Can it REALLY be July?

You do realize, of course, that we are at the midpoint of 2010. Today is the first day of the SEVENTH month. I am having a hard time accepting that. My calendar (unfortunately), however, does not generally lie.

SO, being as it is the first of the month, I'm here to share with you guys how my month went in relation to my writing goals.

As always, here are the goals I set on June 1, direct from my blog post of that day.

1. Write 4,500 words in my current work in progress, Handmaiden To a Princess (just for the interested, that averages out to 150 words a day, every day)
2. Post to my blog two to three times a week
3. Enter the Faithwriters' Writing Challenge once this month
4. Get back in the habit of reading others' blogs (I miss this, and know it is SO good for me - and encouraging for others!)

I did well this month - the summer, so far, has been surprisingly kind to me and my time. I'll let my ticker speak for me regarding my word count:

5147 / 4500 words. 114% done!
I also did well regarding posting to my blog - I did at least two posts each week - a few times I did three, and I believe there was one week when I actually posted 4 times. :) In addition, I entered the challenge in July - I even placed 7th with the entry! And I have gotten back into reading and commenting on others' blogs. (I LOVE my google reader!) So, overall, I achieved every one of my goals! Thank you LORD!

And now for July. I'm gonna be even more ambitious this month, partly because I think I should, and partly because I really need to. I actually have a deadline of sorts--I am wanting to pitch my non-fiction book, Ailing Body Nourished Soul to Hartline agent Terry Burns' assistant Linda Glaz at the Faithwriters' Conference on August 13-14. Also, before I even thought about this deadline, I committed myself to a word count goal on my Biblical fiction WIP through ACFW's Novel Track. And I'm not one to back out on commitments.
So, here are my goals for July:

1. Write 10,000 words in my current WIP, Handmaiden to a Princess. (again, FYI, that's just under 325 per day. Doable, right?)
2. Tighten up/perfect/prepare my manuscript Ailing Body, Nourished Soul for pitching.(want it READY by the end of the month!)
3. Begin putting together the paperwork I'll need (proposal? etc.) to pitch my book.
4. Post to my blog twice a week
5. Enter the Faithwriters' challenge in July (though this one will be the first "to go" if I can't handle all this stuff!

So, there we go! It's a LOT, I know - but if God wants me to do it, I can :D And if He doesn't, well...I wasn't supposed to anyway. Right?:D

 
Paving Rough Roads With God's Presence