There is a "Dreams" entry I'd like you to take a look at if you want.

I have most of the first chapter/prologue written.  Tonight, I've been doing some research.  I need to decide about what year it takes place.  In looking at various maps of Ireland, I've decided mid-400s would be good.

Why?

That's when Christianity started making its way into Ireland.  That may not be a key point in the story, but it does play a part in that the main character ("Phillip") has a prejudice against those of the "new religion."

I've also almost decided what area of Ireland, though that's not completely set yet.  I need to find a topographic map to see what the landscape around that area is.  If it's not what I want it to be, it'll have to be in a different area.

I'm going to do the research as I go.  Otherwise, I'll get bogged down in the research and never get the thing written.

I'm loving it so I don't want that to happen.  But, I have to admit, I'm making myself nervous.

Why?

I haven't written much from a male POV.  And what I have has been done in quite short spurts.  (Hmmm...  quite punny considering some things that will be coming up in the storyline.  ;))

Any females out there who have written from a male POV?  How did it go for you?  Was it harder/easier than writing from a female POV?

It’s the first day of 2007 that the mail will run.  The check for the deposit for the residency is in the mail.

I feel as giddy now as I did when I first heard I got it.

It’s a good thing I got some of my to-do list done this morning before I put that in the mail because it’s going to be hard to get back to work.  At least, though, I have the motivation of a few things crossed off my list to help me get back into it.

Here’s how I see it:

Transcription = dull
Writing = fun

Who wants to do something dull when you could do something fun?  *s*

On that note, though, I really need to get back to it.  Let me leave you with a quote I found earlier today:

“Live out your imagination, not your history.” ~Steven Covey

In light of the post the other day where I quoted part of an article by C. Hope Clark, here are my writing goals for 2007:

1. Write a minimum of 1,000 words a day.
2. Send a minimum of one query a week.  (I tried to do more this last year and overwhelmed myself into doing nothing.)
3. Develop a minimum of 2 greeting card ideas a week and send them out when I get batches of 5 or 6.
4. Maintain a tickle file of article ideas that I add to weekly.

This one is both personal and writing:

• Work through the 1-Minute Organizer system (in conjunction with FlyLady.com) to get organized in my workspace and personal space.

And there we have it. 

At this point of the holidays, the presents are wrapped, the dinner is planned and travel is done. Chances are you'll have
some moments to contemplate your life whether seated in front of the fireplace with eggnog or strolling through the snow that has blanketed so much of the United States lately. You know that notebook that sticks with you? The one that contains your story outlines, character thoughts and plotting changes? The one that contains your to-do lists and deadlines? That's the one...the notebook where you now need to record what you intend to do with your writing in 2007.

None of these phrases are allowed...

"Write more"
"Write everyday"
"Study writing"
"Sign up for a class"
"Read more writing books"

How many articles will you keep in play? When will you
finish the novel? How many new magazines will you break into? How much money will you make? How many articles will you sell? What hours of the day will you write and how many words will you write during that time?

Goals are only as good as the measurements. Theories are for dreams, not for accomplishments. While you start with a dream, the work comes when you mold them into reality. Most writer
wannabes love the dreams, but stop there. You know them...the
ones who talk about being famous, making money, speaking on Oprah.

You think about recording thoughts and stories that do more for the reader than they do for you. That's the sign of a good writer. He thinks more about how the writer will enjoy the words even if the writer doesn't remember where the words came from.

Failing to communicate lets others down. It's when you crave doing for others that you perform your best work.

Now...what are your writing goals for 2007?
Clue: It ain't about the byline.

• 4 more website reviews -- March, June, September, and December


• OWFI contest deadline in February


• OWFI conference in May (along with chairing the autograph party and going to the awards banquet)


• Writing residency at the Writers Colony at Dairy Hollow in June


• Ozark Creative Writers contest deadline in Eureka Springs, AR, in August.


• Ozark Creative Writers conference in October

I'm not stuck, exactly.  Indecisive is probably more like it.

I want to do something.  But what do I do?
Write?
Sketch?
Bead?

I can't very well do them all at the same time.  For some reason, when I think about writing lately, my mind is moving in circles of poetry, completely ignoring the projects I have going on already.  Perhaps if I would indulge that, I would be able to go back to the current projects?  None of them are able to incorporate poems, though, so trying to tie it into them is out.

I think the reason I'm stuck/indecisive is directly related to my day job.  I have been working so hard on transcription because I have been so far behind -- and I have absolutely no idea how that happened -- that I have pretty much stifled anything creative except that which takes only a few minutes, like the little drawings I've been doing. 

I said the other day I would take a couple days to post the next exercises in the Drawing for Dummies book.  But, to be honest, I haven't even looked at them.  It's bad enough to be too mind-mushy to write, but when it extends to sketching and beading as well?

I've got to find something else to do or summon up the courage to face the very real possiblity of rejection and send out queries.