How cool, huh? Not only is this the first Wednesday of the month, its the first Wednesday of year 2016. I have high hopes for this year in both my writing and everyday life.
I feel its important to start the year with positive thoughts. Later in the year, as things get out of whack and hard to deal with, it will be good to reflect there was a point when things were exciting, new. When there was all that potential . .
Like a lotto ticket sitting in the glove of the car - as long as I don't check the numbers, its the big winner.
As long as I don't submit . . er, no, that's going the other way.
Anyway; not doing a reflective post, lots went sour, plenty went well, or even better than expected. No publications to brag about, but got some writing done, settled some issues causing major stress, wrote (revised) some projects, and remembered how to be a real person again. See, I can be glass half full, a little.
No resolutions either, just a simple goal to make the best effort I can in everything, and to write 100 words a day (or at least most days) through 2016.
Congrats to all the writers who submitted to the IWSG Anthology; and bigger congrats to those that were accepted in the first publication. WHOOP! WHOOP!!
Visit our Insecure Writers Support Group host Alex J Cavanaugh for the list of winners, and then be sure to visit the co-hosts LG Keltner, Denise Covey, Shari Larsen, JQ Rose, Chemist Ken, and Michelle Wallace. You can find a list of participants by clicking here for the linky.
Happy New Year y'all.
I'm the same way with those lotto tickets, don't check and the dream is alive. But you're right doesn't work that way with writing. 100 words a day is a great goal. I've been considering keeping count this year, just for the hell of it, we'll see. I've been procrastinating but that will soon end - or will it? :)
ReplyDeleteMay 2016 be your writing year - and every year thereafter!
I don't do resolutions either, Donna :)
ReplyDeleteHi Donna!
ReplyDeleteLooks like you're making a positive start to 2016. Yes, let's put those disappointments behind us and move on into bigger and better things. I'm with you on the submitting,ha ha. But nothing ventured, nothing gained as they say.
Hopefully you'll have something that fits The Forge...I'm dusting something off to submit. Be my first for awhile.
Hope to see you around the blogfests!
Denise :-)
That is a good goal indeed. You never know, that lotto ticket could be a winner. lol
ReplyDeleteI set goals. Those aren't as easily broken.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, the first in an annual series for the IWSG! What will this year's theme be...
Starting the year with positive thoughts is indeed wonderful. Warm greetings to you all, and best wishes with everything.
ReplyDeleteI think your list of accomplishments is definitely on the "half full" side. Many of us wrote but didn't publish in 2015 for one reason or another. That's just how it works sometimes. Wishing your positivity stays intact for the whole of 2016!
ReplyDelete(Thanks for commenting on my blog and your good wishes for subbing. I'm still waiting on one last CP, who's late but promises to be done by next Monday. So I guess I can sub 2nd week of Jan instead of 1st week and it'll be OK. Thanks again for all your help!)
Being a real person again is the most important.
ReplyDeleteMany times, it's the simplest goals that work out best. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI had to laugh at the "as long as I didn't submit" line... that holds a lot of us back, eh? Try rephrasing... as long as they haven't said no... there is a time of potential there, too. And I am totally with you of LOVING to savor "possibility".
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year, Donna! I loved your comment about being a real person again. I felt that way in 2015 too and it was a good feeling.
ReplyDeleteI miss writing. I'm still getting caught up on bloggy things and haven't jumped back in since before Christmas. (Plus I've got a sick young'un hovering about.) Maybe tomorrow . . .
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year, Donna. I hope 2016 is your year for writing.
ReplyDeleteI try not to set really specific goals (although I have some) because if I don't reach them, at least I don't feel like such a failure. But I'm definitely all "work as hard as you can/do your best!" And that... that I think is achievable.
ReplyDeleteHappy new year!
C.G.
I don't do resolutions either, just meaningful goals as and when I think they're needed. Hope for lots of positives to carry you through 2016.
