Showing posts with label Nelson Mandela. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nelson Mandela. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

My “Science” Behind the Art of Producing ... by Delsora Lowe


Right up front I will admit I am a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants type of writer. I have a pie-in-the-sky outlook on what I want to accomplish, but until I set goals, not much happens. Because I am also a non-competitive, procrastinator, who needs to plan out life. So how do I reconcile those two different “personalities”?


In all my years of gathering wisdom, some about myself and my habits, I’ve figured out that I am not competitive with others, but I am very competitive with me. And in order to manifest that, I have to have spread sheets and charts and written goals broken down from annual to quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily. I’m not one of those types, you say with the back of your hand plastered against your forehead. I HATE Spreadsheets, you say. No worries. I am the least mathematical, spread-sheet type queen to ever grace this earth. Excel is my enemy. But I do know how to set up a horizontal topic line and a vertical date line. That’s it, folks. Nothing else to see. Oh, except to find the little SUM icon that looks like a weird E.

The one thing I do know how to do is schmooze and learn from other writers. One of those things that has come up in group after group, not only in writing, but any profession I’ve been in, is the importance of setting goals and having ways to measure them.


So, over the years, I developed ways that work for me. I report in daily to one group. That is where I set up my daily goals, such as I want to finish chapter three, or today I’m going to update my website. By saying them “out loud,” it helps me to actually do them. Well, most of them. There are days when something on one list gets transferred to the next day’s list. But the fact I’ve told someone makes the self-competitive gene kick in, and it’s enough to make me try to stay on track.
 

Every Sunday, I report my weekly word count goal to another group. We have all set up our annual word count goal and project goals. For example, I want to send in between 4 and 6 short romances to Woman’s World magazine. To date, I have submitted 5 and I have one in draft form, so I am well in to making the high-end of my goal and possibly exceeding it. Each week our administrator, who does know ALL about spreadsheets, sends back our spreadsheet with weekly totals that show where we are, percentage-wise, in meeting our annual goals. At the bottom of the page is each of our annual task goals, so I can easily check that and highlight what I’ve done to check off the annual list. It’s a painless way (because someone else figured out the spreadsheet 😊 ) of keeping me on track.


As we near the end of 2019 and stroll into 2020, I will assess my achievements and set up goals for 2020. This system has kept me on track for several years now. Each of you can come up with your own system. Whatever works for you. But writing it down and telling others, does make you more accountable to yourself.


 What do you do to set goals for the year? Month? Day?
We’d love to hear more ways authors and readers stay organized.

Now on to more fun things. The thing I do AFTER I’ve accomplished my daily goals. READING! So, here is a list of more Christmas reads. I’ve made it through a few more books since my November holiday read blog. The rest, I will wallow through this month, now that I finished first round of edits on my own Vermont Inn Christmas book, due out in late 2020.


 Holiday Reads: Already Read

·         Wedding at Mistletoe Chalet by Dani Collins

·         Once Upon a Christmas by Sarah Morgan (an anthology of 3 medical-based novellas)

·         Waiting for a Miracle by Jennifer Wilck (a Hanukkah novella)

·         Winter Wishes: A Regency Holiday Romance Novella by 11 authors

·         Merry Wild West Christmas by Wanda Ann Thomas (a member of my MaineRW group)

·         The Heart of Christmas by Jill Monroe (a holiday romance from Hallmark publishers)

·         Season of Wonder by RaeAnne Thayne

·         Merry Christmas, Darling by Donna Alward

·         Holly Pointe & Candy Canes by Cindy Kirk

·         A Cowboy’s Homecoming by Vicki Lewis Thompson

·         The Ring Series by Marcia King-Gamble

Holiday Reads in the TBR Pile:

·         A Coldwater Christmas by Delores Fossen

·         Cowboy Christmas Redemption by Maisey Yates

·         The Christmas Town by Donna VanLiere (Hallmark movie based on this book)

·         Mutts & Mistletoe by Natalie Cox (Recommended on RTG in November)

·         The Christmas Club by Barbara Hinske (Hallmark movie based on this book)

·         Spirit of the Season by Heather Graham

·         A Wedding in December by Sarah Morgan

·         Unforgettable Christmas Dreams by 11 authors

·         Spirit of the Season by Heather Graham

·         A Wedding in December by Sarah Morgan

·         Unforgettable Christmas Dreams by 11 authors

 And...My Holiday Book:

·         Come Dance with Me by Delsora Lowe


Come Dance with Me (Oct 2017) – my own holiday story
Improvisational jazz musician meets buttoned up English teacher—will the Christmas lights sparkle or shatter before the dance ends?
Amazon
http://amzn.to/2Ev2rHc
D2D
https://www.books2read.com/u/bMrQva

Delsora Lowe writes small town sweet romances and contemporary westerns from the mountains of Colorado to the shores of Maine.

Author of the Starlight Grille series, Serenity Harbor Maine novellas, and the Cowboys of Mineral Springs series, Lowe has also authored short romances for Woman’s World magazine.

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