New year, new book!

Whew, the end of last year was crazy! Now it's a new year and I have a new book I've started writing, so it's back to the grindstone. Let's play catch up since I haven't posted in over two months!

• I submitted my manuscript to several agents and a couple of first time YA contests, but got rejections or never heard back. I'm going to be totally honest, for awhile this bothered me and made me kind of doubt my writing but after some healing holiday time with family and many talks with my best friend and fellow writer I'm back on the writing wagon.
• Starting out the new year fresh, I decided to revamp my writing style and try my hand at childrens' lit instead of YA, which I thought was my passion. I'm finding my style and voice fits childrens' lit much better and I enjoy writing for kids. My best friend reassured me by reading the first finished chapter and declaring that she thinks I found my voice!
  

• Said best friend and I have decided to start our own critique group, just the two of us. Every Friday we must submit one chapter of at least five pages to each other. Since we both work better under pressure, deadlines are good, and this way me are made accountable for having something done each week. It's also a motivation booster because each week you get to have your chapter edited by someone else so you can immediately see areas that need work. The good comments make you feel good and like your writing isn't total crap, which it always will be with first drafts.

So, my goal for 2010 is to finish a chapter each week and hopefully have a completed first draft by summer. Do you have any writing goals for the year?