It’s been a while since I’ve posted cos I’ve been busy this year, whew!!  Lots of big things going on.  Lots of projects I’ve taken on.  More responsibilities I’ve picked up…

But I’m not complaining, everything I do moves me further down my path and closer to my goals.

I recently wrapped up my first online workshop! Woot Woot.  This was a big first step for me.  I’ve been speaking locally and a little bit non-locally on the topics of social networking and branding.  I was asked to put together a 4 week workshop on social networking so I did and voila!  Very successful first outing, now I have to decide how far I want to pursue this new avenue I’ve been presented.

Now that I’ve done with my workshop, I’m picking up my UF wip AND a new wip.  A lot for me, but I’ve got to get moving  if I have any hopes of winning either of the two writing competitions I’ve signed up for this year with River City Romance Writers (more on those later).

So, to get back into the swing of things I decided to get a fresh set of eyes to look my UF over.  Why? Well, for one, I wanted a set of fresh eyes–meaning someone that’s never read this wip– to look it over and tell me what they thought.  I felt this would give me a fresh perspective on what I’ve written and give me a needed spark to pick it back up.  I also felt this was a good way to just forget whatever hang ups I’ve created in my mind about this wip and get me going with renewed vigor.

So, I reached out to an author buddy of mine and he agreed to do the honors.  (Just let me say, I LOVE Twitter for the fact that it connects me with a wide variety of authors who are helpful, supportive, and willing to step in and help you out at a moment’s notice). To quote Lil Wayne (yes, Lil Wayne 🙂 ), I prepared for the worst, but still prayed for the best.  It’s always a bit nerve racking to hand off your baby off to someone for feedback, but even more so (at least for me) for a brand new someone to look at it.

But I shipped it off and got my feedback in record time.  It was a very good critique, and not just because my wip was positively received (though that is totally awesome and full of win), but because I was given specific feedback on plot and character elements of my story that will help me fine tune it and make it better when I hit the polishing stage.

So that said, I’m AMP’ED about my UF wip all over again.  I’d lost that “loving feeling” over the past few months because of personal distractions, but I’m so glad it’s back.   I was worried for a second there.  It’s one thing to not have the time to write, but it’s another totally to not have the get up and go to want to write.  I’ve been on that dark and narrow path the last few months.   Authors have to continually balance the personal, professional, spiritual, and mental avenues in our lives.  It can be overwhelming at times, but so is just about everything else at one time or another.

But you will pull through life’s twists and turns  if you just believe.

Believe in yourself
Believe in your place in this world
Believe in YOUR victory

“I guess I got my swagger back. Truth”
~Jay-Z

Image: DragonArtz Design