Looking forward to 2014

After a pretty difficult 2012, I have to say 2013 might have been my favorite year yet. Why, you ask? Well, because of all I got to do. I wrote two books, got engaged, went on a small book tour (which included signing at BEA!), attended my first writer's conference, visited somewhere I'd never been before, and met some truly incredible people.

How does one top a year of all that awesome?

Answer: you can try.

And that's my main goal for 2014. To try.

Source

*cue Yoda: Do or do not, there is no try*

Okay, while Yoda may feel that way, I'm a big fan of trying. I say, if you're not sure you can do something, just go for it. If you fail, at least you tried--and probably learned something in the process. And if you succeed, then WOOHOO! Am I right? You never know what you're really capable of unless you throw yourself off that high, scary ledge and jump. And this year, I'm prepared to reach for the stars.

While I haven't had time to actually sit down and make a yearly plan/goal thingie, I do know of a few things I would love to accomplish.

To keep myself accountable, I'll list them here for everyone to see (please, feel free to hound me about these anytime this year).

My 2014 To-Do List

• Revise a secret book (which I'm working on right now--about 1/3 of the way done)
• Finish writing "Code name W", a super cool YA sci-fi I've been playing with for a while now.
• Edit AB (a YA Contemporary Fantasy that needs the beginning rewritten then a very light edit) 
• Edit "Code name W" (you guys, I'm so excited about this book!)
• Write that YA Contemporary (standalone) that's been floating around in my head.
• Edit GD (a book I need to add a little something to before I decide what to do with it)
• Read (a ton)!

 
So there they are. The things I will try to do this year. For the most part this is the order I intend to work on them in. I think. But who knows once the muse gets a hold of them.

Obviously I'll be working on other things besides these. Wedding planning, edits, more wedding planning, blogging with the lovely people at both Indie Ignites and Darkly Delicious YA, some more life stuff I'm sure will creep in there somewhere (like actually getting married), copy edits, and line edits.

Whew!

All in all it's going to be a busy year and I'm looking forward to trying some great new things, tackling some challenging projects, and maybe even visiting somewhere new again.

Now, I've gone on and on about my goals for 2014. I'd love to hear some of yours.

September Writing Month

September Writing month is a tradition I started on my livejournal blog a few years ago where I basically work (write, edit, rewrite, etc.) every single day in the month of September. I find that once the summer is over, I notice the year is quickly coming to an end. What does that mean? More work needs to get completed, more goals accomplished before that New Year's ball drops. And what better way to knock out some of the things I've been putting off than to hold myself accountable for working every day of the month? September is the perfect month for this. Like I said, summer is over and NaNoWriMo is around the corner, but not so close you can't maybe bang out a draft or a round or two of edits before November rolls around.

Now, I would love it if anyone is interested in participating. Just leave a comment on this post (or link to your own website) with your goal, what you expect to get out of September Writing Month, and we'll check in here every Friday.

So, my Day One.

My goal: Finish my first draft of "Codename: W" my YA sci-fi.

Today I had to deal with the Day Job, so I didn't get as many words on the page as I would have liked, but a few hundred words is better than nothing at all, and that's what September Writing Month is all about. Completing personal goals that you have set for yourself and to clear out those summer cobwebs.

Here's where I am currently with "Codename: W"

8980 / 50000 words. 18% done!