01.15.09
Posted in Writing at 12:45 pm by mywords
Some of you on my forums know that I have landed a new job, which is starting out as part-time, but really should be full-time because of the work available. As for me, it will be part-time until such time as I finish off a few other things.
It has presented me with the challenge of tight, unequivocal deadlines, and other time-demanding projects.
One of the things I encourage on the Writing&Publishing Yahoo group in particular is setting goals for each week. I always say make them specific and realistic. At the beginning of each day and each week I set goals for myself based on what I really need to get done and what is reasonable. If I know I need to write 20 articles in two weeks, my goal for the week will be to write at least 10 of the maybe 1 or 2 a day as is possible.
If you’re going to say, I want to write 1000 words a day, but know that you struggle with just sitting down to write, make the more specific and proactive. Add to that goal to sit for maybe 15 minutes. Don’t put a word limit on it until you’ve conquered the struggle of just sitting down. That may also mean finally evaluating your schedule to see where that 15 minutes might be possible. Establish one habit that will lead to establishing another.
“If one problem’s too big to solve, solve a smaller problem, first.” (Ms. Frizzle, The Magic School Bus.)
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01.08.09
Posted in Writing at 10:54 am by mywords
It’s amazing what can happen in 24 hours. Yesterday morning at this time I was fretting over baby Brent not sleeping through the night for some reason, fighting for sleep and wondering if I should pursue returning to an office job or stay at home.
This morning, I’m sitting here with baby Brent still asleep trying to get some work done and deciding on which of the projects I currently have I need to give up.
I received a phone call end-of-day yesterday from a gentleman looking to hire a freelance writer to help him with his consulting business. This will be an ongoing project and could make up the bulk of my monthly income.
I am also still happy dancing from learning that one of the three anthologies I’ve been working on will be released – or at least ready to print – in May. Add to that the promise of royalties starting to come in from books I’ve edited and the promised release of 7 more this year (at least)…and you can see 2009 is shaping up to be a busy and exciting year!
Gotta get to work!
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01.07.09
Posted in Writing at 2:44 pm by mywords
Someone once told me that as a self-employed individual particularly one who deals with writers and books, any book I buy can be claimed as a business expense.
Since books are an obsession my initial thought after hearing this was WOOHOOO!!!! I’m free to buy whatever book I want! Or, at least I thought I had a license to buy any book I wanted. Unfortunately, budgetary realities set in and I’m still quite a few books short on J.D. Robb, Iris Johansen and a few others in my collection…and I still have about 300 books sitting on my bookshelf waiting to be read!
In the midst of my normal mystery and adventure titles, I have added Harry Potter (read all 7 books in less than 3 weeks), The Chronicles of Narnia, A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Eragon Trilogy, and will probably read The Fire Within series, as well. There is no shortage of reading material in our house…unfortunately, my 12-year-old doesn’t seem to see the same treasure trove that I do.
As far as what I do in my leisure time goes – whatever that is – reading is usually one that gets cycled through quite often not only because of the beckoning of 300+ books (think of a book-centered Toy Story) but because I love to read. I love to escape reality for a few minutes and lose myself in a world of make believe.
Reading has not only become a job for me, but a joy, as well – if somewhat of an obsession.
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