Self-honesty (#WIPmadness check-in, December 9)

Some mornings, waking up is hard to do. (Aaaand now I've inadvertently given you an earworm! Oops.)

We all have days where we want to just roll over and go back to sleep. Alas, the world is still out there, time still moves forward, and life continues whether we're conscious or not.

The term "self-care" is such a tricky one. It's a term to be honoured, because we all need to take care of ourselves, and we need to be able to recognize when we've pushed ourselves too far, or are about to. But I've also heard the term abused and overused, invoked as an excuse for not taking action.

So the real questions that we have to be able to honestly answer, especially as writers, are these:

How am I doing?

Do I need to step back and regroup, or do I need to press on?

What am I avoiding by not moving forward in this moment? What do I gain?

And being comfortable with your answer, whatever it is, matters the most. Because regardless of the answer, it's okay. In this moment, you are where you need to be. Take a breath. It'll all turn out just fine. :)

Remember, sometimes the answer actually is, "Yes, I really do need this nap."

With that in mind, how are your goals this week? Are you pushing forward or taking a breather? How are you holding up as the holiday crazies threaten?

Now for announcements ...

March (WIP)Madness 2014 may seem ages away, but realistically, it's just over two months from now. Organizer Denise Jaden has sent out the call for volunteer hosts. Interested? E-mail her at d (at) denisejaden (dot) com.

And last week I mentioned a prize. Random.org gave me 6 as the winning number, which means Lara Lacombe, please contact me!

Endings and Beginnings (WIPmadness Check-In, Week 4)

... Well, I tried to be productive this weekend. Charlie had other ideas.

Before I continue, an important announcement: With the end of February comes an event that I now look forward to every year. It's the reason behind why we at #WIPmadness do the weekly check-ins. And if you haven't tried it yet, for whatever reason, I can't recommend it enough: March Madness for Writers! The month-long challenge is about setting big goals and trying to reach them. Be sure to stop by Denise Jaden's blog later this week for info on signup, and to get started on a month of daily check-ins, wonderful camaraderie, and tons of prizes to be won. I'm offering a copy of Morgan Keyes' DARKBEAST and a first chapter critique. Hope to see you there!

So, here we are at the last #WIPmadness check-in for February. Did you meet your goals? Nearly there? Decent progress, at least? Or was it more of a "hahahahanotsomuch"? All are valid answers. Whatever your circumstances were, I'm sure you did what you could, and like we talked about last week, it's more important to take care of yourself.

On that note, I'm definitely glad I had last week's little epiphany. I pretty much axed my social calendar last week, and I feel better for taking the quiet time. Of course, no sooner that I did than I caught the latest cold that's been going around, but at least I've been resting and taking care of myself. Thank you Blogspot for allowing posts to be scheduled, so I could write this Sunday evening then conk out after the Oscars. (Edit to add: I liked the show, but I was disappointed by a few of the results. Argh.) Thank you dayjob for sick days, because despite the absurd amount of rest I got over the weekend, I definitely need more. I may be a bit late in responding today, sleep being my priority, but you'll hear from me eventually. Progress-wise I was able to give my critique partner beta-feedback on her really cool urban fantasy. I got more work done on the final fine-tuning/revisions for my own piece. I also read some more and, prior to this cold, was able to focus on my fitness. 

How did your week, and your month, go? Are you looking forward to the writers' March Madness as much as I am?