February Round-Up

Lots of busyness this month, and not all with writing. Here's some of the month's accomplishments:

• My latest article about a long-distance relationship near and dear to me - my grandmother's - came out.
• I finished the majority of my edits on my novel (yay!). I'm left with fiddly bits.
• I've got a working draft of my synopsis.
• Planned out a few articles for the coming month.

Mostly, I've been enjoying sucking myself into reading good novels and learning good writing skills. It's funny how reading good books and editing your own can accomplish just that.

My reading goal for the year, which I'm tracking on Goodreads, is going well. I'm pleased at how many new books I've read that I've meant to read, either for months, or in the Kushiel series case, a few years. Time really does fly; I should have read these years ago.

Two Really Great Blog Posts

I don't post a lot of link sharing on my blog because, frankly, when most people do it on theirs, I skip it unless there's one that REALLY stands out. It's to stop me from falling into the internet rabbit hole, and I'm sure you're the same.

Having said that, these two articles were so good, I just had to put them on here, for my reference, even if no one else cares.

In the first, Kameron Hurley, autho of God's War, discusses how SF/F genre is guilty of using the same unimaginative futures instead of thinking outside the box. And you know what? I love those genres, I read and write in them, and she's absolutely right. This is something I've been thinking about for awhile now, ever since I realized the boxes people put female lead characters into which irritates the heck outta me (either she needs to be masculine in her ways or have super snarkiness, 9/10 times) .

It gets feminist me really thinking even more. I'm not the only one who sees it.

And another one dear to my heart is this post from the Smart Bitches about people who shame readers about their genre reading choice. This happens, I know, to quite a few genre readers, but none nearly so much as romance readers. When discussing this with a fellow writer, she told me it was just as bad for romance writers.

"It's sadly common for them to get comments on how good they are in the sack, once people hear of their genre," she told me. "Funny how that sort of comparison doesn't happen to mystery writers."

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.

Good News All Around

Well, to start off, I thought I'd let you all know about my other article which came out right before the holidays about handing a long-distance relationship while apart for the season. I've had a few people thank me already for it, which makes a gal feel good. Having been in those shoes, I wouldn't wish them on anyone.

Having said that, one big celebration for me this Christmas was getting engaged! My fiancee surprised me with a ring in my stocking. Props go to the fine jewellers at JP Miers, who designed the ring for him.He made sure to get an Australian sapphire and diamonds, too, which I was glad for on a ethical level.

I hope you all have a happy holidays! I've started diving into my writing again, so I suspect I won't be coming up for air much.