Sisters in Crime “Dead of Winter” Event at Loganberry Books – Love that wall of books.

On Saturday, I attended the local Sisters in Crime (SinC) chapter’s “Dead of Winter” event.  Fans and writers alike joined in the discussion with three panels that covered the appeal of the mystery/suspense/crime genres, steps to take towards publication and what editors want.  The panel was filled with local authors including Sam Thomas, Jane Turzillo, Amanda Flower and Kylie Logan.  I joined SinC national a little bit ago and this was a great opportunity to get involved locally.  I learned about the event at my writing group that I almost missed.

Rounding out the first full week of February, I’ve officially declared my January 2013 as the big black hole of nevermore.  While it held the sacred day of my birth, it also contained some certifiable moments of muck and way too many snowy days.  I wandered through the last few weeks in a bit of a fog, fighting with myself and fighting with the cold.  My circling caused me to lose track of timing and use of productive moments.

Enter Tuesday night, when I headed to my writing group sans my promised next novel WIP chapter.  Yes, I’d marked February 5 on my calendar as the group date.  Yes, I’d scheduled myself to have complete the next chapter for upcoming meeting.  No, the brain didn’t marry the two in real time.  When I saw the notes going around on Monday confirming the session, I was like, “hmm, I thought that was next week,” felt like a doofus for having my brain cells scattered and almost didn’t go.

I did go because it is a circle of sharing, critiquing and support.  Going and admitting to needing to get past this disorganized funk keeps me on track.  It lets the group give me a loving nudge.  Going lets me lend my voice to working through another member’s draft and hearing what is going on in their life.  Commitment is what carries us over the low energy, “well, duh” moments.  This week’s reward was a cool networking event.

Writing Life Goals through March 28

• Complete 4,000 words a week on Group Think WIP  – I hit 1,059.  That is due to lack of planning last weekend, plain and simple.  If I can schedule to remember to record The Walking Dead tonight, I can schedule time for a little over 500 words each day.
• Take challenging chapter to writing group in February and March – Fail for February, but I said I would send the missing chapter via e-mail this week to keep on schedule.
• Attend Women’s Writing  Retreat in February and Western Reserve Writing Conference in March -I’m registered and on target to attend both.
• Research upcoming short story anthology calls for submission – Not scheduled yet.  I’ll do it by early March.  I’m in novel mode right now.
  
• Complete one blog post each week – Goal met for the week.
  

Personal Life Goals through March 28

• Watch one TED video each week – Goal met for the week.
  
• Complete cardio three times a week – *crickets* Must do better.
  
• Attend yoga class/workshop two times a month – Not done yet for February.
  
• Read six books to stay on pace for goal of 24 books this year – A little behind from the nothingness of January.  I have two scheduled to be done this month.  I’ll also be able to carve out a good chunk of solitary reading time at the writing retreat one evening.
  

What does your community of writing look like?  How are you coming along on your goals so far this year?  Any doofus moments you want to confess?  Be sure to check out and support the ROW80 updates of others via the blog hop.