So I moved a few of my (lesser anticipated) stories to the backburner and have shuffled my ideas around to make it more manageable.

Okay, so there are still 17 shorts, 2 novels in each of 2 novel-series, 2 novellas and 2 experimental projects that I want to tackle…

So, I’m not sure if I made anything better. But it was fun moving things around on the bulletin board. That counts, right?

I sent this same story out five times in 2011 but it didn’t find a home, so I put on the back burner until the new year when I could find a market that I felt it would suit.

During another bout of insomnia the other night, I trolled Duotrope to find it a new home.

I polished up the formatting, dashed off a quick cover letter, and sent it off. Unfortunately, later that afternoon I received a nice rejection with some feedback on the piece (there is such a thing as a nice rejection letter!).

No matter how many stories I send out, I still get that twinge of anxiety before hitting the send button. The same with rejections — each one still smarts a little but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop sending them out.

If anything, you need to look at each rejection as a failed relationship, and take away something that can improve your writing or at least give you some insight into what went wrong.

So, I’m still on the fence as to whether I’ll rework it again before sending it out (it had been edited a few times during those five rejections), or whether I’ll try another market first.

Now, on to the WIPs.

I’m the first to admit that I haven’t done as much writing in the new year as it would’ve like to. Considering my epic list of stories that I want to tackle in 2012, I had hoped that I would’ve made more progress already but I’m allowing my old insecurities get in the way of this one story I’m working on.

So decided to go back to it on my old habits, which is switching off all distractions while trying to write the first draft. This means using Leechblock, and maybe even going back to handwriting the first draft because stories seem to come more organically to me when I do it that way and the last thing I want to do is sit at the computer all day, produce nothing, get dejected and give up without getting any words down.

So there you have it. Down but not out. A minor blip on the radar. Moving onward and upward from here.

Fellow WIP Wednesday posse:

• Aaron Polson: WIP Wednesday: Escape from the Planet of the Rewrites
• Barry Napier: Sore Fingers, Tired Writer
• Katey Hawthorne – WIP Wednesday

If you’re a writer participating in WIP Wednesday, post a link to your blog in the comments! More info on the WIP Wednesday initiative can be found at Kate Karyus Quinn’s blog.

Each card represents either a short story or novel/novella that I want to work on. But know what?

There’s a 2nd corkboard.

The other one has a few ideas I am interested in tackling but not sure what I am going to do with them yet. Plus some super-sneaky plans that I so want to do but just need to figure out the logistics of. (So exciting!)

I’ve loosely scheduled which stories I will be working on when. Somehow, I need to finish my NaNo project, edit it, and decide what I am doing with my 2 other unfinished NaNo-vels, while at the same time trying to write and sub the 23-odd stories I selected from my Idea File.

Like I said….loosely scheduled. Who knows how the words will flow. Or how my creativity will show itself. Or whether inspiration will strike when I need it to. But with this schedule, at least I know what I should be doing when I’m sitting at my writing desk.

Note that these plans do not take into account all the books I want to read & review, all the interviews I want to do, and all the articles I should write.

I know there will be some push & pull (probably daily) as I try to make it all fit in somewhere. But even though this looks maddeningly overwhelming, I am really looking forward to starting a new writing year.

Uh…that’s next week, right?

My NaNoWriMo project currently stands at just over 56,000 words, but the story isn’t done yet. I knew a few days into November that 50,000 words weren’t going to be enough to tell this story, and while I usually collapse into a pile of exhaustion once Dec. 1 rolls around, I’ve decided to keep working on the book instead of putting it on hold until January.

I’ve done that twice before and I have 2 unfinished NaNo WIPs to show for it. Plus, I’m in the groove now of writing every day so why stop a good thing?

It seems to have rubbed off on my other projects too because I have my whole of 2012 mapped out (loosely, mind you).

Normally, I just keep one large master file of story ideas and when I see a call for submissions or get the urge to work on something new, I troll my file for one that sparks my interest. Next year, I am going to try something different.

One night when I needed a NaNo break, I went through my file and earmarked all the stories I was most interested in working on. I’ve also been keeping a list of all the places I want to sub stories to in 2012. Plus there is the question of the above-mentioned NaNo WIPs, a series of shorts I want to self-publish and some odds & ends I have brewing on the backburner.

So, I made a list of all of these ideas, deadlines, and markets, and now I know what I will be working on next year. At my current tally, there are 14 short stories, 3 novels, 2 novellas, 8 stories for a collection, and a non-fiction book. Doable, right?

Blame it on this post which is all common sense and some of it I already do, and couple that with my intention to double my output of stories in 2012, and let’s just say I’ve got one full writing schedule which I am absolutely thrilled about!

So, how am I going to do it all you ask? Is it even possible? Uh…I don’t know. But what fun would it be if the plan wasn’t slightly insane?!

A few of the markets have solid deadlines, but some have open-ended reading periods, so I’ve got a bit of a schedule to keep. Other than that, I’m going to take part in the monthly Write1Sub1 to keep myself on track. That should keep my short stories covered. But the novels? The collection? The novellas? Um…I’m sure I’ll find time to do it all, right? RIGHT?!

Looks like it’s going to be a word-filled 2012! If anyone wants to send me a care package, I like flavored coffee, Reese’s Pieces, Moonstone rings, argyle socks and snazzy journals.

So, I know it’s a bit early, but what are your writing goals for the new year? Care to go insane with me and write until all your pens run dry?

P.S. Did I mention I am going to overhaul my website too? That’s an entirely different can of worms…

I was a bit scared that I wasn’t going to have enough to fill an entire novel. Now that I’m actually writing, I think I won’t have a problem with that!

I plotted about 34 scenes. I am 8 scenes in and my word count is already at almost 19K. I’ve also added in a few extra scenes that I didn’t think of, and I’m making many, many notes of things I still need to figure out/research/explain.

Just goes to show you no matter how much of a plotter/planner you are (or aren’t), the story takes on a life of it’s own once you start getting words down.

Here’s to my lofty goal of hitting 30K by the end of the weekend! Luckily, I got a recommendation for some new writing music so hopefully, that will help!

Plus one of my faves: