WRITING:
SavvyAuthors: Entangled Smackdown and NaNoWriMo.
When my butt wasn’t kicked, I, too, kicked butt when it came to November’s writing challenges. A couple thousand words shy of 75K, the writing continues.
Plenty of writerly activities to keep me busy during the zaniest month of the year. I can already hear those sleigh bells as I draft this post.
To take some of my own advice from my previous offering, I could take a breather but since the story isn’t over yet, I’ll keep chugging away. That said, there are a couple of activities to keep me in revision and/or polish mode.
For the month of December, Martha Alderson is running PlotWriMo on her site. While wrapping up my current WIP, I can work on another project. I can utilize the same techniques when my current project is ready for dissection.
As much as I’ve overloaded my cranium with newfangled story ideas, I’ve promised myself to shiny up my projects from this past year and NOT START ANYTHING NEW until these babies are out there in the world. As the month progresses, I’ll select the projects I’ll focus my attention on and STICK TO THE PLAN. It will also help in the upcoming SavvyAuthors EditPalooza IV in January and NaNoEdMo in March.
Egads, the prospect is scary. Not seeing the stories out in the world and loved by millions *smile*, but the arduous task taking each one of those stories on the bumpy journey to completion. As they say, all’s well that ends–in publication. 🙂
READING:
I’m excited that I got my hands on a digital copy of Jennifer A. Nielsen‘s follow up to The False Prince. I can’t wait to read The Runaway King.
I’ve also decided a good way to expand my reading portfolio. For every known and/or popular title I read (any genre), I will read two lesser-known works. Great stories are waiting to be discovered.
NETWORKING:
December is membership renewal month for me. Some time this month, I’ll be renewing my memberships for the Canadian Authors Association, Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators, and Performers (CANSCAIP), and The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).
Since the majority of my writing projects this year had some sort of mystery/thriller aspect to it. I’m working towards joining Crime Writers of Canada and/or International Thriller Writers.
I’d also like to improve myself in the actual networking department. I’m grateful for those who follow my blog, leave comments, and interact with me via tweets. I would like to be more active when it comes to visiting fellow writers’ blogs and show my appreciation for their continued support.
LEARNING:
I was so busy on the last day of NaNo that I missed my Duolingo practice. There went my 70 day streak. Oh, well. Today begins a new chapter and I hope to continue with the languages through to the New Year.
Combing through all my downloadables and will revisit some of the great lessons I’ve taken this year. As much as it’s tempting to click the ‘enroll’ button, the membership dues alone for the aforementioned associations will set me back and I need to follow a more strict budget.
Bilbo Watson and I are still playing sweet music and I’m giddy for the impending midnight showing for his namesake’s second instalment on the big screen.
Today is the first day of more amazingness in my writing life.
I hope that your goals, hopes, dreams, and aspirations are both peachy and keen this month.
Textploits of the Writerly Persuasion 
You always astound me! You keep going non-stop, like that Energizer bunny! But I know the steady forward momentum is what accomplishes goals. I’m glad to hear you had such a productive November. Best of luck and happy writing in this new month. 🙂
I have learned how to slow down in recent months, though. I was close to fizzling out mid-year when I forced myself to take creative breaks from writing. That’s why I began taking up languages and the ukelele. Working my brain in different ways still kept the ideas flowing, but I didn’t feel the burn out.
Here’s to a fab December!
Wow, 75k is awesome! That’s about where I am too – but 20k of that was written prior to November. And I’m also still working on it, and will be for a while. You’re in the right place for networking – ROW80 is great, you can do as much or as little as you want. Keep up the great work, and have a great week!
Thank you! It’s a never ending journey but I’m up for it. Have a great week, too. Thanks for stopping by!
I love that comic; also, congratulations on 75K! Way to kick butt! Good luck with sticking to your plans (something I need to work on too) and thanks for the heads’ up about PlotWriMo.