Being Resolute Or Holy Snot A Third of the Year is Gone

Photo by The Husband, Adam

Happy Monday to all.  Do you remember when I went on about resolutions?  Perhaps you tried hard to forget my soap-box-standing, motivational-speaker-quoting bluster, but I am back to remind us all of what we promised ourselves a full four months ago.

When I realized the year was a third gone I had a moment of...well, I'm sure you can imagine the language when I found that I'm 24 books behind my goal for this point in 2010.  I'll give you a brief update on my resolutions so anyone who isn't fulfilling hers will see she's not alone.  But here's the catch: I'm not quitting.  I'm gritting my teeth and recommitting to the goals.  Foolhardy? You betcha.

• I will read at least 100 books this year.   I'm sticking with this one.  I might start counting the nonfiction books I've read, but I'm not going to resort to picture books.  At least not yet.
• I will finish my current rough draft and take it through my editing process. This one I can give a solid check.  The rough draft is done, the editorial letter is done, and I'm going through the chainsaw massacre stage of rewrites.  I'm not as far along as I'd like but hey, I'm happy. 
• I will let at least five people read the finished manuscript. Um, this one might depend on whether anything is left after the aforementioned massacre.  I'm freaking out about letting people read my work.  How do I handle it?  Tonight I sent email inquiries to people starting critique groups.  Yes, I am a masochist, a determined masochist.  
• I will post to Fantastic Spatula before 9 pm every Monday.  It is 9:10 now so this one gets a FAIL.  I'm recommitting to no longer being a nocturnal poster.
• I will write over 500 words every day, come hell, high water, or family reunions. Hell and high water I can handle, but those family people, they are wily.  Like hiring a satellite installer to walk through the front door when I'm up early on a Saturday dressed in a crappy tank top with a towel around my freshly scrubbed hair so I can get to work before the distractions begin.  You've got to get up really early in the morning to beat these people.

Oh, I've added another biggie.  In March I decided to launch River City Fiction, a blog dedicated to the community of authors, readers, librarians, and booksellers in Richmond.  I plan to have it up and running sometime in July.  Loco, no?


What about you?  How are you progressing on your resolutions?  Have you added new ones?  Don't be shy.