WEEKLY PLAN - Feb. 18th

Happy Monday, readers!

A wet, gloomy day here in the Ozarks. I'm having to spend the entire day at a local cafe for a food drive I promoted. No donations have come in :-( but I've gotten a lot of work done.

As I was driving in this morning, I heard a song by Eddie Rabbit from the movie Every Which Way But Loose. Goddess, I loved that movie. I saw it with my first love and the title song still makes me weepy with the memory of holding his hand in that theater. He was never one to show affection so the whole hand-holding thing really caught me off guard that night. Just the little things, ya know.

Anyway, the lyrics threw me for a loop. In the space of the five-minute drive into town I went from thinking I needed to change the whole hero character in my current WIP, INVITATIONS TO AN AFFAIR, to realizing what a great premise for ANOTHER book! Some days I really would like to at least turn the idea faucet to a trickle.

I've spent all day getting the posts for The Country Angel scheduled. The Texas Music Awards will announce winners on March 23rd in Linden Texas. From now (I should have started a few weeks ago) until the big night I will be spotlighting all of the nominees. This week it is all about the Female Vocalist of the Year nominees. The good thing is I don't have to do anything else with that blog until Saturday.

I probably won't get to work on Invitations tonight unless I make notes by hand. We have thunderstorms headed our direction. It is February, right?

Happy Writing!
Angela

WEEKLY PLANNER - Feb. 18th

The first book in the INVITATIONS TO AN AFFAIR series is coming along. I did not make the progress last week I had hoped. No one's fault, and no excuses. I just didn't apply myself to the keyboard like I should have. I need to change the course if I am to write both books this year.

Though I am now rethinking the whole '52 invitations' route, meaning I could use less invitations and do it in one book, but the basic plot concept is Daniel asks Cherie to give him a year to prove they belong together.

I like to write from an outline, but because UNCHAINED HEARTS came together so well in November without one I thought I'd try to recapture the enthusiasm with the same process for Invitations. I'm not sure it's working. I think the lack of an outline and a character sketch is preventing me from having 'layers' to peel away as the story progresses. I keep asking myself, 'What is Daniel's problem?' 'Why does he need Cherie?' And I have to be honest, I'm stuck. Other than he knows Cherie is The One he's been looking for all his life, there really isn't anything wrong with him.

I know, no man is perfect. But Daniel comes close. He's a dark haired, sapphire-eyed, Italian with  sexy dimple in his chin. He's wealthy, intelligent, and well-mannered. He invests in people... providing them with opportunities to fulfill their potential and their dreams. Did I mention he's also a fabulous and attentive lover? He's not arrogant, just proud of his accomplishments.

Daniel does suffer from debilitating migraines. The headaches have also been known to cause black-outs. Oh my... I just figured out Daniels issue. Thank you, dear readers, for listening.

Oh, you want to know what Daniel's problem is? Guess I better finish the books so you can read for yourself.

In the mean time, leave a comment as to what you think Daniel's issue could be.

A WRITER'S DAY OFF

As a writer I seldom take a day off. I'm writing something. Aside from working on novels I also have a weekly column in our local paper as well as writing features. As I've mentioned before, the freelance is finally starting to roll so even when I'm not actually writing... I'm writing. To top it off, the nominees for the Texas Music Awards have been announced. I began spotlighting the nominees each year about three years ago.

That was my first step back into the music industry side of freelancing. Freelancing, for me, is the meat and potatoes (though it's not paying the bills just yet). Novel writing is my dessert. I love dessert. But have you ever heard the phrase 'dessert is stress spelled backwards'? I can't say my mood the last couple of weeks was stress, but I was ready for a break. I was just BUSY!

As I thought about the schedule I've begun to keep since last August, I had been emailing back and forth with a man I interviewed in December. I was aware of the schedule he keeps... twenty times heavier than anything I carry at the moment. And I had to wonder... did he ever hit burn out?

I've interviewed a lot of entertainers over the years. I've had to squeeze my time with them in among tour schedules, studio time, and numerous other projects. Yet the thought of them hitting 'burn out' never occurred to me. Until I became friends with Steven Byess. So I emailed Steven and asked.."How do you keep the schedule you keep without wishing the merry-go-round would just stop?"

The powerful simplicity of his answer brought me to tears.
Music.

The balm that most people can, and will, use to sooth their life stresses is the very thing that is the mode of my life: music. If I can have a life that is inundated with music, then I can manage the small stuff.

