The Party Don’t Start Til I Walk In

It’s finally here!  It’s officially been 3 months for the Life List Club members and contributors working diligently on our goals.  And we all know that when we work hard, it means you get to play hard too!  Bring on the good times!

What is the Life List Club?  The Life List Club is a place for writers and readers alike to share with each other their goals/dreams/bucket list/what-have-you and support one another along the journey.  You can join by subscribing to any of the LLC contributor blogs which are located in the sidebar.  Anyone can be a member and we encourage all of you to make your own Life List page on your blog as a reminder to yourself what you want to accomplish.  We’re here to lend helpful advice, encouragement, and good old fashioned ass-kicking when you need it!

It’s a Milestone Party?  Today we’re celebrating our progress on our goal lists since we started 3 months ago.  We have music, food, and great schwag to giveaway, so I invite everyone to leave a comment; share with me how you’re doing on your goal commitments, what advice would you offer others, and feel free to dance!

My List and Progress Thus Far:

1. Write every day, even if it is only ten words.  (Ok, this hasn’t been completely consistent, but it is improving.  What’s helped the most is blogging ahead and making a planner where I create and follow through on writing time.)
   
2. Read 2 books a month for fun.  (I’m loving this!  See what I’m reading by visiting my Bookshelf.)
3. Submit my work for publication.  (Nina Badzin wrote this post on why it’s important to just do it and not be a snob about your publication opportunities.  But I have nothing finished yet, so this goal is post-poned, but not gone away.)
4. Learn about the craft of writing.  (I’m currently learning about novel set-up through my Fly on the Wall status in Warrior Writer’s Boot Camp.  I get to observe others’ writing and edits, offer input, but I don’t yet submit my own.  The basis of this boot camp is to prep you well before it’s your turn to start submitting.  I’m also signed up for Kristen Lamb’s Author Branding Class to make a bigger impact with my blog and writing.  Can’t wait!)
5. Learn about social media.  (Uh, Kristen Lamb.  Best Freshly Pressed post to ever stumble onto.)
6. Attend a writing conference.  (Madison Writers Institute – Wonderful experience I’m now on the lookout for next year’s conference, and thinking about saving up money to attend DFW in Texas, the conference Kristen usually speaks at!  Might see some of my favorite tweeps and bloggers there!)
7. Meet with other writers.  (Ok, I attempted to start a local writer’s club which didn’t pan out cause everyone is so busy.  I did start a critique group with 3 writers I met at the Madison Writers Institute, but we’re not on a regular schedule either.  LLC and WWBC have been the most beneficial, which leads me to advise that while in-person groups may be more fun, don’t knock the online ones, cause they’re full of amazing people who can help you get the job done, and probably faster.)
8. Write a fiction book.  (It’s my current work in progress.  The plan of attack is jump start writing again with NaNoWriMo and follow the WWBC evos to prepare more efficiently.)
9. Cook more meals at home.  (I’m well of aware of the bologna incident, and the write like potatoes incident, and the double stuff oreos incident in spite of my mother.  It’s about progress, and part of progress comes from being aware.  Honestly, I’ve made some smart decisions, and have spent more time eating fruits/veggies first before the cheetos.  And I vow to not ever, not even if someone dared me, eat bologna again.  I couldn’t live down the shame the first time I blogged about it!)
10. Be more frugal.  (I struggle here, but I’ve got some worthwhile goals and desires to attend conferences and travel more, so I’m going to watch my excess spending and start that “fund” where all the money you didn’t spend on grande green tea lattes and fancy jewelry goes into that fund jar instead which will slowly help me get to Korea, or Finland, or Singapore, or wherever else I want to go.)
11. Take a real vacation and leave the country.  (I visited Toronto, Canada for a week with my honey, and it was so beautiful and fun.  Loved hanging out in the big city, seeing Niagara Falls, and trying Ice Wine for the first time!  Mmmm)
12. Go to the beach.  (I blame Wisconsin weather.  And working too much.  We still only got to the beach two times this year.  But we supplemented our outdoors time with hiking, oh that’s right, we nearly died…)
13. Go see live theater.  (It’s part of my birthday present.  I get to drag Joe to a local theater event!  Yay!)
14. Keep up with my gratitude journal, 5 things each day.  (Here’s what I recently wrote down.  Ice water, Joe cooking dinner, fried green tomatoes, taking a late night walk around town, watching Chic music videos on youtube.)
15. Track my progress of learning the social media and publishing world.  (I’ve been adding a second list underneath my gratitude journal that focuses on eye opening moments.)
16. Spend more time with friends and family.  (Even though it meant a lot more driving, and therefore less writing time, I took some extra weekend trips home to see family this month.  I know it was entirely worth it.)

Rules That Help Me Survive:

Here are the three rules that I’ve come to ground myself with as I work towards my goals.  If you want to see how I came up with them and use them, check out this LLC post I did about making my own boot camp to kickstart my writing.  I hope these rules help you towards your goals too.

1. Life comes first.
2. Get up early.
3. Feelings lie.

PRIZES!!!  To win, you must subscribe (or already be subscribing) and comment below!  Good luck!

All of us LLC contributors are giving away FABULOUS prizes today!  I’m offering one commenter a signed copy of Bethany Wiggins’ new book Shifting!

     After bouncing from foster home to foster home, Magdalene Mae is transferred to what should be her last foster home in the tiny town of Silver City, New Mexico. Now that she’s eighteen and has only a year left in high school, she’s determined to stay out of trouble and just be normal. Agreeing to go to the prom with Bridger O’Connell is a good first step. Fitting in has never been her strong suit, but it’s not for the reasons most people would expect-it all has to do with the deep secret that she is a shape shifter. But even in her new home danger lurks, waiting in the shadows to pounce. They are the Skinwalkers of Navajo legend, who have traded their souls to become the animal whose skin they wear-and Maggie is their next target.

Learn more about Bethany and her book in my author interview with her!  Or check out her blog at Shooting Stars.

Other Fabulous Prizes Include:

Pam Hawley is giving away:
-Winner’s choice of excerpt from my novel-in-progress or a copy of my short story
“Elevated.”
– I will interview the winner on their goals and ambitions for a future post in Hawleyville.
– Option to publish a piece of their own fiction/essay (up to 2,000 words) or do a guest
post at my blog.

David Walker is giving away 2 prizes:
-to a commenter, a copy of a short story, Bubba’s First Cruise
-to a subscriber, a guest post swap.

Marcia Richards is giving away:
-a copy of flash fiction – Night Moves
-invitation to guest post or be interviewed on my blog
-winner’s name used for a character in my trilogy, The Dance and The Dancer

Jennie Bennett is giving away 2 prizes:
-3 books, Oliver Twist, Secret Garden and A Little Princess
-10-page in depth critique

Sonia Medeiros is giving away:
-Larry Brooks’ Story Engineering Ebook

Jenny Hansen is giving away a prize to each a commenter and subscriber:
-Choice of a guest post from Jenny for the winner’s blog OR an interview of the winner  on Jenny’s blog

Violeta Nedkova is giving away:
-In-depth Critique of two WIP chapters

Diana Ligaya is giving away:
-a copy of Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces
-an in-depth critique for fiction up to 15,000 words

Emily Moir is giving away:
-a 5 piece (4X6) photo series by Kate Moir

Alright folks, put on your favorite party hat and boogie with the Life List Club today!  We can also be found disco dancing on twitter at #LifeListClub. 

Now tell me, how’s your life list coming along?