Tuesday, December 2, 2008

The December La La

No, not fa-la-la-la-la... But La La as a state of mind.

It's like December hit yesterday and my brain went right there for a little visit...to La La. Ever visited? It's actually not an unpleasant place, just not very productive. I'm hoping the visit was only a day trip.

So this morning, when I woke up to a quiet house all lit up with the freshly placed Christmas decorations, I realized I need a December focus.
Anybody else?
Now that NaNo's over, now what? Do you have a finished draft? Do you still need to finish (like me)? How about all you non-NaNo-ers? What do you want to accomplish in December?
It's a tough month, friends! It's easy to visit La La. But if you're like me and would prefer to have some productivity in activities other than cookie making, cooking eating, present wrapping, movie watching (A Christmas Story gets me every year), or any other distraction that keeps you from writing or illustrating this month then let's work together.
Here's my December goal: I will keep my Office Hours at The Vault (M,T,Th, F from 12:00-3:30, W from 11:30-1:30) and those Office Hours will not include email, Facebook, or blogging, but will include working to move forward in with my work-in-progress. Yes? Yes!
What's yours? Post here and I will check back with you during the last week of the month.

13 comments:

Kjersten said...

I'm rooting for you, Jolie!

Just this morning I was thinking that I needed another month goal. It worked great in November -- and November and December are both months where it's easy to get distracted.

My goal: I'm going to get three new finished illustration samples in December.

Jaime Temairik said...

Hoo boy. You are really cracking that licorice whip.

My December goal is to clean up a picture book dummy that I put aside for holiday monster paintings and send it off.

Jaime Temairik said...

Oh. My other December goal is to get Trophy cupcake holiday flavors with you and Sara.

jenn said...

Hi Jolie, I'm new to your blog and really enjoying it. I've worked from home as a freelance editor and writer for 4.5 years now and never thought in terms of having "office hours"--I like that! Might be a good trick to keep me focused on the task at hand instead of being distracted by the beckoning laundry, husband, dogs, etc.

My writing goal for December is to finish revisions on my novel.

holly cupala said...

La La La! I can't hear you!

Ohhh! Grr. Ok, fine. Yes, I need a focus.

My focus is to finish my novel. Ok, to write 20K words. There. That's totally reasonable, and that will get me pretty close to finishing.

Can't wait for Trophy and cupcake monsters!

Cuppa Jolie said...

Yay for December La La Goals. Keep them coming...

I'll be checking in with all of you about these La La goals...I really will.

Jaime, I will add having a Trophy holiday flavor to my list of La La goals. I KNOW I can do that! No doubt.

Jennifer - Welcome. So glad you're joining in the La La fun. Having Office Hours is the best trick I play on myself! It's a must for me. I get nothing done at home, so Office Hours at my favorite coffee spot is crucial. It's sticking to the writing while there that I must make myself do. A La La Goal will help.

Holly, I'm going to copy your goal...try and finish my WIP or 20,000 word or whichever comes first.

Anonymous said...

Okay, I am so totally doing this one! I've been having a hard time applying your lovely NaNoWriMo and licorice-whip cracking challenges to my nonfiction WIP. Actually, truth be told, it's more of a work-in-no-progress-whatsoever. I am a distractoholic, and December is the easiest of months in which to get distracted, but I really must get moving. So, office hours, here I come!

Kelly Polark said...

Hmmmm, I'm not thinking too big this month due to holiday events pulling me from every direction! But my goal is to polish up one poetry collection to send out to a few publishers. I'd also like to submit to at least three magazine this month!
Good luck with your goals!

Unknown said...

At the KidLit drink night, some of us were talking about how it was so great to have the structure of NaNo (or Golden Coffee Cup) support.

So I'm totally into this goal thing.

My December goal is to get my first three chapters of my middle grade novel ready to send to Alexandra Penfold.
After that, to continue with it, chapter by chapter.

S R Wood said...

If I'm serious about 1000 words a day, Monday-Wednesday-Friday and maybe Saturday, my WIP should be at nearly 30,000 words by the end of the month. End of the year. End of my rope.

Anonymous said...

Go, Jolie!

My December goal is to have this draft of my WIP together enough to let someone else read it.

Kim Baise said...

I'm with Holly....La la la la
What did you say?
Acually, I do need my friends to crack that whip...or did someone say trophy cupcakes?
I have TONS of art to complete this month.
I need to complete 3 works of art for my Lullaby Moon book.
I also need to finish my part of a collaboration with a textile artist....
and then there's that commissioned work.
My son will be off from school in a few weeks. So I need to start tomorrow. Are you all in?

Martha Brockenbrough said...

My goal is to finish a draft of my novel. I'm really close. :-)

I read Jaime's second goal as to get cupcakes flavored *with* you and Sara. What kind of frosting would you put on a Jolie?