I’m getting organized for writing in the New Year. It took me all month to really get on top of things, but I think I’m there.
Something about the process is cathartic and necessary for me. I’m the kind of person for whom jumbled surroundings equals a jumbled mind, so it’s really important that I stay organized in my professional life. It’s all the more important now, as it happens, since I’m remodeling my kitchen. My physical world is a mess! If don’t create order in my writerly niche, I’ll be perpetually stressed.
What constitutes professional organization for me? A new calendar. I have to fill in all my writing deadlines—the ones my editors give me and the ones I set for myself. I also sketch out my bigger professional goals and a wish list of accomplishments I could work on if I have extra time. Some people feel suffocated by too much goal-setting or seeing their hopes sketched out on paper, but I enjoy having things mapped out concretely.
Next up, I work on my story folders. During the year, I print out a lot of notes and research material for each of my works in progress. This is a good time of year to file it all into dedicated binders for each project. If time allows, I’ll decorate each one according to the kind of story. My Muse likes to flex her muscle in other creative directions now and then, so the time spent finding some images to spruce up my story notebooks pays me back many times over.
Finally, I use my January to rethink many facets of my writing strategy. What went well the previous year and what do I need to work on? I ask myself these questions regarding everything from the kinds of stories I chose to write (what concepts did I have the most fun with and why? How can I replicate those creative successes while still doing new things?) to how I handled the work load (did I have enough down time? Were my projects well spaced? Did I work more effectively at certain times of year?). This is a good time to make adjustments and improvements.
Just thinking about the Annual Reorg makes me feel better. As I see my writing year take shape and my projects poised for success, I can almost forget about the sheetrock dust and whirr of the drill in the next room as my husband decimates my old kitchen to make way for the new. Almost…
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I’d love to hear about your organizational efforts, whether they are writing related or life related (for example, if anyone can tell me how to stay organized during the kitchen remodel
{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
Morning, Joanne!
I’m so glad you could chat with us this morning! I’m a huge fan and have loved your work from the beginning. What’s up next for you? Are you thinking to branch out to any other publishers or stick with writing Blaze?
And can you tell us a bit about SHE THINKS HER EX IS SEXY…
=)
Heather R.
WOW! I didn’t know you’d be here today! I love your books. Being from the South I relate so well with your heroines, heroes, and basically all the topics you pick for your story lines. I want you to know that I think you’re an awesome writer. How did you get started?
Hi Heather! It’s my pleasure to visit! I just finished up my August 09 Blaze Encounters book, SLIDING INTO HOME. The Encounters books are regular length Blaze novels containing 3-5 shorter, linked stories. Leslie Kelly wrote the first one last year, ONE WILD WEDDING NIGHT. The book was very popular and I loved the concept so much I couldn’t wait to try my hand at it. Of course, I really enjoy novella length fiction anyway.
My release this month, SHE THINKS HER EX IS SEXY, is part of the “24 Hours Lost” miniseries. The books in the series aren’t connected, other than sharing the theme of having the hero and heroine lost together. My characters are a former celebrity couple who end up lost in the Mexican desert after attending a wedding. Their acrimonious split left them with lots of unresolved issues and a fair amount of lingering attraction ;-).
I’m so into Blaze at the moment. And your regorganizational process is something I’ve been “meaning” to do on a personal/nonwriter level for a while. I need motivation! Tax season is here and I’m not ready! So…thanks for this post. I’m hoping to get to it…after I read your book!
Well thank you for those kind remarks!! I am so please to know you relate to the characters and the set-ups! Writing is such a solitary pursuit that it’s great for me to get out and talk to folks on the other end of the books to see how the stories are working.
I got started writing during graduate school. I went for an MA in literature after thinking I wanted to work in p.r. The p.r. didn’t work out… I knew I really liked writing, but wasn’t sure what to do with it. So I tackled writing/literature on a bunch of levels– reading, studying, writing and teaching. I enjoyed all of those aspects, but writing was the component that brought me deepest into the stories. I made my own!! And I wrote romance because that’s what I loved to read on my free time. I love the escapist nature of it and the way it affirms the nature of romantic relationships– that love is worth fighting for!! That’s a deeply valuable message to me, and it’s one that apparently resonates for readers.
Of course, I like the sexy heroes too ;-). I never said there weren’t fringe benefits .
Joanne, when do you have another book out? I’ve finished this one and can’t wait for another one!
Hi Joanne,
I thought once I had retired I would organize everything at home – didn’t happen. I do put all important dates on the new calendar when I get it but usually send all the cards late. And I do straighten out my piles of TBR books when they topple over. Martha Stewart would run for her life if she ever saw my house!
Hi! Just had a chance to drop in and see what’s going on!
Cool idea, Joanne. I’ve got She Thinks Her Ex is Sexy in my tbr pile. I’ve not got a chance to read it yet, but have hopes for getting to it soon.
How did you research for the idea for the Mexico wedding and desert? Did you take a trip? If you did, I’d love to know the deets as I’m wanting to get there soon myself!
Check in later or tomorrow…off to work more before the boss catches me!
