In Which I Provide An Update

So it's been awhile since I've given an update on my goals and junk and today seemed like a good day to do so.



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I'm still querying Glimpse, though I've decided to take a bit of a break to make a change in the MS, then get back on the query horse. I'm hoping things will be back on track by the end of august (assuming amazing things don't happen before then and I get an offer or something. ohmygodcouldyouimagine?!)

I'm in the midst of my first draft of Break Free, and I'm totally loving it. I had a bit of a rough time with it the last week and a half, a combination of a tough couple of scenes to organize and write combined with a ticking personal deadline and a busy dayjob, but I think I've managed to power through the worst of it. I hit 50k earlier this week and suspect I may have hit or passed the half way point of the story. I won't know for sure, though, until its done. Just because I'm a plotter, doesn't mean there's no mystery. There's tons of mystery!

My current goals are to try and finish the first draft of Break Free by August. I don't know if I'll hit this goal (part of the reason I was having troubles with the writing) but I'm still going to try. Once I do finish the first draft, I plan to put it aside and make the change on Glimpse. Once that's done I'll send Glimpse back into query waters and start to revise Break Free. I was really hoping to be able to finish revisions on Break Free before NaNo, but the clock is ticking and I don't think that will be possible. I still have plans to participate in NaNo, at least right now I do, but we'll see how things are going closer to November.

I'm behind on my goal to read 55 books this year. Not too far behind, (by the end of July I should have 32 read and I'm at about 28, 29) but still. It's no big deal if I don't make this goal. It's just for fun.

So how about you? I want to know where you're at with your writing goals? TELL ME!

In Which I Heart QueryTracker Pt. 1

I know I've mentioned in passing that I'm using QueryTracker to track my queries, but I don't think I've actually explained how much I Lurve it.

How much, you ask? A lot, is my answer.

For reals, besides checking my GMail a ridiculous amount a day (better yet, I just leave it open since GMail automatically refreshes when you get a new email) QT is my number two place on the interwebs I hang out since I started querying. I muck around there at least 5 times a day, running reports and checking comments on agents I've queried.

Since you all know my love of spreadsheets, one of the best thing QT offers if you're a premium member (and I am) is the Data Launcher.

Let's say you sent a query to an agent and you want to know how quickly they're responding to queries, or if they've responded to queries after yours (so you can decide to close it out if they're a non-responder)
You just launch the Data Explorer and it provides all that info for you!

click on the image to make it larger

In the above example, I sent a query on 6/5, but you can see her response time is anywhere from 3 days to 25 days. Also, because the other queries are rejected and not closed for no response, it looks like she actually responds to all her queries, so for this agent, I'm better off waiting for an email, and I shouldn't worry about it until at least a month has passed.

Since I like to read into everything, the data launcher helps to keep me occupied.





Wednesday, I'm going to talk about another thing I love about QT - the forum.

What about you? Are you a QT member? Have you played around with the reports?

In Which I Return

Yay! I'm back from my week long hiatus! I'm excited to take some time today to catch up on everyone's blog. Here are the things Twin and I accomplished this week with no work and very little internets (even though it rained every day but 2. Sigh)

Went to the hardware store like 15 times. Serial.

Planted the veggie garden (veggies include: carrots, spinach, eggplants, tomatoes, bell peppers, white onions, green onions, cantaloupe, peas, cukes and zucchini. Also included (though we didn't plant them this year) is asparagus and garlic)

Installed some pavers on a high traffic area of our yard

Repotted house plants

Got the composter started

Stained our bay window which was installed before Christmas

Played board games

Saw Thor and Priest. Watched Tron and Easy A (omg, LOVED Easy A!)

Read 2 books and started a third

Played discgolf

Hit the dentist (boo) No cavities (yay!)

Entertained some guests

Celebrated mother's day (since Mom was out of town on the actual day)

Oh also I called 911 for the first time ever when the neighbor's house caught fire. Again. (2 times in 3 days is more than just a little suspicious, so says the arson investigator)

We still have a few more things to finish up, like spraying the weeds in our yard, fixing the lawn mower, installing edgers around a tree and adding even more extra boards to the fence, but all in all I'm quite pleased with all we got done.

It's kind of a bummer to have to go back to work, but I'm also looking forward to getting back to my schedule of things. Like querying. Haven't messed with that for almost a whole week.

So tell me, was there anything exciting I missed in the blogoverse?

