::Chagrin::

Well, the "catchy goals" weren't catchy enough.

I'm doing fine on "Eat right". In fact, I'm doing the Clean Program and am in week 2. It's been fine so far. Oh, I admit I'm a bit tired from no caffeine, but surprisingly enough I don't miss the booze all that much, and I don't miss much else except bread and chocolate. So I'm cheating a tad by having some cacao chips after my meals, which is a substitute for a Peanut Butter Cup (no, it really isn't a substitute, but it'll do). I'm doing fine and figure I can continue this easily for 2 more weeks.

Write daily: not so much. I'm having a hard time getting into the writing habit again. I really need to work on my Dream series, but have not been able to get in to the characters' heads. I am doing some writing-related stuff every day. I'm getting Righter prepped for release, and I'm prepping items for conferences, but writing? I don't know. I'm just not motivated.

And daily promo? Pfft! No, I managed that for about a month then it slipped off the radar. I just hate talking about my books and constantly touting them. So that quietly got lost in the crowd.

In my defense, I've been crazy busy with Paycheck Work and Legal Bullshit, but that is all subsiding. So I really have no reason not to dig in and focus. Which I will ...

... tomorrow.

Catchy goals

I think most goals are too laborious ("lose 25 pounds by Joannie's wedding") and are focused on fixing what is negative, rather than focus on what might be positive.

So I spun it up a bit this year and now here are my goals:

• Eat right. If I eat right, I'll lose weight, get healthy, and stay healthy. I like to exercise so I don't need to add that in. I will exercise. Now I just have hum loudly while I walk by Dairy Queen.
• Write daily. I need to get back into the habit of writing, of working on my writing. I lost the habit when I had to focus on unpleasant things (lawsuit, etc.) Time to get back to writing.
• Daily promo. I hate promotion, so if I do a bit every day, I'll be done with it. I don't need it to interfere with my writing or my life. Just do one bit a day and done.

 So far, so good. 20 days into the month, and I've kept my resolutions.

Now for the other 345 days....

Am I running out of plots?

Not to fear. I have a few more to go.

But I've lately started to wonder if I have it in me to keep writing mysteries. At some point, it's all been written, hasn't it?

No, it hasn't. Whenever I think that, I think of the unique characters out there, waiting to be penned. I think of the odd circumstances. I think of Alice in Wonderland (my next base for a book), I think of misdirecting the readers with red herrings, and setting up worlds in which I can create my own laws and philosophies, of dreaming up places where I would like to go.

All I have to do is close my eyes, let my mind wander, and I realize ...

I have a lot of words left in me.

Let's do the Time Warp ...

Seriously.

It's been 3 months since I posted here? Really?

I have a few excuses, of course: travel to a conference in June. Travel to see family in July. Travel for business in July. Two different sets of house guests in August. Family reunion. Class reunion (planning). And the Paycheck Job.

Yes, the Paycheck Job. Normally this is a ho-hum, I can do this with my eyes closed sort of thing. But in June I was tossed a new project. Then I was tossed another one. Then the deadlines changed from next year to this year to September.

Really?

For anyone who works in the software industry, that shift in deadlines is a snort-worthy moment. Go ahead and change the deadlines, but that means you need to gut the project of features. It's a perpetual tug of war between Suits in Tieland and Grunts in Cubes. Back and forth, back and forth -- this feature is in, this one is out, yes it works that way, no it doesn't.

This is the first time in about 2 years that I've been involved in New Product Development and it's exhausting. Fun, but tiring. So that truly has sucked the life out of me this summer.

Then ... the lawsuit. Yes, she sued us over alleged problems in the house we sold her. I won't go into details here, but that is like a black cloud, hanging over us. Can't spend any money because we may need it to pay her off. Can't move on with our lives because our past is dragging us down.

So I haven't really felt like writing. I'm slowly getting back into it. I'm on chapter 8 of my WIP and my goal is to be done by the end of September. 8 chapters in a month. It's doable but it means I have to get back into my Good Writing Habits and let the bad habits go (no, you can't watch TV now. You haven't written today).

I'll report back in here in a month, if not sooner. And I hope I report that the WIP is DONE, the most recent book is OUT, and a new book is STARTED.

Fingers crossed.

The Book List

I am too busy to read for enjoyment any more.

There. I've said it. I'm an author who doesn't read fiction. Truth be told, a lot of the enjoyment has gone out of fiction reading because I find myself critiquing the book, or I skim it to see where the plot is going, or I wonder how the hell that author managed to sell the book and hit a best-seller list (grr).

So I've been keeping a list of books to read when I quit writing. Yes, I assume that day will come, when I lay down my pen and say "that's it." I used to feel bad about how BIG that list has become (it's long, people. Really long). I always had a vague feeling that I should be making an attempt to read those books and stay current.

Then I had an epiphany. Seriously.

I remember when my mother was in her final years, a lot of activity had been removed from her because of physical problems. All that really remained was reading and television.

VOILA! I will have a never-ending list of books to read when that time comes, when I can no longer golf or go for long walks or type or whatever.

RELIEF. Seriously, RELIEF.

Now my only question: do I buy the books now (so I have them on hand) or do I hope they'll still be available either digitally or print when that time comes, 20 or so years from now (I hope!)

??