Tag Archives: Goals

December 29, 2015 · 10:14 am

End of the year wrap-up and a look ahead to 2016

At the beginning of every year I write out a bunch of goals I want to accomplish during the year. The perpetual ones are lose 50 pounds ( or at least 5!), re-read all my favorite books, exercise 5 times per week, drink more water, drink less soda.

Usually, I get 2-3 going good for a few months and then fall by the wayside.

2015 had a different set of goals. I knew I was retiring, so goal number 1 was to write every day. I fulfilled that goal. Number 2 was to get a novel published by a traditional publisher. That goal got met in spades: I had 3 books go live in 2015. Yippie for me. Number 3 was to write at least twice a week on this blog. Again, met in spades since I average 3-4 times per week for the year. Yippie, squared!

Looking ahead to 2016 I have some new goals to go along with the old standards. Here’s my list:

Lose 50 pounds (I’d be happy with 10)
Drink more water, less soda
exercise 6 days per week
Have 3-4 books published traditionally
get an agent ( this one should be number 1 but I really need to lose weight!)
say “yes” more than “no”, no matter what is being asked of me ( this will be a toughy, but I plan on doing it!)
find new authors to read and promote them through social media
meditate ( you do not know how badly I need to do this one.

We’ll see how well I do!

The little book that could…

It is no secret to anyone who knows me or has ever read an interview I’ve done, THE LITTLE ENGINE THAT COULD is hands down my favorite book of all time. Even at the age I am now ( 21++++,etc) I still feel the message in that children’s book is the most empowering one I’ve ever read. The entire book screams with the treatise of self-motivation and dedication to a goal. That little engine thought he could get over that mountain, and because he had confidence in himself and self-will and determination, he did.

I’ve started writing a new series of books about another family ( of course!). My MacQuire Women series is almost complete, so when the idea for this new family burst in my brain, I went with it. The reason I’m telling you this is because the first thing I do after the idea pops up is to discover my characters and their motivations. Why a character acts the way she does, does the things she does, and says what she says is very important for me to know ahead of the writing. I’ve said before that using Deb Dixon’s book Goal, Motivation and Conflict (GMC) has been instrumental in helping me get inside the heads of my peeps and knowing what’s what with them. The book makes you dig deep into your characters to find out what their internal and external goals are, what’s behind their motivations for each, and then asks you to detail the conflicts that will make attaining their goals difficult.

I usually devise one wipe board per book with my major characters on it, listing the GMC’s. Here’s the current one for the new series. This is book one, as of yet untitled. You can’t really tell from this shot, but I’ve got my heroine, hero and the “villain” all plotted out here. What they want, how they can get it and what will keep them from achieving their goals.

This keeps me focused – something I have real trouble with – and will hopefully eliminate plot holes along the way. Sometimes I do discover something about the character I didn’t know in the beginning and it will be added to this board, with the concurrent problems and motivations added.

Character Motivation is important when writing, especially in writing romances because if we didn’t give our characters fully formed goals and obstacles, there wouldn’ be anything interesting to write about. It would simply be boy meets girl. Boy gets girl. The End.

Boring, no?

COMING SOON:: 3 Wishes, A Candy Hearts Story…check back soon for buy links! 2/8/16 release from The Wild Rose Press

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And the moment has arrived….

It’s release day!!! I’m sitting in my pajamas, a cup of congratulatory tea in my hand, looking at this:

This is my dream board. I started it a few months back when I was hoping to have my first book published. That hope turned into reality today with the publication of Skater’s Waltz.

I’ve been told by a few people that dream boards are a waste of time, energy, and paper. Why, I’ve been asked, do you need to waste your time cutting out pictures and sayings of what you want? Why not just got for it and do what you need to do to make your dreams come through? Those people are not really friends of mine. My friends applaud the way I put my internal dreams and hopes into a touchable, readable, living entity. They agree that when you dream it, think it, and speak it, every desire in your heart can come true. When you put your hopes into a tangible, cohesive layout, you can get a better feel, a much clearer view, of how you are going to achieve those goals and dreams.

My dream board is covered with positive affirmations of what I want my writing career to look like and be. It tells the story of how I see myself at this moment in time, and where I see my life leading me now that it is going through such a monumental change. When I look at it, I see the path I took to get here and the road I need to travel from this day on.

My dreams have become reality…yours can, too.

If you dream it, you can be it, do it, and have it.

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Tagged as Articles, contemporary romance writer, desires, Dream Boards, dreams, Fiction Writers, Goals, newbie writers, Positive affirmations, positive thinking, Romance Writers, Skater's Waltz, The Wild Rose Press, Writers

Tag Archives: Goals

End of the year wrap-up and a look ahead to 2016

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The little book that could…

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