Surfing and thinking

Yes, this is what happens when I surf online, I think. I think about what else I could be doing to further my goals of establishing my career as a writer. Keeping in mind that I have a full-time career working with kids as well as raising a child mostly on my own.

I was on AbsoluteWrite where there was a thread about portfolios and clips. One writer wanted to know how to organize her previously published articles. I read the responses and wrote one myself. Then I started thinking “I need to update my porfolio and clips.”

What should I put on there? How should I organize my work? What exactly should I say about myself? Yep, I start thinking and the thinking leads to stressing.

How do I combat this “stressful thinking?” I look at writers that I admire. I check out their websites and blogs to see how they’ve done things. I list what I like and what I don’t like. I also think about how these methods work for them. Evaluating what kind of writer I am along with my current responsibilities (child and work) as well as my writing goals.

I like using the KISS principle for myself because I can easily get overwhelmed. So, I’ll be working on my portfolio and clips here as well as my editorial calendar so that when 2010 starts, my writing goals can become accomplishments.

Later!

Mid-Month Round-up

Well, so far this month I’ve written, but not as much as I expected to. Once again my day job has been bonkers, but I’ve been working on it.

Here’s what I’ve done so far this month:

1. Daily posting at Momslikeme.com

2. Posting my accomplishments/reflections twice a month here.

3. Three articles so far on the parenting site. Not motivated much to write there, but I really like the exposure the site gives me. Which can be far more beneficial than higher-paying gigs.

4. Three posts at The Freshman Writer. Again, not hitting my target there either. I’d like to get out eight posts a month with half of them as the Notable Quotable and the other half an article on a writing-related topic.

5. Got a new 8 1/2×11 planner. I upgraded just today to a bigger planner to start working on my editorial calendar for 2010. I have goals that I want to acheive and I know that planning ahead can help. I’ll be filling it in as time goes on.

Well there are only two weeks left until the end of the year. I may or may not hit all my goals this month. It really depends on how drained I am at the end of each workday to write. As for the weekends, I’ve been invited to a few gatherings besides having other obligations that keep me from writing. I really need to prioritize in order to get my writing done instead of waiting for spontaneous writing to happen. Luckily, it happens often. lol Cheers!

I’m a dropout

Well, today I sent in my final payment for the online writing course I began in July of 2008. I stopped participating altogether by this past Spring. And even though I liked the idea about getting a certificate and earning college credit, the lack of communication with the instructor left a bad taste in my mouth. I love school and enjoy interacting with intructors and my fellow students.

However, my instructor’s monthly email wasn’t enough to keep me interested or engaged in the work. Guess a different writing course is in order. I still wouldn’t mind earning college credit as I go and possibly obtaining a bachelor’s in Writing, but I need something a little more interactive.

Either way, I’ve found out what works for me and what doesn’t. The experience has also inspired me to write here as well as to develop a post for The Freshman Writer. There is a lesson to be learned in all things, good or bad.

November Round-up and a thank you

Hello people. Just checking in after a crazy few weeks at my day job. Even though I was super busy, I managed to write a decent amount this month and added two new writing jobs to my load. So far, so good. Here are my goals below:

1. Five posts here on my portfolio.

2. Six posts at The Freshman Writer.

3. One post at Flaimahmy (pronounced Fly Mommy)

4. Landed a new writing job.

5. Attempted Nano. (While I didn’t succeed, I know why it went on the back burner.)

6. Four articles at my parenting site.

The Round-up

Well, the bottom line is that my day job went haywire and I needed to focus all of my energy on getting the job done. It’s my bread and butter at this point and is what allows me to write without worrying too much about when I’ll get paid. I want to increase my posts at The Freshman Writer to two or three times weekly, here at least once a week (which I have been doing), two or three times a week at my parenting site, once or twice weekly at Fly Mommy. We’ll see how that goes going into next month. And while I may not have hit my goal numbers, I have achieved another informal goal – to earn more money this year through writing than I did last year. I definitely surpassed the amount I made last year, but I don’t know by how much. And it really doesn’t matter anyway because I’m proud of myself for hitting and passing my goal.

And last but not least is my thank you:

I just want to say thank you to everyone who has supported my writing goals this year. From my family and friends to my co-workers and online pals. Thank you for encouraging me when I was down, giving me a kick in the rear to get me in gear and especially, for helping me achieve my writing goals this year. I know that 2010 will be even more spectacular because of your support. Thanks friends!

