Hooked On Romance

I've been flailing some in my focus lately, so I've resolved to fix it. I have set myself some goals and have written them out with deadlines on the ones I can control and have posted them on my desk where I see them daily.

My current goal is to finish writing th first draft of my current WIP before September 21. It's doable. It's a 10 chapter book and I'm in chapter 3. That means I have to write one chapter every day. When this is finished I get to take short break and atend Lora Leigh's Readers Appreciation Weekend for some R&R. This will be my 3rd year to attend and it just keeps getting better, though I do need to put together a sinning saint costume before I go. :)

When I get back I will get straight to work polishing the WIP and another story that I want to get in shape for agent submissions. I figure at the very least all this work will help keep me from being a complete neurotic mess as I get closer to my release day. I'm trying very hard to compartmentalize so I don't overstress. HA! We'll see how well I succeed (and possibly how much weight I gain in the process).

So tell me, have you set any goals for yourself? Did you set some at the beginning of the year? Have you accomplished any? If you were going to set some new ones, what would they be?

It's another work week and there's plenty of cool things going on ...

1. Two members of Romance Divas, Bria Quinlan and Mel Berthier, created EXCERPT MONDAYS ... and I'm participating! One Monday a month, aspiring and published authors will post an excerpt of their projects, either published or work in progress (WIP) for readers to view and comment. It's a great way to showcase authors you've never read or authors you might want to keep an eye on for when they do publish. There's different genres and heat level ratings to choose from. This is my first time participating so I'm hoping that I'll have enough excerpts to provide in the coming months!

2. I had a contest at the Parker Publishing blog in which I challenged authors to do a collage. Cate Hart took me up on that challenge and created an awesome collage of her current WIP. Thanks for sharing and for being a good sport!

3. If you've got teen and teenage girls, my friend Eva Gale directed me to a very cool site to keep her children busy. Polyvore helps teens to express their style by allowing them to virtually mix & match products from favorite stores. You'll find samples of those who participated and some of the stuff is brilliant and soooo creative!

4. I started watching television this year and I've gotten hooked on Castle and Dollhouse ... and I've heard both shows were on the the chopping block, but there are plenty of folks willing to campaign to save the shows. Just click on the links and you'll find details on the campaigns. Twitter has had a big impact and it seems the voices of viewers are making a difference. :) -- You got me! I'm on twitter so if you have an account and care to join me, you can go to: http://twitter.com/jaxcassidy. Maybe I'll get around to designing my twitter page, right now it's a generic template...must add to list.

5. Finally: What are your goals this week? I've got to finish a short story that I should have done last week but was in a funk. This week I'm ready to be productive and kicking butt! Grrrrrr. Now who's with me?! Let's make you accountable. Tell me what your goal is and by Friday, I'll be bugging you all about meeting that goal. Yes, I'm throwing out the challenge!