Here are 10 things I do to kick up my motivation for the writing.

• Beauty. Do you ever stop, if only for a moment, and look at the world around you?  How blue the sky is?  How beautiful the snow dusted trees look?  How bright the flowers are?  How a lazy cat looks content sitting beneath the fronds of a lavender bush?  Focus on this feeling enjoying the beauty of the world brings you and carry it to the place you write.
• If you think you can or you think you can't, you're right. How do you think about your goals?  If you believe with all your heart that you'll find a way to make them reality, move on to the next item on the list.  If you're like my husband, a self-proclaimed realist (I call him Eeyore), you're probably correct.  The brain creates paths in line with our thinking, just like those trails you see cattle make in a field.  Get off the negative track! If you're at risk of becoming a gray donkey, try to turn every "realist" comment into something positive.  Example:  "I'll never get published," into "I'm on my way to being published!"
• The difference between being informed and being dragged down. Being aware of what's happening in the world is fine, but how upbeat and energetic did you feel after watching 3 hours of coverage on the Haiti disaster?  I donated (twice), but tried to limit myself to twice a day updates.  Along those lines (for you realists), monitor the amount of time you watch those shows that re-enact murders and disasters.  Talk about sucking the life out of you.  It'll suck the creativity right out of you, too.
• How social are you? Don't let the technology stream take over your life so much it interrupts your writing time.  Set a timer and refuse to check email, text, Facebook, Twitter, answer the phone, etc. until your time is up (I recommend 60 minutes:  science shows it takes 10-15 minutes to get in the "zone" after any interruption).
• Seek out silence. Whether in your car, at home, on a walk - try to spend time within your own head.  That's right.  Put down the earphones, turn off the stereo, shut down the TV.  You'd be surprised how quickly your brain embraces a story or finds a solution to a problem.

Halfway there...

Four weeks into my new agent search, the results stand at:

• 1 request for the first three chapters
• 2 rejections ("not the type of story I represent" and - the more common - "does not fit our needs at this time")
• 4 queries still unanswered

I sent out two additional queries today.  Still writing and loving it!  Reminded of the Michael Buble song Baby (You've Got What it Takes):  "It takes more than a robin to make the winter go." It all comes down to patience, determination and doing what you love.  I can't make this go-kart go faster, but I can enjoy the track I'm on.

It's been a week since I sat in awe of Donald Maass, super agent, at his workshop.  I learned several things about him:  he's been an editor of romance, a writer of romance, a writer of Nancy Drew mysteries and an agent.  It probably also helps my opinion of him that he's adopting a child from Africa.  Does he sound like the perfect man for the new Millennium?

He was also every writer's dream - a witty speaker, exhibiting a creative knack for story, scene and dialogue, and lots of tools in his toolbox for fixing story, scene and dialogue.  I thought I couldn't wait to get back and edit pages after basking in his glow, but life got in the way and here it is one week later - no new edits.  It's like Annie is singing in my head, "Tomorrow.  Tomorrow.  I love ya, Tomorrow.  You're only a day away."

Met my goals this week and someone clued me into an interesting web site called TED (not to be confused with United Airlines budget arm).

If you've ever struggled with a creative endeavor and hit a brick wall, you'll enjoy watching this video of Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Eat, Pray, Love).

Sent out 7 queries to agents/agencies yesterday!  Didn't plan on sending 7, but when I was finished looking at my dream list and friends' recommendations that's where I netted out.

What was the major challenge with sending the query packages out?  Condensing 11 pages of synopsis into 2.  I loathe synopsis construction to begin with.  It seems like all 5 of the editors I had at Harlequin always found something lacking (not enough conflict, not enough romance, not enough external plot, not enough characterization).  So now I tend to cover all my bases.