The first quarter of 2011 is done and in the books.  I gotta say, those 3 months passed in a blur.  Personal challenges not withstanding, my main focus Jan-Mar was completing my UF draft so I could submit it to my mentor for feedback, thus getting the ball rolling on the revisions.  And as you can see from the status bar over there on the right –>, I am DONE with the UF draft!! 

 Oh, it’s in serious need of repair, but I got a fully flushed out draft to work with now. 🙂  At this point, I’m in unchartered territory.  I’ve never had a completed, full length rough draft before.  And now I’m about to enter into my first set of revisions on said draft.  I can now check off 2 more milestones on this journey of mine.  🙂

This year for my Qtr recaps, I’ve decided that instead of just talking about what I’ve done the last 3 months, I would actually speak to my progress on the tangible goals I set for myself this year.  To recap, my 2011 writing goals are:

     #1. Complete polished draft of Edge of Desire (the UF) and begin submission process
     #2. Complete 1st draft of WFF and get the first 3 chapters polished (for submission & contests)
     #3. Outline 2 new projects
     #4. Apply for PRO status
     #5. Set up office

#1- I have a completed rough draft of the UF (coming in at roughly 80k+ words).  The draft has been submitted to Lori for feedback and direction (I received her feedback today actually–it was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be).  My goal is to have the revisions complete by the end of Qtr 2 and the possibly (possibly) pitch it when I go to NY in June.  So all in all, I am making good progress on this goal.

#2- I made no progress on this goal during Qtr 1. As I mentioned above, my focus was finishing up my UF draft.  But as I will say–as it is  technically Qtr 2  as I write this–I did plot out this story in it’s entirety over the weekend at my retreat with help from Karen Docter (more on that later).  So I am progressing along with this goal as well.  My target is to spend time during Qtr 2 working on my character profiles.

#3- No progress made on this goal yet.  Hopefully by the end of Qtr 2, I will have solid thoughts on where I want book 2 in both my UF series and my contemp romance series to go.  I’m shooting to start brainstorming these in early Qtr 3.

#4-  Making progress on this goal.  I have my UF draft done and I am set to work on the revisions.  I may be ready to pitch this story by the beginning on Qtr 3, the mid-end of Qtr 3 at the very latest. But I am positive that I will have by PRO status by the end of this year.

#5- I picked out my paint colors for the office. YAY!  Took me forever to do it, but I did it.  But that’s about all I’ve done on this goal.  I plan to have the office painted by the end of Qtr 2.  I also hope to have some decorating decisions cemented as well by then.  Another goal for Qtr 2 includes having my 2011 tax binder set up and IN USE.  It’s still pretty early in the year and I don’t have many receipts yet, but I need to get a move on with this.   Having just turned in my tax info for 2o1o, it would have been so much easier if I’d maintained my 2010 tax binder.  Instead, I was searching and combing through files, boxes, and all sorts of stuff looking for receipts.  Not again I tell ya, not again.

So all in all, I have a pretty good Qtr 1 in the bag and a busy Qtr 2 to look forward to.

~Someday I’ll fly, someday I’ll soar