Writing Goals for 2011

Every beginning comes from some other beginning's end.

It seems like just yesterday I was setting my goals for 2010, and here I am, about to set new ones for 2011.

It's been a great year. Highlights: seeing friends at RWA Nationals in Orlando, working (and playing!) with my critique partners, and finishing my latest manuscript. Not everything went as planned, however. Before I move forward with goals for the New Year, here's a quick look back at last year's goals (in blue) and actual accomplishments (in purple).

1st Quarter:
--Revise RaR from beginning to end. (Did this, but I think it was 2nd quarter. In the first quarter, I revised MP instead.)
--Begin outlining my next story, the first in a Regency trilogy. (Wow. Totally forgot that I was going to make it a trilogy. But it's still doable, right?)
--Act as category coordinator for my chapter's contest. (Done. Phew.)

2nd Quarter:
--Work with my agent to prepare RaR for submission. (Got great insight from wonderful agent, but was busy drafting PMG . . . need to return to this in 2011.)
--Draft the first 3 chapters and synopsis of a new book. (Yes.)
--Redesign my website. (Yes, but I cheated a little and hired a tech-savvy friend.)

3rd & 4th Quarters:
--Complete a draft of the new book. (YES!)

Ongoing:
--Work with and support my critique partners. (Loved every minute of this.)
--Enter and judge at least 2 RWA contests. (Check. Entered 3, judged 2.)
--Attend at least 4 WRW (Washington Romance Writers) meetings/workshops. (Only made it to one. *hangs head*)
--Read at least 4 books on craft. (Oh my. How is it possible that I went through the whole year without reading a single craft book? Did read lots of blog posts on craft, though.)
--Attend either the WRW Spring Retreat or the RWA National Conference. (Went to Nationals, had a great time, learned lots.)

Now, for 2011's Goals . . .

1st Quarter:
--Revise PMG from beginning to end.

2nd Quarter:
--Revise RaR from beginning to end.

3rd & 4th Quarters:
--Complete a draft of a new book. (Apparently, it will be the 2nd in a trilogy.)

Ongoing:
--Work with and support my critique partners.
--Enter and judge at least 2 RWA contests.
--Attend at least 2 WRW (Washington Romance Writers) meetings/workshops.
--Read at least 2 books on craft.
--Attend the RWA National Conference in NYC.

There. That doesn't seem too overwhelming. And I promise to be flexible when necessary.

By the way, I'm participating in the Ruby Slippered Sisters Winter Writing Festival (WWF) starting Jan. 10. Our slogan: "Finally! A writing festival that doesn't span a major holiday. (You know women are running it.)" If you want to get a jump start on writing/revising/plotting, please please please come check it out. The company is fabulous (if I do say so myself) and there are are even prizes for participants.

Where did the year go?

Wow, 2009 is almost over! As I've mentioned in other posts, I belong to a goals group, and every January each of us sets writing-related goals for the year. Since I haven't actually looked at my goals since January, I thought it might be a good idea to dig them out and check on my progress.

Here's the list (in green) and my progress (in red):

1st Quarter:

Revise The Trouble with Twilight from beginning to end.

Did it! With my CP's help, I finished revising this story, now called The Pursuit of Patience, in the first three months of 2009.

2nd Quarter:

Research and query agents. Begin outlining next story.

Check! I used querytracker.net to help me organize my search and make a list of agents to query. But before I began querying in earnest, I met a wonderful agent at a local conference and pitched to her. She requested the full and a few days later (on my birthday!) offered representation. I'm thrilled to be working with her.

3rd & 4th Quarters:

Draft either the sequel to TTWT OR complete The Kissable Companion.

Done! My agent recommended that I write the sequel to The Pursuit of Patience, and I was excited to be able to tell Georgette's story, a.k.a. How to Reform a Rake. I finished the draft shortly before Thanksgiving.

Ongoing:

--Enter and judge at least 4 RWA contests.

--Attend at least 4 WRW (Washington Romance Writers) meetings/workshops.

--Read at least 4 books on craft.

--Attend the WRW Spring Retreat and the RWA National Conference.

Hmm. I did most of this. I entered exactly 4 contests, if you count the 2010 Golden Heart, and I also judged 4. I only attended 2 chapter meetings, so I'll have to do a better job next year. I read 3 books on craft: Donald Maas' Writing the Breakout Novel and The Breakout Novel Workbook, and How I Write by Janet Evanovich. I also re-read Stephen King's On Writing and re-watched my DVD of The Hero's Two Journeys by Michael Hauge and Christopher Vogler. And I was fortunate to be able to attend both the WRW Retreat and Nationals, since Nationals was in DC this year.

Phew! I have to say that when I set those goals they seemed really ambitious, but splitting them into weekly chunks helped make them more manageable. Er, don't be fooled. There were plenty of setbacks and heartbreaks mixed in with the successes, but I'm choosing not to dwell on them! Onward.

So . . . what's next? For now, I'm just enjoying a couple of snow days. But I'm looking forward to diving into revisions for How to Reform a Rake. It earned a couple of awards in December!

First, RaR won the Golden Rose for highest total score in the Rose City Romance Writers Golden Rose Contest. (The prize is a real rose dipped in gold!) It placed second in the historical category.

Then, just last weekend I learned that RaR won first place in historical category of the Southern Heat Contest. This was especially sweet because my CP, Keli Gwyn, took first place in the inspirational category also. Yay, Keli!

I am so thankful to the judges from both contests. They were extremely encouraging but also gave me great suggestions for improving the story.

Pretty soon I'll be setting my writing goals for 2010. But for the next ten days I'm going to clean up my desk and get myself organized. And definitely read a few romance novels. :)