January Round-Up

It's Feb 1st in the land of the future (aka Australia), and part of my accountability with my new writing schedule is admitting what I've done and not done this month.

January's Round-Up:

• Read through my manuscript and made notes.
• I devised a revision plan.
• Revised 9 out of 32 chapters.
• Wrote/Rewrote x 5/Polished a query letter - and yes, it's looking VERY good.
• Wrote a logline.
• Entered a contest.

I'd hoped to be almost done with my revisions, but life sometimes calls. My fiancée and I are working on my visa paperwork to become a permanent resident of Australia. It's a pretty big deal.

This month, I'm doing a February Fever with some fellow writers. My goals are to finish completely polishing this book, and to have a new one outlined by the end of the month. 

In my hopes, I also hope to start writing said new book. We shall see. *crosses fingers*

What I've Learned by Working From Home

I've been feeling burnout lately.

I don't like to talk about the hard parts of working from home, but sometimes, they happen. I gave up my full-time job for a part-time job when I moved to Australia so I could focus on my writing. There's still enough money to pay for necessities and have fun, but it's not quite as plentiful. I'm OK with that. I don't know how people go full-time working from home without an income stream, because that seems like a very hard thing to do to me, but mine's worked out well so far.

What have I learned from the last few months working from home? That the pressure to succeed becomes huge. That you really only can go to yourself at the end of the day to succeed, or fail. And that when you have setbacks, the failure feels more than other failures you experience.

Because it feels like you only have yourself to blame.

When you sit down to do work, prioritizing becomes a necessity. Putting in your full workload is vital. So is finding time to goof off and keep yourself oriented.

Making a plan is important, because it's easy to get overwhelmed when you don't have anyone to assist in the workload.

There are also benefits to working from home, but I haven't reaped many of them yet. Let's see if I feel the same way once I'm done revising this book. 

And despite all of this, I still wouldn't trade it for the world.

What I'm Currently Into

In:

• Editing my book. At a snail's pace, sometimes, but still, progress is progress!
• Looking at wedding stuff. I got engaged over Christmas, so I peek at wedding stuff occasionally.
• Reading books. My list is already piling up, with purchasing two friend's books.

Out:

• Too much dessert. I've not been interested in dessert as much lately.
• Headaches. (It took five days, but it is finally gone)
• Writer emo. Too much time making the sad face just gets in the way of getting somewhere. I'm changing that habit around so I don't ride the rollercoaster as much - I focus on results.

I Have New Years Goals and Dreams, Do You?

The lovely Beth Revis shared an interesting way to reveal her New Years resolutions, and I enjoyed it so much I've decided to do the same.

This year, I have four goals to strive towards, and two dreams.

All of my goals will require great discipline on my part.

One is very personal.

One is financial.

The other two involve my career.

As for my dreams, I know they can't be achieved without some luck or outside help, so I realize they're out of my control. And that's why they're dreams! I believe, however, there's no shame in hoping and reaching for dreams. Dreaming is vital for people who use the creative process. I won't be butthurt if I don't make them, I'll just keep dreaming.

As I achieve each goal, I'll reveal them on my blog.

Here's to a productive and awesome 2012.