Failing Better, Celebrating Best: March Madness End-Of-Month Check-In #WIPmadness

Welcome to the final check-in for the 2014 March Madness Challenge! Before we get started on the celebrations, I've been informed by our fearless leader Denise that we still have a few prizes left.

The final winners for March Madness are...

Elderfox!
Akoss!

Jeanne Ryan!

Kristin Butcher!
Congratulations! Stop by our goal-setting post, and choose your prize from those still listed (first come, first serve). Email Denise at d(at)denisejaden(dot)com with your choice and we'll get it out to you as soon as possible.

If you’ve won a prize this month, I hope you enjoy it! If not, keep checking in throughout the year, as many of our weekly hosts offer up prizes from time to time.

* * *

So, here we are at the end of another month, another year, of absolute madness. Now it's time to weigh in about how the entire month went for you. Dearest Mad Marchers, how did you do?

Did you meet your goals? Congratulations!

Did you *exceed* them? Wow, go you!

Or did you maybe not quite make them? Could you be feeling a bit disheartened about that? Don't be. Because no matter how much you did manage to accomplish, even if it was only a fraction of what you intended, you're farther than you were when March began.

However your mad month turned out, it's all valid.

This is an important thing to remember. Life often throws challenges our way. And yes, the platitudes about how "it's not the destination, it's the journey" can feel a bit wearing when we don't get to where we want to be in the time we originally planned. But it's really true. Take, for example, how my month turned out.

Confession time: *I* didn't meet the goals I set back at the start of March. Me, one of the hosts, who should be leading the charge by setting a good example to everyone involved in March WIPmadness. And yet, if I wanted to be negative about it, I could say that I failed:

1. I completely ignored my goals this weekend while throwing my energy into an out of town convention.
    
2. I set aside the urban fantasy I was planning to work on in favour of outlining another YA project I'm not even going to *start* writing this month.
    
3. And then I failed at finishing *that* because I hit a major plot hole I couldn't seem to climb out of.

Yep, that's a total fail. Right?

Not the way I see it. And here's why:

1. I took the time this convention to explore some of the writing panels that were offered. (And wow, there were some great ones.) I didn't devote my entire convention time to this, especially because a lot of them conflicted with other events I really wanted to be at, but I did make it to four. And I came away with more notes to share with everyone, which I totally hadn't expected.
   
   
2. My goals change wasn't a cop-out. The project I'm now outlining was something I'd been avoiding because I hadn't felt ready to approach it, and didn't know how I could. Suddenly, that changed. So being able to actually finally sink my teeth into it was a relief, and for me, an even larger challenge. I'd been worried I wouldn't be able to.
   
   
3. Fixing that plot hole now, before I started writing the story, was also rewarding. Maybe it took longer to figure out than I'd intended, but the solution I came up with stays much more true to my character than what I originally came up with. It has ramifications throughout the entire story. Not only is this going to save me major headaches later, but the novel feels stronger for it. And I'm just getting started!

My point is this: maybe my month wasn't what I'd originally planned. Maybe I didn't get quite as much achieved in a quantitative sense. But the quality of my month was absolutely astounding, and I am really happy with how it all turned out. And no matter what you managed to achieve with your goals, you should feel the same.

Most importantly, this is just one month. The goals don't have to end here. Keep going! And you don't have to do it alone, either. Most months, we gather once a week on one of our members' blogs to check in officially. On top of that, the community meets year-round on Twitter, under the #WIPmadness hashtag.  Feel free to check in with the progress you're making on all of your creative goals. We'll all be there to support each other.


Edit: Charlie Holmberg has offered to host the Monday check-ins for April at her blog, http://myselfaswritten.blogspot.ca/. Come join us!

The madness never stops. Onward, Wipsters! Let's embrace this crazy together.

So, ready to weigh in on how your month went, Mad Marchers? Let's hear it!

Getting Through: March Madness Check-In, Day 10 #WIPmadness

Good morning, Mad Marchers! How are your goals coming along? I hope the time change didn't drain you too badly. Personally, I'm taking preventative measures and writing this on Sunday night, just in case I find myself draining multiple pots of coffee this morning.

