January and February are bleak months. It’s dark. It’s cold. I don’t want to go outside.

Why does the weather influence my writing?

Maybe it doesn’t. Maybe I’m just hibernating for a while.

I need to remind myself that I’m making progress:

• I revamped my BlackTortoisePress.com website.
• I arranged for two different book fairs.
• I subscribed to a independent book review program.
• I continue to build my social network.
• I completed some of my needed research into WWII and the 1950s. (Not everyone lived like they did on “Mad Men”.)
• I wrote another 2,000 words of my next novel.\
• Created a writers’ group with my NLU alumni, Bird by Bird, on Facebook.

Okay, now I feel better.

Still to do:

• Contact local libraries for book discussion.
• Sign up for a writers’ conference.
• Write something every day. Even if it’s just a letter to the editor.
• Read, read, read.
• And don’t forget to leave book reviews on Good Reads. Writers love reviews.7

Do you have suggestions for keeping creative juices flowing?

How do you make and keep goals?

I love suggestions for great writing conferences. Please.