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.
