New Year Resolutions

Welcome 2010 and good riddance 2009.

Sound Familiar?

I don't know what it was with 09, but I really didn't care for it. It was like an old hamburger left in the back pocket of a hot suburban. (yes, this happened to me and was not pleasant.)

So unpleasant that I'm going to expound. (By the way, don't you love this pic of Macy in the lipstick? Looks like she got in the sauce too. Naughty, Naughty.

So here's the story:

The car stunk. It does that a lot with five kids and lots of road trips. I was cleaning it out, looking for the source of the "smell", when I innocently stuck my hand in a back pocket and pulled out a BLACK, MOLDY Hamburger-- HALF EATEN-- mind you, which means that someone stuck it in there ON PURPOSE and then LEFT IT THERE for like a month! DOES IT SEEM LIKE I'M SHOUTING? Well, sorry, but sometimes the things my kids do drive me bonkers! And the memory is still a little fresh.

Anyway, where was I?

Oh yeah, Happy New Year




Resolution time: I resolve to stop eating chocolate. HA! Just kidding! NOTHING will get that to happen, but I thought I'd sound strong willed for a moment.

Real Resolution: I resolve to write a story that I can actually send to an agent with confidence. Is that possible?


Speaking of agents, one piece of advice agent Jane gave me when I met with her in December was that I needed to pick a genre. A voice. A writer wanting to be published needs to market themselves. Are you a romance writer? Mystery, Womens Fiction? Then you need to put yourself neatly on the shelf and write.



So I ask myself, what kind of writer am I? Well, the first thing is obvious. I am a romance writer, but I don't want to be one of those sappy, over-sexed Harlequins with the Fabio type male neatly painted on the front. I want my stories to mean something more. But this assignment has me stymmed. I've gone back through all my stories. There are four of them. Two are finished. I picked up the third story a few days ago and began reading. I started it in the early summer and then got stuck on an idea and put it away for a few months. Now seeing it with fresh eyes has me excited again. I like the story. Heck, I like my first story, but I'm not sure if it is publishable, though I love it. Not "High Concept" enough. I think I want to be a women's fiction writer with some romance tying it neatly in a bow. Or maybe a romance writer with some fiction tied in. I also like a little mystery, some conflict and lots of tension.Well, I've been paralyzed long enough. (One month to be exact) and I can't wait to get writing again. Whatever I am I plan to be true to it. (Isn't that what Shakespeare admonished?)


What are your resolutions?

Happy New Years everyone.