Being Sidetracked Isn't ALWAYS Bad: IWSG & ROW80

It's the first Wednesday of the month and time for my Insecure Writer's Support Group post. A huge thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh for putting together this group. I appreciate the opportunity to share my insecurities on the #IWSG therapy couch and to read how others are doing.

Last month, I discussed my need to take life One Page at a Time. An excerpt:

Looking back on 2012, I can best describe it as wildly fluctuating. I'd have stellar months of focus and achievement followed by days (okay, weeks) of complete withdrawal. I was like a small puppy, either full steam ahead or collapsed in a corner.

Well, January was all about being collapsed in a corner. 

Thanks to the flu, which led to pneumonia, I was out for the count. The bright side: it forced me, and my body, to rest.

I turned 40 last August. Ever since, I've been a bit obsessed with discovery--I'd say finding myself, but that sounds like something you do after high school, while you are trying to decide what you want to be. I know the kind of person I want to be, but I'm finding out new things about myself every day.

I started February wanting nothing more than to get back on my feet and start moving forward. Okay, I wanted to go from zero to hero overnight and start accomplishing goals left and right... back to puppy mode.

Then, Sunday, my mom called and told me about a short story competition in her area. The deadline: Tuesday. All my goals went out the window, as I frantically edited some pieces I had been working on. Finally, at noon yesterday, I submitted two short stories in the young adult category. It felt good, even though I was staring at a pile of neglected work.

The moral of the story: sometime being sidetracked is good. Pneumonia = forced rest. Unexpected short story competition = forced writing / editing. Come close for a secret... I had never submitted to a young adult competition, and this is my new writing genre of choice. 

Has being sidetracked ever worked to your favor?

2013 is shaping up to be quite a year. Hope I'm up for the ride.

Wednesdays are also A Round of Words in 80 Days check-ins. Mine:

WRITING
Spend an hour a day writing/planning the Depression Cookies follow-up. ST
For this week: Back to goal!

Deep edits and "filling holes" work on Chasing Memories (my NaNo project). I promised to get the Prologue and first chapter to my hopeful-editor. (She rocks! Once she's my official editor, I will share. Heck, I'll shout it from the rooftops.) ST For this week: Back to goal!

EDITING
Finish the second edit and send it off to my client. ✓

BLOGGING
Sign up for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. ✓ If you want to join me, check out the rules and sign-up here. The idea: Post an alphabet-themed post according to the schedule.

For February and March, my goal is to get back to a Sun/Mon/Wed/Fri blogging schedule. -- D = For some reason I'm finding the Sunday/Monday turnaround is not working for me. So I've decided to do my ROW80 updates on Monday and Wednesday, and then blog M/W/F. (well, until April!) 

ST = Sidetracked
D = Discovery

I hope everyone is discovering positive ways to get sidetracked this month. Please visit some of my great writing friends at ROW80 and IWSG!