It’s time to get serious about this. I’ve been wasting time and dabbling for several years now. I think I want to write. I have a million ideas. I like it when it’s fruitful.
Yes, I want to write.

WRITING IS HARD. I don’t care who you are, how good (or bad) you are, how much you love it, when it comes right down to it, it’s hard work.

Writing is a big giant time-suck. There is nothing else you can do when you are writing. You are either writing, or you are not. You may be thinking about writing, you may be editing in your head (or on the back of a napkin during lunch, no really, I’m listening) but writing is not conducive to multi-tasking.

I said last week, on my birthday, that I felt there were good things coming this next year…I’m hoping the fruition of those good things is a submission worthy manuscript.

To ensure my focus and dedication, I am filling my time with inspirational and instructional conferences, seminars and classes.

I am already a member of In Print, http://inprintwriters.com/, and all it has to offer, and I look forward to my term on the board being over in March so I can focus all that time spent volunteering on writing.

I also currently meet once a month with the Prompt Club. This is a great group for me to release some non-novel ideas and practice my editing and critiquing skills.
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-Prompt-Club/295516543804953?fref=ts

And there’s my Monday blog…

November is National Novel Writers Month. NaNoWriMo, http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/dashboard
50,000 words in 30 days. (30 days which include a major holiday and both my kids’ birthdays) But dammit, I’m doing it. I’m not sure what I’ll be working on, that’s part of the process—let’s see where my imagination and the pressure of 1667 words a day takes me…

I signed up for a four week online session on short story writing that begins mid-November, http://www.occrwa.org/onlineclassNov12.html

I plan on attending, and maybe pitching (for practice, for real?) at the UW Madison Annual Writers Institute in April, http://continuingstudies.wisc.edu/lsa/writing/awi/

And, if all goes as planned…. Drum roll please, I’ll be attending the Willamette Writers Conference in August. In Portland! http://www.willamettewriters.com/wwc/3/

And, as if that wasn’t enough (but, really, can there ever be too much? ha) I placed the winning bid on the 4^th Annual In the Trenches with the Writers Conference In Evanston in September. http://www.evanstonwritersworkshop.org/

46 is going to be a busy year. I’ve got a lot to do… and now that I’ve put it out there… I’ve got a lot of people who are going to hold me to it.

Right?

WRITE!

I need an updated picture… I am 46 now, you know.
(also, my office looks different)