Leah - March; Line Up, Line Up!

My blog has imploded. Not in a bad way, but in a kind of have-too-much-on-my-plate-so-need-to-roll-things-back sort of way. It's okay though; Ileandra and Raven have a handle on what I need them to do.

But with this blog being the 'Subs Club' I thought now is as good a time as any to stop, take stock and re-evaluate.
Tomorrow is 1 April, after all. That's the first day of the second quarter of the year. ^_^

I want to make submissions. I want to self publish. I want to maintain my blog. I want to do all sorts of things that all come back to the same core thing; I want to write.

I think keeping hold of that is important and remembering that everything around that is all part of it.

I'm babbling a bit, sorry. Let me try to reign it in.

Projects On The Go

Credit: Openclipart.com

Those of you familiar with my blog know that I write erotica and fantasy. You'll know that I have simultaneous projects on the go all the time and that some move faster than others (if this is news to you then I do encourage you to visit the blog; it's nice there. There are cookies*).

Enthusiasm Takes Over
I have several projects on the go because I have so many ideas that I just can't decide which one to go for first. As a result I try to do everything all at once.

You don't need to be a genius (lucky for me) to know that doing things this way just won't work.

Pace Yourself
My blog imploded because I forced myself to acknowledge that despite my goals and lists, I still have too much happening. Not that it's impossible for me to work simultaneous projects, but only that these particular projects are too large to split my attention on.

And this is a message for all of you guys. There will always be time to work on the next project. Chose one thing, work on it, then do the next one. Don't cripple yourself by trying to do too much at once.

Accept That Plans Change

Credit: Openclipart.com

And I don't just mean the fact that your intended evening of work (with the internet turned off, of course) turned into a Facebook and YouTube marathon. I mean that sometimes, despite your best intentions, your carefully crafted lists and sticker charts (yes... I have sticker charts - they help!) you sometimes have to change things up a bit.

I had three projects on the go. Now I have one. The other two I have put to one side for the foreseeable future. In fact, one of these I might not pick up again until September. But that's okay, because that's what happens.

The ability to roll, flex and except change is what keeps us from going insane.

The Point?
Just as I told you last time that you're awesome (you are, by the way. Have you been saying it?), I'm telling you this time to cut yourself some slack.
I know for a fact that you're hard working and driven but balance that with actually doing things. Working blindly, without a plan or a goal, or with too much on hand only leads to difficulties later.

Yep.
There we go.
I'm going to bed now. Every now and then I take my own advice and, frankly put, today has been a wicked-productive day.

Kisses!
Leah x

Twitter: @ileandraXraven
Blog: www.ileandraXraven.co.uk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/illyandraven






*Cookies may not actually be real. ;-)

Maria - 7 Ideas To Find your Subbing Mo-Jo

Winners Never Quit! - Flicker Commons

It was good to take time out in December, then January arrived and I struggled to make a start. My focus taken up with getting back on my novel, to progress it far enough so that I can submit it for a professional critique. I'm not there yet.

My only other submission was for a writing commission, which I managed to get together before the closing date, although I've since heard I wasn't successful.  Rejection is something you get used to, even though its disappointing for a few days after it happens.

I've slowed down, and I got to thinking about how to get back on track.

1. Submit something, doesn't matter what it is, anything, be it a short piece of flash fiction, or the poem you wrote last night. After some careful editing of course. Something out there, is better than nothing out there.

2. Make it a habit, pick a day or evening, a time slot you can commit to on a regular basis and stick to it. Use the time to organise yourself. Select your writing, make it the best you can, read competition rules thoroughly. Get your work ready to send.

3. Scour writing magazines and websites for news of competitions and opportunities, immerse yourself in looking for opportunities for your work.

4. Buddy Up! Form a club of like minded individuals who all have the same aim, and want to get their work out there. Enthusiasm is infectious. Go on, you know you want to.

5. Set yourself deadlines. A commitment to sub two, three, four or more pieces of work. Find a competition with a tight deadline, and challenge yourself to reach it.

6. Vist old stomping grounds, dig out manuscripts that haven't seen the light of day for a while and revamp them. Change location, character names, and choose a new title. Give your work a new lease of life, and find alternative markets

7. Relax, you may be too tired? Make sure you get enough sleep, go to bed early for a few nights, then have one night where you stay up an hour later, and get those manuscripts sorted out.

How do you find your mojo? Do share any tips on getting back on the road to subbing...

Maria

Wayne - Make Room For Your Writing

Inside my 'Writing Room'

Following my own advice from a previous post, I am still embracing rejection, having received confirmation that I have drawn a blank on all of my submissions so far. That's ok. I'm still learning. What isn't ok is the fact that January was the first month that I failed to submit anything - and I also had a pitifully low word count.

Not good enough.

Fortunately I am a member of a very supportive critique and submissions group, and our latest meeting was enough to spur me back in to action. Having reviewed my (lack of) progress, I decided it was time to shake off the post-Christmas slump and be proactive. As well as stating some new, sensible goals for February, I also realised that I needed to re-establish my old writing rituals, routines and - most importantly - I need to get back in to the habit of writing in my 'Writing Room'.

I am lucky enough to have a dedicated space, my own room, a 'man-cave', if you will, that is separate from the rest of the house, free of distractions and with everything I need to concentrate on my writing. Unfortunately, sometime last year, it became a dumping ground for all of our clutter and any items that were in that strange netherworld between 'useful' and 'rubbish'. In short, I could barely open the door - let alone sit down and let the words flow.

Yesterday, the sun was shining and my spirits rose long enough to motivate me to attack the mess and restore my room to its former glory. Ok, perhaps, it isn't quite back to pristine perfection, but spending any longer on it would've been classed as procrastination and it's good enough for me to get back in to the swing of things. I already feel more positive and have done more writing and editing in the past 24 hours than I have in the last couple of weeks.

Maybe you aren't fortunate enough to have a dedicated room of your own in which you can write, but it's still important to have a space you can settle in long enough to get creative and focus on your project. For some it's the kitchen table, for others their favourite seat in the coffee shop. The point is, we all need to clear a space - metaphorically and literally - and make room for our writing.

For the record, my goals for the remainder of this month, are to sub a piece of flash fiction and to finish editing my short story, 'Beach Hut Monsters' ready for submission to a teen Sci-Fi magazine.

I'll keep you posted as to my progress. Happy writing!

Wayne - Take a look at my blog, Kelly's Eye.