January 3rd, 2015 Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

Two days in a row, I know, but don’t get used to it. I will try to post a little something often, but it won’t be like before. I need to become greedy with my time if I plan on finishing the two books I have started, and one more contemporary, plus at least another short for Annie Acorn Publishing, before the end of the year.

I have to submit my short story for the 2016 edition of Spirited Tales (as soon as the 2015 edition of Spirited Tales is available, I’ll let you know), plus a possible submission for either the 2016 Valentine’s anthology or a 2016 Romance anthology – we’re still tossing around possibilities. I have a story idea, but I don’t know if it will end up being a short story, a novelette, a novella, or an actual novel. Annie said to just write it, and we’ll worry about how to package it later. Love her! She took that stressor and blew it out of the picture. Now I’ll just be able to write the story until it’s finished, hand it over to her, and let her work her brand of magic. I’ll be sure to keep you in the loop as things become more concrete.

Although it’s three months away, I’m fairly certain I will be participating in April’s Camp NaNoWriMo, so that, and possibly July’s Camp, will produce the next contemporary – which I think will be Taming Tate, unless some other characters start yelling louder between now and then. I need to finish and publish FTQ before April or I will not be eligible for the Princeton Author’s Day this year, and since I had originally planned for it to be out before Christmas, but life got in the way; it is now my top priority.

I will need to take at least day away from writing in order to get all my financials together for taxes. I do this all the time. I start the year off well, recording all my income, expenses, mileage, etc., then I get busy and the “office work” gets shoved to the back burner, and come January, I end up having to reconstruct ¾ of a year’s worth of financials. Then I curse myself for not keeping up with it because I can’t find all my receipts or the slip of paper where I wrote down my miles for my trip out to Bumblesquatch; and then I swear next year will be better, but I only seem to get better by a week or two. At the rate I’m going, I’ll be in my nineties before I have a system down. Pathetic? Lazy? Procrastination? Old timers setting in? Disorganization? Take your pick, any explanation would fit.

Okay, as I said, Faerie Tale Queen is my top priority, and since it is still ridiculously early on a Saturday morning, my house should be quiet for a minimum of two more hours, so I should get to work. I hope you have a wonderful day, and happy writing!

Your Next Challenge is:

It’s time to pack away the holiday decorations…

You have ten minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count, and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.