In Which I Bring Bargains Back

(quick note: next week I will be unplugged. Twin and I have the week off from work, and we will be spending it outside, landscaping and gardening. Internet useage will be limited)

Do you remember when Deals with the Universe used to be stylish? Maybe like 1-2 years ago?

In case you don't, or it was before your blog community time, A Deal With the Universe is when you tell the universe "if you give me What I Want (typically a book deal, or something), then I will do This".

The "What I Want" and the "This" are tailored to each individual person.
Example, when Natalie Whipple got her agent, she died her hair (Purple, I think. If I recall correctly).




I always thought the Deals looked like a lot of fun, so now that I'm at the query stage, I've decided to try to bring them back to popularity.

The only thing is, I need some ideas about what I will do, if the universe come through for me.

So I'm taking some suggestions.

If I ask the universe to help me out with something rhyming with "boffer of bepresentation" what should I offer in return?

I am taking any an all suggestions (though, keep in mind ideas that require me to embarrass myself in public may meet with less favor)

So give me your ideas! I'll announce the deal when I'm back after my unplugging next week.


How about you? Make any deals lately? Care to try and bring them back into vogue with me?

In Which I Start Again

So now that I'm querying, I've found that I have some more free time. The time that used to be spent editing. Cuz querying involves moments of work, followed by long stretches of waiting.

I needed something else to do. I did some CP work, I read some bookage, but neither of those were cutting it. Then I realized, what I really needed, was a new WIP.





Did I want to start something new, though? I have plans to participate in NaNo again this year, and I worry that if I start a new novel now, it may interfere with NaNo (or, more specifically, NaNo would interfere with the new WIP)

So I did some maths. I wrote Glimpse in less than 2 months. Then I revised and edited for about 4 months.

If I started a new novel in May, and I more or less followed the same timeline as Glimpse, I could be done with it by November, in time to start something new for NaNo 2011.

I've been brainstorming on two new ideas, so I think I'll use the more developed one for my new WIP and the other one for NaNo 2011.

At the very least, a new WIP will hopefully keep my mind off of checking my email so much.

Now I've got to mess around with the steps of the snowflake method I use, try to come up with a working title (so hard) and figure out if this story needs to be told in 1st POV or 3rd.

How about you? Started anything new lately?

In Which I Query

I tried to find a picture related to the topic at hand but couldn't. So instead you get this

So, as the title says, and as I hinted at last Wednesday, I've jumped into the query waters.
So far I find them pleasant and warm. And exciting to finally be in them!

Though one thing I didn't expect was this obsession with my gmail, and some mild impatience. I know everyone tells you to expect this, I just though I wouldn't have to worry about it.

I mean, waiting for responses? I though that'd be easy. I've submitted short stories and had to wait on those. I've got a story on submission right now that's been with magazine for 4 months now, and I've still got another possible 2 months wait on it. Just to wait to see if they're interested. That's half a year for like 2500 words.
After that, I thought waiting for possible query responses would be easy.

Wrong. I think the reason why it's different is because some agents get back to you right away, so you get a taste for quick responses. Which means I check my gmail like 3 times more a day than I used to.

Also, checking my gmail is totally bittersweet now. I get both excited and nervous to do it. What if I have a response? What if I don't? I'm not even necessarily worrying what the responses will be. All of this wars inside me the moment I sign in to when my inbox opens up.

All in all, I'm having a great time.

When I got really serious again about my writing (about 2 years ago) one of the things I was looking most forward to was querying. Even though it's an emotional roller coaster, it looked so fun to me. And it's definitely one step further along in the journey. So yeah, now that I'm here, I'm determined to have a good time, no matter what.

Also, I love filling out little databases and stuff with submission stats (like duotrope digest for short stories) so now that I actually get to do that in query tracker, I'm all smiles.

So, how about you? Where are you at with your current writerly process? And most importantly, are you having fun?

In Which I Accomplish Things

A list of things I accomplished on my short hiatus:

1. Finished reading Glimpse out loud
2. Wrote my synopsis
3. Edited my synopsis
4. Judged youth poems for an annual B&N Poetry Contest with Hannah and Teebore. All time favorite poem? "Video Games Rule! (except for educational and baby ones)"
5. Tweaked Glimpse
6. Decided to test the query waters with Glimpse first, before I make any more large changes
7. Began to psych myself up for querying
8. Finished Elana's Possession

I feel like I'm missing something obvious, but hell if I can remember it.
All right! Share with me some of your recent accomplishments - I want to hear all about them so I can cheer you on!