His statement exemplifies one of the many things we have in common. I know, to think I would have anything in common with an international music conductor was quizzical for me at first. Yet the more we talked, the more I realized how everything each of us does involves passion for our art. For Maestro Steven Byess it is music. For me, it is words. Words in any context, as long as I can play with them.

But it doesn't hurt to have his (or any music fitting my current project) playing in the background.

Now, when I think I can not fit one more thing into my schedule, I think of where Steven might be at the moment. Is he in New York? Is he rehearsing in Tupelo for a symphony? Is he speaking before the state legislature? What time does his flight land in Tulsa and how will he stay awake the two and half hour drive to his next destination? Then I realize my day is easy and I am on this crazy ride because I choose to be. Because it is not what I am, but WHO I am.

What are you most passionate about? Let it be the reason you get up every morning and tackle life. For without passion, is there anything to live for?

JANUARY RECAP

I was just over visiting a new blog I love. The author is Jennifer Greenleaf. Jennifer is a sweet gal and we share a lot of the same interests though we are miles apart on the map.

Today Jennifer talked about how even with a 2013 business plan in place, her January is not off to a good start. She is one of those people who've been plagued by a virus since late December. I know how much those things can bog you down. As she says, you have to keep reminding yourself it's beyond your control and keep moving forward. Her post inspired mine.

I was telling Bob a couple of days ago that I figured out why I just can not seem to get a foothold on my January. He is always gone the first three weeks of January - usually leaving right after New Years Day. This year, he was HOME the first three weeks.

Now understand, Bob does not do anything to prevent me from following my dream. He is the absolute most supportive man I could have ever asked for. He has always made sure I have what I need to keep plugging away at my career. The challenge is, because he is gone three weeks at a time, I value the time I have with him and want to spend my time with him. Yeah, imagine that. I actually want to spend time with the man I married. LOL

JANO helped me focus on at least getting my nighttime writing in. Now, with him gone for three weeks I'll be laying the foundation for the rest of my year. My editor at Polymer Cafe has already told me she will take all I want to submit and I've had a couple other good leads.

Saturday, we have the Wrap-Up party for JANO 2013. My art blog hop will be over with as of Sunday night (If you're a paper crafter, you'll want to check that blog hop out beginning Saturday to win some cool stuff!- KellysCreativeDreams )

If you made GOALS for 2013, NOW is the time to evaluate your progress.There is still plenty of time to make adjustments so you stay on track!

Happy Writing!
Angela

FINDING YOUR PRODUCTIVITY

I think I've talked about this before, but I feel it bears repeating for those of you who've recently joined me.
Whether you are writing as a second job - or your only job, if you write as a business you need to write EVERY DAY.

The common mistake I think writers make is they try to 'fit' writing in with their daily routine. This sets them up for a fall, regardless of their intentions. If writing is a job (as opposed to something you do for fun and if being published happens - yippee) then you have to SHOW UP every day. This doesn't mean you might come to work, or you come to work when you feel like it. Show up means you schedule a time when you will park your butt in your chair and write! Whether it's during your lunch hour at Job 1 or at night while your husband is watching TV, pick a time and park it!

Okay, I'll step off the soap box now and help you with what I think might be your biggest obstacle in the over-all plan of showing up for Job 2.

Do you know your most productive time? That is, when can you sit down to write and get the most accomplished?

I used to belong to a group where we met in a Yahoo Instant Message chat room all day on Fridays. Some had other jobs and could only meet in the evening or during their lunch hour... but they showed up! Others of us were able to participate all day long. We began at 9 a.m. and went until 10 p.m. We did 30 min word sprints with 15 minute breaks, broke an hour each for lunch and dinner. Because time zones varied, some of us might be writing while others were eating and vice versa. But we were writing!

I was able to write every day. But by tracking my word count for each sprint, I noticed something. I found my MOST PRODUCTIVE TIME - or MPT.

My word counts for sprints early in the day were very low, barely breaking 200 words in 30 minutes some times! But as the day wore on, the word counts slowly climbed. Then about 4 p.m. I found them jump drastically, writing as much as 800-1000 words per sprint! Wow! So why was I unable to do that all day long?  I have no clue. Sometimes Why isn't as important as just knowing the What.

What I discovered was that my brain does not process big chunks early in the day because I'm multi-tasking the other house stuff. You know, the dishes, laundry, floors, etc that we have to deal with every day. But by 4 p.m. when real life was out of the way, I could dump the words and focus on my story.

