Saying Goodbye to June and Hello to July #writemotivation, something has to keep me on my toes…

Header image and thumbnail photograph by Hugh Lee and licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. http://www.flickr.com/photos/sahlgoode/

Although I do better with my writing goals during the #writemotivation months when I’m reporting on myself weekly – the good, the bad, and the ugly – I actually am not a total slacker in the off months. In June, I also went on vacation and so allowed for an increased amount of slack. Good thing. My number of submissions to agents was way down for the month and I did not make as much progress as I had wanted on my revisions. Then I saw my orthopedic doc who monitors my degenerative disc disease in my back and he said that I had to start exercising and keeping a journal to show him in six months – what a Fascist! Okay, okay, maybe he did have a point and my best interests at heart about getting my back muscles stronger and eventually weaning me off my meds completely – yada yada yada – but who ever wants to hear that? So, I’ve started walking and swimming to begin with and I’m looking for a used elliptical, which is what he really wants me to work out on, as our neighborhood pool won’t always be an option. So, with sore muscles, and yet already with a little more energy, I did rally near the end of the month and got a fresh burst of new revision ideas that I needed for my current WIP. I also entered into a few new online writing ventures, most of which I’ve recently written in previous blog posts. My query entry in the Daisy Critique Challenge has received several responses and all of them positive. That will lift any writer’s spirits.

In my effort to stretch even further beyond my comfort zone and meet new people in the writing world, I recently submitted myJune blog post on Censorship to Anastasia Suen’s Carnival of Literature which is “a monthly round up of blog posts about children’s literature” that takes place at the end of each month and is hosted by a different blog. Anastasia not only included my post in this month’s issue, but mentioned that the comments on my blog were excellent, so thank you to all who contributed to that dialogue. This month, Diane Kelly at Practically Paradise is playing host. Take a moment and stop by to see my post listed and to peruse through the many other diverse and fascinating submissions. There are some great posts in the nonfiction section including one about a female adventurer bringing the first panda to the United States and another reviewing the book The Science of Soldiers. In the fiction category, there are many great posts about wonderful books, including a list of “books even busy boys will come in for” and seven YA beach reads. In the early literacy section, there’s a discussion of the fantastic return of Reading Rainbow. In the Poetry section, you can learn a bit about cowboy poets and see a rendition of Moo-Cow Moo performed. In the book projects section, there’s a fiery discussion about Newberry Books and one unusual approach to consumer testing your unpublished novel. In the interviews section, there’s an interview with a picture book writer, a poet, and a children’s writer all the way from the Philippines. If you are a book blogger and frequently write about any of the categories that would qualify for the Carnival of Literature, I would encourage you to consider submitting your best post in July for next month’s issue.

To keep the new-found momentum of progress going, I’ve signed up once again to participate in KT Hanna’s #writemotivation challenge. Here are my July writing goals:

1. Write full rough draft of new WIP. I am participating in a novel revision workshop this fall and I want to have a new project to work on for this. We swap manuscripts in September so I need to get the first draft done this month.
2. Continue to submit current YA project out to agents. I still have some submissions awaiting answers but I cannot stall out now. I need to submit at least five at a time.
3. Keep up with my blog posts, commenting on blogs, etc., but also keep a limit on this time so that my writing comes first. This has been a major struggle for me – time management. I need to put the writing part first and then set limits on the platform building part and yet still get it done. this will probably be the hardest goal.
4. Exercise three times a week. No, this, may be the hardest goal. Blech! Thanks, Dr. Preston.

Looking forward to some much needed motivation from my #writemotivation peers this time around. I’ll see you in the chatroom! (During my allotted time.) Anyone else struggling with goals during the summer months? Anyone?