November Status Report: 2012 Goals

November certainly had its fair share of challenges, but I ended up learning a couple of valuable lessons. First, I am always stronger than I think I am. Second, my determination to write goes far deeper than I thought. Despite a car accident, two family emergencies, an eye infection, and the craziness of Thanksgiving, I never let writing get too far away from me. Even when it felt like the last thing I should be doing. While words are my passion, they are also my savior when life tries to kick me in the teeth one too many times.

Most of my focus was centered on completing my goals for NaNoWriMo, but I still made some progress on a few of my 2012 goals. Here’s how it went:

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

Done!

2) Finish minor changes in my first novel.

Shelved, for now. After much consideration, I truly believe leaving it alone is the best thing I can do right now. My muse is adamant about working on Novel #2 and she’s not in the mood for anything else!

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

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

I’ll be going into more detail on Novel #2 revisions later this week with a NaNoWriMo recap. Things went incredibly well as I achieved the highest monthly word count ever on this project. As I’ve learned repeatedly this year, I thrive on setting goals.

The goal I set for NaNoWriMo was both challenging and doable despite the difficulties reality tried to throw at me this month. If anything, these goals kept me grounded when everything else seemed to be falling apart. I am grateful to my muse for sticking with me and letting my story be a wonderful place to go at the end of more than a few tough days.

Starting revised word count: 10,865
Ending revised word count: 27,507
Total revised word count: 16,642

Along my sidebar, I keep a bar graph that shows the daily progress of revisions on Novel #2. I am beyond thrilled to report 1/3 of Novel #2 is now revised. My muse is still crazy about this project, so I will stay fully immersed in it through December.

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

The last draft of my query letter for Novel #2 went to a beta reader who had some really positive things to say about it along with a few ideas for revisions. I’m working on those revisions and will be sending it to the same beta reader as well as another one, (I hope you’re game, Bonnie!).

5) Keep up with my blog.

My NaNoWriMo goals kept me pretty busy, but I still managed to stay relatively consistent in posting. In December I’m hoping to mix things up a little by including more posts about crafts, photography, and maybe a short story. 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.

I played  more on Facebook this month than I did on Twitter. It was a nice place to go during NaNoWriMo madness! My thanks goes to everyone who has stopped by and followed me Facebook and Twitter.

My Facebook Page has grown from 221 to 234 Likes.

On Twitter, my followers have grown from 425 to 464.

As I continue revisions on Novel #2, I’ll be dropping little hints about the characters and the story throughout December. To gain access to these forthcoming tidbits, please visit my sidebar to follow me on either network.

7) Inspire other writers to keep writing.

As always, I hope I am a positive presence!

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c.b.w. 2012