In Which I Need Querying Opinions

So, I'm getting closer and closer to the querying stage (Excitement! Also, unexpectedly, fear...) and have a few questions for those of you who are query "experts". Or at least have jumped into that trench ahead of me.

How do you know which agents to query first? I mean, I have a significant agent list (still growing) on query tracker, all numbered from 1-10 in relation to their awesomeness. Obvs the Number ones (of which there are like maybe two) are my favs and so on.

Do I query them first? But what if it turns out my query isn't cutting it (I don't actually think this will happen. I quite like my query and have gotten some good feedback on it. But still...). If my query stinks and I send it to my ones, twos and threes first, well then I may waste my opportunity with them.





I guess probably a good way to go about it is to make a small group with a mix of some "middle of the road" agents. Like maybe a few fours fives and sixes. Use them to test the query. If Istart getting some bites, then I can begin to send it to my lower numbered agents.

I think this is what I'll probably end up doing, but I'd really like to hear from those of you who have queried before or are querying now. Who did you pick to query first and why? Inquiring minds (mine) want to know!

In Which I Pass On Some Info

So guess who alllllllmost forgot to write a blog post for today?

That's right. This gal.






So because I was scrambling, there's not much to this one. Except for this little tidbit of info (which you probably already know, but just in case...)

Did you know that Elana Johnson wrote an eBook about writing queries?

Did you know that the eBook is now available FREE OF COST?!

Did you know that it's actually quite an awesome reference guide regarding the how-to's of query writing? (it is. I promise)

Go here and click on Query to the Call to download it for free. It is totally worth it. Promise.


So, how are things with you? Anything exciting going on?

In Which I Hit A Webinar

So on Thursday of last week, I attended the Writer's Digest Webinar Starting Off Right: How to hook an agent with your first pages (this may not be the exact title. I was dumb and forgot to write it down. It's close though and I'm sure you get the gist)

I heard about this webinar from the lovely Roni over at Fiction Groupie, since it was her agent, Sara Megibow, putting on the webinar. The best part of the webinar? It comes with a critique of the participant's first 3 pages! Awesome, right? Totally worth the money. It's like they knew what bait to hang in front of us to entice us in



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(also, she stated that, if she likes the first pages, she may ask for more. How awesome is she?)

Anyway, I took notes during the webinar so I could write this blogpost and let you all know what Sara said. I have to say, when the webinar was done, I felt totally confident. She said very little that surprised me and it seems I am on the right track.

She broke it up into a "why" and a "how" section, though most of the seminar was in the "how" section.

WHY (is it important to start off right)

• The agent has to be engaged immediately
• Sara says, for her to offer representation, she must love the manuscript AND think she can sell it
• She also almost always knows within the first three pages if she loves the novel
• She is actively looking for new clients (and she's with the Nelson Literary Agency. Pretty snazzy, IMO)
• She is looking for: YA, MG, Romance, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Women's Fiction and Literary Fiction with a commercial bent
  

That was pretty much it for the "Why" it's important to start off strong. She then went into the "How" and this was broken down to "Hot" and "Not Hot" sections

HOW (to start off strong)
HOT (what she likes to see)

There needs to be:
1. A clear inciting incident
2. Compelling Characterization
3. Command of the basics

1. the writer needs to be able to explain in 1 or 2 sentences what propels the novel forward. This should also be in your query. She says it is essential for the writer to be able to do this. For her, it is a deal breaker if there is no clear inciting incident

2. Why do we care about the characters? This is clearly important and good characterization needs to be present early on

3. This is broken down into more sections:

• Superior writing. If you do not have a firm understanding of the basics of writing, this is a deal breaker for her. She stated multiple times that a writer needs to master the art of writing before one pursues the business of publication
• Unique concept. Which mean, no vampires, no super powered children discovering they're the key to saving the world, no women opening bead and breakfasts, and in sci-fi and fantasy, no prophecies and cliches. None of these things are deal breakers, but you'd better have an interesting spin on it to make her love it or think she can sell it.
• Effortless world building. She wants to be engaged by the world.
• Realistic character motivation. For example, if your character finds a body, that character better have a damn good reason for investigating the murder instead of doing the actually believable thing of calling the police

NOT HOT (what she does not like to see)

1. Data dump - we all know this is a no-no for the beginning of your novel

2. Ineffective use of dialogue - all the examples she showed were obvious things such as "as you know, David, I'm the king and was crowned thirteen years ago on your birthday".

