2014 Goals: November 30th Update

Congratulations to the NaNoWriMo winners!! Although the official deadline is midnight tonight, many of my friends participating in the National Novel Writing Month have already written their 50k words and are now WINNERS!! Way to go to them and good luck to those hoping to hit that goal today.

Well, it's time to check on my goals for this year. Sigh...

1) Book 3 & 4 of the Klondike Mystery series
Not going to happen - definitely moved to 2015. Apologies to my readers but I was really struggling and finding it difficult to find motivation to write a blog post.

2) 7 Days of Seven: Short Story Snacks
Removing from my list. Haven't sold the first short in months.

3) Monthly Newsletter
Staying on track here, for the most part. Pretty short lately and not getting new subscribers. That will be a goal for 2015.

4) Monday Motivation Posts
This seems to be going over well and I enjoy doing them so they will continue.

I won't be logging progress in December, instead I will try to set 2015 goals. The good news is I have a great idea for some fun novellas with a kick-ass female lead!

Motivation Monday: Change

I know I'm a day late AND I missed last week but I've been a bit under the weather. Hopefully I'm back on track and with the news from Ferguson, MO I felt this quote was apropos.

Hiatus from Writing....

After a lot of internal discussion, I have decided to take what I hope is a temporary hiatus from writing. Writing should be fun and lately it has seemed to be a chore.

I need to find the balance again, but right now there are so many things to do and experience here in Ecuador. Things that I have been passing up to keep writing.

I have dropped out of NaNoWriMo. I will still blog from time to time, I especially like doing the Monday Motivation posts for others to enjoy. I may dabble in some flash fiction again.

But for now...novel writing is on hold. I hope my readers understand. I appreciate you all.

Veteran's Day 2014 - USA

THANK YOU to ALL who served, serve or will serve!

Motivation Monday: Experiences

[BrainyQuote.com]

Part of the secret to this quote is finding true friendships, those that will go the distance with you. Some you may find early in life. Others come along the way. For me the joy has been in finding some late in my life, when I least expected it. I suspect that is due to knowing what is and isn't important in my life.

#IWSG for November: Writing, writing, writing

Where did the summer go? I'm astounded that another month has passed and it's time for a new IWSG post.

My calendar for November is locked in so the theme for this month's Insecure Writer's Support Group is WRITING, WRITING, WRITING. [snerk]

I've signed up for NaNoWriMo again! For those that don't know, that is National Novel Writing Month.

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing. On November 1, participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 PM on November 30.

I participated twice in 2012 - during August for Camp NaNoWriMo and again in November. My first two novels had most of their first drafts during those months.

So in an attempt to FINALLY get book three in my Klondike Mystery Series, "Almost a Touch", I've signed up this year. My goal is to write a minimum of 2500 words on twenty of the thirty days. You can watch my progress bar in the blog sidebar to see how well I am doing.

In addition, my plan is to walk to a local cafe/restaurant that has wifi to do my writing. I find I have too many distractions when at home, plus this will help me get some exercise into each day.

So, email replies may be delayed; Twitter and Facebook will fall to the background; NaNo and my hubby will be my first priorities while I WRITE, WRITE, WRITE!

National Novel Writing Month - 2014 #NaNo

I'm afraid my blogging will be light this month because I am doing NaNoWriMo again. My first year was 2012 and I did both Camp NaNo and regular NaNo (August & November). The result? Two books eventually published. I missed doing 2013 because of travel and moving to Ecuador.

It's time to get book three in my Klondike Mystery series written and this will give me the push I need to get started. "Almost a Touch" starts at the same time as the events in book two, "Barely a Spark", and then continues. Several of the characters from Klondike, PA are included but the main setting is in Kalispell, MT.

NaNo starts on November first and to be a winner you have to have written 50k words by the end of the month. I finally got started yesterday and have a whole 1250 words written, won't get much done this week due to seeing friends but by this weekend, I should be BIC HOK TAM (Butt in Chair, Hands on Keyboard, Typing Away Madly).

So, please continue to drop in from time to time to see my Monday Motivation posts (here is the latest) as well as check on my progress using the sidebar widget for NaNo.

Oh, and if you haven't read any of my Klondike Mysteries, maybe it's time to try book one, "Not a Whisper" - currently the price is reduced to just $2.99!

Motivation Monday: Freedom of Attitude

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Freedom is a powerful word and freedom is something not everyone around the world can enjoy. But we do have freedom of choosing how we face our situations, even those we can't control. Remember that the next time you feel out of control - there are still some things you can control!