Goals for 2012

I'm a list maker. An organizer. A person who has to keep my little ducks in a row. So I have to make goals and lists. 'Cuz if I don't, I'd probably implode. And who wants that?

Writing goals, personal goals, traveling goals. That's pretty much what everything can be summed up into.

Writing Goals
-Finishing Book Three in 'The Tales of Gymandrol" series. (It's due in April.)
-Finishing the three other works-in-progress (WIP) that I currently have.

Personal Goals
-Keeping my house organized, despite my kids' best efforts to make it a shrine for toys. ;)
-Go to the gym more often but pacing myself so I don't get worse instead of better.
-Get my camera fixed so it takes better pictures.
-Work on the various craft projects I have started. (See? I need a deadline to get them done! And a person to give them to in order to motivate me!)
-Finish the watercolor picture that I started last year.

Traveling Goals
-Attend Book Expo America (BEA) in NYC this June. (It will be awesome!!)
-Attend several other writer conferences this year, particularly SCBWI conferences. (I haven't seen some of my peeps since last year!)
-Go camping in Yosemite with my family this summer. I've never been to Yosemite but I've always wanted to see the amazing landscape for myself. And take lots and lots of photos.

As I make more goals for myself, I might share them on here. I suppose it depends on what they are and if y'all are interested in knowing about them. :)

Happy reading!

SCBWI Writer's Retreat

I was able to go to the SCBWI Writer's Retreat held out in Temecula, CA last weekend. Wow. We got to hear from four different literary editors, three authors, and they all had such great information for us. I can't write down exactly what they said (intellectual property privacy) but we got some great tips to take home. I was able to meet Mary Pearson ("The Adoration of Jenna Fox") and heard Marlene Perez ("Dead Is..." series) and Michael Reisman ("Simon Bloom - Gravity Keeper"). Awesome authors with wonderful tips, such as....

-Write everyday. EVERYDAY. Even if it's just one sentence. Get in the habit of writing.
-Edit your work for those "throw away" words that really don't matter. Like "really." And "like." ;)
-Keep a word count tally in an Excel document.You'll be able to track how productive you were.
-Write and write and write. Edit later. Get your words down and don't procrastinate. Don't give yourself writer's block.
-Try something new. Get fresh material. Read stuff you've never read before, watch TV shows and movies to get ideas, check out some non-fiction books. You never know where you'll find inspiration for your next project.

I was able to meet some fantastic writers and we sat together for the two days and had lunch together. It was a great time to connect with other YA lovers! I look forward to meeting up with these writers again and working on critiques together. :)