Speaking of that. I like to take extra steps to mitigate disaster. It's part of who I am. I like to be prepared; it makes me feel better. Yes, that extra ten bucks a month for earthquake insurance seems reasonable to me, because I am quite aware of the area's geologic history. So does the Otter Box protecting my cell phone, because I know I'm clumsy. And I *definitely* know that as I actively send out queries, reading rejections hurts. So I check the query e-mail account on my phone first.

I just realized this the other day. Something Professor Faber says to Montag in Fahrenheit 451 about having just a small screen, one small enough to be able to cover up with your palm, really rings true here: because that way, rejection e-mails have less power to hurt. Yes, that may sound silly. And yes, for the most part, my skin has grown thicker. But this still helps, not having the big screen with the big scary e-mail dominating my view. 

So what's my point here? That I am trying my best to pay attention to what helps me get through the day. Especially at crazy times like this, but also in general, knowing this stuff is useful.

Speaking as a NaNoWriMo and March Madness veteran, this is the time of the month when for some folks, goals seem like distant dreams. Maybe Real Life (TM) has reared its ugly head and cramped your personal time. Perhaps you've fallen behind and see no way of catching up.

I just wanted to let you know that wherever you are at is where you need to be, and it is *not* too late to catch up. And if it helps you, it won't hurt to ask yourself, "What can I do that will help me get through?" Regardless of where you're at, think of how much farther you've come!

And that's one of the awesome things about March Madness: this community. We are all in this together. I *know* you can do this.

My weekend was once again over-committed (sigh, it feels like an unexpected running theme), so I didn't get half as much done as I wanted. The word count is coming along. I received two more rejections. And I have done more work on my querying spreadsheet and plan to send out more queries this week.

(On that note: optimism. Focusing on the positive *really* helps me get through.)

So, how's it going for you, Marchers? Do you employ any survival techniques like I do? I'd love to hear them.

Newcomers: haven't signed up for March Madness? It's still not too late to do so! Just check in here. Did we mention there are prizes?

And don't forget to check out Shari's blog tomorrow!

October WIPmadness: Week 5 Check-in

Wow, here we are at the end of the month. Tonight some of us light pumpkins and/or fireworks. Some of us frantically add one last piece to the story puzzle that is our NaNoWriMo outline. Some of us prepare to embrace the crazy that is NaNoWriMo. And some of us realize that ... hey, wait! This is WIPmadness! We have the crazy down to an art!

So, how did this month go for everyone? How about this past week? Did you meet your goals? Exceed them, even? Or were you locked in heated battle with that unavoidable nemesis, Real Life?

Whatever you did or did not do, you did what you needed to. And whatever you did, it was enough.

I didn't meet all of my goals. Starting with the writing conference, I ceased to log what I was eating. I'd like to get back to that, but we'll see what happens in the weeks to come. Given that next month is NaNo and the month after that is Winter Festive Season, nothing is guaranteed about my waistline. Well, at least Don Rocko and I held off buying Halloween treats until just last night. And I did make it to sword class, but that's about the extent of my being healthy.

However, I did finish the edits to my WIP. I even sent it to an extra special, very awesome beta reader who was kind enough to get me feedback within a week and a half when I needed it. I had my pitch and my Blue Pencil ready for the SiWC, and I had an amazing time at the conference. I got asked to submit and submit I did. I made my tiger butter (and I swear I'll upload photos and a recipe soon, if not in November then by December for sure!) and shared it with many people. I participated in the VancoWriMo events as planned. And for the most part, I have a good idea of what I'll be writing during November.

So I'm fairly happy with how this month unfolded. How about you?

Thanks, gang, for letting me host this month!

P.S.: This month just happened to have five Mondays, but the Madness is far from over. Don't forget to stop by Lora Rivera's blog tomorrow to check in with goals for November. ^_^

October WIPmadness: Week 2 Check-in

Good morning, WIPmadness peeps! It's Monday again. How did things go this last week?

