How I did with my 2012 goals

Short stories - write 1 / submit 1 every month

I did it! My stories have gotten shorter as they year went on, but I'm happy with how they've turned out. I've learned a lot about writing short stories and flash fiction this year. Even if I don't get any more accepted, I feel I'm a better writer for having done this challenge.

 

Paranormal romance series

This is my 13th Floor series. I originally intended to write the first drafts of all six novellas this year, but you can never predict how life is going to change. I have the first two written. I planned to write the third this month, but with the holidays and sickness, I'm not going to make it. I'm very happy with how they're turning out and how the overall concept is coming together. This is the series I'm going to use to represent me as a writer. So it's probably for the best that I didn't rush into writing all six of them.

NaNoWriMo 2012

Yay! On November 26th, I reached over 50,000 words! I'm a 2012 NaNoWriMo winner. I wrote a superhero story called "Super Famous." I'm not sure I'll do anything with it, but it was a lot of fun to write.

 

Witch's First Rule revisions

This is a paranormal romance novel. The first in a completed trilogy. I queried the book three years ago and it got a lot of attention, but in the end, agents and publishers passed on it. I could never figure out why. Recently, I realized I was marketing it all wrong. The story started in the wrong place too. I've done two major revisions. The first chapter has been rewritten five times. But I had to put it aside. I still wasn't completely happy with the new beginning. It's starting in the right place now, but I'm not wild about the first chapter. I'm giving myself some time apart from it and maybe next year when I come back to it, I'll be able to write a first chapter that will wow me. I believe the protagonist is unique and her story fantastic, but I need to get it right before I start to query it again.

 

Projects I didn't plan

Fearless. Well, I did plan to do write it for the A to Z Challenge this year, but I never thought it would be so popular or that I would publish it. I'm very happy that everyone encouraged me to do so. Fearless continues to do very well. Thousands of readers have picked it up.

L'il Gal Al and the Zombies of Amarillo. I never thought I'd do anything with this story either. It was originally a short-listed story for an anthology, but was rejected in the end. Since it is on the longer side of short stories, I had trouble finding it a home. I wanted to get another story out there before I started publishing my 13th Floor series, and I wanted something different than paranormal romance. L'il Gal Al was perfect for the job.

 

Join me on Monday for my 2013 goals.