Another Year Past, a New Year Begins

Happy New Year!

Welcome 2014! I greet you with much enthusiasm and optimism. Not that 2013 was a bad year for me- it was actually pretty great. More like, I can't believe it's already complete! A lot happened for me, both personally and professionally.

Spacex!

J- captured his dream job working on space rockets. We sold our house in AZ. Moved to Los Angeles.

Newly birthed epic pout baby!

Had a baby.

MMM.... Red Velvet Bday cake!

 Turned 28.

Us at the Giant Bean!

Traveled with said baby via airplane to Chicago. Had a blast.

Yeah buddy!

 Buckled down for Nanowrimo. Won Nanowrimo! (Woo!) Had the winner's shirt misdelivered twice. (Still haven't gotten it lol)

Tyr with his bandage :-(

Had one of my corgis almost die. (Tyr was diagnosed with diabetes and is doing better)

Alice waiting patiently by the tree

And somewhere between those last four things, the holidays hit. Man oh man! Last year was a whirlwind of personal growth, achievement, and just plain and sleepless craziness. I am still recovering!

So welcome 2014! I get the feeling that the flurry of crazy life events is not even close to completion. In fact I know it's not. (More on that later.)

To blog or not to blog!

As I look back through my sparse and sporadic blog postings, I see I failed to make my 10 posts last year. :-( Oh well. Life happens. Lol. This year I can't promise will be any different but I know I will definitely try harder. The more my resolve and determination grows to go after my dream of becoming not only a published author but making writing my life long career, the more important it is for me to stay in touch with the blogging sphere. Yes, it markets my "brand" but I see it as more than that. This blog is an outlet. Not a total and complete outlet as I should keep some kind of semblance of professionalism. (As best I can at least. ;-) ) But it definitely is a place that helps to give me perspective and motivated. With that said, let's move on to that!

A list of my goals this year! Woo! Here goes!

Personal Goals

• Run (jog/walk is more like it) a half marathon- Yep, I'm going for it again! This time laziness or being pregnant will not get in the way of this goal. I will accomplish it this year and if I like it, will probably try to tackle another one or at least a mini triathlon next year.
• Travel!- I've always wanted to travel and so I'm gonna! As to where? You and I both will have to see this year. :-)
• Mommy/Special Interest Groups- Now that Alice is no longer a newborn, we both need to mingle and grow roots in our new community.

Professional Goals

• Publish some short stories- Definitely lacking on recent publishing credits. I've already started the search for an editor to help polish and get my stories ready for submission. :-)
• Get into the Scifi/Fantasy Writers Guild of America- This is more to help with potential legal issues and networking more than anything else. Plus, it doesn't hurt in building up my writer credentials.
• Find an agent for my fantasy novel if I decide not to epublish- Still on the fence about tranditional/independent publishing vs. epublishing. I'm definitely thinking this needs to be a blog post since I've come across other budding novelists who are facing the same question.

So that was last year for me in brief bursts of sentences and pictures. I'm hoping to accomplish these goals and more. I've broken them down into easier steps but that's the general idea I have going.

What are you wanting to accomplish this year?

Dear Lord it's the Middle of February Already?!

I think the title explains it all. Where did January go? Between searching for a house and all the variety of social and family engagements, there just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day or days during the weekend to get the things I had planned on done. I even had three or four different blog topics planned out for my blog. Topics started but never finished. Kind of like all my WIP. :-/ Which leads me into my first planned blog topic: Yearly goals.

Some call them New Year Resolutions. I call them my short and long term goals. Keeps them away from the stigma of well meaning intentions that are quickly forgot soon as March or April rolls around. Here goes-

Writing:

1. Finish my Nano 2011 WIP!!!
2. Edit my Nano 2011 until it glitters and shines. (I might need critique partners, if anyone is interested.)
3. Consider it for publication.(Thinking this will require beta readers for anyone interested.)
4. Polish and write short stories for contests and submissions.
5. Get more freelance jobs.
6. Post a blog once a week. :D

Personal:

1. Get to goal weight. (Cliche, I know but always true)
2. Stay at goal weight. (So I don't have to keep having the above goal!)
3. Run one race a month working to the point where I can do a half marathon. Ultimate goal run the Honolulu Marathon.
4. Find a job that actual gains me skills in areas that I need in order to be a writer.

Writing Group:

1. Find at least one, if not two, serious writers willing to make a commitment to critique and writing stories every other month.
2. Try and create a network of writers in the Phoenix Valley.

So far I've taken small steps to getting these accomplished. I'll do small blog posts on them throughout the year as I complete different parts of the goal and hopefully finish them come December 1st!

That's it for this post. I definitely have more goals/objectives than these but for now, these are things that I really want to accomplish in 2012.

~V