October Status Report: 2012 Goals

After the insanity of September, I’m very surprised to report that October was just as crazy. It turns out a hardcore writing schedule is harder to switch off than I thought. Rather than sit back enjoy the victory of completing the first draft of Novel #2, I found myself with an incredible urge to keep working. I jumped right into revisions and my muse is showing no signs of slowing down.

While I love the constant inspiration currently flooding my imagination, some of my other goals have once again taken a back seat. This year has a been characterized by an interesting learning curve as I have come to accept the fact that creativity doesn’t always like to stay in the boundaries of organization. The color-coding, to-do list part of my brain has actually lightened up a little bit, so it’s not bothering me as much that I can’t cross everything off my 2012 goals this month. Instead, I find solace in focusing on what I got done!

1) Submit five pieces of writing to contests, journals, literary magazines, or the newspaper.

I didn’t submit anything, but I am working on a story I started in London. It’s something I hope to submit at some point and it’s a nice little project to have on the side for when I get stuck revising Novel #2.

2) Finish minor changes in my first novel.

Novel #2 is keeping its hold on my focus. I haven’t touched my first novel in two months and I don’t suspect I will be for a while. Both the story and characters are silent in my head because they are being drowned out by everything in Novel #2. It’s hard to work on a large project like this when my muse wants nothing to do with it at the moment. So, on the shelf it remains.

Starting word count:  7,975
Ending word count: 7,975
Total word count: 0

3) Work on my second novel. Revise Novel #2.

Much like last month, I can’t stop thinking about Novel #2. After completing the first draft – Yay! – I went back to page one and started revising. This is weird for me because usually I like to let a project sit for a while before returning to it for revisions. Not this time. All I wanted to do was be in the story again and listen to my characters.  I’ve never experienced a pull like that after finishing a writing project, which is why I decided to listen to my tagline and follow my muse. She seems to know where we’re going and who am I to question her?

Starting revised word count: 0
Ending revised word count: 10,865
Total revised word count: 10,865

See NaNoWriMo (Revised) for the goals I’ve set for November on this project. It’s insane, but I’m up for the challenge.

4) Send out five query letters and be ready with a synopsis.

My query letter for Novel #2 has gone through three more revisions. My goal for November is to have it ready to send off to two beta readers.

5) Keep up with my blog.

Despite my crazy writing schedule, I managed to post on a very consistent basis this month. Thank you to my readers for your continued visits. I appreciate all of your comments and “likes.” Your encouragement to keep writing means so much to me.

6) Network more with other writers.

It was a good month on social media! I made an effort to be a little more present on Facebook and Twitter and I have to say it was a lot of fun. My thanks goes to everyone who has stopped by and followed me Facebook and Twitter.

My Facebook Page has grown from 198 to 221 Likes.

On Twitter, my followers have grown from 288 to 425.

To join in the fun, please visit my sidebar to follow me on either network. As I work through revisions, I’ll be posting frequently on both networks with ramblings fueled by extraordinary amounts of caffeine.

7) Inspire other writers to keep writing.

As always, I hope I am a positive presence!

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Happy Halloween! May you have your fair share of jack-0-lanterns and candy! Last year I wrote about the origins of Halloween on this post: Hallowed History. If you’ve ever wondered where Halloween traditions began, you may want to re-visit my spooky history lesson.

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c.b.w. 2012