3. telling vs. showing - again, she stated the necessity to have masted the art of writing before jumping into the business of publication

4. mistakes with POV - a deal breaker for her would be an adult narrator in a YA novel. Or strange narrators like houses or jewelry.

5. prologues or dream sequences - this isn't a deal breaker for her, because they can be cut if needed, but it is a red flag. And if you've got some marks against you in other areas (sloppy grammar, etc) you're probably in for a form rejection.

Then the last few minutes of the seminar were wrapped up in questions. A lot of the questions were unproductive or had already been answered (questions about prologues, or questions regarding queries, which the seminar did not address) but I took a few notes.

• it's good to keep momentum moving in the beginning. Shortening chapters is a way to do this, but isn't necessary
• always keep queries short - like back cover
• if the novel's momentum slows in a scene, it's typically due to too much data
• For genre fiction - opening with action is important (though, for fantasy, it's acceptable to start off slower)
• prose and imagery can function as a hook, however this is harder in genre fiction
• if an agency's submission guidelines don't say it's not OK to submit to more than one agent in the agency, then you're probably OK to query more than one agent
• read other books in your genre - especially what's selling well and has good reviews
• if you're looking for critiques of your work from people "in the biz" she recommends the annual Brenda Novak auction (the link she gave is broken. Usually though there's a lot of buzz for it around the time). Yes it will cost money, but it's for a good cause (though in my experience, it's huge leaps above what I could afford).

And that was pretty much everything she talked about!

I would definitely recommend this type of webinar in the future for anyone who's interested.

I hope this helped, and now I'm off to work on my first three pages to submit for her critique.

In Which We're Into 2011 And There's Still No Zombpoc*

* Zombpoc = zombie apocalypse




Well here we are, my first real post in 2011 (not counting the blogfests I participated in the last few days).

Also, you know what else happened with the passing of the year? We also passed my Blogoversary! That's right, I've been blogging for over 1 whole year. Yay! I blogged 215 times in 2010, which is not too shabby, if I say so myself.

Also with the new year comes new resolutions!

Let's take a look at my resolutions from last year:

2010 Resolutions


1. Start a Blog (Check. Also an extra check for not abandoning said blog)
2. Finish novel (double check. I finished 2 in 2010)
3. Eat healthier (ummm check? I mean there were certainly times where I ate healthy...)
4. Lose weight (no check. I don't remember what my weight was, but I'm probably more now)
5. Submit a query (no check. Though I tacked this one on there on the off chance I would do it)


Not so bad. Certainly the Finish Novel resolution had been on my plate for a few years. Only when I allowed myself to start a new novel did I finally complete it.

So, onto 2011 resolutions:

1. Query Glimpse of Another Shore
2. Finish another novel
3. Get Hole-Ridden published
4. Lose Weight
5. Read 55 books


1. 2011 is going to be my year of the query. This I vow. Not only am I going to query it, I want to start querying hopefully in the next 3-4 months or so. I am excited.

2. NaNo will help with this one

3. I think this is doable - I've been sitting on it a bit since I've been working on Glimpse. I need to send it out again and work on some edits for a mag that said they'd take a second look at it if I made it longer. *Crosses Fingers* (update: I've sent it out again. Already off to a good start!)

4. This is pretty much a constant goal in my life.
5. In 2010 I read 43 books. So I figured adding 12 more as a goal for 2011 would be a nice challenge, but hopefully not ridiculously tough. Then next year, I can adjust the number accordingly

Hmm, I think that may be all I have. Unless I can think of another one or two.
What are your Resolutions/Goals for 2011?

In Which There Are Literary Consultants?

Have you ever heard about this? Literary Consultants?

Here's an example:


The Writing Coach.

Someone mentioned she had used a Literary Consultant (this specific one) before she queried her novel, and now she has an agent and a 3 book deal.

I've never heard of someone (or a team) of people you can hire to help you out, a creative or literary life coach if you will.




I think most people can be successful on their own without a consultant, but still, color me intrigued. If it wasn't in the UK, I'd dig a little deeper on this, for curiosity's sake. But clearly it is not cheap.

What about you, would you ever hire a Literary Consultant?


P.S. - being as there is a delicious holiday in the states tomorrow, there will be no Friday Fun Words. See you Monday!

In Which We Learn About Writing

There's been some chatter around the blogosphere recently regarding honing one's craft and what specifically that takes.