So now, I use the daytime for short pieces. Short stories, blog posts, promotion, transcribing interviews, etc. Basically, all the things concerned with the freelance end of my job. Then at night when the words can flow in bigger chunks, I sit with my novel and write like crazy for about 3 hours.

Here's my challenge for the next week. Every time you can sit and write, whether it be at home, at work, during the kids' sports game, whatever... make note of the situation and your word count. Do this every day for a full week. At the end of the week, look back at which times you were getting the most words written. From this little assignment you will find your Most Productive Time (MPT) and how to make the most of that time to be successful at your job.

Happy Writing
Angela!

BEGINNING 2013...

... with a slow start.

I had that one week between Christmas and New Years to breathe. Afterwards it has seemed like I just can't catch up. But I'm gaining ground.

The first thing that caught me was JANO 2013. Now I KNOW JANO comes around every January first. And I also knew I would be the chairperson this year. So why did I still feel as if I were not prepared? I should have been. I knew what my JANO project would be and was (still am) excited about it's prospects. I was also able to get all the necessary book work in order for tracking the JANO participants. But the other things I wanted to also kick off the first part of the month seem to be dragging behind like the tin cans on the bride and groom car. I know they are there... I can hear them banging for my attention. But I'm trying to move forward while they continue to follow me.

Every day brings me closer to eliminating one of the cans. Like updating this blog. I had intended to talk all month about my JANO progress. I wanted to share the 'Rapunzel meets Fifty Shades of Grey' concept and how I was enjoying my first foray into a true erotic novel as an author. Instead, I've spent the time actually writing the novel. There's a concept. Although I'm not making the progress with this one I did in Nano, I am still finding the footings that I hope will be the basis for a great four-book series.

One of the things I am doing new this year is not just talking about my goals in a standard post but I am making them a permanent part of my sidebar. As I accomplish the items, I'll make notations. Together we can track my progress.

For now, I'm late to a writing sprint.
Happy Writing!
Angela

LOOKING BACK at 2012

Wow!  Where did 2012 go?

I don't know about you but I did not accomplish everything I'd hoped for this year. Our expectations of a new beginning are always grander than what we actually come away with... or maybe not.

HERE'S what I had in mind for 2012.
Basically, I wanted to be more organized, a bit calmer and more productive. In some ways I accomplished all three, just not necessarily in the way I imagined.

As far as organization goes, the Page A Day to do list thing just didn't work out. I still have specific things I do every day. To add them to every one of their appropriate days by hand would have given me writers cramp. So I tried printing them off in strips and gluing them to the correct days. Talk about BULK! I couldn't get the entire year in the day planner... and I never switched things out.

Trying things is GOOD. If we don't try something to see if it will work, we will never know. Well, now I know that didn't work... so I'm taking a different approach I'll talk about later in the week.

Calmer? Well, that is a relevant term. I felt calmer... until about mid-September when the freelance began to pick up. I started networking with an entirely new genre of people in earnest and found myself in a Texas-sized watering hole of incredibly talented people, and opportunities to go along with it. Then the first of this month, I did it again. This time I discovered the Symphony... the Polish Sinfonia of Krakow Poland actually. I'd heard them perform last year but this year I actually got to make friends with a couple of the members, and one of the conductors. Again, a new door to what I believe will be an incredible journey if I can just stay the course.

Which brings me to Productive. Definitely. Aside from meeting awesome people, I finished Nano in 18 days! Yes, you read that right. Not only did I hit the 50k mark, I actually wrote THE END of the novel. Unchained Hearts was a new bedroom for me to play in and I enjoyed it immensely. In fact, My JANO novel will have a bit of the same theme... 50s heroine and a 50s hero exploring their feelings for one another.

I also published in 4 out of 6 issues of Polymer Cafe magazine, as well as had a request for my first multiple -page article. I am blessed to have the support of my editor, Anne Huizenga. She is AMAZING and gives me creative freedom. I fear she will have spoiled me for ever working with another editor, but I'll give it a shot knowing I have her in my corner and on my reference list.

That about sums up 2012 for me. I spent a lot of time on the road, lots of time playing with my granddaughters and telling my own personal hero how much I love him every day.
For without him, none of what I do would mean anything.

In a couple days, I'll be back to talk about how I'm changing things up a bit for what will hopefully be a more organized, productive, and profitable 2013.

Creative Blessings
Angela