I can’t believe it. Finally after two weeks rewriting the first chapter and one rewriting the rest. I have four chapters done, that I’m happy with.

It’s not that I rewrote the hole thing, but look for places to add or change a word or a sentence to convey or not something took me time. I wanted the first chapter to be perfect and I think I’m closer to it.

The kids don’t have school tomorrow but if I can do another five chapters by the end of the next week I’d be very happy.

How about you? Any news?

Hi!!

I entered the GUTGAA Pitch Polish, I’m very happy!

I just wanted to let you know my entry is number 43, here’s the link: http://deanabarnhart.blogspot.mx/2012/09/pitch-polish-43.html

If you have time to drop by, read and help fellow writers with their pitches, not only mine. We’d be grateful!

Have a nice day!

Hi! I’m Anabel Gonzalez and I’m searching for a critique partner and a group of critique partners.

I have been a writer for 5 years now. I write YA and new adult, paranormal romance, contemporary, urban fantasy and dystopian. Also you have to know my native language is Spanish but I learned to read, write and speak in English at the same time I did with Spanish.

I like to read of all the genres, except horror.

What I search in a critique partner besides the obvious is a long term friend. When you give someone your writing for critique you’re giving part of your soul so you want to have a good relationship with this person, a person who knows you, what you like and want, and that is completely honest for your own good.

I would like to find someone willing to give in depth critique, including grammar, plot, character development, etc. I offer the same in return.

My current project ready for critique is a YA paranormal romance about an eighteen year old girl who has the ability to absorb and transmit feelings. She goes to Madrid to study psychology and to try to control her gift away from her family. She already made her sister try to kill herself for some feelings she absorbed on the street. But in Madrid she finds strange shadows that what to kill her and wonderful lights that want to protect her. So she has to find what everyone is and why she must die, while feeling an intense and complicate love for the leader of the lights. Although she suspects he is not completely a light…

I’m totally ready to submit in the amounts you’d like.

So if you want a friend and a critique partner that’ll be completely honest with you and will be there every step of this long journey email me at: anacasamadrid AT Hotmail DOT com.

Welcome to my little corner. I’m so excited to do this!

First I want to thank Deana for organizing this amazing schedule for writers.

Now let’s start the meet and greet:

I’m Anabel Gonzalez.I live in Mexico City but I think of myself as a citizen of the World. I have lived in Spain (Madrid and Galicia) many years. I learned to read, write and speak English at the same time I learned my native language so both are natural for me. I love Historical places, read fiction, cook and just stay around my kids. Oh! by the way I’m married and I’m the mother of two awesome boys that bring me out of my world of fiction with smiles or shouts.

Where do you write? I write in the study I share with my husband. We have each our own space. I placed pictures all over my corner, a pink quartz heart and lots of notes and papers everywhere.

-Quick. Go to your writing space, sit down and look to your left. What is the first thing you see? The door. I sit in the right corner.

-Favorite time to write? The mornings, when the kids are at the school and I have 3 hours of complete silence to my fiction world.

-Drink of choice while writing? Flavored black tea.

-When writing, do you listen to music or do you need complete silence? I need silence, although when I’m searching for the emotion for certain scene I need the music to guide me.

-What was your inspiration for your latest manuscript and where did you find it? I was playing with the idea of two opposites falling in love. I adore romance stories. So I thought and thought until the leading male role started talking in my head.

-What's your most valuable writing tip? Write, write and then read. Every day of your life.

Since the kids went back to school I set a deadline for me to end this rewrite of my current MS, the end of September or the beginning o October.

But that wasn't very good of me. I set a goal that will put a lot of pressure on myself because I haven’t thought about all the things that come with the beginning of a new school year. All the lists of things the teacher’s want you to make or send and also to make Carlos (my ADHD son) go back to the school routine. I thought this wasn’t going to be hard for him since he was doing so well by the end of the last school year. But vacations altered everything and now is very hard to go back. It’s hard for him to pay attention and to copy what the teacher writes in the board, he is getting very distracted with everything and he doesn’t wants to do homework. So you can imagine how frustrated he is when he has to work all weekend in all the notebooks he got behind.

So it’s been a lot of hours focused on that, on school meetings, doctor appointments, etc. It just isn’t real anymore to set that goal because that wouldn’t let me breathe. For sure I want to end soon but I need to slow down a bit. Also I only have a few chapters of comments from my critique friends ( no pressure on you girls ).

So I think I should focus on a few chapter at a time, for example I would like to finish the chapters I have all comments of ( the first four) this week. That way I will do everything I can to make them perfect without pressure, if I went for the end of the month goal I’d need to do many more chapters.

Realistic goals are so hard to set, we always want to achieve everything soon. At least that’s my case.

How do you settle realistic goals?

Have a good day!