I've mentioned before that I have a BA in fiction writing. But in all seriousness, I learned more about writing, the business and the nuts and bolts of everything from blogs (and some excellent writing books) than I did in my BA.

Let me 'splain. No, is too much. Let me sum up (NEVER GETS OLD).



I had a lot of fun earning my BA. The best thing about all my advanced fiction classes (and the few post grad classes I was approved to take) was the workshopping. Sure, we had to read some essays and articles on how to write, but almost all of my classes involved writing junk in class, then sharing and getting feedback or crits. I learned A LOT about how to crit and workshop in college (especially in that grad class, which was AWESOME). But I can honestly say, no teacher ever said "Show don't tell" or "don't use adjectives or adverbs" or any of the other important rules (though I did have one teacher who let us help her choose the cover for her most recent book and that was super fun)

Those rules came to me in books on writing.

When I started blog surfing over a year ago, that's when I really started to understand aspects of craft that I had only flirted with before.



I remember Simon had a post and examples on the "Show don't tell" rule that was just genius. It was the first time anyone had ever shown how to follow that rule (a bit ironic, yes? That we're always told and never shown how to Show, Don't tell)(it turns out I was doing it right all along. But it was good to know)

Before Query Shark I had no real clue what a query was. Yes I would have researched it if the time came, but knowing about how to craft a successful query helps me in my writing to narrow down the conflict of the novel ahead of time.

I certainly think you can benefit quite a bit from taking classes. Not to mention the people you can meet.

But if money's an issue for you (and it typically is for me) or if you're super introverted, you can improve your craft by using the lovely interwebs and books all by yourself.



Does that make sense? Yes? Good.

The key is to make the attempt to improve. If you're serious about improving, you'll find a way to do it, no matter your means.

How have you improved your craft?

In Which I Fight A Funk

I've been in a bit of a funk lately. Sure I set myself a goal. But since then, I've done really no editing.



I got my first chapter crit back from Chimera Critiques and I can't even really bring myself to look at it (OK, I glanced at it, but I know I've got to let it sit aside for a bit before I dive in. Got to separate myself from any emotions so I can look at it objectively).

I think my funks align directly with my "day job". If I'm a bit fed up there (like now, because I've got all these projects to do that I'd just rather not) then it bleeds over into real life.

Mostly I just want a few weeks off from work where I can sleep in and relax and do nothing. (I've never had more than 10 days off from any job I've ever held. I can't even imagine what it would be like to have more that two weeks off from work. I bet I'd never want to come back)

In the past I know a cure for a nice funk is just time. If I wait long enough, it will go away. But I feel like I'm just wasting time. I would love to be at the next stage, seriously crafting a query to send out. I'm not even worried about if Foxfire will be accepted or rejected. Obvs acception (...is this a word...?) would be AWESOME, but I don't have a problem with trying again if it's not.

Le Sigh. Stupid funks. Messing things up.
I think I'm going to start line editing some of Foxfire. That's an easy revision process that I can just do without any commitment. I mean, I'll need to do 2-3 more line edits later so one right now won't hurt anything.

Then maybe I can tackle some of the bigger changes that have to happen (heightening conflict, making MC Fox as likable and enigmatic as MC Quill, working on that hook).

Is it the weekend yet?

In Which I (Tentatively) Set A Goal

All right blog friends. I think I am going to set a goal for myself.

I was thinking the other day about how I'm excited for nano 2010 because I'm going to take a crack at that YA Sea Serpent story I can't stop thinking about. But then it hit me that I might still be working on Foxfire then and I don't want that to fall to the wayside.



So! my (tentative) goal for Foxfire is to finish revisions before November 2010. That way I can dive into nano and the new story free of all constraints.

Will it be a difficult goal to reach? I have no idea. I think it might be unless I step up my game a bit (the summer weather has led me to slack off some).

What happens if I fail?

Well nothing really. It just means I'll have to juggle two things at once, which won't be fun.

But, if I do accomplish this goal, well then I may also be able to accomplish one of my new year's resolutions, which is to send out a query.

Exciting? Yes.
Scary? No...?
Intimidating? A bit.

Anyone else set any goals for themselves?

In Which I Share News

I got some exciting new yesterday. It came at a perfect time, right when I was feeling a bit frustrated by my lack of effort this week at revising (this is mostly due to the fact that I have Thursday and Friday off from work and have just kind of checked out)

I placed first in Chimera Critique's contest!

wOOt!

I'm so super excited about this!

