Sunday, March 30, 2014

Birthday Giveaway Winners + It's Almost April

My birthday giveaway ended a few weeks ago and I've already contacted the winners. However, I like official announcements. So, without further ado, here are the Rafflecopter results!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations to Donna and Ashley! I still haven't managed to make it to the post office yet, but I will let you know as soon as I've shipped your prizes. I'm sure you're anxious to receive your winnings and I'm very sorry for the delay.

On a side note, Tuesday marks the beginnings of NaPoWriMo and Camp NaNoWriMo. I think I'm excited. lol I'm hoping to make a lot of progress during the first week because my boyfriend will be in Virginia for a hockey tournament, meaning distractions will be limited.

Expect to see way more of me throughout April. I'll be posting poems daily as well as occasional Camp NaNoWriMo updates. We'll also learn if I made it into the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute. On top of all that, I may be sharing a big decision along with putting up some general writing-related posts (see Planned Expeditions in sidebar). You're going to be absolutely sick of me by the end of the month. :P

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Cracking Down

Every year for the past three years, I've posted my New Year's Resolutions on this blog. This January, I didn't. And not because I'm too lazy. I simply didn't make any. I saw no reason to.

I know what my goals are. The arrival of 2014 didn't change them. New Year's Resolutions also suggest a December 31st deadline. My aspirations reach beyond what I can accomplish in a year and, for me, strict time frames often lead to stress.

Despite the lack of resolutions, I'm thinking 2014's going to be a productive year. Since NaNoWriMo, I've only worked on my portfolio for my Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute audition. However, I've been making plans. It's time to crack down and start getting things done.

At the moment, I have three main priorities:
  1. THINKING OF YOU revisions
  2. OBJECTION/untitled lucky gene story rough drafts
  3. short works

I want to finish something. I want something to query. I want something to show people, to let people read. I want something to prove to myself that I CAN DO THIS. And, out of all of my projects, THINKING OF YOU is nearest to completion. So it's what I'm going to focus on. Writing time now means THINKING OF YOU time.

Yet, incomplete rough drafts bother me. I can't not work on them. And I have two. This creates a problem. I'll never finish anything if my attention is divided three ways. My solution? Camp NaNoWriMo.

Camp NaNoWriMo hosts two sessions every year, one in April and one in July. They also allow you to choose your word count goal. Since OBJECTION's closer to its end, it will be my April novel. I'm aiming for 18,000 words. That's only 600 a day. I'll finish my untitled lucky gene story in July, when I'll have more time for writing.

While I'm giving up April and July, they're a small sacrifice. My brain can now zero in on THINKING OF YOU without the other two stories clamoring for their turn. But I have another issue.

I realized when I was putting together my OSAI portfolio that I did not write many short works in 2013. I love my short works. They're fun to write and I'm fairly decent at them. They're also something I can share with others quickly. Their shortage shows how I've let my writing slip, take a backseat.

That's not what I want. I want to get back to enjoying writing. To surprising and thrilling myself. Revising is hard and, while it does bring a feeling of success, it's not always pleasant. So I'm going to sprinkle in some short works to remind myself why I write in the first place.

For instance, NaPoWriMo starts on April 1st. I will be participating by writing at least one poem every day in April This will be my fourth year taking part and I always love the outcome.

Yes, 2014 is going to be AWESOME.

Topics For Next Post: 1) how querying will change in a year and 2) something big.