February Report - March Goals...

Enter Fire and Ice Contest as well as Chocolate Rose. Look at mystery contest and Great American Novel contests.
**Fire and Ice; Chocolate Rose and Kiss of Death - All done. Missed the Great American Novel contest. Frankly, I just forgot. Goal MET!

Send off my Idaho cowboy story to the targeted line. I LOVE this story. I hope the editor loves it as well.
**My package is setting on a desk in Canada.

Volunteer to give a coffee talk presentation for our local chapter. Generational Characters. This one is harder. I’ve got a topic, some of the research material, and the date. Now to just write the darn training.
**The presentation went really well. Now I have to write up an article for our chapter newsletter. Ongoing goal for March

Send off a short story to Women’s World. This is a tight market. 800 word stories have to be emotional, tightly written and satisfying. I’ve learned my draft is way over the story limits and my challenge is cutting word length.
**Got February's story written and send. And as of today, I've got a start on the next one. Ongoing goal for 2011.

I am guest hosting a debut author on http://www.newkidonthewritersblock.com/ on the 18th. This is my first blog party so I'm hoping people will show up.
**Lot's of posts, fun questions, and a very happy debut author. I'm doing this again in April with Elizabeth Lynn Casey's release -- Deadly Notions. SO this is one of March's goals as well.

So - Write a new short for WW. Finish - Writing Characters Across the Generations article. Host blog for ELC's new book.

And... write 20000 words this month. That's less than NANO. And more than what I've been doing. I wrote 35000 words in November. So, it's doable but a stretch from where I am now.

I'm also going to send out at least five queries on my cozy mystery.

So that's it. My living dangerously goals. Next month, I'll be working on some networking strategies to prepare me for the local confernce and practice for nationals.

January report... And Feb goals...

Sign up for Missouri writer’s conference. This April conference is with in driving distance – no need for overnight accommodations and they have fiction and essay presenters who I can learn from and one of my dream agents taking pitches. And I get to meet a cozy mystery author I love.

**Done - and paid for. I'm excited about this conference!

Send off a short story to Women’s World. This is a tight market. 800 word stories have to be emotional, tightly written and satisfying. I’ve learned my draft is way over the story limits and my challenge is cutting word length.

**I've sent one and started a second. This is going to be an ongoing goal to send one a month.

Commit to attending RWA nationals. Still working out the money bugs on this one. But as Kevin Costner’s character learned in Field of Dreams, if you plan it, it will come. (Paraphrasing just a bit.)

**Off Topic - I watched Field of Dreams last night. I love the part where Holly Hunter is taking on Censorship. Still working out money, but commited to go! NYC, here I come.

Volunteer to give a coffee talk presentation for our local chapter. Generational Characters. This one is harder. I’ve got a topic, some of the research material, and the date. Now to just write the darn training. You would think since I used to do this for a living I wouldn’t be so nervous.

**I presented on this during my day job so I've got a better idea where the session will go, but no training package yet. Soon. This is a continual goal - challenge for February.

So with the two ongoing goals, I'll add the following:

Send off my Idaho cowboy story to the targeted line. I LOVE this story. I hope the editor loves it as well.

Enter Fire and Ice Contest as well as Chocolate Rose. Look at mystery contest and Great American Novel contests. Contests are a double edge sword for me. I love entering, but not finaling is a downer. So maybe I'll just final in all the contests I enter this year... Yay!

I'm attending a work potluck/party next week. In the Living Dangerously style, I'm going to talk to all level three managers in attendance about something besides work. I'm scared already. (grin)

So there you go. February challenges to keep me busy.

What's going on with your challenges? Did you keep your new years resolutions?