Word Witch Wednesday - spring patchwork

So many things going on. I'd like to think I will get everything organized and done this spring. Or, at the very least, get them patched together.

First off, pop on over to Untethered Realms (after you read this post!), and check out my review of Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. It's the 50th anniversary of the book. My experience reading it now is greatly different than when I did 25 years ago.

I've stalled out on the two novels I've been working on. I'm over 25,000 words into both of them, and I know where they're going. Perhaps that's the problem. There are no more surprises for me. I'm poking away at my pen name's novel, but I have not touched Of Death and Sorrow for a while now. Not even the awesome cover is motivating me.

I have written some new short fiction. My latest sci-fi story was given much love from my local critique group this past Saturday. I fixed it up and submitted it to Daily Science Fiction. (That's the first place I send most of my flash pieces.) I have five other stories out on submission. These shorter tales make me feel like I'm accomplishing something.

While I promised myself to step back from excessive marketing, I have been trying a few different things in group promos with my pen name. Nothing has had much success. I know I just need to get more novels out there.

While researching marketing, I came across a genre new to me that thrilled me. It's called LitRPG. Basically it's a story with all the elements of a game in story form. The main feature being the heroes know they're in a game and they must play by the rules of it. (Think Jumanji.) I've read a few books in this genre, but I had no idea it was a thing, and it's HUGE overseas. LitRPG books sell as well as George R.R. Martin. Is it going to catch on here in America? Maybe.

I've hung the carrot of LitRPG in front me. Just finish the two novels I'm working on and then I can write a new LitRPG story. So many ideas have run through my mind. The stories are usually light, snarky, and hilarious. It's possible I might eat that carrot before finishing the other novels, but I keep telling myself that I have to complete them. Hard work and perseverance are vital for a writer. While I'm not under contract to anyone, I started something that I do need to finish.

But that yummy carrot...

How do you resist eating the carrot?

My Writing Goals for 2014

2013 was a great writing year for me, but one that took away time from other aspects in my life. (And how fitting I'm writing this post on the 13th!) I will attempt to make 2014 a year more about balance and organization. I even started off the year with a very clean and organized house. That also includes my online home. Hopefully organizing everything will help me make better use of my time.

Now for my writing goals!

Novel #1 - Revise and query. This is a paranormal romance I wrote at the end of 2011. I didn't like the ending I had scribbled down, and so it sat for a while until I was ready to come back to it. There are hot vampires and some unusual demons. I believe it has a great hook and will be highly marketable. Plus, it made me laugh and cry. That's a good sign.

Novel #2 - Revise and query. With a bit of POW! and a lot more ZAP!, I'll be marketing my superhero novel. I've been a comic book geek since I was a kid, but only recently have I started researching the genre by reading novels. Mine is very different from anything I've read. I hope that's a good thing!

Short stories - Write 6 / Submit 6 for the year. I would love to be able to do one every month, but with working on two novels, I won't have the time. I didn't have any acceptances the last half of 2013, and it depressed me. I was aiming high for an acceptance by a SFWA approved venue, though. I was short-listed a couple of times. That's closer than I've ever gotten before.

The A to Z Blogging Challenge - I've been going back and forth about it, but due to my time restrictions especially in April, I will not be participating in the Challenge this year on this blog. BUT I will be sharing the Challenge with my fellow Untethered Realms writers. We'll each have our days on the UR blog. I'm excited about it. I'm so honored to be a part of this talented group.

NaNoWriMo 2014 - I want to say yes. Let's make it a tentative yes. We'll have to see where I am with my novels in November. The novels have priority this year.

Balance writing, marketing, and home life - Home life comes first. No more grumpy mommy because she didn't get enough sleep. Writing comes in second. I wrote a lot last year, but I spent even more time marketing and networking. This year, I want to set weekly goals for writing. If I reach the goal, I can add extra time to networking, but only if I get my writing work done first. Balance is difficult for me, but I know it's vital to making me a happy person.

Don't forget to check out my post about sticking to your writing goals on the UR blog!

What are your writing goals for the year?

IWSG for December 2013

The Insecure Writer's Support Group (IWSG) is the brilliant idea of Alex J. Cavanaugh. The purpose of the group is to share doubts and insecurities and to encourage one another. Please visit the other participants and share your support. A kind word goes a long way.

The new year is looming in front of me. This year has been a good one. I pushed myself and managed to get the 13th Floor series out. Just seeing the collection, holding that heavy book, leaves me in awe of how much I accomplished.

I can't push myself that much again. It was unfair to my family, CPs, and betas. (I'm so thankful to all them for sticking with me through it.) I'm trying to set much more realistic goals for myself in 2014. I want to publish two novels be they with a publisher or on my own. The first drafts of both are written. The thought of querying makes me very nervous, but I'm going to try.

I'm worried that I set some precedent for myself, though. Will people expect more of me because of what I've done? Will I be lost and forgotten in the ocean of writers because I'm not producing stories so quickly?

This journey can be frightening at times. We can never know for certain which step is the right one. We just have to take a chance and walk forward. We must persevere. And I'm so thankful to you for sharing it with me. You guys are awesome!

I am a 2013 NaNoWriMo winner!

WOO-HOO!

I pushed myself the last few days before the American Thanksgiving and I made it!

My tenth year participating in NaNoWriMo and I did it.

Congratulations to all those who won too.

The story is nowhere near finished. I left it off right at the beginning of a fight scene. That just makes it easy for me to pick it back up. I love writing action! I suspect this book is going to be near 80,000 words. Maybe more. While I loved writing novellas, it feels good to be writing novel sized stories again.

For those of you still tapping away, you can do it! You still have two days. Write, write, write!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends!

Learning your craft through short stories

I write novels. My dream is to see my book in print on a shelf in a bookstore. I know a lot of you want the same thing. A lot of us only have limited time to write and so we focus on our WIPs.

But if you want to write novels, you need to should write short stories too. Part of being a writer is improving on your craft. Short stories are excellent tools for doing that. They teach so many things including plot, flow, characterization, and how to be concise. For even in novels, each word must matter.

I've never been a big fan of short stories. My ideas are always big. It's hard for me to write something short because I want to keep going. I've learned so much about writing and myself as a writer from forcing myself to write short stories. My writing is ten times, no, a hundred times better now than it was ten years ago. Yes, writing novels has helped. I've went to conventions and writing seminars and participated in writer's groups. They've also helped. Writing short stories has helped the most, though.

Another good thing about having short stories published is that you have writing credits to show an editor, agent or publisher when you're querying. I have ten short stories published and four forthcoming. They do take you more seriously when they see that.

I use Ralan to find anthologies and magazines/ezines that are accepting submissions. It's a fantastic and reliable site. A site every writer should have bookmarked.

Go bookmark it right now and have a great weekend!