 

Nano went kurplunk

Well, my Nano journey has come to an end. Now it’s not official yet, because Nano doesn’t end until next week. But, my day job has been so crazy that I haven’t had time to scratch my head, let alone add to my nano project. So, I’ve decided to call it quits. In fact, I stopped writing the second week of Nano.

At first, I thought “I’ll get back to it” and did a few times by adding notes and research that I’ve done for the project. Then, I felt like it was getting farther and farther away from me.

Other than my nano disaster, I’ve been writing here, at the Freshman Writer, my parenting site and the newest site I write for – Flaimahmy.com (Fly mommy). Between writing for the sites and journaling as well as my day job, I’ve been keeping busy. I’ve also been keeping up with Moms Like Me as the discussion leader.

So, no goals other than to come here and report everything I’ve been doing writing-wise.

Halfway through November

Well its the 15th today and I’m checking in with my project updates.

My post “Thanksgiving for Single Moms” was published last week at Flaimahmy, my new writing gig. I’m excited about it because I’m expanding my writing to beyond parenting, but also being a mom. We’ll see how it goes.

I’ve been writing at The Freshman Writer and posting here about my Nano progress. While I jotted a few notes last week, that’s pretty much all I’ve done, since the day job has been extremely draining and stressful. By the time I get home and take care of the kiddo, I’m ready to crash and can’t even look at the computer. I’m thinking of modifying my schedule so that I can get up earlier to write and then start the rest of my day.

It’s been a week or so since my last article at the parenting site so I’ll be working on some posts for this week. Besides that, I just applied for another writing gig for a faith-based magazine. Let’s see how this works out for me. Slowly, but surely my writing portfolio is growing and I’m more prolific as time goes by.

Not much progress

Well, I’ve logged about a thousand words for Nanowrimo. I don’t know if I really thought this out. I figured if I had a good idea to work on, I could just write no matter what. The problem for me has been my day job. It’s very stressful for me and by the time I get home, I’m so drained that I don’t even want to look at a computer. I’m wondering if I should quit and its the second week already! I should be much farther along than I am. I really can’t complain though – I’ve attempted something new that I hadn’t thought I’d even make progress with.

Still have articles that need to get done so I need to get cracking. Later.

1000 Words and counting

So – Nanowrimo has me at over 1000 words now. Not anywhere near the 8,333 words that I need to be up to date by tomorrow, November 5. But, progress is happening. I posted this morning at my parenting site and at The Freshman Writer, so I’ve been a busy writer. And even though the day job has been very stressful and home responsibilities, too. I’m just glad that the Muse slapped me in the face to keep me writing today. Later!

Trickling By

Well, Nano is off to a slow start so far. I’ve only logged in about 350 words and that’s from the bit I wrote a week or two ago. Yes, a bit before Nano, but still written. I added a sentence or two yesterday.

My day job was extra challenging yesterday and I didn’t get home until 7:30. After that it was dinner, putting kiddo to bed and then some tv time for me. I know tv is a time-sucker for me, but I needed a distraction after the day I had.

I’m hoping that the rest of the week will be somewhat calmer at work, though there is no guarantee since my job is rather unpredictable. But, I hope that I can get some writing done during my lunches this week and catch up to the 6 day word count. About 5000 words. We’ll see.

Other than that, I haven’t done much writing. I really need to get cracking on articles for my parenting site as well as the new site I’m writing for. Also need to check in at Moms Like Me so I’ll hit that before going to work. Later!

Gearing Up

Okay, so I’m only a few days from beginning Nanowrimo and I’m petrified. Butterflies the size of cats are crashing into each other in my stomach. Okay maybe it’s not that bad, but I’m definitely getting antsy now. I only have a few more days until the writing challenge begins.

While I can’t get to in-person events and meet-ups, I can get on the forums to touch base with other Nanowrimo-ers. Hopefully that will keep me motivated (along with my wordcount) to keep writing my book.

My chapter outline is done as well as the research for my book. Its based on bible verses on the life of the Virgin Mary and is for mothers. I can’t wait to see what the finished product will look like. I know there will be a lot of editing to do, but my goal is to hit 50K within the month.

I wrote about Nanowrimo at The Freshman Writer and also posted an article at my parenting site. I still haven’t written a post for my new writing gig, so I’ll need to get cracking on ideas for that site. My goal is to post over there once a week so what I can do is draft ideas this week and then get started next week with my first post.

That’s all the biz from me right now. Keep checking here to see my progress with Nanowrimo.