For me, it was a bit uneven. Part one of that's because that this weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving, so we had things to do that involved seeing family and eating much turkey and associated dishes. Part two was that a friend was in town visiting family, so we had a poker game on Saturday that went quite late. And part three? I made it back to sword class, yaaay!

But it also meant I didn't have much uninterrupted writing time.

What I did accomplish:
- I picked up the ingredients for tiger butter, which I'll spend a few hours making next weekend.
- I made it to sword class and I kept logging what I ate. Mostly. Last night's turkey dinner ... um, well, it was a holiday, right?
- I crossed off a few more items from the List of 17. I *believe* I'm down to 5 now. And today's a holiday, capped with a write-in. I'll have the opportunity for quite a bit of writing, if I make the time to write. Wish me luck!

This next week I've got to put myself into gear, in preparation for the SiWC. I also really want to cross off those last five things. I sincerely hope I can.

How about you?

October WIPmadness: Week 1 Check-in

Hello again, #WIPmadness folks! Two days ago, we all said what we were going to do this month. Each of us is in our own unique space, from having a huge list (um, guilty) to specifically not committing to any goals at all. Now that the weekend's past, how has eveything worked for you?

My weekend was not as productive as I would have liked. Don Rocko and I may be fighting colds and I personally found it hard to get into a creative headspace because I felt fairly foggy for much of Saturday and Sunday. I managed to cross of roughly two items from my Revisions list, when I was hoping for something more like five.

But other useful things happened! Some NaNoWriMo preplanning business came up that could have very fruitful results. I honed and confirmed my suspicions about writing down everything I eat without judging it, and noticed that it helps in the shrinking department. Or has the potential to, at least. Time will tell for sure.

I'm looking forward to being productive today, which is my biweekly Monday off, and the rest of the week. I'm feeling very optimistic about what lies ahead. How about you?

October WIPmadness: Statement of Intent

Hello, all you wonderful wacky #WIPmadness folks! Those of you on the Twitter feeds may have noticed that I'm a bit of a night owl, but I won't let that stand in the way of the October check-ins. Thanks to Jaye Robin Brown for hosting September's fantastic round of posts. And now, welcome to my little corner of the blogosphere!

We have an interesting calendar this month. Today is the first of the month, and Monday, our typical check-in day, is just two days from now. So I thought today's post would be a great place for us all to state what we intend to accomplish this month, and how we intend to do it.

Because it never hurts to ask the universe for what we need. But it also never hurts to put a little bit of effort into earning those things we seek, either.

Here's my goals:

1. I will finish the edits to my WIP. I feel like I've been hesitating over sending it out, and letting myself dither over little things. A few nights ago I created a list of 17 things that needed to be fixed before I would be satisfied. Since then, I've crossed off 5 of them. I've been addressing the changes not in a straight line, but in true puzzler fashion, where I jump about and fix things as they strike me, viewing the prose with new eyes as I do so. The puzzle pieces don't follow an order. They come together as I find them.

2. I will get ready for this year's Surrey International Writer's Conference. That means prepping a pitch for an agent appointment, and also three pages of an urban fantasy piece that has nothing to do with my WIP or the contest I entered last month. It also means making at least one batch of tiger butter to share with friends and other folks, 'cuz that's my thing.

3. I will be active and eat reasonably healthy. This past month I was feeling a little bit low-energy, and I didn't make it to sword class. Now I am ready to reclaim my strength. I'm also going to keep paying attention to what I put in my body, because simply noting down everything that goes in the tank is making me more aware of what grade of fuel I'm using, and how much of it I consume. Most importantly, that alone has had a positive effect, without me having to resort to evil four-letter-words that begin with D.

4. I will start planning and preparing for this year's NaNoWriMo. That means having a rough outline. It also means getting ready to actively help out with local events. The Greater Vancouver NaNo community is a vibrant group with fantastic in-person events, and I'm excited about being involved.

So, that's my epic To-Do list for October. How about you? State your intentions here. Then, starting on Monday, we can check in and see how we're all doing!

We can do this. I know we can. That's what this madness we call writing is all about, right?