ReplyDeleteSometimes to even get a few words written every day is tough. It's a good goal to have. Here's to a fantastic 2016 for all of us. :)
ReplyDeleteMy only resolution is to do my best. A new year is another chance to get it right. I don't want to waste it.
ReplyDeleteHappy 2016, Donna!
VR Barkowski
Ha! I think my lotto ticket is along the lines of the submission, because I never end up buying a lotto ticket. :)
ReplyDeleteBest of luck with your goals!
Yolanda: I've thought of keeping an overall count too.
ReplyDeleteDezzy: but you accomplish goals :)
Dx: I read an excerpt online. I'm hoping I can find a couple new stories for The Forge.
Pat: which is why I keep spend a buck here and there on them.
Alex: I'll make it next time
Bloggo: all the best to you too
Lexa: I was happy to help, and glad I wasn't the only one late :)
Diane: totally
Mark: good luck to you also
Hart: you have so much going on for your writing. You'll be great with all that inspirational support.
Julie: Oh what a feeling!!
Tam: ah, sick littles isn't fun at all.
Mike: same to you. Looking forward to seeing the next sequel come out.
Bot: thanks; and I'm sure you'll meet all your goals.
Christine: yep, it seems manageable
VR: New Year, lots of chances, optimism helps to launch the start :)
Loni: thanks
Wishing you the best in all your writing endeavours for 2016!
ReplyDeleteI've come to the realizing I need things to change as well.
That's going to be me this year. At least I'm going to try and do that this year.
No resolutions for me as well. I don't like resolutions or challenges; they never work for me, but like you, I try to do some writing most days.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, submitting is a necessary evil too...
I like that you mention the importance of starting off the year with a positive attitude. It really does give us something good to look back on when the year gears up to toss us like salad. Putting positive goggles on... Wishing you a wonderful and productive 2016!
ReplyDeleteA half full glass is still pretty good to have. We just have to have the patience to realize this. Nice post.
ReplyDeleteHi Donna
ReplyDeleteYou laugh well, as I recall. Life should be contained in our mirth. I think you will come into your writing skills soon.
Nancy
Hi, Donna,
ReplyDeleteHAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! So happy to see 2015 go, that's for sure. I hope you continue to be positive and achieve all you wish to achieve this year...
Thanks again for your work on Wyndy... I haven't even put a dent in it yet, but I WILL... now that things are settling and the pup is calming down a BIT, I can get back to it...
UGH... so much work.... But I hope to be more aggressive with my writing this year. I've sleighed through this year and did very little. It was my year to do lots of nothing. lol. Tons of visits to Florida, coming up empty, and ALL the SCBWI main conferences, which were educational, but did little for my advancement. But at least BG got excellent reviews and I hope it does SOMETHING this year. If not, I may self publish. It's time to DO SOMETHING...
ALL The best to you! Looking forward to exciting new year...
You always have such a common sense approach to things. 100 words per day will really add up.
ReplyDeleteI didn't go with any resolutions this year either.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a wonderful year, and are able to feel good about progress you make on your goal.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you have resolved some issues, a little that were causing you major stress.
ReplyDeleteWe do our best work when there's no distractions.
Loved that impression with the lotto ticket in the glove compartment.
I'm going to submit a little something this month.
Well, I think your glass is definitely half full, Dolorah.
Wishing you the very best of 2016.
HAHA!!! >> "Like a lotto ticket sitting in the glove of the car - as long as I don't check the numbers, its the big winner."
ReplyDeleteI do that ALLLLL the time... and then I'm all sad when I go through three weeks of tickets :)
BEST wishes for a Happy, Healthy and Write-y 2016, Donna:)
Jeff: I wish you luck on the changes :)
ReplyDeleteOlga: evil is truly the word, lol. Wave a wand for me for success.
SA: Positive goggles, I like that. Hopefully they are better than beer goggles.
Ken: Patience? What is that?
Nancy: Keeping my fingers crossed you are right.
