Time flies....

And so it is another month and more since my last blog...maybe I should just bite the bullet and just commit to writing it once a month! That way I'll get over my guilt and maybe even get it done!

And so - where were we??? Diet - still going strong. Lost 4kg so far. Which is totally surprising considering the amount of time I've been sitting in my chair. The good - no, great - news is that the reason for sitting in the chair is that I have been writing.

Book one is getting more and more polished. Book two is slowly taking form.

What I find surprising is how much I am connected to my two main characters... Jack and Ellie from Book One... I am so reluctant to leave them alone. They are happy, everything is resolved, but I still have a hankering to make sure they're okay! And they aren't even real people!

Discussing this with my mother (who is so NOT a writer) she suggested I drop a bomb on them and that way I won't worry about them anymore.!!!! Can you believe it??? Drop a bomb on wonderful North Beach? Kill off my lovely friends????

But if I don't do something drastic I won't be able to invest as much into book two...... And Megan and Nathan are hanging in mid sentence waiting to find out who the intruder is...... maybe Mum has a point!

Missing in Action

OMG

And there I was feeling so completely proud of myself, when in reality I have failed. Failed big time.

I haven't touched my blog for over 2 months! The diet is going okay though.

But, I have good reason for this tardy blog - and that is because I have been concentrating so hard on my novel that I completely forgot the time...but now it is finished! I can finally raise my head above the parapet.

Well, when I say finished I mean - first draft is finished. I need to put it away for a few days and get some perspective, then edit, edit, edit.

BIG NEWS: I won the chance to pitch to Lucy Gilmour at Mills&Boon - and she was so lovely... and asked me to send her my synopsis and first three....woohheeee.... off it went yesterday and now I play the waiting game.

Still, in the meantime there's the perspective, the editing and the next novel - right???

Ciao for now

Louisa

Happy New 2010

As one year melts (literally - it's summer here and the temperature's pushing the mercury) into another it's time to take stock of 2009 and set goals for the year ahead.

2009: personally it's been a good year. I've kicked back and relaxed, had good times with friends and seen good friends go through tough moments. Hopefully I've helped them. Career-wise -it's been a huge learning curve. Having taken a break from paid employment to concentrate on writing I've learnt a few things:

Writing is hard

Writers needs 'stickability', perseverence and a very thick skin

Writers need goals

Goal setting and me are not something usually mentioned in the same sentence! Sure, I've made many resolutions in the past - always the same things: lose a stone in weight, get fitter, get book published - you know the score.

Curiously, I've never achieved them. (Although my son was agog when I said I would have the same resolution this year as for the past 30 years - to lose a stone. "You were 30 stone?" he asked amazed. - LOL! NO! I just never lost that original stone).

I guess the saying is true: "If you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you always got".

What I've been lacking, I think, is clearly defined goals and steps to achieve those goals. Apparently they need to be SMART. So, here goes, these are the goals I thought of on New Year's Eve:

Writing Goals:

-Write every week day in school term - think of it as a job, not a hobby

-Finish current ms by end of March

-Submit to 2 publishers

-Finish next mss first draft by end of November ready for editing

-Enter Clendon, Emerald and Emily competitions

-Attend RomAus conference in Sydney

-Blog once a fortnight

Personal Goals:

-Spend more time with hubby doing fun things together

-Finish curtains for lounge

-Finish curtains for bedroom (had material for 3 years)

-Paint bedroom

-Get to UK to see sister's new baby somehow......

-Phone my Mum once a week

Health Goals:

-Walk at least 4 times a week for an hour

-Eat 5+ a day!

-Adopt a positive attitude and be grateful for the good things in life

Day 5 of the new year and so far:

-Have written once (it's school holidays though)

-Had 10 days off with husband and looking forward to another 2 weeks from this friday

-Eaten 5+ a day for last 4 days and feel great!