I’d love a copy of your book! With the economy the way it is, some things have had to go…fortunately the library books are still free and Heather sends review books my way!
Hi Joanne
Your book sounds great I’ll be getting one can’t wait to read it.
Penney
Hey there, Joanne! I totally enjoyed your organizational overview. It’s amazing how much you do with writing so many wonderful books and managing a full family life.
Thanks for sharing your tips in the blog!
Cheers~~
Cathy
Beatrice, you gave me the perfect opening to mention my next release, ALWAYS READY, which is a March Blaze. The story is part of the Uniformly Hot! miniseries– all military heroes. I set that one in Puerto Rico as there is a US Coast Guard Air Station there and I just happened to take a trip that way last winter. I loved it!! The setting was too wonderful not to share :-).
And Sissy, I’ve been to Mexico a few times, but never as far south on the Baja Peninsula as I set SHE THINKS HER EX IS SEXY. I had fun researching though… the Sonoran Desert is an intriguing place with lots of unique plants and animals. I’m very interested in a sense of place in my day-to-day life, so I tend to really work on my settings in my books. For me, romance is very much about being “transported” when we read, and a vivid setting makes me feel like I’m really bringing the reader with me!
Boy, can I relate with you when it comes to kitchen remodeling. Don’t let me frighten you, but what was supposed to take six weeks with our job ended up taking a year. Problems kept popping up. The floor in our den and kitchen were the same, so when they replaced the kitchen floor, they took up the den floor, too. When they removed the baseboards in the den, it was discovered that the shower in our back backroom had been leaking behind the den wall. The den was wood-paneled and they had to tear out two sections of the paneling to see how bad the leakage was. We had to have the shower in that bathroom completed rebuilt. Then, since the damaged sections of paneling in the den could not be matched with the rest of the paneling in the den, we had to have the den completely repaneled. We were having a stone wall put between the den and kitchen and when the mason was about half-finished putting up that wall, a millionaire hired the mason to fly to New York and do some work for him (payigng all of his expenses) and we were left with half of a wall until the mason returned from New York. There were other problems, but I think you get the picture. But we ended up with a very nice kitchen that we enjoy very much.
I’m not really into blogging, but Heather mentioned you’re on here and I’ve read some of your books. I wanted to post and tell you I loved the realistic way you bring your characters to life. I don’t have a copy of the new book yet, but I’d love one.
I went to a conference with Heather a few years ago and bought tickets to a charity basket (well, a lot of tickets actually) that was filled with signed Blaze books and one of yours was in it. I was hooked on the line from then and there.
Morning all! Joanne, thank you for being with us this today/week! Your next book sounds wonderful! If you’d like a review, don’t hesitate to send it along…while we’re still being very selective on them, we’re now doing some reviews via electronic copy.
Hi, Joanne!
I’m pretty much thinking what everyone else has said. I love your books! :-)
Have you thought about writing for Berkley or Brava? When I’m reading your stories I always think how I want MORE and could be getting it if it was a longer book. LOL!
Cool! I’m still not sure I want to go to Baja or maybe somewhere less touristy. It’s hard for me to get a feel for a place just reading about it online. I like to have first hand accounts. =)
Thanks for sharing, Joanne. I’m off to break, but I had to drop in and see what was up first…
Thanks for the chat.
I’m very organized just not at my own house, especially right now it looks like a bomb went off! I still have my Christmas tree up LOL.
But I have decided that to get organized it’s going to be a start at the top room by room thing or else it’s never going to be neat again, it’s amazing how quickly it get’s away from you. As for remodeling, well I would love too, but it also would have to be room by room, so i’m thinking grandma and papa might take the kids for march break and I can atleast get new paint and flooring in their rooms, and maybe my bathroom that was started 5 yrs ago and was never finished LOL, well here’s hoping anyway!
I must admit I try to be a very organized person which includes having everything in a certain order in our closets, in our kitchen and bathroom cabinets and even my pantry…that way I always know where to find what I am looking for…hopefully.
Last year we remodeled our kitchen and I thought I was quite smart in doing it in August as I would put our coffee pot, toaster, microwave and other needed item on our three season porch so we could have breakfast and quite a few of our meals out there while enjoying the beautiful weather. Our refrigerator did wind up in the living room however, but that did not deter my idea at all. Well, August turned out to be the rainest and coldest we had in a long time in wonderful Minnesota…so we had to run out on the porch to get whatever we needed and come right back in the house…not such a great idea after all..ha,ha. I do love our new kitchen though and enjoy using it a lot.
Ah, Shari, you were smarter than me!! Having my kitchen torn apart in February is proving a little difficult. I would have loved to be eating dinners out on the deck now! Live and learn :-).
I apologize for being tardy announcing a winner! But the thread winner is Marina… if you can email me a mailing address (joanne@joannerock.com), I’d be pleased to ship your book off right away. I’ll try to email you privately as well. Thanks to everyone for visiting and Heather, I appreciate you having me here!
Cool information! I have been searching for things similar to this for a time these days. Excellent!