Michael: with friends like you around, how could I not be infected with positivity :) You did lots of work this year, all of it amazingly creative. If I had a drop of your energy I would not be insecure. Best wishes for Wyndy, BG, Hamlet, and your beautifully decorated loft. Perhaps not moving to Florida was a good thing after all?
Susan: thanks. I'm hoping they do add up.
Lynda: aw but you always accomplish so much without them.
Shannon: I will try my best.
Jacqueline: Good luck with your submissions, and your own goals.
I thought of submitting to the anthology but just too darn busy. Congrats! to those who did. And best wishes Donna to you and yours for 2016!
ReplyDeleteHi Donna - the anthology reads will be great - and I will get round to them. Winning the lottery would be amazing .. but like you say - finding that grain of sand in the ocean of wilderness! Good luck to you and the family for the coming year .. cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteI feel that way when my agent sends a submission off to publishers--the possibilities make me happy. Then time goes on and no word and you start to lose that hope. But when it first goes out, that hope is so exciting!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year, Dolorah!
ReplyDeleteI think your goals are great and very manageable. All the best in 2016, and here's hoping this is an awesome year for you.
Great way to start 2016. We all should have that same positive attitude. Best wishes for a great new year!
ReplyDeleteI'm big on goals, but don;t make a big deal of them. I outline around 100 goals big and small, bullet points on how I'll achieve them, change them as I go along, and at the end of the year I'm in much better shape.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes to you and yours in 2016!
Hey Donna,
ReplyDeleteStarting out the year with positive thoughts will certainly help. You have a healthy attitude which bodes well for you, my kind friend.
Thanks for being part of IWSG aka "I Was Seeking Gary." Yep, new year and I'm still delusional! :)
A peaceful, happy writing 2016 to you.
Gary :)
Mark: well, I try not to let those tickies pile up. Only so much disappointment this Hobbit can take :)
ReplyDeleteSteve: I'll not be half as busy as you this year, but busy enough :)
Hilary: I'm looking forward to reading all the submissions too.
Stephanie: don't we just love those possibilities!!
JH: hope your year is awesome too
Diana: hey girl, hows it going?
Steve: woah, double commenting here. I thought I'd missed something. Thanks for the second visit.
Gary: Well, I wouldn't miss your special day for all the puppy treats in the universe! Thanks for stopping by Dearest. And, there are worse things than being delusional, aren't there. No worries, I like you in all your guises. Give Penny and your son my love in return.
You're so right. As long as you haven't gotten a rejection or heard your ticket wasn't a winner, it's still fun to dream about!
ReplyDeleteRemembering how to be a real person again is a big accomplishment. I'm happy your 2016 is starting out so promising and that writing plays a big role in that promise. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteI focus on the positive about the past year and the year up ahead. I have goals rather than resolutions.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful 2016.
mark: did I miss you? Hmm, looks like I maybe stepped out you were dommenting. Hey; hello, and happy new year. You're awesome, and don't let the reflection tell you otherwise.
ReplyDeleteIts late,I have lots of sarcas, but I'll just say . . do what feels right for your this year :
Happy New Year, Donna! Glad you're starting the new year on the right foot. Positive thoughts carry us father, I think. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you'll achieve your goal and I hope things stay on a positive track throughout the whole year. Have a good one!
ReplyDeleteI like this: "a simple goal to make the best effort I can in everything."
ReplyDeleteSimple, realistic and achievable.
That's about it.
Happy New Year, Donna!
I hope writing picks up for you this year, Donna. It's a lonely business sometimes, but you've got this.
ReplyDeleteThat goal will get you farther than any typical resolution. Best wishes for the new year!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year! Wishing you a year filled with joy, love, good health, and success in all your endeavors. May this year bring new opportunities and challenges that will help you grow and achieve your goals. Cheers to a fresh start and a new beginning! AC Milan Off White Jacket
ReplyDelete