Positivity and a New Year

Truly Reflecting…won’t you join me?

Looking back…or Reflecting in Hindsight

 

I made New Year’s Resolutions twice in my life. I tried again this year, knowing it was doomed. Have you ever done that? Resolved to do something, knowing it was impossible?

This year, the seventh of my authorial career, I want to wrestle my time management into reasonable chunks. I have taken pride in the fact that I can manage so well because I am anally-retentive to the max on spreadsheets, although of course I fail once in a while just so I don’t get too cocky.

But I decided taking two years—well, two and a half—from real writing was enough, and this year I’d get back into production mode, the market-learning phase having gone so well, ya’know. The first step was to shackle my blogs into a schedule. Count: 17 blogs or social sites to which I contribute. I kid you not. I’m sure there are plenty of authors out there who do a lot more—those of you who can afford assistants, that is.

My second step: look at them all and decide which are vital to me personally and career-wise and ditch the rest. Unfortunately, only two were “ditchable”; and even then I had another gray hair of guilt episode. I may have said sorry to two or three, but I immediately signed on to two more, so…we’re crossing that effort off the list. It may not be done, but it’s well-cooked.

Third step: spend a couple of hours writing new material/editing my own stuff each day. It’s the second week of my attempt. Tuesday. Yesterday I spent the afternoon vacuuming and getting supper ready, an hour playing a couple of games of Freecell to get me in the mood to write and 45 minutes reading the last bit of manuscript I had been working on, semi-horrified to realize that truly the last time I’d spent on this book was November 2009. My goal: finish this first draft of the third installment of the mystery series  in Jan 2012. No excuses. I have only 20K or so left to go, but I have to reassociate myself with the characters and story. Never mind that I co-wrote and published/contributed to three other books in the meantime, signed two contracts and took on another magazine, editing jobs, and a mentoring position—This book series is still my baby and it really needs a diaper change. Really. Peee-yoo.

Where does this leave me?

Contributing to several blogs two times a month, so get organized. Writing – not every day on the ms in question, but frequently. It might work to go back to the chapter a day dealie in the morning, but I’m not to be a slave to it. Cut back on book reviews. Continue to be professional and serious about the obligations I have toward three different publishers and two book review sites, and the three blogs I administer.

Family is always first, so although I hope to not be a grandma too soon, it’s still in your time, Lord, and I will be available to my children and also my parents as they have need. Dad had a couple surgeries last year, and I am grateful I can be there. Husband had the worst year of our lives last year between work and family business which led to compromised health. I need to be ready to contribute as I must, even if it means giving up writing. I have had five years of freedom to make something of myself when I promised 18 months initially, and although my career has turned a corner, it’s not what I hoped when I first declared “I’m going to be a writer!” Although I trust in God above, I may have been listening with my other ear, so if I’m called to leave, I will listen.

This is who I am in 2012. Who are you?

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