazing. Very excited about that. But I also made a decision and with it a goal.

Decision: While it would be great to have the book published in the traditional way, with a big New York agent/editor getting behind it, that is not the only way. There are also smaller, independent publishing companies and there are many options now for self-publishing. So, I have decided that self-publishing is a real possibility for me.

Goal: By this time next year, I will be launching my book, one way or the other.

Reality: It's a lot of work, in a lot of areas that I am not accomplished in. But hey, live and learn, right. It keeps us young!

Realizing that I don't have to rely on the planets to align perfectly for my book to be published has given me a new excitement for the project.

Don't forget to, WRITE NOW - BECAUSE IT'S LATER THAN YOU THINK!

Adjusting Goals

Sometimes the goals I make for myself are a little on the crazy side. That's what happened here. When I got to the day to write for 7 hours, it was just too much. I was drained and unmotivated. And honestly, I do have other commitments that I can't just push aside. I am a daughter, a mother, a wife, a friend. Problem is, I'm one of those "all or nothing" people. I'll kill myself trying to make a goal I've set. And if I don't reach it, I bag the whole thing. I give up. For me, if the goal is to write 42 hours this week and I write only 30, I am a failure. I don't consider it progress even though it's still 20 more hours than I wrote last week. I know it makes no sense. In fact, it makes less and less sense as I write it here.

So, I'm trying to give myself a break and learn from this. My revamped goal for this week is;

Day 1 - 3 hours
Day 2 - 4 hours
Day 3 - 5 hours
Day 4 - 6 hours
Day 5 - 5 hours
Day 6 - 4 hours
Day 7 - 3 hours

Go Karen Go! Can anyone relate to my craziness? Anyone?

Setting Short Term Goals

It's pretty easy to come up with long term goals. It's simple really. I want to be a published author. If I let myself dream, I want an agent who can't wait to see what I'm working on. I want a deadline to work towards. I want to write like crazy until my most recent WIP (work in progress) is off to the publisher for the last time and then take a month to relax on the beach. In short, I want a writer's life, and all that it entails; even the hard work.

But what are the short term goals that will get me there? On writers forums, you hear about people setting a goal of a certain number of words to write each day, or a number of writing hours a day. You hear them talk about making writing a priority and fitting it inbetween chauffering the kids to Little League and making dinner. But what if you've tried those. What if you need something more, something to really light a fire under you?

Here's what I came up with;

*Get 100 rejections (or a contract) by my birthday, September 20, 2010.
*Read 25 books before my birthday and write a few sentences about what I learned about writing from each.
*Take the writing course, The Two Year Novel (2YN) from Lazette Gifford at Forward Motion http://www.fmwriters.com.

My most recent very short term goal lasts only one week, possibly two. It is designed to just get me writing and submitting, and living the writer's life. Here is what it looks like;

Day One- Write for three hours
Day Two - Write for four hours
Day Three - Write for five hours
Day Four - Write for six hours
Day Five - Write for seven hours
Day Six - Write for eight hours
Day Seven - Write for nine hours

As you can see, I am increasing by one hour each day. Adding this all up, I end up with a 42 hour writing week. I am on day three right now. And I'm sure day seven will be grueling. But I'm writing and that's the point. And I can do anything for just seven days, right? I told my daughter my plan and she encouraged me to do a second week where the hours of writing decend. Right now, I am concentrating on this current week. I'll decide on a second week when I get there, but it sounds like a great idea.

So what are your short term goals? How did you come up with them?

Write Now - Because it's later than you think. ~Karen