Beware: buzzwords.

Creativity, Last 90 Days, Learning Out Loud, On Publishing, On Writing, Self-empowerment by Christine Betts

Lean in to the discomfort the coach said.

Oh, man…the learning curve is steep when it comes to websites. It’s challenging to get all my ducks in a row and my Mail Chimps in their little red hats…

I love that I am doing most of the things on this list in an article from the Australian Writers’ Centre 9 Essential tips to Supercharge your Fiction Writing.

  1. Set goals. (I have my 5 Priority Projects. Number 1, the paperback is almost done (waiting on Ingram Spark…sigh.) Number 2 is the new Paris in a Day novella with short stories. The month is getting away from me but I am determined to get it done.) I also have daily goals which are bite-sized action oriented tasks like “make postcards”
  2. Do Morning Pages. Yep, for the past 2 years!
  3. Writing Sprints. 4 lots of 15 minute writing sprints each morning.
  4. Join a writing group. Kinda. Joining the Gold Coast Writers’ Association was the first step. I’m not sure I am writing group material because I am a bit bossy. (bit??)
  5. Enter a competition (or more than one!) I did Furious Fiction this month and plan to smash one out each month. Who knows, I might even get some feedback or a prize one day!
  6. Sign up for NaNoWriMo. Yep! My project is called The Slip and the Fall because I am such a rule follower that I can’t bring myself to work on an existing manuscript even though I need to get some second drafts going. You can check out the Pinterest board for this project.
  7. Join a book club. Yeah, nah. No time at the moment. I am reading at least a book a week. Discussing books would be helpful but I have pretty weird taste in books so it might be challenging to find a group that covers my taste.
  8. Do a course. My goal for 2020 is to LEARN as much as possible of the craft of writing. See, setting goals all over the place!
  9. Share your successes. Yep, I am certainly not shy in that department.

Oh who am I kidding? I have ducks and they’re marching in formation. I am getting shit done. It doesn’t stop me from feeling inadequate but I’m ticking stuff off my list. Here’s my postcard to hand out at writers’ association next month to anyone who would lke to buy a paperback copy.

Now to just get that new manuscript formatted, finish plotting Mimi and The Circle and start the prep for The Slip and the Fall. No rest for the wicked!

#Last90Days is going very well and I am even more annoying that ever because now I am doing all this without coffee! Who knew that was possible.

Feature Photo by Elena Koycheva on Unsplash