I've been toying with the idea of using Chimera Critique once I get through my beta readers (you know who you are or will be...(*glares menacingly*)) so now I get a chance to try them out first!

I get a $20 giftcard to B&N (yay books!) and a first chapter critique. I'll have to check to see if there's a page limit on that, because, as we've discussed before, some of my chapters are a bit lengthy.

They also said they could do a query critique instead, which sorely tempted me, but I've pretty much come to the conclusion that my query needs to be rewritten, no matter how much I love it, and I don't want to deal with that right now.

This is just the kick in the bum I've needed to get my revisions back up to speed. I've been slacking a little too freely lately.

Anyone else have any good news they'd like to share?

In Which My Query Is Critiqued

Ugh.

You know how when you work out for the first time in a long time, and the next day you're in a lot of pain? But you know it's good for you - it's a good pain - but that still doesn't change the fact that it hurts when you laugh?

That's how I feel.

I submitted my Query to Evil Editor for it to be critiqued (Face-Lift 723). After two weeks of anticipation (and Twin checking every day) it was finally posted. And of course it was posted when I was having a negative attitude day (don't worry, I fixed that by cramming my gullet full of macaroni and cheese and tackling the dishes)(Also by watching Intervention, because it makes me realize things could always be worse...).

I thought my query was pretty strong, and I guess looking back on many of the other Evil Editor Queries (like Face-Lift 721...) I still feel it was pretty strong.

I just need to tighten up some areas, and loosen others.
After all, I do love an excuse to edit and revise things...

Back into the breach!

Alphabet Of Awesomeness

H/T to Teebore over at Gentlemen of Leisure Blog for passing on this great idea.

What idea, you ask? Why the idea of the ABCs OF AWESOME that's what! (and yes, it needs to be all caps...)

I tried to keep mine writing or book related, but you'll see I was only semi-successful (though I can make an argument about a lot of them that they're what I like to write about... )

A is for Assassins

B is for Books

C is for Cartoons

D is for Daydreaming

E is for Editing

F is for Falen! Nah I'm just kidding - can you imagine?! F is for Foodstuff

G is for Games

H is for Horror

I is for illustrations

J is for Journals

K is for Karin Lowachee

L is for Lolcats

M is for Mists of Avalon

N is for Ninjas!

O is for Onomatopoeia

P is for Pens

Q is for Queries

R is for Reading

S is for Sirius Black

T is for Trees

U is for Undead

V is for Vampires

W is for Writing (dur!)

X is for XBox 360

Y is for Yarn (as in telling one)

Z is for Zeppelins

There were some hard letters and letters that had just too many great ones (it nearly broke my heart to leave out apocalypse) but overall I'm mostly pleased with my list.

A Few Days Into 2010 And No Zombie Apocalypse Yet

Which is good, because I don't have a shotgun handy, though we do have a crowbar.
However if there's anything I've learned from Left 4 Dead 2 it's that the best melee weapons in a zombie apocalypse are katanas, machetes or fire axes.

Take that Zomb!

Anyway, with the new year comes new resolutions. I never take them too seriously and I can't remember the last time I actually stuck to one or accomplished what I set out to do for the year, though I'm sure there's been a few. But this year is different - I can feel it deep in my zombie hating bones.

2010 Resolutions:

1. Start a Blog
2. Finish novel
3. Eat healthier
4. Lose weight
5. Submit a query

1. - This has been accomplished, as you can see. I'm already ahead of the game for, like, the first time ever. Boosh!

2. - I make this resolution every year. But this year is different because in all other years I was working on another project. The current WIP, Foxfire, is pretty shiny and new, since I started it for NaNo. As it is, I'm still excited about it and pretty close to the fun end stuff.

3. - No brainer. This is something Myself, Twin and my brother (who lives in the basement) do on and off throughout the year before something causes us to fall off the wagon (typically laziness, or some sort of vacation or holiday and the aforementioned love of food)

4. - See #3. For some reason winter is the best season for me to lose weight. I don't know why I'm so backwards.

5. - This one, of course, relies on the success of #2. Also it depends on the speed of my beta readers and how much editing Foxfire needs. Though I don't expect it to need much, thanks, in part, to a sloppily constructed outline that kept me on task for NaNo. On the plus side, I've already written a query for Foxfire due to a writing group exercise. It may need one more tweak, but as it stands I'm very pleased with it. Let's hope the agents will be as well.

So, anyone have any resolutions (serious ones, or not) they want to share?